Economic Valuation of Environmental Values of the Landscape Development and Protection Area of Volcji Potok

When the market for a certain good is competitive enough, economic activities can be studied by the market pricing mechanism. Because this is usually not feasible in case of environmental goods with embodied natural and cultural heritage, particular methods for economic valuation of such goods have to be applied. The present article represents the economic valuation of the Landscape Development and Protection Area of Vol誩 Potok, which is an important Slovenian cultural landscape area with internationally recognized characteristics. For this purpose we have chosen the method of contingent valuation and performed an econometric analysis of stated and true willingness-to-pay. We obtained the value of willingness-to-pay and determined its determinants. We also made an attempt to control for different biases that arise in such analyses. At last, we used the adjusted average individual value of willingness-to-pay to calculate the aggregate willingness-to-pay.bivariate probit model; contingent valuation method; discrete choice method; embedding effects; environmental values; starting point bias; willingness-to-pay

Quantifying high dimensional entanglement with two mutually unbiased bases

We derive a framework for quantifying entanglement in multipartite and high dimensional systems using only correlations in two unbiased bases. We furthermore develop such bounds in cases where the second basis is not characterized beyond being unbiased, thus enabling entanglement quantification with minimal assumptions. Furthermore, we show that it is feasible to experimentally implement our method with readily available equipment and even conservative estimates of physical parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Penta­carbonyl-2κ5 C-chlorido-1κCl-bis­[1(η5)-cyclo­penta­dien­yl][μ-oxido(phenyl)methylene-1:2κ2 O:C]hafnium(IV)tungsten(0)

The title compound, [HfW(C5H5)2(C7H5O)Cl(CO)5] or [W(CO)5(C7H5O){Hf(C5H5)2Cl}], contains two metal centres, with a (tungstenpenta­carbon­yl)oxy­phenyl­carbene unit coordinated to a hafnocene chloride. The Hf—O—C angle is nearly linear, and the C=O distance is slightly shorter than for equivalent alkoxy­carbenes. One of the cyclo­penta­dienyl (Cp) rings undergoes an offset face-to-face π–π inter­action [3.495 (7) Å] with the symmetry-related Cp ring of a neighbouring mol­ecule

Of Categories and Continua: Relating Discrete and Gradient Properties of Sociophonetic Variation

The current study analyzes 4,000 tokens of Spanish coda /s/ from both a discrete and continuous perspective. The data, drawn from the Otheguy-Zentella Corpus of Spanish in New York, are described categorically in terms of the presence or absence of frication, i.e., in terms of s-deletion. Data are also described in terms of two instrumentally measured gradient parameters: frication duration (in milliseconds) and spectral center of gravity (COG, in Hz). Results suggest that a unified methodology does more than simply increase the descriptive breadth of the analysis. Instead, it shows that certain patterns of variation are opaque at exclusively categorical or gradient levels. With respect to social factors, the data suggest that Spanish speakers born and raised in NYC produce /s/ in significantly different ways than their recently arrived counterparts from Latin America. The cause of these differences is very likely to be language and dialect contact. That is, generational shifts in /s/ production are due to native New Yorkers’ extensive experience with English and also with multiple varieties of Spanish. However, it is impossible to draw this conclusion purely on the basis of either deletion rates or measurements of the spectrotemporal properties of fricatives. Instead it is necessary to examine both kinds of data to properly assess these trends. Similar findings emerge with respect to linguistic factors. While some linguistic factors robustly constrain deletion rates as well as variation in frication duration and COG, the predictive power of other factors is restricted to either the discrete or continuous domain of variability. For example, the morphemic status of /s/ strongly conditions the presence or absence of frication. However, this same constraint has no bearing on either the duration or COG of fricative moments. Such asymmetries in predictive power suggest that the conditioning effects of linguistic factors can be restricted to specific domains of variability. The theoretical implications of this finding are substantial, indicating that models of socio-phonetic variation that do not distinguish and relate discrete and continuous levels of expression may misconstrue the relative contributions of explanatory factors

The impact of regulator\u27s statement requesting EU insurers to suspend dividend distributions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on share prices

This article examines the impact of the regulator’s statement requesting EU insurers to suspend dividend distributions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on share prices of insurance companies. The purpose of the regulation was to maintain a high level of capitalisation of insurance companies, thus allowing them to pay compensation for any damage incurred during the crisis. The statistical significance of the potential negative impact was explored using event study methodology. The empirical results suggest that the negative impact following the statement’s release is not statistically significant over the chosen event window. The robustness of the results is confirmed by several statistical tests – parametric and nonparametric. The measure did not result in a fall in share prices in line with economic theory but, rather, contributed to ensuring the financial stability of the European insurance sector, supporting the real economy and consequently allowing quicker economic recovery

Contact, Co-Variation, and Sociolinguistic Salience: What Mister Rogers Knows about Language Change

This study asks whether and how the features that define a language variety co-vary within the communities and speakers said to be representative of it. Of particular interest is the relationship between multiple variables in a setting known to promote contact-induced language change. The central idea that emerges here is that less salient linguistic variables are more likely to co-vary, that is, to be uniformly influenced by the contact setting, than are variables of higher salience. This claim is supported by an analysis of five variables in the speech of four Spanish-speaking adults, two of whom have lived their entire lives in the contact setting and two who are recent arrivals to it. The variables are (1) filled pauses, (2) the presence vs. absence of subject pronouns, (3) subject pronoun position (i.e., pre- vs. post-verbal), (4) general subject position (the pre- or post-verbal position of non-pronominal subjects, e.g. lexical NPs, clauses, etc.), and (5) coda /s/ weakening, examined in terms of rates of deletion as well two acoustic parameters. It is only with respect to the last of these features, which is highly salient sociolinguistically, that strong regionally delineated continuity in the Spanish of the U.S. born speakers is clearly observed. The four lower salience features have shifted in parallel, increasing in similarity to the use of analogous features in English. These results indicate that in a setting characterized by language contact, the fate of socio-linguistic variables is mediated by salience. Low salience features are more susceptible to the influence of the contact setting and are more likely to be uniformly reshaped by it. High salience features, in contrast, are differentiated by speakers’ greater awareness of their social signaling potential and are more likely to unfold along autonomous and individuated trajectories

Forecasting medical inflation in the European Union using the ARIMA model

As healthcare costs continue to pose significant challenges for governments and policymakers, accurate forecasting of medical inflation has become crucial in the European Union. This study aims to provide insights into the trajectory of medical inflation within the EU using the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and to check whether this model is an effective tool for predictions of medical inflation. The findings of the study have significant implications across various sectors. With accurate forecasts of medical inflation, policymakers can proactively address challenges, insurers can determine appropriate premiums and develop innovative models, and healthcare entities can allocate resources strategically to ensure financial stability and quality care