How Parents Use Time and Money

[Excerpt] This article examines weekday resource allocation decisions of married couples with a husband employed full time and with children under 18. These decisions relate, among other things, to working for pay; doing unpaid household work; purchasing services such as childcare, laundry and drycleaning, and food away from home; and eating out. Information about spending decisions was obtained from the 2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) and information about time use was obtained from the 2009 American Time Use Survey (ATUS). Results show that, Regardless of employment status, wives were more likely than husbands to spend time in household activities. On an average weekday, married fathers spent more time working than married mothers did, even married mothers employed full time. The proportion of families reporting childcare expenses and the average amount spent by those reporting were highest for families with full-time working wives and lowest for families with wives not employed for pay. Consistent with other research, working-wife families did not spend more on housekeeping and laundry services than did families with wives not employed for pay. Families with full-time working wives spent the greatest dollar amount on food away from home, but there was no significant difference in spending between families with part-time working wives and families with wives not employed for pay

Resilience and electricity systems: a comparative analysis

Electricity systems have generally evolved based on the natural resources available locally. Few metrics exist to compare the security of electricity supply of different countries despite the increasing likelihood of potential shocks to the power system like energy price increases and carbon price regulation. This paper seeks to calculate a robust measure of national power system resilience by analysing each step in the process of transformation from raw energy to consumed electricity. Countries with sizeable deposits of mineral resources are used for comparison because of the need for electricity-intensive metals processing. We find that shifts in electricity-intensive industry can be predicted based on countries’ power system resilience.Electricity; resilience; energy security

Artificial project time horizons in the absence of discounting: The case of Canyon Forest Village: Working paper series--06-11

In the summer of 1997, the Kaibab National Forest released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Tusayan Growth. This report analyzed various scenarios involving the transfer of National Forest land at the boundary of the Grand Canyon National Park to a private developer, in exchange for private inholdings scattered throughout the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. The resulting private development was to be called Canyon Forest Village, and would include hotels, visitor facilities, private housing, community facilities and a transportation center for tourists accessing the Grand Canyon. The proposed build out of Canyon Forest Village (CFV) was to take place from 1999 to 2010. Consequently, the Forest Service analysis used that time frame as the basis for calculating the economic impacts CFV would be expected to have on local economies in the northern Arizona region. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concluded that overall growth in demand for lodging in northern Arizona would be robust over those years, and that CFV would have no net negative impacts. The results of the Draft EIS were sharply contested during the public comment phase, and, in the summer of 1998, a Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Tusayan Growth was issued. This document used a different modeling procedure and changed its primary focus to two, smaller, CFV proposals, involving only 900 and 1,270 hotel rooms. The Supplement did conclude that there would be some negative impacts to the communities surrounding Grand Canyon. The results of the Supplemental Draft EIS were also contested during the public comment phase following its release, although a year later, in the summer of 1999, the Forest Service issued a Final EIS and adopted the CFV proposal for 1,270 rooms. One peculiarity of the Forest Service reports, throughout this process, was the failure to identify an explicit discount rate of interest in order to identify costs and benefits in terms of their present value. While EIS documentation has been required for many years, the obvious focus is on purely environmental concerns and the analyses tend to be based on scientific findings. The inclusion of a socioeconomic analysis necessitates a careful accounting of benefits and costs. While this EIS is not the first to include an explicit accounting of economic benefits and costs, it may serve as a harbinger of more reporting of this type. Unless those with an appreciation of the discounting process, especially economists and accountants, are included in these analyses, present values may be employed only on an erratic basis, making the results of such reports difficult, if not impossible, to adequately interpret. This article applies basic and commonly accepted time value of money principles to an EIS report. Although an economic analysis was provided as part of the report, the time value of money was ignored. In order to present a viable economic impact, these basic financial tenants must be employed. The authors used basic time value of money principles with reasonable discount rates. The result is that impacts could be as much as six times greater than the values given by the Forest Service, representing upwards of one hundred and fifty million dollars

Artificial Project Time Horizons In The Absence Of Discounting: The Case Of Canyon Forest Village

In the summer of 1997, the Kaibab National Forest released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Tusayan Growth. This report analyzed various scenarios involving the transfer of National Forest land at the boundary of the Grand Canyon National Park to a private developer, in exchange for private inholdings scattered throughout the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. The resulting private development was to be called Canyon Forest Village, and would include hotels, visitor facilities, private housing, community facilities and a transportation center for tourists accessing the Grand Canyon. The proposed build out of Canyon Forest Village (CFV) was to take place from 1999 to 2010. Consequently, the Forest Service analysis used that time frame as the basis for calculating the economic impacts CFV would be expected to have on local economies in the northern Arizona region. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concluded that overall growth in demand for lodging in northern Arizona would be robust over those years, and that CFV would have no net negative impacts. The results of the Draft EIS were sharply contested during the public comment phase, and, in the summer of 1998, a Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Tusayan Growth was issued. This document used a different modeling procedure and changed its primary focus to two, smaller, CFV proposals, involving only 900 and 1,270 hotel rooms. The Supplement did conclude that there would be some negative impacts to the communities surrounding Grand Canyon. The results of the Supplemental Draft EIS were also contested during the public comment phase following its release, although a year later, in the summer of 1999, the Forest Service issued a Final EIS and adopted the CFV proposal for 1,270 rooms. One peculiarity of the Forest Service reports, throughout this process, was the failure to identify an explicit discount rate of interest in order to identify costs and benefits in terms of their present value. While EIS documentation has been required for many years, the obvious focus is on purely environmental concerns and the analyses tend to be based on scientific findings. The inclusion of a socioeconomic analysis necessitates a careful accounting of benefits and costs. While this EIS is not the first to include an explicit accounting of economic benefits and costs, it may serve as a harbinger of more reporting of this type. Unless those with an appreciation of the discounting process, especially economists and accountants, are included in these analyses, present values may be employed only on an erratic basis, making the results of such reports difficult, if not impossible, to adequately interpret. This article applies basic and commonly accepted time value of money principles to an EIS report. Although an economic analysis was provided as part of the report, the time value of money was ignored. In order to present a viable economic impact, these basic financial tenants must be employed. The authors used basic time value of money principles with reasonable discount rates. The result is that impacts could be as much as six times greater than the values given by the Forest Service, representing upwards of one hundred and fifty million dollars

Efficacy of Cognitive Training Intervention with a Coaching Component on Attention and Response Control in Emerging Adults

Cognitive training, a nonpharmacological intervention for attention and learning-related difficulties, is a promising treatment option for emerging adults. The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of a cognitive training program with a coaching component on measures of attention and response control in university students. Between 2014 and 2017, 39 students with reported attention concerns engaged in a cognitive training program over ten weeks (20 sessions) at a university counseling center. Differences in participants’ attention and response control as measured by the IVA-2 Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were evaluated before and after the intervention. Demographic data, including clinician experience and school classification (e.g., freshman and sophomore), were also used to predict scores on the criterion measure. Findings showed that participants significantly improved on sustained attention, response control, and a combined measure of attention and response control after completing the program. Further, results from a regression analysis revealed that clinician experience and school classification did not significantly predict attention and response control outcomes. This dissertation study supports a growing body of research surrounding the efficacy of cognitive training, particularly those programs that incorporate a coaching element, in emerging adult populations

Developing High Performance Computing Resources for Teaching Cluster and Grid Computing courses

High-Performance Computing (HPC) and the ability to process large amounts of data are of paramount importance for UK business and economy as outlined by Rt Hon David Willetts MP at the HPC and Big Data conference in February 2014. However there is a shortage of skills and available training in HPC to prepare and expand the workforce for the HPC and Big Data research and development. Currently, HPC skills are acquired mainly by students and staff taking part in HPC-related research projects, MSc courses, and at the dedicated training centres such as Edinburgh University’s EPCC. There are few UK universities teaching the HPC, Clusters and Grid Computing courses at the undergraduate level. To address the issue of skills shortages in the HPC it is essential to provide teaching and training as part of both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. The design and development of such courses is challenging since the technologies and software in the fields of large scale distributed systems such as Cluster, Cloud and Grid computing are undergoing continuous change. The students completing the HPC courses should be proficient in these evolving technologies and equipped with practical and theoretical skills for future jobs in this fast developing area. In this paper we present our experience in developing the HPC, Cluster and Grid modules including a review of existing HPC courses offered at the UK universities. The topics covered in the modules are described, as well as the coursework projects based on practical laboratory work. We conclude with an evaluation based on our experience over the last ten years in developing and delivering the HPC modules on the undergraduate courses, with suggestions for future work

Market and Economic Modelling of the Intelligent Grid: End of Year Report 2009

The overall goal of Project 2 has been to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of distributed energy (DG) on the Australian Electricity System. The research team at the UQ Energy Economics and Management Group (EEMG) has constructed a variety of sophisticated models to analyse the various impacts of significant increases in DG. These models stress that the spatial configuration of the grid really matters - this has tended to be neglected in economic discussions of the costs of DG relative to conventional, centralized power generation. The modelling also makes it clear that efficient storage systems will often be critical in solving transient stability problems on the grid as we move to the greater provision of renewable DG. We show that DG can help to defer of transmission investments in certain conditions. The existing grid structure was constructed with different priorities in mind and we show that its replacement can come at a prohibitive cost unless the capability of the local grid to accommodate DG is assessed very carefully.Distributed Generation. Energy Economics, Electricity Markets, Renewable Energy

The Colorado River Experience: Assessing The Value Of Motorized Rafting

Although free markets provide superior solutions to resource allocation, the National Park Service controls access, use, and mode of travel on the Colorado River through the canyon. There is an aggregate number of “user days” allowed for the river. There is a split between motorized and non-motorized travel, and daily limits on the types of trips that can be launched from Lees Ferry, the starting point for Grand Canyon river trips. This paper explores a rather straightforward economic question – How much would it take to entice existing motorized providers to switch to oar powered rafts? Available data allows the development of different scenarios to determine the cost of enticing motorized providers to switch to nonmotorized guided trips. However, there is also intrinsic some providers possess which may make change a purely economic decision to one with other values

Market and Economic Modelling of the Intelligent Grid: Interim Report 2011

The overall goal of Project 2 has been to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of distributed energy (DG) on the Australian Electricity System. The research team at the UQ Energy Economics and Management Group (EEMG) has constructed a variety of sophisticated models to analyse the various impacts of significant increases in DG. These models stress that the spatial configuration of the grid really matters - this has tended to be neglected in economic discussions of the costs of DG relative to conventional, centralized power generation. The modelling also makes it clear that efficient storage systems will often be critical in solving transient stability problems on the grid as we move to the greater provision of renewable DG. We show that DG can help to defer of transmission investments in certain conditions. The existing grid structure was constructed with different priorities in mind and we show that its replacement can come at a prohibitive cost unless the capability of the local grid to accommodate DG is assessed very carefully.Distributed Generation. Energy Economics, Electricity Markets, Renewable Energy