Developing equations for estimating reference evapotranspiration in Australia

Quantifying reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is essential in water resources management. Although, many methods have been developed with different level of accuracy, in this study, two new equations were developed and optimized for estimating ET0 using Honey-Bee Mating Optimization (HBMO) algorithm. The firs eq. estimates ET0 from extraterrestrial radiation (Ra), relative humidity (RH) and mean daily temperature (Tmean), while the second uses the same parameters except that mean daily temperatures is replaced with maximum daily air temperature (Tmax). Both equations were developed using climatic data from eight weather stations in Western Australia and subsequently verified using data from ten sites across Australia. The estimated ET0 values from both equations versus the FAO56-Penman-Monteith have a coefficient of determination, R2, of larger than 0.96. Moreover, the performance of six commonly used methods of estimating ET0 including Hargreaves-Samani, Thornthwaith, Hamon, McGuinness-Bordne, Irmak and Jensen-Haise were assessed and the Hargreaves-Samani method performed better than others. An attempt was made to calibrate the Hargreaves-Samani equation; however, its overall performance did not improve and the two newly proposed equations are suggested to be used in Australi

The Copyrightability of Legal Briefs

The purpose of this paper is to explore the copyrightability of legal briefs. This paper examines whether briefs are original enough to receive copyright protection, and who the author of such a work would be. Assuming copyright protection were granted, it then analyzes the arguments for fair use and a possible exception for public policy reasons. Finally, this paper considers the implications of copyrighted legal briefs for law libraries and possible solutions

The Politics of Federalism: Self-Interest or Safeguards? Evidence from Congressional Control of State Taxation

We present for the first time in the literature a quantitative analysis of the efficacy of the political safeguards of federalism. We also test the popular theory that congressional control of state authority to tax maximizes national welfare. Both analyses rely on a hand-collected data set of every federal statute to date affecting state power to tax. Overall, our data suggest that federal decisions to curtail state autonomy are strongly influenced by congressional self-interest. Conditional on enactment, statutes affecting state taxing power are more likely to reduce state authority when a concentrated special interest group stands to benefit, and also when the reduction would reduce competition between states and Congress. While this outcome certainly does not resolve the debate over judicial enforcement of federalism, it should significantly advance that debate. At a minimum, we show that state power to influence Congress is not absolute, and state influence in fact fails under conditions similar to those in which critics of the safeguards theory have predicted that state influence would fail. Additionally, we argue that our results cast significant doubt on recent calls to give control of state taxing authority solely to Congress

Beyond the wall of contract text - Visualizing contracts to foster understanding and collaboration within and across organizations

In an increasingly networked world, contracts are the glue of business. Contracts are not only legal safeguarding instruments to limit parties' opportunism, as argued by transaction cost economics (TCE). They can be managerial tools to create shared understanding and cooperation among the cross-professional stakeholders who plan, negotiate, and implement contracts – within and across organizations. However, contract documents often do not work well for this purpose: they are long, complex, and hard to understand. As a result, costly misunderstandings arise, since contracts are not optimized for their everyday users: business and technical audiences. The proactive law approach stresses the importance of clear cross-professional communication through contracts to prevent legal problems and seek win-win opportunities. A practical manifestation of this principle is contract visualization – the use of diagrams, images, and visually structured layouts to make contracts more searchable, readable, and understandable. The aim of this study is to provide empirical understanding of the emerging concept and practice of contract visualization – by rigorously testing the propositions about its benefits, by exploring it as a practice unfolding in real life, and by identifying viable approaches for managers and legal counsel to engage with visualization. I chose a mixed methods approach to explore this emerging topic. The quantitative component of the research comprises three experiments, which show that visualized contracts support superior comprehension performance (speed, accuracy) and user preference, compared to informationally equivalent textual contracts. The qualitative component of the research – a single case study – explores how and why an operation and maintenance service sales team decided to employ visualization in their contracts: visualization was sought as a solution to cross-professional, inter-organizational and temporal knowledge gaps, as it allows information to be clarified and positively frames the emerging business relationship. Two conceptual studies exploring visualization approaches (design pattern libraries and automation) complement the empirical studies. The research contributes to the scarce and insufficiently rigorous empirical literature on contract visualization, and to the literature on the psychological effects of contracts and microdynamics of contracting. Theoretically, it suggests a theoretical shift from a TCE-view of contracts to a knowledge-based view of contracts, where the knowledge created and shared through contract documents is a source of competitive advantage. Moreover, it extends the application of cognitive load theory beyond the educational psychology field. The research also has practical implications for global business: visualization was found to especially improve contract comprehension among non-native speakers of English

Contracts as Interfaces

The world of contracts is undergoing fundamental changes. This is partly due to technology: there can be tremendous benefits from self-enforcing, machine-readable contracts. But these technologies are not used everywhere. Many contracts continue to be performed by people. In the context of commercial deals and relationships,1 a vast number of contracts still need to be planned, understood, approved, implemented, and monitored by people.2 Initiatives across the world seek to innovate contracting processes and documents and develop more effective, engaging ways for people to work with them. This chapter focuses on these initiatives and the need to make contracts truly human-readable.© Cambridge University Press 2021. This material has been published in Legal Informatics edited by Katz, D. M., Dolin, R. & Bommarito, M. J. (Editors), https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316529683. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

COTAS SEM DIREITO DE VOTO NA SOCIEDADE LIMITADA: PANORAMA BRASILEIRO E NORTE-AMERICANO

The limited liability company is the most common society type on Brazil and it is gaining force on the United States. The possibility of vote restriction is a controversal theme within it. The goal of the present article is to analyze the admissibility of the preferential corporate participation, on a comparative analysis between the law systems of Brazil and USA. The method used consists on building a bibliographical reference base of both systems. It is argued that, in Brazil, the CC/02, art.1.055, caput, discuss about the theme on a simple and generic way, however, on the previewed quoruns, it doesn't allow the use of preferential quotas with no rights to vote. Not only that, the DNRC manifested for the inviability of the preferential quotas for the limited liability company. The doctrine, on the other side, splits itself in regards to this. The conclusion is that there is a problem on the business register departments of the country. On the other hand, the prohibition is justifiable and permissible. On the USA, the existance of preferential quotas is a purely contractual matter.A sociedade limitada é o tipo societário mais comum no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos vem ganhando espaço. Nela a possibilidade de restrição do direito de voto é tema controverso.  O objetivo do presente artigo é analisar a admissibilidade das participações societárias preferenciais, numa análise comparativa entre os sistemas jurídicos brasileiro e norte-americano. A metodologia utilizada consiste no levantamento da base bibliográfica nos dois sistemas jurídicos. Discute-se que, no Brasil, o CC/02, art.1.055, caput, dispõe sobre o tema de forma simples e genérica, contudo, nos quoruns previstos, não permite cotas preferenciais sem direito de voto. Além disso, o DNRC (Departamento Nacional de Registro do Comércio) manifestou-se pelo não cabimento para sociedade limitada da figura da quota preferencial. A doutrina, por sua vez, divide-se a este respeito. Conclui-se que há um equívoco dos órgãos de registro empresarial do país, por outro lado, a proibição é justificável e admissível. Já nos EUA, a existência de cotas preferenciais é um assunto puramente contratual

Estimating farmers’ willingness to pay for weather index-based crop insurance uptake in West Africa: Insight from a pilot initiative in Southwestern Burkina Faso

© 2018, The Author(s). Weather index-based crop insurance is increasingly becoming important as a risk mitigation strategy that farmers may use to mitigate adverse climate shocks and natural disasters encountered during farming. While Europe, North America, and Asia account for 20.1%, 55%, and 19.5% of the total agricultural insurance premium worldwide, respectively, Africa accounts for only 0.5% of the world insurance industry. One of the key reasons advanced against the low index insurance participation rate in Africa is the failure to involve farm households at the initial conceptualization and design of pilot initiatives. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to design an improved participatory methodology that could help elicit information on the value placed by farm households in Southwestern Burkina Faso on a new weather index-based crop insurance management initiative. A key concept in the improved participatory methodology is that of the willingness to pay (WTP) of farm households for the scheme. Knowledge of the maximum amount that farmers are willing to pay for the scheme can help insurance policy providers and public policy makers to design and put in place measures that sustain index insurance schemes in a developing country context and improve welfare among participating farmers

Modeling water availability for smallholder farming in inland valleys under climate and land use / land cover change in Dano, Burkina Faso

Effective water management in inland valley catchments is crucial for adaptation to the adverse impact of climate change and land use and land cover change (LULCC) on smallholder farming systems, poverty reduction, attaining food security, and ecosystem preservations in the West African region. An intensive hydrological instrumentation of four sparse data catchments (Bankandi-Loffing, Mebar, Moutori, and Fafo in Dano, Burkina Faso) has been undertaken in order to better understand hydrological processes which control water availability, to calibrate and validate the physically-based and spatially distributed water balance simulation model WaSiM, to assess the impact of climate and land use and land cover change on water resources, and subsequently to derive strategies for improving the capacity of smallholder farmers to cope with water scarcity and climate variabilities. The instrumentation of the catchment helped to achieve three years (2014-2016) of high temporal and spatial resolution data. The temporal resolutions of meteorological and stream flow data were 5 min to 10 min, six hours to a week for piezometric data, and 30 min to a week for soil moisture data. Five rain recorders, seven stream gauges, 64 piezometers in shallow groundwater (2). Additionally, the groundwater tables of three relatively deep wells (6 m, 16 m, and 25 m deep) were monitored. The analyses of hydrographs and the flow duration curves (FDC) using observed discharge show less discharge in the headwater sub-catchments compared to the downstream sub-catchments. This is due to the low contribution of base flow in the headwater sub-catchments. The decomposition of total runoff using observed hydrographs and stream electric conductivity suggests that interflow is the major contributor to total discharge. The calibration and validation of the Bankandi-Loffing catchment achieved a good model performance using the coefficient of determination (R2), the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), the Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE), and the percent bias (Pbias). The R2 ranges from 0.47 to 0.95, NSE from 0.40 to 0.95, and KGE from 0.57 to 0.84 between the observed and simulated discharge. The numerical performance for soil moisture modeling is 0.70 for both R2 and NSE, and 0.80 for KGE while for the groundwater table modeling the results are 0.30, 0.20, and 0.5 for R2, NSE, and KGE, respectively. The fact that the transfer of the parameter set from Bankandi-Loffing to Mebar catchment without recalibration resulted in a good model performance (R2: 0.93, NSE: 0.92, and KGE: 0.84 in 2014-2015; R2: 0.65, NSE: 0.64, and KGE: 0.59) suggests the strong robustness of WaSiM in the investigated area. The resulting water balance shows that evapotranspiration is quantitatively the most important hydrological process, physical evaporation dominates the evapotranspiration, and 14% of rainfall runs out of the catchment as discharge. Interflow dominates runoff at the headwater sub-catchments whereas base flow is the major runoff component in the downstream area where the inland valley bottoms are located. The conversion of savanna to cropland leads to an increase of surface runoff. This is potentially associated with an exacerbation of soil erosion and soil fertility loss. Therefore, supplementing the current erosion technique (stone-belt) with agroforestry and/or mulching will reduce the negative effects of land cover change. Two scenarios were considered during the impact assessment. The first scenario evaluated exclusively the climate change impact by utilizing five regional climate models (RCMs) using land use and land cover (LULC) of the year 2013 for both the reference period (1971-2000) and the projection period (2021-2050). Each RCM is composed of the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. The results indicate large uncertainty in the discharge projection for the future. Three RCMs predict an increase of total runoff for the projection period compared to the reference period. The mean total runoff increase is +61% (standard deviation Std= 31%) compared to the reference period. However, two RCMs project a decrease of total runoff. The mean total runoff decrease is -34% (Std= 10%) compared to the reference period. The second scenario utilizes the five RCMs and LULC 2013 for the reference period and LULC 2030 for the projection period in order to assess the combined impact of climate change and LULCC. The results suggest that LULCC exacerbates the increase of total runoff in combination with the three RCMs with a mean increase in total runoff by +108% (Std= 38%) compared to the reference period (versus mean= +61% in the first scenario). However, for the two RCMs predicting a decrease of total runoff, LULCC reduces the decrease of total runoff. The mean decrease is -20% (Std= 10%) compared to the reference period (versus mean= -34% in the first scenario). The results of this study can be used as input to water management models in order to derive strategies to cope with present and future water scarcities for smallholder farming in the investigated area.Modélisation de la disponibilité de l'eau pour les petites exploitations agricoles des bas-fonds sous l’influence du changement climatique, d’utilisation des sols / couverture végétale à Dano, Burkina Faso La gestion efficiente des ressources en eau dans les bassins versants des bas-fonds est indispensable non seulement pour l’adaptation aux impacts néfastes du changement climatique, utilisation sols / couverture végétale sur les petites exploitations agricoles, mais aussi pour réduire la pauvreté, l’insécurité alimentaire et préserver les écosystèmes en Afrique de l’Ouest. Une instrumentation hydrologique intensive de quatre (04) bassins versants pourvus de très peu de données (Bankandi-Loffing, Mebar, Moutori et Fafo situés à Dano, Burkina Faso) a été entreprise afin de mieux comprendre les processus hydrologiques qui contrôlent la disponibilité en ressources hydrologiques. Le modèle WaSiM (modèle à base physique distribué) a été utilisé, pour évaluer les impacts du changement climatique, d’utilisation des sols et de couverture végétale sur les ressources en eau. Cette étude pourra aider à développer des stratégies d’amélioration de la capacité des petits exploitants agricoles à surmonter les problèmes de manque d’eau et de variabilités climatiques. L'équipement hydrologique des bassins versants a permis d'obtenir durant trois (03) années (2014-2016) de données de hautes précisions temporelles et spatiales. Les précisions temporelles des données météorologiques et des données de débit des cours d'eau étaient de 5 à 10 minutes. Ces précisions étaient de 6 heures à une semaine pour les données piézométriques et de 30 minutes et une semaine pour les données sur l'humidité du sol. Cinq (05) pluviomètres, sept (07) station limnimétriques, soixante-quatre (64) piézomètres captant la nappe phréatique (< 5 m de profondeur), soixante-quatre (64) points de mesures de l'humidité du sol à trois profondeurs (5 cm, 30 cm et 50 cm) ont été installés et rendus opérationnels sur les quatre bassins versants (leur superficie total est d’environ 65 km2;). De plus, le niveau de la nappe phréatique a été régulièrement mesuré dans trois puits relativement profonds (6 m, 16 m et 25 m de profondeurs respectivement). Les analyses des hydrogrammes et des courbes de débits classés à partir des débits observés révèlent des débits plus faibles dans les sous-bassins en amont par rapport aux sous-bassins en aval. Cela s’explique en partie par la faible contribution des écoulements de base dans les sous-bassins en amont. La décomposition de l’écoulement à l'aide des hydrogrammes de débits observés et de la conductivité électrique des cours d'eau suggère que l'écoulement hypodermique est le principal contributeur des écoulements. La calibration et la validation de WaSiM pour le bassin versant de Bankandi-Loffing ont permis d'obtenir une bonne performance du modèle en utilisant le coefficient de détermination (R2), l'efficacité de Nash-Sutcliffe (NSE), l'efficacité de Kling-Gupta (KGE), et le pourcentage de biais (Pbias). R2 varie de 0,47 à 0,95, NSE de 0,40 à 0,95 et KGE de 0,57 à 0,84 entre les débits observés et les débits simulés. La performance numérique pour la modélisation de l'humidité du sol est de 0,70 pour les deux paramètres de performance R2 et NSE, et de 0,80 pour KGE. Concernant la modélisation du niveau de la nappe phréatique, les résultats sont de 0,30, 0,20 et 0,5 pour R2, NSE et KGE, respectivement. Le fait que le transfert du jeu de paramètres de Bankandi-Loffing au bassin versant de Mebar sans recalibration ait donné lieu à une bonne performance du modèle (R2: 0,93, NSE: 0,92, et KGE: 0,84 en 2014-2015 ; R2: 0,65, NSE: 0,64, et KGE: 0,59 en 2016) dénote une forte robustesse du modèle WaSiM pour la zone d’étude. Le bilan hydrique qui résulte de la modélisation montre que l'évapotranspiration est le processus hydrique le plus important quantitativement. L'évaporation physique est plus importante que la transpiration et 14% des précipitations s'écoulent du bassin versant sous forme d'écoulement de surface. Le ruissellement de surface domine les écoulements dans les sous-bassins en amont, tandis que l'écoulement de base est la principale composante des écoulements dans les sous-bassins en aval où se situent les bas-fonds. La conversion des savanes en terres cultivées entraîne une augmentation du ruissellement de surface. Ceci est potentiellement associé à une exacerbation de l'érosion et à la perte de fertilité des sols. Par conséquent, il serait envisageable de compléter les techniques anti-érosives actuelles (ceinture de pierres) par de l'agroforesterie et/ou du paillage. Deux scénarii ont été considérés lors de l’étude d'impact. Le premier scénario a évalué uniquement l'impact du changement climatique en se servant de cinq (05) modèles climatiques régionaux (RCMs) et de la carte d’utilisation des sols / couverture végétale de l'année 2013 (LULC 2013) pour la période de référence (1971-2000) et pour les projections futures (2021-2050). Chaque RCM est composé de profils représentatifs d’évolution des concentrations (RCPs) 4.5 et 8.5.  Les résultats indiquent une grande incertitude des projections de débits d’écoulement pour l'avenir. Trois RCMs prévoient une augmentation moyenne annuelle de débits de +61% (écart-type Std = 31%) par rapport à la période de référence. En revanche deux RCMs prévoient une diminution des débits de -34% (Std = 10%) en moyenne par rapport à la période de référence. Le deuxième scénario a utilisé les cinq RCMs et le LULC 2013 pour la période de référence et le LULC 2030 pour le futur afin d'évaluer l'impact combiné du changement climatique et de le LULCC. Les résultats suggèrent que le LULCC accentue l'augmentation des débits quand il est combiné avec les trois modèles prévoyant l’augmentation des débits. L'augmentation moyenne des débits est de +108% (Std = 38%) par rapport à la période de référence (contre +61% en moyenne dans le premier scénario). Cependant, pour les deux RCMs qui prévoient une diminution des débits, le LULCC attenue le changement de débit. La diminution moyenne de débit est de -20% (Std = 10%) par rapport à la période de référence (contre –34% en moyenne dans le premier scénario). Les résultats de cette étude pourront servir de données d’entrée aux modèles de gestion des ressources en eau afin d’élaborer des stratégies pour faire face aux pénuries d’eau actuelles et futures pour les petites exploitations agricoles dans la zone d’étude

Climate change in north-sudanian and sub-sahelian zones of Burkina Faso: Comparison between producers’ knowledge and scientific knowledge

La concordance entre les savoirs paysans sur les changements climatiques et les informations scientifiques peut contribuer à élaborer des stratégies d’adaptation durables. Une enquête, menée en zones agro climatiques nord-soudanienne et sub-sahélienne du Burkina Faso, a permis de relever 16 indicateurs locaux, et de mesurer leur cohérence par comparaison aux résultats d’analyse de 23 variables climatiques correspondantes. Les données d’enquête ont été soumises aux analyses fréquentielle et de variance, pour évaluer les différences de perception entre les zones agro climatiques. Les variables climatiques ont été soumises (i) à une analyse de variance, (ii) aux tests de Pettitt et de Hubert, (iii) à la méthode de Ati et al. et de Maikano, (iv) à l’indice de Nicholson pour déterminer les changements observés entre 1951-1980 et 1981-2010, et sur la période de référence 1951-2010. Il y a concordance entre savoirs scientifique et traditionnel lorsqu’ils ne donnent pas des informations contradictoires. Quatorze indicateurs de pluviométrie, quatre indicateurs de température et quatre indicateurs du vent ont été cités par les enquêtés. Le nombre des enquêtés ayant perçu les indicateurs locaux variait de 10 à 90% des interviewés et 22,7% des indicateurs ont montré des différences significatives (p < 0,05) de perception entre les zones agro climatiques. Entre 1951-1980 et 1981-2010, 18 des 23 variables climatiques analysées ont montré des changements significatifs (p < 0,05) en zone nord-soudanienne contre 10 en zone sub-sahélienne. Sur la période de référence, les variables climatiques ont indiqué 26 dates de ruptures en zone nord-soudanienne contre 21 en zone sub-sahélienne. Les saisons de pluies se sont rétrécies dans les deux zones. La fréquence des pluies de contresaison et la durée des poches de sécheresse en pleine saison pluvieuse n’ont pas montré de modification notable. L’évolution des indices de Nicholson conforte la dynamique des modifications trentenaires et des ruptures climatiques. Dans les deux zones agro climatiques, 56% des indicateurs locaux concordaient avec les tendances climatiques. L’intégration des deux types de connaissances par l’institutionnalisation de cadres de concertations et d’échanges réellement inclusifs et fonctionnels garantira la complémentarité entre les deux types de savoirs. Cette complémentarité permettra de faire des diagnostics climatiques inclusifs et partant d’élaborer des actions d’adaptation appropriées, consensuelles, durablesCoherence between farmers’ knowledge about climate change and its relevance to climate trends could allow drawing up sustainable adaptation strategies. Survey carried out in north-sudanian and sub-sahelian parts of Burkina Faso allowed to collect 16 indigenous indicators of climate change and to assess their reliability in comparison to the results of analysis of 23 appropriate climate variables. Survey data collected were submitted to frequency and variance analyses to assess farmers’ perception differences between climatic zones. Climatic data were submitted to: (i) analysis of variance, (ii) tests of Pettitt and Hubert, (iii) tests of Ati et al. and Maikano, (iv) Nicholson index to determine changes noticed between periods of time 1951-1980 and 1981-2010, and during the reference period 1951-2010. We considered that indigenous knowledge and scientific one are in accordance when they do not provide contrasting information. Fourteen indicators of rainfall, four indicators of temperature and four indicators of wind speed were enumerated by producers. Local indicators perception rates (number of persons who perceived the indicators from the whole interviewees) ranged between 10 and 90 % and 22.7 % of the indicators showed significant difference (p < 0.05) of perception in both climatic zones. Eighteen (from the 23) climatic variables showed significant change (p < 0,05) in north-sudanian area versus 10 in sub-sahelian zone between periods of time 1951-1980 and 1981-2010. During the reference period of time, the 23 climatic variables showed 26 dates of rupture in north-sudanian area versus 21 in sub-sahelian zone. Rainy seasons shortened in both climatic zones. Dry season rainfall frequency and full rainy season dry spell frequency did not show major change. The application of Nicholson index showed a great interannual fluctuation of the parameters, strengthening this way the evolution of changes and ruptures detected in the series. In both climatic zones, 56 % of local indicators were in accordance with climate trends. Integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge by introducing consulting and discussing framework really participatory and functional could ensure their complementarity and then allow drawing up appropriate, consensual and sustainable adaptation actions to climate chang