Interview of Don Hindsley

Wright interviews Hindsley on his experiences in the mission field in France. The interview was conducted in Searcy, AR

Gulf Views: Toward a Better Understanding of Viewshed Scope in Hedonic Property Models

This study examines the influence of Gulf of Mexico views on residential home sales prices in Pinellas County, Florida. We utilize Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) data to construct four continuous measures of Gulf of Mexico views – the total view, the maximum view segment, the mean view segment, and proximity to view content. Our results illustrate that residential property owners have a higher marginal willingness-to-pay for larger total views and larger continuous view segments. Results also indicate that the proximity of homes to the view content influences view valuations. Key Words:

Dynamical phasing of Type II Cepheids

In this paper we examine the problems of phasing using light curves and offer an alternate technique using the changes in acceleration to establish the zero point. We give astrophysical justification as to why this technique is useful and apply the technique to a selection of Type II Cepheids. We then examine some limitations of the technique which qualify its use.Comment: 6 pages, including 4 figures, accepted in MNRA

Going Home: Evacuation-Migration Decisions of Hurricane Katrina Survivors

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many evacuees from the Gulf region began the difficult process of deciding whether to rebuild or restart elsewhere. We examine pre-Katrina Gulf residents’ decision to return to the post-disaster Gulf region—which we call the “return migration” decision. We estimate two separate return migration models, first utilizing data from a mail survey of individuals in the affected region and then focusing on self-administered questionnaires of evacuees in Houston. Our results indicate that return migration can be affected by household income; age; education level; employment, marital and home ownership status; but the results depend upon the population under consideration. We find no impact of “connection to place” on the return migration decision. While the impact of income is relatively small, we find that the real wage differential between home and host region influences the likelihood of return. Larger implicit costs, in terms of foregone wages for returning, induce a lower likelihood of return. Exploiting this difference at the individual level, we are able to produce estimates of willingness to pay to return home. Average WTP to return home for a sample of relatively poor households is estimated at $1.94 per hour or$3,954 per year.

Artificial Reef Attributes and The Relationship With Natural Reefs: Evidence From The Florida Keys

Natural or coral reefs represent extremely valuable ecosystems supporting an estimated 25 percent of all marine life, yet recent reports suggest that 75 percent of the world’s natural reefs are under threat from both natural and human stressors. In areas such as the Florida Keys that boasts an expansive mix of natural and artificial reefs, recreational diving on the system provides an important economic contribution to the local community but also potentially contributes to the stress of the existing natural reef system. We develop a revealed and stated preference modeling framework of diver behavior and find that deployment of an additional large ship reef increases overall diving activity but does not impact diving behavior on the natural reef system