Doing what others do: norms, science, and collective action on global warming

Does rhetoric highlighting social norms or mentioning science in a communication affect individuals’ beliefs about global warming and/or willingness to take action? We draw from framing theory and collective-interest models of action to motivate hypotheses that are tested in two large web-based survey-experiments using convenience samples. Our results show that attitudes about global warming, support for policies that would reduce carbon emissions, and behavioral intentions to take voluntary action are strongly affected by norm- and science-based interventions. This has implications for information campaigns targeting voluntary efforts to promote lifestyle changes that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Quantum-Classical Transition of the Escape Rate of a Uniaxial Spin System in an Arbitrarily Directed Field

The escape rate \Gamma of the large-spin model described by the Hamiltonian H = -DS_z^2 - H_zS_z - H_xS_x is investigated with the help of the mapping onto a particle moving in a double-well potential U(x). The transition-state method yields $\Gamma$ in the moderate-damping case as a Boltzmann average of the quantum transition probabilities. We have shown that the transition from the classical to quantum regimes with lowering temperature is of the first order (d\Gamma/dT discontinuous at the transition temperature T_0) for h_x below the phase boundary line h_x=h_{xc}(h_z), where h_{x,z}\equiv H_{x,z}/(2SD), and of the second order above this line. In the unbiased case (H_z=0) the result is h_{xc}(0)=1/4, i.e., one fourth of the metastability boundary h_{xm}=1, at which the barrier disappears. In the strongly biased limit \delta\equiv 1-h_z << 1, one has h_{xc} \cong (2/3)^{3/4}(\sqrt{3}-\sqrt{2})\delta^{3/2}\cong 0.2345 \delta^{3/2}, which is about one half of the boundary value h_{xm} \cong (2\delta/3)^{3/2} \cong 0.5443 \delta^{3/2}.The latter case is relevant for experiments on small magnetic particles, where the barrier should be lowered to achieve measurable quantum escape rates.Comment: 17 PR pages, 16 figures; published versio

Optimal Design of Intervention Studies to Prevent Influenza in Healthy Cohorts

Background: Influenza cohort studies, in which participants are monitored for infection over an epidemic period, are invaluable in assessing the effectiveness of control measures such as vaccination, antiviral prophylaxis and nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Influenza infections and illnesses can be identified through a number of approaches with different costs and logistical requirements. Methodology and Principal Findings: In the context of a randomized controlled trial of an NPI with a constrained budget, we used a simulation approach to examine which approaches to measuring outcomes could provide greater statistical power to identify an effective intervention against confirmed influenza. We found that for a short epidemic season, the optimal design was to collect respiratory specimens at biweekly intervals, as well as following report of acute respiratory illness (ARI), for virologic testing by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Collection of respiratory specimens only from individuals reporting ARI was also an efficient design particularly for studies in settings with longer periods of influenza activity. Collection of specimens only from individuals reporting a febrile ARI was less efficient. Collection and testing of sera before and after influenza activity appeared to be inferior to collection of respiratory specimens for RT-PCR confirmation of acute infections. The performance of RT-PCR was robust to uncertainty in the costs and diagnostic performance of RT-PCR and serological tests

The limits to libertarian paternalism: two new critiques, and seven best practice imperatives

publication-status: AcceptedCopyright © 2012 PionGill N, Gill M, 2012. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Environment and Planning C, 2012, Vol. 30, Issue 5, pp. 924 - 940Behavioural economists argue that humans are predictably irrational in various ways, as a result of which there appears to be a role for public policy to improve their decision-making. We offer a sympathetic critique of this so-called ‘libertarian paternalist’ approach. As well as reviewing existing critiques, we present two new arguments. First, we question the use of libertarian paternalism in situations where the social good is invoked to justify policies that are not beneficial to the individuals directly affected. Second, we highlight the potentially adverse consequences of poorly targeted libertarian paternalist techniques. The penultimate section then brings together the existing critiques and the new arguments to offer seven best practice imperatives for the reflective application of these powerful, but easily misused, tools of government. We conclude with some brief reflections on what freedom might mean in the context of libertarian paternalist governance

Short-Lived Trace Gases in the Surface Ocean and the Atmosphere

The two-way exchange of trace gases between the ocean and the atmosphere is important for both the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere and the biogeochemistry of the oceans, including the global cycling of elements. Here we review these exchanges and their importance for a range of gases whose lifetimes are generally short compared to the main greenhouse gases and which are, in most cases, more reactive than them. Gases considered include sulphur and related compounds, organohalogens, non-methane hydrocarbons, ozone, ammonia and related compounds, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Finally, we stress the interactivity of the system, the importance of process understanding for modeling, the need for more extensive field measurements and their better seasonal coverage, the importance of inter-calibration exercises and finally the need to show the importance of air-sea exchanges for global cycling and how the field fits into the broader context of Earth System Science

Zuverlaessigkeit von SMT-Weichloetstellen im visuellen Grenzfallbereich. Teilvorhaben: Zuverlaessigkeit der Loetstellen auf Dickschicht-Hybriden Abschlussbericht

Available from TIB Hannover: F97B1521+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Wind potentials for EU and neighbouring contries: Input datasets for the JRC-EU-TIMES Model

Data on the potential generation of electricity from wind is crucial information for analysing the future role of this renewable energy source. In this report, a description is presented of the methodologies used for the derivation of a dataset. The dataset consists of an estimation of (1) wind speeds accounting for high-resolution effects, (2) power production accounting for a wide range of turbine types, (3) suitable areas and (4) associated cost estimates. Wind speed information is systematically derived from 30 years of meteorological data based on the MERRA reanalysis dataset, and from the high resolution geo-spatial data based on the Global Wind Atlas. Within this project, the wind potentials and techno-economic parameters are gathered and processed into input datasets for the JRC-EU-TIMES model. This allows improved modelling of the competition and the complementarity of wind with other technologies, the key functionality of the JRC-EU-TIMES model. Moreover the datasets can also be used for the analysis of policy questions relating to the availability of wind energy