Does Uncertainty Affect the Divergence between WTP and WTA Measures?

Many empirical studies have demonstrated large discrepancies between willingness to accept (WTA) and willingness to pay (WTP) measures. This paper examines the extent to which uncertainty about the environmental quality improvement can lead to a divergence between WTP and WTA measures. Indirect utility function parameters and uncertainty about the environmental quality change affect the extent to which WTP and WTA measures can differ. These results have implications for design and implementation of contingent valuation surveys.commitment cost

INCORPORATING RISK PREFERENCES INTO REAL OPTIONS MODELS

This paper develops a framework to link the expected utility analysis to real options models in order to capture the joint effects of risk aversion and irreversibility associated with real investments. It aims at modifying the theory of investment under uncertainty by incorporating decision makers' risk preferences and allows explicitly analyzing the impacts of risk aversion, uncertainty and irreversibility on decisions such as investment and resource allocations. It addresses the shortcomings of the commonly used expected utility and investment under uncertainty models be generalizing the theory of irreversible investment under uncertainty by allowing for risk-averse investors. We found that uncertainty, irreversibility and risk aversion are important determinants of the optimal timing of irreversible decisions. Ignoring risk preferences in real options models would lead to over or underestimation of magnitude of investments.expected utility, investment under uncertainty, irreversibility, real options, risk aversion, Risk and Uncertainty, D81, G1,

Integrating Farmer Decision-Making to Target Land Retirement Programs

This paper develops a model to examine the impacts of uncertainty about crop production and irreversibility of program participation on determining land rental payments and least-cost land retirement targeting in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Results show that under risk aversion only, the marginal cost of abatement and the average land rental payment are less than those under risk neutrality. However, under uncertainty and irreversibility, the marginal cost and the average land rental payment are considerably higher than those under risk neutrality or risk aversion only. It is important to incorporate uncertainty and irreversibility into the design of land rental payments and in determining participation constraints.Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

Computational role of eccentricity dependent cortical magnification

We develop a sampling extension of M-theory focused on invariance to scale and translation. Quite surprisingly, the theory predicts an architecture of early vision with increasing receptive field sizes and a high resolution fovea -- in agreement with data about the cortical magnification factor, V1 and the retina. From the slope of the inverse of the magnification factor, M-theory predicts a cortical "fovea" in V1 in the order of $40$ by $40$ basic units at each receptive field size -- corresponding to a foveola of size around $26$ minutes of arc at the highest resolution, $\approx 6$ degrees at the lowest resolution. It also predicts uniform scale invariance over a fixed range of scales independently of eccentricity, while translation invariance should depend linearly on spatial frequency. Bouma's law of crowding follows in the theory as an effect of cortical area-by-cortical area pooling; the Bouma constant is the value expected if the signature responsible for recognition in the crowding experiments originates in V2. From a broader perspective, the emerging picture suggests that visual recognition under natural conditions takes place by composing information from a set of fixations, with each fixation providing recognition from a space-scale image fragment -- that is an image patch represented at a set of increasing sizes and decreasing resolutions

Satisfied Workers, Retained Workers: Effects of Work and Work Environment on Homecare Workers' Job Satisfaction, Stress, Physical Health, and Retention

The goal of this project was to assist health system managers and policy makers develop policies and strategies to recruit and retain human resources in the homecare sector and have a satisfied, healthy workforce. The overall research question was: How do the work characteristics of homecare workers and the work environment in homecare contribute to job satisfaction, stress, physical health, and retention? The research is designed as a mixed-method approach with both qualitative and quantitative data. Results showed that restructuring and organizational change in the homecare sector has contributed to both mental and physical health problems (including job stress and musculoskeletal disorders), job dissatisfaction, and retention problems. Factors that contribute to higher levels of satisfaction and the propensity to stay with the organization include organizational and peer support, working one-on-one with clients, doing emotional labour (that is, the work involved in dealing with other people’s feelings), and satisfaction with schedules, pay, and benefits. This study also examined the association between job flexibility and job insecurity and self-reported musculoskeletal disorders and found no relationship between these variables and musculoskeletal disorders.home care workers, job satisfaction, retention

The Role of Land Retirement Programs for Management of Water Resources

Land Economics/Use,

Financing of health services and alternative methods: some suggestions

Presenting Health Care should have priority because of importance of health care for individuals and society. Today, with understanding importance of this point different political ideas and economic ideas put a lot of effort to increase the individual’s productivity and average life expectation and improve investments on humanity. Even so, sometimes statistics on health services can be critter of structure of modern countries. (Average life expectation, percentage of baby death etc.) Providing effective and fair health service which is important as such as life itself limited to cost and question of finding the right sources to cover the cost. Slow economic growth, increasing unemployment, fast growing population are the main factors of increased cost of health services and those factors are appears as actual reasons of financial difficulties on agenda. Financial difficulties of health services will affect to quality and amount of services and also will be the main reason to bring out different methods of practice. But despite those differences, to provide quality health services to the individuals requires strong and continual financial sources. Financial difficulties of health services will affect to the services for individuals so therefore will effect to individuals health. So this essay originated from those important points, aims to explore the financial difficulties throughout historical development and at the same time will look for improvement and alternative managements.Health care services, financing and alternative methods

Satisfied Workers, Retained Workers: Effects of Work and Work Environment on Homecare Workers' Job Satisfaction, Stress, Physical Health, and Retention

The goal of this project was to assist health system managers and policy makers develop policies and strategies to recruit and retain human resources in the homecare sector and have a satisfied, healthy workforce. The overall research question was: How do the work characteristics of homecare workers and the work environment in homecare contribute to job satisfaction, stress, physical health, and retention? The research is designed as a mixed-method approach with both qualitative and quantitative data. Results showed that restructuring and organizational change in the homecare sector has contributed to both mental and physical health problems (including job stress and musculoskeletal disorders), job dissatisfaction, and retention problems. Factors that contribute to higher levels of satisfaction and the propensity to stay with the organization include organizational and peer support, working one-on-one with clients, doing emotional labour (that is, the work involved in dealing with other people’s feelings), and satisfaction with schedules, pay, and benefits. This study also examined the association between job flexibility and job insecurity and self-reported musculoskeletal disorders and found no relationship between these variables and musculoskeletal disorders.home care workers, retention, job satisfaction

A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Conservation Reserve Program Participation under Uncertainty

This paper develops theoretical and empirical models to understand how farmers formulate their participation strategies when deciding to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) under uncertainty. A theoretical model is employed to obtain the impacts of various factors on the optimal bidding strategies. A selectivity-based econometric model is then used to estimate the probability of enrollment and determinants of rental payments. The theoretical results indicate that the optimal bid is positively related to the expected farming income and environmental benefit scores, and it is negatively related to the degree of risk aversion and the variability of returns. The econometric model shows that land benefits, land attributes, farmer characteristics, and variability of climate variables impact the enrollment probabilities and rental rates received. These results have important policy implications for the design and implementation of conservation programs.conservation programs, land retirement, risk aversion, uncertainty., Farm Management,

Comparison of gurson and lemaitre model in the context of blanking simulation of a high strength steel

The process of blanking takes place in a short band with high accumulated strain undergoing various stress triaxialities. Enhanced implementations for shear and compressive loads of Gurson’s and Lemaitre’s model are directly compared for the same blanking setup. For a dual phase steel DP600 the Lemaitre parameters are identified completely by an inverse strategy, while the parameters of the Gurson’s porous plasticity model are predominantly gained from analysis with a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The models are validated by comparison of force-displacement curves, time point and location of crack initiation. Advantages and disadvantages of both approaches are discussed with respect to prediction accuracy and costs of parameter identification. Both of the models deliver an exact prediction for the location of the crack and a good prediction of the punch displacement at the onset of cracking