Defining, Valuing, and Providing Ecosystem Goods and Services

Ecosystem services are the specific results of ecosystem processes that either directly sustain or enhance human life (as does natural protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays) or maintain the quality of ecosystem goods (as water purification maintains the quality of streamflow). "Ecosystem service" has come to represent several related topics ranging from the measurement to the marketing of ecosystem service flows. In this article we examine several of these topics by first clarifying the meaning of "ecosystem service" and then (1) placing ecosystem goods and services within an economic framework, emphasizing the role and limitations of substitutes; (2) summarizing the methods for valuation of ecosystem goods and services; and (3) reviewing the various approaches for their provision and financing.Many ecosystem services and some ecosystem goods are received without monetary payment. The "marketing" of ecosystem goods and services is basically an effort to turn such recipients - those who benefit without ownership- into buyers, thereby providing market signals that serve to help protect valuable goods and services. We review various formal arrangements for making this happen

COMPARISON OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-INDUCED DEMAND SHIFTS USING TIME-SERIES AND CROSS-SECTION DATA

Almost all applications of the Travel-Cost-Method demand function which include site quality variable(s) are multisite models. The results of this study serve as a note of warning that using the demand equation derived from multisite cross-sectional data to perform a benefit-cost analysis of changes in quality at a single site may not accurately predict the resulting change in the number of trips to that site. In this situation, estimates of the benefits of quality improvements may be unreliable.Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Searching for Doubly-Charged Higgs Bosons at Future Colliders

Doubly-charged Higgs bosons ($\Delta^{--}/\Delta^{++}$) appear in several extensions to the Standard Model and can be relatively light. We review the theoretical motivation for these states and present a study of the discovery reach in future runs of the Fermilab Tevatron for pair-produced doubly-charged Higgs bosons decaying to like-sign lepton pairs. We also comment on the discovery potential at other future colliders.Comment: 6 pages, full postscript file also available via anonymous ftp at ftp://ucdhep.ucdavis.edu/gunion/hmm_sm96.ps To appear in ``Proceedings of the 1996 DPF/DPB Summer Study on New Directions for High Energy Physics'

Self-Efficacy Expectancy as a Training Technique In Personal Evangelism

Bandura\u27s self-efficacy theory was applied to a religious variable, namely personal evangelism, in a sample of 31 volunteers from a Christian liberal arts college. The study sought to determine whether a significant relationship exists between the kind of training a person receives in evangelism and the individual\u27s subsequent self-efficacy expectancy, outcome expectancy and intention to perform the behavior. Three treatment emphases were used: a) an intellectual emphasis which provided individuals with arguments, proofs and evidences for the validity of Christianity; 2) an affective emphasis which encouraged individuals to rely on their faith and devotion to God, which would result in His bringing about the desired success of evangelistic efforts; and 3) a self-efficacy emphasis which suggested that God provides individuals with the necessary resources and skills to do evangelism. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and pretest and posttest inventories that assessed evangelism self-efficacy). The importance of addressing the affective, as well as intellectual, needs of the learner has been substantiated in learning theory and research elsewhere. The results of the current research would seem to be important for religious organizations that are concerned with designing programs to teach evangelism skills. Training for evangelism needs to address beliefs of personal effectiveness

No como veneno: strengthening local organic markets in the Peruvian Andes

2010 Spring.Includes bibliographic references (pages 62-67).Covers not scanned.Print version deaccessioned 2022.Economic and social development in Peru can partially be achieved through the promotion of local organic Farmers’ Markets. Local markets provide unique spaces in which producers and consumers interact and foster relationships developing a stable supply of high quality organic produce. However, market opportunities are limited by an underdeveloped consumer base. The goal of this study is to identify the patterns and values among current organic consumers in order to develop further actions that would increase demand for and supply of organic agricultural products. I have found that organizational obstacles, limited organic supply of organic goods, and lack of marketing all contribute to the underdeveloped consumer base which thereby limits market opportunities for small-scale organic farmers. By providing a case study of a Farmer’s Market in Peru, we can understand the values and beliefs present among current organic consumers, identify opportunities for expanding the market, and in turn, organic agricultural production

Computational imaging and automated identification for aqueous environments

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2011Sampling the vast volumes of the ocean requires tools capable of observing from a distance while retaining detail necessary for biology and ecology, ideal for optical methods. Algorithms that work with existing SeaBED AUV imagery are developed, including habitat classi fication with bag-of-words models and multi-stage boosting for rock sh detection. Methods for extracting images of sh from videos of longline operations are demonstrated. A prototype digital holographic imaging device is designed and tested for quantitative in situ microscale imaging. Theory to support the device is developed, including particle noise and the effects of motion. A Wigner-domain model provides optimal settings and optical limits for spherical and planar holographic references. Algorithms to extract the information from real-world digital holograms are created. Focus metrics are discussed, including a novel focus detector using local Zernike moments. Two methods for estimating lateral positions of objects in holograms without reconstruction are presented by extending a summation kernel to spherical references and using a local frequency signature from a Riesz transform. A new metric for quickly estimating object depths without reconstruction is proposed and tested. An example application, quantifying oil droplet size distributions in an underwater plume, demonstrates the efficacy of the prototype and algorithms.Funding was provided by NOAA Grant #5710002014, NOAA NMFS Grant #NA17RJ1223, NSF Grant #OCE-0925284, and NOAA Grant #NA10OAR417008