Buying Back the Living Murray: At What Price?

In June 2004 the Council of Australian Governments approved the Intergovernmental Agreement on Addressing Water Overallocation and Achieving Environmental Objectives in the Murray-Darling Basin (‘IGMDB’). The IGMDB set out arrangements for a ‘Living Murray’ that includes a budget of $500 million to return 500 billion litres of water per year to the Murray River by 2009. Unfortunately, two years later and only 11 billion litres have been returned as environmental flows as a result of the initiative. In response, the Australian Government in April 2006 proposed a new scheme to purchase water entitlements from farmers who undertake water-savings measures. We examine this proposal in relation to the general economic principles for the allocation of scarce water. We contend that the latest initiative, although helpful, suffers from two fundamental problems in terms of water pricing. First, the current market price for water entitlements does not include the value of water ‘in situ’, or the benefits it generates separate from its value in consumption. Second, the constraint imposed that water users undertake infrastructure investments when selling their entitlements unnecessarily raises the cost of returning water to the Murray River. We conclude that the latest scheme to achieve the laudable goals of the ‘Living Murray’ is not cost effective and that the ratio of litres of water returned to dollars spent could be much higher if the pricing policies were changed.Living Murray, scarce water, water entitlements, water pricing, pricing policies

Remote systems development

Potential space missions of the nineties and the next century require that we look at the broad category of remote systems as an important means to achieve cost-effective operations, exploration and colonization objectives. This paper addresses such missions, which can use remote systems technology as the basis for identifying required capabilities which must be provided. The relationship of the space-based tasks to similar tasks required for terrestrial applications is discussed. The development status of the required technology is assessed and major issues which must be addressed to meet future requirements are identified. This includes the proper mix of humans and machines, from pure teleoperation to full autonomy; the degree of worksite compatibility for a robotic system; and the required design parameters, such as degrees-of-freedom. Methods for resolution are discussed including analysis, graphical simulation and the use of laboratory test beds. Grumman experience in the application of these techniques to a variety of design issues are presented utilizing the Telerobotics Development Laboratory which includes a 17-DOF robot system, a variety of sensing elements, Deneb/IRIS graphics workstations and control stations. The use of task/worksite mockups, remote system development test beds and graphical analysis are discussed with examples of typical results such as estimates of task times, task feasibility and resulting recommendations for design changes. The relationship of this experience and lessons-learned to future development of remote systems is also discussed

Optical response of high-TcT_c cuprates: possible role of scattering rate saturation and in-plane anisotropy

We present a generalized Drude analysis of the in-plane optical conductivity $\sigma_{ab}$($T$,$\omega$) in cuprates taking into account the effects of in-plane anisotropy. A simple ansatz for the scattering rate $\Gamma$($T$,$\omega$), that includes anisotropy, a quadratic frequency dependence and saturation at the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit, is able to reproduce recent normal state data on an optimally doped cuprate over a wide frequency range. We highlight the potential importance of including anisotropy in the full expression for $\sigma_{ab}$($T$,$\omega$) and challenge previous determinations of $\Gamma$($\omega$) in which anisotropy was neglected and $\Gamma$($\omega$) was indicated to be strictly linear in frequency over a wide frequency range. Possible implications of our findings for understanding thermodynamic properties and self-energy effects in high-$T_c$ cuprates will also be discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. To be published in Physical Review

Sickness certification system in the United Kingdom: qualitative study of views of general practitioners in Scotland

Objectives: To explore how general practitioners operate the sickness certification system, their views on the system, and suggestions for change. Design: Qualitative focus group study consisting of 11 focus groups with 67 participants. Setting: General practitioners in practices in Glasgow, Tayside, and Highland regions, Scotland. Sample: Purposive sample of general practitioners, with further theoretical sampling of key informant general practitioners to examine emerging themes. Results: General practitioners believed that the sickness certification system failed to address complex, chronic, or doubtful cases. They seemed to develop various operational strategies for its implementation. There appeared to be important deliberate misuse of the system by general practitioners, possibly related to conflicts about roles and incongruities in the system. The doctor-patient relationship was perceived to conflict with the current role of general practitioners in sickness certification. When making decisions about certification, the general practitioners considered a wide variety of factors. They experienced contradictory demands from other system stakeholders and felt blamed for failing to make impossible reconciliations. They clearly identified the difficulties of operating the system when there was no continuity of patient care. Many wished either to relinquish their gatekeeper role or to continue only with major changes. Conclusions: Policy makers need to recognise and accommodate the range and complexity of factors that influence the behaviour of general practitioners operating as gatekeepers to the sickness certification system, before making changes. Such changes are otherwise unlikely to result in improvement. Models other than the primary care gatekeeper model should be considered

Trade Association Offering Legal Services - A Possibility for Small Corporations

Small corporations generally belong to a trade association which allows them to increase their proficiency in and knowledge of their industry. As a possible solution to the problem of increasing legal service requirements this paper investigates the suitability of allowing these trade associations to provide legal services to member corporations

On some Hemiptera from North Dakota

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56554/1/OP115.pd

Trade Association Offering Legal Services - A Possibility for Small Corporations

Small corporations generally belong to a trade association which allows them to increase their proficiency in and knowledge of their industry. As a possible solution to the problem of increasing legal service requirements this paper investigates the suitability of allowing these trade associations to provide legal services to member corporations