Disentangling Access and View Amenities in Access-restricted Coastal Residential Communities

In small coastal communities with uniform flood risk, amenity value is comprised of two components – view and access. Having controlled for view, it is assumed that any residual amenity value represents the benefit derived from households from accessing the beach for leisure or recreational purposes. However, as properties closer to the beach typically have improved viewsheds, the two amenities are highly correlated, and disentangling view and access is problematical. We posit that for many coastal communities, access is restricted to designated public access points, precluding local residents from accessing the beach area directly from their property. To appropriately account for restricted access, we incorporate a network distance access measure into a spatial autoregressive hedonic model to capture ease of beach access for local residents. Our findings suggest that, as network distance varies independently from property viewshed, collinearity effects are mitigated, and access and view can be disentangled. Key Words:

Disentangling Access and View Amenities in Access-Restricted Coastal Residential Communities

In coastal communities with uniform flood risk, amenity value is comprised of two components – view and access. Having controlled for view, it is assumed that any residual amenity value represents the benefit derived from accessing the beach for leisure/recreational purposes. However, as properties closer to the beach typically have improved viewsheds, the two amenities are highly correlated, and disentangling view and access is problematical. A spatial autoregressive hedonic model captures ease of beach access via a network distance parameter that varies independently from property viewshed, collinearity effects are mitigated, and access and view can be disentangled.beach access, property viewshed, spatial hedonic model, willingness to pay, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q51, R12, R21, R23,

Estimating a Payment Vehicle for Financing Nourishment of Residential Beaches using a Spatial-lag Hedonic Property Price Model

Beach nourishment projects are common methods for coastal states to protect beaches and property from the natural erosive process. However, while the beneficiaries of beach nourishment tend to be local property owners and recreators, projects are typically funded at the state level. Based on the benefit principle, as local residents receive more of the erosion protection benefits of the nourishment projects, we estimate a value capture tax, designed to levy the financing burden in a manner that approximates the distribution of benefits. The benefits of nourishment projects to coastal property owners are estimated using the results from a spatial-lag hedonic model that controls for viewshed effects. Key Words:

Variation of complex structures and the stability of K\"ahler-Ricci Solitons

We investigate the linear stability of K\"ahler-Ricci solitons for perturbations induced by varying the complex structure within a fixed K\"ahler class. We calculate stability for the known examples of K\"ahler-Ricci solitons.Comment: 13 pages v2 added reference to work of Y. Wan

On the sporophore of the native bread (Polyporus mylitta)

Early in the present month (March, 1930), two specimens of the subterranean fungus called, "Native Bread" were received from a settler on the N.W. Coast of Tasmania. They were of an irregular rounded shape, dark-brown on the exterior, but white where the thin rind had been rubbed off. Each weighed about 1 3/4 lb. It was the 3rd of the month when they came to hand. They were placed in an open box in my museum-room, and on 9th inst. one of them exhibited two white knobs, close together, on the upper surface. They much resembled the button-stage of the ordinary mushroom. Each measured slightly over one inch across the top, by 7/8 inch in height. By the morning of 12th inst., they had grown to 1 1/2 inches high, the upper surface having changed from white to pale yellow; the underside of the pileus had become wrinkled, but was still closed

A Study of Cyclogenisis in the North of Western Australia

The region of interest in this study is the ocean area to the north of the Western Australian coast; that is, the Timor Sea. It is the tropical cyclones (TC) that generate in this area that most often affect the people and industries located in this region of Western Australia. Accordingly, it is the case that there is a continuing need to improve our understanding of these systems using both observations and numerical models. After an introduction to the problems caused by TCs in the north of Western Australia, a description is made of the study area. A review of the various meteorological systems that can be identified in the tropics is provided. This is followed by a history of research on cyclogenesis. A detailed discussion is undertaken on the current state of knowledge of tropical cyclogenesis. This theoretical understanding subsequently is applied to three case studies. Following a description of the data used and the analysis techniques, the three case studies are presented. In each case study, a system, which later becomes a tropical cyclone, is analysed during the genesis period. The three case studies examined in this thesis are, case 1 (TC Tim, 1994), case 2 (TC Elaine, 1999) and case 3 (TC Isobel, 1996). In each case, the system was studied for at least 10 days prior to it being named. This approach was adopted to ensure that any potential development was not overlooked. A system is named when it reaches sufficient intensity for gale force winds to exist in all quadrants around the centre of that system. For each case, the environment in the vicinity of the location where the system was initially identified was studied until an evolving system was identified. Monitoring of the system continued until it was named.Observations from the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program comprised the physical data set. In parallel with this data collection activity, meteorological products from a numerical model were catalogued over the same time interval. The thesis presents comparisons of the satellite products and the model output over the study period. In part, motivated by the outcomes of this comparison, it was determined to investigate further prospects for using the array of satellite-derived products that might be more appropriate for use as a forecasting support tool. Finally, as an example, a prototype index is proposed which has potential to demonstrate the degree of development of a system. In this work, for want of a name, this index is termed the Hamilton Index (HI). It uses meteorological products derived from the microwave DMSP series of satellites and provides a temporal sequence of values of the index that are applied to monitor the developing of the TC systems in the three case studies. The meteorological variables used in the index were selected because they were accepted indicators of tropical cyclogenesis identified in the research literature. When applied to the three case studies, the HI showed a significant improvement in sensitivity to the state of development of the systems, especially when compared to the computer model data examined for the case studies

Livelihood responses to mangrove deforestation in the northern provinces of Ecuador

Mangrove forests worldwide are under threat. Ecuador is no exception to this trend, with substantial mangrove deforestation across almost all regions. This paper synthesizes a literature review of Ecuadorian mangroves, a remote sensing analysis of the past and present extent of mangrove forests conducted for another paper, and ethnographic field research conducted in the major estuaries of northern Ecuador to present the role of mangrove wetlands in supporting local livelihoods in Ecuador\u27s coastal communities. This paper takes a macro-micro approach, examining the global questions of mangroves and then discussing the micro situation of mangroves in Ecuador before moving onto estuarine specific profiles. All the major mangrove regions of northern Ecuador are examined with a particular emphasis on deforestation / reforestation trends, the estuarine specific forces driving and responding to these trends, as well as the livelihood response of the impacted communities. The research relies on the most current estimates of mangrove forests as well as historic calculations of mangrove area