Generating Revenues from WTP for Ecosystem Restoration: An Auction Experiment on Public Goods

Research on public good auctions is intended to initiate development on new approaches to finance public goods, beyond government and philanthropic efforts. The researchers evaluate the potential to identify economic value for a subset of ecosystem services and markets that have the potential to provide for them. Empirical analysis focuses on public valuation for three specific types of ecosystem activities (bird habitat, sea grass restoration and shellfish restoration) in coastal Virginia. Data was collected using a field experiment employing an experimental auction approach with mechanisms to reduce free riding often seen in the experimental economics literature. These incentive mechanisms are applied to individual restoration activities and willingness to pay estimates are compared to a baseline choice experiment that employs an incentive compatible, majority vote mechanism and actual (not hypothetical) money payments. A conditional logit model, rooted in McFadden’s choice theory, is used to examine the trade-offs between ecosystem restoration activities to estimate willingness to pay, while interval regressions are applied to individualized price auctions. Linear and nonlinear models are estimated to check for validity and sensitivity to scope.experimental economics, valuation, public goods, ecosystem services, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Emerging communities of child-healthcare practice in the management of long-term conditions such as chronic kidney disease: Qualitative study of parents' accounts

Background: Parents of children and young people with long-term conditions who need to deliver clinical care to their child at home with remote support from hospital-based professionals, often search the internet for care-giving information. However, there is little evidence that the information available online was developed and evaluated with parents or that it acknowledges the communities of practice that exist as parents and healthcare professionals share responsibility for condition management. Methods. The data reported here are part of a wider study that developed and tested a condition-specific, online parent information and support application with children and young people with chronic-kidney disease, parents and professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 fathers and 24 mothers who had recently tested the novel application. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis and the Communities of Practice concept. Results: Evolving communities of child-healthcare practice were identified comprising three components and several sub components: (1) Experiencing (parents making sense of clinical tasks) through Normalising care, Normalising illness, Acceptance & action, Gaining strength from the affected child and Building relationships to formalise a routine; (2) Doing (Parents executing tasks according to their individual skills) illustrated by Developing coping strategies, Importance of parents' efficacy of care and Fear of the child's health failing; and (3) Belonging/Becoming (Parents defining task and group members' worth and creating a personal identity within the community) consisting of Information sharing, Negotiation with health professionals and Achieving expertise in care. Parents also recalled factors affecting the development of their respective communities of healthcare practice; these included Service transition, Poor parent social life, Psycho-social affects, Family chronic illness, Difficulty in learning new procedures, Shielding and avoidance, and Language and cultural barriers. Health care professionals will benefit from using the communities of child-healthcare practice model when they support parents of children with chronic kidney disease. Conclusions: Understanding some of the factors that may influence the development of communities of child-healthcare practice will help professionals to tailor information and support for parents learning to manage their child's healthcare. Our results are potentially transferrable to professionals managing the care of children and young people with other long-term conditions. © 2014 Carolan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Ecosystem Services Beyond Valuation, Regulation and Philanthropy: Integrating Consumer Values into the Economy

Environmental Markets, Ecosystem Service Markets, Payment For Ecosystem Services, Incentives, Nature's Services, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q20, Q57, C93, H41,

Historical evidence for two gyres in the Somali Current

Surface currents and some surface temperatures in the Somali Basin have been plotted for May and June of each year from 1900 to 1973 when any data were available. A current pattern containing two clockwise gyres, one situated south of 5N, the other between 5N and 10N, was usually present in June. It is similar to the one observed in a detailed survey of the Somali Current in 1979. Some evidence is presented suggesting that the timing of the development of the gyres, in relation to changes in winds, was similar in other years to the sequence observed in May and June 1979