(WP 2016-01) Transformation without Paternalism

Human development is meant to be transformational in that it aims to improve people’s lives by enhancing their capabilities. But who does it target: people as they are or the people they will become? This paper argues that the human development approach relies on an understanding of personal identity as dynamic rather than as static collections of preferences, and that this distinguishes human development from conventional approaches to development. Nevertheless this dynamic understanding of personal identity is presently poorly conceptualized and this has implications for development practice. We identify a danger of paternalism and propose institutionalizing two procedural principles as side constraints on development policies and projects: the principle of free prior informed consent, and the principle of democratic development

Analysis of in-situ observations in the Strait of Gibraltar

During the EU-project CANIGO intensive ship-board observations were carried out in April 1996 and October 1997 in order to observe the spatial and temporal variability of the flow, of the internal bore and of the water mass structure in the Strait of Gibraltar. An inverse model for the current and interfacefluctuations was developed to remove tidal currents from the measurement and to calculate the volume transport for the in and outflow seperately. In addition traveltime measurements across the strait have been analysed to test the suitability of acoustical instruments for a longterm monitoring of the exchange through the strait

Gauss hypergeometric function and quadratic RR-matrix algebras

We consider representations of quadratic $R$-matrix algebras by means of certain first order ordinary differential operators. These operators turn out to act as parameter shifting operators on the Gauss hypergeometric function and its limit cases and on classical orthogonal polynomials. The relationship with W. Miller's treatment of Lie algebras of first order differential operators will be discussed.Comment: 26 page

An extended case study on the phenomenology of sequence-space synesthesia

Investigation of synesthesia phenomenology in adults is needed to constrain accounts of developmental trajectories of this trait. We report an extended phenomenological investigation of sequence-space synesthesia in a single case (AB). We used the Elicitation Interview (EI) method to facilitate repeated exploration of AB's synesthetic experience. During an EI the subject's attention is selectively guided by the interviewer in order to reveal precise details about the experience. Detailed analysis of the resulting 9 h of interview transcripts provided a comprehensive description of AB's synesthetic experience, including several novel observations. For example, we describe a specific spatial reference frame (a "mental room") in which AB's concurrents occur, and which overlays his perception of the real world (the "physical room"). AB is able to switch his attention voluntarily between this mental room and the physical room. Exemplifying the EI method, some of our observations were previously unknown even to AB. For example, AB initially reported to experience concurrents following visual presentation, yet we determined that in the majority of cases the concurrent followed an internal verbalization of the inducer, indicating an auditory component to sequence-space synesthesia. This finding is congruent with typical rehearsal of inducer sequences during development, implicating cross-modal interactions between auditory and visual systems in the genesis of this synesthetic form. To our knowledge, this paper describes the first application of an EI to synesthesia, and the first systematic longitudinal investigation of the first-person experience of synesthesia since the re-emergence of interest in this topic in the 1980's. These descriptions move beyond rudimentary graphical or spatial representations of the synesthetic spatial form, thereby providing new targets for neurobehavioral analysis

Modeling and Testing Implementations of Protocols with Complex Messages

This paper presents a new language called APSL for formally describing protocols to facilitate automated testing. Many real world communication protocols exchange messages whose structures are not trivial, e.g. they may consist of multiple and nested fields, some could be optional, and some may have values that depend on other fields. To properly test implementations of such a protocol, it is not sufficient to only explore different orders of sending and receiving messages. We also need to investigate if the implementation indeed produces correctly formatted messages, and if it responds correctly when it receives different variations of every message type. APSL's main contribution is its sublanguage that is expressive enough to describe complex message formats, both text-based and binary. As an example, this paper also presents a case study where APSL is used to model and test a subset of Courier IMAP email server

The value of information in biosecurity risk-benefit assessment: an application to red imported fire ants

Policy makers are confronted daily with uncertainty, especially in complex areas like biosecurity. One way to improve decision-making and reduce uncertainties is to collect more information. Information is costly – whether the value of improved decision-making justifies the cost is a fundamental question facing policy makers. This paper addresses that question by making three practical contributions for binary choices (such as whether to implement or forego a particular policy). First, it analyses the determinants of the value of information, and how that value changes with features of the problem. Second, it uses this analysis to derive simple rules of thumb which provide upper bounds on the value of additional information. Third, it provides a practical application of the value of information in deciding whether to attempt eradication of the red imported fire ant.Environmental Economics and Policy,