Scale and scope effects on communities’ values for environmental improvements in the Namoi catchment: A choice modelling approach

This report presents results of research designed to investigate variations in willingness to pay (WTP) estimates across different scales and scopes of environmental investments. The goal is to help catchment management authorities better prioritise their natural resource management actions at both catchment and farm levels. Five split samples were used to test for scale and scope effects. A choice-modelling (CM) analysis was used to elicit household WTP for improvements in environmental quality attributes in the Namoi catchment. The approach was developed so that value estimates could be more accurately transferred between different action scopes.choice modelling, scale effect, scope effect, embedding, non-market valuation, catchment planning, environment., Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

A Choice Modelling Survey of Community Attitudes to Improvements in Environmental Quality in NSW Catchments

The survey was designed to estimate environmental values suitable for integration into MOSAIC, a bio-economic model for catchment and farm level planning. Local residents, as well as distant rural and distant urban communities, were surveyed in three NSW catchments (Lachlan, Namoi and Hawkesbury-Nepean) using choice modelling (CM). The survey aimed to find out respondents’ attitudes about, and preferences for, potential natural resource management (NRM) improvements. In total, 3,997 responses were collected from seven different locations in NSW. Fourteen split samples were established to allow for testing of incentive compatibility in CM, the impact of respondent location on values held, and scale effects. This research report describes the development of the CM questionnaires, the survey design and the data collection process.Nonmarket valuation, choice modelling, survey, questionnaire design, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Location differences in communities’ preferences for environmental improvements in selected NSW catchments: A Choice Modelling approach

To elicit household willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in environmental quality in three NSW catchments (Lachlan, Namoi and Hawkesbury-Nepean), a choice modelling (CM) study was conducted. This report presents results of research designed to investigate variations in WTP across different communities. The communities included local residents, distant/urban and distant/rural residents. Nine split samples were established to test for ‘location effects’. The analysis involved both conditional logit and random-parameters logit models. Natural resource management (NRM), including Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs), can use the non-market values obtained from this study to guide their investment decisions.Choice modelling, location effects, non-market valuation, catchment planning, environment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

The Effects of a Provision Rule in Choice Modelling

This research report investigates the effects of including a provision rule in choice modelling non-market valuation studies. Split samples with and without a provision rule were used to test for differences in household willingness-to-pay for improvements in environmental quality in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. Local/rural and distant/urban sub-samples of residents were selected. The results of the study show that the inclusion of a provision rule had an effect on preferences in the distant/urban communities; however, the impact of a provision rule in the local/rural community sub-samples was negligible.Choice modelling, incentive comparability, provision rule, non-market valuation, environment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Choice modelling in the development of natural resource management strategies in NSW

Protecting environmental services generates social benefits. At the same time, private landholders supplying these benefits may face some costs. To provide these services efficiently, policy makers need information about community values for the environment as well as landholders’ costs. This study explores how choice modelling (a non-market valuation technique) is used to estimate comment values. These include use and non-use values for increasing environmental quality in NSW catchments. Non-market valuation techniques for estimating environmental values are reviewed. This is followed by a discussion of methodological aspects of the choice modelling technique and its potential as a regional planning tool for Catchment Management Authorities (CMA’s)Nonmarket valuation, choice modelling, trade-offs, bio-physical modelling, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Framing for incentive compatibility in choice modelling

The incentives that motivate respondents to reveal their preferences truthfully have been a long-standing area of research in the non-market valuation literature. A number of studies have been undertaken to investigate incentive compatibility in nonmarket valuation. Most of these used laboratory environments rather than field surveys (e.g. Carson and Burton, 2008, Harrison, 2007, Lusk and Schroeder, 2004, Racevskis and Lupi, 2008). Only a few studies investigating incentive compatibility have considered multi-attribute public goods with an explicit provision rule in a choice experiment (Carson and Groves, 2007, Collins and Vossler, 2009, Carson and Burton, 2008). The design of a choice modelling study that avoids strategic behaviour has proven particularly difficult because of multiple choices and difficulties in developing a majority voting provision rule. This study investigates the impact of the inclusion of a framing statement for incentive compatibility in a field survey choice modelling study. An incentive compatible statement (provision rule) that sets out to respondents the rule relating to when the good under consideration will be provided was employed. The impact of a provision rule across three alternative choice modelling multiple choice questionnaires was tested by comparing results between split samples with and without a provision rule. Four split samples were used to test the impact of a provision rule on preferences across different communities including local/rural residents and distant/urban residents. A choice modelling analysis that involved a conditional logit model and a random parameter model was used to elicit household willingness to pay for improvements in environmental quality in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. The results of the study show that the inclusion of a provision rule had an effect on preferences in the distant/urban communities. However, the impact of a provision rule in the local/rural community sub-samples was negligible. This study suggests that the impact of a provision rule should be analysed in the context of different community characteristics.Choice modelling, Incentive comparability, Provision rule, Non-market valuation, Environment, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Variable stars in the globular cluster NGC 3201. I. Multimode SX Phe-type variables

We report on the discovery of eleven multimode SX Phoenicis--type blue stragglers in the field of the southern globular cluster NGC 3201. In these variables both radial and non-radial modes are excited. For three variables the derived period ratio is close to that observed in SX Phoenicis itself, suggesting that these stars are pulsating in the fundamental and the first-overtone radial modes. Using the McNamara (1997) period-luminosity relation we have estimated the apparent distance modulus to NGC 3201 to be 14.08$\pm0.06\pm0.1$mag.Comment: 10 pages, requires mn2e.cls,contact the first author at [email protected] for high-resolution figure

Are There Topological Black Hole Solitons in String Theory?

We point out that the celebrated Hawking effect of quantum instability of black holes seems to be related to a nonperturbative effect in string theory. Studying quantum dynamics of strings in the gravitational background of black holes we find classical instability due to emission of massless string excitations. The topology of a black hole seems to play a fundamental role in developing the string theory classical instability due to the effect of sigma model instantons. We argue that string theory allows for a qualitative description of black holes with very small masses and it predicts topological solitons with quantized spectrum of masses. These solitons would not decay into string massless excitations but could be pair created and may annihilate also. Semiclassical mass quantization of topological solitons in string theory is based on the argument showing existence of nontrivial zeros of beta function of the renormalization group.Comment: 12 pages, TeX, requires phyzzx.tex, published in Gen. Rel. Grav. 19 (1987) 1173; comment added on December 18, 199

Strain gage system evaluation program

A program was conducted to determine the reliability of various strain gage systems when applied to rotating compressor blades in an aircraft gas turbine engine. A survey of current technology strain gage systems was conducted to provide a basis for selecting candidate systems for evaluation. Testing and evaluation was conducted in an F 100 engine. Sixty strain gage systems of seven different designs were installed on the first and third stages of an F 100 engine fan. Nineteen strain gage failures occurred during 62 hours of engine operation, for a survival rate of 68 percent. Of the failures, 16 occurred at blade-to-disk leadwire jumps (84 percent), two at a leadwire splice (11 percent), and one at a gage splice (5 percent). Effects of erosion, temperature, G-loading, and stress levels are discussed. Results of a post-test analysis of the individual components of each strain gage system are presented