Empowering Small Donors in Federal Elections

An effective new public matching funds system in which citizens direct the distribution of public funds to candidates would fundamentally change the way our campaigns are financed. The system would decrease the opportunities for corruption of federal officeholders and government decisions, and provide candidates with an alternative means for financing their elections without being obligated to special interest funders. Most importantly, the system would restore citizens to their rightful pre-eminent place in our democracy

Consumer motivation and willingness to pay for “safer” vegetables in Ghana

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Iddrisu Yahaya, and Fred A. Yamoah, (2015) "Consumer motivation and willingness to pay for “safer” vegetables in Ghana", British Food Journal, Vol. 117 Issue: 3, pp.1043-1065, the version of record is available online at doi: 10.1108/BFJ-10-2013-0296. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2015 Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess consumer motivation and willingness to pay (WTP) for “safer” vegetables from the use of non-treatment options of wastewater use in urban/peri-urban vegetable production. Design/methodology/approach – As a theoretical basis, consumer theory of maximizing utility being an indicator of individual preference was examined through choice experiment (CE) method to measure the WTP for value of safety within the context of health reduced risk (pathogen reduction) of illness. WTP was tested empirically using survey data from 650 households in the two largest cities in Ghana (Accra and Kumasi) that are characterized by a number of well-established vegetable producers who use wastewater in their production and a large urban and peri-urban vegetable consumer market. Findings – Experience of vegetable borne diseases drives the need for safer vegetables and income and gender are key demographic factors influencing WTP. It was further found that consumers are willing to pay an average amount of GH¢ 4.7 ($2.40) per month for a technology change that would result in the production of “safer” vegetables. Research limitations/implications – Understanding WTP offers insight into consumer concerns, behaviour and their readiness to pay for safer vegetable options. However, a further consideration of the impact of the combinations of the various non-treatment options on pathogen reduction and the assessment of the financial viability of each option will collectively ensure an efficient and cost-effective implementation of the technologies. Practical implications – WTP insight gained has implications for vegetable production, marketing and public health policy. The understanding from the findings forms a solid basis to canvass for certification system for urban/peri urban vegetables. The information provided also helps to formulate effective public education on the safety of vegetables. Originality/value – Measuring WTP for safer vegetables by Ghanaian urban/peri-urban consumers is novel. The CE approach is robust and the findings can inform vegetable production and marketing decisions as well as public health policy formulation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Incessant Tachycardia Using a Concealed Atrionodal Bypass Tract

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72624/1/j.1540-8167.1998.tb00899.x.pd

Performance Impacts of Extent of Information Technology Usage

The link between IT investment and firm performance is indirect due to the effect of moderating variables. Employing a sample of 589 manufacturing firms based in the U.S., building on resource- and knowledge-based theories and the marketing literature, we use structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between firm extent of IT usage, knowledge acquisition from customers and suppliers, competitive advantage and firm financial performance. Our results indicate that firm extent of IT usage positively impacts both knowledge from both customers and suppliers, which positively affect firm competitive advantage that, in turn, positively impacts firm financial performance. Further, our results indicate that both knowledge and competitive advantage play a mediating role between firm extent of IT usage and its financial performance

How to make classrooms creative and open spaces: ARIS games, digital artifacts and storytelling

As part of long-term research into interviewing users and visualizing digital artifacts, we have created a parallel archives of projects in our classroom. Ethnography helps us to discover the temporal trends of interactions with students and with the virtual environment. The outcomes expected motived us to repurpouse stories we co-create with students in a new form, retelling motivations, design, narratives, into a gaming scenario where the use of experiences become more digital and less tangible but always snapshots of their social existence.Peer Reviewe

Agricultural Best Management Practices and Treatment Wetlands in the Gabilan Watershed: Project Asessment and Evaluation Plan

Several local groups have come together for this project to addresses water quality concerns in the Gabilan Watershed – also known as the Reclamation Ditch Watershed (Fig. 1.1). These are Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML), the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC), Central Coast Watershed Studies (CCoWS), Return of the Natives (RON), Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Coastal Conservation and Research (CC&R). The primary goal is to reduce non-point source pollution – particularly suspended sediment, nutrients, and pesticides – and thereby improve near-shore coastal waters of Moss Landing Harbor and the Monterey Bay. (Document contains 33 pages

El contrato natural. Aproximaciones desde el videojuego

En "El Contrato Natural", Michel Serres habla de la urgencia de establecer un pacto con el mundo natural, con el que hasta ahora mantenemos una relación “de violencia no consciente: dominio y posesión” (Serres, 1990, 44). En dicho acuerdo son figuras contractuales, por un lado, la comunidad humana asociada por lo que los antiguos filósofos llaman el “contrato social”; y por otro: la naturaleza global, el Planeta Tierra

Planet Four: Terrains - Discovery of Araneiforms Outside of the South Polar Layered Deposits

We present the results of a systematic mapping of seasonally sculpted terrains on the South Polar region of Mars with the Planet Four: Terrains (P4T) online citizen science project. P4T enlists members of the general public to visually identify features in the publicly released Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CTX images. In particular, P4T volunteers are asked to identify: 1) araneiforms (including features with a central pit and radiating channels known as 'spiders'); 2) erosional depressions, troughs, mesas, ridges, and quasi-circular pits characteristic of the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) which we collectively refer to as 'Swiss cheese terrain', and 3) craters. In this work we present the distributions of our high confidence classic spider araneiforms and Swiss cheese terrain identifications. We find no locations within our high confidence spider sample that also have confident Swiss cheese terrain identifications. Previously spiders were reported as being confined to the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD). Our work has provided the first identification of spiders at locations outside of the SPLD, confirmed with high resolution HiRISE imaging. We find araneiforms on the Amazonian and Hesperian polar units and the Early Noachian highland units, with 75% of the identified araneiform locations in our high confidence sample residing on the SPLD. With our current coverage, we cannot confirm whether these are the only geologic units conducive to araneiform formation on the Martian South Polar region. Our results are consistent with the current CO2 jet formation scenario with the process exploiting weaknesses in the surface below the seasonal CO2 ice sheet to carve araneiform channels into the regolith over many seasons. These new regions serve as additional probes of the conditions required for channel creation in the CO2 jet process. (Abridged)Comment: accepted to Icarus - Supplemental data files are available at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/mschwamb/planet-four-terrains/about/results - Icarus print version available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001910351730055

Loudness and intelligibility of irrelevant background speech differentially hinder children's short story reading

Reading skills are usually assessed in silent conditions, but children often experience noisy educational settings. Effects of auditory distraction on children's reading skills remain relatively unexplored. The present study investigates the influence of two features of background speech—intelligibility and loudness—on children's reading speed and comprehension. Sixty‐three 8‐to‐10‐year‐old elementary school children performed a reading task in the context of single‐talker background speech. Background speech was either intelligible or unintelligible and presented at low (45–50 dB SPL) or moderate (65–72 dB SPL) sound intensity (here termed “loudness”). Results showed a differential effect of intelligibility and loudness, respectively affecting children's comprehension and reading speed. In addition, the intelligibility effect was larger in children with lower interference control, as assessed with an auditory Stroop task. Our findings provide evidence for the influence of different properties of background speech on children's text reading with implications for reading in everyday classroom environments