Emergent conservation outcomes of shared risk perception in human‐wildlife systems

Human perception of risks related to economic damages caused by nearby wildlife can be transmitted through social networks. Understanding how sharing risk information within a human community alters the spatial dynamics of human‐wildlife interactions has important implications for the design and implementation of effective conservation actions. We developed an agent‐based model that simulates farmer livelihood decisions and activities in an agricultural landscape shared with a population of a generic wildlife species (wildlife‐human interactions in shared landscapes [WHISL]). In the model, based on risk perception and economic information, farmers decide how much labor to allocate to farming and whether and where to exclude wildlife from their farms (e.g., through fencing, trenches, or vegetation thinning). In scenarios where the risk perception of farmers was strongly influenced by other farmers, exclusion of wildlife was widespread, resulting in decreased quality of wildlife habitat and frequency of wildlife damages across the landscape. When economic losses from encounters with wildlife were high, perception of risk increased and led to highly synchronous behaviors by farmers in space and time. Interactions between wildlife and farmers sometimes led to a spillover effect of wildlife damage displaced from socially and spatially connected communities to less connected neighboring farms. The WHISL model is a useful conservation‐planning tool because it provides a test bed for theories and predictions about human‐wildlife dynamics across a range of different agricultural landscapes.Resultados Emergentes de Conservación de la Percepción Compartida sobre Riesgos en los Sistemas Humanos – FaunaResumenLa percepción humana de los riesgos relacionados con los daños económicos causados por la fauna vecina puede transmitirse por medio de las redes sociales. El entendimiento de cómo la propagación de la información sobre riesgos dentro de una comunidad humana altera las dinámicas espaciales de las interacciones humanos – fauna tiene implicaciones importantes para el diseño e implementación de las acciones de conservación efectiva. Desarrollamos un modelo basado en agentes que simula las decisiones y las actividades de subsistencia de los agricultores en un paisaje agrícola compartido con una especie genérica de fauna (interacciones humanos – fauna en paisajes compartidos [WHISL, en inglés]). En el modelo, con base en la percepción del riesgo y en la información económica, los agricultores decidieron cuánto trabajo asignar a la agricultura y si y en dónde excluir a la fauna de sus parcelas (por ejemplo, por medio de cercas, fosas o la reducción de la vegetación). En los escenarios en los que la percepción de riesgo de los agricultores estuvo fuertemente influenciada por otros agricultores, la exclusión de la fauna estuvo generalizada, lo que resultó en una disminución de la calidad del hábitat de la fauna y en la frecuencia de daños causados por los animales a lo largo del paisaje. Cuando las pérdidas económicas causadas por los encuentros con la fauna fueron altas, la percepción del riesgo incrementó y resultó en comportamientos altamente sincrónicos adoptados por los agricultores en el tiempo y el espacio. Las interacciones entre la fauna y los agricultores a veces resultaron en un efecto de derrama de daños causados por la fauna desplazada de las comunidades conectadas social y espacialmente hacia parcelas vecinas con una menor conexión. El modelo WHISL es una herramienta útil para la planificación de la conservación porque proporciona una plataforma de experimentación para las teorías y predicciones sobre las dinámicas humano – fauna en una extensión geográfica de diferentes paisajes agrícolas.摘要人类对附近野生动物造成经济损失的风险感知可以通过社会网络传播。理解人类社会中共享风险信息如何改变人类与野生动物互作的空间动态, 对设计和实施有效保护行动具有重要意义。我们开发了一种基于主体的模型, 以模拟存在野生动物种群的农业景观中农场主的生计决策和活动 (共享景观中的野生动物‐人类互作) 。在这个模型中, 农场主根据风险感知和经济方面的信息来决定如何分配农作劳动、是否以及在哪里将野生动物驱逐到农场之外 (如通过建围栏、挖沟渠或减少植被覆盖) 。在农场主的风险感知受到其它农场主强烈影响的情况下, 农场主普遍会驱逐野生动物, 导致整个景观中野生动物生境质量下降, 野生动物造成破坏的频率也下降。当遭遇野生动物造成的经济损失较高时, 农场主对风险的感知会增加, 从而导致他们的行为在时空上高度同步。野生动物和农场主之间的互作有时候也会产生溢出效应, 使野生动物造成的破坏从社会及空间上紧密联系的社区转移到联系不够紧密的临近农场。本研究的共享景观中野生动物‐人类互作模型是一种有效的保护规划工具, 为不同农业景观中人类‐野生动物动态变化的理论和预测提供了试验平台。 【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】Article impact statement: Sharing of risk perception in social networks alters spatial patterns of human‐wildlife interactions, sometimes creating spillover effects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156460/2/cobi13473_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156460/1/cobi13473.pd

Taxation of Agriculture in selected countries. Study of The United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland and Italy with relevance to the WTO

This report looks at the special measures for agriculture within the field of taxation and social security. Chapter 1 and 2 deal with general overview of taxes and taxation principles. Chapter 3 give more detailed information of the tax system in the selected countries, US, Canada, Australia, Germany, UK, France, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland. Chapter four deals with notifications to the Committee on Agriculture in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concerning tax measures. In chapter 5 we have tried to systematize the different tax schemes in the selected countries.Taxation of Agriculture in selected countries. Study of The United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland and Italy with relevance to the WTOpublishedVersio

Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation

The literature on innovation and interactive learning has tended to emphasize the importance of local networks, inter-firm collaboration and knowledge flows as the principal source of technological dynamism. More recently, however, this view has come to be challenged by other perspectives that argue for the importance of non-local knowledge flows. According to this alternative approach, truly dynamic economic regions are characterized both by dense local social interaction and knowledge circulation, as well as strong inter-regional and international connections to outside knowledge sources and partners. This paper offers an empirical examination of these issues by examining the geography of knowledge flows associated with innovation in biotechnology. We begin by reviewing the growing literature on the nature and geography of innovation in biotechnology research and the commercialization process. Then, focusing on the Canadian biotech industry, we examine the determinants of innovation (measured through patenting activity), paying particular attention to internal resources and capabilities of the firm, as well as local and global flows of knowledge and capital. Our study is based on the analysis of Statistics Canada’s 1999 Survey of Biotechnology Use and Development, which covers 358 core biotechnology firms. Our findings highlight the importance of in-house technological capability and absorptive capacity as determinants of successful innovation in biotechnology firms. Furthermore, our results document the precise ways in which knowledge circulates, in both embodied and disembodied forms, both locally and globally. We also highlight the role of formal intellectual property transactions (domestic and international) in promoting knowledge flows. Although we document the importance of global networks in our findings, our results also reveal the value of local networks and specific forms of embedding. Local relational linkages are especially important when raising capital—and the expertise that comes with it—to support innovation. Nevertheless, our empirical results raise some troubling questions about the alleged pre-eminence of the local in fostering innovation

Prediction of Low-Voltage Tetrafluoromethane Emissions Based on the Operating Conditions of an Aluminium Electrolysis Cell

Greenhouse gas (GHG) generation is inherent in the production of aluminium by a technology that uses carbon anodes. Most of those GHG are composed of CO2 produced by redox reaction that occurs in the cell. However, a significant fraction of the annual GHG production is composed of perfluorocarbons (PFC) resulting from anode effects (AE). Multiple investigations have shown that tetrafluoromethane (CF4) can be generated under low-voltage conditions in the electrolysis cells, without global anode effect. The aim of this paper is to find a quantitative relationship between monitored cell parameters and the emissions of CF4. To achieve this goal, a predictive algorithm has been developed using seven cell indicators. These indicators are based on the cell voltage, the noise level and other parameters calculated from individual anode current monitoring. The predictive algorithm is structured into three different steps. The first two steps give qualitative information while the third one quantitatively describes the expected CF4 concentration at the duct end of the electrolysis cells. Validations after each step are presented and discussed. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to understand the effect of each indicator on the onset of low-voltage PFC emissions. The standard deviation of individual anode currents was found to be the dominant variable. Cell voltage, noise level, and maximum individual anode current also showed a significant correlation with the presence of CF4 in the output gas of an electrolysis cell

Varieties of capitalism and resilience clusters: an exploratory approach to European regions

Regions around the world suffered asymmetric effects with the global economic crisis of the last decade. European regions were not different, and a myriad of impacts with varied magnitudes was felt. This article, inspired by the literature of varieties of capitalism (VoC), presents statistical and econometric evidence about the differences of regional resilience, measured by the variation of economic product, unemployment and R&D across regions in European Union during the economic downturn. An exploratory approach analyses the socio‐economic resilience between different member states, and VoC ideal‐types (liberal market economies, the continental capitalism, the social‐democrat economies, the Mediterranean capitalism, and the Eastern economies). The study presents a typology of resilience clusters in European regions. There were found six types of profiles concerning resilience: great performers, fast growth, intermediate position, R&D reduction, regions in divergence, and Mediterranean regions in big trouble. The study identifies key aspects for resilience, providing policy implications for regional economic policies. The comparison of the resilience clusters and the original VoC categorization has implications for this branch of literature as it does not completely address the variety of regional answers to the shocks.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio