Spatial Economic Analysis in Data-Rich Environments

Controlling for spatial effects in micro-economic studies of consumer and producer behavior necessitates a range of analytical modifications ranging from modest changes in data collection and the definition of variables to dramatic changes in the modeling of consumer and producer decision-making. This paper discusses conceptual, empirical, and data issues involved in modeling the spatial aspects of economic behavior in data rich environments. Attention is given to established and emerging agricultural economic applications of spatial data and spatial econometric methods at the micro-scale. Recent applications of individual and household data are featured, including models of land-use change at the urban-rural interface, agricultural land values, and technological change and technology adoption.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C21, Q10, Q12, Q15, Q56,

Houses in the Woods: Lessons from the Plum Creek Concept Plan

Residential growth pressures have arrived at the edge of Maine’s North Woods. Kathleen Bell in this article examines changes in the economics of rural land use in Maine. She notes that public debate over Plum Creek’s proposal for development in the Moosehead region reminds us that we need to increase our understanding of the interactions between residential growth pressures, changing landownership patterns, and new expectations for Maine’s forestland

Assessing Patterns in the Conversion of Rural Lands to Residential Use

Land Economics/Use,

Local institutions and Natural Resource Management

As researchers and policy-makers confront the challenges of and opportunities for improving natural resource management, increasing attention is being given to the dynamics of coupled natural-human systems. Interdisciplinary study of these coupled systems has generated considerable research and management innovations. Among these are more intensive research of the emergence and behavior of local institutions and consideration of the potential for voluntary and/or collaborative approaches to supplement conventional natural resource policy and management approaches. Front and center in this line of research are studies of local institutional responses to common pool resource management issues. Over time, this productive line of research is encouraging greater integration of insights across social science fields and identification of systematic patterns in research findings. Responding to such encouragement, this research blends insights from collective action theory, institutional rational choice and the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework to investigate the distribution and success of resource-based organizations. Moreover, our research makes a unique contribution to this literature by considering the spatial aspects of these institutions' formation, behavior and success. Lake associations are an interesting class of resource-based organizations. These local, lake-centered institutions strive to address management issues using informal and voluntary strategies. Lake associations are most common in lake-rich states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire and Maine. The objectives of these groups vary from narrow (private road maintenance) to broad (watershed health). These organizations allow for lake-centered boundaries including multiple jurisdictions, provide a voice to seasonal property owners, and resolve some issues related to coordination, property rights, and transaction costs. The numerous and diverse lake associations of Maine are the focus of our empirical work. The primary research objective of this analysis is to develop an integrated empirical modeling framework of lake association presence and lake management success. To fulfill this objective, we examined the relative performance of empirical econometric models that ignore and address potential sample selection bias. Because we only observe measures of lake association management success on lakes that have a lake association, the sample is non-random. In our empirical work, entry into the lake association management success sample is further complicated by our reliance on survey data to describe management behavior and performance. A broad secondary research objective is to continue exploring the extent to which the Institutional Development Analysis (IAD) framework can be used to explain the distribution and behavior of Maine lake associations. We assembled an extensive spatial database describing natural and human features of 2,602 Maine lakes (Maine's great ponds; > 10 acres in size) to support this analysis. We integrated this extensive database with a smaller survey-based database describing lake association behavior and natural resource management success. Data describing the distribution and success of lake associations were drawn from non-government organization, federal and state agency databases and primary survey data collected to describe social and economic characteristics of Maine lakes. We captured additional lake and association attributes by manipulating various state and federal GIS databases and creating primary spatial databases. Results to date reveal support for the IAD theoretical framework in describing factors influencing the presence of lake associations. These results offer guidance on how to better integrate the informal approaches of local institutions with more formal, regional government-based management approaches. By understanding where local institutions are likely to form and what issues they are best suited to address, state and federal government agencies can better work with local organizations to address the complexities of natural resource management. Results explaining variation in natural resource management success and the potential gains from an integrated model of presence and success are less robust and are constrained by limited available data describing management behavior and success.local institutions, natural resource management, institutional economics, lake associations, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Longing: places I desired and couldn\u27t find

Ephemeral. Nostalgic. Absence. Transient. Transformation. Movement. Temporary. Skeleton. Momentary. Fleeting. Landscape. Cityscape. Southern Landscape. Baton Rouge. Louisiana. I paint the feeling of wearing time and the earth on my skin. The scars on the landscapes tell stories and truths marked by past generations. The imagery in my work is inspired by local places and reveals the wavering condition of the natural landscape and civilizations. Everyday places and repetitive acts make up the components of miracles. As I create, I examine ideas beyond the current condition of a specific location. Through my imagination I bring the unseen into the artworks. The ephemeral landscape is not painted in its true form, it transforms with moving colors, lines, and shapes. It is still identifiable, but is transitioning into the unknown element. This element could be a geological event, or a movement from the physical to the landscape’s inner spirit. This body of work conveys a spiritual longing inspired by the temporary nature of everyday surroundings

On Becoming Women: Adolescent Female Muslim Refugees Negotiating Their Identities in the United States

The United States is becoming more diverse; numerous immigrants and refugees enter every year. Among the newer groups are those practicing the Muslim religion. This qualitative research focused on the identity formation process of six adolescent female Muslim refugees from Afghanistan. Based on Erikson\u27s paradigm of psycho-social development and Marcia\u27s modifications to that theory, I used semi-structured interviews to understand how the participants negotiated their identities in the context of their families, the public school, and the community. This cohort appeared to exist within a circumscribed Afghan community, retaining significant parts of their culture, traditions, and roles. The exception to that retention occurred in the Educational/Vocational Domain. Economic necessity impelled them to assume new roles and to plan for post-secondary education and vocations, for which they were inadequately prepared, and for which their parents could provide little guidance. These young women needed assistance in educational and career planning and counseling programs to facilitate their entry into post-secondary education and to develop their job skills. It seems fair to generalize that this deficit exists for most foreign-born and limited-English students. Addressing this deficit is a daunting, but important, task for the educational system and for resettlement programs

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Health Education Programming for Traumatic Brain Injury

The focus of this paper is to demonstrate how the use of health education models, specifically of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), an expanded version of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), can enhance and strengthen family/caregiver programming and the individual experiences of participants. To this end, this paper explores the value of theory to health education practice and looks at the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the well-being of family members and caregivers. Secondly, it applies the TPB to the Holland and Shigaki three-phase family/caregiver education program for TBI. And, finally, the potential merits of this exercise are examined.Master'sSchool of Health Professions and Studies: Health EducationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117744/1/BellK.pd

Alien Registration- Bell, Kathleen D. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/24146/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Workforce Creativity on Earnings in U.S. Counties

This paper examines the effects of local workforce creativity on county-level earnings. Descriptive analysis of the data shows that most of the high-creativity counties in the United States are part of metropolitan areas, and that employee earnings are high in these places. Regression results indicate that, other things being equal, workforce creativity enhances county-level labor earnings. However, the returns to creativity that we found can be confirmed only in the urban context. An extension of the analysis suggests that the creative workforce wage premium may be capturing the effects of "technical workforce creativity" on earnings.creative economy, wages, economic development, Labor and Human Capital,

Actions speak louder than words: designing transdisciplinary approaches to enact solutions

Sustainability science uses a transdisciplinary research process in which academic and non-academic partners collaborate to identify a common problem and co-produce knowledge to develop more sustainable solutions. Sustainability scientists have advanced the theory and practice of facilitating collaborative efforts such that the knowledge created is usable. There has been less emphasis, however, on the last step of the transdisciplinary process: enacting solutions. We analyzed a case study of a transdisciplinary research effort in which co-produced policy simulation information shaped the creation of a new policy mechanism. More specifically, by studying the development of a mechanism for conserving vernal pool ecosystems, we found that four factors helped overcome common challenges to acting upon new information: creating a culture of learning, co-producing policy simulations that acted as boundary objects, integrating research into solution development, and employing an adaptive management approach. With an increased focus on these four factors that enable action, we can better develop the same level of nuanced theoretical concepts currently characterizing the earlier phases of transdisciplinary research, and the practical advice for deliberately designing these efforts