Enhancing Irrigation Efficiency but Increasing Water Use: The Jevons' Paradox

In this paper we analyze the conditions under which increasing technical efficiency of water use in the agricultural sector might not reduce water demand and pressures on water ecosystems. Departing from this basic problem we discuss how policy measures performed to enhance water productivity in the agriculture might be transformed into effective alternatives to improve the conservation of water resources and then guarantee the successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive. A preference revelation model is presented in the third section of the paper and one empirical application to an irrigation district in southern Spain is used in the fourth section to discuss the effectiveness of water savings measures.Water Framework Directive, Water Economics, Agricultural Economics, Simulation Models, Preference Revelation., Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The MODERE Model and The Economic Analysis of Farmers’ Decisions

The MODERE, the Ministry of the Environment Irrigation Decision Model, is a simulation tool which uses mathematical programming methods to reveal the implicit multiattribute objective function lying behind the observed cropping decision. The model takes different criteria such as profit maximization, risk aversion, avoidance of management complexities and so forth into account. In order to determine the feasible combination of attributes of this objective function the model considers the production possibility frontier explicitly as depending on market prices, policy incentives, availability of production factors, water irrigation facilities agronomic vocation and other constraints. Once calibrated the model becomes a powerful tool to assess the impact of different policy scenarios such as subsidies decoupling, water prices modifications, irrigation technique substitution and so on. The MODERE is a preference revelation model purposedly designed to be integrated in the Decision Support Platform which is used by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment to compare the policy scenarios which are relevant to assess the effectiveness and economic impact of the measures designed to reach the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive. The model is supported by a comprehensive data base built on purpose for its implementation covering almost all the Spanish Irrigation Districts with high spatial detail. This model is currently one of the important modules of the information and decision support systems developed by the Economic Analysis Unit of the Water Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment in Spain.Agricultural Economics, Water Economics, Simulated Models, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Upper and Middle Miocene Ash Beds in the Central Gulf of Mexico

Volcanic ash beds have been widely used as correlation markers in the Paleogene of the western Gulf of Mexico, but their identification and application as regional events in the Neogene play of the deep water Gulf of Mexico have been underutilized. This study approaches this problem through the organization, identification, and correlation of tuffaceous lithologies, supported by available thin sections, SEM images, biostratigraphy, log analysis, and published studies. Tuffaceous lithologies can be recognized with great confidence by calibrating sedimentological evidence with petrophysical properties as observed in well logs. Various beds have been encountered in the Miocene of the central Gulf of Mexico, specifically in the Walker Ridge and Green Canyon protraction areas. Direct or semi-direct evidence of amorphous volcanic glass has been documented from petrographic thin-sections, SEM, and XRD analyses. Tuffaceous lithologies have also been described in mud logs of numerous wells. The next best tool to infer ash beds is the spectral gamma-ray log tool, which reveals a distinct increase in thorium content relative to uranium or potassium in both shales and sandstones. An almost unequivocal petrophysical response to the presence of ash beds is the combination of high GR and low bulk density. Integration of these various lines of evidence within a robust chronostratigraphic framework revealed 11 correlative ash beds in Middle and Late Miocene sandstones and mudstones. Tuffaceous sandstones are preserved in deep-water turbidites and are probably linked to continental ash fall and transport into the Gulf of Mexico. These beds range in thickness from 120 to 250 ft. Tuffaceous mudstones are more likely the result of direct ash fall and preservation in the deep-water environment, and their average thickness is 23 ft. Volcanic activity of the Mid- Late Miocene Yellowstone calderas was the likely source of the volcanic glass found in the tuffaceous lithologies of the central Gulf of Mexico, providing both a long-distance, wind-driven ash fall, and a source-to-sink transport mechanism involving fluvial, deltaic, and deep-water processes. Direct correlation between specific tuffaceous lithologies in the Gulf of Mexico to their specific Yellowstone sources will enhance the Miocene stratigraphic framework of the Gulf of Mexico.Statoil Gulf Services LLC.No embargoAcademic Major: Earth Science

G. William Bouldin, More Than a Businessman

When the average person thinks about African American history, the two major historical subjects that possibly comes to their mind are slavery and the civil rights movement. I believe this is the case because African American history is a subject with a limited curriculum in the history classes of our public schools. Possible causes for this problem could be budget restrictions, limited amounts of time in classes, or even to ‘soften’ the reality of American history. Despite these reasons, the undeniable fact is that African American History has many unresearched areas within the subject. For instance, the historical study of African American owned businesses is a topic that has been given little attention to. That is why I decided to research the life of G. William Bouldin, a San Antonio based businessman who became a prominent role model for the San Antonio African American community during the early 1900s. Many Black business owners, like Bouldin, fought against injustices created towards their people and utilized the resources from their businesses to benefit their community in their own way. By sharing the life story of Bouldin, I prove that San Antonio\u27s black business leaders were more than just businesspeople and Bouldin’s accomplishments influenced San Antonio’s black community tremendously

Economia del sughero

Indice: Capitolo primo, Superficie forestale; Capitolo secondo, Produzione; Capitolo terzo, Lavorazione del sughero; Capitolo quarto, Commercio Estero; Capitolo quinto, Alcune indicazioni di politica economica per il settore del sughero in Sardegna

Association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.

Association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Busto-Garrido, M.; Gutierrez-Castillo, D; Navas- Gonzalez, JR; Gutierrez-Bedmar, M; Gutierrez-Casares, JR; Martin-Lunar, MT; Rodríguez-Rosado, A; Pena-Andreu, JM. European Psychiatry 415(2017) 5221.Chronic irritability is the most frequently reported symptom in child and adolescent depression. The association of both has been linked with high rates of chronicity, comorbility and impairment. Objectives To study the association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Methods We have studied 857 participants recruited from the only Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic in a catchment area of 122968 people under 18 (2004-2010). A sample of 677 participants (57 controls and 620 patients) was included to carry out a cross-sectional study. Chronic irritability was measured by a Visual Analog Scale (VAS irritability) -scored from 0 to 10-, and depressive symptoms by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The participants were categorized into controls and patients, and according to their chronic irritability (≤4 [I],5 [II] and ≥6 [III]). The mean of CDI score was calculated for each of the groups, adjusted by sex and age, and analyzed by ANCOVA. Results The following means were obtained from the controls: 13,71 (group I), 9,82 (group II) and 17,45 (group III). Regarding to the patients: 13,92 (group I), 11,54 (group II) and 15,64 (group III). A quadratic association (p <0,0015) was found between VAS irritability score and CDI score. Conclussions There is not a lineal association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescent. High rates of depressive symptoms were associated both with high and low rates of irritability. Several questions remain unexplained about the status of irritability in psychiatry as Stringaris group has been pointed out. Disclosure statement I have no potential conflict of interest to discloseUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Bubble nucleation at zero and nonzero temperatures

The theory of false vacuum decay in a thermal system may have a cross-over from predominantly thermal transitions to quantum transitions as the temperature is decreased. New numerical methods and results are presented here that can be used to model thermal and vacuum bubble nucleation in this regime for cosmology and for laboratory analogues of early universe phase transitions.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures v2 improved tex

An Analysis of State Telehealth Laws and Regulations for Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

This study conducted a scan of telehealth physical and occupational therapy state laws and regulations. The laws and regulations were analyzed to determine the potential effect they could have on physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists’ (OTs) utilization of telehealth. The results indicate that the majority of physical and occupational therapy boards are silent on telehealth. A handful of physical therapy laws and regulations address “consultation by means of telecommunication,” but do not provide any guidance for PTs or OTs seeking to provide direct telehealth-delivered services to patients.  Of the few states that do provide guidance, policy had the potential to provide clarity, or inhibit adoption. The findings suggest that as state boards look at crafting telehealth regulation, they should do so in a way that facilitates, rather than hampers adoption, while upholding their providers to a high standard of care

The infrastructural conditions of (de-)growth: The case of the internet

Infrastructure studies represent a domain that remains significantly uncharted among degrowth scholars. This is paradoxical considering that infrastructures constitute a fundamental prerequisite for the equitable distribution of many aspects of human well-being that degrowth proponents emphasize. Nonetheless, the substantial resource and energy consumption associated with infrastructures cannot be overlooked. The internet offers an instructive case study in this sense, at its best it forges human connections and is productive of considerable societal value. The resource implications of the often-overlooked internet physical layer of data-centres and submarine cables needs to be acknowledged. Furthermore, the ways in which assumptions of perpetual growth are built into this global infrastructure via the logic layer of internet protocols and other governing mechanisms such as finance and network design need to be examined if we are to determine the extent to which such infrastructures are inherently growth dependent. In making these two arguments, we draw upon the work of both Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Large Technological System (LTS) studies on the inherent problems of large infrastructures which have thus far seen little engagement with questions of degrowth. We review the case of the internet and suggest a number of scenarios that illustrate potential roles for such infrastructures in any planned reduction of economic activity.Universidade de Vigo/CISU