202 research outputs found
DETERMINANTS OF NON-TIMBER VALUE IN NORTHERN HARDWOODS: A FRAMEWORK FOR FOREST RESOURCE ACCOUNTING
We propose a revealed-preference based definition of non-timber values and apply it to uneven-aged northern hardwoods in Wisconsin. Non-timber values so defined are found to be sizeable. Hedonic regressions reveal theoretically consistent signs and plausible magnitudes of determinants. Regional forest policy and natural resource accounting can both apply this concept.Environmental Economics and Policy,
Valuing the Recreational Benefits From the Creation of Nature Reserves in Irish Forests
Data from a large-scale contingent valuation study are used to investigate the effects of forest attributes on willingness to pay for forest recreation in Ireland. In particular, the presence of a nature reserve in the forest is found to significantly increase the visitors' willingness to pay. A random utility model is used to estimate the welfare change associated with the creation of nature reserves in all the Irish forests currently without one. The yearly impact on visitors' economic welfare of new nature reserves approaches half a million pounds per annum, exclusive of non recreational values.Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation, Forest attributes analysis, Nature reserves.
The HST Survey of BL Lac Objects: Gravitational Lens Candidates and Other Unusual Sources
We present HST observations of seven unusual objects from the HST ``snapshot
survey'' of BL Lac objects, of which four are gravitational lens candidates. In
three cases a double point sources is observed: 0033+595, with 1.58 arcsec
separation, and 0502+675 and 1440+122, each with arcsec separation.
The last two also show one or more galaxies, which could be either host or
lensing galaxies. If any are confirmed as lenses, these BL Lac objects are
excellent candidates for measuring H via gravitational time delay because
of their characteristic rapid, high amplitude variability. An additional
advantage is that, like other blazars, they are likely superluminal radio
sources, in which case the source plane is mapped out over a period of years,
providing strong additional constraints on the lensing mass distribution. The
fourth gravitational lens candidate is 1517+656, which is surrounded by three
arclets forming an almost perfect ring of radius 2.4 arcsec. If this is indeed
an Einstein ring, it is most likely a background source gravitationally lensed
by the BL Lac object host galaxy and possibly a surrounding group or cluster.
In the extreme case that all four candidates are true lenses, the derived
frequency of gravitational lensing in this BL Lac sample would be an order of
magnitude higher than in comparable quasar samples.
We also report on three other remarkable BL Lac objects: 0138-097, which is
surrounded by a large number of close companion galaxies; 0806+524, whose host
galaxy contains an uncommon arc-like structure; and 1959+650, which is hosted
by a gas rich elliptical galaxy with a prominent dust lane of .Comment: 29 pages in total, 12 figure
2017 Final Evaluation Report for Better Together
Program DescriptionHeartland Family Service (HFS) partnered with Nebraska Families Collaborative (NFC) and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) to begin Better Together, a comprehensive support service program for families affected by substance abuse in Omaha, Nebraska. Better Together seeks to prevent infant abandonment by increasing wellbeing, improving permanency, and enhancing the safety of infants and young children who have been exposed to dangerous drugs.
Utilizing a community-based treatment setting, Better Together provides intensive outpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment to families impacted by substance abuse. NDHHS and NFC identify families as being at risk for out-of-home placement of their children and recommend the appropriate services. The target population is families in which the mother is pregnant and using drugs and/or alcohol, families where infants screen positive for illegal substances, or families with young children who are at risk for placement due to parental substance abuse. HFS treats each family as a unit, providing comprehensive treatment and support services for the parents, infants, young children, older children, and any self-identified family members.
Better Together services include the following: Intensive outpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment. Mental health treatment. Case management. Parenting education. Peer support. Family therapy. Housing assistance. Infant and child developmental screening and intervention. Physical health care coordination and support. Transportation assistance.
Families live in a community-based treatment setting, in individually-leased apartments, for up to two years. As they move through the program, their treatment becomes progressively less intensive. Better Together outcomes include improved child well-being, sustained parental recovery from substance abuse, and reunification of families
ASCA and contemporaneous ground-based observations of the BL Lacertae objects 1749+096 and 2200+420 (BL Lac)
We present ASCA observations of the radio-selected BL Lacertae objects
1749+096 (z=0.32) and 2200+420 (BL Lac, z=0.069) performed in 1995 Sept and
Nov, respectively. The ASCA spectra of both sources can be described as a first
approximation by a power law with photon index Gamma ~ 2. This is flatter than
for most X-ray-selected BL Lacs observed with ASCA, in agreement with the
predictions of current blazar unification models. While 1749+096 exhibits
tentative evidence for spectral flattening at low energies, a concave continuum
is detected for 2200+420: the steep low-energy component is consistent the
high-energy tail of the synchrotron emission responsible for the longer
wavelengths, while the harder tail at higher energies is the onset of the
Compton component. The spectral energy distributions from radio to gamma-rays
are consistent with synchrotron-self Compton emission from a single homogeneous
region shortward of the IR/optical wavelengths, with a second component in the
radio domain related to a more extended emission region. For 2200+420,
comparing the 1995 Nov state with the optical/GeV flare of 1997 July, we find
that models requiring inverse Compton scattering of external photons provide a
viable mechanism for the production of the highest (GeV) energies during the
flare. An increase of the external radiation density and of the power injected
in the jet can reproduce the flat gamma-ray continuum observed in 1997 July. A
directly testable prediction of this model is that the line luminosity in
2200+420 should vary shortly after (~1 month) a non-thermal synchrotron flare.Comment: 28 pages,6 figures, 5 tables; LaTeX document. accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
HST Observations of the Host Galaxies of BL Lacertae Objects
Six BL Lac objects from the complete 1 Jy radio-selected sample of 34 objects
were observed in Cycle 5 with the HST WFPC2 camera to an equivalent limiting
flux of mu_I~26 mag/arcsec^2. Here we report results for the second half of
this sample, as well as new results for the first three objects, discussed
previously by Falomo et al. (1997). In addition, we have analyzed in the same
way HST images of three X-ray-selected BL Lacs observed by Jannuzi et al.
(1997). The ensemble of 9 BL Lac objects spans the redshift range from z=0.19
to ~1. Host galaxies are clearly detected in seven cases, while the other two,
at z~0.258 (redshift highly uncertain) and z=0.997, are not resolved. The HST
images constitute a homogeneous data set with unprecedented morphological
information between a few tenths of an arcsecond and several arcseconds from
the nucleus, allowing us in 6 of the 7 detected host galaxies to rule out
definitively a pure disk light profile. The host galaxies are luminous
ellipticals with an average absolute magnitude of M_I~-24.6 mag (with
dispersion 0.7 mag), more than a magnitude brighter than L* and comparable to
brightest cluster galaxies. The morphologies are generally smooth and have
small ellipticities (epsilon<0.2). Given such roundness, there is no obvious
alignment with the more linear radio structures. In the six cases for which we
have HST WFPC2 images in two filters, the derived color profiles show no strong
spatial gradients and are as expected for K-corrected passively evolving
elliptical galaxies. The host galaxies of the radio-selected and X-ray-selected
BL Lacs for this very limited sample are comparable in both morphology and
luminosity.Comment: 23 pages, including 6 postscript figures and 3 tables (embedded).
Latex requires aaspp4.sty and psfig.sty (not included). Accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
The HST Survey of BL Lacertae Objects. I. Surface Brightness Profiles, Magnitudes, and Radii of Host Galaxies
We report on a large HST imaging survey of BL Lac objects, at spatial
resolution ~10 times better than previous ground-based surveys. We focus on
data reduction and analysis, describing the procedures used to model the host
galaxy surface brightness radial profiles. A total of 69 host galaxies were
resolved out of 110 objects observed, including almost all sources at z < 0.5.
We classify them morphologically by fitting with either an exponential disk or
a de~Vaucouleurs profile; when one fit is preferred over the other, in 58 of 69
cases, it is invariably the elliptical morphology. This is a very strong result
given the large number of BL Lac objects, the unprecedented spatial resolution,
and the homogeneity of the data set. With the present reclassification of the
host galaxy of 1418+546 as an elliptical, there remain no undisputed examples
of a disk galaxy hosting a BL Lac nucleus. This implies that, at 99%
confidence, fewer than 7% of BL Lacs can be in disk galaxies. The apparent
magnitude of the host galaxies varies with distance as expected if the absolute
magnitudes are approximately the same, with a spread of +-1 mag, out to
redshift z < 0.5. At larger redshifts, only 6 of 23 BL Lacs are resolved so the
present data do not constrain possible luminosity evolution of the host
galaxies. The collective Hubble diagram for BL Lac host galaxies and radio
galaxies strongly supports their unification.Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJS. 43 pages. 10 figures. Figure 1 can
also be downloaded from http://icarus.stsci.edu/~scarpa/tmp/hst_figure1.ta
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