1,812 research outputs found
Public participation and willingness to cooperate in common-pool resource management: a field experiment with fishing communities in Brazil
The primary evidence about the factors determining successful self-governance of common-pool resources (CPR) has come from case studies. More recently, this observational evidence has been complemented by insights from economic experiments. Here we advance a third approach in which the role of local deliberation about the management of a fishery resource is investigated in a field experiment. Using three control and three treatment communities in a freshwater fishery, we tested if participation in developing specific measures for community-based sustainable CPR management increased the willingness to contribute to the implementation of these measures. Each community was also exposed to information about their community leader's advice about the proposed measures. Both participation and leader advice affected the willingness of participants to contribute to one of three concrete proposals. However, the strongest influence on individual willingness to contribute was exerted by the individual beliefs about the cooperation of others in CPR management. --local deliberation,participatory research,willingness to contribute,beliefs,fishing resources,field experiment
PHILOSOPHICAL EGOISM: ITS NATURE AND LIMITATIONS
Egoism and altruism are unequal contenders in the explanation of human behaviour. While egoism tends to be viewed as natural and unproblematic, altruism has always been treated with suspicion, and it has often been argued that apparent cases of altruistic behaviour might really just be some special form of egoism. The reason for this is that egoism fits into our usual theoretical views of human behaviour in a way that altruism does not. This is true on the biological level, where an evolutionary account seems to favour egoism, as well as on the psychological level, where an account of self-interested motivation is deeply rooted in folk psychology and in the economic model of human behaviour. While altruism has started to receive increasing support in both biological and psychological debates over the last decades, this paper focuses on yet another level, where egoism is still widely taken for granted. Philosophical egoism (Martin Hollis' term) is the view that, on the ultimate level of intentional explanation, all action is motivated by one of the agent's desires. This view is supported by the standard notion that for a complex of behaviour to be an action, there has to be a way to account for that behaviour in terms of the agent's own pro-attitudes. Psychological altruists, it is claimed, are philosophical egoists in that they are motivated by desires that have the other's benefit rather than the agent's own for its ultimate object (other-directed desires). This paper casts doubt on this thesis, arguing that empathetic agents act on other people's pro-attitudes in very much the same way as agents usually act on their own, and that while other-directed desires do play an important role in many cases of psychologically altruistic action, they are not necessary in explanations of some of the most basic and most pervasive types of human altruistic behaviour. The paper concludes with the claim that philosophical egoism is really a cultural value rather than a conceptual feature of actio
Glass transition of hard spheres in high dimensions
We have investigated analytically and numerically the liquid-glass transition
of hard spheres for dimensions in the framework of mode-coupling
theory. The numerical results for the critical collective and self
nonergodicity parameters and exhibit
non-Gaussian -dependence even up to . and
differ for , but become identical on a scale
, which is proven analytically. The critical packing fraction
is above the corresponding Kauzmann packing
fraction derived by a small cage expansion. Its quadratic
pre-exponential factor is different from the linear one found earlier. The
numerical values for the exponent parameter and therefore the critical
exponents and depend on , even for the largest values of .Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Phys. Rev. E (in print
Multi-stage thrusting at the "Penninic Front" in the Western Alps between Mont Blanc and Pelvoux massifs
The different segments of the tectonic boundary between external (European) and internal (Penninic) units in the Western Alps, the so-called Penninic Front (PF), formed at different times and according to different kinematic scenarios. During a first episode (Eocene), the PF corresponds to a transpressive suture zone between Penninic and European units. North- to NNW-trending stretching lineations, found along internal nappe contacts within the Penninic units, are related to this episode. This subduction zone was sealed by the Priabonian flysch of the Aiguilles d'Arves, a detrital trench formation that formed during the final stages of subduction. During a second episode, starting in mid-Oligocene times, the PF, imaged along the ECORS-CROP profile, acted as a WNW-directed thrust. This thrust, the Roselend Thrust (RT), only partially coincides with the PF. South of Moûtiers, the RT propagates into the Dauphinois units, carrying the former Eocene PF (including the Priabonian flysch) passively in its hangingwall. South of the Pelvoux massif the RT finds its continuation along the "Briançonnais Front", an out-of-sequence thrust behind the Embrunais-Ubaye nappes. On a larger scale, our findings indicate oblique (sinistral) collision within the future Western Alps during the Eocene, followed by westward indentation of the Adriatic bloc
Predator diversity and abundance provide little support for the enemies hypothesis in forests of high tree diversity
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Investigating the Potential of the Inter-IXP Multigraph for the Provisioning of Guaranteed End-to-End Services
In this work, we propose utilizing the rich connectivity between IXPs and
ISPs for inter-domain path stitching, supervised by centralized QoS brokers. In
this context, we highlight a novel abstraction of the Internet topology, i.e.,
the inter-IXP multigraph composed of IXPs and paths crossing the domains of
their shared member ISPs. This can potentially serve as a dense Internet-wide
substrate for provisioning guaranteed end-to-end (e2e) services with high path
diversity and global IPv4 address space reach. We thus map the IXP multigraph,
evaluate its potential, and introduce a rich algorithmic framework for path
stitching on such graph structures.Comment: Proceedings of ACM SIGMETRICS '15, pages 429-430, 1/1/2015. arXiv
admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1611.0264
Analyse von Auswirkungen verschiedener Optionen einer GAP nach 2013 auf biologisch wirtschaftende Betriebe in Österreich
The aim of this study is to analyze alternative options of a Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) after 2013 and their consequences for farms in Austria. Projections about the
development of agricultural markets are based on OECD-FAO forecasts. Using these
price projections, three alternative policy scenarios have been developed for a period
beyond 2013, which are compared with a baseline scenario. The three policy scenarios
encompass different assumptions on specific measures in the dairy sector and
higher modulation (13% versus the existing rate of 5%) as well as budget cuts in the
first pillar of CAP of 30% and 50%, respectively. All the scenarios have been analyzed
with the farm optimization system FAMOS, which differentiates among 5.796 typical
farms in Austria. FAMOS has been expanded and considers now the law of diminishing
costs and labor requirements with respect to farm size. Model results are presented
for organic and conventional farms by means of frequency distributions on percentage
changes in total gross margins. The results clearly indicate that uniform policy
changes can affect farms quite differently. There are winners and losers, which have
been identified according to farm characteristics
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The effect of Basel II on SME financing in Germany. An exploratory study of the impact of the new Basel Accord on SMES and financiers in Germany
The New Capital Accord (henceforth, Basel II), is expected to impose
dramatic changes on banks and other providers of corporate financing, as
well as companies. Literature indicates that small and medium sized
enterprises (henceforth SMEs), in general, and in particular German SMEs
seem to be affected: Germany has the highest SME density with SMEs
comprising 99.6% of all corporations (IMF, 2008), these SMEs are highly
dependent on banks for financing (see Jacobson et al, 2006). However, there
is huge controversy in the literature concerning how these changes will look,
right before Basel II came into effect in the years 2007 / 2008 in the
European Union. In order to explore this effect from a Post-Basel II
perspective, the objective of this research project is to establish what effect
Basel II will have on corporate financing of SMEs in Germany.
The high impact on SMEs (in Germany), combined with controversial
evidence from extant Pre-Basel II research, indicates a high relevance to
academics and practitioners for this thesis. This thesis is probably the first
from a Post-Basel II perspective which covers both the SMEs' as well as
the financiers' perspective.
Based on a structured literature review using the comparative method
(Peters, 1998) 'Most Different Systems' evidence is provided that there is no
consistent picture regarding the effect of Basel II. Therefore, further research
is needed to determine whether the effect in Germany is consistent, from a
Post-Basel II perspective, with regards to the conditions which trigger certain
mechanisms, from a 'scientific realism' (Smith, 1998) perspective, because
the literature indicates that 'positivist generalising' has limited validity.
Building on Creswell (2003), an 'exploratory sequential' design was created
to test three initial hypotheses (as confirmation or refutation of a theory, see Gujarati, 2003:8): a multi-method design is best suited to the author's
philosophical stance of 'scientific realism' by means of triangulation (Robson,
2002:174). The result of the initial quantitative phase is based on the analysis
of questionnaire data from 125 SMEs and financiers (banks, private equity
companies, family offices, providers of alternative means of financing) derived
from a probabilistic sample frame in the fourth quarter of 2008. Mathematical
models for SMEs and financiers regarding the three initial hypotheses
were set-up and tested using the appropriate statistical tests. In order to limit
bias by means of a spill-over effect from the financial crises, control
questions were used. The subsequent qualitative phase by means of semistructured
elite interviews (Saunders et al, 2007:312) between March and
May 2009 enabled a valid triangulation and provided in-depth insights into
how SMEs can cope best with Basel II. The purposive sample, of 17 'important
cases', included company owners and top-level financier executives.
In a conclusive quantitative and qualitative synopsis, the three initial
hypotheses were acknowledged. However, the qualitative in-depth analysis
by means of 'causal networks' (Miles and Huberman, 1994) led to an
amendment of the hypotheses as follows:
1. Corporate finance has become different for SMEs because the 'house
bank principle' has changed to a 'core bank principle' due to Basel II.
Shopping around regarding credits will be more difficult which makes
financing more difficult. This could be overcompensated by major SMEs,
by using non-credit corporate financing which leads to a reduction of the
'house bank' principle.
2. SMEs can cope best with the effect when they:
a) proactively engage in rating and improve the parameters, or
b) they adjust their strategy as stated in hypothesis 3.
3. Financiers (especially non-bank financiers) will engage in SME corporate
finance when they have a sound financial basis / management and when
they adjust their strategy in terms of growth with the aim of niche market
leadership and when they open up for exit strategies
Host-Plant Selectivity of Rhizobacteria in a Crop/Weed Model System
Belowground microorganisms are known to influence plants' performance by altering the soil environment. Plant pathogens such as cyanide-producing strains of the rhizobacterium Pseudomonas may show strong host-plant selectivity. We analyzed interactions between different host plants and Pseudomonas strains and tested if these can be linked to the cyanide sensitivity of host plants, the cyanide production of bacterial strains or the plant identity from which strains had been isolated. Eight strains (four cyanide producing) were isolated from roots of four weed species and then re-inoculated on the four weed and two additional crop species. Bacterial strain composition varied strongly among the four weed species. Although all six plant species showed different reductions in root growth when cyanide was artificially applied to seedlings, they were generally not negatively affected by inoculation with cyanide-producing bacterial strains. We found a highly significant plant species x bacterial strain interaction. Partitioning this interaction into contrasts showed that it was entirely due to a strongly negative effect of a bacterial strain (Pseudomonas kilonensis/brassicacearum, isolated from Galium mollugo) on Echinochloa crus-galli. This exotic weed may not have become adapted to the bacterial strain isolated from a native weed. Our findings suggest that host-specific rhizobacteria hold some promise as biological weed-control agents
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