VALUING THE PROTECTION OF MINIMUM INSTREAM FLOWS IN NEW MEXICO

Currently, New Mexico law does not provide any legal avenue of protecting instream flows. A change in the status quo requires that a prima facie case be made— establishing sufficient evidence of the public benefits from maintaining instream flows to warrant consideration, or standing, in future water policy deliberations. Using the contingent valuation (CV) method, we investigate the nonmarket benefits of protecting minimum instream flows in New Mexico. Results from a dichotomous choice CV telephone survey show significant nonmarket values for protecting instream flows that are sensitive to a change in scope and insensitive to a group-size reminder.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Terms of Engagement: Consensus or Control in Remote Australian Resource Management?

Community based natural resource management (NRM) has seen a shift in the discourse from participation to engagement, reflecting a focus on increasingly active citizen involvement in management and action. This paper considers this shift in relation to two contrasting theoretical perspectives. The first is deliberative democracy, drawing on Habermas, which emphasises the importance of discussing and rationalising values and actions. The second is governmentality, or ‘governing through community’ which draws on Foucault, emphasising neo-liberal management styles and ‘self-help’. In considering the empirical relevance of these theoretical perspectives, this paper draws on a case study of public engagement in NRM in the Lake Eyre Basin, a remote, inland region of Australia. This research yielded a practical set of “factors for success” for public engagement in remote areas. The findings support the view that, especially in remote regions, public engagement in NRM reflects contrasting goals. We make two conclusions. First, that these contrasting objectives emphasise the tension between deliberative and neo-liberal conceptualisations of engagement; and second, the evidence for neo-liberal interpretations of engagement are stronger than for deliberative interpretations of engagement in the case study region.participation, decentralisation, governmentality, deliberation

Synthesis and cellular penetration properties of new phosphonium based cationic amphiphilic peptides

A new category of phosphonium based cationic amphiphilic peptides has been developed and evaluated as potential antimicrobial peptides and cell penetrating peptides. The required building blocks were conveniently accessible from cysteine and could be applied in a solid phase peptide synthesis protocol for incorporation into peptide sequences. Evaluation of the antimicrobial properties and cellular toxicity of these phosphonium based peptides showed that these “soft” cationic side-chain containing peptides have poor antimicrobial properties and most of them were virtually non toxic (on HEK cells tested at 256 and 512 μM) and non-haemolytic (on horse erythrocytes tested at 512 μM), hinting at an interesting potential application as cell penetrating peptides. This possibility was evaluated using fluorescent peptide derivatives and showed that these phosphonium based peptide derivatives were capable of entering HEK cells and depending on the sequence confined to specific cellular areas

What Lies Beneath: Unraveling the Generative Mechanisms of Smart Technology and Service Design

The rapid digitalization of products and services has given rise to smart, technological products and services in various industries. While researchers recognize the complexity of digital components embedded in smart services, there exists scarce research on the evolution of product development, smart technology’s use, and the mechanisms wherein changes in products and services are triggered and implemented. In this research, grounded on the theoretical basis of layered modular architecture, we study a digital venture in an event management industry and offer a substantive look at the three mechanisms—system-environment fitness, data exploitation, and user expansion—that are responsible for transforming smart technology from a conceptual idea into a real product and from a simple digital device into an integrated smart system. Our research findings offer theoretical insight into the dynamics and fluidity of mechanisms that are relevant to smart technology’s design, use, and outcomes

Testing for Budget Constraint Effects in a National Advisory Referendum Survey on the Kyoto Protocol

In contrast to providing standard reminders about remembering household budgets, does asking survey respondents about their discretionary income and its use affect their voting responses in a national advisory referendum survey? We explore this question using U.S. household data from a unique set of multi-mode random samples (telephone and Internet surveys), and an advisory referendum concerning the Kyoto Protocol. The contingent valuation method is applied to estimate household willingness to pay (WTP) for a split-sample treatment: respondents who only received a standard reminder of household budgets (control group) versus respondents who received two mental accounting-type questions on discretionary income and its uses (treatment group). Results indicate that the treatment significantly influences voting responses and lowers estimated household WTP.budget constraint, contingent valuation, Kyoto Protocol, mental accounts, referendum, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Exploring the Beta Model Using Proportional Budget Information in a Contingent Valuation Study

Using a set of random telephone and Internet (web-based) survey samples for a national advisory referendum, we implement Beta models to handle proportional budget information, and allow for consistency in modeling assumptions and the calculation of estimated willingness to pay (WTP). Results indicate significant budget constraint effects and demonstrate the potential for Beta models in handling mental-accounting type information.Beta model

Valoracion economica de los beneficios recreacionales provenientes de una mejora en la calidad de las aguas del Rio Claro

61 p.El presente estudio involucra la aplicación del método de valoración contingente (MVC) en su formato dicotómico doble, con el propósito de determinar la valoración económica de los habitantes de la ciudad de Talca por lograr un mejoramiento en la calidad de las aguas del Rió Claro, por medio de estimaciones de medidas de bienestar. El desarrollo teórico se realiza sobre la base del enfoque de diferencias en la función indirecta de utilidad propuesta por Hanemann (1984, 1989), donde el autor define las medidas de bienestar a calcular. En la metodología, se define un mercado hipotético la cual sirve de base para la formulación de las encuestas que se aplican a 500 habitantes de la ciudad según su nivel socioeconómico, en el cual un precio hipotético es presentado a los individuos y estos deciden si lo toman o lo dejan, de manera que se enfrenten a una decisión similar a la que toman en la mayoría de los mercados habitualmente. Por medio de estimaciones econometricas de máxima verosimilitud utilizando el programa LIMDEP 6.0 se calcularon las medidas de bienestar Hicksianas (media y mediana), las cuales representan la disposición a pagar de los individuos por lograr la mejora del recurso, a su vez, se calcularon los intervalos de confianza para cada uno de los parámetros en estudio. El análisis de los resultados revela que la mayoría de los entrevistados están dispuestos a contribuir financieramente por lograr la mejora en la calidad de las aguas aproximadamente en $ 6.000, sin embargo, los resultados son variables para cada modelo planteado en forma poco significativa

Caracterização química e avaliação das atividades antioxidante e anticolinesterásica de extratos do cultivar BRS Porã

As Bromeliaceaes são consideradas a segunda maior família de monocotiledôneas epífitas. As espécies desta família apresentam grande importância na utilização como fonte de fibras, alimentos, forragens, ornamentais e medicamentos. O Brasil abriga cerca de 40% do total de espécies das Bromeliaceae, sendo 40 gêneros registrados no território nacional (FORZZA, 2005)