Providing quality recreation experiences in Japan

This paper uses a choice experiment to evaluate the benefits to trekkers of the natural environment and the provision of appropriate recreation experiences in the Uryu-numa Mire, northern Japan. The result, applying a conditional logit model, shows that restoration of the natural environment are positively valued by trekkers, and their respective willingness to pay for one percentage point improvement are JPY 32.6 and 59.6. Likewise, provision of appropriate recreation experiences, setting a limit on the number of trekkers a day, is also positively valued. The results indicate that the optimal number of trekkers is 458, and the willingness to pay for controlling the number of trekkers from 800 to 458 is JPY 1,457. In Japan, importance of the quality of recreation experiences is not well recognized by park managers. However, our results indicate that both restoring the environment and providing excellent recreation experiences are significant challenges for recreation areas.

The integer programing extreme value (IPEV) model: An application for estimation of the leisure trip demand

Natural Resource Economics Discussion Papers are preliminary research reports by members of the GSA-NRE Kyoto University circulated for comments and suggestions. They have not been externally peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the editorial board.We developed an integer programing extreme value (IPEV) model that accounts the integer property of trip data and has the same advantages as the multiple discrete–continuous extreme value choice (MDCEV) model. The proposed model is consistent with utility theory and provides a single structural framework for simultaneously modeling the choice of alternatives and quantity decisions with the constraint of the integer value of consumption. We demonstrate that the proposed model has a closed-form probability expression. Finally, we apply the proposed model to the recreation demand for national parks in Japan. The empirical results suggest that the proposed model provides a better fit for the data than the previous model and that ignoring the integer property of demand might cause an underestimation of the welfare loss

The influence of decision-making rules on individual preference for ecological restoration: Evidence from an experimental survey

We conduct an experimental survey to analyze how rules for collective decision-making influence individual preferences concerning nature restoration projects. Our study compares two decision-making rules - a consensus rule and a majority rule - wherein participants decide on a plan concerning nature restoration in the Kushiro Wetland, Japan. Our main finding is that the difference between the individual preferences and collective decision-making is less significant under the consensus rule than the majority rule. Furthermore, there is a larger disparity with regard to the marginal willingness to pay between collective and individual decisions when participants are unsatisfied with the results of collective choice.

Can We Extract Lambda-Lambda Interaction from Two-Particle Momentum Correlation ?

We analyze the invariant mass spectrum of Lambda-Lambda in $^{12}C(K^-,K^+ Lambda Lambda)$ reaction at P(K^+)=1.65 GeV/c by using a combined framework of IntraNuclear Cascade (INC) model and the correlation function technique. The observed enhancement at low-invariant masses can be well reproduced with attractive Lambda-Lambda interactions with the scattering length either in the range a = -6 \sim -4 fm (no bound state) or a = 7 \sim 12 fm (with bound state). We also discuss Lambda-Lambda correlation functions in central relativistic heavy-ion collisions as a possible way to eliminate this discrete ambiguity.Comment: 4 Pages, LaTeX with psfig, embedded 4 ps figures. Talk given at KEK-Tanashi Int. Symp. on "Physics of Hadrons and Nuclei", 14-17 Dec. 1998, Tokyo, Japan, Nuclear Physics A, to appea

RETROPERITONEAL FIBROSARCOMA WITH DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS ON GROWTH P ATTERN AND FINDINGS IN DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

A 47-year-old man with lumbago had been found to have a perirenal hematoma at the lower pole of the left kidney on CT. MR imaging also demonstrated a hematoma，8 X8X9αn in size. After 1-month observation，the mass had very rapidly increased in size，suggesting it to be a neoplasm. Consequent surgery resulted in noncurative tumor extirpation，because of invasion to the descending colon，left kidney and surrounding tissues. Histlogically，the tumor consisted of uniform spindle-shaped cells with interlacing solid and bundle forms，showing a herring-bone pattern. Immunohistochemical studies finally led to the diagnosis of fibrosarcoma with markedly high malignant potential. Additional therapy was not performed. Rapid local spread of the tumor was demonstrated when bowel obstruction developed 2 months later. The patient died of the disease 3 months after surgery. No distant metastasis was observed throughout the clinical course