Warburton, N. (2012). Vprasanje umetnosti [The art question]. Afterword study by Marjan Simenc. Ljubljana: Sophia. [Book review]

Book review of: Warburton, N. (2012). Vprasanje umetnosti [The art question]. Afterword study by Marjan Simenc. Ljubljana: Sophia. 158 p., ISBN 978-961-6768-48-1

Coping with risk and distortion in performance-based payment for environmental services schemes

Around the world, ecosystems are in decline and as human population increases new policy mechanisms to counteract this trend are increasingly being sought-after. A growing group of policy makers and practitioners are gaining interest in the new conservation performance payment approach. This policy approach falls within the larger group of payments for environmental services. This paper applies findings from a model developed by Baker (2002) on distortion and risk in performance-based employment contracts to conservation performance payments. Guidelines for the optimal design of pro-conservation incentives are identified. The theoretical considerations are backed-up by reviews of case studies on existing performance payments for water quality management and biodiversity conservation. --

The Provision of Water Services in the UK

Wasserversorgung, Privatisierung, Regulierung, Großbritannien, Water supply, Privatization, Regulation, United Kingdom

Do imputed education histories provide satisfactory results in fertility analysis in the Western German context?

In many surveys, information on respondents’ education histories is restricted to the level and sometimes the date they attained their highest degree. We compare estimates of education effects on first birth transitions using imputed histories based on this rudimentary information with estimates drawing on complete histories, using the German Life History Study. We find that imputed histories produce relatively reliable estimates for most but not all education categories, especially when information on the date the highest degree was attained is available. We investigate possible explanations for these findings and indicate contexts in which biases may be stronger.event history analysis, fertility, first birth, Germany, imputation, imputed education histories

Eligibility for materniy leave and first birth timing in Great Britain

This paper examines the impact of maternity leave legislation on first birth timing in Great Britain. When maternity leave was introduced in Great Britain in 1976, the eligibility requirement for full-time employees was to have been working for the same employer for at least 2 years. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), this paper examines whether women postponed first birth in accordance with tenure requirements for maternity leave. Higher transition rates to first birth are found for those who had acquired enough employer tenure to qualify for maternity leave than for those who did not yet qualify. However, the causal role of maternity leave legislation for first birth timing is uncertain, since transition rates to first birth began to diverge by employer tenure even before 1976.

Employment experience and first birth in Great Britain

This article examines the effect of employment experience on first birth risks in Great Britain. The data used is from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). A positive effect of employment experience on first birth risks is found, in accordance with pre-dictions from economic models of fertility timing. This effect did not differ greatly between educational groups, in contrast to what was expected. Positive effects were found for all educational groups. An especially strong increase in first birth risks was found across the first year of employment spells.United Kingdom, fertility determinants

Quantum State of Neutrons in Magnetic Thin Films and Superlattices

An experiment which describes the quantum states of neutrons in magnetic thin films and superlattices is reviewed.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Neutron New

Magnetic multipole analysis of kagome and artificial ice dipolar arrays

We analyse an array of linearly extended monodomain dipoles forming square and kagome lattices. We find that its phase diagram contains two (distinct) finite-entropy kagome ice regimes - one disordered, one algebraic - as well as a low-temperature ordered phase. In the limit of the islands almost touching, we find a staircase of corresponding entropy plateaux, which is analytically captured by a theory based on magnetic charges. For the case of a modified square ice array, we show that the charges ('monopoles') are excitations experiencing two distinct Coulomb interactions: a magnetic 'three-dimensional' one as well as a logarithmic `two dimensional' one of entropic origin.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; v2: minor changes as in final published versio