Assessing the Determinants of Renewable Electricity Acceptance Integrating Meta-Analysis Regression and a Local Comprehensive Survey

In dealing with renewable electricity (RE), individuals are involved both as end-consumers on the demand side and as stakeholders (citizens) in the local production process on the supply side. Empirical evidence shows that in many countries, consumers are willing to pay a significant amount to facilitate adoption of RE. By contrast, environmental externalities are often the cause of strong opposition to RE adoption if local communities are involved as stakeholders in wind, solar or biomass investment projects. Looking at the literature on willingness to pay and on willingness to accept, we have investigated RE acceptance mechanisms. First, we have used the meta-analysis to assess the major determinants of RE acceptance on both demand and supply sides. Meta-analysis has provided some insights useful for managing field research on an onshore wind farm enlargement project located in the Umbria region. Meta-analysis and survey results confirm that the local community plays a central role in local RE acceptance. Furthermore, people who have previous experience with windmills require less compensation, or are willing to pay more, for RE development. Results suggest that these attributes should be included in future research to improve understanding of determinants of RE acceptance

Neotropical Swarm-Founding Wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae: Epiponini) Accept Expelled Queens in Case of Queen Loss

In the Epiponini, queen number declines through colony cycle, becausesome queens are expelled from colonies. Here we demonstratethat Epiponini wasps may accept expelled queens in situations ofqueenlessness. One colony of Protopolybia exigua was observed at theUniversity of São Paulo in Brazil; and another of Metapolybia docilis wasobserved at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. Queen removaltests were performed to study workers’ acceptance of expelled queensand queens from other colonies. In P. exigua, the experimental queenelimination caused a change in the workers’ behavior, ranging fromaggressive expulsion of non-selected queens to re-acceptance. In M.docilis workers were willing to accept queens from other colonies afterqueen elimination. Our results indicate that because of a decrease inworkers aggressiveness during the colony cycle, workers may acceptexpelled queens (even foreign ones, in experimental situations) in orderto ensure colony survival

The Changing Process of International Law and the Role of the World Court

Two approaches have emerged in recent American literature as to the appropriate United States attitude toward the World Court: (1) the re-acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction with various reservations to preserve vital American interests; and (2) the preservation of the status quo premised on a perception that the World Court is biased or misguided, while promoting the United States government\u27s perspective on international law. This article argues that neither approach comes to terms with the wide disagreements about content and process in the international community. Both fail to promote the goals of an enhanced World Court or a better international legal order. The Court\u27s compulsory jurisdiction cannot be saved by clever draftsmanship. Well-designed reservations offer hope for today\u27s problem, but the Court\u27s process innovation and fundamental disagreements about the content of many norms promise further cracks in a legal order facing a crisis of legitimacy

The Changing Process of International Law and the Role of the World Court

Two approaches have emerged in recent American literature as to the appropriate United States attitude toward the World Court: (1) the re-acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction with various reservations to preserve vital American interests; and (2) the preservation of the status quo premised on a perception that the World Court is biased or misguided, while promoting the United States government\u27s perspective on international law. This article argues that neither approach comes to terms with the wide disagreements about content and process in the international community. Both fail to promote the goals of an enhanced World Court or a better international legal order. The Court\u27s compulsory jurisdiction cannot be saved by clever draftsmanship. Well-designed reservations offer hope for today\u27s problem, but the Court\u27s process innovation and fundamental disagreements about the content of many norms promise further cracks in a legal order facing a crisis of legitimacy

Rethinking assessment in response to generative artificial intelligence

The use of decision-making support tools during assessments, such as electronic differential diagnosis in examinations, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how technology is currently changing assessment practice. We have reached a transformative stage in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). We can no longer rely on non-invigilated assessments and submitted ‘artefacts’ to demonstrate student learning and competence. This is bringing many long-term demands on educators, course coordinators and curriculum designers, forcing us to rethink assessment approaches. Going forward, we see an important distinction between ‘assisted’ assessments and ‘unassisted’ assessments. With the recent increase and facilitation of virtual assessment through convenient online platforms, and the new challenge to non-invigilated assessment formats posed by AI, we think the time has come for the ‘rehabilitation’ and re-acceptance of the oral format as a highly valuable and unique form of assessment in medical education. Nevertheless, generative AI need not threaten the validity or trustworthiness of our assessments in either formative or summative contexts. Rather, it can add fidelity and nuance to assisted assessment while facilitating a greater focus and purposefulness to unassisted assessment

Visa liberalisation and economic implication for the Western Balkans

When in April, 2007, western Balkan countries started the facilitation of the visa agreement that will allow them extremely simplified procedures for visa application in order to enter EU countries, many of the citizens of this region that historically has been isolated were skeptical this will really happen. This article analyses in detail the process of visa liberalization for the western Balkan countries and argues that visa facilitation is shown to be very useful despite the fact that only one country – known as “ghettoized” – the Republic of Kosovo. This state that is recognized internationally by 75 nations, of which 22 are EU, has remained the last Balkan country whose citizens still cannot travel freely in the EU. An important role in visa liberalization are the agreements of re-acceptance which are signed between the countries of the region and the European Commission that asks said countries to turn back all their citizens which are found illegally in the EU. Among others, this article provides an objective analysis in terms of the political implications of visa liberalization and free movement inside the European Union. The authors argue that traveling facilitations have become useful for citizens of particular countries whose aims are for positive achievements and growth along with the EU

Build Your Leadership Brand ― A Case Study on India’s Megastar Chiranjeevi

The purpose of this case study is to unveil tools and techniques to build a leadership brand by focusing on a living example. This study focuses on India’s film industry superstar, Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad, better known by stage name, Chiranjeevi. His example shows how building a successful leadership brand requires consistent efforts, energy, investment, and time. It specifies the outlets used to effectively reach a target audience such as websites, blogs, emails, interviews, podcasts, and webinars. It demonstrates how life’s lessons learned can strengthen rather than compromise character. It implores individuals to learn from their own mistakes and to strive to seek alternate routes. It concludes that Chiranjeevi is a passionate personality, an experimental actor, and a living legend in the Indian film industry who has built an enduring brand

Still

A collection of poems, Still, asks and attempts to answer the questions: how does memory function; how do we grieve; and what is time? The poems contend that the one consistent quality of memory is that it is never static; instead, it comes in waves like nausea, and that this ebb and flow of memory influences necessarily the process of grieving, a recursive, rather than linear process. Time is a human construct having little bearing on the most significant, either enlightening or devastating, of human experiences. The intention of Still is not to definitively answer these questions; rather, it acknowledges that while they are ultimately unanswerable, the investigation is vital to the search for meaning