Periodically driven circulation near the shore of a lake

Solutions are found for a linear model of the circulation near the shore of a lake that is subject to two diurnal forcing mechanisms. The first is the day/night heating/cooling induced horizontal pressure gradient. The second is an unsteady surface stress modelling a sea breeze/gully wind pattern. The two forcing mechanisms can oppose or reinforce each other depending on their relative phase. The interplay of different dynamic balances at different times and locations in the domain lead to complex circulation patterns especially during the period of flow reversal

Mobile learning: a meta-ethical taxonomy

In this paper I discuss some of the ethical issues relating to the use of mobile technologies in education. I argue that the frames of reference used by educators and technologists fail to capture the nature, scope and impact of ethical issues in mobile learning. A taxonomy of ethical issues based on dominant positions in meta-ethical moral theory is proposed. Using categories from the Mobile Technologies in Lifelong Learning (MOTILL) project, I show how this taxonomy can be applied in such a way as to facilitate understanding of ethical issues in mobile learning

Incorporating Equity in Regulatory and Benefit-Cost Analysis Using Risk Based Preferences

Governmental guidance for regulatory and benefit-cost analysis is targeted for applied analysts. Existing Federal guidance recommends sensitivity analysis in general without being specific regarding the implicit distributional assumptions of standard benefit-cost analysis. Recommendations for Federal guidance are developed to: 1) better communicate expectations for distributional analysis, 2) develop guidance for descriptive statistics related to distributional issues, and 3) integrate Government published measures of inequality aversion and to evaluate compensation for identified sensitive populations. While such actions have a data collection and analysis cost, they may make the results of regulatory analysis more relevant by investigating both efficiency and equity measures.benefit, risk, equity, distribution, income

Improving the Regulatory Analysis of the Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule: What Does an Economist Want?

As part of an edited volume devoted to the usefulness of benefit-cost analysis to inform regulatory review, this chapter presents a case study of the regulation of cooling water intake structures (CWIS) at existing power plants. The chapter first focuses on the consistency of the CWIS benefit-cost analysis with quality criteria to which the agency might have been expected to adhere. Second, criteria and outcomes with respect to decision rules for the selected alternatives are investigated. Finally, the challenge faced by agency analysis is described due to the difficulty in linking ecological and economic impacts. Suggestions for improvement are noted. As of the date of writing, the regulation is under review by the Supreme Court.Water, regulation, benefit-cost

A Matter of Good Form: The (Downsized) Hague Judgments Convention and Conditions of Formal Validity for the Enforcement of Forum Selection Agreements

Can the Hague Judgments Convention be saved through radical downsizing? It has been more than ten years since the Hague Conference on Private International Law (Hague Conference) first officially began exploring the possibility of drafting a global convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. (1) It has been more than four years since the Conference presented its preliminary draft convention, (2) itself modeled largely on the European Community\u27s 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels I). (3) However, this preliminary draft convention was rejected as unacceptable by the American delegation, (4) and a subsequent interim text (5) indicated that Hague Conference delegates remained far from consensus on a wide range of issues. (6

Improving Regulatory Performance: Does Executive Office Oversight Matter?

Executive Office review and oversight of proposed federal regulations have been a bipartisan action of presidents and some governors. Proposals for regulatory improvement regularly highlight the role of benefit-cost analysis in this process. Supporters argue that the purpose of a benefit-cost review is to improve the social (net) benefits of implemented regulations. The evaluation question is whether Executive Office review has actually improved performance. This paper uses information on the status of regulations and their estimated economic impact to determine if Executive Office review has changed the outcome in different Administrations. The study is based on cost-effectiveness data that have had a large role in the debate about regulation and while an extensive critique of the data exists, its issues are addressed. The results indicate that while Executive Office review is associated with rejecting some regulations that would have been economically inefficient, such review appears to have no efficiency improving impact on the difference between proposed and final regulations or on the cost effectiveness of regulations that are implemented.

‘In the game’? Embodied subjectivity in gaming environments

Human-computer interactions are increasingly using more (or all) of the body as a control device. We identify a convergence between everyday bodily actions and activity within digital environments, and a trend towards incorporating natural or mimetic form of movement into gaming devices. We go on to reflect on the nature of player ‘embodiment’ in digital gaming environments by applying insights from the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Three conditions for digital embodiment are proposed, with implications for Calleja’s (2011) Player Involvement Model (PIM) of gaming discussed