A Laboratory Assessment of Tradable Fishing Allowances

Transferable allowance management systems are receiving increased attention from fishery managers and stakeholders alike. We use a laboratory experiment in which human subjects play the role of fishers to evaluate the promised economic efficiency of tradable allowance systems. In an experiment designed to parallel the most common rules for trading allowances, we find that allowance prices are only weakly associated with the value of the fishing right it provides. Instead, we find a high degree of price variability, consistent with field experiences. In the lab, this variability hampers convergence and supports speculation, leading to average prices much higher than the equilibrium value of allowances. During this protracted price discovery, allowances are misallocated and efficiency falls. Modifications to the market institutions used in most tradable allowance systems to improve price discovery and enhance efficiency are discussed.fishery management, ITQs, tradable fishing rights, transferable allowances, experiments, asset markets, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22, Q28, G12,

Position sensitive radiation detector

An apparatus and method are disclosed for detecting and locating the origin of a gamma ray in a medical diagnostic imaging system. At least one primary fiber, which is a scintillating optical fiber, is positioned to receive radiation from a gamma ray source. At least one secondary fiber intersects the primary fiber at a non-zero angle. Both fibers have a core surrounded by a cladding, with the claddings of the two fibers in optical contact at an intersection point. Both the primary and secondary fibers are provided with means for detecting light propagated in the fibers. The interaction of radiation such as a gamma ray with the primary fiber will result in the propagation of light in both the primary and secondary fibers, thereby permitting the determination of the site of impact of the gamma ray in the detector, and possibly also enabling the determination of the path of incidence of the gamma ray.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

PERCEPTIONS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED AND ORGANIC FOODS AND PROCESSES: NORTH DAKOTA COLLEGE STUDENTS

Perceptions of genetically modified (GM) and organic food among North Dakota college students were elicited and compared. Participants responded to one of two survey instruments containing identical wording except for reference to genetic modification or organic, after reading a primer defining the term used in their instrument. Participants' indicated their level of agreement with statements in the construct areas of health, environment, ethics, regulation, and risk. Responses were compared among survey instruments and to responses to previous surveys of Americans and of shoppers in North Dakota. Organic food was perceived as a healthier and safer choice. Organic practices were perceived to be more environmentally sound. Respondents expressed a level of concern over the unknown effects GM food could have on the environment and society as a whole. However, participants generally felt that genetic modification could be used effectively and valued some of the associated benefits. Reliability assessment revealed that statements within each construct area are reliable and can be used in future surveys.Genetically Modified, Consumer Perceptions, Organic, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Lost in social space: Information retrieval issues in Web 1.5

This paper is concerned with the application of Web 2.0 technologies within a conventional institutional learning setting. After considering the affordances of Web 2.0 technologies vs Web 1.0 technologies and a framework for viewing social software in terms of groups, networks and collectives, we describe an instance of trying to use Elgg, a rich social application, to support a distance-taught course within a conventional face-to-face university. A number of issues are identified, some of which are related to Elgg’s interface but the biggest of which relate to the tensions between top-down and bottom-up control and the shifting contexts of personal, group, network and collective modes of engagement. These problems suggest that, in their current form, social technologies pose intractable difficulties in information organisation and retrieval when used for formal learning. We propose a range of solutions that make use of the wisdom of the crowd combined with human intervention. This paper addresses and extends themes explored in SIRTEL 07

The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance And New Social Media Literacies.

Sociality is not just a cultural phenomenon but is embedded in our genes as eusocial creatures (E. O.Wilson 2012). Learning is an innately social activity, and the processes of teaching, the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next, are well-adapted to our eusociality. The size and nature of the groups we have evolved to form has, so far, been codetermined by exigencies of our situated existence as, initially, bands of hunter-gatherers, evolving into agricultural thenindustrial societies. Dunbar (1996) suggests the size of such groups is naturally limited. Though his research has been challenged on multiple fronts (Russell, Shelley, and Killworth 1987; de Ruiter,Weston, and Lyon 2011), the vast majority of close social ties for any single individual are limited to a relatively small number of other individuals, and our learning generally occurs in relatively small groups. Larger organizational forms such as cities, nations, universities, or corporations are mainly constituted as hierarchies and networks that maintain close personal contact at a manageable number for any given person. The focus of this paper is on describing how, after countless millennia of gentle evolutionary change, the Internet is challenging us to discover new forms of sociality and, with it, new forms of social literacy to help us become more effective learners and citizens

Agoraphobia and the modern learner.

Read/write social technologies enable rich pedagogies that centre on sharing and constructing content but have two notable weaknesses. Firstly, beyond the safe, nurturing environment of closed groups, students participating in more or less public network- or set-oriented communities may be insecure in their knowledge and skills, leading to resistance to disclosure. Secondly, it is hard to know who and what to trust in an open environment where others may be equally unskilled or, sometimes, malevolent. We present partial solutions to these problems through the use of collective intelligence, discretionary disclosure controls and mindful design

On the Design of Social Media for Learning

This paper presents two conceptual models that we have developed for understanding ways that social media can support learning. One model relates to the “social” aspect of social media, describing the different ways that people can learn with and from each other, in one or more of three social forms: groups, networks and sets. The other model relates to the ‘media’ side of social media, describing how technologies are constructed and the roles that people play in creating and enacting them, treating them in terms of softness and hardness. The two models are complementary: neither provides a complete picture but, in combination, they help to explain how and why different uses of social media may succeed or fail and, as importantly, are intended to help us design learning activities that make most effective use of the technologies. We offer some suggestions as to how media used to support different social forms can be softened and hardened for different kinds of learning applications

Straw boats and the proverbial sea: a response to 'Island Archaeology: In Search of a New Horizon'

In a recent ISJ paper, “Island Archaeology: In Search of a New Horizon”, Boomert and Bright (2007) argue that the field of “island archaeology” should be replaced by an “archaeology of maritime identity”. We disagree and counter that although islands share many physical, biological, and cultural similarities with continental coasts, coastal zones also grade uninterruptedly into riverine, lacustrine, and terrestrial landscapes, raising questions about the validity of their concept of the archaeology of maritime identity. In our view, island archaeology (the application of archaeology to island settings), regardless of past biogeographical underpinnings, has made major contributions to understanding the historical ecology, human impacts, and cultural developments of islands around the world. A focus on islands by archaeologists has encouraged scholars to study the history of island and maritime societies within a comparative framework that is useful for breaking out of the often provincial focus on a single island or archipelago