The water quality of the River Enborne, UK: observations from high-frequency Monitoring in a rural, lowland river system

This paper reports the results of a 2-year study of water quality in the River Enborne, a rural river in lowland England. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus species and other chemical determinands were monitored both at high-frequency (hourly), using automated in situ instrumentation, and by manual weekly sampling and laboratory analysis. The catchment land use is largely agricultural, with a population density of 123 persons km���2. The river water is largely derived from calcareous groundwater, and there are high nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. Agricultural fertiliser is the dominant source of annual loads of both nitrogen and phosphorus. However, the data show that sewage effluent discharges have a disproportionate effect on the river nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics. At least 38% of the catchment population use septic tank systems, but the effects are hard to quantify as only 6% are officially registered, and the characteristics of the others are unknown. Only 4% of the phosphorus input and 9% of the nitrogen input is exported from the catchment by the river, highlighting the importance of catchment process understanding in predicting nutrient concentrations. High-frequency monitoring will be a key to developing this vital process understanding.

Cashew cultivation, access to land and food security in Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana: Preventing the intergenerational transmission of poverty

This research aimed to investigate the implications of changing agricultural land use from food production towards increased cashew cultivation for food security and poverty alleviation in Jaman North District, Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Based on qualitative, participatory research with a total of 60 participants, the research found that increased cashew production had led to improvements in living standards for many farmers and their children over recent years. Global demand for cashew is projected to continue to grow rapidly in the immediate future and cashew-growing areas of Ghana are well placed to respond to this demand. Cashew farmers however were subject to price fluctuations in the value of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) due to unequal power relations with intermediaries and export buyer companies and global markets, in addition to other vulnerabilities that constrained the quality and quantity of cashew and food crops they could produce. The expansion of cashew plantations was leading to pressure on the remaining family lands available for food crop production, which community members feared could potentially compromise the food security of rural communities and the land inheritance of future generations.

Drivers of change in mountain farming in Slovakia: from socialist collectivisation to the Common Agricultural Policy

The transformations in Slovak agriculture from the 1950s to the present day, considering both the generic (National and EU) and site-specific (local) drivers of landscape change, were analysed in five mountain study areas in the country. An interdisciplinary approach included analysis of population trends, evaluation of land use and landscape change combined with exploration of the perceptions of local stakeholders and results of previous biodiversity studies. The generic processes active from the 1950s to 1970s were critical for all study areas with impacts lasting right up until the present day. Agricultural collectivisation, agricultural intensification and land abandonment had negative effects in all study areas. However, the precise impacts on the landscape were different in the different study areas due to site-specific attributes (e.g. population trends, geographic localisation and local attitudes and opportunities), and these played a decisive role in determining the trajectory of change. Regional contrasts in rural development between these territories have increased in the last two decades, also due to the imperfect preconditions of governmental support. The recent Common Agricultural Policy developments are focused on maintenance of intensive large-scale farming rather than direct enhancement of agro-biodiversity and rural development at the local scale. In this context, local, site-specific attributes can and must form an essential part of rural development plans, to meet the demands for management of the diversity of agricultural mountain landscapes and facilitate the multifunctional role of agriculture.

The ecological impact of conquest and colonization on a medieval frontier landscape: combined palynological and geochemical analysis of lake sediments from Radzy�� Che��minski, northern Poland

Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well-documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzy�� Che��minski, Northern Poland, using pollen, element geochemistry (Inductively Coupled-Optical Emission Spectroscopy [ICP-OES]), organic content, and magnetic susceptibility. The close association between lake and medieval settlements presents the ideal opportunity to reconstruct past vegetation and land-use dynamics within a well-documented archaeological, historical, and cultural context. Three broad phases of increasing landscape impact are visible in the pollen and geochemical data dating from the 8th/9th, 10th/11th, and 13th centuries, reflecting successive phases of Slavic and German colonization. This involved the progressive clearance of oak-hornbeam dominated woodland and the development of an increasingly open agricultural landscape. Although the castles and towns of the Teutonic Order remain the most visible signs of medieval colonization, the palynological and geochemical data demonstrate that the major phase of woodland impact occurred during the preceding phase of Slavic expansion; Germans colonists were entering a landscape already significantly altered.

Intersections of Jane Jacobs��� conditions for diversity and low-carbon urban systems: a look at four global cities

Countless cities are rapidly developing across the globe, pressing the need for clear urban planning and design recommendations geared towards sustainability. This article examines the intersections of Jane Jacobs��� four conditions for diversity with low-carbon and low-energy use urban systems in four cities around the world: Lyon (France), Chicago (United-States), Kolkata (India), and Singapore (Singapore). After reviewing Jacobs��� four conditions for diversity, we introduce the four cities and describe their historical development context. We then present a framework to study the cities along three dimensions: population and density, infrastructure development/use, and climate and landscape. These cities differ in many respects and their analysis is instructive for many other cities around the globe. Jacobs��� conditions are present in all of them, manifested in different ways and to varying degrees. Overall we find that the adoption of Jacobs' conditions seems to align well with concepts of low-carbon urban systems, with their focus on walkability, transit-oriented design, and more efficient land use (i.e., smaller unit sizes). Transportation sector emissions seems to demonstrate a stronger influence from the presence of Jacobs' conditions, while the link was less pronounced in the building sector. Kolkata, a low-income, developing world city, seems to possess many of Jacobs' conditions, while exhibiting low per capita emissions - maintaining both of these during its economic expansion will take careful consideration. Greenhouse gas mitigation, however, is inherently an in situ problem and the first task must therefore be to gain local knowledge of an area before developing strategies to lower its carbon footprint.

Strategies for the use of PIMEX and other video exposure monitoring methods. : Final report from sub-project ���implementation strategies��� within the HERIVIS project

Video exposure monitoring (VEM) is a group of methods used for occupational hygiene studies. The method is based on a combined use of video recordings with measurements taken with real-time monitoring instruments. A commonly used name for VEM is PIMEX. Since PIMEX initially was invented in the mid 1980’s have the method been implemented and developed in a number of countries. With the aim to give an updated picture of how VEM methods are used and to investigate needs for further development have a number of workshops been organised in Finland, UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Field studies have also been made with the aim to study to what extent the PIMEX method can improve workers motivation to actively take part in actions aimed at workplace improvements.The results from the workshops illustrates clearly that there is an impressive amount of experiences and ideas for the use of VEM within the network of the groups participating in the workshops. The sharing of these experiences between the groups, as well as dissemination of it to wider groups is, however, limited. The field studies made together with a number of welders indicate that their motivation to take part in workplace improvements is improved after the PIMEX intervention. The results are however not totally conclusive and further studies focusing on motivation are called for.It is recommended that strategies for VEM, for interventions in single workplaces, as well as for exposure categorisation and production of training material are further developed. It is also recommended to conduct a research project with the intention of evaluating the effects of the use of VEM as well as to disseminate knowledge about the potential of VEM to occupational hygiene experts and others who may benefit from its use.

Tecnicas de sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento aplicadas ao mapeamento geologico e geotecnico no municipio de Tres Cachoeiras, litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul

As t��cnicas de sensoriarnento remoto e geoprocessamento s��o fundamentais para processamento e integra����o de dados de mapeamento geol��gico/geot��cnico, principalmente estudos de gerenciamento e planejamento. A ��rea estudada compreende o munic��pio de Tr��s Cachoeiras. Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul o qual inclui-se na "Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atl��ntica". O munic��pio tem st: deparado com problemas de localiza����o de sitios adequados �� disposi����o final dos res��duos s��lidos. bem como o assentamento de loteamentos residenciais e industriais, localiza����o de jazidas de extra����o de material para constru����o, fontes de abastecimento de ��gua e necessidade de cria����o de ��reas de preserva����o ambiental. O objetivo deste trabalho foi produzir mapeamentos da ��rea em quest��o, atrav��s da pesquisa geol��gico-geot��cnica desenvolvida com emprego de imagens de sat��lite e fotografias a��reas, em que as informa����es foram cruzadas no SIG. Baseado nisto, investigaram-se os aspectos acima mencionados. a partir de uma contribui����o geol��gico/geot��cnica ao munic��pio, incluindo-se levantamento de campo, fotointerpreta����o, processamento e classifica����o de imagens do munic��pio de Tr��s Cachoeiras, sendo os dados integrados num sistema de geoprocessamento. Utilizando-se cartas planialtim��tricas, fotografias a��reas e imagem de sat��lite LANDSAT TM5. foram criados planos de informa����o como o limite da ��rea estudada, a estrutura vi��ria municipal, a delimita����o de reservas ecol��gicas baseadas na legisla����o ambiental vigente e, por meio do modelo num��rico do terreno, a carta de declividade. A fotointerpreta����o gerou planos de rede de drenagem, litol��gica. morfoestruturas e forma����es superficiais. Os dados de campo. sobrepostos ��s litol��gicas obtidas por fotointerpreta����o, produziram a carta litol��gica. No tratamento das imagem, foram gerados produtos com contraste, opera����es entre bandas, filtragens e an��lise de componentes principais, os quais contribu��ram parira classifica����o da imagem e resultando nos planos de rochas/solos e cobertura/uso do solo (carta de uso atual do solo). O cruzamento destas informa����es permitiu a obten����o da carta de forma����es superficiais, lidrogeol��gica que, juntamente com as cartas litol��gica, declividades e uso atual do solo distribu��ram os atributos do meio f��sico em planos elaborados por novos cruzamentos, que satisfazem o objetivo do estudo, sendo estes planos o produto final, ou seja, cartas de recomenda����o: a extra����o de materiais para constru����o civil; a implanta����o de obras de infraestrutura; a disposi����o de res��duos s��lidos e loteamentos; geot��cnica �� agricultura; �� implanta����o de ��reas destinadas �� preserva����o ambienta1 e recupera����o.

A search-theoretic explanation for the negative correlation between labor income and impatience

Lawrance (1991) has shown, through the estimation of consumption Euler equations, that subjective rates of impatience (time preference) in the U.S. are three to ��ve percentage points higher for households with lower average labor incomes than for those with higher labor income. From a theoretical perspective, the sign of this correlation in a job-search model seems at ��rst to be undetermined, since more impatient workers tend to accept wage o��ers that less impatient workers would not, thereby remaining less time unemployed. The main result of this paper is showing that, regardless of the existence of e��ects of opposite sign, and independently of the particular speci��cations of the givens of the model, less impatient workers always end up, in the long run, with a higher average income. The result is based on the (unique) invariant Markov distribution of wages associated with the dynamic optimization problem solved by the consumers. An example is provided to illustrate the method.

Land taxes in a Latin American context

Since Henry George (1839-1897) economists have been arguing that a tax on unimproved land is an ideal tax on efficiency grounds. Output taxes, on the other hand, have distortionary effects on the economy. This paper shows that under asymmetric information output taxes might be used along with land tax in order to implement an optimal taxation scheme in a Latin American context, i.e., where land rental markets are relatively thin, land property provides non-agricultural payoffs and there is nonrevenue objectives of land taxation. Also, the model has two implications that can be tested empirically: (i) there is evasion when schemes based only on land taxes are implemented; (ii) this evasion is more severe for large landholders.

Efeitos da estabiliza����o e da abertura comercial sobre a distribui����o de sal��rios

Entre 1990 e 1995 observou-se uma melhora significativa na distribui����o da renda pessoal brasileira. Enquanto a renda dos 10% mais ricos cresceu menos de 10%, a dos 20% mais pobres aumentou quase 30%. Este trabalho procurou analisar as causas dessa melhora. Entre os diversos fatores analisados um forte cnadidato foi a abertura da economia que provocou um aumento nas exporta����es l��quidas de bens relativamente intensivos em trabalho pouco qualificado e um aumento nas importa����es l��quidas de bens relativamente intensivos em trabalho qualificado. Estas altera����es de demandas podem ter provocado estes aumentos diferenciados de sal��rios.

Uma investiga����o sobre o impacto dos accruals na variabilidade dos resultados nos diferentes contrastes cross-sectional nas firmas brasileiras de capital aberto

Esta disserta����o tem como objetivo principal investigar o impacto dos accruals na variabilidade dos resultados corporativos (EVAR) que influenciam a aplica����o pr��tica do income smoothing nas firmas brasileiras de capital aberto. Inicialmente, �� demonstrada a import��ncia das demonstra����es cont��beis que devem ser evidenciadas em cumprimento aos princ��pios cont��beis geralmente aceitos. Sua evidencia����o deve representar a realidade econ��mico-financeira da firma para o processo de tomada de decis��o dos acionistas e credores. Por��m, em determinados momentos, os gestores se sentem motivados a praticar o gerenciamento dos resultados cont��beis na tentativa de reduzir a variabilidade dos lucros por meio da utiliza����o dos accruals. Os accruals correspondem �� diferen��a entre o lucro l��quido e o fluxo de caixa operacional. Nesse processo de redu����o da volatilidade dos resultados, os gestores se utilizam da pr��tica do income smoothing procurando reduzir eventuais distor����es no pre��o das a����es da firma. A amostra neste estudo �� composta por um grupo de 163 firmas de capital aberto listadas na Bovespa e que apresentaram informa����es financeiras no intervalo de 2000 a 2007, categorizadas por setores atrav��s de dados obtidos na Econom��tica. O modelo estat��stico utilizado na pesquisa foi a an��lise de regress��o para explicar os diferentes modelos de cross-sectional. Os resultados desta pesquisa indicam que os accruals s��o significativos para explicar a variabilidade dos resultados corporativos (EVAR) de empresas brasileiras. Al��m disso, nossos resultados sugerem que o modelo estrutural de identifica����o do EVAR nas empresas brasileiras deve ser explicado por vari��veis n��o cont��beis diferentes das que s��o apresentadas pelas firmas norte-americanas.

A theoretical connection between inflation and income inequality

This work investigates the effects of inflation on income distribution. We use a dynamic shopping-time model to show that a differentiated access to transacting technologies by poor and rich consumers is enough to generate a positive link between inflation and the Gini coefficient of income distribution.

The distribution of average and marginal effective tax rates in European Union member states

Macro-based summary indicators of effective tax burdens do not capture differences in effective tax rates facing different sub-groups of the population. They also cannot provide information on the level or distribution of the marginal effective tax rates thought to influence household behaviour. I use EUROMOD, an EU-wide tax-benefit microsimulation model, to compute distributions of average and marginal effective tax rates across the household population in fourteen European Union Member States. Using different definitions of ���net taxes���, the tax base and the unit of analysis I present a range of measures showing the contribution of the tax-benefit system to household incomes, the average effective tax rates applicable to income from labour and marginal effective tax rates faced by working men and women. In a second step, effective tax rates are broken down to separately show the influence of each type of tax-benefit instrument. The results show that measures of effective tax rates vary considerably depending on incomes, labour market situations and family circumstances. Using single averages or macro-based indicators will therefore provide an inappropriate picture of tax burdens faced by large parts of the population.

Transfer function-noise modeling and spatial interpolation to evaluate the risk of extreme (shallow) water-table levels in the Brazilian Cerrados

Coordena����o de Aperfei��oamento de Pessoal de N��vel Superior (CAPES)

Quantifica����o das classes de eros��o por tipo de uso do solo no munic��pio de Franca - SP

Impactos ambientais causados pelas atividades agropecu��rias sobre o meio rural podem ser constatados quando s��o analisadas as paisagens da regi��o. V��rios estudos demonstraram que informa����es da paisagem obtidas a partir de imagens fotogr��ficas s��o indispens��veis para o diagn��stico do processo erosivo do solo, aspecto indispens��vel no planejamento conservacionista. Neste trabalho, utilizando-se de t��cnicas de fotointerpreta����o, foi realizada a quantifica����o das classes de eros��o acelerada no munic��pio de Franca - SP, relacionando-as com os tipos de cobertura vegetal. A cole����o de fotografias a��reas empregadas foi produzida pela Base Aerofotogrametria e Projetos S.A., com escala aproximada 1:35.000, em outubro de 1990. Elaboraram-se cartas tem��ticas do uso/ocupa����o do solo e dos estados erosivos presentes em cada tipo de cobertura vegetal do solo, estabelecendo-se, em seguida, as rela����es entre a eros��o acelerada e os tipos de comunidades vegetais do munic��pio de Franca. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, nesse munic��pio, o solo agr��cola encontra-se relativamente conservado, apresentando 74,23% da ��rea com eros��o laminar ligeira/moderada. Os diferentes usos/ocupa����es do solo influenciaram de modos distintos na manifesta����o do processo erosivo.