Aspecto físico y retórica en la novela griega antigua

Javier Alonso Aldama, Cirilo García Román e Idoia Mamolar Sánchez (eds)

Preferences, actions and voting rules

In this paper we address several issues related to collective dichotomous decision-making by means of quaternary voting rules, i.e., when voters may choose between four actions: voting yes, voting no, abstaining and not turning up-which are aggregated by a voting rule into a dichotomous decision: acceptance or rejection of a proposal. In particular we study the links between the actions and preferences of the actors. We show that quaternary rules (unlike binary rules, where only two actions -yes or no- are possible) leave room for "manipulability" (i.e., strategic behaviour). Thus a preference profile does not in general determine an action profile. We also deal with the notions of success and decisiveness and their ex ante assessment for quaternary voting rules, and discuss the role of information and coordination in this context.

Cost effectiveness of a combination of instruments for global warming: a quantitative approach for Spain

Climate change is an important environmental problem and one whose economic implications are many and varied. This paper starts with the presumption that mitigation of greenhouse gases is a necessary policy that has to be designed in a cost effective way. It is well known that market instruments are the best option for cost effectiveness. But the discussion regarding which of the various market instruments should be used, how they may interact and what combinations of policies should be implemented is still open and very lively. In this paper we propose a combination of instruments: the marketable emission permits already in place in Europe for major economic sectors and a CO(2) tax for economic sectors not included in the emissions permit scheme. The study uses an applied general equilibrium model for the Spanish economy to compute the results obtained with the new mix of instruments proposed. As the combination of the market for emission permits and the CO(2) tax admits different possibilities that depend on how the mitigation is distributed among the economic sectors, we concentrate on four possibilities: cost-effective, equalitarian, proportional to emissions, and proportional to output distributions. Other alternatives to the CO(2) tax are also analysed (tax on energy, on oil and on electricity). Our findings suggest that careful, well designed policies are needed as any deviation imposes significant additional costs that increase more than proportionally to the level of emissions reduction targeted by the EU.

On the impact of independence of irrelevant alternatives: the case of two-person NTU games

On several classes of n-person NTU games that have at least one Shapley NTU value, Aumann characterized this solution by six axioms: Non-emptiness, efficiency, unanimity, scale covariance, conditional additivity, and independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). Each of the first five axioms is logically independent of the remaining axioms, and the logical independence of IIA is an open problem. We show that for n = 2 the first five axioms already characterize the Shapley NTU value, provided that the class of games is not further restricted. Moreover, we present an example of a solution that satisfies the first five axioms and violates IIA for two-person NTU games (N, V) with uniformly p-smooth V(N).

Wage stickiness and unemployment fluctuations: an alternative approach

28 p.

Integrated Sensor Systems for Vessels of Opportunity, National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton, UK, October 10-12,2006 : workshop proceedings

The use of self-contained, low-maintenance sensor systems installed on commercial vessels is becoming an important monitoring and scientific tool in many regions around the world. These systems integrate data from meteorological and water quality sensors with GPS data into a data stream that is automatically transferred from ship to shore. To begin linking some of this developing expertise, the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) and the European Coastal and Ocean Observing Technology (ECOOT) organized a workshop on this topic in Southampton, United Kingdom, October 10-12, 2006. The participants included technology users, technology developers, and shipping representatives. They collaborated to identify sensors currently employed on integrated systems, users of this data, limitations associated with these systems, and ways to overcome these limitations. The group also identified additional technologies that could be employed on future systems and examined whether standard architectures and data protocols for integrated systems should be established. Participants at the workshop defined 17 different parameters currently being measured by integrated systems. They identified that diverse user groups utilize information from these systems from resource management agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to local tourism groups and educational organizations. Among the limitations identified were instrument compatibility and interoperability, data quality control and quality assurance, and sensor calibration andlor maintenance frequency. Standardization of these integrated systems was viewed to be both advantageous and disadvantageous; while participants believed that standardization could be beneficial on many levels, they also felt that users may be hesitant to purchase a suite of instruments from a single manufacturer; and that a "plug and play" system including sensors from multiple manufactures may be difficult to achieve. A priority recommendation and conclusion for the general integrated sensor system community was to provide vessel operators with real-time access to relevant data (e.g., ambient temperature and salinity to increase efficiency of water treatment systems and meteorological data for increased vessel safety and operating efficiency) for broader system value. Simplified data displays are also required for education and public outreach/awareness. Other key recommendations were to encourage the use of integrated sensor packages within observing systems such as 100s and EuroGOOS, identify additional customers of sensor system data, and publish results of previous work in peer-reviewed journals to increase agency and scientific awareness and confidence in the technology. Priority recommendations and conclusions for ACT entailed highlighting the value of integrated sensor systems for vessels of opportunity through articles in the popular press, and marine science. [PDF contains 28 pages]

Strategies for the establishment of profitable fish farms in Nigeria

Cost projections for the establishment of a fish farm in Nigeria was conducted. It is shown that fish farming should be a lucrative venture. However, many private fish farms are not making the desired profits because of a variety of problems. Besides managerial incompetence, availability of fingerlings for stocking in the ponds is shown to be a serious handicap to the success of investments in a fish farm. It is suggested that where the funds are available, each farm should be equipped with facilities for raising its needs of fingerlings. Since useful capital would be involved and knowledgeable experts to run the hatcheries are few, it is recommended that fish farms within a state or adjacent states should combine to establish viable cooperative hatcheries

The cast net fishery, Kainji Lake, Nigeria 1970-1997

This study was carried out to establish trends in the cast net fishery of Kainji Lake, Nigeria. The cast net fishery was second in importance to the gillnet fishery in the early years after impoundment of the lake and still continues to be an important component of the fishery. Some of the economically important species such as Citharinus spp, Tilapia spp, Labeo spp, Alestes spp and Synodontis spp are exploited by cast nets. The study has not revealed any drastic perturbation in the species diversity, catch composition, and any real ecosystem overfishing. On the other hand, both the catfish, Auchenoglanis spp and the predator Hydrocynus spp appear to have increased in the catch in recent years. Never-the-less there is a decline in the mean weight of the major exploited fish species due to the capture of under sized fishes without allowing them to grow to 'legally' marketable sizes. The use of small meshed cast net and also fishing in the shallow waters of the lake can give rise to this situation. Thus, there are signs of growth overfishing in the fish stocks. It must also be acknowledged that the situation is complicated by the fact that in a multi-gear fishery as on Kainji Lake, the cast net fishery could not be managed in isolation without due regard to the other competing gears. The catch per unit of effort (CPUE) has declined in the cast net fishery possibly due to the increase in effort by the major fishing gears over the years. The ongoing extension campaigns by the KLFPP appears to be having the desired effect, as there was reduction in the number of the major fishing gears on the Lake in 1997. It can be anticipated that if this trend continues, the CPUE will recover in the long run. Yields observed from the mesh selectivity study revealed that for major species in the cast net fishery, both by number and weight, were maximal at 2.5 inch mesh, which contrasts with the fact that current minimum allowable mesh in the Fisheries Edict for the Lake is 2.0 inch. The adoption of 2.5 inch as the minimum allowable mesh in the cast net fishery is recommended to be included in future revision of existing regulations. It is also recommended that for this control to have a desired effect, the casting of the net from the shore should be prohibited so as to reduce the incidence of juvenile mortality in the nursery areas. (PDF contains 28 pages)

A high pressure xenon time projection chamber for double beta decay

This thesis describes the design, construction and performance of a high-pressure, xenon, gas time projection chamber (TPC) for the study of double beta decay in ^(136) Xe. The TPC when operating at 5 atm can accommodate 28 moles of 60% enriched ^(136) Xe. The TPC has operated as a detector at Caltech since 1986. It is capable of reconstructing a charged particle trajectory and can easily distinguish between different kinds of charged particles. A gas purification and xenon gas recovery system were developed. The electronics for the 338 channels of readout was developed along with a data acquistion system. Currently, the detector is being prepared at the University of Neuchatel for installation in the low background laboratory situated in the St. Gotthard tunnel, Switzerland. In one year of runtime the detector should be sensitive to a 0ν lifetime of the order of 10^(24) y, which corresponds to a neutrino mass in the range 0.3 to 3.3 eV.