Understanding how opportunity cost affects multi-objective conservation investment in the Central and Southern Appalachian Region (USA)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Seong-Hoon Cho ◽  
Young Gwan Lee ◽  
Gengping Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Impact ◽  
Opportunity Cost ◽  
The Other ◽  
Appalachian Region ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
Investment Cost ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Conservation Investment

Summary Consensus does not exist for which cost forms (i.e., one accounting solely for explicit cost and the other for both explicit and opportunity costs as in relative opportunity cost) are used in calculating return on investment (ROI) for conservation-related decisions. This research examines how the cost of conservation investment with and without inclusion of the opportunity cost of the protected area results in different solutions in a multi-objective optimization framework at the county level in the Central and Southern Appalachian Region of the USA. We maximize rates of ROI of both forest-dependent biodiversity and economic impact generated by forest-based payments for ecosystem services. We find that the conservation budget is optimally distributed more narrowly among counties that are more likely to be rural when the investment cost measure is relative opportunity cost than when it is explicit cost. We also find that the sacrifice in forest-dependent biodiversity per unit increase in economic impact is higher when investment cost is measured by relative opportunity cost rather than when measured by explicit cost. By understanding the consequences of using one cost measure over the other, a conservation agency can decide on which cost measure is more appropriate for informing the agency’s decision-making process.

Age Stratification and Value Orientations

1973 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Grant Youmans
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Appalachian Region ◽  
Rural County ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
The Social ◽  
Metropolitan Center ◽  
Age Stratification

The concept of age stratification provides a useful way of examining social aspects of human aging. This paper reports data on selected value orientations of two age strata in two subcultural systems-one a rural county in the Southern Appalachian Region and the other a metropolitan center adjacent to but outside the Appalachian Region. Comparisons of mean scores revealed significant differences between the younger and older age strata in both geographic areas on such value orientations as authoritarianism, dependency, achievement, religiosity, and anomia. Two hypothesis are suggested to explain the age strata differences-one of aging and the other of social change. Some implications of the social change hypothesis are discussed.

SCENARIOS FOR AN EXPANDING DEMAND OF TOURISM ON THE COASTS OF CUBA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Gutiérrez-Bolívar ◽  
Oscar Gutiérrez-Bolívar ◽  
Pedro Fernández Carrasco ◽  
Pedro Fernández Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

The opening of relationships between United States and Cuba could be a drive for a huge increase in the affluence of tourism to Cuba and especially to the coast areas. Cuba has been for many years an important tourist destination for people from many countries, but almost forbidden for US citizens. The proximity of the USA, its amount of population as well as their great acquisition power will increase in a very substantial way the demand for accommodation and other uses in the proximity of the coasts. There will be a need to implement a package of measures that reduce the impact of such sudden increase in the coastal line. On the other hand that augment in tourism could be an opportunity to improve the standard of life of Cubans. The consideration of different possibilities of such development, the analysis of the damages that each one could cause as well as the measures that could avoid, ameliorate or compensate such effects are the goals that are going to be presented in this paper.

scholarly journals Effect of Environmental Pollutants PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 on the Incidence and Mortality of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Five Regions of the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7810
Author(s):  
Sultan Ayoub Meo ◽  
Abdulelah Adnan Abukhalaf ◽  
Omar Mohammed Alessa ◽  
Abdulrahman Saad Alarifi ◽  
Waqas Sami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
First Case ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
The Usa

In recent decades, environmental pollution has become a significant international public problem in developing and developed nations. Various regions of the USA are experiencing illnesses related to environmental pollution. This study aims to investigate the association of four environmental pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and Ozone (O3), with daily cases and deaths resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection in five regions of the USA, Los Angeles, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, and Florida. The daily basis concentrations of PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 were documented from two metrological websites. Data were obtained from the date of the appearance of the first case of (SARS-CoV-2) in the five regions of the USA from 13 March to 31 December 2020. Regionally (Los Angeles, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, and Florida), the number of cases and deaths increased significantly along with increasing levels of PM2.5, CO, NO2 and O3 (p < 0.05), respectively. The Poisson regression results further depicted that, for each 1 unit increase in PM2.5, CO, NO2 and O3 levels, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections significantly increased by 0.1%, 14.8%, 1.1%, and 0.1%, respectively; for each 1 unit increase in CO, NO2, and O3 levels, the number of deaths significantly increased by 4.2%, 3.4%, and 1.5%, respectively. These empirical estimates demonstrate an association between the environmental pollutants PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 and SARS-CoV-2 infections, showing that they contribute to the incidence of daily cases and daily deaths in the five different regions of the USA. These findings can inform health policy decisions about combatting the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in these USA regions and internationally by supporting a reduction in environmental pollution.

Occupant pre-crash kinematics in rotated seat arrangements

2021 ◽  
pp. 095440702110045
Author(s):  
Alexander Diederich ◽  
Christophe Bastien ◽  
Karthikeyan Ekambaram ◽  
Alexis Wilson
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Model ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Emergency Braking ◽  
Seating Arrangement ◽  
Current State ◽  
Occupant Comfort ◽  
Occupant Kinematics ◽  
Belt System

The introduction of automated L5 driving technologies will revolutionise the design of vehicle interiors and seating configurations, improving occupant comfort and experience. It is foreseen that pre-crash emergency braking and swerving manoeuvres will affect occupant posture, which could lead to an interaction with a deploying airbag. This research addresses the urgent safety need of defining the occupant’s kinematics envelope during that pre-crash phase, considering rotated seat arrangements and different seatbelt configurations. The research used two different sets of volunteer tests experiencing L5 vehicle manoeuvres, based in the first instance on 22 50th percentile fit males wearing a lap-belt (OM4IS), while the other dataset is based on 87 volunteers with a BMI range of 19 to 67 kg/m2 wearing a 3-point belt (UMTRI). Unique biomechanics kinematics corridors were then defined, as a function of belt configuration and vehicle manoeuvre, to calibrate an Active Human Model (AHM) using a multi-objective optimisation coupled with a Correlation and Analysis (CORA) rating. The research improved the AHM omnidirectional kinematics response over current state of the art in a generic lap-belted environment. The AHM was then tested in a rotated seating arrangement under extreme braking, highlighting that maximum lateral and frontal motions are comparable, independent of the belt system, while the asymmetry of the 3-point belt increased the occupant’s motion towards the seatbelt buckle. It was observed that the frontal occupant kinematics decrease by 200 mm compared to a lap-belted configuration. This improved omnidirectional AHM is the first step towards designing safer future L5 vehicle interiors.

scholarly journals Multi-Objective Electrical Power System Design Optimization Using a Modified Bat Algorithm

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3956
Author(s):  
Khaled Guerraiche ◽  
Latifa Dekhici ◽  
Eric Chatelet ◽  
Abdelkader Zeblah
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Bat Algorithm ◽  
Moment Generating Function ◽  
Electrical Power System ◽  
System Availability ◽  
Reliability Indices ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Investment Cost ◽  
Modified Bat Algorithm

The design of energy systems is very important in order to reduce operating costs and guarantee the reliability of a system. This paper proposes a new algorithm to solve the design problem of optimal multi-objective redundancy of series-parallel power systems. The chosen algorithm is based on the hybridization of two metaheuristics, which are the bat algorithm (BA) and the generalized evolutionary walk algorithm (GEWA), also called BAG (bat algorithm with generalized flight). The approach is combined with the Ushakov method, the universal moment generating function (UMGF), to evaluate the reliability of the multi-state series-parallel system. The multi-objective design aims to minimize the design cost, and to maximize the reliability and the performance of the electric power generation system from solar and gas generators by taking into account the reliability indices. Power subsystem devices are labeled according to their reliabilities, costs and performances. Reliability hangs on an operational system, and implies likewise satisfying customer demand, so it depends on the amassed batch curve. Two different design allocation problems, commonly found in power systems planning, are solved to show the performance of the algorithm. The first is a bi-objective formulation that corresponds to the minimization of system investment cost and maximization of system availability. In the second, the multi-objective formulation seeks to maximize system availability, minimize system investment cost, and maximize the capacity of the system.

The Restructuring of the Automobile Industry in the USA

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
R D Bingham ◽  
K K Sunmonu
Keyword(s):  
Automobile Industry ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Mature Phase ◽  
The Us ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
Spatial Configurations ◽  
The Usa

In this paper, the changes in the US automobile industry which have occurred over the 1979–86 economic downturn and recovery are examined within the framework of Markusen's profit-cycle theory. When viewing the automobile indusltry as a whole, some of the findings support the profit-cycle theory and others do not. The theory is supported, however, within the context of two distinct automobile industries in the USA—one ‘Fordist’ and the other a Japanese ‘post-Fordist’ system. The Fordist system is entering the negative profit-cycle phase and the post-Fordist system is in the mature phase. The two systems have very different spatial configurations and are likely to have very different economic futures.

Factors affecting changes in the intraocular pressure after phacoemulsification surgery

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-172
Author(s):  
Rita Dhamankar ◽  
◽  
Suhas S Haldipurkar ◽  
Tanvi Haldipurkar ◽  
Vijay Shetty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intraocular Pressure ◽  
Anterior Chamber ◽  
Axial Length ◽  
Anterior Chamber Depth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Post Surgery ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
The Mean

AIM: To assess the changes in anterior chamber parameters and examine the factors associated with changes in the intraocular pressure (IOP) in individuals who have undergone phacoemulsification surgery. METHODS: It is a longitudinal analysis of secondary clinical data collected from 105 non-glaucomatous eyes (82 patients) undergoing a cataract surgery. We studied the association between anterior chamber parameters, grade of cataract, demographics, and changes in the IOP over a period of three weeks. We also evaluated the association between the pressure-depth (PD) ratio and changes in the IOP during this time. RESULTS: The mean age (SD) of the 82 patients was 60.1±7.8y. The mean±standard deviation (SD) IOP was 15.06±3.36 mm Hg pre-operatively; it increased to 15.75±4.21 mm Hg on day one (P=0.20). In the multifactorial models, the mean IOP was -1.715 (95%CI: -2.795, -0.636) mm Hg on day 21±5 compared with the pre-operative values. The anterior chamber depth (ACD), axial length, age, sex, and grade of cataract were not significantly associated with changes in the IOP. Each unit increase in the PD ratio was associated with an increase in the mean IOP by 1.289 mm Hg (95%CI: 0.906, 1.671). After adjusting for pre-operative PD ratio, none of the other variables (ACD, axial length, temporal angle) were significantly associated with changes in mean IOP. CONCLUSION: The PD ratio was the single most important factor associated with the changes in post-operative IOP over three weeks post-surgery.

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