10,915 research outputs found
No Easy Exit: Property Rights, Markets, and Negotiations over Water
No full textThe role of water has featured prominently in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process, and in Arab-Israeli disputes in general. The allocation or reallocation of water rights is a particularly thorny problem. Recent work (Fisher, 1995) seeks to sidestep the issue of rights allocation by appealing to the Coase theorem, which provides conditions under which the efficient use of a good does not depend on the allocation of property rights. It instead emphasizes the small use value of the water in dispute, and concludes that a trade of “water for peace” should be eminently possible. Here, we provide a critique of this conclusion, based on two central ideas. First, the conditions of the Coase theorem are not satisfied, even approximately, and therefore the valuation of the use of water cannot be analytically separated from the allocation of property rights. Second, the existence of subnational interests, and the need to have an agreement acceptable to important actors at this level, creates a further difficulty for negotiating a resolution of any dispute. Even if a trade at the national level can be agreed upon, domestic losers must be compensated enough to make it politically feasible for the national government.
Memo dated 10 December 1971 from (Alan?) to Lorenzo A. Richards
No full textMemo dated 10 December 1971 from (Alan?) to Lorenzo A. Richards, addressed "Dear Uncle Ren," regarding work on the sprinkler syste
Higher education in Egypt
No full textEgypt's policy on higher education, the author argues, must take account of the realities of declining government budgets and employment and increasing reliance on the private sector, which must become more competitive internationally. Education in Egypt must increase Egyptians'ability to cope with economic disequilibria: to respond quickly and effectively to changing technological and market opportunities. The Government of Egypt's strategy for achieving this goal is to stabilize the number of university students and raise the quality of instruction. This fundamentally sound strategy, pursued since the mid-1980s, has required considerable courage of policymakers, who are struggling to correct a longtime, inequitable misallocation of educational resources. The Nasser regime greatly expanded higher education and guaranteed jobs to university graduates. As a result of rapidly growing enrollment in the 1970s and 1980s, the quality of education seriously deteriorated. Classes are too big and resources too scarce for anything but professorial salaries, so learning amounts to little more than memorization and repetition. The system does not foster the development of synthesizing, problem-solving, or creative thinking abilities. And with tertiary institutions over-enrolled, academic success requires the use of tutors, whose fees are beyond the reach of students of modest means.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Teaching and Learning,Gender and Education,Tertiary Education
Letter (undated) from Alan J. Bollman to Lorenzo A. Richards
No full textLetter (undated but probably early 1980s) from Alan J. Bollman, Jury Commissioner for Monterey County, to Lorenzo A. Richards, informing him that his name has been selected for consideration as a prospective trial juror; Also: Note by Lorenzo A. Richards to Alan J. Bollman requesting that he be removed from the list of prospective jurorsSir: I am a registered voter in Riverside, CA 92501 where my home address is M+55 Fifth St. We own a house in Carmel where we are spending Christmas near our daughter (who has just completed jury duty). I served my country as a rocket expert in the far Pacific during the war with Japan. I am an inventor and have numerous patents. Since retirement from government service in 1966 I have worked intensively on a soil-water sensor that now seems to be approaching successful completion and requires my personal attention at my shop and office in Riverside. Unfortunately I\u27m in a race with the old-man- with-a-scythe. More importantly, deadlines set by the Patent Office cannot be predicted or postponed and have required consultations in Washington. I respectfully request that I not be designated as a prospective trial joror* a-ti-m3»^i«^^"5_Bme. MONTEREY COUNTY I OFFICE OF THE JURY COMMISSIONER (408)758-6444 - MONTEREY COUNTY COURTHOUSE - SALINAS, CALIPORNIA 93901 ALAN J. BOLLMAN JURY COMMISSIONER Dear Citizen: Your name is among those recently selected at random for consideration as a prospective trial juror for the Monterey County Superior, Municipal and Justice Courts, It is the duty of the Jury Commissioner to examine the qualifications of persons who may be subject under the laws of this state to be summoned for jury duty and to submit to the Courts a list of such persons qualified to serve as trial jurors. Your selection or exemption will be based upon the information submitted upon the "Affidavit of .Prospective-Juror" and your careful attention to all questions is requested. Your answers are confidential and will be given e^ery consideration. It is necessary that the form be completed in full and signed before further action can be taken, even though you may be qualified for exemption or excuse. Upon completing the form, including signature and date, immediately return same to the Office of the Jury Commissioner in the post-paid envelope provided. Upon the return of all completed Affidavits the required number of trial jurors will be selected and a list of qualified persons established for use by the courts during the year. If you should be summoned for service, you will have several days prior to the appearance date to renew your request for excuse or deferment based on change of circumstance, or other reasons. Please do not phone the Jury Commissioner at this time, but make any claim for exemption or excuse on the Affidavit of Prospective Juror. Please bear in mind that this is not a Trial Jury Summons, Jury panels are drawn at random from the master list throughout the entire year, and the amount of time or number of appearances required of a juror is impossible to determine in advance. It is realized that jury service often imposes a hardship on citizens, but the right of trial by jury is one of the most fundamental American principles and is a basic right assured to all persons. It is the duty and responsibility of ewery qualified citizen to render jury service when called upon to do so, and you will find such service both interesting and rewarding, as well as giving you the satisfaction of actively participating in the administration of justice, / Very truly yours, ALAN J. BOLLMAN Jury Commissione
The Rail Splitters of Brown County: Alan and Porter Richards
No full textGenerations of Alan Richards’ family has lived in Brown County, where log houses and split-rail fences have remained part of the landscape. Once his grandchildren were old enough, he recruited them to help him split rails at the local Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Show in Nashville. This video was shot of Alan and his grandson Porter splitting rails at an Arts in the Parks event at TC Steele State Historic Site. From straight grain red and black oak trees, Alan starts to split the log with an ax; once the log cracks, Porter uses a set of wooden wedges and splitting maul to cleanly split the length of the log. They repeat this until the log is split into quarters. They can spend all day transforming a pile of logs into a length of fence.Traditional Arts Indiana, Indiana Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Art
How students combine resources to build understanding of complex topics
No full textThe field of Physics Education Research (PER) seeks to investigate how students learn physics and how instructors can help students learn more effectively. The process by which learners create understanding about a complex physics concept is an active area of research. My study explores this process, using solar cells as the context. To understand how a photovoltaic cell works involves drawing knowledge from many different areas of physics, so this provides a fertile area to study how students build understanding of complex ideas. I have used the "knowledge in pieces" theoretical framework to understand how students learn about solar cells by activating cognitive resources. In this framework, we can see learners building understanding out of more basic bits of knowledge, known as resources, that are derived from students' prior experience. This study seeks to learn more about how students combine multiple resources as they construct understanding of a complex physics topic. To achieve this goal, I have created instructional materials and assessment instruments used to collect written and spoken data on students' reasoning. The analysis of this data revealed that students are most likely to successfully build understanding when they activate multiple types of resource simultaneously. I propose possible explanations for this pattern and present ways this finding could impact instruction.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Alan J Richard
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