On the distribution of public program benefits between landlords and tenants

Many public programs have differential impacts on diverse parts of metropolitan areas. This fact has led analysts to use changes in land values as measures of the benefits of public programs. Using a model derived from theoretical urban economics, this paper demonstrates that changes in land values will only equal total benefits under very restrictive assumptions. Making concrete assumptions about consumer demand, the paper goes beyond previous work to consider the distributional impact of three different kinds of public programs: those which provide uniform benefits to every community, those which attempt to reduce intercommunity inequality, and those which generate improvements in only a subset of the region's towns.     

Governing local sustainability

This paper draws upon the DISCUS (Developing Institutional and Social Capacity for Sustainable Development) research project, co-funded by the European Commission. The project was undertaken during 2001 – 2004 and involved an in-depth study of 40 European towns and cities in order to understand the institutional and social factors and conditions that might contribute to policy ‘achievement' or ‘failure' in local sustainable development policy and practice. Based on the findings of this research it proposes a conceptual framework for local sustainable development, linking the concepts of institutional capital, social capital and governance to provide a model for understanding the governing of local sustainability. The research shows that in those cases that exhibit sustainable development policy achievements, there are also greater levels of civil society activity and knowledge regarding sustainability issues, and high levels of institutional capacity. Confident local government is crucial to the development of institutional capacity and to institutional learning. One aspect of this is local authorities being equipped to address the longer-term issues and to have a strategic vision for a sustainable future.     

Science of odor as a potential health issue

Historically, unpleasant odors have been considered warning signs or indicators of potential risks to human health but not necessarily direct triggers of health effects. However, citizen complaints to public health agencies suggest that odors may not simply serve as a warning of potential risks but that odor sensations themselves may cause health symptoms. Mal-odors emitted from large animal production facilities and wastewater treatment plants, for example, elicit complaints of eye, nose, and throat irritation, headache, nausea, diarrhea, hoarseness, sore throat, cough, chest tightness, nasal congestion, palpitations, shortness of breath, stress, drowsiness, and alterations in mood. There are at least three mechanisms by which ambient odors may produce health symptoms. First, symptoms can be induced by exposure to odorants (compounds with odor properties) at levels that also cause irritation or other toxicological effects. That is, irritation--rather than the odor--is the cause of the health symptoms, and odor (the sensation) simply serves as an exposure marker. Second, health symptoms from odorants at non-irritant concentrations can be due to innate (genetically coded) or learned aversions. Third, symptoms may be due to a co-pollutant (such as endotoxin) that is part of an odorant mixture. Objective biomarkers of health symptoms must be obtained, however, to determine if health complaints constitute health effects. One industry that is receiving much attention, worldwide, related to this subject is concentrated animal production agriculture. Sustainability of this industry will likely necessitate the development of new technologies to mitigate odorous aerial emissions. Examples of such "environmentally superior technologies" (EST) developed under the initiative sponsored through agreements between the Attorney General of North Carolina and Smithfield Foods and Premium Standard Farms are described.     

Uptake and Metabolism of TNT and GTN by Plants Expressing Bacterial Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate Reductase

The manufacture and improper disposal of explosives has resulted in a significant amount of land requiring remediation. The compound 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is the most persistent and toxic of the explosive pollutants with current treatment methods being energy intensive and costly. Bacterial enzymes such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase (PETNR) from Enterobacter cloacae PB2 have been found to have activity against TNT; however, microbes often lack the biomassnecessary for remediation applications. The PETNRgene (onr1) was transformed into tobacco plants in an attempt to combine the metabolic diversity of microbes with the sequestering properties of plants. The resulting transgenic plants were shown to have enhanced tolerance to TNT during germination and as seedlings. Phytoremediation applications with these plants may provide an alternative treatment of TNT contamination.     

Formula allocation as a policy tool: politics and measurement

Formula allocation is a major tool for the distribution of public funds in the United States of America. This paper explores several examples of formulae used in U.S. domestic programmes, looking at their construction, meaning and consequences. The authors argue that the design of formulae is both a political and technical task. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to improve formulae as tools of distributional policy.     

Abnormalities of the foetal cerebral cortex

Prenatal ultrasound has concentrated on readily visible cerebral structures including head size, shape, ventricles, CSP (cavum septi pellucidi), cerebellar size/vermian presence and cisterna magna. However, apart from these easily visible structures it is important to evaluate the brain itself. Patients who initially appear to have mild isolated findings such as borderline ventriculomegaly in fact can have many more subtle findings that significantly alter prognosis and management that can be detected on detailed examination of the brain. There has been rapid evolution in imaging these foetuses, especially with neurosonography and MRI, and a revolution in understanding the underlying genetic and biochemical mechanisms. There is increasing emphasis to detect cortical abnormalities as early as possible. This article reviews development of the cerebral cortex, the classification, aetiologies and clinical manifestations of cortical disorders, normal and abnormal appearances at ultrasound and MRI, and approaches to investigation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finding a good job: Academic network centrality and early occupational outcomes in management academia

The impact of universalistic versus particularistic criteria on academic hiring has been receiving growing attention in recent years. Yet, most studies conducted on hiring norms in academy and management academy have ignored the impact of social capital, particularly structural social capital, a particularistic attribute, on occupational outcomes. This could lead to a partial if not misleading view of the sociology of hiring in management academy. We utilize a novel approach, focusing on academic departments' structural social capital in the form of network centrality (based on cumulative PhD exchange networks), and explore how this type of centrality impacts job seekers' occupational prestige for new academic jobs in management departments and early career quality publications. We find that although merit‐based criteria such as publications matter somewhat, academic network centrality explains significant variance in obtaining prestigious jobs. Paradoxically, we find that academic network centrality does not explain early career publications. We discuss the implications of our findings for management science. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Male care of infants in a siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) population including socially monogamous and polyandrous groups

While male parental care is uncommon in mammals, siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) males provide care for infants in the form of infant carrying. I collected behavioral data from a cohort of five wild siamang infants from early infancy until age 15–24 months to identify factors affecting male care and to assess the consequences of male care for males, females, and infants in a population including socially monogamous groups and polyandrous groups. There was substantial variation in male caring behavior. All males in polyandrous groups provided care for infants, but males in socially monogamous groups provided substantially more care than males in polyandrous groups, even when the combined effort of all males in a group was considered. These results suggest that polyandry in siamangs is unlikely to be promoted by the need for “helpers.” Infants receiving more care from males did not receive more care overall because females compensated for increases in male care by reducing their own caring effort. There was no significant relationship between indicators of male–female social bond strength and male time spent carrying infants, and the onset of male care was not associated with a change in copulation rates. Females providing more care for infants had significantly longer interbirth intervals. Male care may reduce the energetic costs of reproduction for females, permitting higher female reproductive rates.