An Inventory Evaluation Approach for Common Use Stock Range Units in British Columbia

Beef ranchers in British Columbia rely upon Crown range for a large proportion of their summer and fall grazing needs. Any improvement in the management policies for this resource can enhance the economic viability of the beef sector. The objective of this study is to evaluate the stocking levels of stock ranges administered by range agrologists and to compare their assessment with that derived using a more formal planning procedure. The report details the stocking capacity for the Punchaw Stock Range in the Prince George range district. Capacities for other stock ranges are also estimated. When rotational uses are defined and examined, the optimal use pattern results in carrying capacities that are approximately double that of current or recommended stocking levels. Les producteurs de bovins de Colombie-Britannique dépendent des parcours de la Couronne pourune grande partie de leurs besoins en pâturages ?été et ?automne. Toute amélioration des politiques de gestion de cette ressource risque ?avoir un effet salutaire sur la viabilité économique du secteur des bovins. La présente étude avait pour objectif ?évaluer ?intensity de pâturage sur les parcours gérés par des agronomes et de comparer leur évaluation à celle obtenue au moyen ?une méthode de planification répondant à des critères plus officiels. Nous fournissons des données détaillées sur la capacité de charge correspondant du parcours Punchaw, dans le district Prince George. Nous procédons en outre à ?évaluation de la capacité de charge ?autres parcours. Lorsque ?exploitation en rotation est définie et examinée, le calcul de ?utilisation optimale donne une capacité de charge correspondant approximativement au double des valeurs actuelles ou recommandées.     

The demography of micro-states

There are two types of micro-states, islands and mainland ones. Except for a few islands very close to the coast, most of the insular micro-states are demographically very different from the rest of the Third World. Their death-rates are lower, their birth-rates lower, and the propensity of their populations to migrate to developed countries higher. It is argued here that these differences are based on other social and economic differences, which can be summarized by saying that such states are more Westernized. They were part of the European maritime system at a time when the West did not have the economic strength to penetrate continental areas to the same extent. On the whole they retained colonial links longer.     

New technology and the urban environment

Technology has always had an influence on the form of settlements, but only since the coming of Information Technology has it aroused much interest from academics and planners. The impact that IT is likely to have on urban areas is debated, some foreseeing decentralisation and the end of place, while others see evidence of the centralisation of control in a global economy. Other new technologies may also affect cities as new materials provide the opportunity for different styles of building. As we enter the 21st century, however, we do so with the largest stock of urban capital ever, much of which is ageing and in need of maintenance. Technology is part of a complex interrelationship of influences on urban areas and much of it will have to be retrofitted on to the pre-existing environment.     

Consumer value and self-image congruency at different stages of timeshare ownership

An understanding of customers’ perceptions of value is fundamental to the competitive nature of all industries. Using the timeshare resort sector as a context for our studies, we explore the ways in which consumers, grouped according to their timeshare ownership stage, perceive value. Data were collected from three samples: non-owners of timeshare, recent purchasers of timeshare, and longer-term timeshare owners. Value was shown to be multi-dimensional, with a stable pattern of eleven correlated value factors evident in all three samples. The groups differed in their assessments of the different dimensions of value. In all groups, however, value was positively correlated with attitudes and future intentions regarding timeshare. Self-image congruency explained additional criterion variance. The findings demonstrate that, even among consumers who have never used timeshare, value and self-image congruency are substantial and unique predictors of attitudes and intentions regarding this tourism product.     

Media constructions of risk: a case study of the Stainforth Beck incident

In October 2000 two schoolgirls were swept away from their party whilst ‘river walking’ in Stainforth Beck near Settle in North Yorkshire. The paper examines this incident with reference to media coverage of the events at the time and the subsequent reportage. The discussion contributes to the debate concerning the appropriateness of an agenda of broadening education. We argue from a position that supports the principle of breadth, particularly when such activities are part of adventure education with its propensity to engage with outdoor risk settings. Whilst lessons must be learnt from such a tragic incident, it is important that outdoor professionals continue to disseminate the positive potential of adventure in order to offset the negative messages concerning risk promoted by the media in general.     

Financial Distress in the Great Depression

We use firm‐level data to study corporate performance during the Great Depression era for all industrial firms on the NYSE. Our goal is to identify the factors that contribute to business insolvency and valuation changes during the period 1928‐1938. We find that firms with more debt and lower bond ratings in 1928 became financially distressed more frequently during the Depression, consistent with the trade‐off theory of leverage and the information production role of credit rating agencies. We also document for the first time that firms responded to tax incentives to use debt during the Depression era but that the extra debt used in response to this tax‐driven “debt bias” did not contribute significantly to the occurrence of distress. Finally, we conduct an out‐of‐sample test during the recent 2008‐2009 Recession and find that higher leverage and lower bond ratings also increased the occurrence of financial distress during this period.     

How much does tax erode fund excess returns?

We model the tax drag from active fund management based on reported monthly holdings of active equity funds. Tax drag erodes 65 percent of the 0.74 percent excess return in Broad Market funds, but only 21 percent of the 1.80 percent excess return in Small-Cap funds for Australian superannuation (pension) fund investors. Tax drag varies with investment style; market state, which is most detrimental during bull markets; and fund turnover. For high-income individual investors, tax drag is exacerbated to the extent that active management only generates meaningful after-tax excess return for Small-Cap funds of certain styles.     

For fraud,look under ‘serious and organized crime’

ABSTRACT

The UK government’s response to fraud cannot be disentangled from its broader ‘serious and organized crime’ (SOC) strategy. In order to explore whether fraud should—in public policy, criminal justice and law enforcement terms—be seen primarily as an SOC issue, there is a need to consider questions about whether or not ‘SOC’ is a sensible object of policy-making in the first place. Several arguments in favour of an SOC policy are identified in the paper. However, the notion of an overarching SOC policy is problematic for three reasons. First, SOC is a fundamental misrepresentation of reality, which does not correspond to a real social problem. Second, SOC policy can limit the development of more problem-specific crime strategies, Third, the ‘SOC’ label can negatively transform how social problems are perceived over the long term. If fraud is to be better understood and dealt with, it may therefore be necessary to extract it from its current inclusion within wider SOC strategy.