The Law of Demand versus Diminishing Marginal Utility

Diminishing marginal utility (DMU) is neither necessary nor sufficient for downward-sloping demand. Yet, upper-division undergraduate and beginning graduate students often presume otherwise. This paper provides two simple counter-examples that can be used to help students understand that the Law of Demand does not depend on DMU. The examples are accompanied with the geometry and basic mathematics of the utility functions and the implied ordinary/Marshallian demands.     

Safety-critical and securtiy-critical computing in britain: an exploration

This paper explores the development and assessment, in the UK, of computer systems which are critical to human safety (focusing promarily on railways, civil aviation, offshore oil and defence), and also of those critical to national security are identified, ranging from ad hoc and unsystematic pratices, through good software engineering to the use of formal, mathematical methods. We discuss whether the resultant systems are safe and secure, and highlight two key problems: how to demonstrate safety and security, in advance of use; and how to ensure safe human computer interaction.     

Success factors for collaborative product development: a study of suppliers of information and communication technology

It is apparent that more and more organizations are embarking on collaborative ventures to develop products. This is particularly evident in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors, so much so that part of the 'received wisdom' of ICT companies is that collaboration is the preferred route for product development. The benefits of collaboration have been well documented and are linked to the complexity and costliness of product development and the need for inputs from wide and varied areas of expertise as well as shorter lead times for product development. But the risks and costs of collsborative product development have been less well defined. In this paper, it is argued that the alleged rewards of collaboration may not be experienced in practice and that collaboration can lengthen the product development process, add to the cost of product development and prove difficult to control. However, management practice can facilitate the effective outcome of collaborative product development and the critical factors affecting the likelihood of successful management practice are presented here.     

Groundwater and the Land Value Tax

Abstract . Application of the land value tax has been described for many natural resources. However, the problems encountered with flowing underground resources have not been fully discussed. Groundwater is one such flowing resource that affects the value of surface land. The underground water is also subject to its own market forces. If a Georgist tax is to be applied to groundwater or to land affected by it, the administrator of the tax must consider the interplay that occurs between the two resource markets. A system of separable property rights to the two resources offers the prospect for efficient use. But the monitoring of ground water use must accompany such a separation.     

Hayekian evolution reconsidered: a reply to Hodgson

This is a reply to Geoffrey Hodgson's Comment on an earlierpaper by Caldwell (Hodgson on Hayek: a critique). Though certainareas of agreement are noted, differences in interpretationconcerning Hayek's views on the Malthus–Darwin relationship,on cultural evolution, on the extent to which Hayek may be characterisedas an ontogenist, and on methodological individualism remain.     

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS IN LAND CLASSIFICATION

Three interpretive systems of soil classification for agriculture were compared with respect to land use, crop yields, and certain economic characteristics. Sixty-eight farms in the Peace River area of British Columbia were classified as high or low under the ARDA, soil survey, and agronomic classification systems. Mean values for the two categories of farms under each classification system were computed and tested for statistical significance. The results indicated that as the number of significant differences increased, so did the management consideration. Consequently, the agronomic classification was the best indicator, followed by the ARDA system, and then the soil survey productivity index. Considering the basic concepts of the classification systems, this trend was not entirely unexpected. The results suggest that the management factor should play a larger role in developing viable interpretive soil classification systems and that co-operation should be sought among the various disciplines concerned with agricultural land use. LES FACTEURS SOCIO-ECONOMIQUES DANS LA CLASSIFICATION DES SOLS ACRICOLES – Trois systèmes de classification des sols agricoles ont été comparés avec I'aide du type d'utilisation des sols, du rendement des récoltes et de certaines caractéristiques économiques. Soixante-huit fernws dans la zone de “Peace River” en Colombie Britannique out été classifiés, en deux catégories avec I'aide de I'ARDA de I'enquête des sols et des systèmes de classification agronomique. Les principals valeurs pour les deux catégories de fermes appartenant à chaque système de classification ont été calculées et testées afin de vérifier leur signification statistique. Les résultats indiquérent que le nombre de différences significatives augmentaient en mêmc temps que la qualityé du “management”: Conséquence directe, la classification agronomique etait le meilleur indicateur, suivi du systeme ARDA et enfin de lindice de productivityé de l'enquête des sols. Étant donné les concepts de base de ces systèmes de classification, cette tendance n‘était pas complètement inattendue. Les résultats suggèrent que le facteur de “management” devrait jouer un rôle plus large en développant des systèmes de classification des sols viables et que la coopération devrait être recherchée parmi les différentes disciplines concernées par Vutilisation agricole des sols.