One model fits all? — On the moderating role of emotional engagement and confusion in the elicitation of preferences for climate change adaptation policies

Environmental economic and psychological studies often implicitly assume homogeneity of respondents' decision strategies in questionnaire-based surveys. However, social psychology and behavioural research suggest that there is a wide variety of approaches that individuals use to make such choices.We explore this heterogeneity against the backdrop of so-called ‘dual process models’, analysing participants' responses in a survey of public beliefs about and preferences for climate change adaptation policies. We find that the postulate of two different types of decision-making, the systematic-analytical and the heuristic-holistic, does indeed help us to understand patterns in respondent behaviour that are, in turn, underpinned by respondents' motivation and ability to process information. Participants who were motivated and able to process the information provided were more likely to express preferences in line with their beliefs about adaptation policies, whereas those less motivated and more confused were more likely to use generalised rules-of-thumb that were not specific to the policy issue at hand. Depending on the theoretical framework of a study, such heterogeneity in response consistency and use of generic rules-of-thumb might have implications for the usefulness of survey outcomes. We discuss the implications of our findings, and draw conclusions for survey-based environmental research.     

Bessere Kommunikation gefordert

Zusammenfassung  14. Interdisziplin?rer Pflegekongress Dresden — Die Gesundheitsberufe müssen besser und anders zusammenarbeiten, damit das deutsche Gesundheitswesen auch in Zukunft funktionieren kann. So lautete eine zentrale Botschaft anl?sslich des 14. Interdisziplin?ren Pflegekongresses, den Heilberufe am 10. und 11. April veranstaltete.     

Die langen Schatten des Krieges

Zusammenfasung  Re-Traumatisierungen in der Pflege alter Menschen — Der Tod der Mutter, der Verlust von Heimat und Geborgenheit, Bombardierungen und andere Gewalterfahrungen – die h?ufig verdr?ngten Kriegserlebnisse aus der Kindheit k?nnen im Alter wieder hochkommen. Geschichtliche Kenntnisse und ein sensibler Umgang mit re-traumatisierten Menschen sind eine Voraussetzung, um solche Situationen nicht eskalieren zu lassen.     

Mehr Autonomie für Pflegende

Zusammenfasung  Pflege 2008 — Kommt sie oder kommt sie nicht? Ulla Schmidt kam. Die Bundesministerin für Gesundheit stellte auf dem Heilberufe-Kongress Pflege 2008 nicht nur die Eckpunkte der Pflegereform vor, sie forderte auch mehr Autonomie für Pflegende. Anke Nolte fasst die Highlights des Kongresses für Sie zusammen.     

Als Pfleger auf der Gyn?

Zusammenfassung  Tabu oder Lichtblick für so manche Patientin? — Die Frage der Gleich- beziehungsweise Gegengeschlechtlichkeit bei der (Intim-)Pflege wird in Pflegewissenschaft und Ausbildung bisher stiefmütterlich behandelt. Wie gehen Pflegende in der Praxis damit um? Der Versuch einer Ann?herung an dieses tabubesetzte Thema.     

Bilateral bargaining, unverifiable quality, and options to return

Summary. The paper investigates an alternating-offers bargaining game between a buyer and a seller who face several trading opportunities. These items (goods or services) differ in their non-verifiable quality characteristics which gives rise to a moral hazard problem on the seller's part. For the special case of two goods, we completely characterize the set of subgame-perfect equilibria. We find that the seller always extends an option to return the good, while the buyer may suffer from this warranty. Also, qualitatively different types of equilibrium outcomes occur depending on the parameters of the model: (a) the seller may obtain a larger share of the surplus although the parties ex ante have symmetric bargaining positions, (b) the subgame-perfect equilibrium may entail inefficient trade, and (c) multiple equilibria may exist including equilibria with delay in negotiations. Finally, we analyze a situation where bargaining proceeds after the good was returned which is shown to reestablish uniqueness and efficiency of equilibrium.Received: 23 August 2001, Revised: 3 April 2003, JEL Classification Numbers: C78, L14, L15, D82. Correspondence to: Christoph LülfesmannThis paper has greatly benefitted from discussions with Avner Shaked and Timothy von Zandt. We also wish to thank Wolfgang Leininger, Zvika Neeman, Clemens Puppe, Wolfram Richter, Karl Schlag, Ilya Segal, and seminar participants in Dortmund, Bonn and Berkeley for helpful comments and discussions. Financial support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 303 at the University of Bonn is gratefully acknowledged.     

Effort, trade, and unemployment

Abstract.  This paper incorporates equilibrium unemployment caused by efficiency wages into a monopolistic competition model of trade. Worker effort is treated as an endogenous variable that depends on the optimizing behaviour of firms and workers. Opening up trade induces firms to demand greater worker effort and to cut the size of their workforce. This counteracts the positive employment effect due to entry of firms. Circumstances are indicated in which the two effects just balance, leaving aggregate employment unchanged. Trade unambiguously increases worker effort, thereby enhancing within-firm productivity.     

Cross-Sectoral Coordination of Disaster Relief

Abstract

Coordinating organizational activity across different sectors is crucial in disaster management. We analysed the response of 291 aid workers to the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and found that common incentives and a high degree of equality among aid organizations positively affected perceived network coordination. Large and public organizations were more likely to take leadership roles and high numbers of public organizations involved in the disaster response network led to improved network coordination. These results indicate the need for mechanisms that enable smaller and non-profit organizations to participate in network coordination and leadership.     

Environmentalism—A Question of Guilt? Testing a Model of Guilt Arousal and Effects for Environmental Campaigns

Guilt has been identified as a crucial factor mediating the effects of social campaigns. So far, however, knowledge regarding the process of guilt arousal is limited. This paper studies processes of guilt arousal and effects for the context of environmental donation campaigns. Following the extended parallel process model, environmental concern and self-efficacy are introduced as main predictors. Results of an experiment show that guilt arousal enhances campaign effects for those with a high concern but is the wrong strategy to reach those with a low concern. Guilt arousal is not influenced by self-efficacy and occurs independently of emotional message frames.     

Neue Anforderungen an optimierende Energiesystemmodelle für die Kraftwerkseinsatz- und Zubauplanung bei begrenzten Netzkapazitäten

Recent changes in energy economic frameworks conditions lead to new requirements for energy systems models. Particularly in Germany, structural and locational changes in the power plant sector can be observed. Above all, this is due to the liberalisation process entailing the legal unbundling of system operators and generation companies as well as to the ambitious aims for the extension of wind energy. Consequently, modelling energy systems as single node systems, in which network constraints are neglected, can lead to suboptimal results. Most energy systems models offer the possibility to limit interregional energy exchange capacities. However, these so-called transhipment models normally neglect the actual load flows. Yet, there are several possibilities to adequately consider the characteristics of power transmission. In this paper, the most popular approaches, which are used in particular technical applications, such as the AC- (Alternating Current), the DC- (Direct Current) and the PTDF- (Power Transfer Distribution Factors) approach are introduced and discussed with respect to their application in energy systems models. In addition, first experiences with their implementations are presented.