Extraction in Four Dimensions: Time,Space and the Emerging Geo(-)politics of Deep-Sea Mining

ABSTRACT

Despite the truism that less is known about the deep-sea than outer space, deep-sea mining (DSM) is being promoted as the next frontier of resource extraction. In 2019, Nautilus Minerals hopes to become the world’s first company to mine the deep seabed in the waters off Papua New Guinea (PNG). DSM thus stands at the threshold of becoming a matter of politics; it has provoked a wide range of geopolitical imaginaries variously relating to ‘resource security’ and ‘progress’, on the one hand, and environmental disaster and precaution on the other. However, these accounts do little to address the specific ‘nature’ of the deep-sea, seabed and their extreme location and materialities, and are instead framed by classic geopolitical concerns with interstate relations. Against this background and illustrated by examples centred on PNG, this paper argues that future engagements with the geopolitics of DSM are more accurately conceptualised by an engagement with time as well as three dimensional space. This includes the multiple spatial and temporal registers through which both the geology and ecologies of seabed and seawater operate. By highlighting the importance of resource temporalities, it suggests that the geopolitics of both DSM and extraction in extreme places more generally is not only spatially complex, it is also a matter of time.     

Optimal Valuation of Noisy Real Assets

We study the optimal valuation of real assets when true asset values are unobservable. In our model, the observed value cointegrates with the unobserved true asset value to cause serial correlation in the time series of observed values. Autocorrelation as well as total variance in the observed value are used to calculate an efficient unbiased estimate of the true asset value (the time–filtered value). The optimal value estimate is shown to have three time–weighted terms: a deterministic forward value, a comparison of observed values with previously determined time–filtered values, and a convexity correction for incomplete information. The residual variance measures the precision of the value estimate, which can increase or decrease monotonically over time as well as display a linear or nonlinear time trend. We also show how to revise time–filtered estimates based on the arrival of new information. Our results relate to work on illiquid asset markets, including appraisal smoothing, tests of market efficiency, and the valuation of options on real assets.     

Personal characteristics and lying: An experimental investigation

We explore the relationship between personal characteristics and the decision to lie to an anonymous partner in a cheap talk environment. We find that sex, age, grade point average, student debt, size of return, socioeconomic status, and average time spent in religious observation are not related to the decision to lie. A subject’s major of study, the marital status of their parents, whether or not they were raised by a single parent, religious importance and whether or not the subjects came to collect their pay were important explanatory variables.     

Five years and counting: the path to self-directed work teams

In 1989, Roberts Express launched its first self-directed work team. Today it has more than 25 such teams, and they essentially have the responsibility of running operations. Those involved in the move to self-directed teams know it hasn't been easy. They have learned a number of important lessons along the way, some of which are described in this article.     

Conditional inference procedures for the Laplace distribution when the observed samples are progressively censored

In this paper, we develop procedures for obtaining confidence intervals for the parameters of a Laplace distribution as well as upper and lower γ probability tolerance intervals for a proportion β, given a progressively Type-II right censored sample from the Laplace distribution. The intervals are obtained by conditioning on the observed values of the ancillary statistics. The intervals are exact, do not require numerical integration, and generalize the work of Childs and Balakrishnan (1996) who considered the conventional Type-II right censored case. Received: February 2000     

A path to altruism: Investigating the effects of brand origin and message explicitness in CR‐M campaigns

An increasing number of fashion brands are employing cause‐related marketing (CR‐M) campaigns to promote their social responsibility. However, with growing consumer skepticism about CR‐M, it is becoming more difficult than before to encourage consumers' positive responses to these campaigns. Based on construal level theory and rhetorical theory, this study examined the way brand origin (local vs. global), and its interaction with message type (explicit vs. implicit), influence consumers' perceived brand altruism and brand favorability. Two experimental studies were conducted with a total of 574 U.S. consumers. The results of Study 1 indicated that consumers exhibited higher perceived brand altruism and brand favorability toward a local brand's CR‐M campaign than a global brand's, showing that psychological distance can influence a CR‐M campaign's effectiveness. In addition, the results of Study 2 revealed that an explicit CR‐M message was more effective for global brands, while an implicit message was more effective for local brands, and perceived brand altruism mediated both effects. This suggests the importance of framing messages according to brand origin to maximize CR‐M campaigns' ability to achieve their goals effectively, in which perceived brand altruism plays a key role. The study's implications and limitations are discussed.     

The powerless yet relevant third: a three-player ultimatum/dictator game with earned funds and roles

We report the first experiment to pair a three-player ultimatum/dictator game with a real effort task. The inclusion of the real effort task shifts the standard for division from simple egalitarianism towards relative performance; even in treatments in which roles and funds are exogenous. Additionally, we find proposers overcompensate themselves relative to their effort, and this additional compensation comes at the expense of powerless (third) players. Individual characteristics predict the nature of a proposals. Lastly, we find that responders’ choice to accept is based on their own and the powerless third party’s compensation.