Terror per Capita

Studies on the correlates of terrorism usually analyze total numbers of attacks or victims per country. However, what we may ultimately care about in terms of policy recommendations is the likelihood of any individual being subject to the respective phenomenon. Thus, we propose and explore a simple alternative measure of terrorism: terror per capita. Studying terror per capita across 162 countries from 1970–2015, the associated correlates differ substantially in terms of sign, levels of statistical significance, and magnitude from those when analyzing total terror. We illustrate two cases in point, serving as proof of concept. First, democracy, often associated with more total terror, emerges as a marginally negative predictor of terror per capita. Second, a larger share of Muslims in society is associated with a positive and statistically significant link to total terror, but emerges as a negative predictor of terror per capita. We find similar changes in sign and statistical relevance for GDP per capita and language fractionalization as correlates of terrorism. Depending on the policy question, studying terror per capita can greatly enhance our understanding of terrorism drivers, especially when analyzing data across countries with vastly differing population sizes.     

Building scenarios with Fuzzy Cognitive Maps: An exploratory study of solar energy

In scenario planning, causal mapping has long been used as a means to elicit the worldviews of multiple experts, facilitate discussion, and challenge and improve mental models. Large and complex causal maps, however, are difficult to analyze. This paper proposes a novel method for scenario building, based on Fuzzy Cognitive Maps, that combines intuitive, cognitive mapping techniques with formal, quantitative analysis. The proposed method helps scenario planners to integrate the qualitative and partial knowledge of multiple individuals and overcome information processing limitations. The feasibility of the proposed approach is investigated with two scenario studies on solar photovoltaic panels.     

Debt-for-nature swaps: Axing the debt instead of the forests

Combining debt reduction with halting deforestation seems to be an attractive way of solving two urgent global problems at the same time at hardly any cost. But this view may be overly optimistic. What are the advantages and the drawbacks of debt-for-nature swaps? Are there any better alternatives?     

Economic Benefits from the Alberta Warble Control Program

Economic costs and benefits of the Alberta warble control program during the years 1976–83 are estimated. Shifts in beef supply are estimated from packing plant and other data. Benefits to society from the supply shift, after deducting the costs of implementation, are disaggregated into proportions accruing to producers and consumers. This study concludes that the warble control program is successful and has produced benefits for society. The benefit-cost ratio of the program is at least 11:1 and consumers receive most of the benefits. An increase of only 0.04 pounds per day in the net weight gains over the warble control period cover the costs of yearly application and administration, which is only half the difference in weight gains resulting from warble control as reported in numerous biological studies. Nous avons évalué les coûts et les avantages économiques du programme albertain de lutte contre les hypodermes au cours des années 1976 à 1983. Les variations observées au niveau de I'offre du boeuf ont été évaluées à partir de donnCes provenant des abattoirs et d'autres sources. Les avantages procurés è la société par la variation de I'offre ont été séparés en deux classes - avantages pour les producteurs et avantages pour les consommateurs - aprés déduction des coûts de la mise en oeuvre du programme. Nous concluons que le programme a donné les résultats escomptés et qu'il s'est avéré avantageux pour la sociétt. Le ratio avantages-coûts du programme est d'au moins 11:1 et les consommateurs en ont été les principaux bénéficiaires. Une augmentation de seulement 0.04 li vre par jour des gains de poids net au cours de la pCriode de lutte contre les hypodermes a suffi pour payer les coûts de l'épandage annuel et de I'administration du programme. Ce chiffre ne représente que la moitiC seulement de la différence observée des gains de poids obtenue grlàe à la lutte contre les hypodermes, telle qu'évalute par de nombreuses etudes biologiques.     

Technological Innovation and Its Impact on Business Model, Organization and Corporate Culture – IBM’s Transformation into a Globally Integrated, Service-Oriented Enterprise

This article investigates the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on business transformation. First, the general, ICT-driven development lines of globalization and service-orientation are described. Then, an analysis of the IBM Corporation’s transformation over the past 50 years into a globally integrated, service-oriented company illustrates that ICT innovations must be dealt with by simultaneous adaptation of business model, organization and corporate culture. For many companies the ability to manage this change becomes increasingly critical.

Good Girl,Bad Boy? Evidence Consistent with Collusion in Professional Tennis

We identify professional tennis matches where one player competes for extraordinarily high payoffs while their opposition does not. Players “on the bubble” of direct qualification to upcoming Grand Slam events face substantially higher stakes than opponents, which presents an opportunity for collusion. Our findings produce evidence that is consistent with the hypothesis of unethical behavior taking place on the men's tour, as bubble players are 5.1 percentage points more likely to beat better ranked opponents than in comparable nonbubble matches. However, no such evidence emerges when analyzing women's tennis. We find additional support for the hypothesis of match‐fixing activities on the men's tour from analyzing the occurrence of tie‐breaks and the fact that our results become stronger once monetary incentives were increased after the 2013 season. Finally, the betting market does not predict this phenomenon, further confirming our suspicion of irregular activities.     

Destination Branding and Images: Perceptions and Practices from Tourism Industry Professionals

The intensified competition among convention cities has created an increasing interest for cities to better understand how to market themselves as a convention destination. A city's image is one of the highest indicators of its success as a convention location. It becomes imperative for each city to specifically analyze its strengths and weaknesses. Because there is a lack of literature regarding medium-sized convention cities, this study compares Knoxville, Tennessee to other similarly populated cities in the southeastern United States. The perceived importance of city attributes and the tourism professional's perception of the strengths and weaknesses of the particular city as a convention destination are based on the years of experience of the tourism professional in the industry and participants' demographic characteristics. The sample of the study was industry professionals that attended the Tennessee Governor's Conference on Tourism held in Knoxville in September 2006. Implications from this study may be used to improve the competitive position of Knoxville as a convention destination.     

Liberalization and tax amnesty in a developing economy

We show that tax evaders can respond to a tax amnesty, even if enforcement activities do not change, if it is timed to coincide with liberalization and rising incomes. The success of the amnesty, in terms of its effect on tax revenue and welfare, depends on the distribution of the gains from liberalization. Our analysis provides a theoretical justification of the link between successful amnesties and economic liberalization and points to factors that a policy maker should consider for success of future amnesties.