This paper investigates the differences in the economic and fiscal impacts between communities, and their respective counties, which had experienced economic development from the siting and operation of waste processing and disposal facilities, versus those that had experienced economic development from other types of retail, wholesale distribution, or manufacturing businesses. These communities and their respective counties are compared and contrasted to selected control communities.
Abstract Infectious disease introduced by non‐native species is increasingly cited as a facilitator of native population declines, but direct evidence may be lacking due to inadequate population and disease prevalence data surrounding an outbreak. Previous indirect evidence and theoretical models support squirrelpox virus ( SQPV ) as being potentially involved in the decline of red squirrels ( Sciurus vul garis) following the introduction of the non‐native gray squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ) to the United Kingdom. The red squirrel is a major UK conservation concern and understanding its continuing decline is important for any attempt to mitigate the decline. The red squirrel–gray squirrel system is also exemplary of the interplay between infectious disease (apparent competition) and direct competition in driving the replacement of a native by an invasive species. Time series data from Merseyside are presented on squirrel abundance and squirrelpox disease ( SQP x) incidence, to determine the effect of the pathogen and the non‐native species on the native red squirrel populations. Analysis indicates that SQP x in red squirrels has a significant negative impact on squirrel densities and their population growth rate ( PGR ). There is little evidence for a direct gray squirrel impact; only gray squirrel presence (but not density) proved to influence red squirrel density, but not red squirrel PGR . The dynamics of red SQP x cases are largely determined by previous red SQP x cases, although previous infection of local gray squirrels also feature, and thus, SQPV ‐infected gray squirrels are identified as potentially initiating outbreaks of SQP x in red squirrels. Retrospective serology indicates that approximately 8% of red squirrels exposed to SQPV may survive infection during an epidemic. This study further highlights the UK red squirrel – gray squirrel system as a classic example of a native species population decline strongly facilitated by infectious disease introduced by a non‐native species. It is therefore paramount that disease prevention and control measures are integral in attempts to conserve red squirrels in the United Kingdom.
Based on ecological theory, we hypothesize that positive experience with waste facility siting and storage will reduce the perceived health and safety risks associated with waste sites. Evidence is presented from data collected in 15 communities in the states of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Colorado. Seven of these communities are hosting or were potential sites for hazardous waste facilities, four were the sites of other types of rural industrial developments and four were communities that had experienced only baseline socioeconomic activity. Surveys of residents in each of these communities on a variety of issues including concerns related to the health and safety of waste storage are examined and compared. The results indicate that residents in communities with positive experience with waste facilities perceive lower waste‐related health and safety risks than residents in other types of communities when controls are included for other sociodemographic and perceptual factors.
The Dodd-Frank Act and the recently proposed Basel Committee regulatory framework for CCPs are a game changer for counterparty credit risk management. The practice of charging an upfront fee as a Credit Valuation Adjustment (CVA) to provision against counterparty credit risk liabilities is being abandoned as it was blamed for as much as two thirds of the losses recorded during the financial crisis. Instead, a key role will be played by margin financing, whereby periodically marked-to-market revolving lines of credit are used to cover margin variations on a cross-product basis.
Results from a survey of 107 organizations suggested that the organizational process of bench-marking mediates the effects of munificence on high-involvement human resource (HR) practices. The weak relationship between munificence and HR practices observed in past studies might be explained by the failure to account for this organizational process. Implications for HR managers and practitioners interested in the role that benchmarking plays in organizations are highlighted.
A health impact assessment (HIA) is a tool that can be used to inform transportation planners of the potential health consequences of their decisions. Although dozens of transportation-related HIAs have been completed in the United States, the characteristics of these HIAs and the interactions between public health professionals and transportation decision makers in these HIAs have not been documented. A master list of completed HIAs was used to identify transportation-related HIAs. Seventy-three transportation-related HIAs conducted in 22 states between 2004 and 2013 were identified. The HIAs were conducted for projects such as road redevelopments, bridge replacements, and development of trails and public transit. Policies such as road pricing, transit service levels, speed limits, complete streets, and safe routes to schools were also assessed. Five HIAs in which substantial interactions between public health and transportation professionals took place during and after the HIA were examined in detail and included HIAs of the road pricing policy in San Francisco, California; a bridge replacement in Seattle, Washington; new transit lines in Baltimore, Maryland, and Portland, Oregon; and the BeltLine transit, trails, and parks project in Atlanta, Georgia. Recommendations from the HIAs led to changes in decisions in some cases and helped to raise awareness of health issues by transportation decision makers in all cases. HIAs are now used for many topics in transportation. The range of involvement of transportation decision makers in the conduct of HIAs varies. These case studies may serve as models for the conduct of future transportation-related HIAs, because the involvement of transportation agencies may increase the likelihood that an HIA will influence subsequent decisions.
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