RESIDENTIAL SORTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES: THE CASE OF NONLINEARITIES AND STIGMA IN AVIATION NOISE VALUES

This paper explores the sorting process in response to differing levels of aviation noise exposure in a housing market. Spatiotemporal hedonic pricing (HP) and stated choice (SC) results reflect nonlinearities and stigma. The HP models reveal nonlinear noise depreciation increasing from 0.40 to 2.38 percent per decibel as noise increases, while the SC noise values are lower in an area with high long‐term noise exposure. These nonlinearities are attributed to the spatial sorting of noise tolerant individuals. HP results from the same “noisy” area show a “stigma” from noise during the first year after the complete removal of aviation noise.     

On the intrinsic accuracy and precision of luminescence dating techniques for fired ceramics

Luminescence dating techniques have been used extensively for archaeological and geological samples. Such techniques are based on thermally or optically stimulated signals. This paper presents simulations of several luminescence techniques for equivalent dose (ED) estimation for ceramic materials containing quartz. The simulations are carried out using a recently published comprehensive kinetic model for quartz, consisting of 11 electron and hole traps and centers. The complete sequence of the experimental protocols for several thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques are simulated using the same set of kinetic parameters. The specific simulated protocols are: additive dose TL protocol, predose technique (both additive and multiple activation versions), phototransfer protocol, single aliquot regenerative optically stimulated luminescence (SAR-OSL) protocol, and SAR thermoluminescence protocol (SAR-TL). One hundred random variants of the natural samples were generated by keeping the transition probabilities between energy levels fixed, while allowing simultaneous random variations of the concentrations of the 11 energy levels. The relative intrinsic accuracy and precision of the protocols are simulated by calculating the equivalent dose (ED) within the model, for a given natural burial dose of the sample. The intrinsic accuracy of these techniques is estimated by simulating natural irradiation of the samples with a known burial dose, followed by simulation of the luminescence method used to recover the estimated dose ED. The percent difference between the burial dose and the ED value represents the simulated accuracy of the luminescence technique. The relative intrinsic precision of these techniques is estimated by fitting Gaussian probability functions to the ED values obtained with the 100 model variants. It is found that the various techniques can reproduce natural paleodoses in the range 10 mGy–10 Gy with a typical intrinsic accuracy of +1 to 10%. Techniques based on single aliquot protocols were found in general to be more precise than techniques requiring the use of multiple aliquots. In addition, techniques based on interpolation of experimental data were found to be consistently both more precise and accurate than those based on extrapolation of experimental data.     

Preliminary results towards the equivalence of transformed continuous-wave Optically Stimulated Luminescence (CW-OSL) and linearly-modulated (LM-OSL) signals in quartz

The present paper presents a comparative experimental study of two commonly measured Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) signals in quartz. The experimental study measures both the continuous wave OSL (CW-OSL) and the linearly modulated (LM-OSL) signals from the same quartz sample for a range of stimulation temperatures between 180 and 280°C, while the former is transformed to pseudo LM-OSL (ps LM-OSL). A computerized deconvolution curve analysis of the LM-OSL and ps LM-OSL signals was carried out, and the contributions of several OSL components to the initial OSL signal (0.1 s) were shown to be independent of the stimulation temperature used during the measurement. It was also found that the composite OSL (0.1 s) signal consists mainly of the first two OSL components present in the OSL curves. The equivalence of the ps LM-OSL (transformed CW-OSL) and of LM-OSL measurements was also examined by an appropriate choice of the experimental stimulation times, and of the stimulation power of the blue LEDs used during the measurement.     

Planning reform and development rights in Greece: institutional persistence and elite rule in the face of the crisis

This paper discusses the process of development rights allocation in Greece and the changes to that process which occurred from 2009 onward. It argues that the interaction of institutions which regulate the allocation of development rights, with social practices of formal and informal land development, gives rise to development pathways which demonstrate institutional persistence. In the case of Greece, these pathways range from ‘urban development by state organisations’, to development without planning permission on land that is not owned by the developer. The crisis was a shock to the Greek governance system, yet the analysis in this paper shows that the reforms of the development rights allocation process followed the pre-existing ‘mentality of rule’. The paper therefore argues that development pathways reflect a political arrangement between the ruling elites and other social strata. The technologies of governance and the associated institutions and practices which support elite rule, were sustained, if not reinforced, during the crisis. This analytical approach therefore offers insights of relevance to other countries in Europe and around the world which contemplate reforms to their development rights allocation system.     

Kinetic analysis of thermoluminescence glow curves in feldspar: evidence for a continuous distribution of energies

The thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves from feldspars have been the subject of numerous studies, because of their importance in luminescence dating and dosimetry. This paper presents new experimental TL glow curves in a plagioclase feldspar, measured using the T _max-T _stop technique of glow curve analysis. Kinetic analysis of the experimental results is carried out for a freshly irradiated sample, as well as for a sample which has undergone optical treatment using infrared light for 100 s at 50°C. Application of the initial rise method of analysis indicates that the TL signals from both samples can be characterized by a continuous distribution of energy levels. By subtracting the TL glow curves measured at successive T _stop values, a series of TL glow curves is obtained which are analyzed using the empirical general order kinetics. It is found that all TL glow curves obtained by this subtractive procedure can be described accurately by the same general order parameter b ～1.7. In a second attempt to analyze the same TL glow curves and possibly extract information about the underlying luminescence process, the shape of TL glow curves is analyzed using a recently proposed physical kinetic model which describes localized electronic recombination in donor-acceptor pairs. Within this model, recombination is assumed to take place via the excited state of the donor, and nearest-neighbor recombinations take place within a random distribution of centers. This recent model has been used recently to describe successfully several types of luminescence signals. This paper shows that it is possible to obtain good fits to the experimental data using either one of these two approaches.     

When Innovation Does Not Pay Off: Introducing the “European Regional Paradox”

In the last few decades, innovation has been widely recognized to be the engine of wealth and prosperity as it intensifies competition and increases productivity, which both in turn lead to significant economic benefits such as higher income per capita and increased employment. However, empirical evidence in this article illustrates that innovation seems not to have paid-off for some of the most innovative regions in Europe, as these regions, despite being highly innovative, grow at a slower pace than their national counterparts, as well as presenting poor economic outcomes such as low income per capita and high unemployment rates. The aim of this article is to communicate this intriguing observation to both innovation scholars and to policy-makers, since its very existence seems to cast doubt not only on one of the most principal assumptions in the field of innovation studies (i.e. innovation as the engine of growth) but also on one of the most fundamental pillars currently underpinning several regional, national and supranational economic policies.     

Urban Development Projects in Moscow: Market/State Relations in the New Russia

Major political and economic changes have taken place in Russia and these have impacted on the nature of development projects. This paper explores the three largest projects in Moscow that have been built or planned in recent years; the Manezh Square shopping development, the rebuilding of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral and the planned international office quarter 'Moscow City'. These projects are analysed in the context of the changing relationship between politics and the market. In the conditions of the New Russia market principles have been deployed in a particular way and the public-private relationship has taken on a distinctive form.