Environmental Certainty Research Articles

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEMS AND CARBON TAXES: IMPLEMENTATIONS IN CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION THROUGH CARBON PRICING

Climate change, driven by human activities, results in global warming, sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem damage. To combat these issues, carbon pricing is being utilized. This policy strategy assigns costs to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, considering their negative impact on society and the environment, thus encouraging reduction of emissions. Two main methods of implementing carbon pricing are emissions trading systems (ETS), where the carbon price is market-determined, and carbon tax, where the carbon price is pre-established. This study compares carbon taxes and ETSs as regulatory measures for mitigating climate change. Focusing on aspects of policy design and implementation— efficiency, political durability, policy consistency, flexibility and adaptability, predictability, and environmental certainty—the main argument of the study hinges on the distinct nature of price formation in these mechanisms - carbon taxes define prices directly, whereas ETSs rely on market dynamics for price determination. This fundamental divergence significantly shapes the operational dynamics of climate mitigation policies. The study highlights the unique strengths and limitations inherent in ETSs and carbon taxes, underscoring the necessity of viewing these mechanisms not as alternatives but as synergistic strategies for a policy design in combating climate change.

RNAi-chitosan biopesticides for managing forest insect pests: an outlook

The expanding world population demands superior forest protection to fulfil feasible environmental certainty. The persistent pest infestations negatively influence forest health and cause substantial economic losses. In contrast, the traditional use of conventional pesticides results in a loss of soil microbial biodiversity, a drop in the population of pollinators, and adverse effects on other non-target organisms, including humans. Global forestry is looking for solutions to reduce the adverse environmental effects of current chemical pesticides. RNAi-nanotechnology has recently drawn much attention for its use in pest management. The advantages of engineered RNAi-chitosan nano-formulations in terms of simple digestion and dissolution, non-toxicity, high adsorption power, potential biodegradation in nature, and widespread availability and cost-effectiveness, have been well documented for pest management in agroecosystems. However, deploying such control strategies in forest ecosystems is still pending and demands further research. Hence, we highlight the putative uses of RNAi-chitosan biopesticides and their preparation, characterization, and putative application methods for forest pest management. We also discussed potential environmental risks and plausible mitigation strategies.

A new search scheme using multi‐bee‐colony elite learning method for unmanned aerial vehicles in unknown environments

AbstractIn this research, a cooperative search for multiple dynamic targets in an unknown marine environment by multiple unmanned aerial vehicles is studied based on a novel multi‐bee‐colony (MBC) elite learning algorithm. First, a specialized searching model is established which includes the UAV dynamics, the sensor model, the target probability and environmental certainty at different flight altitudes. Then, a new search strategy, which consists of rough search and accurate search, is proposed by maximizing the multiobjective utility function with the dynamic changing of the flight altitude. In order to solve the optimization problem, an improved MBC algorithm based on elite learning is designed, which can improve the adaptability and computation speed of the standard artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm under different search missions. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to show the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed search strategy.

Major barriers to information sharing in reverse logistics of construction and demolition waste

Reverse logistics (RL) is crucial for construction and demolition (C&D) waste management. In practice, information sharing (IS) is considered as an effective means to strengthen the coordination among stakeholders, so as to deliver in time, reduce costs, and address the mismatch between demand and supply of RL. However, the adoption of IS in RL of C&D waste is dissatisfactory due to various barriers, and these barriers inevitably affect each other. Furthermore, the interrelationships among barriers systematically affect the significance of each barrier in the adoption of IS because a particular barrier could present significant challenges to IS through its interrelationship with other barriers. Prior studies have explored strategies to remove these barriers, but few analyzed their complex interrelationships. To fill the gap, this study aims to identify the major barriers systematically and to analyze their hierarchical relationships by using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC). To start with, a total of 23 preliminary barriers were identified through relevant literatures. Then, 14 major barriers were screened out and the adjacency matrix was established through the feedback from the 11 experts. The corresponding reachability matrix was obtained with Python software, and a hierarchical structure was developed to further analysis. These major barriers were classified into multiple categories based on the calculation of driving power and dependence power. Meanwhile, the findings reveal that lack of certainty in market environment, lack of trust among stakeholders, and lack of government support are the three most important barriers negatively influencing the IS in RL of C&D waste. This study helps scholars understand the intricate relationships between barriers and also provides an effective way to combine ISM and MICMAC techniques. Also, it provides valuable references for project managers to understand the priorities of barriers and to allocate appropriate resources to mitigate the major barriers.

Assessing human performance during contingency changes and extinction tests in reversal-learning tasks.

Serial reversal-learning procedures are simple preparations that allow for a better understanding of how animals learn about environmental changes, including flexibly shifting responding to adapt to changing reinforcement contingencies. The present study examined serial reversal learning with humans by arranging both midsession and variable contingency reversals across two experiments. We also examined the effects of extinction by adding nonreinforced trials at the end of later sessions and provided the first evaluation of effects of win-stay/lose-shift versus counting strategies on accuracy and response latency of humans' reversal-learning performance. In each experiment, responding tracked contingency reversals, primarily with participants using either win-stay/lose-shift or counting strategies. Introducing variable reversal points in the second experiment resulted in near-exclusive win-stay/lose-shift responding among participants and eliminated counting of trials. Each experiment also revealed an immediate shift from S2 to S1 after experiencing extinction during the initial test trial, indicating resurgence of the initial response through a win-stay/lose-shift response pattern. Therefore, the present study replicates and extends prior findings of a win-stay/lose shift response pattern in situations of greater uncertainty. These findings suggest that differences in environmental certainty induce qualitatively different decision-making strategies.

Organizational perspectives on outdoor talking therapy: Towards a position of 'environmental safe uncertainty'.

ObjectivesThere is growing support within the therapy professions for using talking therapy in alternative environments, such as outdoor spaces. The aim of the present study was to further understand how the organizational culture in clinical psychology may prevent or enable practitioners to step outside the conventional indoor consulting room.DesignInformed grounded theory methodology was used within a pragmatist philosophy.MethodsParticipants (N = 15; nine male, six female) were identified using theoretical sampling. The sample consisted of experts and leaders within the profession of clinical psychology (e.g., heads of services, training programme directors, chairs of professional bodies, and developers of therapy models; M years in the profession = 34.80, SD = 9.77). One‐to‐one interviews and analysis ran concurrently over 9 months (April–December 2020). Mason’s model of safe uncertainty was drawn upon to illuminate and organize themes.ResultsThe main themes comprised organizational factors that either support a practitioner in maintaining a position of curiosity and flexibility towards the environment where therapy is located (‘environmental safe uncertainty’), or push them towards adopting a more fixed position (‘environmental certainty’). Themes included influences from therapy traditions, accessibility of alternative environments, internalized risk, workplace subcultures, business models, biomedical approaches, and the COVID‐19 pandemic.ConclusionsWhether therapy is located in a consulting room, outdoors, clients’ homes, or digitally, practitioners, clients, and services are encouraged to maintain a position of environmental safe uncertainty.Practitioner Points The therapy process and outcomes are influenced by the physical environment in which talking therapy is situated.Practitioners have often remained fixed in their preferred therapy environment, such as the indoor consulting room, without exploring the potential benefits of alternative environments or involving the client in this decision‐making (i.e., ‘environmental certainty’).Outdoor environments, as well as other alternatives to the consulting room (e.g., digital, home visits, and public places), can support access to therapy, subsequent engagement, and therefore health care equity.Practitioners and clients are encouraged to adopt a position of ‘environmental safe uncertainty’, which is defined as having openness, critical curiosity, and collaboration regarding the therapy environment and the possibility of other environments being more conducive to therapy.

Fairness Perception, Trust Perception, and Relationship Quality in Agricultural Supply Chains

Suppliers are important members of the agricultural supply chain. Moreover, their behavior decisions may affect the sustainable development of the agricultural supply chain. Considering agricultural supplier trust, this study examines the direct impact of trust perception on relationship quality and the indirect impact of supplier fairness perception on relationship quality. Based on the survey data of agricultural product suppliers, this study uses the structural equation model method for empirical analysis. The analysis results show that both fairness perception and trust perception have a significant positive impact on the relationship quality of the agricultural supply chain. Trust perception particularly has a positive direct impact on the relationship quality of the agricultural supply chain, while fairness perception has an indirect influence on the relationship quality of the agricultural supply chain through trust perception. In addition, information sharing, price satisfaction, income level, and environmental certainty have a significant positive impact on suppliers’ fairness perception. Therefore, retailers comprehensively consider both fairness perception and trust perception of suppliers, which will help improve the relationship quality of the supply chain.

Experimental Study Based on Game Theory on the Private, Voluntary Supply Mechanisms of Goods for Forestry Infrastructure from the Perspective of Quasi-Public Goods

The existing research on forestry infrastructure has focused on suggestions from other areas of forestry research: that forestry infrastructure should be completed and improved. However, research on forestry infrastructure is relatively rare. In the real world, there are various problems with creating forestry infrastructure, such as complex approval procedures for facility construction, irrational facility layout, insufficient funding for facility construction, and conflicts between the nature of land used for facility construction and the nature of forest land. This paper uses game theory to analyze the behavior of forest infrastructure goods suppliers. Relevant parameters related to forest area infrastructure were designed, including communication, environmental certainty, information feedback, and reward and punishment mechanisms, and experimental economics methods were used to simulate accurate behavior regarding the supply of goods. Then, the key factors that affect the provision of quasi-public goods for forestry infrastructure were studied. At the end of the paper, some targeted suggestions that distinguish rural infrastructure from general infrastructure are given.

An Emissions Assurance Mechanism: Adding Environmental Certainty to a U.S. Carbon Tax

AbstractEconomists have long favored a carbon tax as the most efficient policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions. One barrier to broader support for this policy option is its failure to ensure limit...

M-Government Cooperation for Sustainable Development in China: A Transaction Cost and Resource-Based View

Mobile government (m-Government) is highly valued by many countries and governments worldwide for its important technical, economic, and political benefits. A development trend worthy of attention in China is that various public mobile services are provided through the cooperation between governments and Internet enterprises. The m-Government cooperation, as component of the public service system, has both a benefit safeguard function by mitigating transaction hazards and a value creation function by sharing advantageous resources. Previous studies have not explained both functions for m-Government cooperation. This study addresses this research gap. We establish a theoretical model by developing hypotheses from integrating model of Transaction Costs Theory (TCT) and Resource-based Theory (RBT). The OLS and Poisson regression method are used to test the proposed model by using cross-sectional data collected from 284 cities in China. Results show that strategy alliance, technology-specific knowhow, and financial security positively influence m-Government cooperation, asset specificity negatively influences the m-Government cooperation, and environmental certainty has no significant impact on m-Government cooperation. From the perspectives of technology, policy, and culture, the article puts forward suggestions on how to better promote m-Government cooperation in China, including promoting the government’s digital capabilities, improving the citizen’ privacy protection system and cultivating a public-private cooperative culture of mutual trust.

Financial Sustainability of NGOs: An Empirical Study of Kosovo NGOs

The main purpose of this research is to determine the Financial Sustainability of NGOs in Kosovo. NGO-s in Kosovo are mostly dependent on donors, this dependence on donor’s assistance, has resulted in a gap creation between their activities and the need of their constituencies Putting in the concern of the combination of variable like leadership and strategic planning, different forms of generating revenues, generating unlimited revenue, the financial administration of NGOs has brought us some conclusions for the actual situation in Kosovo. Quantitative variables of the study are monetary performance that is conceptualized as achieving the financial objectives that are antecedently established. Having a leadership and strategy means that NGO’s have mission and vision statements that are expressly and clearly outlined. The results of multivariate analyzes indicate that environmental certainty and having a clearly outlined strategy have positive effects on monetary performance in Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society in General.

INTERNATIONAL TAX ISSUES UNDER THE NIGERIAN TAX LEGISLATION

The drive for global economic integration has necessitated the development and adoption of certain international standards to guarantee increased certainty in business environment across nations and reduce levels of risks in the market. Considering the prominence of tax legislation as a major index or infrastructural component of an enabling environment necessary for optimum investments and business growth, this paper attempts to give an overview of issues relevant to international taxation and examines their level of conformity to global standards.

Environment tracking and signal following in a reinforcer-ratio reversal procedure

Several studies suggest that the degree of control by reinforcer ratios (environment tracking) and by exteroceptive stimuli that signal future reinforcer availability (signal following) depends on environmental certainty: As reinforcers become more likely at one location, environmental contingencies exert stronger control and exteroceptive stimuli exert weaker control. This research has not yet been extended to environments in which reinforcer availability changes across time, even though such changes are present in most natural environments. Thus, in the present experiment, we examined environment tracking and signal following in a concurrent schedule in which the reinforcer ratio reversed to its reciprocal 30 s after a reinforcer delivery and keylight-color stimuli signaled the likely or definite time or location of the next reinforcer. Across conditions, we manipulated environmental certainty by varying the probability of reinforcer deliveries on the locally richer key. This made the location of future reinforcers at a particular time more or less certain, but did not change the overall reinforcer ratio. Changes in local environmental certainty had little to no effect on environment tracking and signal following; in all conditions, keylight-color stimuli strongly controlled choice and reinforcer ratios exerted weak control. The present findings suggest that the extent of environment tracking and signal following is primarily determined by global, not local, environmental certainty.

A Life History Approach to Understanding Developmental Assets Among Chinese Adolescents

Life history theory provides a unifying perspective on understanding human behaviors as adaptive strategies in response to particular environmental conditions. There is little empirical literature on the relationships between life history strategies and positive youth development. This study examines the relationships between environmental certainty, life history strategies and external and internal developmental assets among adolescents. Participants were 577 adolescents (53.5% boys) from Shanghai, China. Data on environmental certainty, life history strategies and developmental assets were collected from adolescents’ self-reports. Adolescents with a slower life strategy reported higher levels of both external and internal assets. Furthermore, perceptions of environmental certainty were associated with both external and internal assets through a slower life history strategy. Developmental assets may be a part of or the result of the slow life history strategy in response to certain environments. This pattern also complements and expands previous findings linking life history strategy and negative adolescent development. The present study suggests profitable avenues of study in the areas of social environments and positive youth development.

Blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata, devalue social information in uncertain environments

Animals are selective about when to learn by observing others. Models predict that social information becomes less reliable in uncertain environments, and therefore animals should reduce their use of social information in these environments; however, these parameters are often difficult to manipulate and control. We investigated how information reliability and environmental uncertainty affect the use of both social and nonsocial signals. Captive blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata , were given a choice between two perches, one of which was rewarded. Jays could see either a social signal (a conspecific) or a nonsocial signal (a light) that provided some information about the rewarded perch. The nonsocial signal was yoked to the bird that generated the social signal, ensuring the two signals were of identical reliability. We manipulated signal reliability (i.e. the probability that the signal correctly indicated the rewarded perch) and environmental certainty (i.e. the probability that a given perch was rewarded). Qualitatively, jays used both social and nonsocial signals more often when the signals were reliable, and used them less often when environments were predictable. However, jays used social signals less than equally reliable nonsocial signals when environments were unpredictable. Our results suggest that signal reliability and environmental predictability interact to determine signal use, but they do not affect social and nonsocial signals in the same way. • The reliability of social information has rarely been quantified. • We presented blue jays with social and nonsocial signals of identical reliability. • Blue jays attended to social signals less than identical nonsocial signals. • Blue jays used both types of signal more when the signals were reliable. • Blue jays used both types of signal less when environments were predictable.

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations.

Human beings are constantly surrounded by uncertainty and change. The question arises how people cope with such uncertainty. To date, most research has focused on the cognitive strategies people adopt to deal with uncertainty. However, especially when uncertainty is due to unpredictable societal events (e.g., economical crises, political revolutions, terrorism threats) of which one is unable to judge the impact on one's future live, cognitive strategies (like seeking additional information) is likely to fail to combat uncertainty. Instead, the current paper discusses a method demonstrating that people might deal with uncertainty experientially through soft haptic sensations. More specifically, because touching something soft creates a feeling of comfort and security, people prefer objects with softer as compared to harder properties when feeling uncertain. Seeking for softness is a highly efficient and effective tool to deal with uncertainty as our hands are available at all times. This protocol describes a set of methods demonstrating 1) how environmental (un)certainty can be situationally activated with an experiential priming procedure, 2) that the quality of the softness experience (what type of softness and how it is experienced) matters and 3) how uncertainty can be reduced using different methods.

Should He Chitchat? The Benefits of Small Talk for Male Versus Female Negotiators

Past research links the use of small talk in negotiations to positive outcomes. We posit that men and women may not benefit equally from small talk. Building on stereotype and environmental certainty theories, we propose contexts when male negotiators who small talk are perceived more favorably. Studies 1a/1b show that men enjoy a social boost from small talk when cues for behavior are not strongly articulated. Study 2 identifies a social boost from small talk to both genders when cues for behavior are clearly articulated, but this boost only translates into better deals for men who small talk. Overall, small talk in negotiations has a stronger, more consistent effect for men.

Receiver tolerance for imperfect signal reliability: results from experimental signalling games

This paper presents an alternative approach to studying signallerereceiver interactions. The conventional approach focuses on signal reliability; instead, we focus on receivers' willingness to tolerate imperfect reliability (receiver tolerance). Both approaches aim to explain what promotes and maintains communication. We define receiver tolerance as following a signal in the face of reduced reliability. We used experimental signalling games with blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata, subjects to demonstrate whether uncertain environments generate receiver tolerance for imperfect reliability. Many models of signalling games ignore environmental certainty or predictability, but this certainty is a key part of understanding receiver tolerance. For example, low environmental certainty should increase tolerance since receivers are more uncertain about which action to take. We also tested whether signallers exploit receiver tolerance by signalling dishonestly. The results show that receivers are more likely to heed signals when environments are uncertain. Moreover, signallers are sensitive to this receiver tolerance and, when signallers and receivers have opposing material interests, low environmental certainty promotes dishonest signalling and high certainty restricts it. Our results highlight the usefulness of an approach emphasizing receiver tolerance and demonstrate the critical importance of environmental certainty for signallerereceiver interactions.

Uncertainty and confidence from the triple-network perspective: Voxel-based meta-analyses

Our subjective confidence about particular events is related to but independent from the objective certainty of the stimuli we encounter. Surprisingly, previous investigations of the neurophysiological correlates of confidence and uncertainty have largely been carried out separately. After systematically reviewing the blood oxygenation-level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) literature, and splitting studies on the basis of their task requirements, a voxel-based meta-analysis was performed to identify: (i) those regions which are replicably modulated by the uncertainty of environmental conditions; (ii) those regions whose activity is robustly affected by our subjective confidence; and (iii) those regions differentially activated at these contrasting times. In further meta-analyses the consistency of activation between these judgement types was assessed. Increased activation was consistently observed in the salience (anterior cingulate cortex and insula) and central executive network (dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices) in conditions of increased uncertainty; by contrast, default mode network (midline cortical and medial temporal lobe) regions robustly exhibited a positive relationship with subjective confidence. Regions including right parahippocampal gyrus were positively modulated by magnitude across both certainty and confidence judgements. This region was also shown to be more significantly modulated by confidence magnitude as compared with degree of environmental certainty. The functional and methodological implications of these findings are discussed with a view to improving future investigation of the neural basis of metacognitive judgement.

Equality as a benchmark for third-party punishment and reward: The moderating role of uncertainty in social dilemmas

The present paper focuses on third-parties’ decisions to punish and reward in social dilemmas, and on the moderating role of environmental uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty about the size of the common resource). We argue and demonstrate that in social dilemmas third-parties use the equality rule as a strict benchmark to determine punishments (Study 1) as well as rewards (Study 2), but only under environmental certainty. Under environmental uncertainty, third-parties do not apply such a strict benchmark to distinguish cooperators from defectors. Instead, they appear to use the following rule: the more an individual group member has cooperated the less he/she should be punished (Study 1) and the more he/she should be rewarded (Study 2). As such, these findings are the first to demonstrate that third-party sanctioning decisions are moderated by environmental uncertainty.