text:
Q: Google sheet script to update cell value in another sheet I'm trying to use a code I found in another topic but so far I failed. I'm trying to find the corresponding row and update the last column in another google spreadsheet after updating the first column of another spreadsheet.
When the user selects "ready" in ColC of spreadsheet X, I need to look up the ID value in ColB on another sheet (Y). Then I need to access spreadsheet Y and find the row that contains that same ID. Access the last column or columnC (3) and change the cell value to "ready".
Here is what I have so far but I get the error:
TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'range')

Can anyone help me fix this?
    function onEdit(e){

      var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
      var s = ss.getActiveSheet();
      if( s.getName() == "Studio"){

           if ( (e.range.getColumn() == 2.0) && (e.range.getValue() == "ready") ){

            var nextCell = e.range.offset(0, -1);
            var buybackId = nextCell.getValue();

            var ss2 = SpreadsheetApp.openById('1bbNuH_GXbmNwMHk7Kjo0zAhD-QGwQqiva8_HJc3mgFY');

            var sheet = ss2.getSheetByName("Status");

            var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();
            for(var i = 0; i<data.length;i++){
              if(data[i][1] == buybackId){

                sheet.getRange((i+1), 3).setValue("ready");
              }
            }
          }
      }
    }

The table structure looks like this:

A: In the 1st section of your question, you say I'm trying to find the corresponding row and update the last column in another google spreadsheet after updating the first column of another spreadsheet.. But, from your 2nd section, it seems that you wanted to run the script by editing column "B" like ready. By the way, about When the user selects "ready" in ColC of spreadsheet X,, your selects is to edit?
So, when column "B" in "Studio" sheet on the active Spreadsheet is edited to like ready, you want to update column "C" of "Status" sheet in another Spreadsheet by checking the ID of column "B".
If my understanding is correct, how about the following modification?
Modification points:

*

*In order to use SpreadsheetApp.openById, it is required to use the installable OnEdit trigger.

*About your current error of TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'range'), I'm worried that you might have directly run the function onEdit with the script editor. In that case, such an error occurs because of no event object.

When these points are reflected in your script, how about the following modification?
Modified script:
Please copy and paste the following script to the script editor of Spreadsheet. And, please install OnEdit trigger to installedOnEdit. When you use this script, please edit the column "B" of "Studio" sheet of the active Spreadsheet. By this, the script is run. And, please set your destination Spreadsheet ID to const ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById('###');.
function installedOnEdit(e) {
  const { range } = e;
  const sheet = range.getSheet();
  if (sheet.getSheetName() != "Studio" || range.columnStart != 2) return;
  const [id, status] = range.offset(0, -1, 1, 2).getDisplayValues()[0];
  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById('###'); //  Please set the destination Spreasheet ID.
  const dstSheet = ss.getSheetByName("Status");
  const r = dstSheet.getRange("B2:B" + dstSheet.getLastRow()).createTextFinder(id).matchEntireCell(true).findNext();
  if (!r) return;
  r.offset(0, 1).setValue(status);
}

*

*When this script is run by the installable OnEdit trigger, the above goal can be achieved.

Note:

*

*If you want to copy all values from the source sheet to the destination sheet, how about the following sample script? In this case, you can directly run the script with the script editor.
function sample() {
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Studio");
  const obj = sheet.getRange("A2:B" + sheet.getLastRow()).getDisplayValues().reduce((o, [a, b]) => (o[a] = b, o), {});
  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById('###'); //  Please set the destination Spreasheet ID.
  const dstSheet = ss.getSheetByName("Status");
  const dstRange = dstSheet.getRange("B2:C" + dstSheet.getLastRow());
  const dstValues = dstRange.getValues().map(([b, c]) => [obj[b] || c]);
  dstRange.offset(0, 1, dstValues.length, 1).setValues(dstValues);
}

Note:

*

*About the 1st script, when you directly run the script, an error like TypeError: Cannot destructure property 'range' of 'e' as it is undefined. occurs. Please be careful about this. The 1st script is automatically run with the installable OnEdit trigger.

*By the way, when you use the 1st script, please rename your onEdit function name. Because when you didn't rename it, when the cell is edited, both functions installedOnEdit and onEdit are run. Please be careful about this.
Reference:

*

*Installable Triggers
Added:
About your new question of How to modify it if I need to edit status in column C instead of column B in "Production sheet"? and I need it to be triggred by edit in column C sending data from column C., please modify the above script as follows.
Modified script:
function installedOnEdit(e) {
  const { range } = e;
  const sheet = range.getSheet();
  if (sheet.getSheetName() != "Studio" || range.columnStart != 3) return; // Modified
  const [id, , status] = range.offset(0, -2, 1, 3).getDisplayValues()[0]; // Modified
  Browser.msgBox([id, , status])
  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.openById('###'); // Please set your Spreadsheet ID of destination spreadsheet.
  const dstSheet = ss.getSheetByName("Status");
  const r = dstSheet.getRange("b2:b" + dstSheet.getLastRow()).createTextFinder(id).matchEntireCell(true).findNext();
  if (!r) return;
  r.offset(0, 4).setValue(status);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Digital Economic Powers and Digital Political Rulers
Samuele Dominioni
| 17 ottobre 2019
Everybody has at least once used one of the so-called Big Five tech or the Frightful Five, expressions that stand for Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. Some of these firms have become so overwhelming in public perception that they have come to embody the entire digital sector they work in. The creation of neologisms such as "to google" as a synonym for "to search" symbolizes the ongoing overlapping between a firm and an action that users can perform on the internet. It is possible to get a bigger snapshot of their economic power by simply looking at the global market capitalization chart: the first 5 of the top 6 global firms are the so-called Frightful Five (the other is Berkshire Hathaway, which works in the financial sector). According to growth expectations for digital markets boosted by the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is foreseeable that these figures will continue to grow. For example, the size of the Global Smart Home Market was valued at US$ 76.2 Billion in 2017 and is expected to reach US$ 191 Billion by 2026.
Source: Bondcap
How did these Frightful Five become so "big" in the global market? In order to answer this question, it could be useful to look into recent internet history. The advent and rise of the Big Five occurred in a very specific context in a particular historical moment. It was 2001 and the digital world was living in the aftermath of the so-called "dot-com bubble". Plenty of e-commerce firms closed down and the digital economy seemed to be just a blunder. Those who survived had to rethink how to do business in the digital world. Google was the pioneer that invented a new system to make profits: using data for advertisement. In other words, as explained by Shoshanna Zuboff, professor emeritus at the Harvard Business School, Google's leaders decided to boost advertisement revenue "by using their exclusive access to user data logs in combination with their already substantial analytical capabilities and computational power, to generate predictions of user click-through rates, taken as a signal of an ad's relevance." That was the leap required to kindle the ongoing economic revolution. Soon after other companies (Facebook was one of the earliest) followed that business model, which is nowadays at the basis of the internet data-driven economy, and the IoT will bring it to the rest of the world.
The data-driven economy is built around brand new linchpins, such as Big Data, algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. This is a turning point not only for the economic sector but also for the socio-political developments of our age. Without bringing up Marx's theory of base and superstructure, scholars and analysts agree that the engine of this new phase of capitalism (also called "surveillance capitalism") is driving society (a more and more quantified society) to new challenges for other social actors, including – and above – all for the political.
However, since the inception of this economic revolution, political regulators did not interfere so much with the Big Tech five. When they did, it was more for sanctioning them for violating existing rules rather than developing new legal frameworks to address this new business model and thus regulate the new digital economy. For example, the European Union (EU) has already fined Google three times for breaking the EU's antitrust law – overall the fines reached more than €8 billion; the EU also hit Amazon with €250 million because of unpaid taxes in 2017, whereas on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook for $5 billion for the Cambridge Analytica scandal. These are just examples of precedents that prove an ongoing activism by political regulators, who are showing more dynamism versus these tech giants. It is possible to identify at least three main clusters in which political rulers are called to work: lack of competitiveness, of transparency (including privacy and data portability) and of taxation. The first refers to the overwhelming position reached by the Frightful Five in their business sector. The data-driven economy as explained by Francesco Angelini has intrinsic problematics which create some entry barriers for other competitors. There is also the need to better understand what these companies do with their users' data. As a matter of fact, the Federal Trade Commission set new and stricter controls over Facebook data usage. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself spoke about the need for new regulations and a more active role for governments. Finally, the long-standing issue of taxation: where do these tech giants have to pay taxes for their profits made with data coming from all over the world? How to properly commensurate the value of a data? There are ongoing discussions about the creation of an international digital tax, as explained by Simonelli and Iacob in their contribution within this dossier.
We are at the outset of a new economic era. As it was for the invention of mass production in the early XX century, the new digital economy is reshaping the world we live in. Everybody is affected. Politics must understand and cope with it. As Jamie Susskind asserted in his book Future Politics, "politics in the twentieth century was dominated by a single question: how much of our collective life should be determined by the state and civil society? Now the debate is different: to what extent should our lives be directed and controlled by powerful digital systems – and on what terms?". The questions loom, the answers struggle.
Making the Digital Revolution Work: Data, Privacy, Business
The Global Race for Technological Superiority: Discover the Security Implications
Fabio Rugge
Head, ISPI Centre on Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity: l'architettura della difesa italiana
Research Fellow, ISPI Centre on Cybersecurity
ISPI Research Fellow
Head - ISPI Centre on Cybersecurity
Taxing the Digital Economy: Time for Pragmatism
Nadina Iacob
Felice Simonelli
The Algorithm Society: Governance Without Government
Gabriele Della Morte
Catholic University of Milan
Digital Privacy and Consumer Behaviour
Gabriella Muscolo
Italian Competition Authority

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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In computer graphics, color depth or bit depth is the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image or video frame buffer. This concept is also known as bits per pixel (bpp), particularly when specified along with the number of bits used. Higher color depth gives a broader range of distinct colors.
A color model is an abstract mathematical model describing the way colors can be represented as tuples of numbers, typically as three or four values or color components (e.g. RGB and CMYK are color models).
The RGB color model is implemented in different ways, depending on the capabilities of the system used. By far the most common general-used incarnation is the 24-bit implementation, with 8 bits, or 256 discrete levels of color per channel. Any color space based on such a 24-bit RGB model is thus limited to a range of 256x256x256 ≈ 16.7 million colors. Some implementations use 16 bits per component for 48 bits total, resulting in the same gamut with a larger number of distinct colors.
RGB uses additive color mixing, because it describes what kind of light needs to be emitted to produce a given color. Light is added together to create form from out of the darkness. RGB stores individual values for red, green and blue. RGBA is RGB with an additional channel, alpha, to indicate transparency.
Common color spaces based on the RGB model include sRGB, Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB.
YUV 4:4:4 closely resembles RGB since in YUV 4:4:4 there is no downsampling of the chroma channels.
YUV is a color space typically used as part of a color image pipeline. It encodes a color image or video taking human perception into account, allowing reduced bandwidth for chrominance components, thereby typically enabling transmission errors or compression artifacts to be more efficiently masked by the human perception than using a "direct" RGB-representation. However, YUV 4:2:2 and YUV 4:2:0 subsampling implements less resolution for chroma information than for luma information, resulting in loss of color definition.


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text:
prescribed in section 9 of such act of September 7, 1916, as amended. All provisions of such act with respect to treatment, medical examinations, and payment of cost of transportation and expenses incident to such treatment or examinations, shall apply in cases of such injury.
(b) The regulations in Part 2 of this chapter, which govern the furnishing of medical treatment under such act of September 7, 1916, as amended, shall in so far as not inapplicable, and to the extent not modified in this section, apply with respect to the administration of paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) Where persons specified in § 61.1 are entitled to or may receive medical, surgical, hospital and other treatment,
atment services, and care either by use of local facilities made available by a depart. ment or agency of the United States, or use of local or other facilities made available by contractors or other employers, such facilities may be used in lieu of the furnishing of such treatment, services and care under the provisions of this section, to the extent that provision has been made therefor. Upon termination of such treatment, services or care, a complete record of the injury and treatment furnished (prepared in the manner prescribed in $ 2.10, of this chapter) should be filled in the same manner as is provided in $8 61.7 and 61.8, so that such report may be included in the file containing the report of injury.
(d) Where medical, surgical or hospital treatment or care is necessary in any case coming within the purview of Title I of such Public Law, and it is not practicable to provide for such treatment or care in a manner consistent with the regulations in Part 2 of this chapter, or where such treatment or care is not otherwise available through use of such facilities as are referred to in paragraph (c) of this section, and in cases of an emergency nature or cases involving unusual circumstances, initial treatment or care may be furnished by the use of such facilities as may be available under the circumstances, and immediate report thereof should be made to the proper deputy commissioner or designated person authorized to receive reports of injury under $ 61.8. Upon receiving such report such deputy commissioner or designated person shall make such further arrangements as may be necessary and as are practicable to have such treat
ment or care continued in conformity with paragraph (b) of this section.
(e) The following, other than the Bureau, without further authorization, have general authority to provide for the fur. nishing of medical, surgical, hospital and other treatment and care, including transportation and expenses thereof and physical examinations, as provided by such act of September 7, 1916, as amended, and under these regulations, provided the case is one within the jurisdiction of, or which has been transferred to, such person for processing:
(1) A deputy commissioner of the Bureau administering the act of August 16, 1941, as amended, or the person acting for the deputy commissioner.
(2) An officer or agent of the United States, or other person, designated by the Bureau, by administrative order, referred to in 8 61.8 (a) (2), if serving under such designation in the locality in which the employee was employed or injury occurred, and if otherwise authorized to arrange for such treatment.
(f) The following, without further authorization, have limited authority to authorize limited medical treatment and care, as provided for by paragraph (d) of this section, pending authorization of further treatment and care by the Bureau or by a person referred to in paragraph (e) of this section:
(1) Any person referred to in Š 61.8.
(2) The employing contractor, subcontractor, or subordinate contractor, or his superintendent in charge or compensation representative, including the representative of the insurance carrier for any such employer.
(3) Any Government field representative, referred to in 8 61.7 (c).
Immediate report of medical treatment or care authorized hereunder should be submitted as provided in 8 61.7 (c), and the physician or hospital furnishing the same should be advised that further treatment or care is subject to authorization, direction and control by an authorized representative of the Bureau provided by this part.
(g) Orthopedic or prosthetic appliances, such as artificial eyes, limbs, or removable denture will be provided only after approval by the Bureau. Section 2.9 of this chapter shall apply with respect to such appliances.
8 61.13 Medical forms.
(a) Persons having general authority under this subchapter to request medical, surgical, hospital, and other treatment or care, will use the forms provided for by Part 2 of this chapter, relating to furnishing of medical treatment under such act of September 7, 1916. These forms will be furnished, or supplied upon request, with administrative instructions relating to their use. There should be written or stamped at the top of such forms, in large letters, the words "War-Injury Claim."
(b) Persons having limited authority under this subchapter to request such treatment and care should use such forms, if available; otherwise, such request may be made by letter, addressed to the person or hospital furnishing the services, of which a copy will be retained and transmitted to the representative of the Bureau to whom report of injury is sent. Such letter should advise the physician as provided in § 61.12 (f). § 61.14 Transportation of recovered
bodies of missing persons. (a) In the case of death of a person coming within the purview of section 101 (b), Title I, of such Public Law, and $ 61.1, while such person is missing or absent as therein specified, and his body is thereafter recovered, the body of such person shall, in the discretion of the Bureau, and if so desired by his next of kin, his near relative, or legal representative, be embalmed and transported in a hermetically sealed casket or other appropriate container to the home of the deceased, or to such other place as may be designated by such next of kin, near relative, or legal representative. In the case of any such person missed from the place of his employment, due to belligerent action of an enemy, or taken by an enemy (as specified in section 101 (b) (1) (A) and (B) of such Public Law), such preparation and transportation may be authorized: Provided, That at the time of death (not resulting from a warrisk hazard) such person had not been repatriated. The term "repatriated" as used in this section, with respect to such person shall be deemed to mean returned to the United States or country of his residence or domicile. A person shall be deemed to have been repatriated within the meaning of this paragraph upon his having returned to continental United States (or Alaska or Canada) if his last
residence or domicile was there, upon his return to the Territory or possession of the United States wherein he last maintained residence or domicile, or upon return to the country (or possession of such country) wherein he last maintained residence or domicile. In case of the death of such person after such repatriation, where death is due to warrisk hazard and occurred away from his home, such preparation and transportation shall be provided and the body shall be delivered to the home of such person or to such other place as may be designated by such next of kin, near relative or legal representative. No expenses may be incurred under this section after transportation and delivery of the body has been accomplished. Funeral or other expenses in connection with burial are not provided for hereunder and are not payable with respect to the disposition of the body of such person, unless the death resulted from war-risk hazard, in which event the provisions of $ 61.15 relating to such expenses are also applicable.
(b) In the case of any such person who is not returned to his home or to the place where he was employed, by reason of the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish transportation (where the furnishing of such transportation was an obligation of the United States or such contractor), and the death of such person occurs away from his home and while thus absent, the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section shall apply, except that such person shall not be deemed to have been repatriated until he has returned to his home or to the place where he was employed. In determining benefits accruing to such person not returned because of such failure of transportation, under the provisions of section 101 (b), Title I, of such Public Law, and § 61.1 (b), such person shall be regarded as totally disabled until the date he has returned to his home or to the place of his employment: Provided, That in the event such person fails, refuses, or neglects to return to his home or to the place of his employment after he has been afforded opportunity to do so, compensation accruing under such section 101 (b), on account of such absence, shall cease to accrue as of the date when he might otherwise have departed for home or place of employment, and should death thereafter occur, the provisions of paragraph (a) of this sec
tion shall not be applied in his case, (2) Officers or agents of the United unless the Bureau shall find that refusal States, or other person designated by the to return was justified.
Bureau, authorized by $ 61.8 (a) (2) to
receive reports of injury or death, if au§ 61.15 Burial expenses.
thorized by administrative order, and (a) When the death of a person jurisdiction with respect to the case specified in section 101(a), Title I, of otherwise exists under administrative such Public Law, and $ 61.1(a), results order. from an injury proximately caused (3) The Bureau at its principal ofby a war-risk hazard, the Bureau may face. in its discretion pay reasonable burial
(b) Persons authorized under par&expenses in an amount not to exceed graph (a) of this section to provide for $200 as provided by section 9 of such
preparation and transportation of bodies, Longshoremen's and Harbor Work
and payment of burial expenses, will ers' Compensation Act: Provided, That
exercise such authority only in cases of if any part of the burial expense has death from war-risk hazard which arise been paid by any other agency of the within the area in which they represent United States, or by any person under the Bureau. If deaths from such cause obligation to discharge burial expenses, occur within their respective jurisdicpayment hereunder shall not exceed the tions in cases which are subject to procdifference between the amount so paid essing by a representative of the Bureau and $200, if the expense is actually in
in another area, the Bureau's author. curred. Payment will be made (1) di
ized representative in that arca should rect to the undertaker, (2) to the estate be informed immediately in order that of the deceased if the estate is obligated he may give advice with respect to the to make payment, or (3) to any person disposition of the remains; if this is imwho has paid such burial expenses and practicable, the Bureau at its principal is entitled to such reimbursement.
office may be informed directly in order (b) In case of death of such person that it may furnish proper advice. Full whose home is within the United States, information should be given by the repand death resulted from injury proxi resentative seeking such advice, showing mately caused by a war-risk hazard and the basis for the application of such occurred away from his home, or outside benefits in the particular case. In cases the United States, and if so desired by of detained persons, where such cases his relatives, the body shall, in the dis are within the purview of section 101 (b) cretion of the Bureau, pursuant to sec- (1) and (3), Title I, of such Public Law, tion 11 of such act of September 7, 1916, and $ 61.14, authority to incur expense be embalmed and transported in a her for preparation and transportation of metically sealed casket to the home of the bodies is subject to prior approval by the employee, and the reasonable and nec Bureau, which should be requested imessary expenses of such embalming and mediately, and all payments for such transportation shall be in addition to services will be made by the Bureau. the amount, if any, allowed for burial (c) Where circumstances in particuexpenses under paragraph (a) of this
lar cases prevent compliance with the section. The term "United States" as
regulations in this section and prevent used in this paragraph shall mean con
timely receipt of authority to pretinental United States, or any Territory or possession of the United States.
pare or transport remains, and in cases
of an emergency nature, the following, 8 61.16 Persons authorized to provide without further authorization, shall have preparation of body, transportation
authority to incur reasonable and mini. and burial expenses.
mum necessary expenses of embalming (a) Incurring and paying of expenses (or other necessary preparation of refor embalming and transportation of
mains), of providing appropriate conbodies, and funeral and burial expenses, as provided under $8 61.14 and 61.15, is
tainer, and of transportation of the body, authorized with respect to the following:
of any person whose death occurs under (1) Deputy commissioners, and per
circumstances giving rise to the applicasons acting for such deputy commission
tion of the provisions of such Public ers, authorized by $ 61.8 (a) (1) to re Law and these regulations relating to ceive reports of injury or death, if the preparation and transportation of case is within the jurisdiction, for proc- bodies: essing, of such deputy commissioner. (1) Any person referred to in 8 61.8.
(d) Immediate report of the services obtained should be made as provided in $ 61.7 (c) to the proper representative of the Bureau in cases of death due to war-risk hazard, and a copy of such report should be transmitted to the Bureau. In cases of deceased detained persons, such report should be made directly to the Bureau at its principal office. Vouchers for direct payment of expenses incurred under this paragraph or for reimbursement of such expenses paid, will be submitted to the Bureau for audit and payment. 8 61.17 Transportation of persons re
leased from detention and return of
employees. (a) Upon application of a person specified in section 101(b), Title I, of such Public Law, and $ 61.1(b), who no longer is in the custody of the enemy, or upon application of someone on behalf of such person, the Bureau may furnish transportation or the cost thereof (including reimbursement) to any such person from the point where his release from custody by the enemy is effected, to his home, the place of his employment, or other place within the jurisdiction of the United States. No transportation, or the cost thereof, shall be furnished where such person is furnished such transportation, or the cost thereof, under any agreement with his employer or under any other provision of law.
(b) Applications for such transportation, or authority to incur expense therefor (to be paid by reimbursement), shall be made directly to the Bureau at its principal ofice, or may be transmitted to the Bureau for the applicant by any person referred to in § 61.8, any Govern. ment contractor, subcontractor, or subordinate contractor, or any oficer or employee of the United States, or Government field representative. Such applications shall set forth the full name of the person for whom such transportation is sought, together with his home address and his local address at which communications sent to him may be received (if application is made on be
half of such person, the application should also state the full name, address and relationship of the individual applying); the name, and address of the employer of such person; the symbol or code number of the contract under which the employee was employed, if known; the date, place, and circumstances of capture or detention, and the date, place and circumstances of release; the present physical condition of such person and whether he is able to return to work, and a statement whether transportation or the cost thereof has been claimed or received under any agreement with his employer or under any other provision of law. Such application should be sworn to before any person authorized to administer oaths. The applicant is required to state in the application the place to which transportation is sought and to identify such place, such as his home, the place of his employment, etc. Transportation authorized under this section and necessary subsistence en route (if not included in the price of passage), so far as practicable shall conform with and be subject to the Standardized Government Travel Regulations, and shall conform with such administrative instrucform with such adminis tions as the Bureau may from time to time issue with respect thereto.
(c) Transportation, or the cost thereof, may be furnished under this section to such person as follows: (1) to the place of actual employment or work, if missing from such place, and if physical condition permits reemployment and such employment is available; or (2) if return to such work place or place of employment cannot be accomplished: (i) to the home of such persons, (ii) to the place where he was employed, or (iii) to any place designated in the application if the costs incident to transportation to such place do not exceed the cost of transportation to the person's home or place where he was employed.
(d) Where an employee is not returned to his home or to the place where he was employed, by reason of the failure of the United States or its contractor to furnish transportation (where the furnishing of such transportation was an obligation of the United States or such contractor) and where no detention by an enemy is involved, such employee may apply to the Bureau for transportation, subject to the provisions of this section. (Sec. 101, 56 Stat. 1028; 42 U. 8. C. 1701)
$61.18 Confidential nature of records
and papers relating to injury, death
or detention of employees. (a) All records, medical and other reports, statements of witnesses, and other papers relating to the disability, death, or detention of any persons coming within the purview of Title I of such Public Law, are the official records of the Bureau and are not records of the agency, establishment, Government department, employer, or any individual making or having the care of such records. Such records and papers pertaining to any such injury, death, or detention are confidential and no official or employee of the United States, or other person, who has investigated or secured statements from witnesses and others pertaining to any case within the purview of Title I of such Public Law, or any person having the care or use of such records and papers, shall disclose information from or pertaining to such records to any person, except upon written approval of the Bureau, or except as otherwise provided for by these regulations.
(b) Any person having any such record or paper shall assume no control over same nor shall such person be vested with any discretion relative to the production of same in court, as such discretion shall remain in the Bureau to whose business such records appertain. Any such person is prohibited from presenting such records or information in court, whether in answer to a subpoena duces tecum or otherwise. When a subpoena shall have been served upon such person, he shall appear in court and respectfully decline to present such records or papers or to divulge the information called for, basing his refusal upon this regulation and upon the fact that such person is not the custodian of such records or papers.
(c) Information with respect to any matter necessary for the oficial purpose of any department, agency, or other establishment of the United States may be disclosed upon a showing that the information will be used exclusively for such oficial purpose. $61.19 Inspection of records by inter
ested party. Any party in interest may be permitted to examine the record of the case in which he is such party. The Bureau or its duly authorized representative shall be the judge of the reasonableness of any such request, and may, in its or his
discretion, permit inspection of such record or part thereof which will not result in damage or harm to any person, or which will not be inimical to the interests of the Bureau or the interests or safety of the United States. Original records shall not be removed for such purpose from the ofice wherein they are kept. § 61.20 Approval of claims for legal and
other services. (a) No claim for legal services or for any other services rendered in respect of a claim or award for compensation under Title I, of such Public Law, to or on account of any person shall be valid unless approved by the Bureau or its duly authorized representative; and any claim so approved shall in the manner and to the extent fixed by the Bureau or its duly authorized representative, be paid out of the compensation payable to the claimant; and any person who receives any fee, other consideration, or any gratuity on account of services so rendered, unless such consideration or gratuity is so approved, or who solicits employment for another person or for himself in respect of any claim or award for compensation under such Title I shall be liable upon conviction for such offense to the penalty provided in section 204, Title II, of such Public Law.
(b) Persons representing the Bureau, who are authorized to process claims under clauses 1 to 7, inclusive, of the term "processed" as defined in § 61.9, are without further authorization, authorized to approve reasonable fees for services under this section.
(c) No contract for a stipulated fee or for a fee on a contingent basis will be recognized, and no fee for services shall be approved except upon application for such approval, supported by a suficient statement of the extent and character of the necessary work done on behalf of the beneficiary. Except where the beneficiary was advised that such representation would be rendered on a gratuitous basis, the fee approved shall be reasonably commensurate with the actual necessary work performed by such representative, with due regard to the capacity in which the representative appeared, the amount of compensation involved, and the circumstances of the beneficiary. 8 61.21 Assignments; creditors.
The right of any person to benefits under this subchapter and the applicable provisions of Title I of such Public


text:
Modern Economy, 2011, 2, 769-779
doi:10.4236/me.2011.25085 Published Online November 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/me)
Copyright © 2011 SciRes. ME
Valuing Watershed Services in Mexico's Temperate Forests
Gustavo Perez-Verdin1*, Jose Navar-Chaidez1, Yeon-Su Kim2; Ramon Silva-Flores3
1Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR, Sigma 119, Durango, Mexico
2Northern Arizona University, School of Forestry, Flagstaff, USA
3Forest Consultant, Durango, Mexico
E-mail: *guperezv@ipn.mx
Received August 11, 2011; revised Septe mber 14, 2011; accepted October 15, 2011
Water resources are highly valuable in arid, semiarid, or high-altitude areas where the sources are restricted
to groundwater or flash floods occurred in short periods of time. In this paper, we present a case study where
water is economically valued through nonmarket valuation techniques. A follow-up review of similarly-
conducted case studies in Mexico was carried out to evaluate the potential relationships that elevation, mois-
ture index, and human development index have over the economic value of water. The main factors influ-
encing the value of water in our case study were income, education, age, and family size. Bivariate correla-
tions of the case studies in the country suggest that there is no a significant relationship between water value
and elevation, although there is some relationship between water value, moisture index, and the human de-
velopment index. Dryer areas and more developed communities tend to pay more for an improvement in
current water resources conditions. These results can help decision-makers to consider regional policies
aimed to improve water management conditions in semiarid and less-developed communities in Mexico.
Keywords: Durango, Contingent Valuation, Non-Market Valuation, Moisture Index, Water Scarcity
Water scarcity tends to be critical in high-altitude and
semiarid environments [1]. The available water in semi-
arid areas is restricted to groundwater, in the form of
wells or springs, or flash floods during short periods of
time. If natural availability of available water falls below
1000 m3 per capita per year, then critical water scarcity is
observed, and constraints to economic development
emerge [2]. To spatially represent water availability, [3]
modified a moisture measure that Thornthwaite and
Mather created in 1955 to identify water scarcity regions.
This modified, dimensionless climatic moisture index is
a measure of the balance between annual precipitation
and potential evapotranspiration and ranges from +1 to
–1 with wet climates showing positive values and dry
climates negative values. The majority of Mexico's land
area, dominated by mountain scenarios, is classified as
semiarid with some areas, particularly in southern Mex-
ico, as humid or sub-humid areas [3].
High-elevation areas fulfill important ecological and
economic functions for surrounding lowlands. Highlands,
(e.g., areas situated 1000 meters above sea level, [4]),
provide a range of environmental services to lowlands
including irrigation, drinking water, biodiversity, and
carbon sequestration, among others, but little is used
right there in the highlands [5]. The use of these envi-
ronmental services is even more constrained if an area is
found in low water availability environments. As indi-
cated by Messerli et al., "… the world's most significant
water towers [mountains] are found in arid and semiarid
environments." [6, page 30]. This is particularly true in
arid or semiarid areas where the contributions of moun-
tains to total discharge accounts for more than 50%,
while in humid areas this contribution is less than 50%
[4].
Runoff in mountain-based areas is characterized by an
extraordinary heterogeneity of topography, vegetation
and soils, spatially and temporally differentiated levels of
precipitation, as well as annual climate variability [6].
These characteristics make somewhat difficult for high-
land residents to retain and use water for domestic, in-
dustrial purposes. In many cases, these residents have to
pay to bring back products, such as potable water, food,
and electricity, when ironically the main input is gener-
ated where they live. The economic theory suggests that
when more resource inputs are required to supply water
to end users, its price rises. It is therefore necessary to
G. PEREZ-VERDIN ET AL.
estimate the value of water considering the source and
management actions to ensure its supply to end users.
Some studies in Mexico have analyzed the demand of
water by estimating the willingness to pay for water re-
sources in various cities across the country [7-9]. In most
of them, economic factors such as income have been
some of the major factors determining the willingness to
pay for water. Overall, wealthy people tend to state
higher amounts of money than poor [8-10]. However, no
studies have been conducted to analyze the effects of
climatic and altitudinal variations in determining the
value of water. Has precipitation, elevation, or evapora-
tion some effect on the value of water? Answers to this
type of questions have not been addressed, because the
majority of studies put aside the location effect and fo-
cuses on one-time, one-point estimations. Addressing the
temporal scale is currently beyond this study as it would
require panel data that for now are not attainable. Instead,
the study focuses on analyzing the location effect by
looking at different water value estimates conducted in
various parts of the country.
In this study, we present a case study where residents
of a relatively small city located up in the Sierra Madre
in central Durango use water from a small watershed for
domestic purposes. We estimated individual and total
benefits for preserving the forest resources in the water-
shed and identified the main factors affecting willingness
to pay (WTP). We compared the WTP results of this case
study with other works developed in Mexico based on
three exogenous variables: elevation, moisture index, and
the Human Development Index (HDI). Specifically, the
study attempted to 1) estimate the value of water or the
willingness to pay for preserving forest ecosystems in El
Salto, Durango, and 2) analyze the effects of altitude and
moisture variations on the willingness to pay for water
resources. In the first objective, we conducted face-to-
face interviews to a sample of El Salto residents and ap-
plied the contingent valuation technique to determine the
economic value that El Salto residents would pay for
preserving forest resources and protect the watershed
from where they receive the water. In the second objec-
tive, we carried out a review on water value from studies
conducted in Mexico. We evaluated the potential rela-
tionship between expected social benefits and the physi-
cal, economic conditions of the communities, particu-
larly the value of water and its relationship with altitude,
moisture index, and quality of life. This study is the first
to show the location effect on the value of water consid-
ering various moisture, altitude, precipitation, and evapo-
ration conditions, as well as quality of life in Mexico.
2. Study Area
The case study was conducted in the community of El
Salto, Pueblo Nuevo located about 100 km west from
Durango city, the capital and main city of the state of
Durango, Mexico (Figure 1). The El Salto is the biggest
city of the Pueblo Nuevo County and sits at 2540 meters
above sea level. The area is dominated mostly by pine-
oak forests with small holdings where landowners farm
the land. The area receives about 800 mm of annual pre-
cipitation and has an annual mean temperature of 11˚C.
In 2000, the city constructed a dam not only to ensure the
supply of water in critical years, but also to prevent the
community from potential floods and retain soil sedi-
ments. The dam (later known as The Rosilla lake) has a
storing capacity of 1.3 million m3 (Mm3) and was con-
structed at the lowest point of the 944-ha catchment area
[11]. Prior to its distribution to approximately 21,000
users, water is filtered through a chlorine-based system
and transported via plastic tubes. The La Rosilla Lake is
the only water reservoir in the surrounding area and local
residents consider it as a very important source of water.
A much smaller dam was constructed downstream (La
Rosilla dam I) to help water managers and local residents
to deal with the issues of flood protection and water sup-
ply.
While historical records suggest that the lake has
never dried out (Figure 2), the annual available water
per person has been estimated at 109 m3/person [11], a
share that is well below the 1000 m3/person/year thresh-
old marked by several organizations, including the Na-
tional Council of Water (CNA 2008). Current water
consumption in the El Salto community is estimated at
1.5 Mm3 per year1 [11], which gives a 0.2 Mm3 per year
water deficit. To meet total demand, local residents have
to purchase bottled water or haul it from distant springs.
Other issues have jeopardized the supply of water to
local residents. The watershed has been excluded from
timber harvesting and protected against fires and diseases.
These protection and management practices are shared
largely by the landowners and partly by the federal gov-
ernment. Ejidatarios, or landowners where the dam was
constructed, demand a fee to cover their expenses in-
curred in the preservation of the forest ecosystem, while
voluntarily giving up timber production and reducing
grazing. Recently, ejidatarios attempted to modify their
forest management plan and initiate harvest operations
within the watershed if their petition of economical com-
pensation is denied [12]. According to forest managers,
negating their petition could lead to water flow and soil
alterations and eventually reduction of the useful life of
he dam. A final issue is related to the storing capacity of t
1The water balance model estimations are based on year-to-year infor-
mation. Thus, monthly variations can be expected throughout the year.
We sought monthly evaluations, but no information was available at
Figure 1. Location of the El Salto community, Durango. The figure also shows the cities with WTP studies on water resource s
in Mexico (see Table 3 for corresponding names).
Figure 2. Historical water balance for the La Rosilla lake,
near El Salto, Dgo., Mexico. The water balance means the
difference between inputs (precipitation) and outputs (eva-
poration, infiltration, runoff, etc.). Source: [2] and authors'
the lake, which is not enough to cover increased water
demand. This concern has been discussed in public meet-
ings and ideas such as elevating the dam have been con-
sidered [12]. So far, no studies or projects to address this
concern have been conducted.
3. Estimating the Value of Water Benefits
Research has focused on how to estimate an economic
value to environmental services to redirect policies ori-
ented for sustainable water management. The intention is
to help landowners to reduce the impact of externalities
by giving monetary resources and implement best man-
agement practices to regulate the quality/quantity of wa-
ter [5,13]. The need of economic valuation of water
benefits stems from their quasi-public and non-rivalry
nature, the presence of externalities, and scales of pro-
duction [14,15]. If economic valuation is absent, water
benefits will not be provided at optimal levels. The non-
exclusive, non-rivalry nature implies that it is difficult, if
not impossible, to exclude an individual from using wa-
ter benefits (e.g. aquatic habitats, recreation), and several
individuals can use the services simultaneously without
diminishing each other's use values. The presence of
externalities means that the economic profit of users of
these services will not be deviated to compensate pro-
viders. And regarding the scale of production, these ser-
vices are characterized by economies of scale in produc-
tion; the larger the watershed, the lower the marginal
costs [16].
The value of water benefits was estimated using the
Contingent Valuation (CV) approach. CV is a nonmarket
valuation technique used to estimate societal values for
public goods [17]. The CV approach employs survey-
based techniques to directly elicit households' prefer-
ences and build a contingent market through which re-
spondents may state their willingness to pay/accept for a
specified provision change in a particular service [18].
The CV approach first involves describing the current
situation of a non-market service, how it can be im-
proved, and then asking respondents whether or not they
would pay/accept for an improvement/compensation of
the specific good [19]. It is called contingent valuation,
because people are asked to state their willingness to
pay/accept, contingent on a specific hypothetical sce-
nario and description of the environmental good [20].
The willingness-to-pay results can then be used by deci-
sion makers to weigh policy options.
The CV method has been extensively applied to esti-
mate water value in many parts of the world. In Mexico,
only a few cases can be outlined for altitudinal and cli-
mate differences. Among these are the Gutierrez-Villal-
pando work in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas,
Chiapas, located in southern Mexico, in which they
evaluated willingness to pay for an improvement of the
riparian ecosystem that supplies water to the city [21].
Also, López-Paniagua et al. used CV to assess the feasi-
bility of the development of an environmental market for
water in the upper watershed of Rio Tapalpa, Jalisco.
This area is located in the Neovolcanic Axis and sits at
1950 m above sea level [7]. A more recent study was
finished in 2008 in the city of Ciudad Obregon, Son, near
to the Mexico-US border where they evaluated the value
of instream flows in the Yaqui river [22].
3.1. Sample Size and Characteristics of
To estimate the social benefit of an improvement of cur-
rent conditions of the Rosilla watershed, we surveyed a
sample of local residents of El Salto city. A sample size
was calculated using the standard equation for variables
subjected to proportions [23]. The sample size was esti-
mated at 242 households, with an error proportion of ±
6% and 95% of confidence. Each household was ran-
domly selected using a city map and in each household a
person, older than 18, was invited to participate in a face-
to-face interview2. The questionnaire included three types
of general questions: level of knowledge of the quality of
the service, willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical
scenario, and socioeconomic background of respondents.
An open-ended question format was used to elicit local
residents' willingness to pay. The open-ended question
was designed in such a way that each respondent openly
stated their closest preference towards an improvement
of the watershed conditions or not. The reason to use
open-ended question (as opposed to referendum format)
was because it allows zero value responses which often-
times are fairly robust to alternative assumptions made
about respondent beliefs [20]. In addition, while there is
some evidence that referendum format may minimize
hypothetical bias, it is not clear that this format alone can
completely eliminate potential bias [24]. Carson and
Groves suggest that the choice between open-ended or
referendum format, or between bias and variance, comes
down to the researcher's objectives [20].
After providing with information of the watershed and
hypothetical scenarios of action and no action in the area,
it followed the WTP question, which was stated as fol-
lows: "It is important to protect the forests in the Rosilla
watershed so they can ensure water supply to El Salto
residents. Would you be willing to pay a monthly extra
fee to keep preserving the area and secure water supply?
Yes/No". Then, respondents provided their WTP amount
of money.
The information was collected in 2007 and some of
the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents are
presented in Table 1. The sample closely resembles the
characteristics of the total population of the city. Differ-
ences were observed in age, sex, occupation, and marital
status. Part of these differences can be explained to sur-
vey procedures including the time when the interviews
were conducted. The questionnaires were applied during
work hours and responded by the person most commonly
found in the household at such time. In the majority of
cases (62%), the respondents were women, whose char-
acteristics increased age and marital status data, but de-
creased percentage of occupation3.
Table 1. Characteristics of sampled and total population of
El Salto residents.
Variable Sample
(n = 242)
El Salto city
(N = 21,793)a
Percentage of women 62.0 51.4
Average age (years) 41.6 26.6
Household family size (# of people) 5.0 4.6
Average household income (MX$/month) 2988 2937
Gini coefficient 0.34 0.482b
Percentage with high school education 21.0 16.7
Percentage of occupation 51.6 68.0
Percentage of married people 73.0 62.9
aSource: Conteo de Población y Vivienda 2005 [25]. bCorresponds to the
2008 national average.
2With random sampling, each household in the city had the same prob-
ability of being selected. This characteristic avoided issues related to
selection bias and enabled use of statistical theory to make valid infer-
ences from the sample to the targeted population [26].
3Occupation in this study was considered as the type of employment
rovided by a public institution or private entrepreneur in which a
worker continuously receives a wage.
3.2. Model Specification to Estimate Water
We used the ordinary least squares method to fit the pa-
rameters included in the model. We first analyzed whether
predictors met the restrictions imposed to linear regres-
sion models and found that some variables required loga-
rithm transformations. We then decided to use a log-
linear model to mitigate problems associated with het-
erocedasticity, skewness, and high variability of predic-
tors [26]. The log functional form with k + 1 predictors
was expressed as:
Log( )kk
wtp x
 (1)
where xk are the predictors, 0
is the intercept, and k
is the parameter associated with xk. The mean WTP
estimate was given by:

1ˆ
WTPeWTP m





where is the predicted WT P for person i and m is
the number of respondents. Confidence intervals (CI) for
WTP at a 95% confidence level can be calculated using
the standard error and applying the typical formula in
which CI= 1.96WTP se
WTP . Also, for logarithm-trans-
formed predictors, the percentage change (∆) (i.e., semi-
elasticity) of WTP

evaluated at the mean of predictor i
was calculated as k
% WTP

. For non-transformed
predictors, we used the following expression [26]:
% 100exp1
WTPk k
 

Equations (1) and (2) were used to estimate the amount
of money that person i would be willing to pay for im-
proving actual watershed conditions and identify the
main variables influencing the choice. Among the factors
included in the analysis were income, age, family size,
and education. No prior expectations of signs were as-
sumed, except for income, in which literature suggests
that the probability and amount of WTP increase as in-
come also increases [8,9,22].
In order to know not only the expected value of the
WTP but also the distribution of the benefits from this
potential change, we estimated a probability distribution
function of predicted WTP. The fitted probability distri-
bution function also allowed us to identify differences
between the mean and median due to sample distribution
and eventually to choose the best statistics and draw
more general conclusions. If non-normal or asymmetric
probability distribution functions are expected, the choice
between the mean and median has large implications for
the desirability of undertaking the provision of the water
service and the method of financing it [18]. In this case,
the mean WTP was calculated as the area under the
probability distribution function and the median was the
amount of money in which the probability of accepting
such an improvement is 0.5. To do this, we tested various
probability functions for predicted WTP and selected the
best using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test [26]. Following
Kristrom, the equation that represents the mean for pre-
dicted WTP is given by [27]
 
01WTP WTP
WTPFA AFA A

 

 (4)
where is the mean of the predicted WTP, FWTP is
a continuous, non-decreasing function (such as the logit
or log-logistic model) and A the amount to pay. The me-
dian WTP (WTP
M) is obtained by solving for A+ in the
following equation:


3.3. Review of WTP Studies in Mexico
In recent years, several studies have been conducted in
Mexico to estimate the value of water using non-market
valuation techniques. We searched various information
sources and found that some studies, which covered from
the northern state of Sonora to the southern state of
Chiapas (Figure 1), used the CV method to estimate
social benefits from water resources. The first informa-
tion source involved a literature search from all available
databases (e.g. Web of Science) and the web for non-
market valuation studies. A brief review of the abstracts
and introductions served to select articles directly related
to water values and CV. Second, all articles relating to
the topic were thoroughly reviewed to identify ecological,
social and economic factors that needed to be considered.
We also reviewed the citations of published articles to
find any unpublished data or papers. The factors identi-
fied were coded, georeferenced, and compiled in a data-
base.
The reason to review WTP studies across the country
was to analyze the potential relationship between WTP
and the physical, economic conditions of the community.
These included the location (altitude), natural availability
of water, and quality of life. To the best of our knowl-
edge, no studies have been conducted to analyze these
types of relationships. Attempting to compare WTP
studies was cumbersome due to a diversity of objectives:
some estimate the value of water for recreation amenities,
others for ecosystem preservation and environmental
attributes, and others for improving residential services.
Some even were fussy in terms of defining what specific
public service was being evaluated. We discarded those
studies with multiple objectives and overall WTP esti-
mations, and retained those where water value was inde-
pendently, explicitly estimated. We recognized that com-
parison across water-related valuation studies may not be
appropriate if WTPs from these studies were payments
for different purposes (e.g., improving residential service
or environmental attributes). But, our goal was to con-
sider the diversity of water benefits and compare use and
non-use values [28].
4.1. Willingness to Pay
Survey results indicate that the vast majority of respon-
dents (90% of the sample) were willing to pay for pre-
serving watershed conditions. The amounts ranged from
MEX$ 5 to MEX$ 200 per month. The main variables
affecting the probability of paying for an improvement
were education, age, family size, water bill, and income
(Table 2). Older and richer people were more likely to
pay more for an improvement of the watershed whereas
the amount decreased as respondents had bigger families.
Though not significant, there was a slight, positive cor-
relation between monthly income and water bill, which
suggests in part that people who are now paying more
are willing to pay even more, that is, the WTP amount
increases as the water bill increases too. Contrary to
other studies [8,9], the WTP amount decreased as people
are more educated. A possible explanation of this finding
is that 70% of the sample reported secondary education
as their maximum level of education. In this community,
many people drop off school to get a job to contribute to
their family's economy. Being this a rural community,
many of these jobs are directly or indirectly related to the
forest. We believe that high levels of perception of wa-
tershed protection to ensure water supply in less edu-
cated people are due to the living experiences in forest-
related jobs. During the survey, we asked respondents
about the importance of forests in providing the water
they consume; the answer, on a scale from 1 (not impor-
tant) to 10 (very important), was 4% higher in those who
had low-levels of education than those with higher lev-
els.
In reviewing these works, we tried to find out the
value of water benefits based on the main priorities of
users and non-market valuation techniques. We focused
on the characteristics of local (physical and economic)
conditions and the stated amount of money residents
gave to water for personal or environmental uses. The
physical and socioeconomic conditions were grouped
into three variables: elevation, moisture index, and a
Human Development Index (HDI). Elevation is meas-
ured in meters above sea level while the moisture index
is based on both monthly precipitation (PT) and evapora-
tion (EV) data [3]. The expression used to calculate the
moisture index (MI) was:
1vT
IEP (6)
The closer the MI gets to +1, the wetter the area. Data
of elevation and moisture index were obtained from a
spatially-published database by the National Institute of
Geography.
The HDI is a common measure used to rank societies
as a function of life expectancy, education, and per capita
gross domestic product [29,30]. Even though the HDI
measure has been criticized because it fails to address
ecological factors, it has been used as a standard measure
to classify economies based on their individual perform-
ance [31]. The HDI index goes from 0 to 1, where higher
values mean higher economic development. The HDI
data were taken from the National Council of Population
[32].
To have a better perspective of the model, we esti-
mated the elasticity of predictors. These coefficients are
Table 2. Ordinary least squares estimates of the log-linear functional form for El Salto residents.
Variable MeanCoefficient t-ratio Elasticity (%)
Constant –0.905 –0.856
Age (# of years) 41.010.013 2.52 1.34
Education (1 primary; 2 secondary: 3 high school; 4 college; 5 posgrade) 2.48–0.112 –2.41 –10.62
Family size (# of individuals) 4.98–0.071 –2.08 –6.84
Water bill (MX$) 33.180.008 2.92 0.803
Log Income (MX$) 7.850.455 3.41 0.455
Number of observations 242
Adjusted R2 0.14
interpreted as percentages of change of the independent
variable on WTP (Equation (3)). For example, a one per-
cent increase in family size, ceteris paribus, the WTP
amount decreased by 6.8%. Also, one percent increase in
the age of respondents also increased the amount by
1.3%. Increases or decreases in the water bill have a mar-
ginal impact on WTP. The income effect is also signifi-
cant but marginal; after taking off the logarithm effect, a
unit increase in the mean income, holding all else con-
stant, increases the WTP amount by 0.45%.
Mean WTP estimated through Equation (2) resulted in
MEX$ 19.24 with a confidence interval of MEX$ 17.86
to 20.61 per month. Other statistics showed that pre-
dicted WTP values had some asymmetric distribution
(skewness = 3.7 and kurtosis = 21.5), which strengthened
our idea of taking a closer look at the measures of central
tendency. To get the best probability distribution func-
tion of predicted WTP, we simulated various probability
functions and obtained the best fit using the Kolmo-
gorov-Smirnov test. Results indicate that the best fit was
obtained through the log-logistic model. Using Equations
(4) and (5), mean and median WTP for predicted WTP
were MEX$ 19.20 and 17.11 per month, respectively
(Figure 3). The mean WTP is the area under the distribu-
tion function whereas the median WTP represents the
probability that half of the sample accept an improve-
ment, i.e. when the probability of saying yes is 50%.
Note that the mean WTP is practically the same in both
Differences between the mean and median are due to
an asymmetric distribution of benefits of the water ser-
vice improvement [33]. In this case, a portion of the sam-
ple did not see substantial benefits with the policy
change, but the rest is willing to pay considerable
amounts to keep preserving the ecosystem watershed.
There have been various studies debating about which
measure should be used in contingent valuation studies
[34-37]. The mean is very sensitive to the right tail of the
distribution; that is, to responses of higher bidders [35].
Hanemann suggests that if the mean is to be used, a
probability distribution function estimation such as the
one used here, is to be applied [36]. In addition, the mean
WTP is recommendable when it is necessary to estimate
a total value and when benefits are being compared with
opportunity costs [33]. Due to these reasons, the WTP
for this study was based on the mean value (Figure 3).
The total benefits for the whole city, considering 5689
occupied households [25], was MEX$ 1.31 million/year
(US$ 100,826/year) with a confidence interval of MEX$
1.22 and MEX$ 1.41 million/year.
4.2. The Value of Water in Other Environments
We found some differences between our WTP results and
those obtained elsewhere in Mexico. The overall WTP
mean was MEX $73 while El Salto gave MEX $19.
Figure 3. Log-logistic probability distribution function of predicted WTP for El Salto Residents. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov
statistics was 0.036 with p = 0.95, thus the null hypothesis of data coming from the specified distribution cannot be rejected.
lso shown the values of the three parameters estimated in the fitting. A
Mean elevation, MI, and HDI were 1498 m, 0.781, and
0.117, whereas for El Salto were 2540 m, 0.774, and
0.25, respectively (Table 3). To evaluate a potential rela-
tionship between water value and each of the factors, and
considering the low number of case studies, we per-
formed simple bivariate correlations (Figure 4). Overall,
no significant association was found between WTP and
elevation (r = –0.27, p = 0.37). The lack of significant
correlation between elevation and WTP can be explained
in part by the great diversity of topographic conditions
where large cities, such as Mexico City, located in high
altitude areas, have high levels of demand, and probably
are willing to pay large amounts of money for the water
they use. Mexico City residents for example consume
water at a rate of 64 cubic meters per second (m3/s) while
the supply has been estimated at 54 m3/s [8]. Their WTP
estimates suggest a high latent demand and value percep-
tion over policies aimed to improve water service4.
The moisture index (MI), a measure of dryness, had a
significant inverse correlation with WTP (r = –0.64, p =
0.02). Cities located in dryer environments tend to pay
higher values for water services than wetter cities. This
finding coincides with that of the economic theory in
which individuals pay higher amounts of money for
scarce resources. In contrast, the HDI, a measure of the
quality of life, has a direct relationship with WTP (r =
0.64, p = 0.02). Cities with better quality of life standards
tend to give higher values than less-developed cities.
Figure 4 shows individual relationships between WTP
and each factor. The exploratory results of these types of
relationships can help resource managers to consider
regional-aimed policies to improve water management
conditions in arid and less-developed communities in
This research presented a case study where water is eco-
nomically valued using non-market valuation methods.
Residents of a rural community in Durango, Mexico par-
ticipated in face-to-face interviews to help estimating
total social benefits about the preservation of the forest
ecosystem from which they obtain their potable water.
Contingent valuation was used to estimate the amount of
money residents were willing to pay for preserving the
forests of the Rosilla watershed. A log-linear model and
probability density function were used to estimate mean
WTP. Results showed that the majority of respondents
(90% of the sample) are willing to pay for preserving
watershed conditions. Mean WTP estimated using Equa-
tion (2) was estimated at MEX$ 19.2/month (US$ 1.5/
month) with a confidence interval of MEX$ 17.86 to
20.61. The main factors influencing acceptance of the
payment were income, education, age, family size, and
water bill. The total benefit for the entire population was
estimated at MEX$ 1.31 million/year (US$ 100,826/
year).
Based on the analysis of WTP studies developed so far
in Mexico, there was no significant relationship between
elevation and WTP. The analysis was based on several
cities distributed in an altitudinal gradient from 10 to
2540 m above sea level including Mexico City, the
world's third largest metropolitan area, located at 2240 m.
According to the national water agency, a moderate pro-
portion of high-altitude areas in Mexico shows similar
deficits of water supply [2] and their residents, as evi-
denced by the Mexico City case, are probably willing to
pay large amounts of money to compensate for these
deficits. Large WTP amounts were also registered in low-
altitude cities such as La Paz and Alamos. Based on our
analysis, the topographic heterogeneity of the country,
where almost 55% of the total population lives above the
1000-m elevation line [25], made elevation not impor-
tant to determine the value of water.
Results provided evidence that the moisture and hu-
man development indexes are statistically correlated with
WTP. Dryer areas and more developed communities tend
to pay more for improved water resources. The moisture
index finding coincides with basic economic theory
which suggests that scarce resources are more appreci-
ated. Regarding HDI finding, there is an increasing de-
bate whether communities with better quality of life are
more likely to contribute to ecosystem preservation.
Some argue that economic growth and conservation are
incompatible goals, but others say that wealthier com-
munities have the luxury of investing more heavily in
efforts to ecosystem conservation [44,45]. To have a
more comprehensive conclusion it is necessary more
studies that analyze the relationship between WTP and
human development index or other type of economic
growth metrics.
The analysis presented in this explorative study moti-
vates us to continue investigating the relationship be-
tween water value and exogenous variables based on
non-market valuation methods in Mexico. Adding more
studies should reinforce the decision-making process of
correctly allocating financial resources for different pur-
poses such as improving current management and distri-
bution systems, protecting high-value watersheds, or
providing water to low-income families.
4Water in Mexico City is pumped from a 1600-m to 2200-m elevation
differential to reach users [2]. We thank CONACYT and the Instituto Politecnico Na-
Table 3. Cities with WTP estimations for water in Mexico.
Study site Water
attributea
indexb
Indexc
Adjusted WTP
(US$/month)d
Source of WTP
1. Ciudad Obregon, SON E, R 35 0.146 0.834 6.12 [22]
2. San Luis Rio Colorado, SON E 40 0.055 0.826 6.39 [38]
3. Parral, CHIH R 1,620 0.089 0.810 8.915e [9]
4. El Salto, DGO E 2,540 0.250 0.733 2.08 This study
5. Tapalpa, JAL E 1,950 0.135 0.732 9.10f [7]
6. Mexico City, DF R 2,240 0.064 0.849 15.81g [8]
7. San Cristobal de las Casas, CHIS R, E 2,120 0.306 0.752 1.82 [21]
8. Tepetlaoxtoc, EDOMEX E 2300 0.088 0.751 4.98 [39]
9. Oaxaca, OAX E 1555 0.105 0.834 3.11 [40]
10. Tlaxco, TLAX E 2588 0.074 0.743 1.83 [41]
11. Metztitlan, HGO E 2080 0.091 0.686 0.45 [42]
12. Alamos, SON E 400 0.046 0.706 8.23 [43]
13. La Paz, BCS R 10 0.048 0.817 10.15 [10]
aWater use: E: Environmental/protection; R: Residential service. bBased on average precipitation and evaporation data. cBased on county-level estimations by
CONAPO (National Council of Population). dFebrurary-2010 price levels (US$ 1 = MEX$ 13, average annual inflation rate = 4.4%). eOpen-ended question. No
certainty correctionf Includes domestic sector only. gAverage across five income groups and improvement scheme.
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 4. Relationships between WTP and (a) elevation, (b) moistur e inde x, and (c) human development index.
cional for partially funding this study. The ejido La Vic-
toria and CNA provided valuable forest inventory and
climatic data, respectively. Our thanks also go to El Salto
residents for participating in the interviews. Part of this
study was presented at the 2010 ACES conference in
Phoenix, AZ. We thank attendees for constructive inputs.
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Yeah, that kid on the card is creepier than the Ridgefield fog pic (which I love by the way). Your header is awesome.
Some lovely moody photos. Love the Kingfisher, and LOVE the first photo. beautifully exposed and composed.
Awesome photos, Jen! The first shot is just beautiful. And I love all the birds and ducks. The Kingfish is great, they seem so timid around me or too far away. I hope you are felling better. Happy Holidays to you and your family!!
That kid is freakin' creepy! I think I saw him on the Frenchman's Bar Trail the other day.
Haha, glad it is agreed that the card is creepy and it's not just me! Rhett, if I ever see that kid on the Frenchman's Bar Trail I will feed him to the hawks.
I told your cousin not to let her out of the closet but now that she's out, say hi to your creepy little sister.
That Ridgefield fog picture rocks. You should blow that up as a poster. I'd buy it.


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Massage Therapy is the practice of applying pressure, tension, motion, or vibration to the soft tissues of the body (muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints and lymphatic vessels) to achieve a beneficial response. 3D Wellness is the premiere specialist in the field of therapeutic massage in Toledo and Northwest Ohio.
Many basic massage techniques aim to increase the circulation of bodily fluids and clear the body of toxins, thereby achieving a positive systemic effect that enhances overall wellness. Other, more specialized techniques are incorporated to address individual problem areas by working very specifically on related muscle groups and soft tissues.


Milford Physiotherapy, Auckland North Shore – Life's a beach!
We are seeking an experienced musculoskeletal Physiotherapist for a part-time position (10-20 hours) at Milford Physiotherapy to complement our happy and close knit team. We are a well-established, expanding private practice that specialises in individualised, hands-on treatment for our mature and well educated clients. We have a strong focus on manual therapy, acupuncture, exercise rehabilitation, Pilates and pelvic floor physiotherapy. We have fully computerised notes, use tablets and video technology to assess, educate and inform our clients. We have good and growing relationships with local referrers including GP's, gyms, boot camps etc.
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John's Labour blog: Something wrong with this blog, blogger or Internet Explorer?
Something wrong with this blog, blogger or Internet Explorer?
Now I know the miserablists (et al) will claim that there is indeed lots wrong with my blog but many apologies to those who have had "difficulty" opening John's Labour blog in recent weeks and months (it kept crashing or you lost the will to live while waiting for it to open).
I have tried various things and changed the template a little while ago but this clearly didn't work. It goes well with Chrome, but that is perhaps hardly surprising since blogger is run by the same firm (Google). Blogger "help" wasn't that helpful I am afraid.
I have now rolled back the template and removed all the individual changes to the layout. It seems to be running much better? Let me know if you are still having problems.


text:
Gerry Pineau
The firefighter from Lewiston, called 'Superman without a cape,' stepped up after the fatal Farmington explosion.
By Donna M. PerrySun Journal
Gerry Pineau of Lewiston is full-time firefighter/paramedic at Westbrook Fire Rescue Department and part-time in Freeport and Scarborough. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
When Gerry Pineau heard about the deadly explosion at the LEAP Inc. facility on Sept. 16, he headed to the Farmington Fire Rescue Department to do what he could and remained to help out through the end of October.
Whatever the need was, he worked to find a solution to it.
Fire Capt. Michael Bell was killed in the explosion that critically or seriously injured six other firefighters and LEAP maintenance supervisor Larry Lord.
"I used to hangout with these guys when I was engaged and before I had kids. They taught me how to fight fires," Pineau said.
Pineau, 42, of Lewiston, is a full-time firefighter/paramedic in the Westbrook Fire Rescue Department and part-time in the Freeport and Scarborough departments. He is a past fire chief of the Livermore Falls Fire Rescue Department and was in the Jay department when he learned to fight fires. He also teaches emergency medical technician classes.
A Jay High School graduate, he is the father of Trevor, 15, and Allie, 12, Pineau used vacation and comp time and received support from Freeport to help out in Farmington, where he worked under Acting Fire Chief Tim Hardy.
"Gerry was here from day one. He really organized all of our resources," Hardy said.
He also helped get any type of supplies that were needed and food to feed firefighters and families, emergency responders and about 30 people who were displaced when the explosion damaged their mobile homes.
"He reached out and worked with many businesses and community organizations," Hardy said.
Pineau's duties ran the gamut at the fire house, from making sure the bathrooms were cleaned and stocked with toilet paper to tracking donations and ensuring they went to where Bell's family wanted them to go, Pineau said.
He is the first to say he didn't do it alone. It was a team effort. There were daily meetings with a number of representatives from town and Franklin County departments, Pineau said.
There were also more than 80 fire departments from around the state that helped out with Farmington coverage, not including individual firefighters from other departments.
Pineau also organized and coordinated the shifts of firefighters coming in, then gave them a daily briefing when shifts changed at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Hardy said.
When members of other departments came to help with code enforcement and public information, Hardy would tell them, if they had a question, to go to Pineau.
"Gerry was our Superman without a cape," said Nancy Kiernan, the wife of a Farmington firefighter.
"It didn't make any difference if you need a hot dog or a helicopter, Gerry would make it happen," said her husband, Jim Kiernan.
« Mainers to be thankful for
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text:
ArticlesChristianityFeaturedIslamPoliticsReligionUS News
Obama's Version of America Is the 'Shameful' One
Pamela Geller November 18, 2015
Barack Obama implied Monday that opponents of his mad scheme to fill this country with Syrian refugees (including an untold number of active Islamic jihadists) were motivated by religious prejudice.
Obama said:
And when I hear folks say that, well, maybe we should just admit the Christians but not the Muslims, when I hear political leaders suggesting that there would be a religious test for which a person who's fleeing from a war-torn country is admitted, when some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution, that's shameful. That's not American. That's not who we are. We don't have religious tests to our compassion.
But he does. In 2011, our international organization, Stop Islamisation of Nations (SION), appealed to the Obama Administration and the United Nations to grant emergency asylum to the real refugees of jihadi wars. Our call was met with deafening and deadening (literally) silence.
Obama's American compassion.
In his speech at the G20 Summit in Turkey on Monday, Obama took a harsher tone with Republicans than he has with ISIS. In the wake of the Paris jihad slaughter, he is obsessed with… importing more Muslims, not defeating the Islamic State. And he calls anyone opposed to increased Muslim migration — namely the GOP — "shameful." But it is Obama who is shameful. He's the one who has applied a religious test to migrants. He has refused Christians seeking refuge from jihad genocide. He has refused to meet with Middle Eastern Christian leaders. They are the true victims of the jihadi wars.
Obama took to the world stage to push for more Muslim migration and to scold anyone who tied terrorism to Islam. Why is he admonishing us? We didn't tie Islam to terrorism. The jihadists are the ones who have done that. Devout Muslims are waging war in the cause of Islam by their word and deed, so why is Obama blaming us?
As the number of Christian and religious minorities who are refugees began to rise in concert with the ascent of Islamic supremacist groups, and as the violence continues against non-Muslims under the sharia, part of Obama's anti-freedom foreign policy is to suppress the horror of what is happening under his watch. He has gone so far as to remove the Religious Freedom Section from the State Department's Human Rights reports.
Obama then went on to angrily school us on the meaning of America, admonishing opponents of his disastrous and suicidal refugee resettlement plan: "That's not American. That's not who we are."
Was abandoning our ambassador and our soldiers in Benghazi American? Leaving Americans to die instead of rescuing them is the definition of anti-Americanism.
Blaming the First Amendment after a jihad terror attack is the opposite of Americanism.
Abandoning our closest ally in the Middle East is the opposite of Americanism. Ousting Mubarak and Qaddafi to install terror regimes is the opposite of Americanism. Aiding "moderate al Qaeda" (as if there really were such a thing) in Syria is the opposite of Americanism.
Who the hell is Barack Hussein Obama to tell us what is American and what isn't?
While never holding Muslims to account for jihad, Obama has excoriated Christians for… the Crusades. Is that American?
The Islamic State has posted the names and addresses of U.S. soldiers, FBI agents, Navy SEALs, and other defenders of freedom. They have issued a fatwa (death sentence) against my supporters and me. Our assassins will gain entry under Obama's refugee plans. Is that American?
Obama demands that we believe his lies. He insists that the refugees are fleeing the war in Syria when, in fact, four out of five of the migrants who have recently come to Europe are not Syrian. He insists that they are all fleeing war — how does he know? ISIS vowed last February to send a half-a-million-man army to Europe via refugee migration — and now they have done it. How does Obama know who they are and why they are coming? How can he possibly vet them, when he refuses to acknowledge the jihad ideology and scrubbed all counter-terror material of any mention of jihad and Islam? How can our intelligence agencies determine if they are jihadists?
Obama's America — what is Obama's America?
An America that supports BDS?
An America that abandons her allies?
An America that supports terrorism?
An America that partners with terrorist groups?
An America that denigrates America on the world stage?
That's not America. That's not American. Contrary to Obama's claims, that's what's really shameful.
Pamela Geller's commitment to freedom from jihad and Shariah shines forth in her books
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Pamela Geller is the founder, editor and publisher of PamelaGeller.com and President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA). She is the author of The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, (foreword by Ambassador John Bolton), (Simon & Schuster). Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. She is also a regular columnist for World Net Daily, the American Thinker, and other publications. Follow her on Facebook & Twitter


Ryann Lofchie is CEO of Frontier Academy and chairwoman of The Frontier Project group of companies. The shape of her story is a sharp upward curve: Growing Frontier from five employees to more than 40. From a one-room workshop of 2,500 square feet to a multipurpose studio of 14,000. From one business line to a portfolio. And from a small local player to a regular on the Inc. 5000, Outside Magazine's Best Places to Work, Virginia Small Business Top 50, and fastest-growing woman-owned businesses lists — recessions be damned. The constant in that story: Ryann's unquenchable appetite to help people realize their potential and love what they do. Ask her how she does it, and she'll tell you that it's essential to know yourself. A persuasive advocate for balance, you'll find her leading group meditations at our studio, tackling triathlons, meeting with mentors, journaling, volunteering, and teaching her kids to do the same.
Stories from three CEOs who are changing what it means to be a leader.


Unique Markings:A large tribal print tattoo on her right shoulder, A 007 on the inside of her wrost, and Hunter in large print on her left forearm.
Backpack Contents: three bottles of water, a can or two of beans or veggies, or something, some jerky, extra pair of shoes, shirts and pants.
Clothing: flannel lined jeans, a black t-shirt worn under a dark blue work shirt, and an army style jacket, in the traditional army green, pair of dog tags.
Revy worked at an army base, she was thwre until it was over run by zombies, and she took her few favorite guns, and beat it.