Abstract. There are many reasons of concern about the quality of water for domestic uses. The strategic goals of water tariffs must include savings, efficient management and equity in order to optimise availability of the best quality water. The main domestic uses of water are food preparation, personal hygiene and household cleaning; not all of them need the same quality, and for some of them there are even potential substitutes. In order to contribute to this debate, we need to know how these different uses are valued by direct users.

Abstract. When attempting to value ecosystem services and support their production, two critical aspects may be neglected. The term “ecosystem services” implies that they are a function of natural processes; yet, human interaction with the environment may be key to the production of many. This can contribute to a misconception that ecosystem service production depends on, or is enhanced by, the coercion or removal of human industry.

Abstract. Personality plays a role in human behavior, and thus can influence consumer decisions on environmental goods and services. This paper analyses the influence of the big five personality dimensions (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness) in a discrete choice experiment dealing with preferences for the development of an environmental program for forest management in Spain. For this purpose, a reduced version of the Big Five Inventory survey (the BFI-10) is implemented.

Abstract. This paper discusses the design and analysis of a choice experiment regarding preferences for possible transformations of a mountain landscape traditionally used for grazing. Visual impacts related to changing a mountain landscape associated with a new ski resort development are evaluated versus an option with less environmental impact, such as a health spa or “no development”.

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to provide a comparative assessment of the innovation effects of instruments which support the diffusion of renewable electricity technologies with a functions-oriented technological innovation system perspective. The paper provides a link between two major streams of the literature: the functions of innovation systems and the literature on renewable electricity support schemes.

Abstract.The aim of this paper is to empirically test whether interlinking patterns between higher education institutions (HEIs) conform to a document model, where links are motivated by webpage content, or a social relationship model, where they are markers of underlying social relationships between HEIs.

Abstract. This micro-level study explores the extent that citation analysis provides an accurate and representative assessment of the use and impact of bioinformatics e-research infrastructure. The bioinformatic e-research infrastructure studied offers common tools used by life scientists to analyse and interpret genetic and protein sequence information. These e-resources therefore provide an interesting example with which to explore how representative citations are as acknowledgements of knowledge in the life sciences.

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is twofold: methodological and empirical. Methodologically, we describe a matching and disambiguation procedure for the identification of author–inventors (researchers who publish and patent) located in the same country. Our methodology aims to maximize precision and recall rates by taking into account national name writing customs and country-specific dictionaries for person and institution names (academic and non-academic) in the name matching stage and by including a recursive validation step in the person disambiguation stage.

Abstract. Landowners in California were surveyed using a contingent valuation technique to assess its usefulness in estimating the monetary income value of private amenities from their oak woodland properties. Private amenities — such as recreation, scenic beauty and a rural lifestyle — are considered an important influence on rangeland owners, but few studies have attempted to place a monetary income value on them.

Abstract. The use of natural resources is often associated with a high component of cultural or passive values. Such is the case of the use of fishery resources using traditional techniques and the results in terms of heritage.