This overview of Canada – the country, the culture, the people, and a recipe, too – was prepared by Raemel AJ Richardson while a Business Administration major in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Here is a very interesting article detailing a very novel application of reverse auctions - to maximize the amount of wetland restoration that could take place in a project undertaken in Canada. The article, entitled A Reverse Auction for Wetland Restoration in the Assiniboine River Watershed, Saskatchewan, was just published in the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie. The article was written by
Michael R. J. Hill,
D. Glen McMaster,
Tom Harrison,
Aron Hershmiller,
Trevor Plews,
with the researchers being affiliated with the
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, Assiniboine Watershed Stewardship Association, and Ducks Unlimited Canada. The Abstract for the article is as follows:
Wetland habitat continues to be lost in many watersheds across Canada and new program tools are needed to help restore drained wetlands. We used a reverse auction to restore drained wetlands in the Assiniboine River Watershed (ARW) of east-central Saskatchewan which is an important target area for wetland restoration in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). The reverse auction format was discriminative, with sealed bids and two rounds of bidding. Bidders could submit bids for 12-year term agreements and/or perpetual conservation easements, and bids were submitted by quarter section (160 acres). Bids could be either in cultivated cropland or perennial forage, and were evaluated using an environmental benefits index based on the incremental increase in predicted hatched waterfowl nests relative to bid price. Potential bidders were solicited via contacts with existing conservation project cooperators, and a public media campaign. In the first round, 20 bidders submitted 118 bids to restore 713 wetlands totaling 670 acres at a price of $837,000. All bids were for 12-year term agreements. Bid prices to restore drained wetlands within cultivated land were higher than for perennial forage. In the second round, 30 bids from seven bidders were approved to restore 211 wetlands totaling 211 acres in perennial forage at a price of $182,000. The price of successful bids varied from $20.83 to $391.22 per acre per year (average $118.52). The reverse auction provided information on cost variability and funding required for achieving NAWMP wetland restoration objectives in the ARW.
La perte d'habitats humides dans de nombreux bassins hydrographiques du Canada se poursuit, d'où la nécessité d'élaborer de nouveaux programmes et outils pour favoriser la restauration des milieux humides qui ont été drainés. Nous avons procédéà une enchère inversée en ligne pour restaurer les milieux humides drainés dans le bassin hydrographique de la rivière Assiniboine dans la partie du centre-est de la Saskatchewan, qui constitue une zone cible importante de la restauration des milieux humides dans le Plan nord-américain de la gestion de la sauvagine (PNAGS). L'enchère inversée en ligne était discriminatoire et comprenait des offres secrètes et deux tours d'enchère. Les enchérisseurs pouvaient soumettre des offres soit pour des ententes d'une durée de douze ans, soit pour des servitudes de conservation perpétuelles, pour une superficie de un quart de section (160 acres) dans les deux cas. Les offres, qui pouvaient comprendre des terres cultivées ou des terres couvertes de plantes fourragères vivaces, ont étéévaluées à l'aide d'un indice des avantages environnementaux fondé sur l'augmentation progressive du nombre prévu d'œufs éclos dans les nids de sauvagine par rapport au prix offert. Nous avons joint des enchérisseurs potentiels par l'intermédiaire des coordinateurs de projets de conservation existants et de campagnes de publicité-médias. Au premier tour, 20 enchérisseurs ont soumis 118 offres pour restaurer 713 milieux humides totalisant 670 acres, au prix de 837 000$. Toutes les offres visaient des ententes de douze ans. Le prix des offres pour restaurer les milieux humides drainés à l'intérieur des terres cultivées était plus élevé que le prix des offres pour restaurer les milieux humides drainés à l'intérieur des terres couvertes de plantes fourragères vivaces. Au deuxième tour, trente offres soumises par sept enchérisseurs ont été retenues pour restaurer 211 milieux humides totalisant 211 acres de terres couvertes de plantes fourragères vivaces, au prix de 182 000$. Le prix des offres retenues variait de 20,83$à 391,22$ l'acre par année (moyenne de 118,52$). L'enchère inversée en ligne a permis d'obtenir de l'information sur la variabilité des coûts et le financement nécessaire pour atteindre les objectifs de restauration des milieux humides du PNAGS dans le bassin hydrographique de la rivière Assiniboine.
The article is available for purchase at this site:
David Wyld, Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University and Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://www.reverseauctionresearch.com/)
OK, there's all kinds of info out there for both sides of the interview equation on what to do and what not to do, what is legal and what can get you into hot water. Sometimes, it can be simply overwhelming. So, to that end, here's a great, brief article that everyone out there should read and forward on to their colleagues, coworkers, and yes, even your manager. The article, written by Porcshe Moran of Yahoo Finance and Investopedia, is simply titled "8 Things Employers Aren't Allowed to Ask You." You can - and should - read the article by clicking on the link below:
No matter how many HR classes you have been in or interviewing seminars you have participated in, this is vital information that you need to know - whichever side of the interview table you find yourself. So, if you know someone looking for a job or who conducts interviews, by all means pass this along to them. It could save them a whole boatload of trouble from simply asking - or answering - the wrong question.
