Sector skills insights : construction

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills is a social partnership, led by Commissioners from large and small employers, trade unions and the voluntary sector. Our mission is to raise skill levels to help drive enterprise, create more and better jobs and promote economic growth. Our strategic objectives are to: • Provide outstanding labour market intelligence which helps businesses and people make the best choices for them; • Work with businesses to develop the best market solutions which leverage greater investment in skills; • Maximise the impact of employment and skills policies and employer behaviour to support jobs and growth and secure an internationally competitive skills base. These strategic objectives are supported by a research programme that provides a robust evidence base for our insights and actions and which draws on good practice and the most innovative thinking. The research programme is underpinned by a number of core principles including the importance of: ensuring ‘relevance ’ to our most pressing strategic priorities; ‘salience ’ and effectively translating and sharing the key insights we find; internationa

Biological Invasions: The Case of Soybean Aphid Infestation

Soybeans, the second highest cash crop following corn in the U.S., have come under attack by invasive species, the soybean aphid from the North and soybean rust from the South. We estimated the economic losses resulting from soybean aphid infestation by using a dynamic equilibrium model. Results indicate that, first, the reduction of soybean production resulting from soybean aphid infestation is largely absorbed by reducing soybean exports, due to the higher price elasticity of export demand compared to the domestic demand. Second, the economic losses to U.S. soybean producers would grow on average annually between $12.8 million and$23.4 million during the first five years of infestation. In the longer-run, soybean producers would suffer greater economic losses as the dispersion rate of infested soybean acreage with soybean aphids rises. However, the successful discovery of the soybean aphid gene (TF04048) Rag-1 (which confers resistance) does not at this time warrant soybean growers and policy-makers becoming too seriously alarmed. Even so, time is an important factor in the eventual control of the soybean aphid.Crop Production/Industries,

Economic Impacts of the U.S. Soybean Aphid Infestation: A Multi-Regional Competitive Dynamic Analysis

We estimated the economic benefits resulting from controlling soybean aphid infestation by using a multi-regional competitive dynamic equilibrium model. Results indicate that the reduction of soybean production resulting from a soybean aphid infestation is largely absorbed by reducing soybean exports, due to the higher price elasticity of export demand compared to domestic demand. Producer benefits resulting from controlling soybean aphids would increase by between $949 million and$1.623 billion in ten years under various scenarios. Results also suggest that it is economically more efficient to control soybean aphids when the rate of intrinsic growth is relatively lower, the supply price elasticity of soybean acreage is relatively more elastic, and insecticide treatment costs per acre are lower. However, if the discovery of the gene Rag-1 (TF04048) leads to new cultivars that withstand the soybean aphid, our estimates will overestimate the actual damages. Even so, our analysis demonstrates that it is critical to control soybean aphids early in their infestation cycle to avoid a rapid increase in damages.soybean aphid, invasive species, producer surplus, consumer surplus, Rag-1, Crop Production/Industries,

A socioeconomic study of part-time farming in Upper East Tennessee

The objectives of this study were; (1) To distinguish between part-time and full-time farmers In the study area according to an estab-lished criterion and Indicate their significance; (2) To establish a profile of land, labor, and capital resources of typical part-time farm families; (3) To determine the types and amounts spent on various farm expense Items on part-time farms; and (4) To compare part-time farmers with full-time farmers according to economic activities, farm household characteristics, attitudes relating to farming, levels of satisfaction with life and farming, and personal feelings about their managerial abilities. These objectives were to revolve around the central problem of low Incomes of farm people. The data were obtained from a sample of 287 farmers In a 12-county study area In Upper East Tennessee. A random area survey technique was used to select the sample units. A subsequent Interview was given to a randomly selected subset of part-time farmers. All farmers Interviewed were grouped according to specific criteria. The data collected from two of the groups of farmers classified as full-time and part-time operators were analyzed. Production factors of land, labor, and farm capital on part-time farms were described. Other areas examined which completed the typical situation existing on part-time farms Included types of farm enterprises, expenses, and farm Incomes. Actual size of part-time farms was small (averaging 36.1 acres) with only an average of 4.3 acres being used for crop production. Pasture and hay acreage remain the single most Important land-use pattern on part-time farms (averaging 32.5 acres). Hired labor utilized on part-time farms was limited due to the expense involved. The average expenditure for farm labor hired in 1975 was $356. Family labor was the most important source of labor in the part-time farming operation. Farm investment items studied on part-time farms in the study area were land, farm machinery, and farm buildings. Investment in land was the highest investment item on these farms averaging$25,908 at time of acquisition. The 1975 gross farm income was the single significant variable accounting for the variation of investment in farm machinery in a multiple linear regression analysis. Burley tobacco and cow-calf herds were the dominant crop and livestock enterprises on part-time farms in the study area. Crop expenses during 1975 which averaged $664 were found to be the highest of all type expenses accounted for on part-time farms. Fertilizer, sprays, seed, and fuel were typical costs which were included in crop expenses. Gross farm income for 1974 on part-time farms was related to the size of the farm according to the results of a chi-square statistical analysis. Others which were found to be significant as specified by calculated correlation coefficients were land rented in, row crop and pasture acreage, and total household income. Off-farm employment by part-time farmers and the income derived from it was a major factor contributing to the well-being of farm families. Characteristics of the off-farm job which were studied in-cluded commuting distances traveled, type of nonfarm employment, and vocational training. Commuting distances traveled by part-time farmers averaged almost 17.7 miles one way. These commuting distances involved significant amounts of time which were needed for the farm work. The most common type of nonfarm occupation among farmers in the study area was the skilled mechanical trades occupational group. It was also found that of those farmers having vocational training, most had training related to mechanical skills. Attitudes and personal feeling among both part-time and full-time farmers were accounted for by a series of questions designed to indicate how the farmers felt toward a certain item. A test of mean scores for each of the nine determinations was employed to test for significant differences. Of the nine determinations, only one was found to be significantly different between the two groups of farmers. The numerical mean score in the determination of attitude toward risk was statistically different for the farmers. Interpretation of the mean score for both groups of farmers indicated that on the average, part-time farmers assume risk more readily than full-time farmers. Several of the characteristics relating to the farm and operator were compared by a t-test of the means of specific variables. Part-time farmers were younger and had larger families than full-time farmers. Full-time farmers, however, consulted their local county extension agent significantly more often than part-time operators. Among some of the farm characteristics found to be significantly different were total farm acreage owned, acreage being used for row crops, pasture, timber, and the amount of acreage rented in. All of these farm characteristics were significantly larger on full-time farming operations than on part-time farms

Leadership Behaviors Used by Principals of Large High Schools Compared to Principals of Small High Schools: A Comparative Multiple-Case Study

The purpose of this multi-case study was to examine if there may be a perceived relationship between the size of the school and the leadership behaviors of the four principals. This purpose was achieved through a qualitative inquiry of principal interviews, principal survey, observation of a principals\u27 leadership team meeting, focus group interview with the principals\u27 leadership team, and analysis of the extant texts: principals\u27 time log for one week, organizational chart, and agenda for a leadership team meeting. The data were reduced through two cycles of coding which then further analyzed resulting in the identification of five major themes. Finding one: All four principals appeared to have six common leadership behaviors that did not appear to be different based on the size of the school. Finding two: All four principals appeared to have six leadership behaviors that looked differently based on the size of the school. Finding three: While all four principals demonstrated their understanding of the need for being visible with students, being visible with teachers, knowing your students, and knowing your staff, they all recognized that these skills would be easier to develop and execute in a small school compared to a large school. Finding four: The additional behaviors that were present in the leadership behavior of organizing in the principals of large schools may have supported additional leadership behaviors in communicating with students, communicating with staff, and developing leaders in the principals of the large schools. Finding five: The two leadership behaviors of seeking input and setting direction/limits appeared to counter-balance each other depending on the size of the school. Synthesis of the findings suggest that while there are common leadership behaviors among these four principals, there were also differences in their leadership behaviors that indicated that there may have been a perceived relationship between the size of the school and the leadership behaviors of the four principals. The descriptions of the leadership behaviors of the four participants in this study lend credibility to the argument that leadership does not take place in a vacuum. How leadership is implemented is dependent upon many factors, including the size of the environment

ON THE MERITS OF VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRIC PATH-ANALYSIS FOR INVESTIGATING VOLUMETRIC MEDIATION OF A TOXICANT\u27S INFLUENCE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION

We previously showed that lifetime cumulative lead dose, measured as lead concentration in the tibia bone by X-ray fluorescence, was associated with persistent and progressive declines in cognitive function and with decreases in MRI-based brain volumes in former lead workers. Moreover, larger region-specific brain volumes were associated with better cognitive function. These findings motivated us to explore a novel application of path analysis to evaluate effect mediation. Voxel-wise path analysis, at face value, represents the natural evolution of voxel-based morphometry methods to answer questions of mediation. Application of these methods to the former lead worker data demonstrated potential limitations in this approach where there was a tendency for results to be strongly biased towards the null hypothesis (lack of mediation). Moreover, a complimentary analysis using anatomically-derived regions of interest volumes yielded opposing results, suggesting evidence of mediation. Specifically, in the ROI-based approach, there was evidence that the association of tibia lead with function in three cognitive domains was mediated through the volumes of total brain, frontal gray matter, and/or possibly cingulate. A simulation study was conducted to investigate whether the voxel-wise results arose from an absence of localized mediation, or more subtle defects in the methodology. The simulation results showed the same null bias evidenced as seen in the lead workers data. Both the lead worker data results and the simulation study suggest that a null-bias in voxel-wise path analysis limits its inferential utility for producing confirmatory results

The Allen Telescope Array: The First Widefield, Panchromatic, Snapshot Radio Camera for Radio Astronomy and SETI

The first 42 elements of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA-42) are beginning to deliver data at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Northern California. Scientists and engineers are actively exploiting all of the flexibility designed into this innovative instrument for simultaneously conducting surveys of the astrophysical sky and conducting searches for distant technological civilizations. This paper summarizes the design elements of the ATA, the cost savings made possible by the use of COTS components, and the cost/performance trades that eventually enabled this first snapshot radio camera. The fundamental scientific program of this new telescope is varied and exciting; some of the first astronomical results will be discussed.Comment: Special Issue of Proceedings of the IEEE: "Advances in Radio Telescopes", Baars,J. Thompson,R., D'Addario, L., eds, 2009, in pres