The competitive impact of hypermarket retailers on gasoline prices

Hypermarkets are large retail suppliers of general merchandise or grocery items that also sell gasoline, often at very low margins. Using panel data for 1998-2002, this paper estimates the impact of hypermarkets on average state-level retail gasoline prices. The empirical results suggest a robust, economically (and statistically) significant effect of increased competition from hypermarkets. Furthermore, the results also suggest that refiners’ lower the delivered wholesale prices charged to their affiliated lessee-dealer and open-dealer stations in response to increased hypermarket competition, which in turn translates to lower retail (street) prices. The presence of a state motor fuel sales-below-cost (SBC) law may lessen the price-reducing effects from hypermarket competition by 40-67 percent while independently imparting no other offsetting price reductions. Finally, using recently published estimates of the short-run own price elasticity of demand for gasoline, consumer welfare is estimated to have increased in the neighborhood of $488 million over the sample period.Dealer tank wagon; Hypermarkets; Motor fuel SBC laws; Petroleum; Vertical integration

Image interpretation for a multilevel land use classification system

The potential use is discussed of three remote sensors for developing a four level land use classification system. Three types of imagery for photointerpretation are presented: ERTS-1 satellite imagery, high altitude photography, and medium altitude photography. Suggestions are given as to which remote sensors and imagery scales may be most effectively employed to provide data on specific types of land use

A cross impact methodology for the assessment of US telecommunications system with application to fiber optics development, volume 2

The appendices for the cross impact methodology are presented. These include: user's guide, telecommunication events, cross impacts, projection of historical trends, and projection of trends in satellite communications

Application of ecological, geological and oceanographic ERTS-1 imagery to Delaware's coastal resources management

The author has identified the following significant results. Data from twelve successful ERTS-1 passes over Delaware Bay have been analyzed with special emphasis on coastal vegetation, land use, current circulation, water turbidity and pollution dispersion. Secchi depth, suspended sediment concentration and transmissivity as measured from helicopters and boats were correlated with ERTS-1 image radiance. Multispectral signatures of acid disposal plumes, sediment plumes and slick were investigated. Ten vegetative cover and water discrimination classes were selected for mapping: (1) forest-land; (2) Phragmites communis; (3) Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata; (4) Spartina alterniflora; (5) cropland; (6) plowed cropland; (7) sand and bare sandy soil; (8) bare mud; (9) deep water; and (10) sediment-laden and shallow water. Canonical analysis predicted good classification accuracies for most categories. The actual classification accuracies were very close to the predicted values with 8 of 10 categories classified with greater than 90% accuracy indicating that representative training sets had been selected

Application of LANDSAT to the surveillance of lake eutrophication in the Great Lakes basin

The author has identified the following significant results. A step-by-step procedure for establishing and monitoring the trophic status of inland lakes with the use of LANDSAT data, surface sampling, laboratory analysis, and aerial observations were demonstrated. The biomass was related to chlorophyll-a concentrations, water clarity, and trophic state. A procedure was developed for using surface sampling, LANDSAT data, and linear regression equations to produce a color-coded image of large lakes showing the distribution and concentrations of water quality parameters, causing eutrophication as well as parameters which indicate its effects. Cover categories readily derived from LANDSAT were those for which loading rates were available and were known to have major effects on the quality and quantity of runoff and lake eutrophication. Urban, barren land, cropland, grassland, forest, wetlands, and water were included

A review of utility issues for the integration of wind electric generators

A review of issues and concerns of the electric utility industry for the integration of wind electric generation is offered. The issues have been categorized in three major areas: planning, operations, and dynamic interaction. Representative studies have been chosen for each area to illustrate problems and to alleviate some concerns. The emphasis of this paper is on individual large wind turbines (WTs) and WT arrays for deployment at the bulk level in a utility system

A study of aseptic maintenance by pressurization

Pressure differential for spacecraft sterilization against microbe contaminatio

Biogeochemistry of deep lakes in the central Alaskan Range: Completion report

Casper, one of the investigators, was a guest of the National Park Service as a weekend camper at the Wonder Lake Campground within Mount McKinley National Park. On the next visit to this campground for the same purpose, Mr. Casper took along several pieces of equipment for making simple limnological measurements. On this trip, he was accompanied by Frederick Payne, a graduate student from Michigan State University, who was in Alaska working with aquatic plant community structure. Following this visit to the lake, a research project proposal was drawn up for the purpose of obtaining funds in order to study several limnological aspects of this lake and others related to it. The relative high importance of vascular aquatic plant production in the Arctic had been noticed by John Hobbie (1973). In an intensive study of a deep subarctic lake, Harding Lake, being conducted by the Institute of Water Resources, University of Alaska, the relative high importance of rooted aquatic plants had also been noted. Thus, a question arose as to whether or not the primary production of vascular aquatic plants is higher than that of phytoplankton in subarctic lakes as is the case in arctic lakes which usually have higher biomass concentrations of algae than subarctic lakes (Hobbie, 1973). The stated objectives of this project were: 1) To conduct a biogeochemical reconnaissance of selected deep subarctic lakes in the central Alaska Range. 2) To develop hypotheses concerning the regional limnology. 3) To collect biological specimens to extend knowledge of taxonomic distributions, especially of aquatic plants and phytoplankton. 4) To estimate the seasonal nutrient budget for these lakes.The work upon which this completion report is based was supported by funds provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Water Research and Technology (Grant No. A-051-ALAS), as authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964, Public Law 88-379, as amended