An Analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill’s Value-Added Producer Grants Program

Our objective is to identify the determinants for success among USDA’s Value- Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program recipients. Business development has become an important program in departments of agricultural economics. Market share was found to be an important determinant of VAPG success. Size variables including greater sales and increased grant dollars, as well as a lower number of producers, were also determinants of business success. Departments of agricultural economics are likely best able to assist VAPG recipients by providing information on price discovery, explaining their relationship to potential plant location, and providing education on best management practices to help producers avoid costly mistakes.agribusiness, business development, value-added, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Competencies Required of Human Resource Professionals in the Government Contracting Industry

The purpose of this study was to determine if a unique set of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) were required of Human Resource Practitioners (HRPs) in federal-level Government Contracting Companies (GCC) in the United States. Study results identified additional sets of HR-related KSAs to perform with minimum competency within a government-contracting environment. The results of this study can assist in creation and development of training or education curriculum for HRPs interested in or currently working in GCCs. Study results provided parameters for job descriptions for HRP recruitment within GCCs and HRP promotional opportunities

Developing focused auditing tools: A practical framework for creating formalized multi-level security policy specifications

The purpose of this study is that formalized policy specifications and focused penetration testing are needed to effectively audit any information system. Designing and maintaining the security system information is the primary duty of the cyber security professional. In today\u27s world, nearly all government agencies manage some form of financial, defense, national security, and/or privacy information security policies. It is also necessary in this environment that agencies are accountable for auditing the security systems that protect this information

The Governance of Services

The problem of assessing a system of governance for composite services in the social economy is approached by means of original methods.The main innovation is that the welfare structure of a society is separated from the legal transaction- or institutional structure.As both the various types of services and the various modes of management are defined in terms of relations between sets of persons, these structures can be compared and the performance of a managementsystem can be assessed.The dynamics of a wide range of hybrid forms of organization - between market and hierarchy - is analyzed in this framework. The approach elaborates on the new institutional economics, and the social theory of micromotives and macrobehavior in exchange and transactions.welfare and transactions;hybrid organizations;typology of services;typology of modes of governance;institutional economics

"If We Don't Produce, Bring Another:" Work Organization and Tomato Worker Health.

Objectives: Specific work processes and management structures that contribute to high rates of occupational illness and injury in agricultural industries are not well described in academic literature. This qualitative study of work organization in the U.S. fresh tomato industry investigates how work processes and management structures impact tomato workers' occupational health. Methods: After conducting literature review and key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 36 individuals with experience working in the U.S. fresh tomato industry. Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Results: These data indicate that participants endured income insecurity and hazardous supervisory practices, including wage theft, retaliation, intimidation, and humiliation, that put them at risk of preventable illness and injury. Support from workers' organizations and health-conscious supervisory practices helped mitigate some of these occupational hazards. Conclusion: Participants' adverse work experiences may be considered sequelae of workers' lack of job control and positions of socioeconomic structural vulnerability. Other aspects of tomato work organization, including health-conscious supervisory practices and the involvement of workers' organizations, indicate that modifying work organization to better safeguard health is possible. Such modifications present compelling opportunities for employers, employees, organizations, community and government leaders, and health care professionals to help create healthier occupational environments for tomato workers

EU Services Directive - Design Approaches for Romania

Modernizing public administration is the basis for implementation of the EU directive, and in order to ensure this successfully, collaborative procedures between administrative institutions and countries must be put in place and further developed. This paper will present some technical design options for an architectural framework of the Point of Single Contact imposed by EU Services Directive that takes into consideration the specific e-Government background of Romania.EU Services Directive, Romanian e-Government, design, architecture, process, SOA