John Ashbery's Commotion

A consideration of John Ashbery's Commotion of the Words in relation to Edouard Glissant's concept of the "agent of commotion" from Poetics of Relation

Is there any real substance to the claims for a 'new computationalism'?

'Computationalism' is a relatively vague term used to describe attempts to apply Turing's model of computation to phenomena outside its original purview: in modelling the human mind, in physics, mathematics, etc. Early versions of computationalism faced strong objections from many (and varied) quarters, from philosophers to practitioners of the aforementioned disciplines. Here we will not address the fundamental question of whether computational models are appropriate for describing some or all of the wide range of processes that they have been applied to, but will focus instead on whether `renovated' versions of the \textit{new computationalism} shed any new light on or resolve previous tensions between proponents and skeptics. We find this, however, not to be the case, because the 'new computationalism' falls short by using limited versions of "traditional computation", or proposing computational models that easily fall within the scope of Turing's original model, or else proffering versions of hypercomputation with its many pitfalls

Analyzing Herd Behavior in Global Stock Markets: An Intercontinental Comparison

Herd behavior is an important economic phenomenon, especially in the context of the recent financial crises. In this paper, herd behavior in global stock markets is investigated with a focus on intercontinental comparison. Since most existing herd behavior indices do not provide a comparative method, we propose a new herd behavior index and demonstrate its desirable properties through simple theoretical models. As for empirical analysis, we use global stock market data from Morgan Stanley Capital International to study herd behavior especially during periods of financial crises in detail

Relationship between dairy cow genetic merit and profit on commercial spring calving dairy farms

peer-reviewedBecause not all animal factors influencing profitability can be included in total merit breeding indices for profitability, the association between animal total merit index and true profitability, taking cognisance of all factors associated with costs and revenues, is generally not known. One method to estimate such associations is at the herd level, associating herd average genetic merit with herd profitability. The objective of this study was to primarily relate herd average genetic merit for a range of traits, including the Irish total merit index, with indicators of performance, including profitability, using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Physical, genetic and financial performance data from 1131 Irish seasonal calving pasture-based dairy farms were available following edits; data on some herds were available for more than 1 year of the 3-year study period (2007 to 2009). Herd average economic breeding index (EBI) was associated with reduced herd average phenotypic milk yield but with greater milk composition, resulting in higher milk prices. Moderate positive correlations (0.26 to 0.61) existed between genetic merit for an individual trait and average herd performance for that trait (e.g. genetic merit for milk yield and average per cow milk yield). Following adjustment for year, stocking rate, herd size and quantity of purchased feed in the multiple regression analysis, average herd EBI was positively and linearly associated with net margin per cow and per litre as well as gross revenue output per cow and per litre. The change in net margin per cow per unit change in the total merit index was h1.94 (s.e.50.42), which was not different from the expectation of h2. This study, based on a large data set of commercial herds with accurate information on profitability and genetic merit, confirms that, after accounting for confounding factors, the change in herd profitability per unit change in herd genetic merit for the total merit index is within expectations

Gregarious Behaviour of Evasive Prey

Lecture on the first SFB/TR 15 meeting, Gummersbach, July, 18 - 20, 2004We model the formation of a herd as a game between a predator and a prey population. The predator receives some information about the composition of the herd when he chases it, but receives no information when he chases a solitary individual. We describe situations in which the herd and its leader are in conflict and in which the leader bows to the herd’s wish but where this is not to the benefit of the herd

Herd health status and management practices on 16 Irish suckler beef farms

peer-reviewedBackground: There have been few studies published internationally which document herd health management practices in suckler beef herds and no published Irish studies. The study objective was to document herd health status and management practices on sixteen Irish suckler beef herds over a two year period (2009–2010). The farms used in the study were part of the Teagasc BETTER farm beef programme. The mean (s.d.) herd size, stocking rate and farm size was 68 cows (27.6), 2.0 LU/ha (0.3) and 64.3 (21.6) adjusted hectares, respectively. Two questionnaires were designed; 1) a farmer questionnaire to collect information on farm background and current herd health control practices and 2) a veterinary questionnaire to collect information on the extent of animal health advice given by veterinarians to their clients and identification of any on-farm herd health issues. Results: Dystocia, calf pneumonia, and calf diarrhoea, in that order, were identified as the primary herd health issues in these Irish suckler beef herds. In addition, substantial deficiencies in biosecurity practices were also identified on these farms. Conclusions: The findings of this study may serve as the focus for future research in animal health management practices in Irish suckler beef herds

Dairy Herd Improvement

Milk and milk fat production have both been improved by crossing good Holstein or Red Dane bulls with Guernsey cows ( 1). The mature equivalent production ( M. E. ) for 365 days, 3 times milking of Holstein-Guernsey crosses is reported at 17,186 pounds of milk and 805 pounds of fat compared with their dams average of 10,897 pounds of milk and 555 pounds of fat. The Dane- Guernsey crosses averaged 18.149 pounds of milk and 803 pounds of fat as against their clams average of l].] 63 pounds of milk and 546 pounds of fat

Do exchange-rate forecasters herd? A note on the zloty/dollar and yen/dollar exchange rate

We used the foreign-exchange rate forecasts of the Consensus Economics Inc. poll to analyze whether exchange-rate forecasters herd or anti-herd. Forecasters herd (anti-herd) if their forecasts are biased towards (away from) the consensus. Upon implementing a robust empirical test developed by Bernhardt, Campello, Kutsoati (2006), we found that forecasters anti-herd.exchange rates, forecasting, herding

ECONOMICS OF BEEF COW CULLING AND REPLACEMENT DECISIONS UNDER GENETIC PROGRESS

Beef cow managers annually face the question of which animals to cull from the herd and replace. The results of this decision affect not only current revenues, but, by altering the genetic composition of the herd, also affect the future profitability of the herd. These genetic changes of the herd may, therefore, be represented as a form of endogenous technological progress to the cow calf producer. This article derives general asset replacement criteria for assets undergoing either exogenous or endogenous progress and illustrates their application with a Florida cow herd example.Livestock Production/Industries,

Herd-level risk factors associated with cow mortality in Swedish dairy herds

An increase in on-farm mortality (euthanasia and death) in dairy herds has been reported in several countries in the last decade. This does not only imply possible problems with animal welfare, but it also causes economic losses to the farmer. The objective of this study was to evaluate time trends in on-farm dairy cow mortality in Sweden and identify potential herd-level risk factors. Data was retrieved on all Swedish dairy herds enrolled in the milk recording scheme between 2002 and 2010. Herds with a herd size of 40 dead or euthanized cows per 100 cow-years were excluded. Two different models were used: 1 multiple year analysis which included 6,898 herds during the period 2002 to 2010 and 1 single year analysis including 4,252 herds for the year 2010, where other variables that were not present during the entire multiple year study were analyzed. The outcome variable was the number of euthanized and dead cows per year and season. A negative binomial regression model, adjusted for clustering within herd, was applied to both models. Fixed effects in the multiple year analysis were breed, calving interval, herd size, milk yield, region, season, pasture period, and year. Fixed effects in the single year analysis were breed, calving interval, conventional vs. organic farming, herd size, housing system, milk yield, region, and season. The multiple year analysis demonstrated that MR gradually increased from 5.1 to 6.6 events per 100 cow-years during the study period. Swedish MR are consequently on par with, or even greater than, MR among dairy herds in other comparable countries. Higher mortality was associated with larger herd size, longer calving intervals, and herds that had Swedish Holstein as the predominant breed. Lower mortality was observed in herds with a higher herd average milk yield, during the fall and winter, and in organically managed herds. There were regional differences in mortality. An interaction between herd size and season was found in both models. Also, an interaction between housing system and milk yield was found in the single year analysis. This first assessment of on-farm mortality in Swedish dairy herds confirmed that the MR has increased over the last few years. The study also identified some herd-level risk factors