The Farmapine Model: A Cooperative Marketing Strategy and a Market-Based Development Approach in Sub-Saharan Africa

Marketing,

ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF SOURCE VERIFICATION OF FEEDER CATTLE

Source-verified (SV) feeder cattle auctions were held in Bloomfield, Iowa, each October, November, and December from 1997-2000. This study compares price data from these SV auctions to traditional auctions at the same location to determine whether a premium exists for SV feeder cattle. Hedonic pricing models were estimated to evaluate the price effects of lot characteristics, market forces, and type of market (SV versus regular sale). The SV cattle were sorted and pooled into large lots. The larger lot size, consistent with early research, earned large price premiums. After accounting for lot size, the SV premium for lighter cattle (< 650/600-pound steers/heifers) was estimated at $1.30/cwt, and was significant. The SV premium over and above lot size was not significant for heavier feeder cattle.auction, cattle, hedonic pricing model, markets, source-verified auction, Livestock Production/Industries,

THE IMPACT OF BSE, FMD, AND U.S. EXPORT PROMOTION EXPENDITURES ON JAPANESE MEAT DEMAND

The study examined Japanese consumer response to the discovery of BSE and discusses implications for the U.S. beef industry following BSE discovery in the U.S. Impacts of FMD and export promotion expenditures were also modeled. Synthetic inverse and ordinary demand systems were used to appropriately specify the demand system.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Quantum Dragon Solutions for Electron Transport through Single-Layer Planar Rectangular

When a nanostructure is coupled between two leads, the electron transmission probability as a function of energy, E, is used in the Landauer formula to obtain the electrical conductance of the nanodevice. The electron transmission probability as a function of energy, T (E), is calculated from the appropriate solution of the time independent Schrödinger equation. Recently, a large class of nanostructures called quantum dragons has been discovered. Quantum dragons are nanodevices with correlated disorder but still can have electron transmission probability unity for all energies when connected to appropriate (idealized) leads. Hence for a single channel setup, the electrical conductivity is quantized. Thus quantum dragons have the minimum electrical conductance allowed by quantum mechanics. These quantum dragons have potential applications in nanoelectronics. It is shown that for dimerized leads coupled to a simple two-slice (l = 2, m = 1) device, the matrix method gives the same expression for the electron transmission probability as renormalization group methods and as the well known Green\u27s function method. If a nanodevice has m atoms per slice, with l slices to calculate the electron transmission probability as a function of energy via the matrix method requires the solution of the inverse of a (2 + ml) (2 + ml) matrix. This matrix to invert is of large dimensions for large m and l. Taking the inverse of such a matrix could be done numerically, but getting an exact solution may not be possible. By using the mapping technique, this reduces this large matrix to invert into a simple (l + 2) (l + 2) matrix to invert, which is easier to handle but has the same solution. By using the map-and-tune approach, quantum dragon solutions are shown to exist for single-layer planar rectangular crystals with different boundary conditions. Each chapter provides two different ways on how to find quantum dragons. This work has experimental relevance, since this could pave the way for planar rectangular nanodevices with zero electrical resistance to be found. In the presence of randomness of the single-band tight-binding parameters in the nanodevice, an interesting quantum mechanical phenomenon called Fano resonance of the electron transmission probability is shown to be observed

Determinants of Customers’ Bank Selection Decision in the Mfantsiman Municipality of Ghana

The prominence of financial institutions in the development of an economy is well established. In Ghana various reforms in the financial sector have made the Ghanaian banking industry an intensely competitive proposition. This study, investigated the determinants of customers’ bank selection decision in the Mfantseman Municipality in Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was employed for the study. Data was acquired using self-administered questionnaires from bank customers. Multinomial logistic regression statistical method was used to analyse the data. The findings disclosed a significant relationship between customers’ choice of bank and advertising, branding, distance to bank location and types of electronic product offered by banks. It was recommended that banks should embark on aggressive advertising campaign on the benefits of their products and services, improve upon their brand image and financial stability. Banks should also come out with more electronic products that are relevant to the changing needs of potential customers. Keywords: Selection Decision, Branding, Advertising, Location, Electronic Products, Banks DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-28-03 Publication date:October 31st 202

Estimating the value of Source Verification in Iowa feeder cattle markets

Source Verification (SV) as defined by the Chariton Valley Beef project is the collection and documentation of background information that should help potential buyers determine the value of the calves. This study used data from two sources; Bloomfield auction market, Bloomfield Iowa and from Rusell, Appanoose, Winterset and Centerville, Iowa auction markets. On average the SV cattle from the Bloomfield auction market yielded higher prices compared to the non-source verified cattle. Regression estimates for the same data set showed price premiums being offered for SV cattle in 1997 for both steers and heifers. However in 1998, only the heifers showed a premium with the steers being discounted. The premiums ranged from {dollar}0.96 to {dollar}2.13 per cwt. However, cattle were grouped to form larger lot sizes in this auction, and the study could not determine if the premiums were for the SV or the larger lot sizes that has been shown to produce price premiums on its own. The Rusell, Winterset, Appanoose and Centerville auctions did not group feeder cattle into larger lot sizes. However due to insufficient data from these auctions, the question of premiums being offered for SV feeder cattle could not be answered

Strategies in Mitigating Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Risk

In the fiscal year 2014, approximately 1,337 health care providers lost their provider license to Medicare/Medicaid fraud. Out of the 1,318 criminal convictions reported by the U.S. Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCU), 395 (30%) were home health care aides who claimed to have rendered services not provided. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore licensed and certified home health care business managers\u27 strategies to mitigate Medicare/Medicaid fraud risk. A purposive sampling of 9 business managers and chief executive officers from 3 licensed and certified home health care businesses in Franklin County, Ohio participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews. Data from the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes regarding Medicare/Medicaid fraud risk management strategies. Drawing from the Committee of Sponsoring Organization\u27s internal control framework and fraud management lifecycle theory, 5 themes emerged: the control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. Findings from this study included maintenance of integrity and culture, training and educating both staff and clients about fraud reporting processes and the consequences of fraud, rotating staff on a regular basis, performing fraud risk assessments, implementing remote timekeeping and monitoring system, and compensating shift leaders to coordinate activities in the clients\u27 residences. The implication for positive social change includes reducing healthcare cost for all taxpayers through Medicare/Medicaid fraud reduction

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Decision of Mobile Phones in the Mfantsiman Municipality of Ghana

This study sought to explore the factors affecting the purchase decision of mobile phone users and to recommend the policies which may be adopted by producers. The study employed a multiple-stage random sampling technique. The study used primary data gathered from a sample of 500 consumers with the help of self-administered questionnaire. Both descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyse the data. The study disclosed a significant relationship between consumers buying decision and the variables of interest including branding, price, technical features, and quality of phones. It is, therefore, recommended that manufacturers should do aggressive advertisement about functionality and the quality of their phones to build strong brand loyalty among the youth. Also, manufacturers should make mobile phones with enhanced technical features and improve upon the quality of their mobile phones. Furthermore, mobile phones should be produced on large scale and be sold at a reduced price to enable the youth and middle income earners to purchase phones of their choice. Not only but also, wholesalers and retailers should purchase and sell mobile phones with enhanced technical features and strong brands. Keywords: Mobile Phone, Consumer Preference, Branding, Price, Technical Features, Quality DOI: 10.7176/JIEA/10-4-03 Publication date:September 30th 202

Exploring the Career Pathways, Professional Integration and Lived Experiences of Regulated Nurses in Ontario, Canada

In the context of an enduring shortage of nurses, this study explores the career pathways and experiences of immigrant and Canadian-born nurses in two Ontario cities utilizing a qualitative research design consisting of 70 in-depth interviews. Differences in career entry and experiences of workplace conflict across immigration status and race are explored. First, I explore successful immigrants’ pathways into the nursing profession and their social and economic integration into the Canadian economy in light of the traditional assimilation and segmented assimilation theories. The study reveals distinct career pathways taken by foreign-born nurses and Canadian born nurses. While Canadian-born nurses have a shorter and a more direct pathway into nursing, foreign-born nurses, especially IENs and visible minority nurses, face more complex systemic and multidimensional challenges in transitioning into the profession. I conclude from this study that the segmented assimilation theory cannot accurately capture immigrants’ experiences in nursing as it does not take into account the conditions of the labour market. Second, I examine nurses’ conflicts with patients and family members/friends, the sources of the conflicts, the role of racial status, and the coping mechanisms used. I find that racial status influences the experience of conflicts at the workplace. Visible minority nurses experience verbally aggressive behaviours more frequently relative to White nurses. This, I find impedes their integration in the nursing profession. Third, I examine conflicts amongst nurses and the implications of intra-professional conflict for the nursing profession. The findings show that conflicts centre on workloads and tasks, as well as race and age. The study reveals evidence of White nurses engaging in social closure, sometimes excluding and marginalizing visible minority nurses. Nonetheless, I find the response of visible minority nurses’ foster professional unity and not division. This study calls for skilled immigrants seeking nursing integration to be provided with adequate information on the requirements and necessary credentials needed for their professional integration before migration and upon professional entry. Also, the removal of factors that create toxic work environments and reproduce workplace inequality are pertinent in promoting the wellbeing of nurses, their professional integration, and quality healthcare

Dragline excavation simulation, real-time terrain recognition and object detection

The contribution of coal to global energy is expected to remain above 30% through 2030. Draglines are the preferred excavation equipment in most surface coal mines. Recently, studies toward dragline excavation efficiency have focused on two specific areas. The first area is dragline bucket studies, where the goal is to develop new designs which perform better than conventional buckets. Drawbacks in the current approach include operator inconsistencies and the inability to physically test every proposed design. Previous simulation models used Distinct Element Methods (DEM) but they over-predict excavation forces by 300% to 500%. In this study, a DEM-based simulation model has been developed to predict bucket payloads within a 16.55% error. The excavation model includes a novel method for calibrating formation parameters. The method combines DEM-based tri-axial material testing with the XGBoost machine learning algorithm to achieve prediction accuracies of between 80.6% and 95.54%. The second area is dragline vision studies towards efficient dragline operation. Current dragline vision models use image segmentation methods that are neither scalable nor multi-purpose. In this study, a scalable and multi-purpose vision model has been developed for draglines using Convolutional Neural Networks. This vision system achieves an 87.32% detection rate, 80.9% precision and 91.3% recall performance across multiple operation tasks. The main novelty of this research includes the bucket payload prediction accuracy, formation parameter calibration and the vision system accuracy, precision and recall performance toward improving dragline operating efficiencies --Abstract, page iii