Critical phenomena of the Majority voter model in a three dimensional cubic lattice

In this work we investigate the critical behavior of the three dimensional simple-cubic Majority voter model. Using numerical simulations and a combination of two different cumulants we evaluated the critical point with a higher accuracy than the previous numerical result found by Yang et al. [J.- S. Yang, I.-M. Kim and W. Kwak, Phys. Rev. E 77, 051122 (2008)]. Using standard Finite Size Scaling theory and scaling corrections we find that the critical exponents {\nu}, {\gamma} and {\beta} are the same as those of the three dimensional Ising model.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Accepted in PR

Modeling L- and X-band backscattering of wheat and tests over fields of Pampas

A discrete scattering model and a detailed set of ground measurements are used to simulate the backscattering coefficients of wheat fields during the whole growth cycle. Simulations are carried out at L- and X-band, and at HH, VV, and HV polarizations. Wheat fields are located in Pampas (Argentina), and are characterized by low values of plant density. Simulations show that the backscattering coefficient is driven by variations of soil moisture at L-band, particularly for HH polarization, with low vegetation effects. Conversely, the attenuation of vegetation is dominant in producing variations of backscattering coefficients at X-band, particularly for VV polarization. Simulations are compared against experimental data collected over the same Pampas region, using airborne SARAT SAR at L-band and COSMO-SKYMED at X-band. Assuming a surface height standard deviation in a 0.4–0.7 cm range, the simulations generally agree with experimental data, with an RMSE lower than about 2 dB at L-band and X-band, except a limited number of cases. Discrepancies observed in specific conditions are discussed. Overall, the results indicate that a joint use of L- and X-band has a good potential to monitor both soil moisture and vegetation growth

Are Traders Good or Bad? The Role of Intermediaries in the Supply Chain of Falcata in the Davao Region, Philippines

The wood industry in the Davao Region is characterized by lack of market information and dominance of market intermediaries. Stakeholders of the industry carry the conventional wisdom that traders are exploitative and should be eliminated in the chain. In this paper, we examined this notion by mapping the supply chain of falcata in the Davao Region and analyzing the role of traders along the chain. A Structure-Conduct-Performance approach to supply chain analysis was used to determine how market structure determines the behavior of traders in the supply chain, which ultimately determines the various aspect of chain performance. We found that there are a few number of traders along the falcata supply chain, and they have high market concentration on specific production areas. Tree growers perceive that traders possess some degree of buying power over them due to their inability to market falcata logs directly to wood processing plants. However, the profitability analysis reveals that marketing falcata logs entails huge cost in processing the permit to cut and transport, harvesting and hauling, transportation, and payment for SOPs. Traders significantly contribute to the value addition in the falcata supply chain by performing the main function of distribution. However, traders are misunderstood by other chain actors because they are not fully aware of the marketing costs entailed in performing the distribution function and the risks that traders carry along with it. As such, supply chain development interventions should recognize the key role of traders in facilitating the value-creation process within the chain

Developing Dairy Goat Industry as a Sunrise Industry in the Philippines: Issues and Challenges in the Davao Region and Northern Mindanao

The government has embarked on a National Dairy Goat S&T Program to promote the dairy goat sector as a sunrise industry primarily to augment dairy supply, which is expected to continue to expand due to strong demand in food processing. Northern Mindanao and Davao Region are the fifth and sixth top goat-producing regions in the country. Yet they continuously experienced low and unsustainable production that cannot meet demands. A SWOT analysis was conducted to identify key issues and challenges that beset the dairy goat industry in these regions. Focused group discussions with key industry players were also conducted to identify issues and challenges in the industry. Current operations of existing commercial raisers had not adopted a clearer business model to create value proposition that will take advantage of the high market demand for dairy goat milk products. There was also lack of government financing incentives to encourage capital investments that will expedite development of the dairy goat industry. Unmet demands imply a relatively strong economic indicator that pointed out to the potential growth of dairy goat industry. It must be addressed to ensure development of a sunrise industry in the dairy goat sector. A SWOT-generated strategy suggested a strong government-led collaboration among industry stakeholders to establish a roadmap that will roll out development objectives of promoting the dairy goat sector as a sunrise industry

Assessing the Supply Chain Performance of Dairy Goat in Selected Areas of the Davao Region and Northern Mindanao, Philippines

Demand for dairy goat milk is increasing because of its nutritional values that are distinct from other dairy milk. Yet it has not been taken advantage by the local industry as dairy goat inventory remained low. A tracer methodology was adopted to analyze key performance areas in the supply chain of dairy goat in Northern Mindanao and the Davao Region as the fifth and sixth top goat-production regions in the Philippines. A total of 13 dairy goat raisers who regularly produce dairy goat milk in these regions were purposively selected as key respondents of the study. Results showed that profits from sale of fresh dairy goat milk were at marginal level due to low and unsustainable volume of production. Profitability performance of dairy goat milk producers were affected by low productivity of milking coupled with inadequate technology to extend shelf life of fresh milk. Appropriate institutional interventions such as the continuing research and development to improve productivity, animal care management, technology and product development, capability development, and provision of financing support and incentives are needed to improve the supply chain performance of dairy goat

Adoption of the personas technique in the open source software development process

The growth in the number of non-developer open source software (OSS) application users and the escalating use of these applications have led to the need and interest in developing usable OSS. OSS communities do not generally know how to apply usability techniques and are unclear about which techniques to use in each activity of the development process. The aim of our research is to adopt the Personas usability technique in the PSeInt OSS project and determine the feasibility of adapting the technique for application. To do this, we participated as volunteers in the project. We used the case study research method during technique application and participation in the community. As a result, we identified adverse conditions that were an obstacle to technique application and modified the technique to make it applicable. We can conclude from our experience that these changes were helpful for applying the technique, although it was not easy to recruit OSS users to participate in usability technique applicationThis research has been partly funded by several organizations, including the Government of Ecuador’s Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) through a scholarship and the State Technical University of Quevedo through doctoral training scholarships for university professors. Also this research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports FLEXOR and “Realizando Experimentos en la Industria del Software: Comprensión del Paso de Laboratorio a la Realidad” projects (TIN2014-52129-R and TIN2014-60490-P, respectively) and the eMadrid-CM “Investi-gación y Desarrollo de Tecnologías Educativas en la Comunidad de Madrid” project (S2013/ICE-2715

Forest growth dynamics of managed forests in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon.

The objective of this work was to present the growth forest dynamics results obtained in two sites located in Acre and Amazonas states in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon.Abstracts of the XXV IUFRO World Congress

Association between agility and speed with changes of direction in young players

Identificar factores asociados al máximo rendimiento en el fútbol posibilitará mejorar el proceso de planificación deportiva en etapas tempranas. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la asociación entre la agilidad y la velocidad con cambios de dirección (VCD) en jóvenes futbolistas (JF). Participaron voluntariamente dieciocho hombres entre los 10 y 13 años los cuales aplicaron el test de 20 metros con cambios de dirección (T20CD) y el test de agilidad Illinois (TAI). El análisis estadístico se realizó en el IBM SPSS V.22 en el cual se fijó para la significancia un p0,05) y no normal en TAI (p<0,05), el coeficiente correlacional de Spearman (r = 0,06; p = 0,8) evidenció una relación poco significativa (p<0,05). Por lo tanto se concluye que no existe asociación significativa entre la agilidad y la VCD en JF