Implementation of a Microprocessor Based Accounting System for Agricultural Uses

This study has demonstrated the feasibility of using microcomputers on the farm or in the home to solve problems involving manipulation of large quantities of data or detailed mathematical procedures. A microcomputer with at least 32,000 words of memory and magnetic disk storage is recommended for efficient data processing. This capacity is required for programs of the type presented in this publication. A printer with at least an 80 character line is an essential feature. It is frequently necessary to have hard copy printouts of financial statements or cash flows in order to document the farm financial position. Programs may be prepared to serve this purpose if a printer is available. Without the printer, it is necessary to prepare documents from data viewed on a video screen. Other important features to consider in a microcomputer system include the capability for expansion and hardware compatibility with larger computer systems. Additional work is needed to develop software that is necessary in order to make the microcomputer a useful tool. Some farmers are beginning to purchase microcomputers being produced commercially. As these farmers grow in numbers, there will be an increasing demand for programs to meet their needs

Changes in co-existence mechanisms along a long-term soil chronosequence revealed by functional trait diversity

1. Functional trait diversity can reveal mechanisms of species co-existence in plant communities. Few studies have tested whether functional diversity for foliar traits related to resource use strategy increases or decreases with declining soil phosphorus (P) in forest communities. 2. We quantified tree basal area and four foliar functional traits (i.e. nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), thickness and tissue density) for all woody species along the c. 120 kyr Franz Josef soil chronosequence in cool temperate rainforest, where strong shifts occur in light and soil nutrient availability (i.e. total soil P declines from 805 to 100 mg g–1). We combined the abundance and trait data in functional diversity indices to quantify trait convergence and divergence, in an effort to determine whether mechanisms of co-existence change with soil fertility. 3. Relationships between species trait means and total soil N and P were examined using multiple regression, with and without weighting of species abundances. We used Rao’s quadratic entropy to quantify functional diversity at the plot scale, then compared this with random expectation, using a null model that randomizes abundances across species within plots. Taxonomic diversity was measured using Simpson’s Diversity. Relationships between functional and taxonomic diversity and total soil P were examined using jackknife linear regression. 4. Leaf N and P declined and leaf thickness and density increased monotonically with declining total soil P along the sequence; these relationships were unaffected by abundance-weighting of species in the analyses. Inclusion of total soil N did not improve predictions of trait means. All measures of diversity calculated from presence/absence data were unrelated to total soil N and P. There was no evidence for a relationship between Rao values using quantitative abundances and total soil P. However, there was a strongly positive relationship between Rao, expressed relative to random expectation, and total soil P, indicating trait convergence of dominant species as soil P declined. 5. Synthesis: Our results demonstrate that at high fertility dominant species differ in resource use strategy, but as soil fertility declines over the long-term, dominant species increasingly converge on a resource-retentive strategy. This suggests that differentiation in resource use strategy is required for co-existence at high fertility but not in low fertility ecosystems

Technological Advance in Cooling Systems at U.S. Power Plants

Prior to adoption of the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) most U.S. power plants used once-through cooling water systems that discharged large quantities of warm water and resulted in significant amounts of thermal pollution in neighboring bodies of water. The CWA essentially mandated recirculating systems for most new facilities. This paper investigates whether there was either cost-saving or performance enhancing technological advance in cooling systems and how these advances are related to imposition of the CWA

Utility assessment based on individualized patient perspectives

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-211).The feasibility of using the terminology of the individual patient to capture and express the individual's particular, perhaps unique, value system for healthiness is explored as a means to evaluate the quality of life. The hypothesis is that a systematic approach that treats the patient as a competent expert on a patient's perception of what it means to be healthy is a viable approach to his or her values. It is anticipated that eliciting such knowledge in a form that health care providers can use will enhance medical decision making. A systematic and rigorous protocol is described consisting of a reconstruction of utility assessment using traditional methodological building blocks applied to the descriptors elicited from the individual. The representation of values is multidimensional. Ordered nominal scales are constructed from the words of the individual's description of familiar people in a structured interview. A complete list of comprehensive scales is composed as indicated by the responses of the individual to hypothetical decisions involving tradeoffs. The result is a scoring system for health state descriptions suitable to represent values for the outcomes in medical decision models constructed by the medical community. The output is a patient preference model referred to as an Individualized Multidimensional Quality of Life (IMQOL) model. This model also provides a means to describe and rank potential outcomes from the same individualized perspective. Feasibility is explored by empirical evaluation of sixteen interviews of dialysis patients with the IMQOL protocol and applying the resulting model to the patient's own health as well as four other states of health common in dialysis therapy. Comparison is made to results of quality of life assessment with standard gamble and time tradeoff methods in the same patients for the same described outcomes. Qualitative responses from patients regarding their confidence in the representation of their values are rewarding. Results are quantitatively comparable to traditional utility assessment. A prototypic computer program is used to substantiate the programmability and potential for automation. The protocol expands the information contributing to understanding by both the health care provider and the patient. Future evaluation and extension are discussed.by Duane A. Steward.Ph.D

A model for evaluating proposals from multiple vendors which have different prices and lead times

This thesis presents a PC-based Best Value model which can be used to evaluate up to three vendor proposals for manufacture of a consumable secondary item. This software is designed to run on EXCEL 5.0 or equivalent applications. Both bid price and production lead time for a given order quantity are considered. The model calculates the minimum expected total annual inventory management costs associated with the item for each vendor These costs include ordering, holding, backordering, and procurement costs of the item. This thesis provides the mathematical development of the model, illustration of the calculations, and a user's guide for the program. This thesis also compares the current Navy's Flexible Computer-Aided Manufacturing (FCIM-DSS) model with the Best Value model.http://archive.org/details/amodelforevaluat109457449U.S. Navy (U.S.N.) author

Spatial Variation of Several Hydrogeochemical Parameters within the Apple Creek Drainage Basin, North Dakota

The aerial and vertical variation of soil organic matter (SOM) was determined within the Apple Creek basin, North Dakota. SOM is primary constituent of soils responsible for the asorption of organic chemicals. Contour maps of predicted SOM values were produced by horizon and were used to generate a general SOM map which can be used in land-use decisions. Several problems were encountered during the analytical phase of the study. Refining the SOM procedure resulted in "strating from scratch" numerous times. Initially an ammonium electrode was being used to determine CEC. When we could not stabilize the readings, we contacted the electrode manufacturer, Orion, who told us that they have had problems only with Dakota soils. For a while, the headaches involved seemed to outweigh the apparent benefits of the study.Geolog

Intercultural Communication in the Instruction of Arab Students by Western Teachers

Englis