STOCHASTIC EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE BASIC MAIZE MARKETING STRATEGIES

The use of modern marketing strategies to minimize risk exposure is not a widely adopted practice under maize producers. The producers tend to use high risk strategies which include the selling of the crop on the cash market after harvested; while the current market requires innovative strategies including the use of Futures and Options as traded on SAFEX. However, due to a lack of interest and knowledge of producers understanding of modern, complicated strategies the study illustrates by using a SERF and CDF that the use of three basic strategies namely a Put-, Twelve-segment-, Three-segment- can be more rewarding. These strategies can be adopted by farmers without an in-depth understanding of the market and market-signals. The results obtained from the study illustrates that producers who tend to be more risk neutral would prefer using the Twelve-segment- or Spot-strategy while a risk averse producer would prefer the Three-segment-, or Put-strategy. It also indicates that no strategy can be labelled as the all-time best and that the choice between strategies depends on risk adverse characteristics of the producer. The purpose of the study is to prove that the adoption of a basic strategy is better than adopting no strategy at all and to convince producers to reconsider the adoption of modern marketing strategies.Marketing strategies, futures, options, SERF, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

Corruption in South Africa's liberal democratic context

This book is meant for academics in the fields of theology and ecclesial management, for business leaders and governmental authorities in the private and public domain. This collected work by mainly practical theologians reflects on the phenomenon of corruption in the liberal democracy of post-apartheid South Africa. Liberal democracy has considerable salience in the contemporary world. Not only is it the form that many of the world’s most powerful and influential nations approve of, but it is a political system that is being tried – and used – by many formerly developing countries. South Africa is described as predominantly Christian. In such a context corruption is not to be expected. However, it is strongly prevalent. It undermines the values of both democracy and Christianity. Not only does corruption promote a general lack of trust in institutions and leadership, but it stimulates a perpetual culture of corruption that invades all spheres of life. The research is based on a qualitative empirical study. Its aim is to stimulate discourse in theology and related disciplines. Data were collected by means of interviews with political, business, church, and labour union managers and leaders in South Africa’s Gauteng area, who have experienced corruption. This area is the hub of economic, executive political and public office activities in South Africa. Respondents were specifically asked how their experience of corruption was informed by their norms, which in turn were influenced by their religious convictions and cultural conventions. The book suggests strategies for redressing the current ‘culture of corruption’. Although the chapters represent different perspectives, the shared objective is to emphasise that corruption is unethical, to describe and explain why it is taking place and how the situation should appear. The explanation focuses on the negative consequence of corruption: it does not respect human dignity – the ‘otherness’ of others; it exacerbates poverty; it weakens religious values and norms; it is not conducive to social cohesion in the country. The authors also share the theological premise that God is present in this world. In the kingdom of God, believers are encouraged to participate in the ‘clean-up’ process which includes combating the phenomenon of corruption. This book roots theological research and reflection in the real life of both believers and non-believers who consider a ‘clean’ world without corruption as an absolute necessity for a country characterised by the ideals of liberal democracy. The book will stimulate on-going transdisciplinary research focusing on unethical lifestyles, and it will also encourage church leaders to engage with managers in other spheres of society, such as politics and economics in order to counter the evil of corrupt practices. The research outcomes are relevant not only in the South African context, but also globally

The pharmacokinetic behaviour of hypoxoside taken orally by patients with lung cancer in a phase I trial

No Abstract

A phase I trial of hypoxoside as an oral prodrug for cancer therapy - absence oftoxicity

No Abstract

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters

Measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of D*+/- meson production in jets from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb^-1 for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.5. D*+/- mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*+ -> D0pi+, D0 -> K-pi+, and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*+/-)/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*+/- mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3 < z < 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (22 pages total), 5 figures, 1 table, matches published version in Physical Review

Search for scalar top quark pair production in natural gauge mediated supersymmetry models with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The results of a search for pair production of the lighter scalar partners of top quarks in 2.05 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) =7 TeV using the ATLAS experiment at the LHC are reported. Scalar top quarks are searched for in events with two same flavour opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons) with invariant mass consistent with the Z boson mass, large missing transverse momentum and jets in the final state. At least one of the jets is identified as originating from a b-quark. No excess over Standard Model expectations is found. The results are interpreted in the framework of R-parity conserving, gauge mediated Supersymmetry breaking `natural' scenarios, where the neutralino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Scalar top quark masses up to 310 GeV are excluded for the lightest neutralino mass between 115 GeV and 230 GeV at 95% confidence level, reaching an exclusion of the scalar top quark mass of 330 GeV for the lightest neutralino mass of 190 GeV. Scalar top quark masses below 240 GeV are excluded for all values of the lightest neutralino mass above the Z boson mass.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 4 figures, 1 table, matches published PLB versio