Environmental Perceptions and Behavioral Change of Hillside Farmers: The Case of Haiti

Land degradation is one of the most serious problems facing resource-poor tropical hillside farmers. Studies examining determinants of farmers’ decisions to invest in land improvement technologies have focused on economic and financial factors, neglecting individuals’ perceptions and awareness of the problems and how they affect land use and behavioral change that enhance environmental sustainability. This study examines Haitian peasants’ environmental behavior structure using a structural equation modeling approach. Specifically, the study examines the effects of perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, and barriers to change on attitude, and the causal effect of attitude on behavior. The influence of the level of resources extracted from the land per capita on perceptions, attitude, and behavior is examined. Results show that Haitian peasants’ attitudes toward the environment are significantly affected by their perceived susceptibility and severity of land degradation. The path coefficients linking perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits to attitude are 0.49 (t=5.43) and 0.21 (t=3.78), respectively. A positive attitude toward the environment seems to cause a greater inclination to behavioral change. The coefficient from attitude to behavior is 0.21 (t=3.81). The results indicate that agricultural productivity significantly shapes hillside farmers’ perceptions of susceptibility to and severity of land degradation. Per capita resource extraction significantly affects people’s perceptions of the benefits of good environmental quality and the barriers to behavioral change.Farmers, environment, perception, behaviour and degradation, agricultural productivity, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

The Adoption and Management of Soil Conservation Practices in Haiti: The Case of Rock Walls

Farmers are usually reluctant to adopt measures to reduce the toll of soil erosion; and even when soil conservation structures are adopted, farmers fail to manage them. This study investigates factors that influence adoption and management of soil conservation structures in Fort-Jacques, Haiti. The results show that personal characteristics of farmers, institutional factors, such as local group membership, training in soil conservation, per capita income and size of farm influence soil conservation adoption in Forte-Jacques. Age, education, per capita household income, participation in local groups, the interaction of per capita household income and farmers’ age influence rock wall management.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Washington Workmen\u27s Compensation: The Duplicate Task of Commission and Courts in Hearing Appeals Upon the Facts

There are few instances in the law when a litigant can appeal to three successive tribunals upon findings of fact alone, and obtain a complete rehearing in each of them Such is the anomalous procedure permitted in cases arising under our Industrial Insurance Act. That, and the provision for a jury sitting on the second appeal, may help to explain the frequency with which Blank v Department of Labor and Industries appears in our advance sheets

U.S. Import Demand for Tilapia from Selected FTAA Countries

Seafood consumption in the U.S. has increased over the period 1990 to 2003. A large percentage of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. The most important seafood products imported to the U.S. are shrimp, Atlantic salmon, tilapia, catfish, crayfish, mussels and a mixture of mollusks. In 2003, the U.S. imported 199 million pounds of tilapia and tilapia products, at a value of $241.2 million, a 38$77,952 (Aquaculture Outlook, 2004). Given that tilapia culture may be a promising enterprise for CARICOM and FTAA member countries, it is important to evaluate changes in U.S. market demand for tilapia from CARICOM countries. A Source Differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (SDAIDS) model was used to conduct an import demand study for tilapia and tilapia products in the U.S. The own price elasticity of Jamaica frozen fillet was found to be -0.23, and significant which means that it is price inelastic and which means that increases in exports, other factors remaining constant, may lead to a fall in total revenue. The Jamaican frozen fillet is complementary to that of the rest of the world (ROW) and fresh fillet from Ecuador, but competitive (substitute) to fresh-frozen fillet from Thailand. Fresh fillet from Ecuador, with a cross price elasticity of 0.29, is a substitute for the fresh fillet from Costa Rica. The fresh fillet from Costa Rica is complementary to the fresh-frozen from Thailand. The fresh fillet from Honduras with a cross price elasticity of 1.13 is a substitute for the fresh fillet from Ecuador. However, the fresh fillet from Honduras is a complement to the frozen fillet from Thailand. Seafood consumption in the U.S. has increased over the period 1990 to 2003. A large percentage of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. The most important seafood products imported to the U.S. are shrimp, Atlantic salmon, tilapia, catfish, crayfish, mussels and a mixture of mollusks. In 2003, the U.S. imported 199 million pounds of tilapia and tilapia products, at a value of $241.2 million, a 38$77,952 (Aquaculture Outlook, 2004). Given that tilapia culture may be a promising enterprise for CARICOM and FTAA member countries, it is important to evaluate changes in U.S. market demand for tilapia from CARICOM countries. A Source Differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (SDAIDS) model was used to conduct an import demand study for tilapia and tilapia products in the U.S. The own price elasticity of Jamaica frozen fillet was found to be -0.23, and significant which means that it is price inelastic and which means that increases in exports, other factors remaining constant, may lead to a fall in total revenue. The Jamaican frozen fillet is complementary to that of the rest of the world (ROW) and fresh fillet from Ecuador, but competitive (substitute) to fresh-frozen fillet from Thailand. Fresh fillet from Ecuador, with a cross price elasticity of 0.29, is a substitute for the fresh fillet from Costa Rica. The fresh fillet from Costa Rica is complementary to the fresh-frozen from Thailand. The fresh fillet from Honduras with a cross price elasticity of 1.13 is a substitute for the fresh fillet from Ecuador. However, the fresh fillet from Honduras is a complement to the frozen fillet from Thailand. The FTAA member states, other than Ecuador, are not major players in the frozen whole tilapia market. Large non-member countries, such as Thailand, Taiwan, and China, may be serious threats to CARICOM and FTAA member country tilapia products in the U.S. market. The FTAA member countries have concentrated on the fresh-frozen fillet and may have a comparative advantage for this product line because of proximity to the market.Tilapia, sea-food, Almost-Ideal-Demand-System, import, FTAA countries, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Survivorship in Joint Bank Accouns, and Wilson v. Ivers

Joint bank accounts have given rise to considerable litigation, concerning a number of questions. A deposits money in a bank, payable in any part to himself or to B, or to the survivor. If A draws upon the account, may B assert an interest in the money taken, or in property purchased with it? If B withdraws money, can A reclaim it? If A dies must the bank pay B because the account is payable to the survivor, though B has no claim of ownership? If B is permitted to keep what remains at A\u27s death, is the account subject to estate and inheritance taxes? Do A\u27s creditors have redress against B? These are some of the problems presented to the courts. A more common question, and the subject of this Comment, is whether B becomes the owner of the account at A\u27s death. Has survivorship been obtained

Globalization Equity and Justice in Small Nation States

The effects of globalization on smaller nation Caribbean states have not been thoroughly examined, and the trade performance of these states has not been evaluated since the WTO came into existence. In this paper, we report on a study that conducted a comparative analysis of selected Caribbean nation states with other countries at different stages of development to determine their levels of performance from 1990 to 1995, the period before the WTO began full operation, and the period 1996 to 2002, the period after globalization. The selected Caribbean countries were Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. The measures for comparison are changes in GDP per capita, capital investment as a percentage of GDP, foreign direct investment, current account balance, trade balance, export services, infant mortality, literacy rates, and agricultural and service labor force change. We also compared the economic and social performance of these countries with those of selected countries of North America, South and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The economic performance of the Caribbean states varied and compared favorably with other developing economies and developed economies, but the socioeconomic indicators worsened for Suriname and other nation states. The current account and the trade balances were negative for Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, in spite of their positive changes in GDP per capita since the WTO came into operation. No factors provide evidence of how well the countries are likely to perform in the future with the implementation of the WTO. In general, the Caribbean states performed worse before, rather than after, the implementation of the WTO. Model results show that the Caribbean states should concentrate on the export of services and the increase of the agricultural labor force to stimulate significant economic growth. The factors influencing the growth of other regions vary, but export of services seemed to have a general effect on economic growth. In terms of social indicator improvement, countries in Asia and Africa should reduce infant mortality while North America and South America could benefit from improvement in literacy rates.Caribbean states, regression analysis, globalization, equity., Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, International Development,

A functional RNase P protein subunit of bacterial origin in some eukaryotes

RNase P catalyzes 5′-maturation of tRNAs. While bacterial RNase P comprises an RNA catalyst and a protein cofactor, the eukaryotic (nuclear) variant contains an RNA and up to ten proteins, all unrelated to the bacterial protein. Unexpectedly, a nuclear-encoded bacterial RNase P protein (RPP) homolog is found in several prasinophyte algae including Ostreococcus tauri. We demonstrate that recombinant O. tauri RPP can functionally reconstitute with bacterial RNase P RNAs (RPRs) but not with O. tauri organellar RPRs, despite the latter’s presumed bacterial origins. We also show that O. tauri PRORP, a homolog of Arabidopsis PRORP-1, displays tRNA 5′-processing activity in vitro. We discuss the implications of the striking diversity of RNase P in O. tauri, the smallest known free-living eukaryote.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación European Regional Fund BFU2007-60651Junta de Andalucía P06-CVI-01692National Science Foundation MCB-0238233 MCB-0843543European Union ASSEMBLE 22779

Autonomous frequency domain identification: Theory and experiment

The analysis, design, and on-orbit tuning of robust controllers require more information about the plant than simply a nominal estimate of the plant transfer function. Information is also required concerning the uncertainty in the nominal estimate, or more generally, the identification of a model set within which the true plant is known to lie. The identification methodology that was developed and experimentally demonstrated makes use of a simple but useful characterization of the model uncertainty based on the output error. This is a characterization of the additive uncertainty in the plant model, which has found considerable use in many robust control analysis and synthesis techniques. The identification process is initiated by a stochastic input u which is applied to the plant p giving rise to the output. Spectral estimation (h = P sub uy/P sub uu) is used as an estimate of p and the model order is estimated using the produce moment matrix (PMM) method. A parametric model unit direction vector p is then determined by curve fitting the spectral estimate to a rational transfer function. The additive uncertainty delta sub m = p - unit direction vector p is then estimated by the cross spectral estimate delta = P sub ue/P sub uu where e = y - unit direction vectory y is the output error, and unit direction vector y = unit direction vector pu is the computed output of the parametric model subjected to the actual input u. The experimental results demonstrate the curve fitting algorithm produces the reduced-order plant model which minimizes the additive uncertainty. The nominal transfer function estimate unit direction vector p and the estimate delta of the additive uncertainty delta sub m are subsequently available to be used for optimization of robust controller performance and stability