Identification of Niche Market for Hanwoo Beef: Understanding Korean Consumer Preference for Beef using Market Segment Analysis

Korean Hanwoo beef producers are interested in improving the image of Hanwoo beef for Korean consumers, as the Korean beef market is becoming increasingly open to international competition. This study examines the consumer profile and positioning for the Hanwoo beef product in South Korea. A survey of 480 consumers is conducted to analyze preferences for 33 attributes of beef purchasing decisions. Factor analysis was used to determine factors that are important in beef purchasing decisions, and cluster analysis was used to identify a niche market for branded Hanwoo beef. Factor analysis results indicated that effective labeling and quality assurance of Hanwoo products, the meat quality, price and branding are important to the positioning and marketing of the Hanwoo beef product. Consumers with medium to high income, married and aged between 30 to 39 years, and those that appreciate Hanwoo quality but do not trust the current labeling system are most likely to purchase branded Hanwoo beef and represent a potential niche market, according to cluster analysis results.Beef branding, Market segment analysis, Korean beef market, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing,

South Dakota Elevator\u27s Winter Wheat Marketing Practices and Seasonality of Cash Wheat Prices

South Dakota is among 12 states which consistently produce both spring and winter wheat. Since 1983, South Dakota and two other states have produced approximately equal amounts of spring and winter wheat. Historically, South Dakota has predominantly produced spring wheat. From 1977 through 1982 spring wheat production in South Dakota averaged 48.4 million bushels per year. Winter wheat production during the same period averaged 22.4 million bushels. However, since 1983 South Dakota winter wheat production has been slightly larger than spring wheat production. Increased acreage was the major reason for the increase in winter wheat production. South Dakota acreage used for winter wheat production increased from 680,000 acres in 1977 to 1.8 million acres in 1986. Since 1977, spring wheat acreage has remained fairly constant at about 2 million acres, for the ten years reported, except for 1983. Since 1977, South Dakota wheat production emphasis has changed from predominantly spring wheat to a combination of spring and winter wheat. Because spring wheat production was large relative to winter wheat production from 1977-1982, the pricing of South Dakota wheat was probably based on spring wheat prices. Spring wheat and winter wheat compete in a number of product markets. Therefore, the prices of spring and winter wheat will most likely have similar characteristics. Because South Dakota winter wheat production has expanded relative to South Dakota spring wheat production, pricing of South Dakota winter wheat needed to be assessed. Are the South Dakota winter wheat prices more strongly influenced by spring wheat prices or winter wheat prices? Previous analysis regarding hedging versus cross-hedging of winter wheat was performed by Stowater. Cross-hedging of winter wheat on Minneapolis Grain Exchange\u27s spring wheat contracts was recognized as a viable alternative to traditional hedging of winter wheat on the Kansas City Board of Trade. The emphasis of this project was to identify market factors affecting winter wheat prices in South Dakota and to identify the seasonal price patterns in winter and spring wheat prices. Determination of these pricing patterns would help strengthen agribusiness\u27s as well as producer\u27s understanding of wheat price volatility. The research objectives, methodology, and sources of data for this thesis are provided in this chapter

Commentary: Pivoting during a pandemic: developing a new recruitment model for a randomised controlled trial in response to COVID-19.

BackgroundMany non-COVID-19 trials were disrupted in 2020 and either struggled to recruit participants or stopped recruiting altogether. In December 2019, just before the pandemic, we were awarded a grant to conduct a randomised controlled trial, the Should I Take Aspirin? (SITA) trial, in Victoria, the Australian state most heavily affected by COVID-19 during 2020.Main bodyWe originally modelled the SITA trial recruitment method on previous trials where participants were approached and recruited in general practice waiting rooms. COVID-19 changed the way general practices worked, with a significant increase in telehealth consultations and restrictions on in person waiting room attendance. This prompted us to adapt our recruitment methods to this new environment to reduce potential risk to participants and staff, whilst minimising any recruitment bias. We designed a novel teletrial model, which involved calling participants prior to their general practitioner appointments to check their eligibility. We delivered the trial both virtually and face-to-face with similar overall recruitment rates to our previous studies.ConclusionWe developed an effective teletrial model which allowed us to complete recruitment at a high rate. The teletrial model is now being used in our other primary care trials as we continue to face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Finite temperature Casimir effect in the presence of nonlinear dielectrics

Starting from a Lagrangian, electromagnetic field in the presence of a nonlinear dielectric medium is quantized using path-integral techniques and correlation functions of different fields are calculated. The susceptibilities of the nonlinear medium are obtained and their relation to coupling functions are determined. Finally, the Casimir energy and force in the presence of a nonlinear medium at finite temperature is calculated.Comment: 16 pages, 0 figure

The SCRIPT trial: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a polygenic risk score to tailor colorectal cancer screening in primary care

BACKGROUND: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) can predict the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and target screening more precisely than current guidelines using age and family history alone. Primary care, as a far-reaching point of healthcare and routine provider of cancer screening and risk information, may be an ideal location for their widespread implementation. METHODS: This trial aims to determine whether the SCRIPT intervention results in more risk-appropriate CRC screening after 12 months in individuals attending general practice, compared with standard cancer risk reduction information. The SCRIPT intervention consists of a CRC PRS, tailored risk-specific screening recommendations and a risk report for participants and their GP, delivered in general practice. Patients aged between 45 and 70 inclusive, attending their GP, will be approached for participation. For those over 50, only those overdue for CRC screening will be eligible to participate. Two hundred and seventy-four participants will be randomised to the intervention or control arms, stratified by general practice, using a computer-generated allocation sequence. The primary outcome is risk-appropriate CRC screening after 12 months. For those in the intervention arm, risk-appropriate screening is defined using PRS-derived risk; for those in the control arm, it is defined using family history and national screening guidelines. Timing, type and results of the previous screening are considered in both arms. Objective health service data will capture screening behaviour. Secondary outcomes include cancer-specific worry, risk perception, predictors of CRC screening behaviour, screening intentions and health service use at 1, 6 and 12 months post-intervention delivery. DISCUSSION: This trial aims to determine whether a PRS-derived personalised CRC risk estimate delivered in primary care increases risk-appropriate CRC screening. A future population risk-stratified CRC screening programme could incorporate risk assessment within primary care while encouraging adherence to targeted screening recommendations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12621000092897p. Registered on 1 February 2021. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13063-022-06734-7

An RCT of a decision aid to support informed choices about taking aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer and other chronic diseases: a study protocol for the SITA (Should I Take Aspirin?) trial.

BACKGROUND: Australian guidelines recommend that all people aged 50-70 years old actively consider taking daily low-dose aspirin (100-300 mg per day) for 2.5 to 5 years to reduce their risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite the change of national CRC prevention guidelines, there has been no active implementation of the guidelines into clinical practice. We aim to test the efficacy of a health consultation and decision aid, using a novel expected frequency tree (EFT) to present the benefits and harms of low dose aspirin prior to a general practice consultation with patients aged 50-70 years, on informed decision-making and uptake of aspirin. METHODS: Approximately five to seven general practices in Victoria, Australia, will be recruited to participate. Patients 50-70 years old, attending an appointment with their general practitioner (GP) for any reason, will be invited to participate in the trial. Two hundred fifty-eight eligible participants will be randomly allocated 1:1 to intervention or active control arms using a computer-generated allocation sequence stratified by general practice, sex, and mode of trial delivery (face-to-face or teletrial). There are two co-primary outcomes: informed decision-making at 1-month post randomisation, measured by the Multi-dimensional Measure of Informed Choice (MMIC), and self-reported daily use of aspirin at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include decisional conflict at 1-month and other behavioural changes to reduce CRC risk at both time points. DISCUSSION: This trial will test the efficacy of novel methods for implementing national guidelines to support informed decision-making about taking aspirin in 50-70-year-olds to reduce the risk of CRC and other chronic diseases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620001003965 . Registered on 10 October 2020

Velocity–conductivity relationships for mantle mineral assemblages in Archean cratonic lithosphere based on a review of laboratory data and Hashin–Shtrikman extremal bounds

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Lithos 109 (2009): 131-143, doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2008.10.014.Can mineral physics and mixing theories explain field observations of seismic velocity and electrical conductivity, and is there an advantage to combining seismological and electromagnetic techniques? These two questions are at the heart of this paper. Using phenomologically-derived state equations for individual minerals coupled with multi-phase, Hashin-Shtrikman extremal-bound theory we derive the likely shear and compressional velocities and electrical conductivity at three depths, 100 km, 150 km and 200 km, beneath the central part of the Slave craton and beneath the Kimberley region of the Kaapvaal craton based on known petrologically-observed mineral abundances and magnesium numbers, combined with estimates of temperatures and pressures. We demonstrate that there are measurable differences between the physical properties of the two lithospheres for the upper depths, primarily due to the different ambient temperature, but that differences in velocity are negligibly small at 200 km. We also show that there is an advantage to combining seismic and electromagnetic data, given that conductivity is exponentially dependent on temperature whereas the shear and bulk moduli have only a linear dependence in cratonic lithospheric rocks. Focussing on a known discontinuity between harzburgite-dominated and lherzolitic mantle in the Slave craton at a depth of about 160 km, we demonstrate that the amplitude of compressional (P) wave to shear (S) wave conversions would be very weak, and so explanations for the seismological (receiver function) observations must either appeal to effects we have not considered (perhaps anisotropy), or imply that the laboratory data require further refinement

A Position Statement on Population Data Science: The science of data about people

Information is increasingly digital, creating opportunities to respond to pressing issues about human populations using linked datasets that are large, complex, and diverse. The potential social and individual benefits that can come from data-intensive science are large, but raise challenges of balancing individual privacy and the public good, building appropriate sociotechnical systems to support data-intensive science, and determining whether defining a new field of inquiry might help move those collective interests and activities forward. A combination of expert engagement, literature review, and iterative conversations led to our conclusion that defining the field of Population Data Science (challenge 3) will help address the other two challenges as well. We define Population Data Science succinctly as the science of data about people and note that it is related to but distinct from the fields of data science and informatics. A broader definition names four characteristics of: data use for positive impact on citizens and society; bringing together and analyzing data from multiple sources; finding population-level insights; and developing safe, privacy sensitive and ethical infrastructure to support research. One implication of these characteristics is that few people possess all of the requisite knowledge and skills of Population Data Science, so this is by nature a multi-disciplinary field. Other implications include the need to advance various aspects of science, such as data linkage technology, various forms of analytics, and methods of public engagement. These implications are the beginnings of a research agenda for Population Data Science, which if approached as a collective field, can catalyze significant advances in our understanding of trends in society, health, and human behavior