U.S.-EU BANANA WAR: IMPLICATIONS OF RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON PECORINO CHEESE

This paper illustrates the economic impact of the U.S. countervailing trade policy because of the European Union's failure to adhere to the dispute panel findings of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the banana dispute. The United States subsequently imposed prohibitive tariffs (100% ad valorem) on imports of selected EU products as countervailing policy. The estimated loss in consumer surplus for Pecorino cheese was $4.96 million per year as a result of the U.S. retaliatory trade policy. Tariff revenue and deadweight losses were$1.86 and $3.10 million, respectively. Italian producers are expected to lose$8.55 million in revenue due to reduced exports to the United States. Thus, the estimated welfare loss for Italian producers is nearly twice that for U.S. consumers.International Relations/Trade,

Impacts of the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) on U.S. Fruit Exports - the Apple Case

The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing field of trade between the United States and the six CAFTA-DR partner countries. Half of U.S. farm products gain immediate tariff-free access to the markets of the CAFTA-DR region. All Tariffs will be eliminated in 20 years. Under CAFTA-DR, tariffs on an important U.S. fresh fruit export to the region, fresh apples, declined from an initial base of 15%-25% in CAFTA-DR countries to zero immediately upon enforcement. The specific objective of this research is to analyze the impact of tariff elimination under CAFTA-DR on the trade of U.S. fresh apples. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used for the analysis involving an excess-supply-excess-demand model with monthly trade data from January 2000 to December 2010. The more telling empirical results indicate that for each of the six CAFTA-DR countries, tariff elimination positively promotes U.S. apple exports to this region.CAFTA-DR, trade liberalization, tariff elimination, Generalized Method of Moments(GMM), Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q17, F13, F15,

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF IMPORT DEMAND FOR CANOLA OIL IN THE UNITED STATES

The study analyzes the impacts of economic and noneconomic factors on import demand for canola oil. The import demand pattern for canola oil in the United States is influenced by changes in the world's oilseeds market and government oilseeds programs and policies, including tariffs and subsidies. The U.S. import demand for canola oil was specified as a function of its own import price, prices of substitute edible vegetable oils (soybean oil and palm oil), disposable personal income, the Canadian-U.S. (Missing one table)canola oil, demand, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

The Directional Dependence of the Lunar Cherenkov Technique for UHE Neutrino Detection

The LUNASKA (Lunar UHE Neutrino Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array) project is a theoretical and experimental project developing the lunar Cherenkov technique for the next generation of giant radio-telescope arrays. This contribution presents our simulation results on the directional dependence of the technique for UHE neutrino detection. In particular, these indicate that both the instantaneous sensitivities and time-integrated limits from lunar Cherenkov experiments such as those at Parkes, Goldstone, Kalyazin and ATCA are highly anisotropic. We study the regions of the sky which have not been probed by either these or other experiments, and present the expected sky coverage of future experiments with the SKA. Our results show how the sensitivity of Lunar Cherenkov observations to potential astrophysical sources of UHE particles may be maximised by choosing appropriate observations dates and antenna-beam pointing positions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, presented at ARENA 2008, Rome, Ital

The use of non-intrusive user logging to capture engineering rationale, knowledge and intent during the product life cycle

Within the context of Life Cycle Engineering it is important that structured engineering information and knowledge are captured at all phases of the product life cycle for future reference. This is especially the case for long life cycle projects which see a large number of engineering decisions made at the early to mid-stages of a product's life cycle that are needed to inform engineering decisions later on in the process. A key aspect of technology management will be the capturing of knowledge through out the product life cycle. Numerous attempts have been made to apply knowledge capture techniques to formalise engineering decision rationale and processes; however, these tend to be associated with substantial overheads on the engineer and the company through cognitive process interruptions and additional costs/time. Indeed, when life cycle deadlines come closer these capturing techniques are abandoned due the need to produce a final solution. This paper describes work carried out for non-intrusively capturing and formalising product life cycle knowledge by demonstrating the automated capture of engineering processes/rationale using user logging via an immersive virtual reality system for cable harness design and assembly planning. Associated post-experimental analyses are described which demonstrate the formalisation of structured design processes and decision representations in the form of IDEF diagrams and structured engineering change information. Potential future research directions involving more thorough logging of users are also outlined

The reproductive cycle of the thorny skate (Amblyraid radiata) in the western Gulf of Maine

The thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) is a large species of skate that is endemic to the waters of the western north Atlantic in the Gulf of Maine. Because the biomass of thorny skates has recently declined below threshold levels mandated by the Sustainable Fisheries Act, commercial harvests from this region are prohibited. We have undertaken a comprehensive study to gain insight into the life history of this skate. The present study describes and characterizes the reproductive cycle of female and male thorny skates, based on monthly samples taken off the coast of New Hampshire, from May 2001 to May 2003. Gonadosomatic index (GSI), shell gland weight, follicle size, and egg case formation, were assessed for 48 female skates. In general, these reproductive parameters remained relatively constant throughout most of the year. However, transient but significant increases in shell gland weight and GSI were observed during certain months. Within the cohort of specimens sampled monthly throughout the year, a subset of females always had large preovulatory follicles present in their ovaries. With the exception of June and September specimens, egg cases undergoing various stages of development were observed in the uteri of specimens captured during all other months of the year. For males (n=48), histological stages Ill through VI (SIII-SVI) of spermatogenesis, GSI, and hepatosomatic index (HSI) were examined. Although there appeared to be monthly fluctuations in spermatogenesis, GSI, and HSI, no significant differences were found. The production and maintenance of mature spermatocysts (SVI) within the testes was observed throughout the year. These findings collectively indicate that the thorny skate is reproductively active year round

U.S. COMPETITIVENESS IN THE WORLD MARKET FOR SELECTED FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Agribusiness,

Activity profiles in adolescent netball: A combination of global positioning system technology and time-motion analysis

Purpose: This study sought to understand the activity profiles of adolescent netball players in match play conditions. To date there has been no published research in this area and such findings would give important insights to inform the training and preparation of adolescent netball players. Methods: Twenty-two adolescent netball players (age 14.5 ± 0.5 y, stature 165 ± 5 cm, body mass 58.32 ± 7.43 kg) were analysed while competing in a specially arranged outdoors match of 6 x 10 min periods. The players were categorised into one of three positional groups. To track the players’ movement GPS units were worn located between the scapulas in a purpose built harness. The match was filmed so that post-match time-motion analysis could be carried-out. Both the GPS and time-motion analysis data was classified into one of six movement categories for analysis. Results: Midcourt players covered the greatest distance per quarter (37.73 ± 17.39 m/min) with the Attacking players covering the least distance (35.42 ±11.66 m/min). The Attacking players covered the greatest distance per quarter through sprinting (8.5 ±16.2 m/qtr), travelling nearly twice the distance of the other two groups. When comparing the mean frequency and duration of movements from the GPS and time-motion analysis, there was a discrepancy between the two methods. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that in adolescent netball Midcourt players cover the greatest distance per quarter while Attacking players cover the greatest distance through sprinting. A comparison between data from the GPS and time-motion analysis suggest that the GPS units used in this study under report the frequency and duration of high intensity movements

One loop effective potential in heterotic M-theory

We have calculated the one loop effective potential of the vector multiplets arising from the compactification to five dimensions of heterotic M-theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold with h^{1,1}>1. We find that extensive cancellations between the fermionic and bosonic sectors of the theory cause the effective potential to vanish, with the exception of a higher order curvature term of the type which might arise from string corrections.Comment: Latex, 28 pages, 1 figur

On the eigenvalues of Cayley graphs on the symmetric group generated by a complete multipartite set of transpositions

Given a finite simple graph \cG with $n$ vertices, we can construct the Cayley graph on the symmetric group $S_n$ generated by the edges of \cG, interpreted as transpositions. We show that, if \cG is complete multipartite, the eigenvalues of the Laplacian of \Cay(\cG) have a simple expression in terms of the irreducible characters of transpositions, and of the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients. As a consequence we can prove that the Laplacians of \cG and of \Cay(\cG) have the same first nontrivial eigenvalue. This is equivalent to saying that Aldous's conjecture, asserting that the random walk and the interchange process have the same spectral gap, holds for complete multipartite graphs.Comment: 29 pages. Includes modification which appear on the published version in J. Algebraic Combi