New Labor Dynamics Institute to shed light on labor market

The new Labor Dynamics Institute at the ILR School will create and make accessible new data on the dynamics of labor markets. Its director is John Abowd, the Edmund Ezra Day Professor of Economics and a professor of information science. Its executive director is economist Lars Vilhuber, senior research associate of the Cornell Department of Economics

Going Hemp Wild: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities for FDA Regulation of CBD in Food Products

After the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, champions of hemp began to tout opportunities for farmers and businesses involved with the crop. The industry has rallied around one of hemp’s major byproducts, cannabidiol, or CBD. However, the demand for CBD has left the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) playing catch-up. This article explains what CBD is, how it is derived, current FDA-approved uses, and a current path forward for the FDA in creating guidance for industry and consumers

Granularity: investigating equations that convert (T) to (D)

An investigation was done on three published expanded equations, that convert (T) to (D). T. Celio, J. Altman and M. Abouelata published equations of the same form, but with differing constants. Their equations were derived by using an assumed square-wave transmittance trace. The investigation was to find the best predictor of (D) from (T) . Both practical and simulation tests were run. The density range was extended, to check for failure at both high and low densities. Standard granularity measurement procedures were followed as close as possible. Results, from the practical tests, showed Altman \u27s equation the best predictor of (D). Celio\u27s was a close second, while Abouelata\u27s was a distant third. The simulation test, was run with normal distributions and rectangular distributions. Altman\u27s equation best fit both kinds of density distributions, as well as combinations in between the two

A Game-Theoretic Analysis of the Off-Switch Game

The off-switch game is a game theoretic model of a highly intelligent robot interacting with a human. In the original paper by Hadfield-Menell et al. (2016), the analysis is not fully game-theoretic as the human is modelled as an irrational player, and the robot's best action is only calculated under unrealistic normality and soft-max assumptions. In this paper, we make the analysis fully game theoretic, by modelling the human as a rational player with a random utility function. As a consequence, we are able to easily calculate the robot's best action for arbitrary belief and irrationality assumptions

Pointing Fingers at Nonpoint Source Polluters: How a Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Could Influence Forestry Practices in Oregon’s Coastal Zone

The Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States. Despite nonpoint pollution accounting for most water pollution, the Clean Water Act has few mechanisms to address such pollution. For coastal communities, this is of particular concern. Indeed, this concern facilitated a regulatory regime under the Coastal Zone Management Act and, subsequently, the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments. These acts use established coastal management programs as a regulatory vehicle to drive nonpoint pollution mitigation in the coastal zone through the implementation of a Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program. Oregon has an established coastal management program. However, it has yet to achieve full approval of its Nonpoint Program. Using Maine’s and Washington’s fully approved Nonpoint Programs as a framework, this Article proposes an avenue for Oregon to submit a fully approvable Nonpoint Program. Like Maine and Washington, Oregon’s forest industry is paramount to its identity and economy. However, current timber industry practices have slowed Nonpoint Program development. While Oregon first, and unsuccessfully, submitted its Nonpoint Program to NOAA and EPA for approval in 2015 and codified the Private Forest Accord in 2022, it has yet to take affirmative steps to develop an approvable Nonpoint Program. To that end, this article is an instructive proposition to address the additional forestry-related management measures NOAA and EPA directed Oregon to adopt in their 2015 findings. Addressing these additional management measures is the threshold for the ultimate approval of Oregon’s Nonpoint Program

Effects of ambient temperature and photoperiod on flowering time in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)

Flowering time is a vulnerable stage of plant development and is therefore a significant determinant of adaptation and grain yield in faba bean (Vicia faba L.). It is largely controlled by genotype, environmental factors of temperature and photoperiod, and genotype-by-environment interactions. The aim of this study was to evaluate variation in flowering time and the responses of flowering time to ambient temperature and photoperiod in Australian faba bean. Time of sowing experiments were carried out to assess variation among lines for flowering time (measured in days to flowering, thermal time to flowering and node of first flower) and to determine plant sensitivities to ambient temperature and photoperiod by regression analysis in the field, while four controlled environment experiments of differing temperature and photoperiod were undertaken to further analyse the variation in responses. Results showed significant variation in responses to both ambient temperature and photoperiod. Photoperiod was the main factor influencing variation in flowering time, with lines grouped as: sensitive, intermediate or insensitive. The responses to ambient temperature were more complex. Most lines fit the traditional linear model, but with possible variation in optimal temperature and/or vernalisation response, while some lines showed temperature insensitivity.Samuel C. Catt and Jeffrey G. Paul

The development of a questionnaire to assess the attitudes of older people to end-of-life issues (AEOLI)

Objectives: To develop an end-of-life attitudes questionnaire for use in a large community-based sample of older people. Design: Nominal groups and standardization of questions. Participants: Eighteen older people, ten academics and five specialist palliative care health professionals were involved in nominal groups. Thirty older people took part in initial pilot work and a further 50 were involved in reliability testing. Results: A 27-item attitudes of older people to end-of-life issues (AEOLI) questionnaire. Discussion: In modern times, death and dying predominantly occurs among older people and yet we know very little about older people's attitudes to end-of-life care. The AEOLI questionnaire can be used in large scale surveys to elicit attitudes on end-of life issues considered important by older people and health care professionals

A tailorable framework of practices for maintenance delivery

Scope – This research focused on the development of a tailorable framework of practices for Maintenance Delivery (MD): i.e. a flexible business process design tool which was developed in order to resolve a series of specific gaps identified in the sponsor’s Asset Management System (AMS). Methodology – The framework was developed in two stages: firstly via a systematic review of existing MD practices from the literature in order to establish a preliminary version; this was then developed further via a Delphi study utilising the opinion of experts from industry to critique and improve the initial framework design. Key Findings – The framework was implemented and tested in the sponsor company in order to demonstrate its ability to successfully improve MD practices across multiple sites in different industry contexts. A post-implementation assessment demonstrated significant improvement, sufficient to close all of the high-risk gaps that were originally identified. Contribution to Industry – The framework covers the entire subject area of MD in detail and offers a wide range of optional practices throughout, complete with expert guidance to facilitate the decision-making process. This means it can be utilised by any business to design an effective MD process that is tailored to suit their specific context. Alongside a tailored MD process, the framework will also generate a fully aligned implementation specification for the supporting CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System), which is also tailored according to the same contextual requirements. This will enable the end user of the framework to procure, implement and configure a CMMS that has the complete range of functionality required to fully support their business requirements. Innovation – A tailorable framework that is flexible enough to be utilised in many different industries is novel, because existing MD processes are generally designed for a single, specific case and cannot adapt to different contexts. The size and scope of the framework also validates the innovation claim – i.e. a series of flowcharts covering multiple AM subject areas, with 157 core process steps, 109 contextual options, and 30,000+ words of guidance. The fact that framework has already been successfully utilised to develop and implement an effective MD process in a very specific context (i.e. a maintenance-intensive, highly regulated nuclear site with a relatively small workforce) further strengthens the claim for innovation