Telling our story — Case study of the Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism initiative

This is a case study of the Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism initiative: planning began in 2005 and development began in 2008. This initiative resulted from the perceived need to create local employment, provide incentives to continue the culture and language of the Cherokee people, develop social and political good will in and outside of the Cherokee Nation area, enhance the brand of Cherokee Nation gaming and develop long term capacity in entertainment marketing. The opportunities identified included stimulating and reaching higher end Cherokee art and crafts market, encouraging development of more culturally authentic and fine Cherokee arts and craft, offering incentives to use and teach the Cherokee language, supporting and expanding small Cherokee businesses such as art studios, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, travel tours, and environmental tours, renovating of historic buildings, providing Cherokee educational experience to visitors, developing a clearer understanding and appreciation of Cherokee history and culture for both Cherokees and non-Cherokees, and accruing social and political capital by teaching the larger community and population about the value and contribution of the Cherokee Nation and people. Cultural tourism designed and executed by the Cherokee Nation is an opportunity to achieve a vision to increase the quality of life for Cherokees, their neighbors and the progeny of the entire Cherokee Nation

SEXUAL CONFLICT AND DENSITY DEPENDENCE IN THE WESTERN MOSQUITOFISH, GAMBUSIA AFFINIS (POECILIIDAE)

Sexual conflict occurs when individuals of one sex express traits that reduce the fitness of their mates. Males of many species harass females to gain copulations, which benefits males by increasing the number of offspring they sire but imposes energetic and opportunity costs on the females they harass. This thesis examined the fitness costs of sexual harassment to females, the energetic costs of mating to males, and the factors influencing the intensity of male competition for mates in the western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. I quantified male and female behavior, four female fitness components (number of offspring per female, embryo number, growth, and survival), and an index of male body condition in response to changes in operational sex ratio (experiment 1) and male and female density (experiment 2). I found that a strong, negative effect of female density on female fitness overwhelmed any potential costs of male harassment, suggesting that ecological interactions between females may play a larger role in determining female fitness than conflict between the sexes. Agonistic chases and displays between males increased as the operational sex ratio increased (became male-biased), while the number of copulations males attempted decreased. This inverse relationship suggests a tradeoff between interfering with other males and attempting additional copulations with females. Increases in chases between males were largely due to changes in female density, but not male density, suggesting that the availability of females determines whether males escalate contests with other males. In contrast, the number of displays between males depended varied with male density but did not female density. This difference between chases and displays is likely due to their difference in function; chases are performed to prevent other males from mating while displays are used to assess male competitors. I did not detect any energetic cost of mating to males

Estimating the Costs of MPCI Under the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act

The 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act addressed two major problems of MPCI (multiple peril crop insurance): low participation and additional disaster assistance. In this study, total government costs for the FCIC (Federal Crop Insurance Corporation) and MPCI are estimated to be more than $2 billion, on average, from 1996 to 2003, with half of this amount being in the form of premium subsidies paid by the government

Government Costs of Yield and Revenue Insurance

With the recent development of revenue insurance products and earlier interest in a dual insurance program, questions arise about the aggregate government costs of these insurance options if they were available on a nationwide basis

Iowa Crop Insurance: What is the Coverage Level?

In light of changes in the agricultural safety net brought about by this year\u27s Farm Bill , volatile market conditions, and the 1994 crop insurance reforms, questions arise concerning the extent that Iowa\u27s row crop producers are purchasing additional insurance to facilitate risk management. Here we present preliminary coverage numbers for 1996 crop insurance purchases for Iowa and compare these to 1995 figures

The FAPRI Baseline Model of the Federal Crop Insurance Program

Since 1986 the federal crop insurance program has changed in several ways: the number of covered crops has increased dramatically; the number of insured acres and amount of total premiums have risen; and new styles of crop insurance policies have been introduced. Each change has had a significant impact on the cost of the program. Due to the increasing importance of crop insurance to agriculture\u27s risk management strategy, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute developed a baseline model for the federal crop insurance program. This report outlines the construction of the model, previews preliminary results, and offers ideas for possible extensions

Agriculture, Conservation, and the Environment: A Unified Policy

As another Farm Bill approaches in 1995, agricultural, conservation, and environmental groups will again negotiate domestic agricultural policies. From past meetings have come such compromise solutions as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and conservation compliance. The upcoming Farm Bill debate could present a rather unique twist. The Iowa Plan (Iowa Farm Bill Study Team 1994), a proposal to reform federal farm policy, has the potential for substantial budget savings (a rarity in today\u27s political society) over current programs. Thus, if the Iowa Plan is adopted, negotiations will turn to the appropriation of the budget savings. This paper demonstrates how these savings could be used to benefit agriculture, conservation, and the environment. Several market-driven approaches to address agricultural-environmental conflicts are presented. From these, a proposal is made to promote agriculture, conservation, and the environment through green payments from agriculture\u27s budget savings under the Iowa Plan

The Safety Net of Farming: An Introduction and Literature Review of Agricultural Insurance and Other Stabilization Policies and Proposals

With the pending debate on the 1995 Farm Bill, crop insurance and disaster assistance have become major topics for discussion. This paper explores the performance of the current MPCI program and presents alternative programs. The need for a unified approach to ease the problem of agricultural instability is addressed