Price Stabilization in the Taiwan Hog and Broiler Industries: Evidence from a STAR Approach

The paper examines the effectiveness of the price stabilization mechanism for the broiler and poultry industry in Taiwan during the period 1999 to 2008. After presenting some background information on the domestic marketing system and price stabilization mechanisms for the broiler and pork industry in Taiwan, the paper discusses the smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) methodology. Monthly hog and broiler price data from 1999 to 2008 at farm, import and retail levels are analyzed using the nonlinear, non-asymmetric logistic STAR model in order to determine price transmission structure. A price threshold parameter is used so that price transmission levels can vary, thereby allowing an examination of the efficacy with which the hog and broiler price stabilization mechanisms take effect.Broiler industry, Pork industry, Price stabilization, Domestic marketing system, Smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) methodology

Price Stabilization in the Taiwan Hog and Broiler Industries: Evidence from a STAR Approach

The paper examines the effectiveness of the price stabilization mechanism for the broiler and poultry industry in Taiwan during the period 1999 to 2008. After presenting some background information on the domestic marketing system and price stabilization mechanisms for the broiler and pork industry in Taiwan, the paper discusses the smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) methodology. Monthly hog and broiler price data from 1999 to 2008 at farm, import and retail levels are analyzed using the nonlinear, non-asymmetric logistic STAR model in order to determine price transmission structure. A price threshold parameter is used so that price transmission levels can vary, thereby allowing an examination of the efficacy with which the hog and broiler price stabilization mechanisms take effect

Price Stabilization in the Taiwan Hog and Broiler Industries: Evidence from a STAR Approach

The paper examines the effectiveness of the price stabilization mechanism for the broiler and poultry industry in Taiwan during the period 1999 to 2008. After presenting some background information on the domestic marketing system and price stabilization mechanisms for the broiler and pork industry in Taiwan, the paper discusses the smooth transition autoregressive (STAR) methodology. Monthly hog and broiler price data from 1999 to 2008 at farm, import and retail levels are analyzed using the nonlinear, non-asymmetric logistic STAR model in order to determine price transmission structure. A price threshold parameter is used so that price transmission levels can vary, thereby allowing an examination of the efficacy with which the hog and broiler price stabilization mechanisms take effect

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMIC BALANCE ABILITY BETWEEN THE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND HANDBALL PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of dynamic standing ability (Balance keeping time; BKT) and the change of the angular velocity (deg. / s) of a platform between healthy non-athelete female students and handball players using an unstable platform-like seesaw. Methods: The seesaw is capable of rotating side to side in both directions of right and left; it was set horizontally at an angle of zero degrees as a base, with the maximum degree of the seesaw inclination set at 25 degrees. In addition, a high-speed digital video camera (SONY-HDR-CX520V) was set to record the BKT and the changes of motion in the frontal plane from both sides of the plate. Results: There is a significant difference observed in both BKT and the change of angular velocity between non-athletes and handball players. Conclusion: The findings suggest the data gained from the experiments may establish a dynamic balance fitness norm and can be used as an assessment method of the lower extremity coordination ability

Low-Cost Smart Projector for Home Entertainment *

A projector can support a large-screen display at a lower cost than a television which is currently the most useful home entertainment device. Because most families live in small spaces, they cannot easily make full use of the benefits of projectors. This work solves the problem of projecting the largest possible display image in a small space, without limiting the projective distance or area. A camera connected with the projector is adopted to capture information about the screen surface and environment. Plane homographies are then used to correct distortions of the input image caused the projection surface. The display image then seems to be displayed on a virtual screen toward the viewer. The proposed method solves of skewed display image caused by oblique projections. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can change the display environment for home entertainment

Identification of Panoramic Photographic Image Composition Using Fuzzy Rules

Making panoramic images has gradually become an essential function inside personal intelligent devices because panoramic images can provide broader and richer content than typical images. However, the techniques to classify the types of panoramic images are still deficient. This paper presents novel approaches for classifying the photographic composition of panoramic images into five types using fuzzy rules. A test database with 168 panoramic images was collected from the Internet. After analyzing the panoramic image database, the proposed feature model defined a set of photographic compositions. Then, the panoramic image was identified by using the proposed feature vector. An algorithm based on fuzzy rules is also proposed to match the identification results with that of human experts. The experimental results show that the proposed methods have demonstrated performance with high accuracy and this can be used for related applications in the future

A Geometric Invariant Approach to Human Face Verification

A new, fast method for verifying human faces using geometric invariants is proposed. The proposed method takes advantage of the properties of geometric invariants to deal with background changes and solve illumination, translation, scaling, and rotating problems. The method includes locating and segmenting the facial image, extracting the facial features, and implementing recognition processes. Only 25 sets of cross ratios are needed to compare faces in the matching process in order to identify whether the query image exists in the database or not. The computational cost of the proposed method is significantly reduced in both processing and matching time for real time application. In addition, the proposed method achieves good performance and invariance even under external environmental changes. Experimental results are given to show that the proposed method is feasible and effective for real time application to face detection