Adoption of Certified Organic Production: Evidence from Mexico

Adoption of organic production and subsequent entry into the organic market is examined using Mexican avocado producers as a case study. Probit analysis of a sample of 183 small-scale (<15ha) producers from Michoacán suggests that adoption is positively influenced by management and economic factors (e.g. production costs per hectare and making inputs), but also by social factors (e.g. membership of a producers’ association). Experience in agriculture has a significant but negative effect. Effective policy design must be therefore be aware of both the economic and social complexities surrounding adoption decisions

New distributional record of Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae), Thessaloniki, Greece

Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 has been recorded from North Africa, Malta, and Iberia. During a recent visit to Thessaloniki, Greece, several Anthrenus species were collected, including A. dorsatus. The previously known distribution of A. dorsatus suggested that this species was restricted to the western Mediterranean basin, possibly with a coastal bias. This record extends the known range of A. dorsatus farther east and providing more evidence of range expansion in the pimpinellae species group across Europe, possibly driven by global climate change

The orbital recovery problem. Part II - Application of analysis technique to selection of recovery sites for return from low circular orbits

Lateral range requirements used in selecting spacecraft landing recovery sites for return from low circular orbit

Word-decoding as a function of temporal processing in the visual system.

This study explored the relation between visual processing and word-decoding ability in a normal reading population. Forty participants were recruited at Arizona State University. Flicker fusion thresholds were assessed with an optical chopper using the method of limits by a 1-deg diameter green (543 nm) test field. Word decoding was measured using reading-word and nonsense-word decoding tests. A non-linguistic decoding measure was obtained using a computer program that consisted of Landolt C targets randomly presented in four cardinal orientations, at 3-radial distances from a focus point, for eight compass points, in a circular pattern. Participants responded by pressing the arrow key on the keyboard that matched the direction the target was facing. The results show a strong correlation between critical flicker fusion thresholds and scores on the reading-word, nonsense-word, and non-linguistic decoding measures. The data suggests that the functional elements of the visual system involved with temporal modulation and spatial processing may affect the ease with which people read

Understanding Leadership in Small Business from the Perspectives of Practitioners

Many small businesses fail after 5 years, having a negative impact on local and national economies. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore small-enterprise leader-operators’ experiences regarding practices that aid sustainability beyond 5 years. Twenty small enterprise leaders in the United States Midwest who were identified as having 5 years of longevity in leading organizations with fewer than 500 employees were invited to participate. These participants shared their lived experiences through semistructured interviews conducted in-person and by telephone. The dynamic theory of leadership development was used to underpin the study. In the central research question for this study, the skills and practices needed by small-business practitioners to ensure success beyond 5 years were addressed. A reduction method was used to reduce data from 11 interview questions in 20 semistructured interviews into common themes. Seven themes emerged as long-term practices used by practitioners. These 7 practices included collaboration and forms of communication, mentoring, people skills, networking, investing in people, setting an example, and planning. The implications for positive social change include the potential to stabilize the economic wellbeing of the small business sector and therefore the community. Small business practitioners may benefit from this research by identifying and improving practices leading to long-term viability

ERISA, Preemption and Comprehensive Federal Health Care: A Call for Cooperative Federalism to Preserve the States\u27 Role in Formulating Health Care Policy

This article revisits the familiar theme of federalism and health care policy. It takes the position that federalism is decreasing and will decrease further under national health care that is fast becoming, if not already so, an exclusive field of federal regulation. The article draws this conclusion from three influences on federal regulation and policy: (1) the expanding preemptive effects of employee benefit regulation on state health care, as well as other law and public policy; (2) the increasing public policy favoring a comprehensive national health care policy; and (3) the existing dominance of federal medical care and assistance regulation in the field of health care. The article is a comment on the preemptive effect that federal employee benefit regulation presently has on state health care law and public policy. In addition, the article discusses the preemptive effect that comprehensive federal health care could eventually have on state law, public policy, and health care regulations

A Primer on the Need to Continue Monitoring Closely the Transfer of Social Welfare Risk and Liability of Employee Benefit Plans

This Article examines why federal legislative policy-makers and judicial decision-makers should ascertain the impact of the transfer of risk and liability on furthering welfare and security interests and preserving organizational discretion under ERISA and public policy. Part I explains why business organizations or employers transfer risk and liability to employees and retirees. This transfer occurs where global business outcomes cause social consequences that are driven directly by business decisions responding to new global competition and less American economic standing. Part II explains the need to assess the substantive issues and public policy concerns underlying legislative acts and judicial interpretations limiting or permitting the transfer of risk and liability by employers. Part II also explains the need to consider the impact of the global business environment on domestic business outcomes causing or leading to social consequences, such as less health care or retirement funds, transferring risk and liability to employees, and retirees. Part III discusses ERISA administrative and fiduciary obligations of plan sponsors, plan administrators, and trustees; and it explains the ERISA rights and claims of plan participants and beneficiaries. Part IV examines recent federal legislation adjusting ERISA\u27s framework by changing substantive requirements and administrative standards for asset management and plan administration of employee benefit plans in furthering security and welfare interests, preserving organizational discretion and enlarging administrative discretionary authority. Part V analyzes a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to illustrate the substantive impact of ERISA\u27s interpretation on the transfer of risk and liability, namely investment risk and financial liability, by a plan administrator executing an investment decision of a plan beneficiary or participant. Part VI explains the substantive and policy impacts and implications of recent legislative and judicial decisions that permit and limit the transfer of risk and liability by plan sponsors and administrators. Finally, Part VII finds that policy-makers and business decision-makers must come to grips with the fact that new global competition may accelerate the occurrence of unfavorable business outcomes, which, in turn, cause more social welfare consequences including fewer pension and welfare benefits. Therefore, fewer employee benefits create a need for both Congress to scrutinize ERISA and public policy concerns, and for the Federal Judiciary to scrutinize substantive ERISA issues in deciding whether the transfer of risk and liability to employees, retirees, and governments greatly undermines, and therefore, justifies the immediate need to adjust ERISA\u27s objectives and framework in light of domestic and global business and social conditions

Modeling and Simulation of Manufacturing Systems Under Signal Kanban Policies

A signal kanban system is used to order the production of various parts by processes with lengthy setup times, such as in metal stamping or injection molding. In this paper, we explore the behavior of signal kanban systems using simulations of systems producing two part types. Such simple models allows a visualization of the changes in the inventories of these parts under the signal kanban system. We consider the operation of the common fixed-batch signal kanban system, and a variation that we refer to as a fixed-fill policy. These policies are investigated under variations in demand, occasional disruptions in production, and modifications in policy parameters. Our investigations for this two-part­production model indicate that a fixed-fill signal kanban system is significantly more robust than the more common fixed-batch kanban system

Reexamining the Racial Record of Abraham Lincoln

Since his death in 1865 Abraham Lincoln has been universally honored in black America. In many black homes and businesses, his photograph often hangs in honor next to the one of Martin Luther King Jr. But a new book by Ebony editor Lerone Bennett Jr. contends that Lincoln was a crude bigot who told demeaning darky jokes, had an unquenchable thirst for minstrel shows, consistently used the word nigger, and supported efforts to ship Negroes back to Africa. As Jack E. White pointed out in a recent Time magazine article, this book largely has been ignored by the mainstream press. The book was not reviewed in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, or USA Today. JBHE [Journal of Blacks in Higher Education] asked a group of leading Lincoln scholars for their opinions of the Bennett book and the controversy surrounding its publication. Here are the replies