Marketing Military Service Benefits Segmentation Based on Generalized and Restricted Exchange

Willingness to engage in exchange is based on desired benefits. In typical commercial transactions, restricted exchange benefits dominate. However, public policy, social marketing situations might require consideration of both restricted and generalized exchange benefits. Applying factor analysis, cluster analysis and cross-tabulation, this paper reports research that has successfully segmented a young adult target market regarding interest in military service based on considerations of generalized and restricted exchange motivations. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on generalized exchange as a key conceptual element for social marketing. Results demonstrate the utility of the generalized exchange concept in identifying amarket segment distinguished by strong interest in military service and positive perceptions on several key generalized exchange factors

Preliminary and incomplete What Happens when Technology Improves? Results from a New Quarterly Series on Utilization-Adjusted Total Factor Productivity

Abstract: This paper extends the literature that explores the dynamic response of the economy to technology shocks. The shocks used are -direct‖ measures of aggregate technology, measured as Solow residuals (aka , total factor productivity, or TFP) with an adjustment for variations in labor effort and capital's workweek. In addition, motivated by the growing body of literature on investment-specific technical change, the quarterly series is also decomposed into utilization-adjusted investment TFP and consumption TFP. As in Gali (1999) and Keywords: * Contact information: [email protected]. I thank several research assistants who have worked with me on this project, most notably Kyle Matoba (who cleaned up the code extensively and developed new ways to extend the utilization series), David Thipphavong (who did the initial programming and considerable experimentation), and Titan Alon. I also thank Susanto Basu and John Williams for extensive discussions. The data from this paper are updated regularly and posted on my web site at Web site at http://www.frbsf.org/economics/economists/jfernald.html. 1 This paper extends the literature that explores the dynamic response of the economy to technology shocks. The shocks used are -direct‖ measures of aggregate technology, measured as Solow residuals (aka , total factor productivity, or TFP) with an adjustment for variations in labor effort and capital's workweek. In addition, motivated by the growing body of literature on investment-specific technical change, the quarterly series is also decomposed into utilization-adjusted investment TFP and consumption TFP. As in Gali (1999) and The first contribution of the paper is the dataset itself, which is updated quarterly and easily downloadable. 1 Quarterly measures of TFP (with or without a utilization adjustment) are frequently useful as in input into empirical work or for evaluating models. There appear to be no easily accessible, high-frequency measures of TFP. The growth-accounting literature generally presents TFP estimates using annual data. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics produces such a series at an annual frequency, generally with a long lag. Dale Jorgenson has also produced such an annual series, along with the industry data that underlie it. Relative to the existing literature, the main contribution of this paper is to develop such a direct measure at a quarterly frequency. With simplifying assumptions (e.g., if one assumes homogenous capital and labor), it is relatively easy to construct measures of TFP, and many papers take this approach. In more realistic cases (e.g., where a high school dropout does not have the same marginal product as a Ph.D.; or where the quarterly service flow from a computer is not the same as the flow from a an office building), there are some technical issues that macroeconomic literature often wishes to abstract from but which, nevertheless, have implications for measurement and interpretation. The data in this paper can be used to obtain measures that most closely match the desired concept. The utilization adjustment in this paper follows BFK fairly directly. The data necessary to apply their utilization adjustment-hours per worker at an industry level as a theoretically derived proxy for variations in labor effort and capital's workweek-are available at high frequency. The key parameter estimates (from the proxy for variations in utilization) need to be estimated from annual data. This paper uses the BFK estimates of the key industry parameters, which ensures that, when annualized, the utilization measure in this paper is very close to theirs. There are some downsides to having a quarterly measure. Most notably, this paper imposes constant returns to scale. In contrast, BFK and BFFK allow for non-constant returns at an industry level-and, indeed, find evidence of heterogeneity across sectors. In addition, the top-down approach does not allow us to control for various reallocation effects, i.e., where the same factor of production has a different value of its marginal product in different uses. Any reallocation effects would be included in the quarterly utilization-adjusted TFP measure. 2 In addition to the data set itself, the second contribution of this paper is the empirical results on the dynamics of the economy's response to technology improvements. As in Gali (1999) and BFK (2006), technology improvements are, on average, broadly contractionary-hours worked fall, for example. 2 Fernald (2001, 2002) for a discussion of reallocation effects in the context of growth-accounting per se, or Hsieh and Klenow (20xx) for a discussion of effects on the level of TFP. 3 The literature on investment-specific technical change that follows Greenwood, Hercowitz, and Krusell (1996) has highlighted that macroeconomic effects of technology shocks should depend on the final goods sector that the shock hits. Like BFFK, this paper also finds that investment-sector technology improvements are sharply contractionary. [In quarterly data, it is harder to identify the effects of consumption-technology improvements..]. Section I of the paper discusses the theory that underlies the measurement of TFP. Section II summarizes the data that are used (with more detailed discussion in the appendix). Section III provides results. The paper then concludes with broader discussion of uses of these data and results. The appendi

PT-Symmetric Quantum Electrodynamics

The Hamiltonian for quantum electrodynamics becomes non-Hermitian if the unrenormalized electric charge $e$ is taken to be imaginary. However, if one also specifies that the potential $A^\mu$ in such a theory transforms as a pseudovector rather than a vector, then the Hamiltonian becomes PT symmetric. The resulting non-Hermitian theory of electrodynamics is the analog of a spinless quantum field theory in which a pseudoscalar field $\phi$ has a cubic self-interaction of the form $i\phi^3$. The Hamiltonian for this cubic scalar field theory has a positive spectrum, and it has recently been demonstrated that the time evolution of this theory is unitary. The proof of unitarity requires the construction of a new operator called C, which is then used to define an inner product with respect to which the Hamiltonian is self-adjoint. In this paper the corresponding C operator for non-Hermitian quantum electrodynamics is constructed perturbatively. This construction demonstrates the unitarity of the theory. Non-Hermitian quantum electrodynamics is a particularly interesting quantum field theory model because it is asymptotically free.Comment: 9 pages, no figures, revtex

Sensitivity of inferred climate model skill to evaluation decisions: a case study using CMIP5 evapotranspiration

Confrontation of climate models with observationally-based reference datasets is widespread and integral to model development. These comparisons yield skill metrics quantifying the mismatch between simulated and reference values and also involve analyst choices, or meta-parameters, in structuring the analysis. Here, we systematically vary five such meta-parameters (reference dataset, spatial resolution, regridding approach, land mask, and time period) in evaluating evapotranspiration (ET) from eight CMIP5 models in a factorial design that yields 68 700 intercomparisons. The results show that while model–data comparisons can provide some feedback on overall model performance, model ranks are ambiguous and inferred model skill and rank are highly sensitive to the choice of meta-parameters for all models. This suggests that model skill and rank are best represented probabilistically rather than as scalar values. For this case study, the choice of reference dataset is found to have a dominant influence on inferred model skill, even larger than the choice of model itself. This is primarily due to large differences between reference datasets, indicating that further work in developing a community-accepted standard ET reference dataset is crucial in order to decrease ambiguity in model skill

Distribution of Capillary Transit Times in Isolated Lungs of Oxygen-Tolerant Rats

Rats pre-exposed to 85% O2 for 5–7 days tolerate the otherwise lethal effects of 100% O2. The objective was to evaluate the effect of rat exposure to 85% O2 for 7 days on lung capillary mean transit time (t¯c) and distribution of capillary transit times (h c(t)). This information is important for subsequent evaluation of the effect of this hyperoxia model on the redox metabolic functions of the pulmonary capillary endothelium. The venous concentration vs. time outflow curves of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled dextran (FITC-dex), an intravascular indicator, and coenzyme Q1 hydroquinone (CoQ1H2), a compound which rapidly equilibrates between blood and tissue on passage through the pulmonary circulation, were measured following their bolus injection into the pulmonary artery of isolated perfused lungs from rats exposed to room air (normoxic) or 85% O2 for 7 days (hyperoxic). The moments (mean transit time and variance) of the measured FITC-dex and CoQ1H2 outflow curves were determined for each lung, and were then used in a mathematical model [Audi et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 77: 332–351, 1994] to estimate t¯c and the relative dispersion (RDc) of h c(t). Data analysis reveals that exposure to hyperoxia decreases lung t¯c by 42% and increases RDc, a measure h c(t) heterogeneity, by 40%

Importance of amino acid composition to improve skin collagen protein synthesis rates in UV-irradiated mice

Skin collagen metabolism abnormalities induced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation are the major causes of skin photoaging. It has been shown that the one-time exposure of UV irradiation decreases procollagen mRNA expression in dermis and that chronic UV irradiation decreases collagen amounts and induces wrinkle formation. Amino acids are generally known to regulate protein metabolism. Therefore, we investigated the effects of UV irradiation and various orally administered amino acids on skin collagen synthesis rates. Groups of 4–5 male, 8-week-old HR-1 hairless mice were irradiated with UVB (66 mJ/cm2) twice every other day, then fasted for 16 h. The fractional synthesis rate (FSR; %/h) of skin tropocollagen was evaluated by incorporating l-[ring-2H5]-phenylalanine. We confirmed that the FSR of dermal tropocollagen decreased after UVB irradiation. The FSR of dermal tropocollagen was measured 30 min after a single oral administration of amino acids (1 g/kg) to groups of 5–16 UVB-irradiated mice. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA, 1.34 ± 0.32), arginine (Arg, 1.66 ± 0.39), glutamine (Gln, 1.75 ± 0.60), and proline (Pro, 1.48 ± 0.26) did not increase the FSR of skin tropocollagen compared with distilled water, which was used as a control (1.56 ± 0.30). However, essential amino acids mixtures (BCAA + Arg + Gln, BCAA + Gln, and BCAA + Pro) significantly increased the FSR (2.07 ± 0.58, 2.04 ± 0.54, 2.01 ± 0.50 and 2.07 ± 0.59, respectively). This result suggests that combinations of BCAA and glutamine or proline are important for restoring dermal collagen protein synthesis impaired by UV irradiation

Estimating Global Ecosystem Isohydry/Anisohydry Using Active and Passive Microwave Satellite Data

The concept of isohydry/anisohydry describes the degree to which plants regulate their water status, operating from isohydric with strict regulation to anisohydric with less regulation. Though some species level measures of isohydry/anisohydry exist at a few locations, ecosystem-scale information is still largely unavailable. In this study, we use diurnal observations from active (Ku-Band backscatter from QuikSCAT) and passive (X-band vegetation optical depth (VOD) from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on EOS Aqua) microwave satellite data to estimate global ecosystem isohydry/anisohydry. Here diurnal observations from both satellites approximate predawn and midday plant canopy water contents, which are used to estimate isohydry/anisohydry. The two independent estimates from radar backscatter and VOD show reasonable agreement at low and middle latitudes but diverge at high latitudes. Grasslands, croplands, wetlands, and open shrublands are more anisohydric, whereas evergreen broadleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests are more isohydric. The direct validation with upscaled in situ species isohydry/anisohydry estimates indicates that the VOD-based estimates have much better agreement than the backscatter-based estimates. The indirect validation with prior knowledge suggests that both estimates are generally consistent in that vegetation water status of anisohydric ecosystems more closely tracks environmental fluctuations of water availability and demand than their isohydric counterparts. However, uncertainties still exist in the isohydry/anisohydry estimate, primarily arising from the remote sensing data and, to a lesser extent, from the methodology. The comprehensive assessment in this study can help us better understand the robustness, limitation, and uncertainties of the satellite-derived isohydry/anisohydry estimates. The ecosystem isohydry/anisohydry has the potential to reveal new insights into spatiotemporal ecosystem response to droughts

Scaling and nonscaling finite-size effects in the Gaussian and the mean spherical model with free boundary conditions

We calculate finite-size effects of the Gaussian model in a L\times \tilde L^{d-1} box geometry with free boundary conditions in one direction and periodic boundary conditions in d-1 directions for 2<d<4. We also consider film geometry (\tilde L \to \infty). Finite-size scaling is found to be valid for d3 but logarithmic deviations from finite-size scaling are found for the free energy and energy density at the Gaussian upper borderline dimension d* =3. The logarithms are related to the vanishing critical exponent 1-\alpha-\nu=(d-3)/2 of the Gaussian surface energy density. The latter has a cusp-like singularity in d>3 dimensions. We show that these properties are the origin of nonscaling finite-size effects in the mean spherical model with free boundary conditions in d>=3 dimensions. At bulk T_c in d=3 dimensions we find an unexpected non-logarithmic violation of finite-size scaling for the susceptibility \chi \sim L^3 of the mean spherical model in film geometry whereas only a logarithmic deviation \chi\sim L^2 \ln L exists for box geometry. The result for film geometry is explained by the existence of the lower borderline dimension d_l = 3, as implied by the Mermin-Wagner theorem, that coincides with the Gaussian upper borderline dimension d*=3. For 3<d<4 we find a power-law violation of scaling \chi \sim L^{d-1} at bulk T_c for box geometry and a nonscaling temperature dependence \chi_{surface} \sim \xi^d of the surface susceptibility above T_c. For 2<d<3 dimensions we show the validity of universal finite-size scaling for the susceptibility of the mean spherical model with free boundary conditions for both box and film geometry and calculate the corresponding universal scaling functions for T>=T_c.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

Agroclimatic conditions in Europe under climate change

o date, projections of European crop yields under climate change have been based almost entirely on the outputs of crop-growth models. While this strategy can provide good estimates of the effects of climatic factors, soil conditions and management on crop yield, these models usually do not capture all of the important aspects related to crop management, or the relevant environmental factors. Moreover, crop-simulation studies often have severe limitations with respect to the number of crops covered or the spatial extent. The present study, based on agroclimatic indices, provides a general picture of agroclimatic conditions in western and central Europe (study area lays between 8.5°W–27°E and 37–63.5°N), which allows for a more general assessment of climate-change impacts. The results obtained from the analysis of data from 86 different sites were clustered according to an environmental stratification of Europe. The analysis was carried for the baseline (1971–2000) and future climate conditions (time horizons of 2030, 2050 and with a global temperature increase of 5 °C) based on outputs of three global circulation models. For many environmental zones, there were clear signs of deteriorating agroclimatic condition in terms of increased drought stress and shortening of the active growing season, which in some regions become increasingly squeezed between a cold winter and a hot summer. For most zones the projections show a marked need for adaptive measures to either increase soil water availability or drought resistance of crops. This study concludes that rainfed agriculture is likely to face more climate-related risks, although the analyzed agroclimatic indicators will probably remain at a level that should permit rainfed production. However, results suggests that there is a risk of increasing number of extremely unfavorable years in many climate zones, which might result in higher interannual yield variability and constitute a challenge for proper crop management

Flexible Prices, Labor Market Frictions, and the Response of Employment to Technology Shocks

Recent empirical evidence establishes that a positive technology shock leads to a decline in labor inputs. Can a flexible price model enriched with labor market frictions replicate this stylized fact? We develop and estimate a standard flexible price model using Bayesian methods that allows, but does not require, labor market frictions to generate a negative response of employment to a technology shock. We find that labor market frictions account for the fall in labor inputs