An Analysis of the Role of Self-employment in the Economic Development of the Rural Northeastern United States

Generating employment and alleviating poverty are the biggest challenges for regional economic growth in rural areas of the Northeastern United States. Despite the revival of the economy in much of the nation‟s heartland, rural areas are still suffering from high poverty and unemployment rates. Self-employment, a measure of entrepreneurship, indicates an opportunity for rural communities to improve quality of life and accelerate regional economic development. Taking into consideration the problem of unemployment in rural communities, there is a need to focus on generating self-employment opportunities at micro level to enhance economic growth and reduce the per capita income „gap‟ between rural and urban areas. The overall objective of the study is to identify and estimate the impacts of self-employment in the economic development of the Northeastern United States. The empirical model of this study is derived from the three-equation simultaneous model of Deller et al., (2001). The study estimated the relationship of employment, population and per capita income to self-employment. Research findings show that employment and population have a positive relationship to self-employment indicating positive contribution of self-employment to regional economic developmen

A Survey Analysis of Participation in a Community Forest Management in Nepal

The main objective of the study is to determine which socio-economic factors affect levels of individual participation in the “Ludi-damgade” community forest. The empirical evidence for participation as a function of social status is obtained by using an ordered probit model. The model also estimates the marginal effects of socio-economic factors on different levels of participation suggesting how per unit change in such socioeconomic characters affects the level of participation. Results from the two-stage least squares model also verify that participation in forest management determines the level of benefits received from the community forest. The study suggests that participation in common property resource management is based on the socio-economic profile of an individual and the level of participation is determined by the benefits obtained from the forest. The empirical results are expected to aid policy makers in empowering people of lower socio-economic status to understand the importance of community forest management in order to have equal distribution of benefits accrued by community forest

An Empirical Analysis of the Interactions Between Environmental Regulations and Economic Growth

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between environmental regulation and economic growth. A four-equation regional growth model is used to analyze the simultaneous relationships among changes in population, employment, per capita income, and environmental regulations for the 410 counties in Appalachia. Our results reveal that initial conditions for environmental regulation are negatively related to regional growth factors of change in population, per capita income, and total employment. From this, we infer that the diversion of resources from production and investment activities to pollution abatement is inadvertently transmitted to other sectors of the economy—thereby resulting in a slow-down of regional growth. We also find robust evidence that show that changes in environmental regulations positively influence changes in population, total employment, and per capita income. Thus, we parsimoniously conclude that in the long-run, environmental regulations are not detrimental to economic growth

Optimierung von Saatgutbehandlungsmitteln mit Wirkung gegen Flugbrand an Gerste und Weizen (Ustilago nuda, U. tritici) unter Nutzung verbesserter Verfahren zum Nachweis der Erreger

Ziel des Projektes war die Entwicklung von Saatgutbehandlungsmitteln zur Flugbrandbekämpfung im Ökolandbau und von Techniken die geeignet sind, die Entwicklung solcher Saatgutbehandlungsmittel zu beschleunigen. In Inokulationsversuchen konnte im Feldversuch durch Ausstäuben von Sporen Saatgut mit 2-5% Flugbrandbefall erzeugt werden. Nach Einzelblüteninokulation lag der Befall oft über 60%. Anders als bei Weizen waren bei Gerste die Keimfähigkeit und das Tausendkorngewicht von solchem Saatgut deutlich reduziert. Von ca. 30 geprüften Pflanzenextrakten führten neun nach Inkorporation in PDA zu einer vollständigen Hemmung der Brandsporenkeimung. In Hemmtesten mit Mikroorganismen betrug der Anteil wirksamer Isolate bei den Trichoderma-Isolaten 43%, bei den Actinomyceten 30% und bei den übrigen Bakterien 11%. In mehrjährig durchgeführten Kleinparzellenversuchen mit flugbrandinfizierter Gerste und Weizen wurden mit einigen Behandlungsvarianten Bekämpfungserfolge erzielt. Die Effekte waren aber zu gering für die praktische Anwendung und nur bedingt reproduzierbar. Topfversuche im Gewächshaus mit hochinfizierten Saatgutchargen erbrachten ähnliche Ergebnisse. Die Wirksamkeit gegen Haferflugbrand wurde nur einmal überprüft. Wie im Falle von Gersten- und Weizenflugbrand war der Bekämpfungserfolg auch beim Haferflugbrand unbefriedigend. Eine Ausnahme bildete die Saatgutbehandlung mit Ethanol (70%). Mit ihr wurde bei Hafer eine Flugbrandwirksamkeit von ca. 80% erzielt. Nach Anfärbung mit dem Fluoreszenzfarbstoff Blankophor wurde beobachtet, dass der Pilz schon wenige Tage nach Beginn der Keimung in das Apikalmeristem und die Blattprimordien eindrang. Im 1-Knotenstadium waren die Ährenanlagen meist völlig besiedelt. Ein Protokoll für einen immunologischen (ELISA) und für einen molekularbiologischen (real-time PCR) Nachweis wurde entwickelt und zur Quantifizierung des Pilzes in Jungpflanzen angewendet. Die mit beiden Methoden erhaltenen Daten stimmten gut überein. In weiteren Versuchen konnte die Anwendbarkeit des mikroskopischen Nachweises und des ELISA für die Entwicklung von Saatgutbehandlungsmitteln und –verfahren exemplarisch gezeigt werden

Promoting productivity and market access technologies and approaches to improve farm income and livelihoods in Ethiopia: Lessons from action research projects

On 8–9 December 2016, ILRI held a workshop and exhibition in Addis Ababa for researchers to share their experiences in implementing action research projects. Action research projects superimpose research protocols on development interventions along commodity value chains and systems to assess their feasibility, effectiveness and outcomes. In the years prior to 2016, ILRI implemented several action research projects in target countries of Africa, including Kenya and Ethiopia. The objectives of the workshop and exhibition were: 1. To create wider awareness and knowledge about the technologies and approaches that are tested and validated by LIVES, Africa RISING, ILRI Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) and N2Africa; 2. To facilitate the uptake of successful experiences/innovations that combine productivity enhancement and market access; 3. To facilitate dialogue on improving the linkage/partnership between research and development actors and facilitate cross learning. The expected outcomes of the workshop and exhibition were: 1. Improved awareness about the technical, organizational and institutional interventions tested and validated by the projects; 2. Improved understanding of the role and utility of action research approaches, opportunities and constraints; 3. Enhanced probability of scaling out and up of the tested technologies and approaches to achieve sustainable and market-oriented smallholder agricultural development. A compilation of papers presented at the ‘Promoting productivity and market access technologies and approaches to improve farm income and livelihoods in Ethiopia: Lessons from action research projects’ workshop and exhibition are included below

Measles outbreak in South Africa, 2003 - 2005

Objectives. Measles was virtually eliminated in South Africa following control activities in 1996/7. However, from July 2003 to November 2005, 1 676 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in South Africa. We investigated the outbreak’s cause and the role of HIV.Design. We traced laboratory-confirmed case-patients residingin the Johannesburg metropolitan (JBM) and O R Tambo districts. We interviewed laboratory- or epidemiologically confirmed case-patients or their caregivers to determine vaccination status and, in JBM, HIV status. We calculated vaccine effectiveness using the screening method.Setting. Household survey in JBM and O R Tambo districts.Outcome measures. Vaccine effectiveness, case-fatality rate, andhospitalisations. Results. In JBM, 109 case-patients were investigated. Of the 57 case-patients eligible for immunisation, 27 (47.4%) were vaccinated. Fourteen (12.8%) case-patients were HIV infected, 46 (42.2%) were HIV uninfected, and 49 (45.0%) had unknown HIV status. Among children aged 12 - 59 months, vaccine effectiveness was 85% (95% confidence interval (CI): 63, 94) for all children, 63% for HIV infected, 75% for HIV uninfected, and 96% for children with unknown HIV status. (Confidence intervals were not calculated for sub-groupsowing to small sample size.) In O R Tambo district, 157 casepatientswere investigated. Among the 138 case-patients eligible for  immunisation, 41 (29.7%) were vaccinated. Vaccine effectiveness was 89% (95% CI 77, 95).Conclusions. The outbreak’s primary cause was failure to vaccinate enough of the population to prevent endemic measles transmission. Although vaccine effectiveness might have been lower in HIV-infected than in uninfected children, population vaccine effectiveness remained high

Community natural resource management: the case of woodlots in Northern Ethiopia

This paper examines the nature of community management of woodlots and investigates the determinants of collective action and its effectiveness in managing woodlots, based on a survey of 100 villages in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Despite limited current benefits received by community members, the woodlots contribute substantially to community wealth, increasing members' willingness to provide collective effort to manage the woodlots. We find that benefits are greater and problems less on woodlots managed at the village level than those managed at a higher municipality level, and that the average intensity of management is greater on village-managed woodlots. The factors that do significantly affect collective action include population density (higher collective labor input and lower planting density at intermediate than at low or high density), market access (less labor input, planting density and tree survival where market access is better), and presence of external organizations promoting the woodlot (reduces local effort to protect the woodlot and tree survival). The finding of an inverse U-shaped relationship between population density and collective labor input is consistent with induced innovation theory, with the increased labor/land ratio promoting collective effort to invest in resources as population density grows to a moderate level, while incentive problems may undermine collective action at high levels of population density. These findings suggest collective action may be more beneficial and more effective when managed at a more local level, when the role of external organizations is more demand-driven, and when promoted in intermediate population density communities more remote from markets. In higher population density settings and areas closer to markets, private-oriented approaches are likely to be more effective

USING TIME SERIES TO STUDY DYNAMICS OF SWEAT RATES OF HOLSTEIN COWS EXPOSED TO INITIAL AND PROLONGED SOLAR HEAT STRESS

Sweating is a very important way for cows to cope with heat stress. We are interested in the ability of Holstein cows to sustain high sweat or evaporation rates when exposed to solar radiation. There were two solar heat stress treatments: onset and prolonged. The onset data provided an opportunity to examine the impact of sudden exposure to a solar thermal load. The prolonged data allowed us to examine the impact of exposure to solar heat stress for an expended period (5 hr). Two questions of interest were: Do cows sweat at a constant or cyclic rate? Is there a difference in the dynamics of the two treatments: onset and prolonged solar heat stress? The data were examined for stationarity. In the time domain, we fit ARIMA models and estimated the parameters. In the frequency domain, we used nonparametric spectral estimation to identify cyclic patterns in the sweat rates. The usefulness of each technique for analyzing the dynamics of sweat rates is discussed