WHAT VALUE IS AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS RESEARCH?

Methods are presented for evaluating the economic benefits of agricultural economics research (AER). Decision theory and economic surplus analysis are used to evaluate returns to five representative types of AER. Benefits stem from effects of AER on economic efficiency through reduced uncertainty about optimal resource allocation or improved institutional design.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Testing the stability of the benefit transfer function for discrete choice contingent valuation data

We examine the stability of the benefit transfer function across 42 recreational forests in the British Isles. A working definition of reliable function transfer is put forward, and a suitable statistical test is provided. The test is based on the sensitivity of the model log-likelihood to removal of individual forest recreation sites. We apply the proposed methodology on discrete choice contingent valuation data and find that a stable function improves our measure of transfer reliability, but not by much. We conclude that, in empirical studies on transferability, function stability considerations are secondary to the availability and quality of site attribute data. Modellers’ can study the advantages of transfer function stability vis-à-vis the value of additional information on recreation site attributes

Creating the Technopolis: High-Technology Development in Austin, Texas

New institutional alliances, driven by the rapid increase in and diversity of new technologies, are altering the strategy and tactics of economic development. As a result, communities across the world are seeking to create modern technopoleis or city-states that interactively link technology commercialization with public and private sectors to spur economic growth and diversification through high-technology company development. This paper develops the conceptual framework of a technopolis wheel from studying the dynamics of high-technology development and economic growth in Austin, Texas. It describes seven segments within the technopolis: the university, large technology companies, small technology companies, federal government, state government, local government and support groups. (Author's preprint.)IC2 Institut

Benchmarking and performance analysis of the CM-2

A suite of benchmarking routines testing communication, basic arithmetic operations, and selected kernel algorithms written in LISP and PARIS was developed for the CM-2. Experiment runs are automated via a software framework that sequences individual tests, allowing for unattended overnight operation. Multiple measurements are made and treated statistically to generate well-characterized results from the noisy values given by cm:time. The results obtained provide a comparison with similar, but less extensive, testing done on a CM-1. Tests were chosen to aid the algorithmist in constructing fast, efficient, and correct code on the CM-2, as well as gain insight into what performance criteria are needed when evaluating parallel processing machines

Autumn Migration of Mississippi Flyway Mallards as Determined by Satellite Telemetry

We used satellite telemetry to study autumn migration timing, routes, stopover duration, and final destinations of mallards Anas platyrhynchos captured the previous spring in Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Of those mallards that still had functioning transmitters on September 15 (n = 55), the average date when autumn migration began was October 23 (SE = 2.62 d; range = September 17–December 7). For those mallards that stopped for .1 d during migration, the average stopover length was 15.4 d (SE = 1.47 d). Ten mallards migrated nonstop to wintering sites. The eastern Dakotas were a heavily utilized stopover area. The total distance migrated per mallard averaged 1,407 km (SE = 89.55 km; range = 142–2,947 km). The average time spent on migration per individual between September 15 and December 15 was 27 d (SE = 2.88 d; range = 2–84 d). The state where most mallards were located on December 15 was Missouri (11) followed by Arkansas (8), while 5 mallards were still in Canada, and only 8 of 43 females and 0 of 10 males were present in Arkansas. The eastern Dakotas are a heavily utilized migration stopover for midcontinent mallards that may require more attention for migration habitat management. The reasons for so few mallards, especially male mallards, returning to Arkansas the following year deserves further research

Vertex-Unfoldings of Simplicial Polyhedra

We present two algorithms for unfolding the surface of any polyhedron, all of whose faces are triangles, to a nonoverlapping, connected planar layout. The surface is cut only along polyhedron edges. The layout is connected, but it may have a disconnected interior: the triangles are connected at vertices, but not necessarily joined along edges.Comment: 10 pages; 7 figures; 8 reference

Blockchain technology: the missing link in services management? Part I

In October 2008, an unknown person or persons going by the nom de plume Satoshi Nakamoto, published a paper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. On 3 January 2009, bitcoin came into existence. At the same time, blockchain, the technology underpinning the crypto currency, made its public debut. It has been an impressive decade of development for blockchain; moving from concept to reality and from single-use platform to a potential springboard for market disruption – especially in the services sector. Despite a decade of history, a very long time in the digital firmament, many, indeed most, do not really understand what blockchain is or how it may affect their business. In this article, we aim to explain in simple, accessible terms what blockchain is, how it works, where it is already making its presence felt in service industries and how it may develop in the future

Blockchain technology: the missing link in services management? Part II

With some recent scandals in the charity sector, blockchain offers some options too. For those making charitable donations, blockchain provides the ability to precisely track where your donations are going, when they arrived, and whose hands they ended up in. From there, blockchain can deliver the accountability and transparency to address the perennial complaints around charitable donations; including the organisational inefficiency, or even financial misconduct, that can prevent money from reaching those it was meant for. Bitcoin-based charities like the BitGive Foundation use blockchain’s secure and transparent distributed ledger to give donors greater visibility into fund receipt and use. The company has launched a beta version of GiveTrack, a blockchain-based multidimensional donation platform that provides the ability to transfer, track, and provide a permanent record of charitable financial transactions across the globe