THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Production Economics,

Monitoring the Health of Computer Networks with Visualization - VAST 2012 Mini Challenge 1 Award: "Efficient Use of Visualization"

The complex computer networks of large organisations contain many machines of many types, used in many geographic locations. Although system administrators should monitor the health of each machine, they need to do so within the context of the whole computer network. Our visualization presents the health of a fictitious financial institution's computer network at a snapshot in time and over a time range, and preserves the important aspects of each facility's administrative and geographic context. Using the "Bank of Money" VAST Challenge dataset, our visualization allowed us to correctly identify several areas of concern, as well as hypothesise about their causes

Too Litter, Too Late: Economic Logistics of Transporting Nutrient-Rich Poultry Litter Out of Nutrient-Saturated Regions

Export of excess litter from concentrated animal production regions has become a pressing issue. A break even price for poultry litter in nutrient-deficient areas was identified through a math programming model using willingness to pay data from crop producers. Results indicate that a $16 subsidy is needed to sustain a long-term poultry litter market.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Alternative Model Selection Using Forecast Error Variance Decompositions in Wholesale Chicken Markets

Although Vector Autoregressive models are commonly used to forecast prices, specification of these models remains an issue. Questions that arise include choice of variables and lag length. This article examines the use of Forecast Error Variance Decompositions to guide the econometrician’s model specification. Forecasting performance of Variance Autoregressive models, generated from Forecast Error Variance Decompositions, is analyzed within wholesale chicken markets. Results show that the Forecast Error Variance Decomposition approach has the potential to provide superior model selections to traditional Granger Causality tests.broiler markets, DAGs, forecasting, market structure, VAR, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, C53, D4, L1, Q00,

Kinetic energy functional for Fermi vapors in spherical harmonic confinement

Two equations are constructed which reflect, for fermions moving independently in a spherical harmonic potential, a differential virial theorem and a relation between the turning points of kinetic energy and particle densities. These equations are used to derive a differential equation for the particle density and a non-local kinetic energy functional.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Metastable states of a ferromagnet on random thin graphs

We calculate the mean number of metastable states of an Ising ferromagnet on random thin graphs of fixed connectivity c. We find, as for mean field spin glasses that this mean increases exponentially with the number of sites, and is the same as that calculated for the +/- J spin glass on the same graphs. An annealed calculation of the number <N_{MS}(E)> of metastable states of energy E is carried out. For small c, an analytic result is obtained. The result is compared with the one obtained for spin glasses in order to discuss the role played by loops on thin graphs and hence the effect of real frustration on the distribution of metastable states.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

"Economics in Context: The Need for a New Textbook"

economics education, textbooks, economic theory

Fatalism, Social Support and Mental Health in Four Former Soviet Cultures

Research on social support has identified differences in levels of support between cultures, but has provided only a limited explanation of the role of values or beliefs in accounting for such variations. In this paper we examine the relationship between fatalism and perceived support amongst 2672 respondents in four former Soviet States (Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and Belorussia), with participants drawn from groups of manual workers, managers, civil servants, students and the retired in these four countries. We also examine the consequences of such social support for mental health across these nations. Findings indicate a small but significant moderator effect for fatalism on the relationship between social support and mental health. These results are discussed in the context of the continuing economic and social challenges facing the citizens of these nations

The Arkansas Meat Goat Enterprise Budget

Goats have long been the most populous livestock animals on the planet. They have been a staple food for many low-income countries. The United States has a growing demand for goat meat. There is an increase in ethnic cultures that desire goat meat as well as a growing interest from the general population. Goat meat is a healthy alternative compared to traditional red meats. Goats also pair well with other livestock animals due to their wide range of palatable feeds. They are commonly used in cattle operations for weed control because of their ability to consume noxious weeds. There is very little information available to the general public about the profitability of raising goats in Arkansas. The creation of the Arkansas Meat Goat Enterprise Budget will allow producers to estimate their average expenses and revenues