On Measuring Consumer Welfare Effects of Trade Reform

We develop a measure of consumer welfare by approximating Hicksian compensating variation as a function of all commodity prices and compensated price elasticities. The unique feature of this approach is that all direct- and cross-commodity effects of a demand system are incorporated into the welfare measurement. This approach is useful for developing an instrumental model to evaluate the consumer welfare effects of trade reform. For illustration, the proposed procedure is applied to Taiwan's meat industry, and various scenarios are considered to show the effects of eliminating meat tariff rates on the quantities of meat demanded and on the savings of meat expenditures.Consumer/Household Economics, International Relations/Trade,

Do Americans Change Toward Healthy Diets?

American’s nutritional and health status appear to be trending toward healthier diets, as measured by a reduction in cholesterol intake and an increase in calcium intake. The levels of food energy and total fats, however, increased substantially.Changes in American diet, nutrient economic responses, Health Economics and Policy, Poster 3601001,

How Increased Food and Energy Prices Affect Consumer Welfare

We analyze the consumer welfare effects of increased food and energy prices and find that the own-price elasticities of both food and energy are relatively inelastic, which explain well the dynamics of the recent soaring food and energy prices. The estimated demand elasticities are then used to analyze the consumer welfare effects of price changes in food and energy. The results indicate that an increase of food and energy prices would incur a substantial consumer welfare loss, which is a heavy burden for low income households.Demand elasticity, compensating variation, consumer welfare, Demand and Price Analysis,

Leaf Functional Traits as Predictors of Drought Tolerance in Urban Trees

The services that urban trees provide to human society and the natural environment are widely recognized, but urban trees are in jeopardy due to climate change and urban stressors. With drought as a major threat in many areas, it is important for the future of urban forestry to select species composition based upon performance under water stress. Certain leaf functional traits can help horticulturalists more accurately predict water usage of urban trees. Comprehension through rigorous experimentation is lacking, partly due to the thousands of mostly exotic species. Previous studies suggest that species whose leaves have a denser arrangement of smaller stomata and a higher leaf mass per area (LMA) are better adapted to low water availability. We sampled 70 urban tree species California and analyzed their stomatal length, stomatal density, and LMA. We compared the traits with water use data from the Water Use Classification of Landscape Species to assess possible correlations. All pairwise trait comparisons show significant correlation (P \u3c 0.05), and LMA is significantly higher in low water use species compared to medium water use species (P= 0.0045). After using independent contrasts to incorporate phylogenetic relationships, significance was lost, implying that basal divergences are responsible for observed trends. Other potential explanations for differences in species water usage are foliar longevity (deciduous vs. evergreen) and stomatal distribution (amphistomatous vs. hypostomatous). Low water use species are more likely to be evergreen and amphistomatous compared to medium water use species. Consideration of all these traits in combination with good management practices can help ensure future success of urban forests

Women in their worlds of objects : construction of female agency through things in the novels of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell

This thesis argues that Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell employ textually important objects to explore women’s demeaning status in patriarchal societies and their construction of agency in such circumstances. In their novels, both Austen and Gaskell portray female characters as interacting in various ways with material things: the characters experience objects through their five senses, create them, recycle them, inhabit them, or purchase and possess them. It is true that not every item connected with the novels’ heroines bears the same significance, but those that play a prominent part in the plot or receive unusual descriptive attention convey messages that the novels do not express explicitly.This thesis follows thing theorists’ call for a reading that begins with objects, in particular the paradigm Elaine Freedgood offers of recovering literary objects’ materiality and socio-historical backgrounds before incorporating those veiled meanings into novelistic interpretation. Nevertheless, this work also differs from the thing theory studies by which it is informed in that it is centred upon the perception that the meanings of things are gendered and relies heavily on the narrative framework of a text in its choice of objects for discussion. In my five chapters, I investigate each of the two novelists’ object worlds and focus on things with which their female characters directly engage, mainly domestic interiors and luxuries. My examination follows a rough chronological order, beginning with Austen’s six major works before moving on to Gaskell’s novels. This thesis suggests that Austen and Gaskell, despite the separation of three decades, use objects in their writing to explore an issue that is relevant not only to their female characters but also to women in general: the construction of agency within the existing patriarchal structure

The influence of kindergarten and first-grade literacy instruction on the 3rd- and 5th-grade students\u27 reading achievement : findings from the Early childhood longitudinal study, kindergarten class, 1998-1999

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Developing shape change-based fashion prototyping strategies:Enhancing computational thinking in fashion practice and creativity

Emerging technologies enable fluid and versatile material forms of fashionable wearables and e-textiles, with experts in engineering and material science proposing numerous strategies for dynamic textile and garment structures to satisfy various needs. Nevertheless, a critical gap remains in developing practical fashion prototyping strategies that fuse with computational thinking to challenge current norms and envision the future of fashion. This study introduces shape change-based fashion prototyping as a design strategy for dynamic expressions and affordances to inspire fashion practitioners’ interdisciplinary endeavors. We present three studio-based practices as case studies to demonstrate how shape-changing mechanisms including servo motors, shape memory alloys, and pneumatics, spur new fashion construction skills and broaden the scope of potential applications. By doing so, this study contributes to material and conceptual innovation, creating pathways for the seamless integration of technologies from conceptualization, and implementation to envision. Our findings shed light on design possibilities and challenges and offer design recommendations that guide future endeavors. The implications of our research underscore the importance of adopting a relational approach to design variables, emphasize the value of fostering shared vocabulary between fashion and technical design, and highlight the transformative potential of shape-changing prototyping in reshaping the intricate body-material relationship.</p

Effectiveness of Foreign Philanthropy Campaign and Relation with Inner Interactions in Transnational Co-Operative Organization

It is of necessity for developed economic societiesto provide philanthropic services to the societies of neighboring countries. Developed societies have resource and capacity advantages in terms of knowledge technology and organizational strength; thus, it is imperative that they provide adequate supports to the comparatively more vulnerable societies. However, due to insufficient in-depth understanding to the local socio-economic structure, work mentality and value, technology capacities, and resource condition of the local societies (or social groups), the philanthropic target and local social value often come into cognitive conflicts in the process of collaboration which ultimately affect the bilateral resource integration and effectiveness of application. The study, based on the researchers’ venture in the household water purification project in rural Vietnam villages, employed action research method to confirm the cognitive gap on philanthropy, the expectation deviation on work mission, and the action deviation effect of the organizational cultures on transforming philanthropic service into philanthropic entrepreneurship encountered in the process of executing the philanthropic projects by transnational cooperative teams in the two-year overseas services.Keywords: social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, social resource, transnational philanthropic campaig

Cause Event Representations for Happiness and Surprise

PACLIC 23 / City University of Hong Kong / 3-5 December 200