TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS AT PREDOMINANTLY BLACK LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

PART-TIME FARMING: PRODUCTIVITY AND SOME IMPLICATIONS OF OFF-FARM WORK BY FARMERS

Labor and Human Capital,

Job turnover among displaced agricultural workers within the Mississippi Delta area of Eastern Arkansas : extent, costs, and criteria of cause

Includes vita.Labor turnover has been defined as a phenomenon which serves to reflect the degree of stagnation or instability in the labor market. Whenever the rate of labor turnover is high, vis-a-vis, no expansion, excess movement and waste are said to result. On the other hand, when the labor turnover rate is low or equal to zero, the labor market is defined as in a state of stagnation. In either case (extremely high levels of turnover or extremely low levels of turnover) waste and under utilization of manpower are said to result. The impact from either too much or too little labor movement is felt to be dependent upon the size and maturity of the labor market. Moreover, the general level and diversity of skill on the part of labor market participants, may act to enhance or abate the effect of job turnover. This study was undertaken to investigate labor turnover in a selected area of eastern Arkansas. The area was chosen because of the large number of displaced agricultural workers who were in the employ of small industrial establishments which had recently moved into the area. It was hoped that the study would provide information which would be of value in solving problems related to the process of rural industrialization. Also, it was felt that information could be gained on problems faced by displaced agricultural workers as they transfer out of agricultural occupations. The purpose of this study, stated in a more specific sense, was to provide answers to some basic questions. They were: (1) Are the labor turnover rates among the firms high enough or low enough to warrant concern? (2) If labor turnover does, in fact, persist at problem levels, are there circumventable costs which arise in direct relationship with labor turnover? (3) Are there specific variables which tend to enhance or have a directional relationship with job turnover and cost? (4) What is the nature and extent of the relationship between labor turnover and specified variables? Data utilized in the study came from a number of sources including: (1) a survey schedule, (2) personnel and payroll records of firms, (3) area manpower studies, and (4) United States Census Bureau. The data were analyzed through the employ of some basic statistical models adapted for use in this study. A form of the stepwise regression routine (Goodnight's Maximum R2 Improvement Technique) was used to investigate relationship's between dependent variables and sets of independent variables. The analysis of variance linear model was also adapted for use in the study. The simple linear form of the ANOVA technique was used in determining if the firms were of the same population when considerations were given to criteria such as: (1) the level of turnover, (2) the cost of turnover and (3) the rates of quits, discharge, layoff, recall, new hire, flux and replacement. A version of the three factor factorial model (with nested classifications) was used to investigate the effects of specified factors on the rate of labor turnover in the panel firms. This study was limited by a number of factors. Thus, the conclusions and generalizations are limited. The scope of the inquiry was limited to: (1) only those firms of the eastern Arkansas area which employed displaced agricultural workers and hired more than fifty factory employees, (2) a period of three years - January 1970 through December 1972, (3) a six county section of the East Planning, and Development District of eastern Arkansas, and (4) investigation of the extent, costs, and causes of labor turnover in the panel firms. By virtue of the process used in selecting the firms and in selecting the study area, this investigation was a case study in nature. The findings on the general extent of labor turnover were supportive of the initial hypothesis that depressed wage regions are subject to high rates of "job switching." In most of the panel firms the rate of labor turnover was highly variable and reached extreme periodic highs and lows. Estimates made on monthly, quarterly and yearly bases were all high relative to representative United States manufacturing firms during the same period. Fluctuations in the rate of job turnover for all firms were sharp and typified a situation of instability in the labor market. In 1970 the mean level of employee turnover reached a within year high of 18 per 100 workers and fell to a low of 2.2 per 100 workers at one point. Separate observations on individual firms show that some firms sustained even more severe fluctuations, although most firms experienced declining rates over the 1970-72 period. Job switching was not identified as a market-wide-time-specific phenomena as its presence was seldom of uniform and harmonic occurrence among firms over time. The high rate of labor turnover arose from a combination of voluntary quits, replacements, and a slightly expanded level of employment in the panel firms. From an aggregate perspective it appeared that turnover arose from a collection of individual worker decisions to switch from situations perculiar to each firm and from market phenomena which affected the firms in a dissimilar temporal manner. The costs of labor turnover were identified to have emerged in four basic categories: (1) recruitment cost, (2) selection and placement cost, (3) on-the-job cost, and (4) cost of separating the incumbent. The overall labor turnover bill was comprised of four major components. Their aggregate and per hire cost over the period were: Aggregate Per Hire Recruitment ........................ $25,727$ 5 Selection and Placement ............ 603,645 124 On-the-Job Cost .................... 3,275,051 673 Cost of Separation................ 665,547 136 Total......................... $4,569,971$939. While labor turnover cost was estimated at $939 per hire over the 1970-72 period, it varied over a range of from$819 to $1,094. Percent distribution of the aggregate cost of turnover among the four major categories was: less than one percent to recruitment, 13 percent to selection and placement, 72 percent to on-the-job cost, and 14 percent to separation. Shares of the total maintained by the above components remained relatively stable over the 36 month period. For all firms the relationship between labor turnover and cost was decidedly strong. The correlation between the rate of turnover and cost of turnover was highly significant. The relationships between the cost of turnover and the primary categories of worker movement were investigated. Voluntary quits were designated to have had the stronger relationships with labor turnover cost when consideration was extended to cover only the single most influential factor. Layoffs, new hires, recalls and discharges were found to have possessed a significant relationship with the cost of turnover. While voluntary quits and new hires, individually, were observed to have exerted strong influence on the rate of turnover and cost, the main brunt was felt when firms sustained high rates of new hire and voluntary quits in combination. The criteria selected for use in attempting to explain variance in the rate of turnover were wage level, experience required before granting wage increases, distance employees commuted, the level of female employment, firm size, industry type and expenditures for preventive practices. All factors were found to have had some effect upon the rate of turnover when all possible combined factor effects were considered. In a net-effect sense, the level of female employment and firm size were determined not to have weighed significantly upon the rate of turnover. It was concluded that labor turnover in the eastern Arkansas area, and areas of similar characteristics, represents a serious impediment to the efficient operation of the firms. To the extent that labor turnover leads to unnecessary cost and to instability in the labor market, it is felt that efforts to advance rural industrialization are subject to serious setbacks whenever turnover exists at chronically high levels.Includes bibliographical references

An investigation of the economic impact of the Ozark Dairy Management Component on low income dairy farmers

"The Ozark Dairy Management Component, initiated April, 1966, had set forth as a major purpose: the improvement of management practices among low income dairy-farmer participants. Accomplishment of the primary and secondary objectives was to have resulted in income levels at least equal to and greater than minimum designated poverty level. Subobjectives as stated in the project proposal, were: 1. To raise income per cow at least $200 over fee costs. 2. To insure enough cows to justify the dairy farmer's time, equipment and investment. 3. To insure enough acreage per cow to furnish a reserve supply of pasture, hay, and other roughage. 4. To assist in securing financing, where needed, whereby the dairy farmer could increase his income by a sufficient amount to pay off borrowed capital, interest, and increase net income. 5.To assist in improving milk quality. 6. To improve and maintain herd health."-Page

Benchmark full configuration-interaction calculations on HF and NH2

Full configuration-interaction (FCI) calculations are performed at selected geometries for the 1-sigma(+) state of HF and the 2-B(1) and 2-A(1) states of NH2 using both DZ and DZP gaussian basis sets. Higher excitations become more important when the bonds are stretched and the self-consistent field (SCF) reference becomes a poorer zeroth-order description of the wave function. The complete active space SCF - multireference configuration-interaction (CASSCF-MRCI) procedure gives excellent agreement with the FCI potentials, especially when corrected with a multi-reference analog of the Davidson correction

The Upper Critical Field in Disordered Two-Dimensional Superconductors

We present calculations of the upper critical field in superconducting films as a function of increasing disorder (as measured by the normal state resistance per square). In contradiction to previous work, we find that there is no anomalous low-temperature positive curvature in the upper critical field as disorder is increased. We show that the previous prediction of this effect is due to an unjustified analytical approximation of sums occuring in the perturbative calculation. Our treatment includes both a careful analysis of first-order perturbation theory, and a non-perturbative resummation technique. No anomalous curvature is found in either case. We present our results in graphical form.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

Energy Release During Slow Long Duration Flares Observed by RHESSI

Slow Long Duration Events (SLDEs) are flares characterized by long duration of rising phase. In many such cases impulsive phase is weak with lack of typical short-lasting pulses. Instead of that smooth, long-lasting Hard X-ray (HXR) emission is observed. We analysed hard X-ray emission and morphology of six selected SLDEs. In our analysis we utilized data from RHESSI and GOES satellites. Physical parameters of HXR sources were obtained from imaging spectroscopy and were used for the energy balance analysis. Characteristic time of heating rate decrease, after reaching its maximum value, is very long, which explains long rising phase of these flares.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Radio Bursts Associated with Flare and Ejecta in the 13 July 2004 Event

We investigate coronal transients associated with a GOES M6.7 class flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) on 13 July 2004. During the rising phase of the flare, a filament eruption, loop expansion, a Moreton wave, and an ejecta were observed. An EIT wave was detected later on. The main features in the radio dynamic spectrum were a frequency-drifting continuum and two type II bursts. Our analysis shows that if the first type II burst was formed in the low corona, the burst heights and speed are close to the projected distances and speed of the Moreton wave (a chromospheric shock wave signature). The frequency-drifting radio continuum, starting above 1 GHz, was formed almost two minutes prior to any shock features becoming visible, and a fast-expanding piston (visible as the continuum) could have launched another shock wave. A possible scenario is that a flare blast overtook the earlier transient, and ignited the first type II burst. The second type II burst may have been formed by the same shock, but only if the shock was propagating at a constant speed. This interpretation also requires that the shock-producing regions were located at different parts of the propagating structure, or that the shock was passing through regions with highly different atmospheric densities. This complex event, with a multitude of radio features and transients at other wavelengths, presents evidence for both blast-wave-related and CME-related radio emissions.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; Solar Physics Topical Issue, in pres

A critical evaluation of the fish early-life stage toxicity test for engineered nanomaterials: experimental modifications and recommendations

There are concerns that regulatory toxicity tests are not fit for purpose for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) or need modifications. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the OECD 210 fish, early-life stage toxicity test for use with TiO2 ENMs, Ag ENMs, and MWCNT. Both TiO2 ENMS (≤160 mg l(-1)) and MWCNT (≤10 mg l(-1)) showed limited acute toxicity, whilst Ag ENMs were acutely toxic to zebrafish, though less so than AgNO3 (6-day LC50 values of 58.6 and 5.0 µg l(-1), respectively). Evidence of delayed hatching, decreased body length and increased muscle width in the tail was seen in fish exposed to Ag ENMs. Oedema (swollen yolk sacs) was also seen in fish from both Ag treatments with, for example, mean yolk sac volumes of 17, 35 and 39 µm(3) for the control, 100 µg l(-1) Ag ENMs and 5 µg l(-1) AgNO3 treatments, respectively. Among the problems with the standard test guidelines was the inability to maintain the test solutions within ±20 % of nominal concentrations. Pronounced settling of the ENMs in some beakers also made it clear the fish were not being exposed to nominal concentrations. To overcome this, the exposure apparatus was modified with the addition of an exposure chamber that ensured mixing without damaging the delicate embryos/larvae. This allowed more homogeneous ENM exposures, signified by improved measured concentrations in the beakers (up to 85.7 and 88.1 % of the nominal concentrations from 10 mg l(-1) TiO2 and 50 µg l(-1) Ag ENM exposures, respectively) and reduced variance between measurements compared to the original method. The recommendations include: that the test is conducted using exposure chambers, the use of quantitative measurements for assessing hatching and morphometrics, and where there is increased sensitivity of larvae over embryos to conduct a shorter, larvae-only toxicity test with the ENMs

Coronal Shock Waves, EUV waves, and Their Relation to CMEs. I. Reconciliation of "EIT waves", Type II Radio Bursts, and Leading Edges of CMEs

We show examples of excitation of coronal waves by flare-related abrupt eruptions of magnetic rope structures. The waves presumably rapidly steepened into shocks and freely propagated afterwards like decelerating blast waves that showed up as Moreton waves and EUV waves. We propose a simple quantitative description for such shock waves to reconcile their observed propagation with drift rates of metric type II bursts and kinematics of leading edges of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Taking account of different plasma density falloffs for propagation of a wave up and along the solar surface, we demonstrate a close correspondence between drift rates of type II bursts and speeds of EUV waves, Moreton waves, and CMEs observed in a few known events.Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures. Solar Physics, published online. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co