Interview with James Myers, March 28 & 31, 2011

James Myers was interviewed on March 28 & 31, 2011 by Brad Miller about his childhood, collegiate years and teaching at Gettysburg College. He also discussed Carl Arnold Hanson\u27s presidency, the political unrest during that time, and how the college has changed during his time here. Length of Interview: 103 minutes Course Information: Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method Academic Term: Spring 2011 Course Instructor: Dr. Michael Birkner \u2772 Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by Special Collections & College Archives. Transcripts are available for browsing in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4th floor, Musselman Library. GettDigital contains the complete listing of oral histories done from 1978 to the present. To view this list and to access selected digital versions please visit -- http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16274coll

Muon g-2: Review of Theory and Experiment

A review of the experimental and theoretical determinations of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is given. The anomaly is defined by a=(g-2)/2, where the Land\'e g-factor is the proportionality constant that relates the spin to the magnetic moment. For the muon, as well as for the electron and tauon, the anomaly a differs slightly from zero (of order 10^{-3}) because of radiative corrections. In the Standard Model, contributions to the anomaly come from virtual `loops' containing photons and the known massive particles. The relative contribution from heavy particles scales as the square of the lepton mass over the heavy mass, leading to small differences in the anomaly for e, \mu, and \tau. If there are heavy new particles outside the Standard Model which couple to photons and/or leptons, the relative effect on the muon anomaly will be \sim (m_\mu/ m_e)^2 \approx 43\times 10^3 larger compared with the electron anomaly. Because both the theoretical and experimental values of the muon anomaly are determined to high precision, it is an excellent place to search for the effects of new physics, or to constrain speculative extensions to the Standard Model. Details of the current theoretical evaluation, and of the series of experiments that culminates with E821 at the Brookhaven National Laboratory are given. At present the theoretical and the experimental values are known with a similar relative precision of 0.5 ppm. There is, however, a 3.4 standard deviation difference between the two, strongly suggesting the need for continued experimental and theoretical studyComment: 103 pages, 57 figures, submitted to Reports on Progress in Physics Final version as published, several minor clarifications to text and a number of references were correcte

Planning for execution monitoring on a planetary rover

A planetary rover will be traversing largely unknown and often unknowable terrain. In addition to geometric obstacles such as cliffs, rocks, and holes, it may also have to deal with non-geometric hazards such as soft soil and surface breakthroughs which often cannot be detected until rover is in imminent danger. Therefore, the rover must monitor its progress throughout a traverse, making sure to stay on course and to detect and act on any previously unseen hazards. Its onboard planning system must decide what sensors to monitor, what landmarks to take position readings from, and what actions to take if something should go wrong. The planning systems being developed for the Pathfinder Planetary Rover to perform these execution monitoring tasks are discussed. This system includes a network of planners to perform path planning, expectation generation, path analysis, sensor and reaction selection, and resource allocation

ESTIMATING WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY USING A POLYCHOTOMOUS CHOICE FUNCTION: AN APPLICATION TO PORK PRODUCTS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES

This paper utilizes a polychotomous choice function to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and willingness-to-pay for embedded environmental attributes. Specifically, a two-stage estimation procedure with an ordered probit selection rule is used to predict the premium payers and the magnitude of the premium they are willing to pay.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Feeder Cattle Basis in South Carolina 2000-2004

Livestock Production/Industries,

EVALUATION OF CROP INSURANCE PREMIUM RATES FOR GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA PEACHES

We estimate actuarially fair premium rates for yield insurance for Georgia and South Carolina peaches for comparison to the premium rates established by the Risk Management Agency (RMA) for the 1999 crop. The RMA premium rates varied from county to county, but were identical for all growers in a given county. The estimated premium rates decrease with the grower's expected yield. The RMA rate structure encouraged adverse selection, as premium rates were too low for growers with low expected yields (especially at low coverage levels) and were too high for growers with high expected yields (especially at high coverage levels).adverse selection, crop insurance, peaches, premium rate, yield guarantee, Risk and Uncertainty,

REVENUE INSURANCE FOR GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA PEACHES

We estimate actuarially fair premium rates for yield and revenue insurance for Georgia and South Carolina peaches. The premium rates for both products decrease at a decreasing rate as the mean farm-level yield increases. In general, the premium rate for revenue insurance exceeds the premium rate for yield insurance for a given coverage level and expected yield. Although the revenue and yield insurance rates differ in a statistical sense, they do not appear to differ in an economic sense except at high coverage levels for growers with very high yields.crop insurance, peaches, revenue insurance, yield insurance, Risk and Uncertainty,

Estimating Willingness to Pay Using a Polychotomous Choice Function: An Application to Pork Products with Environmental Attributes

Bid data from a Vickrey auction for pork chops with embedded environmental attributes were analyzed. It was found that approximately 62% of the participants had a positive WTP for the most "environmentally friendly" package of pork. Thirty percent of the participants had no WTP, and 8% had a negative WTP. A polychotomous choice model was used to accommodate data having an anchoring point within the distribution of the data. Standard variables found in the WTP literature coupled with this model were used to predict participants who were premium payers and non-premium payers using an estimated ordered probit equation.anchoring points, environmental attributes, ordered probit, polychotomous choice functions, pork, Vickrey auction, willingness to pay, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

Supporting Career Development and Employment: Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPA&O) and Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)

This training curriculum is dedicated to increasing knowledge and understanding of the Social Security Administration\u27s disability and return to work programs and work incentive provisions as prescribed in the Social Security Act and Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 as well as other federal benefit programs. These informational resources were compiled and edited to provide continuing education and print materials for benefits specialists and protection and advocacy personnel on the interplay of these benefit programs and impact or employment