Longevity and Weight Loss of Free-flying Male Cecropia Moths, \u3ci\u3eHyalophora Cecropia\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

During their spring flight season, free-ranging male cecropia moths lived a maximum of 12 days (one of 124 recaptured moths of 387 released moths). The number of survivors declined precipitiously after day five; five to seven days is probably the usual life span. The recaptured moths did not have different initial weights than those that were not recaptured. The larger the moth the more absolute weight it lost and the faster it lost weight during the first few days. A moth lost about 20% of its weight during the first night of flight and accumulated about a 40% weight loss during the remainder of its life

Reducing The Headwinds: The Need For A Federal Approach To Siting Offshore Wind Interconnection Infrastructure, Despite Protective State Laws

Offshore wind will provide a key piece of the United States’ clean energy future. Several East Coast states are planning for thousands of megawatts of wind energy generation off their coasts. But the nascent offshore wind industry faces many challenges. Some are social, such as from the fishing industry and coastal property owners who do not want their views obstructed. Other challenges are more technical, including how so much energy will interconnect to the onshore electrical grid. The state of Maine is currently grappling with all these issues as it seeks to develop the Gulf of Maine’s world-class wind energy resource. This paper provides a legal analysis of Maine’s wind regulatory regime. It focuses on state law that governs the interconnection of offshore wind and argues that while state protections from local interference with offshore wind projects is relatively strong, state law should be amended to clarify that those protections also cover wind energy projects in federal waters. Furthermore, because there is a particular need for regulatory uniformity when it comes to siting offshore wind infrastructure, this paper argues that a federal agency should have jurisdiction over these siting decisions

Working for work: A program evaluation

Working for Work: Intercultural Job Support Groups is a new program in the Waterloo Region of Southern Ontario providing immigrants and refugees to Canada assistance in finding employment. Having started in October of 1991, Working for Work operates within a support group setting and encourages participation from group members. The program also advocates on behalf of immigrants and refugees. This is most notably demonstrated through the organization of work placements which offer group members direct contact with Canadian employers. There are two general goals of the program: (1) to increase the employability of group members, and (2) to increase group members’ sense of support in dealing with employment-related stress. In my opinion, there is a need for a program like Working for Work in the Waterloo Region. The changing Canadian immigration reality away from traditional European sources contributes to employment barriers (e.g., racial discrimination, lack of English or French language skills) experienced by many immigrants. Working for Work offers a unique employment service in a region experiencing unusually high levels of unemployment. The program attempts to address some immigrant employment barriers while also emphasizing the strengths that immigrants already possess. ln this thesis the early stages of the program, Working for Work were evaluated (the first two of the program’s four support groups). Through the evaluation process it was my intention to establish an ongoing evaluation process for the program’s future. The evaluation of Working for Work adopted a non-experimental approach. That is, there were no control or comparison groups. Rather, the evaluation emphasized the experience of the research participants within the program. Four characteristics defined the evaluations of Working for Work. (I) The evaluation used a participatory approach encouraging input from the program\u27s stakeholders. (2) The evaluation considered both processes and outcomes. (3) The evaluation was formative in nature. That is, through the evaluation process the program developed and changed to meet the needs of the research participants. (4) The evaluation included both qualitative and quantitative information. Multiple methods were used to gather information from the research participants (group members, staff, and the volunteer advisory committee). Quantitative methods included an initial assessment interview of potential group members, personal progress reports filled out by group members during the group sessions, and a follow-up questionnaire administered two months after the group\u27s completion. Qualitative methods included observation of 50% of the group sessions, weekly group feedback from the group members during the group sessions, review of program documents, individual interviews with 12 group members, and a staff/advisory committee focus group interview. Evaluation information is summarized according to live qualitative themes: the activities of the program are described first; this is followed by a description of the group members; issues regarding the relationship between the program’s stakeholders are discussed next; an assessment of the program\u27s goals is followed by recommendations for the program’s improvement. Overall, the evaluation information suggests a positive appraisal of Working for Work. In terms of increasing the employability of group members the program helped members to (l) improve their job search skills, (2) increase their awareness of job-related options, (3) recognize and respond to employment barriers, and (4) contact potential employers. Twenty of the 25 group members found employment-related activities (e.g., school, work placement, full-time job). In terms of increasing a sense of support among group members, the program: (1) allowed group members to help each other in their job search, (2) increased the awareness in members of how to deal with stress, (3) created an environment to develop supportive relationships, and (4) gave members hope of finding a job. However, there are areas in which Working for Work could improve. Recommendations are given according to curriculum content, group process, and program structure. In keeping with the intent of establishing an ongoing evaluation of Working for Work, l outline the evaluation plans for the future of the program. To conclude, I mention the contributions resulting from Working for Work\u27s evaluation. Contributions are outlined according to (I) my personal learning (including issues regarding evaluating community-based programs), (2) what Working for Work has gained (both within and outside the group setting), and (3) the transferability of information to other related programs (both in terms of increasing employability of immigrants and in providing a sense of support)

Employee Pay and Benefit Preferences

Malgré une augmentation continue de la proportion des avantages sociaux dans la masse salariale totale, peu d'employeurs connaissent d'une façon précise les véritables préférences des employés. Cet article analyse les résultats d'une étude qui s'efforçait d'apprécier les préférences des travailleurs pour certaines formes de compensation dans six entreprises localisées en Ontario. Les recherches de cette étude se fondent sur la définition du concept d'avantages sociaux, sur la description de la raison d'être de l'accroissement de ces avantages tant pour ce qui est des employeurs que des employés et sur l'importance de la méthodologie dans la détermination du choix des travailleurs.On a défini ainsi les avantages sociaux : tout coût de la main-d'oeuvre ajouté à la rémunération normale (salaires et traitements) versé pour une période de travail. On présume que les employeurs les offrent afin d'attirer et de garder les employés à leur service ou afin de les inciter à augmenter leur productivité. Les employés préfèrent les régimes d'avantages sociaux faits sur mesure. La raison en est que leurs besoins diffèrent selon leur âge, leur état matrimonial, etc. Quant aux jeunes travailleurs, la plupart d'entre eux s'opposent à toute forme d'embrigadement.L'importance de la méthodologie dans la détermination de la préférence des employés est une question ardue. Il y est discuté du pour et du contre en ce quitouche les trois façons d'apprécier leurs préférences : ce sont le questionnaire général, la technique du choix par ordre de préférence et la méthode comparative par jumelage.Dans cette étude, les auteurs ont eu recours à la méthode comparative par jumelage. L'échantillonnage portait sur 128 employés de six entreprises du sud de l'Ontario. On a choisi au hasard les employés à qui le questionnaire fut remis. Le questionnaire offrait cinq options qu'ils pouvaient comparer l'une par rapport à une autre. Les options étaient les suivantes : pension, assurance sur la vie, vacances, augmentation de salaire, assurance médicale.En résumé, la préférence, par ordre d'importance décroissante, s'est ainsi manifestée : augmentation de salaire, prolongement des vacances, abonnissement du régime de retraite, du régime d'assurance sur la vie et du régime d'assurance médicale. Dans les six entreprises, les employés ont exprimé d'une façon générale leur préférence pour l'augmentation de salaire. Ce qu'ils recherchèrent le moins, ce fut l'amélioration des régimes d'assurance sur la vie et d'assurance médicale. Analysées en regard des données démographiques recueillies, les divergences se sont exprimées suivant l'âge et la durée du service.Despite a continuing growth of fringe benefits as a proportion of the total wage bill, few employees have any definite knowledge of what fringes employees really prefer. This article reports the results of a study which attempted to measure employees preferences for alternative forms of compensation in six organizations located in Ontario, Canada

Canola yield responses to several sulphur sources – a one year's experience

Non-Peer Reviewe

Futures Prices in Supply Analysis: Are Instrumental Variables Necessary?

Citation: Nathan P. Hendricks, Joseph P. Janzen, Aaron Smith; Futures Prices in Supply Analysis: Are Instrumental Variables Necessary?, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 97, Issue 1, 1 January 2015, Pages 22–39, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau062Crop yield shocks are partially predictable—high planting-time futures prices have tended to indicate that yield would be below trend. As a result, regressions of total caloric production on futures prices produce estimates of the supply elasticity that are biased downwards by up to 75%. Regressions of the world’s growing area on futures prices have a much smaller bias of about 20% because although yield shocks are partially predictable, this predictability has a relatively small effect on land allocation. We argue that the preferred method for estimating the crop supply elasticity is to use regressions of growing area on futures prices and to include the realized yield shock as a control variable. An alternative method for bias reduction is to use instrumental variables (IVs). We show that the marginal contribution of an IV to bias reduction is small—IVs are not necessary for futures prices in supply analysis

Varkenshouderij in niet-concentratiegebieden : op weg naar duurzaamheid

In opdracht van de vakgroepen varkenshouderij van de N LTO en WLTO is onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de voorwaarden om een duurzame varkenshouderij in de niet-concentratiegebieden mogelijk te maken. Met behulp van gegevens uit de CBS-Landbouwtelling, een analyse van de inhoud van Streek- en Bestemmingsplannen en de resultaten van een enquête onder varkenshouders is nagegaan op welke wijze gekomen kan worden tot: 1) een verantwoorde en duurzame afzet van de geproduceerde mest; 2) een optimale afstemming tussen opfokzeugen, zeugen en vleesvarkens in het gebied; 3) ontwikkelingsmogelijkheden voor individuele bedrijven. Hiervoor zijn oplossingsrichtingen aangegeven en worden beleidsaanbevelingen gedaa