The Integration of Alternative Information Systems: An Application to the Hogs and Pigs Report

Two competing econometric models of the U.S. pork sector augment the initial U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates of the U.S. Hogs kept for breeding with market information. The first incorporates the rational expectation hypothesis and the second uses futures market prices as the expectation mechanism. By using alternative composite forecasting methods, the model forecasts are weighted optimally with the initial USDA estimates. The results show that the USDA could use this cost-effective method to improve the accuracy of the initial estimates of the U.S. hogs kept for breeding by over 20 percent

A Proposed Typology Of Odyssey Slot Machine Gamblers

This paper discusses the development of a typology of gamblers who play the Odyssey slot machine. Qualitative research methods were employed, using an ethnographic approach to the research setting. Two typologies are presented and discussed, one for the Odyssey Players and a second for the Odyssey Observers. While the potential application of these two typologies to the more general classification of all slot machine gamblers is unknown, it is believed that this paper represents the first study of its kind in the gaming industry. As such, it may provide a foundation for both academics who are interested in conducting further research in this area, and to gaming industry practitioners who may fmd the information useful in better understanding their customers

Ergonomic Models of Anthropometry, Human Biomechanics and Operator-Equipment Interfaces

The Committee on Human Factors was established in October 1980 by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The committee is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation. The workshop discussed the following: anthropometric models; biomechanical models; human-machine interface models; and research recommendations. A 17-page bibliography is included

A methodology for feature based 3D face modelling from photographs

In this paper, a new approach to modelling 3D faces based on 2D images is introduced. Here 3D faces are created using two photographs from which we extract facial features based on image manipulation techniques. Through the image manipulation techniques we extract the crucial feature lines of the face in two views. These are then used in modifying a template base mesh which is created in 3D. This base mesh, which has been designed by keeping facial animation in mind, is then subdivided to provide the level of detail required. The methodology, as it stands, is semi-automatic whereby our goal is to automate this process in order to provide an inexpensive and expedient way of producing realistic face models intended for animation purposes. Thus, we show how image manipulation techniques can be used to create binary images which can in turn be used in manipulating a base mesh that can be adapted to a given facial geometry. In order to explain our approach more clearly we discuss a series of examples where we create 3D facial geometry of individuals given the corresponding image data

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Snowstorms in the Contiguous United States

A climatological analysis of snowstorms across the contiguous United States, based on data from 1222 weather stations with data during 1901–2001, defined the spatial and temporal features. The average annual incidence of events creating 15.2 cm or more in 1 or 2 days, which are termed as snowstorms, exhibits great spatial variability. The pattern is latitudinal across most of the eastern half of the United States, averaging 0.1 storm (1 storm per 10 years) in the Deep South, increasing to 2 storms along the Canadian border. This pattern is interrupted by higher averages downwind of the Great Lakes and in the Appalachian Mountains. In the western third of the United States where snow falls, lower-elevation sites average 0.1–2 storms per year, but averages are much higher in the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains, where 5–30 storms occur per year. Most areas of the United States have had years without snowstorms, but the annual minima are 1 or more storms in high-elevation areas of the West and Northeast. The pattern of annual maxima of storms is similar to the average pattern. The temporal distribution of snowstorms exhibited wide fluctuations during 1901–2000, with downward 100-yr trends in the lower Midwest, South, and West Coast. Upward trends occurred in the upper Midwest, East, and Northeast, and the national trend for 1901–2000 was upward, corresponding to trends in strong cyclonic activity. The peak periods of storm activity in the United States occurred during 1911–20 and 1971–80, and the lowest frequency was in 1931–40. Snowstorms first occur in September in the Rockies, in October in the high plains, in November across most of the United States, and in December in the Deep South. The month with the season’s last storms is December in the South and then shifts northward, with April the last month of snowstorms across most of the United States. Storms occur as late as May and June in the Rockies and Cascades. Snowstorms are most frequent in December downwind of the Great Lakes, with the peak of activity in January for most other areas of the United States

The past, the present, and the future of future-oriented mental time travel: Editors' introduction

This introductory chapter reviews research on future-oriented mental time travel to date (the past), provides an overview of the contents of the book (the present), and enumerates some possible research directions suggested by the latter (the future)

CARD Livestock Model Documentation: Pork

The U.S. hog industry has experienced dramatic structural change as the trend continues for fewer producers with increased enterprise size. Through intensive production practices, efficient use of inputs, and improved disease control measures, large producers have attained more production per sow, more production per unit housing, and lower feed costs (VanArsdall and Nelson 1984), Pork production has also become less seasonal with the adoption of capital-intensive confinement units. Thus, pork production has become increasingly dominated by enterprises that produce hogs on a year-round basis in a confined environment

CARD Livestock Model Documentation: Beef

The U.S. beef industry has experienced continuing structural change. The size of production enterprises within the industry has expanded while the total number of producers has decreased. The percentage of fed cattle from large commercial feedlots (capacity greater than 1,000 head) has increased from less than 39 percent in 1964 to over 73 percent in 1981 (Van Arsdall and Nelson 1983). Large commercial producers have lower costs per head than smaller operations and are able to produce beef on a year-round basis, reducing seasonality within the industry. Also, through improved production practices and technological innovation, beef cow-calf producers have increased calving rates, reduced death loss, increased the rate of gain, and increased feed efficiency. These improvements are attributed to improved breeding techniques and disease control as well as to the increased use of growth-stimulating implants and feed additives (Gilliam 1985)