State-Dependent Nominal Rigidities & Disinflation Programs in Small Open Economies

Empirical regularities from high-inflation economies, especially in Latin America, suggest that exchange rate-based (ERB) disinflations and money-based (MB) disinflations induce sharply different dynamics in consumption and GDP. I study the role of nominal rigidities to explain business cycle fluctuations associated to ERB and MB disinflations within a single framework. By building on Calvo's (1983) pricing theory, this paper introduces elements of state-dependent pricing at the firm level into an otherwise standard small open economy model. This new feature allows for endogenous variations in the aggregate degree of nominal rigidities. The model contains as a special case a time- dependent pricing model discussed in the literature. Nonlinear simulations show that the model with state-dependent nominal rigidities generates a dynamic behavior that is more consistent with the empirical evidence, compared to the model with time-dependent pricing.

Comparing the perfomance of 3 to 6 year old children on the performance and practical reasoning subscales of the Griffiths mental development scales: extended revised with the foundations of learning subscale of the Griffiths III

The developmental assessment of children is very important so that adequate resources and intervention programmes can be initiated. Updating psychometric assessments is mandatory for different reasons, which include to update norms and to add new psychometric information. It is important for psychometric assessments that measure child development to ensure that they continue to accurately reflect stages of development in a modern context. The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) is currently in the process of revising the Griffiths Scales. One of the many unique changes includes the newly formed Foundations of Learning Subscale. This Subscale was constructed from definition, sub-constructs and items, which encompassed the critical sub-constructs from the previous Performance and Practical Reasoning Subscales, while providing greater depth to the overarching construct. This study therefore, forms part of a larger study of developing the Griffiths III and aims to compare the performance of three to six-year-old children on these three Subscales. The study employed a mixed method approach, which included 259 children matched on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised and the Griffith III. The quantitative aspect of the research included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests as well as pearson correlations. Differences and similarities were found from the results. The relationships varied from high correlation, strong relationships to low correlation, definite but small relationships. This was further explored through a qualitative analysis between the constructs assessed on each of the Subscales, as well as a qualitative analysis on the items of Subscale A, brought from Subscale E and F and the new items

Inflation and Output Dynamics with State-Dependent Frequency of Price Changes

This paper extends Calvo's (1983) time-dependent pricing model to incorporate state-dependent features in pricing, while preserving tractability. The pricing scheme delivers a generalized New Keynesian Phillips curve with an explicit role for the frequency of price revisions. The novel feature shows that inflation responds to movements of relative prices and to endogenous fluctuations in the average frequency of price adjustment. The model offers, therefore, a microfounded rationale for systematic deviations in the inflation- marginal cost relation predicted by the new Keynesian Phillips curve. As a byproduct, the model determines endogenously the short-run slope of the Phillips curve. Simulations predict weaker responses of output and stronger responses of inflation to technology, preference and monetary shocks than those of a close time-dependent model.

Intake of High Producing Holstein Cows Grazing Pasture or Fed a Total Mixed Ration

The ability of a pasture diet to support a high dry matter intake without supplementary feed was determined using 16 high producing Holstein cows. Cows (n=8) were adapted to an all-pasture diet by incrementally reducing the amount of total mixed ration (TMR) fed over four weeks. A control group of cows (n=8) remained in confinement and were fed a TMR. Performance of grazing cows differed significantly (P \u3c 0.001) from TMR fed cows by intake (19.0 vs. 23.4 kg DM/d), milk production (29.6 vs. 44.1 kg/d), milk protein content (2.61 vs. 2.80%), liveweight (562.1 vs. 597.3 kg), and condition score (2.02 vs. 2.50). Results indicate that intake of good quality pasture is higher than previously estimated for high producing Holstein cows in the USA, but that milk production is 15 kg/d less than when cows are fed a TMR

Urine Calcium But Not Plasma Calcium or Urine Hydroxyproline Is Increased by a Systemic Acidosis in the Dairy Cow

Eight non-lactating, pregnant Holstein-Friesian cows were allocated to two treatments and individually offered diets differing in dietary cation-anion difference. Decreasing the dietary cation-anion difference reduced the urine pH within hours of anionic salt supplementation. Plasma calcium concentration was unaffected by dietary cation-anion difference but urine calcium concentration was significantly increased within 10 days of including anionic salts in the diet. Faecal calcium concentration was significantly reduced, indicating increased calcium absorption. Dietary calcium concentration or dietary cationanion difference did not significantly affect urinary hydroxyproline

Dry Matter Intake of Periparturient Cows on a Fresh Pasture/Pasture-Hay Diet

Reports of the depression in dry matter intake in the periparturient period have been inconsistent and little dry matter intake data is available for an all-forage diet prior to calving. Data to examine intake depression prior to calving was obtained from two experiments. In experiment 1, sixteen non-lactating, periparturient cows ate 1.3% of pre-calving body weight of grass-hay and freshly cut grass for two weeks pre-calving (restricted). Experiment 2 comprised thiry-six cows that ate 1.6% of pre-calving body weight of grass-hay and freshly cut grass for the final two weeks of pregnancy (ad libitum). Individual dry matter intakes were recorded for 14 days pre-calving. Intake pre-calving was not depressed, irrespective of feeding level, until two days pre-calving. This suggests that when an all-forage diet is fed pre-calving, increasing the energy density of the diet to compensate for a depression in dry matter intake may not be necessary

The role of strategic control in implementing an empowerment strategy in a selected higher education institution

Higher education institutions in South Africa are under pressure on account of changes in their environment so those institutions which can adapt to the changes and continue to carry out their purposes will be the most successful. According to Wellins, Byham and Wilson (1991:21) the employee empowerment and energy that comes with a feeling of ownership, are necessary prerequisites for continuous improvement. When organisational values, leadership actions and human resources systems, for example, rewards, training, and organisational structures are focused on empowerment, continuous improvement actions result. These, in turn, could lead to competitive quality, increased productivity and improved customer service. This dissertation aims to assess what would be an appropriate strategic control model when implementing an empowerment strategy. To this end an empowerment process management model is presented, as well as an investigation into the most effective environment where empowerment can be implemented and the management style needed. Secondly, the characteristics of strategic control are considered and lastly, the particular circumstances of a tertiary education institution are discussed. The findings of this study are that the concept of strategic control and empowerment and the reality which exists at the selected higher education institution concur in certain instances, from the managers’ perspective. Further research to investigate the role of strategic control in implementing an empowerment strategy at the selected higher education institution when all role players are included, is recommended

A case study of the carbon footprint of milk from high-performing confinement and grass-based dairy farms

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the preferred methodology to assess carbon footprint per unit of milk. The objective of this case study was to apply a LCA method to compare carbon footprints of high performance confinement and grass-based dairy farms. Physical performance data from research herds were used to quantify carbon footprints of a high performance Irish grass-based dairy system and a top performing UK confinement dairy system. For the USA confinement dairy system, data from the top 5% of herds of a national database were used. Life cycle assessment was applied using the same dairy farm greenhouse gas (GHG) model for all dairy systems. The model estimated all on and off-farm GHG sources associated with dairy production until milk is sold from the farm in kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) and allocated emissions between milk and meat. The carbon footprint of milk was calculated by expressing the GHG emissions attributed to milk per t of energy corrected milk (ECM). The comparison showed when GHG emissions were only attributed to milk, the carbon footprint of milk from the IRE grass-based system (837 kg of CO2-eq/t of ECM)¬ was 5% lower than the UK confinement system (877 kg of CO2-eq/t of ECM) and 7% lower than the USA confinement system (898 kg of CO2-eq/t of ECM). However, without grassland carbon sequestration, the grass-based and confinement dairy systems had similar carbon footprints per t of ECM. Emission algorithms and allocation of GHG emissions between milk and meat also affected the relative difference and order of dairy system carbon footprints. For instance, depending on the method chosen to allocate emissions between milk and meat, the relative difference between the carbon footprints of grass-based and confinement dairy systems varied by 2-22%. This indicates that further harmonization of several aspects of the LCA methodology is required to compare carbon footprints of contrasting dairy systems. In comparison to recent reports that assess the carbon footprint of milk from average Irish, UK and USA dairy systems, this case study indicates that top performing herds of the respective nations have carbon footprints 27-32% lower than average dairy systems. Although, differences between studies are partly explained by methodological inconsistency, the comparison suggests that there is potential to reduce the carbon footprint of milk in each of the nations by implementing practices that improve productivity

Conceptual design of the AE481 Demon Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)

This project report presents a conceptual design for a high speed remotely piloted vehicle (RPV). The AE481 Demon RPV is capable of performing video reconnaissance missions and electronic jamming over hostile territory. The RPV cruises at a speed of Mach 0.8 and an altitude of 300 feet above the ground throughout its mission. It incorporates a rocket assisted takeoff and a parachute-airbag landing. Missions are preprogrammed, but in-flight changes are possible. The Demon is the answer to a military need for a high speed, low altitude RPV. The design methods, onboard systems, and avionics payload are discussed in this conceptual design report along with economic viability