State-Branded Programs and Consumer Preference for Locally Grown Produce

Revitalization of state brands is deemed important to several constituencies. Stated preference with choice experiment methods were used to elicit consumer preferences for two locally grown products: spinach, which has had a well-publicized food safety incidence, and carrots, which have had no such incidence in recent history. A full factorial design was used to implement the choice experiment, with each commodity having four identical attributes varying at different levels. Findings reveal that consumers are willing to pay a premium for locally grown spinach marked with the Arizona Grown label over locally grown spinach that was not labeled. This premium was higher than the premium that would be paid for state-branded carrots. This difference highlights consumers’ perceptions of “locally grown†as an indicator of safety in their food supply. Findings have important implications with respect to providing consumer value and point to differentiated positioning strategies for state-branded produce.state-branded produce, certification, food safety, traceability, discrete choice models, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

Microstructural changes in Beta-silicon nitride grains upon crystallizing the grain-boundary glass

Crystallizing the grain boundary glass of a liquid phase sintered Si3N4 ceramic for 2 h or less at 1500 C led to formation of gamma Y2Si2O7. After 5 h at 1500 C, the gamma Y2Si2O7 had transformed to beta Y2Si2O7 with a concurrent dramatic increase in dislocation density within beta Si3N4 grains. Reasons for the increased dislocation density is discussed. Annealing for 20 h at 1500 C reduced dislocation densities to the levels found in as-sintered materials

The impact of greenhouse climate change on the energetics and hydrologic processes of mid-latitude transient eddies

Atmospheric transient eddies contribute significantly to mid-latitude energy and water vapor transports. Changes in the global climate, as induced by greenhouse enhancement, will likely alter transient eddy behavior. Unraveling all the feedbacks that occur in general circulation models (GCMs) can be difficult. The transient eddies are isolated from the feedbacks and are focused on the response of the eddies to zonal-mean climate changes that result from CO2-doubling. Using a primitive-equation spectral model, the impact of climate change on the life cycles of transient eddies is examined. Transient eddy behavior in experiments is compared with initial conditions that are given by the zonal-mean climates of the GCMs with current and doubled amounts of CO2. The smaller meridional temperature gradient in a doubled CO2 climate leads to a reduction in eddy kinetic energy, especially in the subtropics. The decrease in subtropical eddy energy is related to a substantial reduction in equatorward flux of eddy activity during the latter part of the life cycle. The reduction in equatorward energy flux alters the moisture cycle. Eddy meridional transport of water vapor is shifted slightly poleward and subtropical precipitation is reduced. The water vapor transport exhibits a relatively small change in magnitude, compared to changes in eddy energy, due to the compensating effect of higher specific humidity in the doubled-CO2 climate. An increase in high-latitude precipitation is related to the poleward shift in eddy water vapor flux. Surface evaporation amplifies climatic changes in water vapor transport and precipitation in the experiments

The Unusual Suspects: Journalists as Thieves

The publication of confidential information by the press stands in stark contrast to the press\u27 dedication to protecting the confidentiality of sources. While the Supreme Court has taken the position that the press may publish confidential information acquired through routine newsgathering methods, the contours of the phrase routine newsgathering methods are poorly defined In this Article, Professor Lee describes the link between the manner in which information is obtained and the First Amendment\u27s protection of the publication of the information. He concludes that the proper analysis would separate the interests affected by publication from the interests affected by illegal newsgathering

Cable Franchising and the First Amendment

In awarding and regulating cable franchises, cities often extract from cable operators promises and conditions such as access channels in exchange for exclusive use of public rights-of-way. Professor William Lee in this Article argues that this cable franchising process violates the first amendment rights of cable operators. Professor Lee rejects the two rationales for municipal cable regulation by contending that cable is not a natural monopoly in every market and that cable\u27s use of public rights-of-way requires content neutral regulation. The exacting of conditions such as access channels, however, is not content neutral regulation. Furthermore, censorship decisions that municipalities require of cable operators are sufficiently subjective to violate the first amendment. Professor Lee concludes that an open entry policy for cable operators will allow existing law and natural economic forces to regulate the cable market in accordance with the strong first amendment tradition that limits government interference with freedom of expression

Antitrust Enforcement, Freedom of the Press, and the Open Market : The Supreme Court on the Structure and Conduct of Mass Media

This Article examines the Supreme Court\u27s attempts to foster open markets by altering either the structure or the conduct of mass media enterprises. Structure and conduct are the two main determinants of market performance. Market structure means those characteristics of the organization of a market that seem to exercise a strategic influence on the nature of competition and pricing within the market. Some characteristics of market structure include degree of buyer concentration, degree of seller concentration, degree of product differentiation, and entry conditions. Market conduct, on the other hand, comprises the practices, policies, and devices which firms employ in adjusting to changes in their markets. Structure can have an impact on conduct, and conversely, conduct can affect structure. Thus, when the Supreme Court addresses the structure of mass media enterprises, their conduct and performance can also be affected, and vice versa. The total mass media marketplace includes such diverse media as newspapers, books, periodicals, recordings, broadcasting stations, and motion pictures. Enterprises in each medium compete not only against each other but also against enterprises in other media as well. This Article will discuss several media separately because conditions for entry, competitive practices, and other factors differ among mass communications industries. Moreover, the Supreme Court has formulated distinct first amendment standards for each medium it has confronted. This Article explores first whether the Court\u27s antitrust decisions promote open market conditions for mass media. Second, this Article analyzes the important first amendment problems that are posed by such cases. Finally, this Article will argue that the Court should apply uniform antitrust and first amendment standards for all media

Citizen-Critics, Citizen Journalists, and the Perils of Defining the Press

Media lawyers frequently describe New York Times Co. v. Sullivan as a great win for the press. Certainly the Court\u27s ruling saved the New York Times from financial ruin. However, four Alabama ministers active in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Ralph D. Abernathy, Joseph E. Lowery, Fred L. Shuttlesworth, and S.S. Seay Sr., were also targeted by Sullivan as defendants. Despite testimony that the ministers had not authorized the use of their names in the advertisement, Heed Their Rising Voices, and learned of the ad only when Sullivan asked them for a retraction, the jury found each liable for defamation along with the New York Times. In partial settlement of the $500,000 libel judgment, Alabama authorities confiscated the ministers\u27 bank accounts and sold automobiles and real estate owned by the ministers. Sullivan was not the only successful plaintiff; a few months after the New York Times v. Sullivan verdict, Earl James, mayor of Montgomery, also won a$500,000 verdict against the New York Times and the four ministers. The financial persecution of the ministers drove the leadership of the SCLC out of the toughest parts of the South. \u27 As William P. Rogers, attorney for the ministers, told the Court, should the libel judgment against the ministers stand, the cause of civil rights will be set back a great many years