Implications of Recent Australian Wheat Industry Developments for Domestic and Overseas Prices

This study is motivated by the proposition that the objectives of the AWB Ltd have changed since semi-privatisation of the Australian Wheat Board under the Wheat Marketing Act, 1989. Conceptualising this change of objectives as a shift from revenue maximization to profit maximization, this study examines the impact of such a change on the pricing policies of a multi-market price-setting firm. More specifically, this paper investigates, using two hypothetical objective functions, a risk averse AWB’s price-setting behaviour in an “overseas” and a “domestic” market in response to recent wheat industry developments. In the analysis these developments manifest themselves as differing price elasticities, differing transport costs and uncertain demand functions, and their implications particularly for the prices paid by domestic consumers are explored.Privatisation, Australian wheat industry, pricing policies., Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

Lagrangian multiform structure for the lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy

The lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy was introduced by Nijhoff, Papageorgiou, Capel and Quispel in 1992 as the family of partial difference equations generalizing to higher rank the lattice Korteweg-de Vries systems, and includes in particular the lattice Boussinesq system. We present a Lagrangian for the generic member of the lattice Gel'fand-Dikii hierarchy, and show that it can be considered as a Lagrangian 2-form when embedded in a higher dimensional lattice, obeying a closure relation. Thus the multiform structure proposed in arXiv:0903.4086v2 [nlin.SI] is extended to a multi-component system.Comment: 12 page

Automatic, computerized testing of bolts

System for testing bolts with various platings, lubricants, nuts, and tightening procedures tests 200 fasteners, and processes and summarizes the results, within one month. System measures input torque, nut rotation, bolt clamping force, bolt shank twist, and bolt elongation, data is printed in report form. Test apparatus is described

THE SPARTA Model: An Econometric Analysis of Consumer Behaviour under Risk

This paper explores the role of trust in food safety information in determining consumer choice in relation to socio-demographic effects and other determinants. The complexity of factors influencing the way a consumer processes food safety information makes it difficult to develop adequate risk communication strategies. This is, however, a priority for current European policy and this paper tries to answer some key questions: (1) can the consumer be segmented into socio-demographic groups in relation to their trust in food safety information? (2) are country and cultural differences relevant in the way food safety information is processed? (3) how do risk perception and trust in food safety information influence food choice in relation to other determinants? (4) How does a food scare alter the weight of these determinants? (5) How do information sources differ in terms of how they impact on consumers risk perception and behaviours? To provide some answers to the above questions, we propose a modelling framework which extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour to account for risk perception and trust and allows for country-specific effects. The model is tested on the impact of salmonella information on chicken consumption choices across five European countries, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, based on a nationally representative survey for a total of 2725 face-to-face interviews. Results show that although no relationship emerges between socio-demographics variables and the trust placed by consumer in food safety information, although country differences are relevant. The findings also suggest that the policy priority should be on building and maintaining trust in food and health authorities, and research institutions.food safety information, trust, risk perception, Theory of Planned Behaviour, chicken, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Risk perception and chicken consumption in the avian flu age - a consumer behaviour study on food safety information

As the avian flu pandemic threatens Europe, consumer awareness of the theoretical possibility of contraction of the avian flu virus through consumption of chicken saw a decline in demand at the end of 2005, with peaks between 40% - 50% in Southern European countries such as Italy whilst having little impact on demand in Northern countries like the UK. Such food scares, coupled with an increasing awareness of food safety issues by the general public, highlight the importance of evaluating the perceived risks associated with food purchasing and consumption are paramount in order to provide effective policy communication in this area. There is considerable empirical evidence that different consumers respond to food risk communication in different ways. This implies that policymakers and food firms cannot rely on a single public information strategy for emerging food risks. Furthermore, the impact of food safety information varies significantly according to the sources that provide it. Using data are from a nationally representative pan-European survey of 2 725 respondents from five EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom), we show that in a situation of increased perceived risk hence increased levels of involvement households across the EU are likely to respond in culturally specific ways which suggest a need for country level policy design.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food Scares and Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective

In this paper a consumer food choice model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is extended to account for risk perception and trust. The data are from a nationally representative European survey of 2 725 respondents from five countries, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The model relates the intention to purchase chicken in an extended TPB framework, which incorporates risk perceptions, and trust in alternative sources of food safety information. This model was run for two behaviours of interest: the standard likelihood of intention to purchase and the likelihood of intention to purchase conditional on news about a salmonella incident. The model has good predictive power and shows distinct country differences. Only in the case of a food scare do risk perceptions and trust come into play. The findings suggest that the government policy priority should be on building and maintaining trust in food and health authorities, and research institutions, while food chain actors could eliminate many of the adverse consequences of a food scare if they could build public trust. Interestingly there is no relationship between socio-demographic variables and the trust placed by consumers in food safety information.food safety information, trust, risk perception, Theory of Planned Behaviour, chicken, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D80, D12, Q18,

An integrable multicomponent quad equation and its Lagrangian formulation

We present a hierarchy of discrete systems whose first members are the lattice modified Korteweg-de Vries equation, and the lattice modified Boussinesq equation. The N-th member in the hierarchy is an N-component system defined on an elementary plaquette in the 2-dimensional lattice. The system is multidimensionally consistent and a Lagrangian which respects this feature, i.e., which has the desirable closure property, is obtained.Comment: 10 page

Beef production: potential and output in mid-Canterbury

Climate and pasture production in mid-Canterbury have been discussed by Rickard (1968). Under “dryland” farming conditions, pasture of some 110 to 130 aBys when production is very low reduction is-limited by (1) winters and (2) dry periods of variable incidence and duration during the remainder of the year. These latter not only restrict output every year but also result in a large “between years ’ variation in annual pasture production. However, adequate irrigation eliminates the dry periods and results in pasture production characterized by : (1) A higher annual production of some 9,000 to 10,000 lb D.M. per acre. (2) A very low variability between years. (3) Well-spread production within the growing season. (4) Approximately half of total growth occurring after January 1. For the livestock farmer, the implications of these changes are very great. The pattern of irrigated pasture reduction was shown to coincide more closely with the feed requirements of a beef-breeding herd than with those of a prime-lamb ewe flock. However, as more calves become available from increased cow herds in the foothills and high country, and these are augmented by calves bred on dairy farms, it seems probable that beef production on the easier country will become concentrated on finishing, rather than on breeding. This paper outlines experimental work into finishing beef cattle at Winchmore Irrigation Research Station and considers the potential for beef production in mid-Canterbury in the light of the results obtained