THE ROLE OF EXTENSION IN DEALING WITH FARM FAMILIES IN FINANCIAL CRISIS

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERTEMPORAL STABILITY OF RISK PREFERENCE

The interval measurement approach was used to obtain risk preference measures for 23 Michigan farmers in 1979 and again in 1981. This paper analyzes how risk preferences of the individuals in this group of decision-makers changed over a two year time period. Risk preferences were most stable near typically experienced personal income levels.Risk and Uncertainty,

What the success of brain imaging implies about the neural code

The success of fMRI places constraints on the nature of the neural code. The fact that researchers can infer similarities between neural representations, despite fMRI’s limitations, implies that certain neural coding schemes are more likely than others. For fMRI to succeed given its low temporal and spatial resolution, the neural code must be smooth at the voxel and functional level such that similar stimuli engender similar internal representations. Through proof and simulation, we determine which coding schemes are plausible given both fMRI’s successes and its limitations in measuring neural activity. Deep neural network approaches, which have been forwarded as computational accounts of the ventral stream, are consistent with the success of fMRI, though functional smoothness breaks down in the later network layers. These results have implications for the nature of the neural code and ventral stream, as well as what can be successfully investigated with fMRI

What the Success of Brain Imaging Implies about the Neural Code

The success of fMRI places constraints on the nature of the neural code. The fact that researchers can infer similarities between neural representations, despite limitations in what fMRI measures, implies that certain neural coding schemes are more likely than others. For fMRI to be successful given its low temporal and spatial resolution, the neural code must be smooth at the sub-voxel and functional level such that similar stimuli engender similar internal representations. Through proof and simulation, we evaluate a number of reasonable coding schemes and demonstrate that only a subset are plausible given both fMRI’s successes and its limitations in measuring neural activity. Deep neural network approaches, which have been forwarded as computational accounts of the ventral stream, are consistent with the success of fMRI, though functional smoothness breaks down in the later network layers. These results have implications for the nature of neural code and ventral stream, as well as what can be successfully investigated with fMRI

Neutron spectral measurements in the upper atmosphere

An experiment to measure neutrons in the upper atmosphere was performed on a balloon flight from Palestine, Texas, at an altitude of about 32 km. The experimental arrangement is discussed briefly, and results of a preliminary analysis of the data for neutrons in the energy range 3 to 30 MeV are given

An Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus benefits from the beating behaviour of a Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius: a possible precursor to kleptoparasitism

Food parasitism on pelican species by many groups of birds, especially Laurus and Sterna spp. is well known and documented. Although the Pelicanidae exhibit many behavioural and ecological traits known to facilitate parasitism, few accounts and studies of this feeding strategy by pelicans are known. The following report describes a series of inshore parasitic bouts by an Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus on a Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius in Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Western Australia. The pelican made no attempt to feed prior to the arrival of the cormorant and remained in association with the cormorant for well over a quarter of an hour. The observed behaviour was clearly one of interception of prey by the pelican and not merely of capitalizing on food which could not escape. Ecological and behavioural factors known to encourage parasitic behaviour, such as \u27beating\u27, are discussed in relation to these observations, as is the possibility of this feeding assocation leading to kleptoparasitism, or food theft. Potential costs and benefits of this association for both species are briefly discussed, as it the possibility that the association was precipitated by the protection afforded by the physical presence of humans and their structures