A computer-based application to understanding marketing plans : the Bridges' marketing plan flow chart : a research report presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration at Massey University

The scene is the Jelita Cold Storage supermarket, 1983. The refridgerated display shelves still contain many bottles of New Zealand milk. There are gaps were the cartons of Australian milk stood. A glance at the price tags reveals the reason: New Zealand milk, $5.99; Australian milk,$3.05. Now, walk over to the meat department. Small Australian flags decorate the fare. A request for New Zealand lamb sends the assistant scuttling out the back to search. Finally, move over to the fruit stand plastered with large posters of New Zealand apples. Underneath, the apples are French. Why? There have been no shipments of New Zealand apples for several months. This shopping expedition was concluded with a trip to the Trade Commissioner at the New Zealand High Commission. The questions: - Why are New Zealand's goods priced so high compared with competitors? - Why are New Zealands products not attractively displayed? and - Why aren't advertising efforts and supply deliveries better co-ordinated? brought a surprised, "We don't need to market. Everyone knows our products are the best!"

The formation of shear and density layers in stably stratified trubulent flows: linear processes

The initial evolution of the momentum and buoyancy fluxes in a freely decaying, stably stratified homogeneous turbulent flow with r.m.s. velocity u′0 and integral lengthscale l0 is calculated using a weakly inhomogeneous and unsteady form of the rapid distortion theory (RDT) in order to study the growth of small temporal and spatial perturbations in the large-scale mean stratification N(z, t) and mean velocity profile u(z, t) (here N is the local Brunt–Väisälä frequency and u is the local velocity of the horizontal mean flow) when the ratio of buoyancy forces to inertial forces is large, i.e. Nl0/u′0[dbl greater-than sign]1. The lengthscale L of the perturbations in the mean profiles of stratification and shear is assumed to be large compared to l0 and the presence of a uniform background mean shear can be taken into account in the model provided that the inertial shear forces are still weaker than the buoyancy forces, i.e. when the Richardson number Ri = (N/[partial partial differential]zu)2[dbl greater-than sign]1 at each height. When a mean shear perturbation is introduced initially with no uniform background mean shear and uniform stratification, the analysis shows that the perturbations in the mean flow profile grow on a timescale of order N-1. When the mean density profile is perturbed initially in the absence of a background mean shear, layers with significant density gradient fluctuations grow on a timescale of order N−10 (where N0 is the order of magnitude of the initial Brunt–Väisälä frequency) without any associated mean velocity gradients in the layers. These results are in good agreement with the direct numerical simulations performed by Galmiche et al. (2002) and are consistent with the earlier physically based conjectures made by Phillips (1972) and Posmentier (1977). The model also shows that when there is a background mean shear in combination with perturbations in the mean stratification, negative shear stresses develop which cause the mean velocity gradient to grow in the density layers. The linear analysis for short times indicates that the scale on which the mean perturbations grow fastest is of order u′0/N0, which is consistent with the experiments of Park et al. (1994). We conclude that linear mechanisms are widely involved in the formation of shear and density layers in stratified flows as is observed in some laboratory experiments and geophysical flows, but note that the layers are also significantly influenced by nonlinear and dissipative processes at large times

Palaeoenvironment of a mesolithic peat bed from Austin Friars, Leicester

A mesolithic peat bed, dated to 9920±100 bp (HAR-4260) (bp = radiocarbon years before the present calculated from A.D. 19S0 within + or - of 100 years in this case. Ed.) was recovered from Austin Friars, Leicester. Analysis of preserved fauna and flora, especially insects and seeds, indicated that the peat had formed in a shallow pond or lake, with vegetated, marshy edges subject to periodic flooding. The pond was set in open countryside characterised by a lack of trees and preponderance of light-demanding species, living in a cold, damp tundra climate at the very end of Late Glacial Zone III (9000-8300 RC.) extending into the Post Glacial (8300-4000 RC.)

Matching externalities and inventive productivity

This paper generalizes and extends the labor market search and matching model of Berliant, Reed, and Wang (2006). In this model, the density of cities is determined endogenously, but the matching process becomes more efficient as density increases. As a result, workers become more selective in their matches, and this raises average productivity (the intensive margin). Despite being more selective, the search process is more rapid so that workers spend more time in productive matches (the extensive margin). The effect of an exogenous increase in land area on productivity depends on the sensitivity of the matching function and congestion costs to changes in density.

Patentability, industry structure, and innovation.

To qualify for a patent, an invention must be new, useful, and nonobvious. This paper presents a model of sequential innovation in which industry structure is endogenous and a standard of patentability determines the proportion of all inventions that qualify for protection. There is a unique patentability standard, or inventive step, that maximizes the rate of innovation by maximizing the number of firms engaged in R&D. Surprisingly, this standard is more stringent for industries disposed to innovate rapidly. If a single standard is applied to heterogeneous industries, it will encourage entry, and therefore innovation, in some industries while discouraging it in others. The model suggest a number of important implications for patent policy.Patents ; Industries

The development and regulation of consumer credit reporting in America

In the United States today, there is at least one credit bureau file, and probably three, for every credit-using individual in the country. Over 2 billion items of information are added to these files every month, and over 2 million credit reports are issued every day. Real-time access to credit bureau information has reduced the time required to approve a loan from a few weeks to just a few minutes. But credit bureaus have also been criticized for furnishing erroneous information and for compromising privacy. The result has been 30 years of regulation at the state and federal levels. ; This paper describes how the consumer credit reporting industry evolved from a few joint ventures of local retailers around 1900 to a high technology industry that plays a supporting role in America's trillion dollar consumer credit market. In many ways the development of the industry reflects the intuition developed in the theoretical literature on information-sharing arrangements. But the story is richer than the models. Credit bureaus have changed as retail and lending markets changed, and the impressive gains in productivity at credit bureaus are the result of their substantial investments in technology. ; Credit bureaus obviously benefit when their data are more reliable, but should we expect them to attain the socially efficient degree of accuracy? There are plausible reasons to think not, and this is the principal economic rationale for regulating the industry. An examination of the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act reveals an attempt to attain an appropriate economic balancing of the benefits of a voluntary information sharing arrangement against the cost of any resulting mistakes.Consumer credit

You can patent that? Are patents on computer programs and business methods good for the new economy?

In other parts of the economy, firms are increasingly turning to patents to protect not just physical inventions but more abstract ones such as computer programs or ways of doing business. Just two decades ago such patents would have been impossible to obtain, let alone enforce. In "You Can Patent That? Are Patents on Computer Programs and Business Methods Good for the New Economy?" Bob Hunt describes the changes in patent law that have given rise to this phenomenon.Patents ; Computers

What's in the file? The economics and law of consumer credit bureaus.

In "What's in the File? The Economics and Law of Consumer Credit Bureaus," author Bob Hunt points out that lenders in the United States have voluntarily shared information about their customers - through credit bureaus - for nearly a century. Hunt explains how sharing information about consumers' indebtedness and payment histories can benefit both consumers and lenders. These benefits depend, however, on the accuracy of the information reported and the care taken to ensure that information is disclosed only when appropriate. Hunt also describes the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which attempts to address these concerns. He closes by reviewing a number of challenges consumer credit bureaus may face in the early years of this new century. ; Also issued as Payment Cards Center Discussion Paper No. 02-06Credit bureaus ; Consumer credit

Whither consumer credit counseling?

Bob Hunt outlines the history of credit counseling in the U.S. He also observes that, despite its long track record, the credit counseling industry is not without controversy. For example, in recent years, concerns about conflicts of interest and the emergence of a new type of credit counseling agency have triggered significant legislative and regulatory activity. Hunt notes that there is evidence that credit counseling organizations are effective in helping some consumers. However, he points out that the lack of formal research in this area makes it difficult to interpret information and a lot more research needs to be done before we can reach any definitive conclusions. ; Also issued as Payment Cards Center Discussion Paper No. 05-22Credit counseling

Asymmetries arising from the space-filling nature of vascular networks

Cardiovascular networks span the body by branching across many generations of vessels. The resulting structure delivers blood over long distances to supply all cells with oxygen via the relatively short-range process of diffusion at the capillary level. The structural features of the network that accomplish this density and ubiquity of capillaries are often called space-filling. There are multiple strategies to fill a space, but some strategies do not lead to biologically adaptive structures by requiring too much construction material or space, delivering resources too slowly, or using too much power to move blood through the system. We empirically measure the structure of real networks (18 humans and 1 mouse) and compare these observations with predictions of model networks that are space-filling and constrained by a few guiding biological principles. We devise a numerical method that enables the investigation of space-filling strategies and determination of which biological principles influence network structure. Optimization for only a single principle creates unrealistic networks that represent an extreme limit of the possible structures that could be observed in nature. We first study these extreme limits for two competing principles, minimal total material and minimal path lengths. We combine these two principles and enforce various thresholds for balance in the network hierarchy, which provides a novel approach that highlights the trade-offs faced by biological networks and yields predictions that better match our empirical data.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figure