MANURE VALUE AND LIVEWEIGHT SWINE DECISIONS

Produced as a joint product, economic theory suggests that manure value could influence livestock management decisions such as herd size and optimal market weights. This study examines the concept of manure and its connection with optimal replacement age or market weight. A model of a swine finishing operation representative of North Carolina conditions is developed. Over the range of conditions considered, manure value is negative and does not affect market weights. The marginal per head change in manure value is small relative to the marginal per head change in net returns from pork production. Further, economies of scale with respect to irrigation cause manure value to increase with herd size.Manure value, Market weight, Response surface, Swine, Livestock Production/Industries,

Chronic Absenteeism: Exploring Causes, Impacts, and Interventions in Education

Chronic absenteeism among students presents a significant challenge within the educational landscape, impacting academic performance and contributing to educational disparities. This research delves into the multifaceted issue of chronic absenteeism, aiming to identify its root causes, implications, and potential interventions. The study examines diverse factors influencing student attendance, including socioeconomic barriers, health conditions, transportation challenges, and their subsequent impact on academic achievement. Moreover, it explores the inequities prevalent in absenteeism, aiming to shed light on disparities among student populations

Internalizing Externalities when there are Significant Private Non-Market Rents

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Examining the Feasibility of Implementing a Deconstruction Nonprofit in East St. Louis, IL

Background: According to an environmental justice case study by Kozol (2005), East St. Louis is considered the country\u27s most distressed city. It has suffered from environmental and economic misfortunes for several decades. Many residents of the city have left due to the economic conditions of the city, which resulted in a loss of tax base. According to Hou (2010), the loss of tax base has had a severe impact on the community; the city that once had flourishing parks, streets, and businesses has now become blighted with condemned, abandoned, and foreclosed structures. Poor maintenance and neglect has led to decay of many of the structures within the city. While the local government works diligently to improve the economic conditions of the city, it is fiscally constrained (Hou, 2010). Purpose: The purpose of this study is examine the feasibility of implementing a nonprofit organization in East St. Louis, Illinois with a mission of deconstructing condemned, abandoned, and foreclosed structures in order to assist in the development of the community. This study examines the market conditions of the city as well as potential barriers to entry of a deconstruction nonprofit in East St. Louis. Methods: This qualitative study includes a case study of a local St. Louis-based deconstruction nonprofit organization to analyze a regional market conditions. The study further consists of semi-structured interviews of deconstruction nonprofit leaders throughout the nation to realize day-to-day challenges faced with meeting organizational missions. Local public officials are interviewed as well in order to examine what public policies or local government involvement is in place in the community that may attribute to the success or failure of a deconstruction nonprofit. Results: An analysis of the data gathered in study demonstrates that it would be feasible for a deconstruction nonprofit to exist in East St. Louis, Illinois; however, the mission of the organization would have to be expanded to focus more on employment opportunities and civic engagements. While the organization could still aid in deconstructing condemned, abandoned, and foreclosed structures in order to assist in the development of the community as well as divert materials from landfills, the primary focus would have to be the economic and social benefit provided to the citizens of the city of East St. Louis. While challenges exist with working with the city, they can likely be overcome with steady communication and education regarding the benefits of deconstruction. Conclusions: Replicating the Refab nonprofit model with the support of the city of East St. Louis is the most appropriate way forward. Establishing a used building material retail operations (UBMRO) in East St. Louis aids in instilling confidence in city leaders and residents that the nonprofit is there to aid in the development of the city. In order to be successful the nonprofit would need to work closely with the city of East St. Louis

Polychromatic X-Ray Attenuation Characteristics and Wood Densitometry Applications

The use of polychromatic X-ray energy in wood densitometry complicates the mathematical relationship between the material and X-ray attenuation. Attenuation of polychromatic X-ray energy through cellulose acetate was investigated and characterized. Under polychromatic radiation with 30 keV maximum photon energy, an attenuation coefficient of 0.638 cm2/g was determined for samples of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) from two trees at 9% equilibrium moisture content. X-ray energy was sensitive to wood moisture content within a 2% range

Resource targets for advanced underground coal extraction systems

Resource targets appropriate for federal sponsorship of research and development of advanced underground coal mining systems are identified. A comprehensive examination of conventional and unconventional coals with particular attention to exceptionally thin and thick seams, steeply dipping beds, and multiple seam geometry was made. The results indicate that the resource of primary importance is flat lying bituminous coal of moderate thickness, under moderate cover, and located within the lower 48 states. Resources of secondary importance are the flat lying multiple seams and thin seams (especially those in Appalachia). Steeply dipping coals, abandoned pillars, and exceptionally thick western coals may be important in some regions of subregions, but the limited tonnage available places them in a position of tertiary importance

Are Introductory Courses A Proper Venue for Deep Thought about the Discipline?

An introductory course is the discipline\u27s handshake; it is the greeting that either seals the deal or in varying degrees convinces the learner that this discipline has little usefulness. Given the huge stakes in forming a strategy for the introductory course, how should we structure the course? The argument in this paper is that we should encourage students to think deeply about the discipline. In other words, we should encourage an appreciation for the complexity of the vocabulary, the underlying assumptions, and the kinds of evidence relied on in the discipline in question

Determinants of Agricultural Landowners’ Willingness to Supply Open Space Through Conservation Easements

Open space provides a range of benefits to many people of a community, beyond the benefits that accrue to private landowners. Parks and natural areas can be used for recreation; wetlands and forests supply storm-water drainage and wildlife habitat; farms and forests provide aesthetic benefits to surrounding residents. Moreover, undeveloped land can give relief from congestion. Agricultural lands are an important source of open space, but many of these lands are under great development pressure. One tool that is currently being used to aid in the preservation of open space by landowners is conservation easements. The rate of land protection by state and local land trusts has tripled since the beginning of the decade, and the West is the fastest growing region for both the number of acres under conservation easements and number of land trusts according to the Land Trust Alliance. Given the increased demand for amenities provided by private agricultural lands and the increased use of conservation easements, it is interesting to note that there is a paucity of research related to landowners’ preferences regarding conservation easements. The specific research objective of this paper is to determine important factors affecting an agricultural landowners’ potential choice regarding the placement of a parcel of land under a conservation easement. Knowing these factors could be useful to communities, public organizations and land trusts trying to provide open space to meet a growing demand for this public good. Information to construct a survey was obtained through a series of focus groups held in Wyoming and Colorado. Results from these focus groups were then used to develop twelve versions of a stated choice survey instrument. The first part of the survey included questions about the landowner’s specific community. These Likert scale questions were to designed to elicit a measurement of the respondents’ “sense of place” regarding his or her community. The second part of the survey questioned participants about their land and their land’s attributes, including what the landowner felt his land was worth, types of production and non-production activities land was used for, the types of developmental pressures being felt by the landowner, and the kinds of amenities he would like to conserve on his property. The third section of the survey included questions about the landowner’s personal knowledge of easements and two stated choice questions regarding conservation easements. These stated choice questions focused on five attributes: contract length, managerial control, wildlife habitat, access and payment. The final section of the survey asked respondents about demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed as a multinomial logit random utility model in LIMDEP. Respondents preferred an easement that was in perpetuity over an easement that was term in length. Respondents were less likely to accept an easement if public access on their property was required. As payment proportion in relation to the respondents’ perception of the value of their land went up, so did the likelihood that they would accept the easement. Landowners in Colorado were more likely to accept an easement than landowners in Wyoming. This is somewhat expected as developmental pressures in Colorado are higher than Wyoming, and thus far more easements have been transacted in Colorado than in Wyoming. Years on the land and connection to community were significant in explaining the acceptance of an easement scenario. The more connected one was to their community, the more likely they were to accept an easement. The longer a respondent had lived on their land, the more likely they were to accept an easement as well. The level of education a respondent had achieved negatively impacted easement acceptance. If an easement was already in place on a respondents’ property, the likelihood of accepting an easement scenario increased significantly.Land Economics/Use,

EVOLVING CONSERVATION EASEMENT MARKETS IN THE WEST

Land Economics/Use,

Burn-Out Among Social Work Professionals: A Behavioral Approach to Causal and Interventive Knowledge

Although the phenomenon of staff burn-out represents a significant problem for the effective administration and functioning of social service settings, there has been a general paucity of empirically based research on this issue. The staggering financial, personal and social costs associated with staff burn-out emphasize the fact that we can no longer accept the sole use of descriptive and correlational studies of the problem. This paper suggests refocusing our theoretical perspective of the problem of staff burn-out from an emphasis on the dispositional qualities of burnedout staff members, to examining the social and situational contingencies of reinforcement responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of burnout. In addition, this paper discusses the application of experimental methodologies designed to identify causative factors and evaluate interventive procedures. It is believed that this approach will facilitate our understanding of the causes of burn-out and assist in developing effective interventive procedures