The employment benefits of organic farming

Organic farming in the UK provides a range of economic and social benefi ts. In particular, it provides 32% more jobs per farm than equivalent non-organic farms. These new findings are based on the fi rst national survey of employment on UK organic farms, carried out by the University of Essex for the Soil Association. Organic farming is helping to reverse the decline in the UK’s agricultural workforce, which has fallen by 80% in the last 50 years. In contrast to the ageing overall farming population, organic farmers are, on average, seven years younger than their non-organic counterparts. Organic farmers are also three times more likely to be engaged in business innovations activities, such as direct marketing and on-farm processing. If all UK farmers adopted organic farming, it would produce an additional 93,000 on-farm jobs. These findings have significant implications for developing countries where a skilled agricultural workforce is vital to safeguard livelihoods and ensure global food security

California Methanol Assessment; Volume II, Technical Report

A joint effort by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has brought together sponsors from both the public and private sectors for an analysis of the prospects for methanol use as a fuel in California, primarily for the transportation and stationary application sectors. Increasing optimism in 1982 for a slower rise in oil prices and a more realistic understanding of the costs of methanol production have had a negative effect on methanol viability in the near term (before the year 2000). Methanol was determined to have some promise in the transportation sector, but is not forecasted for large-scale use until beyond the year 2000. Similarly, while alternative use of methanol can have a positive effect on air quality (reducing NOx, SOx, and other emissions), a best case estimate is for less than 4% reduction in peak ozone by 2000 at realistic neat methanol vehicle adoption rates. Methanol is not likely to be a viable fuel in the stationary application sector because it cannot compete economically with conventional fuels except in very limited cases. On the production end, it was determined that methanol produced from natural gas will continue to dominate supply options through the year 2000, and the present and planned industry capacity is somewhat in excess of all projected needs. Nonsubsidized coal-based methanol cannot compete with conventional feedstocks using current technology, but coal-based methanol has promise in the long term (after the year 2000), providing that industry is willing to take the technical and market risks and that government agencies will help facilitate the environment for methanol. Given that the prospects for viable major markets (stationary applications and neat fuel in passenger cars) are unlikely in the 1980s and early 1990s, the next steps for methanol are in further experimentation and research of production and utilization technologies, expanded use as an octane enhancer, and selected fleet implementation. In the view of the study, it is not advantageous at this time to establish policies within California that attempt to expand methanol use rapidly as a neat fuel for passenger cars or to induce electric utility use of methanol on a widespread basis

Free Agents, Fire Sales, and Fungoes: An Econometric Examination of Team Success in Major League Baseball

This paper explores what good organizational strategies baseball teams use to put themselves into the group of those that win more often than they lose, and conversely, what poor strategies cause teams to fall into the group of those who lose more than they win

California methanol assessment. Volume 1: Summary report

The near term methanol industry, the competitive environment, long term methanol market, the transition period, air quality impacts of methanol, roles of the public and private sectors are considered

Do Job, Age, and Place of Residence Matter for Gaming Activity? A Study of the Mid-Colorado River Communities

A household survey in the mid-Colorado River communities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona examined local residents\u27 gaming activities. A censored regression analysis distinguished between factors affecting gaming participation versus expenditures. Results suggest that gaming behavior can often be predicted with knowledge of individuals\u27 residence, workplace, and other household demographic characteristics. Both local government agencies and casino managers can use the results to make better-informed decisions

Objective Measurement of Sleep by Smartphone Application: Comparison with Actigraphy and Relation to Cognition, Mood, and Self-Reported Sleep

Over the past six decades, polysomnography, actigraphy, and most recently smartphone technology have created a trifecta of options for measuring sleep. It remains to be seen whether smartphone applications are comparable to actigraphy in objectively monitoring sleep. The present study had 29 healthy adult participants fill out a sleep diary and use the Sleep Time app (Azumio, Inc.) to monitor their sleep for one week. A subset of 19 participants also wore an actigraphy bracelet. Self-report questionnaires characterized sleep habits and psychological profiles of participants, while cognitive assessments were implemented to examine potential correlations between total sleep time (TST) and/or sleep efficiency and executive functioning. The smartphone app overestimated TST when compared to actigraphy, yielding a significant difference, t(18) = -6.64, p = .01, r2 = .71. Moreover, a statistical trend indicated that the app also overestimated sleep efficiency, t(18) = -2.06, p = .06, r2 = .12 There were no correlations between self-reported sleep quality and performance on cognitive tasks or total number of caffeinated beverages consumed in this sample. Overall, results show that this smartphone app is not accurate in monitoring TST or sleep efficiency when compared to actigraphy. Future research is needed to investigate the utility of smartphone applications in monitoring sleep in clinical populations and across other smartphone apps and phone models

The Effects of E. Coli 0157:H7, FMD and BSE on Japanese Retail Beef Prices: A Historical Decomposition

This study examines the time-varying Japanese price reactions to the 2001 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) discovery, the 2000 outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD), and the 1996 E. coli food po isoning events. Historical decomposition of retail-level price-series aids in explaining the behavior of beef prices in a neighborhood (period-by-period time interval) of the three events. This is based on an application of directed acyclic graphs, constructing orthogonal innovations to determine causal patterns behind contemporaneous innovations. The results show the beef safety events had different negative impacts on Japanese retail beef prices, suggesting that consumers understood and differentiated among the health risks. The results provide incentives for beef producers and retailers to proactively inform consumers about ongoing beef safety measures. Understanding consumer reaction to BSE, FMD and E. coli helps the beef industry restore consumer confidence after future food safety crises, and provides policy makers a basis for countermeasures and compensations.Japan, beef prices, BSE, FMD, E. coli, historical decomposition., Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Q11, Q13,

Korean‐American Military Brat Lands in NH and Seeks to Improve Mental Health Training for Future Pediatricians

Early recognition of psychiatric disorders is a crucial part of improving a patient’s quality of life. Pediatricians are vital in detecting child anxiety, but studies show a lack of training in evaluating, managing, and treating anxiety disorders. Furthermore, there is limited research regarding clinical decision making among early‐career medical professionals. I joined the Pediatric Anxiety Training Study (PATS), managed by Dr. Nicholas Mian at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, which aims to improve pediatric residents’ ability to evaluate anxiety disorders. I focused on the possible influence of medical resident characteristics (career focus, interest in child mental health issues, and level of experience) on clinical decision‐making factors (diagnosing, referring, and interference ratings). I focused on an assessment in which the resident watched a video showing a patient with anxiety symptoms and then responded to questions. Results show that residents interested in a career in clinical/primary care, as opposed to a career in academic/emergency medicine, reported that the child needed to be referred sooner and that the anxiety was affecting the child to a higher degree. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between a resident’s level of interest in child mental health issues and how urgently the resident would refer the child for treatment. In addition, 78 percent of residents reported receiving “not enough” training on evaluating anxiety disorders. This study has shown the need to use enhanced physician‐education tools and an interdisciplinary approach between clinical psychologists and primary care physicians in order to improve patient outcomes

Close-Range Photogrammetric Measurement of Static Deflections for an Aeroelastic Supercritical Wing

Close range photogrammetric measurements were made for the lower wing surface of a full span aspect ratio 10.3 aeroelastic supercritical research wing. The measurements were made during wind tunnel tests for quasi-steady pressure distributions on the wing. The tests were conducted in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at Mach numbers up to 0.90 and dynamic pressures up to 300 pounds per square foot. Deflection data were obtained for 57 locations on the wing lower surface using dual non-metric cameras. Representative data are presented as graphical overview to show variations and trends of spar deflection with test variables. Comparative data are presented for photogrammetric and cathetometric results of measurements for the wing tip deflections. A tabulation of the basic measurements is presented in a supplement to this report