COLLECTIVE REPUTATION AND QUALITY

Firms who sell a regional or specialty product often share a common or collective reputation, which is based on the group's aggregate quality. The dynamic problem of collective reputation is similar to the natural resource extraction problems. Therefore, for the analysis of this particular problem, we use differential games. If there is unrestricted access to a common property resource (the reputation stock), agents perceive its shadow value to be zero and extract too rapidly; i.e, they all "cheat" on quality, "milking" the rents generated by the existence of the resource (reputation stock). We show that when there exists a collective product reputation without firm traceability, the firms will extract too much from the stock of reputation. A firm is said to "extract" reputation from the reputation stock when it sells low-quality products at high prices given by the high past levels of quality. The firm builds on the group's reputation when it provides a product with a quality level which is higher than the expected level of quality. The results from this work support minimum quality standards for producer groups and regional and specialty products. This is in contrast to the findings of previous work. Finally, the implications of these results are discussed as they relate to the case study of Washington apples. We present the case of Washington apples in light of the results of the analytical model.Agribusiness,

A methodology for testing fault-tolerant software

A methodology for testing fault tolerant software is presented. There are problems associated with testing fault tolerant software because many errors are masked or corrected by voters, limiter, or automatic channel synchronization. This methodology illustrates how the same strategies used for testing fault tolerant hardware can be applied to testing fault tolerant software. For example, one strategy used in testing fault tolerant hardware is to disable the redundancy during testing. A similar testing strategy is proposed for software, namely, to move the major emphasis on testing earlier in the development cycle (before the redundancy is in place) thus reducing the possibility that undetected errors will be masked when limiters and voters are added

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Washington Apples with Respect to Sensory Attributes

To evaluate consumers willingness to pay (WTP) for Washington apples, the effects of firmness and sweetness as the representative sensory attributes are investigated in addition to those of consumer demographics and preferences. A tasting survey was conducted in Portland, Oregon on two varieties of apples, Gala and Red Delicious. Survey data is analyzed by employing a dichotomous-choice contingent valuation method, the double-bounded model, and maximum likelihood estimates are obtained. This study shows that firmer and sweeter apples induce more WTP. Age is also an important factor affecting WTP for apples. Education, eating frequency, and race affect WTP in the Gala model but not the Red Delicious. Other variables, such as gender, annual household income level, and whether they buy organic food, do not add significant explanatory power in estimating consumers WTP.Consumer/Household Economics,

Executable assertions and flight software

Executable assertions are used to test flight control software. The techniques used for testing flight software; however, are different from the techniques used to test other kinds of software. This is because of the redundant nature of flight software. An experimental setup for testing flight software using executable assertions is described. Techniques for writing and using executable assertions to test flight software are presented. The error detection capability of assertions is studied and many examples of assertions are given. The issues of placement and complexity of assertions and the language features to support efficient use of assertions are discussed

Dynamic assertion testing of flight control software

Digital Flight Control System (DFCS) software was used as a test case for assertion testing. The assertions were written and embedded in the code, then errors were inserted (seeded) one at a time and the code executed. Results indicate that assertion testing is an effective and efficient method of detecting errors in flight software. Most errors are eliminate at an earlier stage in the development than before

Dynamic assertion testing of flight control software

An experiment in using assertions to dynamically test fault tolerant flight software is described. The experiment showed that 87% of typical errors introduced into the program would be detected by assertions. Detailed analysis of the test data showed that the number of assertions needed to detect those errors could be reduced to a minimal set. The analysis also revealed that the most effective assertions tested program parameters that provided greater indirect (collateral) testing of other parameters

The Watchdog Task: Concurrent error detection using assertions

The Watchdog Task, a software abstraction of the Watchdog-processor, is shown to be a powerful error detection tool with a great deal of flexibility and the advantages of watchdog techniques. A Watchdog Task system in Ada is presented; issues of recovery, latency, efficiency (communication) and preprocessing are discussed. Different applications, one of which is error detection on a single processor, are examined

Weaving the Threads: A Theory of Pastoral Supervision

AAPC Theory Paper. Pastoral Supervision: Weaving the Thread

AN OPTION VALUE APPROACH TO VALUING PRESERVATION PROPERTIES

There has been a recent trend towards purchasing land for farmland preservation, wildlife refuges, other conservation, and cultural and historical preservation. There is a great deal of unexplained variation in the dollars paid per acre for these properties. The theoretical basis for this analysis is an option value model with stochastic returns to development. The data used in our analysis is sales transactions data for natural resource conservation and farmland preservation purposes from throughout the United States. We find that land, when it would be best used for development, but is not developed, has a significantly higher price.Land Economics/Use,