SUBSTITUTION BETWEEN U.S. AND CANADIAN WHEAT BY CLASS

The importation of hard red winter and durum wheat from Canada has been a source of contention among U.S. wheat growers, due to the likeness between domestic and imported Canadian wheat. It has also been investigated as a source of material injury to the U.S. market. We examine the relative substitution between U.S. and Canadian wheat, by class, by treating wheat as an input in flour production. We find that while U.S. hard red spring wheat and U.S. hard red winter wheat are economic substitutes, there is limited price substitution between U.S. and Canadian durum and U.S. and Canadian hard red spring wheat. Quality differences from the millers' perspective may be the reason driving the import demand for hard red spring and durum wheat from Canada.International Relations/Trade,

Geographical Indications and the Trade Related Property Rights Agreement: A Case Study of Basmati Rice Exports

The recent controversy over the granting of patenting rights to three new strains of Basmati rice by the US Patent and Trademark Office is used as a case study to analyze the impact of incomplete protection of intellectual property. Results suggest that there is evidence that the introduction of a competing product that may infringe on India's geographical indicator has harmed Indian producers in key export markets.International Relations/Trade,

A Study of the use of a manual in the training of operators of Harris Pagination Systems

This thesis focuses on the effectiveness of a selfguided training manual for use by beginners of the Harris Page Layout System. The problem was to prove that this manual, titled A Beginner\u27 s Guide to Harris Pagination Systems and written in conjunction with this study, is an effective instructional tool. Two groups of beginning users of the Harris Page Layout System were used for testing the effectiveness of the manual. The members of the control group were taught the system by an instructor, while the members of the experimental group were taught the system by the aforementioned training manual. Both instructor and manual were to teach these new users the same objectives. An initial survey, the purpose of which was to glean how experienced and comfortable the users were with computers, was given to the entire population of 14 students before any instruction on the Harris system began. Then, the students split up into the two groups and began to learn the system. The members of both groups were required to complete two projects using the Harris Page Layout System: they were to use the system to compose an advertisement and paginate a news page. The instruction they received was to have taught them how to compose a sample advertisement and a sample news page. Then, they were each to complete an advertisement and page on their own. After completing the projects, the members of both groups were required to take a general knowledge exam about the Harris system. Also, final surveys were completed by the population. The experimental group was given a moreextensive final survey, so as to gather particular information about the manual. The final advertisement and page collected from each member were graded on a number of criteria. The total number of mistakes was recorded for each of the two projects. The completed knowledge exams were graded and the scores for them were recorded. The initial and final surveys were analyzed, and anecdotal information was drawn from them. The data from the final projects were analyzed. The average number of mistakes on the final advertisement was exactly the same from one group to the other. An insufficient number of news pages were collected from the experimental group, leading to speculations instead of solid conclusions, regarding that group\u27 s ability to produce better news pages than the control group. If speculation could be considered, then it could be formulated that the experimental group produced better pages than the control group. The scores of the knowledge exam, however, showed that the members of the experimental group were markedly more knowledgeable of the Harris Page Layout System than the members of the control group. The least-knowledgeable member of the experimental group matched the test score of the most-knowledgeable member of the control group. The fact that the average number of mistakes on the advertisement was the same for both the control and experimental group indicates that the manual is at least as good an instructional method as the traditional, verbal instructional method. Adding to this the fact that the exam scores show the members of the experimental group to be more knowledgeable of the Harris system than the members of the control group, the conclusion must be that A Beginner\u27 s Guide to Harris Pagination Systems is an effective instructional tool and possibly a better method of instruction than the traditional method

THE IMPACT OF BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA'S CURRENCY DEVALUATION ON U.S. SOYBEAN TRADE

We analyzed the effects of Brazil and Argentinas currency devaluation on the U.S. soybean import demand in major importing countries. Results indicate that nominal exchange rates between the United States and importers affect the U.S. soybean export market. Additionally, we found evidence that currency depreciations have favored soybean exports from Argentina and Brazil at the cost of reduced exports from the United States. Increased world soybean demand has promoted export sales from major producers, affecting export prices. However, adoption of GM soybeans in the United States has been a determinant in decreased U.S. soybean exports.soybeans, exchange rates, third country effect, EC3SLS., Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

The Impact of Brazil and Argentina's Currency Devaluation on U.S. Soybean Trade

We analyzed the effects of Brazil and Argentina's currency devaluation on the U.S. soybean import demand in major importing countries. Results indicate that nominal exchange rates between the United States and importers affect the U.S. soybean export market. Additionally, we found evidence that currency depreciations have favored soybean exports from Argentina and Brazil at the cost of reduced exports from the United States. Increased world soybean demand has promoted export sales from major producers, affecting export prices. Adoption of GM soybeans in the United States has been a determinant in decreased U.S. soybean import demand.International Relations/Trade,

Exchange Rate Dynamics and the Bilateral Trade Balance: The Case of U.S. Agriculture

This study examines the dynamic effects of changes in exchange rates on bilateral trade of agricultural products between the United States and its 15 major trading partners. Special attention is paid to investigate whether or not the J-curve hypothesis holds for U.S. agricultural trade. For this purpose, an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration is applied to quarterly time-series data from 1989 and 2007. Results show that the exchange rate plays a crucial role in determining the short- and long-run behavior of U.S. agricultural trade. However, we find little evidence of the J-curve phenomenon for U.S. agricultural products with the United States’ major trading partners.agricultural trade, autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration, bilateral trade, J-curve effect, International Relations/Trade, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

A tour-de-force in polymer crosslinked aerogels

In the quest of building mechanically strong materials with low density and high porosity, polymer crosslinked aerogels stand as the most promising nano-engineered examples. Covalent attachment of polymers and bridging of skeletal nanoparticles of typical aerogels is demonstrated by using surface initiated polymerization (SIP) with a bidentate free-radical initiator structurally related to azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and confined on mesoporous silica surfaces. Different monomers were introduced in the mesopores and upon heating at 70⁰C, all mesoporous surfaces throughout the entire skeletal framework were coated conformally with a 10-12 nm thick polymer layer indistinguishable spectroscopically from the respective commercial bulk materials. The new materials combine hydrophobicity with vastly improved mechanical properties. Resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) aerogels are pursued as precursors of carbon aerogels, which are electrically conducting. We have developed a HCl-catalyzed gelation process in CH₃CN, which is completed in ~ 2 h at room temperature as opposed to the week-long base-catalyzed literature process. The final aerogels are spectroscopically indistinguishable from typical base-catalyzed samples. Carbon (C-) aerogels are made by pyrolysis of RF aerogels, and combine electrical conductivity with a high open mesoporosity. Nevertheless, macropores facilitate mass-transfer and they could be beneficial for applications in separations or as fuel cell and battery electrodes. Here, we report a method where an open macroporosity is introduced by pyrolysing RF aerogels whose skeletal nanoparticles have been coated conformally and crosslinked chemically with an isocyanate-derived polymer. The new macroporous material was evaluated electrochemically for possible application as an electrode in batteries and fuel cells --Abstract, page iv

The J-Curve Phenomenon: Myth or Reality?

This study examines the J-curve phenomenon for the U.S. agricultural trade and compares the effect on agricultural trade relative to the U.S. non-agricultural trade. For this purpose, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is adopted to estimate bilateral trade data between the U.S. and her three major trading partners ¦¡ Japan, Canada and Mexico. We find little evidence of the J-curve for the U.S. agricultural trade with Japan, Canada and Mexico. For the non-agricultural trade, on the other hand, the behavior of the U.S. trade with industrialized economies such as Japan and Canada follows the J-curve, but not with developing economies such as Mexico.International Relations/Trade,

Empirically Analyzing the Impacts of U.S. Export Credit Programs on U.S. Agricultural Export Competitiveness

This paper looked at the on the ongoing debate on the use of public export credit programs and their impact on US exports. Our results indicate that cost saving is significant beneficial to the importing countries as a result of the export credit programs. There is also an increase in US exports as a result of the US export credit programs. However, there is a reduction in cost savings to the importing countries when the length of repayment of export credit is 180 days. Thus, the more restrictive terms and conditions of officially supported export credits which the WTO is trying to discipline based on their implicitly subsidized components will have some adverse impact on the importing countries.International Relations/Trade,

ESTIMATING EFFICIENCY MEASURES IN NORTH DAKOTA FARMS

A normalized Quadratic Cost function is estimated using data from 1998-2003 to analyze the cost structure of North Dakota farms. Results indicate that there is overall evidence of increasing returns to scale. However, we do not find differences in efficiency across the different farm sizes. Marginal costs scale economies do not differ significantly across the different size categories, indicating that small and medium farms are just as efficient as the larger farms.normalized quadratic cost function, economies of scale, Productivity Analysis,