Spatial Autocorrelation

The analysis of spatial distributions and the processes that produce and alter them is a central theme in geographic research and this volume is concerned with statistical methods for analyzing spatial distributions by measuring and testing for spatial autocorrelation. Spatial autocorrelation exists whenever a variable exhibits a regular pattern over space in which its values at a set of locations depend on values of the same variable at other locations. Spatial autocorrelation is present, for example, when similar values cluster together on a map. Spatial autocorrelation statistics make it possible to use formal statistical procedures to measure the dependence among nearby values in a spatial distribution, test hypotheses about geographically distributed variables, and develop statistical models of spatial patterns. Scientific Geography Series Editor: Grant Ian Thrall.https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/rri-web-book/1019/thumbnail.jp

Study of Model Use for Determining Potential Company Sales and Company Decision Behavior for Mazda of Stillwater as Viewed from a Marketing Research Perspective

The purpose of the study was to examine the potential sales of a newly franchised automobile dealer in a relatively small community such as Stillwater, Oklahoma. In order to accomplish this various marketing models were examined after the economic environment of the nation was analyzed with particular emphasis on the recent developments brought about by the energy crisis. The overall tone of the study was one of guarded optimism. The optimism was shown in the industry model where sales for the entire automobile industry were examined and small car sales were seen to be on the rise. The operation and expansion of the Toyo Kogyo Company of Japan was covered in the company model. The company started mass producing rotary engines in 1967 and marketed them to the Mazda automobile. Mazda's competitive position was examined the competitive model. In this model, Mazda's relation to the industry was analyzed and the entry of other automobile manufacturers into the rotary engine field was explored. The costs of inventory acquisition and storage were presented in the channel model. Then the market share model for Stillwater was given. The model viewed the demographic characteristics of the community as they affect advertising and market strategy of the Mazda dealer. As the energy crisis has taken its toll on the economy, the American public has turned to small cars as a means of reducing gas consumption. Small car sales account for more than 50 percent of all autos currently being sold. Mazda, since it was introduced into the U.S. in 1970, has experienced phenomenal growth in sales which should continue in the future. Mazda's sales in Stillwater, however, have been very slow. If this Stillwater dealer is to prosper, he must alter his operations and aggressively seek to expand sales through the judicious use of advertising and salesmanship. He must overcome a poor location, find a qualified salesman, and establish a firm advertising budget. If he continues operations as they are now, his business survival is in jeopardy.Business Administratio

The influence of Crop Plants on Those Which Follow V

This is a study of the effect which crop plants have on the growth and yields of those crops which follow. The study began in 1907; this bulletin reports the results from 1930 to 1942. Millet, mangels and rutabagas generally seem to be harmful to crops which follow them. Carrots, mangels and millet were least favorable of all crops to mangels. Potatoes did poorest when following potatoes, rutabagas, or millet. Rutabagas yielded low following rutabagas, mangels and millet. Onions were unfavorably affect by preceding crops of mangels, cabbage, or rutabagas. There is no simple explanation for the effect of crops on those which follow. The relationships are complex and interdependent, and are associated with the physical, chemical and microbial conditions of the soil. Well fertilized crops in moderately to strongly acid soils apparently produce unfavorable conditions for a succeeding crop for one or more of the following reasons: 1. They deplete basic nutrients with a consequent increase in H-ion concentration, accompanied by possibly harmful concentrations of aluminum or other elements. 2. Unless organic matter is provided, an adequate quantity of water stable aggregates is not maintained so that the soil becomes compact and possesses a poor physical condition unsuitable for maximum crop growth. 3. After certain crops, conditions are more favorable for the growth of plant pathogens and the development of seedling root rot. 4. The chemical, physical and biological conditions of the soil are intimately related and interdependent so that an improvement in one may produce some improvement in the other

An analysis of diversity in agricultural land use in Oregon

An index suitable for measurement of the diversity of agricultural land use is developed. This index is based on a principle of measuring the deviation of a distribution from an even distribution and is similar to indexes employed to measure diversity in manufacturing The index is applied to the thirty-six Oregon counties, using land use data from the 1964 Census of Agriculture. The association of diversity, as measured by the index, with several physical and cultural variables in Oregon counties is then evaluated

Trial-of-antibiotics to assist tuberculosis diagnosis in symptomatic adults in Malawi (ACT-TB study): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Clinical practice and diagnostic algorithms often assume that tuberculosis can be ruled out in mycobacteriology-negative individuals whose symptoms improve with a trial-of-antibiotics. We aimed to investigate diagnostic performance, clinical benefit, and antimicrobial resistance using a randomised controlled trial. Methods: In this three-arm, individually randomised, open-label, controlled trial, we enrolled Malawian adults (aged ≥18 years) attending primary care who reported being unwell for at least 14 days (including cough) with no immediate indication for hospitalisation at Limbe and Ndirande Health Centres in Blantyre. Participants were randomly allocated (1:1:1) to azithromycin (500 mg taken once per day for 3 days), amoxicillin (1 g taken three times per day for 5 days), or standard of care with no immediate antibiotics, stratified by study site. Sputum at enrolment and day 8 was tested for tuberculosis (microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF, and culture). The primary efficacy outcome was day 8 specificity (percentage with symptom improvement among mycobacteriology-negative participants), and day 29 clinical outcome (death, hospitalisation, or missed tuberculosis diagnosis) among all randomised participants. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03545373. Findings: Between Feb 25, 2019, and March 14, 2020, 5825 adults were screened and 1583 (mean age 36 years; 236 [14·9%] HIV positive) were randomly assigned to standard of care (530 participants), azithromycin (527 participants), or amoxicillin (526 participants) groups. Overall, 6·3% (100 of 1583 participants) had positive baseline sputum mycobacteriology. 310 (79·1%) of 392 patients receiving standard of care reported symptom improvement at day 8, compared with 340 (88·7%) of 383 patients receiving azithromycin (adjusted difference 8·6%, 95% CI 3·9-13·3%; p<0·0004) and 346 (89·4%) of 387 receiving amoxicillin (adjusted difference 8·8%, 4·0-13·6%; p=0·0003). The proportion of participants with day 29 composite clinical outcomes was similar between groups (standard of care 1% [7 of 530 participants], azithromycin 1% [6 of 527 participants], amoxicillin 2% [12 of 526 participants]). Interpretation: Routine outpatient trial-of-antibiotics during tuberculosis investigations modestly improved diagnostic specificity for mycobacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis but had no appreciable effect on death, hospitalisation, and missed tuberculosis diagnosis. These results confirm the limited benefit of trial-of-antibiotics, presenting an opportunity for discontinuation of trial-of-antibiotics and improved antimicrobial stewardship during tuberculosis screening, without affecting clinical outcomes. Funding: Northern Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Nord RHF), Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council, and the UK Department for International Development