THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS INTEGRITY IN THE FUTURE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: A SCENARIO ANALYSIS

The emergence of biotechnology in crop and livestock applications has been an issue of great controversy. Proponents argue that the potential benefits are dramatic while opponents have raised many concerns about the technology's risks. The Starlink debacle is a prime example of the undesirable outcomes which the debate has created. Given the controversy, what is the future of biotechnology for food uses? This paper is designed to address this question with a focus on the feasible range of alternative futures (scenarios) that could emerge. As a major variable in this analysis, the integrity of the scientific and business communities plays a critically important role. The paper begins with a description of three key uncertainties-food security, environmental/health impacts, and consumer reaction-that will define the future for biotechnology's use in food applications. Based on these uncertainties, four alternative future scenarios for biotechnology are presented. The role of messenger integrity is then introduced. The integrity of various possible messengers (scientists, businesses, government, and non-profits) is examined. The concept of integrity is then used to address a series of current biotechnology issues. Throughout the paper, comparisons and contrasts between the developed and developing world are made.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Effect of Endgame Tablebases on Modern Chess Engines

Modern chess engines have the ability to augment their evaluation by using massive tables containing billions of positions and their memorized solutions. This report examines the importance of these tables to better understand the circumstances under which they should be used. The analysis conducted in this paper empirically examines differences in size and speed of memorized positions and their impacts on engine strength. Using this technique, situations where memorized tables improve play (and situations where they do not) are discovered

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: A SCENARIO ANALYSIS

Over the years agricultural technology has created remarkable commodity production growth rates and enhanced general economic growth through food production, manufactured goods and trade for most nations. Biotechnology holds the promise of continuing this remarkable record. There is a long list of potential benefits of biotechnology but unfortunately the perceived costs/risks are also many. These concerns have lead to significant consumer reluctance to accept the technology and, in some cases, outright consumer rejection of the technology. To discuss the future of biotechnology, scenario analysis is used to examine the social and economic impact of biotechnology on industrialized and emerging nations. Four scenarios are discussed in detail: biotechnology may be formally or informally banned (Scenario 1), fully accepted (Scenario 2), marketed through strict labeling (Scenario 3), or limited to non-food applications (Scenario 4). Consumer acceptance of this technology will be key to determining which scenario becomes the future for each nation. The likelihood of each scenario is different for each nation, the U.S. will most likely evolve into scenario 2 or 3, while in the EU scenarios 1 or 4 are more likely. Determining the future for emerging nations is extremely complex and dependent on several factors like malnutrition rates, environmental safety and historical trading routes. Each scenario has a major impact on small producers worldwide which ultimately influences the health of rural communities. The analysis indicates that emerging nations are the most sensitive to the timing of decisions being made about the future of biotechnology. If biotechnology becomes a reality, new data will be required to assess the social and economic impact of this technology.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

ALTERNATIVE ITALIAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS IN THE CHANGING EU FOOD SYSTEM

The European food system is undergoing significant change driven both by global competitive forces and local conditions. Market globalization and technological innovation are interacting with the reform of EU's agricultural policies (CAP) and a renewed interest by the European society in the social and environmental functions of agriculture. These factors have created a new and challenging economic environment both for farmers and the food industry across Europe (Tarditi, 1997).Agribusiness,

MEMBERS' FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND COOPERATIVES' DECISION PROCESSES

The paper presents an analysis of cooperative investment decision based on the coalition theoretical framework (Staatz 1983, 1987, 1989). According to this framework, cooperatives can be considered as coalitions of groups with different interests. The behavior of any cooperative is determined by the interaction of its many groups (different types of farmers, managers, lenders, input suppliers, buyers, etc.) with different objectives. The group that can impose its will on the coalition will determine the cooperative's strategy. The other parties may accept this leadership, leave the cooperative or try to use their bargaining power to modify the final outcome. The paper discusses the impact of group bargaining on cooperatives' decision process. In particular, the paper addresses the issues related to the consequences of members' heterogeneity on cooperative efficiency. The proposed model utilizes tools from financial theory already successfully applied in the literature (Peterson 1992, Hendrikse 1998) providing a more detailed insight into the determinants of the cooperative decision process. The paper shows that cooperatives evaluate investments differently from IOFs due to the unique characteristics of their patrons compared to other types of investors.Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,

The Health Benefits of Nature: Introduction to the Special Section

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88004/1/j.1758-0854.2011.01056.x.pd

EFFECTS OF MANAGERS' POWER ON CAPITAL STRUCTURE: A STUDY ON ITALIAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES

Agribusiness,

The Effects of Voice Pitch on Perceptions of Robots

While previous research in human-robot interaction (HRI) has shown people respond similarly to vocal cues in robot speech as they do with human speech, there has been minimal research into the effects of voice pitch. This study investigates whether vocal pitch in robot speech will evoke stereotypical evaluations of the robot speaker. To explore this, multiple voices were synthesized from various text-to-speech applications and then manipulated to have a raised or lowered pitch. Participants will be asked to rate these voices on various scales such as competence, trustworthiness, and likeability. We expect our results to conform with the current literature on human voice pitch and encourage further research on the effects of the voice on HRI

A Prospective Study of Positive Psychological Well-Being and Coronary Heart Disease

Objective: Research suggests that positive psychological well-being is associated with cardiovascular health. However, much of this research uses elderly samples and has not determined the pathways by which psychological well-being influences cardiovascular disease or whether effects are similar for men and women. This study investigates the association between two aspects of well-being (emotional vitality and optimism) and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a sample of middle-aged men and women, and considers potential mediating factors. Method: Between 1991 and 1994, well-being and coronary risk factors were assessed among 7,942 individuals without a prior cardiovascular event from the Whitehall II cohort. Incident CHD (fatal CHD, first nonfatal myocardial infarction, or first definite angina) was tracked during 5 person-years of follow-up. Results: Positive psychological well-being was associated with reduced risk of CHD with an apparent threshold effect. Relative to people with the lowest levels of well-being, those with the highest levels had minimally adjusted hazard ratios of 0.74, 95% confidence interval [0.55, 0.98] for emotional vitality and 0.73, 95% confidence interval [0.54, 0.99] for optimism. Moreover, the association was strong for both genders and was only weakly attenuated when accounting for ill-being. Neither health-related behaviors nor biological factors explained these associations. Conclusions: Positive psychological well-being was associated with a modest, but consistent reduced risk of incident CHD. The relationship was comparable for men and women, and was maintained after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors and ill-being. Additional research is needed to identify underlying mechanisms and investigate whether interventions to increase well-being may enhance cardiovascular health