Dynamic Factor Demand Models, Productivity Measurement, and Rates of Return: Theory and an Empirical Application to the U.S. Bell System

Prucha and Nadiri (1982,1986,1988) introduced a methodology to estimate systems of dynamic factor demand that allows for considerable flexibility in both the choice of the functional form of the technology and the expectation formation process. This paper applies this methodology to estimate the production structure, and the demand for labor, materials, capital and R&D by the U.S. Bell System. The paper provides estimates for short-, intermediate- and long-run price and output elasticities of the inputs, as well as estimates on the rate of return on capital and R&D. The paper also discusses the issue of the measurement of technical change if the firm is in temporary rather than long-run equilibrium and the technology is not assumed to be linear homogeneous The paper provides estimates for input and output based technical change as well as for returns to scale. Furthermore, the paper gives a decomposition of the traditional measure of total factor productivity growth.

Comparison and Analysis of Productivity Growth and R&D Investment in theElectrical Machinery Industries of the United States and Japan

This paper presents a comparative analysis of productivity growth in the U.S. and Japanese electrical machinery industries in the postwar period. This industry has experienced rapid growth in output and productivity and high rates of capital formation in both countries. A substantial amount of R&D resources of the total manufacturing sectors in both countries is concentrated In the electrical machinery industry. Also, this industry has an active export orientation in both countries. The analysis of the paper is based on dynamic factor demand models describing the production structure and the behavior of factor inputs as well as the determinants of productivity growth in the U.S. and Japanese electrical machinery industry. The analysis shows that the production structure of the industry in both countries is characterized by increasing returns to scale; the factors of production do respond to changes in factor prices; and the existence of a pattern of substitution and complementarity among the inputs. The main sources of productivity growth are: growth in materials; technical change; and capital accumulation. R&D expenditures have also contributed significantly to growth of labor and productivity while the most important source of total factor productivity in this industry for both countries has been the scale effect followed by changes in technical progress.

R&D, Production Structure, and Productivity Growth in the U.S., Japaneseand German Manufacturing Sectors

The paper analyzes the production structure and the demand for inputs in three major industrialized countries, the U.S., Japan and Germany. A dynamic factor demand model with two variable inputs (labor and energy)and two quasi-fixed inputs (capital and R&D) is derived directly from an intertemporal cost-minimization problem formulated in discrete time. Adjustment costs are explicitly specified. The model is estimated for the manufacturing sector of the three countries using annual data from 1965 to 1977. Particular attention is given to the role of R&D. For all countries the rate of return on R&D is found to be higher than that on capital. Their respective magnitudes are similar across countries.We find considerable differences in factor demand schedules; we also find that for all countries the speed of adjustment for capital is higher than that of R&D. Adjustment costs are of importance in the demand equations for capital and R&D, but play a minor role in the decomposition of total factor productivity growth.

STUDI KOMPARASI VARIASI STRUKTUR SEL EPIDERMIS DAN STOMATA PADA BEBERAPA TANAMAN FAMILIA EUPHORBIACEAE

Telah dilakukan penelitian untuk menentukan struktur sel epidermis dan stomata pada beberapa tumbuhan anggota Suku Euphorbiaceae yang merupakan anggota marga Codiaeum, Euphorbia dan Jatropha. Metode deskriptif komparatif digunakan untuk menggambarkan struktur sel epidemis dan stomata daun puring, pakis giwang dan jarak pagar berdasarkan pengamatan irisan memanjang sel-sel epidermis pada permukaan bawah daun dengan menggunakan mikroskop. Penilitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif komperatif , yaitu menggambarkan,menginterpretasi dan membandingkan srtuktur sel epidermis dan stomata daun tumbuhan suku euphorbiaceae khususnya tumbuhan puring, pakis giwang dan jarak paga

Preferensi Responden terhadap Keragaan Tanaman dan Kualitas Produk Beberapa Varietas Unggul Baru Padi

INDONESIA Varietas unggul baru merupakan salah satu teknologi utama dalam penerapan PTT yang paling dominan digunakan untuk meningkatkan produktivitas padi serta paling cepat diadopsi oleh petani. Beberapa upaya dalam program diseminasi telah dilakukan oleh BPTP untuk memperkenalkan varietas unggul baru secara langsung kepada responden (petani dan penyuluh) sehingga dapat mengetahui kualitas dari varietas yang baru dikenal. Preferensi responden terhadap VUB sangat penting diketahui sehingga BUMN/UPBS produsen benih VUB dapat menentukan target produksi benih yang akan diperbanyak dan disebarkan kepada petani. Pengkajian bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat kesukaan responden terhadap keragaan tanaman, gabah, beras, dan nasi beberapa varietas padi sawah yang sedang dikembangkan Litbang. Pengkajian dilaksanakan pada bulan Maret-Oktober 2012 di Kabupaten Karawang – Jawa Barat. Responden yang terlibat sebanyak 50 orang yang terdiri dari kepala BP3K dan ketua KTNA se Kabupaten Karawang. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode survey dengan alat kuisioner. Media dan materi yang dijadikan bahan studi display VUB pada gelar teknologi BPTP, gabah padi VUB yang sudah dibersihkan, dan nasi dari masing-masing varietas sebanyak 5 VUB (Inpari 13, 14, 15, 20, sidenuk) dan Ciherang Jumbo sebagai kontrol. Hasil pengkajian menunjukan bahwa keragaan tanaman yang banyak disukai oleh responden adalah Inpari 14. Inpari 20 paling banyak disukai untuk karakter bentuk gabah, Inpari 15 untuk karakter warna gabah, dan Ciherang untuk karakter ukuran gabah dan ukuran beras. Responden menyukai semua kualitas nasi dari semua varietas yang diujikan. Pemilihan varietas yang memiliki bentuk beras yang disukai responden dapat ditentukan berdasarkan bentuk gabah yang disukainya. Sedangkan pemilihan varietas berdasarkan karakter nasi tidak dapat diduga oleh penilaian karakter yang ada pada gabah maupun beras.INGGRI

The Intertwined Successional Development of the Lamb Gut Microbiota And Immune System (Poster)

Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbes play critical roles in host nutrition, health and immunological development. For adult ruminants, GIT-dwelling microbes provide ~70% of daily energy requirements. The GIT also houses 70 % of the animal’s immune system in the form of the Gut-associated Lymphatic Tissue (GALT), which houses 80% of all plasma cells and depends on microbial stimulation for maturation. Because nutrition and disease are two major factors in the economic sustainability of livestock production, our group set out to characterize the successional development of GIT microbiota and immune activity. Blood and GIT samples were collected from lambs immediately at birth through one-year of age, and from the dam’s vagina, mouth, and rectum at parturition. Blood samples were profiled for serum titers of IgM, IgA and IgG, while microbiota were profiled in GIT samples by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Lamb GIT microbiota initially resembled the dam’s vaginal microbiota but following exposure to the dam, became rapidly more similar to the dam’s teat. GIT samples eventually formed stable climax communities similar to the dams around 180 days of age. This corresponded to the peak serum titers for each immunoglobin, which, aside from a peak in IgG at birth (likely colostral transfer), had gradually increased prior to this time. Immunoglobins peaked and then return to a sub peak level between 180 and 365 days. These results indicate dam vaginal microbiota have a short-lived impact on the neonatal microbiota, with the GIT microbiota going through a dynamic successional development to 180 d when immune function appears to peak

Petrogenesis of plagiogranites in the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite, Pakistan: implications for the generation of Archaean continental crust

High-SiO2 rocks referred to as oceanic plagiogranites are common within the crustal sequences of ophiolites; however, their mode of petrogenesis is controversial with both late-stage fractional crystallization and partial melting models being proposed. Here, we present new whole-rock data from plagiogranitic dyke-like bodies and lenses from the lower and middle sections of the sheeted dyke complex of the Cretaceous Muslim Bagh Ophiolite, northwestern Pakistan. The plagiogranites have similar geochemical signatures that are inconsistent with them being the fractionation products of the mafic units of the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite. However, the plagiogranites all display very low TiO2 contents (<0.4 wt%), implying that they formed by partial melting of mafic rocks. Melt modelling of a crustal gabbro from the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite shows that the trace-element signature of the plagiogranites can be replicated by 5–10% melting of a crustal hornblende gabbro with amphibole as a residual phase, resulting in a concave-up middle rare Earth element pattern. Compositional similarities between the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite plagiogranites and Archaean TTG (trondhjemite–tonalite–granodiorite) has implications for the generation of juvenile Archaean continental crust. As the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite was derived in a supra-subduction zone, it is suggested that some Archaean TTG may have been derived from melting of mafic upper crust in early subduction-like settings. However, due to the small volume of Muslim Bagh Ophiolite plagiogranites, it is inferred that they can be instructive on the petrogenesis of some, but not all, Archaean TTG

Biografi Suwardi Ms sebagai Tokoh Sejarawan dan Budayawan Melayu Riau

Biography is a story of a person\u27s life history comes from a true story. Biography tells of a process starting from childhood of the characters including family background and environtment, the emergence of ideals in the mind of the leaders to engage in his favorite field. The authors raise a biography about the life journey of a person who really loves the history and culture of the malay, devoted himself to studying it. Not many figures who are devoted to the history and culture of the malay world. Among them there Suwardi MS name a Historian and Cultural. Suwardi MS name already known in Riau, in the world of Malay culture and local History. The purpose of this study was to determine the life history Suwardi MS as Historians and Culture figures wither Riau, to determine the role of Suwardi MS as Historians and Culture figures wither Riau, to determine the obstacles and how to overcome them by Suwardi MS, to know Suwardi MS as Historians and Cultural figures wither Riau. The method used is the method of historical and documentary in which the data were collected through interviews, documentation, and library Studies. Analysis of data using qualitative techniques of writing. When the study began filing title until the completion of a revised proposal last essay writer. The results showed in the biography Suwardi MS as historians and cultural Riau of the Malay, Suwardi has conducted various activities such as, pioneered the publishing media, national and International seminars, as well as conducting research history. Based on these results it can be concluded Suwardi MS has an important role in developing cultural values as well as the local historian in Riau

Oral health perceptions and practices of caregivers at children’s religious schools and foster care centers: a qualitative exploratory study in Lahore, Pakistan

BackgroundOral diseases are one of the major public health problems worldwide and affect the population of all age groups. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of caregivers at care centres and boarding religious schools responsible for managing children’s oral health.MethodsA qualitative ethnomethodological approach was used to collect data from the caregivers at the children’s religious schools and foster care centres. A purposive sampling technique was used to conduct focus group discussions comprising 4–7 caregivers from five foster care centres and religious schools located in Lahore, Pakistan.An interview guide was developed based on results from previous studies. An inductive approach was used to analyse data on broader oral health concepts to generate themes in this qualitative research. A three-step thematic analysis was applied to develop codes that were merged to generate categories and to conclude into themes from the transcribed data. Five focus group discussions were conducted at two foster care centres (FG1 &amp; FG2) and three religious schools (FG3, FG4 &amp; FG5). Foster care centres had children of both gender within the same premises; however, religious schools had segregated settings.ResultsThe following four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: development of the desired living environment and responsibilities of the caregivers, preexisting traditional personal knowledge of the caregivers determine children’s oral health, use of religio-cultural driven and convenience-based oral hygiene practices, and ethnomedicine, spiritual healing, and self-medication. Development and the existing living environment of the foster care centres and religious schools appeared important to manage the matters of the boarding children.ConclusionsThis qualitative study concludes that the oral health of the children at foster care centres and at religious schools depends upon the personal reasoning and pre-existing religio-cultural knowledge of the caregivers rather than on specialized oral health-oriented approaches. The foster care centres are more involved in supervising the children to maintain oral hygiene and oral health compared to religious schools.<br/