The Groucho Effect of Uncertain Standards

Consumers are rarely sure of the exact standard that product labels and other certificates of quality represent. We show that any such uncertainty creates a “Groucho effect” in which seeing that a product has a label leads consumers to infer that the standard for the label itself is not very demanding. Label adoption is therefore always less likely to be an equilibrium than without uncertainty over the standard, and if it is an equilibrium it is always less informative than without such uncertainty. The Groucho effect leads to an information externality so better firms are reluctant to adopt labels if worse firms adopt them. Applying the model to eco-labels, we find that industry groups, governments, and NGOs can increase label adoption by publicizing labeling criteria, by encouraging consumers to expect label adoption when there are multiple equilibria, and by setting high standards that are less likely to be devalued by low quality firms.Eco-labels, disclosure, certification, persuasion, standards

Array decomposition-fast multipole method for finite array analysis

An innovative approach is presented for analyzing finite arrays of regularly spaced elements. We review the recently proposed Array Decomposition Method, which exploits the block-Toeplitz property of regularly spaced arrays for significant storage reduction. To further reduce storage, in this paper we incorporate a multipole expansion to treat distant element interactions. The suggested approach overcomes the matrix storage bottleneck associated with integral equation methods, resulting in fixed and minimal matrix storage for any sized array (on the same order as the storage of a single array element). Hence, fast and rigorous analysis of very large finite arrays can be accomplished with limited resources

The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning is a peer-reviewed, biannual online journal that publishes scholarly and creative non-fiction essays about the theory, practice and assessment of interdisciplinary education. Impact is produced by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at the College of General Studies, Boston University (www.bu.edu/cgs/citl).In this issue, podcasts are looked at as a pedagogical game changer. Using the award-wining podcast Serial as their catalyst, this issue's essayists look at podcast's emerging role in higher education, how multimodal learning can help students find their voices, the podcast's place in the curriculum at a criminal justice college, and how podcasts can inspire students to reflectively assess their own writing. Our reviewers take a critical look at the podcasts Welcome to Night Vale and Revisionist History

Assessing the Benefits of Public Research Within an Economic Framework: The Case of USDA's Agricultural Research Service

Evaluation of publicly funded research can help provide accountability and prioritize programs. In addition, Federal intramural research planning generally involves an institutional assessment of the appropriate Federal role, if any, and whether the research should be left to others, such as universities or the private sector. Many methods of evaluation are available, peer review—used primarily for establishing scientific merit—being the most common. Economic analysis focuses on quantifying ultimate research outcomes, whether measured in goods with market prices or in nonmarket goods such as environmental quality or human health. However, standard economic techniques may not be amenable for evaluating some important public research priorities or for institutional assessments. This report reviews quantitative methods and applies qualitative economic reasoning and stakeholder interviewing methods to the evaluation of economic benefits of Federal intramural research using three case studies of research conducted by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Differences among the case studies highlight the need to select suitable assessment techniques from available methodologies, the limited scope for comparing assessment results across programs, and the inherent difficulty in quantifying benefits in some research areas. When measurement and attribution issues make it difficult to quantify these benefits, the report discusses how qualitative insights based on economic concepts can help research prioritization.Agricultural Research Service, Federal intramural research, publicly funded research, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis,

Summary of the Status of Harvest Mice, Cricetidae: Reithrodontomys, in Arkansas

Although four species of harvest mice, Reithrodoniomyx, are known to occur in Arkansas, the distributional status of the genus in the state is poorly understood. Recent museum specimens significantly extend the range of R. megalotix and R. fulvescens in the state. R. megalotis is shown to range south through Phillips Co. in eastern Arkansas, and R. fulvescens is shown to range throughout most of the state, now including most of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. A new specimen of R. humulis from Delaware Co., Oklahoma, suggests that this species probably ranges throughout northwestern Arkansas. R montanus remains known only from Washington Co. in northwestern Arkansas

Array Decomposition‐Fast Multipole Method for finite array analysis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95440/1/rds5001.pd

Patient compliance with clinical follow-up after total joint arthroplasty

Patient compliance with clinical follow-up after total joint arthroplast