BACKWARD INTEGRATION BY COOPERATIVES IN IMPERFECTLY COMPETITIVE AGRICULTURAL RAW PRODUCT MARKETS

This paper models backward integration by processing cooperatives into raw product production. Our analysis demonstrates that a cooperative's incentive to acquire raw product production capacity depends on its ability to restrict member production to optimal levels and the relationship between members and nonmembers in the raw product market.Agribusiness, Marketing,

OPTIMAL STRATEGIES OF MARKETING COOPERATIVES REGARDING NONMEMBER BUSINESS

This paper analyzes the pricing and output decisions of a cooperative that purchases and processes an agricultural raw product from both member and nonmember producers. Because of the complexity of the optimality conditions, simulation analysis is used to demonstrate solutions for various scenarios under monopsony market structure.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Non-Isotropic Angular Distribution for Very Short-Time Gamma-Ray Bursts

While most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are now believed to be from cosmological distances, the origin of very short-time GRBs is still not known. In the past, we have shown that GRBs with time duration (T90) less than 100 ms may form a separate class of GRBs based on the hardness and time distribution of these events. We have also shown that the ln N ln S distribution is consistent with the expectation of quasi-Euclidean distribution of sources. In this paper, we report the study of the angular location of these GRBs showing a strong deviation from isotropy within the Galactic coordinates of plus 180 degrees < longitude < 90 degrees and -30 degrees < latitude < 30 degrees. We have studied the rest of the GRBs and do not find a similar deviation. This further indicates that the very-short GRBs likely form a separate class of GRBs, most probably from sources of Galactic or near solar origin

Events in the affective city: Affect, attention and alignment in two ordinary urban events

In a representational regime, planned urban events are used by urban planners to render urban projects visible and acceptable. As a corollary of the focus of urban studies on their representational dimension and in spite of a burgeoning literature on the notion of affective urbanism, the experiential character of events remains surprisingly unexplored. This paper argues that an ordinary regime of events is mobilised by city-makers to act on the embodied, affective experience of the city and on the ways urban dwellers know and act upon the city. By analysing planned urban events in their embodied, experiential dimension, we focus on the ways in which, through the design of ephemeral material dispositives, urbanists attempt to encourage citizens to incorporate ways of knowing and acting on space and on the modalities of knowing and acting that are at play. We stage an encounter between critical event studies and Ingoldian approaches to affect and attention, examining two urban events in a Swiss canton. We show how intense encounters with urban matter are staged in an attempt to modulate affects, guide attention, and produce alignment with a specific political project, asking urban dwellers either to embody a project still in the making or to cultivate expectations regarding an already-written future

Micro-cantilever testing of diamond - silicon carbide interfaces in silicon carbide bonded diamond materials produced by reactive silicon infiltration

SiC-bonded diamond materials produced by pressureless reactive infiltration of diamond preforms with silicon show high hardness and wear resistance. These properties are due to the relatively high diamond volume content of approximately 50 vol% and the mechanically strong interface between diamond and SiC. To determine the bending strength of individual interfaces between diamond and SiC, micro-cantilevers were prepared by focused ion beam milling at 13 grain boundaries and in-situ bending tests were carried out in a scanning electron microscope. The determined strength of cantilevers showing interface fracture was 10.4 ± 4.0 GPa. Fracture surfaces were analyzed to verify the fracture behavior and initiation. In addition to fracture at the interface diamond/SiC, fracture occurred inside the SiC grains and at the SiC/silicon interface at comparable strength values. The results prove the high diamond/SiC-interface bonding strength

Advice for Health Care Professionals and Users: An Evaluation of Websites for Perinatal Anxiety

Background: Many websites are available with information and resources for perinatal anxiety; however, there is limited research on the quality and content of these sites. Objective: This study aims to identify what sites are available on perinatal anxiety, identify any information and therapeutic advice given, and review its accuracy and website design. Methods: We conducted an evaluation of websites for perinatal anxiety. Eligible websites (N=50) were evaluated for accuracy of information, resources for mothers, website quality, and readability. Results: Information was often incomplete and focused on symptoms rather than risk factors or impact of untreated perinatal anxiety. Websites often had information on treatment (46/50, 92%), but much less on screening (19/50, 38%). Most sites provided at least some resources to support mothers (49/50, 98%), but active, guided support was infrequent (25/50, 50%). Website quality was extremely variable and mostly difficult to read (42/50, 84%). Conclusions: This study recommends the top 4 websites on perinatal anxiety for health care professionals and users. There is a need for websites to be developed that provide accurate, evidence-based information that women can relate to with quality support resources. Furthermore, these sites should be easy to use and readable