COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR FARMERS

Labor and Human Capital,

INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE AND EMPLOYMENT POLICY

Industrial Organization,

USDA DOMESTIC FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: SORTING OUT THE POLICY ISSUES

Agricultural and Food Policy,

POLITICS AND MARKETS IN THE ARTICULATION OF PREFERENCES FOR ATTRIBUTES OF THE RAPIDLY CHANGING FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SECTORS: FRAMING THE ISSUES

Industrialization of the food and agricultural sectors changes the pattern of external effects. Participants helped or harmed in the process attempt to influence outcomes through markets and politics. Decisions about property rights and boundaries determine benefits and burdens and the relative cost of animal agriculture in different jurisdictions. Prescriptions to redefine property rights are influenced by selective perception of rights to share in the benefits and be protected from costs. Political choices about the appropriate jurisdiction (state versus local) for addressing environmental and nuisance effects of animal agriculture affect whose preferences count and will influence the development of these sectors.Animal agriculture, Externalities, Industrialization, Institutions, Jurisdictional boundaries, Regulation, State versus local policy, Environment, Political Economy,

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND SURVIVAL OF NATIVE HARDWOOD TREE SEEDLINGS OF THE KENTUCKY INNER BLUEGRASS BLUE ASH-OAK SAVANNA-WOODLAND

Historically, the Kentucky Inner Bluegrass blue ash-oak savanna-woodland was the primary ecosystem of the Inner Bluegrass Region (IBR) of Kentucky. After European settlement, the majority (\u3e99%) of Bluegrass savanna was converted to agricultural and urban land uses. Currently remnant savanna tree species are failing to recruit. Therefore, a long-term restoration ecology project researching competition and disturbance on seedling establishment, survival, and growth has been established at Griffith Woods (the largest remaining savanna in Kentucky) in Harrison Co., KY. Fourteen native hardwood tree species (a total of 6,168 seedlings) have been experimentally planted. Light, soil, surrounding vegetation, and herbivory, factors thought to influence seedling survival, have been initially assessed. Results show that soils differed spatially in P, Ca, Mg, Zn, pH, N percent and soil organic matter percent. Light was significantly reduced by diffusive filtering through vegetation. Vegetation biomass was influenced by pH and Mg. Initial seedling survival was high, but significantly differed by species type, location, and soil pH, Mg, and Zn. This research demonstrates that under a similar range of conditions, native hardwood tree seedling establishment is possible. Therefore, the potential exists to restore Bluegrass savanna-woodland in order to return proper ecological functioning into a degraded landscape

COMPETITION AND HERBIVORY INFLUENCE THE SURVIVAL, GROWTH, AND PHYSIOLOGY OF NATIVE TREE SEEDLINGS IN THE KENTUCKY INNER BLUEGRASS SAVANNA-WOODLAND

Terrestrial plant communities are shaped by competition for resources, herbivory, and abiotic processes. Savanna systems represent a dynamic coexistence of contrasting life forms (grasses and trees) shaped by competition and disturbance. The Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Savanna-Woodland (KIBSW) is described as an open woodland of shade intolerant species; however, climatic, and edaphic conditions can support closed-canopy forest. After European pioneer settlement (c1750-1800), over 99% of “savanna-woodlands” have been lost. KIBSW remnants are experiencing a recruitment failure, leading to a dominance shift in tree communities. I researched how tree-grass competition and mammalian herbivory influence KIBSW regeneration and maintenance. The KIBSW does not have an intact reference system, a necessary requirement for restoration ecology. Therefore, I experimentally “rebuilt” the community by reintroducing a species pool and implementing a hypothesized disturbance regime at the best remaining example of KIBSW—Griffith Woods Wildlife Management Area, KY, USA. I established a long-term experiment on twelve species of planted tree seedlings (5760 seedlings total; 480 seedlings/sp.), representing three shade tolerance categories. Experimental treatments manipulated levels of competition (via mowing and herbicide) and herbivory (via individual seedling protectors). I collected data on individual seedling species trait-based and performance-based responses by measuring seedling survival, growth, mammalian herbivory, leaf anatomy, and ecophysiology. I reviewed factors hypothesized to influence KIBSW regeneration and maintenance by distinguishing the top-down vs. bottom-up factors that regulate plant communities. I then investigated whether competitor and herbivore reduction influenced survival and growth of tree seedlings. First year survival increased with herbivory protection; over five years, survivorship and diameter growth increased with competition reduction. Height growth increased with both competition and herbivory reduction. Species responded variably to treatments, but all increased in biomass (survival x growth) and employed either a fast or slow growth-rate strategy regardless of competition treatment. I next characterized how mammalian herbivory impacted seedling species in response to the experimental treatments. Deer herbivory was altered by the competition treatment and season. Rabbit herbivory was influenced by protector treatment and initial year, and increased rabbit herbivory reduced seedling survival and growth. Rodent herbivory was impacted by both protector and competition treatment but showed no seasonal or yearly patterns. All herbivore types exhibited tree browse preferences. Finally, I examined how tissue allocation and photosynthesis responded to the competitive environment. I predicted that within species sun leaves would be smaller, thicker, have higher photosynthesis, and higher N content compared to shade leaves. Between species I predicted that shade intolerant species would be more plastic than shade tolerant species in response to light environment. Sun/shade leaf predictions were supported; sun/shade morphological plasticity existed both within and between species. Tissue N was positively correlated to maximum photosynthetic rates, and maximum photosynthetic rates were positively correlated with survival and growth. Tissue N concentration was positively correlated with increased rates of deer herbivory, and highly preferred browse species had higher concentrations of leaf N. This research indicates that KIBSW regeneration and maintenance depends on individual species growth and survival responses to competition and herbivory, with a strong trade-off between growth allocation (via tissue N) and exposure to herbivory. The growth-herbivory trade-off is one of the potential factors contributing to KIBSW species variability in community assembly patterns

Application of expert systems in project management decision aiding

The feasibility of developing an expert systems-based project management decision aid to enhance the performance of NASA project managers was assessed. The research effort included extensive literature reviews in the areas of project management, project management decision aiding, expert systems technology, and human-computer interface engineering. Literature reviews were augmented by focused interviews with NASA managers. Time estimation for project scheduling was identified as the target activity for decision augmentation, and a design was developed for an Integrated NASA System for Intelligent Time Estimation (INSITE). The proposed INSITE design was judged feasible with a low level of risk. A partial proof-of-concept experiment was performed and was successful. Specific conclusions drawn from the research and analyses are included. The INSITE concept is potentially applicable in any management sphere, commercial or government, where time estimation is required for project scheduling. As project scheduling is a nearly universal management activity, the range of possibilities is considerable. The INSITE concept also holds potential for enhancing other management tasks, especially in areas such as cost estimation, where estimation-by-analogy is already a proven method

Stability of bromine, iodine monochloride, copper (II) chloride, and nickel (II) chloride intercalated pitch-based graphite fibers

Four different grades of pitch-based graphite fibers (Amoco P-55, P-75, P-100. and P-120) were intercalated with each of four different intercalates: bromine (Br2), iodine monochloride (ICl), copper (II) chloride (CuCl2), and nickel (II) chloride (NiCl2). The P-55 fibers did not react with Br2 or NiCl2, and the P-75 did not react with NiCl2. The stability of the electrical resistance of the intercalated fibers was monitored over long periods of time in ambient, high humidity (100 percent at 60 C), vacuum (10 to the -6 torr), and high temperature (up to 400 C) conditions. Fibers with lower graphitization form graphite intercalation compounds (GIC's) which are more stable than those with higher graphitization (i.e., P-55 (most stable) greater than P-75 greater than P-100 greater than P-120 (least stable). Br2 formed the most stable GIC's followed in order of decreasing stability by ICl, CuCl2, and NiCl2. While Br2 GIC's had the most stability, ICl had the advantages of forming GIC's with slightly greater reduction in resistance (by about 10%) than Br2, and the ability to intercalate P-55 fiber. Transition metal chlorides are susceptible to water vapor and high temperature. The stability of fibers in composites differs