THE ECONOMICS OF INCREASING SPEED IN SEA TRANSPORTATION: THE CASE FOR THE SOUTHERN U.S., MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Public Economics,

Self-efficacy, motivation, and outcome expectation correlates of college students\u27 intention certainty

This study explored relationships between Self-Efficacy, Motivation, and Outcome Expectations and Intention Certainty. Intention Certainty is a new variable created for this study and comprised of existing conceptions of intention and decision certainty. The purpose of this study was fourfold. This study attempted to expand our understanding of the college retention dropout issue by exploring relationships between psychologically rich variables. Second, this study provided information considered useful for framing future research on retention from a different perspective that focuses on characteristics of individuals who stay, rather than those who leave higher education with the consideration of psychological constructs. Further, this research expanded the Tinto model to examine psychological variables believed to influence intention to remain enrolled as opposed to demographic variables associated with student dropouts. Finally, because the sample was extended to include all subsets of the student population, broader practical applications were obtained resulting in greater generalizability of the results. The study sample consisted of 441 undergraduate students attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette during the summer 2001 session. Four measures were used for data collection: College Student Self-Efficacy Scale (CSSES), Student Motivation Scale (SMS), Student Outcome Expectation Scale (SOES), and the Student Intention Certainty Scale (SICS). All measures were created specifically for this study. Major findings include: a) the measures developed specifically for the study are of reasonable quality, b) the hypothesized relationships between the independent variables and dependent variable were corroborated contrary to findings from prior research, c) there is little relationship between the presage variables and the psychological variables studied, d) positive outcome expectations and, to a lesser degree, students’ self-efficacy beliefs, make the strongest contribution to students’ intentions to remain enrolled in college and to persist in obtaining a college degree, and e) importantly, the psychological variables utilized in the study appear to be more powerful predictors of college student’s intentions to remain enrolled than previously studied demographic and presage variables

More Specialty Definitions

In the February 1970 Word Ways, Louis Delpino introduced Specialty Definitions, a hard-to-define activity best illustrated by examples such as SAWTURNE (carpenter\u27s wine) and LOXATIVE (smoked salmon cathartic). This game seems to be popular with a number of authors

A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE FOOD WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE SECTORS IN MISSISSIPPI

Agribusiness,

Pricing efficiency, physical characteristics, and wholesale values of slaughter hogs

The objectives of this study were: (1) to estimate the cutout characteristics of U.S.D.A. Grades 1, 2, and 3 hogs at different weight intervals; (2) to determine the gross margin differentials^ among these animals and to identify variables affecting this margin; (3) to use cutout characteristics established in Objective I to calcu-late GMD\u27s for a different sample of animals, taking into account differences that may be attributable to both season and procurement method; and (4) to determine relationships that may exist between physical characteristics and wholesale values per hundredweight of hot carcasses under different situations of wholesale cut prices. The facilities and records of a large, federally inspected meat packing company were made available to this researcher and provided the primary data source. Cut-out data were gathered on 180 animals. Sixty of these animals were from U.S.D.A. Grade 1, while U.S.D.A. Grades 2 and 3 provided 70 and 50 animals, respectively. They fell into 18 categories of 10 animals each, based on liveweight and grade. Cut-out data from these 180 animals were used to attain Objective I. Linear multiple regression equations were used to test relation-ships among variables included in the last three objectives. Analysis for Objective II revealed that increases in hot carcass weights and increases in liveweight prices were associated with lower GMD\u27s. Lower GMD\u27s were also associated with Grade 3 animals. However, as weights increased within this grade, GMD\u27s increased. Results of the analysis for Objective III also showed negative relationships between GMD\u27s and increases in hot carcass weights, and increases in liveweight prices. Animals procured through order buyers, and animals purchased on a carcass basis had significantly lower GMD\u27s than animals purchased on a direct liveweight basis. The GMD\u27s for the second, third, and fourth quarter of the year were significantly higher than those for the first quarter. Results revealed also that GMD\u27s for Grades 2 and 3 were significantly higher than those for Grade 1. Analysis for Objective IV revealed that the degree of association between physical characteristics and wholesale values varied, depending on the wholesale cut prices used to estimate carcass values. The magnitude of the b coefficient varied widely for the variable hot carcass weight. Results indicated that there would be no advantage to using more than one backfat measure in carcass buying models. Assuming that the proper muscling score or grade would be given, results of the equations in each of the pricing situations for wholesale cuts indicate that carcass buying programs including grade or muscling as variables along with hot carcass weights would be as accurate as those using backfat measurements. Several sources of potential inaccuracies in the buying practices of the firm were revealed in this study. One source may be a failure to discount properly for the heavier weights of some animals. Another may stem from a failure of the liveweight pricing system to reflect value differences between grades. The GMD\u27s received by a packer could be affected by the methods of procurement used (this may be only for the short run). Many carcass buying models are based on systems of premiums and discounts based on the associations present between physical character-istics and wholesale values. Results would lead one to conclude that there are factors other than physical characteristics which are associated with change in wholesale values of animals. An example would be inconsistencies from one season to another in differences between prices of light and heavy hams or other wholesale cuts

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION ON THE TRADE OF FOOD PRODUCTS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND LATIN AMERICA

International Relations/Trade, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Spatial heterogeneity in forested landscapes: an examination of forest fragmentation and suburban sprawl in the Florida Parishes of Louisiana

Forest fragmentation refers to the spatial distribution of forests in a landscape. Forest fragmentation drastically alters forest composition, habitat quality, genetic flow and many other ecological processes associated with forested ecosystems. This research examined spatial patterns and rates of forest fragmentation during the 1991-2001 period for a region in southeast Louisiana known as the Florida Parishes. Following classification of 1991 and 2001 Landsat data into forest and non-forest classes, spatial patterns were examined using Fragstats 3.3 spatial analysis software. Spatial statistics such as patch density, perimeter to area ratios, core area indices, edge density, and various landscape continuity indices were used to assess patterns and trends of forest fragmentation in landscapes throughout the region. A variety of patch, core and edge metrics indicated increasing forest fragmentation in a majority of the landscapes examined. Values of various landscape continuity indices were also found to suggest significant increases in forest fragmentation in a majority of landscapes. The correlation of various forest fragmentation metrics with metrics associated with suburban sprawl was shown to be relatively weak by low R2 values. These findings may suggest that suburban sprawl was not the only factor affecting the spatial arrangement of forests in the Florida Parishes during the study period. The results of this research facilitate an increased understanding of the current trends of forest land-cover fragmentation in the Florida Parishes and the potential influences of these trends on related ecological processes

Applying Social Network Analysis to Identify how Chief Resilience Officers Promote Community Resilience through Boundary Spanning, Interorganizational Collaboration, and Leadership

The purpose of this paper is to explore, in some depth, the functions of interorganizational collaboration (IOC) by analyzing the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) role in 5 US cities. The CRO can act as a key network collaborator or boundary spanner – managing relationships, communication and strategic responses within and across organizations. This study researches the IOC and leadership functions of CROs operating in the social network of 100 Resilient Cities to better understand their boundary spanning roles. This study explores how CROs create and maintain IOC, characterizes their leadership functions and role, and examines the boundary spanning role as reticulist, entrepreneur and innovator, and a leader. This study aims to describe the role of a CRO in the social construction of IOC in a social network context, providing a composite IOC network of a CRO and detailing the nature of their communication (frequency, mode, content) in a composite IOC network