Levels or Differences in Meat Demand Specification

We estimated a wholesale demand system for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey using quarterly U.S. data and a dynamic, CBS system (Keller and Van Driel). The CBS system is a differential system, which means that it might be more appropriately applied in those situations where the data have unit roots. If there are unit roots, differencing the data can improve the properties of the estimates. If the data do not have unit roots, differencing the data might harm the properties of the estimates. We tested the specification of the model's error terms using state-space techniques. State-space units allow one to deal with roots on the unit circle without filtering the data (See Durbin and Koopman). The demand system has only four independent error terms. The state-space model we used could have decomposed these four independent error terms into four errors with unit roots and four with 0 roots. Adding state-space features to the model greatly improved its performance as measured by the likelihood ratio statistics. The estimates imply that the raw demand data have two unit roots and three 0 roots. Our mixed approach improves the properties of the estimates.Demand and Price Analysis,

On the stability analysis of periodic sine-Gordon traveling waves

We study the spectral stability properties of periodic traveling waves in the sine-Gordon equation, including waves of both subluminal and superluminal propagation velocities as well as waves of both librational and rotational types. We prove that only subluminal rotational waves are spectrally stable and establish exponential instability in the other three cases. Our proof corrects a frequently cited one given by Scott.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Approaches to Incorporating IT Entrepreneurship into the Information Systems Curriculum

The success of tech company IPOs such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snap has not been lost on today’s Information Systems (IS) majors. The demand for entrepreneurship education has grown rapidly from a just a few college classes in entrepreneurship in the 1970s to the over 3,000 colleges and universities providing entrepreneurship curriculum today (Davidson, White, and Taylor, 2012; Morris, Kuratko, and Cornwall, 2013). Information Systems (IS) students interested in launching their own tech startup can benefit from the common body of knowledge found in general entrepreneurship coursework. However, such coursework generally does not take into account the specific characteristics of IT services and software. This translates into the need for a special set of entrepreneurial skills for developing and launching an IT startup. While there has been some research into software and IT entrepreneurship in the fields of software engineering and computer science, little curricular guidance exists for IS students wishing to launch their own tech startup. This paper explores current approaches to teaching the IT and software entrepreneurial skill set. Experience with a dedicated course in tech startup entrepreneurship is described. A sample syllabus for IS majors is provided. The paper concludes with lessons learned and suggestions for implementing an entrepreneurship component as part of an undergraduate IS program

Utilising Features of Sport Commentating to Provide a Framework for Co-Teaching the Online Lecture

Higher education teaching abruptly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic to remote, on-line learning and teaching. The use of on-line communication software to teach became the norm and remains at many institutions. This software contains features, such as the chat, that offer teaching and learning advantages; however, potential benefits can be challenging to realise for academics used to traditional modes of lecture delivery. In most cases a solo-taught lecture designed for a physical room does not transition well to the on-line space. Co-teaching, which involves two or more academics teaching the same class, is a pedagogy that can improve engagement and satisfaction for students and academics alike. However, how co-teaching can transition to the on-line space and take full benefit of the communication software features is not well known. We recognised that some aspects of sports announcing (commentating) align with desirable qualities of co-teaching on-line. In this paper we use these features to develop a practical framework for co-teaching in the on-line space and evaluate the model in a second-year university science subject. Using data from student surveys, we found that the co-teaching model helped integrate the chat functionality into the main lecture and led to improved engagement and enjoyment of on-line classes. The model also assisted students in identifying key learning outcomes. Using the framework as a practical guide for how to incorporate co-teaching into on-line classes helps realise the benefits of contemporary communication software

Role Preference: Are Handheld Computers an Educational or Personal Technology?

As an educational delivery platform, current handheld computer technology provides a low-cost, networked, small-form factor appliance with sufficient machine resources to support instruction, learning, assessment, and collaboration. Yet, except in the fields of medicine and law, handheld adoption for collegiate classroom use has been minimal. This study presents the results of an empirical investigation of users and non-users of handheld technology in higher education. Faculty and student personal technology preferences, handheld usage practices, and experience profiles are presented. Results confirm handhelds are peripheral to most collegiate instruction with usage confined primarily to performing personal information management. When handhelds are used for education, they function as a portable extension of the personal computer. Implications for educational practice are presented

Effects of Growing Season Fire on Northern Bobwhite Nest Site Selection and Survival

Restoration and management of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) communities necessitates frequent prescribed fire. Prior to human colonization of the southeastern United States thousands of years ago, longleaf pine forests burned primarily during the growing-season as a result of lightning-ignited fires. Growing-season prescribed fire may suppress woody vegetation and promote herbaceous groundcover better than dormant-season fire. Despite the potential ecological benefits of growing-season fire, many land managers use only dormant-season prescribed fire to avoid destruction of ground nests, including those from northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Our objective was to determine bobwhite nest survival and nest-site selection in the presence of early, growing-season prescribed fire on a 3-year return interval. We compared vegetation composition and structure at nest sites and paired random sites to identify important predictors of nest-site selection and to evaluate the effects of habitat covariates on nest survival. We captured bobwhite and attached radio transmitters. Radio-marked individuals were tracked to locate nests and determine nest survival. We documented 2 nests that burned during a growing-season prescribed fire. All 14 nests were located within units that were burned at least 2 years prior, putting these nests at a greater risk for being destroyed by prescribed fire that occurred on a 3-year return interval. We suggest that restricting early, growing-season prescribed burning to April through early June should limit an overlap between prescribed burns and the peak of northern bobwhite nesting season, which occurred mid-July at our study site. Additionally, longer fire return intervals may be needed to allow development of woody understory structure selected by bobwhites for nesting, especially on poor soils like those on our study site in the Sandhills physiographic region

Employer Expectations Of Accounting Undergraduates Entry-Level Knowledge And Skills In Global Financial Reporting

The globalization of business has led to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) around the world. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a roadmap for IFRS implementation starting in 2014, with earlier adoption permitted. Yet according to recent surveys, few U.S. universities have a strategy in place to integrate IFRS into the undergraduate accounting curriculum. Using survey research, this paper explores the entry-level knowledge and skills employers expect of new hires in the near term and five years from now. Results indicate that employers already require accounting graduates to have some awareness of IFRS and its relationship to U.S. GAAP. By 2013 students should be able to apply IFRS in recording transactions, prepare IFRS-based financials, and reconcile IFRS to U.S. GAAP. The paper concludes with recommendations based on survey results for incorporating IFRS into the undergraduate accounting curriculum

Initial test results on bolometers for the Planck high frequency instrument

We summarize the fabrication, flight qualification, and dark performance of bolometers completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the High Frequency Instrument (HFI) of the joint ESA/NASA Herschel/Planck mission to be launched in 2009. The HFI is a multicolor focal plane which consists of 52 bolometers operated at 100 mK. Each bolometer is mounted to a feedhorn-filter assembly which defines one of six frequency bands centered between 100-857 GHz. Four detectors in each of five bands from 143-857 GHz are coupled to both linear polarizations and thus measure the total intensity. In addition, eight detectors in each of four bands (100, 143, 217, and 353 GHz) couple only to a single linear polarization and thus provide measurements of the Stokes parameters, Q and U, as well as the total intensity. The measured noise equivalent power (NEP) of all detectors is at or below the background limit for the telescope and time constants are a few ms, short enough to resolve point sources as the 5 to 9 arc min beams move across the sky at 1 rpm