DESTINATION SUCCESS: PRODUCING NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SCHOLARS

Oklahoma State University was named a Truman Honor School for its consistent record in producing Truman Scholars. Of the five recent winners, four were from the Agricultural Economics Department. The system used in the department, college, and university for identifying and nurturing students through the scholarship process is described.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

PRODUCING SOCIETY-READY GRADUATES BY ENGAGING ALUMNI IN THE UNDERGRADUATE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Students benefit from engaging alumni in the undergraduate learning experience. Benefits include improved career exploration, improved writing and speaking skills, improve information about securing the first job, increased self confidence, and changes in attitudes/revisions about required/elective courses and study plans. Benefits accruing to faculty, alumni, and department are also identified.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

A Methodology for Discovering how to Adaptively Personalize to Users using Experimental Comparisons

We explain and provide examples of a formalism that supports the methodology of discovering how to adapt and personalize technology by combining randomized experiments with variables associated with user models. We characterize a formal relationship between the use of technology to conduct A/B experiments and use of technology for adaptive personalization. The MOOClet Formalism [11] captures the equivalence between experimentation and personalization in its conceptualization of modular components of a technology. This motivates a unified software design pattern that enables technology components that can be compared in an experiment to also be adapted based on contextual data, or personalized based on user characteristics. With the aid of a concrete use case, we illustrate the potential of the MOOClet formalism for a methodology that uses randomized experiments of alternative micro-designs to discover how to adapt technology based on user characteristics, and then dynamically implements these personalized improvements in real time

Developmental changes in foraging-predator avoidance trade-offs in larval lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus

The 5-12 wk old larvae increased time spent clinging to a surface in the presence of a predator, trading-off time available for foraging in order to reduce the probability of attack. Overall, fewer fish fed in the presence of a predator, and of the fish that did feed, 12 wk old lumpfish also showed a significant decrease in feeding rate (bites per minute swimming) in the presence of a predator. -from Author

SOAP Services with Clarens: Guide for Developers and Administrators

The Clarens application server enables secure, asynchronous SOAP services to run on a Grid cluster such as one of those of the TeraGrid. There is a Client, who wants to use the service and understands the application domain enough to form a reasonable service request; a Developer, who is a power-user of the TeraGrid, who understands both Clarens and the application domain, and creates and deploys a service on a TeraGrid head node; and there is a Root system administrator, who controls the Clarens installation and the cluster on which it runs. The purpose of this document is to provide all of the information a service developer needs to know in order to deploy a Clarens service, with information also provided for the system administrator of the Clarens installation. First we discuss how each of the three roles see the service

ADAPTIVE PLANNING UNDER PRICE UNCERTAINTY IN PORK PRODUCTION

Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Introduction to the Economics of Changing Markets and Evolving Technologies

Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Marketing,

SWINE BREEDING SYSTEMS: A STOCHASTIC EVALUATION WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

The after-tax net present value for 27 swine breeding systems composed of Duroc, Hampshire, and Yorkshire breeds were simulated and ordered using stochastic dominance analysis. The concept of the value of information was expanded to develop the concept of the willingness to pay to adopt a new technology. For producers not currently using the dominant system, estimates of the allowable present value cost of adoption are reported and used to explain diverse production practices.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Curbing Tax Expenditures

Reviews trends in tax expenditures and their effects and examines three options for raising tax revenue by applying limits to large and widely utilized tax preferences: a fixed percentage credit, a cap based on income, and a constant percentage reduction