THE ECONOMICS OF INSTRUCTIONAL REVENUE SHARING

The process of planning and budgeting for public institutions has been a topic of recent interest as budgetary constraints have mandated reduced funding for state agencies and publicly funded educational institutions. The most recent budget outlook in Minnesota suggests that funding for the University of Minnesota will be reduced significantly in the next biennium. This outlook is renewing the call for increased efficiency and cost control for publicly funded educational institutions such as the University of Minnesota. The authors have been involved with a project in which cost functions and economic relationships were examined within the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. This paper is an extension of these efforts and attempts to address the questions relating to instructional revenue sharing.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Pedestrian demand modelling of large cities: an applied example from London

This paper introduces a methodology for the development of city wide pedestrian demand models and shows its application to London. The approach used for modelling is Multiple Regression Analysis of independent variables against the dependent variable of observed pedestrian flows. The test samples were from manual observation studies of average total pedestrian flow per hour on 237 sample sites. The model will provide predicted flow values for all 7,526 street segments in the 25 square kilometres of Central London. It has been independently validated by Transport for London and is being tested against further observation data. The longer term aim is to extend the model to the entire greater London area and to incorporate additional policy levers for use as a transport planning and evaluation tool

Taking A Stand: The Effects Of Standing Desks On Task Performance And Engagement

Time spent sitting is associated with negative health outcomes, motivating some individuals to adopt standing desk workstations. This study represents the first investigation of the effects of standing desk use on reading comprehension and creativity. In a counterbalanced, within-subjects design, 96 participants completed reading comprehension and creativity tasks while both sitting and standing. Participants self-reported their mood during the tasks and also responded to measures of expended effort and task difficulty. In addition, participants indicated whether they expected that they would perform better on work-relevant tasks while sitting or standing. Despite participants’ beliefs that they would perform worse on most tasks while standing, body position did not affect reading comprehension or creativity performance, nor did it affect perceptions of effort or difficulty. Mood was also unaffected by position, with a few exceptions: Participants exhibited greater task engagement (i.e., interest, enthusiasm, and alertness) and less comfort while standing rather than sitting. In sum, performance and psychological experience as related to task completion were nearly entirely uninfluenced by acute (~30-min) standing desk use. View Full-Tex

COST RELATIONSHIPS IN COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE

This paper examines cost behavior in higher education and colleges of agriculture. The authors have been involved in a multiyear project to determine how enrollment affects costs. The part of the study as summarized in the paper addresses the unique aspects of higher education that affect costs and presents three cost models based upon data from the University of Minnesota. Implications of these models related to average and marginal costs are discussed in relation to economies of size and scale.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Air quality indices from ERTS-1 MSS information

Comparison between ground based atmospheric turbidity network measurements and the average scene grayness from MSS Channel 4 data is in progress. Correlation between these two sources is promising. If continued correlation occurs for other ERTS-1 overflight dates and ground test sites, a new operational use of ERTS-1 useful to Federal, state, and international organizations will become available

Rhythmic temporal structure at encoding enhances recognition memory

Presenting events in a rhythm has been shown to enhance perception and facilitate responses for stimuli that appear in synchrony with the rhythm, but little is known about how rhythm during encoding influences later recognition. In this study, participants were presented with images of everyday objects in an encoding phase prior to a recognition task in which they judged whether or not objects were previously presented. Blockwise, object presentation during encoding followed either a rhythmic (constant, predictable) or arrhythmic (random, unpredictable) temporal structure, of which participants were unaware. Recognition was greater for items presented in a rhythmic relative to an arrhythmic manner. During encoding, there was a Dm effect with larger positivity for rhythmic over arrhythmic stimuli. At recognition, memory specific ERP components were differentially affected by temporal structure: the FN400 old/new effect was unaffected by rhythmic structure, whilst the late positive component (LPC) old/new effect was observed only for rhythmically encoded items. Taken together, this study provides new evidence that memory specific processing at recognition is affected by temporal structure at encoding

IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS ROLES AND EVALUATION METHODS OF EXTENSION ECONOMISTS AS VIEWED BY EXTENSION ADMINISTRATORS, DEPARTMENT HEADS, AND SPECIALISTS

A survey of extension administrators, department heads, and extension specialists was conducted to determine the best methods for evaluating the performance of extension economists. The results demonstrate how different groups view the relative importance of the various roles played by extension economists and how important the specific attributes of extension economists are within each role. In general all three groups agree on the most important roles and attributes. However, important differences among the groups do exist about the relative importance of certain activities.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

If You Can't Trust the Farmer, Who Can You Trust? The Effect of Certification Types on Purchases of Organic Produce

An information asymmetry exists in the market for organic produce since consumers cannot determine whether produce is organically or conventionally grown. Various methods may solve this problem including signaling, reputation, and certification. Signaling and reputation may not work well, because signals are noisy, and reputation may be difficult for a producer to establish. Certification of the farm and its growing methods shows the most promise. A survey instrument testing the efficacy of certification is presented along with empirical analysis suggesting that no notable difference existed between independent certification methods, although independent certification had significantly different effects than self-certification.Asymmetric information, Certification, Ordered probit, Organic produce, Agribusiness,

An airborne remote sensing system for urban air quality

Several NASA sponsored remote sensors and possible airborne platforms were evaluated. Outputs of dispersion models for SO2 and CO pollution in the Washington, D.C. area were used with ground station data to establish the expected performance and limitations of the remote sensors. Aircraft/sensor support requirements are discussed. A method of optimum flight plan determination was made. Cost trade offs were performed. Conclusions about the implementation of various instrument packages as parts of a comprehensive air quality monitoring system in Washington are presented