The relationship of general tolerance with education, ultimate religious motivation, theological position, and denominational affiliation

The current study assessed whether educational level and ultimate religious motivation were positively correlated with general tolerance, while fundamentalism and tolerance were negatively correlated. One hundred eighty-five subjects at least 21 years of age were recruited from seven different Christian orientations. Educational level and ultimate religious motivation, as measured by an Intrinsic Motivation Scale, were positively correlated with tolerance measured by the Jackson Personality Inventory Tolerance Scale. A significant negative correlation was displayed between tolerance and fundamentalism as measured by an Orthodoxy Scale. In addition, a multiple regression analysis showed that fundamentalism was negatively correlated with tolerance, while ultimate religious motivation was positively correlated with tolerance. Education was not found to be significantly correlated with tolerance. Differences among denominations and implications of these findings were also discussed

A World Wide Web Site of Special Education Law For Educators in Illinois

Any educational decision regarding evaluation, placement, or instruction of special education students involves legal liability and accountability for a school district. Without the special education legal knowledge from primary legal sources needed to make prudent education decisions, school districts are vulnerable to legal challenges. Too often, educators provide services to special education students without critical knowledge of the educators\u27 role in the special education legal process. In this study, just the preliminary phase of constructing a special education law World Wide Web (W3) site for Illinois educators was considered. There were two objectives in this study. The first objective was to locate the relevant special education constitutional law, statutes, case law, regulations and sub-regulatory guidance for Illinois. The second objective was to construct a W3 site of special education law accessible to educators in Illinois. This qualitative study had four phases. There was first a gearing-up phase, second an initial design phase, third an iterative design phase, and finally a system installation phase. On this W3 site, hyperlinks connect the primary special education constitutional law, legislative statutes, case law and regulatory laws and sub-regulatory guidance applicable to Illinois to this site. The U. S. Constitution and Illinois Constitution are available on this W3 site. The Federal statutes available on this site include the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 1997 Amendments, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the Family Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and these statutes respective implementing regulations. The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) and its implementing regulations are available on this W3 site. Sub-regulatory guidance consisting of memorandum, directives, and policy statements from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are available on this site. Finally, judicial opinions from the U. S. Supreme Court, U. S. Appellate Courts, U. S. District Courts and the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Courts, and Illinois Circuit Courts are available on this W3 site

Gender Bias Claims in Farm Service Agency’s Lending Decisions

This study analyzes the courts’ denial of women farmers’ motion for class-action certification of their lawsuits alleging gender discrimination in Farm Service Agency (FSA) lending decisions. The plaintiffs’ claim of “commonality†of circumstances in women farmers’ dealings with FSA is tested using a four-year sampling of Georgia FSA loan applications. The econometric framework has been developed after accounting for the separability of loan approval and amount decisions, as well as endogeneity issues through instrumental variable estimation. This study’s results do not produce overwhelming evidence of gender bias in FSA loan approval decisions and in favor of the “commonality†argument among Georgia FSA farm loan applicants.class-action suit, credit risk, creditworthiness, gender discrimination, Heckman selection, instrumental variable probit, Labor and Human Capital,

Racial Minority Lending Trends at the Farm Service Agency

A binomial logistic framework is used to determine important linkages between the FSA's decision on each loan application and the applicants financial and demographic attributes. Using data on both rejected and accepted FSA loan applications, empirical results indicate loan approval decisions were not significantly influenced by the borrowers' racial class and that, in contrast to the credit risk assessment standards employed by commercial lenders, the collective influence of more stringent and objective credit scoring measures on FSA loan approval decisions is insignificant.Agricultural Finance,

COMPUTERIZED MARKETING FOR FRESH PRODUCE - A DEVELOPMENT FOR TODAY

Marketing,

Organic Price Premiums Paid for Fresh Tomatoes and Apples by U.S. Households: Evidence from Nielsen Homescan Data

Using multivariate regression on data composed of prices, produce characteristics, demographics, and interactions, this study investigates organic price premiums paid by U.S. consumers for fresh tomatoes and apples, two of the top organic produce sellers, and identifies factors explaining variation in price premiums. The econometric problem of each buyer having multiple records in the purchase data is addressed in the estimation procedure.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

NATIONAL DEMAND FOR FRESH ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL VEGETABLES: SCANNER DATA EVIDENCE

Using AC Nielsen scanner data on U.S. household consumption of selected fresh vegetables from 1999 to 2003, this study provides an overview of the organic fresh vegetable market by investigating market shares and price premiums of selected organic fresh vegetables and estimating the interrelationship between consumer demand for organic and conventional fresh vegetables. The linear Almost Ideal Demand System was found to fit the data best among other differential demand models.Consumer/Household Economics,

Agricultural Banking and Early Warning Models for the Bank Failures of the Late 2000s Great Recession

This paper is designed to validate if the agricultural sector can once again be labeled as an instigator of the late-2000s Great Recession using the early warning models technique. The empirical results indicate that exposure to agribusiness operations does not necessarily enhance a banks’ tendency to fail.Agricultural Banking, Early warning signals, In-sample accuracy, Out-of-sample forecasting, Agricultural Finance, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, G21, G32, G33, C01,

THE DETERMINANTS OF FOOD STAMP PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

Food Security and Poverty,