Technical Efficiency in Portuguese Dairy Farms

This paper addresses issues related to efficiency measurement from an empirical point of view. A stochastic frontier production model using a translog is estimated for a group of Portuguese dairy farms. Farm level survey data for the period 1988 -2005 is used. Stochastic Frontier estimates address behaviour across all periods so the empirical model allows for time varying efficiency as well as technical change. Previous empirical studies use either the value of production or the quantity of milk produced in a single output framework. The value of production approach bundles together decision regarding the quantity and quality components as well as CAP subsidies. Using both approaches for the same data set produce substantial differences in efficiency measurement. The analysis shows that while farmers are quite efficient maximizing quantity produced they are much less efficient when allowing for quality. Sensitivity of estimates to the heterogeneity of the panel data sample as well as to the specification of the dependent variable is discussed. Average efficiency is 84% which indicates a close proximity to the production frontier for 71% of dairy farms but one can not reject the hypothesis that efficiency is decreasing over time and the rate of technical change is negative and close to 2%.

Singular value demodulation of phase-shifted holograms

We report on phase-shifted holographic interferogram demodulation by singular value decomposition. Numerical processing of optically-acquired interferograms over several modulation periods was performed in two steps : 1- rendering of off-axis complex-valued holograms by Fresnel transformation of the interferograms; 2- eigenvalue spectrum assessment of the lag-covariance matrix of hologram pixels. Experimental results in low-light recording conditions were compared with demodulation by Fourier analysis, in the presence of random phase drifts.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

A continuous-stress tetrahedron for finite strain problems

A finite-strain tetrahedron with continuous stresses is proposed and analyzed. The complete stress tensor is now a nodal tensor degree-of-freedom, in addition to displacement. Specifically, stress conjugate to the relative Green-Lagrange strain is used within the framework of the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle. This is an extension of the Dunham and Pister element to arbitrary constitutive laws and finite strain. To avoid the excessive continuity shortcoming, outer faces can have null stress vectors. The resulting formulation is related to the nonlocal approaches popularized as smoothed finite element formulations. In contrast with smoothed formulations, the interpolation and integration domain is retained. Sparsity is also identical to the classical mixed formulations. When compared with variational multiscale methods, there are no parameters. Very high accuracy is obtained for four-node tetrahedra with incompressibility and bending benchmarks being successfully solved. Although the ad-hoc factor is removed and performance is highly competitive, computational cost is high, as each tetrahedron has 36 degrees-of-freedom. Besides the inf-sup test, four benchmark examples are adopted, with exceptional results in bending and compression with finite strains

Crítica a transposição de ferramentas da administração privada para a administração pública: um debate sobre modernização na administração pública no Brasil

This article was built in an essay style, that is, it intentionally exposes the subject/object relationship, prioritizing content over form. Thus, the text does not present a traditional form of division, but reflections that will be guided by the questions: Does it make sense to directly transpose business management tools to public management? Is the public administration a field equivalent to the field of business management or are these differences substantial? In order to answer them, a reflection was made on the concept of modernization in public administration, the differences between public administration and business administration and, finally, starting from an analysis of government documents on modernization and reports of experiences on the incorporation of Business Management Tools, it was concluded that it is up to the field of public administration to build its notion of modernization and to forge its own management tools to make this modernization possible.Este artigo foi construído em estilo ensaístico, ou seja, expõe intencionalmente a relação sujeito/objeto, priorizando o conteúdo sobre a forma. Dessa maneira, o texto não apresenta uma forma tradicional de divisão, mas reflexões que se guiarão pelas perguntas: Faz sentido a transposição direta de ferramentas de gestão de negócios para a gestão pública? A administração pública se constitui em um campo equivalente ao campo da gestão de negócios ou essas diferenças são substantivas? Para respondê-las realizou-se uma reflexão sobre o conceito de modernização na administração pública, a diferenças entre administração pública e administração de negócios e, finalmente, partindo de uma análise de documentos do governo sobre modernização e de relatos de experiências sobre a incorporação de ferramentas da área de gestão de negócios, concluiu-se que cabe ao campo da administração pública construir sua noção de modernização e forjar suas próprias ferramentas de administração para viabilizar essa modernização

Olin Downes and the Reception of Latin American Composers in the United States [abstract only]

Olin Downes, influential music critic of the New York Times from 1924 until his death in 1955, was an indefatigable supporter of contemporary music and his interest extended to Latin American composers such as Carlos Chávez, Alberto Ginastera, Camargo Guarnieri, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Downes’s reviews and newspaper pieces in relation to the New York World’s Fair from 1939 were especially instrumental in consolidating the reputation of Villa-Lobos in the United States. Downes thought highly of Chávez not only as a composer but also as a conductor, whom he compared in favorable terms to Arturo Toscanini’s tenure with the New York Philharmonic. Downes established a particularly enthusiastic relationship with Villa-Lobos and his music, about which he wrote more often than that of any other composer from Latin America. The Brazilian composer reciprocated in kind by dedicating to Downes his Symphony No. 8 from 1950. This paper examines Downes’s music criticism in the New York Times, especially his reviews of Latin American music performances, as well as his papers and unpublished correspondence, which mostly survive at the University of Georgia in Athens. Although it is clear that Olin Downes’s support of Latin American music was indefatigable and genuine, this paper reveals that is was not entirely disinterested and that the renowned critic also worked in tandem with the State Department in Washington, D.C., and its Good Neighbor Policy for the arts