Life Sciences Commons^™

Us Agricultural University Students' Mental Well-Being And Resilience During The First Wave Of Covid-19: Discordant Expectations And Experiences Across Genders, Mariah D. Ehmke, Bhagyashree Katare, Kristin Kiesel, Jason S. Bergtold, Jerrod M. Penn, Kathryn A. Boys

Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's first wave led to declining mental health and life satisfaction outcomes for college students, especially women. While women in undergraduate agricultural programs outperformed men academically prior to and during the pandemic, the achievement may have come at personal cost, especially for those women with fewer personal and environmental resiliency resources. Our research objective was to expand on personal, social, and environmental factors linked with lower mental health and life satisfaction scores for students in agriculture during the pandemic. We measured the influence of such factors across gender-based mental health and life satisfaction outcomes. Our …

Basic Concepts In Forest Valuation And Investment Analysis: Edition 3.0, Steven H. Bullard, Thomas J. Straka

Faculty Publications

This book was originally intended to supplement lectures in forestry economics at the undergraduate level. It’s currently used for that purpose in ‘Forest Resource Economics’ courses at several universities. The book is also intended, however, to serve as a basic reference for foresters with experience in valuation and investment analysis concepts and methods. It has proven to be a valuable resource in forest valuation and investment analysis workshops for practicing foresters, landowners, and others interested in forestry investments.

Forval: Computer Software Package For Agricultural And Natural Resources Investment Analysis, T. J. Straka, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

The valuation of agricultural and natural resource investments presents challenging analysis problems that often require the use of computer software. Most of these computer packages are complex and costly. FORVAL is a free, user-friendly, menu-driven, agricultural and natural resource investment analysis package. It can accommodate any investment scenario and includes the standard financial criteria (net present value, rate of return, equal annual income, benefit/cost ratio, and land expectation value for forestry investments). FORVAL accommodates various cash flows like single sum, terminating annual and periodic series, and perpetual annual and periodic series. It also has options for payment and price projections.

Innovate Or Evaporate . . . Business Concept Innovation In The Furniture Industry In The Age Of Information, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Introduction The U.S. furniture industry has changed dramatically in recent years. Furniture manufacturers, for example, have recently faced competition from foreign producers that has been particularly intense – resulting in factory closings and job losses in many areas of the country, including the Mid-South. In Mississippi, for example, the number of employees in furniture and fixtures industries dropped by 2,100 (6.8%) in the year 2000 (Center for Policy Research and Planning 2001). Similar job losses have been occurring in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and other important furniture-producing states. Nationwide, employment in furniture and fixtures manufacturing dropped by 40,000 (7.2%) from …

Furniture Manufacturing And Marketing: Eight Strategic Issues For The 21st Century, Steven H. Bullard, C. D. West

Faculty Publications

“Take change by the hand, or it will take you by the throat.” Attributed to Winston Churchill, this brief sentence emphasizes the need to understand and embrace change in general. What important “changes” will impact furniture production and marketing in the 21st century? And what can furniture manufacturers and marketers do to “take change by the hand” today and in the future?

Manufacturing Upholstered Furniture In The Southeastern U.S.: A Comparative Cost Assessment, Joshua O. Idassi, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

The upholstered household furniture industry (SIC 25 12) is extremely important in the economies of Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This study uses a comparative cost approach to assess the differences that exist in the manufacturing and distribution of upholstered wood household furniture among southeast U.S. states. Secondary data for raw material, labor, and transportation costs were obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, for 1982, 1987, and 1992. Total costs were estimated for raw material, labor, and transportation of the finished products. A simple cost index was constructed for each cost component. Analysis of …

Logging - One Of Mississippi’S Most Important Industries, Ian A. Munn, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Logging is extremely important to Mississippi's economy for two reasons. First, the industry is essential in providing wood-based raw materials necessary for many thousands of jobs throughout the state. The industry is the ·:first link in a manufacturing chain that reaches through the state and touches the pulp and paper industry, the sawmill industry. the furniture industry, the building/construction industry. and many others. " The industry is also important because of the economic contributions it makes through its own employment and income created. In 1993, the industry contributed an estimated $1.-1-5 billion to Mississippi's economy. and over 11 thousand jobs …

Geodemographic Approaches To Identifying U.S. Furniture Markets, Frank M. Howell, Larry Doolittle, Jarryl B. Ritchie, Melissa A. Barfield, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Demand for household furniture is shaped by a multitude of dynamic forces, from the global economic situation to subtle changes in consumer preferences. Correspondingly, the academic disciplines employed to identify, analyze, and predict these forces range from macroeconomics to psychology, and include demography, sociology, geography, and several applied fields. The demographic characteristics of furniture consumers has been a particularly popular area of research, primarily because of the availability of secondary data from various public · agencies. Some of this research is reviewed in a subsequent section of this report.

Basic Concepts In Forest Valuation And Investment Analysis, Steven H. Bullard, Thomas J. Straka

Faculty Publications

The current edition 3.0 can be found at the following location:

Bullard, Steven H. and Straka, Thomas J., "Basic Concepts in Forest Valuation and Investment Analysis" (2011) eBooks http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ebooks/21

This book was originally intended to supplement lectures in forestry economics at the undergraduate level. At Mississippi State University, for example, these materials are currently used in one of the eleven major topics included in a one-semester course titled 'Forest Resource Economics.' It is also intended, however, that the book will serve as a basic reference for foresters with experience in valuation concepts and terminology. It has proven to be a …

Raw Materials Use By Mississippi Furniture Manufacturers, 1989, Mark A. Glaeser, Steven H. Bullard, Larry Doolittle, Philip Steele

Faculty Publications

Mississippi's furniture industry has grown rapidly in recent years and now ranks nationally in production of specific types of furniture. Furniture pmducers in the state use many types of wood and nonwood raw materials. Raw materials expenditures were almost $330 million for 92 firms that responded to a 1989 survey. The survey included upholstered and nonupholstered furniture producers as well as hardwood dimension and frame producers. Substantial amounts of these raw materials were obtained from suppliers within the state.

Upholstered Expenditures: What U.S. And Canadian Consumers Plan To Spend On Upholstered Furniture, Gary M. Kellum, Eric J. Todd, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Approximately 48 percent of U. S. households and 54 percent of Canadian households plan to buy some form of upholstered furniture in the near future. According to a recent survey, spending plans differ somewhat between U. S. and Canadian consumers, however. American consumers, for example, favor less expensive sofas, loveseats, and recliners, while Canadians prefer less expensive upholstered rockers and stationary chairs. Overall, Canadian households plan to spend more for each individual item than U. S. households.

Recliner Sales Potential, Eric J. Todd, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Over 19 percent of the 93 million households in the United States plan to purchase at least one recliner within the next 5 years. A recent survey of over 2,000 households also found that many expect to purchase more than one recliner, and combining the estimates yields a potential sales total of 22 million. This compares to an estimated total current ownership of 65 million recliners, and indicates clearly that nationwide the recliner market is very far from being "saturated" in the near future.

A Least Cost Analysis Of Transition In North America’S Upholstered, Wood Household Furniture Industry, Eric J. Todd, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Factors influencing the location of the North American upholstered, wood household furniture industry are undergoing many changes. This paper presents a least cost linear programming approach to determining optimal furniture production and shipment patterns, The results suggest that Mexico and the 'East South Central region of the U.S. are well-poised to increase their shares of the North American market as consumption patterns and factors of production change in the next decade.

Age: The Most Important Factor In Upholstered Furniture Buying Plans, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Age is highly related to income. lifestyle and other critical factors in consumer behavior. In a recent survey of over 2.000 U.S. households. age proved to be the most important determinant of up· holstered furniture purchasing plans. Consumers less than 45 years old. for example. are more than three times more likely to plan purchases of upholstered household furniture than those 65 and older.

Is Wood Good?, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

I n U.S. households there is currently a very strong belief that "wood is good" in upholstered furniture. In a recent surve)' of the upholstered furniture buying plans of over 2.000 U.S. households:

• 88.4 percent of the respondents said the material used in frame construction was important, and ...

• 85.4 percent said they preferred wood over metals. Fiberglas or other frame materials.

Upholstered Potential In The U.S. And Canada, Gary M. Kellum, Eric J. Todd, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

The potential market for upholstered furniture sales in the near future appears to be quite favorable in both the United States and Canada. A recent survey indicates that 48 percent of U.S. house· holds,and 54 percent of Canadian households are planning to purchase some type of upholstered furniture in the next 4 to 5 years.

Upholstered Household Furniture In The United States: A Survey Of Current Ownership And Purchasing Plans, Steven H. Bullard, Max L. Doolittle

Faculty Publications

This report presents highlights of the results of a telephone survey of U.S. households concerning their ownership, purchasing plans, and preferences regarding upholstered household furniture. The survey was conducted in October and November 1989, by the Survey Research Unit of the Social Science Research Center of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The SUl'Vey also included Canadian households, and subsequent reports will present results for Canada as well as statistical analyses of specific results for both countries. The sUl'vey was intended to help identify market potential for various items of upholstered household furniture, and the results are therefore not …

The Upholstered, Wood Household Furniture Industry In North America: A Spatial Equilibrium Analysis, Eric J. Todd, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Upholstered, wood household furniture production has become an increasingly important part of total furniture production in the United States. From 1982 to 1987, employment in the upholstered furniture industry grew 16 percent, and in 1987, the industry's 82,100 employees represented about 30 percent of U.S. household furniture indush-y employment (USDC Bureau of the Census 1990). Over the same 5-year period, value added for the upholstered furniture industry increased by 52 percent to more than $2.6 billion.

The Geography Of Home Furnishings Sales In The U.S., Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Sales by U.S. "furniture and home furnishings" stores were nearly $75 billion in 1987, the year of the most recent Census of Retail Trade. The sales total includes $26 billion for "furniture" stores, $16 billion for "homefurnishings" stores, $8 billion for "household appliance" stores, and $24 billion for "radio, television, computer, and music" stores.

The 1987 Census of Retail Trade reports sales for the combined category, furniture and home furnishings, for all U.S. states, counties, and metropolitan areas. In this article, therefore, the term "furniture and home furnishings" refers to combined sales for all of the store types in Table …

Furniture Manufacturing And Marketing In The ‘American Economic Transition, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

The Office of Technology Assessment recently prepared a 500 page report titled Technology and the American Economic Transition, Choices for the Future. OTA sees four major factors that are resulting in "economic transition" factors that will continue to transform the U.S. economy during the next 20 years: new technologies, new challenges from abroad, new resource constraints, and new values and tastes in U.S. consumer and labor markets.

New technologies, particularly in collecting and handling information, are expected to have long-term, pervasive economic and social impacts comparable to past U.S. economic transformations from major technologies such as automobiles and railroads. New …

The Mississippi Furniture Industry And Its Use Of Wood-Based Materials, Steven H. Bullard, Brian A. Doherty, Paul H. Short

Faculty Publications

Furniture manufacturing is one of the most important industries in Mississippi; the industry's phenomenal growth and current high levels of production and employment have recently been widely recognized and publicized. The Mississippi Economic Council (1988), for example, recently labeled the state "The New Furniture Capital of America;' and Northeast Mississippi was recently described as a "booming region'' that "wants to be the Furniture Capital of America'' (Evans 1987). The present report characterizes important aspects of Mississippi's furniture industry, including its development and relative importance within the state and within the U.S., and assesses current information on the availability and use …

Present Net Worth And Internal Rate Of Return: A Note On Equivalence In Use, K. A. Blatner, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Present net worth and internal rate of return are frequently used for ranking investment alternatives. The relative merits and limitations of the two criteria are discussed at length in numerous journal articles and texts. For analysts wishing to present consistent project comparisons, the issue is not which criterion is superior, but when are they equivalent. In this article, conditions for equivalence in use are outlined under alternative assumptions. Although the conditions appear complex, they are not unduly restrictive.

Maximizing Expected Profits In Competitive Bidding, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

Forest products firms often buy much of their raw material through competitive bidding. The bidding process is vital to such companies, yet models are often used which merely help predict winning bids. Managers should consider expected returns from potential timber buying contracts-the product of profit and the prob· ability of realizing that profit. A general approach is summarized for maximizing expected profit in competitive bidding. For timber buying, profits are net returns minus stumpage costs. The probability of obtaining the profit is the probability a given bid will be accepted, and can be represented by a probability density function. The …