Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Central Bank Nigeria Annual Report And Statement Of Accounts For The Year Ended 31st December, 2009, Central Bank Of Nigeria

CBN Annual Report

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for the Year Ended 31st December, 2009 revealed that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.7% YoY, compared to 6.0% in the previous year. This growth was driven by the non-oil sector, with the non-oil GDP growth rate of 8.3%. Within the non-oil sector, the agricultural sub-sector grew by 6.2%, while the whole-sector and retail sectors recorded growth rates of 11.5 and 10.5 per cent, respectively. The robust output recorded during the previous three years was driven by the government's optimism, which reflected in the oil …

Volatility Risk, Zhiguang Wang

Economics Commentator

No abstract provided.

Town Of Ludlow Master Plan. Part Ii: Envisioning 2030, Rachael Cain, Euripedes De Oliveria, Paul W. Gagnon, Peter Gillo, Meredith Hill, Mark Kresge, Alyssa Larose, Walter Ramsey, Joshua Rickman, Sonya C. Smith, Ryan Wallace, Rebecca Williams

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The Master Plan Committee for the town of Ludlow contracted with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) to prepare a new Master Plan. PVPC engaged the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to assist with a portion of the Master Plan work. This work included: executing analysis and assessment of existing community conditions, conducting a weekend visioning workshop, and developing land use scenarios for the purpose of providing concrete visualization of possible futures for the Town of Ludlow in 2030.

Town Of Ludlow Master Plan. Part I: Envisioning 2030, Rachael Cain, Euripedes De Oliveria, Paul W. Gagnon, Peter Gillo, Meredith Hill, Mark Kresge, Alyssa Larose, Walter Ramsey, Joshua Rickman, Sonya C. Smith, Ryan Wallace, Rebecca Williams, Barbara Constable, Helena Farrell, Brian C. Giggey, Chris Jennett, Zhujun Kong, Megan Plante, Ben Eli Webb, Deborah A. Zervas

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The Master Plan Committee for the town of Ludlow contracted with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) to prepare a new Master Plan. PVPC engaged the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to assist with a portion of the Master Plan work. This work included: executing analysis and assessment of existing community conditions, conducting a weekend visioning workshop, and developing land use scenarios for the purpose of providing concrete visualization of possible futures for the Town of Ludlow in 2030.

Dnr Proposes Three Republican River Dry-Year Options, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

On June 30, 2009 an arbitrator concluded that Natural Resource District (NRD) ground water plans are insufficient to keep Nebraska in compliance with the Republican River Compact (RRC) settlement in dry years. The September 30, 2009 Cornhusker Economics explored the significance of the arbitrator’s decision. In October, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposed three possible dry year plans that would keep Nebraska in RRC compliance. This newsletter explores the DNR proposals.

Baby Boomers: Will They Be Moving To Rural Nebraska?, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

Baby boomers are doing it again... breaking all the molds and playing havoc with trends. This time it is with migration. Baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are entering a stage of life when it is predicted that a significant number of them will be moving to rural areas; especially those areas with scenic amenities and low housing costs.

Measuring The Performance Of Cooperative Equity Redemption Plans, Jeffrey S. Royer

Cornhusker Economics

Cooperatives differ from other businesses in that they are owned by their patrons and net margins are distributed to patrons on the basis of use instead of capital investment. For financing, cooperatives often rely on allocated equities from retained patronage refunds. Retained patronage refunds are noncash allocations of net margins reinvested in a cooperative by patrons. Under an ideal program of equity formation, equity is held by patrons in proportion to patronage. Each patron’s share of financing the cooperative is equal to the share of benefits received. Equities of former patrons are retired as active patrons take on more of …

Drivers Of Agricultural Diversification In India, Haryana, And The Greenbelt Farms Of India, Amarnath Tripathi, Brajesh Jha

amarnath tripathi

The present study discusses factors responsible for agricultural diversification at different levels: country (India), state (Haryana) and farms of Kurukshetra district in Haryana. The study regressed alternate measures of diversification namely, the Simpson index and concentration of non-food crops, on several possible factors such as income, land distribution, irrigation intensity, institutional credit, road density, urbanization and market penetration. The regression analysis suggests that increased road density, urbanization encourages commercialization of agriculture and with commercialization, farms in a region are increasingly specialized under certain crops and crop-groups as per the resource, infrastructure and institutions of the region.

Using Conservative And Biological Tracers To Better Understand The Transport Of Agricultural Contaminants From Soil Water Through The Epikarstic Zone, Brian Ham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agriculture contamination is very common in karst systems due to the vulnerability of these aquifers. Animal waste is often spread across crop land to enrich the soil with nitrates and phosphates. Herbicides and pesticides are also applied to the crops. The transport of these pollutants through the soil and epikarst is a difficult process to monitor due to the complex, heterogeneous behavior of the groundwater as it makes its way down to the aquifer below.

An experimental site at Crumps Cave lended a unique opportunity to monitor the vadose zone at a waterfall in the cave below. A previous dye …

Effects Of Differences In Video And Traditional Markets On Feeder Cattle Prices, Damon Eric Drinnon

Masters Theses

Few decisions are more important to feeder cattle producers than how to market their product. This study uses the hedonic pricing model to show which method of marketing results in higher prices (traditional auctions or video board sales) and which characteristics of cattle, conditions of sale, and market conditions result in price premiums and discounts.

The two equations used were estimated by ordinary least squares in the SAS Reg procedure with 3131 observations over the 1996-2007 period. Model I (47 independent variables) was developed to estimate implicit values of various animal attributes, conditions of sale, and market conditions on the …

Defining And Meeting The Demand For Agricultural Machinery In China: A Case Study Of John Deere, Garrett W. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been little research conducted regarding the agricultural machinery market in China. However, current data suggest that this demand is dramatically increasing. This dissertation endeavors to generally define the current demand of the agricultural machinery market in China. There has been research conducted on multiple factors of the agricultural machinery market in China, such as land tenure rights, rural migration, government agricultural policies, and others. Through the use of limited quantitative data, market demand is analyzed and defined. By means of a qualitative case study of a successful multinational corporation, Deere & Co., how the demand is being met …

Rezoning Decisions Associated With Housing Price, Land Use Plan, And Urban Sprawl: Empirical Estimations, Ji Young Kim

Masters Theses

Under the theme of ¨DRezoning Decisions Associated with Housing Price, Land Use Plan, and Urban Sprawl: Empirical Estimations¡¬, this thesis consists of two research with two related topics. The first part analyzes the dynamics of zoning structure and accommodates the neighborhood spillover effects associated with the real estate market, focusing particularly neighborhood spillover effects between rezoning of vacant parcels and housing price. It is found that the price of a house is positively influenced by the prices of other houses in its neighborhood but the rezoning status of a vacant parcel in a neighboring location plays an insignificant role in …

Precision Farming Information Sources Used By Cotton Farmers, Amanda Renee Jenkins

Masters Theses

Precision farming entails production decisions that are made by obtaining data about soil and field traits. Information about yield and soil characteristics at different locations is collected and management strategies consistent with this information are designed. Information providers play a major role in helping farmers incorporate precision farming information into their decision-making processes. The main goal of this research is to add to the understanding of preferences of information sources in the context of precision farming. Data from cotton farmers in 11 Southeastern states were used to achieve this goal. Results from this study can be utilized by precision farming …

Mixed Species Plantations: Prospects And Challenges, J Doland Nichols, Mila Bristow, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

About 2% of English-language literature on plantations deals with mixed-species plantations, but only a tiny proportion (<0.1%) of industrial plantations are polycultures. Small landholders are more innovative, with 12% of Australia’s farm forestry plantations under mixed-species plantings, and 80% of Queensland’s farm forestry as polycultures. We examine reasons for this discrepancy, and explore the history, silviculture and economics of polycultures. Financial analyses suggest that a yield stimulus of 10%, depending on product and rotation length, may be sufficient to offset increased costs associated with planting and managing a mixed-species plantation, a stimulus that has been demonstrated in many field …

Improving Productivity In Mixed-Species Plantations, Mila Bristow, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Mixed species plantations are often promoted as being environmentally preferable to monocultures, but are rarely considered operationally viable by commercial forest growers. Despite many publications documenting benefits demonstrated in research studies (e.g., Kelty 2006; Forrester et al. 2006b; Wood and Vanclay 1995), and despite continuing calls from a wide range of advocates for mixed-species plantations, polyculture remains the exception rather than the rule in industrial plantation forestry (Nichols et al 2006)...

No Newsletter - Thanksgiving Holiday

Cornhusker Economics

Market report

Economic Outlook, Mike Miller

Economics Commentator

No abstract provided.

Using Economics Experiments To Understand Patent Licensing Behavior, Rita Abdelnour, Amalia Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

To successfully compete in today’s globalized economy, agribusiness firms need to innovate. Innovation enables firms to produce new and/or differentiated products/services that satisfy specialized consumer demands, and enables firms to generate cost reducing processes to out-compete rivals in domestic and international food markets. Firms will engage in innovative activities if they are able to recoup research and development (R&D) costs and capture innovation rents, so it is critical that they are able to identify the optimal strategies of protecting and profiting from their innovations.

Tasting Room Insights From San Luis Obispo County, Kathryn Vogt, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract.

Agricultural Development In India Since Independence: A Study On Progress, Performance, And Determinants, Amarnath Tripathi, Anubhuti Ranjan Prasad

amarnath tripathi

Considering the importance of agriculture for overall economic development, the present paper evaluates performance and progress of Indian Agriculture since Independence. In addition, the paper also analyzes sources of agricultural growth, Instability in Indian Agriculture and determinants of agricultural production. We use the decomposition test to analyze sources of agricultural growth and the production function approach to analyze determinants of agricultural production over the period 1950/51 through 2005/06 while use Cuddy-De-Vella Index for examine instability in Indian agriculture. The study indicates that there is scope to increase both net sown area and gross sown area. The decomposition analysis indicates that …

Nxbizsuccess: An Online Business Tool, Marilyn Schlake, Tonia Franklin

Cornhusker Economics

Imagine sitting at the kitchen table. You and your friends are discussing the pros and cons of business ideas, what will work and what doesn’t stand a chance. Now imagine a place where you can have the same conversations, but with hundreds of people, online. That is the vision of NxBizSuccess, to add life to ideas, share experiences and knowledge, find resources to make it happen, and to bring together like-minded people who see Nebraska as a great place to start a business.

New 2010 Crop Enterprise Budgets, Roger K. Wilson, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

The 2010 Crop Enterprise Budgets will soon be published. They will be available on the web in two places: the University of Nebraska’s “Crop Watch” website (http://cropwatch.unl.edu) in the Economics and Marketing section, and on the Agricultural Economics website at http://www.agecon.unl.edu.

State Of The U.S. Ocean And Coastal Economies 2009, Judith T. Kildow, Charles S. Colgan, Jason D. Scorse

Publications

This nation’s coasts and oceans contribute much to the United States economy. For the past ten years, the National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP) has compiled time-series data that track economic activities,demographics, natural resource production, non-market values, and federal expenditures in the U.S. coastal zone both on land and in the water. On the website www.oceaneconomics.org, the public—government officials,academics, industry, and advocacy groups—have had interactive access to this information and used it widely for many different purposes. This report features highlights from this collection to heighten appreciation for the value of the ocean and this nation’s coasts among an even …

Defining And Measuring Poverty In Nebraska, Randolph L. Cantrell

Cornhusker Economics

Data recently released by the Census Bureau estimate that 47.4 million Americans, or about one-insix, are living in poverty. This latest estimate has drawn criticism from some observers who see it as an attempt to artificially inflate the magnitude of poverty in America. The criticism results from a change in methodology that included not just income (the Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget (OMB) poverty threshold for 2009 is $22,050 a year for a family of four), but also made adjustments, taking into account such things as region, out-of-pocket medical expenses and child care costs, that in total add about …

Mixed-Species Plantation Of Eucalyptus With Nitrogen Fixing Trees: A Review, David I. Forrester, Jürgen Bauhus, Annette L. Cowie, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Mixed-species plantations of Eucalyptus with a nitrogen (N2) fixing species have the potential to increase productivity while maintaining soil fertility, compared to Eucalyptus monocultures. However, it is difficult to predict combinations of species and sites that will lead to these benefits. We review the processes and interactions occurring in mixed plantations, and the influence of species or site attributes, to aid the selection of successful combinations of species and sites. Successful mixtures, where productivity is increased over that of monocultures, have often developed stratified canopies, such that the less shade-tolerant species overtops the more shade-tolerant species. Successful mixtures also have …

Illumination-Size Relationships Of 109 Coexisting Tropical Forest Tree Species, Douglas Sheil, Agus Salim, Jérôme Chave, Jerome K. Vanclay, William D. Hawthorne

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Summary 1 Competition for light is a central issue in ecological questions concerning forest tree differentiation and diversity. Here, using 213 106 individual stem records derived from a national survey in Ghana, West Africa, we examine the relationship between relative crown exposure, ontogeny and phylogeny for 109 canopy species. 2 We use a generalized linear model (GLM) framework to allow interspecific comparisons of crown exposure that control for stem-size. For each species, a multinomial response model is used to describe the probabilities of the relative canopy illumination classes as a function of stem diameter. 3 In general, and for all …

Social And Ecological Issues For Private Native Forestry In North-Eastern New South Wales, Australia, V Alex Jay, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forests in north-eastern New South Wales have often been the focus of controversy. The tension between production and preservation continues and hampers current negotiations for a code of practice for private native forestry. The structure of many private forests reflects past mismanagement and silvicultural intervention would benefit both conservation and production objectives, but such intervention is rarely financially viable. This paper sets out the economic and ecological basis for private native forestry. Both the timber industry and nature-based tourism are major contributors to the local economy, and both rely in part on private native forests. Draft regulations currently under negotiation …

Growth And Species Interactions Of Eucalyptus Pellita In A Mixed And Monoculture Plantation In The Humid Tropics Of North Queensland, Mila Bristow, Jerome K. Vanclay, Lyndon O. Brooks, Mark Hunt

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

This study investigated whether mixed-species designs can increase the growth of a tropical eucalypt when compared to monocultures. Monocultures of Eucalyptus pellita (E) and Acacia peregrina (A) and mixtures in various proportions (75E:25A, 50E:50A, 25E:75A) were planted in a replacement series design on the Atherton Tablelands of north Queensland, Australia. High mortality in the establishment phase due to repeated damage by tropical cyclones altered the trial design. Effects of experimental designs on tree growth were estimated using a linear mixed effects model with restricted maximum likelihood analysis (REML). Volume growth of individual eucalypt trees were positively affected by the presence …

Community Attitudes Towards Private Native Forestry In New South Wales, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

An on-line survey during August-September 2006 examined community attitudes toward private native forestry. Survey findings (n=156) confirmed prior hypotheses that attitudes would correlate with associations (e.g., professionals in favour of incentives, farmers in favour of freedom to manage, conservationists in favour of regulations), and with interest (biodiversity enthusiasts in favour of regulations; producers in favour of incentives), but refuted the prior hypotheses that urban dwellers would be more likely to favour regulations. Respondents appear to reflect different constituencies with divergent views without a shared understanding of the condition and dynamics of these forests. This indicates the need for more extension …

On The Robustness Of The H-Index, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The h-index (Hirsch, 2005) is robust, remaining relatively unaffected by errors in the long tails of the citations-rank distribution, such as typographic errors that short-change frequently-cited papers and create bogus additional records. This robustness, and the ease with which h-indices can be verified, support the use of a Hirsch-type index over alternatives such as the journal impact factor. These merits of the h-index apply to both individuals and to journals.