Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Deforestation For Pasture Development – Has It Been Worth It?, W. H. Burrows

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Differing scenarios leading to deforestation for pasture development in savanna (woodland) and closed forest communities in the tropics – sub-tropics are compared and contrasted. Australian and Brazilian examples are highlighted. No simple answer is given to the question of whether deforestation for pasture development has been worth it, since both commercial and non-commercial values have equal validity and need to be taken into account. These issues are addressed in the context of land assigned by governments for agricultural purposes. It is concluded that technology and ecological understanding are now available to maintain sustainable production from converted forest systems. However emphasis …

Contract Grazing Of Young Beef Cattle On Ryegrass In The Southeastern Usa, David I. Bransby

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The objective of this study was to evaluate contract grazing (in which the landowner grazes cattle owned by someone else for a specified fee) as an alternative to traditional ownership of the cattle, in order to improve profitability of grazing young beef cattle on annual ryegrass under limited availability of operating capital in the southeastern USA. Production data from a two-year grazing experiment were used as a basis for an economic analysis which assumed market prices for the beef industry in the region. Return/ha over animal and pasture costs was $312.20 for contract grazing, and $477.50 for purchased cattle. However, …

Exploring Optimal Lockdown Policies During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cameron Bundy

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

COVID-19 has impacted public and economic health worldwide. To bolster the economy and maintain human life, economic and epidemiological research is vital. Nations have implemented lockdowns intent on slowing the spread of the virus. This research examines how lockdown parameter adjustments can help control a nations fatalities. The study incorporated an SIRD disease model that is simulated over a 200 day period. The goal of the research is to take the SIRD model and use it to create a minimization function that analyzes dynamics that best produce minimal loss of GDP as well as low loss of life in a …

An Economic Assessment Of Cattle Raising Enterprises In The Red Soils Region Of China, Neil D. Macleod, Shilin Wen

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Multiple Use Management On Canadian Publicly Managed Rangeland, B. Kirychuk, R. Gaube, S. Kushreshtha, G. Pearson

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Data-Driven Agriculture For Rural Smallholdings, Kerry Taylor, Martin Amidy

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Spatial information science has a critical role to play in meeting the major challenges facing society in the coming decades, including feeding a population of 10 billion by 2050, addressing environmental degradation, and acting on climate change. Agriculture and agri-food value-chains, dependent on spatial information, are also central. Due to agriculture's dual role as not only a producer of food, fibre and fuel, but also as a major land, water and energy consumer, agriculture is at the centre of both the food-water-energy-environment nexus and resource security debates. The recent confluence of a number of advances in data analytics, cloud computing, …

The Application Of Farming System Models To The Problem Of Sustainable Grasslands Management In Northern China And Australia, Randall Jones, D. Michalk, David R. Kemp, J. P. Wu, T. Takahashi, Z. F. Ma, G. Millar

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Handing Over The Reins—The Changing Relationship Between People And Policy In The South Australian Rangelands, Paul Erkelenz, Meredith Tothill

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Securing The Environmental Services Of Mobile Pastoralism: Policy And Investment Options, Jonathan Davies

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Electricity Market Operations With Massive Renewable Integration: New Designs, Shengfei Yin

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Electricity market has been transitioning from a conventional and deterministic operation to a stochastic operation under the increasing penetration of renewable energy. Industry-level solutions toward the future electricity market operation ask for both accuracy and efficiency while maintaining model interpretability. Hence, reliable stochastic optimization techniques come to the first place for such a complex and dynamic problem.

This work starts at proposing a solution strategy for the uncertainty-based power system planning problem, which acts as a preliminary and instructs the electricity market operation. Considering 100% renewable penetration in the future, it analyzes the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy from a long-term …

Characterizations And Reliability Measures Of The Generalized Log Burr Xii Distribution, Fiaz Ahmad Bhatti, Gholamhossein G. Hamedani, Azeem Ali, Sedigheh Mirzaei Salehabadi, Munir Ahmad

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, we derive the generalized log Burr XII (GLBXII) distribution [2] from the generalized Burr-Hatke differential equation. We characterize the GLBXII distribution via innovative techniques. We derive various reliability measures (series and parallel). We also authenticate the potentiality of the GLBXII model via economics applications. The applications of characterizations and reliability measures of the GLBXII distribution in different disciplines of science will be profitable for scientists.

Comparing Management Programs To Reduce Red–Tailed Hawk Collisions With Aircraft, Brian Washburn, Craig K. Pullins, Travis L. Guerrant, Gregory J. Martinelli, Scott F. Beckerman

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Raptors (i.e., hawks and owls) are one of the most frequently struck guilds of birds within North America. Although raptors (most notably red-tailed hawks [Buteo jamaicensis]) are commonly managed at most airports and military bases, there is no scientific information available regarding comparisons of the efficacy of raptor management programs for reducing raptor-aircraft collisions. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the efficacy of 2 raptor hazard management programs implemented at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD). The first raptor management program (Phase I) occurred during January 2010–June 2013 and …

Economic Feasibility Of Mixed Plastic Waste Pyrolysis Using Twin Reactor System In Northwest Arkansas, Carol Rogers, Patricia Means, Renato Gonzalez, Kaida Sheets, Hayden Townsend

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Plastic waste generation is increasing at an unsustainable rate while recycling solutions remain stagnant. As a chemical means of recycling, mixed plastic waste pyrolysis can generate synthetic oil appropriate for use as fuel in power generation from plastic waste that otherwise accumulates in landfills. With the scaling of a commercial plastic pyrolysis process in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) modeled after an operational sawdust pyrolysis unit in Huntsville, Arkansas, economic analysis resulted in 26.3% internal rate of return. Therefore, construction of a commercial mixed plastic-to-fuel pyrolysis plant is economically justified and should be pursued. To effectively implement the proposed design, NWA must …

A Review Of The Economics Of Regenerative Agriculture In Western Australia, Anne Bennett

All other publications

• There is no published work detailing the economics of regenerative agriculture in Western Australia.
• Of the work completed in other jurisdictions and nations captured in this review, the profitability of regenerative agriculture compared with conventional agriculture was variable, although generally lower.
• The loss of income associated with the transition from conventional agriculture to regenerative agriculture is a significant barrier to adoption, although it is enterprise-sensitive.
• Farmers who are operating regenerative agriculture systems self-report higher levels of wellbeing.
• Conventional agriculture and regenerative agriculture are overlapping approaches.
• The literature presented in this review is mostly based on small samples, case studies or …

A Climate Chronology, Sharon S. Tisher

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

The most challenging of all endeavors in human history will likely be that of understanding the impact of our industrial and technological enterprises on the planet’s climate and ecosystems, and responding effectively to the threats posed by that impact. I began writing this chronology while developing a climate policy course at the University of Maine. It has grown substantially during the ensuing nine years, and continues to grow.

By juxtaposing developments in climate science, U.S. policy, and international policy over the previous two centuries, I hope to give the reader new insights into where we have been, where we are …

“It’S All For The Best”: Optimization In The History Of Science, Judith V. Grabiner

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Many problems, from optics to economics, can be solved mathematically by finding the highest, the quickest, the shortest—the best of something. This has been true from antiquity to the present. Why did we start looking for such explanations, and how and why did we conclude that we could productively do so? In this article we explore these questions and tell a story about the history of optimization. Scientific examples we use to illustrate our story include problems from ancient optics, and more modern questions in optics and classical mechanics, drawing on ideas from Newton’s and Leibniz’s calculus and from the …

The Use Of Once Daily Milking Of Dairy Cows To Achieve Economic And Social Sustainability On New Zealand Dairy Farms, David A. Clark, Dawn E. Dalley

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

We All Want To Change The World: How Behavioral Insights Can Help Reduce Carbon Emissions, Thomas C. Gifford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world is in the midst of an unprecedented environmental crisis driven primarily by human behavior. As the world has globalized, countries have developed, and standards of living have improved, global pollution has skyrocketed and has resulted in a wide range of environmentally destructive outcomes. All paths to environmentally sustainable development involve a dramatic cut in carbon emissions from current day levels. In this thesis, I explore how the omission of behavioral factors from mainstream neoclassical models has contributed to, and can aid in reducing unsustainably high levels of carbon emissions. Throughout the history of economic thought, classical economists such …

Evaluating Nuclear Energy As A Component Of U.S. Energy Innovation Systems, Bryce Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear energy is contentious in policy discussions that evaluate its role in the current U.S. clean energy innovation system. OECD nations, on average, have begun to reduce their dependence on nuclear energy. However, the United States has remained invested in its nuclear energy infrastructure and the role that it plays within federal research and development. This thesis examines the Neo-Schumpeterian perspective and the National Innovation System’s approach, the economic history of nuclear energy in the United States, and given insight from these factors, discusses the current role of nuclear energy in the U.S. energy innovation system. The objective is to …

Systematizing Confidence In Open Research And Evidence (Score), Nazanin Alipourfard, Beatrix Arendt, Daniel M. Benjamin, Noam Benkler, Michael Bishop, Mark Burstein, Martin Bush, James Caverlee, Yiling Chen, Chae Clark, Anna Dreber Almenberg, Timothy M. Errington, Fiona Fidler, Nicholas Fox, Aaron Frank, Hannah Fraser, Scott Friedman, Ben Gelman, James Gentile, Jian Wu, Et Al., Score Collaboration

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Assessing the credibility of research claims is a central, continuous, and laborious part of the scientific process. Credibility assessment strategies range from expert judgment to aggregating existing evidence to systematic replication efforts. Such assessments can require substantial time and effort. Research progress could be accelerated if there were rapid, scalable, accurate credibility indicators to guide attention and resource allocation for further assessment. The SCORE program is creating and validating algorithms to provide confidence scores for research claims at scale. To investigate the viability of scalable tools, teams are creating: a database of claims from papers in the social and behavioral …

Chronic Customers Or Increased Awareness? The Dynamics Of Social Media Customer Service, Shujing Sun, Yang Gao, Huaxia Rui

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Despite that social media has become a promising alternative to traditional call centers, managers hesitate to fully harness its power because they worry that active service intervention may encourage excessive use of the channel by disgruntled customers. This paper sheds light on such a concern by examining the dynamics between brand-level customer complaints and service interventions on social media. Using details of customer-brand interactions of 40 airlines on Twitter, we find that more service interventions indeed cause more customer complaints, accounting for the online customer population and service quality. However, the increased complaints are primarily driven by the awareness enhancement …

Raw And Pure Education In The Society, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What does education mean to individuals in the world today? Education is a way one can attain or improve his or her ability to lead and survive in the society of ours. Without educational training of the mind, it may be impossible to realize the importance of adaptability of living in the environment. Without education, It may also be difficult to embellish the use of both the mental and physical attributes possessed by individual beings.

What really is education? Education is the training of the mind to perform desire functions or to perpetuate the modality of obtaining an end or …