Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Corn Ethanol Boom And Food Prices, Richard K. Perrin, Luke Beckman

Cornhusker Economics

From January, 2006 to December, 2007 the Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up 6.5 percent. During this same period, ethanol production increased 75 percent, which helped grain prices to rise dramatically – corn price doubled, wheat went up even more, and soybeans a little less. Casual reading of the public press would suggest that there must be some connections here.

From East To West With Grant And Li*, Jeff Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One thing that American newspaper readers can’t help noticing—no matter which section matters most to them—is that people, objects, and images are circulating between China and the West at a dizzying pace. In 2007 alone, business reporters told of tainted food and dangerous toys coming from East to West, while their colleagues covering entertainment reported that film crews were heading in the opposite direction to shoot “Survivor: China.” Sports fans got reports of U.S. athletes preparing for the Beijing Games as well as articles about Yao Ming moving back and forth across the Pacific, to shoot baskets in Houston and …

Five Chinese Historical Events That Don’T Get Much Attention, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

After Jeremiah Jenne recently posed a question about “the most important Chinese historical figure most people have never heard of,” I got to thinking about the vast expanse of Chinese history that is so often neglected in favor of the (admittedly sometimes more-relevant) post-49 events. In chronological order, here are my five nominations for Chinese historical events I wish were more often talked and written about. What events make your list?

1. The An Lushan Rebellion

Led by the rogue general, An Lushan, the civil war that riled the Tang Dynasty from 755 to 763 caused death by violence and …

Frivolous Friday: From China, To India, To Southern California

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I live in Southern California where I always have to look my best, so I get my eyebrows threaded at Vinita’s Beauty and Threading Studio in Tustin. Vinita’s is owned and largely patronized by South Asian women. I’m frequently the only white woman in the place, but I get a sweet deal: a full eyebrow threading for only 5 minutes and 6 bucks! In case you suffer through waxing, you really need to know about the wonderful process of threading. It’s literally done with a sewing thread: the “threader” holds one end of the thread in her mouth, wraps the …

Developing A Fair Lease Arrangement For Farmland Leasing Arrangements Workshops, Bruce Johnson, Ben Blomendahl

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Topics Covered:

A.Cash Leasing
B.Flexible Cash Leasing
C.Crop share Leasing
D.Other Leasing Aspects

Why Was Yao Ming Fined?

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A colleague here at the Beijing Sport University whom I have known for over ten years, Yi Jiandong (易剑东), is one of the two most vocal media commentators on Chinese sports in the academic world (along with Lu Yuanzhen 卢元镇). He has reached an exalted status that an American professor like myself can only marvel at from afar. He is one of the “Big-Name Bloggers”(名人博客) on the Qzone blogsite, where he shares space with the likes of Feng Shuyong, head coach of the national track and field team (whose main purpose seems to be to report on Liu Xiang, 2004 …

Managing Financial Risk Through Boom And Bust, David J. Goeller

Cornhusker Economics

We are again experiencing economic times in which one sector of the agricultural economy is experiencing prosperity while other sectors struggle. Ethanol has created an increase in demand for corn, while it has also increased the cost of feed for livestock producers. Agricultural profits have historically been cyclical. Some years produce high profits (boom), some years produce low profits and some years no profits (bust). Managing the risks associated with today’s farm and ranch operations is crucial. Market volatility, increased input costs and large capital requirements are among the factors contributing to the risk of potentially negative financial impacts associated …

Two Good China Stories Where You Don’T Usually Look For China Stories

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the last few days, some good stuff to read about China has appeared in places you might not think to look. First, the Winter, 2008 Dissent has an excellent article by Thomas Pogge (pp. 66-75) called “Growth and Inequality: Understanding Recent Trends and Political Choices.” It’s an admirably clear overview of some of the vagaries of poverty statistics, differing ways of estimating inequality, and the relationship between growth and poverty reduction, tied to a very sensible argument about how somewhat slower growth could actually do much more to reduce poverty (and wreak less havoc on the environment) if it …

The Changing Landscape Of Contemporary Cataloging, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Intended to contribute to the current dialogue about how the emerging information environment is impacting cataloging issues, this survey paper covers a broad range of topics, such as how search engines compare with integrated library systems, and includes some thoughts on how cataloging processes may evolve to continue to remain relevant. The author suggests that there is a need for significant changes in integrated library system interfaces and infrastructures as well as some changes in cataloging practice. The value of descriptive vs. nondescriptive elements in the catalog record and some pros and cons of the MARC format are covered. doi:10.1300/J104v45n04_06

Self-Promotion Saturday: Introductions, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

By this point, some of our readers may be wondering who the China Beatwriters are, or rather wondering who is involved beside the few names that ring a bell. I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce everyone—briefly, since this is an accomplished group, and full introductions might run rather long.

As several commentators have already noted, we have a healthy contingent of contributors from the University of California, Irvine. UCI is my own home, and other Orange County-based contributors include Ken Pomeranz (who has produced ambitious works of comparative history, such as The Great Divergence, as well as …

January 2008 - Staff Meeting Minutes

ALEC Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Leading Landlords To The Law Library: How To Use Ala's @ Your Library* Campaign As An Outreach Tool To Local Communities, Marcia L. Dority Baker

Marvin and Virginia Schmid Law Library: Faculty Publications

In Lincoln, Nebraska, tenants of rental-housing units often visit the University of Nebraska (UNL) College of Law's Schmid Law Library for information and help in dealing with landlord and/or rental issues. Landlords, on the other hand, rarely use the law library, which lends material to all Nebraska residents over the age of 18. Even non-residents or minors may access and use the law library's collection within the building.

Lincoln landlords are missing out on the law library's resources for assistance with tenant issues, renting concerns, housing discrimination questions, deadbeat tenants, small business needs, and other landlord concerns. According to the …

Most Popular Downloads -- January 2008

Institutional Repository Information

This report shows the 145 most-often-downloaded documents from the UNL Digital Commons for January 2008; which is all those downloaded 40 times or more. In all, 7,878 documents (out of 10,964) were downloaded a total of 60,480 times; an average of 5.52 downloads per available document. For the month, 72% (7,878 of 10,964) documents were downloaded at least once.

Documents downloaded more than 100 times were:
1. The Probe, Issue 213 – November/December 2000
2. Online Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology: Complete Work
3. The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734). An Online Electronic Edition.
4. A Description of New England (1616): …

University Of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Connect, February 2008

Connect (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension)

Inside this issue:

pg. 3 Youth-adult partnerships
pg. 5 Beef home study
pg. 7 Leadership training

Nebraska Agriculture Fact Card

Department of Agricultural Economics: News, Announcements, and Information

Cash receipts from farm marketings contributed over $12 billion to Nebraska’s economy in 2006, ranking 4th in the nation.

Nebraska’s six leading commodities (in order of importance) for cash receipts are cattle and calves, corn, soybeans, hogs, wheat, and dairy products, which represent 95 percent of the state's total farm receipts.

Nebraska's Top National Rankings

Nebraska Ag Facts

Nebraska's Natural Resources

Farm Real Estate Ownership Transfer Patterns In Nebraska’S Panhandle Region, Bruce Johnson, Dennis M. Conley, Gibson Nene, Patrick L. Krepel

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

The purpose of this study was to review and analyze the entire universe of recent agricultural real estate activity in the multi-county, Panhandle Region of Nebraska. This region was chosen because of the widely-held perception that a consider¬able number of acquisitions in recent years were by absentee owners. By investigating all recorded agricultural land trans¬fers (filed in public records) for the period 2003 through the first half of 2006, we were able to identify the true characteris¬tics of the market and analyze the associated implications.

Grain Ethanol: Why Consider Food For Fuel?, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Current U.S. energy policy encourages additional ethanol production through a combination of subsidies and mandates. Grain ethanol production converts a potential food into fuel. Concerns have been expressed that this drives up the price of food, and could contributed to world hunger problems. Other objections to grain ethanol have been raised: it might not reduce greenhouse gases much if at all; intensified cropping could deteriorate environmental resources, and it might increase smog in cities. Why, then, do proponents favor increased grain ethanol production? It is possible that it will educe greenhouse gas emissions; it can reduce petroleum imports, it can …

Growing Crops For Better Biodiesel, Loren Isom, William L. Booker

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Identifying high oil yield, low water use crops suitable for biodiesel production is a key component of addressing feedstock availability that will support the development of biodiesel production facilities in Nebraska. Expanded oilseed production can develop new economic opportunities for agricultural producers and suppliers in Nebraska.

Soil Modification By Invasive Plants: Effects On Native And Invasive Species Of Mixed-Grass Prairies, Nicholas R. Jordan, Diane L. Larson, Sheri C. Huerd

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Invasive plants are capable of modifying attributes of soil to facilitate further invasion by conspecifics and other invasive species. We assessed this capability in three important plant invaders of grasslands in the Great Plains region of North America: leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), smooth brome (Bromus inermis) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum). In a glasshouse, these three invasives or a group of native species were grown separately through three cycles of growth and soil conditioning in both steam-pasteurized and non-pasteurized soils, after which we assessed seedling growth in these soils. Two of the three invasive …

Daily Reads—The Second Sequel: Five Global Sites With Good China Content

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As the last in our trilogy (for now) of nods to internet resources we rely upon, we offer up five valuable sites that deal with globalization (some are exclusively devoted to that topic, others just have a lot about it). They are on our radar screen because each fairly regularly brings China into the picture in interesting ways. To illustrate this, as with the last list, we provide first a link to a homepage and then a link to a China story.

1. Yale Global

This site was founded and continues to be run by Nayan Chanda, whose credentials as …

China Annals: Interview With Ian Johnson

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The China Beat will be posting periodic interviews with journalists who cover China in widely read newspapers and magazines in the US and UK. Our first interviewee is Ian Johnson, China journalist for the Wall Street Journal, and author of Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China. In 2001, Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of China.

1) What was the most intriguing, amusing, inspiring, or eye-opening story that you have covered in China?

I think the favorite story I covered was about farmers in northern Shaanxi who were filing class-action lawsuits against the authorities for …

Green To Gold: Business And Industry Moving Onto The Eco-Path, Gary D. Lynne

Cornhusker Economics

The question of “How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage” is the subtitle to a new book titled Green to Gold, by Esty and Winston (E&W, 2006). They point to how companies are finding ways to make money on the “green” path… more accurately, on the ecopath, the sustainable path for their business and industry. We might liken the shift in thinking and business trends documented in this book to a kind of tsunami; as E&W refer to it, a huge Green Wave on which the leading companies are the WaveRiders. These companies …

What Shall We Do With The Dead Dictator?

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One of the thorniest problems facing fledgling democracies involves how to cope with memories of their former dictators. Attempts to assess this aspect of a country’s history are especially problematic due to the fact that the trauma many citizens have suffered is tempered by the lingering impact of indoctrination and hero worship (consider the debates over Suharto’s rule now that he has just passed away). Add to this mixture of emotions the spices of identity formation and electoral politics and its volatility can increase exponentially.

For the past year, Taiwan has been in the throes of grappling with the legacy …

In Case You Missed It: New Books On Women And Family In China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Two new English-language books by two of my favorite scholars in Chinese women’s studies are not to be missed: Susan Mann’s The Talented Women of the Zhang Family, and Harriet Evans’ The Subject of Gender: Daughters and Mothers in Urban China. Harkening to Margery Wolf’s foundational concept of the “uterine family” (see Wolf’s Women and the Family in Rural Taiwan), both works explore Chinese culture and history through the lives of women and their relationships with their sisters, mothers, daughters, and aunts.

Best known for her 1997 book, Precious Records: Women in China’s Long Eighteenth Century, whose arguments rely on …

Taelspin For Saturday, January 26, 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Following up on Susan’s excellent post (the first in a series) about preparations for this summer’s Olympics, this Saturday edition of The Taelspin leads off with reports that members of Team USA have been issued specially designed anti-pollution masks to wear in Beijing. Tim Johnson, the Beijing bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, and author of the blog China Rises: Notes from the Middle Kingdom, gives his take on the situation.

As anyone who has been to Beijing knows, there has been an almost obsessive focus on public hygiene in getting the city ready for the games. I could go on …

Frivolous Friday: China Beat Goes Hollywood

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Last year saw some curious news stories appear that linked China with Hollywood, from ones involving Mia Farrow’s critical views of the Beijing regime, to ones reporting Paris Hilton’s trip to Shanghai to attend an MTV awards show, to ones detailing sex scenes being cut from the version of Ang Lee’s film so that it could be showed in the PRC. With these still fresh in China Beat’s mind, this week’s “Frivolous Friday” offering takes the form of quiz, which tests the pop culture acumen and in some cases also the Sinological savvy of our readers. (Answers as well as …

Beijing Olympic Faq #1: Politics And The Olympics

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Last year the International Olympic Committee (IOC) invited me to write an essay on the Beijing Olympics, and “The Beijing Effect” was published in the July-September 2006 issue of The Olympic Review. At the end of that essay I wrote, “China hopes that it will change the Olympic Games, but is the West really open to that possibility? Are we truly ready for ‘One World, One Dream’?” Since that article appeared in the official magazine of the IOC, it is not implausible that Beijing decided to answer my question. On August 8, 2007, Beijing marked the one-year countdown to the …

This Day: The Nanjing Massacre, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

On January 25, 1938, The New York Times ran a single piece about the on-going occupation of the Guomindang capital, Nanjing, by Japanese troops. Hallett Abend wrote for the Times:

“Stripping away all the Japanese excuses about military necessity…the stark fact remains that the conditions in Nanking one month and ten days after the victorious Japanese Army crashed the gates of China’s former capital are so lawless and so scandalous that Japanese authorities continue to refuse permission to any foreigners except diplomatic officials to visit the city…Again on Jan. 7 Japanese authorities apologetically admitted to the writer that conditions in …

Updating Custom Rates For 2008, H. Douglas Jose

Cornhusker Economics

A survey of custom rates is conducted every two years to determine the current rates charged for specific field and other machinery operations. The two parts of the 2006 survey were conducted in the January to May period in 2006. We appreciate the cooperation of the respondents who share their information on the rates they charge. This information is widely used. We are always a little leery about the process. Is the information we collect representative of what is being charged? And the big question: Are we reporting the rates charged or setting the rates? That is a risk, but …

An Architectural Tour Of Historic Unl, Kay Logan-Peters

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

This website illustrates with text and images the dramatic physical development of Nebraska's largest academic institution, the University of Nebraska, and the people who committed their lives to it. This website is devoted in particular to the growth of the Lincoln campuses, now known as City and East.

Much of the information contained in this site is available elsewhere, but it requires a determined researcher to track down the parts that make up the whole. Architectural records are contained at the University's Facilities Management department, other records are held within various files in the University Archives, embedded within the Board …