On A Local Carnot Engine

Starting from a master equation in a quantum Hamilton form we study analytically a nonequilibrium system which is coupled locally to two heat bathes at different temperatures. Based on a lattice gas description an evolution equation for the averaged density in the presence of a temperature gradient is derived. Firstly, the case is analysed where a particle is removed from a heat bath at a fixed temperature and is traced back to the bath at another temperature. The stationary solution and the relaxation time is discussed. Secondly, a collective hopping process between different heat bathes is studied leading to an evolution equation which offers a bilinear coupling between density and temperature gradient contrary to the conventional approach. Whereas in case of a linear decreasing static temperature field the relaxtion time offers a continuous spectrum it results a discrete spectrum for a quadratically decreasing temperature profile.Comment: 9 pages, Revtex, to be published in Int. J. of Mod. Phys.

Business Ownership by Workers: Are Worker Cooperatives a Viable Option?

One possible strategy for both succession and new business development is employee ownership.� New business formation as an employee-owned firm or cooperative may have some advantages over formation as a sole proprietorship or partnership: pooling financial resources, spreading risk and combining the various knowledge and skills of the members involved. In the case of business succession, selling to employees provides a tax benefit to the owners and increases the probability that the business will continue to exist in its current location, benefitting both the employees themselves and the local community. While worker cooperatives (or employee-owned cooperatives) are currently rare in the United States, successful examples exist, suggesting potential for future development of this type of organization. This paper reviews the literature on worker cooperatives and presents data on the extent and nature of worker cooperatives in the United States. It concludes with a discussion of the implications for employee-owned cooperative development in Iowa and provides suggestions for future research and outreach programming on this topic.

Migration and Rural Entrepreneurship

This paper investigates entrepreneurship of migrants and their location choice in attempt to draw connections between migration and economic development, especially the role of business formation in rural development. Rural entrepreneurship is firstly attempted to be better understood form perspectives of individual people’s migration, human capital, social capital and family background. The study uses a recent survey on alumni of Iowa State University. We find that social capital and social networks established in one’s home region are shown to be a strong factor in location choice of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs from rural origins tend to choose to start their businesses in rural areas in general and half of entrepreneurs migrate back to their home in particular to take local comparative advantages. Rural entrepreneurs are also more likely to obtain financial support from family members, friends and local banks to start a business.

THE IMPACT OF "BIG-BOX" BUILDING MATERIALS STORES ON HOST TOWNS AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES IN A MIDWESTERN STATE

This paper analyzes 11 regions in a midwestern state where big-box building materials stores have opened. The zero-sum-game theory is verified; the sales gains in the host counties equaled the losses in the surrounding counties. The results are important to existing merchants and local officials in setting strategies and policies.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Measuring the Impact of Meat Packing and Processing Facilities in the Nonmetropolitan Midwest: A Difference-In-Differences Approach

We measure how local growth in meatpacking and processing affects growth in local economies, government expenditures, and crime rates from 1990-2000 in nonmetropolitan counties of 12 Midwestern States. Propensity score matching is used as a check on possible non-random placement of meatpacking and processing plants. Results suggest that as the meat packing industryï¾’s share of a countyï¾’s total employment and wage bill rises, total employment growth increases. However, employment growth in other sectors slows, as does local wage growth. There is some evidence that slower wage growth swamps the employment growth so that aggregate income grows more slowly. We find no evidence that growth in the industry changes the growth rates for crime or government spending.

Off-Farm Employment Effects on Adoption of Nutrient Management Practices

Off-farm income as a share of total farm household income has been increasing. Previous studies found inconsistent results regarding the impact of off-farm income on adoption of conservation practices. We test the hypothesis that off-farm employment has a positive impact on adoption of capital incentive practices and a negative impact on adoption of labor-intensive practices. The results confirm that adoption of injecting manure into the soil, a capital intensive practice, is positively and significantly impacted by off-farm employment of the operator. However, off-farm employment variables had no effect on adoption of record keeping.adoption, nutrient management, off-farm income, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

South Sudanese Refugee Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Torture:Health and Justice Service Responses in Northern Uganda

This British Academy/Leverhulme-funded research investigated the health and justice service responses to the needs of South Sudanese refugees living in refugee settlements in Northern Uganda who had been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and torture. It involved the collection and thematic analysis of the narratives of 20 men and 41 women who were refugee survivors of SGBV and torture, including their experiences in South Sudan, their journeys to Uganda and experiences in refugee settlements, in particular their access to health and justice services. Thirty-seven key stakeholders including international, government, non-government organisations and civil society organisations were also interviewed regarding their experiences of providing health and justice services to refugees. All refugees had survived human rights abuses mainly carried out in South Sudan but some had also occurred on route to Uganda and within Uganda. Despite the significant impact of their experiences, the analysis indicated that there was limited service response in refugee settlements in Northern Uganda once the immediate humanitarian crisis ended. The thematic analysis indicated five main themes coming from the interviews. These included: the nature of refugee experiences of SGBV and torture, including domestic violence and child abduction and forced marriage; issues associated with service provision such as lack of adequate screening and under resourcing of health and justice services; a lack of gender sensitivity and specialist services, particularly for men; the sustained involvement of civil society organisations and local non-governmental organisations in providing counselling and offering emotional support and hope to survivors; and enhancing health and justice responses and services to improve refugee recovery, dignity and resilience. The authors recommend that integrated gendered and culturally sensitive service provision should be adopted, which brings together formal and informal health, justice services and survivor support programmes

If You Build It, Will They Come?: Fiscal Federalism, Local Provision of Public Tourist Amenities, and the Vision Iowa Fund

The philosophy of fiscal federalism presumes that local communities will under- or over-provide public amenities in the presence of externalities.� We test this hypothesis using data from Vision Iowa, a state program which provided partial funding to communities to build tourist attractions.� We find a 1% increase in investment increased county taxable retail sales 0.9%.� The State’s return, from program-induced sales tax revenue, averaged 9.2% annually.� Local communities’ returns averaged 0.9% and we find a significant increase in surrounding areas’ sales.� This suggests that without state subsidies, communities would undersupply public amenities aimed at attracting visitors.fiscal federalism; local public goods; subsidy; externality; spillover; amenity; retail sales

Influence of nitrogen deposition on carbon dynamics in peatlands

The impact of high levels of nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere (primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels and transportation) on soil carbon fluxes and carbon sequestration pathways in peatlands are uncertain and limit our understanding of its consequence on peatlands’ role as global carbon sinks. An alteration in peatlands’ natural carbon accumulation process could result in the increased release of CO2 into the atmosphere, potentially increasing the greenhouse effect and contributing to climate change. Recent studies in forest soils have shown that high concentrations of inorganic nitrogen accelerate the activity of key soil enzymes involved in the degradation of easily decomposable litter (low lignin content) but slow down the decomposition of lignin abundant litter. Peatland soils are adapted to slow rates of nitrogen mineralization; therefore increasing the nitrogen supply in these environments may have an even deeper impact on litter quality, potential litter decomposability, and overall carbon storage capacity. The aim of this study is to use plant wax biomarkers as proxies of vegetational change in litter profiles. An alkane and alcohol profile database of peatland vegetation is currently being characterized for comparison with samples taken from the Whim Moss experimental site (Edinburgh) where different levels of nitrogen has been added to peatland soil since 2002. A temporal study combining the MicroResp technique (community level physiological profiles) and enzyme activity assays is considered to look at the effect of litter compositional changes on soil microbial diversity and biological activity. To better understand how nitrogen deposition in peatland soil affects the mechanisms controlling carbon storage, the incorporation of stable isotope labelling (13C) would allow direct determination of the fate of carbon into the different carbon pools and better pin-point the changes in litter composition