A STRATEGIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION MODEL WITH RISK AND RETURN CONSIDERATIONS

Decision support systems are generally geared to short-term tactical decision making. As an alternative, this paper develops a mathematical programming model to evaluate long-term strategic alternatives in the context of farm-level agricultural production where a broiler farm considers long-term implications of diversification into commercial aquaculture. The model considers a ten-year strategic planning horizon, incorporates financial risk and return considerations, and accommodates capacity variations. Results indicate that a diversification strategy significantly increases farm profitability over a strategic planning horizon while simultaneously maintaining financial risk below a predetermined tolerance level and return on investment above a predetermined level.Production Economics,

Zero Tolerance, Frivolous Juvenile Court Referrals, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Using Arbitration as a Screening-Out Method to Help Plug the Pipeline

Published in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolutio

Transforming Masculinist Political Cultures? Doing Politics in New Political Institutions

In the devolved legislative assemblies of Scotland and Wales the proportion of women representatives is approaching parity. This is in marked contrast to Westminster where one in five MPs are women. In this paper we explore the extent to which the masculinist political cultures characterising established political institutions are being reproduced in the National Assembly for Wales or whether its different gendering, both in the numbers of women representatives and in terms of its institutional framework, is associated with a more feminised political and organisational culture. Drawing on interviews with half the Assembly Members, women and men, we show that the political style of the Assembly differs from that of Westminster and that Assembly Members perceive it as being more consensual and as embodying a less aggressive and macho way of doing politics. AMs relate this difference to the gender parity amongst Assembly Members, to the institutional arrangements which have an \'absolute duty\' to promote equality embedded in them, and to the desire to develop a different way of doing politics. We suggest that the ability to do politics in a more feminised and consensual way relates not only to the presence of a significant proportion of women representatives, but also to the nature of the institution and the way in which differently gendered processes and practices are embedded within it. Differently gendered political institutions can develop a more feminised political culture which provides an alternative to the masculinist political culture characterising the political domain.Gender, Political Culture, New Political Institutions, Consensus Politics, Political Style, National Assembly for Wales

Tethered Vehicle Control and Tracking System

A kite system includes a kite and a ground station. The ground station includes a sensor that can be utilized to determine an angular position and velocity of the kite relative to the ground station. A controller utilizes a fuzzy logic control system to autonomously fly the kite. The system may include a ground station having powered winding units that generate power as the lines to the kite are unreeled. The control system may be configured to fly the kite in a crosswind trajectory to increase line tension for power generation. The sensors for determining the position of the kite are preferably ground-based

Impact of Trapped Flux and Thermal Gradients on the SRF Cavity Quality Factor

The obtained Q0 value of a superconducting niobium cavity is known to depend on various factors like the RRR of the Niobium material, crystallinity, chemical treatment history, the high pressure rinsing process, or effectiveness of the magnetic shielding. We have observed that spatial thermal gradients over the cavity length during cool down appear to contribute to a degradation of Q0. Measurements were performed in the Horizontal Bi Cavity Test Facility HoBiCaT at HZB on TESLA type cavities as well as on disc and rod shaped niobium samples equipped with thermal, electrical and magnetic diagnostics. Possible explanations for the effect are discusse

Foundations of character: methodological aspects of a study of character development in three- to six-year-old children with a focus on sharing behaviours

This article focuses on methodological issues arising in a study of character development, using illustrations of ‘sharing behaviours.’ Based primarily in six early years settings in southeast England the research records naturalistic observations of peer interactions for 55 children aged three to six years. Applying grounded theory to the processes of observing, analysing and interpreting evidence required a cautious and collectively reflective approach. The methodology sought to moderate the influence of the researchers' prior knowledge of ‘grand theories’ of moral development and assumptions about relevance to the observation records. The study's originality lay in the exploration of moral development without reference to any particular grand theory as an explanatory framework; and in the reluctance to be drawn to potentially simplistic rationalisations of the children's intentions on the basis of their observed behaviours. Exploring young children's subjective experiences, this research provides insights into the intricacy of this process, steering away from ‘neat’ findings and attempting to reflect the sophistication of the children's skilful and sometimes surprising negotiations of moral dilemmas. Implications for practice relate to the complexities involved in attempts to unravel the developing moral characters of young children and the practice through which this may be nurtured

Tri-Rotor Aircraft Capable of Vertical Takeoff and Landing and Transitioning to Forward Flight

Systems, methods, and devices provide a vehicle, such as an aircraft, with rotors configured to function as a tri-copter for vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") and a fixed-wing vehicle for forward flight. One rotor may be mounted at a front of the vehicle fuselage on a hinged structure controlled by an actuator to tilt from horizontal to vertical positions. Two additional rotors may be mounted on the horizontal surface of the vehicle tail structure with rotor axes oriented vertically to the fuselage. For forward flight of the vehicle, the front rotor may be rotated down such that the front rotor axis may be oriented horizontally along the fuselage and the front rotor may act as a propeller. For vertical flight, the front rotor may be rotated up such that the front rotor axis may be oriented vertically to the fuselage, while the tail rotors may be activated

Rationale For Aid

The past and present must be raked for a rationale for Aid