Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Keith Harris / The organic food industry experienced rapid growth over the past several decades. Typically, the majority of this growth is associated with the produce sector, but as consumers demand organic options for more food products, organic grains, dairy, and animal meat have emerged as viable food alternatives. There is currently a shortage of organic grains, specifically corn, to feed the livestock that provide organic meat and dairy products. This shortage has led to increased imports of organic corn in order to satisfy the domestic demand. Previous research comparing organic corn prices and profitability to conventional corn have shown organic corn production to be at least as profitable as conventional. With the declining value of cash receipts for conventional corn and the potential profitability advantage of organic corn, very few farmers are devoting acreage to organic corn in the U.S. This study seeks to determine potential economic reasons for this discrepancy. This research develops numerous production scenarios for organic corn in order to observe potential break-even yields a farmer could experience. For example, a nine-year low for price per bushel of organic corn was substituted in to actual values for current production to represent a possible break-even yield that could occur. In this study, the elasticity of organic corn is also calculated. The price elasticity of demand for organic corn gives insight as to how sensitive the demand is to a change in price per bushel. The findings in this study are expected to add insight to the reasons why U.S. farm production of organic corn is less than its domestic demand. It is hoped that famers will benefit from the results in this research in order to better understand organic corn production.

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Thesis advisor: Charles Derber / This thesis examines the relationship between consumption and politics. It focuses on how ethical consumption can be positioned to be part of political participation. It also pays attention to how it can serve as a pathway for creating a better society in which ethical, individual consumers are mobilized toward the collective activism and the conventional political participation that influences social change in the context of globalization and individualism. To demonstrate this, the study examines the case of a consumer cooperative: iCOOP in South Korea based on data from in-depth interviews with members of iCOOP. The findings show that ethical consumption practices can be understood in the context of life politics. Participants in this study constantly make attempts to readapt their consuming patterns and choose their lifestyles based on a changed consciousness of the self, the world, and the interrelations between both at the individual level. By extension, participants analyzed as political agents of life politics show that they can become more engaged in collective activism and conventional political participation. What makes this mobilization possible is that they were able to be involved in rehearsal phases for citizens' roles at the collective level, and to gain easy access to social issues and a set of political tools in iCOOP. It is significant that iCOOP provides a platform for collecting and maintaining the state of this collectivized consumer power by organizing individually scattered consumers. It is not an `imagined community' for mobilizing scattered consumers, but rather a practical and real community established by consumers themselves in which they try to become aware of interrelations between the self and the world, rearrange their ways of living, and further expand their interests and actions to large-scale social and political issues for making social change. These findings not only support the alternative views of ethical consumption as political participation, these also offer a fresh perspective by showing the process and the mechanism of the connection between consumption and politics. This study ultimately leads to the possibility that ethical consumption can become a vehicle that brings about a meaningful change in both life and conventional politics. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology. / Discipline: TO ADD.

Thesis advisor: Peter Ireland / Upon reaching the effective end of conventional monetary policy, the Zero-Lower Bound, the Federal Reserve Board began to utilize a non-conventional expansionary monetary policy involving Large Scale Asset Purchases. Under this policy, large quantities of agency and federal debt is purchased using the reserves of the Federal Reserve Bank’s balance sheet. This policy is frequently referred to as Quantitative Easing or, more simply, QE. This paper considers the effects and sustainability of the Federal Open Market Committee’s use of Large Scale Asset Purchases on the prices and yields of financial assets within the U.S. Financial Markets. Our analysis presents evidence that while QE was initially effective in lowering the yields of agency and federal debt, the downward pressure on yields was not sustainable over time. Additionally, we find that the effects of QE spilled-over into additional asset classes within the financial markets including corporate fixed-income and equities. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa avaliar o efeito de diferentes densidades de galinhas poedeiras alojadas em gaiolas convencionais (50x45x40 cm) nos índices produtivos, na viabilidade, qualidade dos ovos e comportamento das aves. A pesquisa foi realizada na cidade de Bastos (SP) com duração de 18 semanas. Foram utilizadas 500 aves, da linhagem ISA Brown, distribuídas em 5 tratamentos com 25 repetições cada. Os tratamentos foram: tratamento 1: 6 aves/ gaiola (375,0 cm²), tratamento 2: 5 aves/gaiola (450,0 cm²); tratamento 3: 4 aves/gaiola (562,5 cm²); tratamento 4: 3 aves/ gaiola (750,0 cm²) e tratamento 5: 2 aves/gaiola (1.125,0 cm²). Adotou-se o delineamento inteiramente aleatorizado, este contendo cinco tratamentos e 25 repetições. De acordo com os resultados, verificou-se que o tratamento 1 apresentou as menores médias percentuais de produção quando relacionado aos demais tratamentos, diferindo-se estatisticamente. A viabilidade e qualidade dos ovos, não apresentaram diferença estatística entre os tratamentos. Já com relação ao comportamento das aves foi possível observar que o tratamento 5 (menor densidade) foi o que expressou diferentes comportamentos e diferiu-se estatisticamente dos demais. Observou-se também que, quanto à atividade, o tratamento 5 passou menor parte do tempo \"parado\". De acordo com esses resultados, conclui-se que com o aumento da densidade, ocorreu uma significativa redução na produção e na viabilidade, porém, quanto a qualidade dos ovos, não sofreu influência significativa, em relação aos comportamentos das aves, observouse que os animais expressaram melhor o seu comportamento natural quando estavam em menor densidade, ou seja, maior espaço. / The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of different densities of laying hens housed in conventional cages (50x45x40 cm) in production rates, viability, quality of eggs and bird behavior. The survey was conducted in the city of Bastos (SP) lasting 18 weeks. They were used 500 birds, ISA Brown hens, distributed in 5 treatments with 25 repetitions each. The treatments were: Treatment 1: 6 / Bird Cage (375.0 cm²), treatment 2: 5 birds / cage (450.0 cm²); treatment 3: 4 birds / cage (562.5 cm²); Treatment 4: 3 birds / cage (750.0 cm²) and treatment 5: 2 / Bird Cage (1125.0 cm²). Adopted a completely randomized design, this containing five treatments and 25 repetitions. According to the results, it was found that the treatment 1 had the lowest average percentage of production when related to other treatments, differing statistically. The viability and quality of eggs, there was no statistical difference between treatments. In relation to the behavior of birds was observed that the treatment 5 (lower density) was expressed that the different behaviors and differed statistically from the others. It was also observed that, as the activity, treatment 5 spent less of their time \"stopped\". According to these results, we conclude that with the consolidation of the cages, it was noticeable that the production and mortality has a significant worsening, as the quality of eggs, there was no influence of the different densities of the conduct of the birds, it is observed that the animals best express their natural behavior when they are in lower density, or larger space.

<p>The construction industry is suffering with many problems nowadays. Many projects are</p><p>getting failed and getting over budget. It has been generally noticed that chaos in</p><p>construction industry is only because of the absence of explicit theory of project</p><p>management. The paradigm of project management in construction is still following mass</p><p>production, which means considering only conversion activities. The present style of</p><p>conventional project management is based on two fundamental theories i.e. management-</p><p>as-planning (for planning and execution) and thermostat model (for control).</p><p>The new philosophy (lean production) considers production both conversion and flow</p><p>processes. The focus of lean production is to reduce flow processes, to improve the</p><p>conversion processes, and to reduce the wastes during production.</p><p>Among all other lean tools, this document is focusing on Last Planner System (LPS) for</p><p>the production control system. In the end of the document, two case studies have been</p><p>mentioned in which it is clearly demonstrated that, when project managers used the LPS</p><p>the value of PPC (percent planned completed) and PF (performance factor) have been</p><p>more salubrious as compared to the absence of LPS during the execution of the project.</p>

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) operation is desirable for its high thermal efficiency and low emissions of NOx and particulates. Difficulty with cold starting and maximum achievable speed/load highlight the desire for mode-switching to traditional spark ignition (SI) operation. Mode-switching between SI and HCCI is investigated using only actuation of throttle, CNG injector pulse width, and CNG injection timing on a single cylinder CFR engine. Open-loop control achieves a one cycle mode-switch between two adjustable IMEP levels. Sequences are repeatable as demonstrated by 10 mode-switches with the same inputs. Performance is evaluated using a developed mode-switch performance criterion (MSPC) by considering duration between steady-states of operation, smoothness of IMEP, and knock based on maximum rate of pressure rise. Comparing the results with subjective analysis (the current standard) reveals good correlation. Throughout development, mode-switching performance is shown to improve by a factor of 60.

Farmers are always looking for ways to increase yields and profits and no-tillage may be a way to achieve this goal. However, a comprehensive study of the performance of no-tillage yields relative to conventional tillage yields and their net returns is lacking. This study evaluated the potential factors that influence differences in conventional tillage and no-tillage yields and net returns as explained by such factors as time, crop, precipitation, soil texture and geographic region. Data were collected from 442 paired tillage experiments growing corn, soybeans, cotton, oats, wheat and sorghum published in three refereed journals. Data were evaluated using a mixed model and logit model respectively, to evaluate differences in mean yields and downside risk with no-tillage compared to tillage. Sorghum and wheat were found to have higher no-tillage yields relative to tillage. No-tillage was also found to outperform conventional tillage in the southern United States with just the opposite occurring in the northern U.S. A silty soil was also found to reduce no-tillage yields. Several factors were found to decrease the chance of downside risk with no-tillage, they were sorghum, sandy soil, Northern Crescent, Northern Great Plains, Prairie Gateway and Southern Seaboard regions. Two factors that increased the chance of lowered no-tillage yields were increased rainfall and length of use of no-tillage. Differences in mean net returns and downside risk were evaluated using a mixed model and logit model. Results showed that no-tillage was more profitable than conventional tillage in the Mississippi Portal region, but less profitable in the Prairie Gateway. Net returns were lower for no-tillage wheat and soybeans when produced in a clay soil. Cotton grown in sand had higher no-till net returns, but increased rainfall decreased cotton net returns. A logit model showed certain factors decreased the probability of lower no-tillage net returns. There was less downside risk with wheat grown under no-tillage as well as less downside risk in the Southern Seaboard region and when no-tillage was used on a clay soil. There were factors that increased the probability of lower no-tillage net returns; increased precipitation, Northern Great Plains, Prairie Gateway and Basin & Range regions.

The construction industry is suffering with many problems nowadays. Many projects are getting failed and getting over budget. It has been generally noticed that chaos in construction industry is only because of the absence of explicit theory of project management. The paradigm of project management in construction is still following mass production, which means considering only conversion activities. The present style of conventional project management is based on two fundamental theories i.e. management- as-planning (for planning and execution) and thermostat model (for control). The new philosophy (lean production) considers production both conversion and flow processes. The focus of lean production is to reduce flow processes, to improve the conversion processes, and to reduce the wastes during production. Among all other lean tools, this document is focusing on Last Planner System (LPS) for the production control system. In the end of the document, two case studies have been mentioned in which it is clearly demonstrated that, when project managers used the LPS the value of PPC (percent planned completed) and PF (performance factor) have been more salubrious as compared to the absence of LPS during the execution of the project.

The use of figurative language can be found in all kinds of texts but the manner it is used differs. This piece of work deals with the frequency of the use of metaphors in general and the distribution of its three subcategories - new, conventional and dead metaphors - in articles from a broadsheet paper and a tabloid. Ten articles, five from The New York Times and five from the New York Daily News, were analyzed and scrutinized for metaphors. The analysis and the categorisation of the metaphors point towards that there should be a higher frequency of metaphors in the broadsheet paper and that the distribution of the subkinds is the same in the two papers. However, results state that there is a great range of variation in the frequency of the metaphor in the individual tabloid articles compared to the broadsheet articles. This point to the conclusion that none of the two papers can be said to generally contain a higher frequency of metaphor compared to the other, simply because with tabloids there is no norm to compare with.