Louisiana leads all U.S. states in blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) landings, but high fuel and bait costs have hindered commercial fishing productivity of Louisiana in recent years. The primary baitfish, Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), has steadily increased in price and decreased in availability, while crab prices remain low. To reduce costs for fishermen, an alternative bait was developed that incorporates shrimp waste into a semi-rigid alginate matrix. Lab testing and preliminary field tests show that shrimp-alginate bait may be a suitable alternative to menhaden for Louisiana crab fishermen. I evaluated bait performance by conducting field sampling to compare catch rates and longevity of standard baitfish and shrimp-alginate bait. I performed seasonal fishery-independent testing at three sites across Southern Louisiana from summer 2014 to spring 2015, and tested the bait on commercial crabbing boats throughout coastal Louisiana during peak crab season in 2015. Catch rates of shrimp-alginate were less than menhaden overall, however, bait performance changed with site and season, and did not significantly differ when I evaluated commercially relevant crab classes. Analysis of remaining bait quantity after fishing showed that shrimp-alginate remains intact as long, or longer, than standard baitfish during peak crab fishing from June through August. After testing shrimp-alginate bait in the field, I evaluated the economic feasibility of producing the bait with a partial budget supply line. With its current formulation, shrimp-alginate can only be produced at a cost lower than menhaden (currently $0.50/lb.) under optimal production scenarios, however, slight modifications that improve shelf life could dramatically decrease the cost of bait production. Findings from both field work and feasibility analysis show promise in the alternative shrimp-alginate bait with given improvements to catch rate efficacy and product storage.

Thesis (MComm (Economics)--Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Renewable energy technology has received much attention over recent years. The depletion of known fossil fuel reserves and the volatility of international fuel prices require that society looks beyond the current coal-dominated electricity generation methods. Wind energy is an internationally well-established technology with large markets in major countries around the world, such as the USA and Germany. South Africa has the potential to generate large amounts of electricity from the wind because of the strength of the country’s wind resource. The long coast line and open areas are ideal for the exploitation of wind energy. / Sponsored by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies

Talent management (TM), both as a practice and an academic sub-discipline, lacks a strong conceptual foundation. This limitation significantly inhibits understandings of TM in its international dimensions. Accordingly the overarching aim of this thesis is to contribute to an overdue reassessment of TM within the international context by redressing the empirical and theoretical deficiencies, which are a direct hindrance to development of the field. The philosophy adopted was interpretivist, involving qualitative methods, that is, semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis were employed in data collection from 17 informant companies based in several European countries. This study makes highly significant contributions in four major ways. Firstly, the empirical contribution is made through employing two phases of primary research. Phase One was an exploration of TM practices in 14 internationally operating organisations representing eight industries. Out of Phase One arose the notion of expectations as a key influence shaping TM in practice as well as indicating managerial and individual dimensions. Thus Phase Two explored the conceptualisation and operationalisation of TM from the perspective of management, on the one hand and talented employees, on the other. This was a highly significant step in the understanding of TM, because most empirical studies have tended to focus on managerial views. Secondly, the methodological contribution results from the novel adoption of narratives in analysing case studies. This approach made it possible to gain insights into TM as lived experience especially on the part of employees selected as talented. Thirdly, the conceptual contribution arose from (i) contrasting and distilling the essence of many lax definitions of talent and TM; (ii) identifying the visible and invisible elements of TM in the domain of practice and(iii) employing a dual theoretical framework which integrated human capital theory and expectancy theory. Significantly the dual framework also offers a re-conceptualisation of TM as a social process in which various stakeholders are revealed to have disparate interests. Indeed the framework led to the notion of fracture in TM as a result of misalignment of expectations of management, on the one hand, and talent-managed employees, on the other. Lastly, by dint of the dual theoretical framework the study adds to the understanding of TM a new lens through which senior managers (and researchers) can clearly identify the gap between managerial intentions and the practical reality.

By 1976 extended fisheries jurisdiction had been declared by most coastal states and territories of the world. The new regime of property rights was expected to affect seafood production costs which, in turn, could impact on seafood trade and the competitive positions of producing countries. In theory this policy should bestow upon coastal nations and territories a comparative advantage in seafoods. Thus, in studying price and nonprice competition as factors that influence seafood trade, a third factor (the effects of extended fisheries jurisdiction EFJ) is added. The best available data are aggregative. These data are used to analyze the influences of the three factors listed above on seafood trade. In the first part of the investigation, Canada and the U.S. are considered. The annual growth of each country's exports of fresh, frozen, and chilled fish to selected countries is computed using the constant market share approach. The calculated annual growth is partitioned into three effects (or components); namely; (1) competitiveness effect, which measures the portion of growth due to (price) competitiveness; (2) market distribution effect, which measures growth due to the (re)direction of exports to more rapidly growing markets; and (3) market size effect, which accounts for growth caused by overall growth in world demand. Both countries have gained substantial shares of the Japanese and European markets, but Canada's share of the U.S. market has declined due to increased competition from U.S. domestic producers. The U.S. share of every considered market has increased, in most cases, substantially. The second part of the study considers eight exporters of fish to the U.S. Various econometric models are used to analyze cause and effect relationships between changes in relative prices and changes in the market shares of pairs of countries/regions. Results indicate significant nonprice influence and symmetrical EFJ effects on product substitution. / Graduation date: 1987

If informed and rational judgments are to be made concerning proposed large scale interbasin water diversions, it is imperative that competent positive analysis be undertaken by scientists of relevant disciplines. It is the primary purpose of this thesis to pull together into a single interrelated package, the economic theory needed to establish a framework for analyzing the economic efficiency and distributive impacts of interbasin water transfers. Accordingly, a model is developed such that efficiency implications of resource transfer schemes can be ascertained; the components of the model are identified so that direct regional income redistributive effects might be determined. The model is then extended to consider value in transit, intrafirm production interdependencies, interfirm production interdependencies, and indirect benefits and costs. Finally, a method is demonstrated for estimating one component of the efficiency model. The marginal value productivity of water in irrigated agriculture is estimated from secondary data sources using least-squares regression analysis. / Graduation date: 1970

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The Perspectives/Visions/Actions framework is designed to facilitate deeper understanding of issues and broader inclusion of publics in landscape decision-making conversations. A parallel analysis of landscape and policy theory was used to constructed the framework. Common terminology and visual expression of spatial/temporal aspects of landscape are viewed through the interactive segments of Perspectives, Visions, and Actions. Perspectives described through landscape/human relationships and intuitive images of landscape provide insight into various viewpoints. Visions, visual landscape features described in landscape ecology terminology, provide a base for development of potential scenarios. Actions, Tools and Rules, relate viewpoints and scenarios to a range of choices for implementing change. Document content analysis, open-ended interviews, and systematic establishment of a transect baseline from aerial photographs were used to historically analyze three shoreline landscapes (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Cape Cod and Point Reyes National Seashores) through framework language and schematic. Landscape information, viewpoints, and choices within the case study landscapes were uniquely illustrated. Perspectives groupings of intuitive images indicated ovelapping viewpoints and set an inclusive base for landscape information types. Visions landscape ecology language used both to construct the schematic and to translate information into comron expressions provided a base for issue discussion. Actions tools and rules data provided examples of implementation choices which related to the Perspectives and Visions.

Prepared by the Arid Lands Information Center, Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona ; Sandra J. Turner, compiler.

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