The purpose of this study was to analyze price variations across the city of Tucson to determine whether any systematic patterns of noncompetitive pricing existed and to explore their causes. Prices were examined for three alternative baskets which consisted of (1) national brand items; (2) house brand items; and (3) the cheapest brand items. Also, several characteristics pertaining to firm size, competition level, and neighborhood demographics were examined to determine their effects on the price of the national brand basket. And finally, average weekly prices were examined to determine the effect of the week on the prices of the three alternative baskets. Ordinary least squares regression equations showed that only those variables related to the competition level were significant in influencing the price of the basket. In addition it was found that price differences were brand specific. That is, BRAND1 prices were found to be higher on the south side of town, whereas BRAND3 prices were highest on the north side of town. Similar results were found when looking at the number of close rivals, stores within the same chain, and the week of the month.

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge base and opinions about agriculture that were held by an urban community college population in the state of Arizona. Faculty members, teaching freshmen composition courses, in the two largest urban community college districts in Arizona were randomly selected and asked to distribute the survey instruments in one of their classes. The knowledge and opinion portions of the survey each contained 40 statements designed to assess a broad scope of agricultural information. The study found that a majority of respondents were not sure about the answers they gave on the knowledge assessment portion of the study. There was a significant difference in the way that minorities responded to questions when compared with non-minorities in both portions of the study. No significant differences were found when comparing responses between those who had previously had agricultural education experiences with those who had not.

The study estimated changes in the terms of trade of three Kenyan exports--tea, coffee, and pyrethrum--to test the validity of the theory of deterioration in the terms of trade for primary products. Several different measures of the terms of trade were considered. The results show no evidence of a secular deterioration. They also indicate that the terms of trade measure is extremely sensitive to the choice of the price index for manufactured goods. To evaluate the impact of domestic policies, costs and returns of the three exports were examined. The results show that the impact of policy distortions on profits is far greater than the impact of expected future world price declines. Future export expansion still is possible because policy changes can offset the effect of low world prices.

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

Intramuscular fat levels of pork affect the flavor of pork meat. In the pork industry, two quality attributes namely intramuscular fat (IMF) content and marbling score (MS) are used to represent intramuscular fat levels of pork meat. Conventional determination methods are not suitable for the current requirements of the pork industry as they are either destructive or subjective. This study investigated the use of hyperspectral imaging in evaluating intramuscular fat content and marbling score of pork. Intramuscular fat distribution along the longissmus muscle and the influences of freezing, thawing, and image pattern analysis on prediction capacity were also considered. Near infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging technique from 900 to 1700 nm was used for prediction of IMF content and MS. Fresh pork at the 3rd/4th last rib was imaged. Pattern analysis techniques of Gabor filter, wide line detector (WLD), and an improved grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) were studied and different image features, i.e. spectral, texture, and line features, were extracted. Key wavelengths were identified. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to develop prediction models. For determination of marbling score, the MLR model, using the first derivative of Gabor filtered mean spectra, performed best with a prediction accuracy of 0.90 at wavelengths of 961, 1186 and 1220 nm. For intramuscular fat content, prediction accuracy of 0.85 was obtained using the raw mean spectra at 1207 and 1279 nm. The distribution map of IMF content in pork was developed. The results showed the possibility of rapid and non-destructive evaluation of intramuscular fat level of pork using NIR images. Regarding marbling as a visual index, a method for objective evaluation of pork marbling score using red-green-blue (RGB) images was developed by applying WLD-based linear models. The possibility of non-destructive prediction of IMF content and MS using frozen and frozen-thawed pork was studied. Prediction accuracy of 0.90 for MS was achieved for frozen pork. Prediction accuracy of 0.82 for IMF content and accuracy of 0.91 for MS were realized by frozen-thawed pork. The potential of frozen and frozen-thawed pork for assessment of marbling score and frozen-thawed pork for the assessment of intramuscular fat content were demonstrated. Besides the effects of freezing and thawing, the variation of IMF content and MS across the last seven thoracic longissmus muscle was studied. Relationships between IMF content and MS at the last rib and the corresponding attribute at other ribs and the whole section of the loin were determined. The relationship between NIR images of rib end and the IMF level of pork at the six last thoracic ribs was investigated. Close relationships were indicated, especially between the images of rib end and IMF levels at the 2nd/3rd last ribs and the 2nd last/last ribs. / La teneur en matières grasses du porc affecte la saveur de la viande de porc. Dans l'industrie porcine, la graisse intramusculaire (GIM) et la cote de persillage (CP) sont deux propriétés qui déterminent la teneur en gras du porc. Les méthodes conventionnelles de détermination ne sont pas adaptées aux besoins actuels de l'industrie car elles sont destructrices ou subjectives. Cette étude porte sur l'utilisation de l'imagerie hyperspectrale dans l'évaluation de la teneur en graisse intramusculaire et du persillage du porc. Les effets de la répartition de la graisse intramusculaire le long du muscle Longissmus, de la congélation, du dégel et de l'analyse de la forme pour le traitement de l'image ont été pris en compte. Une technique d'imagerie hyperspectrale proche infrarouge (IR) allant de 900 à 1700 nm a été utilisée pour prédire le GIM ou la CP. La viande fraîche au niveau de la 3ème/4ème côte du porc a été utilisée pour recueillir les images hyperspectrales. Des analyses de la forme fondée sur les techniques du filtre de Gabor, du détecteur linéaire à large spectre (WLD) et de la matrice de cooccurrence de niveau gris améliorée (GLCM) ont été étudiées et les propriétés de l'image, i.e spectre, texture et propriétés des lignes, ont été extraites. La régression linéaire multiple (RLM) a été utilisée pour développer des modèles de prédiction. Pour la cote persillage, le modèle de RLM utilisant la moyenne de spectre filtrée pour la première dérivée de Gabor a le mieux performé avec une précision de calibration de 0,90 aux longueurs d'onde de 961, 1186 et 1220 nm. Pour le GIM, une précision de calibration de 0.85 a été obtenue avec un spectre moyen de base à 1207 et 1279 nm. La distribution du contenu de GIM a été illustrée. Les résultats démontrent la possibilité d'utiliser les images hyperspectralces proche IR pour évaluer rapidement et de façon non-destructive le taux de gras intramusculaire du porc. En ce qui concerne le persillage en tant qu'indice visuel, une méthode objective d'évaluation de la cote persillage utilisant des images rouge-vert-bleu (RGB) a été développée en appliquant un WLD basé sur un model linéaire au canal vert. La possibilité d'un contrôle non-destructif du GIM et de la CP utilisant du porc congelé et décongelé a été étudiée. Une précision de la prédiction de 0.90 pour la CP a été réalisée avec du porc congelé. Une précision de la prédiction de 0.82 pour le GIM découle du porc décongelé. Le potentiel du porc congelé et décongelé pour l'évaluation de la cote de persillage et du porc décongelé pour l'évaluation de la teneur en gras intramusculaire a été démontré. Outre l'effet du gel et du dégel, la variation du GIM et de la CP à travers les sept derniers muscles thoraciques Longissmus a été étudiée. Les relations entre le GIM et la CP à la dernière côte et les propriétés correspondantes aux autres côtes et au filet ont été déterminées avec précision. La relation entre les images de proche IR à l'extrémité et le niveau de GIM du porc six dernières côtes thoraciques a été étudiée. Des relations étroite ont été déterminées, en particulier entre les images de l'extrémité de la côte et les taux de GIM aux 2eme/3eme dernières côtes et la 2eme dernière côte.

<p> Increasing demand in local food markets in WV offers a new or enhanced income generation opportunity to small producers. An ostensible gap in supply to meet this demand sparks an investigation of the factors that influence producers' decisions, as reflected by their behavior and intentions, to participate and expand in local food markets. The factors that influence both the behavior of current commercial producers and potential new entrants are identified through analysis of data collected through a survey of producers identified by field professionals. Specifically, the influence of motivational and place-based sociocultural characteristics, based on guidance from social psychology Theory of Planned Behavior, is examined within an economic framework of market participation and supply. Interest among non-commercial producers is identified and poses to be a plausible source of enhanced supply in local food markets in addition to expansion among current producers. Models of market participation behavior and supply response, using a probit model and OLS regression, indicated significant influence of motivational factors such as reasons for entering farming, influence of social context, and attitudes towards diversification of income to reduce risk. Probit model results indicate that past concerns such as time limitation and perceptions of lack of profitability limit intentions to participate in the market among current non-commercial producers, whereas past concerns about food safety and distance to market do not appear to limit those intentions. Probit model results of expansion intentions indicate the predominant influence of access to resources and farm-level factors as opposed to motivational factors on expansion. The importance of farm succession to sales volume and expansion intentions is salient. Interventions that will be successful at facilitating new entrants to market and expansion among current commercial producers must be tailored to producer values and sociocultural norms in addition to addressing resource barriers and skills. Specifically, facilitation of farm succession, implementation of marketing models that overcome distance to market and producer time and risk constraints, and education and technical assistance that is sensitive to sociocultural norms and values in general are potential leverage points. The analysis of market participation in addition to supply volume is determined to be an important aspect of analysis of supply response in local food markets in WV.</p>

This study uses economic experiments to examine agricultural producers’ incentives to supply permanent and/or temporary credits to a carbon offset market. Their decision to partake in an investment project with an uncertain outcome and a flow of information about future conditions was mimicked through two types of games in the laboratory. The timing games consist of a three-period investment project in which subjects must decide if and when to invest, knowing that they can delay their decision until more information about the future outcomes is known. Their behavior was compared with the theoretical solution based on expected value calculations and an assumption of risk neutrality; further analysis then explores the possible causes of non-optimal results. Next, bidding games tested the choice to delay the investment until the outcome was certain as both the expected value of the gamble and the variance between possible payoffs increase. Participants were also asked to state the minimum compensation they would be willing to accept to sell the gamble. The option value component was measured as the difference between the value of the game with an option to delay and the value of the game without the option to postpone investment. The last element of the experiment was a game to determine the risk preference of the subjects. The experimental results show non-optimal behavior in the timing and bidding games, although risk-aversion predictions fit the data quite well. Stated willingness-to-accept values observed in the bidding games were on average close to the predicted levels. Option values were found to be increasing as the risk level and expected value of the gambles increase, switching from a negative to a positive value. / Cette étude utilise l’économie expérimentale à fin d’examiner les facteurs qui peuvent pousser les producteurs agricoles à fournir des crédits compensatoires de carbone permanents et/ou temporaires. Leur décision de participer à un projet d’investissement avec des revenus incertains et une source d’information sur les conditions futures est étudiée à travers deux types de jeux dans le laboratoire. Le premier jeu consiste à décider si et à quel moment les participants veulent investir dans un projet de trois périodes, sachant qu’ils peuvent attendre et obtenir plus d’informations sur les conditions futures avant de prendre leur décision. Leur comportement est comparé aux solutions théoriques basées sur des calculs de valeurs attendues; une analyse plus approfondie examine aussi les causes possibles des résultats non optimaux. Le deuxième jeu teste le choix de retarder la décision d’investir jusqu’à ce que les conditions futures soient déterminées, lorsque la valeur attendue du projet et la variance entre les résultats possibles sont augmentés. Les participants doivent aussi révéler la compensation minimale qu’ils seraient prêts à recevoir en échange de la vente du projet d’investissement. La valeur d’option est calculée en soustrayant la valeur du jeu qui comporte l’option de retarder l’investissement à la valeur de ce même jeu mais qui ne contient pas l’option de délai. Finalement, les participants doivent répondre à une dernière question qui mesurera leur préférence de risque. Les résultats démontrent des stratégies d’investissement non optimales dans plusieurs cas, mais les prédictions d’aversion de risque se rapprochent beaucoup plus des données obtenues dans l’expérience. Les valeurs des compensations minimales du deuxième jeu sont en moyenne près des niveaux prédits. Les valeurs d’option augmentent au fur et à mesure que le niveau de risque et la valeur attendue$

The quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) are complex organic compounds possessing great surface activity and germicidal properties. At the present time there are hundreds of preparations on the market in the United States and about 100 licensed for sale in Canada which are compounded from or are composed entirely of one of the many QAC available. About 45 per cent of those available in Canada are composed in whole or in part of di-isobutylphenoxyethoxyethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride which, for brevity, will be referred to as Hyamine 1622, the trade name given this substance by the manufacturers, Rohm and Haas of Philadelphia, Pa.

This study evaluated the economic impacts of future climate change (2010-2039) on representative cash crop farms at selected sites in Québec using Reference and Improved Cultivar Mixed Integer Dynamic Linear Programming models and yield data simulated with the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) cropping systems models. Four future climate scenarios (WarmlDry, Median, ColdIHumid, and the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) direct 201O~2039), and four combinations of conditions (with and without atmospheric carbon dioxide (C02) enhancement and water limitation) were selected. The results indicate that optimal net farm returns, output, resource allocation, economic vulnerability and adaptation varied depending on climate scenario and condition, and type of cultivar (reference or improved) of the four crops (grain corn, feed wheat, soybean and barley) that were considered. They also differed by region (northem, southem), and between sites, within regions. The direction and magnitude of the impacts were emphasized by C02 enhancement and water availability conditions, varied between crops, thereby affecting regional crop mix. Under the worst conditions ofwater-limited yields in the absence of C02 fertilisation effects, the only site that had a relative economic advantage was, the most northem, Normandin. / Cette étude a évalué les impacts économiques du changement climatique futur (2010-2039) sur des fermes représentatives dans la production de grandes cultures au Québec à l'aide de modèles de Programmation Linéaire Dynamique Mixte en Nombres Entiers, de Cultivar Référence et Amélioré, et des données de rendements simulés par les modèles de cultures Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). Quatre scénarios climatiques futurs (Chaud/Sec, Froid/Humide, Médian et le Modèle Régional de Climat Canadien (MRCC) direct 2010-2039), et quatre combinaisons de conditions (avec et sans augmentation de dioxyde de carbone (C02) atmosphérique et limitation en eau) ont été sélectionnés. Les résultats indiquent que les revenus nets des fermes, la production, l'allocation des ressources, la vulnérabilité économique et l'adaptation variaient selon le scénario climatique et la condition, et le type de cultivar (référence ou amélioré) des cultures (mais-grain, blé fourrager, soya et orge) qui ont été considérées. Ils étaient également différents entre les régions (nord, sud) et entre les municipalités d'une même région. La direction et l'importance des impacts étaient amplifiées par les conditions d'augmentation de C02 et la disponibilité de l'eau, et variaient selon les cultures, affectant ainsi la composition des cultures régionales.

The commons dilemma is a situation where a group of individuals jointly use a resource, and an individual's rational decision to utilize the resource is sub-optimal from the perspective of the group. As a result, this can lead to overexploitation of the resource or underinvestment in its management. This dilemma can often be seen in common-pool resources (CPR). This situation is described by the CPR game, in which subjects decide how much they want to appropriate the CPR, which may return negative payoffs depending on how much they appropriate as a group. This thesis modifies the standard CPR game to represent the situation where two groups of users with different utility functions are spatially linked in the CPR. An example of this situation would be an upstream community that appropriates a river's water resource, which results in a change in the quantity or quality of the river, through pollution or extraction, to the downstream community that also utilizes the river. This thesis proposes a new experimental design to the standard CPR game that takes into account the heterogeneous utility functions of the two communities and the spatial dimension of the problem. Heterogeneity in interests may or may not increase efficiency in appropriating CPR. Behavioural implications are drawn from the re-designed CPR game. / Un dilemme communes est une situation où un groupe d'individus utilisent une ressource et une décision rationnelle pour exploiter cette ressource de manière optimale dans la perspective de ce groupe. Comme résultat, cela peut mener à la surexploitation des ressources ou le sous-investissement dans ce management. Ce problème peut souvent être vu dans un common-pool resource (CPR). Cette situation est décrite par le jeu du CPR, qui a pour objet de décider combien ils veulent pour s'approprier le CPR, ce qui pourrait entrainer en retour un remboursement négatif dépendant de combien ils s'approprient/s'intègrent comme un groupe. Ce papier modifie les standards du jeu du CPR pour représenter la situation où deux groupes d'utilisateurs avec deux différentes fonctions utilitaires sont liés dans l'espace au CPR. Un exemple à cette situation serait l'impact qu'aurait une communauté en amont d'une rivière, à travers la pollution ou l'extraction, sur la communauté située en aval. Cette thèse propose une nouvelle étude expérimentale au jeu du CPR standard qui prend en compte les fonctions hétérogènes de ces deux communautés ainsi que la dimension spatiale de ce problème. L'hétérogénéité peut ou non augmenter l'efficience d'un CPR approprié. Des implications comportementales sont décrites par le nouveau jeu du CPR.