The Texas Pecan Board was established in 1998 to administer the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program and is financed through a one-half cent per pound assessment on grower pecan sales. The Board spends the assessment collections on a variety of advertising campaigns in an attempt to expand demand for Texas pecans, both improved and native varieties, and increase the welfare of Texas pecan growers. This study presents an evaluation of the economic effectiveness of the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program in expanding sales of Texas pecans. First, the effects of Texas Pecan Board promotion on sales of all Texas pecans are determined using the ordinary least squares estimator (OLS) followed by a test for differential effects of Texas Pecan Board promotion on sales of improved and native Texas pecan varieties using the seemingly unrelated regression. The analysis indicates that the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program has effectively increased sales of improved varieties of Texas pecans, but has had no impact on sales of native varieties of Texas pecans. A benefit-cost analysis determines that the additional sales revenues generated is relatively large compared to the dollar value spent on promotion indicating that the Texas pecan promotion program has been financially successful.

The Texas Pecan Board was established in 1998 to administer the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program and is financed through a one-half cent per pound assessment on grower pecan sales. The Board spends the assessment collections on a variety of advertising campaigns in an attempt to expand demand for Texas pecans, both improved and native varieties, and increase the welfare of Texas pecan growers. This study presents an evaluation of the economic effectiveness of the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program in expanding sales of Texas pecans. First, the effects of Texas Pecan Board promotion on sales of all Texas pecans are determined using the ordinary least squares estimator (OLS) followed by a test for differential effects of Texas Pecan Board promotion on sales of improved and native Texas pecan varieties using the seemingly unrelated regression. The analysis indicates that the Texas Pecan Checkoff Program has effectively increased sales of improved varieties of Texas pecans, but has had no impact on sales of native varieties of Texas pecans. A benefit-cost analysis determines that the additional sales revenues generated is relatively large compared to the dollar value spent on promotion indicating that the Texas pecan promotion program has been financially successful.

The purpose of this work is to study the beer market in Turkey in respect of demand analysis and with a view to assess whether the marketing and in particular pricing policies adopted by industry players in the period 1997-2002 have been efficient. Of specific interest is the near duopolistic structure of the market and the question whether pricing policies followed during the period 1997-2002 have been determinant in the observed sales volumes. The investigation focuses first on the analysis of the determinants of demand, and secondly on questioning whether pricing policies practiced in the market are optimal with respect to the objectives of the industry players. The major finding of the study is that beer prices in Turkey are below the optimal level, with respect to both revenue and profit maximizing objectives. Moreover, seasonality in beer demand can be exploited further with a high-low pricing scheme to improve the industry revenue.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (MSc (Biochemistry))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Please refer to full text for abstract

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é identificar se e como as áreas urbanas interferem nos padrões de viagens encadeadas dos viajantes urbanos. Para atingir os objetivos, as diferenças e similaridades notadas entre os principais grupos socioeconômicos das áreas urbanas em relação aos padrões de viagens encadeadas serão discutidas. O método para comparação dos comportamentos relacionados às viagens encadeadas baseia-se na compatibilização das variáveis das três áreas e posterior aplicação do minerador de dados denominado Árvore de Decisão e Classificação, disponível no pacote estatístico S-Plus 6.1. As viagens encadeadas foram representadas através da codificação inicialmente proposta por Ichikawa (2002) e ampliada por Pitombo (2003). Foram codificados os motivos, modos e período do dia em que cada viagem foi realizada. A análise foi baseada nas pesquisas origem-destino realizadas na região metropolitana de São Paulo pelo Metrô-SP, em 1997, na região metropolitana de Belém pela JICA/Governo do Estado do Pará, em 2000, e na cidade de Bauru pela EMDURB, em 1997. Concluiu-se que, em geral, o comportamento de viajantes urbanos são influenciados pelas políticas urbanas regionais, características socioeconômicas e espaciais de cada região. / The main aim of this work is to identify whether and how the urban areas interfere in the urban trips makers\'trip chaining pattern. For attaining the aims, the differences and similarities observed among the behaviour of trip makers belonging to the main socioeconomic groups living in the three urban areas will be discussed. The method to compare the behavior related to trip chaining is based on the compatibilization of the variables of three areas and subsequent application of the data miner named Decision and Classification Tree, available in the S-Plus 6.1 statistical package. The chained trips were coded by using the process initially proposed by Ichikawa (2002) and amplified later by Pitombo (2003). The trip purpose, travel mode and period of the day in which each trip occurs were coded. The analysis was based on the origin-destination home-interview surveys carried out in São Paulo Metropolitan Area by Metrô-SP, in 1997, Belém Metropolitan Area by JICA/Pará State Government, in 2000, and Bauru city by EMDURB, in 1997. The main finding is that urban trip makers\'behaviour are affected by regional urban policy, socioeconomic features and geographical characteristics of each area.

Neste trabalho realiza-se uma análise individual e comparativa de três modelos de demanda por transporte de grãos: de Oferta, de Incorporação de área e aumento de produtividade, e da Rede Ferroviária Federal S/A. O estudo foi desenvolvido com base num conjunto de dados coletados no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Esse conjunto contém dados referentes ao período de 1974 a 1994, e foi dividido em duas partes: a primeira, de 1974 a 1988, usada na calibração dos modelos, e a segunda, de 1989 a 1994, na verificação de desempenho dos modelos. A produção estimada para o segundo período foi comparada com a produção observada no mesmo período. A precisão dos modelos foi verificada para curto e longo prazos, e para dois níveis de agregação. Concluiu-se que tanto o modelo de Oferta como o modelo da RFFSA são apropriados para a previsão de curto prazo. E que o modelo de Oferta é melhor do que o de Incorporação de área e aumento de produtividade para a projeção de produção em nível agregado, e vice-versa. / This work carries out an individual and comparative analysis o f three grain transportation demand models: Supply model, Area and Productivity model and RFFSA (Federal Railway) model. The study was developed based on the data set collected in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. This set contains data related to the period trom 1974 to 1994. It was divided into two periods, the first from 1974 to 1988, used to calibrate the models, and the second, from 1989 to 1994, used to verify the performance of the models. The production estimated for second period was compared to the observed production. The accuracy of the models was verified for short and long terms, and for two levels of aggregation. lt was concluded that both Supply and RFFSA models are appropriate to the short term forecasting, and that the Area and Productivity model may be used for the long term. It was also concluded that the Supply model is better than Area and Productivity model for estimating production at the aggregate level, and vice-versa.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é analisar o comportamento de grupos homogêneos de indivíduos com relação às viagens encadeadas, usando um minerador de dados. Vários aspectos das viagens encadeadas foram representados através da extensão do processo de codificação inicialmente proposto por Ichikawa (2002). Foram codificados os aspectos como seqüência de atividades realizadas por cada indivíduo, modo de viagem, período do dia em que cada viagem foi realizada e tempo de viagem. O minerador de dados usado neste trabalho foi Árvore de Decisão e Classificação, uma ferramenta de análise disponível no software S-Plus 2000. A análise baseou-se na pesquisa origem-destino realizada pelo METRÔ-SP na região metropolitana de São Paulo, por meio de entrevistas domiciliares, em 1987. Concluiu-se que variáveis socioeconômicas podem explicar o comportamento relacionado a viagens encadeadas, indicando que minerador de dados pode ter um papel importante na análise do comportamento relacionado às viagens encadeadas. / The main aim of this work is to analyze the behavior of homogeneous groups of individuals regarding the chained trips by using a data miner. Several aspects of chained trips were represented through the extension of the coding process initially proposed by Ichikawa (2002). Aspects such as sequence of activities performed by each individual, travel mode, period of the day in which each trip occurs, and travel time were coded. The data miner used in this work was Decision and Classification Tree, an analysis tool available in S-Plus 2000 software package. The analysis was based on the origin-destination home-interview survey carried out by METRÔ-SP in São Paulo metropolitan area, in 1987. The main finding is that the socioeconomic variables can explain the behavior related to the chained trips, indicating that data miner can play an important role in the analysis of the behavior related to the chained trips.