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Examining the relationship between vertical coordination strategies and technical efficiency: Evidence from the Brazilian ethanol industry
Get PDFThe sugarcane industry in Brazil, one of the world's leading producers of ethanol and sugar, is undergoing significant changes driven by geographic expansion and technological innovations. These changes are forcing sugarcane producers and processors, to re-evaluate their vertical coordination and growth strategies. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between the vertical coordination strategies at the production-processing interface of the Brazilian ethanol supply chain and the technical efficiency of the mills. It utilizes data envelopment analysis and a Tobit censored model in combination with unique data on 204 mills that account for around half of Brazil's sugar and ethanol production. Results indicate that vertical integration and the location of the mill have a statistically significant impact on efficiency. The findings show that the technical efficiency is not the main driver of vertical integration implying that such decisions are primarily motivated by strategic considerations. The mills are likely to forgo gains in technical efficiency in exchange for improving their strategic position through vertical integration. These findings shed light on the underlying motivation for the observed level of vertical integration that accompanies the expansion of the Brazilian sugarcane industry. [EconLit citations: L22, Q12, Q16]
2018 Kansas Performance Tests with Corn Hybrids
No full textCorn performance tests, conducted annually by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, provide farmers, extension workers, and seed industry personnel with unbiased agronomic information on many of the corn hybrids marketed in the state. Because entry selection and location are voluntary, not all hybrids grown in the state are included in tests, and the same group of hybrids is not grown uniformly at all test locations
Learning History from Patent Medicines: Newbro’s Herpicide in Early Twentieth Century Kansas
Get PDFKirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Individual Non-Freshman category, honorable mentionM.J. MorganThe material culture research project "Learning History from Patent Medicines: Newbro's Herpicide in Early Twentieth Century Kansas" explores the history of Newbro’s Herpicide, a product designed to kill the “dandruff germ,” in the early twentieth century through its connections to hair culture, patent medicines, and newspaper advertisements, particularly focusing on its presence in Kansas. It does so by first examining the prevailing characteristics associated with healthy hair in the early twentieth century in the United States for both men (virility) and women (beauty). It then moves specifically to the subject of dandruff, first exploring some practices of the day that could have helped contribute to the condition (tall hairstyles, products such as pomade, infrequent bathing) before taking a look at the medical opinions of the time regarding the causes of dandruff and baldness, and the apparent discovery of a “dandruff germ” that could be linked to both conditions. This project then looks into how the patent medicine Herpicide, claiming to kill this “dandruff germ” was created and began to spread like wildfire, especially within Kansas, as seen through its significant presence in local newspaper advertisements. Finally, this project then concludes by discussing the eventual decline of herpicide, due to such possible reasons as increased federal regulation regarding pharmaceuticals and the rise of shorter hairstyles among women, and its lasting impact on American popular culture. The project is overall based on a bottle of Newbro’s Herpicide found at the Clay County Museum and Historical Society. It uses newspaper ads for Herpicide as its foundational primary source while also employing a number of other primary and secondary sources on subjects such as medical journals, histories of hair and hat styles within the U.S., and contemporary short fiction
Environmental & architectural phenomenology. Vol. 29, Number 1
No full textVol. 29, No. 1, Winter/Spring 2018 (includes “Conferences,” “Symposium,” “Publishing items,” “Citations received;” memoriam for William Ittelson, written by John Hollander; book note of “An Anthropology of Landscape: The Ex-traordinary in the Ordinar;” book review by Thomas Barrie; essays by Barbara Erwine, Edward Relph, and Dennis Pohl; poems by Sheryl L. Nelms.
Jim Johnson, Trumpet, Faculty Recital Series
No full textMonday, February 12th, 2018
7:30 p.m.
All Faiths Chapel
J.B.G. Neruda - Concerto in E-flat Major
I. Allegro
II. Largo
III. Vivace
Alan Hovhaness - Prayer of Saint Gregory
Kevin McKee - Song for a Friend
Joseph Turrin - Fandag
Changes in cropland area in the United States and the role of CRP
Get PDFCitation: Hendricks, N. P., & Er, E. (2018). Changes in cropland area in the United States and the role of CRP. Food Policy, 75, 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.02.001An understanding of the main drivers of land-use change is critical for policy recommendations that aim to meet the challenge of food and environmental security over the coming decades. Here we show that agricultural policy exerts substantial influence on cropland area in the United States through administration of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Looking at changes in the CRP over time and an understanding of how the program is managed suggest that the government adjusts enrolled acres in response to changing market conditions to achieve supply management objectives and due to budgetary reasons. The projected decrease of 12.8 million acres of CRP from 2007 to 2017 is estimated to decrease corn and soybean prices by 8.9% and 5.4%, while a hypothetical return to 2007 CRP acreage is estimated to increase corn and soybean prices by 12.0% and 7.3%
The Convergence of High-Consequence Livestock and Human Pathogen Research and Development: A Paradox of Zoonotic Disease
Get PDFCitation: Michelotti, J.M.; Yeh, K.B.; Beckham, T.R.; Colby, M.M.; Dasgupta, D.; Zuelke, K.A.; Olinger, G.G. The Convergence of High-Consequence Livestock and Human Pathogen Research and Development: A Paradox of Zoonotic Disease. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2018, 3, 55.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to humans account for 75 percent of new and emerging infectious diseases. Globally, high-consequence pathogens that impact livestock and have the potential for human transmission create research paradoxes and operational challenges for the high-containment laboratories that conduct work with them. These specialized facilities are required for conducting all phases of research on high-consequence pathogens (basic, applied, and translational) with an emphasis on both the generation of fundamental knowledge and product development. To achieve this research mission, a highly-trained workforce is required and flexible operational methods are needed. In addition, working with certain pathogens requires compliance with regulations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Select Agent regulations, which adds to the operational burden. The vast experience from the existing studies at Plum Island Animal Disease Center, other U.S. laboratories, and those in Europe and Australia with biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities designed for large animals, clearly demonstrates the valuable contribution this capability brings to the efforts to detect, prepare, prevent and respond to livestock and potential zoonotic threats. To raise awareness of these challenges, which include biosafety and biosecurity issues, we held a workshop at the 2018 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Biothreats conference to further discuss the topic with invited experts and audience participants. The workshop covered the subjects of research funding and metrics, economic sustainment of drug and vaccine development pipelines, workforce turnover, and the challenges of maintaining operational readiness of high containment laboratories
Imaging Plasmonic Fields with Atomic Spatiotemporal Resolution
Get PDFCitation: Li, J., Saydanzad, E., & Thumm, U. (2018). Imaging Plasmonic Fields with Atomic Spatiotemporal Resolution. Physical Review Letters, 120(22), 223903. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.223903We propose a scheme for the reconstruction of plasmonic near fields at isolated nanoparticles from infrared-streaked extreme-ultraviolet photoemission spectra. Based on quantum-mechanically modeled spectra, we demonstrate and analyze the accurate imaging of the IR-streaking-pulse-induced transient plasmonic fields at the surface of gold nanospheres and nanoshells with subfemtosecond temporal and subnanometer spatial resolution
2017 Kansas Performance Tests With Soybean Varieties
No full textSoybean performance tests are conducted each year to provide information on the relative performance of new and established varieties and brands at several locations in Kansas