bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recombination within sympatric cryptic species of the insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae
Authors: Bidochka Michael J. , Small Cherrie‐Lee N. , Spironello Michael
Published: August 2005

Metarhizium anisopliae is an insect pathogenic fungus with a worldwide distribution. It is being developed and used as a biocontrol agent against a wide range of insect pests but relatively little is known of the life history of this fungus. We tested hypotheses concerning reproductive isolation and recombination in a sample of heat‐active (ability to grow at 37°C) and cold‐active (ability to grow at 8°C) sympatrically occurring isolates of M. anisopliae from Ontario, Canada by assaying nucleotide sequence variation at six polymorphic loci: the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat, and portions of calmodulin (CAL), chitin synthase (CHS), subtilisin‐like protease (PR1), neutral trehalase (NTL) and actin (ACT)‐encoding genes. The most parsimonious trees constructed showed a topology consistent with the heat‐active and cold‐active isolates as two monophyletic groups. We then applied Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR) to the genealogical trees and concluded that the transition from concordance among branches to incongruity among branches delimited two species of M. anisopliae within Ontario. The GCPSR of two species was supported by intraspecific incongruity within each species when tested using the Partition Homogeneity test, indicating recombination. The GCPSR of two species also corresponded to the heat‐active and cold‐active groups. As the groups are morphologically indistinguishable we applied the term ‘cryptic species’. Therefore, the sympatrically occurring heat‐active and cold‐active isolates represent different cryptic species with a history of recombination among isolates within each species.
Solution‐focused brief therapy with people with learning disabilities: a case study
Authors: Smith Ian C.
Published: August 2005

Whilst solution‐focused brief therapy (SFBT) has become a widely used form of psychotherapy in the UK, there is little published writing on its use in services for people with learning disabilities. This article briefly discusses SFBT's potential uses with this client group, and provides by way of illustration a case example of its application with a man with mild learning disabilities referred to a learning disability clinical psychology service for ‘anger management’.
Work‐related psychosocial factors, worry about work conditions and health complaints among female and male ambulance personnel
Authors: Aasa Ulrika , Brulin Christine , Ängquist Karl‐Axel , Barnekow‐Bergkvist Margareta
Published: August 2005

This study aimed at investigating the relationships between work‐related psychosocial factors, worry about work conditions and health complaints (sleeping problems, headache and stomach symptoms) among female and male ambulance personnel. Out of 4000 ambulance personnel in Sweden, 1500 (300 female and 1200 male personnel) were randomly selected. They answered a questionnaire including items on self‐reported health complaints, individual characteristics, work‐related psychological demands, decision latitude, social support and worry about work conditions. Twenty‐five per cent of the female and 20% of the male ambulance personnel reported two or more health complaints sometimes or often. According to the demand‐control‐support questionnaire, ambulance personnel reported a generally positive psychosocial work environment, although psychological demands were associated with sleeping problems, headache and stomach symptoms among both female and male ambulance personnel. Another factor that was significantly associated with health complaints among both genders was worry about work conditions. When worry about work conditions was added to the regression models, this variable took over the role from psychological demands as a predictor for health complaints among the female ambulance personnel. The prevalence of sleeping problems, headache and stomach symptoms were significantly associated with psychological demands among both female and male ambulance personnel. Notably, worry about work conditions seems to be an important risk factor for health complaints. This suggests that worry about work conditions should not be neglected when considering risk factors among ambulance personnel.
Achieving harmony with oneself: life with a chronic illness
Authors: Delmar Charlotte , Bøje Trine , Dylmer Dorrit , Forup Lisbeth , Jakobsen Christina , Møller Majbritt , Sønder Hanne , Pedersen Birthe D.
Published: August 2005

This paper presents partial findings of a larger research project focusing on what it means to live with a chronic illness. Getting in harmony with oneself is a movement towards, and a form of, acceptance of the chronic suffering and disease. Some patients achieve this level of acceptance, while for others the obstacles of everyday life make this movement towards acceptance difficult. Achieving harmony with oneself is conditioned by the existence of hope and spirit of life/life courage and by the pressure of doubts on this hope. Doubts can shake this hope so that instead of moving towards acceptance, the patient drifts towards hopelessness and despair. The research design is qualitative and uses a phenomenological‐hermeneutic approach. A total of 18 patients were interviewed, divided into three groups of six patients diagnosed with ‘type I’ diabetes, colitis ulcerosa and patients with coronary occlusion in the rehabilitation phase. The goal of the research was to derive patterns/themes common to the three diagnosed groups regarding the patients’ view of health and disease in connection with chronic illness and to elucidate the significance of this view for how the patients coped with everyday life. The research method is inspired by Paul Ricoeur.
Nutritional care of Danish medical inpatients – patients’ perspectives
Authors: Lassen Karin O. , Kruse Filip , Bjerrum Merete
Published: August 2005

Many patients do not eat and drink sufficiently during hospitalization. Surveys have shown that 30–50% of the elderly patients are undernourished when hospitalized, and for the majority of these patients their protein and energy requirements are not met during hospitalization. Diseased people often experience reduced appetite, aversion against certain types of food or nausea, and these symptoms are part of the explanation for insufficient consumption of food and drinks. In order to locate other possible explanations, this study investigate medical inpatients’ experiences and satisfaction with the nutritional care.

The patients included a total of 91 medical inpatients at two internal medical wards, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. Their average age was 72 ± 11 years. They were individually interviewed about the food service and the nutritional care upon discharge.

Patient satisfaction with the meals was overall high (90%). About 80% found the meals to be very important, but they lacked information about the food service, and the patients–staff communication about the food service was poor. The results indicate that the nursing staff was exercising a ‘knowledge monopoly’ in relation to the food service. In conclusion, a majority of the patients did not perceive the nutritional care as part of the therapy and nursing care during their hospitalization.
The diversity of family health: constituent systems and resources
Authors: Hopia Hanna , Paavilainen Eija , Åstedt‐Kurki Päivi
Published: August 2005

The purpose of this study was to explore changes in family health associated with child's chronic illness and hospitalization. The aim was to answer the following questions: (i) What kind of changes do families experience when a child in the family is afflicted by a chronic illness; and (ii) What kind of changes do families experience when their child is admitted to hospital? The data were collected in 2002 in interviews with 29 such families whose children were receiving treatment or who had previously received treatment on the paediatric wards of two hospitals in Finland. Data were collected until reaching theoretical saturation, in which no additional data are found. Data analysis was based on the grounded theory method, proceeding to the stage of axial coding. Family health was formed out of two different dimensions: the constituent systems and the resources of family health. The constituent systems describe the impact of the child's chronic illness and period of hospitalization at the level of both individual family members and the family as a whole. These systems were described by five categories: (i) ill child at the centre of family attention, (ii) siblings in a minor role, (iii) the child's illness governs parental well‐being, (iv) the roller coaster of the couple relationship and (v) the whole family is ill. The resources promoting and maintaining family health were divided into six different categories: (i) creative and maintaining mental images, (ii) active involvement, (iii) internal coping means, (iv) reinforcement of coping means, (v) awareness and change of values and (vi) social network shares emotional burden and responsibility for care. The results of the study show that family health is highly vulnerable when a child has to be admitted to hospital because of a chronic condition. They should help nursing staff gain a clearer picture of the depth and diversity of family health and support the resources that promote family health. Future research should study the methods of family nursing used in the care of families with children with chronic conditions.
Can a teaching and learning perspective deepen understanding of the concept of compliance? A theoretical discussion
Authors: Friberg Febe , Scherman Marianne Hansson
Published: August 2005

Patients’ noncompliance is regarded as a major problem in health care and efforts have been made to understand the mechanisms behind compliance and noncompliance. The concept of compliance has been analysed and criticized because of the limited way it defines the roles of patients and health professionals and for being supportive of the authority of health professionals. Attempts have been made to change the paternalistic meaning of the concept of compliance and alternative terms have been introduced. However, there is a lack of studies about the teaching and learning component of compliance. The aim of this theoretical article was to examine the meaning of the concept of compliance as is it used in health care, and relate it to a patient‐centred, teaching and learning perspective. It is argued that instead of focusing on noncompliant patient behaviour, it would be more powerful to focus on the way the patients experience and understand and on how to create conditions for developing understanding, as this in turn might influence the behaviour or way of acting. It is suggested that the teaching part of compliance could be carried out by ‘to follow and let oneself be followed’, which means a teaching and learning situation where the health professional follows the patient, guided by patient experiences, and need for understanding. At the same time it means that following the patient's experiences creates possibilities for the health professional to reason and act in a way that the patient can follow. The concept of ‘play’ is used when putting ‘to follow and let oneself be followed’ into effect. To this end, the health professional needs to develop a considered pedagogical standpoint.
The structure of Antonovsky's sense of coherence in patients with schizophrenia and its relationship to psychopathology
Authors: Bengtsson‐Tops Anita , Brunt David , Rask Mikael
Published: August 2005

The main aim of the study was to investigate whether the three hypothesized subscales of Antonovsky's sense of coherence (SOC) scale: comprehensibility, meaningfulness and manageability, can be found when measuring SOC in a sample of patients with schizophrenia living in the community. A further aim was to study the relationship between SOC and psychopathology. The concept of SOC has been proposed to explain successful coping with life stressors. A total of 120 patients completed the SOC scale and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to assess the psychopathology of the patients. The SOC scale was analysed by means of a factor analysis with a varimax rotation and the Spearman rank correlation test was used to test for associations between subscales, factors and psychiatric symptoms. A four‐factor model presented the best solution and explained 48% of the total variation in SOC. The first factor, which included 12‐items of the SOC scale, turned out to be the most salient factor explaining 29% of the total variation. All factors displayed some overlapping between items. Affective symptoms were negatively related to all the three subscales and the four factors of SOC, while positive symptoms were similarly related to two of the subscales and two of the factors while negative symptoms were not associated with any of the factors or subscales. The findings in this study corroborate those in studies with other patient groups and indicate that the theoretical framework of SOC should not be adopted uncritically. Furthermore, the use of the three subscales in the SOC scale in studies of patients with a severe mental illness is questioned and a further investigation of the relationship between SOC and psychopathology is proposed.
Effects of resident‐oriented care on quality of care, wellbeing and satisfaction with care
Authors: Boumans Nicolle , Berkhout Afke , Landeweerd Ab
Published: August 2005

In a resident‐oriented care model applied in nursing homes, the residents are assigned to primary nurses. These primary nurses are responsible for the total care of the residents assigned to them. The purpose of the present study, using a pretest, post‐test and control group quasi‐experimental design, was to evaluate the effects of the implementation of resident‐oriented care on the following aspects of quality of care: coordination of care, instrumental aspects, expressive aspects, resident wellbeing and satisfaction with care, and family satisfaction with care. The study was carried out on somatic and psycho‐geriatric wards in three nursing homes in the Netherlands. Data were collected by questionnaires, interviews and observations. The results of the study showed that the intervention was partly successful in the experimental group. Some aspects of the resident‐oriented care model were not clearly evident. Moreover, the effects on quality‐of‐care aspects were limited. The results revealed that the ‘coordination of care’ increased on half of the experimental wards. Furthermore, there was an indication that ‘expressive aspects’ changed in favour of the experimental wards. The implementation of resident‐oriented care had no effect on resident wellbeing and satisfaction or on family satisfaction. Finally, the results are discussed in the light of some methodological limitations that often go together with intervention studies in the real world.
A case of bilateral renal lymphosarcoma with secondary polycythaemia and paraneoplastic syndromes of hypoglycaemia and uveitis in an English Springer Spaniel
Authors: Snead E. C.
Published: August 2005

Primary renal lymphosarcoma in dogs has rarely been reported. Controversy exists whether it is a primary neoplasm of the kidney or a metastatic neoplasm. The case described is the first reported case of treatment with chemotherapy for a dog with renal lymphosarcoma.
Pancreatic mixed acinar‐endocrine carcinoma in a dog
Authors: Belshaw Z. , Bacon N. J. , Foale R. D. , Mannion P. M. , Reuter R.
Published: August 2005

A 10.5‐year‐old crossbreed dog was presented with a history of hypoglycaemic episodes and elevated serum insulin concentration. A pancreatic mass was removed at surgery along with an enlarged draining lymph node. An unresectable hepatic nodule was also present. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the pancreatic and lymph node masses as functional mixed acinar‐endocrine carcinoma, previously unreported in domestic species. Persistent hypoglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia post‐operatively was highly suggestive of the hepatic mass being a functional metastasis. The dog was managed on prednisolone and remained asymptomatic 9 months post‐operatively. This tumour type has only been rarely reported in human patients and may highlight the need for more rigorous immunohistochemical staining of pancreatic masses in veterinary species to identify the prevalence of this tumour type.
An analysis of industrial–agricultural interactions: a case study in Pakistan
Authors: Henneberry Shida Rastegari , Khan Muhhamad Ehsan , Piewthongngam Kullapapruk
Published: August 2005

This paper empirically analyzes the relationship between Pakistan's industrial and agricultural sectors. Pakistan was chosen because of its status of a semi‐industrialized country with heavy dependence on the agricultural sector. The relationship between cotton production and industrial growth is also evaluated due to the prominence of this crop in Pakistani agriculture. The results indicate that these sectors are complementary, yet industry tends to benefit more from agricultural growth than vice versa. The timing of this information is critical, as Pakistan's policy makers now face major agricultural policy reforms in their quest for continued industrial development.
Transmission of price shifts in the context of structural adjustment: An empirical analysis for staple food after the devaluation of the franc CFA in Ivory Coast
Authors: Jutting Johannes
Published: August 2005

This article analyses price shifts after currency devaluation in the Ivory Coast using a time‐series modelling approach. Model results identify the liberalisation of the import‐rice sector as the key factor for the transmission of price effects. Fixation of the imported rice price as a social compensatory measure hindered the adjustment of prices in the first year after the devaluation. As soon as the price controls on imported rice were lifted, prices changed in favour of tradable goods. The findings in this paper hint at a possible trade‐off between the protection of vulnerable groups during the process of adjustment and the intended incentive effect.
The economics of coupled farm subsidies under costly and imperfect enforcement
Authors: Giannakas Konstantinos , Fulton Murray
Published: August 2005

This study relaxes the assumption of perfect and costless policy enforcement found in traditional agricultural policy analysis and introduces enforcement costs and cheating into the economic analysis of output subsidies. Policy design and implementation is modeled in this paper as a sequential game between the regulator who decides on the level of intervention, an enforcement agency that determines the level of policy enforcement, and the farmer who makes the production and cheating decisions. Analytical results show that farmer compliance is not the natural outcome of self‐interest and complete deterrence of cheating is not economically efficient. The analysis also shows that enforcement costs and cheating change the welfare effects of output subsidies, the efficiency of the policy instrument in redistributing income, the level of government intervention that transfers a given surplus to agricultural producers, the socially optimal income redistribution, and the social welfare from intervention.
Measuring research benefits in an imperfect market: second comment
Authors: Holloway Garth John
Published: August 2005

This note generalizes a finding about the necessary and sufficient conditions for research to generate greater benefits in the presence of distortions and highlights a significant source of bias in conventional cost‐benefit calculations.
Off‐farm work decisions on Dutch cash crop farms and the 1992 and Agenda 2000 CAP reforms
Authors: Woldehanna Tassew , Lansink Alfons Oude , Peerlings Jack
Published: August 2005

A double hurdle model of off‐farm work participation and off‐farm labour income was derived and estimated consistent with a farm household model. It was found that rationing and unexpected transaction costs inhibit farm households from participating in off‐farm work. The 1992 and the Agenda 2000 CAP reforms are most likely to increase the off‐farm employment of arable farm households, but its full effect cannot be realised because of inhibitions to enter off‐farm activities. Household and farm characteristics have different impacts on off‐farm work participation and on the level of off‐farm labour income.
Policy instruments for sustainable land management: the case of highland smallholders in Ethiopia
Authors: Shiferaw Bekele , Holden Stein T.
Published: August 2005

Degradation of land continues to pose a threat to future food production potential in many developing economies. Various approaches, mainly based on command‐and‐control policies, have been tried (with limited success) in the past to encourage adoption of erosion‐control practices by farm households. High transactions costs and negative distributional impacts on the welfare of the poor limit the usefulness of standards and taxes for soil and water conservation. One innovative approach is the use of interlinked contracts which create positive incentives for land conservation. This study analyses the social efficiency of such policies for erosion‐control in the Ethiopian highlands using a non‐separable farm household model. Incentive contracts linked with conservation seem to be promising approaches for sustainable resource use in poor rural economies. This may suggest that conservation programs should give greater consideration to better fine‐tuning and mix of policies that help achieve both economic and environmental objectives.
Modelling technical change in Italian agriculture: a latent variable approach
Authors: Esposti Roberto , Pierani Pierpaolo
Published: August 2005

This paper presents an alternative approach to the measurement of technical change. It is based on the latent variable level of technology that enters explicitly the input demand system and on a hypothesis about the innovation generating process. By adding measurement error equations, the behavioral system can be viewed as a Multiple Indicators/Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model. The parameter estimates are obtained with a maximum likelihood estimator which involves the implicit covariance matrix. The analysis refers to Italian agriculture and the results provide some evidence on the nature and level of technical change during the years 1961–1991.
Food crops, exports, and the short‐run policy response of agriculture in Africa
Authors: Lamb Russell L.
Published: August 2005

The response of agriculture to changes in relative prices is an important factor in the success of structural adjustment programs in Africa. In this paper I estimate supply functions for total agricultural output, food crops and export crops in 14 African countries for the years 1975 to 1990. Food and export crops are substitutes in production in the short run. Total agricultural output responds negatively to increases in export prices and positively to increases in food prices. A plausible explanation is that as farmers shift resources to export crop production, food supply falls in the short run, while the increase in export supply may take several years to materialize. The exchange rate is significant in explaining both food and export crop production and aggregate agricultural supply, suggesting that the exchange rate is acting as a proxy for excluded macroeconomic variables or that changes in the exchange rate are not passed immediately through to prices.
Lithuania's food demand during economic transition
Authors: Hossain Ferdaus , Jensen Helen H.
Published: August 2005

The linear approximate version of the almost ideal demand system (LA‐AIDS) model is estimated using data from the Lithuanian household budget survey (HBS) covering the period from July 1992 to December 1994. Price and real expenditure elasticities for 12 food groups were estimated based on the estimated coefficients of the model. Very little or nothing is known about the demand parameters of Lithuania and other former socialist countries, so the results are of intrinsic interest. Estimated expenditure elasticities were positive and statistically significant for all food groups, while all own‐price elasticities were negative and statistically significant, except for that of eggs which was insignificant. Results suggest that Lithuanian household consumption did respond to price and real income changes during their transition to a market‐oriented economy.
An analysis of short‐run response of export and domestic agriculture in sub‐Saharan Africa⋆
Authors: Aboagye Anthony Q. , Gunjal Kisan
Published: August 2005

Short‐run responses of export and domestic shares of total agricultural output to changes in stocks of domestic savings (SAV), development assistance (ODA), private foreign commercial capital (PFX) and other variables is investigated. A profit function approach is used. Time series data for 19 sub‐Saharan African countries are pooled into three panels using similarities in changes in economic policy regime.

Statistical evidence suggests that for the panel of countries that were undertaking liberalized economic reforms, the slope coefficients of some of the variables in the models have changed significantly between 1970–1980 and 1981–1993. For the 1981–1993 period, the impacts of ODA, PFX and SAV on export and domestic shares were different for this panel. The effect of increases in agricultural labor was different across the three panels. There is also evidence that productivity growth in the export agriculture sub‐sector is negative in all the groups.

It is recommended that to halt the decline in export share of agricultural output in the group of countries that have undertaken substantial improvements in economic policy environment, efforts must be made to reduce the negative impact of domestic savings and agricultural labor, while at the same time working to reduce the bias of development assistance against food security.
Impact of cultured shrimp industry on wild shrimp fisheries: analysis of price determination mechanisms and market dynamics
Authors: Béné Christophe , Cadrenb Muriel , Lantz Frédéric
Published: August 2005

Cultured shrimp production has been growing dramatically on the world market over the last 15 years and some of the farm‐raised species are now considered as price‐indicators on the main market places. One may, therefore, expect the price of theses cultured shrimp to have an impact on the price formation of other species and especially on wild shrimp with which they compete. In this paper, the authors address this question in the case of the wild shrimp Penaeus subtilis exploited by the French Guyana fishery (South America) and competing on the French market with the cultured Thai shrimp ‘Back Tiger’. A series of econometric tests issued from the co‐integration theory is performed between the price series of the two products. These tests indicate that the two series are co‐integrated and that the black tiger market acts as a market leader for the French Guyana shrimp product. The authors then discuss the reasons of the current predominance of farm‐raised shrimp on wild‐caught product (and in particular the French Guyana shrimp) and identify the constraints that the French market demand induces on both producers and importers. In the light of this analysis, a commercial strategy that would mitigate the impact of the Thai shrimp on the French Guyana product is suggested.
Investment in site‐specific crop management under uncertainty: implications for nitrogen pollution control and environmental policy
Authors: Khanna Madhu , Isik Murat , Winter‐Nelson Alex
Published: August 2005

This paper applies an option‐pricing model to analyze the impact of uncertainty about output prices and expectations of declining fixed costs on the optimal timing of investment in site‐specific crop management (SSCM). It also analyzes the extent to which the level of spatial variability in soil conditions can mitigate the value of waiting to invest in SSCM and influence the optimal timing of adoption and create a preference for custom hiring rather than owner purchase of equipment. Numerical simulations show that while the net present value (NPV) rule predicts that immediate adoption is profitable under most of the soil conditions considered here, recognition of the option value of investment indicates that it is preferable to delay investment in SSCM for at least 3 years unless average soil quality is high and the variability in soil quality and fertility is high. The use of the option value approach reveals that the value of waiting to invest in SSCM raises the cost‐share subsidy rates required to induce immediate adoption above the levels indicated by the NPV rule.
Controlling agricultural nonpoint water pollution: costs of implementing the Maryland Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998⋆
Authors: Parker Doug
Published: August 2005

The Maryland Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998 (WQIA) seeks to create environmental and other benefits to the Chesapeake Bay through reductions in nonpoint source nutrient pollution. This paper analyzes the economic impacts of the WQIA on agricultural users of nutrients (commercial fertilizers or animal manures) and on poultry growers in the state of Maryland. The net economic impacts to each of these groups are estimated along with some discussion of the distribution of the impacts. Recognition of the distribution of the impacts allows for the assessment of potential policies to address negative impacts. Additional sections of the WQIA are discussed in terms of their ability to shift the distribution of the impacts or to provide partial compensation to those most affected. The WQIA is the most restrictive agricultural nonpoint pollution control law in the US. While the WQIA only regulates nutrient use in the state of Maryland, other states, as well as the federal government, are watching how this law is implemented. Many states are considering similar laws. At the national level, the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have issued draft guidelines that will control nutrients from animal operations in much the same way as the WQIA. Therefore, analyses of the economic impacts of the WQIA may be important in shaping policies in other states and at the national level.
Constrained conjunctive‐use for endogenously separable water markets: managing the Waihole–Waikane aqueduct
Authors: Smitha Rodney B.W. , Roumasset James
Published: August 2005

An internal solution to an optimal control problem involving conjunctive‐use of surface and groundwater may be inapplicable if water is not sufficiently fungible across space and time. We provide a more general solution and apply it to the problem of allocating a limited amount of water from the Ko‘olau mountains to two Oahu water districts separated by those mountains. The solution involves initially allocating all of the mountain water to the district supplied by groundwater but eventually allocating all of the water to the district supplied by surface water. The conditions for an internal solution hold only in the intervening years when some mountain water is allocated to each district.
The importance of structure in linking games
Authors: Just Richard E. , Netanyahu Sinaia
Published: August 2005

A common approach in modeling negotiations is to apply game theory to single issues. Recent work has suggested that the complexity of international negotiations can be better modeled by linking independent games. Successful linking is possible when the linked issues have compensating asymmetry of similar magnitude. An important result of linked games is that such games produce a greater feasible set of choices relative to the aggregated isolated games. In this paper, we demonstrate that achieving strict dominance of the linked game is not trivial and that results and implications depend on the structures of the isolated games.
Transboundary water management Game‐theoretic lessons for projects on the US–Mexico border⋆
Authors: Frisvold George B. , Caswell Margriet F.
Published: August 2005

Of the twelve million people who live within 100 km of the US–Mexico border, 90 percent are clustered in transboundary sister cities that share common water sources and pollution problems. New institutions created to address environmental concerns over NAFTA offer the promise of greater financial and technical assistance for water management in border cities. This paper reviews US–Mexico border water issues and institutions. Using insights from game theory, it draws policy lessons for institutions funding border water projects. We examine how the design of assistance programs, technical support, and pre‐existing water rights and regulations affect project outcomes. The diversity and geographic dispersion of water conflicts suggests potential for applying the interconnected game approach to US‐Mexico water negotiations.
Wheat demand in Japanese flour milling industry: a production theory approach
Authors: Koo Won W. , Mao Weining , Sakurai Takeshi
Published: August 2005

A production approach based on the translog cost function is used to analyze import demand for wheat differentiated by class and country of origin in the Japanese wheat flour milling industry. Results indicate that US wheat faces strong competition in the Japanese wheat market, but its multiple classes and end‐use characteristics enable the US to preserve the largest market share in Japan.
Strategies and impact of agro‐allied parastatals reform in Nigeria
Authors: Olomola Ade S.
Published: August 2005

This study examines the reform of agro‐allied parastatals in Nigeria and determine the impact financially, economically and socially. Three enterprises, Flour Mills of Nigeria Limited (FMNL), Okitipupa Oil Palm Company (OOPC) and Nichemtex Industries Limited (NIL), were privatized in Nigeria under a reform programme aimed at improving the performance of agribusinesses in the country. The exercise was successfully conducted through public offer of shares and private placement. The reform led to an improvement in profitability, productivity, financial leverage and liquidity position of the enterprises. The social impact of privatization was also favourable. It has no adverse consequences on job security, level of employment and participation of employees in trade union matters. Successful implementation of the reform was due to several factors including high level of professional competence and dedication of officials connected with the reform, a high degree of transparency and strict compliance with laid down guidelines. At the enterprise level, the positive changes recorded by the enterprises came about through the adoption of a number of coping strategies such as the maintenance of diverse product mix, expansion of export potentials and upgrading of product quality, improved marketing management, technological restructuring and improved techniques of sourcing raw materials. At the macro level, some policy actions such as trade policy reforms and price liberalization also played significant role in enhancing the performance of the enterprises after privatization.
Managerial ability — a review of its basis and potential improvement using psychological concepts
Authors: Nuthall P.L.
Published: August 2005

Achieving an appropriate resource allocation structure usually revolves around the farm manager. His or her ability is crucial to success. Yet, most farmers learn by experience and/or through various courses that concentrate on technical, production economic and related aspects. Putting more effort into understanding the components of managerial ability and how a managers’ ability to perform well in each component might be improved is well overdue. As psychology is the study of people and their actions it is the obvious discipline to turn to for assistance. This paper contains a review of the psychology of decision making from a farm management perspective, outlines what psychology offers for changing a person's attributes, and considers the structure of a research programme aimed at developing methods for improving individual's managerial ability.
Identification of habit in Japanese food consumption
Authors: Price David W. , Gislason Conrad
Published: August 2005

Demand models were estimated for five commodities using annual retail level Japanese data. Estimates were made with the Houthakker‐Taylor [Houthakker, H.S., Taylor, L.D., 1970. Consumer Demand in the United States; Analysis and Projections. Harvard University Press, New York, MA] state adjustment model. Significant lags were found for meat and cereal, which means that habit is important for these commodities. Some habit affects were also found for seafood.
Technology and farm performance: paths of productive efficiencies over time
Authors: Kalirajan K.P. , Shand R.T.
Published: August 2005

The focus of this paper is the process of adjustment of farm performance to disequilibrium with new technology over time, which has been a subject of speculation till now. It shows that, left to learn from their own experience, farmers will be slow to realise the full technical potential of a new technology. Drawing on theories of intra‐firm diffusion, the hypotheses tested in this paper using data from India are: (1) initial overall farm performances are characterised by modest and widely varying technical and allocative efficiencies, and (2) over time, average efficiencies rise.
Agricultural taxation in developing countries: a survey of issues and policy
Authors: Khan Mahmood Hasan
Published: August 2005

This study surveys the experience of agricultural taxation in developing countries in the context of the ongoing policy debate about the tax structure and administration affecting agricultural producers. Using the examples of a number of countries, it analyzes the conceptual and practical problems associated with different tax regimes. Governments in most countries have reduced indirect (export) taxes on agricultural producers. However, the revenue from direct taxes on farmers has not increased. A major problem in most countries has been the measurement of (actual) agricultural income. Different measures for presumed income have been used with varying success. They seem to have the most potential for increased revenue in many countries, but their effective implementation is constrained by the political and administrative considerations.
The rural non‐farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries
Authors: Lanjouw Jean O. , Lanjouw Peter
Published: August 2005

The rural non‐farm sector has traditionally been viewed as a low‐productivity sector which produces low quality goods. It is often expected to wither away as a country develops. Recent years have seen a shift away from this position towards recognition that the rural non‐farm sector can, and often does, contribute to economic growth, rural employment, poverty reduction, and a more spatially balanced population distribution. This paper reviews the literature on the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of this more recent perspective, focussing on the experience in developing countries. The paper documents the size and heterogeneity of the sector, pointing to evidence that in many countries the sector is expanding rather than declining. The issues associated with measuring the sector's economic contribution are discussed, followed by empirical assessments for several countries and regions. The distributional impact of non‐farm earnings is examined and it is found that a pro‐poor impact, while by no means inevitable, can be considerable. The sector's trajectory over time, in different settings, is reviewed and the scope for, and experience of, various policy interventions is discussed.
Economic development, institutional change, and the political economy of agricultural protection An econometric study of Belgium since the 19th century
Authors: Swinnen Johan F.M. , Banerjee Anurag N. , de Gorter Harry
Published: August 2005

This empirical study uses 100 years of annual data on 11 agricultural commodities from Belgium to measure the impact of structural changes coinciding with economic development and changes in political institutions on agricultural protection. The analysis shows that changes in agricultural protection are caused by a combination of factors. Governments have increased protection and support to farmers when world market prices for their commodities fell, and vice versa, offsetting market effects on producer incomes. Other economic determinants were the share of the commodities in total consumer expenditures (negative effect) and in total output of the economy (positive effect). With Belgium a small economy, there was no impact of the trade position. Changes in political institutions have affected agricultural protection. Democratic reforms which induced a significant shift in the political balance towards agricultural interests, such as the introduction of the one‐man‐one‐vote system, led to an increase in agricultural protection. The integration of Belgian agricultural policies in the Common Agricultural Policy in 1968 coincided with an increase in protection, ceteris paribus. Both institutional factors, related to changes in access to and information about the decision‐making at the EU level, and structural changes in the agricultural and food economy may explain this effect.
Analysis of household attitudes toward the purchase of livestock products and fish in Cameroon
Authors: Tambi N. Emmanuel
Published: August 2005

The need for additional information on household demand for meat and fish in Cameroon is addressed. Probit analysis involving the Heckman selectivity correction procedure is used to estimate the effects of individual and household characteristics on demand for beef, chicken, pork and fish. Results indicate that fish is a relative necessity in Cameroon and is often substituted for beef and chicken by households whose profiles include being of low income levels, having large household sizes, are of middle age and are less educated. Whereas chicken and pork substitute each other, they are each complementary to beef. The profiles of households likely to purchase beef include being married, middle age, educated and of the Muslim faith. Profiles for households most likely to increase their purchases of chicken include being of high income levels and are public sector employed. Some policy implications are provided.
Global models applied to agricultural and trade policies: a review and assessment
Authors: van Tongeren Frank , van Meijl Hans , Surry Yves
Published: August 2005

The continuing process of global integration bears implications for farmers and related supplying and processing industries in all parts of the world, but also for the rest of the world economy. An assessment of agricultural and trade policy impacts is bound to be complex and is often supported by quantitative modeling analysis. This article provides an assessment of the present state of applied modelling in the area of trade and agricultural policies. We provide in this paper a comparative assessment of alternative modelling approaches, considering a total of 16 partial equilibrium and general equilibrium models. The assessment includes theoretical modelling foundations, datasets employed and institutional aspects, such as model maintenance and dissemination of results. A typology of models is provided by structuring the assessment along a clear set of evaluation criteria.
Demand for area crop insurance among litchi producers in northern Vietnam
Authors: Vandeveer Monte L.
Published: August 2005

This study examines the need for crop insurance for litchi production in northern Vietnam and how farmers might participate in such a program. Hypothetical insurance programs were developed which proposed all‐risk coverage based on area yields. This coverage was offered to farmers to determine both their interest in the program and how insurance features and farmer characteristics affected their decision to buy insurance. Farmers were also surveyed regarding their production practices, price and yield expectations, and financial and personal characteristics. Even before considering other program costs and government budget constraints, there is not a strong case for establishing a crop insurance program here. Results indicate that while farmer participation would be significant, crop insurance is not needed to achieve policy goals like raising farmer income or guaranteeing subsistence levels of income. Crop insurance is not needed to promote litchi production, which is already expanding rapidly due to its high profitability relative to other farm enterprises. In their choice of coverages, farmers preferred higher yield guarantee levels and lower indemnity prices. Estimated premiums were quite low when expressed as a percent of expected revenue, and farmers were not responsive to changes in premiums. Econometric analysis indicated that high income farmers were more likely to participate, but other farmer characteristics seemed to matter little. Anecdotal evidence suggested that farmers believed the expected area yields used to set insurance coverage levels were too low. Because litchi productivity varies significantly by tree age and the litchi planted area is expanding rapidly, determining appropriate values for expected area yields and insurance coverage levels appeared to be the biggest challenge in program design. It is hypothesized that additional farmer education about the relationship between area and farm yields and other aspects of area insurance could improve such a program's operation. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Marketing cooperatives and financial structure: a transaction costs economics analysis
Authors: Hendrikse George W.J. , Veerman Cees P.
Published: August 2005

The relationship between the financial structure of a marketing cooperative (MC) and the requirement of the domination of control by the members is analysed from a transaction costs perspective. A MC receives less favourable terms on outside equity than a conventional firm because the decision power regarding new investments is not allocated to the providers of these funds. This is a serious threat to the survival of a MC in a market where efficient investments are characterised by an increasing level of asset specificity at the processing stage of production. A MC is predicted to be an efficient organisational form when the level of asset specificity at the processing stage of production is at a low or immediate level compared to the level of asset specificity at the farming stage of production.
Reindeer husbandry, the Swedish market for reindeer meat, and the Chernobyl effects
Authors: Bostedt Göran
Published: August 2005

Reindeer husbandry is a cornerstone in the culture of the Sami, northern Scandinavia's indigenous people. This paper presents a dynamic, theoretical model of the Swedish reindeer husbandry and the market for reindeer meat, as well as econometric results based on three‐stage least squares regression on annual data. The most striking feature of the empirical results is a “backward‐sloping” supply function, which is consistent with the theoretical model. The results also show effects of the Chernobyl accident. Prevailing winds at the time of the accident carried radioactive fallout over the grazing areas for the Swedish reindeer husbandry, causing effects on both supply and demand.