bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rising to the Challenge: Education for Sustainability in Australia
Authors: Tilbury Daniella
Published: July 2016

With the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) approaching, the question is “how well positioned is Australia to respond to the challenge of educating for sustainability?”. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief summary of ESD status, needs and innovations at the national level within Australia. ESD is relevant to all major social groups and so this paper includes developments in a number of settings including, formal education, further and higher education, industry and community contexts. This paper has been informed by the recent findings of a national review of EE's contribution to sustainability in Australia. It incorporates the latest trends and recent national initiatives which are playing a significant role in developing frameworks in ESD nationally.
Successful Environmental Education: Adapting to the Educational Habitat
Authors: Buchan Janet
Published: July 2016

As a matter of survival, we need to educate current and future generations to live sustainably. We need to ensure that future generations have access to quality environmental education.

This paper provides guidelines for educators and managers to use to better understand and manage the learning environment in which environmental education, particularly sustainability, programs take place. This is done through the introduction of two tools. Firstly, through a model of the learning environment that can be used to understand the educational environment and its various interactions and secondly, through the introduction of an Adaptive Management Conceptual Framework. This framework provides a step by step approach to guide the process of assessing the state of the current learning environment, and to guide the processes of decision making and implementation by educators.

These tools have broad application to a variety of educational environments; schools, universities and community education. A specific case study of the application of these tools in a university environmental science degree is outlined.
Intergenerational Influence in Environmental Education: A Quantitative Analysis
Authors: Ballantyne Roy , Fien John , Packer Jan
Published: July 2016

The process of intergenerational influence has important implications for environmental educators who wish to promote discussion about and action for the environment beyond the bounds of the school classroom. This paper examines the process of intergenerational influence in environmental education through a quantitative analysis of the factors influencing the frequency and nature of intergenerational discussion. The relationships among eight sets of variables are explored, including student and parent environmental orientation, the quality of family communication, program features, student enjoyment of the program, student learning through the program, and the frequency and nature of discussion of the program. The findings are discussed both in terms of their implications for environmental educators and for future research in the field.
The Learning for a Sustainable Environment Project: A Case Study of an Action Network for Teacher Education
Authors: Fien John
Published: July 2016

Education has an enormously important role to play in motivating and empowering citizens to participate in environmental improvement and protection. Nearly three decades ago, Schumacher (1973) described education as our ‘greatest resource’ in his endeavour. In the last decade, major international reports have stressed this also. The theme of the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), Caring for the Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living (prepared as the World Conservation Strategy for the 1990s) (1991), and Agenda 21 (the Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro) (1992) is that it is possible to sustain ways of living that can redress environmental decline without jeopardising the ecosystem or resources base for the future. Each report speaks to the imperative of education to engender this ethic (see Fien 1995).

In the Asia-Pacific region also, education has been identified as a critical factor and countries have adopted a range of strategies for implementing programs in environmental education. Many workshops and training programs have been organised since 1986 Regional Meeting of Experts in Bangkok at which an action plan was developed for environmental education from primary through post graduate levels. Significant work is taking place in redefining environmental education in a Pacific context, particularly to incorporate concepts of sustainable development. Much exploration of how teacher education can rise to the occasion of the great need for environmental education and for teacher education in environmental education is on-going in the region (see Fien & Corcoran 1996).
Networking Action Research: Theorising Experiential Learning for a Sustainable Environment
Authors: Singh Michael
Published: July 2016

Years later, when Rahel returned to the river, it greeted her with a ghastly skull's smile, with holes where teeth had been, and a limp hand raised from a hospital bed.

Both things had happened.

It had shrunk. And she had grown.

Downriver, a saltwater barrage had been built, in exchange for votes from the influential paddy-farmer lobby. The barrage regulated the inflow of saltwater from the backwaters that opened into the Arabian Sea. So now they had two harvests a year instead of one. More rice, for the price of a river.

Despite the fact that it was June, and raining, the river was no more than a swollen drain now. A thin ribbon of thick water that lapped wearily at the mud banks on either side, sequined with the occasional silver slant of a dead fish. It was choked with a succulent weed, whose furred brown roots waved like thin tentacles under water. Bronze-winged lily-trotters walked across it. Splay-footed, cautious.

Once it had had the power to evoke fear. To change lives. But now its teeth were drawn, its spirit spent. It was just a slow, sludging green ribbon lawn that ferried fetid garbage to the sea. Bright plastic bags blew across its viscous, weedy surface like subtropical flying-flowers (Roy 1997, p. 124).
Fourteen Facets to the Character of an Effective Environmental Educator
Authors: Rubell Ken
Published: July 2016

This is not an academic paper. I write in the first person. And I write out of my own experience - not as a researcher but as a practitioner. So perhaps this is more like a letter, from one imperfect practitioner to others.

I live in a region of Australia where the main industry is coal mining. I and a partner run a small environmental education centre at the end of the farmland and the beginning of the forest in a peaceful and beautiful valley. I am privileged to work with around a thousand young people each year - mostly 9-12-year-olds. They and the living world of the forest where I live, are my teachers. The greatest joy of my work is that it is an endless process of learning and sharing: such is the vocation of an environmental educator. Children come to Wangat Lodge for three or four days. They come in groups of around thirty to forty - small enough for me to learn all of their names. We spend most of our time outdoors. I talk too much; I know they gain most when they are discovering things for themselves. We sing. We walk. We mime. We dance. We act. We write bad poetry. I could not wish for more fulfilling work.
Analysing Environmental Education Curricula: The Case of the IBO's Environmental Systems
Authors: Maxwell Tom , Metcalfe Peter
Published: July 2016

This paper uses a two part analysis of a new syllabus document developed by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) for its Diploma in the area of environmental studies. The environmental analysis Is based on the need for concepts to support sustainability. Key ideas in this model are natural systems of flows of energy, cycles of materials and webs of life and human impact on these natural systems. This analysis suggests that some concepts for sustainability, such as soil and water as basic resources, are not covered adequately and that the identification of the syllabus as a science precludes essential economic and social sciences considerations and the dominance of the methodology of manipulation. Using the Habermasian technical, practical and emancipatory interests as analytical categories, serious difficulties are identified. These include the likely lack of congruence of the syllabus with the advertised philosophy of the Diploma and the fundamental technical interest of control expressed in the syllabus. Taken together, It is probable that in many teachers' hands students may inadvertently learn about exploitation rather than sustainability of the environment. Modifications to the syllabus are proposed.
Curricula for Optimism: Implications for Environmental Educators
Authors: Harding Stephan
Published: July 2016

The paper sets out suggestions for seven areas of study within curricula whose practitioners Intend them to prepare students for the difficult task of pursuing sustainabllity at personal and community levels within societies not yet close to taking that pursuit seriously. In addition to developing clear understandings about sustainabllity, biodiversity, climate change and psychological roots of ecological crises students need to experience Deep Ecology cognltively and personally, and to take action. Some difficulties this poses for environmental educators and education systems are outlined.
Environmentalism as Social Purpose in Higher Education: A Green Education Agenda
Authors: Dyer Ken
Published: July 2016

This paper considers some recent ideas about tertiary environmental education and about environmentalism as an emerging social purpose of universities. It shows that total reliance on education about the environment results in unacceptable views of the environment, environmental education and environmental problems'. The paper considers approaches to teaching, arguing for one which assumes that learners construct their own concepts of the environment It distinguishes between current discipline-based teaching in universities and the more holistic Green Education. The paper concludes with a list of characteristics of Green Education which follow from the arguments presented.
An Evaluation of Saltwatch: A School and Community Action Research Environmental Education Project
Authors: Pfueller Sharron L. , Innes-Wardell Ian , Skondras Helen , Marshall Dianne , Kruger Tarnya ,   Australian Nature Conservation Agency
Published: July 2016

The Saltwatch environmental education program aims to increase awareness and understanding of salinity and thereby to stimulate remedial and preventative action. An evaluation of the program in Victoria in 1995 revealed its wide use across school curricula, and subsequent practical environmental action in 53% of schools. Participation in Saltwatch and subsequent environmental activities were more restricted in community groups. The paper concludes with a discussion of Saltwatch's success and possible improvements.
Environmental Education Towards Personal, Professional and Societal Change: Possibilities for Distance Education
Authors: Plant Malcolm
Published: July 2016

In this paper I describe the design of distance education texts that encourage the kinds of student-tutor dialogue which ‘industrial’ methods of course delivery may find hard to achieve, and how such texts enable students and their tutors to be critically reflective about the theory and practice of environmental education in different cultural contexts. Aspects of the following are discussed - the limitations of ‘new technologies’ in resolving issues faced by distance educators; the potential of open texts in distance education; ways of supporting students in necessary critical reflection; the Importance of social belonging for students, especially those of distance education courses in environmental education. The paper concludes with a series of suggestions for colleagues wishing to establish culturally sensitive, critically reflective distance education courses in environmental education.
Curriculum and Professional Development in Environmental Education: A Case Study
Authors: Muhlebach Robyn
Published: July 2016

This particular case study looks at the problem of curriculum and professional development in environmental education at a small semi rural primary school in south western Victoria. In this paper the ‘study’ refers to the case study research at Elliminyt Primary School and the ‘project’ refers to a wider OECD-CERI ENSI project which included many other case studies other than the one described here.
Ontology and the Critical Discourse of Environmental Education
Authors: Payne Phillip
Published: July 2016

There has been a major effort in Australian academic circles over the past fifteen years to develop a critical discourse in environmental education curriculum, pedagogy, history, and research (Henry et al 1981, Di Chiro 1987, Gough 1987, 1994, Robottom 1987, Greenall 1987, Fien 1993 a,b, Greenall Gough 1993, Robottom & Hart 1993). This discourse is critical of ‘mainstream’ approaches to environmental education that are alleged to be positivist, behaviourist, masculinist, and instrumentalist. Internationally, environmental educators have also considered various shortcomings of environmental education. There is general concern about unrealised aspirations, unrealistic expectations, definitional problems, values issues, conceptual obfuscation and questionable research endeavours (Brennan 1979, Disinger 1979, 1985, Williams 1979, Baer 1980, 1981, 1985, Knapp 1983, Roth 1988, Iozzi 1989 a,b, Gigliotti 1990, Marcinkowski 1990, Wals, Beringer & Stapp 1990, Ham & Sewing 1992, Leming 1992, Pinar & Bowers 1992, Ramsey, Hungerford & Volk 1992). Consequently, it can be asserted there are practical deficiencies of a moral, social, political, and ecological nature. If so, one conclusion about the development of the field of environmental education is that it is problematic and often contradictory.
Gendering Environmental Education Reform: Identifying the Constitutive Power of Environmental Discourses
Authors: Barron Deirdre
Published: July 2016

This study was undertaken to examine the ways, and to what extent, boys and girls entering school have positioned themselves in relation to discourses about the environment and the implications this has for environmental education. I was inspired by Davies (1989) and Davies' and Banks' (1992) studies of the ways in which gender was constituted through the discursive practices of girls and boys and the ‘… political implications of the ways in which children are constrained by the dominant gender discourses …’ (Davies and Banks 1992, p. 2). I was also influenced by the current ecofeminist scholarship that looks at the political implications of the perceived right in Western cultures to dominate the non-human.

While I am anxious to avoid labelling the children as masculine and feminine based on their biological sex it is interesting to note that in my study of young children's perceptions of environment the discourses of male ‘culture’ ascendancy were more often taken up by boys, while the marginalised discourses that opposed culture as ascendant were more often taken up by girls. I am concerned with the implications of these gendered constructions of environment for girls, nature and environmental education reform.
Humans and Nature: A Spectrum Not a Dichotomy
Authors: Dyer Ken , Gunnell Pam
Published: July 2016

Among the most significant, controversial and difficult concepts for environmental educators and students alike to come to terms with are those of the anthropocentric (or totally human centred) view of the environment compared with the biocentric (or totally non-human centred) attitude to the environment. The concepts are significant because they represent profoundly different philosophical positions and also because they may have far reaching implications and, therefore, consequences in practice. Eckersley (1992, p.26) says:

… the most fundamental division from an ecophilosophical point of view is between those who adopt an anthropocentric ecological perspective and those who adopt a nonanthropocentric ecological (or ecocentric) perspective.

They are controversial because both views have been said, by different authors, to be either totally disastrous or absolutely redeeming for the planet. For instance, in his recent authoritative and well received book Towards A Transpersonal Ecology, philosopher Warwick Fox writes (1990, p. 13)

… anthropocentrism represents not only a deluded but a dangerous orientation toward the world.

and adds (1990, pp. 18-19) that it is

… empirically bankrupt and theoretically disastrous, practically disastrous, logically inconsistent, morally objectionable and incongruent with a genuinely open approach to experience.

Yet Jeff Bennett, expressing the anthropocentric view in a volume entitled Reconciling Economics and the Environment, says that

… a complete property rights system over ecosystems, and even individual species making up an ecosystem, can ensure their conservation.

(Bennett & Block 1991, p.272)
Getting In-Sink with the In-Sink-Erator
Authors: Saffin Peter
Published: July 2016

The advertisement shown has obvious contradictions that are invisible to many people in our society. These contradictions arise through the social structures that have become part of our thinking and mindset toward waste management. In order to overcome the displacement of the waste problem that is produced by this device, we have to take a closer look at what we do with our waste and plan a more appropriate disposal mechanism. This would involve a new form of thinking with a sense of responsibility for our waste that we currently do not have as a community in general.
An Ecocentric Paradigm: An Important Tool for Teachers of Environmental Education
Authors: Salite Ilga
Published: July 2016

The paper discusses the nature of an ecocentric view of humans and the Earth, and how this connects with the development of human spirituality. The relationship of these ideas to environmental education is explored, and an outline provided of how humanistic educational methods might contribute to students developing ecocentric views, their unique spirituality and environmentally supportive behaviours.
Opportunities for Environmental Education Provided by Environmental Management Systems
Authors: Thomas Ian , Olsson Mary
Published: July 2016

The development and implementation of a training program is a requirement of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) certified under international standards. To date, information about these programs has been scarce. The paper reports the results of a survey of 20 Australian organisations with certified EMSs, designed to provide a start in understanding the role and contribution of training in meeting EMS objectives. Information was sought on the status, direction and focus of the training programs, along with the training providers, topics covered, and the range of training mechanisms. Broadly the findings illustrate differences in the training provided to staff generally, selected staff and to managers. Of importance for environmental educators is the extent to which education in the environment and education about the environment are already part of these training programs. Education for the environment is apparent in some training programs, indicating the scope that EMSs provide for the coverage of all three aspects of environmental education for the general community.
Controversy in the classroom — the Boondall wetlands issue
Authors: Hoepper Brian , Knight Jean
Published: July 2016

The Boondall wetlands development project seemed an ideal focus for a critical teaching experiment in a Brisbane primary school. Sixty-five students in an ungraded Years 4/5/6 classroom were introduced to the processes of critical investigation and decision making, and applied these to an extensive study of the Boondall project. Their experiences included the study of print, graphic and video materials related to the issue, a visit to the site, and discussions with consevationists and a local alderman. Eventually, groups formed according to the final decision made, and presentation of each case was planned. Throughout, special sessions encouraged students to reflect upon the nature of controversy, the process of investigation, and the quality of decision making.
Environmental education in a rural setting: the role of teachers in dissemination
Authors: Robottom I.
Published: July 2016

For many schools, environmental education constitutes a curriculum innovation in that it represents a challenge to existing teaching and curriculum practice. An innovation issue frequently neglected in environmental education is the spread of messages about the innovation within and between schools. This neglect is often apparent in the case of environmental education materials developed at sites away from the school. In such cases, great care is taken to develop a useful curriculum resource, and to distribute it from central development site to school classrooms. For example, when the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) produced its recent environmental education materials, the Environmental Education Project, it sought to disseminate the innovation by fostering sales through such strategies as the mailing of promotional leaflets to all schools, conducting state and national launchings, providing cost-free review copies to subject associations and the like, and advertisements. However, the exchange of ideas about the innovation from practising teacher to practising teacher is more difficult to organise from outside the school.
Assessing the Market for Poultry Litter in Georgia: Are Subsidies Needed to Protect Water Quality?
Authors: Mullen Jeffrey , Bekchanov Ulugbek , Karali Berna , Kissel David , Risse Mark , Rowles Kristin , Collier Sam
Published: July 2016

Concerns about nutrient loads into our waters have focused attention on poultry litter applications. Like many states with a large poultry industry, Georgia recently designed a subsidy program to facilitate the transportation of poultry litter out of vulnerable watersheds. This paper uses a transportation model to examine the necessity of a poultry litter subsidy to achieve water protection goals in Georgia. We also demonstrate the relationship between diesel and synthetic fertilizer prices and the value of poultry litter. Results suggest that a well-functioning market would be able to remove excess litter from vulnerable watersheds in the absence of a subsidy.
A Comparison of Choice Experiments and Actual Grocery Store Behavior: An Empirical Application to Seafood Products
Authors: Hudson Darren , Gallardo R. Karina , Hanson Terrill R.
Published: July 2016

In this paper we compare results from an in-store field experiment and a mail survey choice experiment (CE) to investigate CE's capacity in predicting grocery store market share. For the comparison, we used three seafood products: freshwater prawns, marine shrimp, and lobster. CE estimates were obtained via four econometric models: the conditional logit, the random parameter logit, the heteroskedastic extreme value, and the multinomial probit. We found that the level of control in the grocery store experiment and the choice of econometric model influenced the capacity of CE to predict grocery store market shares.
Economic Impact of Wildlife-Associated Recreation Expenditures in the Southeast United States: A General Equilibrium Analysis
Authors: Hussain Anwar , Munn Ian A. , Holland David W. , Armstrong James B. , Spurlock Stan R.
Published: July 2016

The economic impact of wildlife-associated recreation in the Southeast United States was evaluated using a general equilibrium model. Exogenous demand shocks to the regional economy were based on estimates of expenditures by wildlife recreationists on hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching activities. Counterfactual simulations were carried out, making alternative assumptions about labor and capital mobility and their supply. Without wildlife-associated recreation expenditures, regional employment would have been smaller by up to 783 thousand jobs, and value added would have been $22 to $48 billion less. These findings underscore the significance of regional factor market conditions in economic impact and general equilibrium analysis.
Demographic and Management Factors Affecting the Adoption and Perceived Yield Benefit of Winter Cover Crops in the Southeast
Authors: Bergtold Jason S. , Duffy Patricia A. , Hite Diane , Raper Randy L.
Published: July 2016

The inclusion of cover crops in cropping systems brings direct and indirect costs and benefits. Farmers will adopt and utilize cover crops as long as the perceived benefit of using them is positive. This paper examines the demographic and management factors affecting the adoption and perceived benefit (in terms of improved crop yield) of using winter annual cover crops. A double selectivity model of cover crop adoption and perceived yield gain was estimated using survey data of Alabama farmers examining cover crop use and management. Results may help in understanding factors shaping farmers' perceptions, adoption, and retention of cover crops.
The Motivation for Organic Grain Farming in the United States: Profits, Lifestyle, or the Environment?
Authors: Peterson Hikaru Hanawa , Barkley Andrew , Chacón-Cascante Adriana , Kastens Terry L.
Published: July 2016

The objective of this research is to identify and quantify the motivations for organic grain farming in the United States. Survey data of US organic grain producers were used in regression models to find the statistical determinants of three motivations for organic grain production, including profit maximization, environmental stewardship, and an organic lifestyle. Results provide evidence that many organic grain producers had more than a single motivation and that younger farmers are more likely to be motivated by environmental and lifestyle goals than older farmers. Organic grain producers exhibited a diversity of motivations, including profit and stewardship.
Willingness-to-Pay for Calf Health Programs and Certification Agents
Authors: Schumacher Tucker , Schroeder Ted C. , Tonsor Glynn T.
Published: July 2016

Cattle feeders want feeder cattle that have been weaned and preconditioned with a certified health program. Preconditioned calves perform more efficiently in the feedlot with lower morbidity and mortality. Health program claims, however, range from no claim to being USDA-certified. The value of health protocol certification may vary with certifying entity. Results from a choice experiment and survey of cattle feeders indicate preconditioning programs that include weaning, vaccinating against respiratory and clostridial/blackleg, and treating for parasites are worth on average $7.28/cwt to feedlots. Furthermore, a health program certified by USDA carries an additional value of $2.37/cwt on average.
Do U.S. Cotton Subsidies Affect Competing Exporters? An Analysis of Import Demand in China
Authors: Muhammad Andrew , McPhail Lihong , Kiawu James
Published: July 2016

We estimate the demand for imported cotton in China and assess the competitiveness of cotton-exporting countries. Given the assertion that developing countries are negatively affected by U.S. cotton subsidies, our focus is the price competition between the United States and competing exporters (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, India, and Uzbekistan). We further project how U.S. programs affect China's imports by country. Results indicate that if U.S. subsidies make other exporting countries worse off, this effect is lessened when global prices respond accordingly. If subsidies are eliminated, China's cotton imports may not fully recover from the temporary spike in global prices.
Evaluating the Causes of Rising Food Prices in Low and Middle Income Countries
Authors: Yeboah Osei , Shaik Saleem , Quaicoe Obed
Published: July 2016

The effects of population, income, prices of major inputs, and exchange rate of the U.S. dollar on the prices of three key agricultural and food commodities (feed grains, oilseed, and fruits) for 13 low-income countries and seven middle-income countries were evaluated. Given the short time period, a modified seeming unrelated regression-vector autoregressive model that incorporates the lagged exogenous variables property of time series models and the system of equation estimation is employed in the analysis. The study finds no single factor that persistently explains all soaring food prices as reported in the literature. The only factor that persistently explains soaring food prices are the contemporaneous and one-year lagged exchange rates and income.
Discussion: Causes of Agricultural and Food Price Inflation and Volatility
Authors: Wilson Norbert
Published: July 2016

This discussion is a review and critique of the three papers in the 2012 Southern Agricultural Economics Association invited paper session titled Causes of Agricultural and Food Price Inflation and Volatility.
Online versus Face-to-Face: Students' Preferences for College Course Attributes
Authors: Mann John T. , Henneberry Shida R.
Published: July 2016

The objectives of this article were to determine: 1) students' preferences for college course attributes; and 2) how the amount of course attribute information impacts enrollment. Results indicate students had the highest preferences for face-to-face (F2F) courses offered late morning and early afternoon and two to three days per week. Students selected online over F2F courses depending on course makeup; for example, course topic, online course design technology, and when the F2F version was offered. Additionally, students selected online courses more frequently when additional online course attribute information was available during course selection.
Long-Term Economic Impacts of USDA Water and Sewer Infrastructure Investments in Oklahoma
Authors: Janeski Ivica , Whitacre Brian E.
Published: July 2016

One of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development's most popular programs is the funding for public water and sewer infrastructure projects in rural communities. This article reviews the water and sewer infrastructure projects funded in the state of Oklahoma between 1990 and 2000 and evaluates their impact on different measures of economic growth over both the short (one to 10 years) and long (10 to 20 years) term. Evaluation techniques include multivariate regression and average treatment effects. Results suggest that although most economic growth measures (population, income levels, and poverty levels) are not impacted by the program, housing values do show a statistically significant increase in communities receiving water or sewer infrastructure funding over the long term.
Feasibility of an Adaptable Biorefinery Platform: Addressing the Delivery Scale Dilemma under Drought Risk
Authors: Farmer Michael C. , Benson Aaron , Liu Xiaolan , Capareda Sergio , Middleton Marty
Published: July 2016

Conversion of biomass to electricity is often not economically feasible as a result of large transportation costs and low output prices. We build a model of an adaptable biorefinery situated at an agri-processing facility that already has biomass on-site and consider the optimal scale of the plant to achieve a price premium by selling peaking power given uncertain biomass deliveries year over year as a result of climatic variability. We find that, for conservative electricity prices, a plant situated near cotton gins in Texas could operate with positive expected net revenue while converting on average only 38% of available biomass for peak electricity prices.
Measuring Price–Quantity Relationships in the Dutch Flower Market
Authors: Steen Marie
Published: July 2016

This research applies an inverse, almost ideal demand model with seasonal adjustments to estimate price–quantity relationships among major cut flower species traded at the Dutch flower auctions. Trigonometric functions are used as a flexible and efficient alternative to standard seasonal dummies. The estimated price and scale flexibilities were all found to be statistically significant with signs as expected. The demand for all flower groups is inflexible, and most of them are quantity substitutes. Based on the estimated values for price and scale flexibilities, a potential for market timing seems to exist, i.e., flower producers may use easily available calendar information to predict prices and quantities.
Impacts of Advertising, Attitudes, Lifestyles, and Health on the Demand for U.S. Pork: A Micro-Level Analysis
Authors: Capps Oral , Park Jaehong
Published: July 2016

Using data from the 1994-1996 CSFII/DHKS, we identify and assess factors affecting the decision to consume pork and conditional on consuming pork, the decision of the amount of pork intake. Branded and generic advertising of pork play a prominent role in both decisions. Beef advertising, however, does not significantly affect either the probability of consuming pork or the amount of pork intake. Key health, attitudinal and lifestyle factors are smoking status, dietary status, body mass index, the importance of nutrition in buying food, and trimming visible fat from meat. These factors however impact the probability of consuming pork rather than the amount of pork consumed. Region, urbanization, race, age, income, and seasonality also affect pork demand.
Restrictions on the Effects of Preference Variables in the Rotterdam Model
Authors: Brown Mark G. , Lee Jonq-Ying
Published: July 2016

This study examines imposing and testing restrictions on preference variables in the Rotterdam model through the impacts of these variables on marginal utilities. An empirical analysis of the impact of a female labor force participation variable in a Rotterdam demand system for fresh fruit illustrates the methodology. This variable was modeled through its impact on marginal utilities via “adjusted” prices, following theoretical work by Basmann and Barten, among others. Results show that the female labor participation has negatively impacted the demands for citrus, while positively impacting the demands for other fresh fruit.
Consumer Demand for Mandatory Labeling of Beef from Cattle Administered Growth Hormones or Fed Genetically Modified Corn
Authors: Lusk Jayson L. , Fox John A.
Published: July 2016

This study estimates the value of policies that would mandate labeling of beef from cattle produced with growth hormones or fed genetically modified corn. At no cost, 85 percent of respondents desired mandatory labeling of beef produced with growth hormones and 64 percent of respondents preferred mandatory labeling of beef fed genetically modified corn. Estimates suggest that consumers would be willing to pay 17.0 percent and 10.6 percent higher prices for beef on average to obtain information provided via mandatory labeling about whether the beef is from cattle produced with growth hormones or fed genetically modified corn, respectively.
The Impact of HACCP on Costs and Product Exit
Authors: Hooker Neal H. , Nayga Rodolfo M. , Siebert John W.
Published: July 2016

Detailed information on firm level food safety costs is reported. Survey data for small and very small meat processors are modeled. Economies of scale in implementing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems are investigated. Results indicate that even after controlling for scale, very small plants incur higher compliance costs. Diseconomies of scope are assessed using the probability and number of products discontinued due to HACCP. Such “partial exit” is positively related to the current range of items produced and the need for facility modification. However, no evidence is found for higher levels of partial exit in very small plants.
Payoffs to Farm Management: How Important is Crop Marketing?
Authors: Nivens Heather D. , Kastens Terry L. , Dhuyvetter Kevin C.
Published: July 2016

In production agriculture, good management is demonstrated by profits that are persistently greater than those of similar neighboring farms. This research examined the effects of management practices on risk-adjusted profit per acre for Kansas farms over 1990-1999. The management practices were price, cost, yield, planting intensity, and technology adoption (less-tillage). Cost management, planting intensity, and technology adoption had the greatest effect on profit per acre, and cash price management was found to have the smallest impact. If producers wish to have continuously high profits, their efforts are best spent in management practices over which they have the most control.
Crop Revenue and Yield Insurance Demand: A Subjective Probability Approach
Authors: Shaik Saleem , Coble Keith H. , Knight Thomas O. , Baquet Alan E. , Patrick George F.
Published: July 2016

A multinomial logit is utilized to model the choice of whether to purchase yield or revenue insurance using subjectively elicited survey data. Our results indicate that the demand for crop insurance is inelastic (−0.40), consistent with most earlier yield elasticity estimates, but the elasticity for choices between yield and revenue insurance is found to be relatively more elastic (−0.88).
Uncertainty Discounting for Land-Based Carbon Sequestration
Authors: Kim Man-Keun , McCarl Bruce A.
Published: July 2016

The effect of stochastic factors on soil carbon makes the quantity of carbon generated under a sequestration project uncertain. Hence, the quantity of sequestered carbon may need to be discounted to avoid liability from shortfalls. We present a potentially applicable uncertainty discount and discuss difficulties that might arise in empirical use. We insist that the variance in historical crop yields across geographical areas is used to derive a proxy variance for forming an uncertainty discount for carbon projects. Application of our approach suggests that project level uncertainty discounts would be 15-20% for the East Texas region.
Searching for an Environmental Kuznets Curve in Carbon Dioxide Pollutant in Latin American Countries
Authors: Poudel Biswo N. , Paudel Krishna P. , Bhattarai Keshav
Published: July 2016

This study utilized a semiparametric panel model to estimate environmental Kuznets curves (EKC) for carbon dioxide (CO2) in 15 Latin American countries, using hitherto unused data on forestry acreage in each country. Results showed an N-shaped curve for the region; however, the shape of the curve is sensitive to the removal of some groups of countries. Specification tests support a semiparametric panel model over a parametric quadratic specification.
Hurricanes and Possible Intensity Increases: Effects on and Reactions from U.S. Agriculture
Authors: Chen Chi-Chung , McCarl Bruce
Published: July 2016

Hurricanes have caused substantial damage in parts of the U.S. Damages are increasing, perhaps as part of a natural cycle or perhaps in part related to global warming. This paper examines the economic damages that hurricanes cause to U.S. agriculture, estimates the increased damage from an increase in hurricane frequency/intensity, and examines the way that sectoral reactions reduce damages. The simulation results show that hurricanes and associated adjustments cause widespread damage and redistribute agricultural welfare. We find that crop mix shifts of vulnerable crops from stricken to nonstricken regions significantly mitigate hurricane damages.
Effects of Price and Quality Differences in Source Differentiated Beef on Market Demand
Authors: Lee Youngjae , Kennedy P. Lynn
Published: July 2016

In order to estimate demand elasticities of source differentiated beef in South Korea, this study used the quantity of an endogenous demand system derived through maximizing the economic welfare of market participants including local beef consumers and local and foreign beef suppliers. The demand system is then weighted with respect to quality adjustment parameters to identify the effects of quality differences in source differentiated beef on market demand. As implied by the high relative price of locally produced “Hanwoo” beef, substitutability between local and imported beef is shown to be very weak and the own price elasticity of South Korean beef is shown to be inelastic. Related to quality differences between source differentiated beef, South Korean beef consumers show a preference for Australian beef relative to U.S. and Canadian beef, perhaps due to BSE concerns.
Do Rural Community Colleges Supply Unique Educational Benefits?
Authors: Mykerezi Elton , Kostandini Genti , Mills Bradford
Published: July 2016

Community colleges likely draw to college individuals who would otherwise not attend due to their low costs and open admission requirements. This is labeled as the democratization effect. They may also divert individuals away from 4-year to terminal 2-year college degrees (the diversion effect). This study estimates democratization and diversion effects separately for nonmetropolitan and metropolitan youth using nationally representative data and models that account for endogenous institution selection. We find the democratization effect to exceed the diversion effect of community colleges for both metro and nonmetro youth. The democratization-diversion ratio is slightly higher for urban youth.
Race, Gender, School Discipline, and Human Capital Effects
Authors: Jordan Jeffrey L. , Anil Bulent
Published: July 2016

Noncognitive factors such as discipline (and its mirror, punishment in the form of discipline referrals) can affect school and labor market outcomes, human capital development, and thus the economic well–being of communities. It is well–known throughout the United States, but particularly in rural areas of the south that black males drop out of school more frequently than white males, face higher levels of unemployment, and are incarcerated at a disproportionate rate compared with their white cohorts. Also students in low–income homes were three times more likely to drop out than those from average–income homes and nine times more likely than students from high–income homes. This paper tests the hypothesis that the odds of a student being referred for disciplinary action in the middle school setting (8th grade) increases if the student is male, black, in special education classes, or is poor. We conclude that is indeed the case, with the exception of students assigned to special education classes. In particular, we find that low income students are up to eight times more likely to be sent for disciplinary referrals than others. We next tested the hypothesis that the gender and race of the teachers who refer students for disciplinary action have a significant impact on the first hypothesis. Here the evidence that there is a “color to discipline“ in this school district is weak.
Discussion: Human Capital and Rural Economic Development
Authors: Barefield Alan
Published: July 2016

One of the most critical elements of a nation's social infrastructure is its system of education. Concerns with accessibility, achievement, and choice are significant elements in determining the quality of life for all communities, but most especially for rural communities where resources, and in many cases, opportunities, are perceived to be less plentiful than for their urban and suburban counterparts.
Exchange Rates Impacts on Agricultural Inputs Prices using VAR
Authors: Yeboah Osei , Shaik Saleem , Allen Albert
Published: July 2016

The effects of the U.S. dollar exchange rate versus the Mexican peso are evaluated for four traded nonfarm-produced inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, farm machinery, and feed) in the U.S. Unit root tests suggest that the exchange rate and the four input price ratios support the presence of unit roots with a trend model but the presence unit roots can be rejected in the first difference model. This result is consistent with a fixed price/flex price conceptual framework, with industrial prices more likely to be unresponsive to the exchange rate than farm commodity prices.
Enhancing Farm Profitability through Portfolio Analysis: The Case of Spatial Rice Variety Selection
Authors: Nalley Lawton Lanier , Barkley Andrew , Watkins Brad , Hignight Jeffery
Published: July 2016

This study applies portfolio theory to rice varietal selection decisions to find profit maximizing and risk minimizing outcomes. Results based on data from six counties in the Arkansas Delta for the period 1999-2006 suggest that sowing a portfolio of rice varieties could have increased profits from 3 to 26% (depending on the location) for rice producers in the Arkansas Delta. The major implication of this research is that data and statistical tools are available for rice producers to improve the choice of rice varieties to plant each year in specific locations. Specifically, there are large potential gains from combining varieties that are characterized by inverse yield responses to growing conditions such as drought, pest infestation, or the presence of a specific disease.
Demand for Multimedia in the Classroom
Authors: Boyer Tracy A. , Briggeman Brian C. , Norwood F. Bailey
Published: July 2016

This study elicits preferences for multimedia in the classroom for students and faculty members in agricultural economics. Employing an Internet-based conjoint ranking survey, the results show that students prefer multimedia instructional tools over a traditional chalkboard/whiteboard lecture format while faculty members do not. Neither students nor faculty members are enthusiastic about electronic textbooks, and students will accept them only if they save $80. Finally, preferences for multimedia are shown to differ with students who self-report differing note-taking abilities, preferences for chalkboard lectures, and the need for an engaging class. Successful multimedia adoption requires appropriate use and lowering costs for students.
Economic Evaluation of Wind Energy as an Alternative to Natural Gas Powered Irrigation
Authors: Guerrero Bridget L. , Amosson Stephen H. , Marek Thomas H. , Johnson Jeffrey W.
Published: July 2016

High natural gas prices have agricultural producers searching for alternative energy sources for irrigation. The economic feasibility of electric and hybrid (electric/wind) systems are evaluated as alternatives to natural gas powered irrigation. Texas Panhandle and Southern Kansas farms are assessed with a quarter-mile sprinkler system, three crops, and two pumping lifts. Breakeven points identify the price at which conversion from a natural gas irrigation system to an electric or hybrid system is cost effective. Results indicate electricity is a more feasible energy source for irrigation and policy changes such as net metering are necessary to make hybrid systems viable.
Land Use Issues: The Last Settler's Syndrome
Authors: Groothuis Peter A.
Published: July 2016

In the last settler's syndrome, each new settler wants the area to remain as it was on their arrival. Newcomers' preferences often differ from long-term residents, and conflicts arise. To explore land use issues among various groups, a survey of opinions on mountain views was developed and administered to Watauga County residents in western North Carolina. Watauga County provides an interesting case study, because it is a growing area with an influx of newcomers along with long-time residents. The results suggest that agreements can be achieved on some land use issues, whereas disagreements will arise on others.
Should We Invest in Biofuels?
Authors: Wetzstein Michael E.
Published: July 2016

The real advantage of receiving a Southern Agricultural Economics Association Lifetime Achievement award is the ability to make this presentation and have it published without having to deal with editors and referees. This provides a certain license of freedom to abstract outside the box without being constrained by your peers. So in this vein, consider the following myths and predictions concerning biofuels. These myths are generally consistent with the Grunwald's (2009) seven myths about alternative energy.