scholarly journals 'Farms like mine': a novel method in peer matching for agricultural benchmarking.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Reader ◽  
Paul Wilson ◽  
Stephen Ramsden ◽  
Ian D. Hodge ◽  
Ben G.A. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Unit Costs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Survey Sample ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Business Survey ◽  
Individual Farm ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
Farm Types

Abstract To find opportunities to improve performance, comparisons between farms are often made using aggregates of standard typologies. Being aggregates, farm types in these typologies contain significant numbers of atypical enterprises and thus average figures do not reflect the farming situations of individual farmers wishing to compare their performance with farms of a 'similar' type. We present a novel method that matches a specific farm against all farms in a survey (drawing upon the Farm Business Survey sample) and then selects the nearest 'bespoke farm group' of matches based on distance (Z-score). We do this across 34 dimensions that capture a wide range of English farm characteristics, including tenure and geographic proximity. Means and other statistics are calculated specifically for that bespoke farm comparator group, or 'peer set'. This generates a uniquely defined comparator for each individual farm that could substantially improve key-performance-indicators, such as unit costs of production, which can be used for benchmarking purposes. This methodology has potential to be applied across the full range of FBS farm types and in a wider range of benchmarking contexts.

scholarly journals 'Farms like mine': a big data method in peer matching for agricultural benchmarking.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Reader ◽  
Paul Wilson ◽  
Stephen Ramsden ◽  
Ian D. Hodge ◽  
Ben G.A. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Farm Type ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Business Survey ◽  
Individual Farm ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
The Eu

Abstract To find opportunities to improve, in efficiency or performance, farms are often compared on the basis of standard typologies (i.e. categorisations). For example the EU "specialist-cereals-oilseeds-pulses" farm type, known in Britain as "cereals" farms. These categories, being aggregates, contain significant numbers of atypical enterprises. For example, in 2017 there were 30 cattle and 69 sheep on the average "general-cropping" farm in England. This means that comparators are averages across farms with widely divergent scales of different enterprises (and hence farm characteristics), that are not relevant for the comparison. Furthermore, farmers may not necessarily even know their own farm "type" when undertaking benchmarking or comparative analysis. We therefore present a novel method that matches a specific farm against all farms in a survey (drawing upon the Farm Business Survey (FBS) sample), and then selects the nearest "bespoke farm group" of matches based on distance (Z-score) away. Across 34 dimensions, including almost all the enterprises characteristic of English farms, as well as tenure and geographic proximity. Means and other statistics are calculated specifically for that bespoke farm comparator group, or "peer set" of 25 farms or more if less than 1 Z-score away. This generates a uniquely defined comparator, for each individual farm and gives a substantially improved key-performance-indicators for benchmarking purposes. This methodology has potential to be applied across the full range of FBS farm types and across a wider range of contexts.

scholarly journals Farmers’ Spending on Variable Inputs Tends to Maximise Crop Yields, Not Profit

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A READER ◽  
Ben GA Lang ◽  
Ian Hodge ◽  
Cesar Revoredo-Giha ◽  
Rachel J Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Input Use ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Business Survey ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
Marginal Returns

We estimate the marginal returns to spending on Crop Variable Inputs (CVI) (such as fertilizers and crop protection), to explore whether observed spending maximises physical or economic returns to farmers. Data are taken from the Farm Business Survey for 2004-2013, where gross margins and input spending are available, in over 10,300 crops of conventional winter wheat or oilseed rape in England and Wales. Marginal spending on CVIs generate financial returns significantly less than £1 per marginal pound spent. This suggests that expenditure on CVIs exceeds an economic optimum that would maximise profit. However marginal physical products (crop yields) are positive, but small and significantly different from zero. This suggests that, on average, farmers approximately maximise yields. These results hold across a wide range of alternative economic models and two crop species. Similar results have been reported in estimations for Indian grain production and for maize in China. In practice, farmers are making decisions on input use in advance of having information on a variety of factors, including future yield, product quality and price, making it difficult to optimise input levels according to expected profit. Farmers may be consistently optimistic, prefer to avoid risk, or deliberately seek to maximise yields. Some farmers may put on the standard recommended application irrespective of input or expected output price. It is also possible that advice may sometimes aim to maximise yield, influenced by an incentive to encourage greater sales. Excessive input use both reduces private profits and is a cause of environmental damage. There are thus potential private as well as social benefits to be gained from optimising levels of input use.

Variable Precision Depth Encoding for 3D Range Geometry Compression

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (17) ◽  
pp. 34-1-34-7
Author(s):  
Matthew G. Finley ◽  
Tyler Bell
Keyword(s):  
Normal Distribution ◽  
Arbitrary Distribution ◽  
File Size ◽  
Geometry Compression ◽  
Variable Precision ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Encoding Method ◽  
Rgb Image ◽  
Color Channels

This paper presents a novel method for accurately encoding 3D range geometry within the color channels of a 2D RGB image that allows the encoding frequency—and therefore the encoding precision—to be uniquely determined for each coordinate. The proposed method can thus be used to balance between encoding precision and file size by encoding geometry along a normal distribution; encoding more precisely where the density of data is high and less precisely where the density is low. Alternative distributions may be followed to produce encodings optimized for specific applications. In general, the nature of the proposed encoding method is such that the precision of each point can be freely controlled or derived from an arbitrary distribution, ideally enabling this method for use within a wide range of applications.

The Major Transitions in Evolution

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emergence Of Cooperation ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.

Expressing the Self

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
The Self ◽  
Epistemic Status ◽  
First Person ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Person Reference ◽  
De Se ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Cultural Pragmatics

This book addresses different linguistic and philosophical aspects of referring to the self in a wide range of languages from different language families, including Amharic, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Newari (Sino-Tibetan), Polish, Tariana (Arawak), and Thai. In the domain of speaking about oneself, languages use a myriad of expressions that cut across grammatical and semantic categories, as well as a wide variety of constructions. Languages of Southeast and East Asia famously employ a great number of terms for first-person reference to signal honorification. The number and mixed properties of these terms make them debatable candidates for pronounhood, with many grammar-driven classifications opting to classify them with nouns. Some languages make use of egophors or logophors, and many exhibit an interaction between expressing the self and expressing evidentiality qua the epistemic status of information held from the ego perspective. The volume’s focus on expressing the self, however, is not directly motivated by an interest in the grammar or lexicon, but instead stems from philosophical discussions of the special status of thoughts about oneself, known as de se thoughts. It is this interdisciplinary understanding of expressing the self that underlies this volume, comprising philosophy of mind at one end of the spectrum and cross-cultural pragmatics of self-expression at the other. This unprecedented juxtaposition results in a novel method of approaching de se and de se expressions, in which research methods from linguistics and philosophy inform each other. The importance of this interdisciplinary perspective on expressing the self cannot be overemphasized. Crucially, the volume also demonstrates that linguistic research on first-person reference makes a valuable contribution to research on the self tout court, by exploring the ways in which the self is expressed, and thereby adding to the insights gained through philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science.

Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy Volume 7

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Medieval Philosophy ◽  
Original Essays ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Extended Review

Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy annually collects the best current work in the field of medieval philosophy. The various volumes print original essays, reviews, critical discussions, and editions of texts. The aim is to contribute to an understanding of the full range of themes and problems in all aspects of the field, from late antiquity into the Renaissance, and extending over the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions. Volume 6 includes work on a wide range of topics, including Davlat Dadikhuda on Avicenna, Christopher Martin on Abelard’s ontology, Jeremy Skrzypek and Gloria Frost on Aquinas’s ontology, Jean‐Luc Solère on instrumental causality, Peter John Hartman on Durand of St.‐Pourçain, and Kamil Majcherek on Chatton’s rejection of final causality. The volume also includes an extended review of Thomas Williams of a new book on Aquinas’s ethics by Colleen McCluskey.

Compressor Performance and Operability in Swirl Distortion

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogi Sheoran ◽  
Bruce Bouldin ◽  
P. Murali Krishnan
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Complex Geometry ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Cfd Model ◽  
Generator System ◽  
Sliding Mesh ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Compressor Performance ◽  
The Impact

Inlet swirl distortion has become a major area of concern in the gas turbine engine community. Gas turbine engines are increasingly installed with more complicated and tortuous inlet systems, like those found on embedded installations on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These inlet systems can produce complex swirl patterns in addition to total pressure distortion. The effect of swirl distortion on engine or compressor performance and operability must be evaluated. The gas turbine community is developing methodologies to measure and characterize swirl distortion. There is a strong need to develop a database containing the impact of a range of swirl distortion patterns on a compressor performance and operability. A recent paper presented by the authors described a versatile swirl distortion generator system that produced a wide range of swirl distortion patterns of a prescribed strength, including bulk swirl, twin swirl and offset swirl. The design of these swirl generators greatly improved the understanding of the formation of swirl. The next step of this process is to understand the effect of swirl on compressor performance. A previously published paper by the authors used parallel compressor analysis to map out different speed lines that resulted from different types of swirl distortion. For the study described in this paper, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used to couple upstream swirl generator geometry to a single stage of an axial compressor in order to generate a family of compressor speed lines. The complex geometry of the analyzed swirl generators requires that the full 360° compressor be included in the CFD model. A full compressor can be modeled several ways in a CFD analysis, including sliding mesh and frozen rotor techniques. For a single operating condition, a study was conducted using both of these techniques to determine the best method given the large size of the CFD model and the number of data points that needed to be run to generate speed lines. This study compared the CFD results for the undistorted compressor at 100% speed to comparable test data. Results of this study indicated that the frozen rotor approach provided just as accurate results as the sliding mesh but with a greatly reduced cycle time. Once the CFD approach was calibrated, the same techniques were used to determine compressor performance and operability when a full range of swirl distortion patterns were generated by upstream swirl generators. The compressor speed line shift due to co-rotating and counter-rotating bulk swirl resulted in a predictable performance and operability shift. Of particular importance is the compressor performance and operability resulting from an exposure to a set of paired swirl distortions. The CFD generated speed lines follow similar trends to those produced by parallel compressor analysis.

scholarly journals State of the Science in Dried Blood Spots

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D Freeman ◽  
Lori M Rosman ◽  
Jeremy D Ratcliff ◽  
Paul T Strickland ◽  
David R Graham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Dried Blood Spots ◽  
Blood Spots ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Review Of Reviews ◽  
Near Term ◽  
State Of The Science

Abstract BACKGROUND Advancements in the quality and availability of highly sensitive analytical instrumentation and methodologies have led to increased interest in the use of microsamples. Among microsamples, dried blood spots (DBS) are the most well-known. Although there have been a variety of review papers published on DBS, there has been no attempt at describing the full range of analytes measurable in DBS, or any systematic approach published for characterizing the strengths and weaknesses associated with adoption of DBS analyses. CONTENT A scoping review of reviews methodology was used for characterizing the state of the science in DBS. We identified 2018 analytes measured in DBS and found every common analytic method applied to traditional liquid samples had been applied to DBS samples. Analytes covered a broad range of biomarkers that included genes, transcripts, proteins, and metabolites. Strengths of DBS enable its application in most clinical and laboratory settings, and the removal of phlebotomy and the need for refrigeration have expanded biosampling to hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations. Weaknesses may limit adoption in the near term because DBS is a nontraditional sample often requiring conversion of measurements to plasma or serum values. Opportunities presented by novel methodologies may obviate many of the current limitations, but threats around the ethical use of residual samples must be considered by potential adopters. SUMMARY DBS provide a wide range of potential applications that extend beyond the reach of traditional samples. Current limitations are serious but not intractable. Technological advancements will likely continue to minimize constraints around DBS adoption.

Précis ofUnified theories of cognition

1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Newell
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Syllogistic Reasoning ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Unified Theory ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Unified Theories

AbstractThe book presents the case that cognitive science should turn its attention to developing theories of human cognition that cover the full range of human perceptual, cognitive, and action phenomena. Cognitive science has now produced a massive number of high-quality regularities with many microtheories that reveal important mechanisms. The need for integration is pressing and will continue to increase. Equally important, cognitive science now has the theoretical concepts and tools to support serious attempts at unified theories. The argument is made entirely by presenting an exemplar unified theory of cognition both to show what a real unified theory would be like and to provide convincing evidence that such theories are feasible. The exemplar is SOAR, a cognitive architecture, which is realized as a software system. After a detailed discussion of the architecture and its properties, with its relation to the constraints on cognition in the real world and to existing ideas in cognitive science, SOAR is used as theory for a wide range of cognitive phenomena: immediate responses (stimulus-response compatibility and the Sternberg phenomena); discrete motor skills (transcription typing); memory and learning (episodic memory and the acquisition of skill through practice); problem solving (cryptarithmetic puzzles and syllogistic reasoning); language (sentence verification and taking instructions); and development (transitions in the balance beam task). The treatments vary in depth and adequacy, but they clearly reveal a single, highly specific, operational theory that works over the entire range of human cognition, SOAR is presented as an exemplar unified theory, not as the sole candidate. Cognitive science is not ready yet for a single theory – there must be multiple attempts. But cognitive science must begin to work toward such unified theories.

scholarly journals Performance Criteria for Testosterone Measurements Based on Biological Variation in Adult Males: Recommendations from the Partnership for the Accurate Testing of Hormones

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 1703-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeo-Min Yun ◽  
Julianne Cook Botelho ◽  
Donald W Chandler ◽  
Alex Katayev ◽  
William L Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Error ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Biological Variation ◽  
Analytical Performance ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Performance Goals ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Variation Data

BACKGROUND Testosterone measurements that are accurate, reliable, and comparable across methodologies are crucial to improving public health. Current US Food and Drug Administration–cleared testosterone assays have important limitations. We sought to develop assay performance requirements on the basis of biological variation that allow physiologic changes to be distinguished from assay analytical errors. METHODS From literature review, the technical advisory subcommittee of the Partnership for the Accurate Testing of Hormones compiled a database of articles regarding analytical and biological variability of testosterone. These data, mostly from direct immunoassay-based methodologies, were used to specify analytical performance goals derived from within- and between-person variability of testosterone. RESULTS The allowable limits of desirable imprecision and bias on the basis of currently available biological variation data were 5.3% and 6.4%, respectively. The total error goal was 16.7%. From recent College of American Pathologists proficiency survey data, most currently available testosterone assays missed these analytical performance goals by wide margins. Data from the recently established CDC Hormone Standardization program showed that although the overall mean bias of selected certified assays was within 6.4%, individual sample measurements could show large variability in terms of precision, bias, and total error. CONCLUSIONS Because accurate measurement of testosterone across a wide range of concentrations [approximately 2–2000 ng/dL (0.069–69.4 nmol/L)] is important, we recommend using available data on biological variation to calculate performance criteria across the full range of expected values. Additional studies should be conducted to obtain biological variation data on testosterone from women and children, and revisions should be made to the analytical goals for these patient populations.

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