The pork industry of Iowa represents a major value-added activity in the agricultural economy and a major contributor to the overall Iowa economy. The $2.46 billion of gross receipts from hog marketings in 2002 represent only a portion of the economic activity supported by the industry. Although the hog industry in Iowa has undergone rapid structural changes in recent years, total hog numbers h...

I n health care liability claims, claimants often plead for recovery of exemplary/punitive damages from the defendant health care providers. These allegations often cause anxiety for the defendants, because invariably their professional liability insurance carrier sends them a letter stating that such claims—as well as any damages that may be awarded to compensate the claimant for such claims—a...

China’s economy is going through a major transition, characterized by a slower growth rate, a structural shift to the tertiary (service) sector, and industrial deleveraging—a process to reduce overcapacity that has built up in key industrial sectors over the past decades. Given the uncertainties that China is facing during its current economic transition, it is important to examine whether futu...

The period of limitations is the period of time in which you can amend your tax return to claim a credit or refund, or that the IRS can assess additional tax. The below information contains the periods of limitations that apply to income tax returns. Unless otherwise stated, the years refer to the period after the return was filed. Returns filed before the due date are treated as filed on the d...

In 1997 health spending in the United States increased just 4.8 percent to $1.1 trillion. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), national health expenditures (NHE) absorbed 13.5 percent of the country's output in 1997--a share that has remained relatively constant for 5 years. Despite the relative stability in recent years, signs of changing trends are emerging.

The dynamics of dark matter-wave solitons in elongated atomic condensates are discussed at finite temperatures. Simulations with the stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii equation reveal a noticeable, experimentally observable spread in individual soliton trajectories, attributed to inherent fluctuations in both phase and density of the underlying medium. Averaging over a number of such trajectories (as ...

The choice of free parameters in network models is subjective, since it depends on what topological properties are being monitored. However, we show that the maximum likelihood (ML) principle indicates a unique, statistically rigorous parameter choice, associated with a well-defined topological feature. We then find that, if the ML condition is incompatible with the built-in parameter choice, n...

Core indicators are, simply put, the ways we come to understand the inputs and outcomes of a program or project that we may or may not be able to observe directly. In Chapter 1, we identify a variety of factors that can impact program outcomes. In this chapter, we concentrate on those indicators that are most relevant and immediate to ICT-supported educational programs and projects, what we ter...