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The California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis ) is under consideration for federal protection and has stimulated ecosystem-level management efforts in Sierra Nevada national forests. Because some populations are declining, we used a noninvasive fecal sampling method to estimate stress hormone (i.e., corticosterone) levels within a local population from April to August 2001. Fecal corticosterone levels were similar to those recorded in a previous study of Northern Spotted Owls (S.o. caurina ) ( &xmacr;= 80.1 ng/g dry feces, SE = 75.8). We then used an information-theoretic approach to identify factors that influence fecal corticosterone levels in Spotted Owls. Our best overall model indicated that nonbreeding owls had higher fecal corticosterone levels than breeding owls early in the breeding season and lower levels later in the breeding season. We collected few samples from breeding owls early in the breeding season, however, which may have influenced the results. Management-related factors reflecting habitat condition and proximity to roads were not correlated with fecal corticosterone. However, factors such as field storage method and sample mass were correlated with the amount of measured fecal corticosterone and should be considered in future studies. Sample vials initially stored on ice had higher levels than those stored immediately in liquid N2 (βstorage= 0.269 ln[ng/g], 95% CI = 0.026, 0.512). Hormone metabolites were extracted from extremely small samples (0.01 g) by slightly modifying the assay protocol, but the amount of corticosterone detected increased as the sample mass decreased (βmass=−6.248 ln[ng/g], 95% CI =−8.877, −3.620). Corticosterone levels were significantly higher in 10 cecal samples collected simultaneously with fecal samples (paired difference = 74.7 ng/g, SE = 45.0, p = 0.001 for a paired t test), so care must be taken to avoid contaminating fecal samples with cecal material. Most of the variation was unexplained by our best model ( R 2= 0.24), and additional factors influencing fecal corticosterone levels need to be identified. Therefore, we recommend that well-designed experiments be conducted under controlled conditions to better determine the effect of factors such as sample handling, partial sampling, and diet on fecal corticosterone levels in owls and other birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Announces professors Daniel McFadden and Kenneth Train of the University of California as the winners of the sixth Richard Stone Prize in Applied Econometrics. Published paper 'Mixed MNL Models for Discrete Response;' Criteria; Previous winners.

Introduction Collabo RATE is a brief patient survey focused on shared decision making. This paper aims to (i) provide insight on facilitators and challenges to implementing a real-time patient survey and (ii) evaluate Collabo RATE scores and response rates across multiple clinical settings with varied patient populations. Method All adult patients at three United States primary care practices were eligible to complete Collabo RATE post-visit. To inform key learnings, we aggregated all mentions of unanticipated decisions, problems and administration errors from field notes and email communications. Mixed-effects logistic regression evaluated the impact of site, clinician, patient age and patient gender on the Collabo RATE score. Results While Collabo RATE score increased only slightly with increasing patient age ( OR 1.018, 95% CI 1.014-1.021), female patient gender was associated with significantly higher Collabo RATE scores ( OR 1.224, 95% CI 1.073-1.397). Clinician also predicts Collabo RATE score (random effect variance 0.146). Site-specific factors such as clinical workflow and checkout procedures play a key role in successful in-clinic implementation and are significantly related to Collabo RATE scores, with Site 3 scoring significantly higher than Site 1 ( OR 1.759, 95% CI 1.216 to 2.545) or Site 2 (z=−2.71, 95% CI −1.114 to −0.178). Discussion This study demonstrates that Collabo RATE can be used in diverse primary care settings. A clinic's workflow plays a crucial role in implementation. Patient experience measurement risks becoming a burden to both patients and administrators. Episodic use of short measurement tools could reduce this burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of whether cultural differences between communities of varying degrees of urbanism are declining in modern society, taking as a case in point acts of Violent crime. I will contend that, contrary to "massification" theories, between 1955 and 1975 differences in rates of criminal behaviour between large and small communities actually increased, and further more, the pattern of changes is consistent with a specific alternative theory about urban-rural differences. This theory holds that cultural change is continually generated in major urban centers, diffuses to smaller cities and thence to the rural hinterland. Part 1 of this paper presents the empirical material on criminal behavior, largely consisting of national crime data aggregated to the level of categories of communicating and of California crime data aggregated to the level of specific Counties. Part 2 of the paper turns to more speculative concerns, discussing the extent to which crime is a cultural phenomenon and presenting more fully a theory of urban-to-rural diffusion, a theory suggesting cyclical patterns that are hinted at--but by no means proven--in the crime data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 Smoke-stimulated germination in the post-fire flora of California chaparral does not appear to be triggered by nitrate. Application of freshly prepared unbuffered KNO3 solutions (pH c. 6.2) failed to enhance germination of five populations of Emmenanthe penduliflora or one Phacelia grandiflora population, regardless of light or stratification conditions. 2 KNO3 buffered at acidic pH (or unbuffered solutions equilibrated with atmospheric CO2) did induce germination, but KNO3 solutions at pH 7 failed to induce germination. Induction of germination is therefore not due to the nitrate ion per se, but rather to high [H+], although buffered controls gave weak germination at low pH, suggesting a role for H+ plus nitrate. However, other anions such as sulphate were equally as effective as nitrate at breaking dormancy. 3 The germination response to KNO3 was affected by the type of filter paper used and this may be linked to differences in pH. 4 NO2, at concentrations present in biomass smoke, was highly effective at inducing germination, and other oxidizing agents also induced germination. 5 Several growth regulators, including nitrite and gibberellin, were stimulatory only at acidic pH, but KCN was stimulatory across a broad pH range. 6 Germination decreased at smoke exposures longer than a few minutes. Also, smoked water samples effective at breaking dormancy were acidic and were less effective when buffered to pH >7. 7 Physical scarification of the seed coat induced germination but the effect was not due to penetration of a water barrier, or to enhanced oxygen uptake or to wound responses such as CO2 or ethylene production. 8 Different effects of the gibberellin inhibitor CCC (chlorocholine chloride) suggested that the mechanisms of scarification-induced and smoke-induced germination may differ. 9 We conclude that either oxidizing gases in smoke and/or acids generated on burnt sites play a role in germination of post-fire annuals in chaparral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ira Herscowitz died on 28 April 2003 of pancreatic cancer. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his doctorate, studying the control of gene expression in phage lambda. As a young professor at the University of Oregon he started his seminal work on yeast molecular biology. Extending the pioneering work by Yasuji Oshima, he provided molecular interpretation of the cassette theory of yeast mating type interconversion. Later at the University of California, San Francisco, he continued to make key contributions on gene regulation and control of cell cycle with the yeast system. I think it a natural development that, in later years, he was concerned with the mammalian biology of pharmacogenetics of membrane transporters. Ira had a remarkable ability to untangle complex phenomena by clear reasoning and impressed us with his persuasive presentation. He was also an enthusiastic folk and blues singer. When I organized a biology meeting, I asked him to bring his guitar. He said that ‘I will bring my instrument made in Japan’, real or joke? I present below some of the witty lines he sang. I feel very sad that I cannot reproduce his attractively deep voice. (Jun-ichi Tomizawa, ‘Tomi’). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ways in which economic globalization processes produce new spatio-temporalities. It emphasizes how the exercise of different modes of power, in particular instrumental and associational powers, is critical to understanding the distinct formations that are produced by globalization dynamics. Using the empirical context of globalization in the wine industry, and the efforts made by one of the industry's leading wine corporations, Robert Mondavi of Napa valley California, to extend its production base to one of Europe's foremost wine-producing regions, the paper provides a crucial interpretative angle on spatio-temporal disruptions caused by globalization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT California developed territorial boundaries for the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan on the basis of the "driver performance composite index" (DPCI), a summary measure of the experience of drivers residing in each of some 1800 Zip Codes in that State. This paper discusses some of the shortcomings of the DPCI and suggests other measures that could be useful in recognizing real differences in experience among geographic units. The paper also discusses the effects due to correlation with other rating variables. The ultimate impact of these problems cannot be measured because the process by which boundaries were drawn was subjective. The potential impact, assessed by measuring the correlation between indices which correct for other rating variables the original index, could be substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the biogeography of invasive alien plants in California. Correlation of invasive alien plants and non-invasive alien plants in the state; Possibility of the total number of naturalized plant species as a reliable predictor of the number of alien pest species; Summary and comparison of invasive plants in California.

Social scientists offer competing theories on what explains the policymaking process. These typically include economic rationalism, political competition or power struggles, and policy imitation of the kind that diffuses across spatially proximate neighbors. In this paper, we examine the factors that have influenced a recent local policy trend in California: inclusionary zoning (IZ). IZ programs require developers to make a certain percentage of the units within their market‐rate residential developments affordable to low‐ or moderate‐income households. By 2007, 68 percent of jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Area had adopted some type of IZ policy. We test the relative importance of economic, political, and spatial factors in explaining the rapid diffusion of IZ, across 100 cities and towns in the Bay Area. Consistent with an economic efficiency argument, results of hazard models provide some evidence that IZ is adopted in places with less affordable housing. However, political factors, such as partisan affiliation and the strength of affordable housing nonprofits, are even more robust predictors of whether or not a local government adopts IZ. There is no evidence of spatial diffusion in the case of IZ adoption; jurisdictions are not, on average, responding to the behavior of their neighbors. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auto insurance rates can vary dramatically, with much higher premiums in poor and minority areas than elsewhere, even after accounting for individual characteristics, driving history, and coverage. This paper uses a unique data set to examine the relative influence of place-based socioeconomic characteristics (or redlining) and place-based risk factors on the place-based component of automobile insurance premiums. We use a novel approach of combining tract-level census data and car insurance rate quotes from multiple companies for sub-areas within the city of Los Angeles. The quotes are for a hypothetical individual with identical demographic and auto characteristics, driving records, and insurance coverage. This method allows the individual demographic and driving record to be fixed. Multivariate models are then used to estimate the independent contributions of these risk and redlining factors to the place-based component of the car insurance premium. We find that both risk and redlining factors are associated with variations in insurance costs in the place-based component, with black and poor neighborhoods being adversely affected, although risk factors are stronger predictors. However, even after risk factors are taken into account in the model specification, SES factors remain statistically significant. Moreover, simulations show that redlining factors explain more of the gap in auto insurance premiums between black (and Latino) and white neighborhoods and between poor and nonpoor neighborhoods. The findings do not appear sensitive to the individual characteristics of the hypothetical driver. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay provides an overview of the 11th International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network held in San Francisco, USA, on 12–15 October 2003. The conference gave Greening of Industry Network (GIN) members the opportunity to debate issues around the theme of Innovating for Sustainability in a location central to technological innovation in the United States. This special issue of Business Strategy and the Environment focuses on the diverse interpretations of innovation and their impacts on the different strands of sustainability. The conference was timely in its debates about the nature of innovation from system level to product level, and from technological innovation to innovations in the management of a wide range of stakeholders and the resulting impacts on environmental, economic, social and ethical sustainability. This essay briefly discusses the relationship between innovation and sustainability, and considers the factors that either facilitate progress towards a more sustainable future, or present barriers to achieving sustainability. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profiles Joan Ablon, professor emerita of medical anthropology in the Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. Details of her anthropology career at the University of Texas; Information on a study conducted by Ablon on dwarfism; Concern of Ablon on the social well-being of individuals.

In this paper we examine the effects of different components of corporate culture on two different categories of action in both routine and jolted environments. Data were collected on a heterogeneous sample of 54 corporations in the San Francisco Bay Area. We examined how the values, knowledge, and practices dimensions of corporate culture influenced actions to prepare for responding to future earthquake disasters and actions to mitigate or reduce future physical and associated earthquake losses. The findings show that corporate earthquake culture is a multidimensional concept, that varied elements of culture function to impact corporate action differently is distinct organizational environments, and that culture's impact on organizational action is contingent on the type of action being considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses, in brief, about some of the papers presented at the 2001 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, held in San Francisco, California. All these papers have a common theme to bring legislative affairs into the limelight. The paper "A Tools of the Trade' Look at the Comparing Congress with State Legislatures" offers a primer on comparing and contrasting U.S. Congress with the American state legislatures. The paper "Senate Apprenticeship in Historical Perspective" addresses the conventional wisdom among U.S. senators.

Objective. This paper analyzes the extent to which voter behavior in city formation elections supports Tiebout's (1956) hypothesis that residential sorting facilitates efficiency of local service provision. It develops a two-stage model of city formation to distinguish agenda setting from voter outcomes on city formation proposals. Methods. Logit analysis is used to analyze voting in 71 city formation elections, incorporating Heckman's two-stage procedure to correct for self-selection of local referenda. Results. Community fiscal and demographic factors influence agenda setting more than voting behavior. Wealthier communities in high-growth counties are more likely to propose formation of a city. In contrast, community characteristics have little influence on electoral outcomes, suggesting that boundedly rational voters rely on information heuristics. Conclusions. Although reduction of diversity did not appear to motivate city formation, sorting around residential income, land use preferences, and other demographic variables may facilitate relative efficiency of service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1997 North American Summer Meeting of the Econometric Society will be held at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California from June 25-29, 1997. The Program Chair will be Tom Palfrey and the Local Arrangements Chair is Kim Border. The program will include both invited and contributed papers. All paper submissions should be mailed to the Program Chair. The specification of paper submissions is also presented. Also, the 1997 Far Eastern Meeting of the Econometric Society will be held at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong on July 24-26, 1997.

The consumption of natural resources is rapidly emerging as a major social problem, and social efforts to control this consumption are guided in part by research that tries to specify the meaning of resources to consumers. This paper compares a sociological perspective with the more widespread economic model of consumption, using data from study of billing systems, sociocultural status, and household energy use in a California apartment complex. The research suggests that the role of marginal price in ordering consumption can be interpreted as a contingent feature of the socially structured relationship between consumption and social status. It also suggests that the utility of a technology is a secondary and emergent product of its use, a fact obscured by the conventional analytic separation of supply and demand or meansand ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which argues that indicators should be included in models of underwriting, so as to eliminate allegations of redlining in the state of California. Theory and hypothesis for neighborhood risk: How study was conducted; Results and conclusion of study.

The California grassland is dominated by alien plant species. It is generally assumed that the invasion of aliens began with the initial introduction of livestock by Spanish missionaries in 1769. In this paper we present pollen evidence which indicates that Erodium cicutarium, a Mediterranean annual, was well established in the Santa Barbara region several years before the founding of the first California mission at San Diego in 1769. Historical evidence shows that it took the Spanish nearly a decade to develop a livestock base in California. Disturbance by livestock was therefore not a necessary prerequisite for invasion by alien plants. Historical and macrofossil evidence indicates that E. cicutarium invaded California from Baja California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the economic and social impact of growth controls in Davis, California. Interrelationship between land values and growth control communities; Determinants of housing values; Difference between policy implications of artificially inflated housing costs and policy implications of amenity preservation.

Presents abstracts of papers that deal with market pricing of California milk pool quota, welfare impact and study on high fructose corn syrup. `An Econometric Analysis of California Milk Quota Prices,' by Javier Ekboir and Daniel Sumner; `The Market fir High Fructose Corn Syrup: Estimation of Demand and Supply and Effects from Potential Changes to the U.S. Sugar Program,' by Lisa A. Offenbach.

The study of religious experience provides an example of those strange discontinuities which seem to beset the social sciences. The present paper Is intended as a beginning of this conceptual task. There is an attempt to develop some basic sub-types and ordering dimensions for organizing the variety of experiences to which men attach religious definitions. The conceptual scheme has been informed by data from a sample of Protestant and Roman Catholic church members residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. These data include both quantifiable and qualitative information on the religious experiences of respondents. Where appropriate, these data will be introduced both to indicate the relative frequency of different forms of religious experience and to illustrate how people perceive such experiences. Following many previous writers, it has been suggested that the essential element characterizing religious experience, and distinguishing it from all other human experience, is some sense of contact with a supernatural agency.

A major reason for the sociological importance of Negro-white intermarriage is the possibility of a link between the low status of Negroes in the United States and the infrequency of such intermarriage. This paper analyzes trends in Negro-white marriage in the four states -- California, Hawaii, Michigan, and Nebraska -- which have recent data. For these states an upward trend in Negro-white marriage is shown which cannot be accounted for merely on the basis of changing racial composition. Negro-white intermarriage rates are relatively high in those areas where residential segregation by race is low and where there are minimal status differences between the white and Negro populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between invaders and resource availability may explain variation in their success or management efficacy. For widespread invaders, regional variation in plant response to nutrients can reflect phenotypic plasticity of the invader, genetic structure of invading populations, or a combination of the two. The wetland weed Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligatorweed) is established throughout the southeastern United States and California and has high genetic diversity despite primarily spreading clonally. Despite its history in the United States, the role of genetic variation for invasion and management success is only now being uncovered. To better understand how nutrients and genotype may influence A. philoxeroides invasion, we measured the response of plants from 26 A. philoxeroides populations (three cp haplotypes) to combinations of nitrogen (4 or 200 mg/L N) and phosphorus (0.4 or 40 mg/L P). We measured productivity (biomass accumulation and allocation), plant architecture (stem diameter and thickness, branching intensity), and foliar traits (toughness, dry matter content, percent N, and percent P). A short‐term developmental assay was also conducted by feeding a subset of plants from the nutrient experiment to the biological control agent Agasicles hygrophila, to determine whether increased availability of N or P to its host influenced agent performance, as has been previously suggested. Alternanthera philoxeroides haplotype Ap1 was more plastic than other haplotypes in response to nutrient amendments, producing more than double the biomass from low to high N and 50%–68% higher shoot: root ratio than other haplotypes in the high N treatment. Alternanthera philoxeroides haplotypes differed in seven of 10 variables in response to increased N. We found no differences in short‐term A. hygrophila development between haplotypes but mass was 23% greater in high than low N treatments. This study is the first to explore the interplay between nutrient availability, genetic variation, and phenotypic plasticity in invasive characteristics of the global invader, A. philoxeroides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the common determinants of the capital structure of non-profit organizations (NPO). It discusses the theory of NPO capital structure in terms of equity, debt, debt financing and potential agency problems. The authors examined the factors that influence the borrowing decision of Californian NPOs. They found that labor-intensive NPOs are more inclined to debt financing and equity constrained NPOs borrow less often. The authors focussed on the determinants of financial leverage, the share of debt relative to total assets. The authors conclude that the capital structure theory explains the NPO's capital structure choices and highlights the prominence given to equity constraint considerations and agency related explanations.

Determines the effects of competition for both Medicare and patients enrolled in health maintenance organizations on the quality decisions of hospitals in Southern California. Analysis of secondary discharge data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development for the State of California; Formulation of competition measures; Increase in the degree of competition associated with hospital mortality rates.

This research examines the location choice of private schools entering the California schooling market in 1979–80. We find that entrants are more likely to locate in public school districts with lower levels of per–pupil expenditure and higher fractions of public school students who reside in low–income households. In addition, we provide evidence of differences in the responsiveness of different types of private schools to the underlying conditions. Also, in comparing our results to those of previous research, we find that the determinants of the location choices of entrants appear to be the same as the determinants of the location pattern of incumbent private schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effect of Internet car referral services on dealer pricing of automobiles in California. Customers of an online service pay on average 2% less for their car ($450 for the average car). 25% of the savings come from purchasing at low-price dealerships affiliated with the online service. The remaining 75% stem from information provision by the online service, bargaining by the service on behalf of consumers, and cost efficiencies. A consumer receiving the mean online price does better than 65% of offline consumers, conditional on the car being purchased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in emotions in the workplace has accelerated rapidly over the past decade. The impetus has come from several sources and has led to bodies of research on a variety of topics. Although these bodies of work are not yet fully developed, they all show promise, and portend that the study of emotions in the workplace has the potential to add to the understanding of behavior in organizations. In the aggregate, affective experiences contribute to the affective component of attitudes such as job satisfaction, and eventually to judgment-driven behaviors such as a decision to quit a job. Affective Events Theory seems to present a very useful framework for understanding the role of affect in the workplace. The widespread and increasing interest in affect at work is documented by symposia and caucuses at the Academy of Management annual meetings since 1996, the formation by Neal Ashkanasy of the Emonet discussion group and the successful First Conference on Emotions and Organizational Life held in San Diego, California in 1998. This conference has resulted in the forthcoming publication of an edited collection based on the best papers from the conference. A second conference is scheduled to be held in August 2000 in Toronto, Ontario.

This study of 168 Protestant and Catholic churches in northern California describes how control over church work was distributed among clergy and lay people, and examines the effects of church organizational characteristics on work arrangements. Surprisingly high levels of shared control over church work were found, indicating that lay participation - even in work traditionally associated with the clergy role - is a common feature of modern churches. Church environment, operationalized as polity, affected work arrangements: Churches embedded in more centralized decision-making environments reported more tasks under clergy control and fewer under lay control. The results also suggest that, with respect to work arrangements in churches, similarity to the institutional environment is not driven by regulatory forces but rather by normative or mimetic forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the intervention and persistence in small populations of bighorn sheep in California. Relationship between population size and extinction; Risk in using single demographic parameters for the prediction of extinction; Use of biogeographic theory in conservation.

Analyzes the environmentally driven water reallocation in California. Brief statement on the magnitude and environmental reallocations of water in the state; Problem with the requirements planning approach for analyzing public water projects; Two uses of economic analysis in the reallocation process.

Presents abstracts from several papers dealing with California-Arizona lemon industry, corn and sugar policies in the U.S. `U.S. Sugar and Corn Policies: A Sweet Deal for High Fructose Corn syrup Processors?,' Kevin McNew; `The Impact of Lemon Prorate on Export Markets,' by Christopher Ferguson and Hoy Carman; `The Impact of Tariffs on U.S. Exports of Value-Added Wheat Products,' by Joyce Hall Krause, William W. Wilson et al.

Extensive, severe wildfires, and wildfire‐induced smoke occurred across the western and central United States since August 2020. Wildfires resulting in the loss of habitats and emission of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds pose serious threatens to wildlife and human populations, especially for avian species, the respiratory system of which are sensitive to air pollutions. At the same time, the extreme weather (e.g., snowstorms) in late summer may also impact bird migration by cutting off their food supply and promoting their migration before they were physiologically ready. In this study, we investigated the environmental drivers of massive bird die‐offs by combining socioecological earth observations data sets with citizen science observations. We employed the geographically weighted regression models to quantitatively evaluate the effects of different environmental and climatic drivers, including wildfire, air quality, extreme weather, drought, and land cover types, on the spatial pattern of migratory bird mortality across the western and central US during August‐September 2020. We found that these drivers affected the death of migratory birds in different ways, among which air quality and distance to wildfire were two major drivers. Additionally, there were more bird mortality events found in urban areas and close to wildfire in early August. However, fewer bird deaths were detected closer to wildfires in California in late August and September. Our findings highlight the important impact of extreme weather and natural disasters on bird biology, survival, and migration, which can provide significant insights into bird biodiversity, conservation, and ecosystem sustainability. Key Points: We investigated the environmental drivers of massive bird die‐offs by combining earth observations with citizen science observationsWe found distance to wildfire and air quality were the major factors that affect the birth mortality eventsOur findings highlight the important impact of extreme weather and natural disasters on bird biology, survival, and migration [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Trichostema lanceolatum, a common herb in the California annual grassland, contains 2-9% volatile essential oil in its fresh foliage. Vapours and aqueous extracts from its leaves have been shown to inhibit germination and growth of other plants in vitro. The present study evaluated the potential of T. lanceolatum to restrict plant growth in the field. (2) Dry soil charged with T. lanceolatum volatiles in the laboratory reduced radicle elongation of seeds, but dry seeds and dry soil exposed to volatiles under T. lanceeolatum plants in the field did not show appreciable inhibition. (3) Trichostema lanceolatum throughfall from early-season rains was at most, only weakly toxic. Soil at the base of T. lanceotatum plants was not rendered toxic by throughfall and stemflow from the first autumn rain. (4) Water and ether extracts of dead, brown T. lanceolatum leaves were very toxic in bioassays in Petri dishes, but similar leaves mixed with soil had little alletopathic effect. (5) Trichostema lanceolatum recallings were no more resistant to volatiles of T. lanceotatum essential oil than seedlings of other annual grassland species. (6) The allelopathic potential of T. lanceolatum under natural conditions appears to be low. This conclusion is surprising since both green and dead, brown leaves from it were much more inhibitory in laboraory bioassays than were leaves and litter from Salvia leucophylla, a species previously reported to be strongly allelopathic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a dynamic model of processor behavior which is applied to the California wine industry. Price, production, and input demand functions are derived from an optimal control model which takes into account inventory growth from aging and the linkage between product inventories and input purchases. An important feature of the model is that expected future market conditions and beginning inventories influence current behavior through changes in the inventory shadow price. The empirical results generally conform to the theoretical specification and emphasize the role of demand expectations on winery behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the simultaneous choice of cropping patterns and futures positions. It derives the demand for hedging as a function of the price of a hedge and the crop choice set; it estimates these functions for California cotton farmers. It finds that both the costs of hedging and the opportunity to diversify risk by growing other crops substantially change the optimal hedge for California cotton farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theory of contracting is developed to show how acreage and price might be determined in the raw tomato market. The paper estimates the structural parameters of the acreage response and demand for processing tomatoes facing California growers. Several hypotheses of leadership pricing are tested, Results show that the California processing industry can be characterized as a competitive industry, since the leadership pricing as observed is consistent with the competitive pricing. Acreage response is shown to be price elastic. The adoption of the tomato harvester is found to have a significant impact on acreage response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical investigation of the importance of risk in decisions. The adaptive expectations geometric lag model is generalized by geometrically including quadratic lag terms indicative of risk. The computation of consistent estimators is described, and the model is applied in the analysis of California field-crop supply response. Results indicate that the effects of stabilization (possibly associated with government programs) might have seriously offset the acreage-reducing effects of voluntary acreage restrictions. Finally, more general implication relating to reduced-form estimation of the standard Nerlovian model are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To relieve worsening congestion and to accommodate new growth, many municipalities and counties across the country are turning to the private sector to finance new highways and general road improvements. California has probably accumulated more experience with financing areawide road improvements through special assessments, impact fees, and negotiated exactions than any other state. This paper reviews California's experiences with formulating and administering these programs based on a recent survey of municipal and county officials. A variety of approaches are used to set fees and payment schedules, with most jurisdictions charging developers a flat fee based on the amount of traffic that their projects are expected to generate. In general, those in charge of administering these programs recommend using pre-established formulas and consistent standards, as opposed to ad hoc negotiations, to exact payments from developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the species interactions in a successional grassland in California. Species distributions; Seed rain and seedling recruitment; Estimation of seed bank contribution to recruitment using seed exclosures.

Looks at toll road companies in California, and the history of these voluntary organizations which took the stock-corporation form. Use of roads and profit from stocks seen as the reasons for Californians' taking stock in toll companies; Question of why an enterprise should be undertaken in the manner of use-and-esteem rather than organized as a business.

This paper examines the amount of time a sample of women took to progress from the point of making a decision to divorce, through marital separation, to the filing of a petition for divorce. The 199 women interviewed in the study were randomly selected from court records in Alameda and San Francisco counties, California. A wide range in the amount of time required to pass from decision to petition was evident among these women. Age at marriage, the number of years married, and who had originally been most in favor of divorce made independent and significant contributions to the prediction of timing. When these three antecedent conditions were controlled, using an ANCOVA design, timing was found to predict morale and symptoms reported at interview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses data from one hundred intensive interviews conducted in 1977 with Chicano married couples in a central California city. Several variables were analyzed to determine whether they had any correlation with the type of conjugal role structure a couple had. The factor which appeared to have the strongest impact was whether or not the wife was employed outside the home. If the wife was employed, there was a greater likelihood that household chores and child care would be shared between spouses, and that, in general, they would have a more egalitarian conjugal role structure than couples where the wife was not employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares the results of two studies conducted in Los Angeles and Taiwan on acute respiratory illness which resulted from air pollution. Methodology used in the studies; Details on the health benefits of improved air quality; Information on cultural factors that might affect perceptions of illness and pollution; Results of the studies.

This paper introduces an econometric technique to analyze the factors affecting the land shares of alternative irrigation technologies in agriculture. It estimates the likelihood of usc of drip, sprinkler, and surface irrigation by fruit growers in the Central Valley of California. Higher water costs, the use of groundwater, the production of nuts, and location are found to increase the likelihood of using drip and sprinkler irrigation. The results are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of water price increases in inducing water conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a technique for estimating the physical yield function of a fishery when detailed biological and environmental data are lacking. The physical yield function of the California trawl fishery is incorporated in an economic model to show the relationship between maximum sustainable physical yield of the fishery and maximum economic yield. Maximizing the economic benefit of the fishery to society would involve a drastic reduction in resource use at a catch level considerably below the biological maximum sustainable yield. Only through marginal cost pricing can resources be allocated efficiently to the fishery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern over recent increases in the number of bankruptcies filed by individual consumers has resulted in a small group of studies of consumer bankrupts and their financial problems. Four studies, dealing with consumer bankruptcies in Sacramento, California; Flint, Michigan; Seattle, and the state of Maryland are examined and their results compared. These studies provide detailed information on the bankrupts' personal characteristics, the nature of their debts, and the reasons for their financial difficulties. The studies, however, provide relatively less information about the reasons for the choice of bankruptcy over other alternatives or about the effectiveness of bankruptcy as a long-run solution for family financial problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a conference on the restoration of coastal ecosystem of Santa Catarina Island in Brazil. Exotic plants found in Santa Catarina; Details on the papers presented in the workshop; Outcomes of the workshop.