Global food demand,productivity growth,and the scarcity of land and water resources: a spatially explicit mathematical programming approach

In the coming decades, an increasing competition for global land and water resources can be expected, due to rising demand for food and bio‐energy production, biodiversity conservation, and changing production conditions due to climate change. The potential of technological change in agriculture to adapt to these trends is subject to considerable uncertainty. In order to simulate these combined effects in a spatially explicit way, we present a model of agricultural production and its impact on the environment (MAgPIE). MAgPIE is a mathematical programming model covering the most important agricultural crop and livestock production types in 10 economic regions worldwide at a spatial resolution of three by three degrees, i.e., approximately 300 by 300 km at the equator. It takes regional economic conditions as well as spatially explicit data on potential crop yields and land and water constraints into account and derives specific land‐use patterns for each grid cell. Shadow prices for binding constraints can be used to valuate resources for which in many places no markets exist, especially irrigation water. In this article, we describe the model structure and validation. We apply the model to possible future scenarios up to 2055 and derive required rates of technological change (i.e., yield increase) in agricultural production in order to meet future food demand.     

Rewrites of an Expert System—Lessons Learned

One component of the 1986 Tax Law was to require taxpayers to file information returns on magnetic media if the quantity to be filed was sufficiently large. A waiver from this filing requirement was possible under hardship and other criteria, and could be obtained by filing a form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Initially, the processing of waiver requests was accomplished manually by several relatively high-level analytical personnel. The IRS's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) created an Expert System to automate the process. An initial prototype was developed in OPS5+, an AI language, and the system was used on all waiver requests for Forms 1099 for Tax Year 1987, demonstrating feasibility and capability. The system was expanded in the following year, and used on waiver requests for all form types. For Tax Year 1989 the system was rewritten in LEVEL5, so that it could be more easily maintained by in-house personnel. However, implementation problems forced a rapid rewrite, using CLIPPER, a dBase III+ compiler language. This version was subsequently used for all waiver requests for Tax Years 1989 and 1990. Presently, one clerical person can handle all of the waivers. This paper deals with the reasons and ramifications of this language-shell-language transition.     

The front end of innovation in an era of industry convergence: evidence from nutraceuticals and functional foods

Industry convergence, defined as a 'blurring' of boundaries between industries, induced by converging value propositions, technologies and markets, appears to be a pervasive phenomenon leading to the emergence of inter-industry segments. A current example of convergence can be witnessed in the nutraceuticals and functional foods sector, emerging at the boundary between the food and pharmaceutical industries. Not only technologies blur, but there is also a convergence of demand structures: consumers try to satisfy different needs in one transaction. In this context, this paper explores how actors from different industry-specific resource backgrounds can engage in an innovative activity requiring new technological and marketing competences. Given that absorptive capacity is limited by existing competences, this paper asks how organizations with different R&D competences are able to seize opportunities for innovation emerging from convergence. Empirical findings based on primary data collected from 54 R&D projects of a nutraceutical cluster show that there are different approaches of front end decision making: while some firms follow existing processes for front end decision making, others leave existing paths and need partners to fill in gaps already identified at the front end of innovation.     

Auditors' and governmental financial officers' views on expanding the Sarbanes–Oxley Act provisions to state and local governments

This paper examines whether certain provisions of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX, 2002) should be expanded to include state and local governmental entities. Surveying governmental financial officials (GFOs) and their external auditors to gauge support for SOX-like legislation for governmental entities, we find the strongest support for auditor independence rules similar to SOX, management assessment of, and reporting on, internal controls, and severe penalties for destruction of records, fraud, and failure to report fraud.     

Attraction of marketing and sales professionals in the financial services industry: An analysis of pre-, during and post-financial crisis job postings

Attracting talent is key to a successful sales force, and financial services firms have long used online recruiting to achieve this. However, little is known about how firms attract financial services marketing and sales professionals. In this study, we present a content analysis of job postings for sales and marketing positions in the financial services industry that were posted before, during and after the financial crisis of 2008. Specifically, job postings in the United Kingdom and United States in 2006, 2009 and 2013 were examined. Implications for financial services firms are discussed.     

The Impact of Perceived Organizational Support on Self-Directed Learning in Sales Training

Perceived organizational support has a positive influence on the willingness of salespeople to use self-directed learning (SDL) projects. These SDL projects can be tailored to fit a salesperson's distinct learning needs, to increase performance, and to achieve the overarching goals of collaborative members of a marketing channel. Hence, it is beneficial for channel members to create a supportive learning culture that promotes the use of SDL projects by salespeople. Salespeople within the insurance industry play an essential role inside their marketing channel. Data collected from 392 insurance salespeople in over 170 firms is used to empirically test how perceived organizational support influences the use of two types of SDL projects. Salespeople encouraged to use elective SDL projects reported higher levels of performance than those required to use compulsory SDL projects.     

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