This dissertation examines the slasher film through close analyses of John Carpenter's 'Halloween' (1978), Sean S. Cunningham's 'Friday the 13th' (1980), and Wes Craven's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984). This dissertation argues that while one may find sadistic elements in these films, one also finds pronounced masochistic elements that continually thwart attempts to define the slasher film as exclusively sadistic. Recognizing this, this dissertation argues that these films are defined above all by the doubled, multiplied, and seemingly contradictory sadistic- masochistic subjectivities they offer. These subjectivities threaten to abjectly destroy established binaries (between male and female, self and other, inside and outside, and human and monster) while simultaneously interrogating the entire institution of the cinema. Conceptually, this dissertation roots itself in Didier Anzieu's Freudian take on the connections between the body and psyche (through the notion of the "skin ego"), Gilles Deleuze's work on sadism and masochism, Gaylyn Studlar's work on masochism and "bisexual" identification in cinema, Julia Kristeva's understanding of the "abject," and Mary Douglas' work on purity, anomaly, and contagion (Anzieu 39, 88; Deleuze 125, 131; Studlar 32; Kristeva 1; Douglas 2, 5). Examining these three films through a psychoanalytic- semiotic lens, this dissertation isolates the key representative features of the slasher film and argues that despite popular mischaracterizations of these films as misogynistic "blood baths," they actually aim to shatter the narrative cinema's structuring of vision and pleasure (pleasure rooted in both sadism and masochism) as well as notions of security associated with the spaces of the small town and suburban middle-class American family. The slasher film achieves this by tapping into repressed aggressions and constructing a sadistic masochistic viewer that is at once human and monster, simultaneously desiring to protect and to punish. This "abject" blurring of the lines between human and monster is the slasher film's most salient feature. Ultimately, in the slasher film, the most horrifying, uncanny monster comes from within the psyche of the viewer

The objective of this analysis was to estimate the net benefits of controlling bird and rodent pests in California production of wine grapes and avocados. These two crops were chosen because of the expected differences in types and extent of pest damage and methods of pest control used by growers, as well as their importance in California agriculture. A web-based survey was designed to capture grower experiences with current levels of pest damage and their expectations about damage levels without control. Information on the methods of pest control and associated costs was also solicited from growers. We obtained 83 responses from avocado growers and 84 responses from wine grape growers. Results indicate that rodenticide use and trapping are the predominant methods of rodent control in both crops, while netting and visual scare devices are the most common methods used to control birds. The net benefits of bird and rodent control were measured on a per-acre basis and accounted for crop savings, avoided property damage, and control costs. In avocado production, the net benefit of bird control was estimated to be $60 to $196 per acre, and the net benefit of rodent control was estimated to be $574 to $1,117 per acre. In wine grape production, the net benefit of bird control was $956 to $1,600 per acre and the estimate for rodent control was $390 to $832 per acre.

In parts of the Pacific Northwest, black bears emerge from winter dens with depleted fat reserves and feed on mature conifers by stripping bark and consuming sugar-rich sapwood. Peeling by bears affects commercial conifers through direct loss of the tree or degraded log quality at stand harvest. Bears generally peel trees from 15-30 years old in intensively managed forests until preferred foods such as fruits and berries are available, and a single bear can peel several trees per day. Dying trees have a signature red canopy and are detected in annual aerial forest health surveys; however, trees that scar over peeling are not detected by aerial surveys. Previous studies reported results of damage summaries for northwest Oregon from flights, adjusted for bias; however, they offered no estimates of economic impact. Using landowner survey data, another study estimated an annual timber loss to bears at approximately $11.5 million across part of western Oregon. While informative, these estimates used broad assumptions to derive primary impacts and did not address secondary impacts. We used aerial health surveys, the national land cover database, and the Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) PI+ model to estimate the primary and secondary (indirect and induced) impacts of bear peeling in western Oregon. Because the accuracy and precision of aerial estimates (i.e., percentage of dead trees/polygon) was unknown, we calculated 4 scenarios of loss: 1%, 10%, 30%, and 100% loss. Under these scenarios, black bear damage to commercial forests negatively impacted Oregon’s gross domestic product between $0.9-$89 million annually, and resulted in an annual loss of between 11 and 1,012 jobs in the state. We will explain our methodology in this study as well as current efforts to improve the accuracy and precision of damage estimates, and ultimately our understanding of the economic impacts of black bear peeling.

Rabies transmitted by the common vampire bat is a major public health concern in subtropical and tropical areas of Latin America, and there is some concern that the species will eventually spread into south Texas. The objective of this study was to estimate the total economic impact of the potential spread of vampire bats into south Texas. Data on livestock populations and values in the relevant counties was combined with expected mortality rates to calculate livestock losses. An IMPLAN model of the regional economy was then used to estimate the secondary impacts experienced by other businesses in the region. These impacts were combined with estimates of increased expenditures on post-exposure prophylaxis and animal tests to derive the total economic impact. We estimated the total economic impact would be $7 million to $9.2 million annually if vampire bats spread to south Texas.

We report the results of one of the most comprehensive surveys on feral swine damage and control in 11 U.S. states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas). The survey was distributed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service in the summer of 2015 to a sample of producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, and sorghum in the 11 states listed above. A total of 4,377 responses were obtained. Findings indicate that damage caused by feral swine can be substantial. The highest yield loss estimates occur in peanut and corn production in the Southeast U.S. and Texas. We hope findings from this survey will help guide control efforts and research, as well as serve as a benchmark against which the effectiveness of future control efforts can be measured.

Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced into New Mexico and Arizona in 1998. When wolves kill a producing cow, ranchers in the region are eligible to receive an indemnity payment equal to the market value of the lost animal. We developed a model that allows estimation of the present value of the revenue stream that a cow or herd provides and find that if a producing cow is killed, the decrease in the present value of the rancher’s revenue stream is about $1,230. Mean indemnity payments are currently $1,000, implying ranchers are not being sufficiently compensated.