A TECHNIQUE TO ESTIMATE INPUT PRODUCTIVITY FROM FARM DATA

Productivity Analysis,

Performance Pressure and Resource Allocation in Washington

Based on interviews with state, district, and school officials, explores how performance pressures have changed resource allocation decisions. Examines reform goals and how Washington's finance system impedes efforts to link resources to student learning

Thin n-i-p radiation-resistant solar cell feasibility study

Silicon solar cells were fabricated to verify the predictions that: (1) thin n(+)pp(+) cells can provide high values of open circuit voltage even when high resistivity base material ( 1000 omega-cm) is used; (2) cells with good p(+) back contacts will display an increase in open circuit voltage with decreasing cell thickness; and (3) high quality, thin, high resistivity, solar cells can be made using processing compatible with conventional practice. Analysis of I-V and spectral response measurements of these cells confirmed theoretical predictions and thereby pointed to voltages beyond the near 600 mV obtained in this study

A Quasi-Global Presentation of TIROS III Radiation Data

The TIROS III meteorological satellite was equipped with a five-channel medium resolution radiometer to measure the reflected solar radiation as well as the infrared emission of the earth-atmosphere system in five different spectral regions (Reference 1). According to the initial design of this radiation experiment, one of the most useful applications of the infrared measurements was to be the derivation of day and nighttime cloudiness from Channel 2, which was sensitive within the atmospheric "window" region (8 to 12 microns). Several authors already have demonstrated and discussed the principal usefulness of these data for this particular purpose (References 2, 3, and 4). This present study was performed to investigate and demonstrate the utility of the TIROS radiation data for global synoptic analyses

The Temporality of Mediacy: The Time of Narrators in Short, First-Person Fiction.

This study outlines a new theory of time in first-person narrative fiction based on the concept mediacy. By applying a phenomenological understanding of time to narrators of first-person fiction, the study draws a distinction between narration and narratization. Narration refers to the narrative act, the act of telling. This study contends that although a literary narrative may serve as record of past events, it is primarily a notation of the narrative act. The narrative act is a unified experience that exhibits a structure of beginning, middle, and end, which is notated in a literary text. A narratization, in contrast, refers to the extended temporal field in which the narrator orients himself/herself. Unlike narration, which is recorded in a literary text, narratization usually is only implied by the narration. During a narrative act, which is a basic action, the narrator orients himself/herself on the basis of some envisioned future that s/he hopes to achieve, partly through the act of telling. On the basis of that envisioned future, the narrator determines the actions s/he needs to take to achieve that future. The narrative act, then, is constructed in part on the basis of the futural dimension of the expansive temporal field, which is configured by the narrator in the act of telling. This study differs from traditional analyses of time in narrative in that it recognizes a futural orientation on the part of the narrator, or mediator, who is engaged in a narrative act, in addition to his/her orientations toward the past and the present. This study recognizes that the narrative act, of which literary narrative is a record, is a dialectic between past and future. The implications of this theory of time in narrative are explored in analyses of short stories by Cynthia Rich, Lee Smith, and Raymond Carver

TWO ESSAYS ON INPUT SUBSTITUTION AND OPTIMAL DECISION MAKING IN CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

The thesis presented consists of two essays that analyze input substitution and decision making in crop and livestock production systems. The first essay consists of a whole-farm analysis that sought to optimize feed mixes and enterprise combinations for an organic dairy operation in the Southeastern United States. This was accomplished through mathematical programming where whole-farm net returns were maximized, and total feed costs were minimized simultaneously for four milk production level cases. Additionally, the sensitivity of the system and break-even milk price were explored. Results suggest substitutability in ration components where an increase in supplemental feeds is justified by additional milk output and sales. The second essay utilizes econometric methods and hedonic modeling to explore factors that drive the price of row crop planters on the used machinery market. Factors relating to make, age, condition, planter specifications, sale type, spatial aspects, seasonality, and year of the sale were analyzed. Results suggest non-linear relationships for row number and age relative to price and interactions between variables make and age that imply varying depreciation depending on the manufacturer. An additional break-even analysis relating to pasture yields and planter purchase price was conducted to explore these primary concepts in further detail

Atomic and Molecular Absorption in Redshifted Radio Sources

We report on a survey for associated HI 21-cm and OH 18-cm absorption with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at redshifts z = 0.2-0.4. Although the low redshift selection ensures that our targets are below the critical ultra-violet luminosity, which is hypothesised to ionise all of the neutral gas in the host galaxy, we do not obtain any detections in the six sources searched. Analysing these in context of the previous surveys, in addition to the anti-correlation with the ultra-violet luminosity (ionising photon rate), we find a correlation between the strength of the absorption and the blue -- near-infrared colour, as well as the radio-band turnover frequency. We believe that these are due to the photo-ionisation of the neutral gas, an obscured sight-line being more conducive to the presence of cold gas and the compact radio emission being better intercepted by the absorbing gas, maximising the flux coverage, respectively. Regarding the photo-ionisation, the compilation of the previous surveys increases the significance of the critical ionising photon rate, above which all of the gas in the host galaxy is hypothesised to be ionised, to >5 sigma. This reaffirms that this is an ubiquitous effect, which has profound implications for the detection of neutral gas in these objects with the Square Kilometre Array.Comment: Accepted by MNRA

Assessing Transformation of Optimizing Ambulatory Surgery Center Services with Telehealth

Background: As technology advances and the ability to provide adequate and convenient surgical procedures improves; the usage of telehealth resources in an Ambulatory Surgery Center setting are evermore capable. The current environment of Ambulatory Surgery Center’s provides a baseline of support to alleviate main operating volume and to absorb more of the outpatient procedures with support from technology and telehealth. Objective: To understand how the telehealth abilities can enhance the efficiency and scope of service of Ambulatory Surgery Centers. To explore if telehealth resources can be utilized to strengthen, improve, and combine tasks that delay progress in the current model. To examine if as telehealth infuses with modern medicine, do the abilities make manual tasks obsolete given the transparent capabilities of telehealth resources. Methods: Utilizing a Value System Map (VSM) model to examine the current state of an Ambulatory Surgery Center, highlights in process delays are discussed and substituted in a later, future state model. Through displaying current vs. future state, areas of improvement are highlighted that provide areas of improvement in an Ambulatory Surgery Center setting. Results: In highlighting workflows with Ambulatory Surgery Center procedures, telehealth substitutions of current manual processes show promising improved efficiency with proper technology. Conclusion: The utilization of telehealth in place of current Ambulatory Surgery Center processes has begun due to recent pandemic of COVID-19; in which support from telehealth capabilities have supported growth in the ASC setting for more comprehensive usages when used accordingly with corresponding telehealth resources

Letter from E. M. Allison Jr.

Letter concerning an address at the commencement exercises for Utah Agricultural College