The Tangled Web of the Civil War and Reconstruction: Readings and Writings From a Novelist\u27s Perspective

Multiplying Perspectives from which to Understand the Civil War David Madden has enjoyed a long career as a prolific and well-regarded novelist, including nearly a half century as writer in residence at Louisiana State University. As the founding director of the United States Civil War Ce...

An Exploratory Case Study on the Impacts of Functional Fitness on Physical Functioning, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Quality of Life for Adults with Physical Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore the specific case of participating in a functional fitness program for adults with physical disabilities. Although there is a growing body of literature concerning the importance of physical exercise for individuals with disabilities, little to no research has been completed specifically concerning the utilization of functional fitness. This study defines functional fitness as a physical exercise program, and explores the phenomenon of impacts to functioning for the participants who were involved. Through the means of case study methodology, this study assessed the impacts of functional fitness participation on physical functioning, instrumental activities of daily living, and quality of life among adults with physical disabilities

On neoclassical impurity transport in stellarator geometry

The impurity dynamics in stellarators has become an issue of moderate concern due to the inherent tendency of the impurities to accumulate in the core when the neoclassical ambipolar radial electric field points radially inwards (ion root regime). This accumulation can lead to collapse of the plasma due to radiative losses, and thus limit high performance plasma discharges in non-axisymmetric devices.\\ A quantitative description of the neoclassical impurity transport is complicated by the breakdown of the assumption of small $\mathbf{E}\times \mathbf{B}$ drift and trapping due to the electrostatic potential variation on a flux surface $\tilde{\Phi}$ compared to those due to the magnetic field gradient. The present work examines the impact of this potential variation on neoclassical impurity transport in the Large Helical Device (LHD) stellarator. It shows that the neoclassical impurity transport can be strongly affected by $\tilde{\Phi}$. The central numerical tool used is the $\delta f$ particle in cell (PIC) Monte Carlo code EUTERPE. The $\tilde{\Phi}$ used in the calculations is provided by the neoclassical code GSRAKE. The possibility of obtaining a more general $\tilde{\Phi}$ self-consistently with EUTERPE is also addressed and a preliminary calculation is presented.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, presented at Joint Varenna-Lausanne International Workshop on Theory of Fusion Plasmas, 2012. Accepted for publication to Plasma Phys. and Control. Fusio

Comparison of particle trajectories and collision operators for collisional transport in nonaxisymmetric plasmas

In this work, we examine the validity of several common simplifying assumptions used in numerical neoclassical calculations for nonaxisymmetric plasmas, both by using a new continuum drift-kinetic code and by considering analytic properties of the kinetic equation. First, neoclassical phenomena are computed for the LHD and W7-X stellarators using several versions of the drift-kinetic equation, including the commonly used incompressible-ExB-drift approximation and two other variants, corresponding to different effective particle trajectories. It is found that for electric fields below roughly one third of the resonant value, the different formulations give nearly identical results, demonstrating the incompressible ExB-drift approximation is quite accurate in this regime. However, near the electric field resonance, the models yield substantially different results. We also compare results for various collision operators, including the full linearized Fokker-Planck operator. At low collisionality, the radial transport driven by radial gradients is nearly identical for the different operators, while in other cases it is found to be important that collisions conserve momentum

We Are Family: When Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation Hit Home

Educational Objectives 1. To describe a case, from discovery to prosecution, of familial abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. 2. To demonstrate gaps in elder care policy. 3. To share my experience in order to help protect the vulnerable older adults

Evaluating the preparedness of college/university-trained graduates entering the landscape contracting industry : a needs assessment

Industry input can assist postsecondary institutions as they strive to provide relevant knowledge and skill-building exercises for the professional development of their students. Using a mail questionnaire, we invited landscape contracting decision-makers to comment on the efficacy of landscape contracting curricula at colleges and universities. The population of Associated Landscape Contractors of America 2003 online member list (2049 companies) was organized into four strata based on company size. A stratified random sample of 400 companies was selected. We received 137 completed questionnaires (35% response rate). Most of the population was either satisfied or extremely satisfied (52%) with college graduates recently hired; only 8.1% of the population was dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied. When respondents were asked to consider four knowledge categories, a majority of the population (53%) said recent graduates were deficient in business knowledge, followed by construction (25.1%), horticultural (9.6%), and design (5.1%) knowledge. When respondents were asked to rate the importance of topics that could be taught in undergraduate landscape contracting programs, business topics (personnel management, estimating and bidding, and clientele management) were identified as their top three choices. The population also named three business-related skills (client relationships, time management, and managing employees) among the five most important skills for landscape contracting professionals. Despite the stated importance of business knowledge and training, 68.3% of the population said when hiring for an entry-level landscape contracting position, they prefer candidates with strong horticultural skills over those with strong business skills. These results suggest landscape contracting firms would welcome a postsecondary-trained work force with improved business skills; however, this business training should not come at the expense of horticultural course work and experience. Practically all of the population (96.7%) agreed industry professionals should be invited to take a more active role in shaping the menu of coursework offered in landscape contracting programs. Creating a collaborative relationship between faculty and industry can ultimately result in gains for the one common investment, the students