Relationship Between Virginia\u27s Fiscal Effort and Public School Graduation Rates

Prior education finance studies have measured the effect of funding on various student achievement variables. These studies demonstrate the need for resources in education, but this need requires further exploration. Previous literature shows several limitations regarding study length, scope and fiscal resources analyzed. This study further investigates school funding by analyzing the relationship between school funding and high school graduation rates over a nine-year time frame. This research examines what role Virginia\u27s school districts\u27 division fiscal effort (the proportion of its wealth invested in K-12 public education) plays in determining several identified measurable student outcomes from 2003 to 2012. The methodology used within the study includes linear regression, bivariate correlation, time-lagged correlation and a fixed effects least square dummy variable model. Results demonstrate that division fiscal effort and high school graduation rates are not significantly correlated. The results indicate that division fiscal effort alone was not the only predictor of academic success and that other variables like poverty status and minority classification have a greater impact on graduation rate than division fiscal effort

War came to the Iowa community

On April 6, 1917, the United States of America declared war. Throughout the country communities marshalled forces to meet the situation. Today the United States is engaged in another war, which is creating problems of social and economic war planning on dimensions greater than those of the war in 1917-18. As the defense effort expands each community will face a notable increase in organized group activities, in new integrating organizations, heightened enthusiasm expressed in rallies and campaigns, new regulations of private lives. Everyone today recognizes that war involves readjustments in our society. Economic and political adjustments are obviously serious. Equally drastic are the necessary modifications in family life, in churches, in recreation, in education, in the innumerable activities which in peacetime follow so normal a routine that we accept them as a matter of course. These problems are no less vital to the welfare of our people than the effects of war upon land values and prices of farm products. The preservation of a democratic way of life depends upon the actions and attitude of all members of the nation in their local communities. The successful adjustment of individuals to these changes, and the organization of our energies for effective prosecution of the war require an understanding of the problems which will be involved

Livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance in Missouri (2014)

Livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance offers livestock producers a way to manage risk associated with market price volatility (see Figure 1 for feeder cattle future prices). It does not protect against other perils such as disease or death. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers LRP insurance products. It is sold by approved livestock insurance agents throughout the year, and LRP premiums are subsidized by the federal government. Policies are available in Missouri for feeder cattle, fed cattle, lamb and swine.New 3/14/Web

Fish barrier removal and river connectivity support glenelg river tupong populations

Tupong are a migratory native fish that inhabit estuaries, creeks and rivers, including the Glenelg River. Connectivity is thought to be a major factor influencing the health of the species, as Tupong require access to the sea and freshwater to complete their lifecycles. Increases in river flow in spring and summer are thought to stimulate the movement of young Tupong from the ocean into coastal rivers and further upstream into freshwater reaches. Maintaining suitable freshwater habitat is critical to ensure the fish have sufficient habitat and food resources to feed, grow and breed. Adult Tupong then migrate back to the estuary or sea to spawn on large winter freshes. Annual fish monitoring, from 2009 to 2018, coincided with the removal of 12 fish barriers along the Glenelg River. The fish monitoring showed tupong numbers have increased substantially in recent years and their range is now well over 300 km throughout the Glenelg River. Record numbers of young Tupong were recorded moving upstream from the estuary to the freshwater reaches in the most recent fish surveys (2018). This highlights the importance of removing fish barriers and connecting the Glenelg River with water for the environment as regulated base flows. The removal of these fish barriers has opened up 977 km of waterways to fish movement in the Glenelg Catchment. Along with complementary works including reinstatement of instream woody habitat and the return of water for the environment, fish barrier removal has played an important role in supporting healthy populations of not only Tupong but other fish species in the Glenelg River

Controlling Grain Size in Cold Worked and Annealed 1100 Aluminum to Optimize Ductility in Rocket Diaphragm Systems

Liquid propellant rocket diaphragms require extreme ductility. 1100 Aluminum is used for its high ductility, but the post-processing cold work and subsequent anneal result in excessively large grains. The effect of heat treatment and cold work on grain size in 1100 aluminum was explored. The samples were cold worked to 0, 5, 10, 15 and 30% using tensile elongation. The samples were then heat treated per AMS 2770 with either a Steel Conduction (1000 – 1150°F/min) or a Production (16 – 18°F/min) heating rate. The grain size of the samples were measured using the mean lineal intercept method. The grain diameter ranged from 81 – 189 μm for the Production rate and 83 – 209 μm for the Steel Conduction rate. The 15% cold worked Production rate samples were found to have significantly larger grains than those of the smaller cold work amounts as well as the 15% cold worked Steel Conduction rate samples. This indicated an interaction between the 15% cold work amount and the Production heat treatment which allowed for significant grain growth. The 30% cold worked samples were found to have grain growth in both heat treatments with the largest average grain diameters. The results indicate that the longer times at elevated temperatures during the Production heat treatment allow for significant grain growth at lower cold work amounts. In addition, grain growth is unavoidable for 30% cold work regardless of heating rate

Livestock gross margin (LGM) insurance in Missouri (2014)

In livestock production, gross margin is the difference between revenue from livestock or milk sales and feed costs. It is an indicator of profitability. Livestock gross margin (LGM) insurance offers livestock producers a way to manage gross margin risk by guaranteeing a minimum gross margin. If the gross margin guarantee at the beginning of the contract period is higher than the actual gross margin at the end of the contract period, the policyholder earns an indemnity. LGM insurance protects expected gross margin rather than a selling price, which is what livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance is for. It does not protect against risks such as disease or death.New 6/14/Web

Additive Manufacturing of High-Refractive-Index, Nanoarchitected Titanium Dioxide for 3D Dielectric Photonic Crystals

Additive manufacturing at small scales enables advances in micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems, micro-optics, and medical devices. Materials that lend themselves to AM at the nanoscale, especially for optical applications, are limited. State-of-the-art AM processes for high-refractive-index materials typically suffer from high porosity and poor repeatability and require complex experimental procedures. We developed an AM process to fabricate complex 3D architectures out of fully dense titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with a refractive index of 2.3 and nanosized critical dimensions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis proves this material to be rutile phase of nanocrystalline TiO₂, with an average grain size of 110 nm and <1% porosity. Proof-of-concept woodpile architectures with 300–600 nm beam dimensions exhibit a full photonic band gap centered at 1.8–2.9 μm, as revealed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and supported by plane wave expansion simulations. The developed AM process enables advances in 3D MEMS, micro-optics, and prototyping of 3D dielectric PhCs

Social deficits, stereotypy and early emergence of repetitive behavior in the C58/J inbred mouse strain

Mouse lines with behavioral phenotypes relevant to symptoms in neurodevelopmental disorders may provide models to test hypotheses about disease etiology and to evaluate potential treatments. The present studies were designed to confirm and expand earlier work on the intriguing behavioral profile of the C58/J inbred strain, including low social approach and aberrant repetitive movements. Additional tests were selected to reflect aspects of autism, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by emergence of symptoms early in life, higher prevalence in males, social deficits and abnormal repetitive behavior. Mice from the C57BL/6J inbred strain, which has a similar genetic lineage and physical appearance to C58/J, served as a comparison group. Our results revealed that C58/J mice display elevated activity levels by postnatal day 6, which persist into adulthood. Despite normal olfactory ability, young adult male C58/J mice showed deficits in social approach in the three-chambered choice assay and failed to demonstrate social transmission of food preference. In contrast, female C58/J mice performed similarly to female C57BL/6J mice in both social tests. C58/J mice of both sexes demonstrated abnormal repetitive behaviors, displaying excessive jumping and back flipping in both social and non-social situations. These stereotypies were clearly evident in C58/J pups by postnatal days 20–21, and were also observed in C58/J dams during a test for maternal behavior. Overall, the strain profile for C58/J, including spontaneously developing motor stereotypies emerging early in the developmental trajectory, and social deficits primarily in males, models multiple components of the autism phenotype

A Life Skills Toolkit: Curriculum Development for Sustainable Public Health Community Engagement

Introduction: Committee On Temporary Shelter (COTS) is a community organization that provides gateway housing opportunities to fourteen previously homeless veterans through its Canal Street program in Winooski, VT. Many of the residents struggle with physical fitness, poor nutrition, and mental illness, including PTSD. Research has shown that there is an increasing prevalence of overweight or obese veterans returning from service, and these individuals present a particular challenge to primary care physicians as their mental health issues are closely related to their level of fitness. It has been demonstrated that veterans often suffer from ingrained food insecurity, which negatively influences post-service eating behavior, and readjustment solutions are needed to ease reentry into civilian life. While literature recommendations exist outlining the important role of initiating easy-to-use exercise programs and the beneficial impact of exercise in a natural environment on veterans, there has been little research into more holistic approaches to improve the diminished quality of life impacting many individuals with PTSD. Recent literature shows decreased PTSD symptoms after a life skills intervention and that short-term nutritional education interventions have the capacity to favorably change eating behaviors in a low income population. Therefore, we decided that a comprehensive, yet personalized intervention was needed.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1211/thumbnail.jp

Augmented Reality: Hard Problems of Law and Policy

Augmented reality (AR) technologies are poised to enter the commercial mainstream. Using an interdisciplinary research team, we describe our vision of AR and explore the unique and difficult problems AR presents for law and policy—including around privacy, free speech, discrimination, and safety.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/techlab/1018/thumbnail.jp