Effect of vibratory tillage on clod size reduction

Tillage has been used in the production of crops from the dawn of civilization. Mechanical manipulation of the soil (tillage) is used for producing soil conditions and environment favorable to crop growth and used for controlling undesirable plant growth (cultivation). Tillage is also used to facilitate planting. Tillage for seedbed preparation and cultivation consumes approximately 30 percent of the energy used in agriculture in the United States (13). The common practice for producing a seedbed is to use tillage tools of various types independently or in sequential combination until optimum soil physical conditions (an empirical condition existing in the mind of the farmer) are developed. The amount of tillage used in seedbed preparation and cultivation by the farmer is based on his past experience; thus, the amount of soil manipulation (by various tillage tools) is based on the farmer\u27s knowledge of the seedbed preparation

The Link Between Teacher Practices and High School Students\u27 Mathematics Self-Efficacy;a Multilevel Analysis

The recent push for accountability based on student achievement, by means of standardized testing, has resulted in the realization that urban students are not performing as well as their suburban counterparts. This gap is even more pronounced in the area of mathematics. Many factors contribute to poor performance on student achievement. Among these are family values and climate, school environment, peer pressure, and test-taking anxiety. A student\u27s judgment of their capability to accomplish a task or succeed in an activity, or self-efficacy, is a key factor. Self-efficacy beliefs help determine how much effort a student will expend and how much stress and anxiety they will experience as they engage on a task. Teacher efficacy beliefs, a teacher\u27s perception of how effectively they can affect student learning, have also been found to have a great impact on the self-efficacy, and therefore the achievement, of their students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the link between teacher practices, their self-efficacy, and their students\u27 mathematics self-efficacy. Teachers, and their students, from several school districts in northeastern Ohio participated in the study. Teachers responded to modified versions of Pajares\u27 (1996) self-efficacy survey and their students responded to a different version of the survey. Participants included 582 students nested within 30 classrooms. The factor analysis identified five dimensions of students\u27 and four dimensions of teachers\u27 mathematics self-efficacy. A two-level hierarchical linear model revealed that teachers\u27 perceived mathematics competency, their ability to engage students, flexibility, teacher gender, and years of teaching experience were significant predictors of all five dimensions of students\u27 mathematics self-efficacy. The study recommends regular professional development activities to help teachers implement teacher practices that can positively impact students\u27 mathematics self-efficacy. Through enhancing students\u27 mathematics self-efficacy, students\u2

High School Grades and College Aptitude Tests as Indices to College Achievement and Contination at Utah State Agricultural College

For many years colleges have been concerned about entrance requirements and procedures for admitting students. In fact, to deal with such matters was one purpose of the famous N.E.A Committee of Ten which reported in 1893. A few years later the Committee on College Entrance Requirements met and considered the problem directly. Transcripts of credits from high school including specified subjects, the passing of the generally recognized College Entrance Board Examination, and the passing of entrance examinations set up by the individual colleges all have been used as evidence for admission to college. Such examinations are also used as indicators of the students possible subsequent success in college. For a long time in most colleges unless a student could pass a rigid examination there was no chance of his obtaining a college education. Only after his gaining entrance to college was any attempt made at guiding the student. It is the purpose of the present study to evaluate selected predictive measures available for use at the Utah State Agricultural College

Pultrusion Die Assembly

This invention relates generally to pultrusion die assemblies, and more particularly, to a pultrusion die assembly which incorporates a plurality of functions in order to produce a continuous, thin composite fiber reinforced thermoplastic material. The invention is useful for making high performance thermoplastic composite materials in sheets which can be coiled on a spool and stored for further processing

A Machine for Pasture Interseeding

A pasture interseeding machine that interseeds legumes and grasses in established grasslands has been developed by the Agricultural Engineering Department of South Dakota State University. The pasture interseeding machine cuts four furrows approximately 4 inches wide, 2 inches deep and 30 inches apart. Seeds are placed in a seedbed prepared in these furrows. The furrows eliminate some competition from the existing sod and minimize runoff and erosion if placed on the contour. SDSU agricultural engineers designed the machine so the spring-loaded coulters and inclined disks cut slices of sod and soil. These slices are displaced to the sides of the cut furrows. Seeds are planted with furrow openers operating in the cut furrows. The results of interseeding legumes and grasses in grassland during 1969, 1970 and 1971 were favorable when adequate moisture and weather conditions prevailed. Most furrows and sod slices produced while interseeding will weather (see Figures 1 and 2), thus, maintenance of the grassland will not be severely handicapped. Results show much promise of increasing production and quality of grasslands

Fortuna and Free Will in Chaucer's "Monk's Tale": An Examination

In this paper I advance the thesis that the portrayal of Fortuna, in the "Monk's Tale," is developed so that an orderly progression from a totally pagan Fortuna to a Christian conception of the goddess to the exclusion of the goddess' existence may be discerned. The idea of an ordering of the conceptions of Fortuna is not new. However, the idea of a progression such as I suggest is new and, futhermore, I have not found any work which suggests the possibility that the tragedie of Croesus is an example of the replacement of Fortuna with the concepts of free will and Divine providence. My analysis of the progression and the explication of the tragedie of Croesus will show that this progressive development of Fortuna and the introduction of free will in Croesus has a unifying effect on the "Monk's Tale" and thereby disallows the criticism of the tale on the grounds of disunity and poor workmanship.Englis