Time of Harvest and Wine Quality of Esprit Wine Grapes

Currently there is little to no information regarding when to harvest many of the coldhardy hybrid grape cultivars. There are contrasting opinions of the quality of the wine made from some of these cultivars, which may in part be due to a difference in timing of harvest. Many of the cold hardy cultivars contain Vitis labrusca in their parentage that can lead to differing levels of ‘foxy’ flavors depending on when the fruit is harvested. Wineries may prefer different levels of the typical V. labrusca flavors in their wines. Many of the cold-hardy cultivars also tend to have high titratable acidity (TA) and harvest is delayed to lower the TA. It is unknown what impact a later harvest has on other parameters of fruit quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality attributes of the wine made from the grape cultivar Esprit harvested earlier and later than the traditional harvest date

QuantCrit: education, policy, ‘Big Data’ and principles for a critical race theory of statistics

Quantitative research enjoys heightened esteem among policy-makers, media and the general public. Whereas qualitative research is frequently dismissed as subjective and impressionistic, statistics are often assumed to be objective and factual. We argue that these distinctions are wholly false; quantitative data is no less socially constructed than any other form of research material. The first part of the paper presents a conceptual critique of the field with empirical examples that expose and challenge hidden assumptions that frequently encode racist perspectives beneath the façade of supposed quantitative objectivity. The second part of the paper draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to set out some principles to guide the future use and analysis of quantitative data. These ‘QuantCrit’ ideas concern (1) the centrality of racism as a complex and deeply-rooted aspect of society that is not readily amenable to quantification; (2) numbers are not neutral and should be interrogated for their role in promoting deficit analyses that serve White racial interests; (3) categories are neither ‘natural’ nor given and so the units and forms of analysis must be critically evaluated; (4) voice and insight are vital: data cannot ‘speak for itself’ and critical analyses should be informed by the experiential knowledge of marginalized groups; (5) statistical analyses have no inherent value but can play a role in struggles for social justice

A Day in the Life of a Male College Athlete: A Public Perception and Qualitative Campus Investigation

Perceptual confirmation paradigm (PCP) rooted in social psychology, can be implemented to frame sport science research questions (Stone, Perry, & Darley, 1997). Public perception of college athletes\u27 lives has been scarcely investigated in the sport sciences (Keels, 2005) using the PCP to prime stereotypes. The purpose of this study was to prime stereotypes about a day in the life of a college athlete by using qualitative inquiry to assess college students\u27 (N = 87) perceptions. Participants provided written responses about a day in the life of a college athlete. Two different college athlete targets were used Tyrone Walker (n = 44) and Erik Walker (n = 43). Four major themes and one minor theme emerged which are descriptive of the participants\u27 perceptions. Findings were related to the leadership responsibilities of sport management practitioners in higher education. Future research inquiries and relevant suggestions were articulated for sport management scholars in the 21st century. © 2009 Human Kinetics, Inc