Globalization and Latino labor: Labor advocates' accounts of meatpacking in rural Missouri

Includes bibliographical references.The Latinos in Missouri occasional paper series grew out of the writing experiences of graduate students in Rural Sociology 406: The Sociology of Globalization.This paper presents labor advocates' accounts of the common problems faced by Latino/a workers employed in the Missouri meatpacking industry and the potential strategies they identify for addressing them. Information is drawn from participatory observation, document analysis and qualitative interviews. Placed in the context of globalization of the agrifood system and the increasingly problematic position of wage laborers, these accounts are discussed using a theoretical framework based on Karl Polanyi's concept of fictitious commodities. In this study we investigate what labor advocates have to say about the situation faced by Latino workers employed in Missouri meatpacking plants. In the next section, we present an overview of the global agri-food system with specific attention to the meatpacking industry. This is followed by a discussion of Karl Polanyi's (1944) concept of "fictitious commodities," which we use here as a theoretical framework to provide insight into the situation faced by Latino workers in meatpacking. We then examine, in two sections, the problems expressed by labor advocates in Missouri and the proposals for changes they suggest. To conclude, we return to Polanyi's fictitious commodity framework as a way of understanding these issues more fully. Specifically, this theoretical framework supports the argument we make that Latino labor must be able to organize and unionize to correct unfair labor practices that currently exist in the state and the industry as a whole.Occasional Paper Series Developed with Support from the Cambio Center

The Ursinus Weekly, May 18, 1959

Curtain Club elects new officers; Vye gets award • Dr. Carazzo addresses final pre-med meeting • Charities thank Ursinus students for contributions • New cheerleaders are announced for squad next season • Ursinus student works round the clock daily • Laura Loney wins two chem awards for achievements • Third floor Paisley girls compete in baseball game • News of the nation • Forrest, Michael and Griffin elected prexys • Leadership award presented Weds. to Gloria Burgoon • Editorial: Summer • Venerable Frost • Beautiful America • Fantasy • UC racqueteers down Wilkes 7-0; Martella stars • LeCato second in intercollegiates; Loses to Floyd • Alice Irwin leads girls lacrosse to winning season • UC nine loses to Drew; Defeats F&M, P.M.C. • Puzzle contest features prizes • Letters to the editor • Jr. class plans senior year and discusses Rubyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1386/thumbnail.jp

The Ursinus Weekly, April 20, 1959

IF Weekend April 24 to 26; Neil Hefti\u27s band on Friday • Alexander Award to be given for leadership course • Spirit Committee elects Kleckner as president • Martin Zippin returns to U.C. for art program • Rafetto to speak on job interviews this Wed. at 8 P.M. • Lewis Mumford speaks at Penn. lectures on Frank Lloyd Wright • WSGA, WAA, and Y elections Tuesday noon • Egyptian students tell of problems of their country • Sorority open house • Editorial: Spring reflection • A student, a Jesuit and a carpenter • News of the nation • Orientation plans compared by student panel • Lacrosse team trounces Penn by 14-3 score • Penn relays to be held April 24 & 25 • Ursinus nine triumphs over Rutgers & Drexelhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1383/thumbnail.jp

Intake, growth and meat quality of steers given diets based on varying proportions of maize silage and grass silage

Simmental × Holstein-Friesian steers were offered four forage diets. These comprised grass silage (G); proportionately 0·67 grass silage, proportionately 0·33 maize silage (GGM); 0·33 grass silage, 0·67 maize silage ( MMG); maize silage ( M) from 424 (s.d. = 11·5) kg to slaughter at a minimum weight of 560 kg. Forages were mixed and offered ad libitum. Steers were offered 2 kg of a concentrate daily, the concentrate being formulated such that all steers had similar crude protein intakes across dietary treatments. A sample of steers was slaughtered at the beginning of the experimental period to allow the calculation of the rate of gain of the carcass and its components. Carcass dissection of a sample of steers allowed the development of a prediction equation of carcass composition based on thoracic limb dissection of all carcasses. Forage dry matter intake and live-weight gain increased linearly as maize silage replaced grass silage in the forage mixture, resulting in improvements in food conversion ratio (all P = 0·001). Killing-out proportion increased with maize silage inclusion ( P < 0·001) but fat and conformation scores did not differ significantly between diets. However, increasing maize inclusion in the diet resulted in a greater weight ( P = 0·05) and proportion ( P = 0·008) of fat in the carcass, and significant increases in internal fat deposition. The inclusion of maize led to a progressive increase in the daily gains of carcass ( P < 0·001), and significant increases in the daily gains of both fat ( P < 0·001) and lean tissue ( P < 0·001). Fat colour was more yellow in cattle given diets G and GGM than diets MMG and M ( P < 0·001) and colour intensity was lower on diet M than the other three diets ( P < 0·001). There were no significant differences in any aspects of eating quality between diets. Therefore, maize silage has the potential to reduce the time taken for finishing beef animals to achieve slaughter weight with no apparent detrimental effects on subsequent meat quality

Using Data Mining to Explore Why Community College Transfer Students Earn Bachelor’s Degrees With Excess Credits

Community college transfer students encounter challenges progressing toward a bachelor’s degree, leading to widespread transfer credit loss. This in turn may lower students’ chances of credential completion and increase the time and costs for students, their families, and taxpayers. This study reviews review three definitions of credit transfer inefficiency—credit transferability, credit applicability, and excess credits among completers—focusing on the last to examine why community college transfer students often end up with excess credits that do not count toward a bachelor’s degree. The authors use student transcript data from two state systems to examine the course-taking behaviors of community college transfer students who earn bachelor’s degrees with numerous excess credits and with few excess credits. Data-mining techniques enable them to examine a large number of variables that could explain the variation in students’ excess credits at graduation, including not only student demographics but also the types and timing of courses taken. Overall, more excess credits are associated with several factors, including taking larger proportions of 100- and 200-level courses and smaller proportions of 300-level courses throughout students’ progression toward completion, and taking 100-level courses in any subject—and specifically in math—immediately after transferring to a four-year institution. Findings suggest that institutions could help reduce credit transfer inefficiency by encouraging students to explore and choose a bachelor’s degree major early on so they can take the required lower division (100- and 200-level) courses at the community college and take mostly upper division 300- and 400-level courses in their desired major field once they transfer to a four-year institution

Perceptions of Parenting, Self-Esteem, and Relationships

Levels of satisfaction in our close relationships can be the direct causes of break-ups, divorces, longevity, and many other outcomes. Using self-esteem as a connecting variable, it is possible to trace our satisfaction in relationships all the way back to the way in which we were treated as children. Specifically, children who grow up in a household with authoritative parenting end up with higher self-esteem than those who don’t (Zakeri & Karimpour, 2011; Pinquart & Gerke, 2019; Yousaf, 2015). Further, individuals with higher levels of self-esteem tend to have higher levels of satisfaction in their close relationships, romantic or platonic, throughout life (Gleeson & Fitzgerald, 2014; Erol & Orth, 2014; Bourne et al., 2014; Tariq, 2011). 60 undergraduate Belmont University students participated in this study through Qualtrics, a data collection software. Each participant’s perceived parenting style and self-esteem levels were measured through the Perceptions of Parents Scales (POPS) (Grolnick et al., 1997) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), respectively. Close relationship satisfaction was measured through the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (Fraley et al., 2000) for romantic relationships and the Friendship Network Satisfaction (FNS) Scale (Kaufman et al., 2021) for platonic relationships. Results showed that those who had parents with a higher score in authoritative parenting scored higher on self-esteem, and those who scored higher on self-esteem also scored higher on their close relationship satisfaction. Implications of our study help shine a light on the importance of how we treat our children, for it could very much affect the satisfaction of the most important relationships they have throughout their entire lives

The Ursinus Weekly, May 11, 1959

Paxson, Koffke and Miller chosen as reps to WSGA • Fund for adult ed. has $1,000 award for leader essay • Women choose new dorm officers • Pre-med meets Thursday; Officers to be installed • Y officers, cabinet installed Sunday at vespers service • Spring welcomed to UC with May Day festivities • News of the nation • Class representatives elected by MSGA May 6 • Seniors meet Alumni Association at annual banquet • WSGA to hold installation banquet May 13 • Editorial: Respect • Gold Cadillac • Squirrels • Crosley scores 4 goals over WC; Ursinus wins, 9-2 • Softball team wins over Gettysburg 3-1, ES 4-0 • Tennis team drops 4th match to LaSalle, 5-4 • Baseball team ups record to eight-two • Girls tennis team begins successful season; Beats ES • UC loses four meets; Comes back to beat Washington • Confusion • Lynne Graburn elected president of Delta Pi • Bob Hunsicker chosen to head SEAP; Sperber V-P • Dr. Parsons addresses youth in Lehigh Synod • Awards presented at Spirit Committee banquet • Staiger presents paper to college chem. teachershttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1385/thumbnail.jp

Strong succession in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.

The ecology of fungi lags behind that of plants and animals because most fungi are microscopic and hidden in their substrates. Here, we address the basic ecological process of fungal succession in nature using the microscopic, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that form essential mutualisms with 70-90% of plants. We find a signal for temporal change in AMF community similarity that is 40-fold stronger than seen in the most recent studies, likely due to weekly samplings of roots, rhizosphere and soil throughout the 17 weeks from seedling to fruit maturity and the use of the fungal DNA barcode to recognize species in a simple, agricultural environment. We demonstrate the patterns of nestedness and turnover and the microbial equivalents of the processes of immigration and extinction, that is, appearance and disappearance. We also provide the first evidence that AMF species co-exist rather than simply co-occur by demonstrating negative, density-dependent population growth for multiple species. Our study shows the advantages of using fungi to test basic ecological hypotheses (e.g., nestedness v. turnover, immigration v. extinction, and coexistence theory) over periods as short as one season

Fungal community assembly in drought-stressed sorghum shows stochasticity, selection, and universal ecological dynamics.

Community assembly of crop-associated fungi is thought to be strongly influenced by deterministic selection exerted by the plant host, rather than stochastic processes. Here we use a simple, sorghum system with abundant sampling to show that stochastic forces (drift or stochastic dispersal) act on fungal community assembly in leaves and roots early in host development and when sorghum is drought stressed, conditions when mycobiomes are small. Unexpectedly, we find no signal for stochasticity when drought stress is relieved, likely due to renewed selection by the host. In our experimental system, the&nbsp;host compartment exerts the strongest effects on mycobiome assembly, followed by the timing of plant development and lastly by plant genotype. Using a dissimilarity-overlap approach, we find a universality in the forces of community assembly of the mycobiomes of the different sorghum compartments and in functional guilds of fungi