Rube tube : CBS, rural sitcoms, and the image of the south, 1957-1971

This dissertation examines the factors that led to the creation of the CBS rural comedy boom in the 1960s, as well as the reasons for its demise. For years, historians have dismissed the rural comedy craze as the networks catering to the growing number of southern viewers in the late 1950s. However, there were not enough to southern viewers to dictate a network’s entire programming schedule for the better part of a decade. Also, rural comedy was the domain of a single network, CBS. Had it really been a major thematic trend, all networks would have at least attempted to follow suit. Therefore, other political, social, and economic factors besides the rising number of southern viewers made rural comedy a natural fit for CBS in the 1960s. In the late 1940s, during the Red Scare, CBS developed a reputation as the “Communist Broadcast System.” The network spent most of the 1950s attempting to dispel that nickname through a series of quiz shows and westerns. Both genres ultimately backfired and drew negative attention for the network. When rival ABC introduced rural-themed programming to cater to the burgeoning southern market, CBS quickly joined the fray. By the mid 1960s, it had not only stolen ABC’s hold on the rural market, but also re-established itself as the “Country Broadcasting System.” CBS’ stable of rural comedies dominated the ratings throughout the 1960s, a phenomenon not entirely explained by southern viewers. Rural sitcoms brought in viewers from all over the country, indicating universality to the programs that superseded their regional appeal. This dissertation discusses the factors contributing to the appeal of rural comedy in the 1960s, and addresses the factors that led to the genre’s abrupt demise in the early 1970s. This study not only provides insight into the role that the southern image played in entertaining and reassuring Americans in the turbulent 1960s, it also demonstrates that television is not made in a vacuum. Television trends are the result of specific political, social, and economic stressors placed on the network and the larger population, and therefore provide a living time capsule into the era they were created

Clinical Issues Associated with Urine Testing of Substances of Abuse

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90147/1/j.1875-9114.1997.tb03059.x.pd

Progress on the PT-1 Prototype Plasmoid Thruster

The design and construction of a plasmoid thruster prototype is described. This thruster operates by expelling inductively formed plasmoids at high velocities. These plasmoids are field reversed configuration plasmas which are formed by reversing a magnetic flux frozen in an ionized gas inside a theta-pinch coil. The pinch coil is a unique multi-turn, multi-lead design chosen for optimization of inductance and field uniformity. A table-top bread-board demonstrator has been built at MSFC, and will be delivered to Radiance Technologies Inc. for further testing at the Auburn Space Power Institute

SIMULATION AND RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY TO OPTIMIZE WINTER WHEAT RESPONSE TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Future climate changes can have a major impact on crop production. But, whatever the climatic changes, crop production can be adapted to climate change by implementing alternative management practices and developing new genotypes that will take full advantage of the future climatic conditions. Since the classical agronomic research approach is not possible in identifying these new agronomic technologies for the future climatic conditions, we used response surface methodology (RSM) in connection with the CERES-Wheat crop model and the HADCM2 climate simulation model to identify optimal configuration of plant traits and management practices that maximize yield of winter wheat under high CO2 environments. The simulations were conducted for three Nebraska locations (Havelock, Dickens and Alliance), which were considered representative of winter wheat growing areas in the central Great Plains. At all locations, the identified optimal winter wheat cultivar under high CO2 conditions had a larger number of tillers, larger kernel size, shorter days to flower, grew faster and had more kernels per square meter than the check variety under normal CO2 conditions, while the optimal planting dates were later and planting densities were lower than under normal conditions. We concluded that RSM used in conjunction with crop and climate simulation models was a useful approach to understanding the complex relationship between wheat genotypes, climate and management practices

Content Validation of a Standardized Language Diagnosis by Certified Specialists in Gerontological Nutrition

Validation of the nutrition standardized language assures the language is accurate for use in practice, policy, and research, but few validation studies have been reported. The purpose of this descriptive study was to validate content of all components of the nutrition diagnostic term involuntary weight loss using experts providing care for older adults in health care settings. A Nutrition Diagnosis Validation Instrument was developed that contained the definition, etiologies, and signs and symptoms of the diagnosis plus items added from literature review. Questions on clarity and completeness of the language were included. The Nutrition Diagnosis Validation Instrument used a Likert-type scale for deriving a Diagnostic Content Validity (DCV) score for all items in the definition, etiology, and signs and symptoms components to define major, minor, and nonrelevant characteristics and a mean total DCV score for the term. In 2008, all Board Certified Specialists in Gerontological Nutrition (CSGs) were recruited by mail. CSGs (n = 110, 73% response) reported 15 ± 10 (mean ± standard deviation) practice years in gerontological nutrition. The total DCV component scores were 0.80 ± 0.17 (definition), 0.63 ± 0.08 (etiology), and 0.69 ± 0.12 (signs and symptoms). The mean total DCV score of the diagnostic term was 0.69 ± 0.11. Cognitive decline, poor oral health, and impaired skin integrity were identified as missing language. In conclusion, the majority of the definition, etiologies, and signs and symptoms of the term were contentvalidated, including seven items derived from literature review. The validated items, including recommendations for added language, need to be retested using the same process

Content Validation of a Standardized Language Diagnosis by Certified Specialists in Gerontological Nutrition

Validation of the nutrition standardized language assures the language is accurate for use in practice, policy, and research, but few validation studies have been reported. The purpose of this descriptive study was to validate content of all components of the nutrition diagnostic term involuntary weight loss using experts providing care for older adults in health care settings. A Nutrition Diagnosis Validation Instrument was developed that contained the definition, etiologies, and signs and symptoms of the diagnosis plus items added from literature review. Questions on clarity and completeness of the language were included. The Nutrition Diagnosis Validation Instrument used a Likert-type scale for deriving a Diagnostic Content Validity (DCV) score for all items in the definition, etiology, and signs and symptoms components to define major, minor, and nonrelevant characteristics and a mean total DCV score for the term. In 2008, all Board Certified Specialists in Gerontological Nutrition (CSGs) were recruited by mail. CSGs (n = 110, 73% response) reported 15 ± 10 (mean ± standard deviation) practice years in gerontological nutrition. The total DCV component scores were 0.80 ± 0.17 (definition), 0.63 ± 0.08 (etiology), and 0.69 ± 0.12 (signs and symptoms). The mean total DCV score of the diagnostic term was 0.69 ± 0.11. Cognitive decline, poor oral health, and impaired skin integrity were identified as missing language. In conclusion, the majority of the definition, etiologies, and signs and symptoms of the term were contentvalidated, including seven items derived from literature review. The validated items, including recommendations for added language, need to be retested using the same process

Coil system for plasmoid thruster

A coil system for a plasmoid thruster includes a bias coil, a drive coil and field coils. The bias and drive coils are interleaved with one another as they are helically wound about a conical region. A first field coil defines a first passage at one end of the conical region, and is connected in series with the bias coil. A second field coil defines a second passage at an opposing end of the conical region, and is connected in series with the bias coil

PREDICTING SOIL TEMPERATURES IN HIGH TUNNELS USING A DYNAMIC MODEL BASED ON NEWTONIAN LAW OF COOLING

High tunnels are low cost temporary greenhouses that are often used to extend the growing season for high value crops such as tulips, muscari, sweet pea cultivars, and hyacinth beans. Profitability depends on selection and timing of crops to optimize use of these structures. Predicting soil temperatures in high tunnels as a function of outside temperature is a critical factor in crop selection and timing. However, predicting soil temperatures is difficult because air temperatures constantly change from hour to hour and day to day. We develop a model to account for temperature dynamics in high tunnels by modifying the fundamental differential equation in Newtonian law of cooling. We fit the model to data from high tunnels located in two states - Nebraska, Kansas and predict soil temperature as a function of external air temperatures. The model fits reasonably well at all high tunnel stations with most predictions being within 2° C of the observed value. We also found that the model could be used to adequately predict soil temperatures at one site based on parameter estimates of another nearby site. Thus we conclude that the model is an adequate tool in making high tunnel placement decisions and is useful for selection and timing of crops within established high tunnels

Using Bars As Signposts of Galaxy Evolution at High and Low Redshifts

An analysis of the NICMOS Deep Field shows that there is no evidence of a decline in the bar fraction beyond z~0.7, as previously claimed; both bandshifting and spatial resolution must be taken into account when evaluating the evolution of the bar fraction. Two main caveats of this study were a lack of a proper comparison sample at low redshifts and a larger number of galaxies at high redshifts. We address these caveats using two new studies. For a proper local sample, we have analyzed 134 spirals in the near-infrared using 2MASS (main results presented by Menendez-Delmestre in this volume) which serves as an ideal anchor for the low-redshift Universe. In addition to measuring the mean bar properties, we find that bar size is correlated with galaxy size and brightness, but the bar ellipticity is not correlated with these galaxy properties. The bar length is not correlated with the bar ellipticity. For larger high redshift samples we analyze the bar fraction from the 2-square degree COSMOS ACS survey. We find that the bar fraction at z~0.7 is ~50%, consistent with our earlier finding of no decline in bar fraction at high redshifts.Comment: In the proceedings of "Penetrating Bars through Masks of Cosmic Dust: The Hubble Tuning Fork strikes a New Note

The Visibility of Galactic Bars and Spiral Structure At High Redshifts

We investigate the visibility of galactic bars and spiral structure in the distant Universe by artificially redshifting 101 B-band CCD images of local spiral galaxies from the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey. Our artificially redshifted images correspond to Hubble Space Telescope I-band observations of the local galaxy sample seen at z=0.7, with integration times matching those of both the very deep Northern Hubble Deep Field data, and the much shallower Flanking Field observations. The expected visibility of galactic bars is probed in two ways: (1) using traditional visual classification, and (2) by charting the changing shape of the galaxy distribution in "Hubble space", a quantitative two-parameter description of galactic structure that maps closely on to Hubble's original tuning fork. Both analyses suggest that over 2/3 of strongly barred luminous local spirals i.e. objects classified as SB in the Third Reference Catalog) would still be classified as strongly barred at z=0.7 in the Hubble Deep Field data. Under the same conditions, most weakly barred spirals (classified SAB in the Third Reference Catalog) would be classified as regular spirals. The corresponding visibility of spiral structure is assessed visually, by comparing luminosity classifications for the artificially redshifted sample with the corresponding luminosity classifications from the Revised Shapley Ames Catalog. We find that for exposures times similar to that of the Hubble Deep Field spiral structure should be detectable in most luminous low-inclination spiral galaxies at z=0.7 in which it is present. [ABRIDGED]Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa