College Preparation for African American Students: Gaps in the High School Educational Experience

This report focuses on the deficiencies and disparities in school systems, particularly those with high-minority populations, that leave students unprepared for the rigors of college. It addresses three key areas that are critical for college readiness: the level of coursework available, the experience level of the teachers, and access to guidance counselors., and provides implications for public policy

Colletotrichum Disease of Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao L.) and its Control

Isolation of disease pathogen from infected cocoa leaves and pods associated with leaf spot and pod rot disease yielded Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. No distinct differences in cultural and morphological characteristics were noted from the various isolates. Further investigation by polyacrylamide vertical gel electrophoresis indicated that protein, esterase and peroxidase patterns were unable to differentiate strain gloeosporioides. variation within C. The fungus was found to grow and sporulate well at 30°C. Cocoa Leaf Extract Agar (CLEA) was the best medium for mycelial growth while Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) appeared to favour sporulation. Better mycelial growth was also achieved on substrates of neutral condition while extreme alkaline condition induces sporulation. Both cocoa leaves and injured pods were liable to infection by C. gloeosporioides. Three-week old cocoa seedlings and cherelles were noted as the most susceptible stage. The development of Colletotrichum leaf spot disease invariably involved three phases of activity viz., prepenetration phase which involved spore germination and formation of appressoria, penetration phase involving intercellular and intracellular hyphal penetration and postpenetration phase resulting in disintegration of cells and the formation of acervuli

Increasing Sawntimber Recovery by Target Size Reduction

Sawing timber with excessive oversize, undersize or poor sawing accuracy can result in a decreased sawntimber recovery. As timber gets scarcer and more expensive, there is a need for sawmillers to improve sawntimber recovery to enable them to remain in business. Statistical Lumber Size Control (SLSC) has wide recognition as a useful technique in increasing sawntimber recovery. The objectives of this study are; to apply the technique to monitor sawing accuracy and to appraise the economic benefit of Target Size Reduction (TSR). The study was done in three stages. Stage One involved the measurement of 100 boards (25 subgroups of 4 boards per subgroup) to establish the green target size and the existing recovery rate. In Stage Two, X-R Control Charts were drawn and used to monitor the sawing accuracy. The last stage assessed the net revenue improvement based on the TSR. The result showed that a 2% increase in recovery rate based on the nominal thickness of 7/8" (22.22mm) can increase the estimated net revenue by $293,912.00 for the first year of implementing a SLSC programme in a sawmill. The technique and X-R Control Charts are effective tools in improving the sawntimber recovery. However, in order to obtain a higher recovery improvement, it is necessary to improve the dimensioning device and the fence setting mechanism at the resaw machine

Postharvest Studies on Carambola (Averrhoa Carambola L.) Fruit

The carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) is determined to be anon-climacteric type fruit. The characteristic upsurge of carbon dioxide exhibited by climacteric fruits was not evident in carambola fruits of different ages. Green mature fruit did not respond to 700 ul/l of C2 H4 and 1000 u l/l of ethrel treatment. Unripe fruits (less than 25 % yellow colour) were susceptible to chilling injury after storing for 5 week sat 5 C , but ripe fruits (more than 25 % yellow colour) were not affected. Ripe fruits have a storage life of approximately 9 to 12 week sin 1.5 percent perforated (holes of 5 mm diameter) polyethylene bags. Storage life decreased within creasing storage temperatures from 5°c to ambient temperatures (240 to 35°C). The storage life was 5 weeks at 10° and 15°C:1 to 3 weeks at 20 and ambient temperatures. Unripe fruits in sealed polyethylene bag sat 20°C can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks. They could be stored for another one week when the bags were opened and the fruits exposed to normal air. The fruits would ripen and turn completely yellow in colour

An Investigation into the Impact of Income, Culture and Religion on Consumption Behaviour: A Comparative Study of the Malay and the Chinese Consumers in Malaysia

The study of consumer behaviour has attracted much attention from researchers. Models have been postulated and re-postulated in many attempts to explain the decision process of consumers as it changes over time and space, as well as in different environments such as culture, race and religion. The growing interest in investigating the relation between psychographics and consumer behaviours with regard to their purchase preferences has helped marketers in segmenting the market more accurately so as to ensure certainty of profitability. This is especially relevant in the modern market where “crossing culture” (Davies and Fitchett, 2004, p.315) and acculturation, as well as the process of cultural integration, are common as a result of many factors such as travelling both for leisure and business, emigration and re-location, etc. Nevertheless, these studies have mainly focussed on a single community or ethnic group. This current study differs in that it attempts to compare two ethnic groups of diverse culture and religious background, i.e. the Malays and the Chinese, within a single Malaysian community. The political and social environments in Malaysia make the current study unique in that the Malays receive financial aids and incentives from the ruling Malay-dominant government while the Chinese have little or no assistance at all. Therefore, apart from looking at the psychographical aspects of consumption habit, the current study also includes source of income as a variable factor in comparing the presume differences in spending between the two ethnic groups – the Malays receive extensive financial aids and benefits from the ruling government while the Chinese work hard and save as much as possible to ensure a better future. 5 The current study focuses on University Technologi Mara (UiTM) and University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) because of their respective racial composition of Malay and Chinese youths. The findings in this study elucidate that there seems to be no apparent difference in spending behaviour between the Malays and the Chinese despite their cultural and religious differences. This could be the result of the many years of co-existence and the influence of global media and culture on both the Malay and Chinese youths. The current study also does not find any strong basis in supporting the perception that the Chinese would be more frugal in their spending because of unfavourable economic support for them in the country. On the contrary, the study shows that the Chinese are indeed financially wealthier than the Malays because of their life-long culture of prudence in savings. Another reason for this could be the failure of the government’s New Economic Policy in addressing the economic needs of the masses of the Malay population. Rather, the policy only favoured the selected few with strong political link or clout. This study also shows that there are significant differences in the spending behaviour between the genders. This study also highlights the differences in spending behaviour of the cluster groups with their respective attached inherent value-traits. The study also reveals that the Malays are no longer the homogenous group as previously thought. Rather they indicate distinct differences in their spending behaviour. It is hoped that in future, wider and in-depth studies can be conducted to further examine the consumption behaviour of races according to their value-traits

Control of mesoscopic transport by modifying transmission channels in opaque media

While controlling particle diffusion in a confined geometry is a popular approach taken by both natural and artificial systems, it has not been widely adopted for controlling light transport in random media, where wave interference effects play a critical role. The transmission eigenchannels determine not only light propagation through the disordered system but also the energy concentrated inside. Here we propose and demonstrate an effective approach to modify these channels, whose structures are considered to be universal in conventional diffusive waveguides. By adjusting the waveguide geometry, we are able to alter the spatial profiles of the transmission eigenchannels significantly and deterministically from the universal ones. In addition, propagating channels may be converted to evanescent channels or vice versa by tapering the waveguide cross-section. Our approach allows to control not only the transmitted and reflected light, but also the depth profile of energy density inside the scattering system. In particular geometries perfect reflection channels are created, and their large penetration depth into the turbid medium as well as the complete return of probe light to the input end would greatly benefit sensing and imaging applications. Absorption along with geometry can be further employed for tuning the decay length of energy flux inside the random system, which cannot be achieved in a common waveguide with uniform cross-section. Our approach relies solely on confined geometry and does not require any modification of intrinsic disorder, thus it is applicable to a variety of systems and also to other types of waves