Web ware for cultivar grain yield evaluation and selection

Non-Peer ReviewedThe variable weather conditions and climatic zones in western Canada often lead to differences in regional adaptation of cultivars that must be identified so that cropping risks can be reduced and returns maximized. Regional testing programs have been developed to provide a database for the determination of average grain yields for target areas, but in recent years the number of new cultivar releases has increased dramatically and the available resources for regional testing has been reduced. Attempts to deal with these problems have lead to web based systems that allow visitors to make head-to-head comparisons among cultivars of interest. However, the limitations associated with the comparison of means persist in these systems and considerable information of importance remains buried in the data files. This paper describes an interactive web-based model for head-to-head cultivar grain yield comparisons that calculates relative yields based on the growing season environmental potential at any prospective location in western Canada. By adapting and combining the databases from cooperative and provincial testing programs this decision-making tool also offers the opportunity to make plant breeding programs more effective while reducing the need for extensive post-registration regional testing

A web-based model for estimating winter survival in cereals

Non-Peer ReviewedAn interactive web-based model for estimating winter survival in cereals has been developed for use by farmers, extension workers, and researchers. The model is based on a series of equations that describe acclimation, dehardening, and damage due to low-temperature stress that are consistent with recent interpretation of low-temperature gene regulation. Low-temperature tolerance is estimated on a daily basis relative to stage of phenological development and cultivar cold hardiness potential. The model has been field validated for cereals in Saskatchewan and has been used in the simulation of over wintering for a wide range of species. Because it complies with the known low-temperature responses of cereals and is fully interactive, it can be used as a teaching tool that allows production risks, cause-and-effect processes, and genetic theories to be systematically investigated

Is ESN releasing fast enough to supply winter wheat nitrogen demand?

Non-Peer ReviewedThe purpose of this study is to investigate nitrogen release from various split rate applications of seed-placed environmentally smart nitrogen (ESN) and spring-applied dribble banded Agrotain-UAN (urea and ammonium nitrate solution) and broadcast Agrotain-urea in winter wheat. Cool spring soil conditions have the potential to limit nitrogen (N) release from ESN potentially limiting grain yield potential. Plant root simulator (PRS™) probes were used to monitor N soil supply. It was discovered that N supply did not vary significantly between the split-rate treatments. There were also no significant differences between grain yield and protein content. These results suggest that N release from ESN was not limited by cool spring temperatures and allowed plant vigour similar to traditional spring-applied methods

Postfeminist Media Cultures

This entry provides an overview of postfeminism, which has become central in the last two decades not only within feminist cultural discourse but also within neoliberal discourses and popular culture. The dominant attempts to conceptualize postfeminism often bring to the surface approaches that are complex and contradictory in nature. For instance, postfeminism is viewed as a theoretical framework, as a sensibility, as an expansion of feminist theory, or as a rejection of it. The discussion of postfeminism against the backdrop of media productions further highlights its implications for women and gender representation. A look at quintessential postfeminist texts shows, for instance, that postfeminism essentially problematizes contemporary constructions of gender as it simultaneously evokes and rejects basic feminist tenets

The Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism: development and application among British Pagans

This article builds on the tradition of attitudinal measures of religiosity established by Leslie Francis and colleagues with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (and reflected in the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism) by introducing a new measure to assess the attitudinal disposition of Pagans. A battery of items was completed by 75 members of a Pagan Summer Camp. These items were reduced to produce a 21-item scale that measured aspects of Paganism concerned with: the God/Goddess, worshipping, prayer, and coven. The scale recorded an alpha coefficient of 0.93. Construct validity of the Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism was demonstrated by the clear association with measures of participation in private rituals

Attentive Learning of Sequential Handwriting Movements: A Neural Network Model

Defense Advanced research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-1-0409, N00014-92-J-1309); National Science Foundation (IRI-97-20333); National Institutes of Health (I-R29-DC02952-01)

What do people fear about cancer? A systematic review and meta-synthesis of cancer fears in the general population

Background Cancer has long inspired fear, but the effect of fear is not well understood; it seems both to facilitate and to deter early diagnosis behaviours. To elucidate fear's behavioural effects, we systematically reviewed and synthesised qualitative literature to explore what people fear about cancer. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, AnthroSource, and Anthrobase for studies on cancer fear in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening and analysed 102 studies from 26 countries using thematic synthesis. Results Fears of cancer emanated from a core view of cancer as a vicious, unpredictable, and indestructible enemy, evoking fears about its proximity, the (lack of) strategies to keep it at bay, the personal and social implications of succumbing, and fear of dying from cancer. Conclusions This view of cancer as ‘an enemy’ reprises the media's ‘war on cancer’ theme and may affect the acceptance of cancer early detection and prevention messages, since cancer's characteristics influenced whether ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ was considered appropriate