Agricultural Information Needs and Food Access in the Stann Creek District of Belize

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face-to-face meetings were used most often by extension officers for disseminating agricultural information. Smallholder farmers and the general public have very similar levels of food access and availability. No significant difference was foundbetween the smallholder farmers and the general public on food insecurity with both groups reporting mild to severe food insecurity. Recommendations focused on practical operational strategies for the local Department of Agriculture, as well as the Belize Ministry of Agriculture to eradicate hungerand increase overall food access and availability throughout Belize

Fitness-based network growth with dynamic feedback

This article is a preprint of a paper that is currently under review with Physical Review E.We study a class of network growth models in which the choice of attachment by new nodes is governed by intrinsic attractiveness, or tness, of the existing nodes. The key feature of the models is a feedback mechanism whereby the distribution from which fitnesses of new nodes are drawn is dynamically updated to account for the evolving degree distribution. It is shown that in the case of linear mapping between fitnesses and degrees, the models lead to tunable stationary powerlaw degree distribution, while in the non-linear case the distributions converge to the stretched exponential form

Elimination of gender-related employment disparities through statistical process control

This paper proposes a novel approach that has the potential to hasten the eradication of gender disparities in employment. This approach relies upon the concept of statistical process control (SPC) to more systematically remedy disparate employment outcomes for women. SPC also serves as a new vehicle for conceptualizing the influence of industry on equal employment opportunity (EEO) outcomes. Using data from U.S. Current Population Surveys, we compare industries on EEO performance as assessed by a recently developed Systemic Gender Disparity Scorecard. The theory and practice of SPC suggest that further improvement, and by far the greater opportunity for gender-related EEO progress, necessitates fundamental changes in each industry's practices and norms that serve as barriers to gender parity. We recommend more resources to support collaboration between employers and EEO enforcement agencies.Women - Employment

Dynamics of a two-level system strongly coupled to a high-frequency quantum oscillator

Recent experiments on quantum behavior in microfabricated solid-state systems suggest tantalizing connections to quantum optics. Several of these experiments address the prototypical problem of cavity quantum electrodynamics: a two-level system coupled to a quantum harmonic oscillator. Such devices may allow the exploration of parameter regimes outside the near-resonance and weak-coupling assumptions of the ubiquitous rotating-wave approximation (RWA), necessitating other theoretical approaches. One such approach is an adiabatic approximation in the limit that the oscillator frequency is much larger than the characteristic frequency of the two-level system. A derivation of the approximation is presented and the time evolution of the two-level-system occupation probability is calculated using both thermal- and coherent-state initial conditions for the oscillator. Closed-form evaluation of the time evolution in the weak-coupling limit provides insight into the differences between the thermal- and coherent-state models. Finally, potential experimental observations in solid-state systems, particularly the Cooper-pair box--nanomechanical resonator system, are discussed and found to be promising.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; revised abstract; some text revisions; added two figures and combined others; added references. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Random harmonic analysis program, L221 (TEV156). Volume 2: Supplemental system design and maintenenace document

Volume 2 of a two volume document is presented. A computer program, L222 (TEV 156), available for execution on the CDC 6600 computer is described. The program is capable of calculating steady-state solutions for linear second-order differential equations due to sinusoidal forcing functions. From this, steady-state solutions, generalized coordinates, and load frequency responses may be determined. Statistical characteristics of loads for the forcing function spectral shape may also be calculated using random harmonic analysis techniques. The particular field of application of the program is the analysis of airplane response and loads due to continuous random air turbulence

DETERMINANTS OF BORROWER DROPOUT IN MICROFINANCE: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION IN MALI

Repeat borrowing is critical for the long-term financial viability of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which provide financial services to low-income households in developing countries. Repeat borrowers reduce MFI administrative costs, lower risks, and increase institutional productivity. In this paper we study the determinants of borrower dropout of an MFI operating in an urban center in Mali. Specifically, we quantify the explicit and implicit costs that a borrower must incur in obtaining loans from an MFI.Financial Economics,

How to Track Protists in Three Dimensions

We present an apparatus optimized for tracking swimming microorganisms in the size range 10-1000 microns, in three dimensions (3D), far from surfaces, and with negligible background convective fluid motion. CCD cameras attached to two long working distance microscopes synchronously image the sample from two perpendicular directions, with narrowband dark-field or bright-field illumination chosen to avoid triggering a phototactic response. The images from the two cameras can be combined to yield 3D tracks of the organism. Using additional, highly directional broad-spectrum illumination with millisecond timing control the phototactic trajectories in 3D of organisms ranging from Chlamydomonas to Volvox can be studied in detail. Surface-mediated hydrodynamic interactions can also be investigated without convective interference. Minimal modifications to the apparatus allow for studies of chemotaxis and other taxes.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Diurnal variation in harbour porpoise detection – potential implications for management

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