The Effect of Social Media on Consumer Perceptions of the Beef Industry

As the American population has transitioned from rural life to more urbanized settings, a divide has appeared between consumers and the agriculture industry. Consumers now receive the majority of information about agriculture through traditional media outlets and social media platforms. Social media is known for having the ability to rapidly disseminate information, which in the case of agriculture and its sub-industries is often inaccurate and leads to negative short- and long-term effects. In order to fully understand the impact of social media on the beef industry, a study was conducted to assess changes in consumer perceptions and behaviors. The study utilized a survey that was completed by 300 students from the University of Tennessee. This study sought to describe the effect of social media on consumer perceptions of the beef industry. Results showed consumers are reliant on social media to gather information about current affairs including beef safety incidents and that the information they gather had a predominantly negative effect on their perceptions. Following the pink slime controversy of 2012, consumers felt the information they received on social media about the beef product led to negative perceptions of the industry and changes in their buying and eating habits over short- and long-term periods

Factors affecting plant community composition and dynamics in the Ossipee Pine Barrens, New Hampshire

Forty-one 0.25 ha sites were sampled in the Ossipee Pine Barrens to identify and describe tree community types and investigate factors controlling forest composition and dynamics. Every site had three site-time assemblages (STA\u27s) representing past, present, and future trees. Past (1952) vegetation was calculated based on reverse growth estimates of current stems and stumps. Future (2052) vegetation was predicted by current sapling (\u3c10 cm dbh and ≥1 m tall) relative densities. Cluster analysis produced three community types from 121 STA\u27s: pitch pine, mixed pine-hardwoods, and red maple. Pitch pine communities comprised 63% of sites in 1952, but declined since. Mixed pine-hardwoods peaked at 58% in 2002, but were predicted to decline to 37% by 2052 as sites transitioned to red maple. The red maple community only appeared in the future after current saplings replaced aging pitch pine canopies, but the type was predicted to comprise 50% of sites by 2052. Assuming continued fire suppression, pitch pine communities will retain only 12% of sites by 2052. Control over vegetation patterns and successional dynamics by (1) soils, (2) seed source, and (3) disturbance was investigated using field evidence, accounts from residents and forest managers, and dendrochronology. Factors affecting forests since stand formation were analyzed individually and with multivariate techniques. Seed source variables explained the greatest amount of variation in vegetation, followed closely by fire-related disturbance variables and weakly by soil texture. Logging disturbance and soil nutrients were not significant predictors of vegetation in the Ossipee Pine Barrens

Occurrence and core-envelope structure of 1--4x Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars

Small planets, 1-4x the size of Earth, are extremely common around Sun-like stars, and surprisingly so, as they are missing in our solar system. Recent detections have yielded enough information about this class of exoplanets to begin characterizing their occurrence rates, orbits, masses, densities, and internal structures. The Kepler mission finds the smallest planets to be most common, as 26% of Sun-like stars have small, 1-2 R_e planets with orbital periods under 100 days, and 11% have 1-2 R_e planets that receive 1-4x the incident stellar flux that warms our Earth. These Earth-size planets are sprinkled uniformly with orbital distance (logarithmically) out to 0.4 AU, and probably beyond. Mass measurements for 33 transiting planets of 1-4 R_e show that the smallest of them, R < 1.5 R_e, have the density expected for rocky planets. Their densities increase with increasing radius, likely caused by gravitational compression. Including solar system planets yields a relation: rho = 2.32 + 3.19 R/R_e [g/cc]. Larger planets, in the radius range 1.5-4.0 R_e, have densities that decline with increasing radius, revealing increasing amounts of low-density material in an envelope surrounding a rocky core, befitting the appellation "mini-Neptunes." Planets of ~1.5 R_e have the highest densities, averaging near 10 g/cc. The gas giant planets occur preferentially around stars that are rich in heavy elements, while rocky planets occur around stars having a range of heavy element abundances. One explanation is that the fast formation of rocky cores in protoplanetary disks enriched in heavy elements permits the gravitational accumulation of gas before it vanishes, forming giant planets. But models of the formation of 1-4 R_e planets remain uncertain. Defining habitable zones remains difficult, without benefit of either detections of life elsewhere or an understanding of life's biochemical origins.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication Proc. Natl. Acad. Sc

Linking Global Citizenship Education and Education for Democracy through Social Justice: What can we learn from the perspectives of teacher - education candidates

The respective projects of education for global citizenship and education for democracy are inherently intertwined; the richness and salience of one is dependent on the expression of the other. While both of these ideals are varied and broad in definition, they are each gaining prominence in theoretical debates, in policy development, and at the school level, where the implementation of (formal) education takes place. In this article we examine the construction of meanings ascribed to global citizenship education, survey its position in the curriculum today, and connect it with education for democracy. Structured around the findings of a multi-faceted study with teacher-education candidates in education programs at an Ontario, Canada, university, this article uses data that demonstrates how education for democracy, like global citizenship education, is largely perceived in and between a binary of mainstream and critical orientations. Further, we find that central descriptors of critical perspectives have been coopted or conflated, resulting in reduced meaning. To add a practical element to this conversation, we present six proposals to develop and bolster the critical facets of education for democracy and global citizenship, including addressing the local in global, welcoming conflict in learning sites, and highlighting the primacy of equity in each approach

Pro-Actively reducing vicarious trauma: what are we missing?

This project addressed the need for Vicarious Trauma education for new counsellors who are exposed to client trauma a regular basis. A literature review was conducted prior to the development of a psycho-educational training manual which teaches, via an eight-week group meeting program, a solid foundation of knowledge and protective strategies for mitigating the effects of vicarious trauma. Integrating traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approaches to Vicarious Trauma mitigation with new developments in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment that involve somatic, psychophysiological and sensorimotor psychotherapy. The blending of these theories gives new insight into techniques to prevent, reduce and protect counsellors from Vicarious Trauma

Three Super-Earths Orbiting HD 7924

We report the discovery of two super-Earth mass planets orbiting the nearby K0.5 dwarf HD 7924 which was previously known to host one small planet. The new companions have masses of 7.9 and 6.4 M$_\oplus$, and orbital periods of 15.3 and 24.5 days. We perform a joint analysis of high-precision radial velocity data from Keck/HIRES and the new Automated Planet Finder Telescope (APF) to robustly detect three total planets in the system. We refine the ephemeris of the previously known planet using five years of new Keck data and high-cadence observations over the last 1.3 years with the APF. With this new ephemeris, we show that a previous transit search for the inner-most planet would have covered 70% of the predicted ingress or egress times. Photometric data collected over the last eight years using the Automated Photometric Telescope shows no evidence for transits of any of the planets, which would be detectable if the planets transit and their compositions are hydrogen-dominated. We detect a long-period signal that we interpret as the stellar magnetic activity cycle since it is strongly correlated with the Ca II H and K activity index. We also detect two additional short-period signals that we attribute to rotationally-modulated starspots and a one month alias. The high-cadence APF data help to distinguish between the true orbital periods and aliases caused by the window function of the Keck data. The planets orbiting HD 7924 are a local example of the compact, multi-planet systems that the Kepler Mission found in great abundance.Comment: Accepted to ApJ on 4/7/201

Learning in a Multidisciplinary Collaboration: A Case Study of Digital Textile Co-design for Apparel and Interior Designers

As a wide range of emerging technologies becomes more relevant in recent years, designers today are faced with learning more untraditional knowledge and skillsets, and the challenge of complex problem solving is often more effective through multi- and/or interdisciplinary collaborations. In a collaborative design environment, the transfer of information or ideas is essential to the development of the design process and outcome. Data were collected from a collaborative design project between apparel and an interior design studio class in a southeastern US institution. The study results suggest that apparel design students experience both challenges and benefits in co-designing with interior design students. Results also reflect the effectiveness of digital 3D visualization tools (Optitex) in achieving a rewarding co-design experience in engineered print design

Orthoptic Services in the UK and Ireland During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

AimCOVID-19 has widely impacted hospital services. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on Orthoptists and their clinical practice in the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands.MethodsWe conducted a prospective survey-based cross-sectional study using an online survey aiming for coverage of orthoptic departments across the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands. We circulated the online survey through the British and Irish Orthoptic Society that reaches over 95% of UK and Irish orthoptic services, and through social media and orthoptic research networks.ResultsThe survey response rate was 79%. The survey was completed by orthoptic departments, on average 10 days post lockdown. Many orthoptic services were cancelled/paused with remaining services largely reserved for emergency cases and urgent care. A substantial rise in tele-consultations was reported by 94%, which largely consisted of telephone and video calls and which was regarded generally as working well. Barriers to tele-consultations were mainly IT related but with concerns also raised regarding ethical and confidentiality issues. Shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) was reported by one third of departments along with issues relating to conflicting information about the use of PPE.ConclusionsWe have reported information on the changing face of orthoptic clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey has highlighted emerging tele-consultation practice and the importance of centralised profession-specific guidelines