Report of Progress: January 1 to December 31, 1952

Each calendar year the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station submits a Progress Report to the University of Alaska and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the 2 cooperating agencies under which it operates. This 1952 report segregates the work of each department, reporting briefly the progress made on each project currently under investigation, contributions to scientific knowledge or to the public interest and phases of the work to receive special attention during the coming year. Due credit is given to cooperating agencies and to various station personnel where more than one department is involved on a project. Briefly reported, also, are improvements and additions to physical plant, personnel changes, publications of the station during the year, and sources of financial support.Preface -- Project reports: Soil science, Horticulture, Animal industry, Engineering, Economics, Agronomy, Entomology, Plant Pathology -- Director's comments: Personnel and organization, Physical plant, Needs of the Station, Publication

Roots/Routes as Arterial Connections for Art Educators: Advocating for Aboriginal Cultures

Arterial and life connections for art educators. Arteries are muscular vessels carrying blood away from the heart to every part of the body, eventually bringing the blood back to the heart before venturing out again. Metaphorically, these pathways locate the heart as a home from which travel extends, repeatedly, expectantly as life itself. Symbolically, arterial connections pulsate with the notion of art, expressing art through life through art. To many people, and particularly Aboriginal peoples, art translated as cultural performance is found in the very pathways and bloodlines of their geographies and histories. However, these arterial connections are available to all of us, especially art educators, as we come to recognize our own pathways and bloodlines. Sharing stories of lives, cultural roots and routed experiences, illustrates complex identity building in the late twentieth century. In this article I talk about a trip to a Paiwan aboriginal community in southern Taiwan and what I learned from/with these people. I hope this portrayal encourages others to reflect on their travel experiences in ways that may help to make classroom art experiences socioculturally diverse and politically engaged

ENRICHING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE: SEEKING TO IMPROVE THE RETENTION VOTE PHASE OF AN APPOINTIVE SELECTION SYSTEM

This article discusses the problems and potential solutions with the system of judicial appointment in the state of Nebraska. The article focuses on how improving public awareness about the existing system, its goals, and its current weaknesses, and implementing steps to address those weaknesses, will help to keep everyone moving toward the best possible system. While changing attitudes and interest in judicial retention elections is certainly not an easy task, it is only through seeking such change that reformers of an elective retention system can hope to near its potential effectiveness

Angular correlations between LBQS and APM: Weak Lensing by the Large Scale Structure

We detect a positive angular correlation between bright, high-redshift QSOs and foreground galaxies. The QSOs are taken from the optically selected LBQS Catalogue, while the galaxies are from the APM Survey. The correlation amplitude is about a few percent on angular scales of over a degree. It is a function of QSO redshift and apparent magnitude, in a way expected from weak lensing, and inconsistent with QSO-galaxy correlations being caused by physical associations, or uneven obscuration by Galactic dust. The correlations are ascribed to the weak lensing effect of the foreground dark matter, which is traced by the APM galaxies. The amplitude of the effect found here is compared to the analytical predictions from the literature, and to the predictions of a phenomenological model, which is based on the observed counts-in-cells distribution of APM galaxies. While the latter agree reasonably well with the analytical predictions (namely those of Dolag & Bartelmann 1997, and Sanz et al. 1997), both under-predict the observed correlation amplitude on degree angular scales. We consider the possible ways to reconcile these observations with theory, and discuss the implications these observations have on some aspects of extragalactic astronomy.Comment: 9 pages; MNRAS, in pres

Development of an image converter of radical design

A long term investigation of thin film sensors, monolithic photo-field effect transistors, and epitaxially diffused phototransistors and photodiodes to meet requirements to produce acceptable all solid state, electronically scanned imaging system, led to the production of an advanced engineering model camera which employs a 200,000 element phototransistor array (organized in a matrix of 400 rows by 500 columns) to secure resolution comparable to commercial television. The full investigation is described for the period July 1962 through July 1972, and covers the following broad topics in detail: (1) sensor monoliths; (2) fabrication technology; (3) functional theory; (4) system methodology; and (5) deployment profile. A summary of the work and conclusions are given, along with extensive schematic diagrams of the final solid state imaging system product

Understanding USDA Corn and Soybean Production Forecasts: An Overview of Methods, Performance and Market Impacts

Agricultural Finance,

2007 U.S CORN PRODUCTION RISKS: WHAT DOES HISTORY TEACH US?

Financial Economics, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

Understanding USDA Corn and Soybean Production Forecasts: Methods, Performance and Market Impacts over 1970 - 2005

The purpose of this report is to improve understanding of USDA crop forecasting methods, performance and market impact. A review of USDA’s forecasting procedures and methodology confirmed the objectivity and consistency of the forecasting process over time. Month-to-month changes in corn and soybean production forecasts from 1970 through 2005 indicated little difference in magnitude and direction of monthly changes over time. USDA production forecast errors were largest in August and smaller in subsequent forecasts. There appeared to be no trend in the size or direction of forecast errors over time. On average, USDA corn production forecasts were more accurate than private market forecasts over 1970-2005, with the exception of August forecasts since the mid-1980s. The forecasting comparisons for soybeans were somewhat sensitive to the measure of forecast accuracy considered. One measure showed that private market forecasts were more accurate than USDA forecasts for August regardless of the time period considered. Another measure showed just the opposite. As the growing season progresses the difference in the results across the two measures of forecast accuracy diminished, with USDA forecast errors in soybeans about equal to or smaller than private market errors. USDA corn production forecasts had the largest impact on corn futures prices in August and recent price reactions have been somewhat larger than historical reactions. Similar to corn, USDA soybean production forecasts had the largest impact on soybean futures prices in August with recent price reactions appearing somewhat larger than in the past. Overall, the analysis suggests that over the long-run the USDA performs reasonably well in generating crop production forecasts for corn and soybeans.Agricultural Finance,

Development and use of an extensometer for determining the mechanical compliance of crack toughness test specimens

Extensometer for determining mechanical compliance of crack toughness test specimen