The relationships between public education and higher education: Neutrality, symbiosis or antagonism

If we are serious about excellence in education, every high school should have a university in the school program

Looking ahead in education: Some predictions

Education and educators can and should become involved in futuristics

Agricultural Environmental Programming in Pennsylvania: Increasing Visibility and Relevancy of Extension

Penn State Cooperative Extension Dairy and Livestock Nutrient and Environmental Education Days (NEEDs) is a multi-disciplinary collaborative educational program for government conservation professionals working with producers. The objective of this program is to provide participants with an understanding of the links among community concerns, agricultural air and water quality impacts, changing policy, and farm-level environmental management tools. This article describes the development of the NEEDs program, evaluation results, and future program plans. As Extension\u27s role evolves to address the educational needs of conservation professionals, evaluation results indicate the use of a multi-disciplinary approach can serve as an effective educational method

School Boards: Coming of Age

A sense of direction is critical to all involved in determining competencies for school board training programs

Patterns in Medicaid Coverage and Service Utilization Among People with Serious Mental Illnesses

Disruptions in Medicaid adversely affect service use and outcomes among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). A retrospective longitudinal study examined Medicaid coverage and service utilization patterns among individuals with SMI (N = 8358) from 2007 to 2010. Only 36% of participants were continuously enrolled in Medicaid and 20% experienced multiple enrollment disruptions. Mental health diagnosis did not predict continuous coverage; however, individuals with schizophrenia were 19% more likely to have multiple coverage disruptions than those with depression (b = − 0.21; p < 0.01). Single and multiple coverage disruptions were associated with decreased rates of outpatient service days utilized (IRR = 0.77 and 0.65, respectively, p < 0.001) and decreased odds of not using acute care services (OR 0.26 and 0.19, respectively, p < 0.001). Future research should explore mechanisms underlying Medicaid stability and develop interventions that facilitate insurance stability and service utilization

Examining Criminogenic Risk Levels Among People with Mental Illness Incarcerated in US Jails and Prisons

This study examines criminogenic risk levels of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) involved in the justice system compared to justice-involved individuals without mental illness. The sample (N = 436) consisted of ninety-three individuals with SMI incarcerated in a county jail in a mid-size Midwest city, 217 individuals with SMI incarcerated in a state prison in the US Northeast, and 126 individuals without mental illness incarcerated in a state prison in the US Southwest. Results indicated that people with SMI incarcerated in jail and prison had higher overall criminal risk levels than prison inmates without mental illness. Results further demonstrated that, on average, higher percentages of persons with SMI had high/very high criminogenic risk scores. Finally, we noted that persons with SMI scored higher on most of the eight criminogenic risk domains measured by the Level of Service Inventory. These findings are possibly the most compelling to date in the growing body of literature demonstrating that justice-involved people with SMI have elevated criminogenic risk comparable to or greater than their non-mentally ill peers involved in the justice system. Consequently, treatment programs and interventions for justice-involved individuals with SMI need to explicitly target criminogenic needs into treatment efforts

Manure amendments for mitigation of dairy ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions: preliminary screening

&nbsp;Amendments can be practical and cost-effective for reducing ammonia [NH3] and greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions from dairy manure. &nbsp;In this study, the effect of 22 amendments on NH3 and GHG carbon dioxide [CO2], methane [CH4] and nitrous oxide [N2O] emissions from dairy manure were simultaneous investigated at room temperature (20℃). &nbsp;Dairy manure slurry (2 kg; 1:1.7 urine: feces; 12% total solids) was treated with various amendments, representing different classes of product, following the suppliers&rsquo; recommended rates. &nbsp;In this screening of products, one sample of each amendment was evaluated along with untreated manure slurry with repeated measurements over 24 h. &nbsp;Gas emissions were measured after short (3 d) and medium (30 d) storage duration using a photoacoustic multi-gas analyzer. &nbsp;Six amendment products that acted as microbial digest, oxidizing agent, masking agent or adsorbent significantly reduced NH3 by &gt;10% (P = 0.04 to &lt;0.001) after both 3 and 30 d. &nbsp;Microbial digest/enzymes with nitrogen substrate appeared effective in reducing CH4 fluxes for both storage times. &nbsp;Most of the masking agents and disinfectants significantly increased CH4 in both storage periods (P = 0.04 to &lt;0.001). &nbsp;For both CH4 and CO2 fluxes, aging the manure slurry for 30 d significantly reduced gas production by 11 to 100% (P&lt;0.001). &nbsp;While some products reduced emissions at one or both storage times, results showed that the ability of amendments to mitigate emissions from dairy manure is finite and re-application may be required even for a static amount of manure. &nbsp;Simultaneous measurement of gases identified glycerol as a successful NH3 reduction agent while increasing CH4 in contrast to a digestive-microbial product that significantly reduced CH4 while enhancing NH3 release.Keywords: methane, greenhouse gas, emission, amendment, additive, dairy manure, ammonia, mitigatio

Evaluation of odor emissions from amended dairy manure: preliminary screening

Manure amendments have shown variable effectiveness in reducing odor. &nbsp;Twenty-two amendments were applied to dairy manure then evaluated for odor reduction efficacy after storage at 20℃ for 3 d and 30 d. &nbsp;Amendments represented differing primary modes of action including: microbial digestive, oxidizing, disinfecting, masking, and adsorbent. &nbsp;Each amendment was added to 2 kg dairy manure (1:1.7 urine:feces; 12% total solids) following recommended rates. &nbsp;In this preliminary screening, one sample (n=1) of each amendment was evaluated along with untreated manure (Control). &nbsp;Odor emission from each treated manure and Control was estimated twice by five or six qualified odor assessors (n=10 or 12) after each storage duration, using an international standard for triangular forced-choice olfactometry. &nbsp;Odor quality was defined using hedonic tone, Labeled Magnitude Scale and ASTM methods for supra-threshold odor intensity, and an odor character wheel for descriptors. &nbsp;For selected treatments, odor emissions were significantly reduced relative to Control at 30 d versus 3 d incubation (P&lt;0.0001).&nbsp; However, no amendment was significantly effective for both incubation times. &nbsp;Likewise, for all amendments tested, aging the manure slurry for 30 d significantly reduced odor emission and odor intensity (P&lt;0.0001). &nbsp;A proprietary microbial amendment (Alken Enz-Odor + Clear Flo: aerobic/ facultative microbes with growth factors), disinfectant (hydrogen peroxide), and masking agent (Hyssopus officinalis essential oil) provided significant short-term control of odor (P &lt;0.06). &nbsp;However, after 30 d seven amendments significantly increased odor emission (P&lt;0.02) while only two amendments offered a significant efficacy (P&lt;0.0001): a proprietary microbial aerobic/facultative product (Bio-Regen) and a proprietary mix of chemicals (Greaseater), both with weekly re-application. &nbsp;Hedonic tone observations suggested an improvement to &ldquo;slightly to moderately unpleasant&rdquo; smell versus untreated manure for all amendments except clinoptilolite zeolite adsorbent. &nbsp;Hedonic tone improvement was correlated with reduced manure odor supra-threshold intensity.Keywords: odor, hedonic tone, odor strength, amendments, additives, dairy manure, United States of Americ