Identifying Levels of Engagement in Local Food Systems by Generation in the State of Georgia, U.S.A.

Local food systems are an emerging way for communities to build vibrant economies, improve health outcomes, and limit their environmental impact. Studies have shown local food engagement differs significantly between generations; however, what remains unclear is how generations’ perceptions and engagement compare to each other so the agricultural community can most effectively communicate about local food systems. Leveraging audience segmentation theory from social marketing, this study sought to address how the five living generations in the United States – Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and The Silent Generation – perceived and engaged with local food systems. To address this question, a non-probability opt-in sampling of 863 adults in the state of Georgia was used. Each participant was asked four questions pertaining to different aspects of local food systems – the purchase of local foods from grocery stores, use of local food markets, participation in local food events, and level of engagement with local food related media. Millennials and Generation X’ers expressed significantly higher levels of engagement with local food systems when compared to Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation, this was not observed between Generation Z and any other group. While Millennials and X’ers engaged at higher levels, significant opportunities remain for engagement through generation-specific media to turn the universal tepid interest in local food systems into action. Future research should seek to identify the relationship between generational media preferences and how effective they are at transforming interest in local food systems into action

An Appreciative Approach to Assessing Extension Professionals’ Perceptions of Evaluation

Generating timely, honest, and useful feedback is the cornerstone of all extension program evaluation. However, historical evaluation practices, especially in the international agricultural extension context, have relied on models that emphasize external criticism. One model of evaluation that has the potential to shift the focus toward a more collaborative model of evaluation is that of appreciative evaluation. Appreciative evaluation strives towards building on existing strengths rather than criticizing weaknesses with an emphasis on identifying what an organization does well. This research note reviews the results of a recent survey given to a group of extension professionals within a large land-grant institution to examine how extension professionals view the role of evaluation within their programming from an appreciative perspective. Respondents (n = 204) expressed great professional satisfaction in their work delivering programs and a sense of self-worth stemming from the impact they have in their respective communities. Evaluation tools and techniques were enabling forces as they allowed respondents to gather timely data and make adjustments to programs in ways that were reflective of community needs. When asked to identify any structural components of the extension system that improve evaluation practices and procedures, respondents emphasized the importance of both formal and non-formal training opportunities, the development of modular evaluation tools, and collaboration both within extension and their respective community(ies). The results indicated appreciative inquiry methods have the potential to provide valuable feedback about existing programming

Conceptual mechanization studies for a horizon definition spacecraft attitude control subsystem, phase A, part II, 10 October 1966 - 29 May 1967

Attitude control subsystem for spin stabilized spacecraft for mapping earths infrared horizon radiance profiles in 15 micron carbon dioxide absorption ban

Low Temperature Geothermal Waste-Heat-to-Power

Texas and other states currently have a large demand for emergency and supplemental power to remote regions with little infrastructure. In Texas, many of these remote areas have significant oil and gas operations currently in place which have a high demand for onsite power during the various operations and life of a well. Most wells in Texas also produce significant amounts water and most wells are abandoned due to high water cuts. Much of this produced water is hot enough, due to reservoir depth, to be considered as a Low Temperature Geothermal (LTG) resource, meaning capable of electricity generation. This hot fluid combination of hydrocarbons and water can be run through an Organic Rankine Power Cycle (ORC) for effective Waste-Heat-to-Power generation to mitigate the cost of producing and/or disposal of produced fluids. This provides values to otherwise worthless hot water which can potentially prolong productive well life

Pharmacology of DB844, an orally active aza analogue of pafuramidine, in a monkey model of second stage human African trypanosomiasis

Novel drugs to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) are still urgently needed despite the recent addition of nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) to WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines against second stage HAT, where parasites have invaded the central nervous system (CNS). The pharmacology of a potential orally available lead compound, N-methoxy-6-{5-[4-(N-methoxyamidino) phenyl]-furan-2-yl}-nicotinamidine (DB844), was evaluated in a vervet monkey model of second stage HAT, following promising results in mice. DB844 was administered orally to vervet monkeys, beginning 28 days post infection (DPI) with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense KETRI 2537. DB844 was absorbed and converted to the active metabolite 6-[5-(4-phenylamidinophenyl)-furanyl-2-yl]-nicotinamide (DB820), exhibiting plasma C(max) values of 430 and 190 nM for DB844 and DB820, respectively, after the 14th dose at 6 mg/kg qd. A 100-fold reduction in blood trypanosome counts was observed within 24 h of the third dose and, at the end of treatment evaluation performed four days post the last drug dose, trypanosomes were not detected in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid of any monkey. However, some animals relapsed during the 300 days of post treatment monitoring, resulting in a cure rate of 3/8 (37.5%) and 3/7 (42.9%) for the 5 mg/kg×10 days and the 6 mg/kg×14 days dose regimens respectively. These DB844 efficacy data were an improvement compared with pentamidine and pafuramidine both of which were previously shown to be non-curative in this model of CNS stage HAT. These data show that synthesis of novel diamidines with improved activity against CNS-stage HAT was possible

Why Library and Information Science? Results of a Career Survey of MLIS Students Along with Implications for Reference Librarians and Recruitment

Hearing why the librarians of tomorrow chose the library profession is vital, because understanding their motivations provides librarians with a glimpse of the future as well as ways to improve that future for the profession. This article therefore seeks to communicate the career motivations of MLIS students by reporting the results of a survey conducted at the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies. Library administrators and others responsible for hiring information professionals will want to hear the library students’ reasons for entering the field, their salary expectations, geographic preferences, perceptions of the job market, and interest in various subfields. However, all librarians should seek to learn more about students’ career motivations and professional interests so that they can recruit more people to the profession and accommodate the needs of new colleagues. By using the survey results as a springboard, we propose several recruitment strategies with an emphasis on the key role of reference librarians in future campaigns. We also recommend that RUSA sponsor annual surveys similar to our own questionnaire so that the profession can adopt an informed approach to the recruitment dilemma

Control Law Design for Perching an Agile MAV with Articulated Wings

This paper explores the use of variable wing dihedral and variable wing twist (in conjunction with a conventional horizontal elevator) to control an aircraft performing a perching maneuver. A choice of controller architecture wherein the dihedral is employed in the forward path and the elevator and twist are employed in the feedback path, is considered. The aircraft is modeled as a multivariable linear time-varying system. A specific perching trajectory is considered; and the open-loop aircraft is longitudinally unstable for a segment of this perching trajectory and lateral-directionally unstable for the entire perching trajectory. A multivariable time-varying controller is designed to efficiently stabilize the aircraft as well as reject longitudinal-lateral-directional wind disturbances, while closely tracking the reference perching trajectory

B₂cat₂-Mediated Reduction of Sulfoxides to Sulfides

An efficient and operationally simple method for the reduction of sulfoxides to sulfides has been developed using bis(catecholato)diboron (B₂cat₂) as a reducing agent. The present method accommodates various functional groups which are generally prone to reduction: halides, alkynes, carbonyls, nitriles, and heterocycles are totally intact, and only sulfoxide moieties undergo reduction chemoselectively. Moreover, the remaining diboron and the resulting boron‐containing wastes are readily removable, the practicality of this protocol being thus demonstrated

Discrete Cylindrical Vector Beam Generation from an Array of Optical Fibers

A novel method is presented for the beam shaping of far field intensity distributions of coherently combined fiber arrays. The fibers are arranged uniformly on the perimeter of a circle, and the linearly polarized beams of equal shape are superimposed such that the far field pattern represents an effective radially polarized vector beam, or discrete cylindrical vector (DCV) beam. The DCV beam is produced by three or more beams that each individually have a varying polarization vector. The beams are appropriately distributed in the near field such that the far field intensity distribution has a central null. This result is in contrast to the situation of parallel linearly polarized beams, where the intensity peaks on axis