Qualitative Methods in the Department of Defense

This paper outlines my personal experiences with the use of qualitative methods in the Department of Defense in the area of International Communications. This paper presents an overview of the history of qualitative methods use and misuse and how the DoD has shown a preference for quantitative methods even though often they are actually qualitative measures that have been quantified . I posses over 25 years of govenment experience and have presented on this previously within the US Government

Radiation Metrology of Small Animal Molecular Imaging and Molecular Radiotherapy Using mirco-PET/CT

Genetically engineered animal models of diseases are increasingly recapitulating human diseases. With this, in vivo preclinical imaging of small laboratory animals has emerged as a critical component of biomedical research because of its noninvasive nature allowing serial assay of animal models and monitoring its safety and effectiveness over the history of the disease. The concept of quantitative molecular imaging is to go beyond displaying images in digital form and to consider the image and extract quantitative information that allows for a better understanding of disease progression and treatment. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the need for the metrology of molecular imaging of animal models using micro-PET/CT devices. System characteristics are determined within each subsystem, micro-PET and micro-CT, independent of each other, and as integrated systems. The characterization of tissues, composition and density, by micro-CT was determined along with the noise level of the unit. Moreover, the nominal superficial and deep absorbed doses were estimated to assess the confounding effect of multiple scans in animal studies. The Q value, used to convert counts per milliliter to activity per milliliter, was estimated to assess the observed activity present in the animal. The resolution of the micro-PET subsystem was also estimated using a modified Derenzo phantom to assess the uncertainty of the activity distribution within tissues. Once both modalities were characterized separately the coordinate system of each individual system was checked for spatial accuracy using a cross capillary method. The offset values were then used to establish the same coordinate system for co-registration. Once both micro-PET and micro-CT image data sets had been verified, they were used to generate a voxel image of the subject for use in the Monte Carlo program, MCNP6, where an absorbed dose map was generated for the radiolabeled compound. Two basic examples are given to demonstrate the use of the voxelized absorbed dose maps for calculating the absorbed dose to any segmented organ of interest, across longitudinal studies. In this way, it was shown that an animal-specific model can be used to accurately calculate the absorbed dose for each time point during a study

Nietzsche and governance: meritocracy, democracy, and agonal oligarchy

In recent years, there has been a move among Nietzsche scholars to attempt to smooth over many of Nietzsche's seemingly reprehensible moral attitudes, and in so doing, make Nietzsche's philosophy both less radical and more amicable to the existing moral ethos. Nowhere is this trend more apparent then as regards Nietzsche's stance on democracy and egalitarianism. The intent of this paper is to push back against this trend by demonstrating the necessary role Nietzsche's anti-democratic and anti-egalitarian stance plays in his overarching philosophical position. To do so, and in order to elucidate the core of Nietzsche's critique of democracy, two of the strongest proponents of what will be called the "reconciliatory project," Maudemarie Clark and David Owen, will be challenged. As will be demonstrated, Nietzsche is ultimately concerned with the aggrandizement of humanity, both in general and on an individual level, by allowing for radical competitive pluralism, tempered by the unifying greatness of his "higher" humans. This goal, in conjunction with his understanding of human flourishing, leads him to reject egalitarianism wholesale, and in so doing, any democracy rooted therein. This critique will be used to illuminate several of the defining characteristics of a political and social organization conducive to (and perhaps necessary for) the full realization of Nietzsche's ethical perfectionism. Consequently, my conclusions will largely concern the structure of a Nietzschean politics, not its content. This structure is roughly oligarchic, rooted in a culture steeped in agonalism

Energy and Chemicals from Native Grasses: Production, Transportation and Processing Technologies Considered in the Northern Great Plains

Production of biomass from native prairie species offers the opportunity to produce energy and chemicals while providing substantial ecological services in the Northern Great Plains. This paper analyzes the application of rapid pyrolysis to produce bio-oil, which has the potential for use as a low-grade fuel oil or as a source for extraction of valuable chemicals. Yields of bio-oil, the quantities of extractable chemicals, and chemical prices drive the economics of this concept, which has a more extensive track record utilizing wood chips. A spreadsheet model was developed to determine gross margins available to defray costs to extract and refine such chemical products as hydroxyacetaldehyde, phenol, formic acid, acetic acid and various resins. Although efforts to hydrolyze anhydroglucose were successful, efforts to produce ethanol from the resulting six-carbon sugars were unsuccessful in a related trial. To understand the overall project economics, it was necessary to consider the availability and productivity of lands in the Northern Great Plains that can provide low cost native prairie grasses including Big Bluestem and Switchgrass. Production economics and transportation economics were analyzed to determine the costs of native prairie grasses delivered to a plant capable of pyrolyzing the biomass. Competing technologies that could also use native prairie grasses are considered as well as policy alternatives important for production of energy and chemicals from native prairie grasses.prairie grasses, pyrolysis, economics, chemicals, energy, bio-oil, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Sustainable Agriculture and the Social Sciences: Getting Beyond Best Management Practices and into Food Systems

This paper introduces the special issue of Southern Rural Sociology and lays the groundwork for the rest of the papers. The genesis of this special issue flows from the efforts of the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (S-SARE) program to bring more social science research into its portfolio of projects. Our concern is that by providing best management practices (Band-Aids) to a fundamentally unsustainable agricultural system, the sustainable agriculture movement (and SARE’s granting program) favors the environmental component at the expense of economic and social “legs” of the sustainable stool. While focusing on the history and work of the SARE program, we provided a social science perspective on sustainable agriculture

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: GETTING BEYOND BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND INTO FOOD SYSTEMS

Article originally published in Southern Rural Sociology. Copyright owned by Southern Rural Sociology.This paper introduces the special issue of Southern Rural Sociology and lays the groundwork for the rest of the papers. The genesis of this special issue flows from the efforts of the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (S-SARE) program to bring more social science research into its portfolio of projects. Our concern is that by providing best management practices (Band-Aids) to a fundamentally unsustainable agricultural system, the sustainable agriculture movement (and SARE’s granting program) favors the environmental component at the expense of economic and social “legs” of the sustainable stool. While focusing on the history and work of the SARE program, we provided a social science perspective on sustainable agriculture.Sociolog

Accessing Blue Spaces: Social and Geographic Factors Structuring Familiarity With, Use of, and Appreciation of Urban Waterways

Are urban waterways amenities, and if so, are there inequities in household access? While urban waterways represent a potential site for access to nature within the urban environment, there have been few studies on the accessibility and interactions with water features in particular, what we refer to as “blue spaces. This study drew on a sample of households in Northern Utah living in neighborhoods with a nearby river or canal to ask if local waterways provide positive impacts to households and if proximity to them increased the likelihood of households spending time at them and being familiar with them. We used multivariate regression to demonstrate that socio-structural and accessibility characteristics shape patterns of familiarity and use, and mediate the impacts of blue space characteristics on households. We found evidence supporting the idea that urban waterways are positive amenities for neighborhood quality of life. We also found that the farther away a household lived from the blue space, the less likely they were to be aware of or use the amenity. Surprisingly, we also found that while high socio-economic status (SES) and white respondents generally lived further from points of access to urban waterways, they reported higher familiarity and were more likely to spend time at them than lower SES and nonwhite Hispanic households. Results suggest that future research and community engagement related to urban blue spaces should be attentive to how social structure and the characteristics of the built environment mediate access to these amenities