COOPERATIVE MARKETING IN SPECIALTY GRAINS AND IDENTITY PRESERVED GRAIN MARKETS

Marketing of specialty and identity preserved grains has become an important strategy in the grain marketing industry and is being driven, in part, by consumer and processor demand and an interest in non-GM products. This study provides background and practices of numerous organizations involved in marketing of specialty/identity preserved grains. Supporting marketing activities are reviewed. Key factors in the success (or failure) of their efforts are identified. Major challenges facing the participants in the specialty/IP grain marketing industry are discussed. The primary focus is on the role of agricultural cooperatives and producer owned alliances.identity preservation, IP, segregation, traceability, specialty products, genetically modified, GM, non-GM, cooperative, alliance., Agribusiness,

BARLEY PRODUCTION COSTS: A CROSS-BORDER COMPARISON

Barley production costs are compared for five states and three Canadian provinces. A stochastic simulation, incorporating yield and exchange-rate risk, is used to characterize regional cost advantages in terms of probabilities.barley, production costs, yield risk, simulation analysis, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics,

ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) WHEATS

Development of genetically modified (GM) wheat varieties is proceeding; however, several critical issues remain the focus of contention. This project summarizes the current state of knowledge on some of these critical issues for commercialization of GM wheats. Background on the evolution of GM Wheats is presented. Then, agronomic adoption and competitiveness of GM crops; research on GM traits in wheat; consumer acceptance of GM crops (a separate section is included on issues related to consumer acceptance of GM crops); regulatory issues and status; international trade; testing, segregation, and identity preservation; and production and marketing risks are examined. Finally, there is a description of the likely marketing system to evolve and a discussion of outstanding issues.wheat, genetic modification, transgenic, marketing, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

SOIL QUALITY ATTRIBUTE TIME PATHS: OPTIMAL LEVELS AND VALUES

We develop a dynamic soil quality model to evaluate optimal cropping systems in the northern Great Plains. Modeling soil quality attributes is feasible, and attribute model results apply to a wide range of soils. A crop production system with continuous spring wheat and direct planting is the most profitable system. This system has low soil erosion and high quality attributes, indicating the benefits of increased soil quality exceed the higher maintenance costs. On-site value of additional soil organic carbon (OC) ranges from $1 to$4/ton OC/hectare/year. These values for soil OC impact the optimum tillage practice, but not the crop rotation.Crop Production/Industries,

Ability and Achievement Variables in Average, Low Average, and Borderline Students and the Roles of the School Psychologist

This study contributes to ongoing research in the field of school psychology by examining some of the effects of using the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) to classify students aged 6-16 years according to their results on an individual measure of intelligence, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III, 1991). Levels of achievement in word-reading and mathematics calculation were compared for 196 students classified as Average (IQ ranging from 90-109), Low Average (IQ ranging from 80-89), or Borderline (IQ ranging from 70-79). In all cases the Low Average and Borderline groups’ achievement levels differed significantly from that of the Average group. The fact that reading and mathematics abilities were not differentiated when Low Average and Borderline groups were compared calls into question the veracity of these labels.Cette étude contribue à la recherche en cours dans le domaine de la psychologie scolaire en étudiant les effets d’employer le quotient intellectuel à l’échelle complète pour classer les élèves de 6 à 16 ans en fonction de leurs résultats sur une mesure individuelle d’intelligence, l’échelle d’intelligence de Wechsler pour enfants, 3e édition (WISCIII). Nous avons comparé les rendements en lecture et en mathématiques de 196 élèves classés comme moyens (QI entre 90 et 109), moyens faibles (QI entre 80 et 89), ou médiocres (QI entre 70 et 79). Dans tous les cas, le rendement des élèves dans les groupes «moyens faibles» et «médiocres» divergeait de façon significative de celui du groupe «moyens». Le fait que les habiletés en lecture et en mathématiques des élèves du groupe «moyens faibles» ne se distinguaient pas de celles du groupe «médiocres» remet en question la fiabilité de ces étiquettes

Inequalities in the psychological well-being of employed, single and partnered mothers: the role of psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A large body of international research reveals that single mothers experience poorer mental health than their partnered counterparts, with socioeconomic disadvantage identified as an important contributory factor in understanding this health disparity. Much less research, however, has focused specifically on the psychological well-being of single mothers who are employed, despite their growing presence in the labor force. Of the research which has considered employment, the focus has been on employment status <it>per se </it>rather than on other important work-related factors which may impact psychological health, such as psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict. The aim of this study was to: (1) compare employed single mothers and employed partnered mothers on measures of psychological distress, psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict; and (2) explore the potential role of work-family conflict and psychosocial work quality as explanations for any observed differences in psychological distress based on partner status.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Analysis of data obtained from a cross-sectional telephone survey of employed parents in a mid-sized Western Canadian city. Analyses were based on 674 employed mothers (438 partnered and 236 single), who were 25-50 years old, with at least one child in the household.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to employed single mothers, employed partnered mothers were older, had more education and reported fewer hours of paid work. Single mothers reported higher levels of psychological distress, financial hardship, work-family conflict and poor psychosocial work quality. Statistical adjustment for income adequacy, psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict each independently resulted in single motherhood no longer being associated with psychological distress.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While single employed mothers did experience higher levels of psychological distress than their partnered counterparts, differences between these groups of women in income adequacy, psychosocial work quality, and work-family conflict were found to explain this relationship. Future research employing a longitudinal design and subject to lower selection biases is required to tease out the interrelationship of these three life strains and to point to the most appropriate economic and social policies to support single mothers in the workforce.</p

Taking the Quantum Leap: Arts-Based Learning as a Gateway into Exploring Transition for Senior Nursing Students

In a senior-baccalaureate nursing program, a student’s journey of transition to becoming a Registered Nurse is fraught with institutional and relational tensions. In a fourth-year capstone theory course focused on issues and trends in nursing leadership, we explored these tensions through arts-based learning activities. Through the theoretical lens of Janzen’s (2013) Quantum Perspective of Learning, reflective narratives illuminated student experiences of the transition and into the unknown. Our goal to inspire, to nurture, and to empower students to take their own quantum leaps took them into finite career spaces and the infinite spaces in-between and beyond

Quiet Lampshade in the Corner? Exploring Fourth Year Nursing Students\u27 Narratives of Transition to Professional Practice

Recruitment and retention issues continue to be prevalent in all domains of nursing practice. Nursing students’ transition into practice is an understudied area of this concern. This study specifically explored the question: How do fourth year nursing students make meaning of their transition to professional practice? Data was collected from twenty-two field note journals and seven face-face interviews emerging from a capstone nursing theory course focused on nursing leadership, relational ethics, complex healthcare contexts and responsive action. For the participants of this study, the meaning of transitioning to practice manifested as: developing complex identity awareness, mediating expectations in the struggle with uncertainty; and longing to belong in the midst of feeling alien. The paper provides recommendations for pedagogical practice and for capacity building to bridge the tensions of the competing discourses of transition to professional practice within complex health care settings. Résumé Les difficultés de recrutement et de rétention continuent d’être répandues dans tous les domaines de la pratique infirmière. La transition des étudiantes infirmières vers la pratique professionnelle est un domaine sous-étudié de cette problématique. Cette étude a exploré plus particulièrement la question suivante : comment des étudiantes de quatrième année en sciences infirmières donnent-elles un sens à leur transition vers la pratique professionnelle? Les données ont été recueillies à partir de vingt-deux journaux de bord et sept entrevues en personne, suite à un cours de synthèse des fondements de la discipline infirmière avec un accent sur le leadership en sciences infirmières, l’éthique relationnelle, les contextes complexes de soins de santé et les actions requises. Les participantes de cette étude donnent les significations suivantes à leur transition vers la pratique : développer une prise de conscience identitaire complexe, gérer les attentes tout en combattant l’incertitude et désirer faire partie du groupe dans un contexte où l’on se sent étranger. L’article fait des recommandations pour la pratique pédagogique et pour le renforcement des capacités afin de combler le fossé entre les deux discours à la base de la transition vers la pratique professionnelle dans des contextes complexes de soins de santé

Stability of the replica-symmetric saddle-point in general mean-field spin-glass models

Within the replica approach to mean-field spin-glasses the transition from ergodic high-temperature behaviour to the glassy low-temperature phase is marked by the instability of the replica-symmetric saddle-point. For general spin-glass models with non-Gaussian field distributions the corresponding Hessian is a $2^n\times 2^n$ matrix with the number $n$ of replicas tending to zero eventually. We block-diagonalize this Hessian matrix using representation theory of the permutation group and identify the blocks related to the spin-glass susceptibility. Performing the limit $n\to 0$ within these blocks we derive expressions for the de~Almeida-Thouless line of general spin-glass models. Specifying these expressions to the cases of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick, Viana-Bray, and the L\'evy spin glass respectively we obtain results in agreement with previous findings using the cavity approach