Power, knowledge and pedagogy: an analysis of the educational exclusion of Dalits in Nepal

This thesis examines the educational exclusion of Dalits in Nepal. It analyses the extent to which the hierarchical caste system and educational policies and practices create exclusionary pressures upon Dalits. This analysis is based on the data obtained from literature and documents, autobiographical exploration and the ethnographic fieldwork conducted at Basipur village and Gauripur School in a Tarai District of Nepal. This thesis is an attempt to listen to Dalit voices and experiences about educational exclusion as a part of the process of including the excluded. This representation of Dalit agency is richly contextualised within the changing political, cultural and socioeconomic context of Nepal. The thesis seeks to challenge and contest the pathological stereotypes of Dalits. It contributes to the literature concerned with understanding culturally specific issues of educational inclusion and exclusion in Nepal. This thesis analyses how schooling in Nepal has reproduced structural inequality and discrimination. Such exclusionary practices have been exacerbated by ambivalent policy texts. Indeed, the increased support for private schooling has maintained Dalits’ exclusion from education and society. On the other hand, public schooling has also played a significant role in challenging the hierarchical caste structure and discriminatory discourses within society. Through developing a ‘schooled identity’, Dalit children build relationships with non-Dalit children. Such relationships have the potential to challenge and contest discriminatory ideologies for both Dalit and non-Dalit children. This thesis suggests that developing inclusion involves a process of understanding and changing exclusionary and discriminatory power relations. This process of change involves a continuous political and social struggle

Pre-Emergence Herbicides and Mulches for Weed Control in Cutting Propagation

Weed control is critical in cutting propagation to maximize root growth and liner quality, but hand weeding is time consuming and not cost efficient. Pre-emergence herbicides are widely used in container-grown nursery crop production, but concerns of potential phytotoxicity have limited widespread use in propagation. Mulches are a viable alternative for weed control but few products have been evaluated in propagation. Five pre-emergence herbicides and five mulches were evaluated for rooting stem cuttings of three nursery crop species and for control of four weed species. Mulches were applied (0.8 cm depth) prior to sticking cuttings while pre-emergence herbicides were applied (low labeled rate) two weeks after sticking cuttings. Rooting percentage, root dry weight, and shoot dry weight were not affected by pre-emergence herbicide or mulch, except for butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii ‘Nanho Blue’) which was severely injured when treated with the pre-emergence herbicide isoxaben. Oxyfluorfen + oxadiazon provided excellent control of all tested weed species and has potential to be used in propagation of a number of crops. Mulches did not provide adequate weed control, but increased application depth may enhance efficacy and should be further evaluated

Dynamical Generation of Floquet Majorana Flat Bands in S-Wave Superconductors

We present quantum control techniques to engineer flat bands of symmetry-protected Majorana edge modes in s -wave superconductors. Specifically, we show how periodic control may be employed for designing time-independent effective Hamiltonians, which support Floquet Majorana flat bands, starting from equilibrium conditions that are either topologically trivial or only support individual Majorana pairs. In the first approach, a suitable modulation of the chemical potential simultaneously induces Majorana flat bands and dynamically activates a pre-existing chiral symmetry which is responsible for their protection. In the second approach, the application of effective parity kicks dynamically generates a desired chiral symmetry by suppressing chirality- breaking terms in the static Hamiltonian. Our results demonstrate how the use of time-dependent control enlarges the range of possibilities for realizing gapless topological superconductivity, potentially enabling access to topological states of matter that have no known equilibrium counterpart

Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Heifers that Graze Tall Fescue Infected by Wild-type or Novel Endophytes

Fescue toxicosis presents serious challenges and huge economic losses to the beef industry in the U.S. Replacing tall fescue (TF) infected by wild-type endophyte (WE) with TF infected by novel endophyte can eliminate this problem but adoption of this technology has been limited. We aimed at demonstrating the physiological and behavioral responses of heifers that grazed either WE or NE TF using relatively non-invasive techniques. Angus or Angus cross heifers (n = 24) were assigned to either WE or NE pastures for a 56-d grazing period during the summers of 2020 and 2021. Heifer ADG and hair retention scores were recorded once every 4 weeks and intravaginal temperatures were recorded for two consecutive days at this interval. Extremity temperatures were determined using thermographic imaging and hair was collected from the left rump for cortisol analysis. Animal behavior was detected using time-lapse trail cameras. The overall ADG of heifers that grazed NE was greater (p = 0.0160) compared to heifers that grazed WE in 2020, but not in 2021 (p = 0.9623). Hair retention was greater for heifers that grazed WE compared to heifers that grazed NE (p = 0.0029). Heifers that grazed WE TF had lower (p ≤ 0.0075) temperatures at ears, tails, and hooves and 0.3-0.9 °C greater intravaginal temperatures than heifers that grazed NE, especially during daytime. Hair cortisol levels of heifers that grazed WE were greater (p \u3c 0.0001) compared to heifers that grazed NE. From 1200h-1700h each day, heifers on WE pasture spent 1.5 more (p = 0.0003) hours loafing and 0.9 fewer (p = 0.0402) hours lying down than heifers on NE pastures. These results suggest that heat stress and other physiological changes in heifers grazing WE could be mitigated by renovating pastures with NE TF

Community Classification and Distribution Patterns of Freshwater Mussels of Strawberry River, Arkansas

The purpose of this study is to determine if there are distinct communities of freshwater mussels in the Strawberry River, Arkansas, and if environmental variables influenced these communities. The Strawberry River watershed is located in the Ozark Mountains in northcentral Arkansas. Based on previous studies of interior highland mussels, we expected distinct low, mid, and high order stream mussel communities. Mussels were surveyed from headwaters to mouth and resulted in 38 species from 57 sites. Environmental variables of land cover, geology, soiltype, and drainage area were calculated at local and subwatershed scale using GIS. Mussel presence/absence and environmental variables were analyzed using Principle Components Analysis (PCA). Amblima plicata was the most abundant species, representing 17% of all individuals collected. The cumulative percent of variation explained for PCA axes 1 -3 for mussels and environmental variables were approximately 40% and 48%, respectively. Contrary to expectations, we did not observe distinct mussel communities. However, some environmental variables (developed open space, cultivated crops and alluvial soil at subwatershed scale and dolostone and alluvium at local scale) were correlated with the mussel PCA pattern. Sujata Poudel. University of Massachusetts Boston, Biology Department, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 David E. Tenenbaum. University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 John L. Harris. Arkansas State University, Department of Biological Sciences, P.O. Box 599, State University, Arkansas 72767. [email protected] Alan D. Christian. University of Massachusetts Boston, Biology Department, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 0212

Fruit Characterization of Different Avocado (Persea Americana Mill.) Genotypes in Eastern Mid-hills of Nepal

The total of thirteen different avocado (Persea americana Mill.) genotypes were collected for evaluating the fruit characteristics in the laboratory of Agricultural Research Station, Pakhribas during November 2017. The fully matured fruits from the farmer's field at Patle, Dhankuta were collected. The criteria for selecting the genotypes were fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, seed weight, pulp weight, pulp to fruit ratio and the seed weight percentage. The result suggests the potentiality of the genotypes PAKAV002 and PAKAV010 in most of the evaluated characters as compared to the tested genotypes. The genotypes PAKAV008 and PAKAV007 were disliked as they have 32.59% and 28.39% of seed weight to the total fruit weight. The genotypes PAKAV002 and PAKAV010 had the average fruit weight ranging (307.1 g and 346.8 g), maximum of pulp to fruit ratio 62.34% and 56.97%. Similarly, genotypes PAKAV010 (11.425%), PAKAV013 (11.96%) and PAKAV002 (14.47%) had low seed weight to the total fruit weight which is regarded important factor for avocado selection and evaluation. This result shows that the genotypes PAKAV002 and PAKAV010 should be further evaluated for fruit characteristics and the quality