Investigating the selectivity of weed harrowing with new methods

In six field experiments it was investigated whether row spacing, timing, direction and orientation of post-emergence weed harrowing in spring barley influenced the selectivity and whether it is important that increasing intensities of harrowing are generated either by increasing number of passes or increasing driving speed. Selectivity was defined as the relationship between crop burial in soil immediately after treatment and weed control. To estimate crop burial, digital image analysis was used in order to make the estimations objective. The study showed that narrow row spacing decreased selectivity in a late growth stage (21) whereas row spacing in the range of 5.3 cm to 24 cm had no effects in an early growth stage (12). Harrowing across rows decreased selectivity in one out of two experiments. Whether repeated passes with the harrowing were carried out in the same orientation along the rows or in alternative orientations forth and back was unimportant. There were indications that high driving speed decreases selectivity and that repeated passes with low driving speed are better than single treatments with high driving speed. Impacts on selectivity, however, were small and only significant at high degrees of weed control. Timing had no significant impact on selectivity

Fusion multiplicities as polytope volumes: N-point and higher-genus su(2) fusion

We present the first polytope volume formulas for the multiplicities of affine fusion, the fusion in Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theories, for example. Thus, we characterise fusion multiplicities as discretised volumes of certain convex polytopes, and write them explicitly as multiple sums measuring those volumes. We focus on su(2), but discuss higher-point (N>3) and higher-genus fusion in a general way. The method follows that of our previous work on tensor product multiplicities, and so is based on the concepts of generalised Berenstein-Zelevinsky diagrams, and virtual couplings. As a by-product, we also determine necessary and sufficient conditions for non-vanishing higher-point fusion multiplicities. In the limit of large level, these inequalities reduce to very simple non-vanishing conditions for the corresponding tensor product multiplicities. Finally, we find the minimum level at which the higher-point fusion and tensor product multiplicities coincide.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, version to be publishe

The Challenge of Integrating Faith-Learning-Living in Teacher Education

Teacher educators from member institutions of the Coalition for Christian Colleges and Universities are currently challenged in an unprecedented way. The challenge is to satisfy increasingly rigorous state and national teacher education standards and to fulfill the commonly held mission of Coalition institutions to integrate faith-learning-living. The research presented in this article traces the long history of integration and presents various theoretical integration models commonly supported by educators at Christian colleges and universities. This article suggests meeting the challenge in part through an original six component integration model with potential value for Christian educators representing various academic disciplines

Jordan cells in logarithmic limits of conformal field theory

It is discussed how a limiting procedure of conformal field theories may result in logarithmic conformal field theories with Jordan cells of arbitrary rank. This extends our work on rank-two Jordan cells. We also consider the limits of certain three-point functions and find that they are compatible with known results. The general construction is illustrated by logarithmic limits of (unitary) minimal models in conformal field theory. Characters of quasi-rational representations are found to emerge as the limits of the associated irreducible Virasoro characters.Comment: 16 pages, v2: discussion of three-point functions and characters included; ref. added, v3: version to be publishe

Are we making progress in mechanical weed control research?

This study investigates whether researchers’ perceptions of good research are in agreement with current research practice as reflected in Weed Research. A high degree of agreement is assumed to indicate progress. The instrument used to survey researchers perceptions was a questionnaire consisting of 28 items related to (1) research methodologies, (2) research priorities, (3) quality of publications, (4) future developments in technology and agriculture and (5) general attitudes to alternative and conventional agriculture. Questions about gender and personal research engagement were also laid down in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent out by e-mail to about 140 researchers on the mailing list of the EWRS – Physical and Cultural Weed Control Group and 60 questionnaires were completed and returned. An analysis of all Weed Research publications in the period 1998-2003 investigated current research practices. The questionnaire showed that researchers in the working group are not specialized. Of the respondents, only 4 researchers (7%) used 50% or more of their research hours on mechanical weed control but a total of 44 researchers (73%) were active within this area. Views on research and agriculture varied significantly within the group and two counter paradigms were identified often refereed to as alternative and dominant. The alternative paradigm was connected with organic farming and the dominant paradigm was connected with conventional agriculture. Alternative paradigmatic positions prevailed among the respondents although strong dominant positions were also represented. Females (N=15) held more alternative positions than males (P < 0.01) and researchers engaged in herbicide technology (N=13) held more dominant positions than the rest (P < 0.05). By using an alternative-dominant scale, it was evident that respondents’ perceptions of good research was linked to basic values and beliefs that determine the overall understanding of how agriculture works and should be developed. Alternative perceptions of good research, however, seemed to be inconsistent with the current research practice as reflected in Weed Research. Consistency between ideals and reality should result in (1) more multidisciplinary studies to facilitate broader perspectives on weed control, (2) more studies carried out on working farms, (3) more system approaches that include whole agro-ecosystems with farmers and other stakeholders, (4) value inquiries, (5) participative research and (6) reflective approaches. Papers published in Weed Research clearly demonstrate, that alternative research in the ideal is different from research in reality. The main difference between alternative and dominant research is in what gets studied, not in how it is studied. In conclusion, research in physical and cultural weed control may be evaluated successful in a dominant paradigmatic perspective but progress is very limited in an alternative paradigmatic perspective. There seems to exist a mismatch between ideals and reality in weed research, which challenges ideals as well as practice

Two-point Functions in Affine SL(N) Current Algebra

In this letter the explicit form of general two-point functions in affine SL(N) current algebra is provided for all representations, integrable or non-integrable. The weight of the conjugate field to a primary field of arbitrary weight is immediately read off.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe

3-point Functions in Conformal Field Theory with Affine Lie Group Symmetry

In this paper we develop a general method for constructing 3-point functions in conformal field theory with affine Lie group symmetry, continuing our recent work on 2-point functions. The results are provided in terms of triangular coordinates used in a wave function description of vectors in highest weight modules. In this framework, complicated couplings translate into ordinary products of certain elementary polynomials. The discussions pertain to all simple Lie groups and arbitrary integrable representation. An interesting by-product is a general procedure for computing tensor product coefficients, essentially by counting integer solutions to certain inequalities. As an illustration of the construction, we consider in great detail the three cases SL(3), SL(4) and SO(5).Comment: 30 pages, LaTe