400 Miles or Less: The Case for Local Food Procurement Policies in U.S. Schools

In the United States, the growing prevalence of overweight and obese children is of public health importance. Since the early 1980s, prevalence has more than tripled and presently, approximately 1 in 5 children are living with obesity. Because nearly half of all calories consumed by children occur during the school day, policy interventions on the school level present a significant opportunity for impact. A primary factor with regard to obesity is diet, and consuming healthier, fresher foods positively impact child health. This essay recommends adopting a local food procurement policy as part of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). A general search for local food procurement policies in the Growing Good Food Connections Policy database was conducted, as well as a review of jurisdictions that have adopted the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) model standards to form a representative sample. The GFPP model is based on five values – local economies, nutrition, valued workforce, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare – and promotes procuring local, fresh foods. In summary, schools that have adopted a local food procurement policy find students choose healthy, fresh food options while in school and consume, on average, more fruits and vegetables. A brief review of Brazil as a global leader in school feeding programs and its utilization of local food further supports adopting a local food procurement policy and can be used to inform the U.S. as it builds a coalition in support of a national food policy and local food procurement policy. This essay concludes with three recommendations. First, the U.S. must develop a national food policy so all food, agriculture, and nutrition laws, policies, and regulations can be integrated and coordinated across all departments and agencies in the government. Second, a standard or uniform procurement policy based on existing programs and models must be established. Finally, the U.S. must adopt a local food procurement policy for the NSLP through the legislative process. Adopting a local food procurement policy will promote healthy eating behaviors in schools and positively impact child health by decreasing the prevalence of overweight and obese children in the U.S

Some semiconducting properties of Barium Titanate

A number of single crystals of barium titanate have been grown by the flux melt process. These have been rendered semiconducting by reduction in hydrogen at 800 C for times up to 15 min. The resistivity, Seebeck coefficient and optical absorption coefficient have been measured in these crystals to obtain information about the conduction processes. The temperature of the tetragonal to cubic transition in the reduced crystals has been measured and is shown to be consistent with the results of the resistivity and Seebeck data. The results obtained are consistent with the theory that electrical conduction in these crystals is in the small polaron hopping mode with a drift mobility at room temperature of about 4 X 10(^-4)cm(^2)/V.s. with polaron concentrations reaching a peak of 4.18 X 10(^20)cm(^-3).The variation of polaron concentration with reduction time is similar to that obtained by Arend et al. by chemical analyses

Can the Faculty Reform Intercollegiate Athletics? A Past, Present, and Future Perspective

The subject of academic corruption in intercollegiate athletics has been of significant concern and empirical inquiry for over 100 years. There are many character and ethical issues that pervade intercollegiate athletics such as academic fraud, cheating in recruiting, sense of entitlements, illegal inducements from boosters, and academic fraud. The author makes an argument that many of the problems relating to the culture of college sports and character development cannot be repaired without changing the culture with regard to academics and academic integrity. The faculty driven movement toward academic integrity in college sports is explored, along with the efforts of outside groups, such as The Drake Group and the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (who have emerged as the leading faculty driven reform movements), along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the area of reform. Reform plans by these groups are juxtaposed with historical considerations; along with the relationship academic integrity has to reclaiming the morals and character of college athletics

NCAA Division I student athlete characteristics as indicators of academic achievement and graduation from college

The purpose of this study was to determine if NCAA Division I student athlete characteristics of graduation, presented in the literature and previous research, can be generalized to student athletes in the Mid-American Conference using research based conclusions developed from this study. The study identified seven characteristics prominent in the literature and made conclusions to ascertain if information provided on the characteristics, as presented in the literature, can be generalized to the Mid-American Conference. The research population for this study was N = 1430. The population represented student athletes at the 13 schools of the Mid-American Conference. All student athletes represented in the selected population were seniors by NCAA eligibility standards and were within one academic year of receiving a baccalaureate degree. The researcher selected a proportional stratified sample (25%) of the population (n = 358) and mailed a research-developed survey instrument, inspired by previous survey instruments and research, to the selected proportion of the population, Data were stored securely and complete anonymity was guaranteed. The analysis of the data indicated that information gleaned from the literature can be applied to student athletes in the Mid-American Conference based upon the research conclusions presented in this study. The characteristics of graduation prominently identified in the literature that formed the basis for this study were student athletes\u27 perception of college coaches\u27 emphasis on academics, the extent of use of specialized academic support services for student athletes, specific sport played in college, ethnicity, gender, NCAA high school core course grade point average, and score attained on SAT or ACT test. The analysis of the data specific to the student athletes in the Mid-American Conference revealed, as in the literature, that the constructs of gender, ethnicity, and sport played can have a significant impact on the academic achievement in the other listed categories and on potential for graduation. Ancillary findings were related to the academic achievement of Caucasian females and women basketball players in the conference

Education Versus Athletics: What Will Division I Football and Basketball Players Choose?

For many years the desire for money and winning in Division I athletics,  particularly in the sports of football (Football Bowl Subdivision) and men’s basketball, have encouraged colleges and universities to provide special admission for athletes with exceptional athletic ability, who in turn, often are less prepared to succeed academically. This has resulted in the widespread occurrence of unethical academic support practices (e.g., taking classes and writing papers for students and providing answers to exams) in order to maintain athletes’ eligibility and increase graduation rates to appease the public and to present the case that intercollegiate athletic are about education first. As one means of curbing academic misconduct, the authors recommend providing Division I football and basketball the option of playing their sport only without any academic eligibility requirement. Athletes who are struggling academically or lack academic commitment would no longer need to be bolstered by illegitimate academic support or less than accurate metrics. The present exploratory study sought to determine how many Division I football and basketball players would choose the option of playing their sport only versus playing and pursuing their degree under current National Collegiate Athletic Association Guidelines (NCAA) guidelines. The results showed that the majority would still choose to play and pursue their degree. Overall, the belief that one can play professionally did not diminish athletes’ desire to play and earn their degree.  However, there were also a percentage of athletes that believed they can play professionally and also desired to play their sport only

Febrile Response and Decrease in Circulating Lymphocytes Following Acute Infection of White-Tailed Deer Fawns with Either a BVDV1 or a BVDV2 Strain

Although commonly associated with infection in cattle, bovine viral diarrhea viruses (BVDV) also replicate in many domestic and wildlife species, including cervids. Bovine viral diarrhea viruses have been isolated from a number of cervids, including mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus), but little information is available regarding clinical presentation and progression of infection in these species. In preliminary studies of experimental infection of deer with BVDV, researchers noted seroconversion but no clinical signs. In this study, we infected white-tailed deer fawns that were negative for BVDV and for antibodies against BVDV, with either a type 1 or a type 2 BVDV that had been isolated from whitetailed deer. Fawns were monitored for changes in basal temperature, circulating lymphocytes, and platelets. The clinical progression following inoculation in these fawns was similar to that seen with BVDV infections in cattle and included fever and depletion of circulating lymphocytes. Because free-ranging cervid populations are frequently in contact with domestic cattle in the United States, possible transfer of BVDV between cattle and cervids has significant implications for proposed BVDV control programs

Factors that Influence the Academic Success of College Athletes Participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The purpose of this research is to conduct an exploratory study examining factors that influence the academic success of college athletes participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a subject that has not been empirically studied. For this study, academic success defined as retention and graduation, represents the dependent variables of interest. Additionally, this study examines actors influencing academic success including institutional financial aid, background characteristics (race, gender), college experience (GPA, residential housing), athletic characteristics (sport, athletic expenses), organizational structure, and participation as a varsity or non-varsity athlete. This study uses institutional data from 2019-2020 NAIA’s Return on Athletics (ROA) initiative, and data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Logistic regression is used to answer two research questions exploring the factors that influence NAIA college athlete success. Findings indicate athletes are retained at a high rate in comparison to available NAIA data, but certain sub-groups may be at risk for attrition. Specifically, non-varsity athletes, athletes with a grade point average below 3.0, or those who have been enrolled less than two years

Factors that Influence the Academic Success of College Athletes Participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The purpose of this research is to conduct an exploratory study examining factors that influence the academic success of college athletes participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), a subject that has not been empirically studied. For this study, academic success defined as retention and graduation, represents the dependent variables of interest. Additionally, this study examines actors influencing academic success including institutional financial aid, background characteristics (race, gender), college experience (GPA, residential housing), athletic characteristics (sport, athletic expenses), organizational structure, and participation as a varsity or non-varsity athlete. This study uses institutional data from 2019-2020 NAIA’s Return on Athletics (ROA) initiative, and data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Logistic regression is used to answer two research questions exploring the factors that influence NAIA college athlete success. Findings indicate athletes are retained at a high rate in comparison to available NAIA data, but certain sub-groups may be at risk for attrition. Specifically, non-varsity athletes, athletes with a grade point average below 3.0, or those who have been enrolled less than two years