Visual Layout of Print Questionnaires: Effect on Responses of Middle School Students

A three-page questionnaire was modified to a one-page format. Questionnaires were administered in classroom groups to 300 middle school students. Classrooms were randomly divided into two groups, with one group receiving the original three-page format and the other receiving a single-page version of the same questionnaire. The visual layout of the two versions was different, and included variations in font, placement of response options, and spacing. Item non-response was greater for the single-page format. No statistically significant differences were detected between response patterns or internal consistency of the two versions of the questionnaire. Implications for school counselors are discussed

Heat transfer characteristics of non-Newtonian suspensions

This project was undertaken to collect additional information on the heat transfer coefficients of pseudo-plastic suspensions and to test the exponents of the equation of Salamone (12). Using the same equation as derived by Salamone by dimensional analysis, a better correlation of this data was obtained by changing some of the exponents to give the following equation: LD/Kf=0.346(Dvp/M`)0.7(CfM`/Kf)0.72(Ds/D)0.15(Cs/Cf)0.35(ks/kf)0.08 (1) The authors believe that a better correlation is possible and that additional data should be collected on a greater variety of solids in suspension over a large range of Reynolds Numbers

Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The laboratory rat is emerging as an attractive preclinical animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), allowing investigators to explore genetic, environmental and pharmacological manipulations in a species exhibiting complex, reciprocal social behavior. The present study was carried out to compare two commonly used strains of laboratory rats, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long-Evans (LE), between the ages of postnatal day (PND) 26-56 using high-throughput behavioral phenotyping tools commonly used in mouse models of ASD that we have adapted for use in rats. We detected few differences between young SD and LE strains on standard assays of exploration, sensorimotor gating, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, and learning. Both SD and LE strains also demonstrated sociability in the 3-chamber social approach test as indexed by spending more time in the social chamber with a constrained age/strain/sex matched novel partner than in an identical chamber without a partner. Pronounced differences between the two strains were, however, detected when the rats were allowed to freely interact with a novel partner in the social dyad paradigm. The SD rats in this particular testing paradigm engaged in play more frequently and for longer durations than the LE rats at both juvenile and young adult developmental time points. Results from this study that are particularly relevant for developing preclinical ASD models in rats are threefold: (i) commonly utilized strains exhibit unique patterns of social interactions, including strain-specific play behaviors, (ii) the testing environment may profoundly influence the expression of strain-specific social behavior and (iii) simple, automated measures of sociability may not capture the complexities of rat social interactions

The Leninist State under Threat? The Politics of Economic Reform in China

Summary Summary This article examines the political origins, content and impact of China's post?Mao economic reforms and argues that while they may well lead towards a more ‘pluralistic’ political process along corporatist ‘lines’, we cannot assume that they will lead automatically to more wide?ranging political democratisation. Resumen Resumen ¿El estado leninista bajo amenaza? La política de las reformas económicas en China Este artículo examina los orígenes políticos, el contenido y el impacto de las reformas económicas posteriores a Mao y sostiene que aun cuando ellas bien pueden derivar en un proceso político más ‘pluralista’ junto a ‘líneas’ corporatistas, no se puede suponer que conducirán automáticamente a una democratización de más vasto alcance

Após Snowden: Repensando o Impacto da Vigilância

Revelações recentes sobre o PRISM, programa secreto da Agência de Segurança Nacional dos Estados Unidos (NSA), confirmaram a vigilância em larga escala de mensagens eletrônicas e telecomunicações de governos, empresas e cidadãos, inclusive de aliados próximos aos EUA na Europa e na América Latina. As ramificações transnacionais da vigilância pedem a reavaliação das práticas políticas do mundo contemporâneo. O debate não pode se limitar à oposição Estados Unidos e resto do mundo ou vigilância e privacidade; muito mais está em jogo. Este artigo coletivo descreve, brevemente, especificidades da vigilância cibernética em massa, incluindo a combinação de práticas de serviços de inteligência e de empresas privadas ao redor do mundo. Em seguida, investiga o impacto destas práticas em termos de segurança nacional, diplomacia, Direitos Humanos, Democracia, subjetividade e obediência.Current revelations about the secret US-NSA program, PRISM, have confirmed a large-scale mass surveillance of telecommunication and electronic messages of governments, companies, and citizens, including the United States’ closest allies in Europe and Latin America. The transnational ramifications of surveillance call for a re-evaluation of contemporary world politics practices. The debate cannot be limited to the United States versus the rest of the world or to surveillance versus privacy; much more is at stake. This collective article briefly describes the specificities of cyber mass surveillance, including its mix of practices of intelligence services and those of private companies providing services around the world. It then investigates the impact of these practices on national security, diplomacy, Human Rights, Democracy, subjectivity and obedience

Após Snowden: Repensando o Impacto da Vigilância

Revelações recentes sobre o PRISM, programa secreto da Agência de Segurança Nacional dos Estados Unidos (NSA), confirmaram a vigilância em larga escala de mensagens eletrônicas e telecomunicações de governos, empresas e cidadãos, inclusive de aliados próximos aos EUA na Europa e na América Latina. As ramificações transnacionais da vigilância pedem a reavaliação das práticas políticas do mundo contemporâneo. O debate não pode se limitar à oposição Estados Unidos e resto do mundo ou vigilância e privacidade; muito mais está em jogo. Este artigo coletivo descreve, brevemente, especificidades da vigilância cibernética em massa, incluindo a combinação de práticas de serviços de inteligência e de empresas privadas ao redor do mundo. Em seguida, investiga o impacto destas práticas em termos de segurança nacional, diplomacia, Direitos Humanos, Democracia, subjetividade e obediência.Current revelations about the secret US-NSA program, PRISM, have confirmed a large-scale mass surveillance of telecommunication and electronic messages of governments, companies, and citizens, including the United States’ closest allies in Europe and Latin America. The transnational ramifications of surveillance call for a re-evaluation of contemporary world politics practices. The debate cannot be limited to the United States versus the rest of the world or to surveillance versus privacy; much more is at stake. This collective article briefly describes the specificities of cyber mass surveillance, including its mix of practices of intelligence services and those of private companies providing services around the world. It then investigates the impact of these practices on national security, diplomacy, Human Rights, Democracy, subjectivity and obedience

Development of a 1 kW, 200 C Mapham Inventor

Electronic systems and components are often exposed to high temperature environment in space-based applications, nuclear power facilities, and geothermal energy extraction fields. A key requirement for these systems is, therefore, to withstand the high temperature exposure while maintaining efficient and reliable operation. Efforts were taken to design and develop a high temperature power inverter capable of 200 C operation. A 1 kW, 20 kHz Mapham inverter was designed and evaluated as a function of temperature at different load levels. The inverter system, excluding its input, control, and logic circuits, was characterized at temperatures from ambient to 200 C at 0%, 50%, and 100% resistive loading. With an applied input voltage of 75 VDC, the inverter produced an output of 250 VAC. The results obtained, which indicate good operational characteristics of the inverter up to 200 C, are presented and discussed

Integration of Crop-Livestock Systems: An Opportunity toProtect Grasslands from Conversion to Cropland in the US Great Plains

The Great Plains is a mixture of cropland and grassland mainly used for agricultural purposes, with grasslands under continual threat of conversion to cropland. Agriculturists are advocating for the integration of crop-livestock systems (ICLS) to recouple nutrient cycles, improve biodiversity, and increase resilience of agricultural operations. We address the benefits of ICLS in the Great Plains, contending that focus on improving soil health and financial stability of agricultural operations should reduce the conversion of grasslands to cropland. Using US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture survey data from the 1925 to 2017 category “cropland used only for pasture or grazing,” which represents land that had been cropped but converted to annual/perennial pasture and grazed, we showcase that the number of farms and the land area in this category is a reasonable proxy of ICLS. As expected, ICLS dramatically decreased in the entire United States from 1925 to 1945, but from 1945 to 2002 in the Great Plains ICLS remained relatively constant, providing evidence of sustained crop-livestock integration. Consistent high numbers of beef cows during this period and the wide availability of forages and crop residues for ruminants facilitated opportunities for producers to use ICLS on their individual operations (within farm) or among operations where row crop farmers and forage-based producers integrated beef cattle use across the landscape (among farms). This integration, however, was decoupled from 2006 to 2013, a period of high grain prices. As a result, economic value of grasslands was decreased and conversion to cropland was increased. Thus, conservation efforts in the Great Plains for grasslands should focus on keeping grasslands intact for provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services by emphasizing incorporation of ICLS within and among farms to reduce the risk of converting grassland to cropland