Hedonic Pricing of Bulls

Bulls account for half of the genetic input when making improvements in cattle herds. Therefore, to make a rapid, less costly improvement a cattle producer is more likely to change bulls than cows. One of the problems that breeders who supply bulls face is that the attributes of bulls come bundled together so that it is difficult to determine what the value of improvements in a bull might be worth. This research estimates what values beef producers implicitly place on particular characteristics when deciding which bull will best fit the needs of their farm. A hedonic pricing model was estimated using actual transaction data and reveals the value buyers of bulls implicitly place on specific traits. For example, a ribeye area of 12.8 in2 at the mean sale price reveals a buyer would be willing to pay an additional $80.39 for a bull with an additional square inch. Likewise, a bull with a 1242 lb. 365-day weight at the mean sale price reveals a buyer would be willing to pay an additional$1.83 for an additional pound. Therefore, this research reveals an incentive for bull producers to focus on improving the genetic makeup of their bulls they offer for sale.Livestock Production/Industries,

Two Major and Compounding Crises in the US Examined: COVID-19 and Racial Injustice

As of mid-2020, two major crises currently afflict the United States, overlapping and compounding one another: COVID-19 and racial injustice. Globally, as of August 4, 2020, there have been 18,142,718 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 691,013 deaths, reported to WHO. Of that, the United States has had 4,629,459 confirmed cases with 154,226 deaths. This means that while the US comprises only 4.25% of the total world population, it makes up 25.5% of all cases and 22.3% of all deaths. The coronavirus is classified as a pandemic with a significant number of undetected, asymptomatic cases, as many people travel, interact and transmit the virus to others, leading to massive outbreaks. There is increased risk with increased age and underlying health conditions, but one pattern that has become clear in the US has been the disproportionate increased risk of contraction and death for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Recently, The New York Times sued the CDC in order for them to reveal information that confirms drastic disparities in the impact of COVID-19 on African American, Latino and Native American communities. Latino and African-American residents of the United States have been three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors, according to this new data. Why is this? Biological skin color does not affect one’s risk, but the systems we have in place, emphasizing racial inequity, definitely do. Due to long-standing systemic health and social inequities, racial minorities are at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19, according to the CDC. This research project investigates the COVID-19 health crisis in the US, how it is connected to racial injustice with health and social inequities placing racial minorities in disproportionate harm, on top of how the Trump administration’s actions/inactions have heightened these issues in such a way that the compounded crisis exposes the most severe, long-lasting and deadly consequences of the politics of structural racism.https://digitalworks.union.edu/srps_2020/1011/thumbnail.jp

Sexual behaviors of students studying abroad

The purpose of this study was to explore the risky sexual behaviors of students studying abroad, given that prior research has shown that individuals on vacation and international travelers are engaging in riskier sexual behavior while away from home. Participants included NJ university students, between the ages 18-50, who are currently or have studied abroad within the past 6 years. Student information was obtained from Rowan University and each individual was emailed a link to an anonymous online survey. The survey included questions from the Rosenburg Self-Esteem Questionnaire, Relationship Scale Questionnaire, Relationship Questionnaire and questions based on prior research (Milhausen et al, 2006). The Triandis Model of Interpersonal Behavior was used to predict the sexual behavior using attachment style, self-esteem, peer relationships, situational factors and intentions. It was hypothesized that students studying abroad would engage in more risky sexual behavior while abroad then while they are home. Using a series of multiple regressions, the following were all found to be significant in predicting risky sexual behavior in study abroad students: intentions, (Wald = 10.50), habit (Wald - 3.395), and situational conditions (Wald = 3.593, 20.053). These findings may aid in understanding what tools young travelers should be equipped with prior to their journey in order to help prevent unsafe sexual behavior in young adults

French Revolution [10th grade]

The students will recognize that there are many different causes that can lead to a revolution. The students will know the different causes of the French Revolution and the effects of that revolution. The students will explore what the French citizens desired to gain from the revolution. There should be an understanding the results of a revolution may or may not have an effect on the lives of citizens. Revolutions do not always equal immediate progress, which is mirrored in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The performance assessment design will give the students to start a revolution where they think a revolution would result in progress. The purpose of this assessment is to think critically about what should be valued in a leader, what rights people deserve to have, and to think about how revolutions begin and can eventually have a lasting impression

Comparing the Ca II H and K Emission Lines in Red Giant Stars

Measurements of the asymmetry of the emission peaks in the core of the Ca II H line for 105 giant stars are reported. The asymmetry is quantified with the parameter V/R, defined as the ratio between the maximum number of counts in the blueward peak and the redward peak of the emission profile. The Ca II H and K emission lines probe the differential motion of certain chromospheric layers in the stellar atmosphere. Data on V/R for the Ca II K line are drawn from previous papers and compared to the analogous H line ratio, the H and K spectra being from the same sets of observations. It is found that the H line V/R value is +0.04 larger, on average, than the equivalent K line ratio, however, the difference varies with B-V color. Red giants cooler than B-V = 1.2 are more likely to have the H line V/R larger than the K line V/R, whereas the opposite is true for giants hotter than B-V = 1.2. The differences between the Ca II H and K line asymmetries could be caused by the layers of chromospheric material from which these emission features arise moving with different velocities in an expanding outflow.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Accepted to PASP. Corrected a typo in Table

The Beyonder App: Designing a Website and a Mobile Application for Teachers to Integrate the Torrance Incubation Model into Classroom Content

E. Paul Torrance “the father of creativity” was quoted as saying “tomorrow’s world will be vastly different for today’s children. They will do kinds of work that do not exist now. This will require abilities, skills, attitudes and information that we cannot imagine today” (Torrance, 1993, p.159). Today’s world is vastly different, thus requiring creative skills and abilities to achieve success. Students growing up in today’s society are digital natives. This indicates that they do not know a world without technology advances, so technology is fully ingrained in their culture. Yet, today’s educational system has still not adapted to the idea of digital natives. Observations and research in the areas of education, creativity and technology suggest there is a need for educators to teach content areas, creativity and innovation skills as well as technology literacy to prepare students for the 21st century. The Beyonder App, a website and mobile application, focuses on the Torrance Incubation Model of Teaching and Learning and Torrance’s creativity skill set as means for creativity integration. It is one mobile space that gives teachers the ability to easily interweave creativity skills into content areas while using the latest technology to engage today’s 21st century learners

Carving at the Joints : Using Issue Classes to Reframe Consumer Class Actions

Achieving class certification in consumer litigation is a highly controversial and greatly debated area of civil procedure. Historically, certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) has been difficult to achieve due to the tension between the presence of individual issues and Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance, superiority, and management considerations. The future of certification for Rule 23(b)(3) classes was further put in question with the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes in 2011, which enhanced the level of scrutiny courts apply at the Rule 23(a) level of analysis. The Court’s 2013 decisions in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend and Amgen v. Connecticut Retirement Plan and Trust Fund further highlight the difficulties Rule 23(b)(3) classes face in achieving certification. Despite these developments, there are signs of continued vitality. In 2012, the Seventh Circuit allowed issue class certification in a large employment discrimination class, notwithstanding the presence of individual issues in McReynolds v. Merrill Lynch. McReynolds placed Rule 23(c)(4) (a historically seldom used subsection of Rule 23) in the spotlight as a means of allowing consumer claims to achieve certification in the post-Dukes era. This Comment explores the use of issue class certification under Rule 23(c)(4) and attempts to clarify when issue class certification is appropriate, with a particular focus on consumer class actions. By breaking complex issues into smaller, more manageable pieces, Rule 23(c)(4) allows litigants to frame common issues for class treatment and avoid an unnecessarily rigorous analysis of the merits of a claim at the certification stage

The defeat of the nerds : masculine \u27redemption\u27 in the millennial romantic hommecom

This thesis will examine the filmic conventions and ideological implications of the current reigning mode of the romantic comedy genre: the romantic hommecom (more popularly referred to as romcoms for boys ). The romantic hommecom essentially centers one or more male characters within a neo-traditional romantic comedy-a mode typically associated with female audiences-infused with elements of the male-centered gross-out or buddy comedy. This current strain of the romantic comedy genre builds on previous generic conventions, but the romantic hommecom is primarily concerned with moving the supposedly immature and irresponsible single male away from his homosocial bonds and/or unconventional lifestyle, and elevating him to his proper role in patriarchal society through a monogamous heterosexual relationship. This masculine redemption, however, typically comes at the great expense of female subjectivity and is ultimately of questionable value to all parties involved. My argument then provides close readings of three romantic hommecoms: Wedding Crashers (2005), The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005), and Knocked Up (2007)-all of which have been particularly important in working out the generic conventions and defining the ideological anxieties within this contemporary, dominant mode of romantic comedy. My critical position maintains that the millennial romantic hommecom is an anxiety-ridden, conservative response to the increasingly destabilized state of white, heterosexual masculinity. The objective of these films is not to offer progressive resolutions to these issues, but t~ mystify them, along with their larger social contexts, through the irresistible spectacles of gross-out humor and compulsory happy endings