Conservation and Caffeine: The History of Coffee Tourism and Sustainability in Costa Rica

Costa Rican coffee has had a long reputation for being some of the most flavorful coffee on the planet. However, it took many years for Costa Rica to establish itself as a coffee producing country, and many more years to develop sustainable coffee-growing systems. Out of the ruins of exploitation by the United Fruit Company, Costa Rica has built up a booming and sustainable agritourism industry, and coffee has played an integral role in its success. While there are many benefits and drawbacks to agritourism, Costa Rican farmers have managed to make every step of coffee production, from growing to selling, a sustainable process

Identifying Frogeye Leaf Spot Resistance in Two Elite Soybean Populations and Analysis of Agronomic Traits in Resistant Lines

Soybeans (Glycine max L.) are an important crop globally for its food, feed, and oilpurposes. It is impacted by many diseases, including Cercospora sojina, the causal agent of Frogeye Leaf Spot (FLS). Chemical and cultural controls to this fungal pathogen are insufficient, so genetic resistance must be acquired for adequate control. To this end, two recombinant inbred populations were screened in a greenhouse setting for their relative resistance to FLS, and their genomes were analyzed for contributing quantitative trait loci (QTL). In the Essex ́ Forrest population, one QTL was discovered on chromosome 13, and in the Forrest ́ Williams 82 population, two QTL were identified on chromosomes 6 and 11, respectively. These populations were then also screened in a field setting for agronomic traits. These traits were analyzed to detect one superior line for both FLS resistance and advanced agronomic traits, F ́W 125. This line should be used in future breeding projects to increase FLS resistance and reduce linkage drag for other desired characteristics

Do Traditional Values Create Stress that Interferes with Positive Parenting?

Parents\u27 attitudes and experiences likely influence parents\u27 interactions with their young children. Parents\u27 attitudes may be based on traditional or progressive parenting ideals, with traditional attitudes emphasizing obedience and control of children but progressive attitudes associated with more maternal sensitivity, cognitive talk, supportive behavior, positive regard, and decreased intrusiveness. Parents\u27 experiences of parenting as stressful may also influence the quality of interactions with their children, with high parental stress associated reducing positive parent interactions cognitive stimulation. The present study examined whether parental stress at 24 months is a mediating variable for the relationship between parental attitudes at 24 months and parent-toddler interaction quality at 36 months. More specifically, do more traditional parenting values create more stress about parenting, which in turn, limits positive parenting? Extant longitudinal data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project included 2156 toddlers (51% male) and their parents (all female). Traditional and progressive parental attitudes were measured at 24 months using the Parent Modernity Scale. Parental stress was measured at 24 months using two subscales of the Parental Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF): dysfunctional interaction and parental distress, with higher scores indicating more stress. The Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO) was used to measure parent-toddler interaction quality at 36 months, with higher scores indicating more developmentally supportive interactions. At 24 months, more traditional attitudes predicted poorer interaction quality at 36 months, and more progressive attitudes predicted better interaction quality at 36 months. Parental distress and dysfunctional interactions at 36months mediated the association between more traditional parental attitudes at 24 months and less developmentally supportive interactions at 36 months. These results suggest that programs focusing on improving developmentally supportive parent-child interactions should include efforts to reduce parental stress and dysfunctional interactions, especially focusing on parents with more traditional attitudes

Swimming in the Third Stream: A Performance Guide For David Baker’s Singers of Songs/Weavers of Dreams For Cello and Percussion

David Baker was an American composer, performer, and pedagogue who wrote over 2000 works during the course of his career. Baker’s output spans a wide variety of genres and styles, including compositions for jazz band, symphony orchestra, choir, and various chamber ensembles. Using elements from his background in both jazz and classical music, Baker’s musical language is one that creates a true synthesis of styles, especially when writing in a third stream context. Additionally, Baker was inspired by African American figures from his past, and often wrote music honoring those who came before him. In this way, Baker adds his own compositional voice to the narrative of African American culture, engaging with a deep tradition known as Signifyin(g). This research focuses on Baker’s third stream work Singers of Songs/Weavers of Dreams for cello and percussion. Not only does this piece blend jazz and classical elements, but Baker honors a different Black music icon in each movement by Signifyin(g) on each musician’s particular style. Although it was intended for classical performers, Singers of Songs/Weavers of Dreams poses unique challenges for the classically-trained musician. This document serves as a starting point for the musician unfamiliar with the jazz languages and styles used throughout the piece, through discussion of historical and stylistic background of the music, analysis of representative recordings, and analysis of jazz and classical elements within each movement. Finally, contemporary classical music boasts an increasing range of influences. Performers can use a similar approach not only preparing Baker’s works, but those with a wide range of stylistic elements

THE IMPACT OF AN AGING RURAL POPULATION ON LOCAL TAX STRUCTURES

The growing American retired population increasingly is viewed for its economic development potential. The relationship between the elderly and local taxes may have a critical effect on this potential, however. This paper examines the local tax implications of an increasing elderly population in communities prohibiting tax referenda. In such communities, citizens have no direct role in tax decisions. The elderly's attitudes towards different local taxes are examined using telephone survey data, before using aggregate data to investigate the relationship between the elderly and the specific taxes used in communities. The results suggest that a high proportion of elderly do not affect the mix of local taxes, but that an increasing proportion does have an influence.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

TOWARDS DETERMINATION OF THE THREONINE REQUIREMENT OF YEARLING HORSES FED VARYING DIETARY COMPOSITIONS USING THE INDICATOR AMINO ACID OXIDATION METHOD

The amino acid requirements of growing horses are currently unknown, and studies suggest that threonine is a limiting amino acid in common horse diets. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the threonine requirement of growing horses fed two different forage to concentrate ratios using the indicator amino acid oxidation method. The study consisted of a high concentrate phase (HC; 60% concentrate and 40% forage) and a high forage phase (HF; 25% concentrate and 75% forage). Within each phase, 6 female yearling Thoroughbred horses were randomly assigned each of 6 dietary treatments in a 6 x 6 Latin square design. All 6 treatments were identical, apart from varying equimolar ratios of threonine to glutamate. After 6 days of adaptation, blood samples were collected before and after the morning meal for plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) and amino acid analysis. On day 7, horses underwent the IAAO protocol, during which regular breath and blood samples were collected. Phenylalanine flux, oxidation, non-oxidative disposal, and release from body protein, as well as total carbon dioxide production were calculated using plateau enrichment of samples. There was a significant linear effect of threonine intake on plasma threonine concentrations, and PUN had a significant linear response during the HC phase. There was no significant effect of treatment on phenylalanine oxidation during either phase (P ≥ 0.05). It is unlikely that threonine was limiting in the experimental diets

FemJam: A History of All-Girl Bands

Writings and artwork depicting a feminist history of female- and queer-fronted music.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/feminist_zines/1013/thumbnail.jp

Curating and Commemorating the City: Research, Oral History, and Mobile Publishing

Our research team recorded, analyzed, processed, and extracted digital clips from more than 50 oral history interviews in support of two major centennials--those of Shaker Heights and the West Side Market. They learned important historical skills while working in a dynamic team and contributing to a major public and digital history project.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2012/1007/thumbnail.jp