On-Line Pesticide Training with Narrated PowerPoint Presentations

UMaine Cooperative Extension is the primary educational delivery organization for pesticide recertification credits in Maine. Shrinking budgets and staff numbers are making traditional face-to-face delivery increasingly difficult to maintain. To address this issue, on-line pesticide applicator recertification training credits were developed. The on-line training is more flexible than traditional face-to-face delivery while maintaining the learning experience. Staff developed programs for web delivery, narrated the programs, and uploaded them. Clients purchased and took tests to obtain pesticide recertification credit. Steady increase in purchased tests from 2010 through 2014 verifies the acceptance by clients

Expanded Information Delivery Using the World Wide Web

Web posting of program agendas and presentations has proven successful for increasing contacts and providing timely information. Web posting of program agendas can aid clients in forward planning and encourage attendance. Web posting of conference presentations can help clients who were not able to attend the program and increase exposure to a wider audience. Software for tracking Web page activity provides data for reporting and a measure of value to clients

Whither Leadership, Whither Extension?

Management and leadership in Extension have long been discussed. Leadership within Extension may not have evolved at the same rate as current issues. The current approach may not ensure success in future years. A new perspective on the current leadership approaches may be overdue. Leadership needs to go hand in hand with management, but one without the other rarely results in success. Weak or absent leadership forces the void to be filled by multiple individuals, leading to a lack of organizational cohesion. Worse yet, a dysfunctional organization may result. Many may have already recognized this and are leading from within

Market Intervention by the Courts: The Economics of Occupational Boundary-Setting

[Excerpt] Market intervention by the courts may take many forms and may occur in a variety of contexts. Sometimes even the most obscure types of judicial decisions can exert a significant impact on the efficiency of exchange (i.e., the price-quality equilibrium) in the market. Consequently, one criterion for evaluating legal precedent is its impact, if any, on the efficiency of exchange in the market

Brachial Artery Constriction during Brachial Artery Reactivity Testing Predicts Major Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Women with Suspected Myocardial Ischemia: Results from the NHLBI-Sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) Study

Background:Limited brachial artery (BA) flow-mediated dilation during brachial artery reactivity testing (BART) has been linked to increased cardiovascular risk. We report on the phenomenon of BA constriction (BAC) following hyperemia.Objectives:To determine whether BAC predicts adverse CV outcomes and/or mortality in the women's ischemic Syndrome Evaluation Study (WISE). Further, as a secondary objective we sought to determine the risk factors associated with BAC.Methods:We performed BART on 377 women with chest pain referred for coronary angiography and followed for a median of 9.5 years. Forearm ischemia was induced with 4 minutes occlusion by a cuff placed distal to the BA and inflated to 40mm Hg > systolic pressure. BAC was defined as >4.8% artery constriction following release of the cuff. The main outcome was major adverse events (MACE) including all-cause mortality, non-fatal MI, non-fatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure.Results:BA diameter change ranged from -20.6% to +44.9%, and 41 (11%) women experienced BAC. Obstructive CAD and traditional CAD risk factors were not predictive of BAC. Overall, 39% of women with BAC experienced MACE vs. 22% without BAC (p=0.004). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, BAC was a significant independent predictor of MACE (p=0.018) when adjusting for obstructive CAD and traditional risk factors.Conclusions:BAC predicts almost double the risk for major adverse events compared to patients without BAC. This risk was not accounted for by CAD or traditional risk factors. The novel risk marker of BAC requires further investigation in women. © 2013 Sedlak et al

Learning Styles of Farmers and Others Involved with the Maine Potato Industry

The article reports on the learning preferences of Maine Potato Industry representatives. Using the Gregorc Mind Styles™ approach to examine learning styles, we categorized potato farmers, university/government employees, allied industry personnel, and others involved in the potato industry into four learning styles: Concrete Sequential, Concrete Random, Abstract Sequential, and Abstract Random. The plurality of potato farmers were Concrete Sequential, while the plurality of university/government employees and allied industry personnel were Abstract Random. The difference in learning styles of the deliverers and the recipients of the information can result in poor communication and a less than optimum learning environment

Interchannel coupling effects in the spin polarization of energetic photoelectrons

Effects of the interchannel coupling on the spin polarization of energetic photoelectrons emitted from atomic Ne valence subshells are examined. Like previously obtained results for cross sections and angular distributions, the photoelectron spin polarization parameters too are found considerably influenced by the coupling. The result completes a series of studies to finally conclude that the independent particle description is inadequate for the {\em entire} range of photoionization dynamics over the {\em full} spectral energy domainComment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.