Stirring Times in Austria, 1898

Article, 27 pagesMark Twain spent two years (1897-1899) traveling in Central Europe, staying mostly in Vienna. While there, he reported on the famous sittings of the Austrian House in 1897 during which the conservative government sought to push through the renewal of the Ausgleich [Compromise] agreement against the will of the German Liberals (Twain calls them "the Left" or "the Opposition"). The government at the time was headed by Count Badeni (a Polish aristocrat whose full name was Kazimierz Felix), known as a "strong man" for his overbearing governance of Galicia. His appointment resulted in the slow collapse of German control over the monarchy. The reason for the 1897 legislative crisis was that Badeni had issued a language ordinance that gave Czech equal status with German even within the "inner service" (meaning between government departments). The German liberal opposition was so incensed that it vowed to obstruct the Ausgleich renewal until, in Twain?s words, "the obnoxious Czech-language measure should be shelved." In the wake of the often violent protests, both within the House and in Prague, Vienna, Graz, and elsewhere in the monarchy, Emperor Franz Joseph dismissed Badeni. In the absence of a majority within the House, however, legislative action came to be undertaken increasingly by imperial emergency provisions which the parliament was not in session. This in turn further sapped the government of its remaining legitimacy. Twain outlines all these events with characteristic wit in this piece

Economic Potential of Substituting Legumes for Synthetic Nitrogen in Warm Season Perennial Grasses used for Stocker Cattle Grazing

Stocker cattle grazing warm season perennial grasses is an important economic activity in the southern Great Plains. Substantial increases in the price of nitrogen fertilizer is negatively affecting forage producers’ profitability. Two alternative nitrogen management systems that use annual and perennial legumes have been developed for bermudagrass pastures. The goal of the study is to determine if the legumes systems are more profitable than the conventional practice of applying synthetic sources of nitrogen. Results of the two-year grazing study show that the legume systems could not compete economically with the common practice.economics, grazing, legumes, bermudagrass, nitrogen fertilizer, stocker cattle, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics,

The Power of Words

Twenty-one years after the Civil War ruined Mark Twain\u27s occupation as a steamboat pilot he returned to gather material for his book about the Mississippi River. As he voyaged along the eastern border of Iowa in the spring of 1882 memories of former scenes and acquaintances were revived. Keokuk, where everybody bought real estate in 1857 and \u27 everybody sold — except widows and preachers", reminded him of a picturesque character of those pioneer times. The following description of Henry Clay Dean is reprinted with permission of Harper & Brothers, from Chapter 57 in Life on the Mississippi. — The Editor

Confronting the Unknown: Mothers’ Reactions, Challenges, and Ways of Coping with a Child\u27s Diagnosis of Long QT Syndrome

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a life-threatening inherited cardiac condition. It is caused by a disturbance in the ion channel genes that control cardiac repolarization, resulting in ventricular arrhythmias that can lead to syncope, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), or sudden cardiac death (SCD). Most deaths occur in children, adolescents, and young adults. Although congenital LQTS occurs in 1/3000 to 1/5000 individuals, to date, little research has been conducted on the psychosocial effects of LQTS. Mothers who are confronted with a new diagnosis of their children’s LQTS are likely to have never heard of the disease prior to diagnosis, and few psychosocial resources may be available. The aim of this research was to conduct a qualitative study that focuses on mothers’ coping abilities regarding the uncertainty of LQTS and how their quality of life is affected on a daily basis. Ten mothers were randomly selected and interviewed in a semistructured format. Each interview was audio taped and analyzed using a grounded theory method. The primary objective of this study was to acquire descriptive data through qualitative analysis to assist mental health professionals and health care providers to (a) identify how mothers cope with the diagnosis of LQTS, (b) determine the effects of LQTS on the quality of life, (c) understand the role of uncertainty and unpredictability of LQTS in daily coping, (d) parenting challenges, (e) and identify effective problem-solving

Competitive Boosterism: How Milwaukee Lost the Braves

By any measure, major-league baseball in North America surely qualifies as big business. The national pastime is a vital component of today\u27s urban political economy, and baseball teams resemble other high-prestige businesses in that cities must compete for the privilege of hosting them - whatever their true worth. A study analyzes the transfer of the Milwaukee Braves baseball franchise to Atlanta in 1965 as the outcome of competitive boosterism or the active participation of local elites in luring trade, industry, and investment from other cities for the purpose of economic development

Toward a Cohesive Account of Reid’s Scientific and Moral Self-Evident Principles

This paper examines the nature of Reid’s self-evident principles by determining the properties that he claims for them in general, alluding to specific references to science and mathematics in the process. Next, it explores the uniqueness of moral self-evident principles, identifying any obstacles that might preclude a cohesive account. Finally, an attempt is made to remove these obstacles by providing a more comprehensive interpretation of moral principles, one that will relate them more closely to scientific principles. This will rely on notions that are implicit, rather than explicit, in Reid’s writings

Ministering to Those Who Lose Their Jobs

Work is much more vital to a person\u27s well-being than merely providing a means of financial support. Work is often a means of self-expression and socialization, and it thus is central to one\u27s self-identity and self-esteem. Understanding these dynamics is crucial to ministering to those who lose their jobs or go through a major career change. The Christian concept of vocation is also very helpful in this regard

Transgenic expression of phytase and acid phosphatase genes in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) leads to improved phosphate uptake in natural soils

Alfalfa (Medicagosativa L.) is one of the most widely grown crops in the USA. Phosphate (P) deficiency is common in areas where forage crops are grown. To improve the use of organic phosphate by alfalfa, two Medicagotruncatula genes, phytase (MtPHY1) and purple acid phosphatase (MtPAP1), were overexpressed in alfalfa under the control of the constitutive CaMV35S promoter or the root-specific MtPT1 promoter. Root enzyme activity analyses revealed that although both genes lead to similar levels of acid phosphatase activities, overexpression of the MtPHY1 gene usually results in a higher level of phytase activity than overexpression of the MtPAP1 gene. The MtPT1 promoter was more effective than the CaMV35S promoter in regulating gene expression and extracellular secretion under P-deficient conditions. Measurement of growth performance of the transgenic lines further proved that the best promoter–gene combination is the MtPHY1 gene driven by the MtPT1 promoter. Compared to the control, the plants with high levels of transgene expression showed improved growth. The biomass of several transgenic lines was three times that of the control when plants were grown in sand supplied with phytate as the sole P source. When the plants were grown in natural soils without additional P supplement, the best performing transgenic lines produced double the amount of biomass after 12 weeks (two cuts) of growth. Transgene effects were more obvious in soil with lower pH and lower natural P reserves than in soil with neutral pH and relatively higher P storage. The total P concentration in leaf tissues of the high-expressing transgenic lines was significantly higher than that of the control. The transgenes have great potential for improving plant P acquisition and biomass yield in P-deficient agricultural soils. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11032-011-9628-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A survey of training aids and teaching methods employed in the signal corps ROTC program

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit