Heavy Baryons with Strangeness in a Soliton Model

We present results from a chiral soliton model calculation for the spectrum of baryons with a single heavy quark (charm or bottom) and non-zero strangeness. We treat the strange components within a three flavor collective coordinate quantization of the soliton that fully accounts for light flavor symmetry breaking. Heavy baryons emerge by binding a heavy meson to the soliton. The dynamics of this heavy meson is described by the heavy quark effective theory with finite mass effects included.Comment: Ten pages, one figures, two tables, version to be published in PL

Spin and chiral stiffness of the XY spin glass in two dimensions

We analyze the zero-temperature behavior of the XY Edwards-Anderson spin glass model on a square lattice. A newly developed algorithm combining exact ground-state computations for Ising variables embedded into the planar spins with a specially tailored evolutionary method, resulting in the genetic embedded matching (GEM) approach, allows for the computation of numerically exact ground states for relatively large systems. This enables a thorough re-investigation of the long-standing questions of (i) extensive degeneracy of the ground state and (ii) a possible decoupling of spin and chiral degrees of freedom in such systems. The new algorithm together with appropriate choices for the considered sets of boundary conditions and finite-size scaling techniques allows for a consistent determination of the spin and chiral stiffness scaling exponents.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the HFM2006 conference, to appear in a special issue of J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

A Bethe--Salpeter Description of Light Mesons

We present a covariant approach to describe the low--lying scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axialvector mesons as quark--antiquark bound states.This approach is based on an effective interaction modeling of the non--perturbative structure of the gluon propagator that enters the quark Schwinger--Dyson and meson Bethe--Salpeter equations. We extract the meson masses and compute the pion and kaon decay constants. We obtain a quantitatively correct description for pions, kaons and vector mesons while the calculated spectra of scalar and axialvector mesons suggest that their structure is more complex than being quark--antiquark bound states.Comment: Talk presented by HW at the international Scalar Meson Workshop, Utica, NY, May 2003; 12 pages, uses aip style file

Enterprising Rural Families: Making It Work

Enterprising Rural Families (ERFTM) is an international course for the rural family in business. ERFTM teaches a process of finding success, resilience and satisfaction for rural families engaged in enterprises; including agriculture. Instructors from the United States, Canada and Australia have teamed together to offer this course that focuses on the three main components of a family business: individuals, the family unit and the business enterprise. This course also allows families in business to increase their awareness of cultural differences and similarities and improve their understanding of global issues. The course consists of written presentations, online chat sessions, threaded discussions, readings, videos, case studies and individual projects. Using these mechanisms, the online interaction provides rural families with both the tools and skills to resolve immediate family business issues and build a profitable business for the future.Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management,

Soliton Models for the Nucleon and Predictions for the Nucleon Spin Structure

In these lectures the three flavor soliton approach for baryons is reviewed. Effects of flavor symmetry breaking in the baryon wave--functions on axial current matrix elements are discussed. A bosonized chiral quark model is considered to outline the computation of spin dependent nucleon structure functions in the soliton picture.Comment: 12 pages, Lectures presented at the Advanced Study Institute Symmetry and Spin, Prague, 2001, to appear in the proceedings. References correcte

HOMESCHOOL SUPPORT FOR PARENT EDUCATORS

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect parent involvement in homeschool groups has on parent self-efficacy within the domains of content knowledge, required administrative duties, teaching strategies, and social-emotional well-being. The quantitative, non-experimental study utilized a modified survey instrument based on Bandura\u27s (2006) “Guide for Constructing Self-Efficacy Scales.” The 56 study participants were homeschooling parents in the United States of America. The independent variable was involvement in homeschool groups and the dependent variables were the four domains of self-efficacy. The researcher sought to discover if the level of involvement in homeschool groups exerted a statistically significant effect upon the four domains of homeschooling parents’ self-efficacy. The combination of the four domains of the construct of self-efficacy had a significant effect among the levels of the variable of homeschool groups (F (8, 98) = 2.36, p = .02), and the magnitude of effect for involvement in homeschool groups upon the four domains of the construct of self-efficacy was considered large (η2p = 0.16). Follow-up post hoc analyses were conducted with the self-efficacy domain of social-emotional well-being identified as the only dimension reflecting a statistically significant effect on homeschooling parent self-efficacy (F (2, 52) = 6.84, p = .002)

Quantum stabilization of Z-strings, a status report on D=3+1 dimensions

We investigate an extension to the phase shift formalism for calculating one-loop determinants. This extension is motivated by requirements of the computation of Z-string quantum energies in D=3+1 dimensions. A subtlety that seems to imply that the vacuum polarization diagram in this formalism is (erroneously) finite is thoroughly investigated.Comment: Based on talk by O.S. at QFEXT07, Leipzig Sept. 2007. 8 page

Risk Management for Ag Families: An Extension Model for Improving Family Business Success

A risky business environment for agricultural producers coupled with human risk elements unique to family businesses, points to the need for extension programs that integrate traditional risk management concepts into curriculums focused on the potentially unique educational needs of family farm management teams. Results in this paper indicate that a multi-state, grant funded program entitled "Risk Management for Ag Families" had impact and provides a model that traditional risk management education programs could benefit from.Risk and Uncertainty, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

LABOR MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE: A CRITICAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTION

Labor and Human Capital,