Farmers' Supply-Purchasing Practices

Farmers' purchasing characteristics, reasons for choosing suppliers, and purchasing strategies were different for fertilizer, fuel, feed, and pesticide purchases of 100 commercial sized farmers. With fuel, few price discounts were received and few supplier changes made. More price adjustments and supplier changes occurred with fertilizer and pesticide purchases. Distribution systems influenced feed purchases. Fertilizer and pesticide purchases with quantity discounts or supplier negotiations were twice as large. Large farmers have more purchasing options. Cooperatives were valued as business organizations. Farmer purchasing strategies affect cooperatives and other supply organizations.Purchasing practices, farm supplies, buying strategies, price discounts, cooperatives, Agribusiness,

“Rise Up!”: Literacies, Lived Experiences, and Identities within an In-School “Other Space”

In this article, I consider the literacy practices that emerged in an in-school elective course centered in the literacy tradition of African American women. Drawing from spatial perspectives (Leander& Sheehy, 2004), I explore what it means to consider this course an “Other space” (Foucault,1986), as a space created without the constraints of a mandated curriculum or standardized test pressures and as a space informed by an understanding of the connections among literacies,lived experiences, and identities. Through the presentation and analysis of five vignettes, I consider how the students shaped the course to their own ends and pursued agentive literacy work resonant with the epistemologies in the literacy tradition of African American women. While I situate these contributions and literacy practices within Black feminist and post positivist realist theories of identities, I contend their full measure cannot be understood without a look at the physical aspects of the space, the travel of texts into and out of it, and its relational and affective dimensions. I conclude with considerations for pursuing literacy pedagogies attentive to social identities and for creating “Other spaces” within a time of standardization and testing

Reading and Becoming Living Authors: Urban Girls Pursuing a Poetry of Self-Definition

Wissman uses the poems of living women authors to help her students develop their own poems

“Let me Gather Spring Flowers for a Wreath”: Writing About Historical Trauma for Young People in A Wreath for Emmett Till

Marilyn Nelson\u27s book, A Wreath for Emmett Till , (2005) was named a 2006 Coretta Scott King Honor Book and given the 2006 Printz Honor Award. A Wreath for Emmett Till tells the story of a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in 1955. Within 15 sonnets accompanied by illustrations by Philippe Lardy, Nelson not only provides an account of Till\u27s experience but also describes the wreath of flowers that she would create to honor him. In this article, Kelly Wissman explores how Nelson provides guidance to young readers in ways that make reading this text bearable. Wissman first provides an introduction to the field of trauma studies and considers how Emmett Till\u27s lynching is an example of historical trauma. Next, she includes perspectives from Nelson on the inspiration for and purpose of her poem, and then provides a close reading of the sonnett sequence to show how her text guides the reader in witnessing and commemorating this trama. Acknowledging that America\u27s traumatic racial history can cause considerable uneasiness within classrooms and schools, Wissman concludes by considering how the very form and content of A Wreath for Emmett Till, and Nelson\u27s own experiences in talking with young people about it, provide insights to educators wishing to share this text with young readers, and assist them in responding to historical atrocities. When asked what knowledge are we trying to teach when we ask children to read stories about incidences of horror?, possible answers might include a more complex understanding of American racial history, a way to understand the individual and collective forces in traumatic events, and the potential power of readers to engage in acts of commemoration and creation toward a more just world

Department heads as decision makers

Many perceive the decision-making role of the department head as becoming increasingly complex

Global Solutions to the Ultra-Relativistic Euler Equations

We prove a global existence theorem for the $3\times 3$ system of relativistic Euler equations in one spacial dimension. It is shown that in the ultra-relativistic limit, there is a family of equations of state that satisfy the second law of thermodynamics for which solutions exist globally. With this limit and equation of state, which includes equations of state for both an ideal gas and one dominated by radiation, the relativistic Euler equations can be analyzed by a Nishida-type method leading to a large data existence theorem, including the entropy and particle number evolution, using a Glimm scheme. Our analysis uses the fact that the equations of state are of the form $p=p(n,S)$, but whose form simplifies to $p=a^{2}\rho$ when viewed as a function of $\rho$ alone

Cognitive Load Theory: Applications in Medical Education

This article examines how cognitive load theory can help instructional designers in medical education design material and content to best suit their audience. Through the examination of schema construction, working and long-term memory, biologically primary/secondary knowledge, and novice and experienced learners, this article proposes instructional design best practices. This article separates these best practices into three categories: activities, pre-lecture resources, and teaching strategies, which can be applied to either novice learners or experienced learners

Nonlinear deflection of a fixed–fixed hyperelastic beam under extreme stretch

We present a model that describes the deflection of a prestretched elastic beam under planar loading conditions. The kinematics is represented with a Cosserat directed curve with an extensible arc length. The strain within the cross-section of the rod is composed of bending strain and stretch of the centerline. Given that bending strains are relatively small, an effective flexural rigidity is defined based on the spatial cross-section and the slope of the hyperelastic stress–strain curve evaluated for the stretch along the neutral axis. Initially, no additional strain is assumed as the beam is deflected, and small deflections allow for the application of the small angle approximation. The solution is reduced to a fourth-order ODE that resembles an Euler–Bernoulli beam equation with a correction term accounting for axial loading. The model is further examined for the case of a stretched fixed–fixed beam under a point load applied at the center. An iterative approach is taken to accommodate further stretching as the load is applied. Experimental results are then compared to the theory. Silicone rubber beams are fixed to rigid blocks capable of shifting longitudinally to induce desired prestretches. Under various stretched conditions, the beams are then deflected vertically with a wedge while recording data on position and force. Although the Neo-Hookean constitutive model overestimates deflection at higher prestrains, a four-parameter Ogden model captures the behavior well and is in good agreement with experimental measurements for prestrains of up to 200%. The results of this analysis have applications in the area of soft robotics and electronics, where devices such as elastic microelectromechanical switches will be expected to function regardless of stretch

Teaching Global Literature to “Disturb the Waters”: A Case Study

Within this qualitative case study, I describe how a fifth-grade teacher in an affluent and culturally homogenous school attempted to “disturb the waters” through teaching global literature. Framed by transactional theories of response and critical language awareness, I identify three central pedagogical moves that supported disruptions of students’ assumptions and beliefs: (1) inviting students to share their aesthetic transactions, (2) privileging multiple perspectives and genres, and (3) calling attention to language choices as a central line of inquiry. I argue that both transactional and critical approaches to literacy and language are necessary in order to move students beyond disinterested and prejudicial responses to global literature and to challenge commonly held beliefs