Language Ideologies, Choices, and Practices in Eastern African Hip Hop

Hip hop emerged as a musical and cultural force during the late 1970s in the United States and has followed a global trajectory ever since. Artists and fans around the world filter North American hip hop styles through their own local musical, social, and linguistic environments, making hip hop a highly visible (and audible) example of the intersection of global and local youth cultures. Young people in Tanzania and Malawi, neighboring African countries in the eastern region of the continent, are no exception to this creative process. Both countries have vibrant hip hop communities that draw on youth knowledge of international, as well as local and national, hip hop music and culture. Youth in the two countries listen to the same popular American stars and hold similar ideas about and interpretations of their lives and music. Yet, Tanzanian and Malawian hip hop scenes diverge in the social and cultural significance of local musical practices, which include performing as well as dancing, dressing, and talking about rap music. This tension between the similar and the different serves as an analytic backdrop for what follows

Structural change in cigarette demand: cusum tests using panel data

We conduct cusum tests of structural change in a rational addiction model of cigarette demand estimated using a panel of annual time series of state-level data. In contrast to the one previous application of cusum tests to the question of cigarette demand stability, our results provide strong evidence of downward shifts in demand during the modern era of health warnings and anti-smoking campaigns.

A study of the general faculty meetings of 148 selected secondary schools in 43 states.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

A Conversation with Jeff Todd Titon

Culture and Commerc

Profit Maximization In The National Football League

This paper investigates if NFL teams maximize profits with respect to ticket price.  We modify Ferguson et al’s (1991) NHL paper as it pertains to the NFL.  A profit function incorporating variable revenue and cost factors such as gate receipts and player expenses is employed.  A systems model is used as the estimation procedure to identify the determinants of ticket prices for NFL franchises.  The model implies a Kuhn-Tucker based cross equation parameter restriction that result from attendance capacity constraints.  Results from the regression are then used in conjunction with other data to numerically test the first order necessary profit maximization conditions.  The results indicate that over 80% of NFL teams set ticket prices in a manner consistent with gate receipt and profit maximization

Evaluation of post-harvest disease resistance in blackberry genotypes

Forty-nine blackberry genotypes (19 cultivars and 30 breeding selections) were evaluated for post-harvest fruit-rot resistance in June and July 2003. Fully mature, undamaged berries were harvested on two dates for each genotype at the University of Arkansas Fruit Substation, Clarksville. After transporting in chilled coolers back to the Plant Pathology Department in Fayetteville, two replications of 10 berries of each genotype were placed in a high-humidity chamber for 3 d (21-23°C; 16-h daylength). This provided a total of four replications for each entry across the two harvest dates. Natural inoculum from the field provided the post-harvest pathogens, and no additional inoculations were conducted. Berries were evaluated after 3 d in the chambers for the presence of postharvest rot. If rot was present, then a rating scale of 1 to 3 (1- very little mycelial growth present; 3=berry totally covered by mycelia) was used to quantify rot. The fungal growth was examined visually and microscopically to identify the causal pathogen. There was a wide range of post-harvest fruit-rot responses among the genotypes. The cultivars with the least rot were ‘Kiowa’, ‘Triple Crown’, and A-1689, with 80%, 73%, and 60% of berries free of any rots, respectively. Botrytis cinerea was identified on all berries that had any presence of rot and was the most important pathogen that contributed to berry decay. Colletotrichum spp. was found less frequently on rotted berries. Results indicate that substantial fruit-rot resistance existed among genotypes and variation for resistance could likely be used in breeding. Botrytis cinerea is the primary pathogen to target in post-harvest fruit-rot breeding resistance at this study location