Reduced Steenrod operations and resolution of singularities

We give a new construction of a weak form of Steenrod operations for Chow groups modulo a prime number p for a certain class of varieties. This class contains projective homogeneous varieties which are either split or over a field admitting some form of resolution of singularities, for example any field of characteristic not p. These reduced Steenrod operations are sufficient for some applications to the theory of quadratic forms.Comment: Final version, to appear in J. K-theor

Hugo Williams, self-styled anglo-american poet

Although his poetry gives every appearance of being pre-eminently 'English', Hugo Williams claims he is an 'Anglo-American' poet. This surprising assertion rests on his enthusiastic embrace of American popular culture as well as the construction of a style out of American Imagist, "Objectivist" and Confessional strategies. Both elements of the epithet Anglo-American are examined in relation to the poet's work and in the process Williams' claim is shown to be unsustainable, yet at the same time highly revealing of currents within English literary culture

Stiefel-Whitney Numbers for Singular Varieties

This paper determines which Stiefel-Whitney numbers can be defined for singular varieties compatibly with small resolutions. First an upper bound is found by identifying the F_2-vector space of Stiefel-Whitney numbers invariant under classical flops, equivalently by computing the quotient of the unoriented bordism ring by the total spaces of RP^3 bundles. These Stiefel-Whitney numbers are then defined for any real projective normal Gorenstein variety and shown to be compatible with small resolutions whenever they exist. In light of Totaro's result [Tot00] equating the complex elliptic genus with complex bordism modulo flops, equivalently complex bordism modulo the total spaces of twisted(CP^3) bundles, these findings can be seen as hinting at a new elliptic genus, one for unoriented manifolds.Comment: 17 pages, final revised versio

A study on the effect of sward conditions on herbage accumulation during winter and spring : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Plant Science at Massey University

Recently there has been an increased trend for farmers to adopt farm systems that operate at a reduced stocking rate, with the aim to improve per hectare production through achieving higher production per cow. The emphasis of these farming systems is on improving cow intakes and production and increasing herbage accumulation through the maintenance of pasture conditions with emphasis on pasture quality and higher post grazing residuals. A key issue at the centre of such a grazing system is whether the increase in pasture accumulation will outweigh the decrease in pasture utilisation at the time of grazing, thus increasing overall efficiency. The objectives of this study were to measure the effect of herbage mass present after grazing on subsequent net herbage accumulation rate, and to explain these differences through monitoring changes in sward components, as well as discussing the practical implications of these within a dairy farming system. Two experiments were conducted on a commercial dairy farm near Dannevirke in 1998, Experiment I over winter (June 19 – August 28) and Experiment II in spring (September 18 – October 28). The farm was situated approximately 300m A.S.L. with the soil type being a combination of an Ashhurst stony silt loam and a Dannevirke silt loam, with high soil fertility levels. Treatments involved a range of post-grazing residuals representing cow intake levels from under fed to ad-lib (900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100 kg DM/ha in winter and 1200, 1500 1800 2100 kg DM/ha in spring, Treatments 1-5 and 1-4 respectively). The spring experiment also involved nitrogen treatments at rates of 0, 25 and 50 kg N/ha. Heifers and dry cows were used to graze plots with grazing intensities calculated for stock to reach the targeted residuals in 24 hours (Experiment I) and 8 hours (Experiment II). Experiment I was designed as a randomised complete block design, and Experiment II as a randomised split plot design. Both experiments were replicated three times. In both experiments a range of post-grazing residuals was achieved (870, 1140, 1394, 1635, 1917 in Experiment I, and 1098 1424, 1704, 1913 in Experiment II). Post-grazing residuals in both experiments were significantly different (P<0.05). A post-grazing residual of 1394 and 1704 kg DM/ha in winter and spring respectively resulted in the greatest net herbage accumulation rates (16.3 and 81.7 kg DM/ha/day) from grazing until a pre-grazing target level of 2600-2700 kg DM/ha was achieved. Net herbage accumulation rates measured in both experiments were higher than those used in practice on the case farm. No statistical differences existed in Experiment I. In Experiment II Treatment 3 (1704 kg DM/ha residual) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the other treatments. The relationship between herbage mass and net herbage accumulation rate showed a positive trend in both experiments. The herbage mass at which pasture accumulation was optimised was greater in spring (2900 kg DM/ha) than winter (2500 kg DM/ha). In both Experiments tiller density was greater in more intensely grazed swards, and showed a compensation effect with tiller weight. In Experiment I all treatments increased in tiller density with Treatment 1 having a significantly greater (P<0.05) increase than the other treatments. In Experiment II tiller density in all swards declined over the entire experiment, being greatest (P<0.01) in Treatment 3. Leaf extension rates had a similar trend to tiller weight in Experiment I with the laxer treatments (Treatments 3-5) having a significantly higher (P<0.01) extension rate than Treatments 1 and 2. Treatment 3 also had the fastest leaf appearance rate (17.1 days/leaf), although this was only statistically different to Treatment 5. Leaf appearance rates in Experiment II showed no trend, with Treatments 2 and 4 having the fastest appearance rates, and Treatment 3 the slowest. Tiller appearance rates showed some evidence of a trend (although not significant) with more intensely grazed swards tending to have a slightly faster appearance rate compared to more laxly grazed swards. Tiller weight and leaf extension rate were significantly correlated (P<0.05) to net herbage accumulation in winter. In spring all sward components measured were correlated (P<0.01) to net herbage accumulation with leaf appearance rate being the most significant (P<0.001). Botanical composition in Experiment I showed that more intensely grazed plots had a greater (P<0.05) proportion of leaf, lower proportion of dead material and higher clover content. In Experiment II the trend between variables and grazing level was similar but not significant. The proportion of clover and dead material in spring swards was low (averaging 9.8 and 14.9% respectively) given the herbage mass levels reached. NIR results in general reflected the changes in botanical composition. It was concluded that there is benefit in the use of sward conditions (targets) in the planning and management of grazing systems in enhancing both pasture and animal performance. Compensatory effects between sward components resulted in non-significant differences in herbage accumulation rates, and in practice, differences in pasture growth are likely to occur at extreme grazing residuals. Grazing management decisions are therefore more likely to be based on residual dry matter to achieve desired intakes for high per cow production, high pasture utilisation and high pasture quality, rather than to optimise pasture accumulation. It is recommended that residual herbage mass after grazing should be 1200-1300 kg DM/ha and 1500-1600 kg DM/ha in winter and spring respectively. The practical implications of these are discussed

Fostering Muslim Civic Engagement through Faith-Based Community Organizing

Muslims often encounter discriminatory practices similar to those experienced by other minority groups living in the United States. Such practices range from mass incarceration and anti-immigration efforts to racial and religious profiling. In response, a growing number of U.S. Muslim leaders are organizing their communities and collaborating with non-Muslims to address these issues through civic participation and political action. At the same time, several foundations throughout the country have begun asking how to promote civic engagement among U.S. Muslims. Although little is known about U.S. Muslim civic engagement and its outcomes, data from a national study indicate that faith-based community organizing is becoming a viable pathway for Muslim communities to (1) strengthen themselves internally by developing civic leaders and mobilizing everyday Muslims to address issues affecting their community and (2) strengthen their external ties by bridging religious and social differences and by promoting policies that also benefit non-Muslims

"Comic self-consciousness" : oblique approaches to the elegiac : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Creative Writing at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

This thesis, composed of a collection of poetry and a critical essay, explores the contemporary elegiac poem. Whereas traditional elegists focused on death, contemporary elegiac poems deal with loss in a broader sense. The challenge contemporary elegiac poets take on is to engage with feeling but without veering into sentimentality. In the critical portion of this thesis, “‘Comic self-consciousness’: Oblique approaches to the elegiac,” I explore how two contemporary poets, Billy Collins and William Matthews, approach loss indirectly to evade sentimentality. Specifically, I argue that Collins and Matthews, both of whom are noted for their elegiac orientation and their use of wit, engage with loss through three strategies: the postponement of acknowledging the loss central to the poem, the use of incongruities manifesting as humour and irony, and by gaining the reader’s complicity through the use of metapoetics. In the creative portion of the thesis, “Farewell, My Lovely,” I have drawn inspiration from the strategies modelled by these two poets to engage with at times light-hearted or ironic approaches to loss—via wit, irony and at times metapoetics—to produce a collection of elegiac lyric poems that approach loss indirectly