The Vagabond and Horseman Out of Work

A project thesis submitted to the faculty of Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Department of English at Morehead State University by Charles Maynard in May of 2011

Host-symbiont interactions among Frankia strains and Alnus open-pollinated families

Four sources of Frankia endophyte were tested with four seed sources of Alnus spp. host plants in all possible combinations. Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. and Alnus rubra Bong. plants grew better with a spore (-) strain from The Netherlands than with a spore (+) strain from The Netherlands or with either of two strains from the United States;Two Frankia strains, CpN1 and ArI3, were compared as pure culture and crushed nodule derived inocula on two seed sources of A. glutinosa and two seed sources of A. rubra host plants. The A. glutinosa plants treated with pure culture inocula nodulated more quickly than those treated with crushed nodule inocula, bur the crushed nodule inocula induced greater total numbers of nodules. The A. rubra plants nodulated normally when treated with the pure culture inocula but failed to nodulate when treated with the crushed nodule inocula;Eight Frankia symbionts and two A. glutinosa seed sources were collected through cooperation with other researchers and a germplasm collecting expedition in Europe. The 16 host-endophyte combinations were tested for nodulation and symbiotic performance. Patterns of nodule development were observed through clear plastic Growth Pouches(\u27(REGTM)). The spore (+) strains initiated more rapid nodulation and a larger total number of nodules. Well-nodulated seedlings from each host-endophyte combination were transplanted to Leonard jars to measure plant growth responses. Plant height was measured at approximately two-week intervals for three months. After five months of total growth, the acetylene reduction assay was used to estimate nitrogen fixation rates. There were significant differences among treatments in fixation per plant, but no significant differences among treatments in fixation per gram of nodules. Plants were then separated into roots, stems, leaves, and nodules, and dry weight measurements were recorded. A 13-fold difference in dry weight between the poorest and the best host-symbiont combination was observed. Significant intra-species differences were observed among A. glutinosa derived symbionts. In all cases plants treated with the spore (-) inocula grew larger than those treated with spore (+) inocula. Early nodulation or initial nodule number were poor predictors of subsequent plant growth. Interactions between host genotype and endophyte strain were small compared with the main effects of host and inoculum. This indicated that genetic improvement programs for either associate can probably be conducted without resorting to extremely large cross-inoculation experiments

Engagement Beyond Fact-Checking: Ciceronian Stasis Theory as a Response to Fake News

In this paper, I suggest that the phenomenon of fake news may be more productively understood if considered within the context of Ciceronian stasis theory. Whereas much of rhetoric and writing’s response to fake news consists of appeals to fact-checking, it is by engaging fake news stories as arguments of quality rather than fact or definition that we may develop a more productive understanding of the relationship between fake news and personal belief. Taking the case of Edgar Maddison Welch and the fake news story Pizzagate as illustrative examples, I conclude that, by more seriously attending to the thoughts and feelings of the believers of fake news, we not only make it possible to better appreciate what it is that leads citizens to embrace and circulate and even act on such narratives. We better position ourselves as scholars and educators to more persuasively respond to fake news’ deception and harmful effects

An Overheated Debate: The Influence of Premillennial Apocalyptic Rhetoric on Climate Reform Discourse in the United States

Despite decades of scientific research and increased civil and governmental calls for reform, the United States continues to spiral toward climate catastrophe. Apocalyptic rhetoric helps us understand how even the most pressing environmental and societal threats are perceived differently according to audiences\u27 rhetorical and ideological frameworks. Drawing on the work of Barry Brummett and Kenneth Burke, I argue that the premillennial sub-genre of apocalyptic rhetoric constitutes a rhetorical frame through which many secular climate reformers and evangelical Christians make sense of the environmental and societal impacts of climate change. In chapters that analyze secular and Christian climate reform discourse and apocalyptic evangelical discourse produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, I demonstrate through rhetorical analysis that apocalyptic rhetoric is a persistent frame through which citizens make sense of not only climate change but other perceived threats. I suggest that by attending to the influence of apocalyptic rhetoric on the production and reception of climate change and climate reform discourse, climate reform rhetors may be positioned to produce environmental discourse that is more likely to engage (or at least not alienate) a wider variety of U.S. audiences, especially evangelical Christians. Drawing upon the findings of environmental rhetoric and communication scholars, I outline a series of rhetorical strategies that may be used to more productively engage not just climate resistant audiences but a variety of audiences whose attitudes toward a particular societal problem are characterized by intense ideological resistance. Despite the potential for such strategies to create possibilities for rhetorical engagement, I suggest that the influence of premillennialism on U.S. climate action leads us to reconsider the role of deliberative democratic discourse as a means of resolving such large-scale, pressing problems in the public sphere. I conclude this project by reflecting on the implications of apocalyptic rhetoric for climate reform discourse within the U.S. more generally, as well as the structural inequities that continue to fuel such resistance among evangelical Christian audiences

The Welfare State within the Military

Much has been written concerning the extent to which contemporary industrialized societies meet the accepted criteria of a welfare state . By contrast, the literature on the welfare aspects of the military as an institution within societies is comparatively sparse. Yet internally, military establishments often exhibit many welfare state attributes. Within the military\u27s organizational territory and authority, members are provided with a wide spectrum of comprehensive universal entitlements--social, economic, occupational, educational, and medical. The formal parameters of the U.S. military establishment\u27s welfare entitlements give the undeniable appearance of a bonafide welfare state whose provision is significantly more benevolent and equitable than that provided to the nonmilitary. As with all welfare systems, however, the unique welfare state within the military has developed more in response to its own perceived organizational needs and requirements than to a rational assessment of the real needs of those it serves--military personnel and their families

Geometrical and structural properties of an Aeroelastic Research Wing (ARW-2)

Transonic steady and unsteady pressure tests were conducted on a large elastic wing known as the DAST ARW-2 wing. The wing has a supercritical airfoil, an aspect ratio of 10.3, a leading edge sweepback angle of 28.8 deg and is equipped with two inboard and one outboard trailing edge control surfaces. The geometrical and structural characteristics are presented of this elastic wing, using a combination of measured and calculated data, to permit future analyst to compare the experimental surface pressure data with theoretical predictions

The association of state per capita income and military service deaths in the Vietnam and Iraq wars

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the United States, social burdens including war casualties are often distributed unequally across groups of individuals, communities, and states. The purpose of this report was to examine the association between war deaths and per capita income in the 50 states and District of Columbia during the Vietnam and Iraq wars.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The numbers of deaths by the home state of record for each conflict were obtained from Department of Defense records on the Internet as were key variables including age at death, gender, race, branch of service, rank, circumstances of death, home state of record and the ratio of wounded to dead. In addition, we obtained state per capita income and state population for the relevant times.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Characteristics of decedents in the 2 conflicts were very similar with young, white enlisted men accounting for the majority of deaths. However, in the Iraq war, women accounted for a 2.4% of casualties. Also of note was the higher ratio of wounded to dead in Iraq. At the level of the state, the correlation between the ratio of deaths per 100,000 and per capita income was -0.51 (p < 0.0001) for Vietnam and -0.52 for Iraq (p < 0.0001). In both eras, states with lower per capita income tended to have higher ratios of deaths per population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>For military service members serving in the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts, there were many more women who died in the latter war. Whether war deaths resulted in lower per capita income cannot be determined from these cross sectional data; we simply note a strong association between per capita income and war casualty rates for both wars.</p

Applying the logic of sample surveys to qualitative case studies: The case cluster method

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