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Livestock Risk Protection Basis Risk for Feeder Cattle
Get PDFRecent government subsidies make livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance an affordable price risk management tool for many U.S. cattle producers. LRP insurance triggers a loss when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Feeder Cattle Index falls below the selected coverage price. The CME Feeder Cattle Index is a 7-day weighted average of feeder cattle prices in 12 states. This paper determines if LRP policy holders who produce feeder cattle in states whose feeder cattle prices are not included in the CME Feeder Cattle Index are exposed to excess basis risk. To do this, we use a hedonic regression model to determine how state, year, month, and cattle types contribute to expected feeder cattle basis. We also consider asymmetric differences in LRP basis risk by separately modeling upside and downside risk. We find that Southeast cattle producers and producers marketing cattle in the fall face more LRP basis risk. The results have important implications for risk management tools for small cattle producers in the Southeastern United States, who have traditionally lacked access to livestock price risk tools such as futures and options
An Analytical Evaluation of Economic Geography within Maine and its Resource Industries: 1600 to present
Get PDFResource peripheries represent a fringe area within economic geography, originating from the core-periphery theory developed by Friedmann and Miller. This concept has evolved to address global and regional contexts, referring to marginalized regions that rely heavily on the extraction and export of natural resources. By studying these regions, we gain a deeper understanding of critical components in global economic systems. This dissertation focuses on Maine as a case study of a resource periphery, using the framework proposed by Hayter et al. (2003) within the broader regional contexts of New England and the United States. Key factors explored include resource exploitation, boom-and-bust cycles, and economic policy and management. This study analyzes Maine\u27s history and industries through the lens of its resource sectors, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, particularly due to the limited availability of numerical data before the mid-20th century. Maine, as a resource periphery within the U.S., has historically relied on timber and seafood, the dominant sectors of its economy. This research assesses how Maine’s fishing and forestry industries have shaped its identity and economic development and determines if the state falls within the framework of a resource periphery. Additionally, this dissertation expands on the discourse of “close peripheries”, examining a resource periphery that exists within the sub-national level
Sibling Groups and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Among Emerging Adult Women
Get PDFThis study examined how sibling group size is related to family adaptability, cohesion, and individual resiliency outcomes during emerging adulthood. Using Bowen\u27s Family Systems Theory and Olson\u27s Circumplex Model, the research investigates sibling subsystems as sites where systemic imbalances are first experienced within families. Data from 124 college students revealed that larger sibling groups were associated with marginally higher disengagement and chaos resulting in decreased perceived social support, suggesting resiliency implications for youth growing up within larger families. While sibling size didn\u27t directly predict mental health, family dynamics significantly mediated the relationship between sibling composition and resiliency outcomes. Demographic factors explained differences in poor mental health over-and-above key study variables. Findings contribute to understanding how sibling subsystems shape power dynamics within families and offer insights for practitioners working with young adults navigating the privileges or disadvantages stemming from their family compositions
Mindful Symbiotic Ecosystems. Designing for Women in Remote Workspaces
Get PDFWomen represent 61% of designers in the workforce but hold only 29% of leadership roles. This disparity highlights a critical need for an ecosystem that removes barriers and cultivates mentorship, community, and leadership among women (Bolt, 2020). Even though women have proven their ability to succeed in male-dominated corporate cultures, the real question is not about capability but sustainability. Driven by overwork, competition, and burnout, the workplace does not just push women out; it leads to long-term instability for the entire organization (Krivkovich et al., 2024). In the workplace, a culture of masculinity reinforces harmful, outdated mindsets and glorifies aggressive, relentless overachievement at the expense of well-being (Stanaland, 2025). The current masculine corporate structure, driven by competition, ego, and hierarchy, imposes financial pressures, societal expectations, and workplace discrimination stressors that lead to burnout (Nagoski et al., 2019). Mindfulness provides a path to feminist leadership by challenging power structures and centering well-being. As a skill and a mindset, mindfulness fosters awareness of mental, emotional, and physical processes, helping individuals cultivate self-care and care for others (Mindful Leader, 2021). A feminist leadership model built on mindfulness rejects perfectionism and overachievement. Mindfulness redefines success as self-determination, redefining winning and failures, and allowing individuals to lead with empathy, gratitude, and motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Rather than framing leadership as a contest, this research evaluates how psychological safety and physical health can be prioritized through a sustainable feminist practice. This investigation proposes a mindfulness-based feminist framework integrating leadership and workplace sustainability. Through these frameworks, this investigation outlines how prototypes of corporate systems can create opportunities for security, unlocking creativity, innovation, and meaningful collaboration. Mindfulness, as a feminist leadership approach, redefines success not through competition but through care, inclusion, and collective well-being. Reimagining a future that values mindfulness in the workplace that brings feminist principles of collaboration, care, and empathy (Armbrust, 2016). This isn’t just about gender; it’s about the future of work itself
Koszul Cohomology of Canonical Products
Get PDFIn this thesis, we give a complete classification of the Koszul cohomology groups Kp,1(C, B, ωC ⊗ B) on a smooth curve C of genus g ≥ 2 with B p-very ample. Such a classification in the case B = ωC has been incomplete until [5]. The classification follows easily from our main result which precisely calculates Kp,1(C, B, B ωC ⊗ B) in terms of h0(C, B). This result also handles the case B = ωC. A straightforward application of Koszul duality yields a corollary to the main result which completely classifies the Koszul groups Kp,1(C, ω2C) for arbitrary C.
In [6] it was proven that for a line bundle L of sufficiently large degree, Kp,1(C, L) ≠ 0 if and only if p ∈ [1, r(L) − gon C]. The other rows of the Betti diagram are straightforward to calculate when L is nonspecial. The primary technique there re-packaged some of the main arguments of [32] which essentially allow one to trade Koszul vanishing for vanishing of sheaf cohomology of secant bundles on symmetric products Cp. The authors then conjectured that a lower bound guaranteeing this biconditional is linear in g. This was confirmed in [28] where the bound deg L ≥ 4g − 3 was constructed. The technique there involves resolving the kernel of a certain short exact sequence and showing cohomology vanishing by pulling back along the quotient morphism q : Cp → Cp. We show that this argument is essentially repeatable by instead pulling back along σ : Cp × C → C where Cp × C is thought of as the universal divisor associated to the Hilbert scheme C parameterizing the effective divisors of C of degree p + 1. This method proves to be slightly more optimal as it effectively lowers the earlier bound to 4g − 4
Characterization of \u3ci\u3eStreptococcus gallolyticus\u3c/i\u3e: an Emerging Pathogen Causing Turkey Streptococcosis
Get PDFDuring the past five years, there has been an increased occurrence of Streptococcus gallolyticus in young turkey poults. This emerging pathogen previously affected turkey flocks without any indication of disease prior to acute mortality. However, recently there has been two cases of neurological presentation associated with S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus that are unique to traditional disease presentation in turkey poults. The objectives of the present dissertation were to compile data associated with the two neurological cases and compare different S. gallolyticus strains as well as pathogenic Enterococcus cecorum to the neurological strains. The two neurological cases occurred between July and August 2023 in a commercial turkey farm with recurrent S. gallolyticuss infection of subsequent flock. In both outbreaks, poults appeared to be in good flesh but were in lateral recumbency and displayed signs of depression as well as torticollis. Elevated mortality was observed in the first flock at 7 days of age, however, Avian Encephalomyelitis was initially suspected, so treatment to this flock was delayed until diagnosis from histopathology and bacterial culture. Downtime was shortened between outbreaks 1 and 2. There was only a downtime period of 12 days between outbreaks compared to the standard downtime for a single age brooder hub of 21 days. Genomic comparisons of the two outbreak strains revealed that they were identical and encoded for a putative collagen adhesin, a potential virulence factor. Outbreak occurrence in the southern portion of the United States is primarily confined to July and August in poults ranging in age between 1.5-2.5 weeks. Generally, there is less downtime during these months in preparation for Thanksgiving, creating ideal conditions for S. gallolyticus to persist in the environment. Moreover, S. gallolyticus recurrence on the same farms suggests that it could be found in the environment as a contaminant with poults serving as a reservoir. For this reason, cleaning and disinfection followed by increased downtime can eliminate S. gallolyticus from the environment. To evaluate strain comparisons, antibiotic sensitivity, API biochemical tests, and a turkey embryo lethality assay (ELA) were performed. The strains chosen for the ELA were based on their capsule type and subspecies to evaluate virulence capability. Embryos were inoculated with both a high and low dose of nine different strains into the allantoic cavity on 15 days of embryogenesis. The cumulative embryo mortality was highest in the neurological strain in both high and low doses and SGP4 in the low dose only. Macroscopic lesions were most prominent in the high dose on day one and two post inoculation with severe cranial hemorrhages, body hemorrhages, and congested organs. Histopathological examination revealed large amounts of coccoid bacteria in the brain, spleen, skeletal muscle, and liver. API RAPID ID 32 STREP was found to be better than API 20 STREP at identifying both S. gallolyticus and E. cecorum due to the inability of API 20 STREP to identify E. cecorum. High levels of bacteria recovered from the yolk suggest that it persists in the embryo and the poult will be infected upon hatch
Exploring 2SLGBTQIA+ Parenting in Northwest Arkansas
Get PDFSince the U.S. Census Bureau first published data on “same-sex” households in 2011, research has repeatedly indicated the majority of 2SLGBTQIA+ parents (here on referred to as “queer parents”) reside outside of major cities in heavily populated regions of the country. However, due to widespread metronormative narratives about the queer experience, the experiences of queer parents in less-populated regions are rarely studied. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of queer parents in Northwest Arkansas, a region of the politically and religiously conservative Southern U.S. with areas both urban and rural. Applying grounded theory and drawing from queer theory to analyze semi-structured interviews of self-identified, coupled 2SLGBTQIA+ parents of children under 18 years old, the author finds several overarching themes: 1) the context of NWA affects the participants’ socialization of their children as a queer family; 2) perceived similarities to heterosexual-presenting parents; 3) perceived differences to heterosexual-presenting parents; and 4) advice to social workers and other service workers. This study responds to the lack of research on 2SLGBTQIA+ parents living outside of metro areas. The participants’ experiences illuminate the need for social workers and other social service workers to practice with cultural humility and engage in advocacy for the dignity and worth of this population
Sonic Subversion: An Intersectional Analysis of South African Punk, 1976-Present
Get PDFThe 1970s in South Africa were plagued by systematic racial segregation, widespread political violence, and fervent censorship under the apartheid regime. Political tensions were rising precipitously in the final years of the decade, stoked by the brutal police response to the Soweto Uprising (1976) and the murder of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko (1977). It was amidst this atmosphere of profound oppression and increasing political unrest that punk made its South African debut. Apartheid South Africa served as a fertile breeding ground for punk’s inherent culture of defiance and anti-authoritarianism. Remarkably, punk has demonstrated the power to transcend sociodemographic boundaries such as race, class, language, and gender, even in the context of apartheid. This phenomenon is exemplified by bands such as National Wake, the country’s first multiracial punk band, Leopard, an all-female punk band to emerge in Durban in the late 1970s, and the Voëlvry tour in which young Afrikaners appropriated their mother tongue in a defiant act against the apartheid regime in its final years. This study examines the evolution of South African punk over the past five decades, considering how the subculture has shaped and been shaped by shifting political, social, and sonic landscapes during the apartheid years and in the decades following democratization. Through an analysis of DIY culture, fanzines, and independent record labels, this study highlights how grassroots networks fostered political solidarity and cultural identity. By considering South African punk through an intersectional framework, this work examines how overlapping identity factors have influenced individual experiences within the punk subculture to emphasize racial, ethnic, linguistic, and gendered diversity in the history of South African punk. In so doing, this work builds off of previous studies on South African punk that have focused predominantly on White male participants, specific locations, or narrow timeframes in an effort to provide a more nuanced understanding of the history of South African punk. This study is part of a growing body of research on punk in the Global South, which has long been eclipsed by scholarly examinations of punk in Europe and the United States. By drawing from a range of archival sources and newly conducted oral histories, this project will contribute to future research on punk and other subcultures in previously underexamined locales
On and Off the Court: Who am I?
Get PDFFrom a very young age, athletically gifted individuals are encouraged to pursue their sport. This can lead to a strong maturity in an athletic sense, yet it comes at the expense of other areas of development. The early commitments to sport require the individual to make sacrifices that allow them to gain competency over others, as a result, additional values and identifying characteristics get pushed aside. Further, athletes are known for performing in the spotlight. Every game has an audience and one team ends up a winner, the other a loser. Typically, the athletes experience the highs of victory and the lows of losing to the fullest extent. This means the individual learns to measure worth through physical production (points scored, games won, plays made, etc.). When an athlete reaches the end of their career, what does this transition out of sport look like? What effect does it have on the individual in terms or mental and emotional toll? How tightly woven is athleticism to the individual’s identity and what role does it play in their perspective as a person?
Through three interviews with former professional athletes, this project explores the topic of athletic identity creation and loss. This 40-minute documentary shares the story of the three athlete\u27s introduction to athletics, adolescence with the sport through high school, the collegiate experience as well as the professional experience, and finally the transition out of sport into retirement. In conclusion, this research project aims to better understand when and how athletic identity is created, which factors reinforce the athlete’s motivations and finally what helps an athlete transition out of their sport in a positive way
The Effects of WWII Service on Black South African Soldiers, 1939-1950
No full textThis thesis examines the experiences and motives of black South African soldiers who were a part of the Native Military Corps during the Second World War. It argues that these Black South African soldiers gained a growing sense of racial consciousness as a result of their service and corresponding experiences. In doing so, this thesis challenges previous historical interpretations of the Native Military Corps that have perpetuated the notion that Black veterans gained little political or racial understanding as a result of their service. Previous historians have predominantly relied on archival governmental records to substantiate their claims. However, such source material is inadequate as it was produced by the racist South African regime, which sought to minimize all accomplishments and personal growth among the veterans of the Native Military Corps. Thus, this thesis relies predominantly on Black-published narratives to provide a nuanced perspective on the topic. By utilizing excerpts from Black-owned South African newspapers, interviews with Native Military Corps veterans, and military citation records, this thesis emphasizes that wartime experiences immensely affected the racial and political consciousness of Black South African soldiers. In doing so, an alternate perspective of African service in the Second World War is presented, which counters the general narrative while returning agency to the veterans of the Native Military Corps