Discourses of Contraction in the Spatialization of Whiteness

Agricultural communities increasingly have become sites of struggle over identity, belonging and citizenship. While historically the relationship between race and space has been one of segregation and displacement, investigations of these sites of (im)migration reveal new discursive relationships and particular manifestations of whiteness. Adopting a spatial framework, this ethnographic study seeks to de-essentialize whiteneness through an exploration of discourses of contraction articulated by members of a farm community. Contraction refers to white residents’ representation of “Hispanicness” as spreading throughout (and threatening) “their” town, specifically commercial and educational spaces. The implications of contraction include the re-consolidation of white privilege as the “minority” group within a context of spatial integration.     

Framing democracy: stadium financing and civic paternalism in Test Market,USA

The vast majority of North America’s professional sport arenas, ballparks and stadiums are publicly subsidized without direct approval from voters. In this article, we examine the discursive constitution of ‘no-vote subsidies’ within the public sphere, and in particular problematize the twinned production(s) of citizenship and democratic process in framing public subsidization of these sites of private accumulation. To do this, we examine the recent no-vote subsidy occurring in Columbus, Ohio – thereby providing a context-specific interrogation of the mediations of participatory citizenship, political decision-making and the institution of democracy as related to sport stadium funding. As part of this analysis, we discuss the public production of civic paternalism – a political ideology focused on urban growth and unconcerned with future electoral consequences – in the Columbus arena financing case. We conclude the article with a call for increasing scholarly engagement in, and intervention into, the political processes that result in the public subsidization of professional sport venues.     

The effect of physical contact on changes in fatigue markers following rugby union field-based training

Repeated physical contact in rugby union is thought to contribute to post-match fatigue; however, no evidence exists on the effect of contact activity during field-based training on fatigue responses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of contact during training on fatigue markers in rugby union players. Twenty academy rugby union players participated in the cross-over study. The magnitude of change in upper- and lower-body neuromuscular function (NMF), whole blood creatine kinase concentration [CK] and perception of well-being was assessed pre-training (baseline), immediately and 24?h post-training following contact and non-contact, field-based training. Training load was measured using mean heart rate, session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and microtechnology (Catapult Optimeye S5). The inclusion of contact during field-based training almost certainly increased mean heart rate (9.7; ±3.9%) and sRPE (42; ±29.2%) and resulted in likely and very likely greater decreases in upper-body NMF (?7.3; ±4.7% versus 2.7; ±5.9%) and perception of well-being (?8.0; ±4.8% versus ?3.4; ±2.2%) 24?h post-training, respectively, and almost certainly greater elevations in [CK] (88.2; ±40.7% versus 3.7; ±8%). The exclusion of contact from field-based training almost certainly increased running intensity (19.8; ±5%) and distance (27.5; ±5.3%), resulting in possibly greater decreases in lower-body NMF (?5.6; ±5.2% versus 2.3; ±2.4%). Practitioners should be aware of the different demands and fatigue responses of contact and non-contact, field-based training and can use this information to appropriately schedule such training in the weekly microcycle.     

Perverse outcomes of intense competition in the popular arts and its implications for product quality

A theoretical model is presented demonstrating how the quality of art output can fall when competition intensifies. When search costs are high, additional entries beyond a certain threshold are not reviewed, leading to no quality improvement from increasing the number of products in the pool of potential entries beyond this point. Furthermore, adding marginal quality products into the pool can dilute the quality of the pool. When firms have perfect judgment, the product selected is the best in the pool making dilution of the pool unimportant. However, when firms make large errors in judging the quality of entries, the quality of the selected product will fall when the average quality in the pool falls. A simulation model is utilized in addition to an analytical model to show likely outcomes with reasonable model parameters.

Soil aldehydes: A scientific study of a new class of soil constituents unfavorable to crops,their occurrence,properties and elimination in practical agriculture

The experimental results show that aldehydes are harmful to plant growth in aqueous culture solutions, in nutrient solutions, in soil in pots, and in soil in the field.The effects of six aldehydes—namely, salicylic aldehyde, vanillin, benzaldehyde, heliotropine, formaldehyde, and paraformaldehyde—were studied in nutrient-culture solutions and each proved to be detrimental to plant growth.The effect of the compounds varied according to the composition of the nutrient solutions. Salicylic aldehyde was least harmful in solutions composed of a high percentage of phosphates. Vanillin was least harmful in solutions with a high percentage of nitrates. Benzaldehyde was about equally harmful in all the nutrient solutions. It was slightly more harmful, however, in the high nitrate solutions than in the mainly phosphatic or potassic cultures. Paraformaldehyde was also least harmful in the phosphate culture, but formaldehyde and heliotropine showed harmful effects to an equal degree in almost all cultures, regardless of their composition.Salicylic aldehyde and vanillin were found to occur in soils quite frequently, especially in soils of low productivity. The isolated substance from the soils was harmful to plants when dissolved in aqueous solution.The two aldehydes were harmful in some soils and not in others. The field studies show that the added aldehydes disappeared in some soils and not in others. There was no harmful action where the aldehydes were destroyed. The soils in which the aldehydes were destroyed have strong biological activities, good oxidation powers, and are fertile.The results of the experimental work presented in this paper further show that unfertile soils, where due to the presence of harmful aldehydes, can be made productive by good drainage and by the use of lime and certain fertilizers. This is demonstrated, first, by the growth of plants in nutrient solutions, where it is shown that phosphates partially overcome the bad effects of salicylic aldehyde, and that nitrates ameliorate the harmfulness of another aldehyde, vanillin. Second, by the more normal absorption of phosphates by plants growing in solutions containing salicylic aldehyde. Third, by the growth of plants in soil in pots, which shows that the harmful action of salicylic aldehyde is partially overcome by lime and phosphates and the effects of vanillin by lime and nitrate fertilizers. Fourth, by the growth of plants in field soils to which aldehydes were added, which again shows that lime and phosphates lessen the harmfulness of salicylic aldehyde and lime and nitrates alter the effects of vanillin. Fifth, by chemical tests in which it was shown that salicylic aldehyde, when added to a soil, was destroyed where lime and phosphates were added, and vanillin was destroyed where lime and nitrates were added. Sixth, by the improved productivity from the addition of lime and phosphates to a soil in which salicylic aldehyde was naturally formed and persisted for a period of years.     

Cognitive Style Index: Further investigation of the factor structure with an American student sample

The present study investigates the factor structure of the Cognitive Style Index (CSI), comparing the unitary, bipolar continuum of intuition–analysis, the theory upon which the CSI is predicated, with the two‐factor theory of cognitive style. We conducted both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses on data from a sample of 222 American university business students. There was a lack of fit for the unifactorial model. Our results suggest the instrument is tapping multiple dimensions of cognitive style, the implications of which are discussed.     

Tweet,and We Shall Find: Using Digital Methods to Locate Participants in Educational Hashtags

Although researchers have discovered a great deal about who uses Twitter for educational purposes, what they post about, when they post and why they participate, there has so far been little work to explore where participants in educational Twitter contexts are located. In this paper, we establish a methodological foundation that can support the exploration of geographical issues in educational Twitter research. We surveyed 46 participants in one educational Twitter hashtag, #michED, to determine where they lived; we then compared these responses to results from three digital methods for geolocating Twitter users (human coding, machine coding and GPS coding) to explore these methods’ affordances and constraints. Human coding of Twitter profiles allowed us to analyze more participants with higher levels of accuracy but also has disadvantages compared to other digital—and traditional—methods. We discuss the additional insights obtained through geolocating #michED participants as well as considerations for using geolocation and other digital methods in educational research.     

Getting off to a good start? First-year undergraduate research experiences and student outcomes

Undergraduate research is widely perceived as a “high-impact practice” that promotes students’ learning, cognition, career planning, and educational attainment. With some exceptions, the existing evidence largely provides support for these beliefs. However, these studies typically examine research experiences that occur later in the undergraduate years, whereas engaging in undergraduate research during the first year is becoming increasingly common. First-year experiences may yield different outcomes than later experiences for a variety of reasons; in addition, previous studies often do not account sufficiently for self-selection into undergraduate research, which may be especially problematic for cross-sectional studies that occur in the junior or senior year. Therefore, this study examines the potential impact of first-year undergraduate research using propensity score analyses within a large, multi-institutional, longitudinal dataset. Research participation is significantly and positively related to first-year university satisfaction and fourth-year undergraduate GPA, but it is unrelated to satisfaction and grades in other years as well as graduate degree intentions, retention at the same institution, and 4-year graduation. Conditional analyses indicate that these effects are largely consistent across student demographics, pre-university achievement, and institutional selectivity.     

Predictors of Depressive Symptomatology Among Hispanic First‐Year College Students

The authors examined whether perceptions of self‐esteem, coping self‐efficacy, and emotional intelligence could significantly predict the presence of depressive symptomatology among a sample of 146 Hispanic first‐year college students (53 men, 93 women). The results of a sequential multiple linear regression analysis indicated the 3 predictor variables contributed 43.3% of the variance noted in students’ reporting of depression symptoms through their Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (Spitzer et al., 1999) scores. The authors discuss implications for future research and provide recommendations for college counseling practice.