This quantitative study assessed student success by examining the academic progress of Act 101 summer bridge program subjects who completed two semesters in a suburban mid-Atlantic community college. The study compared qualified students who participated in the Act 101 program to Act 101 students who did not participate in the seven week academic experience in order to determine whether the program made a significant difference in the academic progress of these first year participants by reviewing the number of developmental courses required, assessing their semester one and semester two grade point averages, end of year credits, and retention rate over a five year period of time. A third group of students who did not qualify for the Act 101 program but met the admission requirements because of similar socio-economic and academic demographics were included for comparison purposes. The study also determined whether there were any significant differences in the level of success among the three groups based on student demographics including age, gender, ethnicity, and educational attainment of both the mother and the father. The outcomes of the study provide insight and infer policy implications: whether Act 101 students are likely to increase or reduce the prevailing pattern of proclivity for social reproduction. Act 101 summer bridge programs, targeted at college-bound freshman who are not college-ready, has a long history. Over forty years ago Honorable K. Leroy Irvis, then majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, recognized that many residents of the Commonwealth were unable to pursue higher education due to prevailing social conditions. With the support of the State Black Conference on Higher Education, he created the 1971 Higher Education Equal Opportunity Act, frequently referred to as Act 101, to provide additional assistance. The summer experience is focused on academics including writing, reading, mathematics, study skills, time management, counseling and computer literacy. Act 101 bridge students are low-income, mostly first generation learners who have experienced limited success in high school and must enroll in two or more developmental classes. Research data documents that the more barriers that students face, the more unlikely it is that they will obtain a credential. Many of these students lack adequate high school preparation which will inhibit them from attaining their goals. The more developmental courses these students take, the less likely these students will earn a degree as they expend their finances and lengthen their timeline. The ethical question is raised as to whether these students should incur indebtness if they are at high risk for non-completion of their goals. However, going to college represents the best option for escape from poverty and it increases opportunity for upward mobility. The findings of this study show that the semester 2 grade point average for the summer bridge students was significantly higher compared to the grade point average of the non-summer bridge students. The summer bridge subjects also had significantly more credits at the end of year 1 compared to subjects in the non-summer bridge group. In addition, the summer bridge students had the highest rate of retention among the three groups. Among other findings, the Act 101 subjects were older, predominately African American and female whose parents had graduated from high school. Older students needed more developmental courses. Subjects in the non-summer bridge group, all of whom elected not to participate in the SBP, needed the most developmental courses among the three groups. Their year 1 credit total of 3.57 credits suggested that their decision to decline the tuition-free summer opportunity was not in their best interest. The outcomes support policy implications that subjects in the summer bridge group took a small step forward in reducing the prevailing pattern of proclivity for social reproduction but subjects in the non-summer bridge group did not make enough strides by the end of year one to indicate that their educational experience thus far is impacting their social mobility status. / Educational Administration

Summers are expected to continue to increase in heat/dryness in the Northeast, causing issues pertaining to forage production during the summer to worsen. Many pastures grow cool season grasses, even during the summer. These grasses enter a dormant period and slowdown in production during the months of July and August, leading to what is referred to as “summer slump”. Some farms grow corn silage during the summer, and while corn silage is a valuable crop, its cultivation often does not support soil biology. This research addresses solutions for both summer slump foraging and more sustainable silage. Summer annuals grow more efficiently during the summer and can produce better quality forage compared to winter grasses. Pearl Millet and Sudangrass were evaluated at seed percentages 0-100%. Biomass of each grass was evaluated by cutting a 2x3 ft section on a bi-weekly basis to establish how the treatments vary over time by seeding ratio and type of warm-season grass. Two separate cuts evaluated yield, quality, and regrowth. Another cut looked at ensiling success and quality of Pearl millet and Sudangrass. Results showed both forage species had similar and comparable quality to cool-season grasses. With how much more Sudangrass produces in yield and the little difference in forage quality compared to Pearl millet, Sudangrass would make a good replacement for cool-season grasses. Pearl millet and Sudangrass can be ensiled successfully and have competitive forage quality compared to corn silage.

This dissertation contains three papers from two projects. The first two papers (Chapter Two and Chapter Three) are from a project entitled “Managing Flounder Openings for Maximum Revenue.” The objective of this project is to (1) estimate the monthly dockside price of summer flounder and identify seasonality in this price; and (2) set up a mathematical programming model to maximize the landing revenue by allocating the federal government quota on summer flounder across twelve months. In the first paper (Chapter Two), various forms of inverse demand equations are used to estimate the dockside price of summer flounder. These models are evaluated based on their out-of-sample forecasting performance. A structural functional form is selected. In the second paper (Chapter Three), the selected price equation for summer flounder is applied into a revenue maximization model with both the federal government quota constraint and biological constraints from twelve months. The model is solved using CONPOT Solver of GAMS 21.5. The results of the scenarios indicate that the industry should move the landing effort from the period of October – February to the period of March – August. Comparing with historical data, this method can increase $44.73 million for the industry of landing summer flounder from 1991 to 2005. The third paper (Chapter Four) investigates how China's soybean import prices and domestic prices of soybeans and soybean products affect China's soybean imports. Since 2000, soybeans have been the U.S. leading agricultural exports for bulk commodities. China is the largest importer of U.S. soybean exports. For China's soybean crushing industry, imported soybeans are inputs rather than final products and used to produce soybean meal and oil. A differential production model, which is derived from a two-stage profit maximization model in producer theory, is adopted in this research. Estimates are used to calculate conditional and unconditional price elasticities for China's soybean imports from its major source countries – the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. In addition, the Divisia index and unconditional output price elasticities are obtained for China's soybean imports. Estimation results support the hypothesis that China's soybean imports are determined by its domestic demand for soybean meal, rather than soybean oil. This implies that U.S. agribusinesses should pay attention to the dominant role of China's demand for soybean meal and animal feed. U.S. agribusinesses can also use results in this research to evaluate how China's soybean imports from different source countries will change when either international market prices or China's domestic market prices change. / Ph. D.

The investigator undertook to make a study of the management of a selected number of private summer camps for children in Kerr County, Texas, because of the growing interest in camping and the need for an informed public regarding the possibilities of wholesome recreation for children in summer camps.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent, if any, to which the Summer Round Up Program, as planned and executed by the North Elementary School of Odessa, Texas, helped the first-grade children adjust to school life.

Exposure to ground-level ozone (O₃), which forms secondarily in the atmosphere, intensifies the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Effective mitigation strategies require understanding the spatiotemporal variability of O₃ precursors, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as O₃ formation photochemistry. This thesis examines the concentrations of trace gases closely related to O₃ production, specifically nitrogen dioxide (NO₂, the dominant component of NOx) and formaldehyde (HCHO, a proxy for VOC reactivity), as well as photochemical conditions. I investigate how these factors differ on high-O₃ days, change diurnally, and respond to the temporal resolution of anthropogenic emissions. The focus is on the summer of 2018 due to the availability of trace gas retrievals from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and in situ measurements from field campaigns. I first investigate New York City (NYC) and the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, where high O₃ levels frequently occur in summer. On high-O₃ days (when the maximum daily 8-hour average (MDA8) O₃ exceeds 70 ppb), tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDTrop) of HCHO and NO₂ increase in urban centers. The HCHO/NO2 VCDTrop ratio, proposed as an indicator of local surface O₃ production sensitivity to its precursors, generally rises due to a more pronounced increase in HCHO VCDTrop. This suggests a shift toward a more NOx-sensitive O₃ production regime that could enhance the effectiveness of NOx controls on the highest O₃ days. As retrievals of tropospheric trace gases from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites like TROPOMI are limited to one overpass per day (early afternoon), I then analyze spatial variability in HCHO and NO₂ concentration diurnal patterns and connect changes in column densities with surface concentrations. Diurnal HCHO patterns indicate the impact of temperature-dependent VOC emissions, while a bimodal surface NO₂ pattern reflects diurnal patterns of local anthropogenic NOx emissions and boundary layer dynamics. Column concentration peaks generally occur about four hours after surface concentration peaks (morning for NO2 and midday for HCHO), highlighting the challenge of relating column densities to health-related surface concentrations. I also explore how the temporal resolution of anthropogenic emissions influences air pollution levels and diurnal variations. Surface NOx and O3 concentrations show different spatial patterns of change when switching from daily mean to hourly varying nitric oxide emissions. In urban areas of both the western and eastern CONUS, adding hourly NO emissions increases daytime emissions, leading to O₃ decreases, indicating NOx-saturated O₃ chemistry. In the western CONUS, monthly mean surface NO₂ increases, while in the eastern CONUS, characterized by shorter NO₂ lifetimes, NO₂ decreases. These sensitivities highlight the importance of accounting for diurnal changes when inferring emissions from concentrations. This thesis advances our understanding of O₃-NOx-VOC air pollution by exploring variations in both surface and column conditions across urban-rural gradients. It integrates in situ measurements, space-based observations, and modeling techniques and assesses advanced modeling tools for future applications. These findings support the future applications of geostationary satellite retrievals for continuous trace gas observation throughout daylight hours, supplementing the once-a-day LEO satellite data used in this thesis, with implications such as aiding source attribution and targeting cost-effective control measures for O₃ mitigation.

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / Maximizing college summer breaks for career preparation and prestige accumulation is an established routine for elite undergraduates in the United States. Social reproduction, meritocracy, and changes to the world of work increasingly complicate this issue. Yet despite this additional burden, there is little research into the costs and benefits of participation and limited comprehension of how and why elite undergraduates internalize norms around summer breaks. This study fills that gap by introducing the High Prestige Summer Experience Model, a framework for understanding this decision-making process. Using interviews with 13 undergraduates and recent alumni from an Ivy League university, this grounded theory study presents the five phases of summer planning and participation. Students refine decisions at each stage by measuring possible opportunities against three mental measurements (Threshold of Acceptability, Narrative Currency Value, and Summer Prestige Ranking). The norms and beliefs inculcated through peer culture influence this paradigm through which they view their college summers. Underlying this process are the mediating factors that nudge and shape each particular student’s decisions: personal context; campus context; and societal context. Participants reported that summer experiences play an important role in peer positioning. They carry a narrative currency on campus and the ability to frame their experiences buys social acceptance for undergraduates. Summer experiences allow students to explore jobs in ways not normally available during term-time study, provide opportunities for personal development and growth, and equip them for their post-graduate elite status through capital accumulation. Participants noted that significant emotional and social consequences flow from actions in the summer experience process while simultaneously questioning its value to them in the long term. The findings of an additional comparison group of participants at a different selective campus indicate that this trend toward high prestige summer experiences is being normalized at lower rungs on the institutional prestige ladder as well. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This 2-yr experiment evaluated productivity of wild-type, endophyte-infected tall fescue (E+) and novel endophyte-infected tall fescue (NE) summer stockpiled (SS) pastures and the performance of fall-calving beef cow/calf pairs stocked on each cultivar. Fescue cultivars used were KY-31 and MaxQ for E+ and NE treatments, respectively. Pregnant Simmental x Angus cows (128 total, 64 each yr) were stratified by BW, BCS, and expected calving date and then allotted to 1 of 10 pasture groups within each yr (20 groups total, 10 per treatment). Forage growth was stockpiled from April until the initiation of strip-grazing on August 31 of 2017 and 2018. Cows grazed treatment pastures for 52 d from 23 ± 14 d prepartum to 29 ± 14 d postpartum, and calved on treatment pastures. Forage quadrats were clipped from the grazed and ungrazed portions of each pasture to determine weekly forage mass. Total ergot alkaloid (TEA) concentrations were analyzed for all pastures at the beginning of the experiment and every subsequent 2 wk for E+ tall fescue. Cow BW was recorded on 2 consecutive d and BCS determined at the start and end of the experiment. In yr 2, ultrasound 12th rib fat thickness (FT) was measured at the beginning and end of the treatment period Milk production was estimated using the weigh-suckle-weigh technique at 29 ± 14 d postpartum. Initial TEA concentrations for NE (Yr. 1 = 112 µg/kg; Yr. 2 = 632 µg/kg) were decreased (P ≤ 0.01) compared to E+ (Yr. 1 = 1831 µg/kg; Yr. 2 = 2903 µg/kg). TEA concentrations for E+ pastures did not differ (P < 0.23) by sample date. However, average TEA concentrations were greater for yr 2 than yr 1(P ≤ 0.01). Fescue cultivars were not different (P ≥ 0.06) in forage CP, Ash, Ether Extract, and grazed or ungrazed forage mass. However, differences were observed (P ≤ 0.02) for ADF, NDF, and TDN by fescue cultivar. Cow BW, BCS, and FT at the beginning and end of grazing were not different (P ≥ 0.41) by treatment. Milk production was greater (P < 0.01) for cows grazed on E+. Calving date, calf BW, calf ADG were not different (P ≥ 0.65) by treatment. Neither AI nor overall conception rates differed (P ≥ 0.23) between cultivars. Performance of fall-calving cows pre-exposed to E+ was not hindered when grazed on E+ relative to NE in a SS system. / Master of Science / Wild-type, endophyte-infected tall fescue (E+) is the predominant forage of use for producers within the southeastern United States. Endophyte-infected tall fescue gained notoriety due to its drought and pest resistance as well as climate adaptability. These advantages are the result of a symbiotic relationship with an endophytic fungus that has been shown to decrease in animal performance through the production of toxic ergot alkaloids. Development of improved fescue cultivars provided producers with an alternative forage, known as novel endophyte-infected tall fescue (NE), that maintains the agronomic advantages noted with E+ fescue without negative impacts on animal gain and reproductive performance. In adopting NE tall fescue, producers are faced with the financial challenge of renovating existing stands of E+ with NE fescue; leaving pastures unusable during times of normal grazing behavior. This constraint has highlighted the need to explore forage utilization and strategies that can extend the grazing period that do not require the significant cost of total renovation with NE. Fall stockpiled tall fescue has provided producers an option to extend grazing from late November through February when pasture growth ceases and hay supplementation is normally needed. However, a 60 to 90 d period between summer and fall stockpiled grazing leaves producers looking for an additional strategy to provide standing forage for their herds. Summer stockpiling (SS), is a novel grazing strategy that bridges summer and fall stockpiled grazing through proper accumulation of 25 % of total pasture to help extend producers grazing season. The objective of the current experiment is to evaluate both E+ and NE SS pastures and its effect on animal performance, forage availability, and nutritive value. Cow BW and BCS were measured at the initiation, conclusion, and before artificial insemination. Calf BW and ADG were assessed 48 h post-calving and at weaning. Ungrazed and grazed forage mass was collected weekly, while measurements of ADF, NDF, CP, TDN, ether extract, and ash were measured every 2 weeks. After a 52 d treatment period, forage mass was similar across both cultivars, with ADF, NDF, and TDN favoring E+ tall fescue. Additionally, animal performance across both E+ and NE pastures were similar, however increased milk production was observed for cows grazed on E+. This experiment helps shed light on the concept of strategic renovation. Strategic renovation can be best utilized by producers who are interested in maximizing pasture utilization through rotationally grazing E+ and NE tall fescue pastures. By following this renovation strategy, proper allocation of NE tall fescue during times of enhanced ergotism and E+ tall fescue during low thresholds will develop a more specific rotation thus decreasing renovation costs for producers when ergotism is lowest.

Die Dresden Summer School 2012 gliedert sich in vier aufeinander folgende Sektionen. Diese bestehen aus Vorträgen, Diskussionen, Workshops, Kuratorengesprächen und Führungen. Die Kooperation der fünf renommierten Dresdner Kunst-und Kulturstätten bietet den TeilnehmerInnen ein vielfältiges inhaltliches Angebot und einen Ideen- und Erfahrungsaustausch in verschiedenen Fachbereichen. Die Sektionen der Dresden Summer School 2012: 1. Digitalisierung in Museen und Bibliotheken. Erfahrungen, Methoden, Strategien. 2. Akademische Forschung und universitäre Sammlungen im digitalen Zeitalter. 3. Virtuelle Inventarisierung – Potentiale der Provenienzforschung. 4. Kulturelle Bildung und Social Media.

Bereits seit einiger Zeit ist von Seiten kulturgutverwahrender Institutionen ein Aufbruch in Richtung der digitalen Welt zu konstatieren. Eine steigende Anzahl von Tagungen, Publikationen und kulturwissenschaftlichen Studien zu diesem Thema belegt dies.1 Doch welche Umbrüche in den Strukturen, im Denken und in den Strategien sind notwendig, um die digitale Zukunft erfolgreich zu beschreiten? (...)