Abstract Objective To examine whether state laws are associated with the presence of school gardens and the use of garden-grown produce in school nutrition services programs. Design Nationally ...representative data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2014 were combined with objectively coded state law data regarding school gardens. Main Outcome Measures Outcomes were: (1) the presence of a school garden at each school (n = 419 schools), and (2) the use of garden-grown items in the school nutrition services program. Analysis Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine each outcome. Contextual covariates included school level, size, locale, US Census region, student race/ethnic composition, and percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals. Results State law was not significantly associated with whether schools had a garden, but it was associated with whether schools used garden-grown items in nutrition services programs (odds ratio, 4.21; P < .05). Adjusted prevalence of using garden-grown items in nutrition services programs was 15.4% among schools in states with a supportive law, vs 4.4% among schools in states with no law. Conclusions and Implications State laws that support school gardens may facilitate the use of garden-grown items in school nutrition service programs. Additional research is needed regarding the types of messaging that might be most effective for motivating school administrators to appreciate the value of school gardens. In addition, another area for further research pertains to scaling garden programs for broader reach.
Radiation damage studies were performed on new polystyrene-based plastic scintillators. Several samples of different multicomponent systems containing new fluorescent compounds were irradiated with a .../sup 60/Co source to a 10 Mrad dose. After irradiation, the samples were annealed for ten days in oxygen and three days in air. Scintillation light output, fluorescence, and transmittance spectra were recorded at three different stages; before irradiation, immediately after irradiation, and after the annealing process. After irradiation and the annealing period, the light output of the best scintillators had decreased by 10% of their original values.< >
The application of a Pt/PZT/Pt sandwich structure in place of a polysilicon material for a xylophone magnetometer bar can greatly improve the sensitivity of the device. This is the first time a ...piezoelectric activation has been used to resonate a xylophone bar comprised of SiO
2
/Ta/Pt/PZT/Pt. Both optical beam and scanning laser Doppler vibrometer methods were used for characterizing the bar deflection. A fabrication process for freely suspended xylophone magnetometer bars is presented. When the device was placed in a vacuum ambient the Quality factor improved to a value of 1800.
A test facility to study the light-transmission properties of scintillating fiber waveguides for tracking applications in high-energy physics is being developed. A light-tight box 2 m in length has ...been built, and data acquisition hardware and software is in place for testing various aspects of scintillating fibers and waveguides. Scintillating fibers have been excited with radioactive sources, ultraviolet light sources, and light-emitting diodes. Various photodetectors such as photomultiplier tubes, photodiodes, charge-coupled devices and solid-state photomultipliers have been utilized to detect the transmitted light. Studies of attenuation length and transmission through splices are presented.< >
This work has a single aim, focusing on developing a political risk model relevant for tourism organisations, which are operating in an increasingly complex and turbulent international environment. ...It pays particular attention to the language of risk (how risks are articulated and described), the culture of risk (how risks are viewed), and the risk process (how they are analysed and assessed). The work critically evaluates a variety of methods that can be utilised to scan, analyse and assess political hazards and risks. It finds that many of the existing methods of political and country risk assessment are limited and not sufficiently contextualised to the needs of the tourism industry. Whilst many models can have an attractive façade of using positivistic methods to calculate political risks, in practice these are fraught with problems. The study also highlights a more complex relationship between tourism and political instability, whereby tourism can be characterised as much by its robustness, as its sensitivity. A model is developed which primarily adapts a systems theory approach, whereby a language, culture and practical process is developed through which the analysis of various factors and indicators can take place. The approach adopted has a number of stages, which vary in the amount of data necessary for the analysis and assessment of political risks. The model begins by utilising existing travel advice databases, moving onto an analysis of the frequency of past events, then to the nature of the political system itself, finishing with an analysis and assessment of more complex input factors and indicators which relate to notions of causation. One of the more provocative features of the model is the argument that it is more than possible to make an assessment of the risks that the political environment can pose to a tourism organisation, without necessarily understanding theories of causation.
This work has a single aim, focusing on developing a political risk model relevant for tourism organisations, which are operating in an increasingly complex and turbulent international environment. ...It pays particular attention to the language of risk (how risks are articulated and described), the culture of risk (how risks are viewed), and the risk process (how they are analysed and assessed). The work critically evaluates a variety of methods that can be utilised to scan, analyse and assess political hazards and risks. It finds that many of the existing methods of political and country risk assessment are limited and not sufficiently contextualised to the needs of the tourism industry. Whilst many models can have an attractive façade of using positivistic methods to calculate political risks, in practice these are fraught with problems. The study also highlights a more complex relationship between tourism and political instability, whereby tourism can be characterised as much by its robustness, as its sensitivity. A model is developed which primarily adapts a systems theory approach, whereby a language, culture and practical process is developed through which the analysis of various factors and indicators can take place. The approach adopted has a number of stages, which vary in the amount of data necessary for the analysis and assessment of political risks. The model begins by utilising existing travel advice databases, moving onto an analysis of the frequency of past events, then to the nature of the political system itself, finishing with an analysis and assessment of more complex input factors and indicators which relate to notions of causation. One of the more provocative features of the model is the argument that it is more than possible to make an assessment of the risks that the political environment can pose to a tourism organisation, without necessarily understanding theories of causation.
This work has a single aim, focusing on developing a political risk model relevant for
tourism organisations, which are operating in an increasingly complex and turbulent
international environment. ...It pays particular attention to the language of risk (how risks
are articulated and described), the culture of risk (how risks are viewed), and the risk
process (how they are analysed and assessed).
The work critically evaluates a variety of methods that can be utilised to scan, analyse
and assess political hazards and risks. It finds that many of the existing methods of
political and country risk assessment are limited and not sufficiently contextualised to the
needs of the tourism industry. Whilst many models can have an attractive façade of using
positivistic methods to calculate political risks, in practice these are fraught with
problems. The study also highlights a more complex relationship between tourism and
political instability, whereby tourism can be characterised as much by its robustness, as
its sensitivity.
A model is developed which primarily adapts a systems theory approach, whereby a
language, culture and practical process is developed through which the analysis of
various factors and indicators can take place. The approach adopted has a number of
stages, which vary in the amount of data necessary for the analysis and assessment of
political risks. The model begins by utilising existing travel advice databases, moving
onto an analysis of the frequency of past events, then to the nature of the political system
itself, finishing with an analysis and assessment of more complex input factors and
indicators which relate to notions of causation. One of the more provocative features of
the model is the argument that it is more than possible to make an assessment of the risks
that the political environment can pose to a tourism organisation, without necessarily
understanding theories of causation.
PDF
