Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House

What a tremendous gift “Pete” and Abbie Gudmundsen gave to the University, to the people who live throughout their beloved Sandhills, and to the entire State of Nebraska when they donated their 12,817 acre ranch, the Rafter C, to the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1978. And what tremendous work our faculty and staff have accomplished here over the past 20 years. UNL faculty and staff research and educational efforts have truly made this ranch the “Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory.”

Virus-Associated Tumours of the Harderian Gland in Laboratory-Reared Voles, Clethrionomys rutilis (Pallas)

Tumors of the Harderian gland occurred frequently in red-backed voles, Clethrionomys rutilus (Pallas), in a captive colony maintained since 1957. Although the tumors became obvious only in animals about a year old and older, early stage changes were histologically evident in glands from younger, clinically normal voles. The tumors ranged in type from poorly differentiated adenoma to adenocarcinoma, with invasion of adjacent tissues and characteristic deformation of the zygomata. Electron micrographs disclosed viral particles in the cytoplasm of glands from clinically normal animals as well as in glands showing malignant changes. The tumor was not observed in arvicoline rodents of other species maintained in the same rooms with the red-backed voles.

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House

What a pleasure it is to be here with you today at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House. I grew up a country boy in Texas, and any day I get to spend in rangeland is a good day to me.

Haskell Agricultural Laboratory 50th Anniversary Celebration

Today we celebrate 50 years of work done here at the Haskell Agricultural Laboratory for Nebraska. Work that addresses issues of great importance here. Work that matters. As your land-grant university, it is a point of pride for us to celebrate work done for our state. We are at work for Nebraska. That's our heritage. It's why we're here.

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House: Wagonhammer Education Center

Today at this terrific Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory open house I want to begin with three thank you’s. First, thank you for attending. It is a treat to see all of you here, and we thank you for your presence and your interest in this key university program.

Educational Investment, Family Context, and Children’s Math and Reading Growth from Kindergarten through the Third Grade

Drawing on longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999, this study used IRT modeling to operationalize a measure of parental educational investments based on Lareau’s notion of concerted cultivation. It used multilevel piecewise growth models regressing children’s math and reading achievement from entry into kindergarten through the third grade on concerted cultivation and family context variables. The results indicate that educational investments are an important mediator of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities, completely explaining the black-white reading gap at kindergarten entry and consistently explaining 20 percent to 60 percent and 30 percent to 50 percent of the black-white and Hispanic-white disparities in the growth parameters, respectively, and approximately 20 percent of the socioeconomic gradients. Notably, concerted cultivation played a more significant role in explaining racial/ethnic gaps in achievement than expected from Lareau’s discussion, which suggests that after socioeconomic background is controlled, concerted cultivation should not be implicated in racial/ethnic disparities in learning.

Children’s Play in Cross-Cultural Perspective: A New Look at the Six Cultures Study

A qualitative and quantitative reanalysis of the Six Cultures data on children’s play, collected in the 1950s, was performed to revisit worlds of childhood during a time when sample communities were more isolated from mass markets and media than they are today. A count was performed of children aged 3 to 10 in each community sample scored as engaging in creative-constructive play, fantasy play, role play, and games with rules. Children from Nyansongo and Khalapur scored lowest overall, those from Tarong and Juxtlahuaca scored intermediate, and those from Taira and Orchard Town scored highest. Cultural norms and opportunities determined how the kinds of play were stimulated by the physical and social environments (e.g., whether adults encouraged work versus play, whether children had freedom for exploration and motivation to practice adult roles through play, and whether the environment provided easy access to models and materials for creative and constructive play).