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When the American Petroleum Institute (API) established standardized crush-testing procedures (API RP-56 1983), the committee indicated that the test results should "provide indications of the stress level where proppant crushing is excessive and the maximum stress to which the proppant material should be subjected." However, over time, many have torgotten not only how the test is conducted, but also its original intent. As such, many now unintentionally misapply the results of crush testing as they select proppants for their fracture designs. This paper will review the top 10 myths associated with crush testing and its interpretation, addressing such common questions as • Do standard test conditions (high proppant concentration and low temperature) provide realistic predictions of proppant performance? • Should proppant be tested wet or dry? • Does the loading procedure affect crush? • What happens if proppant is not distributed uniformly in a fracture? • Do all proppants fail in the same manner? • Are all proppant types equally damaged by 5% crush? • How can the industry misuse the test to report "superior" results? Readers of this paper will be armed with a better understanding of how crush testing is performed, how crush results can be misapplied, and the correct use of crush-test results. In addition, the authors will present an alternative methodology for evaluating proppant that incorporates all of the benefits gained from crush testing, but avoids the common pitfalls. Armed with this information readers can improve the design of fracture treatments, thereby achieving increased production rates and superior economic returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malt liquor (ML) is a cheap, high alcohol content beverage that is marketed to appeal to young adults. Findings from the few published studies of ML use suggest that it may be associated with excessive drinking, alcohol problems, and the use of illicit drugs. The authors conducted separate hierarchical multiple regressions to examine the role of ML use and psychosocial variables (e.g., personality, ML motives) in alcohol-related problems and marijuana use. Demographic characteristics served as controls. The sample consisted of 639 (456 men, 183 women) young adults (M = 22.9 years, SD = 4.2) who regularly (> or =40 oz/week) consumed ML. ML use significantly and positively predicted alcohol problems, ML-specific problems, and marijuana use, above and beyond their associations with typical alcohol use. Marijuana was the illicit drug of choice, and 46% reported concurrent use of marijuana and ML. Those who concurrently used ML and marijuana began drinking at a younger age and reported more substance use (particularly marijuana) and more alcohol-related problems than did non-concurrent users. These results suggest that ML use may represent a risk for alcohol problems and marijuana use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The curio trade in marine fishes has not previously been quantitatively analysed. As a contribution towards understanding the scale and conservation impact of such trade we summarize import and export data from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for 1997-2001. At least 32 fish species were involved in the USA's international trade in curios, of which 24 were included on the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with categorizations ranging from Endangered to Data Deficient. The USA apparently imported an annual total of approximately one million fish and 360 tonnes of fish parts, worth more than USD 1.7 million, although total volume declined over the 5 years of data. Fish curios imported to the USA reportedly came primarily from Taiwan and the Philippines, with 95% of curios obtained from wild populations. The three marine fish groups most traded for curios were sharks, seahorses and porcupinefishes. The value per individual fish fluctuated across years, with a considerable increase in the value of dried seahorses from 1997 to 2001. The trade probably adds to conservation concerns for at least some species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relates the learning experiences of the author, vice-president of Real Estate Strategies Corp. from a series of exchanges between housing professionals in Great Britain and the U.S. Meetings with government officials and other nonprofit associations and charitable trust; Differences in relation to housing and community development; Role play exercises in dealing with issues concerning rent restructuring, tenant right to own and minimum property standards.

Bycatch studies have largely ignored population level effects on fish species of little commercial interest. Here we analyze bycatch of the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) in the bait-shrimp trawl fishery in Hernando Beach, Florida, providing the first fisheries data for this species. Based on catch per unit of effort (CPUE), size, sex, and reproductive status of trawled H. erectus, 1) approximately 72,000 seahorses were caught annually by this fleet, from a population of unknown size, 2) trawling affected population cohorts differentially because of temporal and spatial variation in CPUE and population size, and 3) a greater proportion of females than males was removed in trawling. Our findings suggest that trawling may affect seahorse populations through direct mortality, social disruption, and habitat damage. However, the lack of specific abundance or catchability estimates for H. erectus means that the precise impact of trawling on this fish remains uncertain. This paper focuses attention on the need for research and monitoring of small fishes that are caught incidentally in nonselective gear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an exploratory analysis of the linguistic treatment of the Kosovo bombing and related events as reported in the major US media. It studies the national news reported by nine different news media during a one-week period, 22–28 April 1999. This was a period about midway through the NATO bombing activity in Kosovo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the scenario for music education in the year 2050. Redefining listening; Nonverbal communication; Creating music; Performance in schools; Levels of learning; Schemata.

Examines United States college students' news gratifications, media use and current events knowledge during and after operations `Desert Shield' and `Desert Storm' during the Persian Gulf Conflict from 1990 to 1991. Influence of demographic influences; Correlation of print media and CNN use to current events knowledge.

Examines the social context in which sex roles are presented and the function of performer sex in the portrayal of women in the Music Television cable channel in the U.S. Routine presentation of women in music videos; Assessment whether women are presented as passive individuals who serve as objects to attract male attention; Analysis of viewer motivations and rock video content.

Explores locally produced programming on independent television stations in the U.S. Comparison of the image of independent stations to networks and their affiliates; Analysis on the rapid growth in the number of stations; Decrease in the availability of advertising dollars.

Presents a study that assess the level of broadcast research in journals by U.S. communications scholars from 1976 to 1983. Objectives of the study; Citation of communications journals included in the study; Ranking of communication program students from different universities and colleges.

Analyzes trends in television criticism in the "New York Times" from 1949 to 1977. Criteria for critical reviews of dramatic television programs; Changes in the editorial policy; Relation between the use of program critiques and personality figures throughout all the years of the study; Tendency for critics to compare a production to other media more readily during the earlier years.

This study compares the internal decision-making styles of Mexican-American versus Anglo-American small business entrepreneurs in evaluating potential business ventures. The purpose of the study is to provide insight into the decision-making strategies and styles of Mexican-American small business entrepreneurs in comparison to Anglo-American entrepreneurs. Results indicate that Mexican-American small business entrepreneurs are twice as likely not to attend to traditionally formulated decision-making criteria than their Anglo-American counterparts. More Mexican-American entrepreneurs who lacked formulated decision-making policies had sole proprietorship businesses and less involvement of family members in their businesses than Mexican-American entrepreneurs with established policies. For both ethnic groups who had established, identifiable decision-making criteria for evaluating a business venture, similar decision-making policies were exhibited with family support being more important to the Anglo-American entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the United States and Iran has had an important influence on world affairs during the past two decades. Accordingly, the U.S. news media have an instrumental rote in portraying U.S.-lran relations to the public. The Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis of 1979—1981, the TWA hijacking of 1985, the Irangate controversy of 1986—1987, and the Persian Gulf War of 1990—1991 are examples of important media events that have impacted public opinion regarding U.S. policy toward Iran. This research analyzes government and print media portrayals of the Reagan administration's U.S.-lran policy during Irangate. Results supported the prediction that the print media would fulfill their ‘watchdog’ function by providing more critical portrayals of the United States' policy toward Iran than the Tower Commission Report, an investigative document published by President Reagan's Special Review Board. Among the three leading newspapers analyzed, there was significant diversity in the reporting of U.S.-Iran relations. Results indicate the Reagan administration's attempt to ‘spin’ its version of Irangate did not successfully pressure the media to neglect their watchdog role. Although the Tower Commission Report was less critical of U.S. policy toward Iran than the print media, all four print media sources portrayed the Reagan administration's policy as a flawed approach that degenerated into trading arms for hostages, implications of these findings for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]