Sustaining K-12 Professional Development in Geology: Recurrent Participation in RockCamp

Researchers surveyed repeat attendees in a geology professional development program known as RockCamp in order to determine the reasons for their sustained involvement in this program. This article describes their findings, which suggest that the teachers' sustained involvement in the RockCamp Program is stimulated by situated learning experiences stressing a compare, contrast, connect, and construct pedagogy within a supportive learning community. Most teachers cited such reasons as efficacy, fun, right time of life, and support, as well as content, friendship, and methodology as reasons for their continued participation in the program. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

A Comparison of Information Technology Mediated Customer Services Between the U.S. and China

Information technology mediated customer service is a reality of the 21st century. More and more companies have moved their customer services from in store and in person to online through computer or mobile devices. Using 442 responses collected from one USA university (234 responses) and two Chinese universities (208 responses), the study investigates customer preferences over two service delivery models (either in store or online) on five types of purchasing (retail, eating-out, banking, travel and entertainment) and their perception difference in customer service quality between those two delivery models in the U.S. and China. The results show that the majority of the U.S. and Chinese students prefer in-store and in person for eating out and prefer computer/mobile devices for ordering tickets for travel and entertainment. In addition, more than half of the U.S. students prefer in person services for retail and banking, and this number reduces to 40% for Chinese students. In most customer service quality measurements, the results also show that Chinese students give higher ratings for ordering through a computer/mobile device than ordering in store, indicating ordering through computer/mobile devices has become more acceptable in China and has been perceived as having better customer services quality than in-store ordering

COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE STEM VOLUME AND TAPER EQUATIONS VOLUME FOR BLACK WATTLE TREES

A system of equations widely used in Forest Engineering by the international community of researchers consists of a combination of a volumetric function and a taper function, with the purpose of making volume estimates compatible. When using the volume function and the taper function in a system, the result of the volume estimated by the two functions should be compatible, meaning that the volume estimated by the volumetric function should not differ from the volume obtained by integrating the taper function. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to develop and present the procedures of a system of equations to make volume estimates from both volume and taper equations compatible, and then compare it to the traditional approach, which is used in forestry companies. The procedures proposed were applied to a data set on the Acacia mearnsii De Wild. (black wattle) at sites where the plantation of this species is concentrated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The data set included 343 trees ranging from 5 to 10.75 years of age. It was noted that the lack of volume compatibility, in absolute terms, grows exponentially with the size of the tree. The quality of the estimates using the system of compatible equations did not differ from those obtained from the traditional model, therefore, the former is preferable. Furthermore, it was noted that the residuals from the volume and taper equations are correlated, which suggests that the system of equations be fitted simultaneously

COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN THE SPURR FUNCTION VOLUME AND THE KOZAK’S TAPER FUNCTION AND QUINTIC POLYNOMIAL VOLUMES FOR BLACK WATTLE TREES

When modeling the taper and volume, it is desired that the volume estimates obtained by using these two methods are compatible, where the total stem volume estimates shall not differ when using a total volume equation and the volume calculated by integrating the taper equation. There are several of such systems proposed in the literature, in which modifications in the volume and taper models were made to obtain compatible systems. This paper introduces an idea to obtain compatibility in a simpler way, without the need to modify the volume and taper models. Thus, the overall objective of this study was to develop and present a procedure to obtain compatibility between the Spurr function volume and the Kozak’s taper function and quintic polynomial volumes for Acacia mearnsii De Wild trees and compare the results to the traditional method of the same system of equations. The procedures proposed were applied on data on the Acacia mearnsii De Wild (black wattle) species in the towns of Cristal, Piratini, and Encruzilhada in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The data set included 343 trees ranging from 5 to 10.75 years of age. The quality of the fitting for the volume and taper equations fitted using procedures 1 and 2 is similar, and both are compatible. The system of equations presented in procedure 2 is simpler to be applied when compared to procedure 1

Impact of the Holocene sea-level changes in coastal, eastern and Central Amazonia

Pollen records from six sites are summarised and compared to provide insights in Holocene changes in the Amazon coastal and lowland regions of northern Brazil. The hydrology of Amazonian wetlands, especially those in the eastern part of the Basin, is strongly influenced by the Atlantic sea-level. Rapid sea-level rise in the early Holocene stabilized at near modern levels at ca. 7500 (14)C yr B.P. Mangroves first occur in coastal sequences of northeastern Pará State about 7500 (14)C yr B.P. The arrival of the mangroves in the pollen sequences is taken as an indication of sea-level. The retreat of mangroves after about 6700 (14)C yr B.P. reflects a lower relative sea-level. The modern mangrovos developed mostly between 4000 and 3500 (14)C yr B.P. or somewhat later at the present-day coastline. First impact of early Holocene sea-level rise in the Amazon Basin is found by the change of active to passive river systems between at ca. 8300 and 8000 (14)C yr B.P. Later, local Mauritia palm swamps developed along river margins in central and eastern Amazonia. The timing and length of this period differs and is probably related to the different location and topography of the rivers. It is suggested that the Mauritia palm swamp stage is a regional phenomenon for the whole low lying Amazon Basin. First várzea and igapó forests (seasonally inundated forests) developed at that time as well, but the area of this seasonally inundated forests was still small. The modern large extension of várzea and igapó forest areas is relatively young in age. In eastern Amazonia, marked increase of várzea/igapó forests is documented since 3120 (14)C yr B.P., especially since 2470 (14)C yr B.P., and in central Amazonia since 4070 (14)C yr B.P. and especially since 2080 (14)C yr B.P. The development of huge seasonally inundated areas must have had an important influence on the Amazonian water and carbon cycle and the regional climate in Arnazonia

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics in southeastern Amazonia inferred from Lagoa da Confusão in Tocantins State, northern Brazil

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics have been reconstructed by pollen analysis of a lacustrine sediment core from Lagoa da Confusão. The lake lies about 160 km southwest of Palmas, capital of Tocantins State. The study area is located in the cerrado (savanna) and cerrado/Amazon rain forest transition region of southeastern Amazonia. The record, dated by 4 AMS radiocarbon dates, provide insight into vegetation and climate dynamics of late Pleistocene and Holocene age. Pollen data indicate that the study region was dominated by cerrado (savanna), fìrst of the campo limpo type (grassland savanna) between 60,300-51,700 (chronology A) or 29,000-27,400 (14)C yr B.P. (chronology B) and than of the campo sujo type between 51,700-24,670 (chronology A) or 27,400-14,000 (14)C yr B.P. (chronology B). Existing small areas of gallery forests increased slightly during the second period. Amazon forest taxa occurred sparsely in the study region. The palaeovegetation infer a markedly drier climate (low precipitation and long annual dry season) during the glacial periods compared to the modern climate. A sedimentary gap probably occurred during the full glacial and/or Lateglacial period, suggesting drier climatic conditions than during the two earlier periods. During the early and mid Holocene the campo cerrado type (savanna woodland) was dominant and the landscape was more forested by the stronger presence of gallery forest and Amazon forest trees. Precipitation was higher, and the length of the annual dry season was shorter than during the late Pleistocene periods. After 5460 (14)C yr B.P. campo cerrado was still dominant, but forest cover increased markedly by the expansion Amazon forest populations and palm trees, reflecting the wettest climate period recorded. The results from Lagoa da Conlusão support the general trend of dry glacial conditions, as reported from other tropical South American lowland regions. The expansion of the Amazon rain forest since the mid Holocene in northwestern and southwestern Amazonia is now also confirmed for the southeastern Amazon region

Finding a silver lining in the rapid movement to online learning: Considerations of access for all learners

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