A Study Of Passenger Perception And Sensitivity To Airport Backscatter X-Ray Technologies

Because of September 11, security continues to be a concern in the airline business.  Enhancing airport security is one of the highest considerations of the federal government, which is currently employing electromagnetic screening systems and metal detection portal technologies, in order to screen airline passengers for hazardous metallic objects.  Improving security is considered critical in mitigating the perceived risk of terrorism and threat, though privacy sensitivity is frequently a consideration if not a concern of passengers.  This study analyzes factors of public acceptability of airport backscatter screening systems, in a current survey of passengers in New York City and in Tel Aviv.  The study furnishes findings that may benefit administrators in the federal government in the implementation of x-ray screening systems that are cognizant of not only the risk of terrorism but also of public sensitivity to intrusive technologies

Lack of Communication Even When Using Alternative and Augmentative Communication Devices: Are We Forgetting About the Three Components of Language

[First paragraph] Starting in the early 90s, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices were introduced in special education classrooms. These devices were intended to replace the picture-based communication approaches, such as PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)

June Dairy Month Open Houses: Learning Events to Improve Consumer Understanding of Modern Animal Agriculture

Three dairy open houses as part of June Dairy Month events were conducted to provide the public the opportunity to experience and learn first-hand about the efforts made daily on modern dairies to achieve cow care, cow comfort and health, hygienic milking procedures, local cropping systems that provide quality feed for the dairy herd, manure management and land stewardship, respect for family and non-family workers, and overall quality and safety of milk and dairy products. These events were a product of industry partnerships. The three events reached 2900+ participants. Surveys performed at two events showed many participants had trust in dairy farmers and the dairy industry prior to the event, but post tour surveys showed enhancement in their knowledge of modern dairy practices that assure animal health and comfort, product quality and safety, and environmental stewardship and preservation. Most concerns encompassed nutrient /environmental management

June Dairy Month Open Houses: Learning Events to Improve Consumer Understanding of Modern Animal Agriculture

Three dairy open houses as part of June Dairy Month events were conducted to provide the public the opportunity to experience and learn first-hand about the efforts made daily on modern dairies to achieve cow care, cow comfort and health, hygienic milking procedures, local cropping systems that provide quality feed for the dairy herd, manure management and land stewardship, respect for family and non-family workers, and overall quality and safety of milk and dairy products. These events were a product of industry partnerships. The three events reached 4800+ participants. Surveys performed at two events showed many participants had trust in dairy farmers and the dairy industry prior to the event, but post tour surveys showed enhancement in their knowledge of modern dairy practices that assure animal health and comfort, product quality and safety, and environmental stewardship and preservation. (with 100% of participants improving their views and trust in modern dairy farming). Most concerns encompassed nutrient and environmental management (4% of respondents)

Modelling Environmental and Habitat Effects on Young Brown Shrimp Production in Galveston Bay, Texas, U.S.A.

Brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) support a commercially important fishery in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and juveniles use coastal estuaries as nurseries. Production of young shrimp from any given bay system, and hence commercial harvest of sub-adults and adults from the Gulf, is highly variable from year to year. We describe development of a spatially-explicit, individual-based model representing the cumulative effects of temperature, salinity, and access to emergent marsh vegetation on the growth and survival of young brown shrimp, and we use the model to simulate shrimp production from Galveston Bay, Texas, U.S.A. under environmental conditions representative of those observed from 1983 to 2012. We also describe a field growth study conducted from April 12 to June 9, 2011, designed to validate and improve the model. The model reproduced biomass and size distribution patterns observed in field data. Although annual variability of modeled shrimp production did not correlate well (R2 = 0.005) with fisheries independent trawl data from Galveston Bay, there was a significant correlation with similar trawl data collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico (R^2 = 0.40 p = 0.0005). Identifying and representing spatially variable factors such as annual recruitment timing and magnitude among bays, therefore, may be the key to understanding bay-specific contributions to the adult stock. In our field growth study, we used a mark-recapture approach to measure brown shrimp growth in three polyhaline marsh ponds over periods of two to four weeks. We recorded hourly temperature and flooding data, and also measured biomass of infaunal food organisms. We parameterized our production model with input from 2011 to compare modeled output to observed data. Mean growth rate estimates from the model were similar to the estimated mean growth rate observed in the field (1.13 mm d-1, 1.06 mm d-1, respectively), however, growth rates differed significantly between marsh ponds. Data on infaunal biomass suggest that spatial and temporal variability in available food organisms is related to differences in growth, and the inclusion of such information may enhance the model