Modeling Impacts of Foothills Parkway Construction on Stream Water Quality Using Real-time Remote Monitoring

ABSTRACT The need to monitor surface water quality has been increasingly recognized in recent years in environmental and natural resource management. The advent of real-time remote monitoring technologies has accelerated and enhanced this process. Field observations of water quality data are able to be conducted and analyzed in ways that were previously unavailable. The objectives of this research were to deploy and test a real-time remote monitoring system for three small watersheds (Hembree, Dunn, and Rudd Hollows) in the Great Smoky Mountains. The watersheds ranged in size from 12 to 19 ha. Real-time remote monitoring stations were established in three small, forested watersheds downstream from construction of the Foothills Parkway in East Tennessee. Water quality sondes measured and recorded streamflow data during the course of a year for turbidity, pH, conductivity, temperature, and stream depth. Rain gauges were used to collect precipitation data. Baseflow and stormflow data were compared to determine effects of storm events on both undisturbed and disturbed forested watersheds. Equations were generated for the purpose of predicting water quality based on storm characteristics. Water quality data were analyzed to assess impacts of highway construction on first-order streams within these watersheds. For baseflow conditions within the watersheds, mean turbidity ranged from 11.5 to 56.8 NTU. Mean pH ranged from 6.25 to 7.22, while mean conductivity ranged from 0.032 to 0.151 mS/cm. Mean temperature ranged from 8.53 to 18.34 ¡C. For stormflow conditions, mean turbidity ranged from 77.1 to 285.5 NTU. Stormflow pH, conductivity, and temperature did not significantly differ from baseflow conditions. Collectively, study of baseflow condition data indicated that Dunn and Rudd were similar in water quality, while Hembree was noticeable different. It was concluded that these differences in water quality between watersheds was due to internal disturbances in Hembree prior to monitoring and, more importantly, before highway construction. Prediction equations were established describing change in turbidity in terms of precipitation, days since last rainfall, and storm duration. R2 values were highest at Rudd during leaf-on (R2 = 0.80) and Dunn during leaf-off (R2 = 0.81), while lowest values were found at Hembree during leaf-off (R2 = 0.48). Leaf-on had higher R2 values than leaf-off at each site except for Dunn. Before construction and during construction comparisons for each site revealed that Hembree and Rudd mean turbidity for stormflow both decreased from before construction conditions. Analysis of Dunn water quality data also indicated changes during the timeframe of Hembree and Rudd construction. However, because no construction occurred in Dunn during project duration, it was determined that construction activities did not negatively impact water quality in Hembree and Rudd, and that variations in water quality were due to seasonal effects within these watersheds

Secondary English Teachers Dispositions Toward Technology Integration in One-to-One Environments

This study examined how high school English teachers define technology integration and how teacher beliefs regarding technology integration impacts teacher and student use of digital technologies for instructional purposes. Thirty-nine teachers from three high school English departments in their initial year of a one-to-one device implementation participated in this study. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed to examine how high school English teachers define technology integration and to examine if teacher beliefs informs technology integration practices. Quantitative data included the use of the TPACK formative assessment tool and an instructional technology use survey. Qualitative data included open-ended survey questions, interviews, and observation notes. Analysis of the qualitative data identified five themes as to what it means to teachers in their first year of a one-to-one device implementation program to integrate technology into their instructional practices. The potential impact of professional development on teachers’ reported TPACK scores, as well as the reported frequency of technology use by teachers and students are discussed

Advisor and Student Experiences of Summer Support for College-intending, Low-income high school graduates

Summer melt occurs when students who have been accepted to college and intend to enroll fail to matriculate in college in the fall semester after high school. A high rate of summer melt contributes to the lower postsecondary attainment rates of low-income students, in particular. This article presents qualitative findings from two interventions intended to reduce summer melt among low-income, urban high school graduates who had been accepted to college and indicated their intention to enroll. Results from student and counselor surveys, interviews, and focus groups point to a web of personal and contextual factors that collectively influence students' college preparation behaviors and provide insight into the areas of summer supports from which students like these can benefit. The data fit an ecological perspective, in which personal, institutional, societal, and temporal factors interact to affect students' behaviors and outcomes. A model of summer intervention shows that obstacles in completing college financing and informational tasks can lead college-intending students to re-open the question of where or whether to attend college in the fall after high school graduation. Given the pressure of concerns about how to actualize their offer of admission, students rarely engage in the anticipatory socialization activities that might help them make optimal transitions into college

Scripta: A Collection of Papers written by Advanced Composition Students

During January, 1968, the first Interim period of Wofford College\u27s new 4-1 -4 calendar. a number of unconventional, experimental activities were going on. Among these was Project No. 17-Advanced Composition-whose purpose was to give its participants extensive practice, under supervision, in various kinds of writing.https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/collegebooks/1016/thumbnail.jp