A model for estimating the TMDL-related benefits of oyster reef restoration : Harris Creek, Maryland, USA

A user-friendly, web-accessible model has been developed that allows restoration practitioners and resource managers to easily estimate the TMDL-related benefits of oyster reef restoration per unit area, run restoration scenarios in Harris Creek, MD to optimize restoration planning and implementation, and calculate the benefits of the chosen plan. The model is rooted in scientifically defensible data and is readily transferable to systems throughout the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore. The model operates in five vertically well-mixed boxes along the main axis of the creek. Exchanges among creeks are computed using a tidal prism approach and were compared to exchanges provided from a high resolution 3D hydrodynamic model. Watershed inputs for the model were obtained for the Harris Creek sub-watershed from the Phase V Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model. The base model simulates daily concentrations over an annual cycle of chlorophyll-a, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, the biomass of benthic microalgae, and the water column and sediment pools of labile organic carbon (C) and associated N and P. Water quality data for model forcing and calibration were obtained from the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Choptank Riverkeeper, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. An oyster sub-model has been coupled to this base model and computes the volume of water filtered, removal of phytoplankton, suspended solids, and associated nutrients via filtration, recycling of nutrients and consumption of oxygen by oyster respiration, production of feces, N and P accumulation in oyster tissues and shell, oyster-enhanced denitrification, and N and P burial associated with restored reefs. The completed model is served online and operates through a web browser, enabling users to conduct scenario analysis by entering box-specific values for acres restored, restored oyster density, and restored oyster size, as well as the economic value of associated N and P removal

Continued obstacles to wood-based biomass production in the southeastern United States

International demand for wood-based biomass for bioenergy production is growing, and private forestlands in the southeastern United States have the potential to supply that demand. The southeastern United States (Southeast) is the world's largest exporter of wood pellets for bioenergy, primarily to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). However, wood-based biomass production accounts for only a small share of total wood removals from private forestlands in the Southeast. There is sufficient wood-based biomass in the Southeast to support greater production of wood pellets for domestic and international markets without redirecting timber from sawtimber and pulpwood production. In 2018–19, we conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with private forest landowners, foresters, loggers, and biomass production facility managers in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to obtain their views on wood-based biomass production in the Southeast. Although landowners were interested in supplying wood for biomass as a byproduct of timber harvesting, they seldom participated in wood-based biomass production because of limited and unreliable access to biomass markets. Loggers and production facility managers had not invested in biomass production because they remain skeptical about the financial viability of wood-based biomass. Continued obstacles to biomass production include: price competition with fossil fuels and conventional wood products; inconsistent domestic government support for biomass production; concerns about meeting the sustainability requirements to export wood-based biomass to the UK and EU; and the high costs associated with harvesting low-grade wood for biomass. The barriers to biomass expansion in the southeastern United States remain primarily economic and political rather than biophysical.National Institute of Food and Agriculture,http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gcbbam2022Mammal Research Institut

From Trauma to Resiliency: Lessons from Former Runaway and Homeless Youth

This exploratory study presents findings on resiliency development in five former runaway and homeless youth. Subjected to chronic trauma, this unique population lacked the protective factors other studies have associated with resiliency development. Five young women were compared and contrasted in relation to the following questions: what factors promote resiliency in runaway and homeless youth and how are resilient youth differentiated from their peers who continue to exhibit high risk behaviours? A multiple case study design was used to explore themes that emerged from in-depth interviews with an original sample of 22 former runaway and homeless youth. These themes included determination, meaning and purpose in life, self-care and readiness to accept help

Mothers' perceptions of factors influencing the restabilization of homeless families

Family homelessness has increased dramatically in the past decade, but little attention has been focused on the process by which homeless families become restabilized. The author presents findings from a qualitative study of the restabilization process. Four factors that affect the process are discussed: children, personal resources, external resources, and socioeconomic context. The findings indicate the significant role shelter staff and other social service providers can play in assisting mothers in both emotional and instrumental ways. Implications for direct practice with homeless mothers and their families are discussed as well as implications for policy and program development

Study abroad and values development in social work students

This article presents results of a qualitative study of values development in U.S. and Scottish social work students who participated in a study-abroad program. Six themes emerged: opening the mind to new ways of thinking; awareness and insight into one's own values and beliefs; social awareness and challenges to societal values and beliefs; appreciation of difference, cultural sensitivity, and anti-discriminatory practice; social justice; and professional identity development. Implications for social work study-abroad programs and future research are discussed

Feminist Issues in Qualitative Research With Formerly Homeless Mothers

The article describes the author's attempts to incorporate feminist principles into a qualitative study of the process of successful restabilization among formerly homeless mother-headed families. It discusses methods for dealing with such issues as the research agenda, epistemology, and ethics, so the credibility and agenda of feminist qualitative research is not compromised, and presents case examples from the author's field journals and transcripts of interview

Evaluating interpersonal skills training for public welfare staff.

A week long in-service training session focussed on improving interpersonal helping skills for 116 public welfare staff. The programme was evaluated to assess changes in participants knowledge, skill mastery, and self-perceptions. Results indicate statistically significant gains on use of attending behaviours, reflections, and global rating of empathy, respect and genuineness. Discussion centres on the practical significance of the small gains noted and on the need for further research to establish threshold time periods and appropriate instructional strategies necessary for substantial skill gains

A School-Juvenile Court Liaison Model for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

Concern about juvenile delinquency is widespread throughout the United States. Alienated youth, whether they have already been adjudicated as delinquent or whether they are troubled and troublesome children who have not yet been in contact with the courts, pose a challenge for the communities in which they live. The challenge is twofold: to deal effectively with delinquent youth to reduce the likelihood of future offenses and to prevent or minimize the occurrence of delinquent behaviors by youth who have not already committed such acts. This paper describes a project which assisted personnel from school systems acid juvenile courts in Georgia to work together to achieve these goals

The legal aspects of censorship of public school library and instructional materials

Historical research determines that censorship based on politics, religion, or morality has been a continual issue from early recorded history of man to the present. American settlers brought with them to the new world a heritage of suppression of reading matter by church and state. Censorship of obscenity in reading matter began in the early eighteenth century in the New England colonies; however, it did not become a legal issue in the United States until the early 1800s. From that time until the present, obscenity has been a matter of concern for the judiciary. This study presents an historical perspective of censorship in order to develop the history of censorship in the United States. A definition of obscenity is given as it has evolved through the judiciary from the nineteenth century until the present

Assessing social agency functions: A model

The assessment of general agency functions is the focus of this manuscript. Initially inventories that may be utilized in the assessment of the relevance and quality of services provided are reviewed. Next, cost benefit analysis is addressed in terms of helping social workers estimate the cost of services provided. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of the issues involved in general agency assessment