SOIL QUALITY ATTRIBUTE TIME PATHS: OPTIMAL LEVELS AND VALUES

We develop a dynamic soil quality model to evaluate optimal cropping systems in the northern Great Plains. Modeling soil quality attributes is feasible, and attribute model results apply to a wide range of soils. A crop production system with continuous spring wheat and direct planting is the most profitable system. This system has low soil erosion and high quality attributes, indicating the benefits of increased soil quality exceed the higher maintenance costs. On-site value of additional soil organic carbon (OC) ranges from $1 to$4/ton OC/hectare/year. These values for soil OC impact the optimum tillage practice, but not the crop rotation.Crop Production/Industries,

Ability and Achievement Variables in Average, Low Average, and Borderline Students and the Roles of the School Psychologist

This study contributes to ongoing research in the field of school psychology by examining some of the effects of using the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) to classify students aged 6-16 years according to their results on an individual measure of intelligence, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III, 1991). Levels of achievement in word-reading and mathematics calculation were compared for 196 students classified as Average (IQ ranging from 90-109), Low Average (IQ ranging from 80-89), or Borderline (IQ ranging from 70-79). In all cases the Low Average and Borderline groups’ achievement levels differed significantly from that of the Average group. The fact that reading and mathematics abilities were not differentiated when Low Average and Borderline groups were compared calls into question the veracity of these labels.Cette étude contribue à la recherche en cours dans le domaine de la psychologie scolaire en étudiant les effets d’employer le quotient intellectuel à l’échelle complète pour classer les élèves de 6 à 16 ans en fonction de leurs résultats sur une mesure individuelle d’intelligence, l’échelle d’intelligence de Wechsler pour enfants, 3e édition (WISCIII). Nous avons comparé les rendements en lecture et en mathématiques de 196 élèves classés comme moyens (QI entre 90 et 109), moyens faibles (QI entre 80 et 89), ou médiocres (QI entre 70 et 79). Dans tous les cas, le rendement des élèves dans les groupes «moyens faibles» et «médiocres» divergeait de façon significative de celui du groupe «moyens». Le fait que les habiletés en lecture et en mathématiques des élèves du groupe «moyens faibles» ne se distinguaient pas de celles du groupe «médiocres» remet en question la fiabilité de ces étiquettes

Fruit production, migrant bird visitation, and seed dispersal of Guarea glabra in Panama

The relationship between bird visitation and the size of the available fruit crop was studied at an understory tree ( Guarea glabra Vahl, Meliaceae) in the tropical wet forest of Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone. Twelve resident species and seven North American migrant species fed on the Bright orange arilloids (seeds with arils), which were not depleted during the normal fruiting period. The number of individual visitors, the number of visiting species, and the number of seeds removed increased linearly with the size of the available fruit crop. The proportion of seeds removed did not increase with the size of the available fruit crop, indicating that dispersal is a function of the number of fruit available and not a disproportionate function of large fruit displays. Four species of North American migrants ( Myiarchus crinitus, Catharus ustulatus, Vireo olivaceus , and Vermivora peregrina ) accounted for 70% of the visits and 60% of the seeds removed from the trees. No resident species visited Guarea as frequently as any one of these migrants. There was no indication that any single visitor was dependent on this tree for nutrition, nor that the tree was dependent upon any single species for dispersal. We hypothesize that the fruiting season of G. glabra is adaptively synchronized with northward migration of opportunistically frugivorous North American birds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47724/1/442_2004_Article_BF00348067.pd

A Spatial Distribution Study of Faunal Remains from Two Lower Magdalenian Occupation Levels in El Mirón Cave, Cantabria, Spain

Abstract: Human behaviour can be reconstructed by analysing specific activities and campsite organization using spatial analysis. The dense occupation layers of the Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian in the Northern Spain reveal varied aspects of Upper Palaeolithic lifeways, including evidence of specific localized activities. The outer vestibule of El Mirón cave has a particularly rich and intact Lower Magdalenian occupation horizon, Levels 15–17. The excavations in the outer vestibule “Cabin” area of the site revealed excellent bone preservation. Artefacts and faunal remains were individually recorded and sediments water-screened to yield a large sample of archaeological finds and spatial data. Zooarchaeological analysis provided the taxonomic, anatomic and taphonomic determination of the faunal individual finds. Smaller animal remains were categorized and counted; special attention was given to the identification of anthropogenic modifications such as burnt bones or bone flakes. These small refuse items are considered to be useful, in situ indicators of localized activities. The spatial distribution analysis of this dense and complex palimpsest of El Mirón Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian layers required GIS based methods including density analysis, heatmaps and cluster analysis. Based on the spatial distribution of Level 15 and 16 faunal remains, different activity areas were identified comprising hearth, working and dropping zones. These results imply the deliberately segregated use of space within the Lower Cantabrian Magdalenian site area, in which bone-processing activities played a central rol

Therapeutic Intervention for the Physically Handicapped

The need for training counsellors specifically for intervention with the physically handicapped is the major focus of this article. Definitions of disabilities, rehabilitation and emotional factors are stressed as important variables in physicaland psychotherapeutic treatment. The authors review some of the psychological aspects in counselling the physically handicapped. Comparative studies are reviewedwhich indicate that although there are many commonalities in counselling physically able and disabled clients, special attention is given to those factors in the counselling process that are unique to a physically handicapped client-counsellor relationship.Cet article vise à souligner le besoin de former des conseillers prêts à travailler avec des personnes handicapées. La définition des infirmités, la réhabilitation et les facteurs émotionnels représentent des variables importantes dans le traitement tant physique que psychothérapeutique. Les auteurs passent en revue certains des aspects psychologiques dans la consultation auprès de gens handicapés. Des études comparatives indiquent un fond commun dans la consultation auprès de personnes handicapées et normales. Cependant, on accorde une attention spéciale dans la consultation aux facteurs qui sont uniques au rapport conseiller-personne handicapée