Trace Substances, Science and Law: Perspectives from the Social Sciences

Using advances in analytical technology as a point of departure, Dr. Short reviews what social science research reveals about perceptions, decision making processes and behaviors of organizations and individuals who try to cope with risk and uncertainty

Occurrence of the Plains Harvest Mouse, Reithrondontomys montanus (Baird) in Arkansas

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201

Erving Seemed Surprised at How Little “Power” Came with the ASA Presidency, and Noted that the Position of Secretary Carried Much More Clout

Dr. James F. Short, Professor Emeritus at the Washington State University, wrote this memoir at the request of Dmitri Shalin and gave his permission to post it in the Erving Goffman Archives

The Relationship Between The Sterling Quality Framework And Student Achievement In One Florida School District

The focus of this research was to determine the relationship, if any, between student achievement and the implementation of the Sterling Quality Management System in a southwest Florida school district. A quantitative analysis focused on three sources of data. Two surveys provided by the Florida Sterling Council were used to collect data from school based personnel and student achievement gain scores obtained from the Florida DOE School Accountability Report 2005-2009. In this study, little positive correlation was found between perceived implementation of Sterling practices and student achievement gains. Of a possible score of 5, the total mean implementation score across all groups was found to be 4.14. This meant that the perceived level of Sterling implementation among respondents overall was very high. No significant correlation was found between the total average Sterling implementation mean score and student achievement gains (school points) made between 2005 and 2009. Overall, very few correlations were found to be statistically significant. This suggested the lack of a linear relationship between Sterling implementation and student achievement gains in the schools in the study Following are recommendations for future research. 1. This study could be repeated using a population of multiple school districts in Florida or in different states. 2. This study could be repeated using different measures of student achievement, such as end of course exam results, SAT or ACT scores, or achievement in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs in high schools. iv 3. This study could be repeated with a population of administrators that includes all school principals and assistant principals. 4. This study could be repeated in a school district that has achieved the Sterling Quality award. 5. This study could be repeated to determine a relationship between Sterling Quality and other school effectiveness measures, such as parent involvement, community support, and teacher retention. 6. Determine the relationship if any that the implementation of Sterling Quality practices at the district level has on student achievement

Mesocosm experiments quantify the effects of eutrophication on eelgrass, Zostera marina

Outdoor mesocosm experiments were used to examine the response of eelgrass communities to excess nutrient loading and reduced light that simulated coastal eutrophication. A series of replicated manipulations conducted between 1988 and 1990 demonstrated the effects of reduced available light and increased loading of nitrogen plus phosphorus on habitats dominated by eelgrass Zostera marina L. Shade and nutrients each significantly affected eelgrass growth, morphology, density, and biomass. We found no significant interactions between the effects of shade and the effects of nutrients on any plant characteristics except leaf length. The growth rate of individual eelgrass shoots was linearly related to light, increasing throughout the range of available light. Biomass and daily biomass increase, or areal growth, were also linearly related to light, but specific growth showed no response to light. Shoot density increased with the log of light. Excess nutrient loading was shown to significantly reduce eelgrass growth and bed structure through stimulation of various forms of algae that effectively competed with eelgrass for light. The absence of significant interactions between the effects of shade and nutrients on eelgrass density, growth, and biomass suggests that the negative effect of algae on eelgrass occurs primarily through the reduction of light (i.e. shading). The outcome of nutrient enrichment was a shift in plant dominance from eelgrass to three algal forms: phytoplankton, epiphytic algae, and macroalgae. We quantified the effects of eutrophication and demonstrated that increased nutrient loading results in less light for eelgrass and that eelgrass growth linearly decreases with reduced light