Assessment and Conceptualization of Groundwater Flow in the Edwards Aquifer Through the Knippa Gap in Uvalde County, Texas

The Edwards aquifer is one of the major regional karst aquifers in the United States, with an average withdrawal of 950 million liters per day (L/d). This investigation focuses on the connection between the Uvalde pool and the San Antonio pool of the Edwards aquifer, known as the Knippa Gap, west of the San Antonio metropolitan area in Uvalde County. This is a major zone of recharge to the Edwards aquifer and is approximately 6.4 km wide. The Knippa Gap is bounded by northeast trending faults of the Balcones Fault Zone (BFZ) on the north (specifically the Cooks and Trio Faults), and uplift from the Uvalde salient and igneous intrusive plugs to the south. Aspects of the hydrogeology in the Knippa Gap have been a topic of major interest among researchers in this area for numerous years, however, the exact location and nature of boundaries are undefined, and the discharge through this area is not accurately known. The input data from this investigation will allow for assessments of discharge, better water budget approximations for the San Antonio pool, and determination of accurate flow boundaries and budgets for Uvalde County. This investigation was limited to the transmissive (karstified) portion of the Edwards aquifer within the study area, and is based on previous studies, and newly collected data. The newly collected data include: 1) compilation of a complete table of wells within the study area; 2) redefined placement of flow boundaries (faults) most of which appear to be structurally controlled; 3) hydrostratigraphic analysis of the Knippa Gap area based on drilling and wireline logs; 4) characterization of the depth of karstification within the Knippa Gap; and 5) analyses of water quality within and contiguous to the study area. These data constrain a revised conceptual model of the flow and karstification in this critical area of recharge to the Edwards aquifer, and provide specific lateral boundaries and vertical karstification zones which can be tested quantitatively. Although current interpretations are tentative, it appears this conceptual model will be readily convertible into a digital model that can test hypotheses relating to water levels and spring discharges

Sky Brightness at Zenith During the January 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipses occur during the full moon phase when the moon is obscured by Earth’s shadow. During these events, the night sky brightness changes as the full moon rises and then passes first into the penumbral and then the umbral shadow. We acquired sky brightness data at zenith using a Unihedron Sky Quality Meter during the 20–21 January 2019 total lunar eclipse as seen from Morehead, Kentucky. The resulting sky brightness curve shows an obvious signature when the moon enters the umbral (partial) eclipse phases and the total eclipse phase. During the total eclipse phase, the brightness curve is flat and measures 19.1 ± 0.1 mag / arcsec2. The observed brightness at totality is close to typical new moon in January night at our location, which measures 19.3 ± 0.1 mag / arcsec2. The partial eclipse phase is symmetric on either side of totality. The penumbral phase is more difficult to identify in the plot, without comparison to a typical full moon night. There is a clear asymmetry in the curve just before and just after the umbral phase. This asymmetry is probably due to changes in terrestrial atmospheric conditions, such as high altitude clouds

Estimating the size of Earth’s umbral shadow using sky brightness light curves during a lunar eclipse

We present a simple method to estimate the size of Earth’s umbral shadow in a classroom setting. The method uses the published sky brightness curves obtained during a total lunar eclipse and requires only a conceptual understanding of lunar eclipses and simple geometric considerations. It is suitable for use in introductory and upper level astronomy courses

Investigating Emotional Intelligence and Social Skills in Home Schooled Students

Jennifer Howard. Adkins April 12, 2004 51 pages Directed by: Dr. William Pfohl, Dr. Antony Norman, and Dr. Reagan Brown Department of Psychology Western Kentucky University In the United States today there are approximately 1.5 million students being home schooled. With this ever growing number, it is important to examine this unique population in order to determine the effects this alternative form of education will have on these students, not just academically, but in other areas as well. The purpose of this study is to examine the concepts of emotional intelligence and social skills in home schooled students. One hundred home schooled students and their parents participated in this study by completing emotional intelligence and social skills questionnaires. Results of the study support the hypotheses that the home schooled students would have higher levels of social skills and lower scores on the problem behaviors scale than the standardization population. In regards to emotional intelligence, differences were found among the elementary and secondary grade levels of the home schooled children. Home schooled elementary students achieved higher scores than the standardization population on two of the seven areas measured. No significant differences were found in the other areas. Home schooled secondary students achieved higher scores than did the standardization population on four of the seven areas measured. No significant differences were found in the other areas

Music in the Novels of Silas House

Literary criticis

The Social Construction of Consumer Literacy: Consumer Empowerment among Adult Literacy Learners

This study explores how adult literacy learners negotiate the consumer marketplace. Findings challenge the functional model of literacy and support the conceptualization of consumer literacy as a social practice

Experimental determination of carbonate-associated sulfate δ^(34)S in planktonic foraminifera shells

Understanding the coupling of oxygen, carbon, and sulfur cycles in the past is critical for reconstructing the history of biogeochemical cycles, paleoclimatic variations, and oceanic chemistry. The abundance of sulfur isotopes (δ^(34)S) in sulfate from ancient marine carbonates, or carbonate-associated sulfate (CAS), is commonly used, along with other archives (mainly evaporites and barite), to estimate the δ^(34)S of seawater throughout Earth history. Analyses of CAS from hand-picked foraminifera are potentially valuable because this group of organisms is used in numerous paleoceanographic studies. They could provide coupled, high-resolution records of δ^(13)C, δ^(18)O, and δ^(34)S isotopic changes directly linked to orbitally tuned records of climate change through the Cenozoic. Such measurements have not previously been possible due to limitations of sensitivity in conventional IRMS-based techniques. However, the recent development of CAS analysis by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) now allows us to work on samples containing just a few nmol of sulfur with accuracy for δ^(34)S values approaching 0.1‰ and, consequently, to analyze hand-picked samples of foraminifera shells. Here we report the results of culture experiments with the planktonic species Orbulina universa, that establish a shell:seawater δ^(34)S calibration for future applications to the fossil record. Our new method uses <650 μg of carbonate (∼15 shells) per analysis. The results show that S isotopes are fractionated consistently by −1‰ between seawater and O. universa tests. We also demonstrate that O. universa faithfully records the [SO^(2−)_(4)]/[Ca^(2+)] ratio of the seawater in which it grew

Sociodemographic Factors influencing Pandemic-Era EHDI Use and Access

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic impact on Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs is unknown. This research evaluated sociodemographic factors influencing adherence to EDHI diagnostic testing and the incidence of infant hearing loss during the pandemic. Method: We evaluated EHDI adherence and incidence of hearing loss in Kentucky before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using univariate and multivariate analysis, we evaluated the association of these outcomes to sociodemographic variables. Results: There were 71,206 births and 1,385 referred infant hearing screening tests during the study period. Infants during the pandemic had a 24% lower odds of hearing testing adherence (OR = 0.76, p = 0.05, 95%CI: 0.57–1). Hispanic infants have 45% lower odds of EHDI adherence (OR = 0.55, p = 0.03, 95%CI: 0.31–0.96) and infants of Swahili speaking families have 90% lower odds of EHDI adherence (OR = 0.10, p = 0.001, 95%CI: 0.02–0.42). Infants of mothers with a high school degree had a higher odds of adherence (OR = 1.50, p = 0.02, 95%CI: 1.06–2.17), presented earlier for testing (p = 0.003, 95%CI: -15.73– -3.32), and had a higher odds of normal hearing (OR = 1.63, p= 0.03, 95%CI: 1.06–2.51). Conclusion: EHDI adherence is influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and sociodemographic factors. EHDI programs are encouraged to use this data to promote timely and equitable access and use of diagnostic services

Demonstrating the Benefits of Green Streets for Active Aging: Initial Findings

This project will help demonstrate how sustainable ( green ) streets contribute to the well-being of a community, including the physical and mental health of older and younger adults, along with the environment and economy. The project will collect data in Portland, OR neighborhoods to answer the following research questions: Are residents living near sustainable streets more physically active in their neighborhood? Do residents living near sustainable streets interact with neighbors more and demonstrate higher levels of neighborhood social capital? What are residents’ opinions of sustainable streets? Are there variations in responses to sustainable streets by age or other demographics? In particular, how to older adults differ from younger adults? Does the implementation process and design affect green street outcomes? Do sustainable streets affect home values? How do green streets affect stormwater flows, urban heat island, and carbon sequestration in Portland neighborhoods? The project includes a survey of residents in two neighborhoods with green street features and two control neighborhoods; an environmental assessment of the green street treatments; and an analysis of housing values using a hedonic modeling approach. The project will be guided by an Advisory council of members of various stakeholder organizations and representing different types of expertise. Members will include representatives of the city of Portland’s Bureau of the Environmental Services and Office of Transportation, Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services (the local area agency on aging), Elders in Action, (a statewide advocacy group for elders), AARP Oregon, and the neighborhood associations of the four study neighborhoods

Characterizing the Ocean Economies of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) provides an annual time series of select employment, establishment, wage, and gross domestic product data for all 30 U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states as far back as 2005. As detailed in Section 4 of this report, ENOW covers 47 six-digit NAICS industries across the following six ocean- and Great Lakes– dependent sectors of the economy: Living resources Marine construction Marine transportation Offshore mineral resources • Ship and boat building Tourism and recreation ENOW data play an important role in characterizing and determining the relative importance of the ocean economies of the U.S. states and sub-state regions, as well as enhancing our understanding of the economic impacts of natural and human-made disasters, such as hurricanes and oil spills. Most importantly, ENOW allows NOAA and other stakeholders to clearly describe the importance of the ocean and coastal economies and to access such information for policy development. This report characterizes the ocean economies of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and assesses what information would be needed to develop an ENOW dataset for each of these Pacific Island Territories, none of which ENOW currently covers. Due to data availability issues similar to those faced in a prior NOAA effort to characterize the ocean economies of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (NOAA OCM 2016), and additional issues unique to these Pacific Island Territories, this study relied primarily on U.S. Census County Business Patterns (CBP) data, local datasets, and information from interviews to describe these three ocean economies. Methods The ERG team, under contract to NOAA, performed in-person interviews in Guam, American Samoa, and CNMI in January and February 2018 to better estimate the size of the ocean economy in each territory. Using a combination of U.S. Census CBP data, local data, and information from interviews, ERG developed establishment and employment estimates for industries in the six ENOW sectors as well as other related industries in these sectors that we deemed ocean-dependent in an island setting (referred to as ENOW+ in this report)