BAT SURVEY ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER IN CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA

ats are efficient predators of night-flying insects (Whitaker 1993), particularly in urban, agricultural, and forested areas in South Dakota (Kiesow 2004). In South Dakota, 6 bat species are considered rare and presently monitored by the South Dakota Natural Heritage Program (SDNHP; South Dakota Natural Heritage Program 2002). Because bats serve a vital ecosystem function there is an increased need to conserve bats and their habitats. Hence, the objectives of this project were to determine bat species richness along the Missouri River in central South Dakota. We conducted surveys of bats using mist-nets and acoustic detection from early May to early October 2003- 2005. During this study, we documented the likely importance of riparian corridors to bats in the plains region and believe the Missouri River may serve as a migration corridor for many bat species

Senate discusses committee on racial understanding

After more than an hour\u27s debate Tuesday night the General Student Senate voted to allow the committee on Racial Understanding to pick its own co-chairs and student members. The committee was formed last week in response to what is being called a racial attack on two University of Maine students, Feb. 17. It will study, and attempt to find answers to race relation problems at the university

The office of stadhouder and the preservation of unity in the Dutch Republic, 1559 - 1672

The Seven Provinces of the United Netherlands, also known as the Dutch Republic, was a compound state in which sovereignty was shared between towns, provinces, and the States General. The Union of Utrecht of 1579 was one of the Republic’s principal founding documents, yet paradoxically grounded the state in the diverging values of provincial independence and national unity. Unique to the Dutch republican system was the office of stadhouder, which at times has been described in modern scholarship as an ‘enigma’ or as ‘peculiar’. Despite a wealth of historical studies on the Dutch Republic and on the Princes of Orange, who in the majority of the Republic’s provinces were typically appointed to the stadhoudership, no thorough analysis exists of the exact constitutional position of the office itself, nor of its practical functioning within Dutch politics or of its representation in popular culture. The present study addresses this lacuna in the scholarship by presenting a detailed overview of how the office of stadhouder developed from the beginning of the Dutch Revolt into the state’s Republican period. It argues that the inherent constitutional tension contained in the Union of Utrecht was embodied in the stadhoudership, which was subservient to provincial authority but simultaneously required by Articles 9 and 16 of the Union treaty to act as a mediator on both an inter- and supra-provincial level at times of political discord. This task of resolving conflict and preserving eendracht (‘unity’) within the Dutch state became the dominant feature of the role, both on a governmental level and in the stadhouder’s popular image. While thus undertaking an interrogation of the constitutional tensions underpinning the stadhoudership, this study draws on material culture in a variety of forms, from constitutional documents to popular literature and art. The first part of the thesis predominantly engages with the constitutional position of the stadhouder within the governmental structure of the Dutch Republic, whereas the second section instead focuses on how the political culture surrounding the stadhoudership was reflected in contemporary popular literature and the visual arts. Overall, this thesis provides deeper insights into the different ways of negotiating tension between central and provincial power in early modern states

Origins of the Cold War

The United States continues its role as a world superpower in the 21st century. Since much of our involvement in global affairs today stems back to the Cold War, it raises the importance of specific instruction in the origins of the Cold War for today’s students. With the influence our nation possesses, and the integral role of citizenry that students will soon acquire as voters, this project argues the relevance of their deep understanding of our historical past which permits the individual to use said insight to form their own opinions and beliefs. This project examines the concept of student’s comprehensive understanding of our shared history as potential partners and creators of successful solutions in future foreign relations and long-term security for the nation and the world. The thesis project begins with a close study of the origins of the Cold War centered on the scholarly debate. Original research and reflection comprises the second section with special attention to primary source materials focused on the major conferences held during World War II between the United States, Britain, and Russia. The third section is a history course curriculum on the Cold War. The specific course, History of the Americas, takes place over a two year time span. The second year of the course concentrates on 20th century topics and since the Cold War era heavily influenced world affairs, American foreign policy and military strategies; it naturally dominates the course content. The curriculum was developed for an International Baccalaureate level class. Lessons and materials were created to enable the students to construct an in-depth understanding of the origins of the Cold War, encompassing the years 1943-1949, as well as understand any possible conflicting viewpoints of the era. The curriculum includes course outline, resources, and student worksheets

GSS votes race was motive in Orono attack

Article from the University of Maine student newspaper The Maine Campus regarding the General Student Senate voting that an attack on two Black students was motivated by race

GSS votes race was motive in Orono attack

The assault on two black University of Maine students Sunday morning was racially motivated, the Student Senate voted at their meeting Tuesday night. About thirty African-American students attended the meeting to express their concerns about racism on campus

Comparison of northern flying and red squirrel phylogenies with focus on the insular United States

Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) populations are endemic to northern North America, including the Black Hills. The Black Hills populations are considered disjunct from other populations within their range. We examined insular populations to determine whether arboreal squirrels in the Black Hills each represent a unique population. We trapped and collected ear samples from northern flying and red squirrels in the Black Hills and in areas of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to infer population phylogenies with special consideration of the Black Hills population. Microsatellite loci and two mtDNA sequences were used for phylogenetic data analyses, including neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood trees, percent divergence, and nucleotide diversity. For northern flying squirrels,mtDNA phylogenetic trees grouped individuals in the Black Hills population, suggesting extended isolation from other nearby mountain ranges. In both squirrels, phylogenetic trees inferred with nDNA provide similar topologies to the mtDNA of northern flying squirrels. Sequence divergence distances (range 0 to 1.0) for cytochrome-b among studied populations were relatively small (0.00 to 0.55 [northern flying squirrel] and 0.00 to 0.01 [red squirrel]), so divergence may be from an historical event. Nucleotide diversity (cytochrome-b) was higher than in some other ranges (0.07 [northern flying squirrel] and 0.08 [red squirrel]); however, heterozygosity was low in the Black Hills populations. These data suggest that northern flying squirrel and red squirrel populations in the Black Hills Mountains are not only geographically disjunct, but genetically unique from their conspecifics elsewhere

TRANSFERRING CONTINUOUS AUDITING TO THE DIGITAL AGE – THE KNOWLEDGE BASE AFTER THREE DECADES OF RESEARCH

Financial auditing is faced with an intensified regulatory framework and an increasing volume of ac-counting-relevant data. In order to address these challenges, information technology (IT) and corre-sponding information systems (IS) are implemented to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of audit services. In this context, continuous auditing (CA) is defined as an approach to deliver audit assurance in terms of an audit subject in real-time or almost real-time. Although CA is discussed in literature for more than thirty years, fully implemented CA systems are still exceptional cases in practice. The aim of this paper is to structure the relevant CA literature and to discuss insights in order to derive major challenges of CA adoption. To do so, we followed a structured literature review approach including backward search and forward search according to Webster and Watson (2002). Consequently, we trans-form insights and trends of CA research into a conceptual model by describing a scenario of a cloud-based service provider. Our results have a number of implications for both researchers and practition-ers. Foremost, we suggest researchers and practitioners to direct their attention on the changes of tra-ditional paradigms and focus on the digitization of the economy

Availability of Suitable Habitat for Northern River Otters in South Dakota

Currently, the northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) is listed as a threatened species in South Dakota. We determined whether adequate habitat was available for reintroducing river otters in South Dakota. The 17 rivers/creeks included in the analysis were selected according to stream size, water gradient, and water permanence. A vegetation transect was conducted and a water sample was collected at each study site, ranging from one to four per river. Rivers/creeks were rated (1 = least suitable to 5 = most suitable) according to habitat requirements of river otters in the following categories: stream characteristics, watershed features, water quality, prey availability, and other factors. Based on the habitat survey and rating criteria, rivers/creeks with high ratings have sufficient riparian habitat (vegetation bordering water), water quality, and prey availability for river otters. The five highest-rated rivers were the Bad, Big Sioux, James, North Fork of the Whetstone, and Little White