FOREWORD: The Economics of Land Use Change: Advancing the Frontiers

Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs About Students’ Knowledge of Print Literacy and Parental Involvement in Children’s Print Literacy Development

This research was an exploratory study in a large city in central Canada that examined kindergarten teachers’ beliefs about students’ knowledge of print literacy, as well as their beliefs about parental involvement with children in print literacy activities. The role of families’ socioeconomic status was examined in relation to teachers’ beliefs. Based on completed questionnaires, significant differences were found in teachers’ beliefs about aspects of children’s print literacy knowledge as well as in areas of parent-child print literacy involvement based on the SES of families. Findings from this research provide important insight into kindergarten teachers’ beliefs

Capitalization of Open Spaces into Housing Values and the Residential Property Tax Revenue Impacts of Agricultural Easement Programs

Using a unique spatial database, a hedonic model is developed to estimate the value to nearby residents of open space purchased through agricultural preservation programs in three Maryland counties. After correcting for endogeneity and spatial autocorrelation, the estimated coefficients are used to calculate the potential changes in housing values for a given change in neighborhood open space following an agricultural easement purchase. Then, using the current residential property tax for each parcel, the expected increase in county tax revenue is computed and this revenue is compared to the cost of preserving the lands.Land Economics/Use,

An Evaluation of Working Land and Open Space Preservation Programs in Maryland: Are They Paying Too Much?

Farmland preservation programs compensate landowners who enroll for the value lost due to the the restrictions on development applied to their land. These restrictions in principle decrease the value of the land. Yet few studies have found strong statistical evidence that preserved parcels sell for lower prices than unpreserved parcels. We use both a hedonic and a propensity score method to find that preserved parcels sell for 11.4 to 19.8% less than identical unpreserved parcels in Maryland. While significant, a decrease of less than 20% in land value is surprisingly small. If impacts to land value are small, could programs pay landowners less to enroll and thus enroll more land?Land Economics/Use,

Habitat effects on chick-a-dee call complexity

Past studies on the communication systems of species in urban environments (such as Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos Brehm), brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), Southern brown tree frogs (Litoria ewingii )) have shown multiple ways that species change vocal signaling behavior to adjust to urban habitats (e.g. alarm calls and singing). This study further investigates the changes in signaling in relation to the chick-a-dee call of the Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis). A secondary goal of this study was to compare both the amount of information and rate of calling across seasons. Six different variants of chick-a-dee calls were used in playbacks at sites in three types of habitats: closed canopy, mixed and urban. Ad lib recordings were also conducted around the area. Playback trials and ad lib recordings overlapped both the breeding and the non-breeding season to facilitate observations of seasonal changes. The recordings were analyzed for seasonal and habitat differences in call rate, information encoded in call and notes, average call length, and probability of note transitions. Our results show that chick-a-dee rates differed significantly between treatments and seasons suggesting seasonality in the context of the calls. Across the habitat types, we found indications of increased vocal complexity in closed canopy flocks. Vocal response rates and distance of approach in these closed forest flocks differed significantly between playbacks compared to the other habitats. In urban habitats there was no difference between responses to the treatments suggesting less vocal complexity. Based on our results, habitat as well as season seems to create additional complexity in the chick-a-dee call system

Reflections of Elementary School Literacy Coaches on Practice: Roles and Perspectives

In this study, we examined the perceptions of Ontario elementary (primary K – 3 and junior 4 – 6) literacy coaches to determine their roles, beliefs, and practices. We inter‐ viewed thirteen literacy coaches working in one Ontario school board about their literacy coaching. All coaches interviewed were teachers with specialized experience working in a literacy intervention program in their school board. We identified three major topics in participants’ statements: coaches’ role, barriers to effective literacy coaching, and overcoming barriers. This research offers suggestions for change in practice and provides insight into the role of literacy coaching as a mode of profes‐ sional development in a Canadian urban centre. Key Words: professional development, primary/junior teachers, literacy, elementary schools, Ontario education Dans cette étude, les auteures analysent les perceptions de formateurs en littératie (maternelle, primaire, premier cycle du secondaire) en vue de mieux cerner leurs rô‐ les, leurs croyances et leurs pratiques. Elles ont interviewé treize de ces formateurs à l’œuvre au sein d’une commission scolaire ontarienne, tous des enseignants ayant acquis une expérience pointue dans le cadre d’un programme d’intervention en litté‐ ratie. Les auteures ont identifié trois grands thèmes dans les propos des participants : le rôle des formateurs, les obstacles auxquels font face les formateurs en littératie et les méthodes employées pour surmonter les obstacles. À la lumière de leur recherche, les auteures proposent des suggestions de changements à apporter dans les pratiques ainsi que des réflexions sur le rôle du formateur en littératie dans le perfectionnement professionnel au sein d’un centre urbain canadien.Mots clés : perfectionnement professionnel, enseignants du primaire et du premier cycle du secondaire, littératie, écoles primaires, éducation en Ontario.

Professional Learning on the Neuroscience of Challenging Behavior: Effects on Early Childhood Educators’ Beliefs and Practices

How early childhood educators understand and interpret the challenging behavior of children will affect how they respond and influence student-teacher relationships. While recent neuroscience explains how challenging behavior can be understood as an automatic response to neurophysiological stress, this research is seldom shared with early childhood educators who generally report lacking tools to manage child behavior and may interpret all challenging behavior as a willful act. This mixed method study examined the effects of a 2-day professional learning (PL) program regarding the neuroscience of child behavior on early educator beliefs and practices in regard to challenging behavior. Pre-post analysis of survey data with 42 participants (PL = 20, control = 22) shows a significant change in beliefs and practices from a “misbehavior” lens to a more supportive stance for the PL participants. Themes from post PL site visits and focus groups with PL participants support this result. Findings suggest that professional learning on the neurophysiological roots of child behavior should be considered for inclusion in the pre-service and in-service training programs of early childhood educators

Parents and Preschool Children Interacting with Storybooks: Children’s Early Literacy Achievement

This research reports on one area of a larger study in Western Canada examining the literacy activities of families from culturally diverse backgrounds. The research focused on parents’ interactions with preschool children in storybook sharing and children’s emergent reading development as measured by the Test of Early Reading Ability-2 (TERA-2). The sample consisted of 35 parents and children. Parents’ and children’s interactions in storybook sharing were videotaped and coded using a modified scale by Shapiro, Anderson, and Anderson (1997). Relationships were found between parents’ and children’s interactions in storybook reading and children’s early literacy achievement

Fathers\u27 and Mothers\u27 Book Selection Preferences for Their Four Year Old Children Abstract

Twelve fathers and 12 mothers of four year olds were presented with 14 children\u27s books representing various genres and were asked to select the five books they would read to their children in the coming week and to give reasons for their selections. They were then asked to identify those books they would not select and to provide reasons. There were some differences between mothers\u27/fathers\u27 book selection and some differences between selecting for sons/daughters. Similar differences were noted in terms of those books which parents would not select

Constructing the public in roadmapping the transition to a bioeconomy : A case study from the Netherlands

In recent years there has been increasing attention to the transition toward a bioeconomy. From comparable transitions toward sustainability, we know that transitions require integral, inclusive approaches toward developing a long-term strategy, focusing not only on technological innovation, but also on involving the public. This is not easy. Public engagement encompasses diverse forms of public and civil society participation, and it is crucial to understand the specificities of these interactions and their effects on potential transition pathways. We present a conceptual-analytical paper where the focus lies on understanding sense-making practices in the construction of publics in the bioeconomy. Using a case-study approach, this article describes five partialities of the constructed public in the bioeconomy and analyzes the orchestration, productive dimensions and effects of these constructions. Our analysis offers a new perspective on, and appreciation of, the partiality of different forms of public participation, and varying degrees in which possibilities of system change in the bioeconomy transition are inclusive or exclusive toward differentially constructed publics. This offers an alternative, constructive way of exploring actor dynamics and politics in system change. We aim to contribute to a more nuanced and integral interpretation of public engagement in sustainability transitions, which is relevant to actors from academia, policy, industry and other spheres relevant to the bioeconomy transition.</p