Management regime and habitat response influence abundance of regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) in tallgrass prairie

The \u3e2,570,000-ha Flint Hills ecoregion of Kansas, USA, harbors the largest remaining contiguous tract of tallgrass prairie in North America, a unique system, as the remainder of North America’s tallgrass prairie has succumbed to development and conversion. Consequently, the loss and degradation of tallgrass prairie has reduced populations of many North American prairie-obligate species including the regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterfly. Population abundance and occupied range of regal fritillary have declined \u3e99%, restricting many populations to isolated, remnant patches of tallgrass prairie. Such extensive decline has resulted in consideration of the regal fritillary for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Although it is widely accepted that management practices such as fire, grazing, and haying are necessary to maintain prairie ecosystems, reported responses by regal fritillary to these management regimes have been ambiguous.We tested effects of prescribed fire across short, moderate, and long fire-return intervals as well as grazing and haying management treatments on regal fritillary density. We also tested the relative influence of habitat characteristics created by these management regimes by measuring density of an obligate host plant (Viola spp.) and canopy cover of woody vegetation, grasses, forbs/ferns, bare ground, and litter. We found density was at least 1.6 times greater in sites burned with a moderate fire-return interval vs. sites burned with short and long fire-return intervals. Overall management regardless of fire-return interval did not have an effect on density. Percent cover of grass had the strongest positive association, while percent cover of woody vegetation had the greatest negative effect on density. Our results indicate that patch-burning is a viable and perhaps even ideal management strategy for regal fritillary in tallgrass prairie landscapes. Additionally, these results elucidate the importance of fire, particularly when applied at moderate-return intervals to regal fritillary, and corroborate a growing suite of studies that suggest fire is perhaps not as detrimental to populations of regal fritillary as previously believed

The Use of Polyethylene Film as a Scenic Medium

This paper deals with the use of fan-inflated polyethylene film as a scenic medium. Undertaken as part of the design of The Little Prince, produced a3 the University Theatre children\u27s theatre production in April 1973» it is devoted to the techniques involved in constructing scenery from polyethylene film. The chemical and physical properties of polyethylene film are described. Construction techniques begin with the floor plan and model. Upon completion of the model, a light weight polyethylene film is fitted to the set model, cut and marked in the same manner as a costume is fitted to an actor. The completed pattern is then transferred to an enlargement grid and the film for the set is marked and cut. The film is temporarily pinned together and inflated and the final fitting is made. The seams ars then heat-3ealed, using either a commercial heat-sealing iron or a salvaged clothing iron. The set is inflated and positioned. Inflating techniques are discussed, as are the propallor- type and squirrel-cage fans used for the inflation. Diagrams are included illustrating the fan3 and their soundproof housings. Special problems such sl3 rate-of-inflat ion, low-pressure flapping, and venting for both practical and decorative units, are brought up and solutions based upon experience with The Little Prince are presented. Anchoring the set is discussed at length and various techniques for anchoring are presented, along with proposals for preparing the inflated polyethylene set for touring. The conclusion based upon production experience is that the inflatable polyethylene scenic unit presents an interesting alternative to standard construction techniques, although its use is limited to stylised productions in proscenium theatres, due to the inherent limitations in the medium. Restrictions include surface texture and glos3, limited acceptance of paint, and lack of structural rigidity, as well as sightline, masking, and noise suppression problems

What Mr. Simmons said: Stylization, pitch, and the voicing of others on the Gullah Geechee cultural heritage tour

This article discusses the use of stylized voicing, specifically falsetto phonation, in Gullah Geechee during a cultural heritage tour in Charleston, South Carolina. Gullah Geechee, a minority creole language spoken by descendants of formerly enslaved persons in the American Southeastern coastal Lowcountry, is analyzed in the study using participant observation and sociophonetic data collection. The research finds that the stylized pitch-shifting is a productive component of the guide’s ethnolinguistic repertoire, used for multiple indexical functions, including constructing authenticity and performing stylized double-voicing. The data shows the complex social meaning of this feature related to speech genres, performance, perceptions of authenticity and authority, and the ethnolinguistic repertoire of a minority language commodified for outsider consumption. The study also links Gullah Geechee prosodic indexicality with its related variety, African American English

Contemporary Eco Theory in Art Education: field notes and desire paths

This thesis is an investigation into patterns and overlaps of three critical elements in our world, art, nature, and education. Integral to this investigation and the contributions to humanity of these three are the accurate depiction of specific realities, upon which Science and the majority of global citizens agree, aesthetic sensibility, as well as beneficent solutions (i.e. those which do no harm.) Together we will examine the intersection of subjects, what they combine to achieve. We will consider how, taught and learned in unison, they may take on a position of greater prominence in efforts to solve real world problems. We will also consider whether, they combine to improve human and ecological well being by virtue of connection, to produce positive future outcomes. This work examines and collects common threads within existing research, pedagogy, activism, and prescribed curricula (and/or the marked absence of the same.) In the process of this research, I attempted to identify what Art + Nature education is, what is at stake, when the connections of these disciplines are lost, and how we may shape ideas into powerful tools of ingenuity. These are tools that build resilience at a crucial juncture for teachers, students, communities, and the natural world

Reconceptualizing leadership in culturally diverse settings: A Learning community model

https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_academicjournalarticles/1003/thumbnail.jp

Supporting the Literacy Development of Striving Readers through Competing Theoretical Perspectives

Abstract In this paper, we present educators with the theoretical underpinnings of competing pedagogical approaches to literacy instruction. Given the recent push by many states to universally screen students in the early grades for dyslexia and institute phonics-only standards, we seek to reiterate the importance of a balanced approach. Our purpose is to explain how two contrasting orientations regarding the reading process can together form a framework for providing the best literacy education possible for all students, especially striving readers. We explore both the cognitive information-processing and constructivist perspectives and examine prominent models and theories that inform each approach. Recent research showcasing effective instructional strategies that have emerged from both perspectives is presented, and practical ways that both perspectives find expression in effective classroom practice, including meaningful use of technology, are also delineated. Last, we provide explicit case studies illustrating what literacy support looks like when competing information-processing and constructivist perspectives are blended and how teachers can practically utilize dual approaches to support their most vulnerable students. We join our voices with those of other scholars who call on educators to embrace a holistic, balanced approach to literacy instruction that is informed by various perspectives in their effort to reach striving readers. Keywords: balanced literacy, effective literacy instruction, striving reader

Editors\u27 Comments

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Testing of the on-board attitude determination and control algorithms for SAMPEX

Algorithms for on-board attitude determination and control of the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) have been expanded to include a constant gain Kalman filter for the spacecraft angular momentum, pulse width modulation for the reaction wheel command, an algorithm to avoid pointing the Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT) instrument boresight along the spacecraft velocity vector, and the addition of digital sun sensor (DSS) failure detection logic. These improved algorithms were tested in a closed-loop environment for three orbit geometries, one with the sun perpendicular to the orbit plane, and two with the sun near the orbit plane - at Autumnal Equinox and at Winter Solstice. The closed-loop simulator was enhanced and used as a truth model for the control systems' performance evaluation and sensor/actuator contingency analysis. The simulations were performed on a VAX 8830 using a prototype version of the on-board software