Francis Scott Fitzgerald: Voice of the Twenties

With all the flamboyant, glitter, and riotous excitement one can muster up, the age of the Twenties brought to America an era not to be forgotten. Gansters, flappers, and two-bit saloons were all encompassed in this Jazz-Age which spread its influence from shore to shore. Americans became, in a sense optimists and as optimists looked toward their social and financial situation as fundamentally sound and triumphant over its predecessors. They identified themselves with their century. Its teens were their teens, its world war was their war, and its Twenties were their Twenties. Launching forward they looked about for a spokesman, and the first to be found was in the person of Francis Scott Fitzgerald

Development of constructed wetlands in agricultural landscapes using remote sensing techniques

In Sweden, drainage and the construction of water infrastructure have influenced agriculture in the last few centuries both positively and negatively. Recently, a trend has set in where wetlands are constructed to retain water, retain and reduce nutrients and to enhance the biodiversity. This study aimed to use remote sensing techniques to study landscape water retention over time. In this pilot study, water retention structures in Gotland (57 degrees 28'35.0 '' N18 degrees 29' 13.9 '' E) and Kalmar Lan (56 degrees 39'41 '' N16 degrees 21'46 '' E) for 2000/2001 and 2020 were identified and analyzed using Landsat data. In this study, it was found that the number of water retention structures (>0.8 ha) increased from 44 to 101 for Gotland Lan and from 44 to 127 for Kalmar Lan. Most water retention structures were <4 ha and were located in mid- and downstream areas. A comparison of the remote sensed results with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) database showed a disagreement of the spatial coordinates of the wetlands in the database with the water retention structures. This pilot study has shown that remote sensed data can be used to identify water retention structures, although higher resolution imagery would be highly advisable in these kinds of studies

Reducing Opioid Related Deaths and Improving Rehabilitation Access Through the Elk Grove Village Cares Program: A Program Evaluation

Abstract The goal of the Elk Grove Village Cares program is to decrease the deaths and overdoses of those who abuse opioids through harm reduction strategies and provide access to treatment. The article is a program evaluation of the Elk Grove Village Cares program. Surveys, interviews and the synthesis of program data is used to evaluate the efficacy of program activities. Results: The rate of death from opioid use has decreased an average of 1.7 deaths since program implementation in 2018. Law enforcement officers (LEO) and the community responded similarly to many survey questions regarding attitudes surrounding addiction. Within the survey, 25-30% law enforcement officers responded neutral to all questions. Nineteen percent of LEO respondents admitted they are not confident with conversations about providing referrals after an overdose. Approximately 50% law enforcement officers believe that access to life saving naloxone is an inhibiting factor to seeking treatment. Recommendations: Continue education efforts to improve knowledge, compassion and reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder. Use of “Champions” and the creation of scripts to improve the intake and referral process will benefit the program. The information presented in this evaluation would be valuable to other like-minded police departments across the country considering similar program endeavors

Creating in a Participatory Culture: Perceptions of Digital Tools Among Teachers

The following embedded case study examines teachers’ perceptions of using digital and Web 2.0 tools for literacy instruction. These perceptions are important if teachers hope to enact a more participatory culture of creation rather than consumption called for by scholars such as the New London Group and the New Media Literacies scholars. Case study participants were teachers involved in a NWP site’s Invitational Summer Institute (ISI), with embedded cases of rural teachers in a high-poverty school district. The findings suggest teachers still face extrinsic barriers to enacting a participatory culture, and professional development is needed to help teachers effectively use digital and Web 2.0 tools in their literacy instruction

Testing predictions used to build an agrivoltaics installation on a small-scale educational model

Models are valuable tools for explaining and testing systems. Small-scale models can be especially useful for educational purposes. For models to be useful, they have to accurately depict the larger system that they are describing. A novel man-made system, known as an agrivoltaic structure, is being constructed at Biosphere 2 near Oracle, Arizona. The word agrivoltaic is a combination of agriculture and photovoltaics, or solar farming. My research involved creating a small-scale version of this system for educational purposes. The model of this system tested two predictions: that plants will grow better in the shade of a panel and that the plants will cool the solar panel through transpiration. These two predictions were tested using low-tech solutions that are affordable for classroom teachers. Predictions were tested using water and scales to measure soil moisture; infrared guns to measure plant and panel temperature; and HOBO air temperature sensors. There was little quantitative data to support the claim that plants grew better in shade than sun; however, the model system is young and may need time to grow. While some observational evidence supported the second prediction, the data was not significant. Both sets of data appeared to be highly dependent on environmental factors, such as sun position. Even without upholding the predictions, this model worked well as an educational tool, allowing students to better understand the value of research and the benefits and limitations of models

Constraining the variability of optical properties in the Santa Barbara Channel, CA: A phytoplankton story

The research presented in this dissertation evaluates the direct relationships of phytoplankton community composition and inherent optical properties (IOP); that is, the absorption and scattering of light in the ocean. Phytoplankton community composition affect IOPs in both direct and indirect ways, thus creating challenges for optical measurements of biological and biogeochemical properties in aquatic systems. Studies were performed in the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC), CA where an array of optical and biogeochemical measurements were made. Phytoplankton community structure was characterized by an empirical orthogonal functional analysis (EOF) using phytoplankton accessory pigments. The results showed that phytoplankton community significantly correlated to all IOPs, e.g. phytoplankton specific absorption, detrital absorption, CDOM absorption and particle backscattering coefficients. Furthermore, the EOF analysis was unique in splitting the microphytoplankton size class into separate diatom and dinoflagellate regimes allowing for assessment optical property differences within the same size class, a technique previously not systematically achievable. The phytoplankton functional group dinoflagellates were particularly influential to IOPs in surprising ways. Dinoflagellates showed higher backscattering efficiencies than would be predicted based on Mie theory, and significantly influenced CDOM absorption via direct association with dissolved mycosproine-like amino acid absorption (MAA) peaks in CDOM spectra. A new index was developed in this work to quantify MAA absorption peaks in CDOM spectra, and was named the MAA Index. Prior to this research dissolved MAA absorption in natural waters was never quantified, and CDOM data containing these peaks were often disregarded and discarded from analysis. CDOM dynamics in the SBC were assessed for a 15-year study period, and this work shows that significantly large MAA Index values, e.g. MAA Index &gt; 1, were present in approximately 16% of surface water data. Variability in CDOM spectral shape was quantified using the EOF technique, and regression analysis with EOF outputs showed that CDOM absorption intensity and spectral shape were well correlated dinoflagellate presence. Furthermore, results showed that phytoplankton biomass played a secondary role in relation to CDOM absorption, and that variability in CDOM absorption coefficients were primarily driven by community composition. CDOM quality in the SBC was also assessed using CDOM fluorescence properties via excitation emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMS). The EEMS data was analyzed using a multivariate statistical procedure, again, an EOF analysis, to identify three dominant CDOM source regimes: the surface pelagic regime, deep-water (up to 300 m) regime and kelp forest pelagic regime. This work also found that while CDOM absorption coefficient was strongly influence by which phytoplankton groups were present, DOM quality was characterized more so by the amount of phytoplankton biomass, hence indicating strong microbial component to DOM production. Lastly, with the use of the EEMS data, and characterization of CDOM absorption properties, e.g. spectral slope, S, slope ratio, SR, specific UV-absorbance, SUVA and MAA Index, we found that terrestrial sources of CDOM were very limited in the SBC. Based on this research, mineral particle concentrations that significantly correlated with IOPs were thought to be associated with suspended sediments from shoaling of the continental shelf rather than from stream/river influence. Thus, the SBC is a unique, optically complex ocean system where IOP dynamics, thus remote sensing reflectance, are strongly influenced by shifts in phytoplankton community structure

Does the Production of Isoprene Affect the Productivity of Poplars?

Poplar trees are known to produce a chemical called isoprene that plays a complex, and not fully understood, role in the chemical process of photosynthesis. Understanding why plants produce isoprene and under what conditions will help scientists make more accurate predictions about poplars’ photosynthetic capabilities in future climates. What benefit could isoprene provide a plant? The literature suggests its production could help plants tolerate heat stress. We studied two genetic lines of trees in a common garden of Populus, one line with the gene for producing isoprene and a second line without that gene. We subjected some trees of each line to low water conditions to investigate if isoprene played a role in allowing plants to cope with water stress. We then compared the ability of these 4 treatment groups of poplars to photosynthesize over a range of temperatures. Poplars with and without isoprene showed similar rates of photosynthesis over the range of temperatures measured. Poplars subjected to low water conditions and poplars with normal water conditions also recorded similar rates of photosynthesis. This suggests that isoprene does not offer a photosynthetic benefit, and also that the low water conditions may not have triggered a water stressed state in the poplars. However, the poplars’ rate of photosynthesis differed between morning and afternoon, suggesting that time of day could play a role in photosynthesis. Future work is needed to understand how the influence of time of day on photosynthesis may overshadow any differences due to isoprene production

Spatial Variability of Soil Phosphorus in Grazing Systems

Phosphorus (P) use efficiency has been identified as a key issue for Australian grazing systems. This project examined the spatial variability in soil P concentration from two separate surveys of grazed pasture fields. A field on the central tablelands of NSW had a range in Bray P of 1.2 to 140 mg/kg and a COV of 107%. The other field on the northern tablelands of NSW reported a range in Colwell P from 13.0 to 121.1 mg/kg and a COV of 59%. Maps of the spatial variability of soil P demonstrated that there is a relationship with field elevation. Application of critical P values to both fields enabled an estimation of the value of site specific fertiliser management. For one field, fertiliser inputs could potentially be isolated to 37% and the other 56% if nutrient additions were targeted at responsive areas. The opportunity for increased fertiliser use efficiency through site specific management (SSM) warrants further investigation. Research is required into both the value of SSM and the techniques that might enable the development of this strategy