Influence of Vegetation On The Distribution of Small Mammals On A Waterfowl Production Area

. A study was conducted on a Waterfowl Production Area in Brookings County, South Dakota in 1972-73 to determine the distribution and abundance of small mammals. Three cover types, reseeded native grassed, brome-alfalfa, and bluegrass, were studied. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanious), and deer mice (Peronyscus maniculatus) were captured most frequently. Jumping ice (Zapus hudsonius), masked shrews (Sorex cinerius), short tailed shrews (Blarins brevicauda), grasshopper mice (Omychomys leucogaster) and house mice (Mis musculus) were also taken. The bluegrass association had the highest number of small mammal captures and the reseeded native grass association has the least. There was no significant difference (P\u3e0.05) between the number of meadow voles captured and the type of vegetation. Deer mice occurred most often in the reseeded native grass association. Four vegetative parameters; height of duff, height of vegetation, percent duff cover and percent life cover were measured in each cover type. No differences were found between these measurements and the number of meadow voles captured. Although there are most than 57,000 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas in South Dakota, little information is known about the small mammal population on them. These small mammals form a prey base for many furbearing carnivores which not only prey on nests of bird but are important economically. My study indicates that species of grass used for cover does not affect the number of small mammals as much as the regulation of density of cover. Habitat manipulation could be an important management tool when more information is gained on the role small mammal’s play in determining predation and population of carnivores

Do You, Like these Teachers, Value Readings?

For several years I have used Smith et al.\u27s book as the text in a graduate course, Curriculum and Supervision Problems in Reading. They ay: The reading habits of teachers have been studied enough to validate the suspicion that reading is being taught by teachers who do not themselves turn often to reading for personal fulfillment and enrichment. It is deplorable that many teachers in this country, especially elementary school teachers, are not reading enthusiasts (Smith et al., 1978, p. 74). Having worked with large numbers of both pre- and inservice teachers for the past decade, I felt that these statements did not accurately reflect the reading habits and attitueds of those teachers; however, I had no data to support this opinion. Hence, I undertook the following pilot study

The Threat of an Innocent Victim: How Perspective-Taking and Mood Affect Perceptions of Victims

Previous research on the phenomenon of victim blaming indicates a significant interaction of just-world beliefs and perspective-taking, such that imagining oneself in the situation of a victim causes a significant threat to the self. This in turn leads to moral judgments that reduce this threat and restore just-world beliefs. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of mood on individual tendencies to blame victims of human trafficking. While the results failed to fully support the connection between mood, perspective, just-world beliefs, and blame, a weak, though significant, relationship was found between just-world beliefs and victim blame. Implications of this study for future victim blame research as well as a number of alternative strategies for restoring just-world beliefs are discussed. Limitations for this study are primarily related to its reliance on a web-based survey, as well as possible issues with the stimulus material. Victim blaming is very much a contextually dependent phenomenon, and thus calls for further research into the situations most likely to bring about this paradoxical reaction. The present study is situated within the context of human trafficking, a widespread, global issue affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. Estimates from the United States Department of State and the International Labour Organization place the number of human trafficking victims between 20 and 30 million men, women, and children at any given time. Only a small fraction of these individuals receive the help they need, however, as public awareness of this problem remains alarmingly low. Victim identification is the key to combatting human trafficking, and is dependent on the public’s ability to help law enforcement and non-governmental organizations recognize important indicators of possible victims. Numerous organizations have been working to educate people about human trafficking, many of which rely on the sharing of victims’ stories. The victim blame literature and more recent perspective-taking literature indicate a number of issues with this approach, however, and this study intended to help fill these knowledge gaps. While the results were largely inconclusive, they point to some suggested best practices that may be useful for future public awareness campaigns. Further research is required to determine the most beneficial way to share information about victims of human trafficking and help end this global crisis

The role of questions in the physics laboratory classes of two non-native speaking teaching assistants

Questions play an important role in science laboratory classes. This conclusion was reached following several observations of science and engineering labs at Iowa State University. Almost all interactions involved questions, and some dialogs seemed to contain even more questions than statements. The students and teaching assistants asked each other an impressive number of questions in various forms and for various reasons. This case study of two introductory physics labs is an outgrowth of observations made for the Graduate College at ISU. It focuses on the questions asked by the international teaching assistants (IT As) in charge of the labs as well as those asked by their students. Some situations and student attitudes that ITAs might encounter in the laboratory classroom will also be touched upon

An Advance Organizer is…All or None of the Above

The purpose of this article is to review the guidelines for the construction of an advance organizer as proposed by Ausubel and to examine why the choice in the title all or none of the above could be literally true

What\u27s The Value Of An IRI? Is It Being Used?

This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. To what extent is the IRI used for the purpose of initial placement of students in reading materials? 2. To what extent do classroom teachers and support specialists value the IRI as a means of providing diagnostic information about students\u27 reading levels (subsequent to initial placement), oral reading ability, comprehension ability, and word recognition skills? 3. How frequently do classroom teachers and support specialists administer an IRI to obtain diagnostic information? 4. What is the relationship between classroom teachers\u27 and support specialist\u27 frequency use of the IRI for diagnostic purposes and their value ratings of the IRI as a diagnostic instrument

A Preliminary Study of the Relationship of Yield to Preseasonal Climatological Factors in Central South Dakota

One of the most important factors in the determination of crop yields in South Dakota is precipitation. When rainfall is deficient, yields are generally below average. The effect of other climatological factors during the growing season is often apparent. High temperatures, drying winds, and cloudless days frequently hasten the appearance of drought conditions and lessen the beneficial effects of seasonal rainfall, particularly if it is light. Research conducted in this field in the past has largely ignored the preseasonal period. However, the attention has become focused upon this period due to a recent study in which preseasonal precipitation was used as the independent variable in yield forecasting regression equations. The influence of preseasonal precipitations on crop yields, however, probably depends in part on other preseasonal factors like relative humidity, wind movement, sunshine, cloud cover, and temperature. These factors are effective to the extent that they limit the actual accumulation of moisture during the preseasonal period. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the yield per acre of wheat, oats and barley and the preseasonal climatological factors. If these factors are found to exert an important influence, reference will be made to cultural practices which have for their purpose the control of this influence