The Relationship Between Forest Management and Stream Discharge in Mazumbai and Baga II Forest Reserves, Tanga Region, Tanzania

Deforestation is known to alter hydrology by reducing interception, transpiration and infiltration capacity, and increasing runoff which all leads to higher stream discharge. For rural Tanzanian communities, surface water resources are crucial for meeting basic needs, so the integrity of headwater catchments need to be maintained to ensure their reliability. The objectives of this study were to a) map the streams in the two forests because none currently exist and b) determine the effect of deforestation on discharge variability. Over fifteen days of data collection, this study analyzed variability of discharge and the degree of correlation between discharge and rainfall on ten streams in Mazumbai and Baga II Forest Reserves in the West Usambara Mountains in Lushoto district, Tanzania which have different management practices and levels of forest integrity. This study found no significant difference in variability of discharge between the streams of the two forests and no significant correlation between rainfall and discharge for any stream. This is attributed to the low levels of wood extraction in the more disturbed Baga II Forest Reserve compared to the amount of deforestation typically required to significantly impact streamflow. Additionally, the methods for discharge measurement were not precise enough to accurately quantify discharge on the small streams, and the short timespan of the study did not allow for measurements to be made in both wet and dry seasons to capture the true extent of how variable in discharge the streams can be. Because of these findings, further studies are needed before recommendations can be made to the forest reserves on changes to make to ensure streamflow reliability

Narrative Discourse in Traumatic Brain Injury: Examining the Validity and Clinical Utility of Main Concept, Sequencing, and Story Grammar (MSSG) Analyses

Background & Aims: Narrative discourse, or storytelling, is critical to assess in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) as many of them present with deficits in accuracy, completeness, and logical sequencing of story content as well as in story grammar organization. Richardson and Dalton (2016) and Greenslade et al. (in submission) created Main Concept, Sequencing, and Story Grammar (MSSG) to analyze these variables in Cinderella narratives, with preliminary data revealing age-related declines in neurologically healthy control (NHC) performance. To extend these findings, the present study sought to evaluate MSSG’s clinical utility in identifying narrative deficits in adults with TBI. Research questions asked whether 1) adults with TBI would receive poorer scores across analyses compared to NHCs, and 2) more adults with TBI would show consistently poor or discrepant performance across the accuracy, completeness, and sequencing of story content and story grammar organization. Methods: Seventy-six Cinderella narrative transcripts were downloaded from the online database, TalkBank, with equal numbers of participants with TBI and NHCs. MSSG analyses were applied to examine five measures: 1) main concept (MC; presence, accuracy, and completeness of story content), 2) sequencing, 3) MC + sequencing, and 4 & 5) two story grammar measures: episodic complexity and total episodic components. Outcomes/Results: MSSG analyses detected statistically significant between-group differences across all measures, documenting how adults with TBI told less accurate, complete, and logically sequenced story content while including fewer complex episodes and fewer episodic components. More adults with TBI demonstrated consistently poor performance across MC + sequencing and total episodic components as compared to NHC. Conclusions: The present study provides preliminary construct validity for using MSSG analyses to detect differences in the narrative discourse of adults with TBI. Results revealed that half of the TBI sample demonstrated consistently poor narrative discourse performance, producing less accurate, complete, well-sequenced, and complex narratives. These data provide initial evidence supporting the use of MSSG to quantify the narratives of adults with TBI in research and clinical settings

A Model for Spurring Organizational Change Based on Faculty Experiences Working Together to Implement Problem-Based Learning

This research paper provides a case study of experiences of engineering faculty members at a large public university in Ireland working together to transform their teaching methods. We investigate eight teachers’ experiences of a faculty-led learning community designed to help individuals transform their courses. This small collection of faculty met regularly to discuss ways to facilitate and assess students working in groups. Outside the group’s meetings, participants brought important issues to the forefront of formal and informal discussion with colleagues. Participation in the learning group encouraged, supported, and helped sustain change. This case study seeks to provide insight and a conceptual model for implementing changes. In analyzing the mechanisms that fostered change in one particular program and then interpreting the findings, we draw conclusions that can help faculty members, program administrators, strategists, and policy makers facilitate change in their other educational settings. To understand how key players experienced and achieved change, we conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with individual faculty members. We used a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1994) along with template analysis (King, 2004) to study interview transcripts. All members described having an active champion, an experienced and informed advisor, various forms of institutional support, and a group of colleagues interested in discussing pedagogy and implementing new approaches. From this, we distilled a model for encouraging transformation that holds promise for use elsewhere

Comparing Grounded Theory and Phenomenology as Methods to Understand Lived Experience of Engineering Educators Implementing Problem-based Learning

Convincing teachers to implement pedagogical innovations is notoriously hard. This research project investigated the shift in pedagogical approach among a small group of faculty as they replaced traditional lecture-based methods with problem-based learning projects. Interviews were conducted with eight drivers of this change, around the question: What was it like to be part of a learning group focused on tangible change toward student-centred learning? Objectives were to understand how pedagogical change happened in an electrical engineering programme at a post-secondary institution in Ireland; analyse data using two different research methods; describe the processes, results, and findings, determining: To what extents do the research methods of grounded theory and phenomenology fit our data and yield relevant and useful findings? Results of this multiple-methods approach indicate enjoyment, camaraderie, and grassroots ownership were essential to driving transformation. With this specific dataset, grounded theory produced valuable findings (including a graphic model of change). Phenomenological methodologies seeking to understanding raw, pre-reflective experience were not as effective, because interviews occurred two years after the events and thus interview comments were inherently reflective. This report should be of particular use to teachers and administrators strategising change and engineering education researchers assessing the applicability of various methods

An Enlightened American: The Political Ideology of Thomas Hutchinson on the Eve of the Revolutionary Crisis

This dissertation examines the political, social and philosophical views of Massachusetts' last royal governor, Thomas Hutchinson, as expressed in his 1764-1773 work, the History of Massachusetts-Bay. It is my contention that this work provides unique insights into the ideology of this important eighteenth century figure, and the values that would motivate him during the Revolutionary crisis. Years before the turmoil of the Revolutionary crisis began, Hutchinson had already given deep reflection to many of the same political and philosophical issues that would resurface in the imperial struggle. Hutchinson's historical work, written for both colonial and English audiences, provides significant insight into Hutchinson's political ideology and value system as that struggle opened. I will concentrate my analysis on Volume One, the part of Hutchinson's work written before 1765. This thesis will focus on three issues covered in the first volume: Massachusetts' struggle for religious orthodoxy in the seventeenth century, the colony's early Indian wars and relations with the Indians, and the colonists' century-long struggle with England over their original charter. My dissertation will demonstrate that Hutchinson's worldview was, no less than many of his adversaries in the Revolution Crisis, that of a man of the Enlightenment, and an American with both deep roots and great pride in his native land. Throughout Volume One of the History, Hutchinson stressed the importance of balanced government, the necessity of a just and impartial rule of law, the need for moderation and republican virtue in government, and the dangers of prejudice and popular passion. His views on a wide variety of issues grew, at least in part, out of his understanding of Massachusetts' colonial past, and his immersion in the literature of the American Enlightenment. These views were clearly revealed in the History, a work which has until now been under-utilized as a key into the man's ideology

A Model for Transforming Engineering Education Through Group Learning

Electrical engineering educators at Technological University Dublin (DIT) have successfully implemented pedagogical change. They now use group-based, student-centered and inquiry-driven approaches to teach emerging engineers. The objective of this was to foster students’ personal as well as professional skills (i.e., teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, etc.). This paper explores how such change was achieved and provides graphic models that draw from prior phenomenological studies and incorporates aspects of Rogers’ (1962) product adoption curve and Lowe’s (2012) interpretations of it

Policies that Enhance Teaching and Learning

Educational institutions often implement policies with the intention of influencing how learning and teaching occur. Generally, such policies are not as effective as their makers would like; changing the behavior of third-level teachers proves difficult. Nevertheless, a policy instituted in 2006 at the Dublin Institute of Technology has met with success: each newly hired faculty member must have a post-graduate qualification in “Learning and Teaching” or successfully complete one within the first two years of employment. The intention is to build teachers’ knowledge about student-centered pedagogies and their capacity to implement them. As a result of this policy (and associated programs that support it), positive outcomes are readily apparent. Individual teachers who have completed the programs have implemented significant change at the course and program levels. This paper introduces the policy, identifies outcomes in relation to existing theory, describes research underway, and pinpoints areas where organizational learning has occurred

Policies that Enhance Learning and Teaching

Educational institutions often implement policies with the intention of influencing how learning and teaching occur. Generally, such policies are not as effective as their makers would like; changing the behavior of third-level teachers proves difficult. Nevertheless, a policy instituted in 2006 at the Dublin Institute of Technology has met with success: each newly hired faculty member must have a post-graduate qualification in “Learning and Teaching” or successfully complete one within the first two years of employment. The intention is to build teachers’ knowledge about student-centered pedagogies and their capacity to implement them. As a result of this policy (and associated programs that support it), positive outcomes are readily apparent. Individual teachers who have completed the programs have implemented significant change at the course and program levels. This paper introduces the policy, identifies outcomes in relation to existing theory, describes research underway, and pinpoints areas where organizational learning has occurred

A comparison of agricultural systems at the Allee Research Center

The petrochemical-dependent agriculture that developed in the export-oriented economy of the 1970\u27s proved vulnerable to high energy costs and volatile export markets as well as detrimental to soil and water resources. This project was designed to compare a petrochemical-based, high-tillage, low-management cropping system (System I) with two alternative systems: a ridge-till, reduced fertilizer and pesticide, high-management system (System II) and a rotational, low-pesticide, low-fertilizer conventional tillage system (System III)

Modelling the sulfate capacity of simulated radioactive waste borosilicate glasses

The capacity of simulated high-level radioactive waste borosilicate glasses to incorporate sulfate has been studied as a function of glass composition. Combined Raman, 57Fe Mössbauer and literature evidence supports the attribution of coordination numbers and oxidation states of constituent cations for the purposes of modelling, and results confirm the validity of correlating sulfate incorporation in multicomponent borosilicate radioactive waste glasses with different models. A strong compositional dependency is observed and this can be described by an inverse linear relationship between incorporated sulfate (mol% SO42−) and total cation field strength index of the glass, Σ(z/a2), with a high goodness-of-fit (R2 ≈ 0.950). Similar relationships are also obtained if theoretical optical basicity, Λth (R2 ≈ 0.930) or non-bridging oxygen per tetrahedron ratio, NBO/T (R2 ≈ 0.919), are used. Results support the application of these models, and in particular Σ(z/a2), as predictive tools to aid the development of new glass compositions with enhanced sulfate capacities