How scientists interact with policy in the San Francisco Bay-delta

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-63).In controversies over environmental management, participants often call for policies based on the best available science. However, environmental controversies are rarely simply disputes over scientific knowledge; instead, they are driven by stakeholders' conflicting interests and values. In this context, science often becomes a part of the political dispute, used and interpreted differently by different actors in the policy process. Scientists, therefore, face the challenge of communicating their research to non-scientific audiences-such as stakeholders, policy makers, and the general public-in a highly politicized context. This essay examines how scientists perceive their role in the policy process and how they navigate the intersection of science and policy in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, a region that has been the site of decades of scientific research and controversy over environmental management. This essay examines three cases: the CALFED Science Program, which built a policy-neutral body of research to support a collaborative planning process in the Bay-Delta that began in 2000; the interdisciplinary Bay- Delta policy reports which scientists from the University of California, Davis and the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) have published from 2007 to 2013 in reaction to policy failures; and a series of radio stories and interactive web maps that the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) produced in 2012 with KQED, a San-Francisco-based public media station, to communicate their research to a general California audience. These cases show how scientists in the Bay-Delta have struggled with the tension between communicating their research in a way that is salient to policy discussions and maintaining their legitimacy within scientific and policy communities. They also show an increasing political sophistication among scientists in the Bay- Delta as they have continued to engage in the policy process and an expanding scale of engagement, from working directly with the policy community to communicating about Bay- Delta ecology and policy with the general public. These approaches, while different, complement each other, demonstrating how scientists can communicate their research in a variety of ways depending on their relationship to the policy community.by Erica Simmons.M.C.P

Creating a Culture of Shoreline Stewardship in Puget Sound

This poster will describe the results of the WSU Shore Stewards program over its 13 year history. The program recruits, educates, and engages shoreline property owners in home and landscape management activities that protect and improve shoreline functions and water quality. The program has regularly surveyed program participants to determine behavior changes as a result of the program, as well as undergone a comprehensive evaluation in 2014/2015, which will be highlighted in this poster. In 2015, WSU re-developed its peer reviewed program materials, which includes new website (shorestewards.wsu.edu), a revised “Guide for Shoreline Living,” and a DVD containing multiple videos that provides specific information and resource information on 10 stewardship guidelines for shoreline living. The program provides a local outreach component focused on shoreline property owners through direct mailings, topic specific workshops, collaborations with county health departments, newspaper articles, outreach booths at community events and shellfish seed sales, as well as through community association meetings and newsletters. In addition a bi-monthly “Shore Stewards Newsletter” is produced with articles on timely topics and also provides information about local shore stewardship events and programs, such as septic system workshops. There are 2100 current Shore Stewards in the Puget Sound Basin, and WSU is expecting to increase that number as funding is available for recruitment and outreach activities

Greening Real Estate Professionals: A Model for Landowner Engagement through Effective Education for Brokers & Appraisers

Real estate brokers, appraisers, and developers are an essential audience for bridging communication with new landowners throughout the Salish Sea watershed. The majority of these professionals share concerns about protecting water quality, ensuring the health of theSalishSeafor recreation and economic vitality, and preventing activities that lead to anthropogenic-caused landslides, flooding and other disasters. Since 1998, WSU Extension has managed a real estate school focused on green topics to engage real estate professionals in these issues critical to their clients and our region\u27s water resources. In recent years, our focus has centered on the topics of Green Stormwater Infrastructure and Understanding Shoreline Processes/Stewardship Activities. Benefits of targeting this audience include: brokers may be or often work with small- to large-scale developers and can influence how development occurs; the sale/transfer of land is often at the nexus of re-development; educated brokers can inform their clientele on options for preventing pollution and undertaking stewardship practices; and appraisers need to incorporate proper valuation of mature vegetation, proper water management, and Green Stormwater Infrastructure for systemic change to occur. This poster will highlight the model of classroom and field-based learning that has been successful; what the audiences value as part of the workshop package; feedback about successes and shortcomings; openness and skepticism of this audience vis à vis environmental issues, including climate change; and assessments of short- and mid-term impacts to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance for green stewardship practices for both stormwater management and living with and on shoreline/bluff properties

Scale-invariant magnetic textures in the strongly correlated oxide NdNiO3_3

Strongly correlated quantum solids are characterized by an inherently granular electronic fabric, with spatial patterns that can span multiple length scales in proximity to a critical point. Here, we used a resonant magnetic X-ray scattering nanoprobe with sub-100 nm spatial resolution to directly visualize the texture of antiferromagnetic domains in NdNiO$_3$. Surprisingly, our measurements revealed a highly textured magnetic fabric, which is shown to be robust and nonvolatile even after thermal erasure across its ordering ($T_{N\acute{e}el}$) temperature. The scale-free distribution of antiferromagnetic domains and its non-integral dimensionality point to a hitherto-unobserved magnetic fractal geometry in this system. These scale-invariant textures directly reflect the continuous nature of the magnetic transition and the proximity of this system to a critical point. The present study not only exposes the near-critical behavior in rare earth nickelates but also underscores the potential for novel X-ray scattering nanoprobes to image the multiscale signatures of criticality near a critical point.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

The Grizzly, October 30, 1990

Ursinus Honored at Governor\u27s Mansion • Sam Stretton To Speak • Glassmoyer Retires • Heefner New Board President • The Gender of Speech: A Tri-Lambda Lecture • Career Day November 6th • Forbes to Speak to Clergy • Animal Lovers Unite • Mock DWI A Hit • Student Camp Experience • David is Great!! • Presenting Protheatre: The Changeling • Crutcher Leads Team• Muhlenberg Falls • Swimmers Open Season at Relay Meet • Women Running To MAC\u27s • Men Go for MAC Title • Soccer • Letters: Keep Ursinus Clean; Quad Keys Revoked?; Signs Stolen; Security, Please Hold • Environmentally Concerned? Get Active • Bush\u27s Environmental Lip Service • This Time for Real • Nature Versus Nurture: A Step in Solving the Puzzlehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1262/thumbnail.jp

Kenai Fjords National Park: Exit Glacier Area: Summer Transportation Feasibility Study

VXU7A1/SE293VXU7A1/SE294The purpose of the Exit Glacier Area summer transportation feasibility study for Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) is to understand the current transportation conditions at the Exit Glacier Area and evaluate the feasibility of a range of potential actions to improve transportation conditions. This study is not a plan and will not result in a decision or project without further planning and community engagement. However, this study will provide KEFJ and the National Park Service (NPS) Alaska Region (AKR) with information and analysis to better understand the current state of transportation access to the Exit Glacier Area and the feasibility of potential enhanced access. NPS and KEFJ are not considering an NPS-owned or operated transit system to provide park access, and are instead interested in identifying options for the park to support business opportunities for private entities. The specific goals of this study are to understand current conditions and demand for transit service to the Exit Glacier Area; identify short-term strategies to improve transportation access for visitors; and consider visitation and transportation trends and anticipate future needs

Teaching the Harlem Renaissance in the 21st Century

Designed for teachers and community educators, this resource presents student-centered curricula for grades 6-12. Each of the nine modules uses critical inquiry approaches to encourage students’ examination of the materiality of different texts and media as the means for exploring and synthesizing content to arrive at their own new understandings of the Harlem Renaissance. Teaching the Harlem Renaissance in the 21st Century accompanied the Wallach Art Gallery exhibition, Uptown Triennial 2020 (on view September 24, 2020–February 28, 2021). The resource is the result of a partnership with the Wallach Art Gallery, the Double Discovery Center, and Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Columbia University

Expanding the diversity of mycobacteriophages: insights into genome architecture and evolution.

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists