Tiros VII infrared radiation coverage of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season with supporting television and conventional meteorological data

Infrared radiation data analyzed from Tiros VII SATELLITE coverage of North Atlantic hurricanes during 196

Curating Deaf Spaces in Rochester: A Historical Self-Guided Mobile Application Tour

Rochester is widely considered by many to be one if, if not the most, Deaf-friendly city in the nation due to having the one of the largest Deaf populations per capita in the country.1 The research question focused on whether sufficient material could be assembled to provide a self-guided historical tour application (still in the planning stages) that will feature locations related to Rochester’s deaf community. The content that I curated was chosen based on the historical significance and accessibility of locations to visitors. The tour demonstrates how and why Rochester has achieved its reputation as the location of such a nationally distinguished local deaf community. The historical significance of each site is revealed through facts and photographs – all to be made accessible through the application. This tour originally was planned to be developed as part of a self-guided historical multi-tour mobile application, Rochester: Then and Now, which would feature multiple historical self-guided tours focused on various prominent components of Rochester’s history. While the plans for the mobile application fell through, this tour has still been made for the Rochester Public Library’s Rochester Voices project, directed by Michelle Finn and Christine Ridarsky. This tour may instead be featured on the Rochester Voices website, as platforms and funding to generate a mobile application are continued to be sought after. The content for this tour consists of descriptions of each historical location, accompanied by photographs and videos. The historical descriptions will provide a brief summary of the historical context and impact on the Deaf community. The text will accompany at least one photograph of each location. The Rochester: Then and Now application would have shown on a map exactly where the photographer stood to take the picture – similar to the app it was going to be modeled after, Albany: Then and Now. Locations to be featured in the application include prominent educational institutions (such as the Rochester School for the Deaf and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf), in addition the still-existent sites of both defunct and active deaf social/recreational organizations

The effects of constructive language instruction and cooperative learning on the quality of artwork at the middle level

This study investigates the effects of explicit instruction in constructive language and cooperative learning activities on the quality of art work produced by seventh grade art students. Data collection included pre- and post-intervention cooperative learning surveys, student and teacher rubric evaluations, artist statements, teacher observations of student interactions, and photographs of artwork. Rubrics included five criteria: 1) idea formation and development, 2) problem-solving, 3) openness to suggestions, 4) depth of theme, and 5) perseverance. Students completed a self-portrait project individually to provide base line data and samples with which to compare collaborative works after two interventions. During the interventions, students learned to differentiate constructive and unhelpful language in the art room, had opportunity to practice turning unhelpful comments into constructive ones, and created a group video illustrating the difference. Students were then grouped into Theme Teams to create a collaborative artwork comprised of one painting per teammate that conveyed individual components of a general theme chosen by the group. Comparisons were made between scores from surveys, student rubric self-evaluations, teacher evaluations, and student and group interaction data. Results conclude that explicit instruction in construction language can be effective for students at a certain level of maturity and development, but that it is not detrimental to those who are not yet at that level, and therefore should be implemented early in the school year or semester and reinforced throughout the course of the class. The immediate effect it has on cooperative learning varies by student and among student groups. In this study, 52% of students scored themselves higher on their Theme Team painting than their self-portraits, while teacher scores were 74% higher, indicating an increase in the quality of art for a majority of students. Correlations between group interactions and the rubric scores were observed in some cases. Although there are distinct difference between individual and collaborative artworks, the incorporation of both types of projects into the middle school art curriculum, supported by explicit instruction in constructive language, affords students opportunities to explore themselves, and how they themselves fit into larger contexts

Natural And Formal Mentors Among Youth In Foster Care: How Do Mentor Type And Relationship Dynamics Explain Variance In The Quality Of The Mentoring Relationship?

Due to histories of maltreatment, living instability, and relational disruptions, youth in foster care are at increased risk for experiencing poorer well-being outcomes as compared to their non-foster peers. However, research suggests that the presence of a caring, supportive nonparental adult, such as a mentor, may function as a protective factor, offsetting some of the risk that these vulnerable youth face. Research identifies a positive association between mentored youth and improved psychosocial, behavioral, and academic outcomes, and greater effects are associated with higher quality mentoring relationships, leading researchers to investigate for whom and under what circumstances such relationships may be present. Among youth in foster care, both naturally occurring and programmatically matched, formal mentoring relationships have been investigated, though past studies have not explored how mentor type or relationship dynamics may explain variance in the quality of mentoring relationships for this population. Using survey data from 444 natural and formal mentors and interview data from 8 high and low scoring natural and formal mentors, this dissertation uses mixed methods to answer the research questions: To what extent do mentor type and relationship dynamics explain variance in the quality of the mentoring relationship for adolescent and emerging adult youth in and aging out of foster care, controlling for demographic characteristics? What barriers and facilitators of a quality mentoring relationship do natural and formal mentors of youth in foster care experience and identify? Findings from this study indicate that naturally occurring mentoring relationships were associated with longer mentoring relationships, whereas programmatically supported, formal mentors were associated with higher perceived efficacy. Internal dynamics of closeness and compatibility were positively associated with characteristics of quality relationships, such as longer relationships and more frequent and consistent contact. External dynamics, such as interference (i.e., personal/logistical stressors) decreased the length of the mentoring relationship. Finally, mentoring relationships among youth in foster care tended to benefit from a primary growth-focused component with an accompanying fun-focus. This study presents these findings and highlights future research and practice implications in order to promote quality-mentoring relationships among youth in foster care

Classification of Depressional Wetlands in the Great Plains and Development of a Sampling Manual to Predict Playa Ecosystem Services

Most depressional wetlands in the Great Plains, an area where wetland losses are estimated to be over 50%, exist in highly cultivated landscapes. The depressional wetlands of the Great Plains include prairie-potholes in the Prairie Pothole Region and playas in the High Plains Region. Both prairie-pothole and playa wetlands provide a host of ecosystem services to society, but service provisioning is greatly influenced by land-use practices that occur both in the wetland and in the surrounding watershed. The most common wetland classification system used to group Great Plains wetlands by type often combines wetlands with of functionally different types into a single grouping, thereby hampering efforts to evaluate ecosystem service provisioning. Thus, my objectives were to 1) develop methodologies, and associated keys, that use aerial and/or satellite imagery and other readily available data sources to place pothole and playa wetlands into hydrogeomorphic function focused groupings to facilitate ecosystem-service assessments, 2) develop a process to remotely determine metrics needed to apply preexisting predictive ecosystem-service models in the playa region and rank the models according to ease of use, and 3) develop a sampling manual for playa wetlands that incorporates the playa-specific key and associated models. Using remotely sensed data, I observed the geomorphic setting of 200 randomly selected palustrine wetlands in each of the two regions and developed a hydrogeomorphic classification key specific to each region. The key included 5 Prairie Pothole Region classes with 12 subclasses and 4 High Plains Region classes with 9 subclasses. The predictive playa ecosystem-service models I evaluated included quantified contaminant filtration, contaminant concentration, pesticide residue, sediment depth, floodwater storage, greenhouse-gas flux, soil organic carbon, plant species richness, amphibian species richness, waterfowl abundance, and avian species richness. I ranked each of these ecosystem-service models by ease of use. The ranking of models resulted in the abiotic-service models being identified as the simplest models to apply and biotic service models as the most complex. I then incorporated the playa-specific hydrogeomorphic key, model rankings and application processes into a sampling manual. The sampling manual included the High Plains Region key and instructions for remotely estimating 10 different playa ecosystem services. This manual will facilitate the identification of wetland function and the estimation of ecosystem services derived from playa wetlands. Use of this manual by natural resource managers would provide information regarding changes in playa wetland service provisioning and inform conservation decisions

Coq au Catalog: An Analysis of the Description of Additions and Annotations in Manuscript Recipe Collections

Manuscript recipe collections are valuable historic resources, particularly for the unique way they document history and the culinary legacies of women. As working documents, contributors added to and annotated recipes, giving these collections further value as primary sources. However, from an archival standpoint, their description and catalog records say little to indicate the life of the item through additions and annotations. This study seeks to improve access to manuscript recipe collections for researchers by undertaking a three-part content analysis of catalog description, materials analysis, and a descriptive comparison with the Simone Beck and Julia Child papers. In doing so, this paper provides guidance for technical services staff for addressing additions and annotations and the vital role they serve as everyday guides and family treasures from the kitchens of the past.Master of Science in Library Scienc

A Culture in Change: The Development of Masculinity through P.G. Wodehouse\u27s Psmith Series

P. G. Wodehouse offers a serious and sustained critique of English society using the game of cricket as he follows the lives of two memorable characters, Mike Jackson and Rupert Psmith. Yet Wodehouse has frequently been accused of existing as too innocent of a bystander to understand the underpinnings of society, let alone to offer a critique. For example, Christopher Hitchens in a review of a Wodehouse biography by Robert McCrum states, Wodehouse was a rather beefy, hearty chap, with a lifelong interest in the sporting subculture of the English boarding school and a highly developed instinct for the main chance. . . . He was so self-absorbed that he was duped into collaboration with the Nazis and had to plead the `bloody fool\u27 defense (266). Despite this and other degradations of Wodehouse\u27s ability and character, the question arises: how could one so self-absorbed and unaware of the culture, aptly capture the eccentricities of so many characters? An initial answer might be that by offering a critique laced with humor, Wodehouse offers an insightful picture of English society that is doubly effective because of its tactfulness

Using normative evaluations to plan for and manage shellfish aquaculture development in Rhode Island coastal waters

As shellfish aquaculture activities grow in the US, researchers, practitioners, resource users, and others have questioned how much development can be accommodated by natural and social systems. In a unique application of the normative evaluation approach to shellfish aquaculture development, this study uses data from a mail survey to (1) examine Rhode Islanders’ support for aquaculture in general and in RI waters; (2) investigate how different features of an aquaculture farm influence normative evaluations; and (3) explore areas of agreement and disagreement among stakeholder groups for social carrying capacities associated with aquaculture in RI coastal waters. Findings demonstrate that respondents do not strictly support or oppose aquaculture development; instead support depends on the waterbody where the aquaculture is occurring, the amount of area used for aquaculture, and ways in which aquaculture is conducted. Social norm curves show that levels of acceptabilities for shellfish aquaculture development in two RI waterbodies decline with increasing levels of aquaculture activities. Comparisons among sub-sets of respondents highlight disagreement among groups on the level beyond which shellfish aquaculture development is no longer acceptable (social carrying capacity). Results from normative evaluation studies can be used in combination with physical, ecological, and biological carrying capacities; management goals and objectives; other resource uses and values; and desired social and ecological conditions to inform policy discussions about shellfish aquaculture development in coastal waters