The Introductory Communication Course: The Public Speaking Approach

Although a communication department has several choices for the focus of its introductory course, the public speaking approach continues to be the most prevalent largely because of its perceived value. People need public speaking skills because of their importance in achieving success in so many walks of life. In fact, in such professions as teaching, politics, law, sales, marketing, and the like, public speaking skills are fundamental to the job description. In addition, public speaking skills are useful to people in their daily impromptu speaking efforts as well. For instance, effectiveness in giving directions to a place, in giving instructions on how to use machinery, in analyzing and evaluating works of art, or in presenting views on current issues, are all increased by application of basic speech-making skills. In this paper I want to clarify elements that distinguish a public speaking approach to the introductory course by looking at objectives of the course, course structure, teaching methods, problems in the course, and concluding with a prediction for the future

Restoration Strategies to Migrate Shrub Encroachment into Coastal Prairies

Shrub encroachment into grasslands is a phenomenon facilitated by fire suppression, climate warming, and overgrazing of grasses by cattle, and if left unmanaged, can alter ecosystem structure and function. In this study, I compare the effectiveness and cost/benefit of various restoration strategies (prescribed fire, mechanical, and chemical) used singly and in different combinations at decreasing two shrubs, honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.), and promoting growth and survival of gulf cordgrass (Spartina spartinae (Trin.) Merr. ex Hitchc.), the dominant coastal prairie grass within the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge-Bahia Grande Unit in deep south Texas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) currently manages this unit for the Federally–endangered aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis), a grassland-dependent species. This study is unique as it evaluates shrub reduction, shrub resprouting, and grass recovery in response to eight treatment regimes using up to three restoration strategies in various orders. These responses were assessed at 4-mo intervals over a 12-mo post-treatment period and then ranked using a dimensionless scale to create a ‘success index’ comparable across treatments. By 12-mo post-treatment, all treatments caused a similar reduction in original stem basal area and density. This response was immediate when treatments used rollerchopping, but more gradual following a single prescribed fire. Treatments where herbicide followed roller-chopping most effectively killed adult shrubs and limited resprouting. Gulf cordgrass recovery was slowest when roller-chopping was the only or last treatment, likely because roller-chopping created leaf litter and woody debris that hindered grass seed germination. Overall, index results suggest that roller-chopping followed by herbicide then fire was the most effective treatment for reducing woody shrubs while facilitating gulf cordgrass recovery, while a single prescribed fire was least effective. Though more costly than other treatments, roller-chopping followed by herbicide then fire may provide land managers with a restoration strategy for both removing woody shrubs and restoring gulf cordgrass cover in coastal prairie ecosystems

Study of usefulness of the archival material of franziscean land cadastre for environment change analysis

The aim of the diploma thesis is to present the use of archived documents of Franziscean Land Cadastre as an important source to illustrate the land use at the beginning of 19th century and to determine changes that have occurred in the environment. In the theoretical part, the thesis delineates history of the land cadastre, with an extensive description of Franziscean Land Cadastre and its constitutive parts. Special analytical attention is given to the region of Cadastral Community Rajndol, whereupon a detailed analysis of parcel structure, property structure, and land use, comparing the situation in the beginning of the 19th century (according to data from Franziscean Land Cadastre) against the current situation (according to land cadastre data from 2012), is performed. Since the indication of the land use contained in the present day land cadastre (cadastral use) often doesn’t correspond to the actual use, the information was additionally verified using the data on the actual use provided by Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment of the Republic of Slovenia. We were also able to detect a strong overgrowth of the region. Comparative analysis confirmed our initial hypothesis that the property structure in the studied region underwent a significant change, while the parcel structure remained more or less intact in the land cadastre in the period of almost two centuries. The results are presented graphically as well as numerically