Connections between science teachers\u27 professional development preferences and their teaching practices and beliefs

The effect of professional development preference, in relation to its effect on teacher practices and beliefs, has not been well studied. In order to better understand this dynamic, a nationwide online survey was developed and sent to secondary science teachers. The findings of this survey indicate a relationship does exist, but only within specific practices. During analysis, teachers were grouped by preference of professional development type including collaboration, reflection, conducting research, and professional development (such as conferences and workshops). Significant differences emerged from each group and implications for effective professional development practices will be addressed

Guidelines for documenting and reporting tree allometric equations

Given the pressing need to quantify carbon fluxes associated with terrestrial vegetation dynamics, an increasing number of researchers have sought to improve estimates of tree volume, biomass, and carbon stocks. Tree allometric equations are critical tools for such purpose and have the potential to improve our understanding about carbon sequestration in woody vegetation, to support the implementation of policies and mechanisms designed to mitigate climate change (e.g. CDM and REDD+; Agrawal et al. 2011), to calculate costs and benefits associated with forest carbon projects, and to improve bioenergy systems and sustainable forest management (Henry et al. 2013)

Integrating forest inventory and analysis data into a LIDAR-based carbon monitoring system

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data may be a valuable component of a LIDAR-based carbon monitoring system, but integration of the two observation systems is not without challenges. To explore integration methods, two wall-to-wall LIDAR-derived biomass maps were compared to FIA data at both the plot and county levels in Anne Arundel and Howard Counties in Maryland. Allometric model-related errors were also considered. In areas of medium to dense biomass, the FIA data were valuable for evaluating map accuracy by comparing plot biomass to pixel values. However, at plots that were defined as “nonforest”, FIA plots had limited value because tree data was not collected even though trees may be present. When the FIA data were combined with a previous inventory that included sampling of nonforest plots, 21 to 27% of the total biomass of all trees was accounted for in nonforest conditions, resulting in a more accurate benchmark for comparing to total biomass derived from the LIDAR maps. Allometric model error was relatively small, but there was as much as 31% difference in mean biomass based on local diameter-based equations compared to regional volume-based equations, suggesting that the choice of allometric model is important. To be successfully integrated with LIDAR, FIA sampling would need to be enhanced to include measurements of all trees in a landscape, not just those on land defined as “forest”. Improved GPS accuracy of plot locations, intensifying data collection in small areas with few FIA plots, and other enhancements are also recommended.https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-0680-9-

Termination of the leprosy isolation policy in the US and Japan : Science, policy changes, and the garbage can model

BACKGROUND: In both the US and Japan, the patient isolation policy for leprosy /Hansen's disease (HD) was preserved along with the isolation facilities, long after it had been proven to be scientifically unnecessary. This delayed policy termination caused a deprivation of civil liberties of the involuntarily confined patients, the fostering of social stigmas attached to the disease, and an inefficient use of health resources. This article seeks to elucidate the political process which hindered timely policy changes congruent with scientific advances. METHODS: Examination of historical materials, supplemented by personal interviews. The role that science played in the process of policy making was scrutinized with particular reference to the Garbage Can model. RESULTS: From the vantage of history, science remained instrumental in all period in the sense that it was not the primary objective for which policy change was discussed or intended, nor was it the principal driving force for policy change. When the argument arose, scientific arguments were employed to justify the patient isolation policy. However, in the early post-WWII period, issues were foregrounded and agendas were set as the inadvertent result of administrative reforms. Subsequently, scientific developments were more or less ignored due to concern about adverse policy outcomes. Finally, in the 1980s and 1990s, scientific arguments were used instrumentally to argue against isolation and for the termination of residential care. CONCLUSION: Contrary to public expectations, health policy is not always rational and scientifically justified. In the process of policy making, the role of science can be limited and instrumental. Policy change may require the opening of policy windows, as a result of convergence of the problem, policy, and political streams, by effective exercise of leadership. Scientists and policymakers should be attentive enough to the political context of policies

Feasibility Study - Diversion of Flood Flow within the Keapuka Drainage Area

An independent survey of the feasibility of diverting the flow from the Keapuka Drainage Basin at the junction of Kamoalii Stream and Likelike Highway into the Kawainui Swamp is requested. Flood waters within the Keapuka Drain­ age Basin have been causing excessive physical damage up­ stream and downstream of the aforementioned junction. By diverting these waters into the Kawainui Swamp, it is hoped this flooding problem will be averted. The Keaouka Drain­age Basin is shown in Appendix l, sheet 3 of 22

Things You Would Know If You Grew Up Around Here

From the publishers page: 2015. 18-year-old Boyd Montgomery returns from her grandfather\u27s wedding to find her friend Isaac missing. Drought-ravaged central Texas has been newly inundated with rain, and flash floods across the state have begun to sweep away people, cars, and entire houses as every river breaks its banks. In the midst of the rising waters, Boyd sets out across the ravaged back country. She is determined to rescue her missing friend, and she\u27s not alone in her quest: her neighbor, Carla, spots Boyd\u27s boot prints leading away from the safety of home and follows in her path. Hours later, her mother returns to find Boyd missing, and she, too, joins the search. Boyd, Carla, and Lucy Maud know the land well. They\u27ve lived in central Texas for their entire lives. But they have no way of knowing the fissure the storm has opened along the back roads, no way of knowing what has been erased-and what has resurfaced. As they each travel through the newly unfamiliar landscape, they discover the ghosts of Texas past and present. Haunting and timely, Things You Would Know if You Grew Up Around Here considers questions of history and empathy and brings a pre-apocalyptic landscape both foreign and familiar to shockingly vivid life.https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/english_book/1040/thumbnail.jp

American husband

A volume of poetry about motherhood, travel, beingxi, 46 p. 23 cm. (print)"Winner of the 2008 Ohio State University Press. / The journal award in poetry."(print) xi, 46 p. ; 23 cm.Item not openly available