UA12/2/1 Western Normal Letter, Vol. I, No. 9

Western Normal Student as a Factor in Rural Life by A.J. Kinnaman in recruitment newsletter sent out by WKU

Line Strengths of Rovibrational and Rotational Transitions in the X2Π^2\Pi Ground State of OH

A new line list including positions and absolute intensities (in the form of Einstein $A$ values and oscillator strengths) has been produced for the OH ground X\DP\ state rovibrational (Meinel system) and pure rotational transitions. All possible transitions are included with v\primed and v\Dprimed up to 13, and $J$ up to between 9.5 and 59.5, depending on the band. An updated fit to determine molecular constants has been performed, which includes some new rotational data and a simultaneous fitting of all molecular constants. The absolute line intensities are based on a new dipole moment function, which is a combination of two high level ab initio calculations. The calculations show good agreement with an experimental v=1 lifetime, experimental $\mu_\mathrm{v}$ values, and $\Delta$v=2 line intensity ratios from an observed spectrum. To achieve this good agreement, an alteration in the method of converting matrix elements from Hund's case (b) to (a) was made. Partitions sums have been calculated using the new energy levels, for the temperature range 5-6000 K, which extends the previously available (in HITRAN) 70-3000 K range. The resulting absolute intensities have been used to calculate O abundances in the Sun, Arcturus, and two red giants in the Galactic open and globular clusters M67 and M71. Literature data based mainly on [O I] lines are available for the Sun and Arcturus, and excellent agreement is found.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figues. 7 supplementary files: dipole moment functions (OH-X-DMFs.txt), equilibrium constants (OH-X-Equilibrium_Constants.txt), partition function (OH-X-Q_5-6000K.dat), PGOPHER file with molecular constants and transition matric elements (OH-XX.pgo), vibrational Einstein A and f values (OH-XX-Avv_fvv.txt), line list (OH-XX-Line_list.txt), and OH-Transformation_Equation_Extra.doc

The Influence of Early Experience on, and Inheritance of, Cerebral Lateralization

Cerebral lateralization refers to the lateralized partitioning of cognitive function in either hemisphere of the brain. Using a standard detour test, we investigated lateralized behaviour in wild-caught, female poeciliid fish, Brachyraphis (=Brachyrhaphis) episcopi, from high- and low-predation areas. Wild fish were bred and their offspring reared under controlled laboratory conditions. These laboratory-reared fish were screened in the same laterality assays as their parents. We observed differences between wild-caught females and their laboratory-reared female offspring in the pattern of lateralization (tendency to use one hemisphere over the other to process information). Conversely, the strength of lateralization (consistency of hemispherical bias) was largely conserved between generations, consistent with it being a heritable character. Both wild-caught females from high-predation sites and their laboratory-reared offspring showed stronger lateralized behaviour than their counterparts from low-predation sites. This difference in strength of lateralization is likely to provide fitness benefits to fish that occur in high-predation areas by enabling them to school and watch for predators simultaneously (dual processing). We hypothesized that the differences in the pattern of lateralization observed between species, and populations within species, are due to the manner in which they perceive and classify stimuli in the world around them. In particular, the perceived emotive content or context of a scene is likely to vary between individuals that have had different life experiences

Jamestown Rediscovery

Review of website Jamestown Rediscovery which is now Historic Jamestowne. Access: www.historicjamestowne.org The site contains a history of the Jamestown settlement with information on key figures and events, including a historical timeline

U.S. Army Center for Military History

Review of website U.S. Army Center of Military History. Access: www.history.army.mil While mainly focused toward the education of military personnel, the center provides much material ofinterest to a wider audience

Chasing Moore’s Law: Information Technology Policy in the United States

Review of book: Chasing Moore’s Law: Information Technology Policy in the United States. Moore’s Law is the name given to the historical trend that the number of switches that may be placed on a computer microchip doubles every eighteen months

dNBR imagery and xeric pine-oak forest stand characteristics for fires of different severity in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Fire suppression has changed forest structure and composition on xeric sites in the southern Appalachians from open, pine-oak dominated stands to closed canopy, mixed hardwood stands. Improved understanding of fire-related tools and ecological responses will improve effectiveness of fire management aimed at restoring pre-fire suppression forest communities on these xeric sites. Although occurrence of fire is known to be related to ecosystem functioning, vegetation responses to multi-severity fires are not as well understood in the southern Appalachians. Additionally, the relationship between satellite imagery and ground-based methods for designating burn severity (post-fire term describing fire severity) are not established for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). The purpose of my study was to (1) determine if burn severity designations were consistent between satellite imagery and ground-based methods, and (2) evaluate vegetation responses to different burn severities on xeric sites dominated by pine (Pinus) and oak (Quercus) species in the GSMNP. Plots were randomly located using satellite-based (dNBR) burn severity maps. For part (1) of my study these sites were ground-truthed using the FIREMON Composite Burn Index (CBI). Initial scatter plots between CBI and dNBR indicated a saturated growth relationship and square-root transformed dNBR data were overall strongly correlated to ground-based ratings (CBI) for 169 total plots (p<0.001, R2=0.90). Strong relationships were found between CBI and dNBR across different xeric forest types and time since burn categories. For part (2) of my study, variables related to stand regeneration were measured at the ground, mid-story, and overstory layers across different burn severities for 48 plots. Differences in post-fire forest structure and composition across burn severity classifications were tested using analyses of variance and relationships between stand variables were evaluated using linear regression. Results showed overstory mortality was significantly higher in moderate and high severity sites versus low severity and no burn sites. Stand density and basal area were lowest in high severity sites and litter layer depth decreased significantly in higher severity fires. Pine regeneration did not vary across burn severities and oak regeneration was highest in moderate severity sites. Mixed mesophytic regeneration was highest in sites absent of fire. Desired pine and oak regeneration was greatest in moderate burn severity sites. Changes in species composition following fire may have been caused by greater amount of exposed mineral soil, increased light penetration to forest floor, and reduced mid-story stem densities. Overall results from both studies show that (1) burn severity can be predicted from satellite imagery and (2) different burn severities are associated with different forest structure and composition related to pine and oak regeneration on xeric sites in GSMNP

Parenting skills and family stressors : implications for child removal and maltreatment recidivism among CPS involved families

Child maltreatment continues to be a significant problem in the United States. Although afamily’s involvement with Child Protective Services (CPS) may increase the welfare of children,the risk of maltreatment reoccurrence (i.e., recidivism) is common. Moreover, some studies findthat children who have been removed from the home have a higher likelihood of experiencingadditional maltreatment compared to children who remain with their caregivers following asubstantiated case of abuse. This may, in part, be explained by the severity of the index event,but further research is needed to examine parental and family variables that contribute to the riskof being removed (as a proxy for severity) and subsequent maltreatment recidivism. Theproposed study utilized archival data from CPS case files to examine parenting variables,domestic violence, and caregiver unemployment status as predictors of maltreatment severity andrecidivism, respectively. Additional child variables were also be explored in association withthese outcomes. Findings may help inform CPS caseworkers and policy makers of the factorsthat contribute to child outcomes