Heidi Asbjornsen Associate Professor of Natural Resources, COLSA, travels to Costa Rica

Experiential Student Learning and Collaborative Research: Understanding Tropical Ecosystem Response to Climate Change from Leaves to Landscapes. During January 2012, I traveled to Costa Rica to visit potential field sites for a future UNH J-term course in Tropical Ecology and to collect preliminary data for a new research project linked to the course. Both of these initiatives are in collaboration with Dr. Michael Palace, a research scientist at UNH’s Earth Systems Research Center. Together, we visited three sites in Costa Rica, each having very different climates and vegetation: Curu Wildlife Refuge, a tropical dry deciduous forest receiving only about 1,500mm rain annually; La Selva Biological Station, a lowland tropical rainforest that receives over 4,000 m of rain annually, and Monteverde Reserve, a tropical montane cloud forest that is immersed in fog for much of the year

The Relationship Between Prisoners’ Academic Self-efficacy and Participation in Education, Previous Convictions, Sentence Length, and Portion of Sentence Served

Prison education is an important aspect of adult education. The study investigated current participation in prison education, as well as previous convictions, sentence length, and the portion of sentence served as predictors of academic self-efficacy. Survey data derived from prisoners in all Norwegian prisons provided the empirical evidences for the analyses. A principal component analysis of a 40-item academic self-efficacy questionnaire revealed self-efficacy components in literacy, mathematics, ICT, and self-regulated learning. Educational participation had a positive influence on self-efficacy in both mathematics and self-regulated learning. Participants who reported no previous conviction scored higher than others did on self-efficacy in mathematics, self-regulated learning, and ICT. Furthermore, the results showed that perceived efficacy in ICT decreased with longer sentence length. Portion of sentence served was not significantly related to any of the four self-efficacy components. The findings are discussed with reference to a need for mastery experiences in prison and implications for policy and practic

Cognitive Style and Conflict on Superintendent-School Board Teams

Abstract Cognitive Style and Conflict on Superintendent-School Board Teams By Douglas J. Asbjornsen Chairperson of the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Thomas Alsbury School of Education Quality learning and high student achievement are primary goals of K-12 public school education. Superintendent-School Board teams can have a positive impact on both. Collaboration is critical to these teams’ effectiveness and efficiency. Research has suggested conflict can have a negative impact on collaboration and may be related to the diversity on the team. One type of diversity is cognitive diversity within the construct of cognitive style, as defined by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Theory (A-I Theory). In alignment with this theory, the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) was designed to measure where one falls on a continuum of cognitive style. The difference between individual scores of team members is defined as cognitive gap. A-I Theory posits that at significant levels, cognitive gap can contribute to conflict. Using a mixed-method, explanatory participation selection design, this study identified and documented examples where cognitive gap has likely contributed to conflict within superintendent-school board team members. In addition, findings suggest a relationship may exist between superintendent KAI scores and their age. This study introduces cognitive gap as a possible contributor to conflict not currently documented in the education literature focusing on superintendent-school board teams. Knowledge of A-I Theory and KAI scores may help prevent or mitigate certain types of conflict on these teams, which may have positive impact on student learning and achievement. Keywords: superintendent, school boards, conflict, diversity, cognitive style, KA

Scaling from single-point sap velocity measurements to stand transpiration in a multi-species deciduous forest: uncertainty sources, stand structure effect, and future scenarios impacts

ABSTRACT A major challenge in studies estimating stand water use in mixed-species forests is how to effectively scale data from individual trees to the stand. This is the case for forest ecosystems in the northeastern USA where differences in water use among species and across different size classes have not been extensively studied, despite their relevance for a wide range of ecosystem services. Our objectives were to assess the importance of different sources of variability ontranspiration upscaling and explore the potential impacts of future shifts in species composition on forest water budget. We measured sap velocity in five tree species (Fagus grandiflora, Acer rubrum, A. saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, B. papyrifera) in a mature and young stand in NH (USA). Our results showed that the greatest potential source of error was radial variability and that tree size was more important than species in determining sap velocity. Total sapwood area was demonstrated to exert a strong controlling influence on transpiration, varying depending on tree size and species. We conclude that the effect of potential species shifts on transpirationwill depend on the sap velocity, determined mainly by radial variation and tree size, but also on the sapwood area distribution in the stand

Scaling from single-point sap velocity measurements to stand transpiration in a multi-species deciduous forest: uncertainty sources, stand structure effect, and future scenarios impacts

ABSTRACT A major challenge in studies estimating stand water use in mixed-species forests is how to effectively scale data from individual trees to the stand. This is the case for forest ecosystems in the northeastern USA where differences in water use among species and across different size classes have not been extensively studied, despite their relevance for a wide range of ecosystem services. Our objectives were to assess the importance of different sources of variability ontranspiration upscaling and explore the potential impacts of future shifts in species composition on forest water budget. We measured sap velocity in five tree species (Fagus grandiflora, Acer rubrum, A. saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, B. papyrifera) in a mature and young stand in NH (USA). Our results showed that the greatest potential source of error was radial variability and that tree size was more important than species in determining sap velocity. Total sapwood area was demonstrated to exert a strong controlling influence on transpiration, varying depending on tree size and species. We conclude that the effect of potential species shifts on transpirationwill depend on the sap velocity, determined mainly by radial variation and tree size, but also on the sapwood area distribution in the stand

Spatial uncertainty in sap velocity measurements and tree water use upscaling in american beech

4 páginas.-- 3 figuras.-- 10 referencias.-- Póster presentado en el XI Simposio Hispano-Portugués de Relaciones Hídricas en las Plantas, Sevilla 17-20 Sep. (2012)We examined the variation insap velocity radially, azimuthally, at different heights and across different tree sizes for the species Fagus grandifolia. The results demonstrate that the main sources of variability are radial variability and tree size. The implications for scaling up routine point measurements of sap velocity to the whole-tree andstand levels are discussed.This work was funded by the University of New Hampshire. We thank the US Forest Service at BEF and Hubbard Brook for the facilitation of research activities and permission to access sites.N