Just a Paycheck? Assessing Student Benefits of Work on Faculty Research Projects

The benefits that students gain from designing and implementing their own independent undergraduate research projects is often presented as a valuable step in their academic career, and a stepping stone to graduate school success. However, it is not clear what benefits students receive when working as undergraduate research assistants on faculty research projects where they, the students, have little or no input into the project or its design. This paper reports on a survey of undergraduate students who participated as wage laborers on two separate faculty-directed research projects. The results of the study suggest that students gain valuable knowledge and skills that serve as constructive preparation for work, personal lives and graduate school careers; in addition, their participation in research enhances their overall undergraduate experience.student learning, assessment, undergraduate research, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

INCORPORATING SERVICE LEARNING IN YOUR COURSES: TIPS FROM THE TRENCHES

Service learning is a form of experiential learning that can benefit the student, the campus, and the community. This paper is designed to introduce faculty to service learning, and assist instructors with the nuts and bolts of designing and implementing a successful service learning experience for students.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

PROMOTING ECONOMIC LITERACY: IDEAS FOR YOUR CLASSROOM

Instructors hope their students retain an understanding of course material beyond the end of the term; in agricultural economics courses, improved retention may take the form of increased economic literacy. This paper offers practical ideas for improving the economic literacy of students in agricultural economics courses. Specific suggestions for implementation of these ideas is also provided.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

THE VALUE OF THE VIEW: VALUING SCENIC QUALITY USING CHOICE AND CONTINGENT VALUATION MODELS

Scenic beauty contributes to residents' quality of life and also serves to attract visitors to recreational areas. Because of the dynamic relationship between people, land, and rural development, there is an increasing interest in estimating the value of scenic quality using nonmarket valuation techniques. This study estimates the value of scenic quality to Blue Ridge Parkway visitors using choice and contingent valuation models. Results suggest that further research into respondent perceptions of CM and CVM models, and the conditions under which they yield comparable estimates, is warranted.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

REDUCING PHOSPHORUS POLLUTION IN THE MINNESOTA RIVER: HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH?

A mail survey was conducted in Minnesota in 1997 to estimate the value of reducing phosphorus levels in the Minnesota River by 40%. The general population survey of river basin residents was designed to gather information about respondents' use of the Minnesota River in addition to their valuation of a hypothetical water quality improvement program. An estimate of the value of a specific recreational site along the River, the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, was also obtained. Three distinct models were estimated in this research. The first was a contingent valuation model estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for water quality improvements in the Minnesota River using only stated preference data. There were two different payment vehicles used in this question, an increase in the state income tax and a water bill surcharge. Respondents' annual mean willingness to pay for a 40% reduction in phosphorus was estimated to be $14.07 using this model and the tax vehicle, while the mean willingness to pay via the water bill surcharge was estimated to be$19.64 annually. The second model utilized stated preference data from respondents along with responses about their actual visit behavior. A panel model was constructed using the responses to three separate questions concerning the value of a 40% reduction in phosphorus pollution and yielded an estimate of $38.88 per year. The final model used only data from the subset of respondents who had actually visited the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The recreational value of a typical trip to the Refuge was estimated to be$28.71 per individual.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Impact of pharmacogenomics on clinical outcomes in major depressive disorder in the GUIDED trial: A large, patient- and rater-blinded, randomized, controlled study

Current prescribing practices for major depressive disorder (MDD) produce limited treatment success. Although pharmacogenomics may improve outcomes by identifying genetically inappropriate medications, studies to date were limited in scope. Outpatients (N=1167) diagnosed with MDD and with a patient- or clinician-reported inadequate response to at least one antidepressant were enrolled in the Genomics Used to Improve DEpression Decisions (GUIDED) trial - a rater- and patient-blind randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU) or a pharmacogenomics-guided intervention arm in which clinicians had access to a pharmacogenomic test report to inform medication selections (guided-care). Medications were considered congruent (\u27use as directed\u27 or \u27use with caution\u27 test categories) or incongruent (\u27use with increased caution and with more frequent monitoring\u27 test category) with test results. Unblinding occurred after week 8. Primary outcome was symptom improvement [change in 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17)] at week 8; secondary outcomes were response ( \u3e /=50% decrease in HAM-D17) and remission (HAM-D17 \u3c /=7) at week 8. At week 8, symptom improvement for guided-care was not significantly different than TAU (27.2% versus 24.4%, p=0.107); however, improvements in response (26.0% versus 19.9%, p=0.013) and remission (15.3% versus 10.1%, p=0.007) were statistically significant. Patients taking incongruent medications prior to baseline who switched to congruent medications by week 8 experienced greater symptom improvement (33.5% versus 21.1%, p=0.002), response (28.5% versus 16.7%, p=0.036), and remission (21.5% versus 8.5%, p=0.007) compared to those remaining incongruent. Pharmacogenomic testing did not significantly improve mean symptoms but did significantly improve response and remission rates for difficult-to-treat depression patients over standard of care (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02109939)

Incorporating Scenic Quality and Cultural Heritage into Farmland Valuation: Results from an Enhanced LESA Model

Farmland often contributes scenic quality and cultural heritage to a region; however, these factors are challenging to incorporate into standard farmland valuation schemes because of their qualitative nature. This research develops a method for enhancing the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) model to incorporate scenic quality and cultural heritage elements into the rating scheme. Data on the scenic quality and cultural heritage values of the community was gathered via a participatory geographic information system (PGIS) exercise and combined with traditional LESA factors to develop a GIS-linked enhanced LESA model. This method provides a holistic valuation of farmland characteristics and directly incorporates community values. When a LESA model is augmented with scenic quality and cultural heritage elements, farmland protection priorities in the study region are impacted.Land Economics/Use,

FINANCING FARMLAND PRESERVATION: THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA EXPERIENCE

Two farmland protection programs in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Metropolitan Area--Green Acres and Agricultural Preserves-- together enrolled 608,331 acres in 1992. The principal financing tool was a provision common to both programs under which participating landowners paid reduced property taxes in exchange for certain non- development assurances. The resulting shift in property tax obligations to other taxpayers amounted to $7.6 million for the 1993 tax year, an average shift of$12.50 per enrolled acre. Annual per- acre tax reductions across localities ranged from zero to $933.Land Economics/Use,

Annual meeting theme for 1992: Developmental neurobiology and clinical course

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29029/1/0000061.pd