AgEcon Search: Partners Build a Web Resource

Originally published in Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Spring 2002Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Carbon exchange in boreal ecosystems: upscaling and the impacts of natural disturbances

Boreal forests and peatlands are globally significant carbon stores but they are threatened by rising air temperatures and changes in precipitation regimes and the frequency of natural disturbances. Predicting how the boreal biome will respond to climate change depends on being able to accurately model and upscale the greenhouse gas fluxes between these ecosystems and the atmosphere. This thesis focuses on developing simple, empirical, remote sensing models of ecosystem respiration (ER) and assessing how ER varies over space and in response to natural disturbances such as drought and wildfire. Paper I and II tested the opportunities and limitations offered by newly available, miniaturized thermal cameras, which can capture images of surface temperature at sub-decimeter resolution. Since temperature is one of the most important factors driving ER, these cameras provide an opportunity to map ER in unprecedented detail. In Paper III, satellite land surface temperature (LST) data was used to model ER across several Nordic peatland sites to examine whether remote sensing models can capture variations in ER between sites. In addition, Paper II and III highlighted the impacts of the extreme 2018 drought that affected large parts of Europe on peatland CO2 fluxes. The drought also led to a severe wildfire season in Sweden and Paper IV investigated how the effects of fire on forest soils depended on burn severity, salvage-logging and stand age.Producing reliable surface temperature measurements from miniaturized thermal cameras requires careful data collection and processing and one of the main outcomes of this thesis is a set of best practices for thermal camera users. Despite including larger uncertainties than traditional soil or air temperature measurements, thermal data from these cameras is suitable for modeling ER in peatland ecosystems. The ER maps that can be produced using UAV thermal cameras offer a unique resource for evaluating how ER varies within a flux tower footprint and could reveal potential biases in flux tower measurements. Indeed, this thesis demonstrated that there is substantial spatial variation in ER, both within and between peatlands. Vegetation composition played a significant role in driving this spatial variation as well as the response of peatlands to drought. Nevertheless, using only LST and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) as model inputs captured a large proportion of the variability of daily ER across multiple peatlands. With further developments, such a modeling approach could represent a simple and effective way of estimating peatland ER across Scandinavia. In terms of wildfire impacts on boreal forest soils, stand age had a significant impact on soil respiration, nutrient availability and microclimate, whereas salvage-logging did not, in the first year after fire. Furthermore, the effects of drought and wildfire on ER depended on their severity, but during both extreme water stress in peatlands and after severe burning in forests, ER decreased. It is important that this negative feedback is accounted for in ER models to avoid overestimating carbon loss from northern ecosystems in response to disturbances and climate change

‘Dahomey!, Dahomey!’: the reception of Dahomean art in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

‘Dahomey!, Dahomey!’: the reception of Dahomean art in France in the late 19th and early 20th centurie

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe current study evaluated the use of a manualized social skills program, Superheroes Social Skills, to increase the use of prosocial behaviors and decrease the use of aggressive behaviors for children with externalizing behaviors. The training was implemented by a school psychologist in a pullout group with four children with highincidence disabilities and four typically developing peers at a public elementary school. The program implemented was a multimedia, high interest program that incorporates the use of animation to teach the lessons. This program also uses evidence-based practices (e.g., video-modeling, peer mediation, social stories, and self-management) to help increase the effectiveness of the intervention. There were eleven skills taught during one 30-minute session. Two sessions were taught per week. Children were videotaped during free play and recess observations for baseline, treatment, and follow-up. Their behaviors were then coded using a partial interval recording system. The behaviors observed were verbal aggression, physical aggression, neutral behavior, positive initiations, and positive responses. The observation codes were used to calculate effect sizes, percentage of nonoverlapping data points, and percentage of all nonoverlapping data points. The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) was used as a pre- and postmeasure of treatment effectiveness. Measures were also used to determine social validity, consumer satisfaction, and treatment integrity. These measures were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results indicated that this intervention was effective for decreasing aggressive behaviors, decreasing neutral play, and increasing positive responses in both the treatment setting and the generalized recess setting. Results were also maintained at a 2-week follow-up. Parents and participants indicated the program was effective and favorable. The results of the SSIS indicated minimal treatment effect, although teachers rated a significant increase in social skills. The treatment was implemented with high treatment fidelity. Overall, this study found that the Superheroes Social Skills Program was an effective intervention for children with high-incidence disabilities and externalizing behaviors

Behind the Scenes: Directors’ Perspectives of Designing and Implementing New Online Degree Programs

Abstract is available to download

Behind the Scenes: Directors’ Perspectives of Designing and Implementing New Online Degree Programs

Abstract is available to download

Department of Defense: SBIR/STTR Grants and Other Contracts

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants are a government funding program offered by eleven federal departments and awarded to small businesses looking to develop and bring a product to market. The Department of Defense (DoD) and its twelve agencies award more than half of all SBIR/STTR grants; they solicit proposals for designated projects biannually. Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) are another source of funding that can widen the scope of possible proposals but is not limited to small businesses. BAAs can be awarded to small and large businesses as well as academic institutions and nonprofits. Small business grants are vital in many research startups, and have shown themselves to be helpful to both the DoD (which may often purchase the technology) and the American workforce

Online Ethical Decision-Making by Business and Education Students in Faith-Based and Non-Faith Based Higher Education Institutions

Abstract is available to download

Master of Science

thesisThe current study assessed the Superhero Social Skills program as an evidencebased practice for teaching social skills to elementary children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a clinical out-patient setting. The program consists of many research validated components, including peer mediation, video-modeling, and social stories. There were 4 participants with ASD and 4 "peer buddies," all between the ages of 5 and 10. Intervention sessions took place at an outpatient clinical setting over 8 weeks. One lesson was taught per week and incorporated components from the program's typical two lesson per week format. After each session, analog free play observations were conducted and coded by the researcher and another graduate student to achieve interrater reliability. Parents reported the number of spontaneous uses of skills at home to measure generalization. Effect size and percentage of nonoverlapping data points were calculated to determine changes in social engagement and generalization. There were also pre- and postmeasures of social behaviors completed by parents and consumer satisfaction measures completed after the intervention by parents and children. The results of this study indicate increased levels of social initiations, social responses, and social engagement during free play observations. For most participants, there was also an increase in generalized use of the skills. Parents and children reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. Overall, results suggest that the "superhero social skills" program is effective for children with ASD

Online Ethical Decision-Making by Business and Education Students in Faith-Based and Non-Faith Based Higher Education Institutions

Abstract is available to download