The Effect of Team-Building Interventions on Group Cohesion and Academic Performance

The present study investigates the effect of group cohesion on academic success in undergraduate students in a semester-long group project. Students in Research Methods classes form small groups at the beginning of the semester and conduct experiments with their teammates throughout the course. Oftentimes, professors do not include any team-building interventions in their class sessions. However, research shows that a sense of group cohesion enhances group performance across various settings (e.g., on sports teams). The more cohesive a group feels both socially and professionally, the more likely they are to work together towards shared goals. This research aims to test whether interventions that are meant to enhance group cohesion in a classroom setting impact perceived and actual group and academic performance. At the beginning of the semester, two sections of Research Methods in Behavioral Science received a pretest survey to determine their baseline cohesion. Throughout the semester, students in the experimental class participated in three team-building interventions that involved answering three personal reflection writing prompts to fill out at home and bring to class. This technique is known as Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (PDMS). On the intervention days, each group met and had a discussion in which they shared their personal answers with the group. The control group only received surveys throughout the semester that measured their cohesion. After the groups complete their projects at the end of the semester, each participant will fill out a posttest survey rating perceptions of cohesion within their group; in addition, we will collect students’ final grades to determine if the interventions had any significant effect on their performance. We expect that groups who participate in the interventions will have a greater perceived sense of cohesion with their team members, which will ultimately improve their academic performance

Multiyear monitoring (2007-2013) of flat-tailed horned lizards (Phrynosoma mcallii)

Monitoring programs for species of conservation concern are notoriously flawed. Notably, many monitoring programs do not establish trigger points or a level of decline in population size that will result in management action. Here we report on the monitoring program for the Flat-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii) that has been established across its range throughout the United States by the Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Interagency Coordinating Committee (FTHL ICC). Impor- tantly, we examine whether a trigger point of 30% decline was detected in these populations. Between 2007 and 2013, we detected 955 P. mcallii on 2,714 occupancy surveys and captured 715 individuals on 1,861 demographic surveys. Occupancy surveys have demonstrated that the species occurs through- out the management areas and occupancy estimates range from 0.25–0.89. Demographic surveys have demonstrated that population trends over time are correlated across all management areas; however, they are probably driven by factors at smaller geographic scales. During the study no population decline \u3e 30% was detected after accounting for natural and stochastic fluctuations. Continued mon- itoring is called for to gain a greater understanding of what is driving the trends in populations both range-wide and at the scale of management areas

The Pattern of Polymorphism in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>

We resequenced 876 short fragments in a sample of 96 individuals of Arabidopsis thaliana that included stock center accessions as well as a hierarchical sample from natural populations. Although A. thaliana is a selfing weed, the pattern of polymorphism in general agrees with what is expected for a widely distributed, sexually reproducing species. Linkage disequilibrium decays rapidly, within 50 kb. Variation is shared worldwide, although population structure and isolation by distance are evident. The data fail to fit standard neutral models in several ways. There is a genome-wide excess of rare alleles, at least partially due to selection. There is too much variation between genomic regions in the level of polymorphism. The local level of polymorphism is negatively correlated with gene density and positively correlated with segmental duplications. Because the data do not fit theoretical null distributions, attempts to infer natural selection from polymorphism data will require genome-wide surveys of polymorphism in order to identify anomalous regions. Despite this, our data support the utility of A. thaliana as a model for evolutionary functional genomics

The Pattern of Polymorphism in Arabidopsis thaliana

We resequenced 876 short fragments in a sample of 96 individuals of Arabidopsis thaliana that included stock center accessions as well as a hierarchical sample from natural populations. Although A. thaliana is a selfing weed, the pattern of polymorphism in general agrees with what is expected for a widely distributed, sexually reproducing species. Linkage disequilibrium decays rapidly, within 50 kb. Variation is shared worldwide, although population structure and isolation by distance are evident. The data fail to fit standard neutral models in several ways. There is a genome-wide excess of rare alleles, at least partially due to selection. There is too much variation between genomic regions in the level of polymorphism. The local level of polymorphism is negatively correlated with gene density and positively correlated with segmental duplications. Because the data do not fit theoretical null distributions, attempts to infer natural selection from polymorphism data will require genome-wide surveys of polymorphism in order to identify anomalous regions. Despite this, our data support the utility of A. thaliana as a model for evolutionary functional genomics

iSAW: Integrating Structure, Actors, and Water to Study Socio-Hydro-Ecological Systems

Urbanization, climate, and ecosystem change represent major challenges for managing water resources. Although water systems are complex, a need exists for a generalized representation of these systems to identify important components and linkages to guide scientific inquiry and aid water management. We developed an integrated Structure-Actor-Water framework (iSAW) to facilitate the understanding of and transitions to sustainable water systems. Our goal was to produce an interdisciplinary framework for water resources research that could address management challenges across scales (e.g., plot to region) and domains (e.g., water supply and quality, transitioning, and urban landscapes). The framework was designed to be generalizable across all human–environment systems, yet with sufficient detail and flexibility to be customized to specific cases. iSAW includes three major components: structure (natural, built, and social), actors (individual and organizational), and water (quality and quantity). Key linkages among these components include: (1) ecological/hydrologic processes, (2) ecosystem/geomorphic feedbacks, (3) planning, design, and policy, (4) perceptions, information, and experience, (5) resource access and risk, and (6) operational water use and management. We illustrate the flexibility and utility of the iSAW framework by applying it to two research and management problems: understanding urban water supply and demand in a changing climate and expanding use of green storm water infrastructure in a semi-arid environment. The applications demonstrate that a generalized conceptual model can identify important components and linkages in complex and diverse water systems and facilitate communication about those systems among researchers from diverse disciplines