Issues Arising on the Interface of MPAs and Fisheries Management

One of 6 background papers presented at The Expert Workshop on Marine Protected Areas and Fisheries Management: Review of Issues and Considerations held in Rome from June 12-14, 2006. The workshop was a response to the FAO Committee on Fisheries' call for technical guidelines for marine protected areas (MPAs) to assist Members to establish representative networks of MPAs by 2012, as agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. This paper focuses on three key themes. First, it highlights the commonalities between discussions of marine protected areas and of fisheries management, with emphasis on their mutual use of spatial measures and ecosystem approaches. Second, the paper draws on the other Background Papers prepared for the Workshop, as well as a range of additional literature, to produce a substantial compilation of issues and considerations relating to the development and implementation of MPAs, within a fisheries management context. The third key theme of the paper is a focus on the 'preliminary steps' of decision-making, in which scoping of needs, gaps and feasibility takes place from the dual perspectives of MPAs and fisheries management. A relative paucity of information and analysis on this topic is noted, along with a consequent need for additional work on the subject. An initial effort is undertaken to explore the key decision-making elements in this 'preliminary stage'

Plant succession on gopher mounds in Western Cascade meadows: consequences for species diversity and heterogeneity

Pocket gophers have the potential to alter the dynamics of grasslands by creating mounds that bury existing vegetation and locally reset succession. Gopher mounds may provide safe sites for less competitive species, potentially increasing both species diversity and vegetation heterogeneity (spatial variation in species composition). We compared species composition, diversity and heterogeneity among gopher mounds of different ages in three montane meadows in the Cascade Range of Oregon. Cover of graminoids and forbs increased with mound age, as did species richness. Contrary to many studies, we found no evidence that mounds provided safe sites for early successional species, despite their abundance in the soil seed bank, or that diversity peaked on intermediate-aged mounds. However, cover of forbs relative to that of graminoids was greater on mounds than in the adjacent meadow. Variation in species composition was also greater within and among mounds than in adjacent patches of undisturbed vegetation, suggesting that these small-scale disturbances increase heterogeneity within meadows

Descriptive Inquiry at Bank Street: Building Intellectual Community while Responding to Accreditation

Over the 2016-17 academic year, Bank Street Graduate School faculty and staff participated in a school-wide Descriptive Inquiry process to examine their programs and pedagogy. As part of the process, faculty met regularly to share their practices and to strengthen their well-established programs in teacher and leader preparation, museum education, and child life. Dean Cecelia Traugh initiated this process, drawing on her extensive experience implementing Descriptive Inquiry in higher education settings, in order to help faculty reflect on their practice, improve program quality, and build organizational coherence.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/faculty-staff/1014/thumbnail.jp

Structures & Supports: Building a Throughline Approach to District Partnerships

Bank Street College is committed to collaborative, systematic district reform that supports every layer of the school system so that districts are able to thoughtfully plan and implement large-scale instructional improvement initiatives to achieve maximum impact on student learning. The Bank Street Education Center “Education Center,” has developed a “Throughline” approach to district reform, designed to support districts across the system to foster conditions that enable schools to act as units of change and embed strong instructional practices through teacher leaders and teams.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/faculty-staff/1013/thumbnail.jp

The Restaurant Study

Bank Street faculty and staff regularly work in partnership with public schools to support teachers and leaders sustain and strengthen their progressive educational practice. At Midtown West, a public elementary school founded in 1992 as a collaboration between parents in New York City’s District 2 and Bank Street faculty, Peggy McNamara has worked as a coach and thought partner with teachers across every grade. Over the course of developing and teaching one signature Midtown West curriculum unit called The Restaurant, we followed Peggy and the teachers as they made teaching decisions to engage and educate students through a study of food and community.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/faculty-staff/1015/thumbnail.jp

First Complete Genome Sequence of Corynebacterium riegelii.

Here, we report the first complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium riegelii strain PUDD_83A45, isolated from the urine of a patient with urinary tract infection. The genome measured 2.56 Mb and contained no plasmid

First Draft Genome Sequences of Neisseria sp. Strain 83E34 and Neisseria sp. Strain 74A18, Previously Identified as CDC Eugonic Fermenter 4b Species.

We report the first draft genome sequences of two isolates previously classified as CDC EF-4b species, Neisseria sp. 83E34 and Neisseria sp. 74A18. Both strains were isolated from patients with animal bites and likely constitute novel genomospecies with average nucleotide identities of <95% to other sequenced strains

The variation in pressures exerted by commercially available compression garments

Commercially available compression garments (CGs) demonstrate the enhanced recovery from exercise in some, but not all studies. It is possible that in some cases the degree of compression pressure (ComP) exerted is not sufficient to produce any physiological benefit. The aim of this investigation was to identify the levels of ComP exerted by commercially available CGs. This study was composed of two parts. In part A 50 healthy, physically active individuals (n=26 male, n=24 female) were fitted with CGs according to manufacturer’s guidelines. ComP was measured in participants standing in the anatomical position with a pressure measurement device inserted between the skin and the garment. Data were compared to ‘ideal’ pressure values proposed in the literature. In part B ComP in three different brands of CG were compared in a population of 29 men who all wore a medium sized garment. A one way ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference (P0.05) between observed and ideal pressures in the calf of the male population. No significant differences in pressure (P>0.05) were observed between CG brands at the quadriceps or calf. In conclusion a large number of individuals may not be experiencing an adequate ComP from CG, and this is true for all 3 of the major brands of CGs tested in this investigation

The Aesthetics of Infrastructure:: Reflections on the Scale Models of the TVA

Recognizing the importance of aesthetics in the contemporary discussion on infrastructure design, this paper looks to the work of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a historical case study that successfully merged a strong aesthetic agenda within an infrastructure project. The structures of the TVA have been extensively published in architectural journals and popular magazines for their innovation in dam design, modern appearance and ability to incorporate humanist values within a large-scale infrastructure project. Often discussed through the grand vision of the Chief Architect, Roland A. Wank, less attention has been focused on the specific project methods utilized in the collaboration of the architects and engineers of the TVA. With research collected from the National Archive at Atlanta, this paper explores the role that scale models play in the design process of the TVA during the design and construction of Norris Dam. For architects, the scale model is an important tool for the testing and communicating a project's design intentions. However as is common in the world of architecture, the model is more than a utilitarian tool, often gaining the status of an aesthetic object that exists in its own right outside of the project for which it was intended to describe. While the production and reception of architecture models comes with its own extensive history and theorization, this paper looks specifically at the models that were built for a large-scale infrastructure as the site in which an aesthetic project that could be initiated by the architect is adopted within the working process of a large collaborative design team

EdPrepLab as a Learning Community

As part of EdPrepLab’s work to strengthen educator preparation in the United States, network members from across the country partnered to form inquiry groups—each comprised of a cross- or intra-institutional team—focused on collaboratively exploring a topic related to deeper learning and equity. This brief summarizes the proposals of each group and highlights the line(s) of inquiry, scope of work, and intended outcomes of each project.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/gse/1003/thumbnail.jp