The role of the social worker in the rehabilitation of patients from mental hospitals who have been treated with chlorpromazine.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

The role of the social worker in the rehabilitation of patients from mental hospitals who have been treated with chlorpromazine.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Gradients of delay of reinforcement and discriminative stimuli during the delay interval.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThis experiment was designed to investigate the relationship of delay interval behavior, food panel pressing, on the performance of an antecedent response, lever pressing. Albino rats were trained in a modified Skinner box with a hinged food cup panel and a removable lever. The delay of reinforcement gradient for lever pressing at 4, 10, 30, and 50 seconds delay was determined under two different delay conditions. In Condition 1, the stimulus conditions, sDl (light on), remained constant throughout the delay interval. Under Condition 11, the stimulus conditions sDl remained constant up to the end of the presented delay interval, and a discrete auditory stimulus, sD2 , signalled the end of this interval. Under both conditions 1 and 11, the presentation of the terminal primary reinforcement was contingent on a panel press response. The animals of both groups were initially trained on a discrimination in which panel responses were reinforced at the end of the delay interval in the presence of sDl, Condition 1, or sD and the stimulus trace of sD2 (Condition 11). Panel responses were never reinforced in the absence of these stimuli, a condition which prevailed on an average of 3 minutes (VI3) between trials. Following this training, the onset of the delay interval sD1 was made contingent on the occurrence of a lever press response. Several predictions were made employing primarily the concepts of the relationship of the discriminative sD and secondary reinforcing (sR) properties of a stimulus, and also the relationship of panel pressing behavior during the delay interval and lever pressing. [TRUNCATED

Best practices in prediction for decision-making : lessons from the atmospheric and earth sciences

Predictions that result from scientific research hold great appeal for decision-makers who are grappling with complex and controversial environmental issues, by promising to enhance their ability to determine a need for and outcomes of alternative decisions. A problem exists in that decision-makers and scientists in the public and private sectors solicit, produce, and use such predictions with little understanding of their accuracy or utility, and often without systematic evaluation or mechanisms of accountability. In order to contribute to a more effective role for ecological science in support of decision-making, this paper discusses three ``best practices'' for quantitative ecosystem modeling and prediction gleaned from research on modeling, prediction, and decision-making in the atmospheric and earth sciences. The lessons are distilled from a series of case studies and placed into the specific context of examples from ecological science

Adjustment and Sensitivity Analyses of a Beta Global Rangeland Model

G-Range is a global model that simulates generalized changes in rangelands through time, created with support from the International Livestock Research Institute. Spatial data and a set of parameters that control plant growth and other ecological attributes in landscape units combine with computer code to represent ecological process such as soil nutrient and water dynamics, vegetation growth, fire, and wild and domestic animal offtake. The model is spatial, with areas of the world divided into square cells

HB 2320, Relating to Anguilla - Statement for House Committee on Agriculture Public Hearing - January 31, 1990

150A-

Controls on soil carbon sequestration and dynamics: lessons from land-use change

Includes bibliographical references (pages 82-83).Soil carbon (C) dynamics and sequestration are controlled by interactions of chemical, physical and biological factors. These factors include biomass quantity and quality, physical environment and the biota. Management can alter these factors in ways that alter C dynamics. We have focused on a range of managed sites with documented land use change from agriculture or grassland to forest. Our results suggest that interactions of soil type, plant and environment impact soil C sequestration. Above and below ground C storage varied widely across sites. Results were related to plant type and calcium on sandy soils in our Northern sites. Predictors of sequestration were more difficult to detect over the temperature range of 12.4°C in the present study. Accrual of litter under pines in the moist Mississippi site limited C storage in a similar manner to our dry Nebraska site. Pre-planting heterogeneity of agricultural fields such as found in Illinois influences C contents. Manipulation of controls on C sequestration such as species planted or amelioration of soil quality before planting within managed sites could increase soil C to provide gains in terrestrial C storage. Cost effective management would also improve soil C pools positively affecting soil fertility and site productivity.Publisher version: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380508