Facts and Fabrications about Ebola: A Twitter Based Study

Microblogging websites like Twitter have been shown to be immensely useful for spreading information on a global scale within seconds. The detrimental effect, however, of such platforms is that misinformation and rumors are also as likely to spread on the network as credible, verified information. From a public health standpoint, the spread of misinformation creates unnecessary panic for the public. We recently witnessed several such scenarios during the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 [14, 1]. In order to effectively counter the medical misinformation in a timely manner, our goal here is to study the nature of such misinformation and rumors in the United States during fall 2014 when a handful of Ebola cases were confirmed in North America. It is a well known convention on Twitter to use hashtags to give context to a Twitter message (a tweet). In this study, we collected approximately 47M tweets from the Twitter streaming API related to Ebola. Based on hashtags, we propose a method to classify the tweets into two sets: credible and speculative. We analyze these two sets and study how they differ in terms of a number of features extracted from the Twitter API. In conclusion, we infer several interesting differences between the two sets. We outline further potential directions to using this material for monitoring and separating speculative tweets from credible ones, to enable improved public health information.Comment: Appears in SIGKDD BigCHat Workshop 201

Biomass estimations of invasives Yaupon, Chinese Privet and Chinese Tallow in east Texas Hardwood and Pine Ecosystems

Forest understory fuels can have profound effects on fire behavior and crown fire initiation. Accurate fire behavior prediction in understory fuels is an essential component for estimating fire intensity and severity during wildfire and prescribed fire events. This study focused on estimating temporal and seasonal changes in fuel loading parameters associated with the expansion of invasive yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) in East Texas pine and hardwood ecosystems. Fuel loading data of invasive species infested sites indicated significant increases in understory biomass when compared to 1988 estimates, suggesting a clear need to revise regional fuel models. Multiple and simple regression biomass prediction equations were developed for all three-invasive species to facilitate fuel load estimates. These improved prediction equations will enhance fire management efforts as well as invasive species mitigation efforts in east Texas

The Impact of a Heroism-Themed Outreach with Title I Summer Program Students

Is it possible to teach students about heroism? This presentation will examine how a five-session intervention influenced at-risk students’ understanding of a hero. Outcomes from the study may be of interest to educators, administrators, and counselors who encourage students to find positive role models in the community

Watershed Stewardship Education Program--A Multidisciplinary Extension Education Program for Oregon\u27s Watershed Councils

The Watershed Stewardship Education Program (WSEP) is an innovative, multi-disciplinary program in the Oregon State University Extension Service. Through educational materials and programs, WSEP helps watershed councils, landowners, and others work effectively together to understand multiple components of their watersheds and apply this knowledge to assessments, project development, and water quality and habitat monitoring. This article documents the need for and the development of this innovative educational program and discusses implications for Extension, including the necessity of multi-disciplinary programming and working with non-traditional audiences

An Encouragement of Television News History Research: A Roundtable Discussion.

The article focuses on the speech by four scholars including Mary E. Beadle, Madeleine Liseblad and Mike Conway, delivered at the 2016 American Journalism Historians Association annual conference held in Saint Petersburg, Florida, on television news history research. Beadle discusses the lack of material in local television history research. Liseblad discusses the challenges and opportunities of television history research in Europe while Conway discusses access to historic broadcasts

Initial investigation of seasonal flammability of three invasive East Texas forest understory fuels using thermogravimetric analysis

East Texas forest understory fuels have become increasingly infested with invasive species which have contributed to greater hazardous fuel loads when combined with decades of fire exclusion and passive management. This study focused on estimating seasonal changes in flammability parameters of invasive yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) using thermogravimetric analysis. Foliage and stem samples were collected in the dormant (February) and growing (August) seasons. Differential thermogravimetric (DTG) and proximate analyses were used to estimate species specific flammability parameters related to relative spontaneous ignition temperature (RSIT), gas-phase maximum mass loss rate (GP-MMLR), and combustion duration (GP-CD). Seasonality played a significant role among species RSIT (p\u3c0.0001) and GP-CD (p\u3c0.03). Proximate analysis VM% was relatively consistent with flammability indices, while the combination of VM% and ash% helped explain some inconsistencies. Yaupon exhibited the greatest foliage ignitability (\u3eRSIT) and combustibility (\u3eGP-MMLR) followed by Chinese privet and tallow. Consequently, yaupon poses a significant year round wildfire and fire management risk. Chinese privets’ greater dormant season ignitability may improve prescribed fire control efforts in mid-winter, but may also pose a significant wildfire risk during drought and windy conditions. Chinese tallow stems’ greater growing season flammability may enhance integrated control measures using prescribed fire in late summer and early fall. In summary, these data further local knowledge related to seasonal and relative plant flammability and may be useful as additional inputs into custom fuel models, as well as assigning flammability hazard ratings for ornamental vegetation within the wildland-urban interface