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Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V03n2, Spring 2007, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Election Information

--Financial Statement

--IJAS Represented at American Junior Academy of Science

--Expedition Iowa Update

--Gifts Received 2006

--Schutte Receives National Biology Teaching Award

Unlv Magazine, Grace Russell, Gian Galassi, Shane Bevell, Karyn S. Hollingsworth, Jennifer Lawson, Lori Bachand, Cate Weeks, Erin O'Donnell, Peter Starkweather

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Social Network Structures In Open Source Software Development Teams, Y. Long, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Drawing on social network theories and previous studies, this research examines the dynamics of social network structures in open source software (OSS) teams. Three projects were selected from SourceForge.net in terms of their similarities as well as their differences. Monthly data were extracted from the bug tracking systems in order to achieve a longitudinal view of the interaction pattern of each project. Social network analysis was used to generate the indices of social structure. The finding suggests that the interaction pattern of OSS projects evolves from a single hub at the beginning to a corel periphery model as the projects …

An Open Approach To Contextualising Heterogeneous Cultural Heritage Datasets, John Mcauley, James Carswell

Conference papers

This paper describes a semantic museum application, which aims to present a holistic impression of the Etruscan civilisation. Through the use of a distributed computing paradigm and the CIDOC CRM ontology, the system presents a unified view of a fragmented heritage, while supporting browse and search at a semantic level. Within the cultural heritage world, however, much value is placed on ‘context’, both in describing and presenting heritage artefacts. From this perspective, a platform built upon the distributed search paradigm, although useful in many respects, does not convey how an artefact sits within a broader setting. Narrative concepts are proposed …

37th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Plan Of Management For The Kalbarri Blue Holes Fish Habitat Protection Area, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

The FHPA has been declared to protect and conserve an example of a near-shore reef community. In order to achieve this aim, and encourage the appreciation and conservation of fish, a number of management strategies have been identified which restrict recreational and commercial fishing. The FHPA is approximately 420 metres long and approximately 130 metres wide at the southern end and 140 metres wide at the northern end.

The Evolution Of Zinjanthropus Boisei, Paul J. Constantino, Bernard A. Wood

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Many people assume that OH 5, the type specimen of Paranthropus boisei, collected in 1959, was the first evidence of that taxon to be found, but OH 3, recovered in 1955, predated the discovery of OH 5 by four years. Thus, Paranthropus boisei recently celebrated the equivalent of its fiftieth birthday. This review marks that milestone by examining the way our understanding of this taxon has changed during its fifty, or so, year history.

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, David Ashley, Lori Bachand, Grace Russell, Mamie Peers

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Dental Wash: A Problematic Method For Extracting Microfossils From Teeth (Galley Proofs), Célia H. C. Boyadjian, Sabine Eggers, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A variety of microfossils, originating from plant foods, become trapped in the dental calculus matrix. Processing of dental calculus allows extraction of these microfossils. The resulting data can be used to reconstruct diet at the individual and population levels as the identification of microfossils like starch grains and phytoliths to the generic level, and sometimes to the species level, is possible. However, in some archaeological sites, dental calculus deposits do not preserve well enough to be processed. To prevent the loss of information in such cases, we present a technique, called ‘‘dental wash’’. It permits extracting microfossils from cryptic dental …

Comment On Reinterpreting The Pollen Data From Dos Cabezas, Karl J. Reinhard, Vaughn M. Bryant, Sheila Dorsey Vinton

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The published pollen analysis of the Dos Cabezas giants, Geyer et al. ([2003]), lists a variety of purported dietary pollen types. The paper also hypothesizes that the giants were poisoned with plant toxins. We have severe reservations about the pollen evidence of diet and poisoning. We suggest that the analysts made several errors in their interpretation. Firstly, some of the discovered pollen types are not prehistoric endemics to the Dos Cabezas region of coastal Peru. These include the pollen of fava beans (cultivated in the Old World), and specified species of agave and sage. We believe that some or all …

Evolution Of The Southern Kenya Rift From Miocene To Present With A Focus On The Magadi Area, Alexandria L. Guth

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Kenya (a.k.a., Gregory) Rift is a geologically active area located within the eastern branch of the larger East African Rift System (EARS). The study area is located in the southern Kenya Rift between 1° South and the Kenya-Tanzania border (covering approximately 1.5 square degrees, semi-centered on Lake Magadi) and is predominantly filled with extrusive igneous rocks (mostly basalts, phonolites and trachytes) of Miocene age or younger. Sediments are thin, less than 1.5Ma, and are confined to small grabens. The EARS can serve both as an analogue for ancient continental rifting and as a modern laboratory to observe the geologic …

Purification By Fire : 2 Peter 3 And The Stoic Cosmos, Peter G. Speiser

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

An Inventory Of The Vascular Flora Of Hamilton County, Iowa (2001-2004), Jimmie D. Thompson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A botanical survey of the vascular flora of Hamilton County, Iowa was conducted from 2001 to 2004. During this survey 973 taxa (761 native) were encountered. A search of the literature and a survey of Iowa State University's Ada Hayden Herbarium for additional documented specimens added 28 taxa to the flora. This total of 1001 taxa places Hamilton County fourth in vascular plant richness among inventories conducted in Iowa since 1950. A checklist including common names of most taxa, habitat and abundance data for all taxa encountered during the current survey is presented. Information on earlier collections includes source and …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Narrow Sense Heritability And Additive Genetic Correlations In Alfalfa Subsp. Falcata, Heathcliffe Riday, E. Charles Brummer

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The complex genetics of autotetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) make additive genetic variance component estimation difficult. Halfsib family variances often are used to estimate additive genetic variances and, by extension, narrow sense heritabilities and additive genetic correlations. These estimates contain a portion of the dominance variance. Using such calculations, in conjunction with parent-offspring covariance estimates, the dominance component can be separated from the additive genetic component. This is rarely done. This study reports average estimates across 30 populations, of both additive and dominance variance component estimates based on between halfsib family variance and parent-offspring covariance for biomass yield, plant height, …

Fall And Winter Food Habits Of Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) In Iowa, Kelcey J. Brockmeyer, William R. Clark

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a widely distributed native felid of North America but nearly disappeared from Iowa due to habitat loss and unregulated harvest that occurred during the century after European settlement. Bobcats are repopulating the state and are now relatively common in southern Iowa. This study was part of a research project to understand the ecology of the species in Iowa's landscape so that conservation plans could be established. We determined food habits by the examination of stomach contents from 100 bobcat carcasses that were accidentally killed in traps, killed by automobiles, or radio-marked individuals found dead during …

Maya Eclipses: Modern Data, The Triple Tritos And The Double Tzolkin, William Earl Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Eclipse Table, on pages 51-58, of the Dresden Codex has long fascinated Maya scholars. Researchers use the mean-value method of 173.3 days to determine nodal passage that is the place where eclipses can occur. These studies rely on Oppolzer's Eclipse Canon and Schram's Moon Phase Tables to verify eclipse occurrences. The newer canons of Jean Meeus and Bao-Lin Liu use decimal accuracy. What would be the effect of modern astronomical data on the previous studies and the Maya Eclipse Table? The study utilizes a general view of eclipses that includes eclipses not visible to the Maya. Lunar eclipses are …

Strokes Of Existence: The Connection Of All Things, Mari Gorman

Graduate Student Publications and Research

Acted or real—and all life is real whether one is acting or not—the common denominator and consistent, ubiquitous reality of life and all behavior is that it manifests in the form of relationships on all scales. But what is a relationship? Until now, the answer to this question has not been sufficiently known. As a result of many years of empirical research that began with the aim of discovering what is going on in a gifted actor when s/he is playing a character that can be observed and experienced as a living, intuitive being, and based on the knowledge that …

Laboratory Abrasion Of Crinoid Columnals And The Provenance Of The Chariton Conglomerate, South-Central Iowa, Justin C. Kraber, Steven H. Emerman, Matt R. Bennett, Lyndon R. Hawkins, Jewell E. Moore, Rebekah Ellenwood, Kristine L. Robson, Adam Finken

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The Chariton Conglomerate is a quartz limestone conglomerate of Pennsylvanian age found in six exposures in southern Iowa and three exposures in northern Missouri. Distinctive features of the exposures in Iowa include quartz granules and rounded crinoid columnals. The objective of this study was to determine whether the quartz clasts could have originated in the crystalline rocks of Minnesota or Wisconsin. The average paleocurrent direction measured in interbedded sandstones was 178° (S.D. = 35 °). The average roundness of 75 crinoid columnals extracted from four exposures in Iowa was 30% (S.D. = 14%), defined as

roundness(%) = (D-d)/D x 100, …

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V03n4, Winter 2007, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Focus on an Institutional Member

--120th Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science

--GLOBE Activities for You and YOUR Students

--Committee on Committees and Elections Report to the Iowa Academy of Science Membership

--Financial Statement

--New Member Referral Program Report

A New Member Of The Family? The Continuum Of Being, Artificial Intelligence, And The Image Of God, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

Are the scientific and religious definitions of life irreconcilable or do they overlap in significant areas? What is life? Religion seems to imply that there is a qualitative distinction between human beings and the rest of creation; however, there is a strong tradition in Christianity and in Eastern thought that suggests that the natural world also has a relationship with God. Human dominion over other parts of creation exists, but does not obviate this connection, nor give humans a circle unto themselves. The concept of humans being created in the image of God can be used to explain why we …

“Once More Into The Breech…”, Dewey I. Dykstra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Review Of Skin: A Natural History By Nina G. Jablonski, Patrick Huff

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

In recent years, there seems to have been a wave of new books focused on mundane items of daily life. A list of the subjects of these books reads like a catalogue of commodities: coal, salt, cod, tobacco, coffee, cotton, not to mention various works dealing with commodities of the shadow economy such as cocaine, cannabis and heroin. These books seem to comprise a growing genre of popular non-fiction that might be called commodity biographies wherein the major narrative focus is on explicating the histories and everyday uses and abuses of perennially popular and ubiquitous items. Nina G. Jablonski’s Skin …

Review Of The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, And Ancient Cities By James D. Nations, David Greenwalt

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

At the center of the historic and contemporary Maya homeland in Central America lies the largest tropical rain forest north of the Amazon, a hotspot of biodiversity and an archaeological treasure trove. Split between Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, management and conservation of cultural and ecological resources in the Maya Tropical Forest are at a critical juncture. While scientists and conservationists seek to preserve the area for future generations, regional economic and population pressures drive people further into the forest. The establishment of several parks, protected areas, and reserves has led to significant progress toward the preservation of the area, but …

Review Of After Collapse: The Regeneration Of Complex Societies By Glenn M. Schwartz And John J. Nichols, Kelly Orr

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

Studies of sociopolitical change in early complex societies tend to focus on the emergence, florescence, and collapse of state-level polities with minimal attention to post-collapse processes such as dissolution, reorganization, and regeneration. Most archaeologists recognize the inherent instability and cyclical nature of early complex societies, particularly since the publication of The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations edited by Yoffee and Cowgill (1988) and Collapse of Complex Societies by Tainter (1988). After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies follows up these publications by extending the study of sociopolitical change to include post-collapse processes. Schwartz and Nichols organize the volume into …

A Message From The Editors, The Editors

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

During the last fifty years, there have been rising concerns about human impacts on the environment: biodiversity loss, over-exploitation of species, habitat degradation, global warming, pollution, poverty, and the increasing gap in global development. The outcomes of these environmental problems and impacts on the human condition are uncertain. Previously, theoretical literature integrating environment and development issues had been scarce. However, in recent decades, new approaches in human dimensions research have emerged which seek to understand the major causes of change in the environment, and how these causes vary over time, across space, and between social groups and economic sectors. Environmental …

Assessment Of Non-Metric Skull Characters And Age Determination In The Asiatic Wild Ass Equus Hemionus: A Methodological Approach, Hermann Ansorge, Annegret Stubbe, Nyamsuren Batsaikhan, Ravčigijn Samjaa, Michael Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The report presents the first information on the use of non-metric skull characters and age determination by tooth section for Asiatic wild asses. It was initiated by a collection of more than 400 skulls of the Asiatic wild ass from the Bordzongijn-Gobi 2002-2004. The methodological overview gives a first research prospect in Asiatic Wild Ass concerning the use of non-metric skull characters as a morphological tool for assessing genetic variability, determining epigenetic divergences and evaluating fluctuating asymmetry. The time course of tooth eruption and replacement in the Asiatic wild ass is described with regard to its use for age determination. …

Merging Qualitative And Quantitative Data In Mixed Methods Research: How To And Why Not, David L. Driscoll, Afua Appiah-Yeboah, Philip Salib, Douglas J. Rupert

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

This study assesses the utility of mixed methods designs that integrate qualitative and quantitative data through a transformative process. Two strategies for collecting qualitative and quantitative datasets are described, and processes by which they can be merged are presented in detail. Some of the benefits of mixed methods designs are summarized and the shortcomings and challenges inherent in quantitizing qualitative data in mixed methods research are delineated.

Garifuna Land Rights And Ecotourism As Economic Development In Honduras’ Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area, Keri Vacanti Brondo, Laura Woods

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

Ecotourism has been embraced by a number of developing nations hoping to improve their economies in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible. The Afroindigenous Garifuna population located in the Cayos Cochinos, a Marine Protected Area (MPA), is undergoing a livelihood transition from fishing to ecotourism. This paper draws on ethnographic research conducted with Operation Wallacea (Opwall), a private scientific research expedition organization, to begin to explore the potential barriers to the promotion of ecotourism as an alternative livelihood strategy. The historical struggle for territorial control in the region is presented as having created distrust between the Garifuna communities …

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.