Digital Commons Network^™

Blood Parasite Infection In Mice From Cloud Forest And Nearby Disturbed Habitats, December 2006, Jesse A. Blumenstock

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Conversion of habitat by humans is pervasive, increasing, and the root of serious environmental problems. This study was performed to find differences in blood parasite infections of host mice in neotropical cloud forest versus nearby disturbed habitat. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, mice were trapped and examined for blood parasite species richness and abundance in primary forest and disturbed areas near houses. Twenty-eight mice were captured: 15 from the forest and 13 from the disturbed habitats. Eighty-six percent of these mice were of the species Peromyscus nudipes. There was no significant difference of parasite species richness between mice from the forest …

Assessing Demand For Organic Produce In The Monteverde Area, December 2006, Jacki Walczak

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Small-scale, local and organic agriculture is beneficial to communities environmentally, socially, and economically. In this study, consumer preference for organic produce, in particular lettuce, oranges and plantains, was examined in the community of Monteverde and surrounding areas. Five local stores were surveyed, all of which were unique in their location, size, and clientele. There was a significant difference between the organic and non-organic lettuce that consumers purchased at equal prices (Sign Test, n = 9, p < 0.05) and with a ten percent increase on organic lettuce (Sign Test, n = 10, p < 0.05). The difference was not significant for either organic and non-organic oranges (Sign Test, n=2, p>0.05) or plantains (Sign Test, n = 2, p > 0.05) either equal prices, or with a ten percent increase on the organic oranges (Sign …

Discrimination Of Aposematic And Novel Prey By Mature Sceloporus Malachiticus, December 2006, Jeff Masterson

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Prey use a variety of defenses against predators in order to avoid predation and often use warning coloration known as aposematism to advertise unpalatability to predators. Predators have accordingly evolved defenses against possibly unpalatable prey by being selective, and avoiding aposematically colored prey items. Some predators are more selective, avoiding anything appearing novel (neophobia), thus lowering the risk of unprofitable foraging by restricting their diet to familiar items. Previous studies have shown that neonatal Sceloporus malachiticus will innately avoid aposematic prey. In this experiment I examined any potential changes in prey selection concerning aposematic or novel prey items in S. …

Funding Michigan K-12 Educational Adequacy Without Rewarding Inefficiency, James J. Walters

Dissertations

Resource equalization represents the historical and theoretical basis for American school finance and its ideals continue to dominate discussion and practice. During the last decade and a half, the national aspiration for equitable distribution of school finance resources has started a transformation into a derivative notion of adequacy. This equity policy derivative embraces the idea of sufficiency, which in turn implies a standard. The concept of educational adequacy has grown to mean the achievement of high absolute standards. Equity (equalization) theorists measure resource level on a relative basis; each student relative to all others. Adequacy adherents measure student achievement against …

University Reporter - Volume 11, Number 04 - December 2006

1996-2009, University Reporter

This issue of the University Reporter includes articles about the establishment of the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute, the use of geographic information systems to map businesses in Dorchester, a campus gerontologist's research into aging minorities and healthcare access, a reunion for Boston State College alumni, a College of Liberal Arts professor's role in monitoring elections in Nicaragua for the Carter Center, and other news from UMass Boston.

Integrative Motivation As A Predictor Of Success In The Intermediate Foreign Language Classroom, Todd A. Hernandez

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

This study investigates the ability of three variables—integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, and the need to fulfill a university foreign language requirement—to predict: (1) scores on a simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI) and (2) the desire to enroll in a foreign language after fulfilling the language requirement. Analysis of data from a questionnaire and a SOPI administered to 130 students completing their fourth‐semester Spanish course identified integrative motivation as a significant predictor of both SOPI scores and students' desire to continue studying Spanish beyond the four‐semester foreign language requirement. A negative relationship was also found between the need to fulfill the …

Medicinal Plant Use And Knowledge For Monteverde Residents Based On Age And Education, December 2006, Cassandra Gurgiolo

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Approximately 80% of the world population relies on medicinal plants from the forest, home gardens, or market as a primary form of healthcare (Alcorn 1995). However, increased development and deforestation in recent years may be compromising the practice of natural medicine among the inhabitants of many developing countries. Interviews with 33 residents of Monteverde, Cost Rica examine both the current level of knowledge concerning natural medicine and its practice based upon age and educational level. Statistically significant positive linear relationships were found between both utilization and knowledge of medicinal plants and age. Knowledge and utilization of medicinal plants decreased weakly …

Forest Proximity, Avian Diversity And Insect Herbivory In Shade Grown Coffee, December 2006, Frannie Peterson

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Conversion of forest to agricultural plots, plantations, and pastureland is one of the top two reasons for the unprecedented rate of tropical forest destruction. Coffee, in terms of area, is the most important crop in Costa Rica and continues to threaten remaining forest (Lean 1990). This study examined how proximity of coffee plantations to forest stands affects avian diversity, and the role of avian insectivores on coffee herbivory. Avian diversity was studied at two coffee plantations, one near and one far from the forest. Avian diversity was significantly higher in the near-forest coffee plantation than in the far forest. However, …

Hymenoptera Diversity And Abundance In Fragmented And Continuous Forest In San Luis, Costa Rica, December 2006, Katie Macdiarmid

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Fragmentation of forest habitats can have a negative impact on the diversity of many species. When fragmentation impacts pollination, it can result in major changes to the composition of forest plant communities as well as a reduction in fruit production for nearby agriculture. I studied Hymenoptera diversity in a four hectare fragment and a continuous forest using Euglossine traps as well as a mixture of honey and water to attract Hymenoptera species. Hymenoptera diversity did not differ significantly between the two habitats but abundance of Hymenoptera, Euglossine, and Apidae were all significantly greater in the continuous forest site. This indicates …

Native Garden Design For The Monteverde Biological Station, December 2006, Katie Korus

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

This is a plan for a native garden at the Monteverde Biological Station designed in November of 2006. The garden has been designed to be used as a learning tool for the students at the Station and once developed will be aesthetically pleasing and attract native pollinators. The design includes sections of (1) light gap specialist plants (2) epiphyte families (3) plants that are examples of evolutionary mimicry to attract pollinators (4) common butterfly or hummingbird pollinated plants and (5) common understory plants. Plants for the garden were obtained from the Bajo de Tigre native plant nursery in Monteverde. Thus …

Patch Fidelity Behavior In Coexisting Damselflies: Hetaerina Cruentata (Odonata: Calopterygidae) And Argia Extranea (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), December 2006, Anna C. Peterson

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Patch fidelity in coexisting territorial damselfly species, Hetaerina cruentata and Argia extranea was studied to determine if these species displayed differing territorial behavior, which may be one mechanism for niche differentiation of these species. Data such as light amount and proximity to water of the patch sites were gathered to provide information about territorial preferences of these two species. No significant relationships between patch fidelity and patch characteristics were found. A significant difference was seen between the patch fidelity of the two species, implicating territory as a possible niche differentiating mechanism. Possible explanations for the variation in patch fidelity behavior …

The Price We Pay: Ecotourism’S Contribution To Conservation In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2006, Corrie Haley

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Recent increase in travel has made tourism one of the highest revenue producing industries worldwide (Inman Draft). Ecotourism has grown in Costa Rica, due to the 5% of global biodiversity and high percentage of protected habitat that the country possesses (Inman Draft). Ecotourism is defined as contributing to the local communities as well as conservation of the natural habitats it is based. I conducted numerous surveys were conducted in Monteverde, Costa Rica, which is an area with ecotourism companies, hotels and restaurants. It was found that the reserves, ecotourism companies and organizations are contributing about 9.68% of their annual revenue …

The Effect Of Wing Color On Heliconius Melpomene Mating Behavior And Its Implications On The Evolution Of Mimicry, December 2006, Ellen Thompson

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Wing color is important to butterflies both for social signals and protection from predators. Butterflies gain protection from predators by having aposematically colored wings that warn the predator that the butterfly is distasteful. Some butterflies are also part of Mullerian mimicry complexes in which two distasteful species converge on the same color pattern to enhance their aposematic protection. Heliconius erato and Heliconius melpomene are Mullerian mimics that exhibit a wide variety of wing patterns throughout Central and South America. Their wing patterns have greatly diverged within each species, but between the species they are almost perfect mimics in each area. …

Determining Avian Vulnerability To Ectoparasites Using Morphological And Natural History Traits, December 2006, Lili K. Prahl

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Avian parasitism is the cause of many negative effects on host organisms including decreased fitness through reproductive failure and reduced health. There is increasing research being done to assess the characteristics of bird host morphology and natural history that influence the presence and abundance of ectoparasites on these hosts. This study attempts to create an index of sensitivity that can be used for different bird species in order to determine their expected vulnerability to ectoparasites. This index uses five parameters: bird weight and bill length, both determined by field work, as well as bird behavior, habitat, and population density. This …

Determination Of The Optimal Pollinator Of Stachytarpheta Jamaicensis (Verbenaceae) Based On Nectar Production Throughout The Day, December 2006, Stephanie Siemek

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis has been found to have various visitors but its actual pollinator is unknown. I Collected nectar from 22 individual plants during various times of the day and I determined that S. jamaicensis produces most nectar during 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. Observation of the visitors were recorded for each hour and ten flowers were collected for each potential pollinator after they were observed obtaining nectar from the flowers. Nectar production was found to be significantly abundant early morning and late afternoon, this suggests that S. jamaicensis produces nectar for hummingbirds and moths since this is when they are …

Westview: Vol. 25, Iss. 2 (Fall/Winter 2006)

Westview

No abstract provided.

Branch-And-Cut-And-Price Methods For Logistics Problems With Limited Risk, Hee-Su Hwang

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

There exist many uncertainties in a logistics system, such as unknown demand, unsteady fuel cost, machine breakdowns, and accidents to name a few. Logistics management is difficult because logistics managers must solve a global optimization problem, which includes eliminating as much uncertainty as possible, finding effective methods of managing uncertainty, and operating the entire logistics system effectively. To cope with uncertainty, many efforts have been made for vehicle routing problems. On the contrary, traditional ship-scheduling models ignore uncertainty, even in highly volatile markets. We present a set-packing model that limits risk using a quadratic variance constraint. After generating first-order linear …

Les For Wing Tip Vortex Around An Airfoil, Jiangang Cai

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

The wing tip vortex is very important because of its effects on the noise generation, blade/vortex interactions on helicopter blades, propeller cavitations on ships, and other fields. The objective of this work is to use the numerical simulation with high order accuracy and high resolution to investigate the formation and the near field evolution of a wing tip vortex at high Reynolds number. The computational domain includes a rectangular half-wing with a NACA 0012 airfoil section, a rounded wing tip and the surrounding boundaries. The wing has an aspect ratio of 0.75. The angle of attack is 10 degrees. The …

Is Teaching Always Local, Education Global?, Peter Schmidt

English Literature Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, Revised And Expanded Edition, Edited By Michael Glazier & Monika K. Hellwig, Lisa Swartz-Medina

Journal of Catholic Education

No abstract provided.

Fiber Based Non-Linear Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy, Priyanka Amrita Jillella

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy is a high resolution, non-invasive biological imaging technique capable of imaging both in vitro and in vivo at the depths of several hundred microns. The goal of the thesis work is to contribute towards a fiber based non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy system that we plan to build for our lab, which would later on be integrated with the OCT imaging setup and the DIC microscope. This thesis work involves filling in the key components in the microscopy system. These key components are; femtosecond pulse diagnosis, study of dispersion in optical media, dispersion free femtosecond pulse delivery …

Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106) was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007 and entered into force on 3 May 2008. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights convention to be open for signature by regional integration organizations.

The Convention has particular significance for mine action as it details the rights of survivors of mines and ERW. While the Convention does not identify new rights, …

Kishida Toshiko And The Rise Of The Female Speaker In Meiji Japan., Marnie S. Anderson

History: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How The No Child Left Behind Act Punishes Schools With Disadvantaged Students, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

It’s Elementary is a series of essays on topics in education and education policy. The main focus is on education finance in New York State, but general research findings in education and education policy issues in several other states are also discussed. John Yinger, Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is the author of most of these essays, although a few are written by or co-authored with other scholars.

Family Functioning And Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy: A Study Of First Year Malaysian Undergraduate Students, Melati Sumari

Dissertations

The findings of the study show that the relationships between family functioning subscales and career decision-making self-efficacy subscales were between small and moderate. The study also found that each family functioning subscale contributed less than 15% of the variance in career decision-making self-efficacy. The total variance accounted for by the six family functioning subscales was small (32%). Important findings of the analyses of variances include: (a) male students perceived their families as more dysfunctional than female students; (b) Chinese students perceived their families as more dysfunctional than Malay and Indian students; (c) students in science majors perceived their families as …

Pathways Through Financial Crisis: Argentina, Brad Setser, Anna Gelpern

Documents

No abstract provided.

Goldman Viniar, Montag, Sparks, Ruzika Email Chain Re Subprime Risk Meeting, Psi Exhibit 3, David Viniar, Tom Montag, Daniel Sparks

Documents

No abstract provided.

University Of Minnesota Horse Owner Survey: Building An Equine Extension Program, Krishona Martinson, Marcia Hathaway, Julia H. Wilson, Betsy Gilkerson

Journal of Extension

The University of Minnesota conducted a statewide survey of 1,008 Minnesota horse owners to characterize their preferences for education on equine topics. The mail survey engendered an excellent response rate (67%) and clearly identified the need for a statewide horse program in Minnesota. The majority of horse owners currently obtain information from equine magazines, other horse owners, veterinarians, trainers, and farriers. When asked how they would like to obtain horse-related information, horse owners preferred short publications, the Internet, and evening seminars. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey conducted to determine the educational needs of horse …

Experiential-Based Learning And Peer Teaching Boost Elementary Students' Calcium Intake, Kathy Savoie

Journal of Extension

This article describes a nutrition education project that exposed students to experiential-based learning activities and peer-teaching models to improve their knowledge and dietary behaviors related to dairy foods. The students engaged in hands-on activities like milking cows, measuring portions, and the Dairy Detective Adventure at the county fair. 4-H club members were included in the project as peer-teachers. Dairy Food Frequency Questionnaires (pre and post program) indicated that students made significant changes in the variety and frequency of dairy food consumed. Upon completion, close to 90% of the students were consuming at least three dairy servings each day.

Developing Culturally Appropriate Evaluation Instruments For Hispanics With Diabetes, Marisa B. Warrix, Ruben D. Nieto, Mary Ann Nicolay

Journal of Extension

Type 2 diabetes is a major health problem among Hispanics in the United States. This article describes the process of developing a Spanish-language version of an evaluation instrument of Hispanic seniors who participated in a diabetes education program. Content, face validity, and reliability are also discussed. A team of Extension educators, evaluation experts, diabetes educators, and community partners representing the Hispanic community contributed to the success of the process. The process can be used with other non-English speaking groups with diabetes. Recommendations for other methods of data collection are discussed.