Publication Type: Poster Presentation
Abstract: Conservation tillage practices can enhance soil organic carbon content (SOC), improve soil structure, and reduce erosion. However, direct assessment of tillage practice for monitoring SOC change over large regions is difficult. Remote sensing of crop residue cover (CRC) can help assess tillage practices, and thus, model changes in SOC. Our objectives were to evaluate several spectral indices from hyperspectral imagery of Iowa and Indiana during May of 2004, 2005, and May 2006 for measuring CRC and assess surface moisture and mineralogy effects on those indices. CRC was measured in selected corn and soybean fields using line-point transects. CRC was linearly correlated (r2=0.70 ~ 0.85) to the cellulose absorption index (CAI), which measures the relative intensity of cellulose and lignin absorptions near 2100 nm. Soil type and mineralogy effects were evaluated using reflectance spectra libraries of the USGS Spectroscopy Laboratory and the US National Soil Survey Center. Reflectance spectra of crop residues and selected soils at various moisture contents were measured in the laboratory (400-2500 nm wavelength range). Results show that all dry crop residues had positive CAI values, but all dry soils and rocks had negative CAI values. However, certain minerals, when present in significant quantities, could bias CAI either way. Moisture in CRC significantly attenuated CAI but was accountable. This suggests that local adjustment of remotely sensed CRC estimates may be required where soil composition or moisture change significantly. Nevertheless, regional surveys of CRC and soil tillage practices that affect SOC dynamics may be feasible using hyperspectral imaging systems.

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Typically when making decisions about using technology to improve pedagogical practices, instructors consider their own perspective about how well the incorporation of that technology will improve learning. Implementing a personal response system in the classroom is often approached as a means to improve student attention span, student interaction, and student comprehension which may impact student perception of instructor competence. Institutions measure student perception of faculty effectiveness in teaching course content. Schrodt and Witt (2006) measured student perception of instructor credibility in relationship to technology usage both in and out of the classroom. Additionally, instructors act as voyeurs on faculty rating web sites to gauge student perception of instructor competence (Edwards, et al, 2007). So then, it must be asked, what do students think about personal response systems and the instructor who uses one? This study will explore student perception on the use of personal response systems in the classroom.
Edwards, C., Edwards, A., Qing, Q., & Wahl, S.T. (2007). The influence of computer-mediated word-of-
mouth communication on student perceptions of instructors and attitudes towards learning
course content. Communication Education, 56(3), 255-277.

Schrodt, P. & Witt, P.L. (2006). Students’ attributions of instructor credibility as a function of students’
expectations of instructional technology use and nonverbal immediacy. Communication Education,
55(1), 1-20.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Monitoring marine pollution in polluted regions is of utmost importance due to its massive impact on primary productivity. Remote sensing provides us with necessary data to assess the magnitude of this damage and establish the necessary guidelines for conservation of phytoplankton in any part of the globe.
Temporal and spatial variations in the Sea of Marmara based on monthly averages of chlorophyll a, which is the major indicator of phytoplankton biomass and primary production, recorded by SeaWiFS and MODIS-Aqua sensors at nearly 100 stations have been analyzed for the period of 1997-2007. Majority of phytoplankton blooms occur during the winter and spring seasons, followed by a smaller secondary bloom during the fall season. The majority of high magnitude blooms occur at the Eastern part of the Sea which may be attributed to an increase in the amount of industrial discharge.
The correlations between monthly averages of sea surface temperature and corresponding chlorophyll a values are statistically significant (inverse) at 1% level, where r= -0.53 and the equation of the fitted model is:
Chlorophyll a = 7.09199 – 0.215402* SST
This correlation is expected because a relative decrease in SST is an indicative of upwelling and vertical mixing which cause phytoplankton blooms.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: The coastal plain of arctic Alaska is the breeding home of millions of shorebirds migrating from all over the world. Dramatic climate change and expanding energy development are disrupting wildlife in manifold ways. We have been monitoring nesting patterns of shorebirds in both the Prudhoe Bay oilfields (6 years) and at a remote site near Teshekpuk Lake (4 years). With partners (USFWS, oil companies, and others) we have examined, using a modified Cox proportional hazards regression, whether oil infrastructure affects nesting success in birds since it has led to increases in nest predators. Our results indicated some effects, yet natural between-year and between-site variation was great. Separately, we monitored a subset of nests in the oil fields with remote cameras and found that arctic fox are the most important predator despite being the least common of nest predators. Our data from Teshekpuk suggest this region has high nest productivity, nesting density, and species richness in comparison to Prudhoe Bay and other coastal areas, demonstrating another distinction of this region meriting protection. Finally, a changing climate is associated with earlier nesting (ca. 10 days over a 20 year period) by shorebirds and suggests a possible disruption of migratory calendars.

Steve Zack and Joe Liebezeit, Wildlife Conservation Society, 718 SW Alder Street, Suite 210, Portland, OR, 97229 USA. Phone: 503/241-3743 szack@wcs.org and jliebezeit@wcs.org

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The higher prevalence of psychological distress among adults in disadvantaged as compared to advantaged groups has long been of interest to sociologists because it provides a means to investigate how macrosocial factors influence individual well-being. In this study we focus on the persistence of these disparities as a cohort ages and ask whether macrosocial influences act on either (a) a single set of adults within a disadvantaged group who develop chronic distress by early adulthood or (b) continually changing sets of adults throughout adulthood who develop distress of short duration. Data for this study come from the National Child Development Study, a cohort study that assessed psychological distress at ages 23, 33, and 43. The results indicate that distress disparities across education and sex persist as a cohort ages predominately because of a single set of adults who develop chronic distress by early adulthood. More than 80% of distress disparities at age 43 reflect the influence of chronic, lasting distress that education and sex first fostered at least twenty years previously. We discuss implications of these findings for theory, analysis, and policy.