Plymouth State University

Migration studies have focused attention on ethnic institutions in global and gateway cities. This ethnic lens distorts migration scholarship, reinforces methodological nationalism, and disregards the role of city scale in shaping migrant pathways of settlement and transnational connection. The scale of cities reflects their positioning within neoliberal processes of local, national, regional, and global rescaling. To encourage further explorations of nonethnic pathways that may be salient in small-scale cities, we examine born-again Christianity as a means of migrant incorporation locally and transnationally in two small-scale cities, one in the United States and the other in Germany.

Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) play vital roles in the western United States and related regions globally, not only producing heavy precipitation and flooding, but also providing beneficial water supply. This paper introduces a scale for the intensity and impacts of ARs. Its utility may be greatest where ARs are the most impactful storm type and hurricanes, nor’easters, and tornadoes are nearly nonexistent. Two parameters dominate the hydrologic outcomes and impacts of ARs: vertically integrated water vapor transport (IVT) and AR duration [i.e., the duration of at least minimal AR conditions (IVT ≥ 250 kg m –1 s –1 )]. The scale uses an observed or predicted time series of IVT at a given geographic location and is based on the maximum IVT and AR duration at that point during an AR event. AR categories 1–5 are defined by thresholds for maximum IVT (3-h average) of 250, 500, 750, 1,000, and 1,250 kg m –1 s –1 , and by IVT exceeding 250 kg m –1 s –1 continuously for 24–48 h. If the AR event duration is less than 24 h, it is downgraded by one category. If it is longer than 48 h, it is upgraded one category. The scale recognizes that weak ARs are often mostly beneficial because they can enhance water supply and snowpack, while stronger ARs can become mostly hazardous, for example, if they strike an area with antecedent conditions that enhance vulnerability, such as burn scars or wet conditions. Extended durations can enhance impacts. Short durations can mitigate impacts.

A better understanding is needed of how hydrological and biogeochemical processes control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition from headwaters downstream to large rivers. We examined a large DOM dataset from the National Water Information System of the US Geological Survey, which represents approximately 100 000 measurements of DOC concentration and DOM composition at many sites along rivers across the United States. Application of quantile regression revealed a tendency towards downstream spatial and temporal homogenization of DOC concentrations and a shift from dominance of aromatic DOM in headwaters to more aliphatic DOM downstream. The DOC concentration–discharge (C-Q) relationships at each site revealed a downstream tendency towards a slope of zero. We propose that despite complexities in river networks that have driven many revisions to the River Continuum Concept, rivers show a tendency towards chemostasis (C-Q slope of zero) because of a downstream shift from a dominance of hydrologic drivers that connect terrestrial DOM sources to streams in the headwaters towards a dominance of instream and near-stream biogeochemical processes that result in preferential losses of aromatic DOM and preferential gains of aliphatic DOM.

Providing a blend of theory and application, this text emphasizes understanding concepts, which are demonstrated by means of worked-out examples. The theoretical side enables applications of regression analysis to be carried out successfully. Computer and graphic plots focus the text on analysis and models, and discussion of regression diagnostics includes the DFBETAS, DFFITS, and PRESS measures. Model building is examined in order to allow students to see how the model-building process integrates many of the elements considered in earlier chapters. This edition includes new topics, such as: robust tests for constancy of the error variance, smoothing techniques to explore the shape of the regression function, robust regression and non-parametric regression techniques.

Large‐scale field patterns are a fundamental source of inferences on processes responsible for variation in species richness among habitats. We examined species richness of larval amphibian communities in 37 ponds over seven years on the Univ. of Michigan's E. S. George Reserve. Ordination of the community incidence matrix indicated a strong major axis of variation in species associations that was correlated with pond hydroperiod, surface area and forest canopy cover. Communities were significantly nested with those species found in ponds with high canopy cover, small area and short hydroperiod being nested subsets of those found in ponds with contrasting characteristics. Presence of fish had strong negative effects on species richness; relaxation of this effect also was apparent when fish were extirpated from ponds by drought. We employed a model selection analysis to identify the most appropriate statistical model for predicting the long‐term average species richness of these ponds from local abiotic and biotic (predator and competitor density) factors. A model including only the abiotic factors was overwhelmingly superior for the anurans; hierarchical partitioning indicated that area and canopy cover alone accounted for over 70% of the independent effects of predictor variables. The global model including both abiotic and biotic factors was the best supported model for the caudates, and correspondingly hierarchical partitioning suggested that area, hydroperiod, invertebrate predators and caudate biomass all accounted for 9–16% of the independent effects. Overall, biotic factors accounted for much less of the variation in species richness than abiotic factors. The patterns in larger, open‐canopy ponds provided little evidence of competitive effects on species richness, though there were patterns consistent with competitive effects in small, closed‐canopy ponds. The unusual temporal and spatial extent of these data enabled us to critically evaluate ideas regarding patterns in larval amphibian communities, and the effects of area, disturbance (hydroperiod) and productivity (canopy cover) on species richness of these communities. These results have important implications to the conservation of amphibian species richness in freshwater wetlands, which are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide.

Annual decreases in corn yield caused by diseases were estimated by surveying members of the Corn Disease Working Group in 22 corn-producing states in the United States and in Ontario, Canada, from 2012 through 2015. Estimated loss from each disease varied greatly by state and year. In general, foliar diseases such as northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot, and Goss's wilt commonly caused the largest estimated yield loss in the northern United States and Ontario during non-drought years. Fusarium stalk rot and plant-parasitic nematodes caused the most estimated loss in the southern-most United States. The estimated mean economic loss due to yield loss by corn diseases in the United States and Ontario from 2012 to 2015 was $76.51 USD per acre. The cost of disease-mitigating strategies is another potential source of profit loss. Results from this survey will provide scientists, breeders, government, and educators with data to help inform and prioritize research, policy, and educational efforts in corn pathology and disease management. Accepted for publication 26 August 2016.

OBJECTIVE: To test treatment regimens for Lyme arthritis. METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with doxycycline or amoxicillin plus probenecid for 30 days. Patients who had persistent arthritis for at least 3 months after treatment with oral antibiotics or parenteral penicillin were given intravenous ceftriaxone for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Eighteen of the 20 patients treated with doxycycline and 16 of the 18 patients who completed the amoxicillin regimen had resolution of the arthritis within 1-3 months after study entry. However, neuroborreliosis later developed in 5 patients, 4 of whom had received the amoxicillin regimen. Of 16 patients (2 from the oral antibiotic study and 14 additional patients) who had persistent arthritis despite previous oral antibiotics or parenteral penicillin, none had resolution of the arthritis within 3 months after ceftriaxone therapy. The HLA-DR4 specificity and OspA reactivity were associated with a lack of response. CONCLUSION: Lyme arthritis can usually be treated successfully with oral antibiotics, but patients may still develop neuroborreliosis. Patients with certain genetic and immune markers may have persistent arthritis despite treatment with oral or intravenous antibiotics.

The first major socio-cultural study of manuscript letters and letter-writing practices in early modern England. Daybell examines a crucial period in the development of the English vernacular letter b

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosystem services into holistic management strategies improves management by better capturing the diversity of positive and negative human-natural interactions and making explicit the benefits to society. To facilitate this inclusion, we propose a conceptual model that merges the broadly applied Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) conceptual model with ecosystem services yielding a Driver, Pressure, State, Ecosystem service, and Response (EBM-DPSER) conceptual model. The impact module in traditional DPSIR models focuses attention upon negative anthropomorphic impacts on the ecosystem; by replacing impacts with ecosystem services the EBM-DPSER model incorporates not only negative, but also positive changes in the ecosystem. Responses occur as a result of changes in ecosystem services and include inter alia management actions directed at proactively altering human population or individual behavior and infrastructure to meet societal goals. The EBM-DPSER conceptual model was applied to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas marine ecosystem as a case study to illustrate how it can inform management decisions. This case study captures our system-level understanding and results in a more holistic representation of ecosystem and human society interactions, thus improving our ability to identify trade-offs. The EBM-DPSER model should be a useful operational tool for implementing EBM, in that it fully integrates our knowledge of all ecosystem components while focusing management attention upon those aspects of the ecosystem most important to human society and does so within a framework already familiar to resource managers.

As landscapes change, it is important to understand how attachments and meanings attributed to place may affect environmental quality and social well-being. To understand and apply sociological insights to policy and management efforts it is not sufficient to simply demonstrate that individuals or groups have strong emotional connections with a particular geographical locale. Rather, it is imperative to understand the implications of attachments, and meanings related to them. We focus our attention in this area on watershed management. Quantitative data are used to conduct an analysis of the interactions between place attachment, place meanings, and environmental concerns in a high-natural-amenity watershed in New Hampshire. Results from quantitative analyses important for understanding the dynamics between place attachment, place meanings, and various dimensions environmental concerns are presented. We find a strong role for place meanings, rather than place attachment, in predicting environmental concern, as well as an independent effect of place-transcendent fundamental values.

BACKGROUND: Falls are a significant issue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with research demonstrating fall rates of more than 50%. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with falling in people with MS. DATA SOURCES: Mixed search methods were used, including computer-based and manual searches. Additionally, hand searches of reference lists and conference abstracts were performed. All literature published from the source's earliest date to January 2012 was included; only full-text English-language sources (or those where a translation was available) were included. STUDY SELECTION: Eligibility criteria specified articles evaluating any aspect of fall risk in adults with a confirmed MS diagnosis, where the incidence of falling as determined by prospective or retrospective participant report was included. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted independently by 2 reviewers using a written protocol and standardized extraction documentation. Detailed assessment of each article was independently undertaken by both reviewers, including assessment of study quality using an adaptation of the Newcastle Ottawa Scale plus extraction of key data (participant characteristics, fall incidence, and outcomes). DATA SYNTHESIS: The final review comprised 8 articles with a total of 1,929 participants; 1,037 (53.75%) were classified as fallers. Eighteen different risk factors were assessed within the included studies. Meta-analysis demonstrated an increase in fall risk associated with impairments of balance and cognition, progressive MS, and use of a mobility aid. Narrative review of the qualitative articles and those factors where meta-analysis was not possible also was undertaken. LIMITATIONS: Variation in assessment, analysis, and reporting methods allowed meta-analysis for only 4 factors. CONCLUSION: There is limited evidence of the factors associated with fall risk in people with MS. Further methodologically robust studies are needed.

This article conceptualizes two distinct dimensions of community attachment—socially based attachment and attachment to a community’s natural environment—and examines their connections with attitudes about local environmental issues. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of attachment are distinct and relate differently to environmental concern. In cases where the social attachment dimension is a statistically significant predictor of attitudes toward local environmental issues, the issues are representative of community culture and identity or health. In contrast, when natural environment attachment is a statistically significant predictor of local environmental concern, the topics reflect issues involving resource protection. Building on the previous work of Vorkinn and Riese, this study further clarifies that community-focused factors may be more useful variables for understanding attitudes toward environmental issues than sociodemographic ones.

Abstract Hydrologic connectivity is regarded as one of the key controls in determining catchment rainfall–run‐off response and has been linked to the export of solutes from uplands to streams. We sought to identify the patterns of hydrologic connectivity within a small forested watershed by monitoring the shallow groundwater fluctuations of simple topographically defined landform sequences (footslope–backslope–shoulder). A spatially distributed instrument network was employed to continuously measure hydrometric responses of the shallow subsurface during seasonal wet‐up from summer through winter in a small till mantled research catchment. We demonstrate that the spatial patterns of shallow water table extent and duration, and therefore hydrologic connectivity, had a strong seasonal signature. During the low antecedent soil moisture conditions typically associated with the growing season, water tables were patchy, discontinuous, and only the wettest near‐stream footslope areas were consistently hydrologically connected with the stream network. During the dormant season, footslopes and backslopes maintained water tables that persisted between storm events and were almost continuously connected with the stream network. In the largest storm events, the typically driest landforms (shoulder slopes) established shallow transient water tables, suggesting that nearly the entire catchment was temporarily hydrologically connected with the stream network. In addition, we found significant differences ( p < 0·05) in the magnitude and duration of groundwater responses to rainfall among landform groups both seasonally and during events. These results have implications for using a similarity approach in representing characteristic hydrologic responses of topographically defined watershed elements, determining hydrologic connectivity between watershed elements, as well as for understanding solute transport in catchments. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary. We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long-term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5-year cool and warm periods. Using the theoretical framework of the Budyko curve, we calculated the effects of climate warming on the annual partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield. Deviation (d) was defined as a catchment's change in actual ET divided by P [AET/P; evaporative index (EI)] coincident with a shift from a cool to a warm period - a positive d indicates an upward shift in EI and smaller than expected water yields, and a negative d indicates a downward shift in EI and larger than expected water yields. Elasticity was defined as the ratio of interannual variation in potential ET divided by P (PET/P; dryness index) to interannual variation in the EI - high elasticity indicates low d despite large range in drying index (i.e., resilient water yields), low elasticity indicates high d despite small range in drying index (i.e., nonresilient water yields). Although the data needed to fully evaluate ecosystems based on these metrics are limited, we were able to identify some characteristics of response among forest types. Alpine sites showed the greatest sensitivity to climate warming with any warming leading to increased water yields. Conifer forests included catchments with lowest elasticity and stable to larger water yields. Deciduous forests included catchments with intermediate elasticity and stable to smaller water yields. Mixed coniferous/deciduous forests included catchments with highest elasticity and stable water yields. Forest type appeared to influence the resilience of catchment water yields to climate warming, with conifer and deciduous catchments more susceptible to climate warming than the more diverse mixed forest catchments.

This study sought to obtain a current picture of special education teacher recruitment and retention in rural districts and to understand the professional development needs of rural special educators. Surveys, administered through telephone interviews with a national sample of special education administrators and teachers, confirmed the difficulties in hiring appropriately qualified teachers. Additional demands of the position may place teachers at risk for attrition. The authors identified important areas of professional development to support rural teachers in their positions: (a) working with paraprofessionals and parents, (b) low-incidence disabilities, (c) emotional and behavior disorders, (d) classroom management, (e) skills in collaboration and inclusive practices, and (f) curriculum content.

Purpose Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has attracted considerable interest among academics and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of the literature, to identify missing links, to argue for the use of world class SSCM (WCSSCM) through a framework, and suggest further research directions. Design/methodology/approach In the paper the authors have undertaken an extensive review of literature and classified articles using a novel classification scheme. Findings Through the extensive review and identification of research gaps, the paper identifies significant differences between definitions and methodologies in the SSCM literature; and argues for “WCSSCM.” This term is elaborated on via a theoretical framework in which 18 dimensions are classified under six constructs of SSCM. Furthermore, a list of potential research directions for WCSSCM is discussed. Research limitations/implications The research is an attempt to critically review literature, argue for WCSSCM, and develop a theoretical framework. Originality/value The paper offers a new approach to SSCM literature, arguing for WCSSCM through a framework, and providing further research directions.

An attempt was made to eliminate the self-injurious behaviors of four institutionalized, profoundly retarded adolescents. Some of the behaviors studied were: face-slapping, face-banging, hair-pulling, face-scratching, and finger-biting. Three remediative approaches to self-injurious behavior were compared. Elimination of all social consequences of the self-injurious behavior was not effective with the two subjects with whom it was attempted. The same two subjects were exposed to a procedure involving reinforcement of non-self-injurious behavior which was ineffective under no food deprivation and was effective with one of the two subjects under mild food deprivation. Electric-shock punishment eliminated the self-injurious behaviors of all four subjects with whom it was attempted. The results suggested that punishment was more effective than differential reinforcement of non-self-injurious behavior which, in turn, was more effective than extinction through elimination of social consequences. However, the effects of the punishment were usually specific to the setting in which it was administered. In order to eliminate the self-injurious behaviors of severely retarded children, it is apparently necessary to carry out the treatment in many of the settings in which it occurs.

This article investigates media dependency among Chinese individuals during the SARS epidemic of 2003. While most media dependency research has examined dependency relations under circumstances when information was readily available, this study looks at a situation in which information was highly controlled and thus was not easily available from the mainstream media. As the socio-structural environment was not conducive to the free flow of information during a major public health crisis, audience members were not only actively engaged in information seeking from alternative resources such as short message services (SMS) and the internet, but they were also involved in creating alternative information channels by being information producers and disseminators. The internet was a particularly empowering tool to allow individuals to bypass official control and to challenge official claims during the crisis.

A small research watershed in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire was equipped with a spatially distributed instrument network designed to continuously monitor hydrometric responses in the shallow subsurface. We analyzed rainfall events during seasonal wet up from late summer through autumn to investigate the mechanisms of runoff generation and the patterns of rainfall‐runoff response at the catchment outlet. Our results show that storm quick flow depths displayed a threshold relationship with two independently measured soil moisture indices: a maximum water table height index and the sum of gross precipitation and antecedent soil moisture. Quick flow depths during events with below‐threshold criteria were not significantly correlated with either index, while quick flow depths during events with above‐threshold criteria were strongly correlated with both indices ( r ≥ 0.98). The effective runoff contributing area (estimated by event runoff ratios) also changed significantly between above‐ and below‐threshold conditions, as did the synchronicity between groundwater fluctuations and streamflow. Below the threshold, we inferred that catchment runoff was generated primarily in the near‐stream zones, while above the threshold the contributing area likely expanded laterally onto neighboring hillslopes. Our results show that the effective saturated hydraulic conductivity appeared to increase significantly during runoff events with above‐threshold conditions, possibly owing to water tables rising into highly transmissive near‐surface soils. We believe the observed threshold pattern may partially be explained as a transmissivity feedback mechanism and/or preferential flows through macropore networks which allowed for a rapid expansion of the runoff contributing area onto hillslopes, resulting in increased runoff yields.

Annual reductions in corn (Zea mays L.) yield caused by diseases were estimated by university Extension-affiliated plant pathologists in 26 corn-producing states in the United States and in Ontario, Canada, from 2016 through 2019. Estimated loss from each disease varied greatly by state or province and year. Gray leaf spot (caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis Tehon & E.Y. Daniels) caused the greatest estimated yield loss in parts of the northern United States and Ontario in all years except 2019, and Fusarium stalk rot (caused by Fusarium spp.) also greatly reduced yield. Tar spot (caused by Phyllachora maydis Maubl.), a relatively new disease in the United States, was estimated to cause substantial yield loss in 2018 and 2019 in several northern states. Gray leaf spot and southern rust (caused by Puccinia polysora Underw.) caused the most estimated yield losses in the southern United States. Unfavorable wet and delayed harvest conditions in 2018 resulted in an estimated 2.5 billion bushels (63.5 million metric tons) of grain contaminated with mycotoxins. The estimated mean economic loss due to reduced yield caused by corn diseases in the United States and Ontario from 2016 to 2019 was US$55.90 per acre (US$138.13 per hectare). Results from this survey provide scientists, corn breeders, government agencies, and educators with data to help inform and prioritize research, policy, and educational efforts in corn pathology and disease management.