bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Minimum Wages and Poverty: Will a $9.50 Federal Minimum Wage Really Help the Working Poor?
Authors: Sabia Joseph J. , Burkhauser Richard V.
Published: December 2010

Using data drawn from the March Current Population Survey, we find that state and federal minimum wage increases between 2003 and 2007 had no effect on state poverty rates. When we then simulate the effects of a proposed federal minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9.50 per hour, we find that such an increase will be even more poorly targeted to the working poor than was the last federal increase from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. Assuming no negative employment effects, only 11.3% of workers who will gain live in poor households, compared to 15.8% from the last increase. When we allow for negative employment effects, we find that the working poor face a disproportionate share of the job losses. Our results suggest that raising the federal minimum wage continues to be an inadequate way to help the working poor.
Does Paying Referees Expedite Reviews?: Results of a Natural Experiment
Authors: Thompson Gary D. , Aradhyula Satheesh V. , Frisvold George , Tronstad Russell
Published: December 2010

A natural experiment in an economics field journal afforded time‐series observations on payments to referees for on‐time reviews. The natural experiment yielded 15 months' worth of data with no payments and about two subsequent years of data with payments. Using referee‐ and manuscript‐specific measures as covariates, hazard models were used to gauge the effects of payments on individual referee's review times. All models indicate statistically significant reductions in review times owing to referee payments. Reductions in review times translate into significant reductions in first‐response time (FRT). Median FRT was reduced from 90 to 70 days, a 22% reduction in the presence of payments. With payments, only 1% of the FRTs exceeded six months; without payments, 16% of the FRTs exceeded six months.
Using Unemployment Rates as Instruments to Estimate Returns to Schooling
Authors: Arkes Jeremy
Published: December 2010

I use state unemployment rates during a person's teenage years to estimate the returns to schooling. A higher unemployment rate reduces the opportunity costs of attending school. Using the same 1980 Census data set that Angrist and Krueger (1991) use, I also estimate returns to schooling with a modified version of their quarter‐of‐birth instrument. The estimates from the two‐stage least squares (2SLS) model using the unemployment rate and the model using the quarter‐of‐birth instruments are almost identical. In addition, these 2SLS estimates are larger than the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates, supporting this counterintuitive, yet prevalent, result in the literature.
The Aggregate Production Function of the Finnish Economy in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Luoma Arto , Luoto Jani
Published: December 2010

This article uses the Bayesian approach to estimate the parameters of the normalized constant elasticity of substitution (CES) function with factor‐augmenting technical progress directly, rather than using derived first‐order conditions of profit maximizing behavior. Bayesian estimation is applied because maximum likelihood estimation is sensitive to the starting values of maximization, and the parameters typically fail to converge to the global optimum because of a multimodal likelihood. Thanks to a convenient prior distribution, the posterior simulation of parameters works fairly well. The results indicate that in the long run (over 100 years) the parameters for the elasticity of substitution and capital income share are intimately linked to the shape of capital‐augmenting technological progress. In particular, the linear restriction excludes the possibility that the speed of capital‐augmenting technological progress converges to zero, which seems to lead to upwardly biased estimates of the elasticity of substitution and income share parameters.
Estimating the Effect of Individual Time Preferences on the Use of Disease Screening
Authors: Bradford W. David , Zoller James , Silvestri Gerard A.
Published: December 2010

Economists have long been interested in evaluating the role that time preferences play in a wide range of economic decisions. In the health care arena, time preferences may be an especially important determinant of many decisions—particularly the use of preventative health care. One potential barrier to patient adoption of preventative screening regimens is that they impose current costs on consumers with the hope of lower costs in the future. Using data from a national survey, we jointly estimate latent discount rate and preventative service demand models using a limited information maximum likelihood estimator (iterated M‐estimator). The results suggest that discount rates are generally inversely related to the likelihood of most screening tests.
Pricing Natural Gas in Mexico: An Application of the Little‐Mirrlees Rule—The Case of Quasi‐Rents
Authors: Brito Dagobert L. , Rosellón Juan
Published: December 2010

In 1997, the Comisión Reguladora de Energía of Mexico implemented a netback rule for linking the Mexican natural gas price to the Texas price. At that time, the Texas price reflected a reasonably competitive market. There have been dramatic increases in the demand for gas, and there are various bottlenecks in the supply of gas. As a result, the price of gas in Texas now reflects the quasi‐rents created by these bottlenecks. We show that it is optimal for the Mexican government to use the netback rule based on the Texas price of gas to set the price of gas in Mexico even though the Texas market cannot be considered a competitive market, and the Texas price for gas reflects quasi‐rents created by various bottlenecks.
Optimal Tax Theory: The Journey from the Negative Income Tax to the Earned Income Tax Credit
Authors: Hamilton Jonathan H.
Published: December 2010

What lessons do we learn from optimal tax theory for the design of income redistribution programs? I modify a standard model of optimal nonlinear income taxation with discrete types to consider differences in both earning ability and the disutility of effort. This gives a role for “workfare” in the optimal tax policy. The existence of screening mechanisms can play a role in explaining non‐participation in cash and in‐kind redistribution programs, including Progresa‐Oportunidades, Lifeline Telephone subsidies, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Stigma can increase efficiency of a redistribution program by discouraging participation by individuals near the eligibility thresholds. The Family Assistance Program proposed in the early 1970s lacked adequate stigma for nonworkers, which contributed to a lack of political support. In contrast, the current Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides greater benefits to workers than to nonworkers. Thus the EITC does not require any stigma to screen out individuals who do not work from obtaining benefits. Reasons for separate income support programs for nonworkers and for workers are discussed.
An Empirical Examination of the Parimutuel Sports Lottery Market versus the Bookmaker Market
Authors: Chung Jaiho , Hwang Joon Ho
Published: December 2010

A sports lottery in Korea presents a unique opportunity for comparing a parimutuel‐type sports lottery market against a bookmaker market outside the realm of horse racing. Using two‐ and three‐game soccer final‐score betting in the sports lottery market in Korea, which features matches in the English Premier League, we compare winning payoffs in this parimutuel‐type sports lottery against corresponding payoffs from an established bookmaker market in the United Kingdom. We find that for outcomes with relatively high payouts (that is, lower‐probability events), winning bets placed in the sports lottery market have greater payoffs than corresponding bets placed in the bookmaker‐based market. However, the opposite is true for outcomes with relatively low payouts (that is, higher‐probability events). Results suggest that participants in the sports lottery market tend to bet more toward high‐probability events than the amount implied by the bookmaker's odds. Results also suggest that the favorite‐longshot bias is still present in the bookmaker market, even when there is less threat of privately informed bettors than in horse racing.
Assessing Bettors' Ability to Process Dynamic Information: Policy Implications
Authors: Johnson Johnnie E. V. , O'Brien Raymond , Sung Ming-Chien
Published: December 2010

Regulation is often employed to encourage the provision of readily interpretable, explicit information to betting markets in an effort to promote their efficiency. This approach is supported by a considerable volume of laboratory‐based research which suggests that individuals make poor judgments in the face of implicit, dynamic information. This article investigates to what extent horserace bettors, who have strong incentives to make good probability judgments, require the regulator's protection from such hostile information environments. In particular, we examine the accuracy of the subjective probabilities of bettors concerning 16,344 horses in 1671 races. We find that bettors are skilled in adopting effective heuristics to simplify their dynamic information environment and, even in the face of restricted information, develop well‐calibrated judgments using outcome feedback. A number of factors that help bettors to achieve good calibration are identified and the implications for market regulation are discussed.
Promotion Mechanisms on the PGA TOUR
Authors: Rhoads Thomas A.
Published: December 2010

The dynamics of screening talent and promoting an athlete to a major team sports league is not entirely different from that of a major individual sports league. While talent is assessed through mechanisms offering more or less observations, coaching decisions and team quality that can affect performance in team sports are generally not present in individual sports. Avoiding the possible distortions that can come from assessing athletic talent in team sports, this article examines the ability of two PGA TOUR promotion mechanisms—the Nationwide Tour and Qualifying School (Q‐school)—to predict success. As expected, the results suggest that more observations from the Nationwide Tour assessment mechanism provide more information about talent that can be used to better predict success on the PGA TOUR. But place of finish also matters, so promotion through the Nationwide Tour alone is not sufficient for a player to have the greatest chance for success.
Motives for Giving: A Reanalysis of Two Classic Public Goods Experiments
Authors: Ashley Richard , Ball Sheryl , Eckel Catherine
Published: December 2010

Experimental work in economics prompted the development of theories of other‐regarding behavior. In this article we reanalyze two classic public goods experiments and focus on the nature of individuals' responses to others' behavior in order to help distinguish alternative motives for giving, including altruism, warm glow, reciprocity, and inequality aversion. Analysis that allows for asymmetric feedback responses generates support for inequality aversion motives but little for reciprocity (matching), altruism, and warm glow. We conclude that individual‐level analysis of existing public goods data can provide more insightful, informative estimates of treatment effects.
Two‐Way Outsourcing, International Migration, and Wage Inequality
Authors: Yomogida Morihiro , Zhao Laixun
Published: December 2010

This article develops a general equilibrium model with a vertical production structure to examine the relationship between offshore outsourcing and international migration, especially emphasizing their effects on the wages of skilled and unskilled workers. Two‐way outsourcing (simultaneous insourcing and outsourcing) in skilled‐labor–intensive services arises because of product differentiation and scale economies, and outsourcing in unskilled‐labor–intensive processing occurs because of factor endowment differences. The tractability of the model allows us to rank outsourcing and migration, according to the wages of both types of workers. Finally, we also analyze under what conditions outsourcing and international migration are complements or substitutes.
Targeting Teaching: Engaged Learning with the Inquiry‐Based Question Cluster Discussion Technique: Student Outcomes in a History of Economic Thought Course
Authors: Madden Kirsten K.
Published: December 2010

Twenty‐six undergraduate students explored the meaning of the classics (Adam Smith and Karl Marx) and two lesser‐known contributions in ethics and economics (Robert Owen and John Ruskin) in a spring 2007 history of economic thought course. This article introduces the inquiry‐based discussion technique used in the course and presents five question clusters fulfilling requirements for an inquiry‐based discussion. A proposed hypothesis is that the technique increases student understanding of challenging texts. Pre‐ and postdiscussion assessments for five interpretative questions serve as evidence to evaluate the hypothesis. Assessment results lend empirical support to the hypothesized positive impact of the technique on student learning. End‐of‐the‐semester student survey results captured student opinions concerning their learning from the technique. Survey results suggest the students believe that the technique positively impacts aspects of the learning process; the students recommend the discussion technique for future use.
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERCEIVED FARM MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF FARM OPERATORS IN JORDAN
Authors: Al-Rimawi Ahmad Sh. , Karablieh Emad K. , Al-Kadi Abdulfatah S.
Published: December 2010

The study aimed to investigate the educational needs of producers on farm management and marketing skills using two 5-point Likert scales. Data were collected from a sample of 120 producers in the main irrigated area in Jordan, and non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. Producers were largely commercial, but the majority does not perceive the need to participate in training activities on farm management and marketing skills. Higher scores on both scales were observed for full time operators, renters, the risk-averse, the more dependent on farm income and hired-labor; those who make use of sources of information more intensively; those who preferred group extension; and those who use computers in business management. Efforts have to be made to investigate the educational needs of operators with low ratings, and to develop an understanding of the importance of farm management. The more positive operators have to be targeted through group extension techniques to initiate simple book keeping, and financial analysis tools to promote business-like farming. While the educational role of improving the managerial abilities of the producers remains an important task for state extension, the public and private sector can cooperate in areas where the private companies can benefit from activities such as book-keeping and technical and financial management software.
COMPUTER EXPERIENCES, SELF-EFFICACY, AND KNOWLEDGE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENTERING A LAND-GRANT COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE BY YEAR AND GENDER
Authors: Johnson Donald M. , Wardlow George W.
Published: December 2010

The purpose of this five-year study was to describe the computer experiences, self-efficacy, and knowledge of students (N = 336) entering a college of agriculture, and determine if significant differences existed by year of entry, gender, or the interaction of year and gender. There were few significant differences in computer experiences by year or gender. While there were significant year x gender interactions in some computer-related experiences, no trends were noted. Overall, students had a slightly below average level of computer self-efficacy. The mean self-efficacy of students in the 2002 group was significantly higher than for the 1999 group, although the effect size for year was small. There were no significant differences in computer self-efficacy by gender or by the interaction of year and gender. Students had a fairly low level of computer knowledge. Both overall and by all sub-groupings, mean student scores were below the 50% correct level. Exam scores for students in the 2002 and 2003 student groups were significantly higher than were the scores for the 1999 student group; however, again, the effect size for year was small. There were no significant differences in exam scores by gender or by the interaction of year and gender.
CRITICAL WATER RELATED CURRICULUM NEEDS AS PERCEIVED BY AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS IN PROGRAMS LOCATED WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE OGALLALA AQUIFER
Authors: Cox Danielle , Lawver David E. , Baker Matt , Doerfert David
Published: December 2010

This study is part of a larger project pertaining to water related curriculum in agricultural science programs located in areas that are dependent upon the Ogallala Aquifer. Portions of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas were included in the study. This study sought to determine critical needs in curriculum and professional development related to teaching water related topics. Forty-five topics, as identified in the literature, comprising four factors were presented to 356 agricultural science teachers to determine perceived importance and the degree to which the topics were included in their programs. Using Witkin’s (1984) need assessment matrix analysis, three topics were found to be critical needs, one topic was found to be a low-level successful ability, 18 were found to be low-level needs, and 23 were found to be high-level successful abilities. Recommendations concerning practice and future research were made as a result of this study.
DEVELOPING TRANSPARENT AND DIALOGIC SYSTEMS FOR FACULTY PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN A COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Authors: Barrick R. Kirby , D’Arcy Cleora J. , Garrow Timothy A.
Published: December 2010

Interviews were conducted with the seven department heads in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to obtain descriptions of the current systems of faculty assessment and evaluation. These confirmed that seven distinct systems to collect, evaluate and report information were in use. Faculty in ACES were surveyed to identify how they believe their performance in teaching, research, outreach/extension and service should be measured. Faculty indicated that multiple measures in each category of activity provide useful information. The survey also asked faculty how their performance should be documented, how decisions should be made and how results should be reported. The faculty indicate clear preferences for each of these processes. The interviews and survey are initial steps towards making faculty performance assessment and evaluation systems in the College of ACES more dialogic and transparent.
INSERVICE NEEDS OF TRADITIONALLY AND ALTERNATIVELY CERTIFIED AGRICULTURE TEACHERS
Authors: Roberts T. Grady , Dyer James E.
Published: December 2010

Each year, many alternatively certified agriculture teachers are hired. Practice dictates that agriculture teachers, regardless of certification method, have a continuing desire and need for inservice training. However, do these two groups of teachers have the same inservice needs? The literature supports the notion that different groups of teachers have dissimilar inservice needs. However, missing from the agricultural education research base are studies that examined the inservice needs of alternatively certified agriculture teachers. The purpose of this study was to fill that void. Based on the findings of this study, traditionally certified teachers have greater self-perceived inservice needs in the FFA and SAE supervision, instruction and curriculum, technical agriculture, program management and planning, and teacher professional development constructs. When examining specific items, traditionally certified agriculture teachers have greater self-perceived inservice needs in 46 of the 80 items.
Critical Thinking Skills Of Selected Youth Leaders: The Efficacy Of Critical Thinking Dispositions, Leadership, And Academic Performance
Authors: Ricketts John C. , Rudd Rick D.
Published: December 2010

The purpose of this correlational study was to identify and explain the agricultural and leadership specific critical thinking skills of selected youth leaders in the National FFA Organization. From the conceptual model of critical thinking skills development in Figure 1, the following sets of variables were related to critical thinking skills: Grade point average (GPA), leadership training score, and the critical thinking disposition of innovativeness explained 12% of the variance in combined critical thinking skill; GPA, gender, age, and innovativeness explained 13% of the variance in the specific sub-skill of Analysis; and GPA and the Innovativeness disposition explained nine percent of the variance in the specific sub-skill of Inference.
A Comparison Of National Leaders' Strategic Thinking To The Strategic Intentions Of The Agricultural Education Profession
Authors: McDermott Tim J. , Knobloch Neil A.
Published: December 2010

This instrumental case study compared the common themes of strategic intent from three strategic plans in agricultural education to current strategic thinking and beliefs of national leaders and policy makers. Eleven strategic intentions emerged from the strategic plans. Program and curriculum reform, as well as leadership and partnerships were mentioned the most in the strategic plans. There was a difference between the strategic plans and the national leaders regarding the need for programmatic, policy, and budgetary changes at the state and federal levels. The national leaders in agricultural education realized the importance of congressional visits, but questioned if their strategies were working. National leaders in education and agriculture stressed the need of agricultural literacy and awareness and funding opportunities within existing legislation. National policy makers stressed the need for more communications about agricultural education so that they are prepared when funding opportunities arise. The agricultural education profession should focus on policy changes and assess the effectiveness of implementing its strategic initiatives.
Attitudes, Value, And Preparation Of University Faculty And Administrators For Advising
Authors: Myers Brian E. , Dyer James E.
Published: December 2010

The role of faculty at colleges and universities is ever changing. Demands placed upon a faculty member's time and efforts seem to be increasing while the struggle for a balanced program of scholarship becomes more difficult. Student advising is an important component of this program and a function of faculty time that has a direct impact on institutional fiscal stability, student retention, and overall student satisfaction. The objectives of this study were to identify the value of advising, as perceived by faculty and administrators; attitudes and perceptions of faculty toward advising; and perceived competence and preparation level of faculty to advise students. A total of 222 respondents from 31 universities participated in the study. Faculty and administrators agreed that there is value in advising students, as well as student organizations. Most faculty perceived advising as a teaching activity and indicated that it should be a component in promotion and tenure review. They reported that advising both undergraduate and graduate students was a good use of their time, although the level of agreement was higher for advising graduate students. Most respondents also reported that they were competent and prepared to advise students on academic matters. However, most respondents had received little or no professional development in advising. Respondents also expressed the need for assistance in advising student organizations and in advising in personal matters.
Problems Facing Beginning Agriculture Teachers
Authors: Myers Brian E. , Dyer James E. , Washburn Shannon G.
Published: December 2010

One of the most pressing issues facing agricultural education as a profession is the shortage of qualified teachers to fill existing and future secondary agricultural education vacancies. To date, the agricultural education profession has been only moderately effective in recruiting and retaining teachers (Camp, Broyles, & Skelton, 2002). The purpose of this study was to develop a consensus listing of the major problems facing beginning agricultural education teachers. By gaining a better understanding of the major problems beginning agricultural education teachers face, pre-service teacher education programs can better prepare potential teachers to deal with these obstacles. Likewise, professional development programs for current teachers could be established and/or modified to address these problems. This study utilized the Delphi method to develop this listing of major problems. An expert panel of teachers with three or fewer years of experience was established. This panel identified 11 major issues facing beginning agriculture teachers. The top five, as rated by the panel members, were: organizing an effective alumni chapter, organizing an effective advisory committee, organizing and planning FFA chapter events and activities, the management of student discipline in the classroom, and recruiting and retaining alumni members.
Influence Of The Organizational Environment Of The Induction Stage Of Teaching
Authors: Greiman Bradley C. , Walker Weston D. , Birkenholz Robert J.
Published: December 2010

Using the Teacher Career Cycle Model as the theoretical framework, this study extended our understanding of how teachers professionally develop during their first year of teaching. The purpose of this study was to describe the induction activities and socialization process that novice agricultural education teachers experience, and to determine their psychosocial attitude after completion of the first year of teaching. Thirty-one agricultural education teachers in their first year of teaching participated in the study, and both quantitative and qualitative research methodology was utilized to collect and analyze the data. Researchers concluded that factors related to the organizational environment of the school influence the induction stage of teaching. Novice teachers were not prepared for isolation and socialization issues, were challenged by complex program management responsibilities, and expressed frustration by the amount and quality of support that was provided by the school administrator. Novice teachers learned that they serve an important role in students' lives, and reported "love/hate" aspects of their career. It was determined through the use of a semantic differential scale that novice teachers concluded their first year of teaching with an overall positive psychosocial attitude.
Trends In Learner Characteristics And Program Related Experiences Associated With Two Off-Campus Agriculture Degree Programs
Authors: Miller Greg , Miller W. Wade
Published: December 2010

Iowa State University began offering an off-campus master of agriculture (M.Ag.) degree in 1979 and an off-campus B.S. degree in 1991. The major for both degree programs is Professional Agriculture. In the fall of 1993, a follow-up study was conducted to evaluate the programs and to gain an understanding of the off-campus learning experience. Seven years later, another follow-up study was conducted. Data were obtained from 46 of 53 persons who graduated by fall 1993 and from 34 of 54 persons who graduated from spring 1994 to spring 2001. When compared to 1993 respondents, a smaller proportion of 2001 respondents were male and employed in farming. A greater proportion of 2001 respondents were employed in agribusiness and "other" occupations. Graduates in both follow-up studies took about five and three quarter years to complete their programs, but respondents in 2001 traveled to campus more often for reasons associated with their degree program. Year 2001 respondents perceived thirteen challenges to off-campus study as less significant than 1993 respondents. Respondents in 2001 perceived they had significantly greater access to instructors and that instructors understood their needs more than did respondents in 1993. The two most significant challenges faced by graduates in both studies were the limited number of course offerings and the difficulty in balancing school, personal, and work responsibilities.
Perceptions Of Graduate Students Taking On-Line And On-Campus Courses
Authors: Moore Gary , Wilson Elizabeth B.
Published: December 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to a graduate student's decision to take on-line courses in agricultural and extension education and to determine if differences exist in perceptions related to the seven principles of good practice in on-line courses and on-campus courses in a graduate program. The population for this study was all graduate students who had taken at least one on-line course and one on-campus course in an Agricultural and Extension Education graduate program. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Chickering and Ehrmann's (1996) explanation of technological strategies for the "Seven Principles of Good Practice" for teaching at the university level. Findings suggested that a major factor in students' decisions to enroll in distance education courses was the "convenience" factor; however, there is a trade off for this convenience. On-line courses do not compare favorably with on-campus courses in regards to the interaction between students and students and professors. On-campus courses were viewed more favorably in regards to the principle "Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning." Students did not perceive distance education courses to be easier than on-campus courses.
Barriers Perceived By Administrators And Faculty Regarding The Use Of Distance Education Technologies In Preservice Programs For Secondary Agricultural Education Teachers
Authors: Nelson Susie J. , Thompson Gregory W.
Published: December 2010

A principal components analysis was used to develop an instrument that identified barrier factors toward distance education. The barrier factors of agricultural educators were compared between educators in the decision stage and educators in the implementation stage of distance education technology adoption. Respondents were grouped into decision stage or implementation stage of distance education technology adoption according to Rogers' (1995) innovation-decision process. Statistically significant differences existed for various technology types between groups' barrier factor scores. The following conclusions were formulated from this study: (a) respondents in the decision stage showed significantly more agreement toward inhibiting barriers than those in the implementation stage for all barrier factors, except expense; (b) significant differences in barrier factors were found between the participants in the decision stage and those in the implementation stage for all of the distance education technology types, except digital conferencing; (c) faculty time, faculty rewards, faculty workload, administrative support, cost barriers, course quality, student contact, and equipment concerns were considered barriers for a majority of the respondents, and (d) nine barrier factors were extracted and all were considered reliable, except the expense factor.
Factors Associated With Faculty Use Of Web-Based Instruction In Higher Education
Authors: Gammill Teresa , Newman Michael
Published: December 2010

As universities offer courses online, issues related to quality of instruction, faculty roles and incentives, and availability of resources and support are raised. This study examined faculty members' perceptions of factors and issues that support or impede their development and teaching of Web-based courses at Mississippi State University. This measurement of factors concerning the faculty's participation in developing and teaching Web-based courses may lead to improvement in status of web-based instruction (WBI). The researcher found that a majority of the faculty was not using WBI. The low level of WBI implementation was associated with (a) the nature of course content (not all classes are meant for online teaching), (b) lack of administrative support, (c) no release time for development and revisions of online courses, (d) non-reliability of technology, and (e) lack of incentives for teaching online. If the university administration were to implement policies to recognize the importance of WBI while providing adequate support services to faculty, the future could be bright for WBI.
Evaluation Of The Distance Education Degree Program Available To Students Through The College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences
Authors: Mink Jodie L. , Moore Lori L.
Published: December 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distance education degree program available to students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Using quantitative methods, it was found that students were satisfied with the off-campus degree program. Students were satisfied with aspects such as academic preparation, class transferability, academic advising, and the overall quality of education. Students were less satisfied with the variety and the number of courses offered. Participants recommended that more emphasis be placed in the curriculum in the areas of production agriculture, agricultural marketing, and decisionmaking/critical thinking, but that the same emphasis should be placed in the areas of sciences and mathematics. Participants indicated that place bound due to family, flexibility of classes, and place bound due to job were the major factors influencing their decision to complete the distance degree program. Overall, participants indicated that they would enroll again in the Agricultural Science and Technology.
Analysis of the application of the optical method to the measurements of the water vapor content in the atmosphere – Part 1: Basic concepts – the measurements of the water vapor content in the atmosphere with the optical method
Authors: Galkin V. D. , Immler F. , Alekseeva G. A. , Berger F.-H. , Leiterer U. , Naebert T. , Nikanorova I. N. , Novikov V. V. , Pakhomov V. P. , Sal'nikov I. B.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. We retrieved the total content of the atmospheric water vapor from extensive sets of photometric data obtained since 1995 at Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory with star and sun photometers. Different methods of determination of the empirical parameters that are necessary for the retrieval are discussed. The instruments were independently calibrated using laboratory measurements made at Pulkovo Observatory with the VKM-100 multi-pass vacuum cell. The empirical parameters were also calculated by the simulation of the atmospheric absorption by water vapor, using the MODRAN-4 program package for different model atmospheres. The results are compared to those presented in the literature, obtained with different instruments and methods of the retrieval. The accuracy of the empirical parameters used for the power approximation that links the water vapor content with the observed absorption is analyzed. Currently, the calibration and measurement errors yield the uncertainty of about 10% in the total column water vapor. We discuss the possibilities for improving the accuracy of calibration to ~1%, which will make it possible to use data obtained by optical photometry as an independent reference for other methods (GPS, lidar, etc).
Zooplankton communities fluctuations from 1995 to 2005 in the Bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer (Northern Ligurian Sea, France)
Authors: Vandromme P. , Stemmann L. , Berline L. , Gasparini S. , Mousseau L. , Prejger F. , Passafiume O. , Guarini J.-M. , Gorsky G.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. An integrated analysis of the pelagic ecosystems of the Ligurian Sea is performed combining time series of different zooplankton groups (small and large copepods, chaetognaths, appendicularians, pteropods, thaliaceans, decapods larvae, other crustaceans, other gelatinous and other zooplankton), chlorophyll-a and nutrients, seawater salinity, temperature and density and local weather at the Point B coastal station (Northern Ligurian Sea). From January 1995 to December 2005, a shift in most variables occurred ca. 2000. From 1995 to 2000 winters were wet and mild resulting in lower winter sea surface density. These years showed lower than average nutrients and zooplankton concentrations while phytoplankton biomass was higher. After 2000, winters were colder and dryer resulting in higher sea surface density. Nutrients and zooplankton showed higher concentrations while phytoplankton was lower than average. The ca. 2000 shift was observed for most zooplankton groups with a one year delay for certain groups. The observed patterns suggest that the pelagic ecosystem trophic state is mostly set by the winter forcing on the convection that upwells nutrients to the surface sustaining the spring bloom. However, low phytoplankton concentrations in higher nitrate and zooplankton conditions during the well mixed years suggest that phytoplankton is controlled by grazers. The proposed mechanisms of convection regimes hold for most of the time series, but specific years with contradicting patterns needed to be explained by other factors. The limitation of phytoplankton growth by the light availability in spring/summer was then proposed as a secondary driving force that can moderate or even reverse the winter forcing. Finally, the eleven years of observation did not reveal a clear link with the North Atlantic Oscillation, suggesting a more complex dynamics linking large scale climate to Ligurian Sea ecosystems or that the length of the plankton monitoring is not yet sufficient to detect those links.
The Impact of the Little Ice Age on Coccolithophores in the Central Mediterranea Sea
Authors: Incarbona A. , Ziveri P. , Di Stefano E. , Lirer F. , Mortyn G. , Patti B. , Pelosi N. , Sprovieri M. , Tranchida G. , Vallefuoco M. , Albertazzi S. , Bellucci L. G. , Bonanno A. , Bonomo S. , Censi P. , Ferraro L. , Giuliani S. , Mazzola S. , Sprovieri R.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. The Little Ice Age (LIA) is the last episode of a series of Holocene climatic anomalies. There is still little knowledge on the response of the marine environment to the pronounced cooling of the LIA and to the transition towards the 20th century global warming. Here we present decadal-scale coccolithophore data from four short cores recovered from the central Mediterranean Sea (northern Sicily Channel and Tyrrhenian Sea), which on the basis of 210Pb activity span the last 200–350 years. The lowermost part of the record of one of the cores from the Sicily Channel, Station 407, which extends down to 1650 AD, is characterized by drastic changes in productivity. Specifically, below 1850 AD, the decrease in abundance of F. profunda and the increase of placoliths, suggest increased productivity. The chronology of this change is related to the main phase of the Little Ice Age, which might have impacted the hydrography of the southern coast of Sicily and promoted vertical mixing in the water column. The comparison with climatic forcings points out the importance of stronger and prolonged northerly winds, together with decreased solar irradiance.
Late Holocene climate variability in the southwestern Mediterranean region: an integrated marine and terrestrial geochemical approach
Authors: Martín-Puertas C. , Jiménez-Espejo F. , Martínez-Ruiz F. , Nieto-Moreno V. , Rodrigo M. , Mata M. P. , Valero-Garcés B. L.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. A combination of marine (Alboran Sea cores, ODP 976 and TTR 300 G) and terrestrial (Zoñar Lake, Andalucia, Spain) geochemical proxies provides a high-resolution reconstruction of climate variability and human influence in the southwestern Mediterranean region for the last 4000 years at inter-centennial resolution. Proxies respond to changes in precipitation rather than temperature alone. Our combined terrestrial and marine archive documents a succession of dry and wet periods coherent with the North Atlantic climate signal. A dry period occurred prior to 2.7 cal ka BP – synchronously to the global aridity crisis of the third-millennium BC – and during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (1.4–0.7 cal ka BP). Wetter conditions prevailed from 2.7 to 1.4 cal ka BP. Hydrological signatures during the Little Ice Age are highly variable but consistent with more humidity than the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Additionally, Pb anomalies in sediments at the end of the Bronze Age suggest anthropogenic pollution earlier than the Roman Empire development in the Iberian Peninsula. The Late Holocene climate evolution of the in the study area confirms the see-saw pattern between the eastern and western Mediterranean regions and the higher influence of the North Atlantic dynamics in the western Mediterranean.
Modeling global atmospheric CO2 with improved emission inventories and CO2 production from the oxidation of other carbon species
Authors: Nassar R. , Jones D. B. A. , Suntharalingam P. , Chen J. M. , Andres R. J. , Wecht K. J. , Yantosca R. M. , Kulawik S. S. , Bowman K. W. , Worden J. R. , Machida T. , Matsueda H.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. The use of global three-dimensional (3-D) models with satellite observations of CO2 in inverse modeling studies is an area of growing importance for understanding Earth's carbon cycle. Here we use the GEOS-Chem model (version 8-02-01) CO2 mode with multiple modifications in order to assess their impact on CO2 forward simulations. Modifications include CO2 surface emissions from shipping (~0.19 Pg C yr−1), 3-D spatially-distributed emissions from aviation (~0.16 Pg C yr−1), and 3-D chemical production of CO2 (~1.05 Pg C yr−1). Although CO2 chemical production from the oxidation of CO, CH4 and other carbon gases is recognized as an important contribution to global CO2, it is typically accounted for by conversion from its precursors at the surface rather than in the free troposphere. We base our model 3-D spatial distribution of CO2 chemical production on monthly-averaged loss rates of CO (a key precursor and intermediate in the oxidation of organic carbon) and apply an associated surface correction for inventories that have counted emissions of CO2 precursors as CO2. We also explore the benefit of assimilating satellite observations of CO into GEOS-Chem to obtain an observation-based estimate of the CO2 chemical source. The CO assimilation corrects for an underestimate of atmospheric CO abundances in the model, resulting in increases of as much as 24% in the chemical source during May–June 2006, and increasing the global annual estimate of CO2 chemical production from 1.05 to 1.18 Pg C. Comparisons of model CO2 with measurements are carried out in order to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions that result when these new sources are added. Inclusion of CO2 emissions from shipping and aviation are shown to increase the global CO2 latitudinal gradient by just over 0.10 ppm (~3%), while the inclusion of CO2 chemical production (and the surface correction) is shown to decrease the latitudinal gradient by about 0.40 ppm (~10%) with a complex spatial structure generally resulting in decreased CO2 over land and increased CO2 over the oceans. Since these CO2 emissions are omitted or misrepresented in most inverse modeling work to date, their implementation in forward simulations should lead to improved inverse modeling estimates of terrestrial biospheric fluxes.
Semi-Lagrangian methods in air pollution models
Authors: Hansen A. B. , Brandt J. , Christensen J. H. , Kaas E.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. Various semi-Lagrangian methods are tested with respect to advection in air pollution modeling. The aim is to find a method fulfilling as many of the desirable properties by Rasch and Williamson (1990) and Machenhauer et al. (2008) as possible. The focus in this study is on accuracy and local mass conservation. The methods tested are, first, classical semi-Lagrangian cubic interpolation, see e.g. Durran (1999), second, semi-Lagrangian cubic cascade interpolation, by Nair et al. (2002), third, semi-Lagrangian cubic interpolation with the modified interpolation weights, Locally Mass Conserving Semi-Lagrangian (LMCSL), by Kaas (2008), and last, semi-Lagrangian cubic interpolation with a locally mass conserving monotonic filter byKaas and Nielsen (2009). Semi-Lagrangian (SL) interpolation is a classical method for atmospheric modeling, cascade interpolation is more efficient computationally, modified interpolation weights assure mass conservation and the locally mass conserving monotonic filter imposes monotonicity. All schemes are tested with advection alone or with advection and chemistry together under both typical rural and urban conditions using different temporal and spatial resolution. The methods are compared with a current state-of-the-art scheme, Accurate Space Derivatives (ASD), see Frohn et al. (2002), presently used at the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) in Denmark. To enable a consistent comparison only non-divergent flow configurations are tested. The test cases are based either on the traditional slotted cylinder or the rotating cone, where the schemes' ability to model both steep gradients and slopes are challenged. The tests showed that the locally mass conserving monotonic filter improved the results significantly for some of the test cases, however, not for all. It was found that the semi-Lagrangian schemes, in almost every case, were not able to outperform the current ASD scheme used in DEHM with respect to accuracy.
Improving the snow physics of WEB-DHM and its point evaluation at the SnowMIP sites
Authors: Shrestha M. , Wang L. , Koike T. , Xue Y. , Hirabayashi Y.
Published: December 2010

Abstract. In this study, the snow physics of a distributed biosphere hydrological model, referred to as the Water and Energy Budget based Distributed Hydrological Model (WEB-DHM) is significantly improved by incorporating the three-layer physically based energy balance snowmelt model of Simplified Simple Biosphere 3 (SSiB3) and the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) albedo scheme. WEB-DHM with improved snow physics is hereafter termed WEB-DHM-S. Since the in-situ observations of spatially-distributed snow variables with high resolution are currently not available over large regions, the new distributed system (WEB-DHM-S) is at first rigorously tested with comprehensive point measurements. The stations used for evaluation comprise the four open sites of the Snow Model Intercomparison Project (SnowMIP) phase 1 with different climate characteristics (Col de Porte in France, Weissfluhjoch in Switzerland, Goose Bay in Canada and Sleepers River in USA) and one open/forest site of the SnowMIP phase 2 (Hitsujigaoka in Japan). The comparisons of the snow depth, snow water equivalent, surface temperature, snow albedo and snowmelt runoff at the SnowMIP1 sites reveal that WEB-DHM-S, in general, is capable of simulating the internal snow process better than the original WEB-DHM. Sensitivity tests (through incremental addition of model processes) are performed to illustrate the necessity of improvements over WEB-DHM and indicate that both the 3-layer snow module and the new albedo scheme are essential. The canopy effects on snow processes are studied at the Hitsujigaoka site of the SnowMIP2 showing that the snow holding capacity of the canopy plays a vital role in simulating the snow depth on ground. Through these point evaluations and sensitivity studies, WEB-DHM-S has demonstrated the potential to address basin-scale snow processes (e.g., the snowmelt runoff), since it inherits the distributed hydrological framework from the WEB-DHM (e.g., the slope-driven runoff generation with a grid-hillslope scheme, and the flow routing in the river network).