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Private twilight: Wither private universities in Kenya
Get PDFIt is a trying time for private universities in Kenya. Declining market share and attendant financial woes are ominous signs for the once vibrant sector. The article identifies the blurring of institutional distinctiveness, government policy promoting public growth and public sector resurgence through the privatization as factors precipitating the private decline
What do part-time geographically dispersed faculty members need for their professional development?
Get PDFAs the landscape of higher education has changed over the past decade, many institutions of higher education find that they are employing an ever increasing number of part-time, temporary faculty members. While many of the part-time temporary faculty members come to the institution with high levels of experience and skills in their disciplinary area, they are often not well grounded in the workings of institutions of higher education or in providing high-quality instruction to the young adult and adult learners who populate the classrooms in higher education. One way institutions of higher education can promote high levels of student success and student achievement is through providing high-quality professional development that equips the faculty member with the tools needed to provide effective instruction and a strong focus on student learning. Yet a review of literature in this area yields few examples of institutions that have analyzed the professional development needs of their part-time temporary faculty and addressed these needs in any depth. As a result, the professional development activities offered by the current faculty professional development programs may not meet their unique needs. This project, a collaborative venture between the Faculty Professional Development program and Extended Campuses undertook a purposive sampling of part-time faculty members in geographically distributed locations in an attempt to identify themes and issues related to providing effective professional development activities. This poster session will provide a summary of the findings of this sampling and plans for subsequent follow up surveys to more accurately understand the range of potential needs of faculty members distributed across and outside the state
2013–2014 White Mountain Stewardship Project economic assessment
Get PDFWhite Mountain Stewardship Projec
Projecting current and future location, quality, and connectivity of habitat for breeding birds in the Great Basin
Get PDFWe estimated the current location, quality, and connectivity of habitat for 50 species of breeding birds in four mountain ranges in the central Great Basin (Lander, Nye, and Eureka Counties, Nevada) and projected the future location, quality, and connectivity of habitat for these species given different scenarios of climate-induced land-cover change. In the United States, such models are relevant to federally mandated management of wild animals by state-level agencies. We sampled birds during the breeding seasons of 2001–2009 with fixed-radius point counts. For each species, we used boosted regression trees to model incidence (proportion of years a location was surveyed in which the species was present) as a function of topography and current land cover and climate. To assess model fit, we calculated the proportion of binomial deviance explained. We used cross-validation to estimate the predictive accuracy of the models. We applied the conservation planning program Zonation to identify locations where incidences of multiple species were maximized through time given current land cover and two scenarios of land-cover change, expansion of pinyon–juniper woodland into sagebrush shrubsteppe and contraction of riparian woodland. Models based on a set of 13 covariates derived from remotely sensed data had some predictive capacity for 41 of 50 species. Model outputs suggested substantial changes in amount of habitat for many species following projected expansion of pinyon–juniper woodland, but less pronounced changes following projected contraction of riparian woodland. Zonation analyses indicated that the spatial distribution of the highest-quality habitat for the avian assemblage was relatively consistent through time under both scenarios. Breeding birds in the Great Basin commonly are grouped in management plans on the basis of their general association with land-cover classes such as pinyon–juniper woodland, sagebrush shrubsteppe, and riparian woodland. However, even within these groups, the environmental attributes that explained a high proportion of variation in species' incidences and the projected responses to different scenarios of land-cover change varied considerably among species
The effect of balance training on ankle proprioception in patients with functional ankle instability
Get PDFMeeting Abstract From 4th Congress of the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics (i-FAB) Community
Busan, Korea. 8-11 April 201
Cryptococcus gattii in North American Pacific Northwest: whole-population genome analysis provides insights into species evolution and dispersal
Get PDFThe emergence of distinct populations of Cryptococcus gattii in the temperate North American Pacific Northwest (PNW) was surprising, as this species was previously thought to be confined to tropical and semitropical regions. Beyond a new habitat niche, the dominant emergent population displayed increased virulence and caused primary pulmonary disease, as opposed to the predominantly neurologic disease seen previously elsewhere. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on 118 C. gattii isolates, including the PNW subtypes and the global diversity of molecular type VGII, to better ascertain the natural source and genomic adaptations leading to the emergence of infection in the PNW. Overall, the VGII population was highly diverse, demonstrating large numbers of mutational and recombinational events; however, the three dominant subtypes from the PNW were of low diversity and were completely clonal. Although strains of VGII were found on at least five continents, all genetic subpopulations were represented or were most closely related to strains from South America. The phylogenetic data are consistent with multiple dispersal events from South America to North America and elsewhere. Numerous gene content differences were identified between the emergent clones and other VGII lineages, including genes potentially related to habitat adaptation, virulence, and pathology. Evidence was also found for possible gene introgression from Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii that is rarely seen in global C. gattii but that was present in all PNW populations. These findings provide greater understanding of C. gattii evolution in North America and support extensive evolution in, and dispersal from, South America. Importance: Cryptococcus gattii emerged in the temperate North American Pacific Northwest (PNW) in the late 1990s. Beyond a new environmental niche, these emergent populations displayed increased virulence and resulted in a different pattern of clinical disease. In particular, severe pulmonary infections predominated in contrast to presentation with neurologic disease as seen previously elsewhere. We employed population-level whole-genome sequencing and analysis to explore the genetic relationships and gene content of the PNW C. gattii populations. We provide evidence that the PNW strains originated from South America and identified numerous genes potentially related to habitat adaptation, virulence expression, and clinical presentation. Characterization of these genetic features may lead to improved diagnostics and therapies for such fungal infections. The data indicate that there were multiple recent introductions of C. gattii into the PNW. Public health vigilance is warranted for emergence in regions where C. gattii is not thought to be endemic
Fact sheet: Managing naturally ignited wildland fire to meet fuel reduction and restoration goals in frequent-fire forests.
Get PDFFire is a key process that has played a central role in structuring and regulating the function of forest ecosystems over millennia. There is increasing interest in using fire, particularly naturally ignited wildland fires (Figure 1), to provide a cost-effective alternative, or complement, to mechanical thinning. However, more information about the efficacy of wildfire providing ecological, economic, and social benefits is needed. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of policy guidelines, benefits, costs, and constraints for managing naturally ignited wildland fire in order to meet fuels reduction and restoration objectives
Fact sheet: Planting to restore ponderosa pine sites burned by high-severity fire.
Get PDFIncreases in landscape-scale wildfires in frequent-fire forests over the last several decades have led to management concerns regarding long-term restoration of severely burned sites. In particular, interior areas of large, high-severity patches may lack conifer regeneration for decades (Savage and Mast 2005, Passovoy and Fule 2006, Haire and McGarigal 2010, Roccaforte et al. 2012). A lack of tree regeneration may result in type conversion from sites historically dominated by coniferous forests to persistent non-forested areas (Figure 1) (Barton 2002, Strom and Fule 2007). Based on these concerns, managers have at times aggressively pursued replanting of burned-over sites with conifers, with the result that many planted areas eventually become overly dense with trees to the point that eventually crown fires are bound to recur. To avoid this problem and to assure long-term restoration of forest structure including natural openings, consideration should be given to reestablishment of reference species composition, natural ranges and variability in tree densities, and spatial arrangement of trees in a functional ecosystem
Fact sheet: Field considerations for measuring evapotranspiration with the Eddy Covariance Method.
Get PDFIn semi-arid ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern US, up to 90% of the annual water budget is re-turned to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration (ET). Accurate measurements of this component of the water budget are, therefore, critical to assess hydrological responses to planned forest restoration. The eddy covariance (EC) method is an atmospheric measurement technique that yields accurate ET measurements. The EC method calculates vertical turbulent fluxes within an atmospheric boundary layer over natural ecosystems and agricultural systems to determine gas exchange rates (e.g., water vapor concentration, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration) (Burba 2013). Both natural and human-mediated processes affect forest gas exchange. Recent studies of both wildfire and forest restoration treatments in stands of ponderosa pine show a reduction of ET compared to an undisturbed forest site (Dore et al. 2010). Application of EC to investigate CO2 and water fluxes in ponderosa pine forest improves understanding of CO2 and water flux exchange patterns. This fact sheet describes installation of an EC system, including flux tower placement requirements and maintenance of scientific instruments
The problem with public university salaries in Kenya
Get PDFFaculty strikes over salaries have become a regular feature in Kenya’s public universities. The article identifies the preponderance of union-negotiated pay increase, absence of a merit pay system and the lack of differentiated pay tied to institutional context as key contributing factors. It recommends a more robust compensation scheme that includes pay-for-performance system, context-based differentiated pay for university executives and the democratization of the university budget processes