Section 1: Introduction, Section 2: Physical features, Section 3: Biological features, Section 4: Social/Economic, Section 5: Important Resources, Section 6: Watershed Classification, Section 7: Watershed Management, Section 8: Local Watershed Planning, Appendix A: Water Quality Data and Assessments, Appendix B: Selected References, Appendix C: RUSLE, Appendix D: AGWA

At the GPSC Student Showcase 2011, received 2nd place Graduate in the category of Public Health

Financial pressures and an increasingly diverse patient population have made it challenging for healthcare providers to administer education programs that adequately inform patients prior to any significant health-related intervention. Ineffective education results in patients making decisions without adequate knowledge which could increase anxiety and frustration and reduce patient satisfaction with the healthcare experience. Interactive, computer-based education (ICBE) programs may offer providers a solution that will enhance their education processes. ICBE programs require fewer resources; can be scripted in multiple languages; and have the power to actively engage the patient in the learning experience by integrating auditory, visual, and interactive learning strategies.The objective of this research was to determine if ICBE program use influenced hospital patients' perception of satisfaction. The research was conducted at a small hospital located in a Midwest urban setting. The 84 patients scheduled for knee and hip surgery who volunteered to enroll were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that used the ICBE program or a control group. All patients completed a satisfaction survey instrument after their surgery.A t test indicated that there was not a significant mean difference between the treatment and control groups t(71) = 1.001, p = .16. In addition, the individual predictor variables used in a regression analysis, Age (R2 = .005), College Degree (R2 = .003), and Use of the Emmi program (R2 = .011) and the combined model (R2 = .019) did not provide any meaningful predictive value related to patient satisfaction and the results for each variable and the combined model were not significant (F3, 80 = .526, p = .666).The patient satisfaction survey scores were very high indicating a considerable ceiling effect and the ICBE program had little chance of demonstrating a statistically significant or practically important effect. Although the study results did not support a relationship between ICBE program use and patient satisfaction, an analysis of the research and information obtained from the literature reviews provided valuable additions to the literature including a best practices model that may be beneficial to future researchers and users of ICBE programs.

Packer and Goicoechea (2000) and Wortham (2006) propose that academic learning is both personal and social transformation. This transformation is continuously negotiated through classroom interaction and curricular choices. The current ethnographic study of an urban southwestern charter high school investigates academic learning in two contexts: a Spanish heritage-language (SHL) class and a humanities class.The study examines Mexican-origin students' resistance to studying their ancestral language. From the first day of their SHL class, students refused to speak Spanish (despite their proficiency), rejected published Spanish-language materials, and acted out. Student resistance was rooted in their perceived lack of relevant tasks and materials, teacher-respect for their home language and culture, and student belief that learning "proper Spanish" could threaten social and familial relationships (see also Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Labov, 1972a; Mehan, Hubbard, & Villanueva, 1994).The resistance of the heritage language learners contrasts sharply with the engagement of the same students in their Humanities course in which students connect enthusiastically with subject matter and instructor. Findings suggest that engagement was fostered through the teacher's strict adherence to the principles of place-based learning (Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b), critical democratic pedagogy (Shor, 1992), and the instructor's teacher ethos.Latinos have the greatest high school dropout rate in the United States while simultaneously being the largest growing demographic group (Carreira, 2003; "US Census Report," 2004; Waggoner, 2000). The pairing of these two statistics should draw alarm. Thus the study of Latino student engagement and resistance to academic learning is crucial for understanding this problem as well as exploring what pedagogies hold most promise. In terms of HL instruction, analyses reveal that a critical place-based approach to heritage-language instruction holds such promise.

Evidence Based Librarianship (EBL) seeks for and promotes the improvement of the librarian practice through the use of the best available evidence. Strongly used in medical contexts, Evidence Based Practice can be an important tool for the development of LIS, if practice is carefully thought and wisely combined with research and theoretical reflection. In order to achieve a state of equilibrium between theories and empirical studies, a qualitative method –action research- may be applied, as a dialogue between abstract ideas and the facts and signs provided by concrete experiences. Through action research, librarians can collect the evidence –using a series of qualitative tools- and use it for building theoretical knowledge in order to improve their work and their profession. From this viewpoint, after putting something into practice they will be able to know whether it worked as expected or not, make any change if it is necessary, and test the whole process again, searching more and new evidence. The method becomes a progressive helix that leads librarians to continuously evaluate their activities and services and improve them according of their final users’ needs. Fitting these ideas in the general context of “Library 2.0” new LIS model and in the particular situation of Social Sciences libraries, the conference briefly introduces some basic ideas on how action research should be employed for collecting and using evidence in LIS.

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