The purposes of this study were: (1) to trace the growth of the Summer School program of instruction for children in the Stockton Unified School District since its inception and up to the present study time; (2) to compare the scope and quality of the instructional offerings and the extent of child participation in the Summer School program of the Stockton Unified School District with selected communities in California; and (3) to determine the nature and extent of acceptance of the Summer Elementary School program of the Stockton Unified School District by the children who attended by their parents, and by their teachers.

Long acknowledged as a committed poet of place, this thesis examines tones of outsiderness and alienation that characterize George Scarbrough’s poetry. Scarbrough draws on familiarity with his childhood in southeast Tennessee, and from an outsider’s outlook, a perspective veritably prompted by the rejection he suffered as a homosexual and lover of language, Scarbrough’s poetry addresses the daunting themes of fear and nothingness. Analysis of his poetry also reveals qualities of hope and endurance, a commitment to received forms, and Modern innovation. Through his poetic voice, culminating in the alter ego of Han-shan, Scarbrough provides vital insights into the human experience.

Children’s energy requirements may vary during school and summer camp days. To evaluate energy balance during these two periods, seventy-eight children (45% females, 8–10 years) living in Parma, Italy, were enrolled in this observational study. Participants completed a 3-day food diary and wore an activity tracker for three consecutive days during a school- and a summer camp-week to estimate energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (TEE). Height and body weight were measured at the beginning of each period to define children’s weight status. BMI and EI (school: 1692 ± 265 kcal/day; summer camp: 1738 ± 262 kcal/day) were similar during both periods. Both physical activity and TEE (summer camp: 1948 ± 312; school: 1704 ± 263 kcal/day) were higher during summer camp compared to school time. Therefore, energy balance was more negative during summer camp (−209 ± 366 kcal/day) compared to school time (−12 ± 331 kcal/day). Similar results were observed when males and females were analyzed separately but, comparing the sexes, males had a higher TEE and a more negative energy balance than females, during both periods. The results strongly suggest that an accurate evaluation of children’s energy balance, that considers both diet and physical activity, is needed when planning adequate diets for different situations.

Daily demands for electrical power are met through sub-daily release of turbined water in the form of hydropeaking. Hydropeaking’s changes to stream flow are listed as a threat to biodiversity in river ecosystems as it causes rapid habitat alteration such as increased depth and velocity, affecting the species living downstream. The brown trout and landlocked salmon populations in Gullspång River, Sweden, are threatened and subjects to the hydropeaking regime. This study investigated the effects of hydropeaking in summertime (summer peaks) in Gullspång River on growth and survival of age 0 (fry) and age 1 (parr) brown trout and Atlantic salmon. The study used an individual-based model (inSTREAM 7.2-SD) to predict how different peak scenarios would affect the different species and age groups. A previous study’s parameters and model calibration for the study area were used, and I manipulated the flow time-series to create new flow time-series including three single peaking scenarios on different dates during summer, one multiple summer peak scenario as well as a no-peak (steady flow) scenario. The analysis focused on qualitative patterns in how the populations responded to the various flow scenarios. Age 0 salmon’s growth and survival were negatively affected by all peaking scenarios in comparison to the steady flow scenario, with the combined peaking scenario having the worst effect. Age 0 trout survival was either unaffected by single peaking (Scenario 1 & 2) or negatively affected (Scenario 3) and was also worst affected by the combined peaks compared to steady flow. Age 1 survival of both species was positively affected by the combined peaking but either unaffected (Scenario 1 & 2) or negatively (Scenario 3) affected by single peaks compared to the steady flow scenario. Age 1 growth followed a similar trend with highest growth rate in the combined peaks scenario and the lowest in the steady flow for both species. Results of the study may contribute to river management decisions regarding choice of peaking period depending on management goals regarding target species and life cycle stage. / Dagliga efterfrågan av elektricitet tillgodoses genom daglig korttidsreglering avvattenkraftverk där vatten flödar genom turbinerna. Korttidsreglering är listat somett av de större hoten mot den biologiska mångfalden i floders ekosystem då det ledertill snabba habitatförändringar som ökat djup och flödeshastighet, vilket påverkararterna som lever nedströms. Gullspångsälvens bestånd av öring och lax är hotadeoch utsätts för korttidsreglering som nyttjas i älven. Den här studien undersöktekorttidsregleringens påverkan under sommartid (sommartoppar) i Gullspångsälvenpå tillväxt och överlevnad hos ålder 0 (yngel) och ålder 1 (parr) öring och atlantlax.Studien använde en individbaserad modell (inSTREAM 7.2-SD) för att förutspå hurscenarion med olika toppar påverkar de olika arterna samt åldersgrupperna. Entidigare studies parametrar och kalibrering av modellen för studieområdet användesoch jag ändrade flödestidsserierna för att skapa nya flödestidsserier vilket1inkluderade tre enstaka sommartoppar vid olika datum under sommaren, ettkombinerat sommartoppscenario samt ett scenario utan topp (stadigt flöde).Analysen fokuserade på kvalitativa mönster bland populationernas respons till deolika flödestoppscenarion. 0-laxens tillväxt och överlevnad var negativt påverkad avalla flödestoppscenarion i jämförelse med det stadiga flödesscenariot, där detkombinerade flödesscenariot resulterade i en värsta påverkan. 0-öringens överlevnadvar antingen opåverkad (Scenario 1 & 2) eller negativt påverkad (Scenario 3) avenstaka flödestoppar samt också värst påverkad av det kombinerade flödesscenariot ijämförelse med det stadiga flödet. Överlevnaden hos ålder 1 av båda arter blevpositivt påverkad av det kombinerade flödescenariot men var antingen opåverkad(Scenario 1 & 2) eller negativt påverkad (Scenario 3) av de enstaka flödestopparnajämfört med det stadiga flödet. Tillväxten hos ålder 1 av båda arter följde ett liknandemönster där störst tillväxt uppmättes i det kombinerade scenariot och den lägstatillväxten i det stadiga flödesscenariot. Studiens resultat kan bidra tillförvaltningsbeslut gällande älvar när det kommer till utformningen av flödestoppar,beroende på vilka förvaltningsmål som finns för arter och dess livscykelstadium.

Opening up dialogue on sustainability is part of the mission that Education for Sustainable Development (E.S.D.) possess to act against some of the challenges of today’s world. Despite widespread practice in schools we can also see E.S.D. in other forms of non-conventional education such as holiday camps which offer different types of assets sometimes lacking in schools: A strong connection to the outdoors and a stronger sense of communal life. Story circles have been used here as a tool using storytelling of personal life experiences. The aim was to look at how would stories and discussions about sustainability be shaped during a Story circle. Two research questions were form: 1.     How do story circles with camp counselors combine to shape discussions about sustainability? 2.     How do these discussions compare to sustainable competencies? Could story circles in holiday camps be a resource to enhance staff’s sustainable competencies? Participants were staff from two camps in France and the United States. Three interventions took place with a total of fourteen participants. Story circles were treated as focus groups and analyzed using thematic analysis used to shape a follow-up questionnaire to achieve an embedded mixed-method design. Results showcased how participants shared personal life experiences regarding sustainability through their stories and how they were able to reflect on these in a group effort. Additionally, they revealed how Story circles could be an interesting resource to enrich staff’s sustainable competencies at the condition to have a well-trained facilitator leading the activity. / <p>The presentation was done online.</p>

This Master thesis examines a phenomenon that occurs in the upper polar atmosphere, namely, Polar Mesospheric Winter Echoes, or PMWEs. PMWEs are radar echoes observed by Very High Frequency Mesosphere Stratosphere Troposphere (VHF MST) radar, from altitudes of 60 to 76 km at 7 to 15 UT, in the winter months from the middle of September to the beginning of May. The aforementioned specifications are the partial results of this thesis.PMWEs are generally understood to be caused by turbulence; however, radar data indicate some rare cases where PMWEs can be created with velocities exceeding the speed of sound, which is not possible with current turbulence theory. Kirkwood et al., 2006 and Belova, Kirkwood, and Sergienko, 2013 hypothesised that infrasound could generate the necessary conditions for PMWEs with velocities equal to or exceeding the speed of sound. Observations of PMWEs presented in this thesis have been carried out by the MST radar ESRAD, located at Esrange (67 56’N, 21 04’E) near Kiruna in northern Sweden. The radar operates at 52 MHz and has been performing continuous radar observations since Dec 1996. Observations of the infrasounds presented in this thesis were carried out by a microbarometer located close to Rymdcampus in Kiruna. Access to the data is restricted, but through university administration, this master’s thesis has been granted permission to use the data for the study of PMWEs. The instrument performed continuous infrasound measurements from the 24th of May 2016 and forward. This thesis will perform a full analysis of all radar data from the 17th of Dec 1996 until the 31st of Jan 2021 to assess the altitude interval, diurnal interval and yearly interval. The data given in the first section are a result of this work. Additionally, space weather parameters relation with the occurrence of PMWEs is analysed. Space weather parameters are very important for the chemistry and conditions present in the mesosphere. It is shown thatt here is a strong relation between solar wind and PMWE occurrence, decent relation with Kp index and no to weak relation with solar particle event (SPE). Correlating space weather and PMWEs in greater detail could be the subject of other studies. Last but most interesting, microbarometer data will be analysed for days where high-speed PMWEs are detected. Because of the rarity of these high-speed PMWEs, only seven total cases were found from 24 May 2016 onward, making the analysis of the infrasound measurements very limited, and no connection was found. However, it was found that days with high-speed PMWEs had an abnormally low amount of infrasound detections, further making analysis difficult but raising questions of why. This could mean that infrasound signals might be hindered from reaching the ground on days where we have high-speed PMWEs. No further conclusions can be made, as this indicates relation but not causation. Airborne infrasound instruments could be used to detect weaker infrasound signals due to being unaffected by wind disturbance at the ground.

The American horseshoe crab (HSC), Limulus polyphemus, is one of four species of horseshoe crabs found throughout the world, and the only one found in North America. It is an economically and ecologically important species throughout its native range from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Harvested for fertilizer and livestock feed in the 19th century, the species is now harvested as bait for whelk and eel fisheries, and for their blood by the biomedical industry. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) started to formally manage HSC in 1998 with its Interstate Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP). Unique emphasis and harvest limits have been placed on the Delaware Bay stock, as it is commercially exploited and a critical food source for the threatened red knot, Calidris canutus rufa. Previously, estimates of relative and total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area were based on a design-based approach using a stratified random sampling design. In Chapter 1 of this work, I developed hurdle models for each of the six HSC demographic groups to standardize catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and estimate relative abundance using a model-based approach. It was determined that while the two approaches resulted in mostly convergent estimates of relative abundance, external factors such as month, time-of-day, and average depth have major effects on the observed CPUE of all demographic groups. Chapter 2 involved the development of hurdle models for the three species of bycatch frequently caught in our trawls, channeled whelk (Busysotypus canaliculatus), knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus). It was found that channeled whelk relative abundance has been at a historical low since 2016, while summer flounder has been at a consistent high. Recent estimates of knobbed whelk relative abundance have been less variable than previously seen, with estimates since 2016 being similar to those seen before 2012. These results provide the first estimates for whelk population trends in the mid-Atlantic region and add to the growing knowledge of summer flounder relative abundance in the area. In Chapter 3, I applied the hurdle models developed in Chapter 1 to estimate the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. For this work, I developed two spatio-temporal variograms to estimate bottom temperature and bottom salinity at unmeasured cells per month in the time series. The results showed that night estimates of total abundance were consistently higher than daytime estimates, and estimates from September or November resulted in the highest estimated catch for all demographic groups. The results suggest that when comparing September model-based estimates at night to those of the design-based approach, nearly a third of all previous design-based estimates significantly underestimated the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. This result suggests that the ASMFC can recommend increased harvest limits for mature individuals if that action aligns with the goals of their adaptive resource management (ARM) framework. / Master of Science / The American horseshoe crab (HSC), Limulus polyphemus, is one of four species of horseshoe crabs found throughout the world, and the only one found in North America. It is an economically and ecologically important species throughout its native range from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Harvested by the millions in the 19th century, the species is still harvested as bait for whelk and eel fisheries, and for their blood by the biomedical industry, on the order of hundreds of thousands. Formal management of HSC by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) began in 1998, and allowable catch and landings have decreased since 1999. A strong focus has been placed on the Delaware Bay population, as it is the center of HSC abundance and provides a critical food source for the threatened red knot, Calidris canutus rufa, while also being commercially exploited. To effectively manage the species, it is important to accurately estimate relative and total abundance so that proper harvest limits can be set. Previously, estimates of relative and total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area were based on a design-based approach using a stratified random sampling design. In Chapter 1 of this work, I developed hurdle models (a generalized linear model that models the probability of observations and the observed positive counts using two separate regression models that are then combined) for each of the six HSC demographic groups to remove the effect of external factors (year, latitude, longitude, depth [inshore/offshore], topography, average trawl depth, time-of-day, month, bottom temperature, bottom salinity, and distance from shore) on our observed catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and estimate relative abundance using a model-based approach. It was determined that while the two approaches resulted in mostly convergent estimates of relative abundance, factors like month, time-of-day, and average depth had major effects on the observed CPUE of all demographic groups. Chapter 2 involved developing similar hurdle models for three species of bycatch frequently caught in our trawls, i.e., channeled whelk (Busysotypus canaliculatus), knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus). It was found that channeled whelk relative abundance has been at a historical low since 2016, while summer flounder has been at a consistent high. Recent estimates of knobbed whelk relative abundance have been less variable than previously seen, with estimates since 2016 being similar to those seen before 2012. These results provide the first estimates for whelk population trends in the mid-Atlantic region and add to the growing knowledge of summer flounder relative abundance in the area. In Chapter 3, I applied the hurdle models developed in Chapter 1 to estimate the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. To do this, the bottom temperature and salinity had to be estimated for each geographic cell. This was accomplished by developing two spatio-temporal variograms which allowed me to estimate either variable at an unmeasured point and time based on its spatial and temporal distance from a measured value in a process known as spatio-temporal kriging. The results showed that night estimates of total abundance were consistently higher than daytime estimates and that estimates from September or November resulted in the highest estimated total abundance for all demographic groups. The results suggest that when using September model-based estimates at night to compare against the design-based approach, nearly a third of all previous design-based estimates significantly underestimated the total abundance of HSC in the Delaware Bay area. This outcome could justify ASMFC increasing recommended harvest limits for mature individuals if that action aligns with the goals of their adaptive resource management (ARM) framework.

Prescribed fire is commonly used to manage white-tailed deer habitat. However, nutrition is still limited during the summer for deer in the Southeast and prescribed fire is commonly restricted to the dormant season. Knowledge of fire phenology effects on summer nutrient availability is relatively unknown. Stump sprouts may also affect available nutrition, which could be important when managing for summer nutrition. To address this summer nutritional stress period, I examined impacts prescribed fire phenology and mechanical stump sprouting had on summer nutritional carrying capacity for deer. Results indicated implementing prescribed fire in both dormant and growing-seasons led to increased summer nutrient availability on the landscape level by increasing forage quality and quantity. Mechanically creating stump sprouts from woody plants led to increased available nutrition on a localized level. Combining these management actions to target summer nutritional stress periods can better help deer meet nutritional demands and reach their full potential.

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