PERCEPTIONS OF INTERIOR SPACES

A transactional approach was used to examine responses to dining and living rooms. In experiment 1, 19 subjects evaluated a sample of 37 rooms on nine scales and ranked ordered the scales as to difficulty of application. A factor analysis yielded three room categories: Decorative; Stylish; and Familiar. Subjects found it easier to make affective rather than cognitive judgments. Experiment 2 examined the effects of relative involvement on responses to the three categories of rooms. Stimulus materials included two matched sets (A and B) of 12 rooms (four from each category) and a detail from each (e.g. a lamp). Twenty-four male and 24 female subjects viewed the 12 rooms (set A or set B) and rated each one on six 7-point scales, wrote brief imaginative accounts of an episode which might take place in each room, and performed a recognition task for details of the rooms. Subjects did the scale ratings either before or after writing the narrative accounts, and wrote each narrative either from first or third person perspectives in a within-subjects design. The desire to live in a room was best predicted by perceived beauty and personal involvement. Involvement was fostered by rating the rooms before writing the stories and by a first person perspective. Familiar rooms were preferred most, while Decorative rooms were seen as most informative about the person.     

STEREOTYPICAL PROCESSING: THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT

Previous research examining stereotype dilution had illustrated the importance of task instructions (Neuberg & Fiske, 1987), outcome dependence (Erber & Fiske, 1984; Neuberg & Fiske, 1987), and information about the target individual (Krueger & Rothbart, 1988; Macrae et al., 1992). This paper presents two studies investigating the stability of an occupational stereotype under different environmental conditions. Specifically it examines the maintenance and dilution of stereotypical judgements about licensees (pub managers) amongst undergraduate students. The results of the first study provide evidence for a context-free stereotype about public house licenses. However, results from the second study suggest that this stereotype is influenced by environmental conditions. That is, subjects do not simply continue to stereotype regardless of context, rather, under certain environmental conditions they individuate and reduce the impact of their stereotypical judgements. Implications for stereotype research and the role of environmental variables are made.     

CONJUNCTIVE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE CONTEXT OF TEXAS WATER LAW1

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the critical interaction between existing Texas water law and the state's water resources. Conjunctive use and management of interrelated water resources, though seldom practiced, is generally considered desirable. However, a significant barrier to the coordinated, efficient use and management of water resources is the legal division of water in the various phases of the hydrologic cycle into different classes and recognition of well-defined water rights in the separate phases. Several examples of the problems which relate to, or result from, present Texas water law and which prevent correlated water resource management are discussed. Any substantive revision of Texas law, particularly ground water law, will apparently be difficult to achieve in the immediate future, primarily because of the large number of recognized private water rights and the political power inherent in them. Data necessary for operation of conjunctive management systems are gradually being acquired, and perhaps someday other hydrologic phases can be integrated with surface and ground water. Nevertheless, Texas courts and the legislature have sufficient information on the interrelated hydrologic cycle so that prospective water conflicts should be anticipated and avoided. Great care must be exercised in the recognition of new types of private water rights or extension of existing rights, because this institutional structure, once established, presents a formidable obstacle to desirable revisions of the law.     

ENTERING TRAIT AND CONTEXT INTO A COGNITIVE-TIMER MODEL FOR TIME ESTIMATION

Subjects were exposed to conditions of perceptual deprivation and perceptual overload, and were then asked to produce short intervals of time. It was hypothesized that the greater the variation in the sensory environment (i.e. perceptual overload vs perceptual deprivation), the shorter would be the time estimation obtained by this method of production. It was further assumed that the personality trait of Experience Seeking could moderate this influence of the altered sensory environments on the functioning of the cognitive timer. A trait–context interaction was uncovered, indicating this moderating effect. Furthermore, both trait and context effects were specific to the measure constant of the psychophysical function relating produced time to required time. These results are presented within a contextualistic approach to the study of subjective time.     

AN EXPANSION OF ROGER BARKER'S BEHAVIOR SETTING SURVEY FOR AN ETHNO-ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO PERSON–ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS

Roger Barker's Behavior Setting Survey is generally recognized as the first major effort to bring physical and social contexts into psychological methodologies for studying human behavior. Since Barker's day, advances in social theory, speech act philosophy, pragmatics and other disciplines within the human sciences have converged with Barker's concerns in various ways, making it possible to sharpen and enrich a number of his formulations. The methodological school of critical qualitative research in many ways occupies the vanguard of approaches synthesizing advances in social theory for methodological application. Critical qualitative research, however, has yet to take advantage of Barker's work on behavior settings. Thus both Barker's work and the work of critical ethnographers can be enriched through a synthesis of their theoretical constructs and procedures. This pilot study explores the advantages of synthesizing behavior setting survey and critical qualitative methodology. A university department was studied through a truncated version of the Behavior Setting Survey (BSS) and also with Carspecken's five-stage model for critical social research. Results are significant on both substantive and analytical levels. It was found that departmental behavior patterns discovered through the BSS are only explicable when their cultural conditions are reconstructed via critical qualitative data analysis. This was true particularly with respect to the ‘circuitry’ discovered by the BSS but explained through cultural reconstructions.     

AN EVALUATION OF FLOOD FREQUENCY ESTIMATES BASED ON RAINFALL/RUNOFF MODELING1

ABSTRACT: An evaluation of flood frequency estimates simulated from a rainfall/runoff model is based on (1) computation of the equivalent years of record for regional estimating equations based on 50 small stream sites in Oklahoma and (2) computation of the bias for synthetic flood estimates as compared to observed estimates at 97 small stream sites with at least 20 years of record in eight eastern states. Because of the high intercorrelation of synthetic flood estimates between watersheds, little or no regional (spatial) information may be added to the network as a result of the modeling activity. The equivalent years of record for the regional estimating equations based totally on synthetic flood discharges is shown to be considerably less than the length of rainfall record used to simulate the runoff. Furthermore, the flood estimates from the rainfall/runoff model consistently underestimate the flood discharges based on observed record, particularly for the larger floods. Depending on the way bias is computed, the synthetic estimate of the 100-year flood discharge varies from 11 to 29 percent less than the value based on observed record. In addition, the correlation between observed and synthetic flood frequency estimates at the same site is also investigated. The degree of correlation between these estimates appears to vary with recurrence interval. Unless the correlation between these two estimates is known, it is not possible to compute a weighted estimate with minimum variance.     

Heathland Seedbanks under BrackenPteridium aquilinum(L.) Kuhn and their Importance for Re-vegetation after Bracken Control

In Great Britain, the regeneration of heathland and moorland plant communities after bracken control is slow and variable. Successful restoration depends on the availability of seed and the provision of suitable regeneration niches, as well as on the expansion of the plants previously present underneath the bracken canopy. This study investigates the availability of the seed resource of heathland species and its distribution, both in relation to increasing time since bracken invasion and with respect to its presence in litter or mineral soil.Calluna vulgariswas found to be the predominant species that germinated from the soil and litter beneath bracken at the sites studied. It appeared in greatest numbers from samples taken outside and at the edge of the bracken patch; numbers decreased deeper into the patch. Land which has been under bracken for a considerable period (>50 years) is likely to have a very reduced seedbank so that some form of propagule introduction, as well as litter disturbance, may be needed to speed up regeneration. On sites which have been invaded by bracken more recently, it is likely that litter incorporation into the soil would conserve the seed resource, whereas burning or litter removal would remove a significant proportion of that seed resource.     

RECENT RESEARCH ON EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER RESOURCES1

ABSTRACT: Concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and other radiatively active trace gases have risen since the Industrial Revolution. Such atmospheric modifications can alter the global climate and hydrologic cycle, in turn affecting water resources. The clear physical and biological sensitivities of water resources to climate, the indication that climate change may be occurring, and the substantial social and economic dependencies on water resources have instigated considerable research activity in the area of potential water resource impacts. We discuss how the literature on climate change and water resources responds to three basic research needs: (1) a need for water managers to clearly describe the climatic and hydrologic statistics and characteristics needed to estimate climatic impacts on water resources, (2) a need to estimate the impacts of climate change on water resources, and (3) a need to evaluate standard water management and planning methods to determine if uncertainty regarding fundamental assumptions (e.g., hydrologic stationarity) implies that these methods should be revised. The climatic and hydrologic information needs for water resource managers can be found in a number of sources. A proliferation of impact assessments use a variety of methods for generating climate scenarios, and apply both modeling approaches and historical analyses of past responses to climate fluctuations for revealing resource or system sensitivities to climate changes. Traditional techniques of water resources planning and management have been examined, yielding, for example, suggestions for new methods for incorporating climate information in real-time water management.     

EFFECTS OF CHELATED IRON ON THE GROWTH OF TWO SPECIES OF VALLISNERIA1

ABSTRACT: Iron, added as (Fe-EDTA)^-, was found stimulatory to V. spiralis at a concentration of 0.05 ppm. (Fe-EDTA)^- had no effect upon growth of V. neotropicalis as measured by changes in dissolved oxygen and dry weight. Results are compared with those derived from similar studies with Hydrilla verticillata and Egeria densa. The implications of lake drawdown and aeration are discussed.     

INFLUENCE OF SMALL MAMMALS ON STORMFLOW RESPONSES OF PINE-COVERED CATCHMENTS1

ABSTRACT: The relative abundance of small mammals in five forest land cover types on the upper Coastal Plain of north Mississippi was determined. Burrowing mammals accounted for one-half of the total captures; one shrew species that accounted for over one-fourth of the total captures had a strong affinity for well-stocked pine plantations. The opportunity for detention and retention of rainfall was enhanced by burrowing activity. Reductions of stormflow volumes 12 to 15 years after replacing poor quality, upland hardwoods with loblolly pine were only partially explained by increased interception of rainfall; much of the residual reductions are postulated to be due to small mammal burrows. Small mammal activity deserves further study as an important aspect of forest land hydrology.     

EFFECTS OF URBAN LAKES ON QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF BASEFLOW1

ABSTRACT: Man-made lakes have significant impacts on the hydrologic conditions in the watershed in which they are built. This paper examines the nature of the impact upon baseflow by comparing baseflow conditions at the outlet of the lakes with those elsewhere in the watershed. Situated in the upper reaches of a small watershed, the lakes studied have only a minor effect upon the magnitude of baseflow discharge, increasing it slightly from October to January, and decreasing it from May to September. Baseflow quality is substantially affected. Natural dissolved ions, as represented by magnesium, are generally decreased in concentration and total load by the lakes. Road salt related inons are substantially increased in both concentration and total load in the baseflow. Surface runoff stored in the lakes is extremely enriched in salt in the winter, and the storage capacity of the lakes is sufficient to maintain winter salt concentrations in the baseflow near the lakes until summer. The storage effect also tends to damp out seasonal fluctuations in baseflow chloride content which are extreme in suburban watersheds. The difference in quality between the lake and non-lake baseflows and the linear distance needed for complete mixing are used as measures of the magnitude and distal extent of the lake effect on baseflow quality.     

EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION ON WATER QUALITY OF A SHALLOW UNCONFINED AQUIFER1

ABSTRACT: The ground water quality of a shallow unconfined aquifer was monitored before and after implementation of a border strip irrigation scheme, by taking monthly samples from an array of 13 shallow wells. Two 30 m deep wells were sampled to obtain vertical concentration profiles. Marked vertical, temporal, and spatial variabilities were recorded. The monthly data were analyzed for step and linear trends using nonparametric tests that were adjusted for the effects of serial correlation. Average nitrate concentrations increased in the preirrigation period and decreased after irrigation began. This was attributed to wetter years in 1978–1979 than in 1976–1977 which increased leaching, and to disturbance of the topsoil during land contouring before irrigation, followed by excessive drainage after irrigation. Few significant trends were recorded for other determinants, possibly because of shorter data records. Nitrate, sulphate, and potassium concentrations decreased with depth, whereas sodium, calcium, bicarbonate, and chloride concentrations increased. These trends allowed an estimation to be made of the depth of ground water affected by percolating drainage. This depth increased during the irrigation season and after periods of winter recharge. Furthermore, an overall increase in the depth of drainage-affected ground water occurred with time, which paralleled the development of the irrigation scheme.     

IMPACT OF SEWAGE TREATMENT MODIFICATIONS ON WATER QUALITY OF A RESERVOIR1

ABSTRACT. As a result of several investigations conducted in the Department of Civil Engineering through the Water Resources Research Center at The University of Tennessee, dating from 1966 to the present, a rather comprehensive surveillance of water quality conditions has been maintained in Forth Loudoun Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Knowville, Tennessee. During the period covered by these investigations, the Knoxville Third Creek Sewage Treatment Plant was upgraded from a primary plant to a secondary (activated sludge) treatment plant. Comparison of the collected data is being undertaken herein to elucidate the impact of these modifications upon water quality conditions in the reservoir. Consideration is given to the improvements of water quality as related to the expenditure for modification of the treatment facilities. In addition, comment is directed toward the public health significance of the water quality conditions determined.     

ON THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LARGE DIVERSIONS OF SNAKE RIVER WATERS1

ABSTRACT. This work evaluates the economic losses due to diversion from the Snake River during the relatively low-flow year May 1928-April 1929. The results determine the losses due to pollution abatement and power generation for several different patterns and volumes of diversion, and the tool of analysis is dynamic programming.     

THE EFFECTS OF DIURNAL MIXING ON THERMAL STRATIFICATION OF STATIC IMPOUNDMENTS1

ABSTRACT: The time variation in the temperature distribution of a static water impoundment is predicted. The body of water is modeled as a discrete number of horizontally isothermal layers and the energy equation is solved using an implicit numerical scheme. Vertical energy transport mechanisms included are solar absorption, molecular diffusion, and convective mixing due to nocturnal turnover. The latter mechanism, called diurnal mixing, is found to have a profound effect on the stratification, particularly in the eplimnion patterns for a typical deep static impoundment.     

IMPLICATIONS OF A DRAWDOWN OF THE SNAKE-COLUMBIA RWER ON BARGE TRANSPORTATION1

ABSTRACT: The listing of the Snake-Columbia River salmon under the Endangered species Cut will lead to a set of river management changes aimed at species recovery. One measure almost certain to be implemented is a periodic river drawdown. A drawdown will speed fish migration downriver but will also temporarily close the river to barge transportation. Grain shippers in the region rely on the barge carriage to move a significant share of annual production to export elevators on the Lower Columbia. A number of other bulk commodities utilize barges as well. This study outlines the aggregate and distributional economic implications of a suspension of barge transportation resulting from a river drawdown.     

EFFECTS OF STORM PATTERNS ON RUNOFF HYDROGRAPHS1

ABSTRACT: As an alternative to the conventional single-peak design storms commonly used in hydrologic practice, a large number of Southeastern Pennsylvania storm events were selected from hourly U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) records, and their temporal distributions were analyzed. From these recorded events, design storms of a typical distribution were developed for storm durations between 6 and 18 hours. All of these generated design storms have two or more peaks. The conventional single peak as well as the “typical” multi-peak storms were then applied to a simulated watershed. It was found that the multi-peak storms consistently produced more dispersed hydrographs with lower runoff peaks than the conventional single peak storms.     

EFFECT OF RAINFALL-EXCESS DETERMINATION ON RUNOFF COMPUTATION1

ABSTRACT: Four methods of determining rainfall-excess are considered. They include Ø-index and equations of Horton, Kostyakov and Philip. These methods are utilized in a nonlinear kinematic wave model to predict surface runoff from two natural agricultural watersheds. The effect of determining rainfall-excess on surface runoff response is then examined. It is observed that errors in rainfall-excess constitute a major source of error in runoff prediction. The choice of a method of determining rainfall-excess is thus crucial to runoff computation.