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This article explores how the associations between student achievement and achievement growth influence our understanding of the role schools play in academic inequality. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), we constructed parallel growth and lagged score models within both seasonal learning and school effects frameworks to study how student- and school-level socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds relate to student learning. Our findings suggest that seasonal comparative scholars, who generally argue that schools play an equalizing role, and scholars focused on school compositional effects, who typically report that schools exacerbate inequality, come to these contrasting findings not only because they ask different questions but also because they treat student initial achievement differently when modeling student learning. (DIPF/Orig.)

Wave tank testing of scaled models is standard practice during the development of floating wind turbine platforms for the validation of the dynamics of conceptual designs. Reliable recreation of the dynamics of a full scale floating wind turbine by a scaled model in a basin requires the precise scaling of the masses and inertias and also the relevant forces and its frequencies acting on the system. The scaling of floating wind turbines based on the Froude number is customary for basin experiments. This method preserves the hydrodynamic similitude, but the resulting Reynolds number is much lower than in full scale. The aerodynamic loads on the rotor are therefore out of scale. Several approaches have been taken to deal with this issue, like using a tuned drag disk or redesigning the scaled rotor. This paper describes the implementation of an alternative method based on the use of a ducted fan located at the model tower top in the place of the rotor. The fan can introduce a variable force that represents the total wind thrust by the rotor. A system controls this force by varying the rpm, and a computer simulation of the full scale rotor provides the desired thrust to be introduced by the fan. This simulation considers the wind turbine control, gusts, turbulent wind, etc. The simulation is performed in synchronicity with the test and it is fed in real time by the displacements and velocities of the platform captured by the acquisition system. Thus, the simulation considers the displacements of the rotor within the wind field and the calculated thrust models the effect of the aerodynamic damping. The system is not able currently to match the effect of gyroscopic momentum. The method has been applied during a test campaign of a semisubmersible platform with full catenary mooring lines for a 6MW wind turbine in scale 1/40 at Ecole Centrale de Nantes. Several tests including pitch free decay under constant wind and combined wave and wind cases have been performed. Data from the experiments are compared with aero-servo-hydro-elastic computations with good agreement showing the validity of the method for the representation of the scaled aerodynamics. The new method for the aerodynamic thrust scaling in basin tests is very promising considering its performance, versatility and lower cost in comparison with other methods.

The pursuit of ungulates as game animals, whether for recreation, cultural tradition, or meat, is a dominant activity on public and private lands in North America and much of the world. Strategic regulation of hunting is key for managing game population abundance, age and sex structure, and distribution, with harvest rates a function of both hunter success and participation. Hunter satisfaction is often linked to success and ultimately with hunter recruitment and retention, a growing concern for wildlife agencies. Yet knowledge is lacking about what hunter characteristics or behaviors are linked with success, and how these may differ among common hunt types. We used survey and spatial data from hunters (n = 416) during a 6-year observational study in northeastern Oregon, USA to characterize hunter traits associated with success for 3 hunt types for antlered males: rifle deer (Odocoileus spp.), archery elk (Cervus canadensis), and rifle elk. We modeled the success for rifle deer and rifle elk hunters using logistic regression models in a Bayesian hierarchical approach. Annual success rates were highly variable, ranging from 4 to 76% for rifle deer and 20 to 56% for rifle elk hunters, and from 0 to 14% for archery elk. Age distributions of hunters were similar across hunt types (x̅ = 47.2 years), and male hunters were ~8 times as common as females (n = 370 vs. n = 46, respectively). Success rates for men and women, however, were comparable within hunt types. Successful hunters spent more hours per day outside camp (x̅ = 7.4 vs. 6.4 for unsuccessful hunters) and expended a slightly larger percentage of their hunting effort on foot (x̅ = 87.8%) than did unsuccessful hunters (x̅ = 84.6%). The best model predicting success of rifle deer hunters was based on hours per day spent outside camp during the hunting hours, with each additional hour increasing odds of success by 26%. For rifle elk hunters, the best model included time outside camp and a binary covariate for scouting. The odds of success increased by 418% for hunters who scouted versus those who did not, and by 18% with each additional hour per day spent hunting outside of camp. Summed model weights indicated that hours per day outside camp and scouting were most informative, and that use of an all-terrain vehicle, age, and experience were unrelated to hunter success. Both models performed reasonably well (correct classification rates of 0.74 and 0.70 for rifle deer and rifle elk models, respectively). Our study augmented the relatively limited published information about behavioral factors associated with successful harvest of deer and elk, and we recommend additional research to better unravel the nexus of success and hunter characteristics and behavior to help sustain recreational hunting and big game populations.

The consumer behaviour of Slovenian pre-service teachers for the December holidays and their personal views about sustainable consumption were studied. A total of 130 students of the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Education took part in the study. The sample consisted of 11 male and 116 female students, while 3 students did not report their gender. The survey was conducted in January 2020. The results show that 95.4% of the respondents received gifts during their childhood on Saint Nicholas Day, 60.0% at Christmas and 23.1% when celebrating the New Year. Almost 13% of the respondents received gifts three times in December during their childhood. In December 2019, 54.6% of them gave gifts for Saint Nicholas Day, 65.2% at Christmas and 10.8% for the New Year. Christmas has therefore become the most common gift-giving time in December. Students most often give their loved ones sweets, clothes and shoes, and cosmetics. The majority of the respondents spend less than 50% of their monthly income on gifts for the December holidays. In terms of sustainability, the respondents described their consumer behaviour as follows: (1) giving or receiving things they really need, (2) giving or receiving gifts and wrappings made of recyclable material, (3) giving or receiving nonmaterial gifts, (4) reducing the number of gifts, (5) giving for charity, or (6) not giving gifts at all. (DIPF/Orig.)

Connections between outdoor recreation and various health and well‐being benefits are well established. However, questions remain regarding which landscape characteristics that best predict places in the landscape that correspond to people's needs and preferences. The perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) model proposes eight basic perceived qualities that people commonly seek in outdoor environments to support complementary needs: a Natural, a Cultural, a Cohesive, a Diverse, a Sheltered, an Open, a Serene and a Social quality respectively. These PSDs have increasingly been suggested as a tool for green space assessment and planning. How strongly they correlate with objective landscape characteristics is, however, still an open question. We surveyed recreationists in Sweden, tasking them with noting their favourite places on a map (n = 275), and to report the degree to which the PSDs were present. The qualities typically reported as most prominent at these places were Open, Serene and Sheltered, while the least prominent were Social and Cultural. A cluster analysis further revealed that favourite places could be classified into two main groups regarding perceived qualities. One associated with presumably more restorative qualities, emphasising Natural and Serene settings, the other instead suggesting a more outward‐directed experience, strong in the perceived Social and Cultural dimensions. Machine learning models, however, revealed weak links between objective landscape characteristics and perceived qualities, with stronger correlations found with attributes connected to personal characteristics, such as the degrees to which a person identifies as nature or urban oriented. Although largely confirming the basic relations between the PSDs suggested by earlier studies, our results cast some doubt on the way they often have been understood and used, as describing an ‘objective’ truth of places, rather than representing qualities that largely emanate from the individual experience. Our results instead confirm previous reports of weak general links between objective landscape measures and perceived qualities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Tourist volcanic caves are in high demand for ecotourism and geotourism lovers, as well as by sun and beach tourists as a complementary activity during their holidays. There are six tourist volcanic caves in the Canary Islands, all of them managed by the local administration of the island. The managers of these caves must ensure the safety of visitors and workers, who are exposed to natural hazards, such as radon, inherent to the environment in which the activity takes place. The methodology for analyzing natural radon radiation is based on the latest studies published by experts in this field and on previous experiences in tourist caves. This article proposes a protocol for the correct management of radon in tourist caves in the Canary Islands, adapted to current regulations, to mitigate effects on the health of visitors and workers. Plain Language Summary In our study, we explored the popular volcanic caves in the Canary Islands, a hit among those who love ecotourism and geotourism, and also among beachgoers looking for something different to do on their vacation. These six caves, all managed by the island’s local authorities, offer a unique adventure but come with their own set of risks, like exposure to radon gas‐a natural hazard in such environments. To keep everyone safe, we delved into the best ways to monitor and manage radon levels, drawing on the latest research and what’s been learned from other tourist caves. Our work led to the development of a new plan that fits within current health and safety laws, aimed at reducing any health risks to visitors and staff. This plan is a step forward in making sure that exploring these magnificent caves is not only an unforgettable experience but also a safe one for everyone involved. Key Points Tourist caves, especially volcanic ones in the Canary Islands, attract many visitors, offering geological and commercial opportunities Radon hazards is a major health concern that needs to be considered in the management of underground spaces such as tourist caves Sustainable tourism management requires environmental and cultural responsibility, ensuring the preservation of caves

This review synthesizes studies of the effects of modifying the academic calendar in Grades K-12 to do away with the long summer break while not increasing the length of the school year. The synthesis indicated that the quality of evidence on modified calendars is poor. Within this weak inferential framework, the average effect size for 39 school districts was quite small, d = .06, favoring modified calendars. Studies that used statistical or matching controls revealed an effect size of d = .11. Modified calendars were associated with higher achievement for economically disadvanteged students. Students, parents, and staffs who participated in modified calendar programs were positive about their experience. Policymakers can improve acceptance for modified calendars by involving communities in the planning and by providing quality intersession activities. (DIPF/ Orig.).

It is unclear whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and greenness have additional modifying effects on the association between air pollution and respiratory system disease. Utilizing a time‐stratified case‐crossover design with a distributed lag linear model, we analyzed the association between six pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, and CO) and 555,498 respiratory hospital admissions in Beijing from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2019. We employed conditional logistic regression, adjusting for meteorological conditions, holidays and influenza, to calculate percent change of hospitalization risk. Subsequently, we performed subgroup analysis to investigate potential effect modifications using a two‐sample z test. Every 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and O3 led to increases of 0.26% (95%CI: 0.17%, 0.35%), 0.15% (95%CI: 0.09%, 0.22%), 0.61% (95%CI: 0.44%, 0.77%), 1.72% (95%CI: 1.24%, 2.21%), and 0.32% (95%CI: 0.20%, 0.43%) in admissions, respectively. Also, a 1 mg/m3 increase in CO levels resulted in a 2.50% (95%CI: 1.96%, 3.04%) rise in admissions. The links with NO2 (p < 0.001), SO2 (p < 0.001), O3 (during the warm season, p < 0.001), and CO (p < 0.001) were significantly weaker among patients residing in areas with higher levels of greenness. No significant modifying role of GDP was observed. Greenness can help mitigate the effects of air pollutants, while the role of GDP needs further investigation. Plain Language Summary Numerous investigations have explored the connection between air pollution and respiratory disease hospital admissions. Nonetheless, the potential modifying roles of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the presence of green spaces remain inconclusive. To address this issue, our research utilized a time‐stratified case‐crossover design, analyzing electronic patient records from Beijing, China’s capital city. Our analysis did not reveal any significant alteration in the relationship between air pollution and respiratory disease admissions due to sex or GDP. However, the data indicated that the correlation was amplified for individuals aged over 65, during different seasons, for those with differing marital statuses, and among those residing in areas with low greenness (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index levels). Drawing from an extensive data set, these results offer more detailed insight into strategies to mitigate the effects of air pollution on respiratory disease‐related hospital admissions. Key Points Six pollutants have adverse effects, with O3 exerting adverse effects only in the warm season Greenness has a modifying effect on the detrimental impact of NO2, SO2, O3 (warm), and CO No moderating effect of Gross Domestic Product was found

Outdoor recreation is an essential way many people engage with nature. The provision of public spaces for recreation intersects with conservation practices motivated by intertwined social and ecological values, such as strict practices associated with the concept of ‘wilderness’. Debates persist about how such concepts and management practices influence people's recreation experiences. Many US public land management agencies facilitate opportunities for outdoor recreation, relying on management frameworks and tools intended to foster specific experiential qualities. But these frameworks and tools assume simplistic relationships between settings and people's experiences, and managers rarely assess these relationships. This study uses a data set of nearly 70,000 crowdsourced trip reports from a hiking website to understand the qualities of visitors' experiences on trails. We study the geographic distribution of experiential qualities commonly associated with US wilderness areas: aesthetics, awe, challenge, pristineness, quietness, solitude and timelessness. Using analytical methods that rely on machine learning and natural language processing, we identify these experiential qualities in trip reports from hundreds of routes, and use generalized linear models to analyse relationships between the frequency of each experiential quality and the route's administrative, built, biophysical, geographic and social settings. We find that four of the seven experiential qualities (aesthetics, awe, challenge and solitude) are commonly described in trip reports, each appearing in 15%–55% of manually coded reports. The extent to which setting characteristics explained variability in experiences differed, ranging from 34% of the variability in the proportion of trip reports describing aesthetics to 55% for awe. The setting characteristics associated with each experiential quality also differed, with characteristics such as trail mileage and summit destinations having stronger influences on experiential qualities than characteristics such as wilderness designation. Synthesis and applications. Our findings suggest the need to consider more diverse variables in experience–setting relationships, develop more robust models to characterize those relationships and create new data sources to represent understudied variables. These advances would help empirically inform and improve frameworks and tools used for recreation and wilderness planning and monitoring, and potentially promote more responsive management to evolving social–ecological values. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The Buffalo River and its dams are major surface water sources used for fresh produce irrigation, raw water abstraction and recreation in parts of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Over a 12-month period (August 2010 to July 2011), we assessed the bacteriological qualities of water from the river and 3 source water dams along its course. Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including total coliform (TC), faecal coliform (FC) and enterococci (ENT) counts, were high and ranged as follows: 1.9 × 10 2 –3.8 × 10 7 , 0–3.0 × 10 5 and 0–5.3 × 10 5  cfu/100 ml for TC, FC and ENT, respectively. Significantly ( P  < 0.05) higher concentrations of FC and ENT were observed at the sampling sites located at the lower reaches of the river compared to the upper reaches, and at Bridle Drift Dam compared to the other two dams. FIB counts mostly exceeded the recommended maximum values suggested by national and international guidelines for safe fresh produce irrigation, domestic applications, full-contact recreation and livestock watering. These results show that the bacteriological qualities of the Buffalo River and dams were poor, and suggest that sewage was dumped into the Buffalo River during the study period. Urban runoffs and effluents of wastewater treatment plants appear to be important sources of faecal contamination in the river. We conclude that these water bodies represent significant public health hazards. Provision of adequate sanitary infrastructure will help prevent source water contamination, and public health education aimed at improving personal, household and community hygiene is imperative.