Education; Social & Behavioral Sciences 2:00 pm Saturday, April 6, 2002 Battelle Hall 212...

2:00 ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC COURSES COMMON TO UNDERGRADUATE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. Kenneth A. LaSota, lasota@robert-monis.edu and Daniel Short, short@robert-morris.edu Robert Morris College, Dept of Natural Sciences, 600 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15219-3099.

In developing an undergraduate degree in environmental sciences, Robert Morris College surveyed 45 academic institutions within a 150 mile radius of Pittsburgh, PA and found 27 offered an undergraduate environmental sciences degree. The most common degree names were environmental sciences (13), environmental studies (6) and environmental geosciences (4). Typical host Depts for the programs included environmental studies (8), biology (6) and geosciences (6). Analysis of the academic courses common to the programs centered on whether the curricula required an exposure (here considered at least one course), no exposure (zero courses) or a significant exposure (two or more courses) to seven disciplines. The analysis was limited to courses intended to prepare students for upper level environmental sciences coursework. It was found that 25 programs required a series of courses in physical chemistry. Only 8 programs required a series in organic chemistry, with 13 requiring no organic chemistry courses at all. In physics, 12 programs required a series of courses and 12 required no physics at all. An exposure to calculus was required in 14 programs and 8 required no calculus at all. Statistics was the least required discipline, not required in 18 programs and no program required more than an exposure. Multiple geoscience courses were required in 11 programs and 11 others required no geoscience courses. Finally, a series of biology courses was required by 23 of the programs. The data here may be useful to other institutions developing programs in environmental sciences in western Pennsylvania.

2:15 USE OF PROS/CONS FORMAT HANDOUTS TO INCREASE HOLISTIC THOUGHT PROCESSES AND SCIENTIFIC LITERACY IN NON-MAJORS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COURSES. Dr. Philip C. Whitford, Pwhitford@capital.edu Biology Dept, Capital University, 2199 E. Main St., Columbus OH 43209.

Preliminary assessment of student ability to think critically and holistically about broad scale ecological topics and specific news topics in science was attempted on the first day of the Science and Technology Class, a Capital University Core Class for non-majors. A single sheet with three topic areas was presented to the 34 juniors, sophomores and seniors. Working in groups of 3-4, students listed all the PRO and CON comments they could devise per topic. The following two weeks included 10 minutes per class meeting to discuss and list examples of more exhaustive responses to those same topics that illustrated the far-reaching socioeconomic, environmental and political ramifications of even seemingly minor actions, such as construction of a large, multi-million bird, chicken raising facility in a rural environment. Pro/Con responses were evaluated based on number of differing ideas and total words reflected in each pro and con listing. Initial numbers of ideas and words in responses per topic were compared with those of the same student group five weeks later using Pros and Cons written for new topics. For the three topics presented, (mega fanning of poultry, nuclear power plant construction/use, GPS and sonar use for commercial fishing) during the first class the average number of ideas and words per "PRO" related by students was 2.36 (range 1-5), 2.09 (range 0-5) and 1.96 (range 1-3), ideas and 11.36, 8.74 and 8.93 words, respectively. The Con's were similar with 2.60 (range 2-5), 2.09 (range 1-3), and 1.96 (range 0-4) ideas reflected in 15.30, 9.83, and 11.3 words per topic. Five weeks later, following discussion and examples, student responses evidenced a mean of 8.25 (range 5-22) ideas and 62.0 words per Pro listed and 9.25 (range 5-26) ideas and 78.0 words per con for the assigned topic. Enthusiastic student response and a significant 4 fold increase in number of ideas and 6 fold increase in words related per group/topic indicate that the experiment was successful at generating an holistic, critical appraisal of current topics once introduced to the idea of thinking beyond the conventional issues.

2:30 A NEW ENGINEERING COURSE CLOSES THE EDUCATION GAP IN APPLYING NATURAL CHANNEL CONCEPTS TO ENGINEERING DESIGN. Kerry L. Hughes, hughes.416@osu.edu Andy D. Ward, ward.2@osu.edu Ann D. Christy, christy.14@osu.edu Dept of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH 43210.

The field of natural channel design (considering river geomorphology processes and limiting the use of synthetic construction materials in channel design) is relatively new. The challenge for instructors is to create engineering courses that: provide sufficient basic information to enable students to develop an understanding of the subject; present logical design steps even though the integration of knowledge from different disciplines is not well tested; and provides a vocabulary that enables students to communicate effectively with people of different backgrounds in this field. A new class was offered in the Dept of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University to determine whether these requirements could be met by: integrating conventional open channel design methods and natural channel concepts; providing knowledge on channel stability requirements and the incorporation of land-use impacts, biological, ecological, and water quality considerations; and providing real world river laboratory experiences, group projects and homework problems. The methodology for assessing the course included the technical quality of the assignments and student evaluations of the course. Students participating in the class rated (from 1 (low) to 5 (high)) aspects of the course including: participation in team projects (4.4); field labs (4.6); and interaction with the instructor (4.0). Students in the class believed that this course would be relevant to their future studies (4.6) and that they had gained skills from this course (4.4). Another measure of the success of this course was that an actual design was modified based on the recommendations of the students.

2:45 ATTITUDES TOWARD PROSTITUTION. Machelle L. Palmer, mack 4141@hotmail.com (Dr. Andrea Karkowski, akarkows@capital.edu) 2199 E Main St., Capital University, Box 1536, Columbus OH 43209.

This research deals with college students' perceptions and attitudes about prostitution. Most people have a preconceived image of prostitution (Basow, & Campanile, 1990). Clients comprise a larger percentage of the participants in the sex industry; however research has found on the sex workers, rather than their clients or the general public. The purposes of this study were to investigate if there is a difference in the way that college men and women view prostitution and to investigate their views are subject to change based on their being introduce to information. Research indicates that respondents gender influences their attitude about rape and prostitution. In general prostitution is not an understood topic. Prostitutes are often discriminated against due to lack of information. This study hypothesized, based on the information provided, that there would be a significant difference in the responses of males and females and that the participants' responses would significantly change from the first to the second survey. The 26 participants, from freshmen through senior classes at Capital University, were given a packet that contained an initial fourteen-question survey, an attached fact sheet, and a second copy of the same survey with a corresponding number to complete. This survey was created based on an already constructed twelve-question survey by Basow and Campanile. Results were analyzed via single and paired t-test.

3:00 DURATION OF SOCIAL HOUSING AFFECTS BRAIN MONOAMINES AND AGGRESSION IN A RAT MODEL. Jonathan Toot, itoot@uakron.adu Gail Dunphy and Daniel Ely, University of Akron, Dept of Biology, Akron OH 44325.

The social environment and duration of colony interaction will affect aggression and brain monoamines in the (SHR/y) borderline hypertensive rat model. Noncolony (NC) standard caged rats housed for 10 months, 2 per cage. Long-term (LT) colonies of 10 months and short-term (ST) colonies of 4 months were established. Colony housing conditions consisted of 8 males with 8 females, thereby exposing the males to environmental stresses and allowing a social hierarchy to form. Resident intruder (RI) tests were used to measure resident aggression as the number of attacks on the intruder (AN) and scars given to the intruder (S) in LT and ST colonies. Brain norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (D) and serotonin (5-HT) were measured postmortem by HPLC with electrochemical detection in the medial (AME) and lateral (ABL) amygdala. RI tests showed that the LT had more indices of aggression shown by higher AN and higher S compared to the ST (p<0.05). DABL, 5-HT AME and 5-HT ABL were significantly lower for LT rats compared to ST and NC groups (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in monoamines between ST and NC groups. LT showed a linear relationship between the D/NE for the AME and ABL, whereas ST and NC did not. Therefore, a long-term social environment may decrease amygdala serotonin, increase aggression and develop a D/NE relationship between the medial and lateral amygdala.

3:15 CRITICAL SPATIAL FREQUENCIES INVOLVED IN FACE AND FEATURE RECOGNITION. Alicia L. Yonkof, alyonkof@cc.owu.edu Jennifer S. Beighley,jsbeighl@owu.edu David O. Robbins, dorobbin@owu.edu Ohio Wesleyan University, HWCC Box 715, Delaware OH 43015.

Theories of visual encoding have traditionally implemented relatively simple stimuli. One theory suggests that visual encoding is accomplished through channels within neural pathways between the retina and cortex. In humans the sensitivities and spatial frequencies of these channels have been examined using square wave and sinusoidal gratings, producing sensitivity curves. This study examined the degree to which the channels' sensitivity explained the recognition thresholds to complex images (i.e., faces). To illustrate the frequencies critical for facial and feature recognition, thirty-one college-age participants were shown progressively higher frequency digital images of faces that were systematically degraded by Fourier low-pass filters. These spatially filtered images included faces with and without hair, and a prototype with and without altered facial features. The impact of selective adaptation to specific spatial frequencies was measured by presenting vertical or horizontal sinusoidal gratings before and between detection trials. Eliminating hair made the recognition of degraded images significantly more difficult, F(6,15)=243.21, p<0.001. Facial recognition became increasingly easier after practice, F(3,9)=10.78, p=0.002, or when higher spatial frequency components were included. Multiple regression analysis showed that at low spatial frequencies eyebrows were more easily recognized on the prototype face than were eyes, mouth, and nose, respectively, F(5,54)=52.37, p<0.001. On average, spatial frequencies between 8 and 12 cycles per image width were most important for facial recognition. Since these frequencies fall within the range of spatial frequencies generated with gratings, the channels also explain detection of complex images.

3:30 THE ROLE OF NONVERBAL CUES IN THE FORMATION OF ACADEMIC IMPRESSIONS IN A COLLEGE CLASSROOM. Michelle L. Spader, mspader@hotmail.com Holly M. Stubnar, hstubnar@ashland.edu Dept of Psychology, Ashland University, 401 College Ave., Ashland OH 44805.

Nonverbal communication research has demonstrated that nonverbal cues are important in impression formation in a variety of situations that include interviews, interpersonal relationships, and academic settings. This study examined the affect positive or negative nonverbal cues of eye contact, facial expression, posture, clothing, and proximal placement of educational materials would have on the academic impressions formed by 27 professors and 28 undergraduate students. Using a Likert scale, the professors and undergraduate students rated 28 photographs of unfamiliar college students based on their agreement with a statement that conveyed a prediction of academic performance of each photographed student (e.g., "Overall, I believe this student's grade will be superior.") The twenty-seven professors were surveyed months later on their use of subjective evaluation methods (e.g., essay tests, written papers) in their actual classrooms, and how their students are identified per method (e.g., name, code word). A t-test indicated both students and professors rated the photographs showing positive nonverbal cues significantly more favorably than the photographs showing negative nonverbal cues (t= 15.73, p<.001). Of the professors surveyed, 100% used subjective evaluation methods, and all were able to identify their students on these evaluations. Nonverbal cues may be important in a college classroom because professors may form favorable or unfavorable academic impress ions of their students based on a student's nonverbal cues in class, which may provide an avenue for their grades to be influenced by these impressions if the professors use subjective evaluation methods in which students can be identified.