Forest Resources Masters Theses Collection

Evaluating Federal Urban Forestry Performance Measures in Massachusetts (U.S.A.)

Freilicher, Mollie E. — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:16:59 PDT

In 2006, the U.S. Forest Service implemented performance measures to evaluate urban forestry management in communities in each state. The Forest Service implemented these measures under its Community Accomplishment Reporting System (CARS). To achieve four CARS measures that pertain to management, communities must have a management plan, professional staff, tree ordinances, and an advisory or advocacy organization. It is unclear whether attaining the CARS measures reflects the status of the urban forest itself. We analyzed street tree inventories from communities in Massachusetts that met the CARS measures. We considered the net gain or loss in the number of street trees in 2007 and cost-benefit analyses from the Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban Forest Managers (STRATUM). We analyzed the diversity of street tree populations. We used a correlation analysis to discover associations between these variables and both community demographic measures and qualification of the urban forester managers.

Thirty-three communities met the CARS measures and 9 had active street tree inventories. Fewer than half of the communities planted more trees than they removed in 2007. Planting and removal activity increased with tree budget. Cost-benefit analysis showed that for 8 of 9 communities with inventories, benefits of street trees outweighed the cost of management. Community population was associated with trees planted, trees removed, and tree budget. Demographic measures were not associated with tree performance. Tree warden certification did not impact tree condition or diversity, however non-certified tree wardens planted trees at a higher rate than non-certified tree wardens. Tree budgets were higher for communities with certified arborists and for communities with inventories used for management. Results serve as a baseline for future study of the impact of the CARS measures on street tree populations in Massachusetts.

Reading in a Second Language Classroom: A Pedagogical Report on Sociocultural Strategies for Reading Texts in the Elementary French Classroom

Buescher, Kimberly — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:34:21 PDT

This thesis focuses on reading in a second language (L2) classroom and specifically on Sociocultural strategies for reading texts in the elementary French classroom. This pedagogical report first outlines the theoretical basis of the two pedagogical experiences presented which include Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory of learning and development (SCT), specifically Cole’s (2003) Question-Asking-Reading (QAR) approach, traditional reading approaches and a literacy approach to teaching reading. The key concepts of SCT that influenced these pedagogical experiences include the zone of proximal development (ZPD), mediation, the shift from interpersonal to intrapersonal, prolepsis, and shared activities based on a specific division of labor. Cole’s QAR approach focused on teaching reading to students who struggled with reading in their first language (L1) and included a clear structure, specific roles, an interesting text, goal talk, and a scaffolding plan. Traditional reading approaches focus on the integration of bottom-up and top-down processing. A literacy approach focuses on meaning, the integration of language, context and content and the use of authentic texts. For the two pedagogical experiences outlined in this thesis, Cole’s QAR approach was adapted for university students in a second semester French class, who were learning to read in an L2. These experiences also included a clear structure, specific roles, an interesting text and a scaffolding plan. The structure included four main steps: (1) read one section aloud – alternating readers, (2) silent reading/preparing role, (3) talk as a group – fulfill roles, (4) change roles and return to step (1). The roles included the person who leads the discussion on: (1) hard-to-pronounce words, (2) hard-to-understand words or expressions, (3) main idea, (4) what will happen next, and (5) hard-to-understand grammatical structures. The text was a French fairy tale, “Roman d’amour d’une patate” by Pierre Gripari. The roles represent the different steps in the reading process and by dividing this process into roles, the group shares in the process of reading. As students learn the tools needed in this group process and internalize the tools needed for reading, they should be able to take on more of the responsibility themselves.

A Survey of Tree Wardens to Assess Urban and Community Forestry Performance in Massachusetts (U.S.A.)

Rines, David M. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:14:21 PST

Abstract in process

Building Online Communities in Forestry: the Cases of Timberia.org and the Urban Ecology Collaborative

SEMENOV, ANDREY V. — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:36:27 PDT

In recent years, a second generation of Web-based technologies have as “Web 2.0” At the core of Web 2.0 are web-based services, social networking and online collaborative functions. Forestry, like other disciplines, has the potential to take advantage of these technologies to alter or change the way traditional interaction between forestry professionals and other interested parties is undertaken. This dissertation explores the use of Web 2.0 and social networking technologies in two domains: (1) eBusiness and (2) Urban Ecology. The thesis is designed to provide essentially two chapters that stand on their own, and describe the background and the design and development of two Web 2.0 online systems. The eBusiness chapter of this thesis includes the research on the applicability of the online community model for today’s forest sector electronic businesses-to-business platforms. The Urban Ecology chapter consists of the research how data integration along with a “content management system” designed for a social network website can be exploited to improve collaboration among geographically distant researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders interested in Urban Ecology. In addition to the text in this dissertation, a “supplement” to this dissertation are two computer systems and databases that the author developed over the course of 2006-2007.