local
Battalion/Page 3
January 29, 1982
photo by Michele Rowland
Dr. Dennis M. Driscoll, assistant professor how weather affects human behavior, both
of meteorology, is presently researching physically and psychologically.
You can sing in the rain!
Weather not mood-maker
by Joe Sloan
Battalion Reporter
John is depressed today. It’s
Monday. It’s wet and cold, and
he doesn’t feel like going to class
or studying. John says he’s feel
ing under the weather.
Being in a gloomy mood
sometimes may be justified, but
using the term “under the
weather” is not, said a Texas
A&rM professor who is an expert
on how weather affects people’s
behavior.
Dr. Dennis M. Driscoll, an
assistant professor of meteorol
ogy who has studied
biometeorology for 16 years, be
lieves people use the weather as
a universal scapegoat for their
complaints.
There is a fundamental need
inside man to explain things
such as attitude changes, and the
weather provides him with an
easy — but incorrect — culprit
for his complaints, Driscoll said.
When people can’t find an ex
planation, they will blame their
mood changes on something
that can’t strike back, like the
weather, he said.
Although it may be true that
people usually have more posi
tive attitudes on sunny days, hu
man behavior is too complex to
scientifically state that a single
factor has a specific, predictable
effect upon people, Driscoll
said.
“Whatever the effect weather
has upon behavior, it is very
small compared to the multitude
of other factors,” he said.
“It is not uncommon to see.
about every other year, some
proposed knowledgeable scien
tist explaining in a Sunday sup
plement the many ways in which
the weather affects us, but these
articles are greatly overdrawn.”
Some people carry the weath
er’s effect to such an extreme
that parallels can be drawn to
astrology, Driscoll said. These
people believe weather can
affect their behavior much the
same as astrology buffs believe
the positions of the stars can
affect their lives.
still sought
Murder
by Kelli Proctor
Battalion Reporter
The Brazos County Sheriffs
Department is continuing the
search for and investigation of
new leads in the murder of Col
lege Station real estate agent,
Virginia Bradford Freeman.
Freeman’s body was found
the night of Dec. 1 near Greens
Prairie Road. She left her real
estate office earlier that after
noon to meet a client.
According to the autopsy, the
cause of death was strangulation
and several stab wounds in the
neck, Dick Gulledge, investigat
ing officer, said.
Gulledge said that at this
point, all that can be done is to
follow-up all leads.
Most of these leads have
come from people who have
seen a composite photograph of
the suspect. The description for
the composite was given by a
contruction worker in the area
at the time of the murder.
suspect
A police report said the con
struction worker described the
suspect as a heavy-set male with
sandy blonde hair, broad shoul
ders and a protruding chin. He
was said to be 30 to 40 years old
and wearing a white cotton t-
Vacancies within the Texas
A&M Student Senate for the
spring semester have been
announced by the Student Gov
ernment office.
Open Senate positions are:
College of Architecture, at-
large; College of Business,
senior; College of Engineering,
sophomore and junior; College
of Liberal Arts, junior and
senior; College of Veterinary
shirt, a light-colored jacket and
sunglasses.
A $10,000 reward has been
offered by the Board of Realtors
and the Home Builders’ Asso
ciation for any evidence leading
to the arrest and/or conviction of
Medicine; and College of Medi
cine.
Positions also are open for
dorm senators from Keathley-
Fowler-Hughes-Leggett-
Clements and from Spence-
Briggs-Underwood.
Applications for these Senate
positions can be picked up in the
Student Government office, 216
Memorial Student Center be
tween 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.
the murderer, said Karen
Young, chairman of the public
relations committee for the
Board of Realtors.
If anyone has information
concerning Freeman’s death,
they should contact the Brazos
County Sheriffs Department at
779-1717 or Crime Stoppers at
775-TIPS.
Your Danskin
Headquarters
Manor East Mall 779-6718
Positions available
in Student Senate
rds.
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by Brenda C. Davidson
Battalion Reporter
Computerized pest control
programs developed at Texas
A&M University may now en
able farmers throughout Texas
to make more profitable, deci
sions on crop production.
BUGNET, an information
analysis and delivery system, was
developed by the Texas Agricul
tural Extension Service insect
specialists in cooperation with
Biosystems Research of the
Texas Engineering Experiment
Station. The computer prog
rams, which are available to far
mers through their county ex
tension services, are adapted to
specific area conditions.
Farmers can use the prog
rams to determine the possible
effects of spraying schedules,
and they can make changes in
irrigation to improve crop yields
and profits.
“We feel the biggest benefit is
in education,” said John A. Jack-
man, a Texas Agricultural Ex
tension entomologist, or insect
specialist. The producer can
practice different pest manage
ment programs and determine
economic feasibility instantly by
playing games with the com
puter.
The project, which is funded
through the state extension ser
vice, has 14 computers located
around the state that farmers
can use to help control insects in
cotton, sorghum, peanut and
corn crops, Jackman said.
Variables such as insect densi
ty, reproduction, maturation
rate and potential growth rate of
the crop are considered by the
computer, he said.
The computer program also
accounts for the effects of tem
perature, moisture and the
number of daylight hours on in
sects and crop yields, Jackman
said. The feasibility of applying
insecticide is then weighed
against the predicted crop yield
and estimated market price at
harvest time.
BUGNET was designed to eli
minate complicated operating
procedures. Questions are dis
played for the user to answer
when the computer needs infor
mation or a decision. In addi
tion, programs are on individual
tapes that can be changed like
tapes in a tape player, Jackman
said. This makes the program
practical for the farmer who
doesn’t have extra time to learn
complicated computer proce
dures.
KAPPA SIGMA
SPRING RUSH ’82
Scit., Jan. 30
Tues., Feb. 2
Golf Party
Arbor Square
Party Room
Info: 696-3172
Aggie New Year
Sundance #9
Info: 696-3172
For information regarding
RUSH, please call:
Will Symonds 693-5696
Rush Chairman
Gregg Eslinger 696-3172
President
J
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