Evaluating Effects of Everglades Restoration on American Crocodile Populations in South Florida Using a Spatially-Explicit, Stage-Based Population Model

The distribution and abundance of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Florida Everglades is dependent on the timing, amount, and location of freshwater flow. One of the goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is to restore historic freshwater flows to American crocodile habitat throughout the Everglades. To predict the impacts on the crocodile population from planned restoration activities, we created a stage-based spatially explicit crocodile population model that incorporated regional hydrology models and American crocodile research and monitoring data. Growth and survival were influenced by salinity, water depth, and density-dependent interactions. A stage-structured spatial model was used with discrete spatial convolution to direct crocodiles toward attractive sources where conditions were favorable. The model predicted that CERP would have both positive and negative impacts on American crocodile growth, survival, and distribution. Overall, crocodile populations across south Florida were predicted to decrease approximately 3 % with the implementation of CERP compared to future conditions without restoration, but local increases up to 30 % occurred in the Joe Bay area near Taylor Slough, and local decreases up to 30 % occurred in the vicinity of Buttonwood Canal due to changes in salinity and freshwater flows.

Mirror self-recognition in a gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Psychologists have studied self-recognition in human infants as an indication of self-knowledge (Amsterdam, 1972) and the development of abstract thought processes. Gallup (1970) modified the mark test used in human infant work to examine if nonhuman primates showed similar evidence of mirror self-recognition. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and orangutans (Pongo pygmnaeus) pass the mirror self-recognition test with limited mirror training or exposure. Other species of primates, such as gorillas and monkeys, have not passed the mirror test, despite extensive mirror exposure and training (Gallup, 1979). This project examined a gorilla (G. gorilla gorilla) named Otto in the traditional mark test. Using the modified mark-test, there were more incidents of touching the marked area while Otto was in front of the mirror than when he was not in front of the mirror. These results indicated that Otto was able to show some evidence of selfawareness.

Metodologia de estimação de estados para tratamento de medições errôneas e registros não sincronizados em algoritmos de localização de faltas em linhas de transmissão

The performance of algorithms for fault location i n transmission lines is directly related to the accuracy of its input data. Thus, fa ctors such as errors in the line parameters, failures in synchronization of oscillographic recor ds and errors in measurements of voltage and current can significantly influence the accurac y of algorithms that use bad data to indicate the fault location. This work presents a new method ology for fault location in transmission lines based on the theory of state estimation in or der to determine the location of faults more accurately by considering realistic systematic erro rs that may be present in measurements of voltage and current. The methodology was implemente d in two stages: pre-fault and post- fault. In the first step, assuming non-synchronized data, the synchronization angle and positive sequence line parameters are estimated, an d in the second, the fault distance is estimated. Besides calculating the most likely faul t distance obtained from measurement errors, the variance associated with the distance f ound is also determined, using the errors theory. This is one of the main contributions of th is work, since, with the proposed algorithm, it is possible to determine a most likely zone of f ault incidence, with approximately 95,45% of confidence. Tests for evaluation and validation of the proposed algorithm were realized from actual records of faults and from simulations of fictitious transmission systems using ATP software. The obtained results are relevant to show that the proposed estimation approach works even adopting realistic variances, c ompatible with real equipments errors.

Myanmar MIL Workshop Series

The Mobile Information Literacy curriculum is a growing collection of training materials designed to build literacies for the millions of people worldwide coming online every month via a mobile phone. Most information information and digital literacy curricula were designed for a PC age, and public and private organizations around the world have used these curricula to help newcomers use computers and the internet effectively and safely. The better curricula address not only skills, but also concepts and attitudes. The central question for this project is: what are the relevant skills, concepts, and attitudes for people using mobiles, not PCs, to access the internet? As part of the Information Strategies for Societies in Transition project, we developed a six-module curriculum for mobile-first users. The project is situated in Myanmar, a country undergoing massive political, economic, and social changes, and where mobile penetration is expected to reach 80% by the end of 2015 from just 4% in 2014. Combined with the country’s history of media censorship, Myanmar presents unique challenges for addressing the needs of people who need the ability to find and evaluate the quality and credibility of information obtained online, understand how to create and share online information effectively, and participate safely and securely.

Myanmar DIL WORKSHOP SERIES Unit 4: Working Online and Using Information

The Mobile Information Literacy curriculum is a growing collection of training materials designed to build literacies for the millions of people worldwide coming online every month via a mobile phone. Most information information and digital literacy curricula were designed for a PC age, and public and private organizations around the world have used these curricula to help newcomers use computers and the internet effectively and safely. The better curricula address not only skills, but also concepts and attitudes. The central question for this project is: what are the relevant skills, concepts, and attitudes for people using mobiles, not PCs, to access the internet? As part of the Information Strategies for Societies in Transition project, we developed a six-module curriculum for mobile-first users. The project is situated in Myanmar, a country undergoing massive political, economic, and social changes, and where mobile penetration is expected to reach 80% by the end of 2015 from just 4% in 2014. Combined with the country’s history of media censorship, Myanmar presents unique challenges for addressing the needs of people who need the ability to find and evaluate the quality and credibility of information obtained online, understand how to create and share online information effectively, and participate safely and securely.

From Scarcity to Overload: Finding “Good Enough” Public Information in Myanmar’s Transition Information Symposium Summary Report

The Myanmar Book Aid Preservation Foundation (MBAPF) and Enlightened Research Myanmar (EMR) held an Information Symposium titled, From Scarcity to Overload: Finding “Good Enough” Public Information in Myanmar’s Transition in Yangon, Myanmar on January 28-29, 2016. The Symposium was co-sponsored by the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) and the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) of the University’s Information School with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Asia Foundation. The Information Symposium was held as part of a larger project supported by USAID, Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Tableau Foundation implemented by the University of Washington’s JSIS and TASCHA, along with Myanmar partners, MBAPF and EMR. This project, Information Strategies for Societies in Transition, was developed largely because of the staggering challenges Myanmar is facing as it seeks to “catch-up” in the world’s most economically competitive region.

Changing times, changing stories: generational differences in climate change perspectives from four remote indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska

Indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities currently are facing a myriad of social and environmental changes. In response to these changes, studies concerning indigenous knowledge (IK) and climate change vulnerability, resiliency, and adaptation have increased dramatically in recent years. Risks to lives and livelihoods are often the focus of adaptation research; however, the cultural dimensions of climate change are equally important because cultural dimensions inform perceptions of risk. Furthermore, many Arctic and Subarctic IK climate change studies document observations of change and knowledge of the elders and older generations in a community, but few include the perspectives of the younger population. These observations by elders and older generations form a historical baseline record of weather and climate observations in these regions. However, many indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities are composed of primarily younger residents. We focused on the differences in the cultural dimensions of climate change found between young adults and elders. We outlined the findings from interviews conducted in four indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska. The findings revealed that (1) intergenerational observations of change were common among interview participants in all four communities, (2) older generations observed more overall change than younger generations interviewed by us, and (3) how change was perceived varied between generations. We defined “observations” as the specific examples of environmental and weather change that were described, whereas “perceptions” referred to the manner in which these observations of change were understood and contextualized by the interview participants. Understanding the differences in generational observations and perceptions of change are key issues in the development of climate change adaptation strategies.

Affective Labour and Neoliberal Fantasies: The Gendered and Moral Economy of School Choice in England.

This is the accepted manuscript of chapter 13 in, Vandenbeld Giles, M. (Ed.), 2014, Mothering in the Age of Neoliberalism, Demeter Press. For further details and how to order the title, please see: http://demeterpress.org/books/mothering-in-the-age-of-neoliberalism/

CROSS-LINGUISTIC TRANSFER OF SPELLING SKILLS IN SPANISH-SPEAKING ADULT ESL LEARNERS

Spelling is an important literacy skill, and learning to spell is an important component of learning to write. Learners with strong spelling skills also exhibit greater reading, vocabulary, and orthographic knowledge than those with poor spelling skills (Ehri & Rosenthal, 2007; Ehri & Wilce, 1987; Rankin, Bruning, Timme, & Katkanant, 1993). English, being a deep orthography, has inconsistent sound-to-letter correspondences (Seymour, 2005; Ziegler & Goswami, 2005). This poses a great challenge for learners in gaining spelling fluency and accuracy. The purpose of the present study is to examine cross-linguistic transfer of English vowel spellings in Spanish-speaking adult ESL learners. The research participants were 129 Spanish-speaking adult ESL learners and 104 native English-speaking GED students enrolled in a community college located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. The adult ESL participants were in classes at three different levels of English proficiency: advanced, intermediate, and beginning. An experimental English spelling test was administered to both the native English-speaking and ESL participants. In addition, the adult ESL participants took the standardized spelling tests to rank their spelling skills in both English and Spanish. The data were analyzed using robust regression and Poisson regression procedures, Mann-Whitney test, and descriptive statistics. The study found that both Spanish spelling skills and English proficiency are strong predictors of English spelling skills. Spanish spelling is also a strong predictor of level of L1-influenced transfer. More proficient Spanish spellers made significantly fewer L1-influenced spelling errors than less proficient Spanish spellers. L1-influenced transfer of spelling knowledge from Spanish to English likely occurred in three vowel targets (/ɑɪ/ spelled as ae, ai, or ay, /ɑʊ/ spelled as au, and /eɪ/ spelled as e). The ESL participants and the native English-speaking participants produced highly similar error patterns of English vowel spellings when the errors did not indicate L1-influenced transfer, which implies that the two groups might follow similar trajectories of developing English spelling skills. The findings may help guide future researchers or practitioners to modify and develop instructional spelling intervention to meet the needs of adult ESL learners and help them gain English spelling competence.

Bidirectional cargo transport by microtubule-based molecular motors

We have reconstituted a simple in vitro system using only mammalian dynein and mammalian kinesin attached to a single cargo. These cargoes undergo saltatory motion typically seen in vivo, indicating that the motors engage in a tug-of-war. When the complex hits a barrier, the cargo often reverses direction. In some cases, it tries several up-and-back motions, during which time the dynein likely pulls the cargo onto a different protofilament, and is sometimes able to bypass the blockage. This explains why eliminating kinesin or dynein stops motion in both directions in vivo. We also find that mammalian dynein, but not kinesin, often takes backwards steps when under backward force. However, yeast dynein coupled with mammalian kinesin does not display these attributes, as expected.

Beyond physical health and safety : supporting the wellbeing of workers employed in the forest industry

Fattibilità della misura di cattura neutronica sugli isotopi dispari del gadolinio

In questo lavoro di tesi ci proponiamo di determinare lo spessore degli isotopi ^155Gd e ^157Gd in vista della misura della sezione d’urto di cattura neutronica presso la facility n_TOF del CERN. La principale motivazione dell’esperimento è legata alla necessità di ottenere misure più accurate per le applicazioni ai reattori nucleari. Inoltre, i nuovi risultati, potranno essere sfruttati anche per applicazioni ai recenti sviluppi nella Terapia di Cattura Neutronica e per costruire nuovi rivelatori nell’ambito della ricerca del neutrino. La misura sarà effettuata nella prima area sperimentale EAR-1 di n TOF, equipaggiata con rivelatori, come per esempio gli scintillatori liquidi al benzene deuterato (C6D6) particolarmente adatti per questi tipi di misura. La sezione d’urto di questi due isotopi cambia di molti ordini di grandezza al variare dell’energia dei neutroni incidenti. Per questo motivo, lo studio effettuato in questa tesi ha mostrato che sono necessari due campioni altamente arricchiti per ogni isotopo da misurare: un campione estremamente sottile per energie del neutrone fino a 100 meV, e uno più spesso per energie maggiori. Inoltre per questi campioni sono stati determinati le densità areali necessarie per lo svolgimento dell’esperimento affinchè avvenga il fenomeno di trasmissione dei neutroni.

A TQM alkalmazhatósága a közszférában

A szerző a teljes körű minőségmenedzsment közszervezetekben való adaptálhatóságát vizsgálja tanulmányában. Az új közmenedzsment-reformok hatására a minőségmenedzsment is egyre nagyobb teret kap a kormányzati szektorban. A közszektor hagyományos működési modellje, valamint a közszolgáltatások sajátosságai azonban továbbra is gátat szabnak a vállalati minőségmenedzsment megfelelő átvételének. A szerző a TQM magánvállalati kutatási tapasztalatait, valamint a közszektor jellemzőit felhasználva mutatja be a közszférában is alkalmazható TQM-technikákat.