Mission report: a strategy to inventory, characterize, and monitor the marine region within and around the National Park and Monument boundaries of St. John, USVI, July 21- July 31, 2008

The intent of this field mission was to continue ongoing efforts: (1) to spatially characterize and monitor the distribution, abundance and size of both reef fishes and conch within and around the waters of the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) and newly established Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR), (2) to correlate this information to in-situ data collected on associated habitat parameters, (3) to use this information to establish the knowledge base necessary for enacting management decisions in a spatial setting and to establish the efficacy of those management decisions. This work is supported by the National Park Service and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program’s Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Project. The report highlights the successes of this mission.

Movement of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence

A total of 42,445 American lobsters (Homarus americanus) were tagged in thirty-one sites throughout the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence between 1980 and 1997. Results from the recapture of 8503 tagged lobsters showed small distances traveled between the release and the recapture position for animals ranging in size from 51 to 152 mm carapace length. The average distance traveled ranged from 2 km in parts of Baie des Chaleurs and western Cape Breton to 19 km in central Northumberland Strait. Lobsters moved generally along the shore (93% of the dispersion was in areas between the shore and the 20-m bathymetric contour). As a result, lobsters traveled longer distances in sites characterized by a gradually sloping bottom where the distance between the shore and the 20-m contour line was extensive in contrast to areas characterized by rapidly changing depths and by a relatively small amount of habitat shallower than 20 m. In the majority of sites (14 of 19) there was no significant difference between males and females in the average distance they traveled. In four of the five sites females moved farther than males. In general, the average distance traveled by berried females was shorter than that traveled by males or nonberried females. No relationship was observed between the distance traveled and the size of the animal. There was no strong evidence of a relationship between the average distance traveled and the number of days at liberty. In general, lobsters in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence traveled short distances and dispersion was restricted to the nearshore habitat. Further, the distance traveled was not correlated to size, sex, or years at large. These findings show that there is little interaction between American lobsters from different fishing areas at the benthic level and that American lobster movements should have minimal consequences for management of the species in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Status of the biodiversity of St. Martin's Island, Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

A total of 234 species of fish have been recorded from the St Martin Island. Of which, 98 species are coral associated. The total number of recorded mollusc and crab species stands at 187 and 7 species respectively. A total of 66 coral species were recorded, of which 19 are fossil corals, 36 living corals and the rest are under 6 families of subclass Octocorallia (soft corals). A total of 14 species of algae have been recorded from the St. Martin's Island. There is an estimated amount of 1500 MT red sea weed biomass available around the St. Martin's Island. The island contains some of the most unique, benthic community associations in Bangladesh, not found anywhere else in the South Asian region. The unique marine communities have very high scientific value for research and monitoring and there are only a few examples worldwide, where coral-algal communities dominate rocky reefs. The economy of the island is based on fishing. It is estimated that, about 1650 MT of fish are caught annually. Over-exploitation of renewable marine and coastal resources (e.g., rocky reef fisheries, coral and shell extraction; removal of coastal vegetation from inter-tidal and sub-tidal habitats) is a major threat to this ecosystem. Destructive fishing practices, mainly the use of rock-weighted gill nets over the inshore boulder reefs is of prime aggravates. Proper implementation of the rules and regulation for Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA's), alternative livelihood for the local people and further research should be immediately taken for sustainable utilization and to save the rich biodiversity of the only coral island in Bangladesh.

The influence of arrangement of St in MBS on the properties of PVC/MBS blends

Three series of MBS core-shell impact modifiers were prepared by grafting styrene and methyl methacrylate onto PB or SBR seed latex in emulsion polymerization. All the MBS modifiers were designed to have the same total chemical composition, and MMA/Bd/St equals 30/42/28, which is a prerequisite for producing transparent blends with PVC. Under this composition, there were three different ways of arrangement for styrene in MBS, which led to the different structure of MBS modifier. The concentration of MBS in PVC/MBS blends was kept at a constant value of 20 wt.%. The effects of arrangement of St in MBS on the mechanical and optical properties of PVC/MBS blends were studied. The notched Izod impact test results showed that the MBS with a PB homopolymer core grafted with St had a lowest brittle-ductile transition (BDT) temperature and BDT temperature increased with the amount of St copolymerized with Bd in the core of MBS. The transparency of blends also increased with the amount of St copolymerized with Bd in the core. TEM results showed that the arrangement of St in MBS influenced the deformation behavior. Two deformation modes were observed in the blends: cavitation and shear yielding.

A Sermon preached in the Parish Church of St. Nicholas, in Bristol

Sermon.

The church in Corea by Mark Napier Trollope, Bp. of Korea

http://www.archive.org/details/churchincorea00troluoft

Historical sketch of the Flathead Indian nation from the year 1813 to 1890 : embracing the history of the establishment of St. Mary's Indian Mission in the Bitter Root Valley, Mont. : with sketches of the missionary life of Father Ravalli and other early missionaries : wars of the Blackfeet and Flatheads and sketches of history, trapping and trading in the early days / by Peter Ronan.

http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=16974 View document online

Father Pollock and his brother : mission priests of St. Alban's, Birmingham / with a letter from Charles Gore.

http://anglicanhistory.org/bios/pollock/ View document online

Life of St. Vincent of Paul, founder of the Congregation of the Mission and of the Sisters of Charity / M. Collet... ; translated from the French by a Catholic clergyman.

http://www.archive.org/details/lifeofstvincento00colluoft

California life illustrated / by William Taylor, of the California Conference.

http://www.archive.org/details/calilifeillustrated00taylrich

Rambo's Interdisciplinary Approach to Religious Conversion: The Case of St. Augustine

This dissertation illustrates the merits of an interdisciplinary approach to religious conversion by employing Lewis Rambo’s systemic stage model to illumine the process of St. Augustine’s conversion. Previous studies of Augustine’s conversion have commonly explored his narrative of transformation from the perspective of one specific discipline, such as theology, history, or psychology. In doing so, they have necessarily restricted attention to a limited set of questions and problems. By bringing these disciplines into a structured, critical conversation, this study demonstrates how formulating and responding to the interplay among personal, social, cultural, and religious dimensions of Augustine’s conversion process may eventuate in the consideration of issues previously unarticulated and thus unaddressed. Rambo (1993) formulates a model of religious change that consists of what he calls context, crisis, quest, encounter, interaction, commitment, and consequences. Change is explained by drawing upon the research and scholarship of psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and religionists, in conjunction with the contributions of theologians. This study unfolds in the following chapters: I. Introduction; II. Literature review of scholarship about conversion, with emphasis on explication of Rambo’s model; III. A description of the case of Augustine, drawn from a close reading of the Confessions; IV. Literature review of scholarship about Augustine’s conversion; V. Interdisciplinary interpretation of Augustine’s conversion; and VI. Implications for scholars of conversion, and for pastoral caregivers, as well as recommendations for future research. This dissertation demonstrates how Augustine’s conversion experience was deeply influenced by 1) psychological distress and crisis; 2) the quest to know himself and the divine; 3) interactions with significant others; 4) participation in Christian communities; 5) philosophical and cultural changes; and 6) the encounter with the divine. As such, this study reveals the value of interpreting Augustine’s conversion as an evolving process constituted in multiple factors that can be differentiated from one another, yet clearly interact with one another. It examines the implications of constructing an interdisciplinary approach to Augustine’s conversion narrative for both the academy and the Christian community, and recommends the use of Rambo’s model in studies of other cases of religious change.