12 research outputs found

    An Exploratory Investigation Into Youth Tackle Football Safety in Mississippi

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    A football field in the south is a place where young men grow as friends and teammates, but, unfortunately, it is also a very dangerous arena. Players are often concussed, bruised, or have broken bones. These injuries are sometimes shrugged off, but there is increasing evidence that the injuries that young players sustain in their youth will impact their lives in years to come. In this thesis, I examine the current concerns in youth tackle football safety policy and what improvements can be made to the policies that exist. The literature provides evidence of current debate being had over safety; however, I conduct interviews with experts in the field throughout the state of Mississippi in order to better understand the issue as it relates to youth tackle football safety policies. I found that there are various philosophies surrounding the game of football and what to do to make it safer, there is a lack of adequate safety policies and oversight of those policies, and there is inadequate funding for equipment and personnel that help to make the game safer. These inadequacies do have a way to be improved. By using Kraft and Furlong’s Policy Process Model, I present various policy recommendations in order to better the safety of youth tackle football in the state of Mississippi

    Diets of giants: the nutritional value of sauropod diet during the Mesozoic

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    A major uncertainty in estimating energy budgets and population densities of extinct animals is the carrying capacity of their ecosystems, constrained by net primary productivity (NPP) and its digestible energy content. The hypothesis that increases in NPP due to elevated atmospheric CO₂ contributed to the unparalleled size of the sauropods has recently been rejected, based on modern studies on herbivorous insects that imply a general, negative correlation of diet quality and increasing CO₂. However, the nutritional value of plants grown under elevated CO₂ levels might be very different for vertebrate megaherbivores than for insects. Here we show plant species‐specific responses in metabolizable energy and nitrogen content, equivalent to a two‐fold variation in daily food intake estimates for a typical sauropod, for dinosaur food plant analogues grown under CO₂ concentrations spanning estimates for Mesozoic atmospheric concentrations. Our results potentially rebut the hypothesis that constraints on sauropod diet quality were driven by Mesozoic CO₂ concentration

    The 2003 BFA Graduating Class Department of Visual Arts

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    The fourth-year exhibition is a showcase for students who have completed their studies in the visual arts program. There are several factors which contribute to the quality of the works shown. First and foremost in the talent that the students bring to the program. This talent is nurtured by a talented faculty and staff who are committed to helping our students become not only artists but also individuals who will make valuable contributions to our society

    Effects of auditory and visual stimuli on shark feeding behaviour: the disco effect

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    Sensory systems play a central role in guiding animal behaviour. They can be manipulated to alter behavioural outcomes to limit negative interactions between humans and animals. Sharks are often seen as a threat to humans and there has been increasing interest in developing shark mitigation devices. Previous research has concentrated on stimulating the electrosensory and olfactory systems of sharks, whereas the influence of light and sound on their behaviour has received little attention. In this study, the effects of an intense strobe light and a loud, artificial sound composed of mixed frequencies and intensities on shark behaviour were assessed. We tested these stimuli individually and in combination on wild-caught captive Port Jackson (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) and epaulette (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) sharks in aquaria and on wild great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the field. When presented alone and in combination with sound, the lights reduced the number of times that the bait was taken by both H. portusjacksoni and H. ocellatum in captivity. The strobe light alone, however, did not affect the behaviour of white sharks, but when presented in combination with sound, white sharks spent significantly less time in proximity to the bait. As the lights and sound presented in this study did not show a pronounced deterrent effect on C. carcharias, we do not advise their use as a strategy for mitigating shark–human interactions. However, due to the potential effectiveness of strobe lights in deterring other species of sharks, there may be applications for this approach in the reduction of fisheries bycatch
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