Problems involved in the conservation of historic buildings in New Zealand: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University

This empirical research derives, by way of case studies, the range of problems involved in the conservation of historic buildings in New Zealand. A dichotomy of problems is evident and consequently discussed - legislative/regulatory problems, and problems pertaining to held attitudes. The first category looks at the problems of inadequate legislative provisions for historic building protection (in both the Historic Places Act 1980, and the Town and Country Planning Act 1977), the earthquake standards and design codes, and 'legislative omissions' (a phrase coined to cover aspects neglected in the current legislation). In the second category, conservation problems attributed to the attitudes of government, the public, local authorities, owners/developers, and the Historic Places Trust are discussed as they present a hindrance to the effective protection of historic buildings in New Zealand. Finally recommendations are tendered which, if actioned, would go a long way towards counteracting these problems, and consequently render historic buildings in New Zealand more likely to be conserved

Teachers' and children's personal epistemologies for moral education: Case studies in early years elementary education

While there is strong interest in teaching values in Australia and internationally there is little focus on young children’s moral values learning in the classroom. Research shows that personal epistemology influences teaching and learning in a range of education contexts, including moral education. This study examines relationships between personal epistemologies (children’s and teachers’), pedagogies, and school contexts for moral learning in two early years classrooms. Interviews with teachers and children and analysis of school policy revealed clear patterns of personal epistemologies and pedagogies within each school. A whole school approach to understanding personal epistemologies and practice for moral values learning is suggested

Assessing the evidence: Student response system versus computer based testing for undertaking multiple choice question assessment in undergraduate nursing education

There is a dearth of evidence focusing on student preferences for computer-based testing versustesting via student response systems for summative assessment in undergraduate education.This quantitative study compared the preference and acceptability of computer-based testingand a student response system for completing multiple choice questions in undergraduatenursing education. After using both computer-based testing and a student response system tocomplete multiple choice questions, 192 first year undergraduate nursing students rated theirpreferences and attitudes towards using computer-based testing and a student response system.Results indicated that seventy four percent felt the student response system was easy to use.Fifty six percent felt the student response system took more time than the computer-based testingto become familiar with. Sixty Percent felt computer-based testing was more users friendly.Seventy Percent of students would prefer to take a multiple choice question summative examvia computer-based testing, although Fifty percent would be happy to take using student responsesystem. Results are useful for undergraduate educators in relation to student’s preferencefor using computer-based testing or student response system to undertake a summativemultiple choice question exa

Follow-up services for improving long-term outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: Our main objective is to assess the effectiveness of follow-up services for ICU survivors that aim to identify and address unmet health needs related to the ICU period. We aim to assess the effectiveness in relation to health-related quality of life, mortality, depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical function, cognitive function, ability to return to work or education and adverse events. Our secondary objectives are, in general, to examine both the various ways that follow-up services are provided and any major influencing factors. Specifically, we aim to explore: the effectiveness of service organisation (physician versus nurse led, face to face versus remote, timing of follow-up service); possible differences in services related to country (developed versus developing country); and whether participants had delirium within the ICU setting

Most Americans are now opposed to laws against interracial marriage, but their behavior does not yet reflect these attitudes

Recent decades have seen a dramatic fall in the number of people that support laws which prohibit interracial marriages, and an increase in the number of these marriages. But why does the rate of interracial marriages remain so low, when compared to same-race marriages? Using national data from the past three decades, Ginny E. Garcia, Richard Lewis Jr., and Joanne Ford-Robertson show that while attitudes towards interracial marriages have changed, many groups still have negative attitudes towards Black-White unions. They find that those who perceive social and economic competition with Blacks, such as those with lower levels of education, were more likely to support laws that prohibit interracial marriages and engage in behaviors that prevent Black’s wider participation in society

An Impact Evaluation of the 'Joy Project'

This report gives an overview of research undertaken to evaluate the impact of the JOY Project which is based in the City of Worcester, England. The project is "a woman only community project which provides support to enable women to gain a variety of skills, enhance their confidence and empower them to make their own informed decisions" (WCT, 2018a). The evaluation considers the extent to which the project serves the local community by comparing data on service users with local socio-demographics and outlines the extent to which the project's aims and outcomes set by the funder, The Big Lottery Fund) are met. It highlights additional outcomes and captures the impact of project activities on service users. Ultimately, it draws conclusions about the quality, impact and value of the JOY Project

The substantial first impact of bottom fishing on rare biodiversity hotspots: a dilemma for evidence-based conservation

The present study set out to describe the impact of a single first passage of two types of bottom fishing gear on rare protected shellfish beds formed by the horse mussel Modiolus modiolus. From the available evidence it was clear that one of the study sites had been trawled and the other had been scallop-dredged. Divers collected high-resolution video imagery of epifauna from quadrats at the two study sites and directed infaunal samples at one. The total number of epifaunal organisms was substantially less after a single pass of a trawl (90%) or scallop dredge (59%) as was the diversity of the community and the total number of Modiolus modiolus. A year later no recovery was evident at the site where the trawl had passed and substantially less infauna were recorded in the trawl track. The relative severity of the impact of the two types of fishing gear is unexpected and may reflect differences in community between the two sites or the undisturbed status of the habitats compared to previous studies. As a ‘priority habitat’ the nature of the impacts described on M. modiolus communities are important to the development of indicators of ‘Good Environmental Status’ under the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive.Conservation managers are under pressure to support decisions with good quality evidence. Elsewhere indirect studies have shown declines of M. modiolus communities in fishing grounds but, given the protected status of the habitat, premeditated demonstration of direct impact is unethical and / or illegal in Marine Protected Areas. The present study therefore provides a unique opportunity to directly investigate the scale of the impact from bottom fishing gear whilst also to reflect on the paradox of evidence – based conservation management

Efficient assembly and secretion of recombinant subviral particles of the four dengue serotypes using native prM and E proteins.

© 2009 Wang et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Flavivirus infected cells produce infectious virions and subviral particles, both of which are formed by the assembly of prM and E envelope proteins and are believed to undergo the same maturation process. Dengue recombinant subviral particles have been produced in cell cultures with either modified or chimeric proteins but not using the native forms of prM and E. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used a codon optimization strategy to obtain an efficient expression of native viral proteins and production of recombinant subviral particles (RSPs) for all four dengue virus (DV) serotypes. A stable HeLa cell line expressing DV1 prME was established (HeLa-prME) and RSPs were analyzed by immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. We found that E protein is mainly present in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where assembly of RSPs could be observed. Biochemical characterization of DV1 RSPs secretion revealed both prM protein cleavage and homodimerization of E proteins before their release into the supernatant, indicating that RSPs undergo a similar maturation process as dengue virus. Pulse chase experiment showed that 8 hours are required for the secretion of DV1 RSPs. We have used HeLa-prME to develop a semi-quantitative assay and screened a human siRNA library targeting genes involved in membrane trafficking. Knockdown of 23 genes resulted in a significant reduction in DV RSP secretion, whereas for 22 others we observed an increase of RSP levels in cell supernatant. Conclusions/Significance: Our data describe the efficient production of RSPs containing native prM and E envelope proteins for all dengue serotypes. Dengue RSPs and corresponding producing cell lines are safe and novel tools that can be used in the study of viral egress as well as in the development of vaccine and drugs against dengue virus.This work was supported by the 6th European Framework programme DENFRAME and by the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases of Hong Kong (RFCID#08070952)