A multi-varied approach to meaning of some East Baltic Neolithic symbols

Three sets of material and ideological data from East Baltic Neolithic pre-Corded Ware culture sites c. 6500-3500 B.P. are compiled and compared in order to reasonably interpret certain aspects of these prehistoric people\u27s ideology, specifically as it relates to their faunal environment and gender-based patterns in their social system. Approaches taken consist of (1) statistical analyses of a symbolic data base comprised of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic art data, and grave good inventories as they relate to gender, (2) a comparison of frequencies of faunal types represented in economy and zoomorphic symbols, and (3) a cross-cultural comparison of contexts of the most frequently occurring Neolithic faunal symbols in East Baltic historic mythology, folklore, and ethnography. It is hoped that the combined multi-varied approach data results can serve as a middle ground between vague abstract theorizing about Neolithic ideology, and a wealth of infrequently addressed symbolic material data

Developing Up and not Out: Understanding the Barriers to and Opportunities for Reurbanization along Waterloo’s Central Transit Corridor

This thesis assesses factors affecting Region of Waterloo’s progress toward key reurbanization objectives mandated in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006, and the Regional Official Plan, 2010. While concepts such as reurbanization and smart growth have been popularized as best practice planning, the implementation of smart growth ideals remains limited in many communities due to a myriad of barriers. To date, the Growth Plan, 2006, has been implemented unevenly across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and planners are just beginning to understand the issues faced by local municipalities in their attempts to facilitate the Growth Plan’s reurbanization objectives. The Region of Waterloo has implemented many best practice growth management initiatives, and building permit data demonstrates a shift from ground-oriented, greenfield development patterns towards more compact, centralized development. As such, this study explores factors that have either facilitated or obstructed the intensification of under-utilized property in the Region of Waterloo through a qualitative case study that employs semi-structured interviews to capture the attitudes, opinions, and beliefs of planners, developers, and municipal politicians who have been actively engaged in the process of reurbanization. Research findings challenged our understanding of the Kitchener CMA as a prototype for urban dispersal. Progress towards key reurbanization objectives were attributed to cooperation and collaboration between planning and development agencies, financial incentives, progressive policy and regulation, the influence of Light Rail Transit, and labour market restructuring. However, the investigation also revealed that many of the easiest sites have already been redeveloped and what is leftover now are the complicated, challenging sites that were previously avoided by private developers. The most commonly cited impediments to redeveloping remaining properties include brownfield remediation, land acquisition and assembly, accommodating the automobile, market dynamics and consumer preferences, development regulation, and building/maintaining community support. This study confirms that infill and intensification involve greater risk and uncertainty compared with traditional greenfield developments, but demonstrates that many of these challenges can be dealt with through integrated planning strategies. To address development barriers and reinforce existing strategies, this thesis recommends forming strategic public-private partnerships, providing financial incentives geared to the development process, facilitating reduced parking standards, prioritizing urban form over land use in zoning regulations, and managing incremental growth to facilitate lot consolidation. Overall, this research demonstrates the opportunities for and constraints to reurbanization in a Canadian, mid-sized city context. More specifically, it advances our understanding about planners’ and developers’ experience implementing the reurbanization mandate in the Region of Waterloo

Law Enforcement Officers’ Ability to Recognize Emotions: The Role of Personality Traits and Basic Needs’ Satisfaction

CC BY 4.0Background: This study intended to explore the role of personality traits and basic psychological needs in law enforcement officers’ ability to recognize emotions: anger, joy, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, and neutral. It was significant to analyze law enforcement officers’ emotion recognition and the contributing factors, as this field has been under-researched despite increased excessive force use by officers in many countries. Methods: This study applied the Big Five–2 (BFI-2), the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS), and the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces set of stimuli (KDEF). The data was gathered using an online questionnaire provided directly to law enforcement agencies. A total of 154 law enforcement officers participated in the study, 50.65% were females, and 49.35% were males. The mean age was 41.2 (age range = 22–61). In order to analyze the data, SEM and multiple linear regression methods were used. Results: This study analyzed variables of motion recognition, personality traits, and needs satisfaction and confirmed that law enforcement officers’ personality traits play a significant role in emotion recognition. Respondents’ agreeableness significantly predicted increased overall emotion recognition; conscientiousness predicted increased anger recognition; joy recognition was significantly predicted by extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness. This study also confirmed that law enforcement officers’ basic psychological needs satisfaction/frustration play a significant role in emotion recognition. Respondents’ relatedness satisfaction significantly predicted increased overall emotion recognition, fear recognition, joy recognition, and sadness recognition. Relatedness frustration significantly predicted decreased anger recognition, surprise recognition, and neutral face recognition. Furthermore, this study confirmed links between law enforcement officers’ personality traits, satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs, and emotion recognition, χ2 = 57.924; df = 41; p = 0.042; TLI = 0.929; CFI = 0.956; RMSEA = 0.042 [0.009–0.065]. Discussion: The findings suggested that agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism play an essential role in satisfaction and frustration of relatedness needs, which, subsequently, link to emotion recognition. Due to the relatively small sample size, the issues of validity/reliability of some instruments, and other limitations, the results of this study should preferably be regarded with concern

Investigation of electrical conductivity of milk in robotic milking system and its relationship with milk somatic cell count and other quality traits

The scientific research was carried out at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Veterinary Academy, state enterprise “Pieno tyrimai”, as well as in dairy farms running automatic voluntary (robotic) milking systems in Lithuania. A total data set of 462574 cow milking records was assessed in the research. The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the milk electrical conductivity indicator from robotic milking system and to assess the genetic correlation with the indices collected in a database of Lithuanian dairy cattle, to estimate heritability coefficient using multiple traits mixed linear model with permanent environment effects. The research has shown, that the electrical conductivity of milk ranged from 4.6 to 5.8 ms/cm in milk samples where somatic cell count did not exceed 200 thousand/ml and variation in electric conductivity of milk can be treated as one of the main parameters for cows’ health monitoring system. A high coefficient of heritability of electrical conductivity of milk (h2 = 0.512 ± 0.028; p < 0.001) and a very low coefficient of heritability of somatic cell count (h2 = 0.032 ± 0.014; p < 0.001) was determined. The results of the research have also revealed a positive genetic correlation of electrical conductivity with milk somatic cell count (rg = 0.332 ± 0.016; p < 0.001). Electrical conductivity of milk from robotic milking system can be introduced as an indicator of mastitis prevention in dairy cows and genetic selection based on this trait may be possible

Genetic discontinuity between local hunter-gatherers and Europes first farmers

Following the domestication of animals and crops in the Near East some 11,000 years ago, farming reached much of Central Europe by 7,500 before present. The extent to which these early European farmers ere immigrants, or descendants of resident hunter-gatherers who had learnt farming, has been widely debated. We compare new mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from late European hunter-gatherer skeletons with those from early farmers, and from modern Europeans. We find large genetic differences betwee all three groups that cannot be explained by population continuity alone. Most (82 %) of the ancient hunter-gatherers share mtDNA types that are relatively rare in Central Europeans today. Together, thse analyses provide persuasive evidence that the first farmers were not the descendants of local hunergatherers but immigrated into Central Europe at the onset of the Neolithic

Investigating dietary life histories and mobility of children buried in St Gertrude Church Cemetery, Riga, Latvia (15th– 17th centuries AD)

Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research compared the life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble the patterns seen in children from the general cemetery, suggesting that they probably represented a different population group. The rise in δ15N values towards the end of the life of four individuals from one mass grave suggests they were victims of an historically documented famine

Change in rumination behavior parameters around calving in cows with subclinical ketosis diagnosed during 30 days after calving

We hypothesized that cows with SCK (blood BHB over &gt;1.2 mmol/l) diagnosed within the first 30 days of calving can be predicted by changes in rumination and activity behavioral parameters in the period before calving and indeed subsequently. A total of 45 cows were randomly selected from 60 dry cows from at least 40 days before calving. All the cows were fitted with RuniWatch sensors monitoring both intake behaviors (faceband) and general movement and activity behavior (pedometer) (RWS-ITIN + HOCH, Switzerland). Following an adaptation period of 10 days, rumination, eating, and activity parameters were monitored for 30 days before calving and 30 days after calving. Considering the design of the study, we divided the data of cows into three stages for statistical evaluation: (1) the last thirty days before calving (from day −30 to −1 of the study); (2) day of calving; and (3) the first thirty days after calving (from day 1 to 30 of the study). We found that before calving, those cows with a higher risk of having SCK diagnosed after calving had lower rumination time, eating time, drinking gulps, bolus, chews per min, chews per bolus, downtime, maximal temperature, and activity change. On the calving day, in cows with higher risk of SCK after calving, we found lower rumination time, eating time, chews per min, chews per bolus, uptime, downtime, minimal temperature, other chews, eating chews, drinking time, drinking gulps, activity, average temperature, maximal temperature, activity change, rumination chews, and eating chews. After calving in cows with SCK, we found lower rumination time, eating time 1, eating time 2, bolus, chews per bolus, uptime, downtime, minimal temperature, maximal temperature, rumination chews, and eating chews. Moreover, after calving we found higher drinking gulps, drinking time, activity, activity change, average temperature, other chews, and eating chews in cows with SCK. From a practical point of view, we recommend that by tracking changes in rumination and activity behavior parameters registered with RuniWatch sensors (such as rumination time, eating time, drinking time, drinking gulps, bolus, chews per minute, chews per bolus, downtime, maximal temperature, and activity change) before, during, and after calving, we can identify cows with a higher risk of SCK in the herd