Firefox Extensions and Tools: Using iMacros and Zotero

This session will focus on two Firefox extensions and tools. Quinn will highlight iMacros which takes advantage of the macro concept and tabbed browsing capabilities and which can be used as an alternative to federated search and for performing repetitive tasks. Borkenhagen will discuss Zotero which allows users to capture bibliographic information about books, journal articles, and web pages while doing your research. Zotero will also allow you to organize these resources into folders and add notes about each item. During this session, participants will have an opportunity to download/create these Firefox add-ons and look at the ways in which librarians and library patrons can use them

The Impacts of Agriculture on Small Mammals in Prehistoric Southern Arizona

Agriculture was first introduced to the Tucson Basin of Arizona during the Formative period (also known as the Early Agricultural period) around 2000 BC. During the Classic period (AD 750–950), the later Hohokam people developed large-scale riverine irrigation systems. Despite the size and numbers of excavations that have been conducted at Hohokam sites, it is still unclear when the Hohokam developed a sedentary lifestyle and the degree to which they impacted the environment around them. One way to answer these questions is to look at the effects of human activity on animals, particularly whether anthropogenic environmental changes established new ecological niches for populations of small mammals; with this in mind, I measured remains of the genus Lepus (the jackrabbit) from the Marana mound, a Classic period Hohokam site, and compared this to a data set from Las Capas, a Formative period site also located in the Tucson Basin, to see if or how human-caused environmental changes affected the size of the jackrabbit. Jackrabbits are generally smaller and/or more variable in size in the later period, suggesting that the human impact on the local environment depressed the size of rabbits (either through poorer habitat or over-hunting) and that jackrabbits variety of microenvironments as hunting areas expanded to feed larger villages.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_2016/1003/thumbnail.jp

Lessons in establishing plant communities on constructed fens for oil sands mine reclamation

2018 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.The third-largest proven oil deposit in the world is in Alberta, underlying 142,000 square kilometers of Canada’s boreal covered by forested uplands and peatland basins. The vast deposit is in the form of oil sands that consist of a mixture of sand, water, clay and oil. Where oil sands are near surface, they are excavated in open-pit mines that remove the overburden landscape to extract the resource. Reclamation is a legislative condition for oil sands operators to replace ecosystems that are lost. This involves recontouring the surface to recreate landscape processes and introducing plant species common in regional reference sites. Fen peatlands are the most dominant ecosystem type but provincial standards have allowed compensation with marsh wetland as they are easier to create. Oil sands extraction and reclamation is highly controversial with opponents suggesting that destroyed peatlands will not be restored. Scientists, operators and regulators are more aware that peatland reclamation is critical and despite the constraints, research is underway in two reclamation fens that have recently been constructed. To effectively reclaim fens, we need to understand how plant species and communities respond to environmental gradients, the most effective methods to introduce species, and which success criteria are achievable. In the following chapters, I examine drivers of plant community assembly in natural and reclaimed fens and consequences of abiotic, biotic, and construction constraints on ecosystem structure and function. A major constraint in fen reclamation is achieving optimal surface topography and seasonal water table position to support desired plants. Moss-dominated fens are the most common regional peatland type and evaluating the response of mosses to submergence in natural fens provides insight into species selection and processes of recovery for reclaimed fens. I conducted a field experiment to determine the short and long-term tolerances of four fen mosses to submergence from 1 to 8 weeks. I found that moss species vary in their responses to submergence duration and that shifts in community composition that support tolerant dominant species such as Tomentypnum nitens increased moss community resilience and provide stability in boreal fen ecosystems. As part of a multi-stakeholder collaboration, the first self-sustaining reclamation fen and associated watershed was constructed within an oil sands mine site north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. To determine the most effective approach to establish fen plants, I designed and implemented a large-scale multifactorial field experiment that tested introducing moss layer transfer material (MLT), seeds, and seedlings under wood-strand mulch and with a Typha latifolia weeding treatment. Four years after planting, the MLT and Juncus balticus seedling treatment supported the highest fen bryophyte and vascular plant cover and species richness. Weeding did reduce T. latifolia cover but was not necessary in areas where seedlings or MLT was introduced. The most successful fen species to establish was C. aquatilis, which rapidly colonized but also reduced cover and richness of bryophytes and other vascular plants. To provide a broader context, I examined vegetation establishment across the two reclaimed fens that had different water level gradients and species introduction approaches. Despite differences, peat-accumulating bryophyte and vascular plant communities developed in both fens. Community convergence occurred due to dominance of C. aquatilis, and community divergence occurred in response to water level gradients. Dominant species adapted to site conditions can be introduce by basic approaches such as seeding. Intensive approaches such as planting seedlings or spreading MLT should be prioritized in areas of overlap along water level gradients between desirable and undesirable communities to deter establishment of non-peat forming species. Bryophyte cover and desirable species richness was highest following intensive approaches and where the summer water level was -10 cm to -40 cm from the soil surface. My research shows that it is possible to reclaim peat-accumulating bryophyte and vascular plant communities in the post-mining landscape of Alberta and that a range of successful outcomes are achievable. Previous assertions that fens cannot be reclaimed after mining activities are antiquated as large-scale construction designs and species introduction approaches are actively underway and the results are proven

Lovegods And Other Short Stories

This thesis is a collection of four stories, which are all rooted in my Norwegian heritage. Two of the stories are historical narratives based on the German occupation of Norway, and the other two take place in an unspecified presence. The stories deal largely with familial relationship and abandonment, but also include themes such as illness, war, and sexuality. I employ a variety of writing styles, inspired by, but not limited to, authors such as Franz Kafka, Erlend Loe, Ernest Hemingway, and Miranda July. I also experiment with time, language, and cultural references. Along with my stories, I am including an introduction describing my writing style in more detail, as well as discussing my influences and how they impact my writing

Gemachte Körper: die Inszenierung des modernen Selbst mit dem Skalpell ; Aspekte zur Schönheitschirurgie

Das Verhältnis zum eigenen Körper bestimmt sich in der Spätmoderne entweder durch eine Rückbesinnung auf den Körper als unhintergehbarem Bezugspunkt von Identität oder durch das "Projekt Körper". Beim "Körper als Projekt" geht es um die Inszenierung des Selbst durch Überschreitung der Körpergrenzen. Für das Genderbending, Piercing, Tatooing, Branding, aber auch für die Schönheitschirurgie ist die Entgrenzung und neuerliche Verkörperung zentral. Hierbei handelt es sich um spezifische Mechanismen der Identitätsgestaltung, bei dem sich das Selbst über eine Bearbeitung und Gestaltung des Körpers inszeniert. Am Beispiel der Schönheitschirurgie wird der Versuch gemacht, den Mechanismus dieser Selbstinszenierung durch Körper-Gestaltung auf psychoanalytische Konzepte - Spiegelstadium und Weiblichkeit als Maskerade - zu beziehen

COVID-19 Risk Perception in Urban and Architectural Environments

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a profound challenge for cities. Cities are designed to maximize the benefits of density, yet this same density becomes a liability during an outbreak of a socially communicable infection. How did members of the general public perceive COVID-19 transmission risk in the urban and architectural environments they live in? And what effect do these perceptions have on pandemic-safe behaviours? The aim of this dissertation was to answer these questions using the methodologies of research psychology. Across five experiments, it was demonstrated that members of the general public hold complex perceptions of COVID-19 risk in urban and architectural environments, and utilize different visible and non-visible features to render judgments about risk. Moreover, risk perception consistently held a significant positive relationship with the likelihood to engage in pandemic-safe behaviours. These results provide insight on the subjective experience of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, and offer designers and policymakers information about human behaviour and psychology during this time of crisis. The results from these investigations are summarized in the form of design and policy insights so that designers can create spaces that are perceived as safe, and so that public policymakers can create more nuanced public health policy interventions that leverage the intrinsic motivation of citizens to protect themselves against the risk of infection. Given the inevitability of future pathogen outbreaks, the results from this dissertation stand to make a meaningful contribution to the fight to keep citizens safe during these times of crisis

Effektivitetsanalyse og produktivitetsutvikling i norske sparebanker. En analyse av norske sparebanker for perioden 2014-2017 ved bruk av Data Envelopment Analysis og Malmquist produktivitetsindeks

Denne oppgaven analyserer effektivitet og effektivitetsutviklingen for norske sparebanker i perioden 2014-2017. Banknæringen i Norge reguleres av regjeringen i form av boliglånsforskrifter og andre regulatoriske krav. Banknæringen spiller en viktig samfunnsrolle for å tilby trygg og stabil finansiering til befolkningen. Datagrunnlaget for analysen er hentet fra Finans Norge sine årlige utgivelser av nøkkeltall for norske sparebanker. Finans Norge har publisert regnskapstall for sparebankene helt siden 1995. Ved bruk av Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) estimeres effektiviteten, Malmquist produktivitetsindeks (M) estimerer effektivitetsutviklingen. For å finne outliers i analysen brukes supereffektivitet. Bootstrapping er brukt for å estimere teknisk mulig front. Inputvariabler som er benytte i analyser består av lønn og administrasjonskostnader, andre driftskostnader og tap på utlån. Output-variabler består av bankinnskudd fra kunder, netto utlån og netto provisjonsinntekter. Resultater fra analysen viser en gjennomsnittlig effektivitet mellom 67,2% - 80% ved konstant skalautbytte, og 85,8% - 90.6% ved variabelt skalautbytte. Lavest effektivitet ble målt i 2016. Ved bootstrapping synker den gjennomsnittlige effektiviteten. Den biaskorrigerte bootstrapfronten ligger utenfor DEA-fronten. Bankene må dermed strekke seg lengere for å nå den teknisk mulige fronten. Malmquist produktivitetsindeks varierer fra år til år. Den viser en fremgang på 3,08% for perioden 2014-2017. Utviklingen for banknæringen går marginalt i positiv retning for hele perioden. Alle analyserte perioder viser fremgang for M. Analyser gjort for catch-up effekt viser tre perioder med tilbakegang og en med fremgang, for teknologisk utviklingen er det tre perioder med fremgang og en periode med tilbakegang. Resultater for DEA og M for viser stor spredning i effektivitet og effektivitetsutvikling for banker på enkeltnivå. For analyser av Malmquist produktivitetsindeks finner analysen gjennomsnittlig M som varierer fra 0,6573 – 1.5904 for perioden 2014-2017. iii Beregninger i oppgaven er utført med programpakken R (versjon 1.3.1093) med tilleggspakken «Benchmarking» og Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365