Althusser and History: A Review Essay

Althusser and History: A Review Essa

Listening in the Morning: Devotional Readings for Teachers

Listening in the morning is a manifesto of sorts. Written by teacher, lecturer and passionate educator Dr Trevor Lloyd, Listening in the morning is a devotional book with a singular golden thread running through out - teaching is a missional calling

ROLE OF NUDT21 MEDIATED ALTERNATIVE POLYADENYLATION AND HYALURONAN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease with serious effects on quality of life and life expectancy of patients. PH is a complex disease that likely develops due to multiple influences, and no curative treatments exist for this disease. It has been shown that alternative polyadenylation (APA) due to depletion of Nudix Hydrolase 21(NUDT21) is involved in several disease states including the chronic lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Additionally, hyaluronan, an extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan has been associated with PH. The role and mechanism of NUDT21 and hyaluronan have not yet been described in this disease. My results reveal that NUDT21 depletion and APA in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is associated with phenotypic changes and PH. I I also show that hyaluronan and hyaluronan related genes play important roles in the development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and PH associated with IPF and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. I also identify 4-methylumbelliferone as an inhibitor of PH in this mechanism. These studies provide new mechanisms for understanding the development of PH and potential therapeutic targets

From Automobiles to Alternatives: Applying Attitude Theory and Information Technologies to Increase Shuttle Use at Rocky Mountain National Park

This thesis examines potential strategies for increasing voluntary shuttle use at Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) and the gateway community of Estes Park, Colorado. The first chapter of this two-part study evaluates the impact of a pilot intelligent transportation system (ITS) on visitor awareness and use of shuttles during the summer of 2011. Two forms of ITS, dynamic message signs (DMS) and highway advisory radio (HAR), were evaluated. Specifically, the ITS was meant to influence day-visitors to park at a new park-and-ride lot just east of Estes Park where they could then board a connector shuttle and transfer to any of four shuttle routes servicing the town and park. Surveys were administered onboard the park-and-ride shuttle (N = 68) and at two locations in downtown Estes Park (N = 490). Our analysis revealed that the DMS contributed to increased awareness of the shuttles. However, the HAR did not contribute substantially to awareness or use of the visitor shuttles. Our analysis offers additional recommendations for increasing voluntary shuttle use, such as providing direct routes between the park-and-ride and popular park attractions. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of ITS as a transportation management tool in a national park setting, but also highlight the importance of selecting appropriate technologies that meet the needs of park visitors. The second chapter explores strategies for optimizing the use of ITS by applying the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) to identify the beliefs that inform choice of travel mode among ROMO and Estes Park visitors. Using results of a mail survey (N = 222), the theory of planned behavior was applied to the prediction of intention and use of visitor shuttles. Perceived behavioral control was found to have a significant influence on intention to use shuttles. Past experience with park shuttles was tested as an additional predictor of behavior and shown to significantly improve the prediction of shuttle use. Past experience with public transit was also added to the model, but with no significant contribution, thereby demonstrating the inherent difference between travel behaviors in everyday settings as opposed to recreation settings. These results were then coupled with segmentation analysis to identify unique segments of visitors. The segments were statistically similar in terms of demographic characteristics, yet heterogeneous in their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control regarding shuttle use. Of the three segments identified, Bus Backers were found to hold the most positive beliefs about shuttles and Potential Mode-shifters were identified as the segment offering the most potential for mode change due to their neutral attitudes and beliefs. Strategies were identified to maintain and improve use of shuttles among these segments. Our study broadens the application of segmentation analysis to transportation in a park setting and demonstrates its important contribution

The Human Dimensions of Pollinator Conservation : Perception, Practice, and Policy in the Lowbush Blueberry Industry

This dissertation presents comparative research of diverse agricultural actors involved in lowbush blueberry productions in Maine, USA and Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, in order to explore the factors that influence on-farm pollinator conservation. The research is presented through three distinct projects. In the first project, my collaborators and I ask: how do growers perceive and understand pollination in agricultural systems, and how do growers’ perceptions influence their willingness and ability to enact on-farm bee conservation? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with conventional growers, we present growers’ cultural models of pollination management and pollinator conservation. Our analysis reveals that the messages and recommendations about pollinator conservation put forth by outreach professionals are not always consistent with farmers’ cultural models, creating barriers to the diffusion of pollinator conservation practices. We offer recommendations to increase the efficacy of pollinator conservation outreach and education programs. In the second project, we ask: what pollination management and pollinator conservation practices are growers using, what social processes are driving the use of these practices, and what are the implications for outreach programs aimed at promoting on-farm pollinator conservation? Our analysis reveals that farmers are not just adopting practices, but also developing and adapting practices in response to complex socialecological change. Moreover, we argue that pollinator conservation requires processes of cooperation, not simply innovation. We conclude with a discussion of how to support processes of adaptation and cooperation through peer-learning and knowledge exchange. In the third project, we present a narrative of PEI’s contentious honeybee importation policy, which, combined with increasing demand for pollination services, resulted in an artificial and temporary shortage of pollination on the island. We apply the depletion crisis model and explore the questions: how might PEI growers build on the conservation and cooperation that emerged in response to insufficient crop pollination services? How can Maine growers develop pollinator conservation more fully without the trigger of some ‘depletion crisis’ event? We conclude with an examination of the mechanisms by which farmers come to ecological understanding about conservation agriculture. Taken together, the results presented in this dissertation illuminate the need for a shift within sustainable and conservation agriculture education away from knowledge transfer models and toward knowledge exchange models. Our findings add to a growing body of literature calling for more participatory strategies and multistakeholder partnerships to improve farmer-to-farmer and farmer-to-institution relationships, which are essential for cooperation and collective action toward sustainable agriculture systems

The 1676 Project: Black and White Together in the U.S.A.

America’s post-George Floyd racial reckoning has brought a new focus on the country’s history of enslavement, segregation and systemic racism. However, this reckoning has often failed to recognize that the roots of systemic racism lie in the need of the wealthy planters in colonial Virginia to divide the African and English indentured servants who constituted a majority threatening to elite power. Nor do contemporary versions of U.S. history always account for the persistent reoccurrence of class-based interracial movements, such as the late 19th century Populists, or their promise as a long-term solution to the country’s racial divides

Trait approach to leadership in campus organizations: the Hogan Personality Inventory as a predictor

The trait approach to leadership has been researched extensively and applied to several fields. This study examined whether or not student leadership in registered student organizations is related to personality traits on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus from spring semesters 2008, 2009, and 2010. It also explored whether or not traits are related to students joining organizations, during these same semesters. The students\u27 personalities were evaluated using the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPJ), which entering freshmen voluntarily completed. The seven scales of the HPJ are Adjustment, Ambition, Sociability, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Prudence, Inquisitiveness, and Learning Approach. Personality results were combined with cocurricular transcript data for students in organizations. This data included the leadership positions students held, specifically the positions of president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Based on the 2007 freshmen class, only interpersonal sensitivity correlated significantly with holding a leadership role at a later point and that role was president. Similarly, the interpersonal sensitivity scores on the HPI were statistically different for students who were presidents from the rest of the student population that year. This poses the idea that based on students\u27 HPJ scores, one can predict at a level higher than chance which students will become presidents of S&T campus organizations. This study also found that traits from the HPJ correlated with the type of organization joined (i.e. students joining Greek, honor and professional, academic departmental, and design organizations). Finally, being a member of a Greek organization had the strongest relationship found in this study. Members of Greek organizations were the most sociable while being the least prudent --Abstract, page iii

A Comparative Study of Earthen Surface Finishes of the Eastern Façade of Open Area J and the Northern Façade of Open Area 26 at Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

This thesis examines the exterior architectural surface finishes of the eastern façade of Open Area J, located in the southern end of Cliff Palace and the northern façade of Open Area 26, located in the northern end of Cliff Palace in the Speaker Chief Complex at Mesa Verde National Park. The selection of each site was based on their common incorporation of exterior façades defining an open area and the hypothesis that although Open Area J and Open Area 26 are believed to have been constructed during the same time period, dating to the 1260\u27s CE., they may be associated with different social groups or may reflect a difference between public (Speaker Chief Complex) and private architectural space. A comparative study of these two open areas considered the similarities and differences between the compositional constituents, formulation and application of the earthen surface finishes found at each site over time