649 research outputs found

    Characterising primitive chondrite components

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    Primitive chondrite components in six carbonaceous chondrites, Bencubbin, HaH 237, Gujba, Isheyevo, Acfer 209 and Acfer 094 were studied to examine the complex thermal histories of individual particles. Significant information about the origin and evolution of the solar nebula is contained within primitive chondrite components including FeNi metals, sulphides, matrix material and calcium aluminium inclusions, allowing conclusions to be drawn about the conditions which prevailed in the early nebula. This thesis describes the analysis of meteoritic metal and other components in carbonaceous chondrites using a suite of complementary techniques including secondary electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS), grain-size frequency distribution (GSFD) and computed tomography. Metal is chosen as the primary comparative component as it is a common feature in carbonaceous chondrites and is an indication of the extent to which a sample has been exposed to thermal, metamorphic and alteration processes. EBSD results reveal a variation between chondrule-associated metal and matrix metal in CR chondrite Acfer 209 and the ungrouped chondrite Acfer 094 indicating a difference in formation and subsequent processing. TEM results demonstrated that evidence for aqueous alteration occurs on a sub-ÎŒm scale on the rims of FeNi metal grains in Acfer 094. FeNi metallic rims displayed regions of pitting corrosion and an enrichment in O and Ni accompanied by depletion in Fe. These features indicate interaction with an aqueous fluid. Grain-size frequency distribution analyses revealed a strong and common mode in the metal grain aspect ratios of three samples from the CB group of chondrites indicating a common deformational event. The presence of adjacent primitive components with varying chemical and crystallographic textures reveals that these samples were subject to a complex thermal history. Fine-grained matrix material in HaH 237 is heavily hydrated and shows no complementarity to chondrules which escaped aqueous alteration consistent with the X-wind model. In contrast, matrix material does show compositional complementarity to chondrules in Acfer 094 and Acfer 209. This suggests material for both components formed in the same region of a nebula conforming to the shock model where material formed on the disk

    Assessment of the views and qualifications of educational interpreters for the hearing impaired in Fairfax County in Virginia.

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    Patient Complexity Factors and their Influence on Nurses\u27 Perception of Staffing Adequacy

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    Nurse leaders must consider the influence of nurse-specific and patient-specific factors on nursing workload and nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy when developing nurse staffing plans. All of the factors that influence individual nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy are not known. Using a synthesis of the Roy Adaptation Model (RAM) and economic theory as a guiding model, the purpose of the current study was to determine if selected patient complexity factors that are not consistently captured in the measurement of patient acuity by an automated workforce management system influence nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy. The current study employed a complex predictive correlational research design, which included repeated measures of patient data and nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy at the shift-level. A selection of repeated measures data from 26 Registered Nurses (RNs) and 1,605 patients over 328 shifts was entered into the initial analysis. The number of shifts with complete data used for final analysis was N = 294. Disruptive behavior (r= -.274) and family demands (r=-.186), were negatively correlated with nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy and explained 10% of the variance in a regression model. There was a negative correlation between total shift factor score (r=-.418), derived from the presence of patient complexity factors, and nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy. No correlation was found between perception of staffing adequacy and nurse staffing variables. A theoretical proposition of RAM was tested to describe the interaction between the group subsystems and the RAM modes in relationship to the goals of an organizational system. Study findings supported the RAM proposition and contribute to the middle range theory of adaptation, production decision-making process, and nurses’ perception of staffing adequacy. The findings inform the science of nurse staffing, but indicate further opportunities for research since other factors might exist that contribute to the perception of staffing adequacy

    The Kindergarten a Factor of Education

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    That the kindergarten is an important. factor of education can be clearly seen from a careful examination of all that the terms education , factor and kindergarten connote

    A cognitive schematic paradigm for expository essay writing in secondary schools

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    The methodology outlined in this study for teaching exposit ory writing to advanced (five year phase) grade eleven students is based on the assumption that writing as a problem solving strategy is a high level cognitive skill . In adhering to this assumption, a cognitively based schematic organizer known as a cross-classification chart was tested for its effectiveness a t the planning stage of the writing process . Results were not significant in any of the three components that were evaluated; however , a post- hoc analysis undertaken because of recorded observed data indicated a significant difference in the mean score on the Organization component for the treatment subgroup using the cross- classification organizer . Furthermore, the treatment group's positive response from the attitude survey towards planning writing is encouraging enough that replication and extension of the application of schema theory to wri ting should be pursued in cross-section and longitud i nal studies

    The Future of Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face

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    The recent economic crisis has created a maelstrom of inquiry about effective business practices with regard to business meetings and travel. With travel budgets slashed due both to the economy and concerns over the public perception of corporate spending, business leaders are trying to determine when any business travel, let alone large-group meetings and events, constitute a good investment of their limited time and resources. Virtual technologies have expanded the choices available for large-group meetings and events. Our goal is to simplify the decision-making process by proposing a set of decision criteria for when an investment in large-group face-to-face meetings and events will have the greatest impact

    A Risk Assessment Study at the University of South Alabama Libraries

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    Prior to receiving a memorandum from the Director of Risk Management that the libraries would be included in a university-wide risk assessment study, the authors’ only contacts with the director had to do with art works housed in the library and the amount of money kept on-hand at the service desks. We believed that the Risk Assessment Office was primarily concerned with highly vulnerable programs such as the hospitals, pharmacies, athletics, the bookstore, and laboratories. The challenge for us now would be to develop a comprehensive assessment of risks in library facilities and operations from acquisitions and cataloging to circulation, interlibrary loan, reference, and archives

    The situation of younger people with disabilities living in nursing homes in Ireland - phase 1

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    This research is very timely given Ireland’s recent ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the imminent full commencement of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act, 2015 together with proposed legislation dealing with Deprivation of Liberty.1 Although the sample in the study is small, it offers valuable insights into the referral of, and pathways into nursing homes for younger people with disabilities. Whilst law and policy are centred on the enabling of people with disabilities to live the lives of their choosing in the community, the report notes that the supports to enable them to do so ‘are underdeveloped, unplanned and often not sufficient to meet their needs’. Instead of taking a human rights based, social model approach, which would look to the person’s will and preference, there is an overemphasis on the medical model in the assessment form. There is little focus on a person’s abilities, capabilities or on options for care in the community. Indeed a person’s preference for care seems to have been poorly recorded or not recorded at all. The research makes it clear that younger people with disabilities do not often have a meaningful say in decisions that profoundly affect and impact their lives, rather their referral to nursing homes is defined by their level of functioning. The vast majority of these people, who enter nursing homes remain there without assistance to achieve an outcome of living independently and without really being in control of their own lives. The report concludes with some very good and practical recommendations for both government and practice. These include adopting a personalised approach to the assessment and care of younger people with disabilities, and a commitment to exhaust all possibilities with the person centrally involved, assisted where necessary, before nursing home care is considered. We hope that government and the Department of Health will take the time to review the findings and recommendations of the report, and to take the necessary action to address the inappropriate placement of younger people with disabilities in nursing homes

    Local adaptation of a parasite to solar radiation impacts disease transmission potential, spore yield, and host fecundity*

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    Environmentally transmitted parasites spend time in the abiotic environment, where they are subjected to a variety of stressors. Learning how they face this challenge is essential if we are to understand how host–parasite interactions may vary across environmental gradients. We used a zooplankton–bacteria host–parasite system where availability of sunlight (solar radiation) influences disease dynamics to look for evidence of parasite local adaptation to sunlight exposure. We also examined how variation in sunlight tolerance among parasite strains impacted host reproduction. Parasite strains collected from clearer lakes (with greater sunlight penetration) were most tolerant of the negative impacts of sunlight exposure, suggesting local adaptation to sunlight conditions. This adaptation came with both a cost and a benefit for parasites: parasite strains from clearer lakes produced relatively fewer transmission stages (spores) but these strains were more infective. After experimental sunlight exposure, the most sunlight‐tolerant parasite strains reduced host fecundity just as much as spores that were never exposed to sunlight. Sunlight availability varies greatly among lakes around the world. Our results suggest that the selective pressure sunlight exposure exerts on parasites may impact both parasite and host fitness, potentially driving variation in disease epidemics and host population dynamics across sunlight availability gradients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156433/3/evo13940.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156433/2/evo13940-sup-0001-SuppMat.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156433/1/evo13940_am.pd
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