Assimilating the Dominican Tourist: What Maps Tell Tourists in Puerto Plata about the Processes of Capitalism and Imperialism

The tourism industry in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic is dominated by foreign enterprise. Given the history of colonization in the Dominican Republic, the social dynamics in the tourism industry are imperialist by nature. This thesis seeks to understand how tourist maps are used to assimilate tourists into the social dynamics of Puerto Plata. To do this, it unravels existing literature on tourism in the Caribbean, the nature of the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic as well as its foreign benefactors, and foundational works on the sociological aspects of tourism. The findings of this paper are that tourist maps seek to assimilate tourists into the existing exploitative dynamics of capitalism and imperialism. By normativizing and glamorizing these violent and destructive processes, tourists are lulled into complacency. This may have lasting effects on the popular narrative surrounding economic imperialism in the Dominican Republic because maps are a trusted source of information for tourists and in visiting the country, they become eyewitnesses to these social processes with the authority to describe what they saw to their family, friends, and co-workers

Exploration of Workforce Reactions to the NDIS: A Mixed-Methods Study

This item is only available electronically.The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a new way of funding and delivering disability supports in Australia. The NDIS was developed to address inadequacies in the existing disability service system and has the potential to significantly improve independence and access to appropriate services for people living with disability. The NDIS has been available Australia wide since June 2019, following a three-year implementation period, and continues to grow. Despite the potential for improved outcomes for consumers of disability services, the changes introduced by the NDIS for providers of disability supports are significant. This review provides an overview of the NDIS and the changes for the disability workforce that have been introduced by the reforms. It then analyses the available research regarding workforce experiences of, and attitudes toward, the NDIS, and provides suggestions for further research to continue to improve the implementation of the scheme from a workforce perspective.Thesis (M.Psych(Organisational & Human Factors)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201

Segmenting root systems in X-ray computed tomography images using level sets

The segmentation of plant roots from soil and other growing media in X-ray computed tomography images is needed to effectively study the root system architecture without excavation. However, segmentation is a challenging problem in this context because the root and non-root regions share similar features. In this paper, we describe a method based on level sets and specifically adapted for this segmentation problem. In particular, we deal with the issues of using a level sets approach on large image volumes for root segmentation, and track active regions of the front using an occupancy grid. This method allows for straightforward modifications to a narrow-band algorithm such that excessive forward and backward movements of the front can be avoided, distance map computations in a narrow band context can be done in linear time through modification of Meijster et al.'s distance transform algorithm, and regions of the image volume are iteratively used to estimate distributions for root versus non-root classes. Results are shown of three plant species of different maturity levels, grown in three different media. Our method compares favorably to a state-of-the-art method for root segmentation in X-ray CT image volumes.Comment: 11 page

Euphoria in multiple sclerosis: an investigation of constructs and symptons

Includes bibliographical references.In multiple sclerosis (MS), some patients are said to present with unawareness of deficit, and positive mood and optimism that is out of place or incongruous given the patient's circumstances. The history of these symptoms, collectively known as euphoria, however, is characterised by marked inconsistencies regarding a number of aspects of these symptoms. This research attempted to investigate both the constructs, and the symptoms themselves, with the aim of better defining and broadening our understanding of euphoria. Results revealed that a change in the definition of euphoria appears to have occurred since the concept was introduced by Cottrell and Wilson. Different operational definitions appear to be partly responsible for the very different incidence rates reported throughout the literature. Instead of the classical three types of euphoria identified by the classical authors, or the single type utilised in the contemporary literature, the current research revealed two types of euphoria in MS (viz. positivity and unawareness). Positivity appears to be a subjective mood/outlook experienced by the patient and not an outward façade projected by the euphoric individual, and was defined in fairly subtle terms. Unawareness appears to relate to a number of domains (including physical, cognitive and mood or behavioural deficits), and was measured via participant/informant discrepancies on self-report questionnaires. Both positivity and unawareness were represented on a continuum and appeared to have different demographic, disease and cognitive correlates. Positivity was significantly predicted by a medical history of conditions that can affect neuropsychological functioning. Unawareness of physical deficits was associated with a female gender, a younger age, a lower income, relapsing-remitting course, a current disease state of relapse or exacerbation, a shorter disease duration, but a greater disease severity in terms of physical disability. Severity of the disease and the cognitive composite representing cognitive functions sub-served by the orbitobasal frontal cortex were also significant individual predictors of unawareness of physical deficits. Visuospatial ability significantly predicted unawareness of cognitive deficits. No demographic, disease or cognitive correlates of unawareness of mood or behavioural deficits were identified. Finally, no indisputable single cause underlying the two types of euphoria in MS identified by this research was isolated by the exploratory investigations undertaken; however interesting preliminary findings that may tentatively implicate executive dysfunction as well as, possibly, immunological disease processes in the etiology of euphoria in MS were revealed. These results have broadened our understanding of euphoria in MS and may shape both the research and clinical work with euphoric patients going forward

A new sap beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) to the United States with a revised key to the Camptodes Erichson occurring in America north of Mexico

A new beetle to the United States, Camptodes communis Erichson, is briefly described below. A diagnosis from the other Camptodes known to occur in the United States is provided. An updated key to the Camptodes of the United States is given

Cooperating Teachers’ Perceptions of Pedagogical Importance, Competence, and Programmatic Need: A Frontline Assessment of Agricultural Student Teachers

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine, as witnessed by cooperating teachers, what learning gaps student teachers brought to the student teaching experience “Supervision of student teachers during student teaching is a very important exercise in teacher training” (Thobega & Miller, 2008, p. 65)..Cooperating teachers spend 10 plus weeks observing student teachers of agricultural education in [state]. One may argue that the cooperating teacher is the best judge of success when looking at the student teacher. Cooperating teachers believed using computers and multimedia in classroom teaching was a strength student teachers possessed. The cooperating teachers felt that the major weaknesses included conducting parent-teacher conferences and adult programs. The findings of this study also indicate that the pre-service teachers need additional preparation in developing teaching skills in managing student behavior problems, motivating students to learn, teaching students to think critically and creatively, and conducting parent-teacher conferences

Surface Brightness Evolution of Galaxies in the CANDELS GOODS Fields up to z∼6z \sim 6: High-z Galaxies are Unique or Remain Undetected

We investigate the rest-frame Ultraviolet (UV, $\lambda\sim2000$\AA) surface brightness (SB) evolution of galaxies up to $z\sim6$ using a variety of deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging. UV SB is a measure of the density of emission from mostly young stars and correlates with an unknown combination of star formation rate, initial mass function, cold gas mass density, dust attenuation, and the size evolution of galaxies. In addition to physical effects, the SB is, unlike magnitude, a more direct way in which a galaxy's detectability is determined. We find a very strong evolution in the intrinsic SB distribution which declines as $(1+z)^{3}$, decreasing by 4-5 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ between $z=6$ to $z=1$. This change is much larger than expected in terms of the evolution in UV luminosity, sizes or dust extinction and we demonstrate that this evolution is 'unnatural' and due to selection biases. We also find no strong correlation between mass and UV SB. Thus, deep HST imaging is unable to discover all of the most massive galaxies in the distant universe. Through simulations we show that only $\sim15$\% of galaxies that we can detect at $z=2$ would be detected at high-$z$. We furthermore explore possible origins of high SB galaxies at high-$z$ by investigating the relationship between intrinsic SB and star formation rates. We conclude that ultra-high SB galaxies are produced by very gas rich dense galaxies which are in a unique phase of evolution, possibly produced by mergers. Analogues of such galaxies do not exist in the relatively nearby universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in AAS Journals (ApJ). 25 pages, 14 figure