Cell Cycle Determines Critical Temperature in Plasma Vesicles

Honors (Bachelor's)BiophysicsUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107726/4/Gray_Erin_Honors_Thesis_fixed.pd

Insights from the Field: Forests for Water

This issue brief describes analyses by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in support of emerging payments for watershed services (PWS) programs in two major watersheds in Maine and North Carolina and insights gleaned from work in progress. The three pilot initiatives discussed represent different approaches to establishing PWS programs that protect forests and other green infrastructure elements. In the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina, WRI is working with partners to identify beneficiaries and their water-related dependencies. We learned that clear documentation of the risks that beneficiaries face from water pollution, drought, and watershed degradation will help jump-start their participation in emerging PWS programs. In the Sebago Lake Watershed in Maine, WRI is finalizing a methodology for "green-gray" analysis that will provide beneficiaries a way to identify cost-effective green infrastructure solutions to water infrastructure demands of the 21 st century. Green infrastructure comprises all natural, seminatural and artificial networks of multifunctional ecological systems within, around, and between urban areas at all spatial scales. We learned that, to convince public investment managers to invest in green rather than gray, it is important to make the financial and business case using the same basic methodologies that are used for calculating the costs and benefits of conventional gray approaches. WRI is also working to develop PWS programs that help the city of Raleigh meet streetscape, conservation development, tree conservation, storm water management, and water quality goals contained in its Unified Development Ordinance in a least cost manner. We learned that market-based solutions like PWS can play a large role in land-use planning processes and that these processes may represent a large untapped demand driver for PWS programs throughout the Sout

Transit Oriented Development for Nashville: Learning from Europe

A popular movement in the past decade has been to implement transit oriented development in city planning. Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is nationally characterized as mixed-use development located within a 2,000 feet diameter from a mass transit center. However, the typical format for TOD in the United States, initiated by Peter Calthorpe and fermented in the West Coast, lacks consideration in unifying various forms of transit. Individuals are more likely to participate in public transportation if they do not have to solely rely on one method of travel. On the other hand, TOD has been wildly more successful in European cities than in America (as is reflected in the percentage of individuals that use public transportation) by implementing an integrated transportation system that combines different modes of mobility (rail, metro, bus, car, bike and pedestrian). One of the assumptions designers often make is that a logical proposal, based on just regional and economic conditions found in America, will encourage individuals to utilize and increase rider-ship on public transportation. From casual observation, it seems likely that the various sustainable innovations cultivated in Europe could be implemented and Modified for American cities. Although many American urban planners are skeptical that sustainable city design approaches derived from European countries can be relevant to cities in the United States, similar concerns regarding the decline in the urban fabric and dependency on the automobile are simultaneously being addressed in Europe as well. While taking into account that the United States varies in climate, terrain, and demographics (not only within its different regions and States, but from its European counterparts also), the European policies regulating urban sprawl should be used as a starting point in reorganizing TOD in America. Nashville, Tennessee is renowned for its successful collaboration between government agencies and city planners. The Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has undergone several studies and is currently on the brink of implementing a wide-scale bus rapid transit line along the Northeast Corridor. My intent is to activate the intersection of Ellington Parkway and Trinity Lane with a Transit-oriented development that takes into account and adapts European planning schemes that are environmentally conscious

Psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression: Illuminating processes of change using a time-series design

This study examined the process of change in the early stages of psychodynamic psychotherapy for three patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The three patients were in once-weekly psychotherapy at a university-based psychological clinic with supervised master’s level therapists in a clinical psychology doctoral training program. Subjective well-being and symptoms were monitored daily throughout treatment (consisting of 9, 12, and 13 sessions). Based on theory-driven models of therapeutic change (Phase Model of change: Howard, et al., 1986; Howard, et al., 1993), improvement in subjective well-being ought to occur early in therapy and prior to improvement in diagnosis-specific symptoms. Six phase-specific outcome patterns were defined (18 across the three patients) that ought to obtain according to the Phase Model of therapeutic change. Time-series analyses were applied to test whether the improvement realized in each case unfolded in the pattern predicted by theory. It did not, neither on a case-by-case basis, nor when all cases were taken together. Only 4 of the 18 conditions were satisfied. Though the findings are in no way definitive, the pattern of improvement in these three cases did not conform to that predicted by the Phase Model of therapeutic change. The current study provides an important methodological template for examining the process of change in psychotherapy using a time-series design

Belief in the Efficacy of Psychotherapy (BEP): Psychometric Scale Development and Examination of Theoretical Correlates

This study develops a psychometric scale measuring the extent to which an individual expects psychotherapy to be effective: The Belief in the Efficacy of Psychotherapy (BEP). Based in the research that describes expectations for therapy as process expectations or outcome expectations, the BEP scale is developed to measure outcome expectations for therapy exclusively (i.e., is psychotherapy helpful?). Current expectancy measures vastly underrepresent outcome expectations in particular, and BEP will be the first to focus solely on outcome expectations. Additionally, the proposed BEP scale measures the general cultural belief system (i.e., non-patients) and their beliefs about psychotherapy and therapists specifically, rather than other forms of mental health services. The present study develops the scale (BEP), tests its psychometric properties, and examines how BEP covaries with personality characteristics such as the “Big Five,” Optimism, and Psychological Mindedness (PM), and Treatment Rejection (RXR)

Genetics with Nettie and Friends: an Exploration of Genetics in Children\u27s Literature

Genetics with Nettie and Friends is an exploration of chromosomal disorders and its place within children\u27s literature. The book provides a comprehensive examination the genetic composition of Downs syndrome, Williams Syndrome, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy at a level to increase understanding in children. This paper provides an insight to the development and construction of the children\u27s book that is available for purchase on Barnes and Noble as well as why representation of genetic disorders in children\u27s literature is needed

Understanding the relationship between sexual identity, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and online community use

Identity-based frameworks allow for a diverse look at sexuality because they consider non-binary groups that are typically excluded. This study sought to address gaps in LGBQ research by utilizing a diverse sample of sexual identities. It was hypothesized that asexual, demisexual, polysexual, and pansexual individuals would report lower levels of life satisfaction and psychological well-being, more frequent support-seeking internet use, and lower sense of community compared to gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. A total of 284 individuals completed an online survey. Results suggest that experiences of life satisfaction, well-being, and sense of community are more nuanced than considered in past research. Further research is needed to create more inclusive means of intervention for LGBQ individuals

Climate Benefits Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights in the Amazon

A new report offers evidence that the modest investments needed to secure land rights for indigenous communities will generate billions in returns—economically, socially and environmentally—for local communities and the world's changing climate. The report, Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights, quantifies for the first time the economic value of securing land rights for the communities who live in and protect forests, with a focus on Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia

Exploring decentralisation in Canada: Devolution of labour market policy.

This thesis entails the study of both why and how decentralisation of government authority takes place. Decentralisation in Canada is explored by investigating a federal proposal for the devolution of active labour market policies from federal to provincial governments, and by closely examining the positions taken by both levels of government during the development of two federal-provincial labour market agreements in the mid- 1990s. The two bilateral agreements chosen for this examination are, the Canada-Nova Scotia Agreement on a Framework for Strategic Partnerships, and the Canada-Alberta Labour Market Development Agreement. The central focus of this research is to examine the extent to which federal and provincial governments' positions on the devolution of policy are influenced by 'political' and 'public' interests. The first argument holds that political imperatives influence governmental priorities, attitudes, and motivations as decisions about devolution are made. The second argument maintains that governmental positions on devolution are founded on the motivation to promote the best outcomes for the public at large. This study employs a research focus that is qualitative in nature, and it draws from interpretive and constructivist approaches to inquiry. Interviews were conducted with civil servants who represent federal and provincial interests in the provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia. A comparative analysis of the evidence found that both political and public interests influenced federal and provincial positions on devolution. This research illustrates that while political and public interests might be separated analytically, in real cases of policy-making they overlap. Nonetheless, the evidence tips the scales towards a political interest explanation much more clearly and convincingly than a public interest interpretation