Disturbance in the North Island of New Zealand: A case study using floodplain cores from the Coromandel to determine anthropogenic disturbance : A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography Massey University, New Zealand

It is well documented that following human occupation of a region, the surrounding environment may undergo drastic changes through vegetation pattern alterations, displacement of fauna, alteration of sedimentation and fluvial regimes, and changes to the composition of the underlying material. Many case studies of anthropogenic disturbance have been conducted in New Zealand. One of the main outcomes of this research is to collate, contrast and compare this wealth of case studies to look for any underlying trends in timing, distribution and magnitude of disturbance nationwide. This thesis focusses on late Holocene records from the North Island, and compared the history of disturbance with that from the South Island (as per McWethy et al. 2010). Based on the combination of palynology, sedimentology and geochemistry, this review demonstrates the pace of disturbance observed in the North Island was very rapid following occupation, a trend also established in the South Island. The other main outcome of this research is to add to the knowledge base of North Island disturbance history, through development of a landscape disturbance history in the Coromandel, using floodplain cores from the Paeroa and Kuaotunu areas. Sediment logging and subsequent XRF-geochemical analysis performed on these cores revealed a ‘mining layer’ that was used as a baseline for mining disturbance in this environment. This layer is interpreted as when European activities began disturbing the environment. Cores extracted from the Paeroa area indicated that the sedimentation rates in the floodplain had increased more than 15-fold since human occupation. Significant rises in the amount of Arsenic and Lead contained within the sediment were also detected. Cores from the Kuaotunu floodplain also showed changes in geochemistry that coincided with historic mining in the area, but reverted back to near pre-mining levels following the initial disturbance. These results suggest that factors such as catchment characteristics and degree of disturbance in an area affect the extent of impact on a site, which may have implications for future management of post mining sites. XRF analysis is a relatively underutilized proxy in New Zealand. It, in conjunction with Particle Size Analysis, has proved valuable in this study and are recommended for application in future New Zealand environmental reconstruction-focused research

Home-Based Therapy for Young Children in Low-Income Families: A Student Training Program

The purpose of this project was to develop an internship training program that offered in-home therapy for young children with significant emotional and behavior problems. The children lived in single-parent, low-income homes in unsafe neighborhoods of a large, urban area. A year-long, training and supervision program was implemented with 10 second-year, graduate students enrolled in 5 different university programs that prepared mental health professionals. Students received specialized instruction in working with diverse families living in poverty and in an evidence-based treatment program. They initially observed veteran counselors implementing the treatment program in homes and gradually assumed responsibility for conducting sessions on their own. Students’ scores on a measure of counseling self-efficacy improved significantly from pre-to post-internship. Students reported high levels of satisfaction with the training program and significantly improved confidence levels in their counseling skills at the conclusion of their internship experience. The limitations of these preliminary outcomes for this pilot program are discussed along with the need for more research in this understudied area

La investigació mediàtica a l'Amèrica Llatina completa un cicle

Durant els últims quaranta anys, la investigació mediàtica a l'Amèrica Llatina ha demostrat un compromís notablement consistent amb l'anàlisi crítica, i ha aconseguit respondre a les demandes de les circumstàncies polítiques de cada període. Al mateix temps, ha completat un cicle: de la investigació aplicada al desenvolupament dels mitjans (applied media development research) dels anys 1950 i 1960, fins a la recerca aplicada al desenvolupament dels mitjans dels 1990. Examinant les orientacions de la recerca en comunicació a Llatinoamèrica en quaranta anys, aquestes dues tendències -d'una banda, l'habilitat a comprometre's amb l'activisme polític i, de l'altra, el més recent retorn a una disciplina més aplicada- semblen sorgir més com a resultat de les canviants relacions entre els mitjans i l'Estat llatinoamericà, que no pas del fracàs o d'una intuïció crítica especial dels intel·lectuals llatinoamericans. Aquest article explora aquesta relació i el tipus de recerques mediàtiques que genera.Over the last forty years media research in Latin America has maintained a strikingly consistent relation with critical analysis, and has been able to respond to the demands of the political circumstances of each period. At the same time, it has completed a cycle: from the applied media development research of the 1950s and 1960s, to that of the 1990s. An examination of the orientation of communications research in Latin America over this forty year period indicates that two tendencies -the ability to take a politically active stand, and the more recent return to a more applied discipline-, stem more from the changing relationships between the media and the Latin American state than from failure or from any particular critical intuition on the part of Latin American intellectuals. This article explores this relation and the type of media research which it gave rise to

Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, CT)

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Determining the Relationship Between First Time Therapist Multiple Choice Exam High Cut and Clinical Simulation Exam Pass Rates of Recent Respiratory Therapy Graduates From an Ohio University and Their Well-Being and Persistence

A recent trend in health care education, especially in respiratory therapy (RT), is the decline of applications to undergraduate programs. With the aging population and projected increase in health care costs, the future RT workforce will need to be strong and increase by 23% in the next 10 years. With applications to RT programs down 42%, recruitment has become an issue of utmost importance. The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between first time Therapist Multiple Choice (TMC) exam high cut and Clinical Simulation Exam (CSE) pass rates of recent respiratory therapy graduates from an Ohio university and their self-efficacy and persistence. Additionally, this study seeks to identify current recruitment strategies in higher education, health science and RT education and develop a framework for future recruitment to the field. Results show that with 85% accuracy, high levels of persistence will predict credentialing exam success on the first attempt. There is a statistically significant positive predictive relationship between level of persistence and TMC high cut and CSE first time pass rates (p=0.17). Current strategies noted were exploration courses, involvement fairs, reputation, and personal faculty representation. A future RT framework should include positive experiences with faculty and alumni and digital platforms and courses highlighting RT program achievements

St. Mary's College, Durham, and the Development of Women's Higher Education in England.1895-1952

This thesis focuses on the women students of St. Mary's College, Durham, from the granting of the Supplementary Charter in 1895 admitting women to the university degrees and the subsequent foundation of St. Mary's as a hostel in 1899, through to the move into the new college buildings in 1952. The background to the growth of higher education for women is discussed, as are the general patterns of growth of St. Mary's College, in terms of student numbers. However, a thematic approach rather than a chronological one has been taken. The personal details of every student, as contained in the College register, were entered on a database, and, as a result, comprehensive information about the age, social class, and regional and educational background of the student body is presented. Other themes, such as the financial aid available, the courses studied and the degrees achieved, are also examined, in order to gauge the development of the market for women's higher education. A comparative element has been introduced by the inclusion of information from the contemporary St. Hilda's College, Oxford, founded in 1893. By breaking down the information on both colleges into smaller time periods it is possible to see how the recruitment pattern changed and the effect of national events such as World War and economic depression. The continued constraints upon women students, the numerous rules and regulations governing their lives at college and the male reaction to their presence, are also considered. Finally, investigation into the student's "after-lives", in terms of marital status and career after graduation, demonstrates how higher education affected the employment prospects and social class of the women involved, and allows an assessment to be made of the impact of collegiate based higher education upon the individual

Beyond Transgression: Toward a Free Market in Morality

Richard A. Posner. Sex and Reason. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992. Pp. vii, 458. $29.95. With his special gift for contrariety, Judge Richard Posner places his ambitious investigation of the vicissitudes of sex under the aegis of a quote from Aristotle\u27s Nicomachean Ethics: Pleasures are an impediment to rational deliberation, and the more so the more pleasurable they are, such as the pleasures of sex - it is impossible to think about anything while absorbed in them. Posner then devotes the ensuing 442 dense pages to challenging Aristotle\u27s assertion. That sex and reason normally make incompatible bedfellows should not be taken as evidence that it is impossible to subject sex to the rigors of reason. Sex, Posner suggests throughout the book, must be considered as one form of behavior among many, no more nor less immune to the operations of the rational mind. Posner\u27s commitment to the power of rationality, as he understands it, constitutes the great strength and ultimate weakness of his work. And it is easy to imagine that many readers will find his rational foray into sex infuriating. He has no patience for the facile confusion of sex with passion, much less of sex with desire, which so mesmerizes contemporary critics. Posner\u27s discussion of sex has more to do with theories of animal behavior than with the feelings of individuals. In this respect the great strength of Posner\u27s book overlaps with its most disturbing weakness, namely, his determination to organize complex human behavior in predictable- and largely determined-patterns