Effective coaching of parents and professionals supporting children who are deaf or hard of hearing

This literature review examines the relationship between collaboration, adult learning and coaching. The most effective adult learning strategies and coaching strategies are discussed to help improve student outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Perceptions and determinants of healthy eating in high performing male adolescent rugby players : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Background: Rugby is a competitive sport in New Zealand, with the leading team, the All Blacks, ranked first in the world. Since nutrition plays an important role in sports performance, understanding how to facilitate young high-performing rugby players to eat healthy will help to optimise their performance. Research is lacking regarding perceptions and determinants of healthy eating for young rugby players, both in New Zealand and internationally. This study aimed to explore perceptions and determinants of healthy eating for high performing male adolescent rugby players living in New Zealand. Methods: Perceptions and determinants were explored using semi-structural individual interviews. Participants were 20 male high-performing rugby players aged 16 to 18 years. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis of themes. Results: Perceptions of healthy eating included balance and variety, portions according to energy needs and specific foods. Numerous determinants of healthy eating were described including factors related to the general lifestyle of an adolescent, including peers, family and food availability, cost, convenience and taste of food. Sports-specific determinants relating to participants’ athletic lifestyles were sports performance, motivation to perform, team culture and the timing, amount and types of food on the gastrointestinal tract. Some determinants were both general and sports-specific including the media, physical appearance and feeling good. Conclusion: High-performing male adolescent rugby players living in New Zealand have a good general understanding of the meaning of a healthy diet. A range of determinants influence the diet of these young rugby players, including general and sports-specific determinants from the macro-level, social and physical environment, as well as individual factors. Further research is required to explore the determinants of healthy eating in high-performing male adolescent rugby players both in New Zealand and internationally

Emissions trading, carbon pricing, and the impact on carbon producing firms : a study of phase III of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (Finance) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This thesis examines the firm level impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the ability to hedge carbon price, and the determinants of carbon price. The analysis focuses on phase III of the EU ETS. The work of Koch and Bassen (2013) is extended by investigating whether carbon-adjusted expected returns differ post-2013, as the trading scheme shifted to full auctioning. The findings show a lack of significant exposure to carbon price for the majority of carbon producing European firms. For firms where significant exposure to the price of carbon was found, firms’ returns required on equity were substantially higher after carbon exposure was considered. Whether carbon could be hedged effectively using conventional techniques was investigated, and a simple ordinary least squares hedge ratio was found to be the most effective. Further, the hedge ratio for carbon was found to be within the normal 0.5-1 range of typically hedged commodities. Finally, the carbon price determinants were investigated to determine whether energy prices and weather explain the carbon price in phase III, and how this relationship changed since full auctioning came into place in 2013. Energy prices were found to impact carbon price in phase III, however, the best model explained only 12% of carbon price variation. Weather variables were not found to impact carbon price except in one case of unanticipated temperature change. The results indicate that it is not the temperatures themselves that impact carbon price, rather unanticipated changes in temperature

Demography, paleopathology, and health status of the Moche remains in Huambacho, Peru: a comprehensive osteological analysis

The Moche civilization, which thrived in northern Peru from AD 100-800, influenced a vast area that extended to the southernmost monumental site of Pañamarca. Huambacho, an archaeological site in the Nepeña Valley, which dates to the Early Horizon (600-200 cal BC), has yielded multiple Moche graves uncovered by the Proyecto Huambacho (2003-2004). The graves provide the first evidence of Moche presence outside of the neighboring Pañamarca monumental complex. This research entailed the osteological analysis of eleven individuals from nine Moche grave contexts at Huambacho, including the analysis of demographic features, pathology, trauma, and antemortem cultural modifications. Methodology included the visual analysis of each bone in addition to detailed written, drawn, and photographic documentation of all bony elements assessed. This project provides insights into the life and death of this small Moche period group of individuals. The high frequency of arthritic lipping on the young adult individuals indicates a physically-active lifestyle. This lifestyle was particularly strenuous on the lower limbs as indicated by the high frequency of severe lipping on the lumbar vertebrae, pelvic joint, and knee joint. Several of the adult individuals display antemortem healed fractures, also indicating a physically-active lifestyle. The dental caries, dental enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, and the unusual antemortem bowing of the long bones indicate nutritional stress. In addition, the adult individuals are all males of a young age category (25-35 years). Thus, based on this information, these individuals were active young men who participated in strenuous activities (farmers, warriors). Culturally characteristic practices of the Moche are also present in this specific burial population in the form of cranial deformation. The burial conditions at Huambacho also provide useful insights into the nature of the deaths of these individuals. The results of this research provide insight into the health and social behavior of a once-thriving human culture, as well as help to clarify the Moche presence in Huambacho. Based on the burial and osteological evidence, these individuals seem to represent a population of sacrificial burials of young, male warriors and children

Outcrop Mapping Using Unmanned Aerial Systems And Modeling Of The Shannon Sandstone In The Powder River Basin

Mapping steep outcrops by hand is dangerous, time consuming and gathering images parallel to a cliff face is difficult to nearly impossible. Wyoming has many extensive, steep, surface outcrops that in the subsurface are petroleum-producing formations. The Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming has been a prolific producer of petroleum since the late 1800s, and with continual advances in technology production continues to increase. During the Cretaceous, the PRB was inundated by the Western Interior Seaway. Sand-clay sequences corresponding to transgressions and regressions were deposited and resulted in the Campanian Shannon Member of the Cody Formation. The Shannon Member thickens to the west and thins to the east, but is still laterally extensive. In the western part of the basin, the Shannon Member has several surface exposures up to 36 m in thickness. These outcrops form steep cliffs of friable sandstone that pose safety risks for detailed close-up examination. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones allow for detailed imaging of the outcrops without risk to an individual. Field research during the summer of 2017 was conducted in Natrona County, Wyoming. Images were collected using the DJI Phantom 4 Pro UAS. Image processing was performed using Agisoft PhotoScan and was concurrent with flight operations and continued into the fall. PhotoScan stitched images together to create 360Ð outcrop models. Three large outcrops were mapped and modeled successfully and are now in a three-dimensional digital model form. Results show that drones are extremely useful tools for geologic mapping and in combination with image processing software can yield a product with many applications. This project produced high quality, georeferenced, 3D models of three outcrops of Shannon Sandstone Member. These models can be used to study outcrops without needing to be in the field. Studying the models allows for identification of sedimentary structures and facies changes. PhotoScan also has the ability to give exact geographical locations of outcrops and accurate measurements of outcrop features

The Impact of Sentiment and Misinformation Cycling Through the Social Media Platform, Twitter, During the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

This study assesses the underlying topics, sentiment, and types of information regarding COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter during the initiation of the vaccine rollout. Tweets about the COVID-19 vaccine were collected and the relevant tweets were then filtered out using a relevancy classifier. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was used to uncover topics of discussion within the relevant tweets. The NRC lexicon was used to assess positive and negative sentiment within tweets. The type of information (information, misinformation, opinion, or question) in tweets was evaluated. The relevancy classifier resulted in a dataset of 210,657 relevant tweets. Eight topics provided the best representation of the relevant tweets. Tweets with negative sentiment were associated with a higher percentage of misinformation. Tweets with positive sentiment showed a higher percentage of information. The proliferation of information and misinformation on social media platforms are associated with building trust and mitigating negative sentiment associated with COVID-19 vaccines

Development and Application of NMR Diffusometry and Relaxometry Methodologies to Study Organic-Inorganic Interactions at Nanomaterial Surfaces

Colloidal nanomaterials like semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have size-, shape-, and composition-dependent optoelectronic properties with applications ranging from photovoltaics, to sensing, to medical diagnostics and treatment. These materials also have very high surfaceto- volume ratios, with intricate surface chemistries which control nearly every aspect of their chemical, physical, and colloidal properties. The interaction of the surface with the environment is limited via capping the surface of the nanomaterials with a shell of organic capping molecules. The environment-dependent binding of this organic shell is thus an extremely important aspect of nanomaterial design, however the methodologies to probe these interactions in-situ are limited. In my thesis research, I developed solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodologies to probe the interactions between this inorganic core and the organic capping layer. I investigated the dynamic surface binding of perovskite QDs via utilization of DOSY NMR to quantify changes to their surface dynamics as a function of QD composition. These results showed that by increasing the concentration of iodide ions in the CsPbBr3xIx lattice yielded a concurrent drop-off in surface coverage of ligands, suggesting a difference in surface energy between the Br-rich and I-rich end members of the family of QDs. I then extended the use of DOSY NMR as well as intergation of ROSY NMR to study in-situ the interactions of capping ligands and organohalide molecules with a CsPbBr3_xIx perovskite lattice. These materials undergo a chemical reaction with the organohalide molecules, whereas the QD lattice composition shifts throughout incorporation of ions from the organohalide molecule. This work foremost demonstrated a new method for quantifying and monitoring changes in surface interactions during reactions at nanomaterial interfaces. Secondly, this work showed that the incoming organohalide molecule orients itself head-group first at the QD interface before reacting with the nanomaterial; indicating that the surface stabilized the occurance of the reaction instead of the molecule just reacting with free ions in solution. Lastly, this thesis introduces a new multidimensional technique T1-T2 correlation spectroscopy. This methodology was extended from previous use in the oil field industry to investigate intricate changes in chemical environment of molecules at nanomaterial interfaces. Using this technique, this work showed slight variations in interactions at the organic-inorganic interface as a function of variable purication technique

Weeks of Hard Work

In this comic, the student reflects on the process of writing a “literature review,” a requirement for a course taught by Dean Scheibel called “Introduction of Research in Communication Studies.” The comics were created by students as a final course assignment. Students were instructed to create comics using photographs, drawings, or a computer program called Comic Life 3. The idea of reflection is important in education. These comics could be viewed as a response to reflective learning (or metacognition) about the idea of the literature review, or “research as inquiry.” Through reflection on what we do, we learn more deeply about our everyday experiences of life, death, love, God, and even literature reviews. Although “comix” have been the objects of critique by academics, these comics subject the work of the academy—the faculty member as teacher—to critique. Research is a process, and by having students reflect on the fears, errors, or mistakes made during that process they will experience new insights and discoveries

Estimating Mammalian Densities Using Automated Videography at the Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica

Camera trapping, a process in which images of organisms are captured through the use of motion and or infrared sensor cameras, is frequently used within the field of biology to estimate species density through the capture-recapture method. Classic physics models of density based on the ideal gas constant, however, can be used to estimate the density of an animal population without the need for recognition of individuals. This study adapts one of these models (Rowclife et al. 2008) to the unique data recorded through automated videography or video trapping, and uses it to estimate the population densities of three relatively abundant species on the Firestone Reserve in Costa Rica: Collard Peccaries, Central American Agoutis, and White-tailed Deer. Collard peccaries were found to have a density of 4.93 individuals/km2, Central American Agoutis were found to have a density of 1.01 individuals/km2, and white-tailed deer were found to have a density of 0.50 individuals/km2. The knowledge of species densities can be extremely useful in the context of a reserve. Changes in these estimates can serve as indicators of consequences from poaching, pollution, or climate change, and monitoring them could be very beneficial to the Firestone Reserve