An exploration of the emotional experience of BASE jumping : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree : Master of Psychology from Massey University, School of Psychology

BASE jumping is an extreme sport, where participants parachute from fixed objects and deploy a parachute to land safely. According to the current injury and fatality statistics, it is regarded as the most dangerous sport in the world. The level of danger suggests that participants have to negotiate strong emotional experiences in the sport. The aim of this study is to explore the emotions that BASE jumpers experience and determine what role and impact these emotions may play for participants. Twenty male BASE jumpers with at least 10 jumps and 3 months of participation in the sport were interviewed for the study. Qualitative (thematic) analysis was undertaken to analyse the BASE jumping experience. Participants reported intense emotional experiences that predominantly emerged as fear, flow and thrill states. A number of threats associated with these emotions were identified. The experience of fear may become normalised, whilst flow and thrill may lead to an escalation of risk taking in the pursuit of the rush experience. Conflicting feelings create emotional dissonance which also influences coping styles and rationalisation strategies. This may impact risk taking behaviour, judgement and decision making. Outcomes from the study may enhance greater knowledge of psychological processes that impact risk and safety behaviours in the sport

View from the Cheap Seats: A Look at Today\u27s Musical Theatre

I might begin by making it clear that this is not a research paper in the regular sense of the phrase. My hours of preparation were eagerly spent in the mezzanine seats of various On- and Off-Broadway playhouses, or when time would permit and funds would not, in the standing room sections thereof, peering over the last row of orchestra seats. Each of the musical comedies I attended, seven in all, held a singular fascination for me. It seems a shame to disassemble them now in order to discover what made them tick, but that, after all, is the purpose of this paper

A Bacteriological and Chemical Analysis of Nonpoint Source Pollution in a Karst Aquifer Bowling Green, Kentucky

Monthly water samples collected from four sites in the Lost River Groundwater Basin, a shallow karst aquifer in the Bowling Green-Warren County area of Kentucky, represented samples from sites receiving conduit and diffuse flow. All sites were severely contaminated with bacteria, and on some occasions the surface water criteria for some heavy metals were exceeded. Of the total 334 bacterial colonies identified 92.1% were verified as Escherichia coli by the API20E system. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. anitratum accounted for 2.10% of colonies; Citrobacter freundii for 0.30% Klebsiella pneumoniae for 0.90%; Klebsiella oxytoca, 0.90%; Citrobacter amalonaticus 0.30%; Enterobacter cloacae, 1.20%; Enterobacter sakazakii 0.60% and unidentifiable isolates 1.2%. A calcoaceticus var. anitratum had morphologically distinct tiny blue colonies on Levine Eosin Methylene Blue agar (LEMB). Fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) densities were variable and FC densities exceeded surface water criteria (SWC) on numerous occasions. Geometric means for FC colonies also exceeded SWC. The FC/FS ratios indicated both farmland and human pollution. The most frequently identified E. coli had an API profile No. 5144572 and the second most frequent had an API profile No. 5044552. The most frequently (76.92%) identified streptococcal species was Streptococcus durans. The S. durans that was most frequent (33.85%) of the Streptococcal isolates identified had an API profile No. of 5200441. All C. perfringens isolated gave a positive Reverse Camp Test. The bacterial densities at all sites followed the pattern of the respective hydrographs. The analysis of heavy metals indicated that varying concentrations of different metals were present at the sites studied. The metal found in the highest concentration at all four sites was iron. The concentrations of iron found were virtually always (\u3e94% of the time) in violation of surface water criteria (SWC). Copper and zinc concentration were always less than that specified by SWC while silver, cadmium and chromium had concentrations which exceeded SWC on occasions

Evidence for Classical Projection or Experimental Artifact: A Failure to Replicate

Classical, or Freudian projection is a concept which has been widely accepted by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists despite the lack of conclusive empirical evidence supporting its existence. A recent study using the psychodynamic activation technique resulted in evidence which would support classical projection. The present study utilized the same psychodynamic activation procedure using slightly different stimuli. This study resulted in evidence which would not support the concept of classical projection

SPAN: Astronomy and astrophysics

The Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN) is a multi-mission, correlative data comparison network which links science research and data analysis computers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The purpose of this document is to provide Astronomy and Astrophysics scientists, currently reachable on SPAN, with basic information and contacts for access to correlative data bases, star catalogs, and other astrophysic facilities accessible over SPAN

A GIS analysis of coastal development and trends in bottlenose dolphin strandings in Charleston, SC: implications for coastal marine spatial planning

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabit estuarine waters near Charleston, South Carolina (SC) feeding, nursing and socializing. While in these waters, dolphins are exposed to multiple direct and indirect threats such as anthropogenic impacts (egs. harassment with boat traffic and entanglements in fishing gear) and environmental degradation. Bottlenose dolphins are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Over the years, the percentage of strandings in the estuaries has increased in South Carolina and, specifically, recent stranding data shows an increase in strandings occurring in Charleston, SC near areas of residential development. During the same timeframe, Charleston experienced a shift in human population towards the coastline. These two trends, rise in estuarine dolphin strandings and shift in human population, have raised questions on whether the increase in strandings is a result of more detectable strandings being reported, or a true increase in stranding events. Using GIS, the trends in strandings were compared to residential growth, boat permits, fishing permits, and dock permits in Charleston County from 1994-2009. A simple linear regression analysis was performed to determine if there were any significant relationships between strandings, boat permits, commercial fishing permits, and crabpot permits. The results of this analysis show the stranding trend moves toward Charleston Harbor and adjacent rivers over time which suggests the increase in strandings is related to the strandings becoming more detectable. The statistical analysis shows that the factors that cause human interaction strandings such as boats, commercial fishing, and crabpot line entanglements are not significantly related to strandings further supporting the hypothesis that the increase in strandings are due to increased observations on the water as human coastal population increases and are not a natural phenomenon. This study has local and potentially regional marine spatial planning implications to protect coastal natural resources, such as the bottlenose dolphin, while balancing coastal development