The narratology of Jennifer Johnston\u27s novels

Irish novelist Jennifer Johnston has published twelve novels to date, from The Captains and the Kings in 1972 to The Gingerbread Woman in 2000. Eileen Battersby\u27s recent Irish Times article “Making Sense of Life” called her “the quiet woman of Irish fiction, “ referring to her understated, sophisticated writing style. All of her novels are short (Joseph Connelly and others have called them “novellas”), and she has become known for her ability to describe a complex situation in a direct, compact way. This discussion is intended to investigate the narratology of several Johnston novels: to explore narrative voice, narrative chronology, influence of the implied author on the reader, and other narratological characteristics. Specifically, there will be discussions of two earlier novels which use few specialized narrative “tricks” and two later ones in which specific narrative devices play significant roles. Finally, Johnston’s latest novel will be examined with respect to the observations made on earlier ones

Mitigating Climate Change Induced Increases in Rainfall Intesity and Frequency Using Lid Stormwater Techniques

A warming climate leads to a moister atmosphere and more rapid hydrologic cycle. As such, many parts of the country are predicted to experience more total rainfall per year and more frequent extreme rainfall events. Most regions of the country have stormwater systems designed to a standard that matches outflow to pre-development values for specified return period storms. Increases in these return period storm depths, as predicted by many global climate models, will stress existing stormwater infrastructure. This thesis examines two issues related to the impact of climate change on stormwater management in the state of South Carolina, namely how will rainfall patterns change over the remainder of the century and how can our approach to stormwater management system design adapt to these changing conditions. Rainfall simulations from 134 realizations of 21 global climate models were analyzed across the state of South Carolina through 2099. Results show that there will be increases in both annual total rainfall (ATR) and 24 hour design storm depth for a range of return period storms. Across South Carolina, ATR is predicted to increase by approximately 1.5-3.3 inches over the forecast period while the 100 year design storm depth is predicted to increase by 0.5-1.2 inches depending on location. However there are significant regional variations with the Savannah River Basin experiencing smaller increases in ATR compared to the rest of the state. The impact of these changes in rainfall patterns on the outflow characteristics of various land developments was examined through a series of case studies. Hydrologic models were developed for three different development sizes at three locations in the state to evaluate the effectiveness of Low Impact Development (LID) technologies in site design. LID usage increases in onsite retention and disposal which significantly reduces total runoff and can also reduce peak runoff rate. Depending on the location-specific infiltration, developments with LID usage can reduce runoff volume to below predevelopment values and significantly reduce peak outflow. The use of LID can also reduce the required pond size by up to 70% allowing for more space for land development or water quality control structures

Results of the tagging of salt water fishes in Florida

The purpose of this paper is to report the results to date (October 1, 1961) of the 1960-61 fish-tagging program conducted in Zone I (Northern Hernando County Line to Everglades City)along the southwest coast of Florida and Zone II (Everglades City to the northern Indian River County Line.) (66pp.

Herbicide impacts on exotic grasses and a population of the critically endangered herb "Calystegia affinis" (Convolvulaceae) on Lord Howe Island

Introduced perennial grasses are capable of altering the habitat of native species, causing reductions in population size and vigour, and potentially affecting life-history processes such as survival, pollination and seedling recruitment. We examined the utility of herbicide treatment on two exotic grasses, Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu) and Stenotaphrum secundatum (Buffalo grass) to restore the habitat of Calystegia affinis, a critically endangered species endemic to Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Using two herbicides, Asset (designed to affect only grasses) and Glyphosate (a general herbicide), we compared effectiveness in reducing grass cover on a population of Calystegia affinis. We protected Calystegia plants from the herbicides by ensuring their leaves were covered by plastic bags during herbicide application. Both herbicides were similarly effective in reducing grass cover after four weeks and had no noticeable adverse affect on Calystegia (suggesting the plastic bag protection was effective). After 26 weeks, Glyphosate was more effective in maintaining a reduced grass cover. Plots treated with either herbicide had a greater relative increase in abundance of Calystegia stems compared to untreated controls. The Glyphosate treatment resulted in the greatest relative increase in stem abundance, but this was not significantly greater than in the Asset treatment. We consider that spraying with Glyphosate treatment, with follow-up monitoring and spot-spraying, will assist the recovery of the Calystegia affinis population. Ultimately, the maintenance of a weed-free zone at the forest edge will provide suitable habitat for additional recruitment of this and other native species

Baseline and greenhouse-gas emissions in extensive livestock enterprises, with a case study of feeding lipid to beef cattle

For accurate calculation of reductions in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, methodologies under the Australian Government's Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) depend on a valid assessment of the baseline and project emissions. Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) clearly show that enteric methane emitted from the rumen of cattle and sheep is the major source of GHG emissions from livestock enterprises. Where a historic baseline for a CFI methodology for livestock is required, the use of simulated data for cow-calf enterprises at six sites in southern Australia demonstrated that a 5-year rolling emission average will provide an acceptable trade off in terms of accuracy and stability, but this is a much shorter time period than typically used for LCA. For many CFI livestock methodologies, comparative or pair-wise baselines are potentially more appropriate than historic baselines. A case study of lipid supplementation of beef cows over winter is presented. The case study of a control herd of 250 cows used a comparative baseline derived from simple data on livestock numbers and class of livestock to quantify the emission abatement. Compared with the control herd, lipid supplementation to cows over winter increased livestock productivity, total livestock production and enterprise GHG emissions from 990 t CO2-e to 1022 t CO2-e. Energy embodied in the supplement and extra diesel used in transporting the supplement diminished the enteric-methane abatement benefit of lipid supplementation. Reducing the cow herd to 238 cows maintained the level of livestock production of the control herd and reduced enterprise emissions to 938 t CO2-e, but was not cost effective under the assumptions of this case study

Identification and characterization of neural progenitor cells in the central nervous system using the transcription factor SOX2

The embryonic and adult central nervous systems (CNS) harbor heterogeneous populations of proliferating neural progenitor cells which are capable of generating both neurons and glia in vivo and in vitro. These populations serve to generate all neural cell types throughout development as well as maintain neural cell populations during periods of cellular turnover or injury. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms which regulate the cell-fate decisions of these distinct progenitor populations are unclear. Moreover, the ability to identify neural progenitor populations in vivo is hindered by a lack of defined molecular markers which are capable of specifically recognizing these cells. Thus additional tools are necessary for the continued analysis of neural progenitors in vivo. The HMG-BOX transcription factor SOX2 is expressed in a majority of spatially and temporally distinct neural progenitor populations within the developing and adult CNS. SOX2 has been demonstrated to maintain the proliferative and differentiation capacity of neural progenitor cells in the spinal cord and retina and is important for proper neuronal differentiation and cortical development in mice. However, SOX2 has not been fully characterized in molecularly distinct neural progenitor populations in the CNS nor has its function been addressed in neural progenitor cells that appear during later stages of neural development. In this dissertation I generate and characterize the SOX2EGFP mouse line which allows for the prospective identification of SOX2-positive neural progenitor cells in the developing and adult CNS in vivo. I next demonstrate that distinct populations of neural progenitor cells can be prospectively isolated from the CNS based upon their intracellular concentrations of SOX2. Lastly, I demonstrate that SOX2 function is necessary for the proper maintenance of radial glial cells in the dorsal telencephalon as loss of SOX2 results in a decrease in the number of proliferating radial glia and intermediate progenitors, as well as a reduction in their self-renewal capacity. Collectively these results demonstrate that SOX2 (via the SOX2EGFP mouse line) can efficiently identify neural progenitor populations within the CNS and, more importantly, that SOX2 function is critical for the proper maintenance of neural progenitor populations in the developing CNS

Knowledge accumulation from disease outbreak response

This thesis explores the dynamics of knowledge accumulation from disease outbreak responses. It explores the development of a paradigm of disease outbreak response over the last 20 years, and then explains how this paradigm was challenged and re-entrenched by the 2013-2016 Ebola Crisis. The methodology for this thesis was split into two arms: a document analysis arm and an interview analysis arm. Based in an embedded case study, the document analysis makes the argument for a re-entrenchment of the paradigm through analysing the depth and detail of lessons learned from the 2013-2016 Ebola Crisis. Within this broad case, an analysis of interviews with 14 report authors and 23 report users allows for a detailed examination of the production and use of codified knowledge in disease outbreak responses. The thesis makes two primary contributions - one empirical and the other theoretical. For its empirical context, this thesis demonstrates a path-dependency in knowledge accumulation from disease outbreak responses and makes recommendations as to methods for ameliorating this. The thesis finds how a lack of meaningful engagement in expert panel processes can bias so-called lessons learned reports. In its theoretical context, this thesis contributes an additional empirical context to the literature on knowledge accumulation and learning. The thesis finds that knowledge accumulation in outbreak responses differs from other disaster scenarios because of an isolation of the Global Health epistemic community and offers evidence for codified knowledge as a useful tool and process for learning in complex, ambiguous, equivocal scenarios

Baseline and greenhouse-gas emissions in extensive livestock enterprises, with a case study of feeding lipid to beef cattle

For accurate calculation of reductions in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, methodologies under the Australian Government's Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) depend on a valid assessment of the baseline and project emissions. Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) clearly show that enteric methane emitted from the rumen of cattle and sheep is the major source of GHG emissions from livestock enterprises. Where a historic baseline for a CFI methodology for livestock is required, the use of simulated data for cow-calf enterprises at six sites in southern Australia demonstrated that a 5-year rolling emission average will provide an acceptable trade off in terms of accuracy and stability, but this is a much shorter time period than typically used for LCA. For many CFI livestock methodologies, comparative or pair-wise baselines are potentially more appropriate than historic baselines. A case study of lipid supplementation of beef cows over winter is presented. The case study of a control herd of 250 cows used a comparative baseline derived from simple data on livestock numbers and class of livestock to quantify the emission abatement. Compared with the control herd, lipid supplementation to cows over winter increased livestock productivity, total livestock production and enterprise GHG emissions from 990 t CO2-e to 1022 t CO2-e. Energy embodied in the supplement and extra diesel used in transporting the supplement diminished the enteric-methane abatement benefit of lipid supplementation. Reducing the cow herd to 238 cows maintained the level of livestock production of the control herd and reduced enterprise emissions to 938 t CO2-e, but was not cost effective under the assumptions of this case study

Editorial: Macrocognition: The Science and Engineering of Sociotechnical Work Systems

The increasing complexity of work systems and changes in the nature of workplace technology over the past century have resulted in an exponential shift in the nature of work activities, from physical labor to cognitive work. Modern work systems have many characteristics that make them cognitively complex: They can be highly interactive; comprised of multiple agents and artifacts; information may be limited and distributed across space and time; task goals are frequently ill-defined, conflicting, dynamic and emergent; planning may only be possible at general levels of abstraction or require adaptive solutions; some degree of proficiency or expertise is required; the stakes are often high; and uncertainty, time-constraints and stress are seldom absent. To complicate matters further, cognition in complex work settings is typically constrained by broader professional, organizational, and institutional practice and policy. These features of cognitive work present significant challenges to scientific methodology and theory, and subsequent design of reliable interventions. Historically, philosophers and scientists have attempted to understand the mental activities experienced during cognitive work at multiple levels of analysis using divergent methods. Some have examined cognition at an associative, contextual, functional or holistic level, relying on naturalistic methods to understand the higher mental processes as they work in harmony during goal-directed behavior. Others have embraced experimental methods and favored internal over external validity, often reducing cognition to a psychology of fundamental acts, such as short-term memory access with millisecond shifts in attention. More recently, Macrocognition has evolved as a complementary paradigm. Macrocognitive researchers have studied the cognitive functions and processes associated with skilled, adaptive, collaborative, and resilient cognitive work in the context of the aforementioned complexities of psychotechnical and sociotechnical work systems. Typically, this research has been carried out using cognitive task analytic techniques that draw on both naturalistic and (quasi-)experimental methods. The primary goals of research in Macrocognition are to better understand cognitive adaptations to complexity, to increase our theoretical understanding of the organism-environment relations by studying the mapping between cognitive work and real-world demands, and to promote use-inspired research capable of improving system performance