Otolith chemistry, stomach contents and stable isotope analysis of a snapper (Pagrus auratus) caught in the Waikato River at Ngaruawahia

Analyses of stomach contents, stable isotopes and otolith microchemistry were carried out in order to ascertain the length of freshwater residence of a snapper (Pagrus auratus) caught in the Waikato River at Ngaruawahia in a net set for grey mullet(Mugil cephalus). Results of all analyses suggest that the snapper had spent all of its life in a marine environment with no evidence of freshwater residence in the otolith. Stable isotope analyses (δ15N = 17.0‰, δ13C = –17.1‰) indicated an entirely marine diet, and the stomach contents (two New Zealand screwshells, Maoricolpus roseus, and a hermit crab, Pagurus novizelandiae), suggested that the fish had not fed while in freshwater. However, this does not preclude the possibility that the snapper quickly travelled up the river, without eating, and was caught very soon after

Assessing movement of rainbow trout and common smelt between Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotorua using otolith chemical signatures: A summary of work so far

This study used otolith microchemistry to investigate movement of common smelt and rainbow trout between Lake Rotorua and Lake Rotoiti. Rainbow trout were collected from Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotorua and the Ohau Channel, and smelt were collected from several locations in Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotorua

Holistic approaches in a secondary discipline-based art education curriculum

The primary objective of this study is to examine the possible advantages of incorporating the principles and strategies of whole language to a secondary art education curriculum. Reading, or the process of decoding symbols, is an integral part of the learning process. It is particularly pertinent to the three academically oriented components of Discipline-Based Art Education: art criticism, art history, and the study of aesthetics. The holistic strategies promoted by the whole language movement, may be characterized by an emphasis on written responses and experience-oriented, student-centered curriculum. This approach is expected to enhance the DBAE curriculum. The possibility that primary instructional strategies would influence subsequent instruction was evaluated through a student survey. The participants were a homogeneous group of students from Harts High School, Harts, West Virginia. A strong correlation between prior exposure to holistic instruction found in whole language and success with an art program utilizing the holistic approach as associated with the whole language model was anticipated. However, the holistic influenced art activities were retained by a significantly greater number of students with a phonic background. This information suggests that holistic instruction may be advantageous to the art curriculum, especially since a majority of students will come from a phonics background. This fact alone warrants further study of such an application

Diet of rainbow trout in Lake Rotoiti: an energetic perspective

We characterised seasonal and ontogenetic changes in diet and prey energy density of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand, to better understand the prey requirements of trout in central North Island lakes. Common smelt (Retropinna retropinna) was the dominant prey item of rainbow trout larger than 200 mm (77.8% of diet by weight), followed by kōura (freshwater crayfish Paranephrops planifrons; 6.3%), common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus; 5.5%), and kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis; 3.4%). Juvenile rainbow trout (<200 mm) consumed amphipods, aquatic and terrestrial insects, oligochaetes, tanaid shrimps, and smelt. Trout consumed kōaro only in autumn and winter; consumption of other species did not vary seasonally. The maximum size of smelt consumed increased with increasing trout size, but trout continued to consume small smelt even as large adults. Consumption of larger prey items (kōaro and kōura) also increased with increasing trout size. This study indicates the importance of smelt for sustaining rainbow trout populations, as predation on other species was relatively low. These findings provide a basis for bioenergetic modelling of rainbow trout populations in lakes of the central North Island of New Zealand

How public libraries in Western Australia support the language and literacy learning of children from birth to age three years

Early language and literacy skills develop rapidly during the first three years of children’s lives. Successful development of these skills is based on dynamic interactions and supportive relationships within children’s families and communities. However, nearly a quarter of Australia’s children do not receive the necessary support or proactive interactions, and therefore start their schooling at age four or five with inadequate language and literacy skills. Reducing early difficulties is beneficial since evidence indicates that children who struggle at the start of their education rarely catch up. Children and their families may be supported with language and literacy learning by engaging with programs, activities and resources at local public libraries. Such programs, activities and resources are offered at no cost to the user and are found in more than 1,500 communities throughout Australia. Yet this study reveals that Western Australian libraries’ early language and literacy role is undervalued and often unknown. Policy makers have limited understanding of libraries’ capacities, and families lack awareness of what libraries provide. Impediments to library use by young families remain, including persistent out-dated perceptions of libraries as unsuitable places for young children. This study engaged qualitative research methods to gather data on the lived experience of families with young children when engaging with library based language and literacy programs, activities and resources. It also gathered data from families with young children who did not engage with such services, and from library staff with a range of roles. Library based events offering language and literacy content for children from birth to age three years and their parents/carers were observed, along with library use by this cohort during regular opening hours. Six different library facilities from Local Government Areas in metropolitan, regional and rural environments in Western Australia participated. Audits of facilities and resources were conducted to collect comprehensive information about public library services for young children and their families. The study proposes that improving awareness of libraries and their role in early language and literacy learning may assist young children and their families in children’s years before formal schooling. Building awareness may involve libraries engaging in broader outreach, creating innovative promotional opportunities, and developing robust evaluative processes. This may result in increased engagement and more children arriving at school with effective language and literacy skills, prompting subsequent benefits for their educational, social, emotional and financial futures

The Three Degrees Conference: One Year Later

This edition of the Washington Law Review features scholarship emanating from the 2009 Three Degrees Conference, and is a testament to the University of Washington School of Law’s continuing exploration of the connection between climate change and human rights through its larger Three Degrees project. Three Degrees is building on an agenda that began to take shape in late 2007 with the Malé Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change, an initiative of the Association of Small Island States. It was the Malé Declaration that led to a call for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations to undertake an analytical study of the relationship between human rights protections and climate change. The resulting report, promulgated in January 2009, affirmed the impact of climate change on a wide array of recognized human rights, articulated the foundations of arguments for legal duties to threatened and injured people, and advocated international cooperation among states to address human rights impacts of climate change. And yet, reasonable commentators argue that the linkage between the existing structure of international human rights obligations and the ability to use that structure to address climate injuries seems insecure as a formal legal matter, and the framing of climate injuries as human rights harms strikes others as impolitic. Thus, while the OHCHR Report has sharpened awareness that discussion of climate change cannot be complete without consideration of issues of justice to the vulnerable peoples of the world, the work of making that justice a necessary element of our global climate response remains incomplete

The Effectiveness of Reading Interventions for Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities are often unable to master reading comprehension and often fail to acquire reading comprehension skills at basic levels as measured on reading achievement assessments. Reading intervention programs Compass Learning and SRA Corrective Reading teach students how to apply strategies to their reading to improve their understanding of written text. The purpose of this quantitative ex-post facto research design was to determine the extent to which the reading intervention programs implemented at the research school improved reading achievement scores for seventh grade students with learning disabilities in reading, and to determine how much scores changed from the pretests to the posttests for two intervention groups. The theoretical framework for this study was the cognitive load theory. Data included Scholastic Reading Inventory scores from a convenience sample of 46 seventh grade students with learning disabilities in reading. The data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA pretest-posttest design. Data analyses indicated statistically significant differences in the reading achievement scores of the student participants, indicating they had higher reading achievement scores after participating in targeted reading interventions. This research contributes to positive social change by motivating students to be actively engaged in their reading and apply the skills they have learned as a result of participating in targeted reading interventions. This research also prepares students for the competitive job market through identifying viable interventions to help improve their reading comprehension skills

London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition: 1994 and 1995 excavations at Saar, Bahrain

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74907/1/j.1600-0471.1997.tb00148.x.pd