The Role of Lithology in Glacial Valley Cross-Sectional Shape in Sierra Nevada, California

It is commonly inferred that alpine glaciers transform fluvial valleys from V to U-shaped. It has been suggested that, under certain circumstances, glaciers are unable to modify V-shaped valleys and that lithology may play an important role in a glacier\u27s ability to effectively erode bedrock. To test this hypothesis, six glaciated valleys with both U and V-shaped cross sections were chosen in the Sierra Nevada (CA) to examine how lithological properties might affect patterns of glacial erosion: Tenaya Canyon, Tuolumne River, Little Yosemite Valley, the San Joaquin River, the north fork of the King River, and Deadman Canyon. Valley profiles were fitted with the power law, y = axb, where the exponent b represents the shape of the cross section. Rock mass strength (RMS) values for these sites were determined by field inspection. No clear relationship was found between RMS and valley shape. Although, there was a weak association between measured joint orientation and valley axis in Little Yosemite Valley, the North Fork of the King River, and the San Joaquin, the two variables appear unrelated in Tenaya Creek, Tuolumne River, and Deadman Canyon. These results propose that in the Sierra Nevada granitic batholith, patterns of glacial erosion in granitic rock are not dependent on rock mass strength (as typically measured), while joint orientation may play a minor role

The student and school neighbourhood characteristics associated with smoking susceptibility, experimental and established smoking among secondary school students (grades 9 to 12) in Canada

Objective: The purpose of this dissertation was to examine which student- and school-level factors differentiated (1) susceptible never smokers from non-susceptible never smokers, (2) experimental smokers from never smokers, and (3) current smokers from experimental smokers among a nationally representative sample of Canadian students in grade 9-12. Methods: Student-level data from Canada’s nationally representative 2008-2009 Youth Smoking Survey (2008 YSS) were linked with school-level data from the 2006 Census, and one built environment characteristic, and examined using multi-level logistic regression analyses. Results: Overall as hypothesized in these three studies, student-level and school-level characteristics were associated with smoking susceptibility among never smokers, experimental smoking and current smoking. The likelihood of susceptibility among never smokers (P=0.0002), experimental smoking (P<0.0001) and current smoking (P<0.001) significantly varied across schools. This study identified that attending a school in an urban (AOR=0.62; 95% CI 0.46-0.82) setting or in a high socioeconomic status (SES) neighbourhood (AOR=0.88; 95% CI 0.79-0.98) was inversely associated with odds of a student being an experimental smoker (versus a never smoker) when adjusting for student-level characteristics. The number of tobacco retailers located within a 1-km radius of each school was associated with the odds of a student being a current smoker (versus an experimental smoker) (AOR 1.03; 95% CI 1.01-1.05) and also associated with a student being a susceptible never smoker (versus a non-susceptible never smoker) (AOR 1.01; 95% CI 1.00-1.02) when adjusting for student-level characteristics. Additionally, several student-level intrapersonal and social context characteristics were associated with smoking susceptibility, experimental smoking and current smoking. Conclusions: This study showed that the characteristics of the school a student attends may increase their likelihood of a student being in any of the smoking stages that were examined. Additionally, several student-level factors were also associated with the three smoking stages. Understanding these factors will provide more insight to guide stakeholders interested in developing anti-tobacco strategies that are responsive to the risk and protective factors of adolescents in different smoking stages.1 yea

Understanding and Improving Instructional Leadership Practices in Primary Schools in Karatu District, Arusha, Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to assess the understanding and improving instructional leadership practices in primary schools in Karatu District, Tanzania. The study was guided by three research objectives; (i) to assess the perceptions of teachers on the role of head teachers as instructional leaders, (ii) to examine the role of head teachers in improving teaching and learning in primary schools, and (iii) to determine the challenges the head teachers encounter as they practice instructional leadership in primary schools. A mixed research approach was used to accomplish the need. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect relevant information from randomly selected stakeholders namely head teachers, teachers and the pupils from eight public primary schools and two private primary schools in Karatu District. The study found that, teachers were not able to explain the vision and mission of their schools; hence, they could not understand the roles of head teachers as instructional leaders although they were able to mention several strategies that the head teachers used to supervise teachers. The lack of understanding of the role of head teacher as instructional supervisor by the majority of the teachers created challenges in building a common and shared sense of purpose. This lack of shared sense of purpose led to other challenges including negative cooperation. The study recommends that the government should ensure that, HTs are properly trained on how to balance their roles as instructional leaders, administrators and school managers. Considering the competing roles of being a manager and an instructional leader, further studies are needed to explore how the head teachers can balance the two roles of being a manager, an administrator and or an instructional leader

Community-based approaches to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Findings from a low-income community in Kenya

The Horizons program, in partnership with International Medical Corps and Steadman Research Services International, conducted an intervention study in Kibera, an urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya to determine what effect three different community-based activities had on utilization of key prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. The interventions included moving services closer to the population via mobile clinics, as well as increasing psychosocial support through the use of traditional birth attendants and peer counselors as PMTCT promoters. Data from the study showed that there were positive trends during the study period in most of the PMTCT indicators, including knowledge of MTCT, antenatal care utilization, and delivery in health facilities. However, it is not possible to attribute all these positive trends to the community-based interventions because similar positive trends were observed at the comparison site on most indicators. The report offers recommendations to other organizations exploring community-based PMTCT activities in a similar context

Perceived stigma among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment: a prospective randomised trial comparing an m-DOT strategy with standard-of-care in Kenya

HIV and AIDS remain highly stigmatised. Modified directly observed therapy (m-DOT) supports antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence but little is known about its association with perceived stigma in resource-constrained settings. In 2003, 234 HIV-infected adults enrolled in a two-arm randomised trial comparing a health centre-based m-DOT strategy with standard self-administration of ART. Data on perceived stigma were collected using Berger\u27s HIV stigma scale prior to starting ART and after 12 months. This was a secondary analysis to examine whether perceived stigma was related to treatment delivery. Perceived stigma scores declined after 12 months of treatment from a mean of 44.9 (sd=7.6) to a mean of 41.4 (sd=7.7), (t=6.14,

Perceived stigma among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment: A prospective randomised trial comparing an m-DOT strategy with standardof- care in Kenya

HIV and AIDS remain highly stigmatised. Modified directly observed therapy (m-DOT) supports antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence but little is known about its association with perceived stigma in resource-constrained settings. In 2003, 234 HIV-infected adults enrolled in a two-arm randomised trial comparing a health centre-based m-DOT strategy with standard self-administration of ART. Data on perceived stigma were collected using Berger’s HIV stigma scale prior to starting ART and after 12 months. Thiswas a secondary analysis to examine whether perceived stigma was related to treatment delivery. Perceived stigma scores declined after 12 months of treatment from a mean of 44.9 (sd=7.6) to a mean of 41.4 (sd=7.7), (t=6.14,