Securing Greater Social Accountability in Natural Resource Management

The world is experiencing a historic convergence of increasing demand for natural resources from emerging economies, prices at record levels across various commodity groups, a downward trend in resource supply, serious trends of ecological instability, and the rise of inequality between those who develop and profit from such resources and the communities that host them. As the world convenes in 2012 for the Rio+20 Earth Summit and marks 50 years since the passage of the UN Declaration on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources, natural resources are once again changing the geopolitical landscape of countries around the world. Three and a half billion people?half of the global population?live in 56 resource-rich and resource-dependent developing countries, representing less than one third of the 193 members of the UN. (?)Securing Greater Social Accountability in Natural Resource Management

Introducing a new technology to enhance community sustainability: An investigation of the possibilities of sun spots

The introduction of the Sun SPOT, Small Programmable Object Technology, developed by Sun Microsystems has been depicted as providing a revolutionary change in cyber physical interaction. Based on Sun Java Micro Edition (ME), this sensor technology has the potential to be used across a number of discipline areas to interface with systems, the environment and biological domains. This paper will outline the potential of Sun SPOTs to enhance community sustainability. An action based research project was carried out to investigate the potential uses of these technologies and develop a prototype system as a proof of concept. The research will compare Sun SPOTs with similar technologies, provide an assessment of the technology, and propose a number of possible implementations of the technology to enhance community sustainability

Curriculum project proposal: deaf art students using K-W-L strategy

The purpose of this project is to determine if the use of the K-W-L teaching model will foster Deaf art students\u27 cognitive knowledge and ability to express in an art form what they have learned regarding a specific subject. The following observation was made over a three year period working with Deaf art students. Deaf students need guidelines and a method of developing their ability to determine: · prior subject knowledge; · if additional information is needed; · results of research and; · how to use the information to express their creative ideas about a topic. K-W-L provides a visual structure to record prior knowledge and document additional information a student may want to learn about a subject. It provides students with a method of recording what they learned, comparing prior and new knowledge, in addition to providing a structure for interactive classroom discourse. K-W-L has been proven to be effective with second language learners and would be an appropriate strategy to explore as a curriculum project for Deaf art students. These curriculum activities will be conducted at Rochester School for the Deaf and will explore the use of K-W-L strategy in a Studio in Art classroom to determine if the students can effectively utilize this strategy to express knowledge on a particular subject in an art form

Seasonal effects on diet of two arid zone Dasyurids, Dasycercus Cristicauda and Ningaui Ridei (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia)

Seasonal fluctuations in rainfall and food availability are thought to change populations of arid zone mammals dramatically over time. Competition between similar species for limited food resources is believed to be a major factor in the evolution and maintenance of population assemblages. Animals foraging in arid regions must be responsive to the unreliable distribution of nutrients and food resources to ensure the survival of viable populations. Adaptive physiological traits and behavioural mechanisms of arid zone animals allow them to survive extreme conditions and the ability to switch between prey species in adverse conditions is an advantageous strategy. This study was conducted in Mt Keith, Western Australia and investigated the diet of two dasyurid marsupials D. cristicauda and N. ridei. The project was designed to determine if seasonal changes were present in the diet of D. cristicauda and N. ridei, construct a reference collection of local invertebrates, compare the availability of captured fauna with faecal material and detennine the efficiency of different pitfall traps for capturing prey. Results have shown that both D. cristicauda and N. ridei are predominantly insectivorous and select similar prey types, although the frequency in which prey types are observed in faecal pellets differed between the two species. Differences were also recorded between prey frequency and time of sampling for each species. When comparing different pitfall traps to determine efficiency, capture rate of potential prey changed in response to trap type and season. This study concurs with other research, whereby seasonal shifts in diet were reported in D. cristicauda populations in both the Simpson Desert and in central Australia. These dietary changes were attributed to changes in the availability of potential prey, due to the influences of season and drought; and changes in the selection of prey in response to balancing the costs of reproduction. The ability of these animals to switch between prey sources is advantageous in arid regions where resources fluctuate in response to climatic changes

Body Parts and Their Epic Struggle in Ovid’s Amores

This thesis examines how body parts in Ovid’s Amores provide the location for an epic battle between the conflicting genres of Tragedy and Elegy. The first chapter summarizes past Ovidian scholarship. The second chapter examines how Ovid separates body parts of the amator and the puella in Amores 1.4 and 1.5 in order to deny the lovers complete unification. The third chapter expands the conclusion of the second by analyzing poems in Books 2 and 3, which contain a significant number of body parts, to determine how the amator’s interaction with the puella’s body parts reflects his lack of union with her in public and private spheres. The fourth chapter rereads the puella’s body parts, and the amator’s relationship with them, with a view to establish the puella as either Tragedy or Elegy and to theorize how the amator’s relationship with the puella symbolizes the poeta’s relationship with his poetry

Georgia\u27s special instructional assistance program : the impact on academic achievement

This study examined the impact of the Special Instructional Assistance program on academic achievement as reported through reading and math standardized test results on the ITBS of students from one Georgia school system. The study tracked students from kindergarten through grade three and reported the number of years the student participated in the SIA program. Test comparisons were made to determine if the number of years of participation made a significant impact on academic achievement in either reading or mathematics. Test comparisons were also made between students who were SIA participants and students who never participated in the program. Finally, third grade and fifth grade ITBS results in reading and mathematics were compared for SIA participants to determine maintenance of effectiveness. Evaluation of the SIA program had previously included subjective measures such as teacher comments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the SIA program utilizing objective and validated measures of achievement that are presently being requested by those in policymaking positions who influence the financial allocations given to such programs. The study made no attempt to evaluate the methods of implementation or the eligibility and identification criteria. The study found no significant differences in the reading or math test results among SIA participants, no matter how many years students participated in the program. These results may have been influenced by the placement process of using teacher recommendations. Students who participated for only one year may not have demonstrated the greatest need and would have shown a greater test score than the other groups. A significant difference was found, however, when comparing the reading and mathematics achievement scores between SIA and non- SiA participants. Students who had never participated in the program had significantly higher tests results for both reading and mathematics but this also may be attributable to the success of the identification process for the SIA program. The comparison of third- and fifth- grade tests results for SIA participants also indicated a significant increase in the areas of reading and mathematics. Though the reading score was still lower than the score expected for average ability students, the reading scores of the SIA participants made the same increase as that expected of average ability students. The same was not true in the area of of mathematics. The mathematics scores of SIA participants did not make the same increase as that expected of average ability students. The main conclusions of this study ware that due to program design problems such as the absence of a true experimental and control situation, this study could not demonstrate that the number of years of participation had any significant impact on academic achievement in reading or mathematics; the conclusion that student achievement improved the longer a student participated in the SIA could not be made due to the possible success of the identification process; and, even though the average standard score for SIA participants was not as great the average score expected of average ability students in reading or mathematics, SIA participants did make the same academic gains in reading as could be expected of average ability students. Recommendations included conducting a study which can document both pre- and post-test results; measuring achievement on a yearly basis through consistent administration of a standardized achievement test such as the ITBS; conducting a study which can examine the achievement differences between a true experimental and control group situation; comparing test results of SIA participants to non-SIA participants between third and fifth grade; examining different SIA implementation models and comparing the achievement differences of their participants; expanding this study to include a greater sampling of school systems across Georgia, but doing so only after eliminating current design problems which prohibit clear comparisons of SIA and non-SIA participants; including students who change schools during the years of possible SIA participation; and, evaluating effects of the SIA program, other than achievement differences, such as teacher morale, student discipline issues, grade retention, and student motivation

Compartilhamento de Benefícios: Combinando Mudanças Climáticas e Desenvolvimento nos Esforços da Política Nacional

O recém-lançado Rural Poverty Report 2011 (IFAD, 2010) demonstra que cerca de 1,4 bilhão de pessoas continua a viver em extrema pobreza, lutando para sobreviver com menos de USD 1,25 por dia, e que mais de dois terços vivem nas áreas rurais dos países em desenvolvimento. A variabilidade e as mudanças climáticas tendem a piorar a situação destas pessoas, exacerbando ainda mais a desigualdade de gênero?isto é indiscutível. O dilema da política continua sendo ?como? conciliar as complexidades e as múltiplas dimensões desta ?problemática?. (?)Compartilhamento de Benefícios: Combinando Mudanças Climáticas e Desenvolvimento nos Esforços da Política Nacional

Critical decision making skills of postgraduate respiratory care personnel

The researcher of the study became interested in critical decision making skills while working with Respiratory Care post graduates. The researcher of the study noticed through observation a deficiency in critical thinking skills, reasoning abilities and decision making skills of recent post graduate Respiratory personnel. These weaknesses impacted a deterioration in interdepartmental communications and most importantly a deterioration in the quality of patient care. The problem of this study is to determine the effects of critical decision making skills in the College of West Virginia’s 1995 Respiratory Care class as compared to the College of West Virginia’s 1994 Respiratory Care class

AIDS and Employment Discrimination under the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Virginia\u27s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a fatal illness that attacks the immune system, rendering it incapable of defending the body from a variety of rare infections. In the United States, the syndrome was first observed in 1979 in isolated cases in major metropolitan areas. At that time, it affected a limited group of people, mainly homosexual men and drug abusers. Faced with a deadly illness whose cause and mode of transmission were unknown, the public understandably reacted with fear. Many AIDS victims were shunned from schools, workplaces, housing, courts, and medical facilities