Hala (Pandanus tectorius) management and biocultural restoration in Niuliʻi, North Kohala

Master’s in Environmental Management (MEM) Capstone Report

Ranging and Behavior of Black and Gold Howler Monkeys in Formosa, Argentina

Howler monkeys (Alouatta spp.) are known for their adaptability, allowing them to inhabit a large range of forest types and driving high levels of variation in ranging and behavioral patterns. I address a series of hypotheses relating these relationships: 1) If an energy minimizing lifestyle is an adaptation to eating high quantities of leaves, then howler groups that have a high proportion of leaves in their diet will occupy smaller home ranges, have shorter daily path lengths, and spend more time resting, 2) if temperature is the primary driver of high levels of resting, then howlers will conserve energy and rest more at lower temperatures, 3) home range and daily path length will increase with group size. To test these hypotheses, I studied the ranging and behavioral patterns of two groups of Black and Gold Howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) inhabiting a gallery forest in Formosa, Argentina. I followed each group from sunrise to sunset for a total of six days each. Compared to other studies, the groups had the smallest home ranges for Alouatta (1.23 ha and 0.92 ha). Both groups followed expected activity patterns, sleeping for roughly 60% of the day and eating primarily leaves supplemented by small amounts of fruit and flowers. Higher leaf consumption was correlated with increased resting time, but not smaller home range or shorter daily path lengths. Contrary to expectations, there appeared to be a very slight positive correlation between temperature and percent resting. Finally, home range and daily path length did not increase with group size. These data give us insight into the species’ adaptability since this population is found at the extreme southern edge of where howlers are found

Exploring visual asset management collaboration: learning from the oil and gas sector.

Visual Asset Management (VAM) is defined as a visual, collaborative and cloud-based database application for project sharing, viewing, delivery, operation and maintenance. VAM provides a platform that contains multiple visual data sources of an infrastructure project, including Building Information Models, associated asset documentation and 360{deg} photographic images of the asset. This research presents three cases of the use of VAM in major oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, identifying the challenges resolved using VAM, the benefits realised as well as the opportunities for learning and transfer of VAM to the construction industry. The findings demonstrate that VAM can be used effectively to support decision making process during infrastructure project planning and development. The case studies further demonstrated that VAM will be particularly beneficial in facilities management and built asset operation, thereby, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of information for operations and maintenance. Due to the increasingly complex nature of projects in terms of size, information technology and security, realizing these benefits would require a learning process for all stakeholders involved in procuring and managing assets. This research proposes stepped change and learning opportunity for built assets value maximization and delivery, management and operation efficiency using VAM

Applying the 4Ps of social marketing to retain and engage participants in longitudinal cohort studies: Generation 2 Raine study participant perspectives

Background: Investigations of participant retention in longitudinal health and medical research, document strategies that work best but overlook social marketing’s capacity to influence participant retention. After applying the social marketing framework: the idea that determining what longitudinal participants ‘buy’ (product), at what cost (price), in what location (place) and through which communication channels (promotion), this paper aims to inform and enhance retention efforts. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted through in-depth interviews with participants from the Raine Study that began in Western Australia in 1989. The Generation 2 participants, initially enrolled into the Raine Study as babies by their parents (Generation 1), are now young adults invited to attend follow-up studies and tests every few years. Our study defined ‘active’ participants (n = 17) as those who agreed to attend their 27 year follow-up, and ‘inactive’ (n = 12) participants as those who had attended neither of the past two follow-ups (22 and 27 years). Results: Raine Study participants experienced core, actual and augmented product benefits. Inactive participants focused on the costs (price) associated with participation, and were more likely to suggest tele-health (place) strategies to overcome barriers to follow-up attendance. Both active and inactive participants found professional processes and friendly staff made the Raine Study environment appealing, suggested that social media (promotion) was underutilised, and offered novel ideas to enhance engagement. Conclusions: Social marketing can support the development of differentiated strategies addressing the unique needs and wants of active and inactive participants. Sophisticated cohort segmentation can reach participants in a more meaningful way, reinforce the study ‘brand’ and guard against attrition

Exploring the Representation of Cows on Dairy Product Packaging in Brazil and the United Kingdom

Food packages must communicate mandatory information, but they can also be used for marketing practices such as promotion and are a communication pathway from industry to consumer. Considering that cows are the main beings affected by the dairy industry, it is essential to scrutinise what dairy product packages convey about them. The aims of this study are to analyse the occurrence of reference to cows on the packaging of dairy products in popular supermarket retail stores in Brazil and the United Kingdom and to discuss ethical implications of promotional practices of dairy producers. We found that in both countries most packaging does not refer to cows at all. In the UK, an average of 31% of the packaging used some visual reference to cows, and in Brazil an average of 15% of packaging used some visual reference to cows. We identified four modalities of cow signifiers with a strong common appeal to nature that reflect and reaffirm an idyllic narrative of milk production. Our findings reflect the concept of absent referent, coined by Carol Adams, both on the packages containing some type of cow representation and on the packages not containing any. Considering that it might influence the consumer’s understanding and attitude towards cows, we highlight that the lack of adequate information about cows’ conditions and the obscuring of problematic issues in cows’ exploitation through the globalization of the happy cow narrative are two important issues to be placed on the Marketing Ethics concerns

Active boundary layers in confined active nematics

The roleofboundary layers inconventional liquidcrystals is commonly related to the mesogen anchoring on confining walls. In the classical view, anchoring enslaves the orientational field of the passive material under equilibrium conditions. In this work, we show that an active nematic can develop active boundary layers that topologically polarize the confining walls. We find that negatively-charged defects accumulate in the boundary layer, regardless of the wall curvature, and they influence the overall dynamics of the system to the point of fully controlling the behavior of the active nematic in situations of strong confinement. Further, we show that wall defects exhibit behaviors that are essentially different from those of their bulk counterparts, such as high motility or the ability to recombinewith another defect of like-sign topological charge. These exotic behaviors result from a change of symmetry induced by the wall in the director field around the defect. Finally, we suggest that the collective dynamics of wall defects might be described in terms of a model equation for one-dimensional spatio-temporal chaos

The structure of volcanic cristobalite in relation to its toxicity; relevance for the variable crystalline silica hazard

BACKGROUND: Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) continues to pose a risk to human health worldwide. Its variable toxicity depends on inherent characteristics and external factors which influence surface chemistry. Significant population exposure to RCS occurs during volcanic eruptions, where ashfall may cover hundreds of square km and exposure may last years. Occupational exposure also occurs through mining of volcanic deposits. The primary source of RCS from volcanoes is through collapse and fragmentation of lava domes within which cristobalite is mass produced. After 30 years of research, it is still not clear if volcanic ash is a chronic respiratory health hazard. Toxicological assays have shown that cristobalite-rich ash is less toxic than expected. We investigate the reasons for this by determining the physicochemical/structural characteristics which may modify the pathogenicity of volcanic RCS. Four theories are considered: 1) the reactivity of particle surfaces is reduced due to co-substitutions of Al and Na for Si in the cristobalite structure; 2) particles consist of aggregates of cristobalite and other phases, restricting the surface area of cristobalite available for reactions in the lung; 3) the cristobalite surface is occluded by an annealed rim; 4) dissolution of other volcanic particles affects the surfaces of RCS in the lung. METHODS: The composition of volcanic cristobalite crystals was quantified by electron microprobe and differences in composition assessed by Welch's two sample t-test. Sections of dome-rock and ash particles were imaged by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and elemental compositions of rims determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. RESULTS: Volcanic cristobalite contains up to 4 wt. % combined Al(2)O(3) and Na(2)O. Most cristobalite-bearing ash particles contain adhered materials such as feldspar and glass. No annealed rims were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The composition of volcanic cristobalite particles gives insight into previously-unconsidered inherent characteristics of silica mineralogy which may affect toxicity. The structural features identified may also influence the hazard of other environmentally and occupationally produced silica dusts. Current exposure regulations do not take into account the characteristics that might render the silica surface less harmful. Further research would facilitate refinement of the existing simple, mass-based silica standard by taking into account composition, allowing higher standards to be set in industries where the silica surface is modified.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Moyes Foundation - studentshi

Alpine Ice Patches and Shúhtagot’ine Land Use in the Mackenzie and Selwyn Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada

The NWT Ice Patch Study was developed in partnership with the Shúhtagot’ine residents of Tulita, Northwest Territories, Canada. This paper explores how Shúhtagot’ine traditional knowledge, collected through the direct participation of Elders in our archaeological fieldwork, science camps with Elders and youth, Elder interviews, and traditional land-use mapping, is informing our interpretation of archaeological data collected at alpine ice patches in the Selwyn Mountains. While knowledge of bow-and-arrow and snare technologies persists in Shúhtagot’ine culture, Shúhtagot’ine oral history does not contain detailed knowledge of throwing dart technology. Using data collected in our traditional land-use mapping project, we consider the role of ice patches in the broader context of Shúhtagot’ine land use. We propose that resource harvesting on high alpine plateaus and adjacent ice patches in the summer was more important in late precontact times than it was after contact. Shúhtagot’ine land-use practices involve long-distance travel in all seasons. Safe travel in the alpine landscape requires detailed knowledge of environmental conditions, such as snow and ice conditions, and respectful engagement with the spiritual entities inhabiting the landscape.L’étude des névés des Territoires du Nord-Ouest a été réalisée en collaboration avec les Shúhtagot’ine de Tulita, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, au Canada. Le présent article explore comment le savoir traditionnel des Shúhtagot’ine, recueilli lors de la participation directe des aînés à nos fouilles archéologiques, à des camps de sciences où aînés et plus jeunes participaient, à des entrevues avec les aînés et au relevé cartographique de l’utilisation traditionnelle des terres influence et éclaire notre interprétation des données archéologiques recueillies dans les névés alpins de la chaîne de Selwyn. Bien que le savoir relatif aux techniques de l’arc et de la flèche et de la chasse au collet est encore bien présent dans la culture des Shúhtagot’ine, leur histoire orale ne fait aucune allusion à la technique du tir au propulseur. En nous appuyant sur les données recueillies dans le cadre de notre projet de cartographie de l’utilisation traditionnelle des terres, nous considérons le rôle des névés dans le plus contexte plus large de l’utilisation du territoire par les Shúhtagot’ine. Nous proposons que la récolte estivale des ressources sur les hauts plateaux alpins et les névés adjacents était plus importante à la période juste avant le contact qu’à celle qui a suivi. Les pratiques d’utilisation des terres par les Shúhtagot’ine impliquent des déplacements sur de longues distances à toutes saisons. La sûreté des déplacements en milieu alpin nécessite une connaissance détaillée des conditions environnementales, telles que l’état de la neige et de la glace, de même qu’une interaction respectueuse avec les entités spirituelles qui habitent le milieu

A many-body singlet prepared by a central spin qubit

Controllable quantum many-body systems are platforms for fundamental investigations into the nature of entanglement and promise to deliver computational speed-up for a broad class of algorithms and simulations. In particular, engineering entanglement within a dense spin ensemble can turn it into a robust quantum memory or a computational platform. Recent experimental progress in dense central spin systems motivates the design of algorithms that use a central-spin qubit as a convenient proxy for the ensemble. Here we propose a protocol that uses a central spin to initialize two dense spin ensembles into a pure anti-polarized state and from there creates a many-body entangled state -- a singlet -- from the combined ensemble. We quantify the protocol performance for multiple material platforms and show that it can be implemented even in the presence of realistic levels of decoherence. Our protocol introduces an algorithmic approach to preparation of a known many-body state and to entanglement engineering in a dense spin ensemble, which can be extended towards a broad class of collective quantum states.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, and supplementary material