Conceptualizing values as part of a dynamic multilevel world

Includes bibliographical references.2015 Summer.Humans are engaged in complex relationships of adaptation and change with the environment, each affecting one another. These relationships (i.e., feedback loops) necessitate an increased understanding of the different components of social-ecological systems. However, these systems appear to operate differently depending on the levels and scales under investigation, making it difficult to fully conceptualize these interconnected phenomena as well as raising important questions. We narrow our focus on two specific areas of inquiry in the interest of explicating factors that influence social values, which in turn lead to the attitudes and behaviors that can either drive or alleviate the many environmental challenges we face. First, how might macro processes of social change at different levels affect individual-level thought, and what might this mean for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection? Second, can internal human cognitions transform into widespread societal beliefs about how the environment, including wildlife, should be treated? This dissertation presents two manuscripts designed to contribute to these areas of inquiry by considering how values are influenced by processes at different levels on a geopolitical scale, and how those values shape levels of cognition within individuals (an internal cognitive scale). The first chapter specifically focuses on understanding how socioeconomic advances at the county-level within the state of Washington are influencing new value priorities, and how these values lead to support for biodiversity conservation of species irrespective of human needs. For example, higher levels of income, education, and urbanization at both individual and county levels were associated with higher degrees of mutualism, a value orientation that prioritizes the needs of wildlife as similar to the needs of humans. Indeed, we found mutualism to be positively associated with support for wolves (Canis lupis) recolonizing the state despite the potential for livestock predation and concern for human safety. Results also indicate that these new value priorities can lead to social conflict among different segments of the public based on beliefs about how wildlife should be managed. This work demonstrates several key findings. First, broad changes in social systems lead to a fundamental shift in social values in such a way that clearly indicates social-ecological context matters. Second, these values lead to predictable patterns of response to actions that promote biodiversity conservation. However, those patterns of response vary across the landscape, providing further evidence of cross-level and cross-scale dynamics within systems. The second article casts social values as actors in a different, but equally important systems view complete with feedback loops. Specifically, social values are depicted as subject to the upward processes of emergence (micro-to-macro level) and the downward processes of immergence (macro-to-micro level). Our conceptualization acknowledges values as phenomena that emerge from individuals who are in turn shaped by pervasive social-ecological conditions (e.g., warfare, mass migrations, disease spread). Although processes of emergence are not directly studied in this manuscript, immergence is explored in two ways: (1) the effect of socioeconomic advances at a state level on individual expressions of postmaterialist values (values that tend to focus on the needs of others outside of self), and (2) the existence of widespread environmental attitudes associated with a prevalence of postmaterialist values. Only support for the second pathway of immergence was found, suggesting that individuals with postmaterialist values do indeed support protection of the environment, including wildlife, even at the expense of human interests such as economic development and recreation behaviors. In total, this dissertation is intended to provide a deeper look at the feedback loops between different levels of cognition and the world in which we live in the hopes of informing solutions to the grave environmental challenges we face

Differences in Perceptions of Student Experiences Between Residential and Commuter Sub-Populations in Higher Education

The landscape of higher education has been altered considerably over the past forty years as institutions have been asked to demonstrate that education programs offer sound opportunities for student growth and development. In addition, tumultuous economic conditions have reshaped American higher education as they relate to changing student demographics. A rise in minority, non-traditionally aged, and returning adult learners are coming to college with differing needs and backgrounds than the 18 to 22 year old collegians of the past. In 2010, the National Center for Educational Statistics identified the average of an American undergraduate to be 25 years of age, but this statistic pales in comparison to the fact that currently, over 85% of all enrolled collegians nationally, do not reside on campus during their tenure. In an effort to better understand some of the contemporary student experiences and their perceptions, this study utilized NASPA Assessment and Knowledge Consortium instruments to determine whether student involvement in campus activities, career development and aspirations, issues of mental health, and perceptions of diversity and campus safety differ between resident students and commuter peers who either reside with roommates, family, or spouses, partners, and children differ at a Northeast private, urban, religiously-affiliated university. Findings of the study demonstrate that while generally these populations do not typically have overwhelmingly different perceptions or levels of engagement, there are specific areas of campus life that are significant and worthy of note for divisions of Student Life and university administrations to consider as they work with resident and commuter students

Dosimetric And Geometric Accuracy Of Image Guided Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) In Head And Neck Cancer Patients

Advances in radiotherapy technology has made it possible to deliver highly conformal Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) beam to treat patient with improved setup accuracy using Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT). This retrospective study investigates the accuracy of IG-IMRT treatment for 25 head and neck cancer (HNC) patients in Advanced Medical & Dental Institute (AMDI), Universiti Sains Malaysia. An ionisation chamber array detector has been characterised and used for patient specific IMRT QA. The characterisation study shows the doses measured using ionisation chamber array detector were within 2% compared with the doses calculated from the treatment planning system (TPS). All 25 IMRT treatment obtained percentage pass rate ≥95% when 3%/3 mm gamma criteria were used. The geometrical accuracy of the treatment was also analysed based on setup errors measured using kV cone beam CT based-IGRT. A total of 231 pre-treatment CBCT imaging were acquired prior to treatment and compared to the reference CT. PTV margin of ≥3 mm in RL direction, SI direction and AP direction is required if no setup correction was performed. Offline setup protocols; NAL and eNAL were simulated on the setup errors recorded. The eNAL protocol recorded the smallest setup error in all three directions; which were 1.59 mm for RL direction, 2.13 mm for SI direction and 1.61 mm for AP direction. The impact of setup errors on dose distributions was also assessed on six HNC patients

Effects of windblown dust on photovoltaic surface s on Mars

Photovoltaic (PV) coverslip material was subjected to Maritan dust storm conditions using basaltic dust flowing through the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel at NASA-Ames. Initially dusted and clear coverslips were held at angles from 0 to 90 deg., and the dust laden wind velocity was varied from 20 to 97 m/s. Blowing dust was found to adhere more to the coverslips as the angle was increased. However, dust was partially cleared from surfaces that were initially dusted at substantially lower velocities in dust laden wind than in clear wind. Thus, an equilibrium amount of dust accumulated which was dependent only upon angle and wind velocity and not upon initial concentration of dust. Abrasion was also evident in the coverslips. It increased with wind velocity and angle of attack. It appears that an initial dust layer may help to protect PV surfaces from abrasion

Quantitative Kinematic Characterization of Reaching Impairments in Mice After a Stroke

Background and Objective. Kinematic analysis of reaching movements is increasingly used to evaluate upper extremity function after cerebrovascular insults in humans and has also been applied to rodent models. Such analyses can require time-consuming frame-by-frame inspections and are affected by the experimenter's bias. In this study, we introduce a semi-automated algorithm for tracking forepaw movements in mice. This methodology allows us to calculate several kinematic measures for the quantitative assessment of performance in a skilled reaching task before and after a focal cortical stroke. Methods. Mice were trained to reach for food pellets with their preferred paw until asymptotic performance was achieved. Photothrombosis was then applied to induce a focal ischemic injury in the motor cortex, contralateral to the trained limb. Mice were tested again once a week for 30 days. A high frame rate camera was used to record the movements of the paw, which was painted with a nontoxic dye. An algorithm was then applied off-line to track the trajectories and to compute kinematic measures for motor performance evaluation. Results. The tracking algorithm proved to be fast, accurate, and robust. A number of kinematic measures were identified as sensitive indicators of poststroke modifications. Based on end-point measures, ischemic mice appeared to improve their motor performance after 2 weeks. However, kinematic analysis revealed the persistence of specific trajectory adjustments up to 30 days poststroke, indicating the use of compensatory strategies. Conclusions. These results support the use of kinematic analysis in mice as a tool for both detection of poststroke functional impairments and tracking of motor improvements following rehabilitation. Similar studies could be performed in parallel with human studies to exploit the translational value of this skilled reaching analysis

The Implementation of Kahoot! Application as a Hots-Based Evaluation Media for Elementary School Students

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) states that students in Indonesia have low-level thinking skills in the international education arena. Certainly, this poses a significant challenge for the government and educators to improve the quality of education. One of the programs undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Culture is the Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) based learning program. Alongside the development of technology and information, this also impacts the education sector, which must adapt to technological advancements. Continuous innovations in teaching and learning, including innovations in assessment methods, are emerging. One way of evaluating learning that teachers can use is the Kahoot application. This research aims to demonstrate how the utilization of the Kahoot application serves as a learning evaluation tool in elementary schools. The research method used is qualitative description with data collection through interviews and questionnaires. The subjects of this research are sixth-grade teachers and students in Public Elementary Schools in East OKU District. The results of the research indicate that the utilization of the Kahoot application represents a new innovation in the field of education. The Kahoot application makes it easier for teachers to assess students' problem-solving performance and creates an enjoyable learning process that encourages students to think critically

Computational modeling of the auditory brainstem response to continuous speech.

OBJECTIVE: The auditory brainstem response can be recorded non-invasively from scalp electrodes and serves as an important clinical measure of hearing function. We have recently shown how the brainstem response at the fundamental frequency of continuous, non-repetitive speech can be measured, and have used this measure to demonstrate that the response is modulated by selective attention. However, different parts of the speech signal as well as several parts of the brainstem contribute to this response. Here we employ a computational model of the brainstem to elucidate the influence of these different factors. APPROACH: We developed a computational model of the auditory brainstem by combining a model of the middle and inner ear with a model of globular bushy cells in the cochlear nuclei and with a phenomenological model of the inferior colliculus. We then employed the model to investigate the neural response to continuous speech at different stages in the brainstem, following the methodology developed recently by ourselves for detecting the brainstem response to running speech from scalp recordings. We compared the simulations with recordings from healthy volunteers. MAIN RESULTS: We found that the auditory-nerve fibers, the cochlear nuclei and the inferior colliculus all contributed to the speech-evoked brainstem response, although the dominant contribution came from the inferior colliculus. The delay of the response corresponded to that observed in experiments. We further found that a broad range of harmonics of the fundamental frequency, up to about 8 kHz, contributed to the brainstem response. The response declined with increasing fundamental frequency, although the signal-to-noise ratio was largely unaffected. SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that the scalp-recorded brainstem response at the fundamental frequency of speech originates predominantly in the inferior colliculus. They further show that the response is shaped by a large number of higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency, reflecting highly nonlinear processing in the auditory periphery and illustrating the complexity of the response

Small firm auditing using the analytical procedures (APs) in a politically challenging context

Purpose This study aims to explore the use, effectiveness, motives and obstacles of analytical procedures (APs) used by auditors in Palestine, a context characterised by a pool of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a limited skill set, poor quality of data, political uncertainty and a community-based business culture. Design/methodology/approach The study considers the audit market in Palestine using a sequential mixed-methods approach combining a questionnaire survey and a series of in-depth interviews. A total of 129 Big-4 and non-Big-4 auditors were surveyed. Findings The use of APs is driven by the auditor size (Big-4 vs non-Big-4) and the client size (large vs SMEs). Even though the use of APs has increased over the past decade, audit objectives, know-how, and personal, family and social connections among auditors and clients influence the quality of the audit process. Practical implications Small firms take advantage of the lack of audit governance in Palestine. Our findings suggest that the regulators should help bridge the knowledge-sharing programmes between the small and large audit firms to help improve audit quality. Originality/value Studies on audit quality, particularly using APs, in the context of politically unstable cases such as Palestine are limited. The study has implications for the use of APs in the case of SMEs to prepare for the technological revolution that will modernise audit procedures and quality soon