Indigenous cultural and natural resource management and the emerging role of the Working on Country program

This is an opportune time to strategically develop Indigenous land and sea management in Australia. Climate change and associated land degradation is a high priority component of the Government’s environment agenda. At the same time, the Indigenous estate—which includes some of the most biodiverse lands in Australia—continues to increase as a result of successful land and native title claims, and the declaration of more Indigenous Protected Areas. This paper explores government support for Indigenous land and sea management, focusing on the Commonwealth Government’s Working on Country program. The paper outlines the development of formalised Indigenous cultural and natural resource management. The emergence of the Working on Country program is discussed in the context of past and current policy. The opportunities and challenges for the future of the program and the development of formalised Indigenous land and sea management in Australia more broadly are outlined. In conclusion, a note of cautious optimism is expressed: while an expanded Working on Country program underpinned by community-led priorities and aspirations has the potential to simultaneously ameliorate Indigenous poverty and ensure natural resource management, this will require targeted investment and a more holistic and less sectoral approach from government

Aquatic plants and their application to successful floating treatment wetlands

“This research aims to mitigate eutrophication of freshwater habitats affected by urban stormwater runoff. Two highly impacted urban ponds near the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla were the focus of this research on the application of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs). An FTW consists of a man-made floating mat that is planted with emergent or floating macrophytes. The plants grow on the mat and their roots extend into the water column below the mat. Plant tissues, especially roots in direct contact with the water, take up nutrients, act as biofilm growth sites, and may facilitate precipitation of nutrients. With urbanization, ponds receive enhanced fluxes of nutrients from runoff that can negatively impact the ponds and downstream ecosystems. By mitigating the inflows of nutrients, FTWs can help maintain water quality and biodiversity of these systems. My research objectives were to examine nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) removal rates from microcosms containing different plants. Simulated stormwater runoff was added to lab microcosms containing coir fiber medium and bare-root plants. The removal rate of N and P from the water was monitored by taking samples over time. Based on a one-way ANOVA, there was a significant difference among the plant treatments for the rate of uptake for soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) for rates per microcosm (P = 0.003) but not for rates per mass of plant used (P = 0.22). ANOVA did reveal significant differences among plant treatments for uptake rates of N per microcosm (P \u3c 0.001) and per biomass of plant used (P \u3c 0.001). Microcosms planted with Cladophora and Spirogyra (algae) and Scirpus atrovirens (Bulrush) had higher uptake rates of N compared to most other plants (Tukey post-hoc comparison, P \u3c 0.05)”--Abstract, page iii

Reading Readiness

As reading is of all the primary subjects the most crucial and the basis upon which first-grade and second-grade promotion is determined, a study of Reading Readiness is of the utmost importance. This essay is an attempt to describe those influencing factors which prepare pupils for the function of reading in the primary grades. Modern methods and materials used in the preparation of pupils tor reading have been described and discussed and special reference made to the work accomplished along these lines 1n the kindergartens of the Milwaukee Public Schools

A study of fee charging in the Family Society of Greater Boston

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Short-term phosphorus dynamics and wheat productivity under integrated fertiliser management

Modern phosphorus (P) fertiliser production depends on phosphate rock reserves which could be exhausted by 2040. Substituting inorganic P with organic fertilisers may reduce farmers’ requirements for rock-derived phosphate while encouraging the use of waste products. Research shows that integrating the use of organic and inorganic fertilisers increases P phytoavailability compared to the application of inorganic P alone. Field studies typically report results of one sampling occasion conducted after years of experimentation, with no intermittent monitoring. The aim of this thesis was therefore to determine how substitution of inorganic P with organic alternatives affects short-term P cycling and wheat productivity. Results were obtained from intact soils cores maintained in a greenhouse sown with winter wheat and fertilised with different ratios of organic-to-inorganic P. There was no statistically significant effect of substituting inorganic P with pig slurry (PS) or digested cake (DC) on available P concentration during stem elongation or anthesis compared to the application of inorganic P alone. The results suggest that increases in phytoavailable P reported in previous studies following integrated fertiliser management (IFM) may not develop immediately but through gradual accumulation of the soil reserve. The time it takes for these differences to emerge could depend on the organic amendment; repeated measures analysis showed that the PS substitution treatment provided a more sustained supply of phytoavailable P than the DC substitution treatments. Grain yield and P leaching losses were statistically similar between treatments. The thesis therefore shows that in the short term, inorganic P use could be reduced through the incorporation of organic amendments to soil without compromising yield, P phytoavailability or P leaching losses. P application rates should be matched between treatments and respond to changes in P phytoavailability between seasons to better understand the effect of IFM on P cycling and yield over time

Seeing Emotionally: An Investigation of the Role of Emotion in the Rhetorical Discourse of 1 Peter

This thesis is an investigation of the role of emotion in the rhetorical discourse of 1 Peter. It argues that taking a more theoretically and historically informed approach to emotions in a New Testament epistle, in this case 1 Peter, can open up new avenues for discussion, provide corrective tools, and aid us in our interpretation and understanding of an ancient text. Emotions have hitherto generally been neglected in New Testament studies, and so this thesis provides the first full-scale attempt to analyse the rhetorical use of emotions in a New Testament epistle. It demonstrates that the author of 1 Peter uses the logic of each emotion to value and position objects within the audience’s worldview, including the self and the other. Cumulatively, the emotions are used by the author to build an alternate view of reality. For the believers, this leads to a new understanding of the structuring of their world, encourages a reassessment of personal goals, and it ultimately aims to affect their identity and behaviour. The introduction details previous work on emotions in New Testament studies and 1 Peter. Then, using developments in modern emotion theory, it proceeds to establish the theoretical foundations and methodological approach of the investigation. The thesis then continues in three parts. Part 1 (chapters 2-3) focuses on ‘Emotions in Antiquity.’ Parts 2-3 (chapters 4-7) are exegetical, focusing on the ‘Present Experience’ and ‘Future Expectation’ of the audience respectively. Part 1 demonstrates that there is a close fit between ancient theories and recent developments in emotion studies and thus proves that the exploratory approach of this thesis is not anachronistic. Chapter 2 details Stoic philosophical theory of emotion and chapter 3 the rhetorical use of emotion. These both work at the level of a general theory of emotion. Parts 2-3, firstly, using primarily Stoic theory, define each emotion and thus identify the core characteristics of each emotion. Secondly, they seek to understand the contextualisation of emotion and accompanying rationale in both Stoicism and the LXX. Thirdly, using these insights, the use of emotions in 1 Peter is then explored comparatively. Chapters 4-5 investigate joy (χαρά) and distress (λύπη), with chapter 4 focusing on joy despite distress and chapter 5 examining joy in suffering. Chapter 6 looks at fear (φόβος) and hope (ἐλπίς); chapter 7 investigates shame (αἰσχύνη). In each of the exegetical chapters, the exegetical discussion is directed by key questions about emotions which were highlighted by modern emotion theory. The answers to these questions reveal which objects are being evaluated and how, and,therefore, what the author is communicating to the believers about the object and their own positioning in relation to it. The ethical, sociological, and therapeutic implications of this for the believers are then explored. The conclusion pulls together the findings of the exegetical chapters into a composite picture. It concludes that, consistently, the author promotes allegiance to God and Christ, fosters emotional distancing from the hostile other, and engenders a positive assessment of the Christian self. Figures of power within the audience’s worldview are repositioned and their relationship to essential goods is reinterpreted. This seeks to alter the audience’s goals and subsequent behaviour so that a Christian ethic is promoted and the believers are encouraged that they are on the path to flourishing. This aims to produce confidence in the believer, and reduce the inner turmoil created by persecution. Finally, the implications of these findings for our understanding of 1 Peter’s rhetorical and social strategy are explained

Assessing the performance of the Asian/Pacific islander identification algorithm to infer Hmong ethnicity from electronic health records in California.

OBJECTIVE:This study assesses the performance of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries Asian/Pacific Islander Identification Algorithm (NAPIIA) to infer Hmong ethnicity. DESIGN AND SETTING:Analyses of electronic health records (EHRs) from 1 January 2011 to 1 October 2015. The NAPIIA was applied to the EHR data, and self-reported Hmong ethnicity from a questionnaire was used as the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPVs) were calculated comparing the source data ethnicity inferred by the algorithm with the self-reported ethnicity from the questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS:EHRs indicating Hmong, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean ethnicity who met the original study inclusion criteria were analysed. RESULTS:The NAPIIA had a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 99.9%, a PPV of 96% and an NPV of 99%. The prevalence of Hmong population in the sample was 3.9%. CONCLUSION:The high sensitivity of the NAPIIA indicates its effectiveness in detecting Hmong ethnicity. The applicability of the NAPIIA to a multitude of Asian subgroups can advance Asian health disparity research by enabling researchers to disaggregate Asian data and unmask health challenges of different Asian subgroups