3,514 research outputs found

    A history of biographical research in the United Kingdom

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    Biograpahical researchers in the United Kingdom have been influenced by symbolic interactionism, feminism, oral history, critical sociology, psychoanalysis and what we term an auto/biographical imagination. The latter involves reflexively situating the researcher and her influence, via power, unconscious processes and writing, into the text and by acknowledging the co-construction of stories. The focus of much research has been on marginalised peoples, as part of a democratising project to bring more diverse voices and stories into the historical or contemporary social record. It is important to avoid too rigid a distinction between mainland Europe and developments in Britain. Collaboration and dialogue have been extensive, across various research networks, including in the European Society for Research in the Education of Adults (ESREA)

    The usefulness of GPS telemetry to study wolf circadian and social activity

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    This study describes circadian and social movement patterns of 9 wolves and illustrates capabilities and limitations of Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry for analysis of animal activity patterns. Wolves were studied at the Camp Ripley National Guard Training Site in Little Falls, Minnesota, and were captured via helicopter net-gunning. All study wolves showed nocturnal movement patterns regardless of time of year. One wolf\u27s movement pattern switched to diurnal when he conducted an extraterritorial foray from his natal territory. All data sets with GPS intervals \u3c1 hour (n=4) showed crepuscular movement peaks. We identified patterns of den visitation and attendance, estimated minimum distances traveled and minimum rates of movement, and observed that GPS location intervals may affect perceived rates of wolf travel. Global Positioning System telemetry was useful in determining when pack members were traveling together or apart and how long a breeding female wolf spent near her pups (e.g., 0-month-old pups were left unattended by their mother for as long as 17 days)

    Fluidic temperature control system for liquid- cooled space suits

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    Fluidic temperature control system for liquid cooled space suit

    Diets of sheep, angora goats, Spanish goats and whitetailed deer under excellent range conditions. Journal of Range Management. 32(6):412-417.

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    and J. B. Armstrong. 2002. Aging white-tailed deer by tooth replacement and wear: a critical evaluation of a time-honored technique. Wildlife Society Bulletin 30:387-393. Glossary Revision Special Committee. 1989. A glossary of terms used in range management. Society for Range Management Publications Committee, Denver, Colorado. 20 pages. Gould, F.W. 1975. Texas plants, a checklist and ecologica

    <i>‘What retention’ means to me</i>: the position of the adult learner in student retention

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    Studies of student retention and progression overwhelmingly appear adopt definitions that place the institution, rather than the student, at the centre. Retention is most often conceived in terms of linear and continuous progress between institutionally identified start and end points. This paper reports on research that considered data from 38 in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who had characteristics often associated with non-traditional engagement in higher education who between 2006 and 2010 had studied an ‘Introduction to HE’ module at one distance higher education institution, some of whom had progressed to further study at that institution, some of whom had not. The research deployed a life histories approach to seek a finer grained understanding of how individuals conceptualise their own learning journey and experience, in order to reflect on institutional conceptions of student retention. The findings highlight potential anomalies hidden within institutional retention rates – large proportions of the interview participants who were not ‘retained’ by the institution reported successful progression to and in other learning institutions and environments, both formal and informal. Nearly all described positive perspectives on lifelong learning which were either engendered or improved by the learning undertaken. This attests to the complexity of individuals’ lives and provides clear evidence that institution-centric definitions of retention and progression are insufficient to create truly meaningful understanding of successful individual learning journeys and experiences. It is argued that only through careful consideration of the lived experience of students and a re-conception of measures of retention, will we be able to offer real insight into improving student retention

    Modulation of Functional Activities of Chicken Heterophils by Recombinant Chicken IFN-γ

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    The objective of the present studies was to examine the in vitro effects of recombinant chicken interferon-γ (rChIFN-γ) on shape change, phagocytosis, and the oxidative/nonoxidative killing activities of day-old chicken heterophils. Heterophils (4 × 106/ml) were incubated with various concentrations of recombinant ChIFN-γ from both Escherichia coli and transfected Cos cells for 2 h at 39°C. The incubation of the neonatal heterophils with rChIFN-γ resulted in significantly greater numbers of cells with membrane shape change when compared with the mock-treated heterophils. Both Cos cell-derived and E. coli-derived ChIFN-γ significantly increased (p < 0.01) the phagocytosis of opsonized or nonopsonized Salmonella enteritidis by the neonatal heterophils in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation with ChIFN-γ induced no direct stimulation of the respiratory burst by the chicken heterophils but did prime the heterophils for a significantly strengthened respiratory burst to subsequent stimulation with opsonized zymosan (OZ). Lastly, incubation of the heterophils with ChIFN-γ primed the cells for a significant increase in the release of β-D-glucuronidase following stimulation with OZ. These results show that neonatal avian heterophils can respond to cytokine modulation with enhanced functional competence, suggesting that ChIFN-γ can enhance the immune competence of the innate defenses of chickens during the first week of life

    Response of Curly Mequite to Height and Frequency of Clipping.

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    Spider fauna of semiarid eastern colorado agroecosystems: Diversity, abundance, and effects of crop intensification

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    Spiders are critical predators in agroecosystems. Crop management practices can influence predator density and diversity, which, in turn, can influence pest management strategies. Crop intensification is a sustainable agricultural technique that can enhance crop production although optimizing soil moisture. To date, there is no information on how crop intensification affects natural enemy populations, particularly spiders. This study had two objectives: to characterize the abundance and diversity of spiders in eastern Colorado agroecosystems, and to test the hypothesis that spider diversity and density would be higher in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in crop-intensified rotations compared with wheat in conventional rotations. We collected spiders through pitfall, vacuum, and lookdown sampling from 2002 to 2007 to test these objectives. Over 11,000 spiders in 19 families from 119 species were captured from all sampling techniques. Interestingly, the hunting spider guild represented 89% of the spider fauna captured from all sites with the families Gnaphosidae and Lycosidae representing 75% of these spiders. Compared with European agroecosystems, these agroecosystems had greater diversity, which can be beneficial for the biological control of pests. Overall, spider densities were low in these semiarid cropping systems, and crop intensification effects on spider densities were not evident at this scale. © 2013 Entomological Society of America
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