An analysis of the general content, grade placement, and philosophy of state courses of study in arithmetic for grades one to six.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Meaning in midlife : content or process? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University

This study takes a qualititative approach to examine midlife experiences of meaning. The trend in previous research has been to find sources of meaning in people's lives. Reker and Wong's (1988) theory of the structure of meaning is explored in relation to previous studies. Depth of meaning is reviewed, and a model proposed of the dimensions of meaning including sources; cognitive, motivational and affective components; breadth; and depth. There were difficulties with the measurement of depth which was found to be non-linear. The model was confirmed by in-depth interviews with 38 adults in midlife, especially the dimensions of components and categories. The results support a process (dimensions) approach to meaning in life. The model was revised in the light of the data, to incorporate the dynamic movement between dimensions, and the formation of cognitive frameworks of meaning

Ability of early neurological assessment and continuous EEG to predict long term neurodevelopmental outcome at 5 years in infants following hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy

Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) symptoms evolve during the first days of life and their monitoring is critical for treatment decisions and long-term outcome predictions. This thesis aims to report the five-year outcome of a HIE cohort born in the pre-therapeutic hypothermia era and to evaluate the predictive value of (a) neonatal neurological and EEG markers and (b) development in the first 24 months, for outcome. Methods: Participants were recruited at age five from two birth cohorts; HIE and Comparison. Repeated neonatal neurological assessments using the Amiel-TisonNeurological-Assessment-at-Term, continuous video EEG monitoring in the first 72 hours, and Sarnat grading at 24 hours were recorded. EEG severity grades were assigned at 6, 12 and 24 hours. Development was assessed in the HIE cohort at 6, 12 and 24 months using the Griffiths Mental Development (0-2) Revised Scales. At age five, intellectual (WPPSI-IIIUK scale), neuropsychological (NEPSY-II scales), neurological and ophthalmic testing was completed. Results: 5-year outcomes were available for 81.5% (n=53) of HIE and 71.4% (n=30) of Comparison cohorts. In HIE, 47.2% (27% mild, 47% moderate, 83% severe Sarnat), had non-intact outcome vs. 3.3% of the Comparison cohort. Non-intact outcome rates by 6-hour EEG-grade were: grade0=3%, grade1=25%, grade2=54%, grade3/4=79%. In HIE, processing speed (p=0.01) and verbal short-term memory (p=0.005) were below test norms. No significant differences were found in IQ, NEPSY-II or ocular biometry scores between children following mild and moderate HIE. Median IQ scores for mild (99(94-112),p=grade 2) at 24hours had superior positive predictive value (74%; AUROC(95%CI)=0.70(0.55-0.85) for non-intact 5-year outcome than abnormal EEG at 6 hours (68%; AUROC(95%CI)=0.71(0.56-0.87). Within-child development scores were inconsistent across the first 24 months. Although all children with intact 24-month Griffiths quotient (n=30) had intact 5-year IQ, 8/30 had non-intact overall outcome. Conclusion: Predictive value of neonatal neurological assessments and an EEG grading system for outcome was confirmed. Intact early childhood outcomes post-HIE may mask subtle adverse neuropsychological sequelae into the school years. This thesis supports emerging evidence that mild-grade HIE is not a benign condition and its inclusion in studies of neuroprotective treatments for HIE is warranted

The cultural significance of the child star

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This study provides a sociological account of the child star as both a universal and culturally specific phenomenon. Arguing against dominant 'common-sense' definitions of child stars as precociously deviant, I relocate the child star as a product of wider social contradictions and constructions surrounding children and childhood more generally. Through an analysis of the way in which child stars are constructed in the textual media I demonstrate two central and competing discourses in relation to this group - one which focuses on their powerlessness due to their 'abnormal' status in relation to 'normal' children and the other which celebrates their power due to their 'natural' talents and redemptive qualities. These contradictory- positions are identified through a consideration of the historical and mythological antecedents of today's child stars as well as an analysis of the contemporary discourses which inform news stories about such individuals. I argue that such ambiguity towards child stars can be identified as symptomatic of complex attitudes towards children in our society. The hostility which subjectifies child stars and generates powerlessness can be understood as emanating from the habitual association of performing children with precocious sexuality, the commercialisation of childhood and the fear that children are 'growing up too quickly'. In contrast, the adoration of child stars which imbues them with the power to be reinvented with every new generation can be related to a more profound universal need to reify and admire a small number of 'special' children -a practice which is identifiable across the myths and folklore of the world (Jung 1959). By identifying child stars as both powerless and powerful because of their difference to 'normal' children this study exposes how dominant constructions serve to demonise certain experiences of childhood and validate others, as well as highlighting the important role the child star plays in symbolising hope, innocence and futurity in our society

Financial history of the Boston Public Library

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityFrom the time of the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, privately owned libraries or those maintained by the churches or schools were available to the colonist who could read. As early as 1653 Robert Keayne left his library to the Town of Boston to be housed in the town-house. This collection of books was apparently enlarged by gifts of other colonists but was wiped out in the fire of 1747. As a result of the early establishment of schools in the colony and the subsequent legislation which made universal education almost one hundred percent mandatory, there developed a great pool of literate people. In the early part of the nineteenth century libraries began to be formed, in some cases supported by interested citizens, in others by members of a trade. An example of this was the Boston Mercantile Library which was begun in 1820 and later incorporated with the Boston Public Library. However, not until 1847 did the Massachusetts General Court enact a law which permitted the towns to establish and maintain libraries out of the public funds

Implementation and analysis of several keyframe-based browsing interfaces to digital video

In this paper we present a variety of browsing interfaces for digital video information. The six interfaces are implemented on top of Físchlár, an operational recording, indexing, browsing and playback system for broadcast TV programmes. In developing the six browsing interfaces, we have been informed by the various dimensions which can be used to distinguish one interface from another. For this we include layeredness (the number of “layers” of abstraction which can be used in browsing a programme), the provision or omission of temporal information (varying from full timestamp information to nothing at all on time) and visualisation of spatial vs. temporal aspects of the video. After introducing and defining these dimensions we then locate some common browsing interfaces from the literature in this 3-dimensional “space” and then we locate our own six interfaces in this same space. We then present an outline of the interfaces and include some user feedback

Evaluating and combining digital video shot boundary detection algorithms

The development of standards for video encoding coupled with the increased power of computing mean that content-based manipulation of digital video information is now feasible. Shots are a basic structural building block of digital video and the boundaries between shots need to be determined automatically to allow for content-based manipulation. A shot can be thought of as continuous images from one camera at a time. In this paper we examine a variety of automatic techniques for shot boundary detection that we have implemented and evaluated on a baseline of 720,000 frames (8 hours) of broadcast television. This extends our previous work on evaluating a single technique based on comparing colour histograms. A description of each of our three methods currently working is given along with how they are evaluated. It is found that although the different methods have about the same order of magnitude in terms of effectiveness, different shot boundaries are detected by the different methods. We then look at combining the three shot boundary detection methods to produce one output result and the benefits in accuracy and performance that this brought to our system. Each of the methods were changed from using a static threshold value for three unconnected methods to one using three dynamic threshold values for one connected method. In a final summing up we look at the future directions for this work

Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis as a natural anti-listerial agent in the mushroom industry

peer-reviewedMushroom growth substrates from different commercial producers of mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) were screened for the presence of bacteria with potential for use as biocontrol agents for controlling Listeria monocytogenes in the mushroom production environment. Eight anti-listerial strains were isolated from different sources and all were identified using 16s rRNA gene sequencing as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Whole-genome sequencing of the Lc. lactis isolates indicated that strains from different sites and substrate types were highly similar. Colony MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry found that these strains were Nisin Z producers but inhibitory activity was highly influenced by the incubation conditions and was strain dependant. The biofilm forming ability of these strains was tested using a crystal violet assay and all were found to be strong biofilm formers. Growth of Lc. lactis subsp. lactis using mixed-biofilm conditions with L. monocytogenes on stainless steel resulted in a 4-log reduction of L. monocytogenes cell numbers. Additional sampling of mushroom producers showed that these anti-listerial Lc. lactis strains are commonly present in the mushroom production environment. Lc. lactis has a generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status and therefore has potential for use as an environmentally benign solution to control L. monocytogenes in order to prevent product contamination and to enhance consumer confidence in the mushroom industry