Metacognitive beliefs and experiences : beliefs, predictions, monitoring and evaluations in well-defined and insight problem solving : thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The present study attempted to replicate and extend understandings of differences in the metacognitive experiences of solving insight and well-defined problems. Insight often occurs with a sudden 'Aha!' reaction compared to the more continuous progress typical for well-defined problems. Thirty-two adults completed a within-subjects computer-based problem solving task involving sets of 8 insight and well-defined problems, while providing predictions, feeling-of-warmth monitoring, and evaluations of performance. A sub-sample completed a Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) to compare global and context-specific beliefs of ability. Predictions overestimated performance in both sets, but more so for insight than for well-defined problems. However, correlations between prediction and performance were not significant for either set. No consistent difference in monitoring was found; incremental patterns dominated insight and well-defined problems equally. Averaged evaluations mirrored the overestimation effects of the predictions, although distributions of confidence accuracy were similar across sets. However, interesting correlations were found between global PSI scores and the specific measures, for both problem types. Methodological differences between the present and earlier studies may account for the lack of problem set effects. Conceptual issues need to be addressed regarding definition of insight and verification of insight experiences, particularly if future research is to reconcile metacognitive and cognitive aspects of problem solving

Calling Rates of Male Bobwhites During Summer in North Florida

The summer call-count survey is a common method used as an index of abundance for male northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Typically, abundance estimates have limited use and transference to other analyses because they lack estimates of detection and availability. Incorporating availability into abundance estimates has not been common because of the difficulty in attaining an availability estimate. We monitored the calling rates of radio-marked northern bobwhites, April–July, to ascertain the proportion of males available for detection within biweekly periods to attain a direct measure of availability. We measured daily and seasonal peaks in calling rates and investigated potential parameters that may influence the calling rate. We used a 5-min survey period and observed a mean calling rate of 0.40, which increased to 0.493 when a 10-min survey period was used. The biweekly calling rates were similar during May and June, but were significantly lower in April and July. Daily call rates within the 4-hr survey time period were consistent for May and June, but were more variable in July. Incorporating availability estimates into standard distance sampling procedures allowed us to produce more robust estimates of summer bobwhite density. Little is known about the variability of male bobwhite calling rates regionally or at different densities and we encourage other researchers to attain availability estimates from other landscapes and population densities

Microbiological Horticultural Internship Final Abstract

GMO dwarf plum (Prunus domestica) is being evaluated as a candidate food crop for long duration space flight missions. A project was undertaken to develop a protocol for transferring selected genetic lines of GMO plum (previously maintained in pots and propagated by cuttings at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida) into in vitro tissue culture. In vitro culture may reduce the space, materials, and labor required to maintain the current lines of GMO plum and better preserve them for future study. Fresh plant material from three selected GMO plum lines (NASA-5, NASA-10, and NASA-11) and a non-modified control line (Control-5) were processed aseptically into in vitro culture on four separate occasions. The impact of multiple treatments on the successful growth of GMO plum tissue in vitro were tested: Parent explant tissue type (leaf petioles, stem nodes containing buds and internodes without buds), tissue sterilization method [soaking in 10 bleach only (5 min for petioles or 10 min for nodesinternodes), or soaking in 70 EtOH (30 sec) followed by 10 bleach (5 min for petioles and 10 min for nodesinternodes)], and media type [three Murashige and Skoog-based medias (SGM, SRM, and SRM+2,4-D) and one recipe containing woody plant media (WPM)]. 22.2 of the plates containing tissue sterilized with bleach alone developed microbial contamination after two weeks, while only 11.8 of plates containing tissue sterilized sequentially with EtOH and bleach developed contamination. Node bud tissue from all four genetic lines of plum produced leafy plantlets on SGM and SRM media after 4-6 weeks. The most numerous and well-developed plantlets were present on SGM. Upon reaching suitable size, plantlets were transferred to larger media containers for further growth. Some node bud growth occurred on SRM+2,4-D and WPM 2.5 weeks after plating, however as of yet no pieces on SRM+2,4-D have adequate development for transferring. Tissue pieces from NASA-5 plated on WPM are developing leaves and will be ready for transferring soon. Petioles and internode tissue lacking bud meristem failed to produce any plantlets on any plates, however petioles developed large masses of undifferentiated callus tissue on SRM+2,4-D media. These callused pieces were then transferred to SRM+TDZ media, which resulted in even larger callus growth but no differentiation. All four selected plum lines were successfully transitioned into in vitro culture. Nodes from NASA-5 and NASA-10 lines produced the most numerous and well-developed leafy plantlets in vitro, while those from NASA-11 and Control-5 were generally smaller, slower growing and less numerous. The best method overall was to use young stem node tissue with buds, surface sterilize the pieces sequentially with 70 EtOH and 10 bleach, and then plate them onto SGM media. Future areas of study will include introducing additional genetic lines of GMO plum into in vitro culture, attempting to induce shoot growth in petiole callus tissue, testing methods (such as cold storage) that extend the time interval between transferring explants into new media, and testing viability of plantlets transferred from in vitro culture back to traditional pot culture

Microstructurally-based constitutive models of cytoskeletal networks for simulation of the biomechanical response of biological cells

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, p. 335-375).The elastic and viscoelastic stress-strain behavior of cytoskeletal networks, important to many cellular functions, is modeled via a microstructurally-informed continuum mechanics approach. The force-extension behavior of the individual filaments is captured with a new analytical expression of the MacKintosh worm-like chain relationship for semiflexible filaments. The filament expression is used in the Arruda-Boyce eight-chain network model to capture the 3D stress-strain behavior, quantifying the effects of isotropic network prestress and tracking microstructural stretch and orientation states during large deformations. The network model captures the initial stiffness of the network as well as the nonlinear strain stiffening observed at large stresses in shear rheological data of bundled/unbundled in vitro F-actin networks. The cytoskeletal network model has also been extended to include the internal energy based mechanical contributions at the filament and network levels from torsional crosslink deformations as well as from direct axial stretching of filaments. This enhanced model effectively captures the stress-strain behavior of F-actin networks cross-linked with two different types of actin binding proteins (filamin and streptavidin). The enhanced model is also used to evaluate the influence of the cross-links' torsional stiffness on the entropic bending configuration space of the cytoskeletal filaments. The 3D constitutive network model provides a framework for capturing time-dependent spatial diffusion of cytosol within a porous, visco hyperelastic filament network. The poroelastic behavior is coupled with the hyperelastic network behavior through a 3D biphasic theory that includes network swelling effects for finite deformations.(cont.) The mechanical response of the cytoskeletal network due to the localized swelling is captured by employing multiplicative decomposition of mechanical and swelling stretches. Nonlinear shear viscoelasticity is also included to create a 3D network model capable of capturing the time-dependent response of cytoskeletal networks on short and long time scales. The model captures the nonlinear time dependent behavior of in vitro actin-filamin and actin-avidin networks observed in shear rheological experiments. The constitutive models are evaluated in a finite element model with a cellular geometry (including membrane and nucleus submodels) and the ability to spatially vary network properties throughout the cell.by Jeffrey Shane Palmer.Ph.D

Age-Specific Nesting Performance by Northern Bobwhites

Greater reproductive productivity of adult versus juvenile northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) has been hypothesized as a factor for rapid population growth. Research on bobwhites in the western portions of the species’ range has not supported this hypothesis; however, no effort has been made to investigate age-specific reproduction on population dynamics in the southeast. We measured age- specific reproductive parameters between adult and juvenile bobwhites during 2000–2010. We radio-marked 1,069 females of which 308 were adults and 761 were juveniles. Nests per hens for adults (0.78 nests/hen) was slightly greater than that for juveniles (0.65 nests/hen) (P 1⁄4 0.09). Adult productivity was 1.7 times greater than for juveniles in 4 of 10 years which corresponded to years of population growth. No differences were found in initial clutch sizes or nesting success. Adult hens began incubation earlier than juveniles in all but 1 year suggesting increased nesting may be due to early recrudescence in adults. The magnitude of age-specific reproductive differences in short-lived species like bobwhites is not as great as long-lived species, but has implications for understanding bobwhite population dynamics and harvest

Comparison of Methods to Capture Bobwhites During Summer (Poster Abstract)

Live-capturing northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) using baited funnel traps during summer often is inefficient. Previous methods to attract wild bobwhites to a trap site have included bait (typically cracked corn), or use of a pen-raised female bobwhite inside the trap. It has been suggested that playing electronic recordings of the bobwhite’s ‘‘koi-lee’’ call at the trap site may improve trap success, but this idea has never been tested. Therefore, in July 1999, we collected trapping data from farms in Wilson County, North Carolina and Tall Timbers Research Station (TTRS) in Leon County, Florida. Trap sites were randomly assigned each day with 1 of 4 treatments including bait only, bait with electronic calling (bait and call), pen-raised female bobwhite (hen), or a hen with electronic calling (hen and call). Traps were set starting at sunrise and were checked after sunset. We captured 87 males, 10 females, and 3 immature bobwhites in 500 trap nights. At TTRS, number of bobwhites caught per 10 trap nights was 0.5 for bait, 0.2 for bait and call, 4.2 for hen, and 4.4 for hen and call. At Wilson, number of bobwhites caught per 10 trap nights was 1.0 for bait, 0.4 for bait and call, 1.3 for hen, and 3.3 for hen and call. Trap success for the hen only and hen and call treatments varied between sites. At TTRS, use of hens greatly improved capture success compared to using bait, but little difference was observed between hen only and hen and call treatments. Conversely, at Wilson, hen only and bait only treatments had similar capture success, but the hen and call treatment was 2.5 times more successful over the other treatments. Electronic calling appeared to have attracted bobwhites to the trap vicinity and the hen appeared to encourage bobwhites to enter the trap. This circumstance was especially evident at Wilson where the overall bobwhite abundance was low and the distribution was unequal across the landscape. We recommend using pen-raised female bobwhite and electronic calling to maximize trap success during the bobwhite breeding season on areas with low to moderate bobwhite densities

Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Breeding Season Home Ranges and Resource Selection of Northern Bobwhites

Providing supplemental food resources for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginanus) has been a common management practice for decades, but its impact on bobwhite home ranges sizes and space use has been debated. Between 2001 and 2007, we established a 397 ha fed study area on Tall Timbers Research Station, which received grain sorghum biweekly along a 19.5 km feed trail. An adjacent 465 ha area was treated as a control with no supplemental food resources. Radio-tagged wild bobwhites were located 3 – 5 times each week throughout the breeding season and we used these locations to calculate home ranges during early breeding season (15 April – 30 June) and late breeding season (1 July – 1 October). We also determined second and third order selection of a 10-m buffer area surrounding the supplemental feed trail using compositional analyses. In total, 552 and 286 bobwhite home ranges were calculated for early and late breeding seasons, respectively. We observed significantly smaller early breeding season home ranges on the fed area (x̄ = 12.3 ha, 95% CL ± 0.6) relative to the control (x̄ = 17.4 ha ± 1.9). Average length of feed trail within home ranges was 583 m and 710 m for early and late breeding season home ranges, respectively. The feed trail buffer area was 3 to 5% of all home ranges. Home range placement was not random with high selection preference for the feed trail buffer area. However, there was a low selection preference for the feed trail buffer area within home ranges. Average distances to the feed trail for bobwhite locations (x̄ = 64.4 m ± 16.1) was similar to random locations (x̄ = 74.4 m ± 16.9). The effect of supplemental feeding on bobwhite home ranges size and resource use was greatest during the early breeding season when food and useable habitat were likely lower in availability. On our study area, supplemental food resources distributed along a feed trail impacted bobwhites during a critical transition period from the spring prescribed burning season to the early breeding season

Value of Private Lands Managed for Wild Northern Bobwhites in the Deep South

Successful northern bobwhite (Colinus virginiaus) management creating huntable bobwhite populations in the southeastern United States is largely practiced on private lands. These properties not only support high density bobwhite populations, they also support biodiversity including many declining or endangered species associated with frequently-burned pine savannas. The private land model has proven sustainable over centuries and has recently increased with \u3e20,000 ha of wild bobwhite lands added in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina since 2000. The NBCI recognizes private lands are critical to restoration of bobwhites but, despite their conservation value, no studies have quantified areas under wild bobwhite management. We mapped 259 properties totaling ~ 345,614 ha with wild bobwhite management principally in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina, and are completing mapping in Mississippi, Virginia, and North Carolina. Our survey data found management actions were consistent across these properties including maintaining open pine canopy, reducing hardwoods in upland areas, prescribed fire on areas of appropriate sizes and distribution, year- round supplemental feeding, nest predator management, and conservative harvest rates. Adoption of these management practices are a result of long-term research demonstrating their efficacy. Density of bobwhites on a property was related to landscape composition with lower densities on more fragmented sites. Properties in core areas surrounded by other managed properties often achieved bobwhite densities of 5–8 quail/ha. Bobwhite densities on smaller isolated properties densities were ~ 2.5 quail/ha during fall. Aspects of this successful management model may be useful to other private lands as well as public management areas focused on northern bobwhite

Smartphone Mobile Application to Enhance Diagnosis of Skin Cancer: A Guide for the Rural Practitioner

Primary care physicians occupy a vital position to impact many devastating conditions, especially those dependent upon early diagnosis, such as skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and despite improvements in skin cancer therapy, patients with a delay in diagnosis and advanced disease continue to have a grave prognosis. Due to a variety of barriers, advanced stages of skin cancer are more prominent in rural populations. In order to improve early diagnosis four things are paramount: increased patient participation in prevention methods, establishment of screening guidelines, increased diagnostic accuracy of malignant lesions, and easier access to dermatologists. Recent expansion in smartphone mobile application technology offers simple ways for rural practitioners to address these problems. More than 100,000 health related applications are currently available, with over 200 covering dermatology. This review will evaluate the newest and most useful of those applications offered to enhance the prevention and early diagnosis of skin cancer, particularly in the rural population

Digital Resources for Targeted Mathematics Support

SPIRIT Maths (Students’ Perceptions Informing and Redefining Innovative Teaching of Mathematics in Higher Education) is a project that was established in Munster Technological University (MTU) to investigate students’ attitudes towards mathematics and to explore a more student-centred development of mathematics resources. One of the aims of the project was to create a collection of student-preferred digital materials with a view to improving student engagement, building students’ confidence in mathematics and helping students to succeed in their mathematics modules.The findings of a survey disseminated to first year students in MTU indicated that students would be most likely to use the resources if they were geared towards their specific module; to maximise impact, resources were developed for two modules, one in Engineering and one in Business, that are each taken by large numbers of students. The resources were integrated on the learning management system and are available to all MTU students taking a mathematics module. Three interlinked digital resources were developed: (1) a series of interactive self-assessment questions, (2) corresponding videos showing worked solutions and (3) an associated bank of practice questions developed using a digital tutor to provide instant feedback. It is hoped that the complementary resources will facilitate student learning through a combination of active learning, explicit instruction and the ready availability of the resources.This article describes these resources and how they were developed, and outlines how these are being promoted to students. We also report on the feedback received from a small number of students who tested the resources and discuss how to measure student engagement with the resources