Simultaneous determination of in situ vertical transitions of color, pore-water metals, and visualization of infaunal activity in marine sediments

The vertical color transition from brown to gray-green in marine sediments is linked to the Fe redox boundary and is commonly used as a proxy for biogeochemical state. We combine time-lapse sediment profile imaging with diffusive gradient thin (DGT) gels to obtain simultaneous in situ measurements of sediment color profiles, pore-water Fe and Mn profiles, and qualitative estimates of faunal activity at the Oyster Ground and North Dogger (North Sea). Analysis of Fe and Mn profiles using generalized additive modeling reveals that high variability between profiles within the sites makes it difficult to determine any intersite differences in trace metal behavior. At the Oyster Ground, the depth of sediment color transition (4.78 +/- 0.76 cm) was not significantly different from the Fe redox boundary (7.67 +/- 4.04 cm). At the North Dogger, there was a significant discrepancy between the depth of the sediment color transition (2.86 +/- 0.78 cm) and the Fe redox boundary (10.17 +/- 1.04 cm), which most likely results from high sulfate reduction rates at the North Dogger, leading to complexation of reduced iron to a form not available to the DGT technique. The differences in the coupling of sediment color and the Fe redox boundary between stations is likely to be related to variations in recent infaunal bioturbation activity, rather than variations in sediment source or fundamental differences in bulk sediment chemistry. Our results highlight the importance of the infaunal community in mediating Fe and Mn cycles, which are key pathways in the degradation of organic matter, and suggest that descriptions of bulk chemistry alone may be insufficient to understand the dynamics of biogeochemical cycling

Student-Teacher Relationships and Impacts of Goal Orientation, Personality, Socio-Economic Status, and Performance: An Examination of Those Served by Project GRAD Knoxville

This study seeks to understand the importance of teacher student relationships and the impacts of goal orientation, personality, socio-economic status, and student achievement. The study used a sample of students served by Project GRAD Knoxville, a non-profit organization that serves students in the heart of the city. The sample consisted of 110 college students who have received a scholarship from the organization. The results show that learning goal orientation is a significant predictor of student-teacher relationships. Knowing a student’s LGO and time spent discussing social topics can predict whether or not students will end up on academic probation 64% of the time. Females report higher levels of performance goal orientation than men

Directional orientation in human beings

Thesis (M.S.

Arkadia in transition: exploring late Bronze Age and early Iron Age human landscape

This research explores the region of Arkadia in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age using an interpretative and phenomenologically inspired approach. It is region associated with many myths pointing to a continuing population throughout the period, yet beset with a problematic archaeological record. This has been the result of a number of factors ranging from the nature of the landscape to the history of research. However, the ability to locate sites of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age within the landscape, allows insight into a region we had little hope of enlightening using more conventional approaches to the archaeological record. This theoretical and methodological stance is illustrated through an exploration of different aspects of the human experience such as religion, death and burial and the everyday. The ways in which these aspects can and usually are interpreted are considered, followed by a number of case studies, which are employed to explore how human actions were embedded within and informed by the very physicality of the landscape, and the differences apparent throughout time

Fostering Internal Motivation to Respond Without Sexism: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Internal motivation to respond without sexism (Klonis, Plant, & Devine, 2005) may be a powerful way to combat sexism and gender discrimination. However, little is known about how this motivation develops. Drawing from self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), Experiment 1 demonstrated that teaching people about the harmful consequences of sexism in a way that supported their fundamental human needs for autonomy and competence strengthened internal motivation. However, harm information and fundamental need support only increased internal motivation for participants low in social dominance orientation (SDO; Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994). Participants low in SDO reported the greatest recognition of everyday sexism as harmful, greatest perceived importance of the goal of avoiding sexism, and the greatest increase in internal motivation to respond without sexism when they had learned about the harmful consequences of sexism in a supportive context. Experiment 2 examined the development of internal motivation across time. Specifically, this experiment demonstrated that supporting fundamental needs (vs. a neutral condition) promoted greater competence need fulfillment, greater attempts to avoid sexism (i.e., goal striving) and greater success at avoiding sexism (i.e., goal attainment) across six weeks, and ultimately predicted greater internal motivation to respond without sexism at the end of the experiment. Unlike Experiment 1, the effects of receiving support for fundamental needs was not moderated by either SDO or harm information. Finally, Experiment 2 demonstrated that the experimentally boosted internal motivation to respond without sexism increased participants’ willingness to confront sexism. Taken together, these two experiments suggest that the combined intervention, providing both a supportive context and information about the harmful consequences of sexism, may be a promising intervention for promoting internal motivation and for combatting gender bias and its negative consequences

Incentives and disincentives for conserving renosterveld remnants and the potential impacts of property rate rebates

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-101)

Less than human: Dehumanization underlies prejudice toward people with developmental disabilities

The present research examined the nature of prejudice toward people with developmental disabilities, its underlying root in dehumanization and implication for opposition to social policies, and the efficacy of two strategies for reducing this bias. In Study 1 and Study 2, dehumanization significantly predicted both greater prejudice and greater opposition to social policies benefiting people with Autism and Down Syndrome. Furthermore, prejudice significantly mediated the effect of dehumanization on social policy support. Dehumanization predicted greater prejudice, which led to less support for social policies. Building on the consistent association between dehumanization and prejudice in the first two studies, Study 3 examined whether either humanizing or individuating a person with Autism or Down Syndrome would reduce prejudice and opposition to social policies toward the groups more broadly. Both humanizing and individuating a single person led to significant reductions in dehumanization of and prejudice toward the target group, relative to a control condition, and also increased support for social policies benefiting the group. A multiple mediation analysis suggested that these interventions reduced dehumanization, which reduced prejudice, and ultimately reduced opposition to social policies. This research illustrates the potential utility of humanization and individuation to reduce prejudice and mistreatment of people with developmental disabilities

Evaporation from bare soil: Lysimeter experiments in sand dams interpreted using conceptual and numerical models

Unlike evaporation from open water, the magnitude of evaporation from bare soil decreases as the water table falls. Bare soil evaporation studies have included field and laboratory experiments, mathematical formulations and semi-empirical models. However, there is only limited field information, especially concerning evaporation from bare sand. The semi-empirical approach of the FAO1 Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, which contains guidelines for computing crop water requirements, can be adapted for bare soil evaporation with a three stage process. The suitability of the FAO 56 approach for bare sand evaporation is investigated by installing lysimeters in sand dams. Sand dams are shallow groundwater storage systems, which are designed on the assumption of reduced evaporation as the water table falls. The field results from the lysimeters are simulated adequately by a water balance model based on FAO 56 with an additional component to represent both the difference between the variable saturation with depth, which occurs in practice, and the assumption in standard water balance models of a sudden change from dry to fully-saturated conditions at the water table. This study demonstrates and quantifies the reduction in bare soil evaporation compared to open water or cropped areas and confirms the validity of the three stage FAO semi-empirical approach

Association between genotypic diversity and biofilm production in group B Streptococcus

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis and an important factor in premature and stillbirths. Biofilm production has been suggested to be important for GBS pathogenesis alongside many other elements, including phylogenetic lineage and virulence factors, such as pili and capsule type. A complete understanding of the confluence of these components, however, is lacking. To identify associations between biofilm phenotype, pilus profile and lineage, 293 strains from asymptomatic carriers, invasive disease cases, and bovine mastitis cases, were assessed for biofilm production using an in vitro assay. Results: Multilocus sequence type (ST) profile, pilus island profile, and isolate source were associated with biofilm production. Strains from invasive disease cases and/or belonging to the ST-17 and ST-19 lineages were significantly more likely to form weak biofilms, whereas strains producing strong biofilms were recovered more frequently from individuals with asymptomatic colonization. Conclusions: These data suggest that biofilm production is a lineage-specific trait in GBS and may promote colonization of strains representing lineages other than STs 17 and 19. The findings herein also demonstrate that biofilms must be considered in the treatment of pregnant women, particularly for women with heavy GBS colonization