Sustainable urban planning in Santos, Brazil

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Santos : une ville brésilienne dont les habitants planifient l'aveni

Santos : une ville brésilienne dont les habitants planifient l'avenir

Versión en inglés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Sustainable urban planning in Santos, Brazi

Use of Psychological Skills by Risk Sport Athletes

Psychological skills can help athletes maximize their physical skills (Smith, Schutz, Smoll, & Ptacek, 1995) and overcome sport-related adversity. These skills may be especially beneficial to athletes performing within natural and unstable risk sport environments. The current study assessed psychological skills among risk sport athletes (N = 232) and the impact of experience on the use of such skills. Risk sport athletes of varying degrees of experience completed a modified version of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI; Smith et al., 1995). Risk sport athletes exceeded the midpoint on all of the ACSI subscales, indicating psychological skills usage. Experienced athletes scored significantly higher (p \u3c .05) on three of the subscales and the total score, then leisure and novice athletes. These findings suggest the use of psychological skills within unpredictable and dynamic risk sport environments

Mass spectrometry analysis of amyloid formation mechanisms

More than 50 human conditions are characterised by the deposition of aberrantly aggregated proteins into amyloid fibrils. These diseases range from neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging to systemic conditions associated with medical interventions. The protein(s) involved in aggregation varies in each condition. Few of these diseases currently have therapeutics available and they represent a growing health burden to society. Increasing the understanding of the processes of amyloid protein aggregation and the mechanisms by which it can be inhibited is vital to developing strategies to combat these diseases. In this thesis, mass spectrometry and supporting biophysical and biochemical techniques were used to characterise the activity and interactions of two amyloid aggregation modulators, YDL085CA and the peptide QBP1, with amyloidogenic proteins. YDL085CA, a small highly charged protein orthologous to the known modifier of amyloid aggregation MOAG-4/SERF1, was found to have an extremely buffer dependent effect on the aggregation of the amyloid protein Aβ40. In ammonium bicarbonate it was shown to accelerate amyloid formation while in sodium phosphate it was shown to act as an inhibitor. This observation suggests a prominent role for ionic strength and specific ion effects. The activity of YDL085CA was shown, by crosslinking followed by mass spectrometric analysis, to be mediated by interactions with regions of α-helical secondary structure in the YDL085CA protein. QBP1, an 11-residue synthetic peptide, has been shown previously to inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils by polyglutamine proteins, including ataxin-3. Native mass spectrometry studies on a range of ataxin-3 constructs revealed that QBP1 interacts with the monomeric ataxin-3. Unexpectedly, the site of interaction was localised not to the polyglutamine domain, but to a distal region lacking defined structure

THE ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING PRODUCERS' DEMAND FOR FARM MANAGERS

Results from a Tobit model showed a complementary relationship between marketing inputs and the decision to hire farm managers. According to the results, as farmers increase expenditure on marketing consultants and information systems, their expenditure on farm managers increase as well.Farm Management,

2020 Vision: Progress in Preparing the Engineer of the Future

In 2004, the National Academy of Engineering published Educating the Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century to encourage reform of undergraduate engineering education. That report inspired “The Engineer of 2020” project, two interrelated studies supported by the National Science Foundation. Prototype to Production: Conditions and Processes for Educating the Engineer of 2020 (NSF-EEC-0550608) sought to benchmark undergraduate engineering education in the U.S. against the attributes the National Academy report believes future engineers will need in order to be effective. Prototyping the Engineer of 2020: A 360-degree Study of Effective Education (NSF-DUE-061871) used in-depth case studies to identify curricular, instructional, organizational features that support undergraduate engineering education that is well-aligned with the goals of the Engineer of 2020. This summary of findings from the Engineer of 2020 projects is intended to assist engineering deans, department heads, faculty, associations and professional societies, industry, and public policy makers in their efforts to improve undergraduate engineering education so that graduates are well prepared for careers in engineering. The study findings may also aid in the process of diversifying the engineering student population, and ultimately, the engineering workforce.National Science Foundation Grants: Prototype to Production: Conditions and Processes for Educating the Engineer of 2020 ((NSF-EEC-0550608) and Prototyping the Engineer of 2020: A 360-degree Study of Effective Education (NSF-DUE-061871)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107462/1/E2020 Study Methods 6.26.14.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107462/5/2020 Vision FINAL.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107462/7/P2P Sample Characteristics 2.21.14.docxDescription of E2020 Study Methods 6.26.14.pdf : E2020 Study Methods SummaryDescription of 2020 Vision FINAL.pdf : 2020 Vision: Progress in Preparing the Engineer of the Future - Full ReportDescription of P2P Sample Characteristics 2.21.14.docx : Information on Study Sample

Crop Revenue and Yield Insurance Demand: A Subjective Probability Approach

A multinomial logit is utilized to model the choice of whether to purchase yield or revenue insurance using subjectively elicited survey data. Our results indicate that the demand for crop insurance is inelastic (-0.40), consistent with most earlier yield elasticity estimates, but the elasticity for choices between yield and revenue insurance is found to be relatively more elastic (-0.88).crop insurance, elasticities, multinomial logit model, revenue demand, subjective elicitation, survey, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Q18,

America's Overlooked Engineers: Community Colleges and Diversity in Engineering Education

16-page report on the community college as a potential pathway to engineeringIn 2004, the National Academy of Engineering published Educating the Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. The report foresees a world of dynamic technological change requiring future engineers to have, in addition to strong analytical skills, an understanding of complex societal, global, and professional contexts; creativity and practical ingenuity; communications, management, and leadership skills; high ethical standards and professionalism; and agility, resilience, and interdisciplinary thinking and teamwork. The Academy’s report inspired “The Engineer of 2020” project, a National Science Foundation-supported set of interrelated studies of engineering education. Prototype to Production: Conditions and Processes for Educating the Engineer of 2020 (NSF-EEC-0550608), or “P2P,” sought to benchmark undergraduate engineering education in the U.S. against the attributes the National Academy report believes future engineers will need in order to be effective. NAE’s report also called attention to the rapid population growth both globally and among minorities in the U.S. Such changes, the report stressed, have “major implications for the future of engineering, a profession where minorities and women remain underrepresented” (p. 4). Because of the urgency of increasing the representation of historically nderrepresented groups in engineering schools and in the workforce expressed by the Academy and numerous others, and given growing calls to capitalize on the nation’s community colleges as potentially fruitful grounds for recruiting diverse students to engineering, the Engineer of 2020 project included a survey of community college students planning to transfer into a four-year engineering program.1 This summary of findings from the Engineer of 2020 project surveys is intended to assist engineering deans, department heads, faculty members, associations and professional societies, industry, and public policy makers in their efforts to diversifying engineering education and better prepare engineers to function effectively in the near- and long-term future.National Science Foundation (NSF-EEC-0550608)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107460/4/E2020 Study Methods 6.26.14.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107460/1/America's Overlooked Engineers - Community Colleges and Diversity in Engineering Education.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107460/8/Americas Overlooked Engineers FINAL.pdfDescription of Americas Overlooked Engineers FINAL.pdf : America's Overlooked EngineersDescription of E2020 Study Methods 6.26.14.pdf : Summary of E2020 Study MethodsDescription of America's Overlooked Engineers - Community Colleges and Diversity in Engineering Education.pdf : Report on the Community College as a pathway to engineering career

The Eldritch Portal : an analysis of ludonarrative immersion & user experience in interactive weird fiction : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Enterprise at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

This research exegesis functions as a companion piece that contextualises the principles expressed within the creative work, ‘Project: Mystic’. In this research I contend that the role of user experience design has not been closely studied or documented when discussing the relationship between atmospheric spatial design and ludonarrative principles inside interactive digital environments. The purpose and aim of this research is to determine how the aesthetics of atmosphere influence the principles of ludonarrative immersion and user experience design in the context of weird fiction and the sublime. Using a pragmatic methodological approach I use interactive demonstrations accompanied with qualitative surveys to determine the effectiveness of atmosphere design in a players experience and engagement. Using these results I form a discussion around the concepts of aesthetic experiences, non-euclidean narratives, and Burke’s notions of sublimity and the role of the ‘Deity’ figure in weird fiction

Target Markets for Grain and Cotton Marketing Consultants and Market Information Systems

This paper examines the use of market consultants and market information systems by grain and cotton producers. A model of producer demand for marketing information and consultants is proposed that decomposes price received into exogenous and endogenous components. The analysis is based on a survey of over 1,600 producers. The results suggest that expenditures on market information systems and market consultants are not independent and, more specifically, expenditures on marketing consultants substitute for expenditures on market information systems.expected utility, market information, marketing, risk, Tobit, Marketing,