'The influence of geography on the development of early Rome' : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Arts in History; School of Humanities at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Geography was an influential factor in the development of the site and city of Rome, affecting both the city itself, and the wider region. Rome was situated in a favorable position on the western cost of the Italian peninsula, with a rich hinterland consisting of volcanic soils fed by high annual rainfall, and a temperate climate. As the city was built on the intersection of two important trade routes, its people had both access to, and some control over, the natural resources of the area. These routes included Via Salaria which transported salt inland from the coast, and the main route north-south along the peninsula which linked the Etruscan tribes in the north with the Greek colonies in Campania. The Tiber River which ran along the northern edge of the city also provided a sea route to trading partners, as well as linking the city to the hinterland upstream. This interaction with close neighbours also introduced new ideas and resources which shaped the direction in which the city developed. The influence of geography cannot be overlooked in any discussion of the development of early Rome, as this was the main factor in the establishment of the early city. The availability of natural resources and key geographical features such as the Tiber River, fertile hinterland, and fresh spring-fed water supply influenced where Rome was situated. Within the location of Rome the river, hills, and valleys all dictated the spatial settlement patterns which affected the layout of the city throughout its history. These geographical features, and the Romans’ interactions with them, affected all aspects of their daily life, from providing the physical building blocks of the city, to the constant risk from natural hazards such as flooding, and also led to the need constantly to modify their environment over time, to meet the needs of a growing city.--From Conclusio

Computer program to determine roots of polynomials by ratio of successive derivatives

High speed computing finds roots of polynomials with real number coefficients. Ratios of successive polynomial derivatives approach provides accurate roots-of-polynomial computer programs with very high reliability. With derivative ratio method, root analysis can still be done even though the polynomial and its lower order derivatives cannot be evaluated with sufficient accuracy

Sharpening the Cutting Edge: Corporate Action for a Strong, Low-Carbon Economy

Outlines lessons learned from early efforts to create a low-carbon economy, current and emerging best practices, and next steps, including climate change metrics, greenhouse gas reporting, effective climate policy, and long-term investment choices

THE UTILIZATION OF MODELS OF CARE TRANSITION TO REDUCE MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES’ HOSPITAL READMISSION RATES IN KENTUCKY: A CASE STUDY

Problem: Unsuccessful care transitions for Medicare beneficiaries have resulted in high health expenditures and a diminished quality of care as the 30-day hospital readmission rate has increased. This has prompted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to require hospitals with high readmission rates to pay penalties. As a result, the Community-based Care Transitions Program was established under Section 3026 of the Affordable Care Act to provide health organizations funding to utilize models of care transition to improve the care transition process. The purpose of this capstone project was to identify whether two community-based organization programs, the Kentucky Appalachian Transition Services and Bluegrass “TLC” Transitional Care Program, had accomplished the goals set forth by the national Community-based Care Transitions Program. Methods: This capstone used a case study approach. The analysis was based on a triangulation of data collected during interviews with that of existing agency and government documents. Interview questions to assess whether the programs had achieved the goals set forth by the Community-based Care Transitions Program and the model of transitional care they were following were based on Avedis Donabedian’s three domains of quality (structure, process, and outcome) as a conceptual and analytic framework. Results: The Bluegrass “TLC” Transitional Care Program has had success accomplishing some of the goals set forth by the Community-Based Care Transitions Program. By following the model established under the National Transitions of Care Coalition, 50 percent lower readmission rates were found among high-risk participants enrolled in the program at Baptist Health Lexington compared to those who were qualified for the program but chose not to enroll. Kentucky Appalachian Transition Services utilization of the Coleman Care Transitions Program 5 and the Transitional Care Model has led Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the program to receive quality care and successful accomplishment of many of the goals set forth by the Community-based Care Transitions Program. Kentucky Appalachian Transition Services reduced the 30-day, all-cause readmission rate for Medicare beneficiaries by an average of 12.3 percent across the four hospitals they collaborated with; the readmission rate is now approximately 19 percent. Conclusion: Interviews conducted with stakeholders at the community-based organizations provided insight into the extensive development, implementation, and evaluation process of care transition programs and the positive impact they can have on hospital readmissions in years to come. However, the sustainability and development of new transition programs will depend on the recruitment of other payers. The utilization of Avedis Donabedian’s three domains of quality would be a beneficial model for future transition programs to utilize in order to evaluate the progress of their program in accomplishing its goals

Development and Evaluation of Tracer Particles for Use in Microzooplankton Herbivory Studies

Two methods of preparing algae for use as tracer particles in single species measurements of microzooplankton herbivory were evaluated. Algae were either heat-killed and labelled with 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazin-2-yl amino fluorescein) (DTAF) (Rublee & Gallegos 1989; Mar, Ecol. Prog. Ser. 51: 221-227) or stained with hydroethidine (HYD). Both DTAF and HYD-stained algae were readily visible within the digestive vacuoles of most microzooplankton collected in estuarine and coastal waters of Massachusetts (USA) and preserved with Lugol\u27s iodine. However, DTAF was ineffective at staining several chromophytic algae and the heat-kill process reduced cell volume by ≥ 50% in several of the algae which were effectively stained. HYD effectively stained all algae tested except chlorophytes. Staining with HYD had negligible effects on cell size or morphology but reduced photosynthesis in Isochrysis galbana by about 95%. Ingestion rates of field populations of ciliates differed by up to 25-fold for 2 algal species (I. galbana and Pyramimonas sp.). For a ciliate (Strombidinopsis sp.) which ingested Pyramimonas sp. at a high rate relative to I. galbana, ingestion rates for live HYD-stained Pyramimonas sp. were about twice as high as for the same alga heat-killed and stained with DTAF. In cultures of Strobilidium sp., ingestion of HYD-stained and untreated I. galbana radiolabelled with 14C were similar at concentrations up to 1.6 x 104 cells ml-1. HYD dissolved in seawater had negligible effects on ciliate grazing rate at concentrations up to 0.29-μg ml-1. HYD-stained algae are a new tool for quantifying microzooplankton herbivory which should be particularly useful in examining feeding preferences among field populations

Abstract Forms/Explicit Intent: Modernist Monuments of Socialist Yugoslavia in Service of the State

Although the monuments of former Yugoslavia seem to eschew many of the aesthetic characteristics of traditional monumental architecture, appearing as unique examples of modernist abstraction, they were an integral part of a larger ideological strategy of Yugoslav state authorities. As such, the modernist aesthetic of the state-sponsored memorial architecture of post-World War II Yugoslavia was not incidental or the result of passive support for the modernist preferences of artists and architects. It must have been a deliberate choice by the state to communicate official narratives to both the citizens of Yugoslavia and the wider international community

Blurring the Edges: Ricœur and Rothko on Metaphorically Figuring the Non-Figural

This essay examines Ricœur’s mimetic and transfigurative perspective on non-objective art and adopts it as an idiom for examining Mark Rothko’s artistic intention in the multiform canvases of his “classical” period from 1949 until his death in 1970. Rothko unequivocally denied being an abstractionist, a colorist, or a formalist, insisting, on the contrary, that he desired to communicate discrete dimensions of experience and emotions to his viewers, specifically, experiences of the sacred and the spiritual. His large canvases, with their blurred edges, force the spectator into an intimacy of experience that opens the potentiality of heterogeneous interpretations. In other words, one might consider his paintings to be metaphors of dense meanings that imitate reality, not through facile representation, but through a Kierkegaardian repetition of worlds that track Ricœur’s own ideas of prefiguration, configuration, and re-figuration. I contend in this essay that Rothko’s “abstract expressionism” adequately illustrates Ricœur’s contention that non-figurative art succeeds far better than representational art in refiguring new worlds of meaning.Cet essai examine la perspective mimétique et transfigurative de Ricœur concernant l’art non objectif et l’adopte comme un idiome pour examiner l’intention artistique de Mark Rothko dans les toiles multiformes de sa période “classique” de 1949 jusqu'à sa mort en 1970. Rothko a nié catégoriquement être un peintre abstrait, un coloriste ou un formaliste, insistant, au contraire sur le fait qu'il voulait communiquer des dimensions distinctes de l'expérience et des émotions à ses spectateurs, en particulier, les expériences du sacré et du spirituel. Ses grandes toiles, avec leurs contours flous, forcent le spectateur à entrer dans une intimité d’expérience qui ouvre la possibilité d’interprétations hétérogènes. En d’autres termes, on pourrait considérer ses tableaux comme des métaphores de significations denses qui imitent la réalité, non pas à travers une représentation facile, mais à travers une répétition kierkegaardienne de mondes qui suivent les notions ricœuriennes de préfiguration, de configuration et de re-figuration. Je soutiens dans cet essai que “l’expressionnisme abstrait” de Rothko illustre adéquatement l’affirmation de Ricœur selon laquelle l’art non figuratif réussit bien mieux que l’art représentatif à refigurer de nouveaux mondes de sens