Inmate Perceptions: The Impact of a Prison Animal Training Program Background

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of jail inmates participating in the Paws and Stripes College program. The Paws and Stripes College program involves incarcerated inmates training local humane shelter canines’ obedience training techniques using the canine good citizen model as well as teaching the canines skills in which to participate as comfort/emotional support dogs. Using secondary data from self-report questionnaires completed by the inmates, this study sought to explore how the inmates felt before and after their exposure to the Paws and Stripes College program. Specifically, if the inmates felt that participation in the program was beneficial to them or not, and if so, how

Coupled influence of precipitation and vegetation on millenial scale erosion rates derived from 10Be

Water is one of the main agent of erosion in many environmental settings, but erosion rates derived from beryllium-10 (10Be) suggests that a relationship between precipitation and erosion rate is statistically non-significant on a global scale. This might be because of the strong influence of other variables on erosion rate. In this global 10Be compilation, we examine if mean annual precipitation has a statistically significant secondary control on erosion rate. Our secondary variable assessment suggests a significant secondary influence of precipitation on erosion rate. This is the first time that the influence of precipitation on 10Be-derived erosion rate is recognized on global scale. In fact, in areas where slope is <200m/km (~11°), precipitation influences erosion rate as much as mean basin slope, which has been recognized as the most important variable in previous 10Be compilations. In areas where elevation is <1000m and slope is <11°, the correlation between precipitation and erosion rate improves considerably. These results also suggest that erosion rate responds to change in mean annual precipitation nonlinearly and in three regimes: 1) it increases with an increase in precipitation until ~1000 mm/yr; 2) erosion rate stabilizes at ~1000 mm/yr and decreases slightly with increased precipitation until ~2200 mm/yr; and 3) it increases again with further increases in precipitation. This complex relationship between erosion rate and mean annual precipitation is best explained by the interrelationship between mean annual precipitation and vegetation. Increased vegetation, particularly the presence of trees, is widely recognized to lower erosion rate. Our results suggest that tree cover of 40% or more reduces erosion rate enough to outweigh the direct erosive effects of increased rainfall. Thus, precipitation emerges as a stronger secondary control on erosion rate in hyper-arid areas, as well as in hyper-wet areas. In contrast, the regime between ~1000 and ~2200 mm/yr is dominated by opposing relationships where higher rainfall acts to increase erosion rate, but more water also increases vegetation/tree cover, which slows erosion. These results suggest that when interpreting the sedimentological record, high sediment fluxes are expected to occur when forests transition to grasslands/savannahs; however, aridification of grasslands or savannahs into deserts will result in lower sediment fluxes. This study also implies that anthropogenic deforestation, particularly in regions with high rainfall, can greatly increase erosion

"I'm Ready for You. Why Won't You Come, Baby?" A Narrative Study of Induction of Labour for Prolonged Pregnancy

The voice of women's experience of prolonged pregnancy and induction of labour is largely absent in the literature. This research relays and reflects upon the stories of four women who were induced because their pregnancies were overdue. The date a woman's baby is due has assumed huge significance. However our methods for dating a pregnancy remain imprecise. Despite this, a very precise timing is recommended by some practitioners as to when to induce, since increasing length of pregnancy increases level of risk of morbidity or mortality to some babies. For the women awaiting the onset of labour and their families, the undercurrents, which affect the milieu as the days pass, include powerful dichotomies. For example the best available research makes a clear recommendation to intervene but reinforces the woman's choice of management, suggesting that it is acceptable to choose to wait. Women experience emotional vulnerability due to apprehension both about continuing to wait, and about having the increasing likelihood of an induced labour. This is a decision that comes closer and closer, yet may not be necessary - a tense 'race' of sorts is in progress. Women experience mounting physical and social pressures, and a generalised, escalating frustration. Some of the common assumptions made about what it is like for women are that it is a struggle to accept the concept of the unreliability of the due date, to parry well meaning but unhelpful comments and the associated pressure, and to remain confident and phlegmatic when there is an alternative to waiting. An increasing number of women go on to be induced. The primary indication cited is 'prolonged pregnancy'. I have employed a narrative approach, using a feminist process and story telling, to convey the experience of being overdue and being induced, together with commentary informed by the literature and reflection on practice. Here women are speaking to women. The vivid detail and openness of the stories engrave messages to caregivers regarding women's needs for support while waiting, and for more information. The stories repeat messages documented in research carried out 25 years ago. Women require best available information, wish to be included in decision making, and should be encouraged to question their midwives and other caregivers on all aspects of pregnancy and proffered interventions

S-Plus for the analysis of biological data

[Extract] This manual is designed to teach people to use the statistical software S-Plus and to support the process of learning statistical concepts and methods. It is most useful as a workbook to accompany Whitlock and Schluter's The Analysis of Biological Data, published by Roberts & Company, Colorado. Although we include enough statistical background to put the procedures being demonstrated in context, we assume that readers will be acquiring most of their understanding of statistical concepts elsewhere

Exodus: Literary Migrations of Afro-Atlantic Authors, 1760-1903

This dissertation analyzes Afro-Atlantic Exodus narratives that challenged slavery and racism throughout the African diaspora. Although many scholars have examined black writers' Exodus stories, none has explored the early development of these narratives from the mid-eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. My study of the extent to which Exodus stories pervade black literature supports my contention that their use is more complex than scholars have acknowledged. Tracing the origins of American Exodus narratives to the Puritan tradition, I explore how Afro-Atlantic people from Briton Hammon who invokes the Joseph story in his 1760 Narrative to W. E. B. DuBois who appropriates the Joshua story in his 1903 Souls of Black Folk decenter and rewrite white Christians' Exodus narratives, characterizing themselves as one of God's people deserving of freedom and equality. Detailed examinations of the Joseph and Joshua stories are two of the missing components of this discussion; they provide the essential bookends of the story. Quite simply, without an analysis of these narratives and the Moses story, any critique of this topic is incomplete and perhaps even misleading. In contrast to white writers who create linear narratives that chart the Puritans' transatlantic Exodus from European communities to the promised land of the New World, black authors develop multi-layered, sophisticated stories to advance their cause for freedom and equality. I demonstrate this complexity through an analysis of the literary strategies they rely on to develop their Exodus stories. Afro-Atlantic writers include fissures--breaks in the chronology of the biblical story--to depict their many varied experiences. Women writers are responsible for some of the major fissures. Afro-Atlantic writers also conflate biblical and secular/republican discourse as they demand their rights as citizens. Rather than recapitulate the entire Exodus story, they select specific episodes to support their arguments. Finally, in their search for a safe home, they represent their promised land, both in America and abroad, as unstable. Ultimately, Afro-Atlantic writers create Exodus narratives that reflect their persistent, diverse, and competing efforts to achieve their racial uplift goals but the stories do not fulfill the promise of freedom and equality

"I'm Ready for You. Why Won't You Come, Baby?" A Narrative Study of Induction of Labour for Prolonged Pregnancy

The voice of women's experience of prolonged pregnancy and induction of labour is largely absent in the literature. This research relays and reflects upon the stories of four women who were induced because their pregnancies were overdue. The date a woman's baby is due has assumed huge significance. However our methods for dating a pregnancy remain imprecise. Despite this, a very precise timing is recommended by some practitioners as to when to induce, since increasing length of pregnancy increases level of risk of morbidity or mortality to some babies. For the women awaiting the onset of labour and their families, the undercurrents, which affect the milieu as the days pass, include powerful dichotomies. For example the best available research makes a clear recommendation to intervene but reinforces the woman's choice of management, suggesting that it is acceptable to choose to wait. Women experience emotional vulnerability due to apprehension both about continuing to wait, and about having the increasing likelihood of an induced labour. This is a decision that comes closer and closer, yet may not be necessary - a tense 'race' of sorts is in progress. Women experience mounting physical and social pressures, and a generalised, escalating frustration. Some of the common assumptions made about what it is like for women are that it is a struggle to accept the concept of the unreliability of the due date, to parry well meaning but unhelpful comments and the associated pressure, and to remain confident and phlegmatic when there is an alternative to waiting. An increasing number of women go on to be induced. The primary indication cited is 'prolonged pregnancy'. I have employed a narrative approach, using a feminist process and story telling, to convey the experience of being overdue and being induced, together with commentary informed by the literature and reflection on practice. Here women are speaking to women. The vivid detail and openness of the stories engrave messages to caregivers regarding women's needs for support while waiting, and for more information. The stories repeat messages documented in research carried out 25 years ago. Women require best available information, wish to be included in decision making, and should be encouraged to question their midwives and other caregivers on all aspects of pregnancy and proffered interventions

An examination of intimate partner violence and sexual violence among individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and/or transgender (LBGTQ)

A systematic review of literature published from 2006 to 2017 was conducted in order to examine intimate partner violence and sexual violence perpetrated against those individuals who identified as lesbian, bi-sexual, gay, and/or transgender (LBGT) and the challenges they faced from identifying as an LBGT individual.   Results of the literature findings indicated that LBGT individuals are exposed to childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assaults, intimate partner violence and hate crimes at significantly higher rates when compared to the general population.  The examination of the literature revealed disproportionate rates of harassment, physical assaults, sexual assaults and intimate partner violence when compared to the general population.  In addition, individuals who identify as LBGT are substantially prone to internalization of their feelings, making them prone to post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicide. The lack of available support for the LBGT community leaves them feeling vulnerable and underserved. This research advocates for effective collaboration with social services with the aim of ensuring justice and equitable treatment for LBGT individuals

Redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus sex-separated rearing strategy enhances reproduction in females

Redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus, a tropical freshwater species, native to Northern Australia and is regarded as a promising species for global expansion of aquaculture. However, poor female fertility is a hindrance towards the commercial production of redclaw. The present study investigated if dissociated; pre-exposure of female redclaw to males can stimulate spawning and increase reproductive efficiency. The study was conducted in dissociated (111 days) and associated (34 days) phases. Redclaw were held in vertical recirculating aquaculture systems with each system consisting of 42 individual compartments (45 cm length x 33 cm width x 25 cm height) arranged as six compartments horizontally and seven compartments vertically. The average body weight of females was 66 ± 2.2 g. In the dissociated phase, females were either kept alone (0M, n = 36) or were exposed to either 1 (1M, n = 36) or 2 (2M, n = 36) males suspended in the uppermost row of the system. During the associated phase, females (n = 108) were maintained at a sex ratio of 1M:1F. During the dissociated phase, the spawning rate was less in the control compared to the male exposed groups (2.8%, 1/36, 18.1%, 13/72 respectively; p = 0.026). However, the moulting rate was greater in the control compared to the male exposed groups (22.2%, 8/36; 5.6%, 4/72 respectively; p = 0.009). During the associated phase, there were no significant differences in spawning rate (22.2%, 8/36 and 33.3%, 24/72), mean days to spawning (21.88 ± 3.06 and 16.38 ± 2.35), moulting rate (11.1%, 4/36 and 6.9%, 5/72) and mean days to moulting (24.50 ± 3.97 and 22.40 ± 3.93) in the control and male exposed groups, respectively (p > 0.05). However, the mean total number of eggs (670.9 ± 26.0 and 507.0 ± 29.36), fecundity (11.00 ± 0.59 and 6.14 ± 0.47), the hatching rate (89.70 ± 1.31% and 77.50 ± 9.24%) and the total number of juveniles produced (545.70 ± 42.50 and 343.30 ± 37.47) during the associated phase were greater in the male exposed groups compared to the control group respectively; p < 0.05). It was concluded that pre-exposure of redclaw females to males in a dissociated recirculation system, increases spawning rate during a dissociated phase, and after exposure to males improves egg and juvenile production during an associated phase. Such a breeding strategy has potential to increase hatchery productivity