Dog and Owner Emotional Relationship Training

The purpose of this capstone experience was to develop a program for emotional relationship training to create a human-animal interaction (HAI) with a dog and their owner. Along with promoting the importance of mental health and engagement in occupations. The program focused on helping the dog provide emotional support to their owner through participating in the training of the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. This outline helped deepen the bond between dog and owner and allowed them to become more connected as a team. There is a gap in knowledge between the use of animal assistance in therapy and the benefits of the relationship between animals and humans. Education and awareness were provided on the different certifications of animal therapy and the benefits of deepening the relationship. Throughout this capstone experience, participants in the program were given opportunities to meet the needs of both the dog and their owner and build toward their desired goals

A comparison of two fishery-independent survey programs used to define the population structure of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine

The population structure and abundance of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) stock in the Gulf of Maine are defined by data derived from a fishery-independent trawl survey program conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Few sampling stations in the survey area are located inshore, in particular along coastal Maine. According to statistics, however, more than two thirds of the lobster landings come from inshore waters within three miles off the coast of Maine. In order to include an inshore survey program, complementary to the NMFS survey, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) initialized an inshore survey program in 2000. The survey was modeled on the NMFS survey program, making these two survey programs comparable. Using data from both survey programs, we evaluated the population structure of the American lobster in the Gulf of Maine. Our findings indicate that lobsters in the Gulf of Maine tend to have a size-dependent inshore-off-shore distribution; smaller lobsters are more likely to stay inshore and larger lobsters are more likely to stay offshore. The DMR inshore and NMFS survey programs focused on different areas in the Gulf of Maine and likely targeted different segments of the stock. We suggest that data from both survey programs be used to assess the lobster stock and to describe the dynamics of the stock in the Gulf of Maine

Exploration Leading to Self-realization:

What I find interesting about the process of exploration is the quality of not knowing. When I came to graduate school it was with the intent of keeping an open mind to the possibility of growing. I wanted to be able to take my art to new places. I feel that with the recent emphasis on trying new forms by removing the representational aspects of what I had previously been involved with, I’ve found a new vocabulary that resonates personally as well as in a wider sense. Though using very familiar materials the things I have made were not familiar, at least not at first. I’ve gone through a stage or period of anxiety regarding the products and process of this exploration. I think it is a natural part of the process to question what the results are. So I question the process and the product of the process

An evaluation of climb performance data reduction methods

Climb performance of aircraft is an extremely important aspect to the aviation community. Flight test engineers evaluate climb performance using many different data reduction techniques. This thesis presents a climb performance flight test of two single engine aircraft and an evaluation of three different climb performance data reduction techniques used for single-engine general aviation aircraft. A total of two different techniques are used to determine climb performance of aircraft. The two techniques used for climb performance are steady climb and level acceleration. The thesis incorporates the steady climb method on a Cessna 150M Commuter and a PiperSaratoga PA32-301. The three different data reduction techniques used in the flight tests are PfW (standardized power) versus CIW (standardized rate of climb) method,density altitude method, and equivalent altitude method.In order to evaluate the three different data reduction techniques, a total of two flight tests were conducted. The first flight test incorporated a steady climb techniquePiper Saratoga (N1 lUT), and the second flight test incorporated a steady climb technique on a Cessna 150 Commuter (N66525). The flight tests were performed atTullahoma airport located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, during daylight hours and in visual meteorological conditions on two different test days.All three methods are accurate when compared to one another in close to standard temperature conditions. The major differences between the methods are the aircraft efficiency and propeller efficiency estimations used in the equivalent altitude and density altitude data reduction methods. Aircraft efficiency is estimated in the equivalent altitude method and does not change the results significantly when the estimated value is increased or decreased. Aircraft efficiency and propeller efficiency values are estimated in the density altitude method. The results for the aircraft tested change in a range of eighty feet when the estimated values are increased and decreased.Results show that an exact value of aircraft and propeller efficiency needs to be calculated in order to determine the accuracy of the density altitude method.The results also show inaccurate results for the density altitude climb performance data reduction method where a non standard temperature lapse rate or temperature inversion is encountered. The PIW versus CIW method shows a minimum change from the temperature inversion and the standard lapse rate encounters. Other Results include the fact that the PIW versus CIW and the equivalent altitude methods are easy to use and simple to follow. The density altitude method is difficult to use and hard to follow

Fairness Concerns of Discrete Option Multiple Choice Items

The Discrete Option Multiple Choice (DOMC) item format was introduced by Foster and Miller (2009) with the intent of improving the security of test content. However, by changing the amount and order of the content presented, the test taking experience varies by test taker, thereby introducing potential fairness issues. In this paper we investigated fairness concerns by evaluating the impact on test takers of the differing testing experiences when items are administered in the DOMC format. Specifically, we described the impact of the presentation order of the key on item difficulty and discrimination as well as the cumulative impact at the test level. We recommend not including DOMC items in exams until the methodology of scoring test takers on these items is revised to address specific fairness concerns identified in this paper. Accessed 1,375 times on https://pareonline.net from November 02, 2018 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Western Oregon Cities and Low Impact Development in Stormwater Management: An exploratory study of the barriers cities face and their approaches to stormwater management

Stormwater has traditionally been conveyed off a developed site as quickly as possible, primarily through pipes. This runoff is often stored in large ponds and/or treated in central facilities. As cities grow and development continues, more runoff is generated via impervious surfaces. Excessive runoff impacts the water quality of water bodies near and far and alters the natural water cycle. The growing volumes of runoff are making it increasingly difficult for cities across the country to manage stormwater. A new practice, Low Impact Development (LID) as applied to stormwater, aims to infiltrate runoff on site and mimic the natural hydrologic process. Informal interviews were conducted with city staff from eighteen cities in western Oregon. The goal of the study was to identify barriers cities face toward LID implementation and approaches cities take to implement LID. The study also looked at four city characteristics; population, growth rate, geographic location and city governance to identify correlations between city characteristics and the barriers they face or approaches they take. The study reports several known, documented barriers and approaches, but also examines several newer barriers and approaches and suggests there is unique combination of barriers and approaches for each city, which may impact the ease of LID adoption in that city. The study also examines some of the inherent properties of LID and concludes that because the innovative qualities of LID, such as relative advantage and compatibility, it is a practice that will likely take decades to fully adopt. This exploratory study could provide information to complete a future more statistically sound study which could then further aid policy recommendations. Furthermore, results of this study and future studies could provide insight on the most effective and efficient methods to promote LID on a local level

Research Reference Document 05/02 : Final Report Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 Maine-New Hampshire Inshore Trawl Survey

https://digitalmaine.com/dmr_research_reference_documents/1012/thumbnail.jp

A content analysis of vaping advertisements on Twitter, November 2014

INTRODUCTION: Vaping has increased in popularity, and the potential harms and benefits are largely unknown. Vaping-related advertising is expected to grow as the vaping industry grows; people are exposed primarily to vaping advertisements on the Internet, and Twitter is an especially popular social medium among young people. The primary objective of our study was to describe the characteristics of vaping-related advertisements on Twitter. METHODS: We collected data on 403,079 English-language tweets that appeared during November 2014 and contained vaping-related keywords. Using crowdsourcing services, we identified vaping-related advertisements in a random sample of 5,000 tweets. The advertisement tweets were qualitatively coded for popular marketing tactics by our research team. We also inferred the demographic characteristics of followers of 4 Twitter handles that advertised various novel vape products. RESULTS: The random sample of 5,000 vaping-related tweets included 1,156 (23%) advertisement tweets that were further analyzed. Vape pens were advertised in nearly half of the advertisement tweets (47%), followed by e-juice (21%), which commonly mentioned flavors (42%). Coupons or price discounts were frequently observed (32%); only 3% of tweets mentioned vaping as a way to quit smoking or as an alternative to smoking. One handle had a disproportionately high percentage of racial/ethnic minority followers. CONCLUSION: Vaping poses a threat to smoking prevention progress, and it is important for those in tobacco control to understand and counter the tactics used by vaping companies to entice their consumers, especially on social media where young people can easily view the content

Update on a Continuing Saga: Eelgrass and Green Crabs in Casco Bay, Maine (Poster)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-graphics-maps-posters/1035/thumbnail.jp