The Vultures, The Cows and The People

Ethnographic drawings and poetry based on Thom van Dooren’s article ‘Vultures and their People in India: Equity and Entanglement in a Time of Extinction’ (2011)

Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity for Heterogeneous Base Catalysis

The climate crisis is the greatest challenge facing this generation, and in order to meet ambitious targets set by global leaders, great advancements in sustainable technologies are needed. This thesis work aimed to develop a new series of polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) for catalytic applications. PIMs have been of great interest within materials chemistry since their development in the early 2000s, they are purely organic materials that have a lower environmental impact than competing materials and can be synthesised under relatively mild conditions. More specifically, Tröger’s’ base (TB) PIMs are materials that, along with the typical high porosity of PIMs, possess two bridgehead nitrogens that can be used to tune the polarity of the final material. In this work, we have synthesised a series of novel TB-PIMs which can act as basic catalysts because of the basicity of the bridgehead nitrogens. We have demonstrated that by increasing the degree of flexibility in the polymers, we can induce a “swelling” effect that facilitates the accessibility of the catalytic sites and allows the use of larger substrates, thus increasing the catalytic performance. We have also shown that new functionalities can very easily be incorporated into PIM structures, meaning that these materials can be tailor made for specific applications. We have demonstrated that by increasing the number of basic nitrogen sites in a repeated unit, we can further increase the rate of a reaction. Finally, we have shown that post-functionalised PIMs can successfully catalyse a range of environmentally important reactions. For instance, quaternised TB polymers were successfully used to catalyse the cycloaddition of CO2 into epoxides, to form cyclic carbonates that can be employed as sustainable solvents, and sulfonated PIMs have been successful in the transesterification of oils for biodiesel synthesis. We believe that this work lays a foundation for future research into PIM catalysts, as they are a versatile, facile, robust, and efficient catalytic technology

The Influence of Chronic Absenteeism on Graduation Rate and Post Secondary Participation in New Jersey High Schools

Chronic absenteeism affects the majority of schools in the United States. An assessment of centers of learning illustrates that a majority of students miss a month of learning in an academic year through excused or unexcused absences. The majority of schools exhibit 95% average daily attendance rates, as the learners tend to not miss school, on the same day. Results from previous studies have focused on factors that influence chronic absenteeism within the kindergarten level and elementary school, and these evaluations contribute to the development of interventions that cut across the K-12 system. This study explains the influence of chronic absenteeism on school dropout rates, four-year graduation rates, and post-secondary acceptance rates while controlling specific student and school characteristics. Literature from New Jersey offers a more limited view of chronic absenteeism compared to other regions, with response to chronic absenteeism focusing on the state of attendance and policy recommendations. This study focuses on both excused and unexcused absences forming a conceptual understanding of the problem. The results illustrated that chronic absenteeism and limited English proficiency were the only statistically significant contribution to the outcome of the prediction. Therefore, they were the only variables in this study with substantial correlation to success in high school. The study recommended the deployment of a multifaceted approach to the control of chronic absenteeism

A phenomenological study of assessment methods in the inquiry -based science classroom: How do educators decide?

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessment methods for inquiry learning. Balancing preparations for standardized tests and authentic inquiry assessment experiences can be challenging for science educators. The review of literature revealed that current research focused on instructional methods and assessment, students\u27 assessment experiences, and teachers\u27 instructional methods experiences. There remains a gap in current literature regarding the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessment methods for inquiry learning. This study filled the gap by providing a description of the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessments for inquiry learning. The participants in this study were 16 fifth through eighth grade science teachers who participate in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) in northwest Alabama. A phenomenological research method was chosen in order to describe the experiences of AMSTI science teachers as they select and develop assessments for inquiry learning. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The data analysis used a modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen framework. The results showed AMSTI science teachers use a variety of assessment resources and methods, feel pressures to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and implement varying degrees of change in their assessment process due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Contributing a positive social change, this study\u27s findings supplied science teachers with descriptions of successful inquiry classrooms and creative assessments that correspond to inquiry-based learning methods

Some Crustacean Zooplankton of the Noatak River Area, Northern Alaska

Twenty-six species of Cladocera and 13 species of Copepoda were collected from lakes and pools in the Noatak River area of Northern Alaska. The lakes had an average of 14.50 species per lake and the pools 8.12 species per pool. Nine species were restricted to lakes and 13 to pools. Nineteen species occurred in both lakes and pools.Le zooplancton crustacé de la région de la Noatak, dans le Nord de l’Alaska.  Dans des lacs et des mares de la région de la Noatak, dans le Nord de l’Alaska, on a recueilli vingt-six espèces dans un lac et 8,12 espèces dans une mare.  Neuf espèces ne se trouvent que dans les lacs et 13 dans les mares.  Dix-neuf espèces se trouvent à la fois dans les lacs et les mares

Status, distribution and broad scale habitat features associated with remnant populations of New England cottontails (Sylvilagus transitionalis )

Since 1960 the range occupied by New England cottontails (NEC, Sylvilagus transitionalis) in the northeastern United States has declined dramatically. Populations in some regions are known to be vulnerable to extirpation, but little was known about the status of populations in most areas. A range-wide survey of NEC was conducted from 2000 to 2004 to determine the current distribution and status of remnant populations. Because NEC are sympatric with eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) throughout much of their historic range, identity of resident lagomorphs was based on DNA either extracted from tissue of live-captures or from fecal pellets collected in occupied patches of habitat. A total of 2301 patches of suitable habitat within 287 quads were searched for the presence of NEC. Of these, 162 patches and 87 quads were considered to be occupied. Five disjunct populations were identified in approximately 14% of the historic range of NEC. Forest maturation and fragmentation are the most plausible explanations for the widespread decline of NEC. Contraction of the historic distribution was toward eastern and southern edges where a variety of anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., brushy edges of highways and railroad corridors and idle portions of agricultural fields) provided habitat. Land-use activities (expanding development and limited forest management) within the currently occupied range of NEC suggest a continued decline of suitable habitats. Spatial information from the range-wide survey was incorporated into a geographic information system to examine habitat features associated with remnant populations of NEC at two spatial scales. The regional scale characterized habitats within survey sample units, 7.5 minute topographic quadrangles (quads, ∼40 x 10 km) that were occupied by NEC or vacant. The landscape scale described habitats within a 1-km radius of occupied patches and an equivalent sample of vacant patches. At the regional scale, northeastern and southeastern populations were associated with human dominated habitats with a greater abundance of developed and disturbed lands, less forest coverage, more edge habitats, and less snow fall than unoccupied quads. Landscapes occupied by NEC in these regions were characterized by a greater abundance of potential dispersal corridors than unoccupied landscapes. In contrast, quads occupied by NEC in the southwestern portion of the historic range were in rural areas that were dominated by forests and agricultural fields. At the landscape scale, southwestern populations were affiliated patches of habitat surrounded by more agricultural lands than patches that were not occupied by NEC. Logistic and autologistic regression models were then developed to identify habitats suitable for restoration or translocation within each region. The modeling effort identified approximately 740,000 ha of suitable habitat within the historic range of NEC. This included nearly 90,000 ha on conservation or other public lands. A total of 1487 individual sites were identified as potential management targets with 155 ranked as having high value for restoration or translocation. The results suggest that initial restoration efforts be directed toward expanding existing populations of NEC. Next, habitat connections should be developed among these populations. Finally, new populations should then be established via translocation in portions of the historic range that are vacant. In addition to promoting New England cottontails, management of early-successional and shrub-dominated habitats in the northeastern United States will benefit other taxa of conservation concern that are dependent on these habitats