What Three-, Four-, and Five-Year-Olds do in a Classroom Library Corner: Interactions with Books

This study looked at the types of interactions three-, four-, and five-year-olds had with books in a preschool classroom library corner. This study took place in a rural cooperative preschool program consisting of 21 students. Questions addressed were: What percentage of time spent in the library corner was actually spent interacting with books? What Interactions did students have with books in the library corner? What percentage of time spent in the library corner was spent on each type of interaction with books? The data were collected over 32 classroom observation periods. Each observation took place during center time which was ten minutes dally. Every sixty seconds the researcher placed a tally mark ln the correct interaction category on the checklist for each student in the library center. The six categories observed were adult reading to child, child reading to adult, child reading to self, student reading to student, choosing books, and off task. The researcher completed both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data collected. This study shows that children exposed to literature are taking advantage of the opportunity. This can be seen in the fact that these 21 preschoolers were on task interacting with books 77% of the time

XXII. Observations on the advantages arising from the use of the wire-gauze safety-lamp, commonly called the Davy

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Utopia on tour: exploring a generative relationship between dramaturgy, devising, touring and utopia

This practice-as-research thesis proposes a novel understanding about the relationship between utopia and theatre, by investigating it as a question of method. Via the devising and touring practices of a small ensemble, the research asks: how does, or how might utopia operate in the making of a theatre work? How might this provoke new ways of approaching the generation and composition of theatre? What does this reveal about the creation of utopia? Through an emphasis on method, the research rejects the need for theatre-makers to predetermine rational utopian content, arguing instead that idealistic and romantic desires might be harnessed and grappled with through the generative structures of making and performing, bringing once-vague ideals to greater consciousness over the course of a production. In Part One, chapters focus in turn on practices of dramaturgy, devising, and touring, developing utopian framings that both prompt a reconsideration of existing works and propose original generative methods. In doing so, it advocates for the value of the carnivalesque as a utopian dramaturgical tool; explores devising practice as an act of opening and closing spaces of contingency; and proposes several structuring principles and generative techniques that can mobilise ideals in touring theatre. In Part Two, a discussion of a practical research project – Travelling Show - explores how these different approaches can work together and thus significantly expands understandings about how utopia operates in theatre practice. The interdependence of dramaturgy, devising and touring, which constitutes Travelling Show's creative method, encounters utopia in both the structural properties of the work's dramaturgy and the openness of its devising process, while subjecting ideals to continual movement and encounter over the course of a tour. In its innovative investigation of the relationship between dramaturgy, devising, touring and utopia, the research uniquely demonstrates how utopia can be understood as at once ideal, unknown, and unfinished; operating in theatre practice as a dream of a better life that is ever-becoming

Spider Assemblages across Elevational and Latitudinal Gradients in the Yukon Territory, Canada

Arthropod assemblages in the Arctic are set for substantial changes in response to climate change, yet we know little about the ecological structure of many groups in the North. We tested the effects of elevation and latitude on northern spider assemblages by sampling along nine mountains across three latitudes in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Spiders were collected in 216 pitfall traps placed at four elevations along each of the nine mountains, representing 36 sites sampled across three latitudes (i.e., distinct mountain ranges). We collected 1954 individuals representing 89 species, 57 genera, and 12 families of spiders. Using nested ANOVAs, we found significant main effects of latitude, elevation, and an interaction of the two factors on species richness and abundance. Using MRPP and NMS ordination, we also found significant effects of latitude and mountain on species composition, but within each of the three latitudes, only elevation produced significant effects. Our study suggests that changes along spatial gradients associated with changes in habitat can have significant effects on the structure of spider assemblages, but responses vary among mountain ranges. We show that within a given mountain range, individual mountains may be used as spatial replicates for studies about northern arthropod assemblages.Les assemblages d’arthropodes de l’Arctique connaîtront des changements substantiels en raison du changement climatique mais malgré cela, nous en savons peu sur la structure écologique de nombreux groupes du Nord. Nous avons mis à l’épreuve les effets de l’élévation et de la latitude sur les assemblages d’araignées du Nord en prélevant des échantillons sur neuf montagnes réparties sur trois latitudes dans le territoire du Yukon, au Canada. Les araignées ont été recueillies à l’aide de 216 pièges placés à quatre élévations différentes le long de chacune des neuf montagnes, ce qui a représenté 36 emplacements échantillonnés sur trois latitudes (c’est-à-dire des chaînes de montagnes distinctes). Nous avons recueilli 1 954 individus représentant 89 espèces, 57 genres et 12 familles d’araignées. À l’aide d’analyses de variances (ANOVA), nous avons relevé d’importants effets découlant de la latitude, de l’élévation et de l’interaction de deux facteurs sur la richesse et l’abondance des espèces. Au moyen de l’ordination MRPP et NMS, nous avons également constaté que la latitude et la montagne ont des incidences considérables sur la composition des espèces, mais au sein de chacune des trois latitudes, seule l’élévation produisait des effets importants. Notre étude laisse entendre que les changements en matière de gradients spatiaux liés aux changements d’habitat peuvent avoir des effets considérables sur la structure d’assemblages d’araignées, mais les réactions varient d’une chaîne de montagne à l’autre. Nous montrons que dans une chaîne de montagne donnée, les montagnes individuelles peuvent servir de mesures spatiales en vue de l’étude d’assemblages d’arthropodes nordiques

Cooperative Relationships of County Extension Agents and Teachers of Vocational Agriculture in Louisiana.

Abstract Not Available

Designing a "good life" for livestock: Could gene editing improve farm animal welfare in low- and middle- income countries?

Gene editing's successful application to benefit farm animals' welfare is unlikely in the short to medium term, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), given the high costs and low rates of success to date in research settings.Reasons: 1. Gene editing is biased toward outcomes that can be easily measured and assessed. More complex traits associated with animal welfare such as behavior or condition are less likely to be targeted using gene editing.  2. Gene editing has been designed for use in vertically integrated production systems as livestock breeding is centralized and breeds themselves are highly standardised in these systems. Many LMICs lack vertically integrated production systems, have higher numbers of smallholder farmers, lack investment by companies and NGOs to promote these technologies, lack gene editing researchers, and have limited local support for biotechnology research and training.Potential downsides of gene editing: 1. Where the intensification of livestock production is growing, gene editing is likely to further accelerate intensification and disadvantage farmers relying on less intensive production systems. 2. Genetic diversity across traditional breeds is valuable and should be maintained. It is not clear how gene editing could affect this diversity.There may be specific applications that could lead to improvements in animal welfare in certain LMICs, for example: 1. Using gene editing to bias sex ratios could be particularly valuable in India, given the country's extensive dairy industry. 2. Sex selection in layer hens in Egypt, given hens there are raised in an increasingly vertically integrated production system. 3. Producing polled cattle and eliminating the need for mechanical dehorning as currently occurs in many locales.Many farm animal welfare issues in LMICs are less likely to be addressed through applications of gene editing as opposed to lower technological measures such as better access to veterinary services, better management practices, improved biosecurity, and poverty reduction

The Effect of Human Activity on Ant Species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Richness at the Mont St. Hilaire Biosphere Reserve, Québec

The ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna of the Mont St. Hilaire Biosphere Reserve, Québec, was surveyed in 2002 and 2003. Although overall species richness was high, 10 of 40 total ant species collected were limited to anthropogenically disturbed habitats within the reserve. While only 2 of these 10 species (Tetramorium caespitum (L.) and Lasius niger (L.)) can definitively be considered introduced, areas altered by human activity (representing a small fraction of the reserve’s total area) possess nearly as many unique species as the reserve’s old-growth forest. Although further research will be necessary to determine the consequences of such changes in community structure, this study shows the importance of specifying the extent of biodiversity surveys within protected habitats to more accurately monitor the effectiveness of conservation efforts

Thermal Biology and immersion tolerance of the Beringian pseudoscorpion Wyochernes 4 asiaticus

Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is a pseudoscorpion distributed across Beringia, the areas of Yukon, Alaska and Siberia that remained unglaciated at the last glacial maximum. Along with low temperatures, its streamside habitat suggests that submergence during flood events is an important physiological challenge for this species. We collected W. asiaticus in midsummer from 66.8N Yukon Territory, Canada, and measured thermal and immersion tolerance. Wyochernes asiaticus is freeze-avoidant, with a mean supercooling point of -6.9 C. It remains active at low temperatures (mean critical thermal minimum, CTmin, is -3.6 C) and has a critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of 37.8 C, which is lower than other arachnids and consistent with its restriction to high latitudes. Fifty per cent of W. asiaticus individuals survived immersion in oxygen-depleted water for 17 days, suggesting that this species has high tolerance to immersion during flooding events. To our knowledge, these are the first data on the environmental physiology of any pseudoscorpion and a new addition to our understanding of the biology of polar microarthropods

The evolution of viviparity and placentae in sharks

Most sharks are viviparous, giving birth to live young that complete embryonic development inside of their mother. While we know that viviparity has evolved independently from egg-laying (oviparity) seven times in sharks, the structural and physiological specialisations that support the evolution of pregnancy in sharks are unresolved. In this thesis, I investigate the functional morphology of viviparity in sharks. I begin by reviewing the data on shark reproductive biology, and reveal that embryonic development can be supported by diverse maternal and fetal specialisations during pregnancy. Given that most transitions to viviparity in sharks have resulted in non-placental forms of viviparity, I then use light microscopy to describe the development of vascularised uterine villi during pregnancy in the non-placental dwarf ornate wobbegong shark (Orectolobus ornatus). These uterine villi increase the surface area available for fetomaternal exchange, and likely support embryonic respiratory gas exchange, waste removal and/or water balance, but not organic nutrient transfer during pregnancy. In contrast to O. ornatus, I show that the Australian sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon taylori, develops elaborate paraplacental and placental structures for nutrient transfer to developing embryos. The placenta of R. taylori consists of the maternal uterus, an acellular egg capsule and the fetal yolk sac. I discovered that this egg capsule only allows molecules smaller than 1,000 Da to pass across its surface. Additionally, I identify placental specialisations for respiratory gas exchange in R. taylori which are morphologically-similar to those in viviparous amniotes (mammals and reptiles). Through combining transcriptomics with immunohistochemistry, I suggest that amino acid transport is achieved by similar molecular mechanisms in R. taylori and eutherian mammals. These similarities are striking examples of convergent evolution because placentae arise from ancestrally-different tissues in R. taylori and viviparous amniotes. My findings demonstrate the importance of investigations of the reproductive diversity of sharks for understanding how viviparity and placentae evolve across vertebrate taxa