Partnerships in change

The theme of my research has been the relationship between partnerships in change and practitioners who aim to facilitate change in partnerships. The service delivery relationship, while being the principal object of my investigation, has also provided the means of accessing information about the preoccupations of couples and those who try to help them during periods of change. Through implementing and evaluating service initiatives I have illuminated dynamic processes operating within partnerships, and the couples' concerned have provided an illuminating perspective on the services they received. The knowledge generated has been located within an interdisciplinary framework, creating unique and innovative opportunities to link and learn from the experiences of couples, practitioners and other contributors to the field

Using citizen science in the photo-identification of adult individuals of an amphibian based on two facial skin features

Among amphibians, adults have traditionally been identified in capture-mark-recapture studies using invasive marking techniques with associated ethical, cost and logistical considerations. However, species in this group may be strong candidates for photo-identification based on natural skin features that removes many of these concerns, with this technique opening up opportunities for citizen scientists to be involved in animal monitoring programs. We investigated the feasibility of using citizen science to distinguish between individuals of an Australian anuran (the sandpaper frog, Lechriodus fletcheri) based on a visual analysis of their natural skin features. We collected photographs of marked individuals in the field over three breeding seasons using a smartphone device. This photo-database was used to create an online survey to determine how easily members of the general public could photo-match individuals by a comparison of two facial skin features; black banding that runs horizontally above the tympanum and a background array of tubercles present in this region. Survey participants were provided with 30 closed, multiple choice questions in which they were asked to match separate images of a query frog from small image pools of potential candidate matches. Participants were consistently able to match individuals with a low matching error rate (mean ± SD of 26 ± 5) despite the relatively low quality of photographs taken from a smartphone device in the field, with most query frogs being matched by a majority of participants (mean ± SD of 86.02 ± 9.52%). These features were found to be unique and stable among adult males and females. Thus, photo-identification is likely to be a valid, non-invasive method for capture-mark-recapture for L. fletcheri, and likely many anurans that display similar facial skin features. This may become an important alternative to artificial marking techniques, with the challenges of manual photo-matching reduced by spreading workloads among members of the public that can be recruited online

NEP Faculty Feature – Dr. Ashley Farmer

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IHS Podcast – Episode 1: Faith in Science? COVID, Antivaxxers, the State, and Epistemological Power.

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New Research: History Honors Projects

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Littlefield Lecture Series 2021 with Nikole Hannah-Jones

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Primary Source: Pamphlets, Propaganda, and the Amboina Conspiracy Trial in the Classroom

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Statements, Resources and Events Responding to the Mass Shootings in Atlanta

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Resources for Understanding and Celebrating Juneteenth

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