The feeding and breeding ecology of little blue penguins (Eudyptula minor) from Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Ecology, Massey University

At present the New Zealand populations of Little Blue Penguins (LBP: Eudyptula minor) are classified as 'Threatened' and in 'Gradual Decline' by the Department of Conservation. Effective conservation management of the North Island sub-species requires an understanding of the factors affecting their survival and breeding success. There is little information on the breeding ecology of the E. minor, especially in the North Island of New Zealand. The overall goal of this study was to establish baseline data on a North Island population of LBP in New Zealand. The aims of this study were to 1) identify population demographics, 2) quantify breeding success and identify abiotic and biotic parameters influencing nesting success, 3) identify feeding ecology based on diet and trophic level assessment, and 4) identify cause of death and underlying patterns associated with mass mortalities of the LBP species. Breeding success was quantified by monitoring the nesting activity of 87 nesting attempts during the 2005/06 breeding season. Nest monitoring also involved identifying risks associated with both the egg and chick stage. Diet analysis involved comparing stomach regurgitation samples and isotope samples of feathers spanning a 120 year period. The cause of death for the mass occurrence of beach wrecked birds found during 2005/06 was established through necropsies and histological tests. The major cause of death was compared to patterns of past beach wreck events that has occurred in New Zealand over a 33 year period, obtained through the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Where possible, both short- and long-term comparisons were made to establish a sound understanding of the key factors that are influencing breeding success, foraging, and survival. Results showed that 2005/06 was a poor breeding year which was the result of a large number of nest desertions. Furthermore, analysis of stable isotopes shows that the LBP have been feeding at low trophic levels over the past 120 years and that 2005 was significantly lower in carbon levels suggesting a low year of marine productivity. The largest cause of death associated with mass beach wrecks was starvation. Analysis of past beach wrecks suggest that during the year LBP are at a greater risk of death after the breeding season, after moult, and during winter which are energetically expensive periods. A more long-term study is required to identify the trends in LBP breeding success and to ascertain the primary reason as to why they are unable to obtain enough food. Seabirds are increasingly being used as biological indicators since they are largely influenced by changes associated with the marine environment. The use of LBP as biological indicators may have limitations depending on the parameters being used. However stable isotope measures may be one of the easiest methods to achieve this and allows for reconstruction of past ecological histories through analysis of historical tissues

Queer entanglements: postcolonial intimacies, spaces and times in Greyson and Lewis's Proteus (2003)

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in Dramatic ArtsMy dissertation presents a textual analysis of John Greyson and Jack Lewis's South African film, Proteus (2003), which is based on archival records and plots the never-before-told narrative of an intimacy between two inmates on 16th century Robben Island. Locating this same-sex intimacy in the 1700s Cape Colony has far-reaching implications when considered in relation to the increasingly pervasive twenty-first century discourse which proposes that homosexuality is necessarily 'unAfrican'. The film's social and political commentary is, therefore, significant for how we might think about sexuality, among other subjectivities, in post-apartheid South Africa. By analysing the film's formal and thematic attributes, I demonstrate that the directors' protean approach to filmmaking has queering effects for the linear notion of time and the cohesive conceptualisation of identity that the colonial archive tends to reinforce. I suggest that commonsense notions of time, space, language and identity that structure the archive have allowed for multiple fissures to develop along the trajectory from past to present. As I show, the aforementioned process has almost effaced from official records narratives, such as the one told in Proteus, that would trouble totalising ideas about the intimate orientations of certain individuals. Therefore, I argue that while the record of this same-sex intimacy does appear in the archive, it has been subsumed by other, more dominant, narratives. The film's work, which I replicate in my reading of it, has been to queer this archive by foregrounding what has historically been repressed. In my first chapter, I argue that by enacting what Halberstam (2005) terms a mode of 'queer temporality', Proteus carves out spaces in the archive for alternative renditions of history to come into visibility in ways that demand fluidity and heterogeneity. I propose that the strategic filmic mechanisms employed in Proteus necessarily engender nuanced spectatorial procedures, which call on the spectator to engage reflexively with the film. I continue to argue for the spectator's need to be particularly reflexive throughout the dissertation. My second chapter deals with the filmmakers' strategic use of language in order to present a commentary on the material effects that the acts of 'naming' and 'categorising' have on living bodies. The final chapter explores a critical perspective which has not previously been brought to bear on the film. I examine how Greyson and Lewis construct positions for their main characters from which they may assert their subjectivity - what Mirzoeff (2011) describes as 'the right to look'

Mechanisms directing chondrocyte specification in the developing limb

During limb development, skeletal elements originate from highly proliferative mesodermal progenitor cells that differentiate into chondrocytes. While this process must be tightly regulated to ensure proper size and specialization of cartilage elements, the mechanisms behind the maintenance of mesodermal progenitor cells and the initiation of differentiation is poorly understood. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are early drivers of chondrogenesis, promoting compaction and the initiation of differentiation, but their biological role in limb development remains controversial. To address both the mechanism and timing of BMPs role in chondrogenesis we created a new mouse model to inhibit overall BMP signaling in the limb. With reduced BMP signaling during a precise 24-hour time window there is increased proliferation and delayed differentiation leading to polydactyly. Additionally, in an effort to identify regulators of chondroprogenitor cell maintenance, we found that PRMT5, a protein arginine methytransferase essential for stem cell pluripotency, is dynamically expressed in the distal undifferentiated limb. We found that loss of PRMT5 in the limb results in apoptosis of distal chondroprogenitor cells leading to severe limb truncations and unique autopod defects. We show that PRMT5 is essential for the maintenance of chondroprogenitor cells in the limb.Cellular and Molecular Biolog

The timing of orgasm and sexual satisfaction

Although sexual satisfaction is often defined subjectively, researchers have attempted to discover predictor variables that may be common to most individual\u27s conceptions of sexual satisfaction. The discovery of such predictor variables would help create a unifying definition that could be consistently applied across the population of sexually-active individuals. The existence of such a unified definition would be functionally important for those individuals seeking sex therapy. The goal of the present study was to partially replicate and extend past research. It was hypothesized that for both women and men a relationship exists between the timing of orgasm and sexual satisfaction. Specifically for women, it was hypothesized that women who orgasm before or at the same time as their partners would report to be more sexually satisfied than women who orgasm after their partners. A one-way between subjects analysis of variance for both men and women revealed no significant differences for either gender. It is recommended that a more precise method of determining orgasm timing be employed to replicate the study

Can the Chinese Economy Affect the US Stock Market? The Case of the 2008 Chinese Stimulus Package

The Chinese stimulus package of 2008 was a response by the government to rebound the second largest economy from the effects of the Global Financial Crisis. The package was one of the largest, and arguably one of the most successful, in boosting demand and spurring growth through targeting infrastructure projects and consumer spending. This paper investigates whether the package had any spillover effects on the US industrial and consumption companies with large markets in China through the time series multiple regression technique. This paper found that Chinese net exports had some explanatory power over the consumption companies, and the US industrial companies were hurt by the stimulus package. The findings also suggest that there are more macroeconomic variables that have more explanatory power over the returns of the companies than the ones included in the regressions

An Assessment of Communication and Service Needs to be Provided to the Regular Education Teacher by the Resource Teacher

This study was designed to determine the types of communication and assistance that should be provided to regular education teachers by the resource teachers. This study also attempted to determine if there was any significance in the needs of regular education teachers based on the grade level, level of education, and/or sex of the respondents. An open-ended questionnaire was distributed to students enrolled in graduate level classes at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. Responses obtained from the questionnaire were used to construct a second, multiple choice questionnaire. The questionnaire analyzed three main areas (a) consultation, (b) materials, and (c) assistance. Other topics which were included in the survey were special equipment, individualized education programs, and staffings. The second questionnaire was distributed to regular education teachers in 6 counties in Central Illinois. The results indicated that regular education teachers were interested in learning about materials used for helping students labeled learning disabled, and high interest/low level reading materials. The regular education teachers indicated a preference for verbal consultations while verbal and written consultations combined was provided as the second favorite choice. The teachers felt the most important change which should occur in staffings was for more communication to occur between all those involved in the staffing. When the individualized education program is developed for each student in the resource program, the regular educators would like to be provided information on the goals and objectives which are specific to their subject area for the student who is mainstreamed. The sex of the respondents revealed the most significance at the .05 level and the .001 level for this survey. A suggested communication tool was developed from the information provided by the survey to help the regular education teachers and the resource teachers communicate more effectively

An Assessment of Communication and Service Needs to be Provided to the Regular Education Teacher by the Resource Teacher

This study was designed to determine the types of communication and assistance that should be provided to regular education teachers by the resource teachers. This study also attempted to determine if there was any significance in the needs of regular education teachers based on the grade level, level of education, and/or sex of the respondents. An open-ended questionnaire was distributed to students enrolled in graduate level classes at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. Responses obtained from the questionnaire were used to construct a second, multiple choice questionnaire. The questionnaire analyzed three main areas (a) consultation, (b) materials, and (c) assistance. Other topics which were included in the survey were special equipment, individualized education programs, and staffings. The second questionnaire was distributed to regular education teachers in 6 counties in Central Illinois. The results indicated that regular education teachers were interested in learning about materials used for helping students labeled learning disabled, and high interest/low level reading materials. The regular education teachers indicated a preference for verbal consultations while verbal and written consultations combined was provided as the second favorite choice. The teachers felt the most important change which should occur in staffings was for more communication to occur between all those involved in the staffing. When the individualized education program is developed for each student in the resource program, the regular educators would like to be provided information on the goals and objectives which are specific to their subject area for the student who is mainstreamed. The sex of the respondents revealed the most significance at the .05 level and the .001 level for this survey. A suggested communication tool was developed from the information provided by the survey to help the regular education teachers and the resource teachers communicate more effectively

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe rapidly aging US population, including many with chronic debilitating illnesses, creates increased demand for health care professionals with geriatric training. One barrier to meeting this demand is the limited desire of nursing students to work with older adults. The purpose of this mixed method study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the feasibility of ethnodrama as an intervention to increase positive perceptions of aging in a sample of nursing students and older adults living in assisted living. Twelve nursing students worked with 12 long term care residents during a 4-month period to complete a transformational learning experience involving interviews, discussion, and self-reflections on the topic of possible selves. The participants created and presented an ethnodrama derived from these experiences and qualitative data. Feasibility was evaluated through participation logs, self-reflection journals, open-ended postintervention survey questions, digital video of the initial student meeting, and postperformance discussion. Student attitudes towards older adults were measured at six time points before and during the process while adults completed pre and post surveys targeting attitudes toward aging. Qualitative data were analyzed in two cycles: 1) in vivo coding and, 2) pattern coding. Quantitative data from student participants were analyzed using growth modeling, and older adult data were analyzed with a paired samples t-test. iv Feasibility of ethnodrama as intervention and the process of ethnodrama creation were documented. Participant feedback emphasized late life potential. Both students and older adults initially expressed attitudes falling in the most positive quantiles of the attitude scales. Students who interacted more frequently with older adults had less idealized, though still positive, attitudes (p=.011 and p=.008 for attitudes towards older adults ages 65 and 80, respectively). The attitude scales displayed consistent gradual but modest average improvement over the course of intervention, with large individual differences in rate of change. Increasing discussion about late life potential may alter the stigma associated with aging, augmenting student interest in working with older adult populations. Ethnodrama is one feasible method of enhancing discussion. Normalizing attitudes may be as important as improving attitudes and more representative of realistic perceptions of older adults and late life potential