Understanding the ethical concerns that have shaped European regulation of human embryonic stem cell research

Human embryonic stem cell research has generated much hope, but also fear and repulsion. National legislators, as well as the European Parliament, the European Patent Office and the European Court of Justice have had to make decisions relating to what is or is not allowed in the field of hESC research and patenting, and their decisions are often difficult to reconcile. In order to understand this divergence and the specific restrictions that different regulators impose, insight is needed into the different opinions regarding the moral status of the pre-implantation embryo (blastocyst), into the moral distinction between using IVF embryos donated for research versus creating embryos for research purposes, and into the moral distinction between producing and using hESC lines for non-commercial research and allowing such production and research in a commercial or industrial setting. While one need not agree that all of these perceived differences are in fact morally relevant, knowing that many people perceive them as being relevant is in itself valuable for understanding the debate and the decisions that different regulators make

Play-Based Curriculum During Literacy Instruction in Kindergarten

Research has shown that play-based learning can be beneficial on students\u27 academic and social growth when incorporated into a classroom. The curriculum designed for this project is designed using Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding By Design framework (UbD) to create a play-based learning curriculum for literacy instruction in a kindergarten classroom. Research has shown that when incorporating play-based learning in a classroom environment it is developmentally appropriate for students. This project is a week long made up of 5 individual literacy lessons that are play-based and can be used in a kindergarten classroom. The goal of this project is to give teachers resources to start including play-based learning into their classrooms so that their students can benefit emotionally, socially and academically.

NOVEL METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGE IN GLACIATED AND SUBAQUEOUS ENVIRONMENTS

In many scientific fields, it is important to actively develop new approaches to monitoring and quantifying changes within different systems. Often adapting existing tools or applying techniques from alternative fields can greatly improve our ability to monitor spatial and temporal changes. In this dissertation, I present four studies aimed at demonstrating new innovative ways at improving our ability to observe and quantify changes occurring on glaciers, submerged cultural resources (SCRs) and supraglacial lakes by using technology such as Structure from Motion + Multi-view stereo photogrammetry (SfM) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying combined with facies analysis. I have successfully reconstructed highly detailed 3D models of multiple large scale SCRs including the Home, Hetty Taylor and the Wisconsin using archival and newly acquired diver video footage. Comparison of digital measurement versus in situ measurements show low percent errors for most measurements, ranging fromWisconsin in order to generate two models, one from 2006 and one from 2015. Differencing the digital elevation models has allowed us to quantify and map the spatial distribution of changes occurring through site degradation. In addition, comparison of the orthomosaics has allowed for the visual identification of changes occurring at the SCR such as disappearance of objects, shifting of material and increased colonization of mussels. I have also applied the SfM technique to historical imagery of glaciers in the high-arctic, European Alps and the Himalaya in order to extract spatial information for periods where it may not exist or is limited in resolution. The digital elevation models extracted are of a high-resolution and have allowed for very detailed spatial change mapping. The SfM process was performed without a priori information and relied on GCP obtained from more recent high-resolution remote sensing datasets. Results show highly contrasting patterns of long term melt on both a regional and local scale. Lastly, I have used GPR surveying techniques on the frozen Spillway Lake, Ngozumpa glacier, Nepal, in order to improve our understanding of the supraglacial lake subaqueous environment. These surveys have allowed for the extraction of high-resolution bathymetric data as well as detailed information pertaining to lakebed debris distribution. Identification of two specific radar signal facies and observations of near shore sediment structures have allowed for the creation of a new updated conceptual model of supraglacial lake development, incorporating not only lateral expansion, but also deepening processes and lakebed dynamics