Evaluating the developmental trajectories of fundamental movement skills across late childhood and adolescence

The association between physical inactivity and many non-communicable diseases is now well established. Physical activity is a complex and multidimensional behaviour, with proficiency in fundamental movement skills (FMS) recognised as a key correlate of increased physical activity levels, as well as being positively associated with further health outcomes. As children transition into adolescence, the mechanisms determining physical activity levels appear to become less understood. Therefore, the overarching aim of this thesis was to investigate the development of FMS, and their association with psychological, behavioural, and cognitive factors, in late childhood and adolescence. Study 1 examined the role of sex in moderating the association of FMS and health and behavioural outcomes in late childhood. The results highlighted the sex-specific development and role of FMS in children transitioning into secondary-level education, and who therefore represent a crucial developmental stage. Subsequently, Study 2 investigated the influence of biological maturation and other moderators on specific performance characteristics of FMS. Given the importance of ensuring validity in the assessment of FMS, Study 2 revealed the risks associated with using a single assessment method, especially in pre-pubertal children. The level of agreement between assessment methods (process- and product-oriented) was highest in post-pubertal children and, as such, practitioners can be more confident when adopting a single assessment approach in this group. Study 3 aimed to identify the association of skill competence, sex, and increasing maturity with the energy expenditure (EE) associated with performing FMS, highlighting the potential health-enhancing benefits associated with achieving proficiency in FMS. From an interventional perspective, the findings of Study 3 reinforce the contribution of FMS towards both direct (i.e. associated EE) and indirect health-enhancing benefits (i.e. physical activity, weight status, health-related fitness). There is a vast array of evidence pertaining to the association between motor competence and cognitive and social-emotional outcomes in childhood, yet many studies have approached this relationship in isolation. To guide future research, Study 4 presented a conceptual model where underpinning mechanisms of the relationship between motor competence and cognitive and social-emotional outcomes are hypothesised. Moreover, Study 4 synthesised current evidence relating to the influence of FMS on cognitive and social-emotional outcomes, which was subsequently explored in Study 5. In Study 5 the moderated association of FMS and aspects of academic attainment in adolescence were investigated, revealing a key association between object control skills and academic attainment. The results of this study advocate that FMS should remain a key strategic aim in adolescent physical activity interventions and should be integrated within curriculum design as a mechanism for improving academic attainment. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the continued importance of FMS to a range of health-related and cognitive outcomes during adolescence. Recognising that children are now consistently beginning secondary-level education without proficiency in FMS warrants increased attention is directed towards gaining a better understanding of how we can intervene and approach the development of FMS in a supportive environment

A New Z=0 Metagalactic Ultraviolet Background Limit

We present new integral-field spectroscopy in the outskirts of two nearby, edge-on, late-type galaxies to search for the H alpha emission that is expected from the exposure of their hydrogen gas to the metagalactic ultraviolet background (UVB). Despite the sensitivity of the VIRUS-P spectrograph on the McDonald 2.7 m telescope to low surface brightness emission and the large field of view, we do not detect H alpha to 5 sigma upper limits of 6.4 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 7321 and of 25 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 1281 in each of the hundreds of independent spatial elements (fibers). We fit gas distribution models from overlapping 21 cm data of HI, extrapolate one scale length beyond the HI data, and estimate predicted H alpha surface brightness maps. We analyze three types of limits from the data with stacks formed from increasingly large spatial regions and compare to the model predictions: (1) single fibers, (2) convolution of the fiber grid with a Gaussian, circular kernel (10('') full width at half-maximum), and (3) the co-added spectra from a few hundred fibers over the brightest model regions. None of these methods produce a significant detection (>5 sigma) with the most stringent constraints on the Hi photoionization rate of Gamma(z = 0) < 1.7 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321 and Gamma(z = 0) < 14 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 1281. The UGC 7321 limit is below previous measurement limits and also below current theoretical models. Restricting the analysis to the fibers bound by the HI data leads to a comparable limit; the limit is Gamma(z = 0) < 2.3 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321. We discuss how a low Lyman limit escape fraction in z similar to 0 redshift star-forming galaxies might explain this lower than predicted UVB strength and the prospects of deeper data to make a direct detection.U.S. Government NAG W-2166National Science FoundationUT David BrutonTexas Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program 003658-0295-2007Cynthia and George Mitchell FoundationMcDonald Observator

Creating Failures in the Market for Tax Planning

In this paper we consider the role of governments in designing their policy for tax planning strategies. We consider two distinct types of social costs: the cost associated with lost tax revenue, and the cost that arises from taxpayers\u27 search for new methods to reduce their tax burden. Inevitably, reducing one of these costs comes at the expense of increasing the other; the government faces a tradeoff. By recognizing these costs and the tradeoff the government faces, we can better understand current tax policy. Moreover, a wider recognition of the tradeoff described above, and a systematic consideration of how to disrupt markets in tax planning activities, should lead to better tax policy

A Developmental Work Research (DWR) Study of Team and Organisational Learning at DHL Worldwide Express

The environment in which New Zealand businesses and public agencies operate is volatile, complex and uncertain. Organisations face a wide and competing range of demands. Managers and employees need to collaborate across functions, business units and teams. Practical research approaches are needed to help support them.This paper illustrates how a developmental work research (DWR) approach can support business process improvements and organisational/earning in continuously-changing, complex environments. We present findings from a PGSF study of cross-functional team problem-solving and learning at DHL Worldwide Express in Christchurch between April1997 and June 1998. The study used DWR methods, including analysis of videotaped meetings, developed at the University of Helsinki and the University of California San Diego by Engestrom and his colleagues (1996b).We describe how DWR was used to: analyse a process improvement initiative, or 'problem-trajectory', and how disturbances and tensions within this work activity reveal the underlying contradictions in DHL's operational and training systems; and identify opportunities for comprehensive system innovations that have a marked impact on productivity, efficiency and customer service

Organizational adaption to changes in public objectives for management of Cache La Poudre River system

Research Period: 1965-1969.June 30, 1969.Submitted to Office of Water Resources Research, U.S. Department of Interior.Project A-005-COLO, Grant agreement no. 14-01-0001-1625

B2 0902+34: A Collapsing Protogiant Elliptical Galaxy at z=3.4

We have used the visible integral-field replicable unit spectrograph prototype (VIRUS-P), a new integral field spectrograph, to study the spatially and spectrally resolved Lyman-alpha emission line structure in the radio galaxy B2 0902+34 at z=3.4. We observe a halo of Lyman-alpha emission with a velocity dispersion of 250 km/s extending to a radius of 50 kpc. A second feature is revealed in a spatially resolved region where the line profile shows blueshifted structure. This may be viewed as either HI absorption at -450 km/s or secondary emission at -900 km/s from the primary peak. Our new data, in combination with the 21 cm absorption, suggest two important and unexplained discrepancies. First, nowhere in the line profiles of the Lyman-alpha halo is the 21 cm absorber population evident. Second, the 21 cm absorption redshift is higher than the Lyman-alpha emission redshift. In an effort to explain these two traits, we have undertaken the first three dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of resonant scattering in radio galaxies. Though simple, the model produces the features in the Lyman-alpha data and predicts the 21 cm properties. To reach agreement between this model and the data, global infall of the HI is strictly necessary. The amount of gas necessary to match the model and data is surprisingly high, >= 10E12 solar masses, an order of magnitude larger than the stellar mass. The collapsing structure and large gas mass lead us to interpret B2 0902+34 as a protogiant elliptical galaxy.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, accepted in Ap

First-generation shaped gel reactors based on photo-patterned hybrid hydrogels

This paper reports the development of first-generation photo-patterned ring-shaped gel reactors that catalyse the hydrolysis of para-nitrophenol phosphate using a phosphatase enzyme. Encapsulation of alkaline phosphatase within a hybrid gel combining a low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) and a polymer gelator (PG) does not appear to inhibit its ability to turn over this reaction. The PG enables photo-patterning of the gel, facilitated by the pre-formed LMWG network which limits convection and diffusion during the patterning step. Furthermore, the rheologically weak, reversible LMWG network can be washed away, allowing straightforward release of the patterned gel reactor. By tailoring reactor design and reaction conditions, and changing the enzyme to acid phosphatase, the distribution of substrate and product between the gel and the different solution phases could be controlled. Although these first generation gel reactors have some limitations, in particular with the gel adsorbing significant amounts of substrate/product, a number of design criteria emerge with regard to choice of gelator, enzyme and assembly technique. These insights will inform the future development of this approach to reaction engineering

ISM In-Space Manufacturing

Develop and enable the technologies, materials, and processes required to provide affordable, sustainable on-demand manufacturing, recycling, and repair during Exploration Missions