Camera methods for the assessment of coastal biodiversity in low visibility environments

Coastal marine environments are important ecological, economic and social areas providing valuable services such as coastal protection, areas of recreation and tourism, fishing, climate regulation, biotic materials and biofuels. Marine renewable energy developments in the coastal environment are becoming a key objective for many countries globally. Assessing and monitoring the impacts of these developments on features, such as coastal biodiversity, becomes a difficult prospect in these environments due to the complexity of marine process at the locations in which these developments are targeted. This thesis explores the main challenges faced when assessing biodiversity in dynamic coastal environments, in particular those susceptible to high levels of turbidity. Various underwater camera techniques were trialled in reduced visibility environments including baited remote underwater video (BRUV), drop-down video and hydroacoustic methods. This research successfully refined BRUV guidelines in the North-East Atlantic region and identified key methodological and environmental factors influencing data collected BRUV deployments. Key findings included mackerel as the recommended bait type in this region and highlighting the importance of collecting consistent metadata when using these methods. In areas of high turbidity, clear liquid optical chambers (CLOCs) were successfully used to enhance the quality of information gathered using underwater cameras when monitoring benthic fauna and fish assemblages. CLOCs were applied to both conventional BRUV camera systems and benthic drop-down camera systems. Improvements included image quality, species and habitat level identification, and taxonomic richness. Evaluations of the ARIS 3000 imaging sonar and its capability of visualising distinguishing identifying features in low visibility environments for motile fauna showed mixed results with morphologically distinct species such as elasmobranchs much clearer in the footage compared to individuals belonging to finfish families. A combined approach of optical and hydroacoustic camera methods may be most suitable for adequately assessing coastal biodiversity in low visibility environments

Does The Use Of An Ortho-Glide Device Improve Patient Outcomes Following A Total Knee Replacement?

Physiotherapy is routinely provided following Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery however, despite the rising prevalence of osteoarthritis and subsequent TKR rates, no formal guidelines outline the optimal modality of post-TKR exercise. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of utilising an assistive device, known as the Ortho-Glide, for completing the prescribed Physiotherapy exercises following TKR. The study design was a randomised controlled trial and a total of 31 participants were recruited and randomised into two groups. The Standard Physiotherapy group (n=16) were prescribed routine post-operative exercises, the Ortho-Glide group (n=15) undertook the same routine exercises but were issued with the Ortho-Glide assistive device to facilitate their completion. The primary outcome measure was the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary outcome measures were the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), with pain scores reported for both at rest and during exercise, and the Exercise Adherence Rating Scale (EARS). Outcome scores were collected at a pre-operative baseline, then at six weeks post-operatively, with the final data collected at 12-weeks following the TKR procedure. A mixed methods analysis of variance was performed on the data. Mean scores for the KOOS and NPRS in both groups demonstrated statistical and clinically significant improvements from baseline to six weeks, and baseline to 12-weeks following TKR. No statistically significant difference was noted between groups at any time-point, however clinically significant differences were noted in a number of the KOOS subscales, favouring the Ortho-Glide group. This study represents the first use of an Ortho-Glide device in clinical research. Despite economic and clinical motivations to optimise post-operative recovery, a lack of clarity exists regarding best practice in the prescription of Physiotherapy exercises post-TKR. The use of an Ortho-Glide appeared to offer greater clinically significant improvements in function compared to standard-care, although further research to investigate this is suggested

‘Stepping away from the computer and into the sweats': The construction and negotiation of exercise identities in a Norwegian public company

While research has found that a developed exercise identity enables individuals to view exercise participation as self- reinforcing, the social barriers to such exercise identity development and participation have not been fully addressed. The subsequent aim of this study was to explore some of the social complexities at play in terms of how company employees construct and manage their exercise identities within a work place setting. A case-study method was used to address the research issue over a nine-month period. The case to be studied included a sample of 72 employees from a Norwegian public company who participated in an on-going work-based exercise programme called ‘Exercise for all’. The principal means of data collection comprised participant observation, individual interviews and exercise logbooks. The data were subject to inductive analysis. The primary barriers to exercise participation included high levels of social comparison in a competitive working context, particularly in relation to ‘competent colleagues’, and feelings of guilt associated with partaking in ‘recreational’ activities during work hours. Strategies engaged with to overcome and negotiate such obstacles included justifying participation through a health-related discourse, and constructing a more distinct ‘worker-exerciser’ identity

Photography Practicum: Learning the Basics of Managing a Fine Art Photography Darkroom

The photography practicum provides Art and Design student researchers with the practical experience of managing a fine art photography studio. Students learn how to operate, manage, and maintain industry-standard fine art archival inkjet printers as well as a fourteen-station traditional black and white darkroom. This project provides essential expertise and knowledge that students, as lab monitors, both share with other students and incorporate into their own fine art practice and professional activities. Student researchers learn how to mix, store, and dispose of photographic chemistry, provide daily assistance to undergraduate and graduate photography students, and generate ideas for improvements to the lab. Additionally, students improve their knowledge of various analog and digital photographic processes through self-directed research with the goal of helping other students learn how to further develop and understand their work. Students also contribute to the ongoing revision of the Photography Lab Manual, which specifies best practices and operating procedures for future photography lab monitors. The practical knowledge gained from this experience is highly valuable to colleges, universities, community colleges, artist coops, and professional photography labs that seek to employ individuals to manage and teach both digital and analog photographic practices. This research was funded with an Undergraduate Research Fellowship.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2022/1031/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Perceived Religious Support in Childhood on Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adulthood

Research suggests those with high religiosity have better social support and lower stress levels (Gao, 2015), and more frequent attendance of religious services is related to larger social networks and higher variety and perceived quality of social support (Ellison & George, 1994). Furthermore, research has shown that the quality of religious social support protects against symptoms of anxiety and depression (Desrosiers, 2012; Lewis, 2019). However, the relationship between perceived religious support in childhood and internalizing symptoms in adulthood have not been thoroughly investigated in the literature. Therefore, we hypothesize that perceived religious support in childhood correlates with lower levels of anxiety, stress, and depression in adulthood. Data was collected at a public university in rural Appalachia (N = 769, 70.9% female, M age = 20.43, SD = 4.51) using online, self-report survey. Pearson correlations indicated a significant inverse relationship between perceived religious support in childhood and depression (r(612) = -0.30, p = 0.01), anxiety (r(629) = -0.20, p = 0.01), and stress (r(630) = -0.26, p = 0.01). These findings suggest that perceived religious support during childhood may have a small protective effect against depression, anxiety, and stress in early adulthood and that religious support in childhood may be more of a buffer for depression in adulthood compared to stress and anxiety

The importance of history, language, change and challenge: What Vygotsky can teach sports coaches

Aims In recent years, recognition of the pedagogical nature of coaching has gained increasing traction. However, within this line of inquiry, only limited attention has been given to the work of Lev Vygotsky. The aim of this article is to construct a more comprehensive case about how Vygotsky’s principal ideas can aid our understanding of both the act and process of sports coaching. Methods The method involves constructing a case from Vygotsky’s original work, and how it has been interpreted by others, related to the applicability of using some of his concepts to further our understanding of sports coaching practice. The case presented represents an interpretive and considered approach to the question and task at hand. Discussion The discussion is centred on the utility of Vygotsky’s theorising to sports coaching practice. In particular his advocacy of (1) the cultural-historical perspective; (2) the claim of language as the greatest mediator in learning; (3) how perezhivane contributes to such knowledge generation; (4) the zone of proximal development and the role of the ‘more capable other’ within it; and (5) the dialectical approach, focussing on the dynamic relationship between everyday and scientific concepts, are given primacy . Conclusion Finally, a reflective conclusion summarises the main points made and suggests possible future courses of action

Community and University Building Partner Work-Study Program

1. The UNO Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center 2. Community Partners: Avenue Scholars Foundation and Metropolitan Community College 3. Placement Organization: Service Learning Academy 4. Evaluation Model: Institutional Commitment to Service (Holland, 1997

Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change in the northeastern Mediterranean: a diatom-based reconstruction from lacustrine sediments

Much of our understanding of Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change has been generated from long, continuous marine sediment and ice core sequences. These records span multiple glacial–interglacial cycles, providing an essential long-term perspective on natural climate variability that sets the context for recent anthropogenic climate change. However, to develop resilience to future climatic changes, it is crucial to understand the manifestation of global climatic change over terrestrial regions and the environmental response to such changes. This is especially critical in hydrologically sensitive, semi-arid regions such as the northeastern Mediterranean, where anthropogenic climate change is already having a detrimental impact on water security. This region is remarkable for its high density of ancient lakes, and long sediment cores of good stratigraphic continuity have been recovered from Lake Ioannina (Greece) and Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia/Albania). These have been used to produce reconstructions of environmental change spanning multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. This thesis generates new diatom assemblage records from these two lakes to fill the gap in our knowledge about MIS 7–9, an interval of particular interest given the relatively weak glacial–interglacial changes at this time. These lakes are only c. 150 km apart, so are subject to the same climatic forcing, but shallow, eutrophic Lake Ioannina experiences significant lake-level fluctuations, while deep, oligotrophic Lake Ohrid is renowned for its long-term stability. By comparing the diatom assemblages of these two lakes and their differing response to the same climatic forcing, changes in hydroclimate and temperature can be better disentangled. Meanwhile, existing palynological and geochemical data enable the separation of the palaeoclimate signal from other drivers of limnological change. The results reveal a diatom response at Lake Ioannina that is driven by variations in lake level and mixing regime and is remarkably subtle, with the persistence of a relatively deep lake throughout most of MIS 7–9. In contrast, the response at Lake Ohrid during MIS 7 reflects temperature changes, which become more variable on the approach towards the penultimate glacial inception

Complicity, performance, and the 'doing' of sports coaching: An ethnomethodological study of work

Recent attempts to ‘decode’ the everyday actions of coaches have furthered the case for sports coaching as a detailed site of ‘work’. Adhering to Harold Garfinkel’s ethnomethodological project, the aim of this article was to deconstruct contextual actors’ interactions, paying specific attention to the conditions under which such behaviours occur. The paper thus, explores the dominant taken-for-granted social rules evident at Bayside Rovers Football F.C. (pseudonym), a semi-professional football club. A 10-month ethnomethodologically informed ethnography was used to observe, participate and describe the Club’s everyday practices. The findings comprise two principal ‘codes’ through which the work of the Club was manifest; ‘to play well’ and ‘fitting-in’. In turn, Garfinkel’s writings are used as a ‘respecification’ of some fundamental aspects of coaches’ ‘unnoticed’ work and the social rules that guided them (Garfinkel, 1967). The broader value of this paper not only lies in its detailed presentation of a relatively underappreciated work context, but that the fine-grain analysis offered allows insightful abstraction to other more conventional forms of work, thus contributing to the broader interpretive project