How does foraging success affect chick growth? The case of the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)

Seabirds are extreme examples of income breeders whereby chick growth is entirely dependent on the foraging skills of the parents and the availability of food. It has consequently been proposed that prey availability can be assessed by examining chick growth rates. For this to be verified, studies need to compare chick growth with a parental ‘Catch per Unit Effort’ (CPUE) metric as a measure of prey abundance. However, there is limited research on how CPUE affects chick growth and what it might mean in terms of parental quality and food abundance. I examined chick growth in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) and compared it to CPUE using animal-attached accelerometer metrics assuming prey capture and time spent underwater as effort and showed that there is no significant relationship between CPUE and chick growth rates, in part due to high inter-individual variability. However, the growth rate of chicks was significantly affected by both the number of chicks within the nest (one and two chicks) and by the year (2015 and 2016), with the highest rate of growth in one-chick broods in 2016 (73.9 g/day) and the lowest in two-chick broods in 2015 (32.8 g/day). Variability of growth rates and CPUE can be caused by the size and species of prey that penguins catch during a foraging trip, whether the birds choose to allocate food accrued to themselves or their chicks, where and when the prey are found, and on prey aggregation size. Variability of food delivery on a day-to-day basis can cause misrepresented relationships between CPUE and chick growth rate. Therefore, chick growth rate and CPUE should be used with careful consideration as proxies for prey abundance in the area

The political economy of gender interventions: Social forces, kinship, violence, and finance in post-conflict Timor-Leste

This thesis applies a structural feminist political economy analysis to explain the uneven outcomes from gender interventions promoting gender-equitable distribution of state resources, protection from gender-based violence, and women’s economic empowerment in post-conflict Timor-Leste. Scholars of the “local turn” in peacebuilding, which arose in response to peacebuilding’s failures in creating sustainable peace, have argued local cultures and institutions were more legitimate, authentic, and sustainable sites to build peace than international models. In contrast, I identify the emergence and continuity of an elite class coalition dominating the state, which relies upon a highly gendered allocation of resources and a concomitant shoring up of exploitative militarised and patriarchal gender relations. Hence, I argue the outcomes from gender interventions in post-conflict Timor-Leste have been shaped by the actions and interests of a dominant coalition of rural and Dili-based social forces, all members of the Liurai-Dato (King-Noble) class. I use qualitative data and extensive fieldwork to show how members of the Liurai-Dato class depend on gender and kinship for legitimacy, wealth, and continuity, which have mitigated against gender just outcomes for gender interventions. Not only did the interventions take place in this setting of elite dominance, peacebuilders made concessions to elites and violent men in order to keep the peace, a tendency amplified by local turn approaches. These approaches to security have reinforced the valorisation of armed masculinity, associated most strongly with the dominant class, which have in turn justified the unequal distribution of state petroleum resources. As well, gender relations construct social relations through kinship, accumulation through brideprice, and the political economy of domestic violence, rendering legal and political reforms ineffective. Lastly, peacebuilding programs sought to use microfinance to empower women and grow the economy, but its main beneficiaries were the Liurai-Dato class, repeating patterns of accumulation and rule-through-debt established during Indonesian-era microfinance

Measuring the Impact of 21st Century Community Learning Centers

This paper investigates the relationship between student achievement and participation in before- and after- school academic enrichment programs funded by the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) grant. The 21CCLC program is aimed at students in high-poverty, low-performing schools. I analyzed the first two cohorts awarded the program in school years 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 and compared them to public schools not funded by the program. Using difference-in-differences estimation, I found schools receiving the program experienced a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding test standards: 1.332% higher in the first year and 2.055% in the second year compared to schools without the intervention. Differentials were highest for middle schools with the outcome variable measuring 8.969% to 9.016% higher for schools with the intervention. My results give evidence to the efficacy of academic enrichment programs particularly those that target low-income students

Digital Video Curation: Adding to a User-Centered Understanding

Different concepts of added value and digital video curation are examined from a user-centered approach. Findings contribute toward a user-centered understanding and construct of digital video curation and different functions of added value which can be used as a baseline for future work

Introspection and anecdotes won’t prove what animals are thinking and feeling

We review Part Three, “Whines and Pet Peeves,” of Safina’s book Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. Part Three is concerned mainly with the evidence for Theory of Mind in nonhuman animals. Like Safina, we believe that animals have a Theory of Mind, and like Safina, we question the utility of such concepts. There are many studies that Safina could have used to support his argument, and although some are mentioned, he prefers to make his point mainly by relying on anecdotes and introspection. The end result, we believe, is to devalue the scientific process

Rapid shifts in educators’ perceptions of data literacy priorities

To meet the challenges of a data-driven society, high school students need new arrays of literacy skills. In the United States, school librarians, who work across disciplines, are well-positioned to help students improve their data practice, but they first need new domain knowledge. This article presents findings from an evaluating survey and session evaluation data from a virtual data literacy conference, which were part of a federally-funded project to develop data literacy skills among high school librarians and educators. Findings indicated a noticeable shift in participant perceptions of the need and urgency for data literacy instruction across content areas and grade levels concurrent with implementation of content-area data literacy standards. While the conference was geared toward high school educators and librarians, participants represented a broad audience of K-12 educators and K-20 librarians. The findings provide a valuable snapshot of shifting educational standards and priorities, along with needed pedagogical support and resources

Evaluating Library Signage: A Systematic Method for Conducting a Library Signage Inventory

While there is much literature that directs libraries to avoid having too much or insufficient signage, there is no clear guidance on how much signage is “enough” or “too much.” Conducting a signage inventory can be the first step toward determining how many signs a library needs, by establishing how many signs are in the library, of which type, and their condition. This paper proposes a ready-to-use method that any library can use to inventory its signage by adapting the inventory worksheet depending on factors related to the library type. The ultimate goal in developing a standardized method is that it would allow for, comparing results across libraries to attempt development of more specific signage guidelines or a formula that could calculate how many signs are “enough” and “too many” for a library given its type, population, and other criteria

The Potential and Possibilities for Utilizing Geographic Information Systems to Inform School Library as Place

Teacher librarians often consider their students and the internal school environment in planning programs and services but ignore the larger community from which learners originate. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the ongoing discussions related to the school library in the community context and provide implications for utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) to inform the idea of the “school library as place.” This preliminary exploration, a thematic literature review, indicated multiple possibilities for implementing GIS in school libraries that may enable teacher librarians to better facilitate students’ development of a sense of place, support their learning needs, and ensure that the community is reflected in the library collection and programs

Innovative Partnerships: Exploring School Librarianship through a Global Lens

Institutional ethnography uncovers how institutional factors shape practice in sometimes unrecognized ways. This IE study on Brazilian school librarianship, conducted in the summer of 2013 in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil, uncovers similar challenges experienced by school library professionals the world over, as well as unique approaches informed by Brazilian culture