Reconceptualising assessment to promote student learning, resilience and wellbeing

In this workshop we present results from a longitudinal mixed methods study which evidences that dialogic feed-forward assessment asserts a positive influence on the undergraduate student experience in a number of inter-related cognitive and affective ways (Hill & West, 2019). Staff-student dialogue impacts positively upon learning, uncovering emotion and enhancing resilience and wellbeing (Hill et al., 2019). Through activities and discussion a staff-student team will encourage workshop participants to reconceptualise assessment and feedback as a collaborative process at a number of scales within their institutions. Participants will be encouraged to plan assessment approaches conscious of student stressors and emotions, maximising the potential for sustainable learning and academic success

The use of social media as a 'leadership behaviour' in medicine

In this dissertation, I examined how seed dispersal relationships are modified by the presence of multiple introduced species on the islands of Tahiti and Moorea in the Society archipelago of French Polynesia. Additionally, I evaluated the risks associated with one of my research methods; the use of mist nets to capture wild birds. I first evaluated how the local abundance of the invasive Miconia calvescens modifies seed dispersal relationships between birds and plants. The species is an invasive fruit-bearing tree that currently covers much of the island of Tahiti and is present at much lower densities on Moorea. I found that while the overall size of networks was similar across sites, networks on the highly invaded island of Tahiti were less diverse and less even because birds concentrated a greater proportion of their foraging on Miconia calvescens. There were fewer links between birds and native plants at highly invaded sites where birds switched their diets away from a broader range of fruit and insects. The endemic Grey-green Fruit Dove ( Ptilinopus purpuratus) consumed native fruit in larger quantities and more total species than two introduced frugivores. This study demonstrates that the impacts of invasive fruit-bearing plants on seed dispersal networks depends in part on their abundance, and are likely to increase as a species becomes increasingly dominant in a community. Additionally, the dispersal of native plants continues to depend heavily on the single extant native fruit dove on these islands despite the presence of multiple introduced frugivores. The impact of invasive plants on seed dispersal networks is the result of the cumulative effects of foraging decisions by birds. The available evidence suggests that birds choose which fruit to consume based on the complementarity between fruit traits and their own preferences as well as the relative abundance of fruit in a community. I used fruit choice experiments with captive Red-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus cafer) to uncouple fruit preferences from the effects of abundance to determine which operates more strongly on foraging decisions in birds. Birds showed both reliable and consistent preferences for some fruits over others and a strong response to abundance. However, when included simultaneously in the same experiment, the patterns of preference remained intact while the effect of abundance disappeared. Data suggest that foraging decisions are highly context-dependent, and neutral models that consider only the relative abundance of fruit in the community are unlikely to provide reliable predictions about how seed dispersal networks will change in response to invasion. In the final study of my thesis, I evaluated the risks associated with one of my primary research methods; the use of mist nets to capture birds. Mist nets are used widely for monitoring avian populations. While the method is assumed to be safe, very few studies have addressed how frequently injuries and mortalities occur, and no large-scale comprehensive evaluation has been conducted to determine the associated risks. In collaboration with several banding organizations, I quantified the rates of mortality and injury at 22 banding organizations in the United States and Canada and used capture data from five organizations to determine what kinds of incidents occur most frequently. I compiled a dataset including nearly 350,000 records of capture over a 22 year period and evaluated what makes birds most at risk to incident. I found that the risks varied among species and factors such as body mass and the number of previous captures were related to the probability of an incident. Additionally, I found that birds that were released back into the wild after an injury were recaptured at similar rates compared to birds that were released without an injury, indicating that injured birds survived in similar numbers as those released uninjured. This study fills a gap by providing the first comprehensive evaluation of the risks associated with mist netting and concludes that while overall risks are low, species and traits can predict a bird's susceptibility to incident. These results can be useful for organizations that use mist netting, and should be incorporated into protocols aimed at minimizing injury and mortality. Finally, I emphasize that projects using mist nets should monitor their performance and compare their results to those of other organizations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.

Modeling Pipe to Soil Potentials From Geomagnetic Storms in Gas Pipelines in New Zealand

Gas pipelines can experience elevated pipe to soil potentials (PSPs) during geomagnetic disturbances due to the induced geoelectric field. Gas pipeline operators use cathodic protection to keep PSPs between −0.85 and −1.2 V to prevent corrosion of the steel pipes and disbondment of the protective coating from the pipes. We have developed a model of the gas pipelines in the North Island of New Zealand to identify whether a hazard exists to these pipelines and how big this hazard is. We used a transmission line representation to model the pipelines and a nodal admittance matrix method to calculate the PSPs at nodes up to 5 km apart along the pipelines. We used this model to calculate PSPs resulting from an idealized 100 mVkm−1 electric field, initially to the north and east. The calculated PSPs are highest are at the ends of the pipelines in the direction of the applied electric field vector. The calculated PSP follows a characteristic curve along the length of the pipelines that matches theory, with deviations due to branchlines and changes in pipeline direction. The modeling shows that the PSP magnitudes are sensitive to the branchline coating conductance with higher coating conductances decreasing the PSPs at most locations. Enhanced PSPs produce the highest risk of disbondment and corrosion occurring, and hence this modeling provides insights into the network locations most at risk

Epidemiology of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infection in Children and Young People With Cystic Fibrosis: Analysis of UK Cystic Fibrosis Registry

Background Infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is of growing clinical concern in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The epidemiology of infection in children and young people remains poorly understood. Our goal was to investigate the epidemiology of NTM infection in the pediatric age group using data from the UK CF Registry. Methods Data from 2010–2015 for individuals aged <16 years (23200 observations from 5333 unique individuals) were obtained. Univariate analysis of unique individuals comparing all key clinical factors and health outcomes to NTM status was performed. The significant factors that were identified were used to generate a multivariate logistic regression model that, following step-wise removal, generated a final parsimonious model. Results The prevalence of individuals with a NTM-positive respiratory culture increased every year from 2010 (45 [1.3%]) to 2015 (156 [3.8%]). Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (odds ratio [OR], 2.66; P = 5.0 × 10−8), age (OR, 1.08; P = 3.4 × 10−10), and intermittent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection (OR, 1.51; P = .004) were significantly associated with NTM infection. Conclusions NTM infection is of increasing prevalence in the UK pediatric CF population. This study highlights the urgent need for work to establish effective treatment and prevention strategies for NTM infection in young people with CF

The Internal-External Security Nexus and EU Police/Rule of Law Missions in the Western Balkans

Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) police/rule of law missions in the Western Balkans are increasingly guided by externally imposed normative agendas that respond primarily to EU internal security needs rather than functional imperatives or local realities. In line with these needs, EU police reform efforts tend to prioritise effectiveness and crime fighting over longer- term democratic policing and good governance reforms. In practice this means that police reform initiatives are technocratically oriented, yet value ridden fitting EU security concerns and needs. As a result, the police reform process can be—and often is—disconnected from the political and socio-economic reforms necessary for long-term stability and sustainable peace. Police assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been shaped by a determined albeit questionable focus on organised crime and corruption. The focus of EU police reform in Macedonia on primarily crime-fighting aspects of policing has compromised the functioning of the Macedonian police. Similarly, the politics of (non-)recognition of Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence and the intrusiveness of EULEX Kosovo's executive mandate contravene meeting local challenges

Notes on the distribution and status of small carnivores in Gabon

The distribution and status of small carnivore species in Gabon have never been comprehensively assessed. We collated data from general wildlife surveys, camera-trap and transect studies and analyses of bushmeat consumption and trade, to map their country-wide occurrence and assess current exploitation levels. Records of Common Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus and Cameroon Cusimanse Crossarchus platycephalus represent the first confirmation of their occurrence in Gabon. Cameroon Cusimanse was believed to extend into north-east Gabon, but the Slender Mongoose records extend its known range well outside that previously suspected. We furthermore extended the known range for Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon. Crested Genet Genetta cristata has also been proposed to occur in Gabon but our records were not suited to evaluating this possibility given the difficulties of separation from Servaline Genet G. servalina. Most species appear to be distributed widely across the country. While several are commonly recorded in hunter catch and bushmeat markets, they form only a small proportion (3.4% and 3.1%, respectively) of all bushmeat records. However, in proximity to settlements, small carnivore exploitation, for bushmeat and use of body parts in traditional ceremonies, appears to have adverse effects on species richness and abundance

Oxygenated cyclopentenones via the pauson-khand reaction of silyl enol ether substrates

We report here the application of silyl enol ether moieties as efficient alkene coupling partners within cobalt-mediated intramolecular Pauson-Khand reactions. This cyclization strategy delivers synthetically valuable oxygenated cyclopentenone products in yields of ≤93% from both ketone- and aldehyde-derived silyl enol ethers, incorporates both terminal and internal alkyne partners, and delivers a variety of decorated systems, including more complex tricyclic structures. Facile removal of the silyl protecting group reveals oxygenated sites for potential further elaboration

Innovative public procurement guide

Podeu consultar la versió en català a: http://hdl.handle.net/11703/113907Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a: http://hdl.handle.net/11703/11563

Barcelona City Council ICT Public Procurement Guide

Les mencions de responsabilitat s'han basat en els crèdits facilitats per l'àrea responsablePodeu consultar la versió en català a: http://hdl.handle.net/11703/106505Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a: http://hdl.handle.net/11703/115663Directrius per a definir el nou model de relació amb els proveïdors de tecnologia basat en el Codi de Pràctiques Tecnològique