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Evaluating Common Raven Take For Greater Sage-Grouse In Oregon’S Baker County Priority Conservation Area And Great Basin Region, Frank F. Rivera-Milán, Peter S. Coates, Jacqueline B. Cupples, Michael Green, Patrick K. Devers

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is a nest predator of species of conservation concern, such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Reducing raven abundance by take requires authorization under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. To support U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s take decisions (e.g., those that authorize killing a specified proportion or number of individuals annually in a defined area), including the most recent one for Oregon’s Baker County Priority Area for Conservation (PAC), we modeled raven population dynamics under hypothetical scenarios with take rates ranging from below to above the maximum sustained yield (MSY; …

Demography, Morphometrics, And Stomach Contents Of Common Ravens Examined As A Result Of Controlled Take, Corinne M. Gibble, Kriss K. Neuman, Jessie Beck

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) are known nest predators that have the ability to negatively impact nesting birds, including imperiled species of seabirds and shorebirds. We conducted systematic necropsies of ravens that were lethally controlled in Monterey Bay, California, USA during 2013–2015, in or near western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) nesting areas, in an effort to better understand body condition, overall health, and diet of individual ravens. Raven predation of snowy plover nests has increased over the years in the Monterey Bay study area, and lethal removal of ravens has been employed to reduce predation. …

Why Advertise In Hwi?

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The benefits of advertising with Human–Wildlife Interactions and how to do so.

Raven Control From A Conservation Biology Perspective, David J. Delehanty

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is a large, highly intelligent passerine songbird with a Holarctic distribution attributable to a high degree of plasticity in its foraging and nesting behavior. Historically, ravens have received special attention in human culture, being either respected or vilified. In the western United States, ravens are exploiting the expanding human enterprise, which provides them with unintended subsidies of food, water, and breeding locations, allowing ravens to expand their range and increase in population density and resulting in raven depredation threatening species of conservation concern. From a conservation biology perspective, increased raven populations present …

Governance ≠ Leadership: What Blockchain And Ai Won't Do For Corporate Lawyers, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This is a contribution to the Journal of Corporation Law’s 2020 symposium on blockchain technology and corporate governance. The thesis is that blockchain technology is well suited to the monitoring function in corporate governance; that monitoring as the primary function of corporate governance is a particularly legal conception; and that the business conception of governance has far more to do with leadership, strategy, and operations. If the legal and business conceptions of governance tend to be ships passing in the night (at least in this somewhat exaggerated rendering), it is because prevailing economic and legal theoretical models have a difficult …

Exploring Compassion In The Ontario Child Welfare System., Gissele Taraba

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Child welfare workers are faced with suffering on a daily basis. Workers report experiencing empathetic distress (also known as compassion fatigue) and many feel discouraged from showing self-compassion or compassion toward others. However, the literature on compassion suggests that self-compassion and compassion for others builds resiliency, improves job satisfaction and increases engagement. Workers who support themselves with self-compassion may be less likely to experience burnout and more willing to create inclusive and compassionate environments. This study was conducted in two phases. The goals of the Phase 1 mixed-method, cross sectional study were to (1) assess the level of self-compassion and …

Composition And Homology In The Taxonomic Classification Of Escherichia Coli, Tanya Irani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As new techniques have been introduced, specifically the possibility of complete genome sequencing, better methods of defining bacterial species have also been proposed. One of the most recently proposed methods, using bioinformatic techniques, is to calculate the average nucleotide identity (ANI) between the homologous genome segments of different isolates. Another method for species discrimination that has been tested successfully is the similarity of DNA compositional signatures. However, in a recent update, DNA signatures split the available Escherichia coli complete genomes into three groups. To check if this result was consistent with such genomes belonging to different species, we tested methods …

Relational Engagement At The Intersection Of Personal And Professional Identities: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experience Of Christian Therapists, Aaron Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Though Christian spirituality and therapeutic relationships are unique subjects, commonly found throughout literature pertaining to each topic is an emphasis on how people ought to approach and participate in relationship with one another. In other words, each subject represents a unique tradition of relational engagement. For therapists who practice Christian spirituality, it is possible, if not likely, that both traditions impact how they go about engaging with clients. Despite this, there is a lack of material exploring the experience of relational engagement when these traditions intersect. For this reason, I set out to explore what this experience is like for …

Change Detection And Landscape Similarity Comparison Using Computer Vision Methods, Karim Malik Wilfrid Laurier University

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Human-induced disturbances of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems continue at alarming rates. With the advent of both raw sensor and analysis-ready datasets, the need to monitor ecosystem disturbances is now more imperative than ever; yet the task is becoming increasingly complex with increasing sources and varieties of earth observation data. In this research, computer vision methods and tools are interrogated to understand their capability for comparing spatial patterns. A critical survey of literature provides evidence that computer vision methods are relatively robust to scale and highlights issues involved in parameterization of computer vision models for characterizing significant pattern information in a …

“Just Give Us A Chance”: Supports And Challenges To Maintaining Employment As Experienced By People Who Have Been In Prison, Amy Moore

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

People who have been in prison tend to struggle to find meaningful employment (Opsal, 2012). While research delves into the topic of how criminalized people attain employment (Ricciardelli & Mooney, 2017; Anazodo et al., 2017), there is little known about their experiences maintaining employment. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the supports and challenges to maintaining employment after release from a Canadian women’s federal prison.

Following Research Ethics Board (REB) approval, semi-structured interviews lasting up to 90 minutes were completed with each of six participants. Participants included two Indigenous women, three White women, and one White transgender …

Psychological Responses To Different Exercise Intensities In Middle-Aged Adults, Claudia Jarosz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to compare psychological responses to, preference for, and adherence to moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and modified sprint-interval training (SIT) among adults aged 30-50 years. METHODS: Ten participants (46 ± 10 y; maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O_2max) 34.70±10.34 mL·kg^-1·min^-1), participated in 3 experimental sessions: MICT (30 min at 65% V̇O_2max); HIIT (10 x 1 min bouts at 90% maximal heart rate separated by 1 min of recovery); and modified SIT (8x15 s “all-out” sprints interspersed with 2 min of recovery). Affect, enjoyment, self-efficacy, and intentions …

Investigating Long-Term Physical, Chemical And Biological Changes In Narragansett Bay Using Bayesian Multivariate Dynamic Linear Models, Jacob P. Strock

Open Access Master's Theses

Within the past 50 years, Narragansett Bay has undergone major physical and chemical changes including climate-induced warming and policy-driven reductions in anthropogenic nutrient pollution. These long-term changes have the capacity to transform the ecological function of Narragansett Bay, but may also represent a case study for global oceanic changes. Despite its importance, the long-term response of ecosystems to climatological change remains uncertain, as well as the consistency of biological interactions with the environment over time. I explore these uncertainties here using Bayesian dynamic linear models (DLMs) to investigate the Narragansett Bay Long-Term Plankton Time Series. In a first stage, DLMs …

Real-World Utilization And Expenditure Of Top-Down And Step-Up Therapy In Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Kanya K. Shah

Open Access Master's Theses

Introduction:

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The inflammation associated with CD can penetrate deep layers of gastrointestinal tissue anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract. Pharmaceutical therapy options for CD include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, antimicrobials, immunomodulators, and biologics. The step-up (SU) treatment strategy for CD begins with anti-inflammatory agents (aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and antimicrobials), and progresses to immunomodulators and biologics if disease control is not achieved. Conversely, with top-down (TD) therapy strategy, patients initiate CD medication treatment with immunomodulators and biologics and use anti-inflammatory agents as second-line options. Presently, limited evidence exists characterizing the …

Identifying Novel Isotopic Tracers Of Marine Primary Producers To Study Food Web Carbon Cycles, Angela Stahl

Open Access Master's Theses

Eukaryotic microalgae play critical roles in global biogeochemical cycling, the efficacy of the biological pump, and the structure and function of most marine food webs. Compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) couples molecular-level biomarkers with stable isotope analyses to track the contribution of primary producers to food webs. Previous work has developed δ13CAA fingerprints for major groups of primary producers but categorized all marine algae together despite their vast taxonomic and ecological diversity. This work characterizes the δ13CAA fingerprints of four major groups of eukaryotic microalgae — diatoms, dinoflagellates, raphidophytes, and prasinophytes — in controlled cultures, and quantifies the …

Data Dimensionality Reduction Through Cluster Trees And Manifold Learning, Ali Amani

Open Access Master's Theses

Dimensionality reduction algorithms are a commonly used solution to create a visual summary of high dimensional data in a way that makes identification of patterns and trends easier. Algorithms that are used to visualize data as 2 or 3 dimensional plots are popular options, even more so due to clustering and manifold learning. There already exist many tools, both linear and nonlinear, that are used in visualizing high dimensional data, three of the most popular being PCA, t-SNE and UMAP. PCA has low memory requirements and is efficient in low dimensions, t-SNE captures much of the local structure of high …

Understanding The Public Perception Of Selective Breeding Practices In Rhode Island Oyster Aquaculture, Nathan M. Brown

Open Access Master's Theses

Selective breeding is a common practice within oyster aquaculture and is used to improve growth rates as well as reduce the negative impacts of water temperature rise, ocean acidification and disease among oysters. What is lesser understood is the public perception of the use of selective breeding in oyster aquaculture. A total of 81 Rhode Island residents responded online concerning how they perceived selective breeding in Rhode Island as well as what types of oysters they preferred. Multiple 5-point Likert scale questions and discrete choice experiments were used to better understand these perceptions. A majority of those who responded view …

The Initial Response Of The United States’ Textile Recycling Industry To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rosemary Leger

Open Access Master's Theses

The fashion industry is cited as a major contributor to global pollution. The urgent need for a reversal of climate change has led the textile and apparel industry to assess what opportunities exist to convert to greener, less damaging solutions. The recycling of existing textiles and textile waste into yarns and fabrics would reduce the need for raw materials as well as divert millions of tons of textile waste from landfill. Just as these advancements are being made and consumers are beginning to invest in more responsible textile products, the COVID-19 pandemic occurs, and global markets come to a halt. …

Reclaiming Black And Indigenous Ecologies On Block Island Through Oral History And Ethnography, Adrian Cato

Open Access Master's Theses

Public memory on Block Island largely ignores Black and Indigenous labor, life, and legacy. Reclaiming the past and present narratives of Black and Indigenous peoples on Block Island challenges historical erasure; their experiences can then become a meaningful part of the collective public memory of the region. Black and Indigenous women are a key aspect of erased and reclaimed memory, often tasked with maintaining place for their families over generations, upholding their connection to their land and their history - depended upon to maintain and pass down tradition. Developing new memory worlds would mean recognizing the contributions of Black-Indigenous peoples, …

Several Factors And Their Role In Control Of Lepidoptera Populations, Alex K. Baranowski

Open Access Master's Theses

A number of factors influence Lepidoptera populations. The larvae are at the mercy of their environment, susceptible to the effects of poor food quality, and highly vulnerable to predation. In this thesis I present three manuscripts dealing with a small snapshot of what dynamics are at play in the control of Lepidoptera numbers.

Host quality is a cornerstone of developmental success, with host suitability to the herbivore in question being affected by the plant’s nutritional profile and its defenses against herbivory. Plant genotype influences plant suitability to herbivores; domesticated plants selected for properties such as high fruit yield are demonstrably …

Environmental Drivers Of Phytoplankton Growth And Grazing Mortality, Mikayla Cote

Open Access Master's Theses

In an effort to better understand what factors govern phytoplankton growth (μ, d^-1) and mortality due to herbivorous protist grazing (g, d^-1) in different biogeographic regions of the oceans, I analyzed data from 401 dilution experiments performed over a decade by the Menden-Deuer laboratory. Measurements were made in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, West Antarctic, Narragansett Bay, and along the Northeast U.S. Shelf. Experiments were performed over temperatures that ranged from -1.5 to 27.4 °C, salinity from 14.1 to 36.5, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) from 0.24 to 60.0 mol/m^2.s chlorophyll a (chl a) …

A Bayesian State-Space Approach To Improve Biomass Projections For Managing New England Groundfish, Joseph A. Langan

Open Access Master's Theses

Fisheries management requires regularly assessing stock status and setting catch levels for the coming years. Although data-rich stock assessment models incorporating demographic and biological information are generally preferred, such approaches are often prohibited by either insufficient data or a history of poor performance. In such cases, simpler Index-Based Methods (IBMs) are often used to generate catch advice for a fishery. However, these approaches do not typically forecast future abundance levels or quantify scientific uncertainty, making it difficult to assess the performance of different candidate methods prior to implementation. As a result, there is not a consensus as to which IBMs …

Effectiveness Of The National Marine Sanctuary Program In Addressing Ocean Noise Effects On Marine Mammals, Kayla N. Williams

Open Access Master's Theses

Ocean noise has become a persistent global threat to marine mammal habitats. U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries have been regarded as possible ocean noise mitigation tools because of their special focus on conservation of marine resources and their location within key marine mammal habitats; yet previous evaluations of National Marine Sanctuaries have not focused specifically on their effectiveness in addressing ocean noise and its impacts on marine mammals. Using management plan and survey data of 11 U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries, this study investigates 1) the actions that Sanctuaries are taking to address ocean noise impacts from human activities on marine mammals …

Who’S Minding The Makos? Applications Of Movement Patterns And Habitat Utilization For Management Of Shortfin Mako Shark And Intersection With Offshore Energy Exploration, Maria H. Manz

Open Access Master's Theses

The absence of coordinated international management for shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus, hereafter: mako) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, coupled with a lack of knowledge about large-scale mako movements and habitat use, have hampered effective mako shark management in the North Atlantic (Campana, 2016). In addition to fishing pressure, anthropogenic factors like the expansion of oil rigs into deeper pelagic waters and development of offshore wind farms in the Northwest Atlantic are likely to influence mako habitat use (Bailey, Brooks, and Thompson, 2014). Our work used a longitudinal satellite telemetry dataset to investigate …

Analyzing Hsp104 Chaperone Function In Disassembly Of Amyloid Aggregates In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Yeast Model System, Negar Rahmani

Open Access Master's Theses

There are millions of people affected by neurodegenerative diseases worldwide, and currently there is no presented treatment for neurodegenerative disease, and the treatments available are only to stop symptoms or manage disease progress. Therefore, developing a novel treatment or cure for these diseases has become an urgent matter to the world. However, this only happens when there is a deep understanding of the causes and mechanisms of each disease. A pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases is the accumulation of protein aggregates containing an amyloid conformation. These amyloid fibers are comprised of misfolded proteins that are rich in beta-strands and arrange …

Socio-Cultural Changes In New England Lobster Fisheries: Policy, Perspective, And Community In Midcoast Maine, Melanie Nash

Open Access Master's Theses

The Maine lobster industry is not only the most valuable local export, but also a part of the state’s culture and identity. Lobster fisheries in Maine are currently facing a number of struggles. These include environmental issues like climate change and warming water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine. These changes are leading to the movement of the lobster population, which in turn is changing how the lobster industry functions. There are also policy changes being proposed right now that could have serious implications for the lobster fishery. Notably, these include new offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine …

Characterizing The Seasonal And Environmental Effects On High Frequency Acoustic Fish Tag Detection In Shallow Water Settings, Jacob Bonney

Open Access Master's Theses

Networks of high frequency (69kHz) acoustic fish tracking tags and receiver arrays are commonly used by marine biologists and fisheries management programs to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of a marine species. Despite the widespread use of these networks for monitoring fish movement ecology, there is often limited information to inform suitable receiver array spacing for optimal detection probability, or confidence estimates in tag detections. This is further confounded by the effects that seasonal and environmental changes can have on acoustic propagation. To evaluate these effects, the effective range of high frequency acoustic transmitters for medium and large fish …

Time Travellers And Storytellers: Representations Of Dementia In Children's Fantasy Literature, Tracey Guiry

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This creative writing research-based thesis asks how dementia can be represented to primary-aged children through a fantasy fiction novel and offers an original fantasy fiction novel, The Battle for Spanoak (Guiry, 2020), written for children between the ages of 7 and 12-years-old as an original contribution to the corpus of dementia writing for children. The critical component to this thesis explores how generic fantasy devices and structures impact on the representation of dementia through ‘storytelling’ and ‘memory’ and describes the particular relevance of ‘time’ as a narrative device in dementia fantasy narratives. I have also contributed a corpus of dementia …

Type-1 Owa Operators In Aggregating Multiple Sources Of Uncertain Information: Properties And Real-World Applications In Integrated Diagnosis, Shang Ming Zhou, Francisco Chiclana, Robert I. John, Jonathan M. Garibaldi, Lin Huo

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Parental Engagement In The Baptismal Process At Florida Hospital Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Gregory Creek

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Baptism, one of the few spiritual milestones in the life of a young person, is not experienced at Florida Hospital Church with the intentional inclusion of parents, a group that has a greater spiritual influence for their children than any other person.

Method

To help engage parents in the process, a baptismal preparation program was developed that provided training and resources for parents who then prepared their children for baptism. The program consisted of a session with parents, children, and the pastor; two sessions with parents and the pastor; and four sessions done by parents in the home with …

An Evangelism And Discipleship Pathway To Address The Cultural And Worldview Distance Between The Preston Seventh-Day Adventist Church And The White British Culture In Preston, Jeff Keith Couzins

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem.

The UK Preston Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North England Conference is a predominantly Black church situated in a White British city. The Church has seen a numerical increase of almost 25% since 2013, but only one person from this growth was from the majority culture population, a group who tend not to be attracted to traditional Adventist forms of evangelism. The hypothesis for this project, therefore, is that when the cultural and worldview distance between church members and individuals in society is reduced, it is easier for the Christian witness to then explain the Kingdom of God. Also, …