1,510 research outputs found
Dr. Jennifer Erkulwater and Dr. Catherine Bagwell – Faculty Author Interview
No full textFeatured authors are Dr. Catherine Bagwell, Associate Professor of Psychology and Dr. Jennifer Erkulwater, Associate Professor of Political Science. Dr. Rick Mayes is another co-author, but he is unable to join us today due to a research leave project in Peru. Their new book, Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental Health, integrates analyses of the clinical, political, historical, educational, social, economic and legal aspects of ADHD and the medications and treatment surrounding the mental disorder
Rapid sustainability assessment of organic and low-input farming across Europe and identification of research needs
No full textThe objective of this report is to present information on research needs to support improvement of sustainability of organic and low input dairy farms in the EU which could be addressed with on-farm projects. The report describes the execution and findings of two tasks in Work Package (WP) 1 of the SOLID project: 1) Case studies using a rapid sustainability assessment on a total of 70 organic and 32 low input dairy farms in nine countries across Europe and 2) a series of workshops held in these countries, designed to discover farmers’ views of research needs relating to aspects of sustainability. A total of 72 dairy cow farms from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Romania and UK, and 30 dairy goat farms from Flanders, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain and Italy were involved in the case studies. The farms were associated with the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) partners in the project, which included co-operatives, advisory services and an organic certification body
Adaptive search behavior: a response to query failure
No full textWhen an interactive search system returns a results list that fails to meet its user's information need, the user experiences a query failure. With the present generation of search systems, except for the most common and simple information needs, users often encounter query failure. This dissertation examined the behaviors searchers use when overcoming query failure. Specifically, this dissertation compared searches conducted on systems operating at three different levels of performance in a single mixed-model factorial experiment, with system performance as the independent variable. The General Linear Model and planned contrasts were used in an exploratory analysis of the effects of system performance on system responses, search behavior, and searcher productivity. Thirty-six volunteers from the Rutgers University community participated in the study. The study found that when system performance is degraded, searchers increase the pace of query submissions. Inter-query time intervals are shorter when results lists are shorter and when a spelling error message is displayed with a results list. These findings suggest that a system capable of monitoring a user's query submission rate and the characteristics of its own responses may be able to detect and assist a user experiencing a difficult search.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-161)by Catherine L. Smit
Assessing the sustainability of EU dairy farms with different management systems and husbandry practices
No full textThe EU funded SOLID project supports research which will contribute to the competitiveness of organic and low input dairy systems, and increase their sustainability. There are many aspects of the sustainability of dairy farms, relating to economic, environmental and social dimensions, and methods of animal husbandry can affect all of these. A UK spreadsheet based tool for rapid assessment of the whole farm was adapted for application on a range of organic and low input dairy farms across the EU. This tool was used to assess approximately ten organic dairy farms in each of four EU countries. Data on farm management practices collected in face to face interviews with farmers were entered and the tool then calculated a composite score for each of 11 separate “spurs” or dimensions contributing to stainability. The results can be used to stimulate discussion between farmers and point to areas where farm sustainability might be improved or topics that would benefit from further research
Describing typeforms: a designer's response
Full text linkThe paper sets out an overview of a pragmatic research investigation initiated within a doctoral enquiry, and which continues to inform design practice and pedagogy. Located within the fields of typography and information design, and very much concerned with design history, enquiry emphasized exploration of alternative design research methodologies in the production of a design outcome loaded with pedagogical ambition.
The issue being addressed within the investigation was the limited scope of existing typeface classificatory systems to adequately describe the diversity of forms represented within current type design practice and thus, recent acquisitions to an established teaching collection in London.
Addressing this issue unexpectedly came to utilize the researcher’s own design practice as a methodology for managing emergent enquiry, and for organizing and generating new knowledge through the employment of visual information management methods.
A primary outcome of the enquiry was a new framework for the description of typeforms. This new framework will be described in terms of its operation, divergence from existing models and potential for application
Letter from Catherine Bauer Wurster and Howard Noise to Milton Stover Eisenhower, Administrator, War Relocation Authority, March 23, 1942
No full textLetter from Catherine Bauer Wurster and Howard Noise to Milton Stover Eisenhower. The authors write to recommend that the San Francisco office of the Farm Security Administration be used "in so far as possible in the work of relocating the aliens." Authors reference enclosed letter to Gen. John L. Dewitt (chs_ms840_0318). Authors mention support for the idea from Dr. Paul Taylor of the University of California.Personal correspondence, organizational records, government documents, publications, and other papers created or collected by Joseph R. Goodman documenting the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, as well as organized resistance to incarceration. Included in the collection are records of the Japanese Young Men's Christian Association and the Japanese American Citizens' League in San Francisco, including papers of the Japanese YMCA's executive secretary Lincoln Kanai; Sakai family papers; Goodman's correspondence to and from Japanese American incarcerees, organizations opposing forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans, the War Relocation Authority, and others; publications, photographs, and ephemera from the Topaz Relocation Center, where Goodman taught high school; War Relocation Authority records and publications; and newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and reports about forced removal and incarceration created by various government, religious, and civic organizations, in California and nationwide
Does Reassessment of Risk Improve Predictions? A Framework and Examination of the SAVRY and YLS/CMI
Full text linkAuthor NoteJodi L. Viljoen, Andrew L. Gray, Catherine Shaffer, Aisha Bhanwer, Donna Tafreshi, and Kevin S. Douglas, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University.This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and a Career Investigator Award for the first author from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.Correspondence concerning this article should be address to Jodi Viljoen, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6. Contact: [email protected]
The quality of organic market data: providing data that is both fit for use and convenient
No full textMembers of the organic supply chain need high-quality data to make correct investment decisions, but data with sufficient depth and quality are not widely available in Europe. The quality of available data is a key concern for both data collectors and data users. The aim of this study is to identify whether the commonly used quality attributes (accuracy, coherence, comparability, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, relevance), which have been developed from the perspective of data collectors, are also appropriate from the perspective of end users of organic market data. A further aim is to assess whether the data quality needs of end users are being met by the existing data. The results of two surveys carried out in Europe, one of data collectors and one of end users, are presented. Sales data at retail level (values and volumes) are used as an illustrative example and the perceptions of end users are compared with the reported data collection approaches, quality checks and availability of data. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis were used to investigate the relationship between users’ perceptions of the data quality attributes and their overall perceptions of
data quality. The findings suggest that data quality checks do help to improve the quality of data as perceived by end users but that people will use whatever data they can get, even if it has poor quality. This could have potentially negative consequences, such as a lack of confidence in the organic market, if important decisions are based on poor quality data. The analysis also suggests that the commonly used attributes represent two dimensions of data quality: ‘fitness for use’ which encompasses accuracy, relevance, comparability and punctuality; and ‘convenience’, which encompasses affordability, comparability, timeliness and accessibility. The attribute of comparability belongs to both dimensions as it contributes to both fitness for use and convenience. Data collectors wishing to improve the quality of their data should focus on enhancing fitness for use first and then on the convenience of their data for users
Pleasure and poison: the meanings and practices of alcohol use in women's everyday lives
No full textDeposited with permission of the author. © 1997 Dr. Catherine L. Banwell.Within Australia, research on women and alcohol has been predominantly focussed on either large scale surveys of women’s consumption or on alcohol problems studies within treatment populations. Such research mainly draws upon the biomedical understandings of the body and the disease model of alcoholism. In contrast, this study examines the meanings and practices of alcohol use within the social contexts of women’s everyday lives. Alcohol is viewed as a part of life rather than as an excess or problem
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