There is a great deal of literature written on conflict mediation and Resident Assistant (RA) training. This literature not only helps to define what each area is, but it provides readers with the knowledge necessary to become skilled in mediation or to effectively design training programs to educate students employed to work in residence halls. However, there is little literature regarding how RAs are trained in conflict mediation. This study attempts to address this gap. The purpose of this study was to determine how RAs and professional staff at three public institutions perceive conflict mediation training provided to RAs. To answer the research questions posed in this study the researcher used a self-designed questionnaire. The design of this questionnaire specifically asked questions focusing on the conflict mediation training RAs receive, how often these skills are used, and how important these skills are as perceived by professional and student employees as well as by gender. One hundred seventy-nine responses representing a 31 percent response rate were used in this study. Twenty percent of the participants were professional residence life staff members. The other 80 percent were RAs. In addition, 34 percent of the participants were male and 67 percent of the participants were female. This study's findings illustrated five significant differences in perception among professionals and RAs as well as differences among male and female RAs. Professionals responsible for training RAs may wish to consider these differences as they design future training workshops. However, the study's findings also illustrated that there is an overwhelming, positive consensus in perception regarding RA training in conflict mediation. Not only are RAs trained in conflict mediation but they use and value these skills as well. In addition, these findings indicate that paraprofessional staffing models are successful. / Master of Arts

Summary: Překlad a výklad MaHaRaLova responsa ve věci nadlerismu. Translation and Commentary on MaHaRaL's Responsum to an Issue of Nadlerism. Channa Šimonová Even 400 years after writing Maharal's Netivot olam his challenge to responsibility and fortitude is still current. My purpose was to translate Jisrael's enquiry and Maharal's response. I do not seek a exhaustive analysis Maharal's teaching's. I seek a most authentic translation. This I want get with my notes and interpretation. In the text I see three kind of literal styles: 1) poetical passages, which I do not poeticize, however they are still outstanding attribute of rabbinical correspondence, 2) "agadic" passages, which are ideal both for translation and interpretation, 3) halachic - juridical passages, which I interpret structurally. I hope, that I redound with my diploma thesis to extend awareness of Maharal's work.

O Oceano Austral é o maior repositório dos oceanos, com concentrações elevadas de nutrientes e baixas de clorofila. A região tem papel fundamental para regular a transferência líquida de dióxido de carbono entre o oceano e a atmosfera, em parte devido à assimilação anual de CO2 pelo fitoplâncton, que resulta na exportação do carbono orgânico particulado (POC) para o oceano profundo. O elemento tório apresenta múltiplos isótopos que tem emergido como traçadores poderosos dos processos associados à transferência de material particulado nos oceanos. De todos os isótopos de Th, o 234Th (meia-vida de 24,1 d) tem sido foco de destaque e aplicação nos últimos anos. A produção do 234Th a partir do 238U, além do comportamento conservativo solúvel do 238U na água do mar, tornam fácil a caracterização das fontes de 234Th neste cenário. Além disso, a meiavida do 234Th é suficientemente curta para torná-lo sensível a mudanças a curto prazo (sazonais) que ocorrem na coluna dágua superficial dos oceanos, ou nas colunas dágua e de sedimentos nas regiões costeiras. Devido ao seu comportamento partículo-reativo, o 234Th é removido da água de duas formas, por decaimento ou pelo fluxo de material particulado. Desta forma, um modelo de balanço uni-dimensional no estado estacionário pode ser utilizado para estimar seu fluxo. Os isótopos naturais de Ra também tem sido amplamente empregados em estudos marinhos para traçar massas dágua e quantificar processos de mistura. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de um projeto de pesquisa multidisciplinar que investigou a distribuição dos fluxos de carbono orgânico no Estreito de Bransfield com a finalidade de avaliar sua influência na remoção de CO2 da atmosfera local. As distribuições de macro-nutrientes, micro-nutrientes e clorofila-a foram utilizadas para examinar possíveis fontes e vias de transferência. Os isótopos de Ra foram aplicados como traçadores de massas dágua, enquanto o 234Th foi utilizado como traçador do fluxo particulado no oceano, uma vez que o afundamento deste material é o principal mecanismo de seqüestro de carbono no Oceano Austral. As amostras foram coletadas no período de 9 a 14 de Dezembro de 2007, a bordo do Navio de Apoio Oceanográfico Ary Rongel, da Marinha do Brasil. / The Southern Ocean is the largest of several high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions in the worlds oceans. This region plays a major role in regulating the global net transfer of carbon dioxide between the ocean and the atmosphere, in part because the annual photosynthetic uptake of CO2 by phytoplankton and resulting export of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep ocean. The element thorium has multiple radioisotopes that have emerged collectively as a powerful set of tracers for particle associated processes in the oceans. Of all the Th isotopes, 234Th (half-life 24.1 d) has been the focus of increasing attention and application in the past years. The production of 234Th from 238U, coupled with the conservative behavior of 238U in seawater, makes the source of 234Th easy to characterize. Moreover, the half-life of 234Th is sufficiently short to make it sensitive to the short-term (e.g. seasonal) changes that occur in the upper water column of the open ocean or in sediments or water column in coastal areas. Because of its very particle reactive behavior, 234Th is removed from a parcel of water in only two ways, through decay and through particle flux. Therefore, a steady-state 1D activity balance can be used to calculate its flux. Natural Ra isotopes have been also widely used in marine studies to trace water masses and to quantify mixing processes. This work presents results of a collaborative research on organic carbon fluxes distribution in the Bransfield Strait in order to evaluate its influence in the CO2 drawdown. Macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients and chlorophyll-a distributions were used to examine the pathway sources. Natural radium isotopes were applied as tracers to study the movement of shelf water, while 234Th was used as a tracer of particle flux in the upper ocean, since POC export via sinking particles is the primary mechanism of carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Sea water samples for total 234Th and natural Ra isotopes were collected from 9 to 14 December 2007 on the RV Ary Rongel (Brazilian Navy). Analyses of total 234Th activities were performed by gross beta counting using a gas-flow low background proportional counter. The longlived Ra isotopes were determined by low-background high efficiency gamma spectrometry.

Atividades específicas do 226Ra dissolvido foram medidas e atividades de 226Ra associado ao material em suspensão foram estimadas em águas subterrâneas extraídas de dois poços perfurados em granitos do Plúton Meridional, Granitóides de Morungaba, no leste do Estado de São Paulo. / Specifc activities of dissolved 226Ra isotope were measured and 226Ra isotope activities associated to suspended solids were estimated in ground waters drawn from two wells drilled in a fracturated granitic aquifer of the Meridional Pluton, Morungaba Granitoids, eastern São Paulo State.

O Oceano Austral é o maior repositório dos oceanos, com concentrações elevadas de nutrientes e baixas de clorofila. A região tem papel fundamental para regular a transferência líquida de dióxido de carbono entre o oceano e a atmosfera, em parte devido à assimilação anual de CO2 pelo fitoplâncton, que resulta na exportação do carbono orgânico particulado (POC) para o oceano profundo. O elemento tório apresenta múltiplos isótopos que tem emergido como traçadores poderosos dos processos associados à transferência de material particulado nos oceanos. De todos os isótopos de Th, o 234Th (meia-vida de 24,1 d) tem sido foco de destaque e aplicação nos últimos anos. A produção do 234Th a partir do 238U, além do comportamento conservativo solúvel do 238U na água do mar, tornam fácil a caracterização das fontes de 234Th neste cenário. Além disso, a meiavida do 234Th é suficientemente curta para torná-lo sensível a mudanças a curto prazo (sazonais) que ocorrem na coluna dágua superficial dos oceanos, ou nas colunas dágua e de sedimentos nas regiões costeiras. Devido ao seu comportamento partículo-reativo, o 234Th é removido da água de duas formas, por decaimento ou pelo fluxo de material particulado. Desta forma, um modelo de balanço uni-dimensional no estado estacionário pode ser utilizado para estimar seu fluxo. Os isótopos naturais de Ra também tem sido amplamente empregados em estudos marinhos para traçar massas dágua e quantificar processos de mistura. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de um projeto de pesquisa multidisciplinar que investigou a distribuição dos fluxos de carbono orgânico no Estreito de Bransfield com a finalidade de avaliar sua influência na remoção de CO2 da atmosfera local. As distribuições de macro-nutrientes, micro-nutrientes e clorofila-a foram utilizadas para examinar possíveis fontes e vias de transferência. Os isótopos de Ra foram aplicados como traçadores de massas dágua, enquanto o 234Th foi utilizado como traçador do fluxo particulado no oceano, uma vez que o afundamento deste material é o principal mecanismo de seqüestro de carbono no Oceano Austral. As amostras foram coletadas no período de 9 a 14 de Dezembro de 2007, a bordo do Navio de Apoio Oceanográfico Ary Rongel, da Marinha do Brasil. / The Southern Ocean is the largest of several high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions in the worlds oceans. This region plays a major role in regulating the global net transfer of carbon dioxide between the ocean and the atmosphere, in part because the annual photosynthetic uptake of CO2 by phytoplankton and resulting export of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep ocean. The element thorium has multiple radioisotopes that have emerged collectively as a powerful set of tracers for particle associated processes in the oceans. Of all the Th isotopes, 234Th (half-life 24.1 d) has been the focus of increasing attention and application in the past years. The production of 234Th from 238U, coupled with the conservative behavior of 238U in seawater, makes the source of 234Th easy to characterize. Moreover, the half-life of 234Th is sufficiently short to make it sensitive to the short-term (e.g. seasonal) changes that occur in the upper water column of the open ocean or in sediments or water column in coastal areas. Because of its very particle reactive behavior, 234Th is removed from a parcel of water in only two ways, through decay and through particle flux. Therefore, a steady-state 1D activity balance can be used to calculate its flux. Natural Ra isotopes have been also widely used in marine studies to trace water masses and to quantify mixing processes. This work presents results of a collaborative research on organic carbon fluxes distribution in the Bransfield Strait in order to evaluate its influence in the CO2 drawdown. Macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients and chlorophyll-a distributions were used to examine the pathway sources. Natural radium isotopes were applied as tracers to study the movement of shelf water, while 234Th was used as a tracer of particle flux in the upper ocean, since POC export via sinking particles is the primary mechanism of carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Sea water samples for total 234Th and natural Ra isotopes were collected from 9 to 14 December 2007 on the RV Ary Rongel (Brazilian Navy). Analyses of total 234Th activities were performed by gross beta counting using a gas-flow low background proportional counter. The longlived Ra isotopes were determined by low-background high efficiency gamma spectrometry.

The purposes of this study are to understand the surface water distributions and vertical profiles of Ra-226 in the northern South China Sea (SCS), and to estimate the mean residence time of Pb-210 based on the extent of radioactive disequilibrium relative to Ra-226. Seawater samples of 20-liter size were collected during four Ocean Researcher I (ORI) cruises conducted in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 (Cruise 575 in March, Cruise 606 in April, Cruise 662 in October, and Cruise 688 in July) for Ra-226 measurements. Surface water Ra-226 in the study area varies between 10 and 16 dpm/100 kg with higher values at stations closer to the landmass of coastal China. The surface water Ra-226 distribution shows seasonal variation: the western Philippine Sea (WPS) surface water with low Ra-226 content enters the SCS and moves mainly northwestward in summer; this water shifts toward the center in autumn. Ra-226 profiles in the northern SCS generally show an increase from the surface toward the bottom, quite similar to that of the open ocean. However, Ra-226 is systematically higher in the northern SCS than in the western North Pacific above 1500m. This may be attributed to higher Ra-226 input from the vast area of the shelf and slope in the SCS. Below this depth, Ra-226 displays large variation in some of the profiles but the mean values are quite comparable to those of the western North Pacific at the corresponding depth. The deep water in the SCS basin probably derives its Ra from the underlying sediments similar to the case in open oceans. The Pb-210/Ra-226 activity ratio in the study area ranges between 1.4 and 2.7 in the surface water with higher values at the stations closer to the Luzon Strait due to lower Ra-226 over there. The excess Pb-210 over Ra-226 in the surface water due to atmospheric input may penetrate to a depth of about 200 to 500m. Below this depth, Pb-210 becomes deficient because it is scavenged and removed by settling particulates. Below 1000m, the Pb-210/Ra-226 activity ratio varies around 0.7 to 0.5. Box model calculations within a mixed layer of 50m in the area yield a mean residence time of about 1 yr for Pb-210 if an atmospheric Pb-210 flux of 1.05 dpm/cm2/y is adopted. The activity ratio of about 0.5 to 0.7 in the deep water corresponds to a Pb-210 mean residence time of about 30 to 70 yrs with respect to particulate scavenging. These values are quite comparable to those determined from the Pacific deep water, suggesting that Pb-210 in the SCS deep water is scavenged and removed by sinking particulates at a rate similar to that in the deep open oceans.

Atividades específicas do 226Ra dissolvido foram medidas e atividades de 226Ra associado ao material em suspensão foram estimadas em águas subterrâneas extraídas de dois poços perfurados em granitos do Plúton Meridional, Granitóides de Morungaba, no leste do Estado de São Paulo. / Specifc activities of dissolved 226Ra isotope were measured and 226Ra isotope activities associated to suspended solids were estimated in ground waters drawn from two wells drilled in a fracturated granitic aquifer of the Meridional Pluton, Morungaba Granitoids, eastern São Paulo State.

本研究で提案するマルチレート符号化法は、各ユーザが同じ通信路符号器を持つものの、符号器のパラメータ(Repeat Accumulate符号の繰り返し回数)と符号器に直列に連接する拡散列の長さを変化させることで、異なるレートの情報伝送を実現する、という方法である。通信路にガウス雑音が加算される場合、任意に低い誤り率の高信頼通信を可能にし、合計伝送レートを最大にする最適な通信路符号のパラメータと拡散長を理論解析で求める。 / In this dissertation, the same encoder is employed for each user, and different rate transmissions is realized by adjusting the parameter of the encoder. We analyze the decoding performances of our coding schemes, and obtain the optimal coding parameters, which gives the maximum sum rates and approach the theoretical limits of the channel. The proposed coding schemes support multimedia services, and avoid employing multiple channel encoders to implement the multi-rate transmission. / 博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

Countries around the world provide various forms of legal recognition for same-sex relationships. In the UK, legal recognition for same-sex relationships first became available in 2005 with the introduction of civil partnership (CP) which remained the only option until 2014 when same-sex civil marriage legislation was passed in England, Wales and Scotland. In a context of heated debate and speculation, this thesis contributes to emerging literature on individual’s experiences of legal forms of same-sex relationship recognition by exploring how CP is experienced, given meaning, and situated biographically. The thesis draws on personal narratives elicited through qualitative life story interviews with 28 men from across the UK. Interviews covered the life course, but were thematically focused around CP to provide insight into: motivations for entering CPs; experiences of planning, constructing, and participating in CP ceremonies and celebrations; and meanings and impacts of becoming and being civilly partnered. The resulting co-constructed narratives were systematically analysed using narrative methods. Minority stress theory, along with other relevant theories and concepts, were employed to further illuminate, analyse, and interpret participants’ narratives. Two generational core-narratives were identified in participants’ biographical accounts. Older participants told stories of struggle and resilience, and younger participants told new narratives of normality. Despite some generational differences, all participants reported experiences consistent with minority stress, including coping and resilience mechanisms, arising from their gay social identities which remain subject to residual stigma. Participants’ accounts of CP revealed that becoming and being civilly partnered was largely, but not wholly, a positive experience which can be understood in terms of the overarching, and overlapping themes of citizenship, normativity and well-being. With regard to citizenship, participants welcomed the legal rights and recognition of CP which was seen to offer varying forms and degrees of equality. In terms of normativity, some participants reported that CP confirmed their perceived normality while others thought it was a normalizing process granting them normative identities. Furthermore, while some engaged in, or were compelled to engage in, arguably normative marital practices, others felt they were resisting these. Regarding well-being, becoming and being civilly partnered seemed to mitigate minority stress and contribute to well-being. Overall, the knowledge generated from the personal narratives presented in this thesis enriches debates, contributes broadly to the social sciences literature, and provides new perspectives on, and representations of, gay men’s identities, lives, and relationships.

Background: Mortality rates have fallen resulting in people living longer with cancer. However, cancer survivors can face significant treatment related physical and psychosocial issues including comorbidities. Treatment related side effects can persist in the long-term or may occur many years later. There is now a focus on the best way to provide appropriate care to people who have survived cancer and its treatment. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the appropriate balance of cancer care for patients following diagnosis and treatment between specialist and primary care. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 40 oncologists, CNSs and GPs across Scotland. Data are analysed in a systematic fashion using constant comparison. Findings: Many patients face significant health care issues after a diagnosis of cancer. Professionals often play a pivotal role during follow-up by identifying and managing patients’ physical and psychosocial needs and by sign posting to address the challenges that arise. Psychosocial needs, long-term and late effects are sometimes not addressed. Oncologists are leaders of the cancer care process. CNSs often play a central role in survivorship both in specialist and primary care. GPs’ roles are seen to span the full spectrum of survivorship care, although this is largely opportunistic in nature. Communication between specialist and primary care is a key issue. Professionals perceived that there is insufficient contact across the interface in terms of understanding others’ viewpoints about the nature of their work. Efforts are needed to improve the timeliness and detail of letters to primary care. Successful primary care follow-up may require development of nurses’ roles in general practice and the community. It is perceived that GPs could attend specialist care for survivorship education or become cancer specialists in general practice. Cancer Care Reviews are considered useful tools in terms of allowing GPs to engage with their patients. Improvements to technology and further research are considered central to optimal cancer care. Conclusion: Considerable barriers exist with the current system of follow-up. After the treatment phase, GP survivorship care is largely opportunistic and driven by patients’ needs. Based on the findings from this study, strategies of care could potentially be planned to facilitate the role of primary care. However, research supporting these practices is needed.