There is an important debate in the philosophy of mind about whether we think in natural language or a non-conscious innate mental language called mentalese. The latter view relegates natural language to a role as just a tool of communication, something that can offer no insight into the operation of the mind. The aim of my thesis is twofold. First. I wish to show that the arguments in favour of the mentalese hypothesis are wanting and that many of the phenomena that it is supposed to address can be adequately explained by what I will call the natural language as a language of thought hypothesis.' Second, I will argue that there is strong introspective evidence in support of the natural language as the language of thought hypothesis, at least enough to show that we conduct some of our thinking in natural language. The evidence for and the simplicity of the natural language as a language of thought hypothesis offer good reasons to further investigate the role of natural language in cognition, despite the arguments that Fodor provides to the contrary.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how first-time mothers' experiences during the transition into motherhood reflect biographical 'flows' or 'disruptions' when contextualized within their life course trajectories. I used a qualitative research design with narrative methods of data collection and analysis to explore participants' reproductive life courses. I collected data through in-depth and open-ended questions during face-to-face, retrospective, episodic narrative interviews with a purposive sample of 14 first-time mothers 12-17 months postpartum. Data indicate that all of the first-time mothers experienced the transition to motherhood as a biographical disruption, but that different types of disruption were evident. The three typologies of disruption identified are: motherhood as a 'fresh start,' a prolonged limbo between life before and after motherhood, and achievement of womanhood or adulthood. Four sub-themes are also evident in the data: weight and body-image, sexual/maternal breast usage, 'advanced maternal age', and social support provided by participants' mothers.

In this study, I aim to achieve a richer understanding of ongoing experiences of childhood loss. Hermeneutic philosophy highlights the importance of moving back and forth between the parts and the whole of any subject one might wish to comprehend. To apply such a perspective to this research, I simultaneously engage with multiple aspects of the research process. These include: dominant and alternative understandings of childhood loss, the personal experiences of my research participants, multiple perspectives on the meaning of their experiences, the relationships among researchers and participants, and my own processes of interpreting the stories that were shared with me. The relational process of research itself has been recognized and demonstrated as reflective of that which is required to effectively connect with and support grieving children.

This study explores three separate, but inter-related aspects of residential break and enter. The study, located in the Capital Regional District of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, offers a unique environment for this type of research with its thirteen municipalities, four municipal and one national police force confined geographically by sea on three sides and wilderness on the fourth. The first part of this research identifies spatial and temporal patterns of residential break and enters at the regional level and the municipal level. The results showed that patterns existed at the municipal level, but changed at the regional level. There was evidence that some of the patterns at the municipal level persisted over time. Temporally, break and enter is predominately an afternoon occurrence. No other consistent pattern was found daily, monthly, nor seasonally over the course of the study period. The second part of the study examines police perceptions about the location of residential break and enters high activity areas or 'hot spots'. Police perceptions were compared to actual hot spots to determine the degree of agreement. The research also explored the concordance between police perceptions of hot spot locations. The results indicated that police hot spots did not conform to actual hot spots; furthermore, there was only limited agreement amongst police on hot spot locations. The third part of the study examined burglar's use of space. Burglars were asked a number of questions to establish their geographical knowledge of the region. Information was obtained on the location of their offences, routes taken to offence sites, method of transportation, trip start location, motivation behind the offence, and purpose of the trip. The findings indicate that offenders commit the majority of their crimes within areas they know. The subjects in the study were motivated by the need for money, mainly to purchase drugs. The majority of Offence trips were initiated with the sole purpose of committing a burglary. Most journey to crimes emanated from the offenders' residence. Travel was restricted not so much by distance, instead by their knowledge of the region or by the necessity to obtain money for drugs.

Two groups of neuropeptides (secretin and gonadotropin-releasing hormone groups, GnRH) and their receptors are of considerable interest because they are highly conserved in structure during evolution and have important physiological effects. To study the role of these neuropeptides during development, the zebrafish was selected initially as a model because the embryo is transparent and accessible for genetic manipulation. Later, a mouse model was added to evaluate the effects of permanent gene loss. The purpose of this thesis was to 1) characterize the structure and function of several peptides and receptors within the secretin group that had not been previously identified for zebrafish, 2) examine brain development in zebrafish after gene knock down of an important peptide in each of the secretin and GnRH groups, 3) identify the pattern and location of expression of the GnRH receptors in zebrafish embryos, and 4) study the functional importance of the GnRH receptor in a mouse line deficient in the receptor. The secretin superfamily of hormones includes 10 structure-related polypeptides in mammals, but fewer in zebrafish. In this thesis it was discovered that within the secretin group, zebrafish have two peptides, peptide histidine-isoleucine (PHI) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), in addition to two receptors, PHI receptor and growth hormone-releasing hormone-like peptide (GHRH-LP) receptor that were not previously identified. After isolation of the cDNA for each, the signaling pathways were characterized in vitro by transfection of the receptors into COS cells. The PHI-R was activated by PHI but not by VIP or pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP). The GHRH-LP receptor was activated by GHRH-LP 1 and GHRH but not by GHRH-LP2. A novel observation was that the PAC, receptor is activated by both PACAP and VIP, whereas the PAC, receptor is usually specific to PACAP. Also novel was evidence that a VPAC2 receptor in zebrafish was structurally and functionally a PHI receptor. In examining the role of PACAP in early brain development in zebrafish, morpholinos were used to knockdown PACAP1 and PACAP2 in the zygote. The study revealed that loss of PACAP leads to change in the expression of brain markers. GnRH and its receptors (GnRH-R) are key regulators of reproduction and sexual behaviour. In zebrafish, morpholino-induced knock down of GnRH revealed that GnRH is critical in eye and brain development by affecting transcription factors and/or secreted factors: pax2.1, fgf8, pax6.1 and mab. Further, the GnRH receptor was expressed at 24h post fertilization showing that GnRH and its receptor could influence early development. To determine whether the GnRH receptor is critical at all stages of reproduction, a mouse line was created in which the GnRH receptor was disrupted using the gene trap method. This model has a similar phenotype to the clinical syndrome of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. In mice, GnRH receptor disruption results in small sexual organs, low gonadotropin and steroid hormone levels, failure of sexual maturation, and lack of reproduction. Also, the GnRH receptor may be important in the fetal testis. This thesis provides evidence that 1) in evolution the PAC, receptor may have responded to both PACAP and VIP in fish, 2) zebrafish have a PHI receptor rather than a VPAC2 receptor, 3) PACAP and GnRH peptides have a fundamental role in early brain development, 4) the GnRH receptor is not only important in reproduction but unexpectedly, in zebrafish embryos is localized in hindbrain motor neurons and fibers, which are involved normally in movement and escape, and 5) GnRH receptor-disrupted mice should be a valuable model for understanding reproduction and clinical approaches to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Formate dehydrogenase from Mycobacterium vaccae (MycFDH) was cloned and expressed from various plasmid constructs that incorporate hexahistidine tags onto the N-and C-termini of the protein. The most successful FDH variant, dual-tagged FDH L-S expressed from pET28a+, was batch-purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation and IMAC to achieve 96% homogeneity. A significant proportion of the expressed protein was insoluble, and the expression protocol did not respond to solubility optimization efforts. Expression of an FDH-NusA fusion variant appeared to be vulnerable to proteolytic degradation in the cell. None of the strains expressing tagged-FDH variants produced clarified lysate activity levels that were consistently as high as those from the original pUC 119 vector. However, it is likely that the protein aggregation problems encountered are due to overloading of the protein production machinery or related causes, rather than to the presence of the tags themselves. A bioengineered FDH protein closely related to MycFDH was also investigated. FDH GAV was immobilized in polyacrylamide gel to create gel discs or hollow cylinder mini-reactors. The apparent Km(formate) for this enzyme was 15.6 ± 3.6 mM in the immobilized state, and 17.2 ± 1.9 mM in aqueous solution. The activity of FDH GAV was reversibly inhibited by the presence of acrylamide monomer but was not affected by ammonium persulfate or TEMED (alone or in combination) after incubation for one minute. The activity of the immobilized enzyme system was determined to be at least partially limited by diffusion. FDH GAV was also included in an in vitro analysis of the Methanol Linear Dissimilation Pathway (MLDP), a three enzyme system of NAD+ - dependent dehydrogenases that oxidize methanol sequentially to CO2. Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1) appeared to be the rate-limiting enzyme under the conditions used in these experiments, most likely due to its limited activity on methanol. The applicability of FDH and the MLDP to industry and bioelectronics is also considered.

In young coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), UVR is known to elicit exposure avoidance behavior and suppress aggressiveness. The latter observation has been attributed to the indirect effect of fish seeking shade from solar UVR under rocks consequently losing sight of prospective rivals. The present study quantified the direct impacts of UVR on agonistic (Strikes, Chases, Approaches) and feeding behaviors in juvenile coho salmon by furnishing outdoor aquaria with structural elements (i.e., inverted funnels) that provided habitat complexity without generating shade during midday experimental trials. Frequencies and durations of behaviors were compared between conditions that excluded or included natural solar UVR. Results indicated that hostile pursuits (Chases) persisted significantly longer under UVR illumination. Likewise, the frequencies of more belligerent interactions (Strikes, Chases) tended to increase under UVR, while milder territorial assertions (Approaches) and foraging (Feeding Efforts) tended to decline. However, none of the latter four outcomes tested as significant.

Natural history is a cornerstone of both theoretical and applied ecology, and provides the context for comparative and experimental studies. I studied the natural history of the Plains Garter Snake (Thamnophis radix) near the northern limit of its range in Miquelon Lake Provincial Park. Alberta, Canada. As is typical of garter snakes, T. radix at Miquelon were sexually dimorphic as adults - females grew faster, reached larger sizes and had relatively shorter tails than males. Mating occurred in spring and females gave birth in August; litter size ranged from 8-50 and was correlated with size of female. These snakes were generalist predators, but fed mainly on anurans when small, adding mammals and other prey as they grew. Despite sexual size dimorphism, I found no difference in diet between adult males and females. Feeding frequency was low overall (22%). especially in gravid females. In summer, snakes were found mainly near cover on south-facing field edges or in marshes, but not in forests, and moved relatively little. However, movement distances increased in fall as snakes sought hibernating sites. Snakes hibernated for up to eight months, either individually or in pairs, in rodent burrows. This study also revealed the importance of radiotelemetry when studying movements of small, secretive animals, as there were significant differences between the results obtained through opportunistic captures versus telemetry: habitat descriptions from opportunistic captures therefore were biased, although they still captured some elements of microhabitat use by T. radix. The data from this study will be important for comparative studies of the ecology of garter snakes and for the management of this species on the human-altered landscape surrounding Miquelon Lake.

Low dissolved zinc concentrations in marine waters can limit growth and productivity of phytoplankton. as Zn is a required component of critical enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase. This thesis examined the effects of Zn availability on growth rates. cell morphology, elemental composition and ratios, and incorporation rates of macronutrients in the coastal diatom Skeletonema costatum and the oceanic diatom Thalassiosira oceanica. Under Zn limitation. S. costatum exhibited a decrease in maximum growth rate (60%), chlorophyll content (20%) and an increase in the surface to volume (S/V) ratio (80%) compared to Zn-replete cells. In S. costatum elemental quotas showed a decrease in silicon content (20%) and a significant increase in carbon content (52%) and phosphorus content (55%). Moreover. silicon content per surface area significantly decreased by 50% under Zn limitation. Elemental ratios showed significant differences only for Si:C and Si:N between Zn-replete and Zn limiting conditions. The elemental stoichiometry of S. costatum was 82C : 9N : 5Si : 1P under Zn-limiting conditions compare to 84C : 12N : 9Si : 1 P under Zn-replenishment. In T oceanica. Zn limitation was also responsible for a decrease in maximum growth rate (60%) and chlorophyll content (20%) compared to Zn-replete cells, but Zn limitation did not affect the S/V ratio. Elemental quotas and ratios in T. oceanica did not exhibit significant differences under Zn limitation. However. nitrogen. silicon and phosphorus content showed a 20% increasing trend in Zn-limited cells. Elemental quotas for T. oceanica were 51C : 6N : 2Si : 1P under Zn-limitation and 71C : 6N : 2Si : 1P under Zn-replenishment. These laboratory experiments suggest that Zn availability in the oceans can affect the stoichiometry of nutrient uptake and the structure of phytoplankton assemblages. especially in coastal environments.

The identification of resources animals select provides valuable insight into the factors that limit populations and control distributions. My objective in this thesis was to examine how the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis atricapillus) selects resources during the nesting and fledging life-history stages. This work was conducted in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, from 1998 to 2006. Using Information-Theoretic techniques, I described the forest characteristics selected by goshawks when locating their nest sites within their breeding territories, and the forest characteristics selected by fledgling goshawks around the nest while they are still dependent on their parents for food. I found that goshawks select nesting sites with a relatively large amount of high canopy cover (>40%) forest within 200 m of the nest. The amount of high canopy cover forest remained higher than comparison points up to 1100 m from the nest, but goshawks also will select for forest openings relatively close to the nest (- 174 m). Fledgling goshawks selected for continuous areas of forest cover, particularly areas with higher amounts of forest between 40-80 years old within 525 m distance from the nest. Presumably, goshawks selected these younger stands in order to avoid predation. Fledglings also selected areas with more high canopy cover forest and areas without large amounts of recently-harvested forest (<10 years of age) stands within 525 m of the nest. Thus, the structural characteristics of forests required by goshawks for nesting are complex, and different competing characteristics are selected at different distances from the nest. Although goshawks do require mature forest stands with high canopy cover close to the nest, a greater diversity of forest types appears to be either tolerated or required as the distance from the nest increases. Additionally, limited evidence suggests that the movements of fledgling goshawks may be governed by a combination of forest structure and inter-familiar interactions.