The purpose of this study was to determine if my practice of having 4th grade students participate in engineering design challenges impacted their attitudes towards engineering, the classroom climate, and writing ability. In this action research students were given a pre and posttest that measured their attitudes towards engineering and their perceptions of the classroom climate. A pre and post written reflection was also examined and compared for the use of predicting, observing, thinking, explaining, reflecting, and yearning to learn more. A triangulation of data included the use of pre and posttest statistical analysis, rubrics, teacher observation, and student interviews. The data collected from this action research project showed that that students were more satisfied with the course after completing the design challenges, the classroom environment improved in that students perceived the level of friction in the class had decreased. The data collected also showed that students' attitudes towards engineers was changed in that they were more likely to want to pursue a career in engineering and take a future school course in engineering after having completed this action research. Student generated definitions of engineers demonstrated a decrease in the number of misconceptions about the work of engineers and an increase in students' knowledge as to what engineers do for a living. My practice of implementing engineering design challenges with a 4th grade class did not have an impact on students writing ability.

Introduction: Cough is the commonest reason for which medical advice is sought. In assessment of chronic cough and in developing anti-tussive medications, inhalational cough challenges with capsaicin and citric acid are commonly employed. However the ability of these inhalational cough challenges to distinguish health and disease is not clear and it is not known which end point is best in making such assessments. Methods: Subjects belonging to five different categories (healthy volunteers, subjects with COPD, asthma, healthy current smokers and chronic cough) were compared with each another by using the standard cough challenges employing Capsaicin and Citric acid and also by using newer inhalational cough challenge agents such as prostaglandin E2 and bradykinin. In addition adaptation to repeated inhalations of tussive agents was also assessed. The relationship between the cough reflex sensitivity as gauged by using inhalational cough challenge tests and objective cough recording was explored in all five groups. Finally the change in C5 in Capsaicin evoked cough by using a substance to block TRPV1 channel and its effect on objective cough recording was assessed in subjects with chronic cough. Results: Different tussive agents have different abilities to distinguish between different diagnostic categories and a combination of inhalational cough challenge tests have a better accuracy of predicting diagnostic groups as compared to one on its own. There are significant differences in the rates of adaptation to repeated inhalations of PGE2 and there is a significant reduction in cough response over period of time in all disease groups. Using the TRPV1 antagonist resulted in a modest increase in the Log C5 concentration of capsaicin but this was not matched by a change in objective cough recording or CQLQ scores. Conclusions: The different abilities of tussive agents to distinguish between different diagnostic categories suggest that the information conveyed by the one inhalational cough challenge test is different from that by another test. The choice of the inhalational cough challenge test should therefore depend on which groups are included in the study. There was no significant difference in the rate of adaptation to prolonged challenge with citric acid or capsaicin and no significant correlation of the magnitude of adaptation with objective cough recording suggesting that this is unlikely to be responsible for the increased cough rates seen in diseases such as chronic cough, COPD or asthma. The TRPV1 antagonist did not result in a significant change in objective cough recording or CQLQ scores. The change in C5 with the TRPV1 antagonist was however modest and this may be reason for this study failing to show a relationship between these different measures.

Innovation strategy has been playing an important role on innovation development in industrial firms. Extant studies have investigated in particular open innovation strategy.  By using a qualitative case study, I have conducted a research in an Indonesian R&D firm that has implemented an open innovation strategy. The purpose of this research is to add more information and confirm existing knowledge by exploring challenges and opportunities during the implementation of an open innovation strategy. I identify many challenges which are found in several aspects of innovation development such as collaboration management, assets protection and accessing external knowledge. Furthermore, the opportunities that I found are related with enhancement of license strategy, nurture of employee’s loyalty and establishment of various collaboration forms. These challenges and opportunities occurred due to the influence of the openness paradigm. The results of this study also confirm previous research result on the adoption of the partly open innovation scheme and the layered collaboration scheme. RQ: what are the firm-level challenges and opportunities with using an open innovation strategy?

The challenge with traditional and hierarchical leadership models is that rarely are the complex issues present in our society today, resolved by one individual. Knowledge is distributed across multiple domains. Reviewing the alternative perspectives in leadership literature offers additional considerations for the dominant traditional models of leadership in existence today. With increased globalization, technology advancements, and interconnectedness, greater communication and collaboration are needed. The purpose of the study was to explore the role that personal values play in sustaining leadership during challenging times. Narrative inquiry and narrative interviews were used so leaders could share their stories of navigating challenging situations. One group interview was scheduled to share preliminary research findings with the research participants and continue the process of meaning coconstruction. Both narrative analysis and thematic analysis were used to harvest the key themes and wisdom offered during the interviews. Collective values identified included integrity, caring, courage, and commitment. The model for sustainable leadership included the ongoing pursuit of personal mastery, a values-based personal and professional support network, and expertise in leading self and other through the inevitable transitions that occur. These transitions are often due to changes associated with the predictive challenges that come from such situations as the election cycle and changes in mandate. The above recommendations allow for leaders to sustain themselves and others while working in service of the common good. Leaders who adopt the above recommendations will be well positioned to support their leadership and to use values as guiding principles to release the hero in everyone around them, including themselves. / Graduate / 0617 / 0454 / 0514 / mbpage@uvic.ca

Earthworms, Lumbricus terrestris, were challenged orally and intracoelomically with two bacterial species, Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and mortality rates were observed. Neither were found to be particularly pathogenic at injected doses of up to 108 bacteria per earthworm. The influence of Cu++ (as CuSO4) on the earthworm's response to bacterial challenge was investigated by exposing earthworms to sublethal levels of Cu++ prior to bacterial challenge. Exposure at sublethal concentrations up to 3 m g/cm2 did not have a pronounced influence on host resistance to challenge as measured by earthworm mortality. Cu++ increased the earthworm's ability to agglutinate rabbit erythrocytes, indicating that Cu++ exposure caused coelomocyte death, autolysis and release of agglutinins into the coelom, possibly explaining resistance to bacterial challenge.

Resumé This thesis on selected aspects of the resolution of the international investments disputes tackles the challenge of the arbitrator under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States. Its main aim is to analyze current legal regulation of the arbitrator's qualification and the following challenge procedures. Further to analyze, how is current international practice with regard to issue of impartiality and independence of arbitrators in case law of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Upon such analysis to reveal shortcuts of the legal regulation and case law and propose future improvements for the whole system of the arbitrators' challenges. The thesis itself is dividing into chapters, the first chapter deals with the arbitrators' qualifications and challenges in the international investment arbitration. Further refers to the interpretation of relevant articles of the Washington Convention by arbitral tribunals and to conclusions formulated by them in challenge decisions. The second chapter is base on the comparison between arbitrators' challenges and qualifications in the international investment arbitration and the international commercial arbitration, where is main target to analyze differences of both systems....

in English In the past several decades, arbitration has become very popular method of settlement of international business disputes. One of the key factors behind this success is the possibility to choose the arbitrator. Nevertheless, the right of a party to select an arbitrator is subject to limitations as it may clash with some basic legal maxims such as the right to a fair trial. The specific definition of the right to a fair trial varies from one jurisdiction to another, but its essentials remain the same. In the context of selection of arbitrators, the right to a fair trial manifests itself in a form of the principle that all arbitrators must be and remain independent and impartial. That means that a person deciding a dispute must not be influenced by matters outside of the proceedings which would result in a bias towards or against either of the parties. In order to achieve this, rules applicable to arbitration contain a pro cedure to remove an arbitrator who fails to meet these requirements from the tribunal. One of the types of bias which impairs impartiality of an arbitrator is the so-called "issue conflict." This term refers to a relationship between an arbitrator and the subject matter of a case with a potential to cause prejudgment on certain issues. Various authorities, however,...

This research explored the role of community-led initiatives in encouraging the uptake of more sustainable lifestyles within the social and physical context of remote rural Scotland. Participant observation with Arlen Eco Trust (AET) and Thriving Thornton (TT), two community-led sustainability initiatives funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF), led to findings which challenge the common assumption that funding for community-led initiatives will be of net benefit at the local level. In line with the requirements of the CCF, both AET and TT define community in terms of geography. However, only a small minority of the members of the geographically-defined communities of Arlen and Thornton were found to be actively involved in the groups’ activities or objectives. Both Arlen and Thornton were observed to be segmented into multiple and diverse ‘communities within communities’ and, rather than representing ‘the community’, AET and TT can more accurately be understood as an example of sub-communities in themselves. This sub-division within the communities was found to be exacerbated by the fact that both the governance and management of AET and TT were observed to be undertaken primarily by individuals regarded as ‘incomers’ to Arlen and Thornton, which resulted in an ‘incomer’ identity being passed on to the group and its activities. Historic connotations with ‘incomers’ as disruptive to traditional ways of life were found to resonate with the suspicion and scepticism expressed by some ‘locals’ wary of ‘incomer’ groups that were actively trying to change local lifestyles. The groups’ ability to engage with the wider geographic community was also observed to be further weakened in several ways by the receipt of government grant funding. The short timescales and expected outputs associated with many funding schemes were found to be discordant with the long-term sustainability goals of the community groups studied, and participation in top-down funding programmes was found to reduce the time and resources available for ‘hands on’ community participation activities. Furthermore, the need for groups to adapt their ambitions and approach to align with top-down demands from funders is incongruent with the notion of a ‘community-led’ initiative. Together, these local conditions were found to have significant implications with respect to the impact and influence of AET and TT. The funding received by the groups was found to create pockets of social capital – rather than being distributed through the geographic community – which served to strengthen the group, but segment the wider population, implying that, rather than increasing local social sustainability, schemes such as the CCF may be undermining it. Overall, this thesis concludes that, whilst the CCF was observed to facilitate community as a means by which to reduce carbon emissions, ‘community’ was not being strengthened as a policy end. As such, it questions whether current mechanisms of central government funding for isolated, self-identified community-led groups to deliver finite, output-driven projects will inherently help to empower geographic communities to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

A lactoferrina bovina, descoberta em 1939, é uma glicoproteína que se liga reversivelmente a dois íons férricos, sendo capaz de seqüestrá-los de certos patógenos ou do meio, promovendo redução do crescimento microbiano ou se ligar as suas paredes celulares resultando na permeabilização. A lactoferrina vem ganhando notoriedade nas pesquisas, pois investigações têm descrito sua atividade in vitro frente a diversos microrganismos. Em razão desta propriedade, a mesma poderia ter aplicação nas indústrias cosmética e alimentícia, como um conservante natural. Embora alguns conservantes já estejam consagrados na literatura, os mesmos têm sido relacionados com o desencadeamento de reações alérgicas e de sensibilização, motivando a procura do conservante ideal. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a utilização da lactoferrina como conservante em formulações semi-sólidas tópicas para usos cosmético e farmacêutico, bem como verificar as estabilidades física e físico-química. Com esta finalidade, três diferentes concentrações de lactoferrina foram incorporadas nos cremes não-iônico e aniônico, gel e gel-creme. A atividade da lactoferrina foi avaliada através do teste de eficácia conservante, sendo que as formulações foram contaminadas com concentrações conhecidas dos microrganismos Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans e Aspergillus niger, com posterior contagem do número de Unidades Formadoras de Colônias (UFC), em placas de Petri, nos tempos zero, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 e 72 horas, bem como em 7, 14, 21 e 28 dias. Para estudo das estabilidades, as formulações foram avaliadas nos tempos zero, 15, 30, 60, 90, 150 e 180 dias, nas temperaturas de 4°, 25° e 40°C. A estabilidade físico-química foi avaliada através das características macroscópicas, estabilidade à centrifugação, pH, densidade e consistência. A estabilidade física, por meio da determinação da viscosidade e comportamento reológico. Os resultados obtidos, nas condições experimentais deste trabalho, permitiram inferir que a lactoferrina bovina não provocou alteração significativa nas estabilidades física e físico-química das formulações estudadas. Quanto à eficácia da lactoferrina, a mesma não pode ser classificada como substância dotada de atividade conservante, pois não atendeu às exigências preconizadas em compêndios oficiais, frente aos microrganismos estudados. Mesmo não tendo atendido às exigências oficiais como conservante, mostrou-se efetiva frente à levedura Candida albicans, nas formulações do creme não-iônico e gel de hidroxietilcelulose. No entanto, estudos posteriores poderão avaliar a associação da lactoferrina a outros conservantes, buscando sinergismo entre eles, conseqüentemente, podendo diminuir as reações adversas e sensibilizações no usuário. / The bovine lactoferrin, discovered in 1939, is a glycoprotein that connects itself reversibly to two ions of iron being able to kidnap them from certain pathogens or from the environment promoting reduction of the microbial growth or, resulting in permeability if connected to its cellular walls. Lactoferrin has become important in researches because investigations have described its activity in vitro before many microorganisms. Due to this property, lactoferrin could be applied in cosmetic and food industries as a natural preservative. Even though some preservatives are already acclaimed in literature, lactoferrin has been related to the unleashing of allergic reactions and sensibility, motivating the search for the preservative. The goal of this paper was to evaluate lactoferrin as a preservative in semi-solid topic formulations for cosmetic and pharmaceutical uses as to verify the physical and physical-chemical stabilities. On this purpose, three different lactoferrin concentrations were incorporated in non-ionic and anionic creams, gel and gel-cream. Lactoferrin\'s performance was evaluated through testing the efficiency of the preservative, being that the formulations were contaminated by known concentrations of the microorganisms Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans e Aspergillus niger, with posterior counting of the number of Former Colony Units (FCT), in Petri plates, on times zero, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours, as well as 7, 14, 21, 15, 30, 60, 90, 150 and 180 days, in temperatures of 4º, 25º and 40ºC. The physical-chemical stability was evaluated through the macroscopic characteristics,stability to centrifugation, pH, density and consistency. The physical stability through the determination of viscosity and reologic behavior. The results, in the experimental conditions of this paper, allowed inferring that the bovine lactoferrin didnt\'s provoke significant alteration in the physical and physical-chemical stabilities in the studied formulations. As to the efficiency of lactoferrin, it canot be classified as a substance endowed with preservative activity because it didn\'t reach the extolled demands in official compendiums before the studied microorganisms. Although it didn’t reach the official demands as a preservative, lactoferrin showed itself effective before the yeast Candida albicans on the formulations of the non-ionic cream and hidroxiethyl celulose gel. However, posterior studies will be able to evaluate the association of lactoferrin to other preservatives, seeking synergism between them, being able to consequently diminish the adverse reactions and sensibilities in the user.

Sterile triploid Atlantic salmon represent a solution to the issues of pre-harvest sexual maturation and mature escapees from open aquaculture systems. Although the initial problems of reduced performance and increased deformities in triploids have been thoroughly researched, there is a continued lack of information on their susceptibility and response to disease and routine on-farm treatments compared to diploids. Thus, the main aim of this thesis was to enhance the current understanding of triploid health and immunity through experimental disease challenges and treatments, and aid in determining their robustness and, therefore, suitability for aquaculture. A commercial furunculosis vaccine equally protected diploids and triploids against challenge with Aeromonas salmonicida, and adhesion scores were similar between ploidy (Chapter 2). Interestingly, triploids had lower white blood cell counts but increased cellular activity, e.g. respiratory burst, compared to diploids. Following experimental cohabitation infection with Neoparamoeba perurans, causative agent of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD), ploidy did not affect the manifestation or severity of AGD-associated gill pathology, or the serum innate immune response (Chapter 3). Hydrogen peroxide, used to treat against parasitic diseases, elicited similar primary and secondary stress responses in both ploidy, but led to differences in the expression of stress (cat, gpx1, gr, hsp70, sod1, sod2) and immune (saa5, crp/sap1a, crp/sap1b, il1β) genes (Chapter 4). Finally, vaccination with different vaccine treatments (4 commercial vaccines, 6 different vaccine combinations and a sham-vaccinated control) showed no ploidy differences in adhesion score or antibody response, although vertebral deformities remained higher in triploids (Chapter 5). Increasing severity of vaccine treatments negatively affected weight, length and thermal growth coefficient in both ploidy. Triploids were heavier than diploids at smolt (+ 14 %) and post smolt (+ 32 %). Overall, this research shows that triploid Atlantic salmon respond as well as diploids to disease and treatment challenges, and supports their application into full-scale commercial aquaculture.