This script is an adaptation of the popular science novel Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So by Ian Stewart. It brings new life to mathematical ideas and topics. By bringing math to the stage, concepts are presented in a more friendly and accessible manner. This play is intended to generate new interest in and expose new topics to an audience of nonmathematicians.

The purpose of this study was to explore the utilization of specialized camp services among parents of a child with a disability. This study sought to investigate specialized camp services as respite for families. The data was gathered utilizing a mixed method survey approach. The surveys were distributed to primary caregivers of a child with a disability who have attended Camp Paivika within the past three years. The sample size of this study was 69 respondents. The results show that the family unit benefits by way of de-isolation. The camper increases social skills, confidence, and independence. The caregivers experience emotional stress relief along with an increased ability to connect with other family members. The siblings of the child with a disability experience a relief of responsibilities associated with having a sibling with a disability as well as an ability to partake in family activities they may not otherwise be able to do. In conclusion, this research indicates positive familial benefits to out-of-home recreational respite services, such as a specialized camp services. Future research on the benefits will give the field of social work greater insight into the importance of out-of-home recreational respite.

The Olympics have been a catalyst through the last century for community alteration including both the renovation of existing areas and building of new sites. This study focuses on the post-Olympic use of active and passive recreational open space infrastructure developed by Winter Olympic host cities. This study examines four Winter Olympics. The observation of a variety of Olympic venues has provided an opportunity to compare the differences in planning due to historical, cultural, and social variables. The comparison of these Olympic sites contributes to understanding of the probability of success or failure of post game expectations for recreational open space use. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Winter Olympics on the recreational open space infrastructure of host communities. Future Olympic sites can utilize these experiences as part of a planning effort to create a successful community recreational open space legacy.

Understanding the relationships between human health, water, sanitation, and environmental health is a requirement to understanding the challenges that face researchers when it comes to addressing global health relating to water and sanitation. Access to improved water and sanitation is not only a precondition to health, but to all aspects of daily living. Target 7.C of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) addresses worldwide disparities in access to improved water and sanitation by calling for the reduction in "half of the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015". Over 90% of the population of Costa Rica has access to improved water and sanitation, thus exceeding the water and sanitation targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite having access to water and sanitation, little is known whether communities are only interested in access or if quality and quantity of water and sanitation systems are as equally as important. Target 7.c of the MDGs does not include water quality in the definition of safe water. Furthermore, the use of the words "safe" and "improved" in the target are often interchanged and can be misleading, especially when considering the impact of water quality on population health. In Costa Rica, households in the Nandamojo watershed have access to improved water and sanitation; it is unclear whether the drinking water is potable with respect to Costa Rican and the World Health Organization (WHO) water quality standards. The impact of leaking septic systems on human and environmental health is also unknown. Illnesses associated with recreational water are an increasing public health problem, causing a great burden of disease in bathers every year. The global health impact of infectious diseases associated with recreational water exposure has been estimated at around three million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per year, resulting in an estimated economic loss of around twelve billion dollars per year. Fecal and chemical contamination of recreational water is a concern, especially in areas of non-point source pollution. Health-based water monitoring is often conducted in recreational waters as a tool for assessing risk. In Costa Rica, recreational water sampling is conducted at coastal beach areas only, neglecting other surface waters used by residents and tourists. Community perspectives regarding recreational water use and the associated risks are limited. Understanding these perspectives will enable public health professionals to better target community needs, such as education and to address the concerns of participating communities. This dissertation was divided into three chapters. The first chapter explored community perceptions on improved water and sanitation, the second chapter assessed community water systems and the risk of acute diarrheal disease, and the third chapter captured community perceptions on recreational water use and the risk of waterborne illness. Methodologies for water sampling and analyses were used to assess water quality, while household interviews and focus groups were conducted to capture qualitative data. Results from the first chapter showed participants had positive perceptions towards their improved water and sanitation systems. Household interviews revealed almost half of the respondents had concerns with water quality, while less than 25% did not think their septic tanks leaked or overflowed during rain events. Focus group discussions revealed common themes. Participants identified water quality, health, pipes, water scarcity, odors, insects, and overflow/infiltration of water and sanitation to be important issues. Participants revealed convenience, improved health and safety and the lack of odors to be themes directly related to customer satisfaction of improved water and sanitation. Results from the second study revealed 57% of household samples had total coliform bacteria above the Costa Rican standard for safe drinking water exceeding the single standard limit of zero, while 61% failed the World Health Organization standard for fecal coliforms exceeding the single standard limit of zero. AGII was identified in 41 of the 378 household residents (11%). The odds ratio for AGII among household residents with a water sample positive for total coliforms was 1.88 (0.81-3.17). Fecal coliforms were statistically significant for those with AGII (OR = 3.19, 1.43-7.12). Regression modeling analyses revealed individuals with AGII and household drinking water positive for fecal coliforms to be statistically significant (OR = 3.01, 1.33 - 6.84), while other covariates (total coliforms, gender, treated water, and families) also had odds ratios greater than one, but were not significant. Results from the third chapter indicated most respondents felt recreational water sources, such as streams and rivers were contaminated with human, animal, and chemical wastes. Focus group participants also stated they did not use inland waters for recreational purposes for these reasons. However, many did admit using marine water for recreational bathing and felt these areas were not contaminated. These beliefs did coincide with the water quality results from freshwater sources, but not marine sources. Fecal coliform contamination was widespread throughout the watershed in freshwater sources. Marine water samples failed the World Health Organization (WHO) and Costa Rican recreational water standards for fecal coliform and enterococci in 36% and 6% of the samples, respectively. The overall results of this dissertation suggest that the definitions of improved water and sanitation have to include, at a minimum, water quality, water quantity, proper construction and containment of storage tanks, and oversight and maintenance of these systems. Given the challenges facing communities in the Nandamojo watershed regarding water and sanitation, it is essential for scientists, researchers, policy makers, water committees, health providers, and community members to design and implement strategies in water resource management and proper waste management. Communities and water committees would also be best served if they worked with government agencies to conduct concurrent testing of both recreational water and drinking water, especially since both them target many of the same parameters.

In the last few years, the prevalence of legal party pills in New Zealand has risen dramatically. These pills contain new piperazine designer drugs, two of the more common being 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) and m-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP). This thesis describes an optimised LC-MS/MS method for the detection of BZP and TFMPP in whole blood, using an automated solid phase extraction (SPE) for sample clean-up. The method was validated on three different days using five replicate samples each day. The standard curve was linear from 7 - 7000 ng/mL for BZP and 10 - 10,000 ng/mL for TFMPP, with coefficients of variation (CV) below 10%, and accuracy greater than 90% for both drugs. The method was used to quantitate samples provided by the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand. Blood levels were used to show concentrations in the blood over time, and relate these to performance of subjects on a driving simulator. The study was stopped after 41% of the participants who received BZP and TFMPP had adverse reactions to the pills, including vomiting and migraines. The LC-MS/MS method was also used to detect and quantitate methamphetamine, amphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, morphine, codeine and 6-monoacetylmorphine in hair. The drugs were extracted from 20 mg of hair using hydrochloric acid in a water bath overnight, then purified using SPE. Validation on three days with five replicate samples gave coefficients of variation (CV) below 12% and acceptable accuracy for all drugs. The method was tested on three samples, previously reported by Environmental Science and Research (ESR) using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) giving results in good agreement. This thesis describes a sensitive, accurate, reproducible LC-MS/MS method easily adapted to analyse drugs of abuse in different biological matrices. It demonstrates the versatility of LC-MS/MS and its applications in forensic work.

<h1>Abstract</h1><p>This paper is about how recreational pedagogues need to do their work to be a good support for children who comes from families that have social problems. The paper is based on a life story method with a recreational pedagogue who has worked at a recreational center her whole career. The purpose of the paper is to contribute with knowledge about the experiences of working with socially vulnerable children as a recreational pedagogue. The investigation that took place in the home-environment of the pedagogue was then typed out and rewritten by me to a narrative story where the most relevant pieces have been pointed out. The subject of the investigation is about being a child in a family with a problem of abuse and the significance of working with the children from those families. The story also includes the duty to report and how you as a recreational pedagogue do the appraisal if the child is being treated badly in their home. The result of the interview has then been held up against the literature about the social services work, a scientific rapport in form of a quantitative investigation that shows facts of how the duty of reporting incongruity to social services is being handled in real life, other scientific research of socially vulnerable children and youth and a book made by family therapists and is about the roles of the pedagogues. The conclusions that I could show from the investigation was that there has not been much research done about the recreational centers and socially vulnerable children together. That the most important toll that a pedagogue has got to help these children is our language, our experiences and our commitment. Another conclusion I have made is that we are all individuals. Teachers, parents and pupils, we all have different needs and different basic conditions and therefore we have to have that in mind while we do our work.</p>

This ethnography describes RV [recreational vehicle] seasonal migration as an adaptive, transhumant strategy. The study population is retired, transhumant migrants, who are members of a nation-wide, membership camping organization. Fieldwork was conducted over a period of seven months at two sites located on the West Coast. These sites reflect northern and southern locations corresponding to seasonal migration patterns. Standard scholarly orientations to the study of retired RV seasonal migrants manifest ethnocentrism and a tendency to stereotype RVers as amenity-migrants. An original and primary objective of the present study was to reach beyond these conceptualizations and popularized images through first-hand, descriptive accounts collected within the context of the culture. This research expands on two existing studies focusing on social and cultural aspects of RV seasonal migration. In contrast to these accounts, the present study provides cultural description of the daily life of retired RVers focusing on the distinctive ways that members of this subculture express mainstream American cultural values underlying their adaptive strategies. This study proposes an alternative conceptualization of RV seasonal migration, derived from the culture itself. The conclusion is that these adaptive strategies reflect patterns of social organization, patterns of resource management, and patterns of social, familial, and interpersonal relationships, that are congruent with mainstream American cultural values of self-reliant individualism, equality, and material comfort; values that have historical, philosophical roots in the Protestant Work Ethic. The RVers' identity derives from maintaining membership in a temporary, fluid, mobile community. They have cohesive social networks with well-defined boundaries, which they defend against threats to group identity. This study contributes to an understanding of what RV seasonal migration means to the participants themselves, and by extension, to their families, to communities, and to our aging society. / Graduation date: 1996

Atlantic billfish include sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), white marlin (Kajikia albida, formerly Tetrapturus albidus) and the spearfishes (Tetrapturus); these fishes are found in tropical and subtropical waters. The spearfishes include the longbill spearfish (T. pfluegeri), the Mediterranean spearfish (T. belone) and the roundscale spearfish (T. georgii). The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is the regional fishery management organization that conducts research to determine the condition of tuna and billfish resources and supports international cooperative management. ICCAT has determined that blue marlin and white marlin are overfished; the status of sailfish and spearfish are unknown, but overfishing is thought to be occurring. Management of these resources is complicated by uncertainty in the biological models, but uncertainty about the fishers who target these resources. This dissertation studied artisanal fishing fleets that target Atlantic billfish in Venezuela and Ghana, as well as studied recreational charter boat fishing fleets in South Florida and Senegal. The information from these fleets was used to develop performance indicators that evaluate the socioeconomic performance of these fleets. An allocation model was developed to determine the optimal allocation of billfish resources among recreational and artisanal fishers in Ghana, West Africa. Finally, the issues and challenges of managing Atlantic billfish were identified as well as a possible future framework. Results indicate that performance indicators can be used to contrast fleets with different operational objectives. Fishers do produce positive fishing profits in both artisanal and recreational fleets; however, Senegalese recreational anglers are particularly sensitive to fuel costs. Results of the allocation model suggest that the artisanal sector should be allocated 95% of the quota in Ghana. There is the possibility to over-allocate quota to the recreational sector due to methodological differences in determining benefit f and the practice of catch-and-release. ICCAT's limited purview over socioeconomics was identified as the major impediment to effective billfish management. Therefore, it is recommended that the institutional structure for billfish management be modified to include socioeconomic issues, most especially strengthening the link to local institutions in fishing communities.

This study takes a phenomenological approach to squirt kayaking. It looks to examine mystical states of consciousness, as defined by William James, and flow theory, as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and focuses on what these experiences mean for participants of the squirt kayaking community. The study poses three research questions. (1) Do squirt kayakers experience mystical states of consciousness through squirt kayaking, and what does this experience mean? (2) Do squirt kayakers experience flow states of consciousness through squirt kayaking, and how was this experienced? (3) What is the mystery zombie or the mystery trance state, and how is it experienced? By posting messages on online message boards dedicated to squirt kayakers twenty participants responded to the post and were then contacted by telephone for an interview based off of an original questionnaire created for this study. The results show that mysticism and flow does occur through the squirt kayaking medium. Four primary themes emerged from the data about the experience and are as follows: defies expression, serious leisure, different realm, and the trance. Results indicate that there is not a distinctive difference between mysticism and flow, although further research should be done to support this. Also this study would suggest that further research be conducted concerning the build-up of carbon dioxide in the brain and its effects on mystical experiences. Implications of this research to look to challenge the concept of mysticism and flow by broadening what recreation offers its participants. Keywords: charc, flow, mystery trance, mystery zombie, mysticism

Abstract This paper is about how recreational pedagogues need to do their work to be a good support for children who comes from families that have social problems. The paper is based on a life story method with a recreational pedagogue who has worked at a recreational center her whole career. The purpose of the paper is to contribute with knowledge about the experiences of working with socially vulnerable children as a recreational pedagogue. The investigation that took place in the home-environment of the pedagogue was then typed out and rewritten by me to a narrative story where the most relevant pieces have been pointed out. The subject of the investigation is about being a child in a family with a problem of abuse and the significance of working with the children from those families. The story also includes the duty to report and how you as a recreational pedagogue do the appraisal if the child is being treated badly in their home. The result of the interview has then been held up against the literature about the social services work, a scientific rapport in form of a quantitative investigation that shows facts of how the duty of reporting incongruity to social services is being handled in real life, other scientific research of socially vulnerable children and youth and a book made by family therapists and is about the roles of the pedagogues. The conclusions that I could show from the investigation was that there has not been much research done about the recreational centers and socially vulnerable children together. That the most important toll that a pedagogue has got to help these children is our language, our experiences and our commitment. Another conclusion I have made is that we are all individuals. Teachers, parents and pupils, we all have different needs and different basic conditions and therefore we have to have that in mind while we do our work.