Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hunter'

In 2005, the North Carolina General Assembly and North Carolina Governor Mike Easley requested that the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) coordinate a study to investigate issues related to hunting on Sunday in North Carolina. In particular, NCWRC was most interested in identifying stakeholders and their views on hunting on Sunday, and estimating the potential impacts of hunting on Sunday on hunter recruitment and retention. I developed a 12-page questionnaire that was sent to a random sample of 2,400 licensed resident hunters in North Carolina. The questionnaire was used to assess their views and opinions about hunting on Sunday and to estimate the potential impacts of hunting on Sunday on hunting participation. The final response rate was 41.6%. The issue of hunting on Sunday in North Carolina was strongly polarized: 38% of respondents strongly supported hunting on Sunday and 39% strongly opposed. Older hunters and those who frequently attended church or another place of worship were most opposed to hunting on Sunday. Although many respondents originally voiced support, many of these same individuals opposed hunting on Sunday if some limitations were imposed. The exact effect on hunter recruitment was not determined by this research effort; however, I found evidence that the opportunity to hunt on Sunday may have some positive impact on hunting participation. Hunters who previously had taken an adult friend, family member, or youth hunting in North Carolina indicated they would do so again if presented with an opportunity to hunt on Sunday. However, the opportunity to hunt on Sunday had little influence on persuading hunters who had not previously taken an adult friend, family member, or youth hunting on Sunday to do so. Most respondents (60%) indicated they would hunt at least the same number of days or more days (37%) if hunting on Sunday was legalized. Specifically, respondents indicated that they would hunt an average of 7 additional days that did not involve an overnight stay and take an average of 1.9 more overnight hunting trips if hunting on Sunday was legalized. Thus, legalization of hunting on Sunday likely would increase hunting participation, but would have unknown effects on hunter recruitment and retention. In addition to assessing opinions about hunting on Sunday, I explored North Carolina hunters' satisfaction with hunting experiences, motivations for hunting, and constraints to hunting participation. Overall, North Carolina hunters were satisfied with both their hunting experiences during the 2005-2006 season and the previous 5 seasons. Satisfaction with hunting experiences in North Carolina was derived from many factors (e.g., see wildlife, spend time in the field/woods). Hunters in North Carolina identified a diverse array of motivations for hunting such as to experience natural surroundings, to enjoy the outdoors, and to enjoy solitude. North Carolina hunters responding to my survey identified constraints associated with time, not enough game animals, and confusing hunting regulations as major impediments to their hunting activity in North Carolina. The question of whether removing the current ban on hunting on Sunday in North Carolina would alleviate time constraints remains unanswered. Permitting hunting on Sunday may provide an additional day of hunting opportunities for North Carolina hunters; it also would provide a means to increase satisfaction with and motivations for hunting in North Carolina for some hunters. This research effort provided valuable information about hunting and hunters in North Carolina. Careful consideration of this information is needed to encourage hunter recruitment and retention, and to combat further declines in hunting participation; however, this information should be integrated with biologically-based management goals and objectives.
Master of Science

The Cauchy problem for a two-component Hunter-Saxton equation, begin{align*}(u_t+uu_x)_x&=frac{1}{2}u_x^2+frac{1}{2}rho^2,rho_t+(urho)_x) &= 0,end{align*}on $mathbb{R}times[0,infty)$ is studied. Conservative and dissipative weak solutions are defined and shown to exist globally. This is done by explicitly solving systems of ordinary differential equation in the Lagrangian coordinates, and using these solutions to construct semigroups of conservative and dissipative solutions.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Administración
María Amelia Mazzucco [Parte I], Ana María Lobos Muñoz [Parte II]
Hoy en día en Chile los sectores hoteleros y gastronómicos son muy sensibles a la a la calidad de servicio que entregan debido a la exigente evaluación de sus clientes debido a que se enfrentan al inconveniente generados por la alta rotación de personal y por la entrega de un servicio mala de calidad de servicio. Es por eso que “A la Medida Head Hunter” que busca satisfacer la necesidad actual, de contar con un servicio de reclutamiento de calidad para esto sectores. La propuesta de valor se basa en la entrega de un servicio de selección de personal y capacitación especializado en el cliente, de manera de conocer su cultura organizacional y la forma de servir para la realización de un proceso de selección a la medida de los clientes, en donde también cuentan con la opción de entrenamiento del trabajador. Desde el punto de vista financiero el proyecto es rentable, el mismo se analizó en un escenario a cinco años en donde, tanto el capital de trabajo como la inversión del proyecto se llevarán a cabo con fondos propios sin solicitar deuda, la suma total tiene un valor de $5.015.958.- El VAN = $ 13.247.592 CLP con una TIR = 99 %, en donde se utilizó una tasa de descuento de td = 15.76 %, el período de recupero de la inversión es de 2 años.
“A la Medida Head Hunter” es un proyecto que busca satisfacer la necesidad actual del mercado hotelero y Gastronómico Chileno, de contar con un servicio de reclutamiento de calidad ya que en el Rubro Hotelero hay lugares que por el servicio que entregan deslumbran y otros que simplemente dan ganas de nunca más volver, algo similar ocurre con el mundo gastronómico, donde la atención al público muchas veces quita el protagonismo a la comida y pasa a ser un factor relevante a la hora de decidir dónde comer. Dado este planteamiento, encontramos a 2 industrias cuya fórmula del éxito se componen de factores similares y entre ellos 2 imuy importantes como son la Excelencia en el servicio y la eficiencia en costos. Dado lo expuesto anteriormente, el proyecto propone entregar valor a través de la entrega de un servicio de selección de personal y capacitación especializado en el cliente, el conocimiento de la cultura organizacional y forma de servir son claves a la hora de realizar el proceso de selección y lograr por consecuencia disminuir las altas tasas de rotación que maneja el sector. Quienes están a cargo del proyecto son Ana María Lobos y Ma. Amelia Mazzucco, cuya formación profesional es la ingeniería y ambas desempeñandose en mercado laboral Chileno y Argentino por más de 8 años. Con respecto a la rentabilidad del proyecto, se realizó análisis a 5 años y tanto el VAN de $14.336.263 CLP con la TIR = 99 % deján de manifiesto que este es un proyecto atractivo y más aún si se considera que puede financiarse con capitales propios.

This dissertation contributes to the understanding of Mesolithic settlement and subsistence change through a regional case study of archaeological data from the Trentino in northern Italy. It is argued in this thesis that in order to understand this period of hunter-gatherer prehistory, it is necessary to examine both animal bones and lithic material. These represent the main forms of archaeological evidence recorded from a series of valley bottom rock shelter and open air high altitude sites in the Trentino. An interpretative framework using risk based models is broadly applied to these data. Risk management is considered from the perspective of maintaining necessary dietary levels, through maximising the nutritional value of animal resources (animal bone data) and by tool technology (lithic materials). Butchery data are considered as evidence for hunters obtaining important sources of nutrition, including carbohydrates and vitamins, through marrow and bone grease extraction (e.g. Speth 1991). Mesolithic stone tools are examined in terms of the risks of failing to kill or capture hunted animals - through the application of 'maintainable' and 'reliable' aspects of microlithic technology and its residue (e.g. Torrence 1989). The extraction and provisioning of raw materials required to manufacture and repair hunting technology also provides a regional perspective to stone tool using strategies. Broadly, the rock shelters contain long term data-sets of animal bones and lithics. These provide a diachronic perspective to subsistence change. The open air sites offer a contrasting spatial perspective of Mesolithic settlement sites. Lithic material and site location, in relation to the surrounding topography, provides a framework for interpreting subsistence activities. The Grotta d'Ernesto cave provides further subsistence data related directly to ibex and red deer hunting. The combined study of animal bones and lithics, together with longterm and spatial perspectives provides a framework for then extending the scale of analysis from site based to regional in scale. Changes in settlement patterns are related to environmental processes that included increases in forest density, a reduction in mountain pasture areas and increased resource diversity in the valley bottom areas. Early Mesolithic subsistence is thus characterised as having a high altitude summer hunting component in which significant numbers of animals were killed and processed, while the later Mesolithic populations focused settlement and subsistence strategies in the lower altitude areas throughout the year.

In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, the city of Las Vegasrepresents a country that is torn between the flippant capitalism and the dream ofprogress on the one hand, and the need to come closer to your own humanity on theother. Critics have had much interest in the novel and Thompson’s personal relation toit, although they have not treated the dynamic of zoomorphism that informs therelationship between man and animal of the whole novel and how the animal representdifferent values depending on circumstance. This essay provides a new approach to theideas of animalism and to Thompson’s relation to it, and the analysis examines thenovel’s representation of the relation between society, man and animal and how it canbe connected to contemporary 1972 political and personal relations. This essay’s aim isto investigate how the novel through a Bakhtinian carnival reading, together withaforementioned concept of zoomorphism, handles the issue of the underlyinganimalistic tendencies of humans and how those tendencies can represent differentthings depending on context.First, I begin with a description of the concepts and theories of significance that shall beof use in the analysis, mainly that of the Bakhtinian concept of the carnival and to alesser extent Wendy Doniger’s take on zoomorphism, which will then be connectedwith instances in the novel that handles the issue of man and animal coexistence.

The Hunter-White Health Advocate Program is a unique peer-education program at the University of Arizona for Greek chapters and is facilitated through Fraternity and Sorority Programs. This program trains health advocates whom then educate their respective chapters on a number of health topics through presentations. Other requirements include attendance to health events, providing resources, and self-reflection. This evaluation compiled and analyzed three surveys using STATA and Microsoft Excel: pre-evaluations prior to the start of health advocates’ term, presentation evaluations completed by Greek members after presentations were completed by health advocates, and Campus Health Services’ Health and Wellness Survey from 2007 to 2012. The results of the evaluation show that little behavior change has taken place. Greek members participate in more risky behaviors than non-Greek members and negative behaviors have not decrease significantly. Health advocates equally chose or were chosen for the position, but did not believe the intended 20-30 minute time frame was necessary to teach material. Members did find topics to be relevant and useful and planned to use it in the future. Recommendations for improvement of the program and further evaluation were provided based on data analysis, observation, and use of the integrated theory of evaluation.

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar a relação entre o jornalista estadunidense Hunter Stockton Thompson e a escrita literária. Faremos um exame dos deslocamentos e das continuidades de seu conceito de literatura encontrados em seus textos: das cartas de juventude até o momento criação do termo "gonzo jornalismo". Dividimos a dissertação em dois grandes capítulos. O primeiro é uma investigação de como se constitui a percepção de Thompson acerca da literatura de seu país e de sua época, partindo do pressuposto de que Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas pode ser entendido enquanto uma paródia da geração beat, particularmente do livro On the Road, de Jack Kerouac. No segundo capítulo, nosso foco será a relação entre a prática de escrita de Thompson e sua subjetividade. Nosso intuito é ponderar quais são os princípios éticos e existenciais que o tornaram um escritor. Por meio dessas considerações, tentaremos esboçar uma interpretação a respeito de como o nascimento do Gonzo Jornalismo está diretamente ligado a uma relação de alteridade entre o escritor e sua própria obra.
The objective of this work is to inspect the relation between the journalist Hunter Stockton Thompson and the literary writing. We‘ll examine the dislocations and continuities of the literature concept that can be found in his texts: from the early letters until the moment of the creation of Gonzo Journalism. We distributed the dissertation in two big chapters. The first one is an investigation of how constitutes Thompson‘s perception of the literature from his country and his time, assuming that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas can be understood as a parody of the beat generation, particularly of the book On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. In second chapter, our focus will be the relation between Thompson‘s writing praxis and his subjectivity. Our intention is to think about which are the ethical and existential principles that made him become a writer. Through these considerations, we‘ll try to sketch an interpretation about how the birth of Gonzo Journalism is directly connected with an alterity relation between the writer and his own work.

Memoria para optar al título de Ingeniero Civil en Computación
En la ingeniería de software resulta clave entender la estructura del código de un proyecto para poder implementar de forma efectiva las funcionalidades requeridas por el cliente. Sin embargo, es común en la industria que el desarrollador deba enfrentarse a bases de código que le son desconocidas y que no cuentan con una documentación adecuada; lo cual entorpece los ciclos de desarrollo y aumenta los costos. La situación en la cual se debe lidiar con código cuyos desarrolladores ya no se encuentran disponibles resulta especialmente crítica. En tal caso, el programador debe realizar un proceso de reingeniería que resulta complejo y demoroso para poder satisfacer las exigencias dadas por el negocio. Con el objetivo de abordar dicha problemática, en este trabajo de memoria se construye un primer prototipo de HUNTER, una plataforma de reingeniería para JavaScript que permite al desarrollador explorar bases de código de forma visual e interactiva. Durante la fase de implementación se resolvieron una serie de desafíos técnicos que permitieron aplicar varios conocimientos enseñados a lo largo de la carrera sobre distintos tópicos tales como lenguajes de programación, patrones de diseño y construcción de interfaces de usuario. Más allá de los retos técnicos enfrentados a lo largo de la confección de la herramienta, se espera que HUNTER pueda asistir al programador en la comprensión de proyectos de JavaScript con los cuales no está familiarizado. Para ello, durante la construcción de la plataforma, se llevaron a cabo pilotos con ingenieros en la industria con la finalidad de recabar feedback temprano y enfocar el desarrollo de HUNTER. Además, mediante experimentos realizados por otros investigadores, se han obtenido resultados que preliminarmente apuntarían a la utilidad de la herramienta para la exploración de proyectos de JavaScript desconocidos. De esta forma, como resultado del presente trabajo de memoria, se obtiene una primera versión de HUNTER que facilita la comprensión de programas de JavaScript. Asimismo, se proponen diversas mejoras para esta plataforma, tales como la presentación de visualizaciones para frameworks} específicos y su extensión a otros lenguajes. Por otro lado, se plantea la interrogante de si la plataforma pudiera no solamente ayudar a la comprensión de programas desconocidos, sino también a un mejor entendimiento de un sistema con el que el desarrollador ya estuviese familiarizado.

Hunter Syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis type II, MPS II) is a rare inherited metabolic disease due to an extremely reduced or total absent activity of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate 2-sulfatase (IDS), involved in the degradation of the mucopolysaccharides heparan- and dermatan-sulphate. This causes a progressive pathologic accumulation of the two macromolecules within cell lysosomes and in the extracellular matrix of most tissues and organs, leading to their general malfunctioning and finally to death. In fact, due to the housekeeping nature of IDS, most of the organ systems are involved in the pathology, including the central nervous system in the severe forms of the disease. MPS II belongs to the group of Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs), a cluster of pathologies characterized by accumulation of mucopolysaccahrides (or glycosaminoglycans, GAG). They, in turn, represent a subgroup of the wider class of the Lysosmal Storage Disorders (LSDs), about fifty pathological conditions characterized by the progressive endo- and extra-cellular overstorage of several types of undegraded macromolecules. LSDs, for long time poorly considered by the medical-scientific community, have received in the past few years an increasing attention due to their elevated overall incidence, up to 1:1500-1:7000 live newborns, dependently on the population analyzed. Although the enzyme or protein defect underlying each of these pathologies is known, almost unknown remains the complexity of the biochemical pathways involved or altered in the lysosomal storage in general, or in specific type of storage. Studies conducted in the last decade have separately highlighted alterations of signalling proteins, intracellular calcium homeostasis, oxidative stress, autophagy, intracellular trafficking, lipid biosynthesis and iron metabolism. However, no systematic and complete studies have been so far conducted for the analysis of the whole pathologic scenario. This would help to acquire a general overview of the lysosomal storage and would also help in defining new, potential therapeutic targets and/or biomarkers useful in the diagnosis, prognosis, progression of LSDs as well as in the evaluation of efficacy of the therapeutic strategies applied. Moreover, since LSDs share several pathological signs and symptoms, it appears evident that a deep analysis of some of them could be of great help in the understanding of others. For the first time, this project evaluated, by an high throughput technology, the whole transcriptome profile of LSD cells by comparing skin fibroblasts obtained from Hunter patients and healthy controls, thus allowing a deep analysis of MPS II pathogenesis. The study, conducted by total RNA sequencing, was performed by using the SOLiD technology. Results have shown alterations in: 1) basic cellular processes as cell cycle, apoptosis, intercellular communication; 2) metabolic processes as proteoglycan metabolism, synthesis of lipids, aminoacids and nucleotides; 3) response to stimuli as oxidative stress, insulin, cytokines; 4) alteration of the developmental processes. From the therapeutic point of view, as for MPS II the major treatment strategy used in the last 5-6 years is represented by the Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT), consisting in the weekly systemic administration of the active form of the enzyme, which is missing in the patients. Clinical monitoring of the patients under treatment, organized since 2005 by Shire HGT, has shown, among other results, an important subjectivity in the efficacy of ERT, as expected for a pathology presenting several degrees of severity and a high number of different mutations. Despite this, ERT is administered to all patients following the same therapeutic protocol. Therefore, it becomes necessary to perform a deep clinical and molecular evaluation to identify potential candidate biomarkers of efficacy allowing an adequate follow-up of the patients under ERT; this would allow the set up of a personalized therapeutic protocol. Starting from these considerations, in this project an in vitro evaluation of ERT has been performed in Hunter primary fibroblasts treated with the therapeutic IDS enzyme and collected 24 and 144 h post-treatment. Their transcriptional profile has been studied to characterize the early cellular response to the enzyme supply. Such analysis allowed to highlight 20 candidate biomarkers of therapeutic efficacy. Some of these have been afterwards evaluated by using Real Time PCR, in blood samples obtained from Hunter patients under ERT. Finally, a correlation analysis was performed between clinical parameter obtained by the follow-up of the Hunter population and the gene expression profile of each gene. Such analysis has shown a good correlation for 8 pairs of gene/parameter evaluated. In particular, correlations were found for hearing impairment, seizures, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and other clinical parameters, with at least one gene. The analysis of the other candidate genes isolated from transcriptome analysis might indentify other potential biomarkers
La Sindrome di Hunter (o Mucopolisaccaridosi di tipo II, MPS II) è una malattia metabolica ereditaria rara, causata da un’attività estremamente ridotta o del tutto assente dell’enzima lisosomiale iduronato 2-solfatasi (IDS), deputato alla degradazione dei mucopolisaccaridi eparan- e dermatan-solfato. Tale deficit determina un progressivo accumulo patologico delle due macromolecole sia nei lisosomi cellulari che nella matrice extracellulare di quasi tutti i tessuti ed organi, conducendo progressivamente ad un malfunzionamento generale e, infine, alla morte. Infatti, essendo l’IDS un enzima ubiquitario, quasi tutti i distretti risultano compromessi, compreso il sistema nervoso centrale nelle forme severe della malattia. La MPS II appartiene al gruppo delle mucopolisaccaridosi (MPSs), un cluster di malattie caratterizzate proprio dall’accumulo di mucopolisaccaridi (o glicosaminoglicani, GAG. Esse rappresentano, a loro volta, un sottogruppo della più ampia classe delle malattie da accumulo lisososmiale (Lysosomal Storage Disorders, LSD), una cinquantina di patologie caratterizzate dall’accumulo endo- ed extra-cellulare di diversi tipi di macromolecole non degradate. Le LSD, a lungo trascurate dalla comunità medico-scientifica, negli ultimi anni hanno ricevuto una maggiore attenzione a causa della loro elevata incidenza complessiva, fino a 1:1500–1:7000 nati vivi, anche dipendentemente dalla popolazione analizzata. Nonostante il difetto enzimatico o comunque proteico alla base di ciascuna di queste patologie sia ormai noto, per lo più sconosciuta rimane la complessità dei pathways biochimici che risultano coinvolti o alterati nell’accumulo lisosomiale in generale, o in specifici tipi di accumulo. Gli studi condotti nell’ultima decade hanno separatamente evidenziato alterazioni a carico di proteine di segnale, dell’omeostasi del calcio endocellulare, dello stress ossidativo, dell’autofagia, del trafficking intracellulare, della biosintesi dei lipidi e del metabolismo del ferro. Nessuno studio è stato, tuttavia, condotto in modo sistematico e completo per l’analisi dell’intero quadro patologico. Ciò aiuterebbe non solo ad acquisire una visione complessiva del problema dell’accumulo lisosomiale, ma anche alla messa in luce di nuovi, potenziali target terapeutici e/o di biomarcatori utilizzabili nella diagnosi delle patologie, nella definizione della loro prognosi e progressione, nella valutazione di efficacia terapeutica dei trattamenti applicati. Inoltre, poiché le LSD condividono numerosi segni e sintomi patologici, è evidente come lo studio approfondito di alcune potrebbe risultare di grande aiuto anche per la comprensione delle altre. Per la prima volta questo progetto ha valutato con tecnologia high throughput l’intero trascrittoma di cellule LSD mediante comparazione di fibroblasti cutanei ottenuti da pazienti Hunter e da controlli sani, consentendo uno studio approfondito della patogenesi della MPS II. Lo studio, condotto mediante sequenziamento di tutto l’mRNA cellulare, è stato effettuato utilizzando la tecnologia SOLiD. I risultati hanno evidenziato alterazioni a livello di: 1) processi cellulari di base, quali il ciclo cellulare, l’apopotosi, la comunicazione intercellulare; 2) processi metabolici quali il metabolismo dei proteoglicani, la sintesi dei lipidi, degli aminoacidi e dei nucleotidi; 3) la risposta agli stimoli quali lo stress ossidativo, l’insulina, le citochine; 4) l’alterazione dei processi dello sviluppo. Dal punto di vista del trattamento, nel caso della MPS II, valutata in questo progetto di studio, la terapia maggiormente applicata negli ultimi 5-6 anni è rappresentata dalla sostituzione enzimatica (Enzyme Replacement Therapy, ERT), che consiste nella somministrazione sistemica settimanale della forma attiva dell’enzima che è deficitario nei pazienti. Il monitoraggio clinico dei pazienti in trattamento, organizzato a partire dal 2005 dalla ditta che distribuisce il farmaco (Shire HGT) ha evidenziato, tra le altre cose, una importante soggettività nell’efficacia della terapia, come atteso per un trattamento effettuato per una patologia con diverse forme di severità, causata da un elevato numero di mutazioni diverse. Tuttavia l'ERT è di norma somministrato a tutti i pazienti con il medesimo protocollo. Da qui la necessità di effettuare uno studio approfondito sia clinico che molecolare allo scopo di individuare dei potenziali candidati a biomarcatori di efficacia che consentano un follow-up adeguato dei pazienti in ERT; ciò permetterebbe la messa a punto di un protocollo terapeutico personalizzato. A partire da queste considerazioni, in questo progetto è stata effettuata una valutazione dell’ERT in vitro, in fibroblasti primari Hunter trattati con l’enzima IDS terapeutico e raccolti 24 e 144 ore dall’inizio del trattamento. Il loro profilo trascrizionale è stato studiato allo scopo di caratterizzare la risposta cellulare precoce alla somministrazione dell’enzima. Tale analisi ha consentito di evidenziare una ventina di geni candidati a marcatori di efficacia terapeutica. Alcuni di questi sono stati poi valutati, mediante Real Time PCR, in alcuni campioni ematici provenienti da una popolazione di soggetti Hunter in ERT. Infine, è stato effettuato uno studio di correlazione tra l’andamento osservato dei marcatori molecolari e l’andamento di alcuni parametri clinici, provenienti dal follow-up clinico della popolazione Hunter studiata. Tale analisi ha evidenziato una buona correlazione per 8 appaiamenti gene candidato/parametro clinico valutato; in particolare, correlazioni con almeno un gene sono state trovate per la sordità, le crisi epilettiche, l’epatomegalia, la splenomegalia e altri parametri clinici. E’ auspicabile che l’estensione di tale valutazione ai rimanenti geni candidati metta in luce altri potenziali candidati biomarcatori di efficacia terapeutica

An examination of Hunter S. Thompson's writing with the goal of defining gonzo journalism as a distinct entity from New Journalism. This is achieved via a rhetorical analysis of Thompson's writing, highlighting influences from literary figures such as Cervantes, Chaucer, Dos Passos, and Swift.
Master of Arts

Hunter satisfaction has received extensive attention in the literature, but the role of expectations on satisfaction has been neglected. Consumer satisfaction researchers often use the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm (i.e., differences between expectations and reality) to address relationships between expectations and satisfaction. I used this paradigm to examine the relationship between expectations and satisfaction for waterfowl hunters in Arkansas and Mississippi. I found hunter satisfaction was a partial function of fulfilled expectations in both studies. Performance-only measures generally correlated more strongly with overall satisfaction than disconfirmations measured by a difference score. Conversely, disconfirmation of expectations for a season measured on a single item scale, had the greatest relationship with overall satisfaction for a season. Knowledge of congruence between hunter expectations and outcomes offers managers an avenue to effectively focus management efforts to improve satisfaction levels.

Конопля, В. Ю. Інтернет-магазин Style Hunter на базі CMS Wordpress : випускна кваліфікаційна робота : 123 "Кoмп’ютepнa iнжeнepiя" / В. Ю. Конопля ; керівник роботи В. М. Базилевич ; НУ "Чернігівська політехніка", кафедра iнфopмaцiйниx тa кoмп’ютepниx cиcтeм. – Чернігів, 2021. – 64 с.
Об’єктом розробки дипломної роботи є створення інтернет-магазину на CMS WordPress з плагіном WooCommerce. При створенні магазина також створюються макет шаблону для сайту, верстка цього шаблону та переробка його для CMS WordPress. Шаблон створений за допомогою програми Adobe XD. CMS (система керування вмістом) - програмне забезпечення, що дозволяє управляти, модифікувати та створювати цифровий вміст Плагіни — це елементи для розширення функціональності або відображення. Метою даної роботи є: – Ознайомлення з CMS WordPress; – Розробка веб інтерфейсу; – Запуск сайту з власною темою. Результатом роботи є реалізація таких можливостей додатку: – вхід до особистого кабінету; – перегляд товарів за категоріями чи всіх разом; – перегляд з мобільної версії та з десктопу; – покупка; – пошук. Веб-додаток має сучасний та інтуїтивно зрозумілий інтерфейс, що відображається в браузері та простий в використанні. Продовження роботи сайту можливе без розробника за допомогою CMS, шаблон збережений в системі. Можливе розширення функціоналу та покращення інтерфейсу. При створенні сайту, було використано середовище розробки Visual Studio Code, мову програмування PHP, стандартну мову розмітки веб-сторінок в інтернеті HTML, та спеціальну мову для опису зовнішнього вигляду сторінок CSS, панель управління хостингом cPanel, середовище розробки макетів для веб-застосунків Adobe XD. Розрахунок економічної цінності не проводився.

Hunter education began in the 1930's and 1940's in response to an increasing number of hunting accidents. Early programs focused on gun safety. Later, emphasis shifted to a balance between gun safety and hunter ethics. Virginia's Hunter Education Program in 1980 had been operating on a voluntary basis for 20 years and had more than 250,000 graduates. The program was six hours in duration and was taught by game wardens and volunteer instructors. Classes were given to anyone 12 years of age or older, but students in public schools were the primary targets. Though Virginia's program had been in effect for many years, no formal evaluation as to the effectiveness of hunter education had been conducted. The present study was designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of Virginia's Hunter Education Program. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase one involved development of a new student examination for use in pre- and post-test knowledge assessment. Seven typical hunter education classes and one class of game warden recruits were tested in 1982. Test scores improved approximately 16 percent. The hunter education program seemed to be increasing students' knowledge of safe and ethical hunting. However, due to design and measurement weaknesses, no strong conclusions about the effectiveness of the hunter education program in improving students' knowledge can be made. Phase two was a participant observational study of dove hunters at two wildlife management areas in Virginia. The purpose of this phase was to compare hunting behavior of hunter education graduates versus those hunters who had not taken the course. The 112 hunters observed during the 1981 and 1982 season were later mailed a questionnaire designed to gather information on the individual hunter's experience, interest in, commitment to, and knowledge of hunting as well as some demographic characteristics. Observational and questionnaire data were combined into 32 variables and correlated with the hunter education variable. No meaningful correlations were found. Therefore, hunter education seemed to have little effect on hunters' behavior in the field. Phase three was a naturalistic inquiry evaluation of how the program was being implemented and received throughout Virginia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 57 people closely involved with hunter education. The primary purpose of this phase was to discover problems in the program and recommend solutions. The primary problems were lack of effective leadership and lack of internal agency support. Major recommendations included moving the entire program into the Education Division and creating a strong hunter safety coordinator position. Overall, the three-phased evaluation revealed that Virginia's Hunter Education Program lacked effective leadership, was being poorly implemented, and seemed to have little effect on hunters' behavior in the field. Though these results were obtained in Virginia, the investigator believes that the same results might apply to most other hunter education programs across the country.
Ph. D.

The surge in the use of adaptive Artificial Intelligent (AI) systems have been made possible by leveraging the increasing processing and storage power that modern computers are able to provide. These systems are designed to make quality decisions that assist in making predictions in a wide variety of application fields. When such a system is fueled by data, the foundation for a Machine Learning (ML) approach can be modelled. Reinforcement Learning (RL) is an active model of ML going beyond the traditional supervised or unsupervised ML methods. RL studies algorithms to take actions so that the resulting reward is expected to be optimal. This thesis investigates the use of methods of RL in a context where the reward is highly time-varying: a setup is studied where two agents compete for a common resource. Specifically, we study a robotic setting inspired by the "cat-and-mouse" (hunter-prey) game. We refer to the hunter robot as to Tom, and to the competing prey robot as Jerry. In order to study this setup, two practical setups are considered. The first one is based on a LEGO platform, enabling us to run a number of actual experiments. The second one is based on a known RL simulator environment, enabling us to run many virtual experiments. We use these environments to explore the setting: indicate the non-stationary solution it generates, evaluate a number of de-facto standard approaches to RL, and identify key future avenues to be addressed.

I view my thesis show as an opportunity to present a body of work unified by process, ideas and context. The show consists primarily of collage, including photography, and collected objects. The exhibition shows the dual roles of the artist as autonomous creator and, as exploiter of the collective history of artistic traditions. The exhibition also affirms the idea that every detail within the space should contribute to it\'s meaning and impact. Evidence of the way the work is created has been selected to accompany the work. By showing stages of development the viewer is afforded the opportunity to engage elements of the artistic process often hidden.

Thesis (M.S. in Applied Physics) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1997.
"December 1997." Thesis advisor(s): Richard Harkins, Xiaoping Yun. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-44). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2006.
Thesis Advisor(s): Moshe Kress, Kyle Lin. "December 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-89). Also available in print.

Hunter-Prey or Prey-Pursuit problem is a common toy domain for Reinforcement Learning, but the size of the state space is exponential in the parameters such as size of the grid or number of agents. As the size of the state space makes the flat Q-learning impossible to use for different scenarios, this thesis presents an approach to make the size of the state space constant by producing agents that use previously learned knowledge to perform on bigger scenarios containing more agents. Inspired from HRL methods, the method is composed of a parallel subtasks schema dividing the task into choices of simpler subtasks, a state representation technique convenient for this schema and its extension for bigger grids. Experimental results show that proposed method successfully provides agents that perform near to hand-coded agents by using constant sized state space independent from parameters of the domain.

Using data collected from two villages in Central Gabon, from August 2003 to March 2005, this thesis explores the place of hunting in the context of village livelihoods. Spatial information on trapping offtakes from 76 hunters over one year, combined with hunter interviews, provides a detailed analysis of village landscape use by hunters, and the biological and social factors influencing hunting behaviour. Whilst hunting is the main livelihood option for village men, hunters were predominantly from richer or middle-income households. However, household wealth is perceived to be more strongly related to ownership of plantations (managed by female members of the household) than to hunting. Although bushmeat was an important source of protein for families, a significant proportion of hunting incomes may not have benefited the household, as they were spent on luxury items. Investigation of commodity chain characteristics from forest to market highlights problems with the use of market data as an indicator of hunting sustainability; only 19 of the species in the original catch were represented in the animals destined for market, and three species accounted for 90% of the individual animals sold. Analysis of individual trap success showed catch rates for these larger-bodied, commercial species were highest in traps furthest from the village, in good quality forest, with low hunting pressure. Hunting strategies and hunter distribution within the landscape were strongly related to hunter age, with hunters of middle age hunting further into the forest, investing more effort, and as a result gaining higher offtakes. The use of the landscape was influenced partly by catch rates, but also by changes in the fabric of the village community as old clan-based structures broke down.

More has been written about the life of Hunter S Thompson than about the writing which brought him fame, although the peculiar nature of his first-person literary journalism makes his life and his work impossible to separate. Although the legend of the outlaw journalist is an indispensible feature, the focus of this textually-oriented study is Thompson’s method, conventionally called ‘Gonzo journalism’, and how it operates. Drawing on theories of subjectivity and authorship informed by the work of Derrida, Foucault, Barthes and John Mowitt, I attempt to analyse the Gonzo Text, examining the place of various elements of ‘Gonzo’ style and content. Looking at key themes in Thompson’s oeuvre - principally the problematics around representing drug experiences and the subjective experience of edgework, the nature of myths of objective and professional journalism in the context of political reportage, the interrogation of the place of sports in American culture and ideology, and, ultimately, Thompson’s engagement with ‘the death of the American Dream’ – I examine the ways in which the Gonzo Text is constructed. The Text of Gonzo is placed in social, political and historical contexts in terms of both wider American history of the period, and the traditions of American journalism. Gonzo works can be read in terms of Thompson’s renegotiation of the boundaries of reportable experience, of journalism, and even of personal safety and legal liability, with the unusual place of the voice of the author within Gonzo facilitating a unique type of hybrid Text. Blending fact and fiction into undecidability allows the Text to operate in some senses as what Derrida termed a ‘pharmakon’ – a site and agent of the instabilities of categories which cannot hold it. Gonzo journalism destabilises conventional ideas of literary journalism, and of journalism itself, in its peculiarly unclassifiable nature.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
NASA designed the Kepler spacecraft to detect extrasolar planets, but after several successful years, with many new discoveries, two out of four reaction wheels failed. NASA repurposed Kepler to continue science under the new mission, K2. The physics of how Kepler detects planets, the transit method, is first described. As part of this description it is shown that pointing noise is the limiting factor of Kepler’s ability to detect planets. The second part of this thesis uses a flat plate solar torque model of Kepler in order to assess the capabilities of the spacecraft in other off ecliptic attitudes. This analysis concluded that the controllability of the failed spacecraft in the presence of the solar torque is the main driver for the new K2 mission attitude and that conducting science out of ecliptic plane attitudes present challenges from the control point of view.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kentucky, 2006.
Title from document title page (viewed on March 28, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 409 p. : ill. (some col.), map. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 365-404).

En sudie i gonzojournalistiken, dess innebörd och vad den förmedlar. Studien beskriver och kopplar gonzojournalistiken till romantikens teori och kunskapssyn och är uppdelad i två huvuddelar vilka beskriver perspektivismen samt den romantika ironi som rymms inom gonzojournalistikens teknik.

In this dissertation, I examine trajectories of cultural evolution among complexhunter-gatherers and middle range societies. Broadly, I consider the theoretical issuesrelated to these two areas of study and how we should conceptualize the study of socioculturalevolution in societies organized at this scale. I apply these ideas to the study ofthe prehistoric hunter-gatherers who occupied Sapelo Island, Georgia, U. S. A.Specifically, I examine the Archaic period (4200 – 3000 B. P.) occupation of the SapeloShell Ring complex, located on the western side of the island. In particular, I study issuesof sedentism, settlement aggregation, mound construction, and the emergence of socialinequality as they relate to shell rings in the southeastern United States, as well as otherareas of the world. One of the central problems for studying these sites is whether shellrings form by gradual accumulation or by intentional construction and the concomitantsocial formations associated with these two different behaviors. Using geophysicalsurvey, artifact distributions, and radiocarbon dating, I examine the use and nature ofspace at the site as well as site formation processes. I present the results of both thegrowth band analysis on clams and the isotopic analysis on clams and oysters from thesite in order to address season of occupation. In addition to this new data, a reanalysis ofprevious excavations is presented. Combined, these data lend important insights intodifferent dimensions of socio-political complexity. Specifically, these data suggest thatthe Sapelo Shell Ring complex population was relatively large for its time. It addition, itseems that at least some portion of the population occupied the site year-round. Despiteit large population size and reduced mobility the occupants of the site maintained at leastsome degree of egalitarian social relations.

The thesis examines changes in hunter-gatherer land-use along lower Cypress Creek, atributary of the Green River located in west-central Kentucky. Presented, are the results of the firstthree years of site survey and museum work conducted by the Cypress Creek Archaeological Project.Analysis of site location and hafted bifaces suggests that, throughout the Holocene, increasingemphasis was placed on certain locations and areas of the landscape. Comparison of the CypressCreek study area with other areas of Archaic research indicate that land-use was highly variable inboth space and time across the North American midcontinent.

Each fall hunters kill hundreds of thousands of White-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) in Missouri and Illinois. Field dressing these deer provides a large influx of nutrient rich offal into the ecosystem. To date, little research has examined the effects of this resource on wildlife. We used trail cameras positioned over offal piles to examine species richness and diversity in a range of habitats during the 2011-2013 hunting seasons in Missouri and Illinois. There were a total of 17 different sampling sites, resulting in over 4 thousand photographs. Images were analyzed and organized into timed feeding events. Sites were categorized into one of three habitat types: field, edge, or forest. We documented 10 different scavenger species feeding on the offal. There was no significant difference in scavenger diversity (F=2.95; d.f.= 2,14; p=0.085), richness (F=2.25; d.f.2, 14; p=0.14;), nor habitat preference (F=0.51; d.f.2,14; p= 0.61) among habitat types. We also found no significant difference in the community structure of scavengers among the three habitat types (R= -0.049; p=0.64). However, there was a difference in the preferred mean feeding times of avian vs. mammalian scavengers (U=1,215.5; Z=11.24; p=0). The presence of offal piles does not appear to repel deer, as they were frequently observed in close proximity. The apparent similarity of the scavenger guild among habitat types can be attributable to the mosaic of fragmented habitat that characterizes the Midwest, as well as the generalized behavior of the species.

Migratory shorebirds inhabit the shorelines of rivers, wetlands, oceans and lakes, where they need to rest and feed during their non-breeding seasons to prepare for their annual migrations to breeding grounds in the Arctic. Along their flyways many non-breeding and stop-over sites are under pressure from coastal developments, disturbance, global sea level rise and water resource development. In this thesis I investigated how migratory shorebirds responded to habitat loss in the Hunter estuary, a non-breeding site in south-eastern Australia, and how they used remaining estuarine habitats. The Hunter estuary is a wetland of international importance but has a long history of modification from industrial and urban development which began in the late 1800s. Based on recent counts (2001-07), the Hunter estuary now only supports two species in internationally significant numbers (Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers Calidris acuminata) compared to seven species listed from earlier records (1970-90). Overall, I detected a 42% decline in total numbers of migratory shorebirds (1981 - 2007) in the estuary, with significant declines (44 - 83%) in four species. The tidal cycle was the main driver for the distribution of shorebirds in the Hunter estuary with most species feeding in exposed intertidal mudflats at low tide and being forced to rest at high tide. Eastern Curlews roosted on artificial structures and sandbanks during the day but at night they moved to flooded saltmarshes. Shallow water was important at the roost sites, as it provided a mechanism for cooling on warm days and for detecting predators at night. Vigilance behaviour made up 30 - 40% of Eastern Curlews roosting time, but vigilance increased by about 20% prior to their migration (Feb-Mar). Day roosting habitat was most limited during spring high tides and periods of high disturbance. Disturbance was significant at the day roosts (0.8 - 1.;7 hr-1), mostly from birds of prey, but Eastern Curlews spent longer in flight after being disturbed by people. The tidal period and tide type (neap or spring) determined shorebird distribution on intertidal mudflats. Intertidal mudflats in Fullerton Cove provided important feeding habitat for many species, but artificial mudflats impounded in the North Arm of the Hunter River extended foraging time for small shorebird species which fed until the tide forced their relocation to the main day roosts. These impoundments increased in importance for all shorebirds during neap cycles and one to three hours before high tide when the availability of intertidal mudflats was limited in the rest of the Hunter estuary. Overall, a high percentage (> 90%) of Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica foraged during low tides and 50% of godwits continued to forage up to three hours after low tide. Foraging Bar-tailed Godwits were most successful in mudflats in Fullerton Cove but prey availability was not uniform among mudflats. Saltmarshes provided major night roosting habitat and important feeding habitat for small shorebird species, including Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, which foraged in saltmarsh regardless of the tidal period. Generally, most shorebird species avoided saltmarshes with large stands of mangroves, preferring sites with open saltmarsh and tidal pools. Changes in attitudes towards wetlands management in the last three decades coincided with the formal protection and rehabilitation of shorebird habitat in the Hunter estuary. In 1995, culverts were removed to restore tidal flushing to estuarine wetlands on Ash Island, a highly modified wetland complex in the Hunter estuary.;Although high inter-annual variability in migratory shorebird populations made it difficult to detect short-term responses to wetland manipulation, long-term monitoring (1994-2007) indicated that increased tidal flushing had promoted mangrove expansion indirectly reducing habitat availability for shorebirds. Mangrove removal has the potential to restore this imbalance, but further studies are needed to support an adaptive management approach to managing shorebird habitat in the Hunter estuary. The cumulative loss and degradation of estuarine habitats in south-eastern Australia and other parts of the East Asian-Australasian flyway continue to threaten shorebird populations, but these impacts could be addressed through greater commitment to the protection and active management of shorebird roosting and feeding habitats in their non-breeding range.

Des séquences compatibles avec la formation de G4 sont présentes au niveau de certaines régions clés du génome telles que les extrémités des chromosomes, mais également les régions de commutation de classe des immunoglobulines, les promoteurs de certains gènes dont des oncogènes et des séquences transcrites. Plus de 370 000 cibles potentielles ont été prédites lors des analyses bioinformatiques du génome humain. Cependant, ces prédictions ne sont pas exhaustives étant limitées par la formulation des algorithmes de prédiction utilisés. En effet, les séquences recherchées suivent la formule consensus suivante G3+N(1−7)G3+N(1−7)G3+N(1−7)G3+. Ainsi, en apportant plus de souplesse dans la description du quadruplex nous pourrons identifier et localiser plus de cibles potentielles. C’est pourquoi, nous proposons un nouvel algorithme G4-Hunter qui permettra l’identification la plus exhaustive possible de séquences cibles en prenant en compte la totalité de la région et non plus uniquement la cible potentielle. Par ailleurs, une étude expérimentale à grande échelle (sur une centaine de séquences cibles) a été menée afin de valider et tester la robustesse de G4-Hunter. A l’aide de ce nouvel outil, nous avons pu identifier de nouvelles séquences cibles non identifiées par les approches déjà existantes au sein des génomes humain, HIV et Dictyostelium discoideum
Biologically relevant G4 DNA structures are formed throughout the genome including immunoglobulin switch regions, promoter sequences and telomeric repeats. They can arise when single-stranded G-rich DNA or RNA sequences are exposed during replication, transcription or recombination. Computational analysis using predictive algorithms suggests that the human genome contains approximately 370 000 potential G4-forming sequences. These predictions are generally limited to the standard G3+N(1−7)G3+N(1−7)G3+N(1−7)G3+ description. However, many stable G4s defy this description and escape this consensus; this is the reason why broadening this description should allow the prediction of more G4 loci. We propose an objective score function, G4- hunter, which predicts G4 folding propensity from a linear nucleic acid sequence. The new method focus on guanines clusters and GC asymmetry, taking into account the whole genomic region rather than individual quadruplexes sequences. In parallel with this computational technique, a large scale in vitro experimental work has also been developed to validate the performance of our algorithm in silico on one hundred of different sequences. G4- hunter exhibits unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity and leads us to reevaluate significantly the number of G4-prone sequences in the human genome. G4-hunter also allowed us to predict potential G4 sequences in HIV and Dictyostelium discoideum, which could not be identified by previous computational methods

From small-scale food-sharing among hunter-gatherers to large-scale institutions in modern industrial societies, cooperation is central to human success. This thesis focuses on the former, exploring cooperative dynamics among the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population. I develop a novel experimental approach to exploring hunter-gatherer cooperative behaviour which simultaneously assesses the amount individuals cooperate and who they cooperate with. In contrast to much previous experimental literature, this non-anonymous design permits tests of specific theories for the evolution of cooperation, including: kin selection (cooperating with related individuals); reciprocity (cooperating with others who cooperate in return); and tolerated theft/demand sharing (taking from those with more resources), among other adaptive hypotheses. Using two experimental games – one exploring giving behaviour (donating resources to others) and another exploring demand sharing behaviour (taking resources from others) – I find that individuals from camps with a greater probability of repeated interactions give more to and take less from others. When individuals give to others it is directed towards kin and reciprocating partners, while when individuals take they do so from those with more resources, regardless of kinship or reciprocity. As predicted by theoretical models, this suggests that reciprocal transfers occur when interactions are repeated, while demand sharing occurs when repeated interactions are less likely. Differences in the frequency of repeated interactions may therefore explain some cross-cultural variation in forager food-sharing practices. This thesis also explores the effects of reputation on cooperative and interaction networks, finding that many aspects of forager social networks may reflect the trade of commodities in biological markets. Additionally, assessment of the ontogenetic roots of Agta cooperative behaviour suggests that 3 who children cooperate with, but not overall levels of cooperation, change over childhood in ways which are consistent with adaptive evolutionary hypotheses. These findings provide an insight into the evolutionary and ecological roots of hunter-gatherer cooperation.

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Monk's Tale is compromised of seventeen individual tales, which instead of serving a moral lesson one would expect of a clergy member, serves as a quasi-hunt that allows the Monk to participate in his favorite, violent hobby. The Monk personifies fortune as a hunter, striking down successful men who are unsuspecting of the violent downfall which awaits them. The Monk structures his tale to resemble the different stages of a hunt and fills it with violent, animalistic, and erotic imagery that works to strengthen the Monk's perception of his own masculinity while simultaneously providing a form of sexual pleasure that he is otherwise forbidden to experience. Hunting played a significant role in medieval society and literature. Though clergy members were typically forbidden or discouraged from participating in the sport, significant aspects of the history surrounding medieval hunting shed light on the Monk's identity as primarily a hunter.

Based on anthropological fieldwork in Zaire, this thesis focuses on the relationship between Mbuti hunter-gatherers, their Bila farming neighbours and their forest environment. Earlier descriptions of Mbuti/Bila relations as being essentially one of opposition (e.g. those of Colin Turnbull) are shown to reflect the nature of colonial control rather than the fundamental interdependence which exists between these two groups. The way people attempt to cope with extractive economic forces is examined historically and in present Mbuti involvement in gold extraction. Local responses to the Forest Reserve (created in 1992) are shown to range from viewing it as resource appropriation to viewing it as a marriage. The author's study of daily Mbuti life in the forest highlights the importance of economic exchange with the Bila, and the impact of broader political forces. Conflict, gender and power are examined in the Bila/Mbuti nkumbi circumcision ritual, and in the Mbuti molimo ritual. For the Mbuti and the Bila the forest is not sacred in itself: the interactions of past generations with the forest render it sacred. This experience of the forest encompasses fearing sorcery and the evil spirits of the dead, and attempting to control and manipulate - or trusting, joking and sharing with - the "forest as ancestors". The nature of the Mbuti net hunt, demand-sharing, and sharing with the forest in song and ritual, are ultimately centred in egalitarianism and their strong identification with the forest. The argument advanced in this thesis supports that of writers such as Nurit Bird-David and Tim Ingold who argue that identity, for the Mbuti and other hunter-gathers, can be grounded in a sense of sharing with a living environment. However it collapses Ingold's absolute opposition between Mbuti and Western approaches to the environment arguing that - although Mbuti cosmology tends towards an identification with the environment, and Cartesian cosmology tends towards a belief in separation and opposition - in practice both the Mbuti and people in the West move between these opposing modes. Conversation projects in the Ituri are shown to embody a Cartesian cosmology which sees humans as separate from the environment, the latter being essentially a passive realm for humans to exploit or protect. Recent developments in these projects, combined with policies which would support local peoples' cosmology of inclusion, suggests a conservation approach which seeks to deepen, rather than restrain, local peoples' involvement with their environment.

In this thesis, I present work conducted as a Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) (MAE) Scholar based at the OzFoodNet sentinel site at Hunter New England Population Health. During my placement, I was involved in a number of public health investigations both locally and in the Western Pacific region. The MAE core competency requirements and the epidemiological skills that I developed through my field placement are demonstrated in the following chapters. I was fortunate to be at the coalface of public health in my placement at the Local Health District and was able to be involved in a number of outbreak investigations. I led an investigation of an outbreak of Campylobacter in a rural community in New South Wales. This investigation included a retrospective cohort study with the aim of characterising cases and identifying the source of infection to prevent further illness. Data were collected on food and animal exposures prior to the first onset of illness in the community. We found no statistically significant food exposures, however this was complicated by near universal exposure to some food items. A review of cooking processes identified undercooked chicken as the likely source of infection in this outbreak. I was also involved in local outbreaks of gastroenteritis associated with a primary school and a Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak associated with a restaurant. In addition, I was involved in an investigation of paediatric severe acute respiratory infections requiring admission to intensive care units as a part of a World Health Organization deployment to Fiji in May 2016. I conducted an epidemiological project examining environmental risk factors for human infection with Salmonella serovar Wangata in north east New South Wales. I designed and administered a case-control study in three Local Health Districts. Data on environmental exposures were collected for cases and two separate control groups: cases of Salmonella Typhimurium and community controls from the neighbourhood of cases. This project included a large data analysis component, with separate multivariable logistic regression models developed to analyse environmental exposures in each control group. Whole genome sequencing was used to examine the relatedness between human isolates and environmental specimens collected as a part of this project. During my deployment to Fiji in May 2016, I was involved in the surveillance of infectious diseases following Tropical Cyclone Winston. I co-evaluated the Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS in a Box) with fellow MAE Scholar, Meru Sheel. Nine syndromes were reported to the EWARS system from 34 sentinel sites in Fiji. The web based EWARS system utilised smartphone reporting and was considered simple, acceptable and generally useful for users. Recommendations were made to improve the layout and interpretation of surveillance reports and to enhance operating procedures and guidelines for surveillance officers. This was the first time the EWARS in a Box system had been implemented in a Pacific Island Country and the experiences of the system in Fiji can be used to assist other countries in the region who are experiencing humanitarian disasters.

In recent decades anthropologists and archaeologists have divided hunter-gatherer groups into two types; "simple" and "complex". However, many documented foraging communities display traits associated with both types, and the placement of past and present hunter-gatherers into either category is problematic. The substantial house remains of the late Younger Stone Age hunter-gatherers of Varangerfjord, North Norway, have been connected by many archaeologists with sedentism and, by extension, with "complexity" and permanent social hierarchies. This analysis takes a more direct approach social organisation, using faunal remains to better define the social relationships between households within this community. The large mammal remains from a series of houses are compared to determine whether all households had equal access to prey species and to different parts of large mammal carcasses. Towards this end, the climate and available resources are established for North Norway during the Younger Stone Age. Previous interpretations of the archaeology of the period, including the argument for "complexity" are then discussed. The study sites and associated faunal assemblages are presented. Seal hunting patterns are compared between households in terms of both the choice of species and the age breakdown of each hunted seal population. Local differences in the numbers of ringed seal are attributed to the preference of ringed seal for certain types of coastline. Strong similarities are noted between all sites in terms of both the season of seal hunting activity and the selection of adult versus juvenile harp seal and ringed seal. Distribution of seal and reindeer body parts are also compared between and within houses. Again, there are more similarities than differences between households. Seals were returned whole to all houses and reindeer body part representation appears to be mediated by the utility of each part for artefact manufacture. The implication of these results are discussed in terms of the structure of social relationships, symbolic behaviour and territoriality. The utility of this approach in a broader context is also considered.

This dissertation is an account of a Bornean hunting and gathering group, the Punan of Long Suluy, as it transitions from an economy based primarily in subsistence foraging to one increasingly oriented to the market and about the accompanying social shifts associated with that transition. It focuses on the period stretching from the mid-1960s until 2004 during which time an Arab Indonesian trader managed to establish and maintain what constituted a one-man monopoly over the Punans' trade in commercialized forest products. The relationship between the Punan and this trader began as one based solely in economics and eventually transformed into a type of patron-client relationship embedded in terms of mutual obligations and quasi-kin relations. As the Punan became increasingly involved in market relations and to adopt values based in material accumulation and an identity referenced outside of their own social group, they became increasingly adversarial with the trader, transitioning from subservient laborers to competitors in the forest product trade. This dissertation investigates both the shifting political economy of the Punan during this time period and their internal social dynamics as they negotiate their increasing participation in the market.