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The purpose of this study is to analyse the factors that influence the type of motivation to study Spanish at tertiary level in a predominantly English speaking environment like the North West of Ireland, as language learning motivation may be impacted by economic reasons e.g., an economic recession. An additional purpose of this research is to assist educational reformers in the area of language education by generating relevant theory. Consequently, this study includes recommendations aimed at improving the rationalisation, efficacy, and quality of language education in the Irish Institute of Technology sector. Research indicates that native English speakers tend to be unmotivated language learners. Their tendency to monolingualism is influenced by the effects of globalisation and by the status of English as lingua franca. Nevertheless, there are economic and academic benefits to the mastery of modern languages. If fluency in English is the best form of linguistic capital that a non-Anglophone graduate can possess, knowledge of Spanish may be the best form of linguistic capital that Anglophones can obtain. Therefore, Irish monolingual students might be at a disadvantage position since the long-term sustainability of language education at tertiary level in rural Ireland is under economic pressure. This is a predominantly qualitative mixed methods research study. The analysis of the qualitative data is triangulated by a quantitative method. The findings suggest that language-learning motivation is impacted by several factors, for instance, the learners’ linguistic backgrounds, and their previous Irish language learning experience. However, there is insufficient evidence to report a significant economic impact. This research will be useful to academics, students and policy makers.

Over the course of the sixteenth century, the burgeoning globalising forces of exploration and discovery transformed the indigo trade in Asia and the Americas, the histories of blue, and woad producing regions in Europe. Around 1560, the Spanish Crown found indigo-producing plants grew wild in parts of New Spain, and across the Captaincy General of Guatemala; settlers turned with enthusiasm to the new industry, and by 1600 indigo ranked third on the list of exports from the Spanish colonies - after bullion, and cochineal, contending for its place with cattle hides. Previous studies of colonial Mesoamerican indigo have concentrated on eighteenth century production methods and the problematic of indigenous labour, rarely following the blue dye past the port of Seville, to the dyer's vat or the artist's studio. Processes of reception, accommodation (sometimes rejection), and commodification, the initial development of manufacturing techniques and the diffusion of these new practices, have been left unexamined. This thesis seeks to address some of these, neglected chapters in the history of indigo, constructing a narrative that integrates the experiences of producers and consumers, considering the materiality of indigo (in its raw, and multiple finished forms). Drawing on selected case studies from across the Empire, I examine the production, trade, and consumption of New World indigo over the course of two centuries - between 1550 and 1750 - focusing on the individuals and groups, connections and interactions that determined its path from an unfamiliar, exotic dye, to a commodity circulated globally.

The aim of operations management in health care is to enhance the provision of services to patients and to decrease costs. Overall worldwide health care expenditures represent around 10.5% of the global GDP and are projected to increase at an annual rate of 5.3% from 2015 to 2017 [74]. In order to investigate how to curb health care costs, I study the English NHS, a health care system that provided universal care to around 54 million people in 2014 [243]. The NHS has launched many initiatives to improve the performance of hospital operations such as the "QIPP" program, which has the objective to save £20 billion of costs by 2015 [98]. Given this framework, this research aims to contribute to the theory that is guiding these operational changes, using data on all admissions to hospitals and focussing on the inguinal hernia, one of the most common surgical procedures [86]. In the next chapters, this research describes inguinal hernia care delivery in the English NHS, examines the impact of spillovers and complementarities on costs, and investigates the effects of length of stay reduction on risk of re-admission and risk of death. The findings of this thesis indicate that one of the possible problems in the delivery of inguinal hernia care in the NHS is the decrease in the number of elective operations performed and the increase in readmission rates. They also clarify how decisions on allocation of resources can affect hospital expenditures by showing that loss in focus can increase health care costs and by pointing out that there is little evidence to support the theory of spillovers and complementarities in the surgical context. Finally, the results of this research can be used to suggest the logic of a policy to decrease length of stay that can inform hospital decisions and can decrease hospital costs.

This qualitative study examined political communication between marital partners through the perspectives of both male and female heterosexual spouses and whether political discussion and political persuasion was impacted by respondent gender roles. The study collected data from 21 adult participants who identified as heterosexual, married, and cisgender female or male. The study’s research questions explored the respective roles of both spouses in political discussion and political persuasion, in addition to exploring factors that prompt political communication between spouses. I collected data to analyze and respond to the study’s research questions through online questionnaires shared on social media. Theory-driven qualitative content analysis was used to create a coding system of concepts from three theories: social judgement theory, relational framing theory, and dyadic power theory. Study findings indicate that male and female participants identified similarities and differences regarding how they perceived their own roles and roles of their spouses in both political discussions and political persuasion, and that the primary factor that prompts political communication between spouses is “news.” This study contributes to a gap in communication literature regarding the role of persuasive political communication in heterosexual spousal relationships and provides opportunities for researchers to better understand each heterosexual spouse’s perspective regarding political communication.

The Neotropics are home to exceptional levels of mammalian diversity, but few fossil-producing sites document the history and paleoenvironments represented by these faunas. Among these are two middle Miocene sites from the Andes of south-central Bolivia, Cerdas (~16 Ma) and Quebrada Honda (~13 Ma), which are relatively well-sampled and temporally well-constrained. Together, they span the end of the Middle Miocene Climactic Optimum (MMCO; Cerdas) and the interval directly following it (Quebrada Honda). Thus, they offer an opportunity to expand limited knowledge of Neotropical paleoenvironments and to investigate habitat changes that may have occurred in parallel with climate change during the MMCO and/or tectonic uplift that occurred during this interval. Paleopedology, ichnology, and an ecological diversity analysis (EDA) were used to reconstruct and compare the paleoenvironments of Cerdas and Quebrada Honda to one another and to several other sites (in the case of Quebrada Honda). Cerdas and Quebrada Honda are reconstructed to have sub-arid to humid climates with differing vegetative cover. The landscapes of Cerdas are interpreted as shrublands and open grassland-like environments, while the landscapes of Quebrada Honda are interpreted as moderately- to densely-vegetated wooded grasslands. The differing paleohabitats of Cerdas and Quebrada Honda primarily result from differencesin landscape stability and soil moisture and do not support suggestions of higher paleoelevations at Quebrada Honda relative to Cerdas at their times of deposition. An EDA using a worldwide modern comparative data set of temperate and tropical faunas was used to evaluate the habitats of five middle Cenozoic (Oligocene–Miocene) fossil faunas, including Quebrada Honda. The results indicate that modern faunas from other continents represent better analogues for ancient South American faunas than modern South American faunas. The inferred habitats of Quebrada Honda are compared to that of the contemporaneous (~13 Ma) and faunally distinct site of La Venta, Colombia. The paleoenvironments of these two localities are found to be drastically different, and the differences between the faunas are interpreted to reflect differing habitats. These findings are concordant with patterns of provinciality observed in ancient Neotropical faunas, and support the hypothesis that the provinciality is primarily a result of differing habitats.

This pilot study utilized constructivist grounded theory to explore the process of identifying as a survivor among women who have been sexually assaulted. An overwhelming majority of research available on survivors of traumatic events, such as sexual assault, focus primarily on the psychological, and sometimes physical, reactions. The literature fails to investigate personal influences, experiences, and processes on a more individual level; rather it discusses symptomology and treatment modalities used to alleviate symptoms related to various clinical diagnoses. Seven women were interviewed twice exploring their specific journey and processes to identifying as a survivor after victimization. Six theoretical phases emerged from the data: identification, conceptualization of the assault, barriers, coping mechanisms, disclosure and community, and altruism. These categories, conditions, strategies, and consequences explicated the process that emerged from the data collected. These findings may influence future research as well as clinical approaches by incorporating various aspects such as partnership and intimacy and reconstructing meaning. Lastly, implications for counselor education are suggested in an effort to better equip counselors in training with the appropriate tools to effectively work with victims of sexual violence.

The neoichnology of two species of ground-dwelling skinks, Chalcides ocellatus and Mabuya multifasciata, and the paleopedology and ichnology of paleosols within the Upper Casselman Formation of southeastern Ohio were studied in two separate but related analyses to evaluate the diversity and variability of terrestrial environments and ecosystems. The biogenic structures produced by C. ocellatus included sediment homogenization, U-to V-shaped divots, flame structures and sinuous surficial traces while M. multifasciata produced seven distinct burrow morphologies including U-and, J-shaped burrows and ramps. Through the paleopedologic analysis the Casselman Formation was found to have four distinct types of paleosols that represented pedogenesis in three distinct landscapes under different environmental, topographic and climatic conditions. The results from these studies can be directly applied to both continental ichnology and paleopedology and demonstrate the utility of the combined application of continental ichnology and paleopedology in the analysis of terrestrial environments.

Background: Different isoforms of VEGF-A (mainly VEGF121, VEGF165 and VEGF189) have been shown to display particular angiogenic properties in the generation of a functional tumor vasculature. Recently, a novel class of VEGF-A isoforms, designated as VEGFxxxb, generated through alternative splicing, have been described. Previous studies have suggested that these isoforms may inhibit angiogenesis. In the present work we have produced recombinant VEGF121/165b proteins in the yeast Pichia pastoris and constructed vectors to overexpress these isoforms and assess their angiogenic potential. Results: Recombinant VEGF121/165b proteins generated either in yeasts or mammalian cells activated VEGFR2 and its downstream effector ERK1/2, although to a lesser extent than VEGF165. Furthermore, treatment of endothelial cells with VEGF121/165b increased cell proliferation compared to untreated cells, although such stimulation was lower than that induced by VEGF165. Moreover, in vivo angiogenesis assays confirmed angiogenesis stimulation by VEGF121/165b isoforms. A549 and PC-3 cells overexpressing VEGF121b or VEGF165b (or carrying the PCDNA3.1 empty vector, as control) and xenotransplanted into nude mice showed increased tumor volume and angiogenesis compared to controls. To assess whether the VEGFxxxb isoforms are differentially expressed in tumors compared to healthy tissues, immunohistochemical analysis was conducted on a breast cancer tissue microarray. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in both VEGFxxxb and total VEGF-A protein expression in infiltrating ductal carcinomas compared to normal breasts was observed. A positive significant correlation (r = 0.404, p = 0.033) between VEGFxxxb and total VEGF-A was found. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that VEGF121/165b are not anti-angiogenic, but weakly angiogenic isoforms of VEGF-A. In addition, VEGFxxxb isoforms are up-regulated in breast cancer in comparison with non malignant breast tissues. These results are to be taken into account when considering a possible use of VEGF121/165b-based therapies in patients.

Having successfully initiated and developed the legal aspects of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) the challenge which now arises for the developing coastal nations is to implement an ocean management system to more fully realize the potential benefits of extended jurisdiction. This study discusses the needs and problems developing nations may encounter in developing such a management system and also considers the ways and means to meet these needs and overcome these problems. The study suggests that coastal nations should adopt an integrated three phased ocean policy process consisting of a (1) priority establishment phase (policy formulation) (2) strategic phase (planning) and (3) tactical phase (management). The study further discusses the institutional problems which will accompany a nation ocean management effort. Because governmental institutions are arranged according to the major economic and social sectors and because ocean uses cross all sectoral boundaries the administration of the EEZ as a unit does not conform well to any individual sector. Thus the idea of comprehensive and integrated institutions for national ocean management is also explored. The institutional problem is highlighted by several case study examples.