Primary Study Area Research Articles

A profile of sports science research (1983–2003)

A majority of sports science research is undertaken in universities and dedicated research centres, such as institutes of sport. Reviews of literature analysing and categorising research have been carried out, but categories identified have been limited to research design and data gathering techniques. Hence there is a need to include categories such as discipline, subjects and targeted sport. A study was conducted using document analysis method to gather data that described and categorised performance-based sports science research projects in Australian universities and institutes of sport. An instrument was designed that could be used by researchers to analyse and profile research in the area of sports science. The instrument contained six categories: targeted sport, primary study area, participant type, research setting, methodology and data gathering techniques. Research documents analysed consisted of 725 original unpublished research reports/theses. Results showed that over two-thirds of research projects were targeted to specific sports and, of this group, nearly half involved four sports: cycling, rowing, athletics and swimming. Overall, physiology was the most researched scientific discipline. The most frequently used research method was experimental design, and the most frequently used data gathering technique was physiological (performance) measures. Two-thirds of research was conducted in laboratory settings, and nearly half of the research was conducted with elite or sub-elite athletes as participants/subjects. The findings of this study provide an overall synopsis of performance-based sports science research conducted in Australia over the last 20 years, and should be of considerable importance in the ongoing development of sports science research policy in Australia.

Evaluation of Factors Potentially Influencing a Desert Bighorn Sheep Population

Abstract We studied a desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) population in the Mazatzal Mountains (primary study area) in central Arizona and population indices on reference areas between 1989 and 2003. We evaluated disease exposure and nutritional status of desert bighorn sheep, vegetation parameters, predator diets, and mountain lion (Puma concolor) harvest and abundance (1999–2003) and mountain lion predation (1995–2003) as factors potentially affecting desert bighorn sheep and population parameters. We measured rainfall monthly, monitored demography and relative abundance of desert bighorn sheep using aerial surveys, captured and placed radio collars on desert bighorn sheep, and collected samples of blood, parasites, and other pathogenic agents from captured animals. We measured mineral content, relative use, and structural composition of vegetation and determined diets of desert bighorn sheep adults and lambs, dietary intakes of nitrogen (FN), 2,6-diaminopimelic acid (FDAPA), neutral detergent fiber,...

QUEER FILM AND MEDIA PEDAGOGY

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer (GLBTQ) scholars today face an unprecedented travesty of their long-standing struggles for liberation and equality both in academe and throughout the public sphere. Notwithstanding increased positive GLBTQ representation in films and on television, anti-GLBTQ violence and disempowering legislative initiatives evidence a pervasive chipping away at hard-won pro-GLBTQ battles by neoconservative and neoliberal forces, which have insinuated themselves through the back door. The acuteness of these troubling conditions prompts urgent questions among GLBTQ film and media scholars, not least because their primary areas of study lie at the center of battles for control of public knowledge production about the general subject. These battles are now producing some of the most egregious consolidations of media industrial power in history: recalling Ben H. Bagdikian, the communications industry has become a “media monopoly” that works to sustain multinational rivalry over the world’s dwindling natural resources and increasingly disenfranchised labor force, dumb down the populace, politically isolate demographic regions, and suppress speech and free dissent, especially regarding strategies of resistance, wherever they may flourish.1 The following roundtable on queer film and media pedagogy is intended to

American Sign Language Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States

Even though ASL isn�t as easy to learn as it may seem at first, more and more students are enrolling in ASL courses at both the secondary and university levels and choosing ASL as a primary area of study. For this reason the demand for ASL teachers is increasing, and the need for ASL teacher-preparation programs (ASL TPPs) has increased. Therefore, to assess present and future standards, an examination of the current ASL TPPs in the United States was called for. This article compares three ASL TPPs and examines them for compliance with national teaching standards. The analysis of each site highlights four areas: (a) the program, (b) curriculum development, (c) admission and enrollment requirements, and (d) the courses. Following the curricular narratives of these schools is a comparison of their programs with the trends in national standards. The article ends with some recommendations for upgrading the existing and new ASL TPPs.

Patterns of Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Convective Rainfall Associated with Postwildfire Flash Floods and Debris Flows in Complex Terrain of the Western United States

Abstract Flash flood and debris flow reports from Storm Data and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are used to investigate the relationship between hazardous hydrological responses, convective rainfall, and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flash parameters. Basins burned by the Coal Seam and Missionary Ridge wildfires during the summer of 2002 in western Colorado were selected as primary study areas. The North American monsoon (NAM) air mass played a pivotal role in providing low-level moisture over much of Colorado during each of the 12 hydrological events identified. Surface θe values as high as 354 K were calculated over western Colorado in a composite analysis that also saw a θe ridge through 500 hPa extending northward into Nebraska and southern South Dakota. Storm-total CG flashes were as high as 718, and the median flash total for the population of events was 256. Mean 5-min CG flash intensity for the events was 18.1 flashes. The mean rainfall intensity associated with the 12 hydrological events was ...

VARIATION IN HYDROGEN STABLE-ISOTOPE RATIOS BETWEEN ADULT AND NESTLING COOPER'S HAWKS

Abstract Hydrogen stable-isotope analysis of feathers is an increasingly popular method for estimating the origins of migrating and wintering birds. Use of this method requires that investigators know which feathers are grown on breeding grounds and how the hydrogen stable-isotope ratios of feathers (δDf) relate to those of local precipitation (δDp). In this study, we measured δDf of adult (primaries 1, 3, and 10) and nestling Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and British Columbia, Canada. As previously shown, δDf of nestling feathers were related to δDp. In contrast, the δDf of adult feathers grown on the breeding grounds were substantially greater than those of their nestlings, and varied significantly across primary feathers and study areas. Our findings suggest that it is not possible to use hydrogen stable-isotope analysis of feathers to learn the origins of migrating adult Cooper's Hawks (or possibly adults of other large-bodied species with extended molting periods) un...

Helping Military Families Who Have a Child with a Disability Cope with Stress

This exploratory study investigates perceived levels of family stress for military families who have a young child with a disability. Two primary areas of study were the sources and levels of stress, and the benefits of resources designed to help families cope. Results of the study indicate an increased level of stress for families when the demands of military life were coupled with the demands of caring for a young child with a disability. Events such as separation from family members, relocation, deployment, and personal safety and health issues emerged as concerns of the military personnel. The importance of coordinating services for these families is discussed.

Vehicle-Ownership Model Using Family Structure and Accessibility Application to Honolulu, Hawaii

Vehicle ownership plays a key role in determining the number of trips made by a household and the modes that the household will use to make those trips. Predicting vehicle ownership is a challenge due to the complexity of relationships affecting the choice of vehicles for a particular household. The income of the household, the accessibility of activities by alternative modes, and the family makeup of a household all affect the choice of the number of vehicles. The Honolulu metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses the island of Oahu, is the primary study area. On Oahu, vehicle ownership varies widely, from the dense neighborhoods in Waikiki to the semirural areas on the fringe of the region. Consequently, the vehicle-ownership model will be a crucial component of the new travel forecasting models for the island. Using 1995 Oahu household interview survey data, a vehicle-ownership model that takes into account income, accessibility, and household family structure has been estimated and found to predict rather accurately the shares in each vehicle-ownership class by geography, household size, and number of workers. In addition, 1990 census data have been used to test a variation of the vehicle-ownership model on several other American cities such as Atlanta, Kansas City, San Francisco, and New York. The resulting models for these regions parallel the Honolulu vehicle-ownership model very closely in structure and statistical significance, thereby demonstrating the model structures’ transferability between regions.

An Experimental Reef Program to Test Designs of an Artificial Reef for Kelp Mitigation

An artificial reef is being planned to mitigate alleged losses of giant kelp and the invertebrate and fish communities associated with a kelp bed. The project's first step was to initiate comprehensive siting and design studies. A 25-yr time series of kelp surface canopy maps for a 100 km reach of coastline was entered into a GIS database and analyzed in conjunction with geotechnical and human-use information to define ecologically favorable and acceptable sites in the general area. A site was chosen near an area that appeared most promising in the primary study area. This study's field work determined that the design of the mitigation reef will not be straightforward and that an experimental phase to test various designs needs to be performed. We recommend that a low relief (0.5-1.5 m) reef with relatively high exposure to sand scour and occasional, partial burial be constructed in order to promote the establishment of kelp. Scattered rock and broken concrete at three different density spreads (17, 34, and 67%) on the bottom will be tested. This study has revealed that existing artificial reefs have not typically sustained a persistent kelp bed. This fact, therefore, makes the Phase I experiment even more critical than originally thought.

‘Musick & Poetry, Mixed’: Thomas Jordan's manuscript collection

During the turbulent years which immediately preceded the birth of Henry Purcell many Royalist poets and sympathizers gathered together collections of songs and poems illustrating major events in Britain's political history between the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642 and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy 18 years later. In 1949 the University of Nottingham acquired one such collection, a manuscript of 34 Cavalier poems with music (see table 1), compiled by the poet and actor, Thomas Jordan (c.162o-1685).' Bound during the 18th century with Jordan's 1637 publication Poeticall Varieties: or, Varietie of Fancies, the anthology was one of several hundred literary manuscripts presented to the university by the 7th Duke of Portland, and now bears the shelfmark PwV18.2 The current catalogue entry to the volume-'1637 Tho. Jordan: Poeticall varieties (printed; with manuscript additions) (small qto. vol.)'-belies the significance of PwV18. The manuscript layer, which extends to 124 pages (pp.112-23 are blank), contains a mixture of political medleys and ballads, love poems and jigs, many of which are new to the corpus of 17th-century English song. The texts are set to anonymous popular tunes and to the airs of John Wilson, Thomas Gibbes, Davis Mell, John Gamble, Mr [?John] Taylor and W[alter] Y[ockney]. Furthermore, the discovery of the manuscript identifies Jordan as the first textual scribe of John Gamble's famous songbook,3 and places him within the literary circle connected with London's theatre musicians and composers during the middle decades of the 17th century. The chain of provenance of PwV18 is an intricate one (see table 2). The volume's earliest identifiable owner was the Cervantean scholar, the Rev. John Bowle (1725-88), whose bookplate can be found on the front pastedown.4 Bowle's primary area of study lay in the romance languages; his edition of Don Quixote was published in 1781. He also accumulated a substantial library of early modern English literary works, and wrote on a wide range of subjects, including music; for Lynn Hulse is a research fellow at Clare example, his 'Remarks on some antient Musical Instruments menHall, Cambridge, and editor ofChelys, tioned in Le Roman de la Rose' were published in the 1785 issue of the journal of the Viola da Gamba Society. antiquarian journal Archaeologia. Bowle acquired Jordan's collection

Consequences of the Extirpation of Predators on Moose

This year was the first of our five year project. We established three primary study areas to examine possible biological effects of large predators on moose. Sites where fieldwork was conducted included apparent heavy predation by grizzly bears [the eastern slopes of the Talkeetna Mountains (Alaska)], little or no predation (Grand Teton National Park), and human predation (Bridger-Teton National Forest), the latter two in the southern portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Data were gathered in Alaska from April until August and, in Wyoming, for all months from February until August (except during April). At the southern Greater Yellowstone sites, information was collected on pregnancy rates, calf production, twinning, and juvenile and adult survivorship. Ecological and behavioral data gathered from all three sites included home range locations, foraging associations and rates, habitat use, group size, social interactions, migration, and responses to humans and potential predators. Twenty animals were radio-collared at the Wyoming site; as of December 1995 only 15 survived. One apparently starved to death, one was poached, one was legally shot, and two died of unknown causes. We improved our sample by using 13 females previously radio-collared on national forest lands by University of Wyoming and Wyoming Department of Game and Fish personnel. Of these, two died during the 1994-1995 winter and three had slipped their collars.

A literature review of serials in administrative office systems and business education

Garrett is assistant professor, administrative office systems, and Mackey is associate dean of library services, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. Administrative Office Systems (AOS) encompasses four primary areas of study: office systems, office management, business education/training and development, and business communication. As an academic discipline the field has grown from the traditional business education areas of typing, shorthand, and office practice to encompass the latest of office systems and procedures involving the newest computer and communications technologies. The ability to identify needed systems and procedures, to incorporate them into offices, and to train others to make the most efficient use of these systems requires in-depth study and practice. Offices have become much more complex in the past 20 years and indications are that the trend will continue. Administrativeoffice systems as an academic area focuses on the management of complex systems, the technology and communications to provide an efficient office environment, and the trained employees to work in this environment. In the 1960s and 1970s it was sufficient to know how to set up manual files and have a standard format for correspondence. Since the 1980s it has become necessary to know how to develop and manage computer files, select the best software for various office functions, and develop, where necessary, specialized information systems for a particular type of business or function. As the United States develops a stronger service economy, it is imperative that workers be well trained in basic business practices. Business education at the secondary level and in the business setting provides that

Recordare – Never to Forget

The honour of delivering this, the First Alan Lessem Memorial Lecture at the very institution to which our lamented friend was so utterly devoted, fills me with a great deal of sadness as well as deep gratitude: sadness, because a quite extraordinary human being, in whom I sensed a kindred soul from the moment we first met more than a quarter of a century ago, will no longer be allowed to spread his many blessings among young and old, his family, students and colleagues, yet gratitude for the unique privilege of having known such a generous heart and such a persistently creative mind about as well as a teacher will ever know any younger man in his temporary academic care. Since, moreover, I came to value him also as a trusted friend in the course of ourclose association at the University of Illinois, I trust that I shall be permitted a few brief personal reminiscences of that truly remarkable individual, unquestionably the most brilliant of a host of superior graduate students who had the fortitude to subject themselves, at their considerable peril, to my merciless doctoral proddings. If Alan Lessem is certain to affect for a long time yet to come the thoughts, feelings and doings of all whose lives he touched in one capacity or another, it won't be so much on account of his vast knowledge and commensurate powers of communication, nor even his often uncanny insights, but rather, on account of his unfailing sense of justice, his absolute integrity, the courage of his convictions, strictly human qualities of which I caught a glimpse in the course of our very first encounter in a London hotel lobby. It was during my second Fulbright appointment in Israel, when I found myself in Britain on a fund raising mission for the new musicology department of the Hebrew University. The day before, my official host had mentioned a young Jewish musician from Rhodesia who had completed his studies at Cambridge and now looked forward to an academic career in Israel. And so we fixed an appointment with this decidedly intense, though outwardly very quiet, man who introduced himself as Alan Lessem and soon gave me all the good reasons for his ardent desire to live and work among the Jewish people in their national home. I was struck almost immediately by the affective quality of his plea which brought to mind that part of the daily Hebrew liturgy where the congregation pleads for the gift of understanding not in intellectual terms alone but be'ahava, in love. Even so, I felt conscience-bound to voice a note of caution. While his primary area of study had been musical composition, he wished to pursue musicological studies for his doctorate in a country with, for the time being, extremely limited music library holdings, not to speak of a barely started academic curriculum in the field of music generally. In the mid-sixties Israel hardly seemed the place for the kind of advanced historical research he had in mind. And, as for a teaching position, the budding department's future depended clearly on highly qualified faculty with experience and credentials well beyond Alan's M.A. But typically, he was not to be discouraged and soon taught at several non-university institutions in Israel before he and his lovely wife Evelyn decided to come to exchange TeI Aviv's mediterranean beaches for the cornfields of Illinois. The rest, as they say, is history. An outstanding fellowship student, teaching and research assistant, Alan enjoyed the respect and affection of all who got to know him during the few short years he spent with us. For he did his course work faster than anyone else and completed his exhaustive dissertation on the structural interpenetration of music and poetry in Arnold Schoenberg's predodecaphonic works in record time. Published with equally little delay not only in the United States but also abroad in Italian translation, that pioneering study has lost none of its comprehensive value for anyone hoping to gain a better understanding of the composer's complex creative world. …

Recent Trends in the Abundance of Harbour Seals,Phoca vitulina, in British Columbia

Aerial censuses of harbour seals (Phoca vituiina) were conducted in the Strait of Georgia (1966–88), the lower Skeena River (1977–87), off the southwest coast of Vancouver island (1976–87), off the northeast coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands (1986), in Jervis Inlet (1987), and at the entrance to Queen Charlotte Strait (1988). The estimated number of seals in the Strait of Georgia, the primary study area, increased from 2170 in 1973 to 15 810 in 1988; the number in the lower Skeena River from 520 in 1977 to 1590 in 1987; and the number off south western Vancouver Island from 210 in 1976 to 1130 in 1987. The trends indicated that populations throughout British Columbia had been increasing at a rate of about 12.5% ∙yr−1since 1973. Based on the density of seals in the areas surveyed, and the relative distribution of bounty and commercial kills, the total post-pupping population in British Columbia was estimated to have numbered 75 000–88 000 in 1988, compared with 9000–10 500 when the species was protected in 1970. Despite the recent increases, which probably reflect the recovery from historic kills, there was no evidence of density-dependent changes in the population growth rate.

Race and Ethnicity in the Teacher Education Curriculum

William Trent presents a series of arguments for his proposal that the importance of race and ethnicity in education should become a primary area of study for the prospective teacher. Trent notes recent research showing that blacks and Hispanics are among those groups least well served by schooling in the United States, yet these groups will constitute an ever-increasing proportion of students. The problem is exacerbated, in Trent's view, by the opposite trend in the proportion of minority students who will be teachers, necessitating new understandings and new approaches for majority-population teachers who will be called on to teach increasing numbers of minority youth.

Nursing Education Component in Master's Programs

The purposes of this study were to: a) describe the outcomes, content, and structure of master's programs in nursing in the functional area of teaching; b) describe related learning experiences of students; and c) identify trends in graduate nursing education in preparing students for the role of teacher. A self-administered questionnaire developed by the investigators was mailed to all NLN accredited master's programs (N = 139). The instrument collected data on the nursing education component of the master's program. Ninety-two questionnaires were completed and returned, resulting in a response rate of 66.2%. Only 10 (10.9%) master's programs offered a major in nursing education. More common were minors, elective courses, and tracks in nursing education, as well as other similar curriculum patterns (N = 66). Fifteen (16.3%) master's programs offered no courses in nursing education. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean number of credits of nursing education courses required in programs offering a major (M = 11.4) compared with a minor (M = 8.8). More than half of the master's programs required nursing education courses in learning theory, curriculum development, instructional design, teaching methods, clinical teaching, various aspects of evaluation, and grading. Learning experiences in which students participated to prepare themselves for teaching roles included in the majority of programs: classroom teaching, clinical teaching (generally involving a practicum), clinical evaluation of students, development of a course/curriculum, and test construction. The research documents the continued emphasis on advanced nursing practice as the primary area of graduate study with preparation for teaching occurring through minors in the program.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Home Range Behavior among Box Turtles (Terrapene c. carolina) of a Bottomland Forest in Maryland

Home Range Behavior among Box Turtles (Terrapene c. carolina) of a Bottomland Forest in Maryland

Depositional Analysis of Hill Sand of Rodessa Formation (Lower Cretaceous) in North Shongaloo-Red Rock Field, Webster Parish, Louisiana: ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT The Hill sand is an informal subdivision of the Lower Cretaceous Rodessa Formation and forms significant petroleum reservoirs in many parts of northeast Texas, southern Arkansas, and northern Louisiana. The North Shongaloo-Red Rock Field is located in north-central Webster Parish, Louisiana and southern Columbia County, Arkansas. The Hill sand is lithologically variable within this region and consists of conglomerate, fine-grained sandstone, siltstone, mottled red to green claystone, black shale, and occasionally fossiliferous limestone. Thickness of the Hill sand in the area ranges from 160 to 220 ft (48.8 to 67.1 m) and averages 186 ft (56.7 m). Based on a combination of sedimentary structures, texture, lithologic composition, fossil content, and sand-body geometry, five major lithofacies were delineated within the primary study area of the North Shongaloo-Red Rock Field. These include: Facies A-thick (up to 32 ft, 9.8 m), fining upward, cross-bedded sandstone with numerous large-scale sedimentary structures, typically with an erosive lower contact; Facies B- thin (up to 11 ft, 3.4 m), coarsening upward, cross-bedded sandstone containing both large- and small-scale sedimentary structures; Facies C- thinly interbedded siltstone and black shale; Facie D- massive red to green mottled claystone; and Facies E- fossiliferous wackestone to packstone. Detailed analyses of the lithofacies present in the study area led to the following depositional environment interpretations: Facies A- fluvial point bar; Facies B- crevasse system (minor mouth bar/crevasse channel couplet); Facies C- interdistributary bay and lake; Facies D- swamp; and Facies E- interdistributary bay with carbonate production. Fluvial point bar and crevasse deposits commonly form hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Hill sand with porosities often exceeding 20% and permeabilities exceeding 1000 md. Combination structural-stratigraphic traps occur where these sand bodies pinch out against a westerly plunging anticline within the north Shongaloo-Red Rock Field. On a regional basis, the Hill sand was divided into upper and lower units based on observed changes in sedimentation pattern. The boundary chosen to separate the upper and lower Hill sand is defined as occurring at a stratigraphic level 80 ft (24.4 m) above the top of the Gloyd Limestone. (The Gloyd Limestone lies directly beneath the Hill sand). Depositional environments of the upper and lower Hill sand were similar, but the relative locations of the environments varied. On a regional scale, depositional environments observed in the Hill sand include several fluvial deposystems trending northeast-southwest. Regional dip during Hill sand deposition in this area was to the southwest. The fluvial deposystems terminate downdip into deltaic distributary mouth bars distributed along a roughly northwest-southeast trending coastline. Areas to the west of the coastline were occupied by shallow marine environments. Interchannel areas to the east of the coastline were occupied by a variety of environments including interdistributary bay, lake, swamp, and crevasse system environments in both upper and lower deltaic positions. Lowermost deposits (approximately 35 ft, 10.7 m) of the Hill sand throughout the region are interpreted to consist of shallow marine environments. Interchannel areas to the east of the coastline were occupied by a variety of environments including interdistributary bay, lake, swamp, and crevasse system environments in both upper and lower deltaic positions. Lowermost deposits (approximately 35 ft, 10.7 m) of the Hill sand throughout the region are interpreted to consist of shallow marine environments. These marine environments are overlain by thick, predominantly non-marine fluvial and deltaic sediments. Near the end of Hill sand deposition, the entire region was covered by very shallow marine environments, just prior to deposition of the overlying First Lower Anhydrite stringer. End_of_Record - Last_Page 587-------

Comparison of Techniques to Determine Eastern Grey Kangaroo Home Range

The ellipse, modified harmonic mean, and fourier transform models were used to examine the home range of adult eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) in the Sandy Creek Reserve, Bago State Forest, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Locations of kangaroos were determined by sighting numbercollared or radio-collared individuals. The ellipse model was used to determine diurnal home range area, orientation, and geographical mean center. Those females and males occupying the primary study area had similar home range areas (9 = 23.2 and 20.5 ha for M and F, respectively). Orientation and geographical center of the range varied with both time of day and season due to movements related to sheltering behavior. In winter, diurnal shelter was not sought and forage was poor; activity centers shifted further into the open pasture than in spring. Home range area of females was significantly reduced when accompanied by young. A modified harmonic mean model was used to determine home range areas and to assess longer-term shifts in activity centers for widely ranging males. The ability of this method to discriminate multiple activity centers resolved long-term movement patterns of radio-tracked males, which were related to transient associations with female groups during the spring-summer mating period. The fourier transform model was used to determine home range areas and boundaries. These areas were much smaller than those determined by the other 2 methods, and the boundaries were often discontinuous. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 51(4):921-930 Movement patterns of macropodids are largely unknown. Some early studies used distances between capture sites and subsequent resightings as indices of mobility (Frith 1964, Ealey 1967, Bailey 1971). More recently, repeated observations of known individuals have led to the estimation of home range areas (Kaufmann 1974, Inns 1980, Johnson 1980, Croft 1982, Jarman and Taylor 1982, Priddel 1984). We studied home range areas of eastern grey kangaroos using 3 estimation techniques: ellipse, harmonic mean, and fourier transform models. The ellipse model (Jennrich and Turner 1969) was chosen because it is statistically robust compared to the popularly used convex polygon technique (Mohr and Stumpf 1966, Van Winkle 1975, MacDonald et al. 1980). Ellipses are recommended for comparisons of area, location, and orientation (Van Winkle et al. 1973, Koeppl et al. 1975, Hawes 1977, Inglis et al. 1979). However, the model is parametric, and therefore should only be used on data that are normally distributed; also, the shape of the home range index obtained will be restricted to an ellipse regardless of its true boundaries. To overcome the latter 2 limitations, 2 nonparametric techniques were used. The harmonic mean model (Dixon and Chapman 1980) places less emphasis on the boundaries and concentrates on the differential use of space within the home range. This involves the calculation of the center of activity or the geographic location of the point of greatest activity. More than 1 center of activity is allowed because the data do not necessarily come from a normal distribution. A contour or isopleth can then be drawn to include a predetermined proportion of data points. The fourier transform model (Anderson 1982) applies a smoothing function to a bivariate frequency distribution of data points and calculates the area under the resulting distribution. We wish to especially thank M. Ellis for his assistance in all aspects of this project. Numerous volunteers assisted in kangaroo captures with R. Williams and D. Read providing notable support. We thank the members of the NSW For. Comm., stationed at Batlow and Tumut, for their cooperation and encouragement. R. Hill and J. Taylor helped prepare the figures and B. J. Fox commented on the manuscript. We thank P. R. Krausman for valuable criticisms of an earlier draft. This research was supported by Aust. Res. Grants Scheme, Grant D17815394.

Trends in master's education in nursing

This study was designed to identify trends in master's level graduate nursing education programs over the five years from 1979 to 1984. In 1979, National League for Nursing-accredited master's programs numbered 81; by 1984, they had increased by 46 per cent to 118 programs. Data related to these accredited programs were analyzed to identify changes in admission requirements, program offerings, and thesis or comprehensive examination requirements. Chi-square analyses were used to identify significant differences over the five-year time period. With respect to admission requirements, there were no differences between 1979 and 1984 requirements regarding the bac-calaureate degree and preadmission aptitude examination. However, compared with 1979, significantly more programs in 1984 required the applicant to have nursing experience, an undergraduate statistics course, and health assessment skills. Significantly fewer programs offered nursing education as a primary area of study in 1984. Conversely, there has been a significant increase in the number of gerontology majors. Overall, there was a significant trend toward specialty majors, most noticeable although not statistically significant in the medical-surgical and psychiatric/mental health clinical areas. With respect to thesis and examination requirements, there was no significant change in thesis requirements over the five-year period. However, there was a significant increase in the number of programs requiring comprehensive examinations. Continued monitoring of changes in graduate programs is recommended to provide information for future program planning.