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43rd Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Supplemental Feeding For Ecotourism Reverses Diel Activity And Alters Movement Patterns And Spatial Distribution Of The Southern Stingray, Dasyatis Americana, Mark John Corcoran, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, Matthew Potenski, Demian D. Chapman, Guy Harvey

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Southern stingrays, Dasyatis americana, have been provided supplemental food in ecotourism operations at Stingray City Sandbar (SCS), Grand Cayman since 1986, with this site becoming one of the world’s most famous and heavily visited marine wildlife interaction venues. Given expansion of marine wildlife interactive tourism worldwide, there are questions about the effects of such activities on the focal species and their ecosystems. We used a combination of acoustic telemetry and tag-recapture efforts to test the hypothesis that human-sourced supplemental feeding has altered stingray activity patterns and habitat use at SCS relative to wild animals at control sites. Secondarily, we …

Restoring The Kämper Map For The 21st Century: A Digital Approach, Tres Seymour

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

One would be hard-pressed to find any 20th Century spelunker familiar with Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave system who did not also have some passing familiarity with the Kämper Map. The work of German engineer Max Kämper, who explored extensive areas of Mammoth Cave in the company of guide Ed Bishop in 1907-1908, the meticulous hand-drawn cave map would for decades prove the most reliable tool for navigating the miles of darkness – its tangled lines of ink the equivalent of Theseus’ ball of twine in this natural labyrinth.

This effort had its inception in conversations between the author, who as the …

Archaeological Evidence Of Historic Mining At Forestville Saltpeter Cave (15ht94), Hart County, Kentucky, Darlene Applegate, Emily L. Duke

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Forestville Saltpeter Cave is 1.5 km east of Mammoth Cave National Park on the WKU Green River Preserve. Historically, miners removed sediment from the cave to extract saltpeter for the production of gunpowder. Though dozens of peter-mining sites are known in western Kentucky, Forestville Saltpeter Cave is only the third site investigated by archaeologists. Intensive surface survey documented evidence of mining activity in the cave: working bays, rock piles, tally and other marks, tool marks, inscriptions, and lighting material. The mining likely occurred during the early nineteenth century. The operations were extensive throughout all passages and extracted 856 cu m …

Archaeological Investigations For Proposed Trail Rehabilitation Within Mammoth Cave, Steven R. Ahler, George M. Crothers

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

In 2008, staff from the University of Kentucky Program for Archaeological Research (UK-PAR) and the Illinois State Museum Society (ISMS) conducted archaeological and paleontological investigations at Mammoth Cave National Park in advance of proposed rehabilitation of 40,499 linear feet of selected trail segments within Mammoth Cave. This presentation focuses on the results of archaeological investigations conducted within Mammoth Cave and is confined to discussion of the prehistoric materials. These materials were confined to the upper and lower passages of the Historic Tour, the Lantern Tour, and Gothic Avenue trails

The History And Conservation Of Saltpeter Works In Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, George M. Crothers, Christina A. Pappas, Christian D. Mittendorf

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Remains of the saltpeter mining operation in Mammoth Cave are a significant feature of several cave tours and figure prominently in the history of cave use. We undertook a comprehensive review of existing historical descriptions and recent archaeological investigations to construct the most reasonable account of how the saltpeter operation worked and assess its current conditions. At least three types of saltpeter vats were constructed in the cave reflecting an increase in the size of the operation and efficiency of processing sediments over time. Remains of three pump towers are also found in the cave in various states of preservation. …

The Santa Clara, 2013-02-14, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Water, Climate, And Social Change In A Fragile Landscape, William L. Hargrove, David M. Borrok, Josiah Mc C.C. Heyman, Craig E. Tweedie, Carlos Cabrera Ferregut

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present here and in the companion papers an analysis of sustainability in the Middle Rio Grande region of the U.S.-Mexico border and propose an interdisciplinary research agenda focused on the coupled human and natural dimensions of water resources sustainability in the face of climate and social change in an international border region. Key threats to water sustainability in the Middle Rio Grande River region include: (1) increasing salinization of surface and ground water, (2) increasing water demand from a growing population in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez area on top of an already high base demand from irrigated agriculture, (3) …

On Contemplation In Mathematics, Frank Lucas Wolcott

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In a section about research, we make the case that intentional, structured reflection on the mathematical research process, by mathematical researchers themselves, would result in better mathematicians doing better mathematics. As supporting evidence, we describe the Flavors and Seasons project. In a section about teaching, we describe the contemplative education movement and share personal experiences using meditation in the math classroom. We conclude with an explicit proposal for elucidating the experiential context of mathematics, in both research and teaching environments.

Google And The World Brain, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Google and the World Brain (2013) directed by Ben Lewis.

Synthesis: What We Have Learned From The East Texas Radiocarbon Database, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

This poster provides a short overview of what we have learned from the East Texas Radiocarbon Database since it became available on the Council of Texas Archeologists’ website in 2011. These successes are numerous and include the advancement of novel methodological approaches; an improvement in our comprehension of the temporal nuances within the East Texas Archaic; the division of the East Texas Woodland period into Early, Middle and Late; the refinement of Caddo temporal chronology – particularly from a geographic perspective -- and it has provided one line of evidence to use to argue for the fluorescence of corn-based agriculture …

Ceramic Petrofacies: Modeling The Angelina River Basin In East Texas, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

Ceramic provenance studies remain the basis of worldwide archaeological research concerned with reconstructing exchange networks, tracing migrations, and informing upon ceramic economy. Unfortunately, Texas archaeologists have been plagued with an inability to trace ceramic production sources to the same extent as researchers within other regions. Ceramic petrofacies models have been employed successfully in archaeological contexts at the San Pedro Valley, Tonto basin, Tucson basin, Agua Fria, and Gila and Phoenix basins in Arizona, but have not yet been employed east of Arizona. Data resulting from the construction of an actualistic petrofacies model in the prehistoric coastal environment of East Texas …

Epistemology And Synthesis: Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis And The Caddo Tradition, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

The statistical groupings illustrated herein represent the current iteration of Caddo INAA compositional groups based upon the chemical composition of archaeologically-recovered ceramics. For some time, a number of Caddo archaeologists have thought these results to be lacking. This poster symbolizes the first step toward a new interpretation of chemical composition groups, and the initial instancce within which GIS has been employed as an analytical tool.

Spatial Dynamics Of U.S. Cultural Resource Law, Robert Z. Selden Jr., C. Britt Bousman

CRHR: Archaeology

The American Antiquities Act, Historic Sites Act, Archeological and Historic Preservation Act, National Historic Preservation Act, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Archeological Resources Protection Act, Abandoned Shipwreck Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act comprise the basis of our exploration of cultural resource legislation in the United States. Since the passage of the American Antiquities Act in 1906, 1086 cases have challenged these statutes in U.S. courts. We investigate temporal and regional patterns of the case law to establish whether these laws are uniformly prosecuted throughout the U.S. Our findings suggest that case law is complex and …

Radiocarbon Trends And The East Texas Caddo Tradition (Ca. A.D. 800-1680), Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

Through the employment of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates as data, we use the date combination process to refine site-specific summed probability distributions for 555 dates from Caddo sites (n = 19) in East Texas with 10 or more ¹⁴C dates. Summed probability distributions are then contrasted across river basins and natural regions with the remainder of the East Texas Caddo Radiocarbon Database (n = 338 dates from 132 other Caddo sites), highlighting the temporal and spatial character of Caddo archaeological sites throughout East Texas.

Consilience: Radiocarbon, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, And Litigation In The Ancestral Caddo Region, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

Through the creation and analysis of databases for radiocarbon, instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and law, macro-level trends are exposed that form the framework of a broader research program aimed at advancing ideas of craft specialization and archaeological theory in the ancestral Caddo region of Southwest Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana, Northeast Texas, and Southeast Oklahoma. The findings of this investigation illustrate the research potential that remains buried within the context of cultural resource management (CRM) reports and legal databases (Westlaw and LexisNexis) that is awaiting consumption within regional research designs aimed at exploring the nuances and trends that appear through synthetic …

A Preliminary Temporal Analysis Of The East Texas Archaic, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

This article presents preliminary findings of a temporal analysis of the East Texas Archaic based upon the examination of radiocarbon dates that have deposits that date to the period. All assays employed in this effort were collected from research and cultural resource management reports and publications, synthesized, then recalibrated in version 4.1.7 of OxCal.

Additional New Radiocarbon Dates From East Texas Caddo Sites, Timothy K. Perttula, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

As a follow-up to the radiocarbon analyses reported by Perttula and Selden (2013), in this article, we report on five new radiocarbon dates obtained from Caddo sites in East Texas. The radiocarbon samples are charred organic remains scraped off of one surface of whole vessels or sherds. These samples are from the Ware Acres site (41GG31), the H. C. Slider site in Cherokee County, an unknown site in the upper Neches River basin in Smith County (9-SC), and an unknown Titus phase site (11-BCJ) in the Big Cypress Creek basin. All of the dates are calibrated using OxCal v4.1.7.

Temporal Dynamics Of East Texas Caddo Sites With 10 Or More Radiocarbon Dates, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

This article represents supplementary data (see Selden and Perttula 2013) highlighting the specifics of date combination and the subsequent production of summed probability distribution samples for Caddo sites in East Texas. All radiocarbon (14C ) dates employed in this effort were collected from research and cultural resource management (CRM) reports and publications, synthesized, then recalibrated in version 4.1.7 of OxCal (Bronk Ramsey 2012) using IntCal09 (Reimer et al. 2009) (Perttula and Selden 2011).

New Radiocarbon Dates From East Texas Caddo Sites, Timothy K. Perttula, Robert Z. Selden Jr.

CRHR: Archaeology

In this article, we report on new radiocarbon dates obtained from five Caddo sites in East Texas. The radiocarbon samples are charred organic remains scraped off of one surface of whole vessels or sherds. These samples are from the Johns (41CP12), Shelby Mound (41CP71), Gilbert (41RA13), Henry Spencer (41UR315), and Henry Williams (41UR318) sites. All of the dates are calibrated using OxCal v4.1.7 (Bronk Ramsey 2012), with atmospheric data from Reimer et al. (2009).

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 54 Number 3, Winter 2013, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - TO CATCH A THIEF by Vince Beiser. Mathematician George Mohler has helped equip police in Santa Cruz and L.A. with an algorithm that predicts where crimes might happen next. Is this the future of policing?

22 - HOW TO PREVENT A BONFIRE OF THE HUMANITIES by Michael S. Malone '75, MBA '77. A veteran chronicler of Silicon Valley looks at why the high-tech industry needs-and wants-folks who know how to tell a story.

26 - A POEM, A PRAYER, AND A MARTINI FOR THE RHINO Two conversations with Chancellor William J. Rewak, S.J.-who's just published his first collection …

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V10n1, Winter 2013, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

--2013 ICTM-ISTS Fall Conference Photo Album

--New Facilitators Dive into Project WET

--Attention Teachers: New Environmental Education Opportunities

--Experiencing REAP

--Students as Part of School Leadership for Promoting Reforms in Science

--Starr Student Research Grants

The View From Ventress - 2013, University Of Mississippi. College Of Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts Newsletters

Cover Story: College Commits to Service

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 55 Number 1, Fall 2013, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

6 - ONE IN A MILLION By Michael E. Engh, S.J. A note of thanks from the president to SCU alumni. For the Leavey Challenge, you came through in record numbers to secure a $1 million challenge grant for the University.

20 - GOOD LIGHT: A PHOTO RETROSPECTIVE with Charles Barry. For a quarter century he has told Santa Clara's stories in photographs. Here are a few.

26 - YES, BUT IS IT THE RIGHT THING TO DO? By Sam Scott '96. From business to government to college campuses, it's not always a question that gets asked. But here's how …

Urban Forest Justice And The Rights To Wild Foods, Medicines, And Materials In The City, Melissa R. Poe, Rebecca J. Mclain, Marla R. Emery, Patrick T. Hurley

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Urban forests are multifunctional socio-ecological landscapes, yet some of their social benefits remain poorly understood. This paper draws on ethnographic evidence from Seattle, Washington to demonstrate that urban forests contain nontimber forest products that contribute a variety of wild foods, medicines, and materials for the wellbeing of urban residents. We show that gathering wild plants and fungi in urban forests is a persistent subsistence and livelihood practice that provides sociocultural and material benefits to city residents, and creates opportunities for connecting with nature and enhancing social ties. We suggest that an orientation toward human-nature interactions in cities that conceptualizes the …

Degradation Of Algal Palynomorphs On 34-Yr-Old Microscope Slides, Lynn A. Brant

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Reexamination of 34-yr-old microscope slides of palynological preparations reveals the loss and degradation of algal palynomorphs, in particular the green alga Pediastrum and the desmid Pleurotaenium. Results from this study suggest that great caution should be used when referring co archived palynological slides.

Imaginenative 2012: Ecocinema And The Indigenous Film Festival, Salma Monani, Miranda Brady

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Much scholarship points to how ecological concerns are never far from Indigenous struggles for political sovereignty and public participation. In this paper we turn to the Indigenous film festival as a relatively understudied yet rich site to explore such ecological concerns. Specifically, we highlight the ImagineNATIVE 2012 film festival based in Toronto, Canada.

Making Sense Of Human Ecology Mapping: An Overview Of Approaches To Integrating Socio-Spatial Data Into Environmental Planning, Rebecca J. Mclain, Melissa R. Poe, Kelly Biedenweg, Lee Cerveny, Diane Besser, Dale Blahna

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Ecosystem-based planning and management have stimulated the need to gather sociocultural values and human uses of land in formats accessible to diverse planners and researchers. Human Ecology Mapping (HEM) approaches offer promising spatial data gathering and analytical tools, while also addressing important questions about human-landscape connections. This article reviews and compares the characteristics of three HEM approaches that are increasingly used in natural resource management contexts, each focused on a particular aspect of human-environmental interactions. These aspects include tenure and resource use (TRU), local ecological knowledge (LEK), and sense of place (SOP). We discuss their origins, provide examples of their …

A Multi-Taxonomic Approach To Assess The Impact Of Overabundant White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) In Forest Ecosystems Across Northeast Ohio, Sara A. Laux

ETD Archive

Browsing by white-tailed deer has alters plant species diversity of the forest understory across much of North America. A reduced understory may lead to the simplification of the forest-floor microhabitat, causing broad scale shifts in the community composition and abundance of litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals. The objectives of this study were to 1) document changes in the forest-floor microhabitat as a result of over-browsing by deer and 2) determine if differential browsing pressures indirectly affect faunal biodiversity (litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals) of forest ecosystems. I predicted that browsing within the understory will reduce structural complexity of the forest-floor …

Proceedings Of The 125th Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2013], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Contents --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
General Session I --- 7
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 8
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 8
Necrology --- 8
Friday Special Events (EPIC-AIMS Reception & Science at Simpson) --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science 2012-2013 Volunteers --- 10-11
Symposium A --- 12
Symposium B --- 13-14
Symposium C --- 14-15
Senior Poster Session Program --- 16-19
Social Hour --- 20
President's Banquet --- 20
General Session II --- 21
General Session III --- 22
Excellence …