Digital Commons Network^™

Gotta Take My Avatar Shopping: Impacts Of Interactive Virtual Shopping In Esport, Yongjin Hwang, Keshav Gupta

Faculty Publications

Purpose

Esports game developers are incorporating interactive virtual shopping (IVS) experiences into their products to facilitate consumer–brand interactions. Despite the potential influence of IVS, existing research lacks an understanding of its impact on consumers’ overall affect– particularly game enjoyment, a critical factor in sustaining engagement with esports products – and on attitudinal change toward brands in the real world.

Design/methodology/approach

An experiment was designed to examine the impact of shopping in the virtually interactive esports marketplace on game enjoyment. Mediating effects of positive change in brand attitude, perceived realism and character attachment and the moderating effect of self-avatar gender congruity …

Spin Caloritronics As A Probe Of Nonunitary Superconductors, Taiki Matsushita, Takeshi Mizushima, Yusuke Masaki, Satoshi Fujimoto, Ilya Vekhter

Faculty Publications

Superconducting spintronics explores the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism, sparking substantial interest in nonunitary superconductors as a platform for magneto-superconducting phenomena. However, identifying nonunitary superconductors remains challenging. We demonstrate that spin current driven by thermal gradients sensitively probes the nature of the condensate in nonunitary superconductors. Spin polarization of the condensate in momentum space induces the superconducting spin Seebeck effect, where a spin current is generated along thermal gradients without a thermoelectric charge current. Notably, the nonvanishing superconducting spin Seebeck effect provides a smoking gun evidence of nonunitary superconductivity because it reflects the spin polarization of the condensate in momentum …

Between Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Confidence: A Case Study Of Pronunciation Training And Teacher Preparation, Lena Barrantes-Elizondo, Joshua Gordon

Faculty Publications

While many teachers do not feel confident teaching pronunciation because of limited preparation in different areas, research has demonstrated positive effects of training in pronunciation pedagogy, as teachers who receive such training develop cognitions (i.e., knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, actions) that align with current tenets of pronunciation pedagogy. Drawing on this assertion, this paper reports the results of a qualitative case study with five pre-service teaching-English-to-speakers-of-other-languages (TESOL) teachers enrolled in a pedagogical pronunciation course as part of their teacher training program. The study’s main purpose was to understand the role of training in developing content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge …

Causation’S Due Process Dimensions, Cassandra Burke Robertson, Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes

Faculty Publications

For decades, courts have grappled with the tension between compensating victims of mass harms and maintaining fairness to defendants when causation is difficult to prove. This Article argues that the Supreme Court’s due process jurisprudence provides a relevant framework for navigating this tension. We contend that the Court over the last three decades has established a consistent due process approach in punitive damages and personal jurisdiction cases, which is rooted in antecedents tracing to the nineteenth century and relies on a nexus of interests that balances individual rights, state interests, and federalism concerns. This framework, we argue, has significant implications …

Analysis Of Phytochemicals In Watercress Leaves Using Chromatographic, Spectroscopic And In-Vitro Approaches, Bidisha Roy Sengupta

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Biofilm-Based Biomonitoring Of Treated Wastewater Using Bacillus Thuringiensis: Toward Sustainable Water Reuse, Bidisha Roy Sengupta, Kefa K. Onchoke, Olabisi O. Ogunlewe, Robert Friedfeld

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Fauna-Mediated Sediment O2 Consumption In The Ngom Hypoxic Zone, Hannah Beck, Kanchan Maiti

Faculty Publications

The northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) coastal shelf adjacent to the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers system experiences strong seasonal hypoxia in the late summer and coupled physical-biological models suggest that hypoxia formation in the NGOM is sensitive to benthic biogeochemical processes. However, the processes driving sediment oxygen consumption and their relationship to bottom oxygen concentration remain enigmatic. This study for the first time concurrently measured in situ total oxygen uptake (TOU) and diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU) during two different hypoxia seasons. The relatively large DOU: TOU ratio of 0.33 ± 0.07 observed during this study suggests more significant benthic infauna …

Indirect Effects And Context Dependency In Stream Fish Invasions, William K. Annis, Lily M. Thompson, Stephen R. Midway, Julian D. Olden, Brandon K. Peoples

Faculty Publications

Aim: Invasion ecology is replete with a body of well-supported yet contradictory evidence for numerous invasion hypotheses, likely as a result of context dependency. Context dependency in invasion studies can arise in two ways: (1) apparent, when results differ between studies solely due to methodical differences, or (2) mechanistic, when results truly differ due to ecological processes. One form of apparent context dependency occurs when causally linked factors associated with invasion success (hereafter, invasion drivers) either mask or enhance each other's effect on invasion success. Mechanistic context dependency can occur when regional scale processes modify the influence of local scale …

Flood Risk And Mitigation Calculator Tool To Support Decision-Making For Enhancing Community Resilience: A Case Study Of The U.S.A. Gulf Coastal Region, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Ayat Al Assi, Arash Taghinezhad, Carol J. Friedland, Robert V. Rohli, Md Adilur Rahim, Christopher T. Emrich, Melanie Gall, Eric Johnson

Faculty Publications

Real-estate websites make it easy to find and access information about a home. Information on property value, square footage, number of rooms, quality of schools, crime rates, and more is readily available. Some of these platforms have begun integrating climate-related risks in generic ways. However, this information provides limited if any actionable value and is unlikely to guide people’s decision-making on buying or renting a home, deciding where to vacation, or investing in a property. Making residents aware of the natural hazard risks to which their homes may be exposed is an important component of making communities more resilient. Both …

The Impact Of Seasonal Hydrological Disturbances On The Presence And Formation Of Toxic Cyanobacteria Blooms In Coastal Louisiana, Courtney Nicole Hammond, Sibel Bargu, Caitlin R.R. Turner, Matthew Hiatt, John R. White

Faculty Publications

Estuaries in the Gulf, especially Lake Pontchartrain Estuary in southeastern Louisiana, USA, are experiencing significant changes due to climate change and coastal restoration efforts. Lake Pontchartrain Estuary receives nutrient-rich Mississippi River water through a controlled diversion called Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS), which has been associated with toxic cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs). This study examines the seasonal factors influencing cyanoHABs in the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary when the BCS is closed, addressing gaps in the understanding of HABs related to other physical drivers. Field samples collected in 2021, during the closure of the spillway, revealed significant evidence of seasonal variations in cyanoHAB formation. …

Corrigendum: Diatom Transcriptional And Physiological Responses To Changes In Iron Bioavailability Across Ocean Provinces (Frontiers In Marine Science, (2017), 4, (360), 10.3389/Fmars.2017.00360), Natalie R. Cohen, Kelsey A. Ellis, Robert H. Lampe, Heather Mcnair, Benjamin S. Twining, Maria T. Maldonado, Mark A. Brzezinski, Fedor I. Kuzminov, Kimberlee Thamatrakoln, Claire P. Till, Kenneth W. Bruland, William G. Sunda, Sibel Bargu, Adrian Marchetti

Faculty Publications

In the published article, there was an error in Figure 3 as published. The initial (T0) phytoplankton community composition at site C2 was incorrectly displayed, with prasinophytes erroneously appearing as relatively abundant taxa. The corrected Figure 3 appears below. The average transcript proportions of phytoplankton taxa (outer charts) and diatom genera (inner charts) from initial seawater (T0) and during the first time point (T1; see Supplementary Table 1) within the Fe addition (Fe) and DFB addition (DFB) treatments at each site. Note that for site O5, the T2 control (Ctl) treatment is provided as the Fe-limited comparison. A text correction …

Photogrammetric Determination Of Movement Speed Of Invasive Indo-Pacific Lionfish In The Florida Keys, Neal Kolonay, Cassandra N. Glaspie

Faculty Publications

As a key determinant of how efficiently lionfish (Pterois sp.) locate and capture prey, swimming speed plays a crucial role in shaping the predator-prey interactions and broader ecological dynamics within the invaded ecosystems. Swimming speed on a small temporal and spatial scale is difficult to measure because of the need for precise measurements of both distance and duration of the behavior. Using photogrammetry by way of stereo-camera setups is ideal for analyzing the minutiae of lionfish behaviors because it can include the benefits of remote video traps coupled with precise measurements of movements in three-dimensional space and time. The primary …

Comparison Of Two Benthic Assemblage Sampling Gears For Use On Intertidal Oyster Reefs In Louisiana, Finella M. Campanino, Stephanie K. Archer, Jillian C. Tupitza, Cassandra N. Glaspie, Megan K. La Peyre

Faculty Publications

Background: Estuarine biodiversity plays a vital role in supporting ecosystem functions yet remains threatened by climate change and anthropogenic activity. Tracking and identifying estuarine biodiversity trends helps management ensure long-term provisions of human and environmental benefits by contributing to the estimation of habitat loss and the monitoring of restoration and conservation progress. However, results obtained using different sampling gears and different biodiversity metrics may lead researchers to reach different conclusions, which can lead to uncertainty in the actual state of the ecosystem-level biodiversity. Sampling benthic biodiversity in complex estuarine habitats, such as oyster reefs, is particularly challenging because no one …

Evergreening's Empirical Chasm, Erika Lietzan

Faculty Publications

For more than two decades, policymakers have been told that pharmaceutical innovators companies engage in a practice that is called, disparagingly, “evergreening.” The basic idea is that companies introduce new versions of their drugs that have later expiring patents or regulatory exclusivity. This way, the claim goes, the companies effectively block generic entry for years or decades longer than Congress intended and than is socially desirable. Initially these claims were supported by poorly researched anecdotes. In the last decade, some scholars and advocacy organizations have published papers that purport to provide empirical support for the “evergreening” accusation. But these empirical …

The Identity Factor, Jessica Feinberg

Faculty Publications

Identity development is one of the most important processes that occur during childhood. For certain populations of children, such as those who are LGBTQ+ or multiracial, the path to healthy identity development is substantially more complicated. These children must navigate the development of their identities while existing in a world in which they will frequently encounter a lack of societal understanding and acceptance. Children within these populations face elevated risks of short- and long-term harms, including suicidal ideation, depression, substance abuse, and low self-esteem. As a result, it is critically important that LGBTQ+ and multiracial youth receive support in developing …

Causation's Due Process Dimensions, Cassandra Burke Robertson, Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes

Faculty Publications

For decades, courts have grappled with the tension between compensating victims of mass harms and maintaining fairness to defendants when causation is difficult to prove. This Article argues that the Supreme Court’s due process jurisprudence provides a relevant framework for navigating this tension. We contend that the Court over the last three decades has established a consistent Fourteenth Amendment due process approach in punitive damages and personal jurisdiction cases, which is rooted in antecedents tracing to the nineteenth century and relies on a nexus of interests that balances individual rights, state interests, and federalism concerns. This framework, we argue, has …

Reflections On The Importance Of Critical Theory To Teaching Environmental Law, Sean Kammer

Faculty Publications

The freedom of students to learn about critical approaches to understanding their world is under sustained political attack. In this time of increasing environmental peril and political dysfunction, Professor Sean M. Kammer reflects upon the importance of critical theory (including Critical Race Theory) to understanding—and ultimately redressing—the related problems of resource scarcity and environmental degradation. While these problems can surely be described in terms of “economic inefficiencies” or “ecological disturbances,” as they most often are, they must also be understood (and taught) as problems of colonial exploitation and violence. For example, one cannot understand Justice John Marshall’s discovery doctrine or …

International Society Of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutritional Concerns Of The Female Athlete, Ralf Jäger, Jeffery L. Heileson, Sidney Abou Sawan, Broderick L. Dickerson, Megan Leonard, Richard B. Kreider, Chad M. Kerksick, Stephen M. Cornish, Darren G. Candow, Dean M. Cordingley, Scott C. Forbes, Grant M. Tinsley, Tindaro Bongiovanni, Roberto Cannataro, Bill I. Campbell, Shawn M. Arent Ph.D., Cscs*D, Fissn, Facsm, Fnak, Jeffrey R. Stout, Douglas S. Kalman, Jose Antonio

Faculty Publications

Position Statement: The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) presents this position based on a critical examination of the literature surrounding the effects of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω-3 PUFA) supplementation on exercise performance, recovery, and brain health. This position stand is intended to provide a scientific foundation for athletes, dietitians, trainers, and other practitioners regarding the effects of supplemental ω-3 PUFA in healthy and athletic populations. The following conclusions represent the official position of the ISSN: Athletes may be at a higher risk for ω-3 PUFA insufficiency. Diets rich in ω-3 PUFA, including supplements, are effective strategies for …

The Forms Of Representation: How To Be A Kantian Realist, Willem A. Devries

Faculty Publications

Sellars argued that Kant did not make certain distinctions concerning space and time, and because of this adopted his transcendental idealism. Once these distinctions are made, the path to realism remains open. Sellars' argument is not entirely clear. This essay attempts to clarify the argument, showing why Sellars believed he could remain a scientific realist while also adopting a Kantian style epistemology.

A Collaborative Assessment Of Coastal Ocean Acidification Monitoring In Maine & Standard Operating Procedures And Best Practices For The Collection Of Continuous Ph Data In Coastal Marine Environments, Christopher W. Hunt, Curtis Bohlen, Mike Doan, Jeremy Miller

Faculty Publications

The ‘Sensor Squad’ of the Maine Ocean Climate Collaborative is the product of a 2023 Maine Coastal and Marine Climate Action Fund grant to conduct “A two-year pilot project designed to address and overcome technological barriers to ocean acidification data collection, develop protocols to elevate quality assurance and ensure comparable data, and meet regularly to discuss project results and data compilation”. The Squad consists of representatives from Friends of Casco Bay (FOCB), Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (WNERR), and the University of New Hampshire (UNH). This report is a summary of their efforts to assess affordable, repeatable means of continuously …

Data Literacy Competencies In Context: Employee Perspectives From The Workplace, Patricia Condon, Wendy G. Pothier

Faculty Publications

Data literacy is essential in today’s workplace, and professionals across roles and experience levels recognize its value. This article reports on findings from interviews with 16 supply chain and logistics professionals. The study examines how seven proposed data literacy competencies align with workplace needs, how employees address the data literacy gap, and how librarians can support workforce readiness. Findings highlight opportunities for libraries to bridge the data literacy gap through instruction and resources development that integrate technical and non-technical data skills with information literacy.

Complex Models Of Sequence Evolution Improve Fit, But Not Gene Tree Discordance, For Tetrapod Mitogenomes, Benjamin S. Toups, Robert C. Thomson, Jeremy M. Brown

Faculty Publications

Variation in gene tree estimates is widely observed in empirical phylogenomic data and is often assumed to be the result of biological processes. However, a recent study using tetrapod mitochondrial genomes to control for biological sources of variation due to their haploid, uniparentally inherited, and non-recombining nature found that levels of discordance among mitochondrial gene trees were comparable to those found in studies that assume only biological sources of variation. Additionally, they found that several of the models of sequence evolution chosen to infer gene trees were doing an inadequate job of fitting the sequence data. These results indicated that …

A Review Of Flood Mitigation Benefit-Cost Analyses’ Inclusiveness Of Environmental Watershed Effects And Environmental Vulnerability: Gaps In Progress Towards More Resilient Flood Hazard Decision-Making, Fahmida Akhter, Sapana Bastola, Jerrod Penn, Thomas Douthat

Faculty Publications

US and EU flood mitigation policy both incorporate considerations of costs and benefits, and in recent years have taken steps to encourage accounting for positive and negative effects on vulnerable populations, broader non-market environmental impacts, and downstream effects beyond the target area of projects of flood mitigation projects. This work highlights the extent to which previous academic flood mitigation Benefit-Cost Analyses (BCA) papers have comprehensively considered such project effects. We do so through a systematic, PRISMA-style, review of BCA literature in the broader field of flood hazard mitigation and resilience decision-making. Our results suggest 1) most projects focus on monetizing …

Coupling Between Bacterial Phylogenetic Diversity And Heterotrophic Productivity In A Coastal Ecosystem Affected By Estuarine Plumes, Yao Liu, Shujie Cai, Wenxin Fan, Wupeng Xiao, Xin Liu, Edward A. Laws, Bangqin Huang

Faculty Publications

Understanding the diversity-productivity relationship (DPR) is crucial for elucidating the ecological functions of marine bacterioplankton. However, studies have often focused on species diversity, neglecting phylogenetic diversity, which may offer deeper insights into the complex ecological processes shaping DPR in natural systems. This study addressed this gap by exploring the role of phylogenetic diversity in bacterioplankton productivity in the northern South China Sea, a coastal ecosystem influenced by estuarine plumes. We aimed to disentangle the mechanisms driving DPR and investigate how estuarine plumes modulate these processes. Our results show that the substantial enhancement of phytoplankton production by the Pearl River plume …

Bioagricorridors: Uban Ecosystem Networks To Enhance Biological Diversity, Ecosystem Services And Food Production In Barcelona, Spain, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro, Filippo Vegezzi

Faculty Publications

Urbanisation and environmental degradation pose significant challenges to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and food pro- duction. The Bioagricorridors strategy addresses this by inte- grating agroecology in the urban environment, emphasising the continuity principle to connect diverse ecosystems through green infrastructure. Employing a mapping strategy, bioagricorridors bridge theory and space, using maps as communication tools and deep mapping to explore multi-layered, digital cartographic representations. This approach aids in addressing pressing urban conditions, enhancing genetic diversity, and improving soil and water quality. The exploration uses Barcelona as a case study, a city marked by historical urban planning shifts and landscape fragmentation. Taking into …

A Systematic Review Of Environmentally Persistent Free Radical (Epfr) Formation, Characteristics, And Health Effects: Are There Sufficient Data For Risk Assessment?, Avinash Kumar, Divine Nde, Chuqi Guo, Rashmi Pathak, Fox Foley, Syed Ahmad, Prakash Dangal, Farhana Hasan, Myron Lard, Ankit Aryal, Martine E. Mathieu-Campbell, Jennifer Irving, Oluwafeyikemi Ogunmusi, Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, Slawomir Lomnicki, Lavrent Khachatryan, Stephania A. Cormier, Tammy R. Dugas

Faculty Publications

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are stable free radicals formed on particulate matter (PM) through processes such as combustion and pyrolysis. These free radicals are generated on transition metal oxide surfaces in the presence of aromatic precursors. Exposure to EPFRs occurs primarily via inhalation of PM deriving from combustion, traffic, industrial activities, and both indoor and outdoor burning. Other environmental factors that might generate EPFRs are radon, electronic and tobacco cigarettes. EPFRs exhibit unexpectedly long half-lives, ranging from several weeks to, in some cases, several years. EPFRs may be carbon-centered, oxygen-centered or mixed, identified by g-values exhibited in electron paramagnetic …

The Work Of An Hour: A Case Study Of Propaganda, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

This research paper discusses the messaging of United States President George W. Bush and his administration regarding the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. Transcripts of presidential communications, national news programs, and public opinion polls from 2001-03 were analyzed to identify patterns in these communications. This review demonstrated techniques similar to those used in historical propaganda campaigns to sway public opinion. The introduction and repetition of key terminology from the government was followed by magnification by television news programs. These messages were broadcast despite lack of evidence of Iraq’s involvement with the 9/11 attacks or their possession of weapons of mass …

What ‘Unexplored’ Means: Mapping Regions With Digitized Natural History Records To Look For ‘Biodiversity Blindspots’, Laymon Ball, Sheila Rodríguez-Machado, Diego Paredes-Burneo, Samantha Rutledge, David A. Boyd, David Vander Pluym, Spenser Babb-Biernacki, Austin S. Chipps, Rafet Öztürk, Yahya Terzi, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

We examined global records of accessible natural history voucher collections (with publicly available data and reliable locality data) for terrestrial and freshwater vascular plants, fungi, freshwater fishes, birds, mammals, and herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) and highlight areas of the world that would be considered undersampled and sometimes called ‘unexplored’ (i.e., have relatively low, or no evidence of, past sampling efforts) under typical Western-scientific descriptions. We also question what ‘unexplored’ may mean in these contexts and explain how replacing the term in favor of more nuanced phrasing (e.g., ‘biodiversity blindspots,’ which emphasizes the lack of publicly available data about specimens) can …

Targeting Bacterial Transcription Factors For Infection Control: Opportunities And Challenges, Ahmed Al-Tohamy, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

The rising threat of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria emphasizes the need for new therapeutic strategies. This review focuses on bacterial transcription factors (TFs), which play crucial roles in bacterial pathogenesis. We discuss the regulatory roles of these factors through examples, and we outline potential therapeutic strategies targeting bacterial TFs. Specifically, we discuss the use of small molecules to interfere with TF function and the development of transcription factor decoys, oligonucleotides that compete with promoters for TF binding. We also cover peptides that target the interaction between the bacterial TF and other factors, such as RNA polymerase, and the targeting …

Hope For Louisiana’S Coast: From Catastrophic Loss To Transient Gain, Richard Condrey, Brian D. Marx, Frank Saforo, Rudy Bartels

Faculty Publications

Louisiana’s fifty-billion-dollar coastal restoration plan relies on selected interpretations of a small dataset of coastwide land measurements. In the 1990’s, the plan’s founders used a mathematically impossible interpretation of an improbable manipulation of the initial (1932-1990) dataset to justify their misconceptions regarding natural conditions; delta-switching; and a failing, 60-year restoration goal. In 2017, the dataset was updated to 2016 and used to suggest that land loss had slowed to -28 km2/yr (-1 football field/100 min) since 2010. We find that the dataset does not support this suggestion. Rather, we find the dataset supports our hypothesis that increasing precipitation in the …