Digital Commons Network^™

Multilayered Stigma And Vulnerabilities For Hiv Infection And Transmission: A Qualitative Study On Male Sex Workers In Zimbabwe, Elleen Yuk-Ha Tsang, Shan Qiao Ph.D., Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, Annis Lai-Chu Fung, Freddy Lipeleke, Xiaoming Li Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Male sex workers are marginalized in most societies due to intersectional stigma between prostitution and homosexuality. In Zimbabwe, a proliferation of male sex workers in major cities such as Harare and Bulawayo has been reported. However, there is a shortage of studies that explore their lives. The current qualitative study aims to describe the practices of sex work, life contexts, and HIV risks and vulnerabilities based on in-depth interviews among 15 male sex workers in Bulawayo. Our studies suggest that the stigma against male sex workers comes from diverse sectors including culture (“homosexuality is un-African, introduced by the Whites”), religion …

Book Review: Abortion Rights: For And Against, Michelle Oberman, Julia D. Hejduk

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Effect Of Tooth Wear On Bovid Identification, Juliet K. Brophy, Gregory J. Matthews, George K. Thiruvathukal

Faculty Publications

Previous research provides a method for reducing the subjectivity in taxonomic identification of species in the family Bovidae by quantifying the occlusal surface of molar teeth using elliptical Fourier analysis. In this current study, we specifically test what effect medium to late tooth wear has on the identification of bovids when using the form (size and shape) of the occlusal surface to classify specimens. To achieve this, the classification results of teeth with ≥85% of their occlusal surface (training data set) were compared with the results of teeth with 87% of the time with both Alcelaphini and Reduncini classifying correctly …

Using Case-Method Pedagogy To Facilitate Audience Awareness, Vincent D. Robles

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Technical and professional communication (TPC) instructors value audience awareness, using peer- and client-based projects to facilitate it. We explore how students’ audience awareness is facilitated by the case method, which presents students with a professional communication task within a workplace scenario.

Situating the case: Case-method research suggests including a detailed audience and situation, multiple genres, and multimedia. Few studies have explored how case materials facilitate students’ audience awareness.

About the case: A 12-week case that was consistent with case-method research asked students to respond to an engineering firm’s internal problem with a proposal and report. How the case was …

An Army Of One: Predaceous Diving Beetle Life History Stages Affect Interactions With Shared Mosquito Prey, Carmen E. Bofill, Donald A. Yee

Faculty Publications

Predators with complex life cycles often differ in their morphology, behavior, and trophic position across their ontogeny, and may thus have variable effects on shared prey. We used the predaceous diving beetle Laccophilus fasciatus rufus as our predator, whose larvae and adults often co-occur in freshwater lentic systems. As a shared prey we used early and late instar Culex quinquefasciatus, a common wetland mosquito. We found that single adult predators were more likely to consume late instar prey compared to juvenile predators, who ate early and late instar prey equally. A mixture of juvenile and adult predator stages led …

A Novel Sparse Compositional Technique Reveals Microbial Perturbations, Cameron Martino, James T. Morton, Clarisse A. Martoz, Luke R. Thompson, Anupriya Tripathi, Rob Knight, Karsten Zengler

Faculty Publications

The central aims of many host or environmental microbiome studies are to elucidate factors associated with microbial community compositions and to relate microbial features to outcomes. However, these aims are often complicated by difficulties stemming from high-dimensionality, non-normality, sparsity, and the compositional nature of microbiome data sets. A key tool in microbiome analysis is beta diversity, defined by the distances between microbial samples. Many different distance metrics have been proposed, all with varying discriminatory power on data with differing characteristics. Here, we propose a compositional beta diversity metric rooted in a centered log-ratio transformation and matrix completion called robust Aitchison …

The Search For Microbial Martian Life And American Buddhist Ethics, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

Multiple searches hunt for extraterrestrial life, yet the ethics of such searches in terms of fossil and possible extant life on Mars have not been sufficiently delineated. In response, in this essay I propose a tripartite ethic for searches for microbial Martian life that consists of default nonharm toward potential living beings, default nonharm to the habitats of potential living beings, but also responsible, restrained scientific harvesting of some microbes in limited transgression of these default nonharm modes. Although this multifaceted ethic remains secular and hence adaptable to space research settings, it arises from both a qualitative analysis of authoritative …

Vector Tick Transmission Model Of Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, Tais Berelli Saito, Jeremy Bechelli, Claire Smalley, Shahid Karim, David H. Walker

Faculty Publications

Many aspects of rickettsial infections have been characterized, including pathogenic and immune pathways and mechanisms of rickettsial survival within the vertebrate host and tick vector. However, very few studies are focused on the complex pathogen–vector–host interactions during tick feeding. Therefore, our objective was to develop a tick transmission model of the spotted fever group of rickettsial infections to study the initial events in disease development. The most appropriate strain of mouse was identified for evaluation as a transmission model, and the course of infection, bacterial levels, histopathologic changes, and antibody response during tick transmission in mice infested with Amblyomma maculatum …

Periphytic Algae Decouple Fungal Activity From Leaf Litter Decomposition Via Negative Priming, Halvor M. Halvorson, Jacob R. Barry, Matthew B. Lodato, Robert H. Findlay, Steven N. Francoeur, Kevin A. Kuehn

Faculty Publications

1. Well‐documented in terrestrial settings, priming effects describe stimulated heterotrophic microbial activity and decomposition of recalcitrant carbon by additions of labile carbon. In aquatic settings, algae produce labile exudates which may elicit priming during organic matter decomposition, yet the directions and mechanisms of aquatic priming effects remain poorly tested.

2. We tested algal‐induced priming during decomposition of two leaf species of contrasting recalcitrance, Liriodendron tulipifera and Quercus nigra, in experimental streams under light or dark conditions. We measured litter‐associated algal, bacterial, and fungal biomass and activity, stoichiometry, and litter decomposition rates over 43 days.

3. Light increased algal biomass and …

Toward A Performative Understanding Of Politeness, C. Kyle Rudick, Danielle E. Mcgeough

Faculty Publications

In this article, we argue that critical communication scholars have largely overlooked the study of politeness as a constitutive component of identity, culture, and power. We offer a critical-performative framework for critical scholars interested in studying politeness as a political, discursive, and embodied act. To develop this agenda, we first outline Brown and Levinson’s postpositivist theory of politeness. We then review three challenges to their use of intentionality, Grice’s cooperative principle, and Goffman’s concept of face. These challenges are located in interactional, traditional critical, and discursive understandings of politeness (respectively). Next, we show how a performative understanding of politeness both …

Variations In The Abundance And Distribution Of Aggregates In The Ross Sea, Antarctica, Vernon L. Asper, Walker O. Smith

Faculty Publications

The vertical distribution and temporal changes in aggregate abundance and sizes were measured in the Ross Sea, Antarctica between 2002 and 2005 to acquire a more complete understanding of the mechanisms and rates of carbon export from the euphotic layer. Aggregate abundance was determined by photographic techniques, and water column parameters (temperature, salinity, fluorescence, transmissometry) were assessed from CTD profiles. During the first three years the numbers of aggregates increased seasonally, being much more abundant within the upper 200 m in late summer than in early summer from 50 to 100 m (12.5 L^–1 in early summer vs. 42.9 …

Hunting For Insects And Metaphors In The Mojave, Mark Graham

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Associations Of Ambivalent Leadership With Distress And Cortisol Secretion, Wendy C. Birmingham, Raphael M. Herr, Frenk Van Harreveld, Bert N. Uchino, Adrian Loerbroks, Joachim E. Fischer, Jos A. Bosch

Faculty Publications

Ambivalent social ties, i.e., whereby a relationship is evaluated simultaneously in positive and negative terms, are a potential source of distress and can perturb health-relevant biological functions. Social interactions at the workplace, in particular with supervisors, are often described in ambivalent terms, but the psychological and psychobiological impact of such interactions has received little scientific attention. The current study examined associations between ambivalent attitudes towards one’s supervisor, perceived distress (general and work-related), and diurnal dynamics of the stress hormone cortisol. 613 employees evaluated their supervisor in terms of positive and negative behaviors, which was combined into an ambivalent index. Higher …

Excavations At The Seila Pyramid And Ritual Ramifications, Kerry Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

In modern times it was not apparent that the structure many travelers had seen atop the remote escarpment in Gebel El-Rus was actually a pyramid. Before its excavation it was locally known as el-Qalah, meaning “the fortress,” though it has since come to be called Harem Seila, or the Seila Pyramid. Even before excavation it could be easily seen as far away as Hawara when the air was clear. Though it stood six miles straight west of the Meidum Pyramid, there was nothing about the visible square covered in aeolian sand that would make explorers or archaeologists think it was …

Increasing English Learners’ Positive Emotional Response To Learning Through Dance, Grant Eckstein, Elizabeth Hanks

Faculty Publications

This study investigates dance as an English Second Language (ESL) curriculum enhancement. The curriculum utilizes kinesthetic learning, which is a method seldom incorporated in formal academic classrooms (Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2011) despite evidence suggesting that it benefits all students, including those without kinesthetic learning preferences (Schumann, 1997). Supporters believe that the benefits of incorporating movement in the classroom include increased student enjoyment, motivation, and confidence in learning. However, these beliefs are merely anecdotal at present. This study analyzes quantitative questionnaires and qualitative feedback from 26 students who participated in a 4-week long Dance ESL curriculum to determine whether dance-based learning can …

An Intensive Book Camp Approach To The Remediation Of Speech Sound Disorders: A Case Report, Shawn L. Nissen, Melanie E. Peris, Kristine Tanner

Faculty Publications

Background: Understanding treatment dose is essential to optimizing therapeutic frequency and intensity for speech sound disorders. Intensive therapies, known as boot camp approaches, have proven efficacious in certain speech therapy contexts such as voice disorder treatment. However, few data exist regarding intervention intensity for developmental speech sound disorders. Method: This investigation examined the effects of an intensive boot camp speech therapy approach to remediate interdental /s/ production over two consecutive days. Treatment occurred in morning and afternoon blocks for a total of 5.5 h per day. Auditory-perceptual ratings were used to evaluate /s/ productions pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, and one week …

Breaking The Paradigm: Dr Insight Empowers Signature-Free, Enhanced Drug Repurposing, Jinyan Chan, Xuan Wang, Jacob A. Turner, Nicole E. Baldwin, Jinghua Gu

Faculty Publications

Motivation: Transcriptome-based computational drug repurposing has attracted considerable interest by bringing about faster and more cost-effective drug discovery. Nevertheless, key limitations of the current drug connectivity-mapping paradigm have been long overlooked, including the lack of effective means to determine optimal query gene signatures. Results: The novel approach Dr Insight implements a frame-breaking statistical model for the ‘hand-shake’ between disease and drug data. The genome-wide screening of concordantly expressed genes (CEGs) eliminates the need for subjective selection of query signatures, added to eliciting better proxy for potential disease-specific drug targets. Extensive comparisons on simulated and real cancer datasets have validated the …

Overview Of Big Data-Intensive Storage And Its Technologies For Cloud And Fog Computing, Richard S. Segall, Jeffrey S. Cook, Gao Niu

Faculty Publications

Computing systems are becoming increasingly data-intensive because of the explosion of data and the needs for processing the data, and subsequently storage management is critical to application performance in such data-intensive computing systems. However, if existing resource management frameworks in these systems lack the support for storage management, this would cause unpredictable performance degradation when applications are under input/output (I/O) contention. Storage management of data-intensive systems is a challenge. Big Data plays a most major role in storage systems for data-intensive computing. This article deals with these difficulties along with discussion of High Performance Computing (HPC) systems, background for storage …

Job Automation In The 1960s: A Discourse Ahead Of Its Time (And For Our Time), Miriam A. Cherry

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

New technologies, such as on-demand platforms, algorithmic management, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual presence, people analytics, and gamification are all beginning to have an impact on the world of work. Many contemporary scholars and policymakers view these trends as provoking an existential clash with the traditional employment relationship, the gateway definition for most labor and employment law. While many portray the concern about technology and the on-demand economy as seemingly brand new issues, these contemporary discussions are fundamentally linked to the past as part of a longstanding dialogue on automation and work.

The concerns raised are cyclical, repetitious, and …

Legislating Morality: Moral Theory And Turpitudinous Crimes In Immigration Jurisprudence, Abel Rodríguez, Jennifer A. Bulcock

Faculty Publications

Congress could have framed the country’s immigration policies in any number of ways. In significant part, it opted to frame them in moral terms. The crime involving moral turpitude is among the most pervasive and pernicious classifications in immigration law. In the Immigration and Nationality Act, it is virtually ubiquitous, appearing everywhere from the deportability and mandatory detention grounds to the inadmissibility and naturalization grounds. In effect, it acts as a gatekeeper for those who wish to enter and remain in the country, obtain lawful permanent residence, travel abroad after admission, or become United States citizens. With limited exceptions, noncitizens …

Strict Liability For Genetic Privacy Violations In The Age Of Big Data, Benjamin Sundholm

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

The ethical issues implicated by the misuse of genetic information have been smoldering for over half a century, and the age of big data has turned them into a five-alarm fire. In recent years, medical researchers and commercial enterprises have been using technological advancements to develop a variety of innovative ways to use genetic information. For example, it is becoming increasingly common for people to learn more about their health and family history by paying direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) companies to analyze their genetic data. DTC companies store the results of these tests electronically and often share them with pharmaceutical companies …

Arrests As Guilt, Anna Roberts

Faculty Publications

An arrest puts a halt to one’s free life and may act as prelude to a new process. That new process—prosecution—may culminate in a finding of guilt. But arrest and guilt—concepts that are factually and legally distinct—frequently seem to be fused together. This fusion appears in many of the consequences of arrest, including the use of arrests in assessing “risk,” in calculating “recidivism,” and in identifying “offenders.” An examination of this fusion elucidates obstacles to key aspects of criminal justice reform. Efforts at reform, whether focused on prosecution or defense, police or bail, require a robust understanding of the differences …

Di-Sense: In Situ Real-Time Permittivity Estimation And Soil Moisture Sensing Using Wireless Underground Communications, Abdul Salam, Mehmet C. Vuran, Suat Irmak

Faculty Publications

Internet of Underground Things (IOUT) communications have the potential for soil properties estimation and soil moisture monitoring. In this paper, a method has been developed for real-time in situ estimation of relative permittivity of soil, and soil moisture, that is determined from the propagation path loss, and velocity of wave propagation of an underground (UG) transmitter and receiver link in wireless underground communications (WUC). The permittivity and soil moisture estimation processes (Di-Sense, where Di- prefix means two) are modeled and validated through an outdoor UG software-defined radio (SDR) testbed, and indoor greenhouse testbed. SDR experiments are conducted …

Internet Of Things In Smart Agriculture: Enabling Technologies, Abdul Salam, Syed Shah

Faculty Publications

In this paper, an IoT technology research and innovation roadmap for the field of precision agriculture (PA) is presented. Many recent practical trends and the challenges have been highlighted. Some important objectives for integrated technology research and education in precision agriculture are described. Effective IoT based communications and sensing approaches to mitigate challenges in the area of precision agriculture are presented.

The School-Based Family: Teachers As Parental Figures For Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Ugandan Schools, Stacy Taniguchi, Angela Warren, Steve Hite, Mark Widmer, Ramon B. Zabriskie, Yusef Nsubuga, Christopher Mugimu

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible formation of surrogate families within Ugandan schools, especially among orphans who lack positive development opportunities typically provided by parents. This qualitative study sample of 66 Ugandan secondary school students were selected from eight schools in the Mukono district of Uganda. Findings suggest a potentially widespread family formation pattern between students and their teachers. More than 75% of students interviewed self-identified their teacher as family. Some teachers were able to offer orphans and vulnerable children positive developmental assets and were, therefore, identified as family.

Attacking Innovation, Jeffrey A. Maine

Faculty Publications

Economists generally agree that innovation is important to economic growth and that government support for innovation is necessary. Historically, the U.S. government has supported innovation in a variety of ways: (1) a strong legal system for patents; (2) direct support through research performed by government agencies, grants, loans, and loan guarantees; and (3) indirect support through various tax incentives for private firms. In recent years, however, we have seen a weakening of the U.S. patent system, a decline in direct funding of research, and a weakening of tax policy tools used to encourage new innovation. These disruptive changes threaten the …

Traditional Ecological Knowledge In Environmental Decisionmaking, Anthony Moffa

Faculty Publications

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is defined as a deep understanding of the environment developed by local communities and indigenous peoples over generations. In the United States, Canada, and around the world, indigenous peoples are increasingly advocating for incorporation of TEK into a range of environmental decisionmaking contexts, including natural resource and wildlife management, pollution standards, environmental and social planning, environmental impact assessment, and adaptation to climate change. On October 31, 2018, ELI hosted an expert panel on TEK, co-sponsored by the National Native American Bar Association and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. The panel discussed …

Vernal Pool Conservation: Enhancing Existing Regulation Through The Creation Of The Maine Vernal Pool Special Area Management Plan, Vanessa R. Levesque, Aram J. K. Calhoun, Elizabeth Hertz

Faculty Publications

Conservation of natural resources is challenging given the competing economic and ecological goals humans have for landscapes. Vernal pools in the northeastern US are seasonal, small wetlands that provide critical breeding habitat for amphibians and invertebrates adapted to temporary waters, and are exceptionally hard to conserve as their function is dependent on connections to other wetlands and upland forests. A team of researchers in Maine joined forces with a diverse array of governmental and private stakeholders to develop an alternative to existing top-down vernal pool regulation. Through creative adoption and revision of various resource management tools, they produced a vernal …

Meat: A Novel, Sergey Belyaev, Boris Pilnyak, Ronald D. Leblanc

Faculty Publications

An English-language translation of a Russian novel that appeared in the Soviet thick journal "Novyi Mir" in three installments during February, March, and April of 1936.

Clarifying The Interpretation Of Carbon Use Efficiency In Soil Through Methods Comparison, Kevin M. Geyer, Paul Dijkstra, Robert Sinsabaugh, Serita D. Frey

Faculty Publications

Accurate estimates of microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) are required to predict how global change will impact microbially-mediated ecosystem functions such as organic matter decomposition. Multiple approaches are currently used to quantify CUE but the extent to which estimates reflect methodological variability is unknown. This limits our ability to apply or cross-compare published CUE values. Here we evaluated the performance of five methods in a single soil under standard conditions. The microbial response to three substrate amendment rates (0.0, 0.05, and 2.0 mg glucose-C g−1 soil) was examined using: 13C and 18O isotope tracing approaches which estimate CUE based on …