Digital Commons Network^™

Coastal Shoreline Change Assessments At Global Scales, Jonathan A. Warrick, Daniel Buscombe, Kilian Vos, Karin R. Bryan, Bruno Castelle, J. Andrew G. Cooper, Mitch D. Harley, Derek W.T. Jackson, Bonnie C. Ludka, Gerd Masselink, Margaret L. Palmsten, Amaia Ruiz De Alegria-Arzaburu, Nadia Sénéchal, Christopher R. Sherwood, Andrew D. Short, Erdinc Sogut, Kristen D. Splinter, Wayne J. Stephenson, Jaia Syvitski, Adam P. Young

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Arising from R. Almar et al. Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38742-9 (2023)

Deep Dive Into The Chronic Toxicity Of Tyre Particle Mixtures And Their Leachates, Paul Boisseaux, Cassandra Rauert, Pradeep Dewapriya, Marie Laure Delignette-Muller, Robyn Barrett, Lee Durndell, Florian Pohl, Richard Thompson, Kevin V. Thomas, Tamara Galloway

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Particles from the tread of vehicle tyres are a global pollutant, which are emitted into the environment at an approximate rate of 1.4 kg.year⁻¹ for an average passenger-car. In this study, popular tyre brands were used to generate a tyre tread microparticle mixture. The chronic toxicity of both particles and chemical leachates were compared on a planktonic test species (Daphnia magna). Over 21 days of exposure, pristine tyre tread microparticles were more toxic (LC50 60 mg.L⁻¹) than chemical lechates alone (LC50 542 mg.L⁻¹). Microparticles and leachates showed distinct effects on reproduction and morphological development at …

Bridging The Divide: Improving Digital Humanities Pedagogy By Networking Higher Education And Secondary Education Faculty In St. Louis, Geremy Carnes, Margaret K. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

In 2021, faculty at Lindenwood University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) led the formation of a Saint Louis Digital Humanities (STL DH) Network of faculty and scholars at area universities, schools, and cultural institutions.1 The Lindenwood and SIUE campuses bookend the St. Louis metro area, a region whose strong geospatial presence offers fruitful opportunities for digital humanities (DH) education but which also suffers from long, deeply ingrained economic and racial segregation. While other regional DH networks exist, the STL DH Network is unique in taking undergraduate education and secondary education— and particularly equitable access to education—as its chief focus. …

Assessing Immediate Emotions In The Theory Of Planned Behavior Can Substantially Contribute To Increases In Pro-Environmental Behavior, Vanessa C. Ho, Anne H. Berman, Jackie Andrade, David J. Kavanagh, Stéphane La Branche, Jon May, Conner S. Philson, Daniel T. Blumstein

School of Psychology

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a highly influential and powerful behavior change model that offers promising guidance on promoting urgently needed, pro-environmental action. Recent pro-environmental research has successfully augmented TPB using anticipated emotions—the emotions an individual consciously predicts they will experience in relation to possible outcomes of their decision. However, immediate emotions—the emotions an individual actually experiences during decision-making—have received far less attention. Given that immediate emotions are relevant to pro-environmental decision-making and can address the theoretical and empirical limitations of TPB, we contend that pro-environmental studies should explicitly examine immediate emotions within the TPB framework. This article …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session ,March 14, 2024, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes

Remarks by the Chair Pro-Tem

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Capital Intern Program Presentation: Cultivating a Leader: WMU Student's Journey in the

Capital Intern Program

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

Consent Items

• Liquor License – Multiple Events
• Curriculum Proposals
• Personnel Report
• Annuity and Life Income Funds Performance Report
• Operating Cash Investment Performance Report

General Public Comments

The Impact Of The Inflation Reduction Act On Energy Justice And Green Energy Development In Indian Country, John Beaty

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

In the past two decades, many American Indian Tribes have been experimenting with generating power from renewable sources on reservations. The growth of tribal green energy is a positive step towards energy justice, but current projects are hampered by insufficient funding, jurisdictional confusion, lack of needed infrastructure, and a baroque permitting process that leaves necessary projects languishing. The recent omnibus spending bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was trumped by Congress as the largest investment into tribal green energy ever. This Article critically analyzes the impact of the IRA on tribal energy. While the IRA represents a necessary move towards …

Sparking A Revolution Or Blowing Smoke: Feasibility Of Undergrounding Transmission Lines In Response To Recent Wildfires And The Push Toward Resilient Renewable Energy, Zachary D. Berryman

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

The Abuse Of Greatness: A Comparative Study Between A Leader's Recognition Of Remorse And Their State's Economic, Political, And Social Success, Joleah Long

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the year 1599 William Shakespeare penned a line for his new political drama The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: “The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” This thesis investigates if and how this claim is mirrored in reality. Utilizing the literature and philosophies of two historic political figures, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli, a spectrum of remorse in leadership is defined. On one end Aurelius articulates the necessity of remorse while Machiavelli argues the opposite on the other end of this spectrum. The research then takes us to sub-saharan Africa to explore differences in the leadership styles …

Leveraging Spatial Metadata In Machine Learning For Improved Objective Quantification Of Geological Drill Core, Lewis J.C. Grant, Miquel Massot-Campos, Rosalind M. Coggon, Blair Thornton, Francesca C. Rotondo, Michelle Harris, Aled D. Evans, Damon A.H. Teagle

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Here we present a method for using the spatial x–y coordinate of an image cropped from the cylindrical surface of digital 3D drill core images and demonstrate how this spatial metadata can be used to improve unsupervised machine learning performance. This approach is applicable to any data set with known spatial context, however, here it is used to classify 400 m of drillcore imagery into 12 distinct classes reflecting the dominant rock types and alteration features in the core. We modified two unsupervised learning models to incorporate spatial metadata and an average improvement of 25% was achieved over equivalent models …

Revolutionary Creations: Memory And Political Sentiment In Rural Zanzibar, Mark Troger

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On the northeast coast of the tiny island of Zanzibar lies a small village called Matemwe. About six thousand inhabitants are scattered among palm trees in dwellings that stretch across five miles of coastline. There is no electricity in the village and the road leading to town was paved just a few years ago. No one is sure about the origins of the local people, but there are accounts carried down by elders who remember the stories told by their ancestors. One story tells of Africans who came from the mainland and settled in Matemwe, originally calling it Mumni. They …

The First Kinship: The Native American Relationship With Katahdin, John W. Neff

Appalachia

An excerpt of the book Katahdin: An Historic Journey: Legends, Explorations, and Preservation of Maine’s Highest Peak, first published in 2006 by Appalachian Mountain Club Books.

Bushwhacking In The Mahoosucs: With A Compass And Laminated Map, A Patient Hiker Finds Magic, William Geller

Appalachia

An experienced backcountry adventurer describes the highlights of 22 trailless trips in New Hampshire and Maine from 1992 to 1994.

Teaching A Credit-Bearing Library Course For Graduate Students: From Proposal To Postmortem, Jill Cirasella

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

For years, library faculty at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York had fantasized about some day offering a credit-bearing course to our master’s and doctoral students. In 2021, we finally transitioned from idle dreams to directed discussion. As we explored how to get a library course on the books at an institution that had never before had one, we had to rethink and rework our plans several times, in unexpected but not unreasonable ways.

For example, we had believed that a one-credit course would be most appropriate—and most palatable to the institution—but we learned that only …

Gt-Ches And Dycon: Improved Classification For Human Evolutionary Systems, Joseph S. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to rethink the process of learning in human evolutionary systems. We take a sober look at how game theory, network theory, and chaos theory pertain specifically to the modeling, data, and training components of generalization in human systems. The value of our research is three-fold. First, our work is a direct approach to align machine learning generalization with core behavioral theories. We made our best effort to directly reconcile the axioms of these heretofore incompatible disciplines -- rather than moving from AI/ML towards the behavioral theories while building exclusively on AI/ML intuition. Second, this …

March 13, 2024 (Vol. 108, No. 23), Daily Eastern News

Daily Eastern News: 2023-2024

No abstract provided.

Increasing Multi-Hazard Climate Risk And Financial And Health Impacts On Northern Homeowners, Tobias Schwoerer, Jennifer I. Schmidt, Matthew Berman, Peter Bieniek, Louise M. Farquharson, Dmitry Nicolsky, James E. Powell, Rachel Roberts, Rick Thoman, Robert Ziel

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Currently, more than half of the world’s human population lives in urban areas, which are increasingly affected by climate hazards. Little is known about how multi-hazard environments affect people, especially those living in urban areas in northern latitudes. This study surveyed homeowners in Anchorage and Fairbanks, USA, Alaska’s largest urban centers, to measure individual risk perceptions, mitigation response, and damages related to wildfire, surface ice hazards, and permafrost thaw. Up to one third of residents reported being affected by all three hazards, with surface ice hazards being the most widely distributed, related to an estimated $25 million in annual damages. …

Geography, Climate, And Habitat Shape The Microbiome Of The Endangered Rock Gnome Lichen (Cetradonia Linearis), Julianna Paulsen, Jessica L. Allen, Nathan Morris, Jenna Dorey, Jenifer B. Walke, S. Elizabeth Alter

Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacterial symbionts are essential components of healthy biological systems. They are increasingly recognized as important factors in the study and management of threatened species and ecosystems. Despite management shifts at the ecosystem level, microbial communities are often neglected in discussions of holobiont conservation in favor of the primary members of a symbiosis. In this study, we addressed the bacterial community knowledge gap for one of two federally endangered lichen species in the United States, Cetradonia linearis (Cladoniaceae). We collected 28 samples of the endangered rock gnome lichen (Cetradonia linearis) from 13 sites and characterized bacterial communities in thalli using 16S …

“Urban Renewal” Surrounding Florida Solar Plants: A Study On Low-Carbon Gentrification, Megan Amber Grove

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Renewable energy and sustainable living are growing trends in Florida as the state “develops” rural landscapes and “redevelops” urban ones, resulting in neighborhood changes, including displacement of low-income and minority populations (LIMP). Solar energy has not historically been a root cause of such changes, but in recent years it has increasingly accompanied neighborhood development which prioritizes the interests of the elite and middle class. As such, it has become a contributor to “urban renewal,” which must be addressed to avoid future LIMP displacement. This study used geospatial and data science technologies and techniques to empirically explore and analyze urbanization and …

Ways To Improve Uptake Of Tier 2 Weight Management Programmes In Bame Communities In Medway: A Qualitative Study, Jennifer A. Teke, Johnson Mbabazi, Emma Giles, Scott Elliot, Louisa Ells, Lawrence Achilles Nnyanzi

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Overweight and obesity is usually determined by Body Mass Index (BMI). Twelve BAME adults participated in the interviews: six were female, ten were first-generation migrants, three were retirees, none lived with a disability, and all were concerned about their excess weight. There were four themes from the data and eight subthemes obtained. To improve the uptake of the weight management service provided in Medway, the participants recommended the use of strategies such as indigenous food labelling, BAME-led clinics, the use of translated leaflets, the recruitment of local weight management champions, better coordination of services, appropriate communication strategies, and further research. …

Unraveling Trends In Schistosomiasis: Deep Learning Insights Into National Control Programs In China, Fenghua Gao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: to achieve the ambitious goal of eliminating schistosome infections, the Chinese government has implemented diverse control strategies. This study explored the progress of the 2 most recent national schistosomiasis control programs in an endemic area along the Yangtze River in China.

METHODS: We obtained village-level parasitological data from cross-sectional surveys combined with environmental data in Anhui Province, China from 1997 to 2015. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on a hierarchical integro-difference equation (IDE) framework (i.e., CNN-IDE) was used to model spatio-temporal variations in schistosomiasis. Two traditional models were also constructed for comparison with 2 evaluation indicators: the mean-squared …

"In The Footsteps Of Hercules": The Influence Of Classical Antiquity On Eighteenth-Century Militaries, Scott Madere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines the pervasive influence of ancient Roman and Greek figures, historical events, literature, and military methods on the leaders and practitioners of eighteenth-century warfare. Rulers, generals, military theorists, and officers frequently consulted classical histories and literature for solutions to the common military problems of the period – tactical, operational, and strategic – showing remarkable faith in ancient military methods despite their growing dependence on gunpowder weaponry and related technologies. This dissertation examines why this was the case and concludes that classical antiquity not only maintained the credibility of its wisdom in the context of modern warfare, but also …

Georgia Academy Of Science 2024 Annual Meeting Program, Teresa Raczek, Terry Powis, Kisa Ranasinghe, Yian Xu, Ordene Edwards

Georgia Journal of Science

Program

The Postsecondary Success Of Historically Marginalized Black And Latino Male Students: Examining Factors That Impact College Readiness Preparation And Persistence, Molly Croghan, Ebonie Davis, Janci Finkley, Zehra Khan, Yvette Levy, Evans Mudanya, Lizbeth Roman

Dissertations

This qualitative research study investigates the multifaceted factors influencing the postsecondary success of historically marginalized Black and Latino male students, with a particular emphasis on understanding the impact of college readiness preparation and persistence. Employing a comprehensive research design, the study integrates semi-structured interviews with high school teachers and counselors, and Black and Latino male freshmen and sophomores to provide a holistic exploration of the challenges and opportunities within the educational journey. Situated within an interpretive phenomenological paradigm, this study elucidates the experiential realities and viewpoints of the subjects, thereby illuminating the socio-cultural, institutional, and individual factors shaping their trajectories …

Special Education Teacher Preparation In Saudi Arabia: Qualitative Interview Design, Salman Almughyiri

The Qualitative Report

This study explored preservice special education teachers’ perceptions regarding special education teacher preparation courses, practicum, and evidence-based practices they recently completed. The participants of the study included five preservice special education teachers from two universities, Shaqra University and King Saud University, in Riyadh. A variety of qualitative interview designs, such as semi-structured interviews and in-depth interviews were employed to gather the data. This involved conducting a total of 15 interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Additionally, peer debriefing and member checks were used to increase the credibility of the study and help prevent personal bias. The study …

Ground Electric Field, Atmospheric Weather And Electric Grid Variations In Northeast Greece Influenced By The March 2012 Solar Activity And The Moderate To Intense Geomagnetic Storms, Georgios Anagnostopoulos, Anastasios Karkanis, Athanasios Kampatagis, Panagiotis Marhavilas, Sofia-Anna Menesidou, Dimitrios Efthymiadis, Stefanos Keskinis, Dimitar Ouzounov, Nick Hatzigeorgiu, Michael Danakis

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In a recent paper, we extended a previous study on the solar solar influence to the generation of the March 2012 heatwave in the northeastern USA. In the present study we check the possible relationship of solar activity with the early March 2012 bad weather in northeast Thrace, Greece. To this end, we examined data from various remote sensing instrumentation monitoring the Sun (SDO satellite), Interplanetary space (ACE satellite), the Earth’s magnetosphere (Earth-based measurements, NOAA-19 satellite), the top of the clouds (Terra and Aqua satellites), and the near ground atmosphere. Our comparative data analysis suggests that: (i) the winter-like weather …

A Biogeographical Appraisal Of The Threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago Ecoregion, Julian Bayliss, Gabriela B Bittencourt-Silva, William R Branch, Carl Bruessow, Steve Collins, Werner Conradie, Savel R Daniels, Iain Darbyshire, Harith Farooq, Lincoln Fishpool, Geoffrey Grantham, Zacharia Magombo, Hermenegildo Matimele, Ara Monadjem, Jose Monteiro, Jo Osborne, Justin Saunders, Paul Smith, Claire N Spottiswoode, Peter J Taylor, Jonathan Timberlake, Krystal A Tolley, Érica Tovela, Philip J Platts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent biological surveys of ancient inselbergs in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique have led to the discovery and description of many species new to science, and overlapping centres of endemism across multiple taxa. Combining these endemic taxa with data on geology and climate, we propose the 'South East Africa Montane Archipelago' (SEAMA) as a distinct ecoregion of global biological importance. The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest (Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands. Endemic taxa include 127 plants, 45 vertebrates …

Beavers Beyond Boundaries: Perceptions Of Beaver-Related Restoration, Matthew V. Guziejka

Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver

This urban-focused research explores the multifaceted aspects of Beaver-Related Restoration (BRR) within the Tualatin River watershed, using a hydrosociological framework to understand the interconnectedness of water, ecological systems, and societal perceptions. Analyzing social and cultural dimensions associated with BRR, including stakeholder attitudes and potential conflicts, we conducted a voluntary survey at three Tualatin urban watershed study sites (Fanno Creek, Chicken Creek, Springville) during the summer of 2022.

Insights from residents' attitudes, perceived impacts, and preferred management strategies revealed a spectrum of opinions. While a majority acknowledged positive beaver impacts on water quality and habitat diversity, some expressed concerns about urban …

Edna Study Of The Kellogg-Mt. Scott Watershed, Amy D. Van Riessen

Urban Ecosystem Research Consortium of Portland/Vancouver

The Kellogg Creek Restoration and Community Enhancement Project is an exciting effort occurring in the heart of downtown Milwaukie. The project encompasses many elements, including:

• providing fish passage to 15 miles of habitat by removing the barrier at Kellogg Dam
• restoring 17 acres of high-quality habitat behind the dam
• providing public access and viewing points to encourage nature-based recreation and outdoor education
• increasing flood storage capacity to reduce flooding in lower Kellogg Creek
• modernizing the existing Oregon State Highway 99E bridge with an alternative that increases seismic resiliency and establishes a safe bike/pedestrian undercrossing
• providing interactive learning, scientific research and …

Early Town Planning In Middle Florida, Mark Reinberger

Florida Historical Quarterly

Historical study of Middle Florida in the antebellum period has understandably concentrated on the region's political evolution, economic development, and the formation of social classes. The region thus takes its place in the settlement of the southern backcountry as people from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia moved south and west for virgin land to plant, in the process creating an economy of plantations, small farms, and slavery. This forms part of the opening of the American frontier which stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Included as parts of this story in early Florida, as elsewhere in …

Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 100, No. 2, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

No abstract provided.