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Arctic Change: Drivers and Solutions
No full textThe Arctic is collapsing! Scientists believe that by 2040 the polar region, which is home to an abundance of unique species, will have no more remaining ice. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Arctic is losing sea ice at a rate of thirteen percent per decade. Due to this loss, species are forced to seek out new habitats resulting in land conflict between animals and humans, a loss of genetic variability due to fragmentation, and a rapidly increasing possibility of extinction. This habitat loss greatly affects many Arctic animals such as migratory seabirds, polar bears, and several aquatic mammal species. The goal of this project is to offer solutions to help conserve the sea-ice in the Arctic. To accomplish this goal, as a part of a cross-institutional study between North Carolina State University and Northern Michigan University, our group conducted an extensive literature review to get a full understanding of this conservation issue and examined it from diverse perspectives. We plan to address the direct impacts of climate change on the Arctic, how habitat loss is harming Arctic wildlife specifically, and how we can help preserve the sea-ice for generations to come. Focusing on the Arctic not only allows us to observe the direct effects on the specific region and the species within but also helps us gain a better understanding of current causes contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation and how to possibly mitigate these issues in other regions
Prevalence of Recreational and Varsity Athlete’s Cell Phone Uses at a Midwestern University in the United States
No full textSmartphone use is popular among college students and it provides tremendous opportunities for learning and innovation for students, however its over use may negatively impact their daily lives. Smartphone use has been studied in a general collegiate population, but has not been assessed among student athletes. Student athlete’s schedules are interspersed with practice, strength training and school, leaving less free time than peers. This study assessed student athletes’ prevalence of smartphone uses utilizing the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS). Students (n=124) recreational and varsity athletes ages 18-24 participated in this study (18-20 years 70.2% and 21-23 years 29.8%, 63.7% female and 36.3% males, 14.5% freshmen, 28.2% sophomore, 35.5% Junior, and 27% senior and up). The internal consistency of the MPPUS survey (Cronbach Alpha) was 0.89 and average total score on the MPPUS (out of 130) was 68.84+ 12.58. Among different sport affiliations, volleyball athletes had the highest score of 77.20, followed by swimming 73.46, basketball 73.22, soccer 69.17, tack & field 67.70, hockey 65.80, golf & football 65.50, winter sports 63.0, and lacrosse athletes had lowest score of 62.40 on the MPPUS scale. There was no statistically significant difference on the MPPUS scores among gender, year in school, and sports affiliation. The smartphone uses among athletes was high with only about 8.1% of athletes utilizing the American Academia of Pediatrics recommended 1-2 hours of cell phone use per day. From the remaining 91.9% of athletes, 51.6% used 2-4 hours, 30.6% used 4-6 hours, and 9.7% used more than 6 hours per day. These findings confirmed that the prevalence of smartphone use among college athletes was high. Public health intervention discouraging the excessive use of smartphone among athletes is warranted
Assessing Underground Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Potential in the United States
No full textWith an increasing global population, the demand for energy is growing. Existing energy infrastructure is not capable of handling the demand, which is further emphasized after the blackout in Texas in February 2021. There is a need for alternative ways to offset the load on the system. Pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) offers a low-cost resource for peak hours between 8 AM and 8 PM. However, exploiting abandoned mines for their existing infrastructure to construct PHES plants would reduce capital cost. This underground pumped hydro energy storage (UPHES) mitigate the risk associated with traditional operations above ground. The alleviation of the demand on the grid would reduce the risk of black outs, something that have serious socio-economic repercussions. Low operation cost and durable technology makes PHES an attractive alternative. There are already 20 gigawatts from traditional PHES plants in the US. However, this technology poses a threat to aquatic life by destruction of habitat and is a subject of costly installations and objections from the community. PHES can be implemented in available infrastructure in abandoned mines. Groundwater in the mine or wastewater from a nearby treatment facility can be utilized to create the upper and lower reservoir which is beneficial for aeration and water improvements. I plan to perform a spatial analysis to determine the feasibility of underground pumped hydro energy storage (UPHES) in abandoned mines close to the 50 areas of highest electricity demand. Additionally, I will assess the potential for renewable energy around these areas. These results will not only illustrate the potential for this technology in the US, but create a blueprint for suitable locations for UPHES. To my knowledge, there are no other studies assessing the proximity of abandoned mines to demand centers in the US and compare it to the renewable potential in said areas
The Gender Epidemic: Intersecting Disease, Gender, and Sexuality in a Graphic Novel
Get PDFFor my thesis, I wrote a graphic novel set in a world where certain people possess powers that society tries to suppress by viewing them as a disease. The story focuses on two super-powered individuals on opposite sides of the law who handle this oppression very differently. Although these characters would easily be able to overpower the non-powered people in charge, they are too afraid to do so. Internalized guilt from possessing abilities they did not ask for adds an additional layer of conflict, just as women and disabled persons are constantly made to feel like they should apologize for who they are. Women in comic books, whether hero or villain, are often disappointingly one-dimensional, and I sought to help correct this narrative gap. Writing in the style of a comic book will further pay homage to the themes and stylizations I am studying. Although I did not craft a completed graphic novel filled with finished panels, I outlined how panels would be organized and provided a few examples of panels and the scenes. Drawing out the images during the editing process enabled me to visualize the characters and their actions in a different format. I included some of them at the end of my script to supplement my descriptions and allow the reader to more fully enter this world with me
VETERAN TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES IN CONNECTION TO TEACHER EMPOWERMENT WITHIN THE SCHOOL
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VETERAN TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES IN CONNECTION TO TEACHER EMPOWERMENT WITHIN THE SCHOOL
By
Jessica Louise Aho
This narrative inquiry has been designed to explore the perspectives and experiences of veteran elementary teachers in connection to leadership and teacher empowerment within the school. This study examines the narratives of seven veteran elementary teachers from four different schools in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Each veteran teacher was interviewed one-on-one by the researcher via Zoom, due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Participants were identified through purposeful sampling. The researcher used an inductive approach to the analysis of the data, to identify themes within the narratives. Analysis of the data determined that teacher empowerment does impact veteran teachers’ experiences and overall morale within the school. The data that was gathered presented six themes. The researcher made theoretical predications that emerged during the coding process. These included leadership style, trust, communication, and morale. The other themes that emerged during the coding process, were autonomy and mentorship
A DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE OF FEAR: HUMAN IMPACTS ON CARNIVORE COMMUNITIES
Get PDFMammalian carnivores are elusive, enigmatic species that often play keystone roles in ecosystems through direct (i.e., predation) and indirect (i.e., perceived predation risk) effects. Worldwide many carnivore species are experiencing rapid human-mediated population declines due to landscape change and habitat disturbance. For researchers, carnivores present unique challenges due to their large home ranges, low population densities, sensitivity to human disturbance, and direct persecution. Further, growing evidence shows that human activity can impact carnivore behavior and community structure by altering predator-prey interactions, shifting diel activity patterns, and altering wildlife movement leading to increased sightings, nuisance reports, and harvests. To investigate how human activity influences U.S. carnivore communities, I explored variation in spatiotemporal activity of American black bear and bobcat, and assessed carnivore co-occurrence using camera trap data. I constructed diel activity density curves, applied multispecies occupancy models, and calculated attraction-avoidance ratios to describe relationships among members of the carnivore guild relative to various types of human activity. My results suggested the bobcat can function as a dominant carnivore dependent on community structure, with dominant carnivores (i.e., wolves, pumas) influenced primarily by human-related factors, and subordinate carnivores (i.e., foxes) impacted by environmental factors. Further, American black bear activity did not vary with different types of human activity, yet protected areas were positively associated with black bear presence during the annual hunting season along with increased nocturnal activity. Understanding the influence human activity has on carnivore community dynamics is critical for establishing successful management practices to promote the persistence of carnivore guilds
IN SEARCH OF A SIMPLIFIED, OBJECTIVE ATTACHMENT STYLE ASSESSMENT: THE ATTACHMENT IMPLICIT MEASURE
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IN SEARCH OF A SIMPLIFIED, OBJECTIVE ATTACHMENT STYLE ASSESSMENT: THE ATTACHMENT IMPLICIT MEASURE
By
Lisa M. Savage
Attachment is a lasting bond between two people (Bowlby, 1958). Bonding starts at birth and lasts through the lifetime (Bowlby, 1958). Emotional and social development is impacted by attachment (Bowlby, 1976). Measuring attachment is beneficial to clinical psychologists and psychological research. There are both implicit and explicit measures of attachment. Explicit measures are subject to social desirability and other bias and require a person\u27s honesty and understanding of self. Current implicit measures are lengthy and expensive to administer and score. The development of a more efficient implicit measure of attachment will benefit the field of psychology. The aim of this study was to validate a new attachment style measure. The Attachment Implicit Measure (AIM) was created in hopes of developing a better test for implicit attachment assessment. Participants were given a battery of online questionnaires and in person tests in order to assess the validity of the new attachment measure. Results did not yield significant findings for the validation of the AIM. Although, it was determined that a reaction time task may be a viable option for a new implicit measure of attachment style