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Pitfalls of multiplied 3D landforms projection: mapping deep multilevel cave systems in the Alps (Gamssteig Cave System, Göll Massif)
No full textCave mapping represents one of the most complex challenges in geomorphological cartography, as it must convey the true three-dimensional geometry of subterranean spaces such as overlapping passages, irregular cross-sections, and variable ceiling and floor morphologies, within a two-dimensional framework. This study examines the methodological and interpretive challenges of cave mapping, utilizing the Gamssteighöhle cave in the Austrian Alps as a case study. During the 11 years of exploration, over 10 km of passages were surveyed using the DistoX vector survey method. Yet, the complex morphological forms necessitated deviations from the standard symbology recommended by the International Union of Speleology. Several key visualization challenges are analyzed, including subvertical pits, overlapping passages, and 3D maze-like networks. Solutions such as multiple projection planes, transparency effects, perpendicular cross-sections, and splitting maps into separate sheets are proposed to maintain readability and spatial context. We evaluate traditional vs. LiDAR-based mapping, concluding that while dense 3D point clouds offer exceptional precision, they do not inherently yield readable or informative maps. Cartographic generalization, with its interpretative input of the cartographer, remains indispensable for transforming spatial data into coherent and communicative cave maps. LiDAR and photogrammetry greatly enhance visualization and quantitative analysis but complement rather than replace traditional mapping
Non-destructive characterization of variously colored gypsum and aragonite/calcite speleothems from the Cigalère Cave (Ariège, France)
No full textThe Cigalère Cave is a 21 km-long karstic cave located in the Ariège Department, in the French Pyrenees, and underlies directly the Bentaillou Pb-Zn-Fe sulfide ores. The cave hosts abundant gypsum mineralizations, some of them exhibiting various colorations including blue, yellow, purple, orange and black. Due to strict preservation policies, these colored mineralizations have not been studied much. Here we propose a non-destructive characterization of five distinct gypsum or carbonate speleothem structures from the Cigalère, exhibiting different colorations. To comply with the preservation policies, no sample was taken from the cave, and all speleothems were analyzed in situ using portable X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF), with two custom-made calibrations respectively adapted to carbonate and sulfate speleothems. The “Cascade Noire” is suggested to be colored black and orange by coatings composed respectively of hematite/goethite and jarosite. The “Chapelle de Donnea” speleothems are likely colored black by different Mn oxides (likely birnessite) covered by a thin gypsum or calcite layer. The cores of gypsum speleothems are colored blue by Cu2+ substitution, which may be influenced by the presence of blue Zn-bearing phases. Yellow carbonate speleothems from the “Gino affluent” may be colored by the presence of humic substances, which could not be detected by pXRF. Field observations and comparison of the speleothems’ composition with ores from the overlying Bentaillou mine suggest that all the metallic elements and sulfate ions originate from the weathering of sulfide ores by groundwater and subsequent transportation through joints and fractures. This work also show the capabilities and limitations of pXRF analysis and its potential application in other preserved caves
Examining the Impact of the CROWN Act on Black Women’s Mental Health: A Scoping Review
No full textBlack women in the United States face unique challenges related to hair-based discrimination, which the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act of 2022 aims to address by prohibiting such discrimination in workplaces, schools, and other settings. However, limited research explores the act’s direct impact on Black women’s mental health. This scoping review, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses, extension for Scoping Reviews (or PRISMA-ScR), examined literature on the CROWN Act’s influence on Black women’s mental health. A comprehensive search of six databases (2019–2024) identified 310 articles, with 15 meeting inclusion criteria. Data were synthesized qualitatively to identify themes. Findings underscore the psychological toll of hair-based discrimination, including increased anxiety, stress, and trauma. While the CROWN Act is seen as a transformative policy, no studies directly measure its mental health impact. Existing evidence suggests reducing discrimination may alleviate chronic stress, but findings remain inferential. This review highlights the need for longitudinal and quantitative studies to evaluate the act’s effectiveness in addressing mental health disparities. Hair-based discrimination continues to affect Black women’s mental health, and while the CROWN Act provides critical protections, further research is necessary to link these policies to measurable mental health outcomes, strengthening advocacy and policy efforts
Epic Anger and Shame in Lucy Hutchinson’s Order and Disorder
No full textIn his didactic epic, De rerum natura, the Roman poet Lucretius rejects the unity of affect and genre in Homeric epic. Instead, in Lucretius anger is anti-heroic: the human race is demeaned by fear, cowering before a fabricated vision of vengeful gods. The gods are not angry, and human fear is therefore absurd, even shameful, since it leads to outrageous acts of appeasement that violate basic human decency. When Lucy Hutchinson, the first English translator of the full De rerum natura, approached the task of writing an epic version of the book of Genesis, affect was already a central, though vexed, structuring element in epic. Drawing upon Lucretius’s scenes of the material dissolution of the cosmos into atoms, Hutchinson imagines a Christian Apocalypse crucially shaped by the anger of a punishing God, the fear and shame of human sinners, and a natural world that is in a complex mirroring relationship with human beings. Hutchinson’s revision of the epic, contrary to Lucretius’s teaching, places fear and anger at the center of the form, but shades these affects with shame. While the anger of the gods is a key structure of epic, Hutchinson’s portrayal of divine anger leads to an analysis of shame and its recuperative potential
Teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters’s Morals on Words and Actions in American Literature to 1860
No full textThis article argues that teaching Phillis Wheatley-Peters (c. 1753-1784) as a moral authority during the American Revolution provides a robust historical framework for fostering an empowering humanism in students. When Phillis Wheatley Peters wrote to Indigenous Mohegan Minister Samson Occom (1723-1792) in 1774, she expressed satisfaction with his reasons for recognizing the conditions faced by enslaved Africans in North America. Her didactic perspective aimed to enlighten her readers about the limitations of the human condition: “This I desire not for their Hurt, but to convince them of the strange Absurdity of their Conduct whose Words and Actions are so diametrically opposite.” My students and I explore the development of Phillis Wheatley’s moral authority in my American Literature to 1860 course at the University of Pittsburgh. To establish the framework of her developing moral authority, I highlight her interactions in London and with colonial American leaders, illustrating her profound efforts to confront the pervasive violence of the era. Wheatley-Peters sought to redefine the moral and religious principles guiding the formation of the modern nation-state through her influential writing campaign to General George Washington (1732-1799) in 1775. Therefore, the course aimed to engage students in understanding the historical narrative of early America from the perspective of colonists who sought to take actionable steps to address the violence of that time
Still Scribbling: Reflections on The Grub Street Project at Twenty Years
No full textThis article reflects on twenty years of the Grub Street Project, assessing its sustainability and the design principles and editorial practices that have supported its continuity and coherence from 2005 to 2025
A Review of \u3ci\u3eBooks and Borrowing 1750–1830: An Analysis of Scottish Borrowers\u27 Registers\u3c/i\u3e
No full textA Study of the Impacts of Infusing Data Analysis and Research in an Interdisciplinary Environmental Economics Course
No full textThis paper explores the impacts of introducing quantitative literacy skills in an interdisciplinary Environmental Economics course typically taught as an issues and policy course without a quantitative component. The study examines the effects of infusing an engaging, student-selected data collection and analysis assignment on students\u27 quantitative reasoning skills, as well as their interest in and attitudes about data analysis and quantitative information. Using data gathered from a set of pre- and post-assessment questions designed to measure changes in quantitative reasoning skills and attitudes, the findings point to significant attitudinal impacts, gains, but smaller, insignificant gains in quantitative reasoning skills
A Comparison of First- and Continuing-Generation Students Completing a Project-Based Introductory Statistics Course
No full textTraditional introductory statistics courses that focus on techniques are not engaging for many college students; this may be especially true for first-generation college students, who generally have more difficulty engaging in the college environment than continuing-generation students. We study first-generation college students’ experiences in a course-based undergraduate research experience called Passion-Driven Statistics. Passion-Driven Statistics is a multidisciplinary, project-based introductory statistics course where students develop their own research topics, analyze publicly available quantitative data, and focus on conceptual understanding of statistics rather than hand calculations. Using pre-course and post-course surveys from students taking Passion-Driven Statistics in colleges throughout the United States, we find both first- and continuing-generation students experienced gains in (1) interest in conducting research, (2) interest in pursuing advanced coursework in statistics, and (3) plans to use statistics in the remainder of their degree programs. These findings demonstrate the benefits of an inquiry-based course to students from different backgrounds. When compared to continuing-generation students, first-generation students were more likely to feel that they spent time doing meaningful research and to feel like they were part of a scientific community. Overall, these results imply potential to reduce social disparities in quantitative skills and related careers
Toward Fairer and More Equitable Numeracy Measurement: Improvements to the Quantitative Reasoning for College Science Assessment
No full textNumeracy has become an increasingly important 21st-century skill that, due to the relationship between math and science, is often formally developed at the college level in general education science courses. These courses serve a diverse group of students, many of whom have historically experienced science teaching, curriculum, and assessment on the margins. The well-documented biases of assessments in particular against Individuals of Color (IoC) have inspired us to approach numeracy for social justice in our work from this angle, and in this paper, we detail our efforts to revise our validated numeracy assessment to ensure it more fairly and equitably measures student knowledge, with particular attention to minimizing bias against students from racial/ethnic groups that have been marginalized in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We also discuss the implications of our work for assessment designers and describe why our approach to test creation is necessary precursor work to addressing the under-representation of IoC in STEM and science-related fields more broadly