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Snails from Heavy-Metal Polluted Environments Have Reduced Sensitivity to Carbon Dioxide-Induced Acidity
Get PDFAnthropogenic atmospheric CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) which increases water acidity. While marine acidification has received recent consideration, less attention has been paid to the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on freshwater systems—systems that often have low buffering potential. Since many aquatic systems are already impacted by pollutants such as heavy metals, we wondered about the added effect of rising atmospheric CO2 on freshwater organisms. We studied aquatic pulmonate snails (Physella columbiana) from both a heavy-metal polluted watershed and snails from a reference watershed that has not experienced mining pollution. We used gaseous CO2 to increase water acidity and we then measured changes in antipredatory behavior and also survival. We predicted a simple negative additive effect of low pH. We hypothesized that snails from metal-polluted environments would be physiologically stressed and impaired due to defense responses against heavy metals. Instead, snails from populations that acclimated or evolved in the presence of heavy metal mining pollution were more robust to acidic conditions than were snails from reference habitats. Snails from mining polluted sites seemed to be preadapted to a low pH environment. Their short-term survival in acidic conditions was better than snails from reference sites that lacked metal pollution. In fact, the 48 h survival of snails from polluted sites was so high that it did not significantly differ from the 24 h survival of snails from control sites. This suggests that the response of organisms to a world with rising anthropogenic carbon dioxide levels may be complex and difficult to predict. Snails had a weaker behavioral response to stressful stimuli if kept for 1 month at a pH that differed from their lake of origin. We found that snails raised at a pH of 5.5 had a weaker response (less of a decrease in activity) to concentrated heavy metals than did snails raised at their natal pH of 6.5. Furthermore, snails raised a pH of 5.5, 6.0, and 7.0 all had a weaker antipredatory response to an extract of crushed snail cells than did the pH 6.5 treatment snails
NOW 2015-05 May
No full textCorpus of News on the Web data for May 2015.
The TAR folder contains linguistic data in three formats: Database: This is the format allows for the most robust searches and allows for powerful JOINs across corpus, lexicon, and source tables but requires knowledge of SQL. See Full-text corpus data for more information on how to use the database format. Linear Text: This format provides a textID for each text, and then the entire text on the same line. In this format, words are not annotated for part of speech or lemma. In addition, contracted words like can\u27t are separated into two parts (ca n\u27t) and punctuation is separated from words (eye level . As her). Word, Lemma, Part of Speech: Texts are separated by a line with ## and the textID
NOW 2015-04 April
No full textCorpus of News on the Web data for April 2015.
The TAR folder contains linguistic data in three formats: Database: This is the format allows for the most robust searches and allows for powerful JOINs across corpus, lexicon, and source tables but requires knowledge of SQL. See Full-text corpus data for more information on how to use the database format. Linear Text: This format provides a textID for each text, and then the entire text on the same line. In this format, words are not annotated for part of speech or lemma. In addition, contracted words like can\u27t are separated into two parts (ca n\u27t) and punctuation is separated from words (eye level . As her). Word, Lemma, Part of Speech: Texts are separated by a line with ## and the textID
Mentoring Latina Leaders: Establishing and Nourishing a Positive Mentoring Relationship
No full textHelping someone maximizes the interaction that takes place between individuals because it provides a purpose for communication. The unique experience of exchanging information and support also results in the gratification of being able to impact another person’s life. Mentoring relationships support Buber’s I-Thou relationship of respectfully helping others when the opportunity exists. The cost and benefits shared while learning from each other also expand on Homans’ (1961) social exchange theory that suggests that the purpose behind human behavior is based from the exchange between each other. With more motivation to engage in a collaborative relationship, aspiring leaders have advanced personally and Dressionally from the result of a relationship with a mentor. This project strives to bring awareness of the need to develop Latina leaders through the support of a mentoring relationship. After expanding from the applied research, this project engages the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) to educate and inspire future Latina leaders to be involved in a mentoring relationship to increase their presence in top leadership roles
Mass Media Manipulation and Gender: The Message Advertisements Are Sending Young Girls
No full textThis study investigates messages advertisers are sending young girls ages 6-16 in America. The theoretical basis of the research includes Cultivation Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Social Learning Theory. Television advertisements and toy stores were coded during an 18-day study. Non-traditional advertisements, such as toys, were also part of the study. The findings of the study are: 1) advertisements encourage young girls to be similar to television characters, 2) advertisements focus on glam, beauty, and royalty, 3) advertisements promote changing appearances by using makeup and weight loss supplements, 4) television networks manipulate children into thinking they are “friends” with the characters on the shows. This study concluded media manipulates children and encourages them to attain a life that is unattainable. The study aligns with past research and implications of the harmful impact advertisements can have on children. Future research on this study should be done in different countries and with multiple coders
The Virtual High School: Teaching Best Practices and Diversity
No full textStatistics reveal that the enrollment in virtual schooling is ever-increasing in the United States. Current research of online teaching best practices, diversity and differences in post-secondary institutions is more prevalent than research that engages online teaching at high school institutions. This study unveils the experiences of online teachers at the Antelope Valley Union High School District’s (AVUHSD) Virtual Academy in the in Quartz Hill, California. The purpose for the research is two-fold. How cognizant are the AVUHSD’s Virtual Academy teachers in regards to online best practices and techniques (Kerr, 2011, Hlebowitsh, 2012, Pearcy, 2014)? To what extent are Virtual Academy teachers aware of issues and challenges related to matters of diversity and multiculturalism in the context of an online classroom (Cynthia Levine-Rasky, 2001, Gorski, 2004)? After a lengthy selective coding process, five significant themes became apparent through one-on-one interviews of four online teachers: communication and community, incorporating a multicultural curriculum, navigating parental surveillance, self-awareness of social identity and the identification and definition of difference and diversity. We must understand what is at stake when discussing critical pedagogy and the relationship it has to race and ethnicity topics because it is only then where we will be able to learn how to adapt to this world of oppression using nondiscriminatory, communicative platforms (Friere, 1993, Huttunen & Murphy, 2012). The research identified gaps and issues in how teachers and institutions conceive of their own engagement with difference from a position of power
The Art of Storytelling in Government Social Media Communication
No full textCivic leaders serving in government bodies have a responsibility for communicating their actions and decisions to those they represent and serve. Good communication would have the ability to not only inform, but to build a shared sense of community and engagement through personal interaction. We know organizations can harness the power of storytelling, but how can civic organizations use social media and storytelling to build positive online engagement? Communication Dressionals working in civic government who want to connect more personally with their residents on Facebook should consider integrating storytelling techniques into their content – more photos, conversational language, and stories about serving in the community. Fisher’s narrative paradigm theory supports storytelling as an effective form of communication. Stories connect us, build understanding, help break down complex information, and allow us to see our role in the big picture. Given the benefits of storytelling and the goals of those working within civic government, this research sought to answer: what storytelling techniques are used and positively responded to on Facebook? Due to its ability to create two-way conversations and transparency, this research looked at Facebook as a storytelling platform and examined content shared from five municipality Facebook pages over a three week period. Applying narrative paradigm theory, the study examined content to analyze whether storytelling elements were used and if they positively influenced citizen engagement. These storytelling elements included the use of pronouns for more personal, authentic communication, photos for narrative storytelling, and content that focused on city employees going above and beyond in their service to their community. The results showed that these narrative elements, integrated into the Facebook page content, positively influenced user engagement on Facebook. Content that used photos, more pronouns, or shared stories of service and community loyalty were consistently ranked higher in Facebook engagement (likes, shares, or positive comments)
Understanding the Relationships between a Community College Student\u27s Communication Traits and Their Performance, Preferred Method of Instruction and Level of Learning Enjoyment in a Face-To-Face Classroom Environment
No full textThe dichotomy between personality styles and learning styles has been studied extensively in recent decades as researchers have sought to understand the relationship between adult learners and their various modes of instruction. However, this thesis takes a deeper approach by exploring the relationship between the communication traits of a community college student’s personality style and their subsequent performance, preferred method of instruction, and level of learning enjoyment in a face-to-face classroom environment. Utilizing the DiSC behavioral assessment model and the associated communication traits of each of the four associated behaviors, 205 community college students were surveyed for this analysis. Leveraging Berger’s Uncertainty Reduction Theory and Sherif’s Social Judgment Theory as the theoretical basis for this research, the resulting findings of this study found no obvious relationships between a community college student’s personality style and their subsequent performance, preferred method of instruction, or level of learning enjoyment. However, several themes were gleaned from this exploratory research and should be considered for future study
NOW 2015-08 August
No full textCorpus of News on the Web data for August 2015.
The TAR folder contains linguistic data in three formats: Database: This is the format allows for the most robust searches and allows for powerful JOINs across corpus, lexicon, and source tables but requires knowledge of SQL. See Full-text corpus data for more information on how to use the database format. Linear Text: This format provides a textID for each text, and then the entire text on the same line. In this format, words are not annotated for part of speech or lemma. In addition, contracted words like can\u27t are separated into two parts (ca n\u27t) and punctuation is separated from words (eye level . As her). Word, Lemma, Part of Speech: Texts are separated by a line with ## and the textID
The Ethics of Food, Fuel & Feed
Get PDFAs the collective impact of human activity approaches Earth\u27s biophysical limits, the ethics of food become increasingly important. Hundreds of millions of people remain undernourished, yet only 60 percent of the global harvest is consumed by humans, while 35 percent is fed to livestock and 5 percent is used for biofuels and other industrial products. This essay considers the ethics of such use of edible nutrition for feedstock and biofuel. How humanity uses Earth\u27s land is a reflection of its values. The current land-use arrangements, which divert 40 percent of all food to feed animals or create fuels, suggest that dietary and transportation preferences of wealthier individuals are considered more important than feeding undernourished people, or the stability of the wider biotic community