2199 research outputs found
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Macro and Micronutrient Regulation of Stream Biofilm Composition and Function
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10108/10365-thumbnail.jpgThe composition, growth and metabolic processes of the autotrophic portion of stream biofilm communities is governed by resource availability. Bioavailable nitrogen (NO3-, NH4-) and phosphorus (PO43-) fuel primary production, while micronutrients play a lesser-understood role in the enzymes that facilitate specific physiological processes such as organic nutrient uptake and assimilation. Without micronutrients, cycling and assimilation of organic macronutrients, photosynthesis and respiration within biofilms would not be possible. Nutrient availability also shapes algal community composition by selecting for particular taxa. Using nutrient diffusing substrate, we assessed the role of macro (N, P) and micronutrients (Zn, Mo) on stream biofilm primary producer diversity, growth, metabolism and alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) across four sites upstream and downstream of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and nutrient rich tributary. Results indicate that APA, which facilitates organic P acquisition, increased for N treatments across all sites, while algal diversity had greater inter-site variation than variation elicited by nutrient treatment. Phosphorus enrichment increased growth prior to input from the WWTP, while growth had a negative response to N treatment directly after the WWTP inflow. Upstream of a nutrient rich tributary, N+P and N+Zn treatments stimulated the most growth, suggesting co-limitation of N and P and alleviation of P limitation by Zn through increased APA. These results indicate that macro and micronutrients co-limit specific processes within biofilms, and that micronutrients may regulate organic nutrient cycling in stream biofilms.</p
Micro-Ecosystem Species Richness in Patchy Urban Habitats
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10110/10366-thumbnail.jpgBuilt infrastructure coupled with impervious surfaces characterizes urbanization which dramatically changes both biotic and abiotic attributes of an ecosystem from prior patterns. Vegetation in urban systems provides a vast array of ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation, absorption of air pollutants, and oxygen generation. In this study, we examine natural habitats in natural areas now in urban land use to identify parallels in ecosystem function and biodiversity. Our research consists of three main steps: Identifying structurally analogous habitats in urban and nearby natural and spontaneous unmanaged habitats; characterizing the communities associated with these habitats and their functions to generate hypotheses about their potential applicability to urban systems. Herein, we present data from a preliminary study examining bryophyte communities growing in urban and natural thin soil environments in the Cuyahoga River watershed. At 23 sites within the study area, we characterized bryophyte communities and recorded physical attributes of their habitats. Bryophytes (mosses) were observed across all the sampled habitats. Providing patches of habitat in cities is the key to fostering biodiversity, however, many projects fostering urban biodiversity focus on larger infrastructure. Yet, small, ruderal patches of vegetation may offer functional habitat patches in areas where larger infrastructure elements cannot be accommodated.</p
Transcriptomic Profiles of Microbial Communities and Their Ecophysiological Implications During Cyanobacterial Bloom Succession
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10111/10367-thumbnail.jpgHarsha Lake, like many other freshwater systems that serve as important recreation and drinking water sources, is suffering from frequent cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs). CyanoHABs in Lake Harsha start with Anabaena and Nostoc (N2-fixers) in early Summer and later transit into Microcystis (non-N2 fixers) when N supply is at low levels. To investigate the mechanisms that govern this cyanobacterial community succession, cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacterial communities were collected from Harsha Lake weekly from June to September 2015 and examined for their metatranscriptomic profiles. Gene transcripts confirmed the dominance of Anabaena and Nostoc and their active N2-fixation in June (N-fixing stage). Meanwhile, heterotrophic bacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, were most abundant and mainly expressed genes involved in ATP synthesis. Microcystis and Planktothrix became dominating in July and early August (non-N2 fixing stage) and mainly expressed genes for organic N and P metabolism, DNA repair and secondary metabolites (cyanotoxins) productions. During this non-N fixing stage, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria significantly increased their relative abundance and expressed more genes for iron and P transport. Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were still dominant heterotrophic bacteria during CyanoHAB senescence, and they mainly upregulated genes for organic carbon degradation. Further analyses, including weighted gene co-expression network and protein-protein interaction network, will be performed to examine potential interaction between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria and its role in CyanoHAB succession.</p
Stitched Together: Community Engagement for Undergraduate Student Learning in Supporting Refugee Women
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10441/10612-thumbnail.jpgRefugees coming to the United States often find themselves isolated from their new community and struggle to feel at home. By overcoming language barriers and adjusting to a new culture, they slowly become accustomed to a new place. The purpose of this project was to help change the narrative for female refugees by welcoming them into a collaborative fashion workshop with undergraduate students. The project also aimed to build empathy in students and help them understand the women’s plight and circumstances. Once the students understood the refugees’ circumstances, they could become change agents in shifting public perception toward refugees. Students partnered with a nonprofit organization that offered support to refugee women to create sustainable fashion products in a workshop. The goal of the workshop was to provide them with community resources, increased self-confidence, and earning capacity. The qualitative research uses open-ended survey and focus group interviews for understanding the refugee and student participants’ experiences regarding the community-engaged learning project. Our research findings supported the community engagement objective with mutually beneficial exchanges of knowledge and resources, by providing refugee women hope for future livelihood and the students the opportunity to view and understand different perspectives.</p
Resurgence of Hope through Fashion Education in Prisons of India
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10443/10614-thumbnail.jpgThis research project was conducted in the women’s jail 6, Tihar Complex, as a planned intervention for a need-based program for skill development. A fashion education program was identified and implemented over a period of six months with certain basic modules in Indian wear. India has 141 central prisons with capacity of 200,000 inmates. Major reasons for committing crime include illiteracy, lack of appropriate skills to earn a livelihood, deprived backgrounds, physical and sexual abuse, and alcohol and drug dependence. Therefore, an initiative was undertaken to establish a Fashion and Textiles Training Centre in women’s central Jail 6 in Tihar, Asia’s biggest prison complex, in February 2017. The program was
designed and implemented with several planned outcomes: economic and social empowerment, which would inculcate feelings of self-worth and self-esteem, rehabilitation in society, and reducing the chance of returning to a life of crime post-release.
The present paper focuses on (a) Setting up infrastructure, design of course curriculum and
assessment, mentoring and counseling of inmates undergoing training, industry projects, and presentations in the form of fashion shows; (b) Fashion education as a means of correctional behavior, and the challenges and issues faced during training in prisons; (c) Case studies highlighting the impact of training, including increased income, measurable skill enhancement, reduction in stress levels, revival of hope in inmates, a holistic life within and outside prison, and reduction in return cases; (d) Impact of fashion education on other beneficiaries.</p
Examination of Fashion Practicality and Sociality Among Acculturating Indonesian Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10448/10619-thumbnail.jpgThis study examines the symbolic fashion practices among Indonesian domestic helpers to resolve acculturative stress and identity conflicts in Hong Kong. We adopted a qualitative research approach and conducted 15 in-depth interviews. Our findings revealed that the domestic helpers developed different fashion practices to a) liberate from home culture, b) reconnect to home and religious identity, c) manage private and public identities at work, and d) relieve from stress at work. This study contributes to offer a cross-cultural perspective of how migrant workers experienced and negotiated their conflicting identities with their fashion choices, drawing new insights into fashion acculturation experiences and market segmentation.</p
The COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: The Loss and Trauma Event of Our Time
No full textThis paper provides the author\u27s assessment of the nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis as of the period from mid-March to mid-April 2020. This analysis at this early stage of this crisis does not aim to offer specific predictions regarding how this emergency will continue to evolve or ultimately end. Instead, it documents key themes and issues that have developed during the earliest phase of the crisis and it utilizes known select points from the preexisting scientific literature in order to provide insight into some of the core issues that psychologists and other social scientists (in particular) will likely strive to investigate in the coming months and years. Issues involving loss, mental health, prosocial and destructive social behavior, and social, economic, and political matters are particularly highlighted.</p
Cutting-edge technologies for small business and innovation in the era of COVID-19 global health pandemic
No full textThe adoption of cutting-edge technologies to steer business activities during community lockdown to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, even if involuntarily, provides evidence that technologies not only offer competitive advantages but also provides a means for survival, by improvising existing business models. In June 2019, we issued a call for papers to address the awareness, adoption, and implementation challenges of technologies that can drive businesses of all sizes in the fourth industrial revolution. We intended to identify as critical elements the “must-have” and a “nice to have” technologies for small businesses and innovation. Then the ongoing COVID-19 global health pandemic struck in December 2019, forcing the need for digitization of business activities and remote operations, which was considered a “nice to have” to immediately become a “critical to have” to survive in the ever increasingly uncertain business environment. This paper identifies the technologies, evaluates disruptive software platforms, and strategies needed for creating and managing small business innovation and highlighting the complexity of that process and the context within which this process takes place. We integrate this discussion alongside a summary of the articles included in the Special Issue. The current realities show that technologies that enable social business creation, customer relationship management systems, new communications channels, virtual reality technologies for remote operations, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are crucial to lowering the costs of doing business. Big data and predictive and visual analytics are critical enablers to aiding complex business decisions in the current challenging business climate.</p
Small business awareness and adoption of state-of-the-art technologies in emerging and developing markets, and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textMany challenges continue to hinder digital technologies\u27 adoption by small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. Comparatively, there are more success stories by SMEs in emerging markets. However, most SMEs operating in the informal sector in the emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) face similar challenges that inhibit the adoption of advanced technologies and innovations needed to improve business operations and re-engineer processes. This article evaluates the implementation and use of state-of-the-art technologies by SMEs in EMDEs to improve operations performance and create sustainable competitive advantages. Further, the papers in this Special Issue identify FinTech and analytical algorithms as some of the current technologies employed by SMEs in EMDEs to improve operations and processes in the manufacturing and service industries. The recognized technologies and technical innovations that seem novel in EMDEs have long existed in the advanced economies. Most state-of-the-art technologies, including cloud computing, \u27big data\u27, and predictive analytics that can improve operations and strategic decisions, are yet to make inroads in most EMDEs. Also, disruptive computing technologies, data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) required to engineer new business models, reduce overheads, enhance competitive advantages, and digitize SMEs\u27 business operations remain untapped. The absence and non-adoption of digital technologies in EMDEs explain why business activities in most EMDEs remain shut during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 and the community lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategies to survive the \u27new normal\u27 imposed by COVID-19 and fierce global competition includes a successful adoption of advanced technologies.</p
Fusion Spring 2020
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/14554/83968-thumbnail.jp