2199 research outputs found
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In-stream decomposition and macroinvertebrate community dynamics: a comparison between invasive Glossy Buckthorn and native Silky Dogwood leaf litter
No full textInvasive species are a major threat to the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Their ability to establish and thrive in foreign habitats and often outcompete natives have led to changes in ecosystem dynamics in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. However, the influence of riparian invasive plants on adjacent aquatic insect communities is understudied. This is important because riparian zones provide essential leaf litter resources for aquatic communities. To test this question, we studied how aquatic invertebrate communities varied between leaves of invasive Rhamus frangula and Cornus amomum. Leaf litter bags with either leaf type were constructed and deployed into Swine creek allowing aquatic invertebrates to colonize for over three months. No differences in macroinvertebrate community composition between Rhamus frangula and Cornus amomum leaves were observed, however, there were differences in the rate leaf litter decomposition and the numbers of shredders and predators present on the leaf material. The mechanisms behind these differences in decay and invertebrate preference are still not completely understood, however it can be said that with the increased invasion of glossy buckthorn into swine creek’s riparian zone, changes to ecosystem dynamics and potentially the food web may be observed.</p
Online Sport Management Education: What Students’ Qualitative Comments Tell Us About Their Perceptions of Learning
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/9930/8822-thumbnail.jpgWhat do students perceive they are learning in the online setting? Using students open-ended comments on the Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) instrument, researchers employed a case study approach to explore students’ perceptions of instruction in the online and face-to-face settings in an undergraduate sport management course at a regional comprehensive university in the North Carolina state system. Qualitative results indicated that online students highlighted that the types of assignments were interesting and the structure of the course was helpful toward understanding expectations. Face-to-face students highlighted learning, having enjoyed learning, and the knowledge and enthusiasm of the professor. Thematic results revealed that online students distinguished the administrative aspects of instruction; whereas, students in the face-to-face setting expressed themes centered on the conceptual or theoretical aspects of instruction. The themes identified in this case study offer guidance to educators who are interested in refining their online courses so as to stimulate students conceptual and theoretical learning.</p
Athletic Identity and Career Maturity of Women’s Basketball Student-Athletes
No full text/sites/default/files/journals/4/articles/188/submission/thumbnail.jpgThis study explored the relationship between the athletic identity and career maturity of women’s basketball student-athletes. It specifically looked at the differences in athletic identity and career maturity based on the student-athlete’s level of competition, race, year in school, socioeconomic status, and professional athletic career aspirations. A convenience sample of 209 women’s basketball student-athletes from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA institutions participated in the study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire along with the Career Maturity Inventory-Revised Attitude Scale and the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale. The findings suggest that within this sample of women’s basketball student-athletes, stronger identification with the athletic role is associated with lower levels of career maturity. Results also indicated that NCAA Division I student-athletes had significantly higher levels of athletic identity and significantly lower levels of career maturity than Division II student-athletes. Likewise, women’s basketball student-athletes that planned to pursue a professional basketball career (n = 76) displayed significantly higher levels of athletic identity and significantly lower levels of career maturity than those that did not (n = 133). As research suggests, less than 1% of women’s basketball student-athletes will compete professionally (NCAA, 2017a). However, based on the findings of the current study, 36.4% (n = 76) of the women’s basketball student-athletes sampled planned to pursue a professional basketball career upon graduating. The results of this study can assist individuals working with these student-athletes (e.g., coaches, counselors, professors) to intervene and ultimately assist women’s basketball student-athletes with preparation for life after sports.</p
Bell, Book and Candle and Lesbians: A Look into LGBTQ+ Lives Through the Work of John Van Druten
No full text/sites/default/files/journals/2/articles/58/submission/thumbnail.jpgIn 1950 being a member of the LGBTQ community was difficult and there were pressures to either stay in the closet and be discrete or to conform to the world around them. Many felt that the only safe space they had was found within the theatre and plays that may or may not have hints of being about them. Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druten is a perfect example of one of those coded plays. It is easy to see that the main protagonist Gill (a witch in New York City) and subsequently her family could be examined and analyzed as part of the LGBTQ+ community and show the struggles that they face because of that in Mid-century America. With the use of coding and gender stereotypes through the feminist lens, Bell Book and Candle by John Van Druten shows the pressures on LGBTQ+ people to either stay closeted or conform to heterosexual cisgender norms.</p
Influence of iron (oxyhydr)oxide crystallinity on phosphate bioavailability in contrasting redox and hydrological conditions
No full textHydrological shifts can change redox regimes in soils and can form poorly crystalline iron (Fe) oxides that have the potential to adsorb the limiting nutrient phosphate. The crystallinity and mineralogy of the Fe oxides that form as a function of redox fluctuations remain unknown. Phosphate bioavailability may decrease as hydrological changes drive the precipitation of Fe oxides, potentially limiting plant growth. To investigate these complex interactions, an in situ incubation experiment was conducted. Mesh bags filled with Fe-oxides of different crystallinity (ferrihydrite, goethite and hematite) were buried in and around a vernal pond in northeast Ohio. Fe-oxides were either phosphate-free or had high concentrations of sorbed phosphate. Lowland soils in vernal ponds were flooded during spring months but progressively dried out over the summer, while upland soils remained unsaturated, providing us with contrasting redox conditions. Bags were removed at two times intervals to capture flooded and dried conditions in the lowland soils. Redox conditions in the lowland soils shifted from anoxic to oxic as the pond above dried out. Fe-oxide crystallinity, analyzed using x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, decreased over time for oxides incubated in the pond. Phosphate loss from phosphate-added treatments generally followed trends in Fe loss, indicating phosphate was released from dissolving iron oxides. Phosphate-free treatments in the lowlands gained phosphate over time despite losing Fe-oxides, indicating enhanced ability of small amounts of freshly precipitated Fe-oxides to adsorb phosphate. Results from this study will provide insight into the effect of Fe-oxide crystallinity on phosphate bioavailability
Taxonomical and Functional Heterogeneity of Microcystin-Degrading Bacteria in Lake Erie
No full textMicrocystins (MCs) are one among the predominant cyanotoxin in the freshwater environment which are primarily degraded by heterotrophic bacteria. Nevertheless, our knowledge about the taxonomic diversity of MC degrading (MC+) bacteria from Lake Erie is very limited. In the current study we look at forty MC-degrading bacterial isolates screened from numerous bacterial cultures from Lake Erie. These isolates were characterized based on their MC-degradation rates at different pH, temperature and addition of organic carbon. A mixed culture MC-degradation was also performed to further characterize MC-degradation rate for isolates which were taxonomically close. The MC-degrading isolates were primarily gram positive in nature and exhibited an array in terms of color, shape and morphology. Taxonomically they belonged to Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Firmicutes phyla. MC degradation rate of the isolates were impacted by temperature and also pH, but remain unchanged with the addition of organic carbon. The MC-degradation rate were also observed to show an increase for some of the isolates primarily belonging to the Pseudomonas spp. in the mixed culture degradation process. These MC+ isolates identified were also found to possess other degradation properties and biological uses according to previous literature
Small scale (<10,000 km2) isoscapes reveal spatially variable water sources for northeastern Ohio precipitation, surface water, and groundwater
No full textWater isotopes are a long-standing environmental tracer in hydrogeology, but many studies focus on their variations in time rather than space. Isoscapes are an emerging tool to visualize and analyze the variation of water isotopes at large regional scales. Here we hypothesize that varying influences of different air mass source areas, plus lake effects, have the potential to impart variation in water isotopes at much smaller scales. We test this hypothesis in a 10,000 km2, low relief study area in northeastern Ohio, which receives moisture from Pacific, Arctic, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes source areas. Across the study area, mean annual precipitation ranges from 900-1100 mm and winter snowfall varies from 800 to 2500 mm. Precipitation was collected at two locations separated by 0.5 degrees latitude: one in the area receiving lake effect precipitation and high snowfall (the “snow belt”). Lake, river, and groundwater samples collected from 120 locations seasonally, and 12 locations sampled biweekly. Water samples were analyzed with the Picarro L2130-I analyzer, and precipitation source areas were calculated using HYSPLIT. Precipitation samples have high inter-storm isotopic variability associated with different moisture source areas, as well as seasonal variability. There is also a difference between the precipitation isotopes at the two locations, up to +/- 6 ‰ for δ18O in the winter. At lentic locations, water isotopes are generally more negative in the snow belt, but evaporative effects create additional spatial and temporal variability to the surface water isoscape. Biweekly river samples show both seasonal and spatial variability, with δ18O ranging from -11.6 to -2 ‰. Rivers in the snow belt have a more negative isotopic ratio than rivers to the south. Groundwater samples show little seasonal variability but there is a gradational variance towards less negative isotopic ratios towards the south of the research area. The northeastern Ohio isoscape illustrates
Attitudes of Midwestern NCAA DIII Intercollegiate Athletes towards the Usage of Gender Specific Athletic Mascots.
No full text/sites/default/files/journals/4/articles/177/submission/thumbnail.jpgIntroduction: 4 Since the 1972 passage of Title IX legislation, gender equity within intercollegiate athletics has 5 remained a primary issue of importance (and some debate) among administrators, coaches, 6 athletes, their parents, and even spectators. During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, thousands of 7 female intercollegiate athletic programs were added within U.S. colleges and universities in 8 order to comply with federal law and, in the spirit of the law, provide gender equity regarding 9 athletic opportunities for college women. From their origin, many of these athletic programs 10 chose to adopt Gender Specific Athletic Mascots (GSAM’s) such as Lady Techsters, Wild 11 Kittens, Duchesses, or Lady Vol’s (Fuller & Manning, 1987, p. 65).</p
Kent State Glass @ 50
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10407/10562-thumbnail.jpgA national curated glass show celebrating 50 Years of glass at Kent State University
Exhibition ran: September 4 to October 4, 2019
Featuring: Sarah Blood, Steven Durow, Katherine Gray, Henry Halem, Allison Nicole Hoag, Jiyoung Lee, Carmen Lozar, Anna Mlasowsky, Kit Paulson, Mark Peiser, Marc Petrovic, Kari Russell-Pool, Einar & Jamex de la Torre, Brent Kee Young and Zac Weinberg
Curated by glass professors Davin Ebanks (Kent State University) and Benjamin Johnson (Cleveland Institute of Art)</p
Reading and Learning to Read
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/facultybooks/122/thumbnail.jpgWith a focus on helping elementary reading teachers master teaching skills that will help all children succeed, Revel Reading and Learning to Read includes philosophies, teaching strategies, and assessment practices reflecting and underscoring the concepts of evidence-based reading research and data-driven decision-making. The new 10th Edition is completely up to date; integrates the 2017 ILA Standards and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative throughout the text; features the English Language Arts (ELA) standards respectively as they relate to the content in each chapter; and continues the focus on the applications of technology to literacy instruction, including new coverage of how transliteracies are transforming the way children comprehend and express their understanding of the world.</p