Occupational Health Challenges in Research

ABSTRACT Introduction: Employees working in universities and hospitals are faced with common and unique health and safety challenges. Usually, the campus Department of Health and Safety is tasked with reducing employee exposure through risk assessments. Purpose: In this study, we present a unique risk assessment case study related to a research project undertaken by the campus Department of Health and Safety (DHES). This project also describes the activities done by DHES to improve campus safety. We hypothesized that carbon monoxide, particulate matter, formaldehyde, and VOCs emitted from burning wood chips in a closed laboratory space will exceed regulatory and recommended exposure limits. Methods: We performed full-shift sampling to measure the indoor air quality of a laboratory that was burning wood with an electric smoker on three separate days. Sampling times varied from a duration of 2-5 hours over the three days. Area sampling with direct reading instruments was used on all three days. Passive sampling also occurred on all three days. Active sampling occurred on two out of the three days. Measurements for particulate matter, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity were recorded. The service learning projects included activities that integrated safety theory with practice. These included conducting risk assessments for laboratory hazards and updating the campuses’ chemical hygiene plan. Impact of the project: This study provides guidance to campus health and safety personnel on how to approach unique research protocols from a health and safety perspective. It also underscores the importance of having proper engineering controls to mitigate exposure, and the intersection of health and safety, ethical research, and compliance issues. This information will assist future health professionals in determining the feasibility of using wood smoke in research laboratories. The service learning activities will have a direct impact on the safety and well-being of students, faculty, staff, patients, and visitors of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine

The End of Want

The poems of The End of Want are attuned to the absurdities of modern existence. They take as their jumping-off points the various offbeat occasions that punctuate our lives: over-researched time spent in art museums, Kevin James sitcoms, half-finished cathedrals, and suburban communal living. They catalog the emptiness of what we say to each other and the increasingly disconnected ways we say it. All the while, with dry humor and heart, they search out, and try to hold onto, moments of transcendence amongst corporate language and new definitions of masculinity, and humanity, and holiness

Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Hawai\u27ian Small Businesses

The COVID-19 pandemic has a profound and devastating impact on small businesses across the globe, especially and noticeable in the state of Hawai’i. The virus outbreak has disrupted the operations of all small business industries. This qualitative case study addressed the general problem of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Hawai’ian small businesses. The research provided a detailed understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on key research questions to comprehend the problem statement. The case study findings provided an understanding of how small business owners and managers managed to remain sustainable since the start of the pandemic outbreak. Collectively, 15 small business owners and managers provided detailed life experience information to inform these research findings. Furthermore, the research case study findings indicated how Hawai’ian small business owners and managers became adaptive and innovative in their business strategies as the pandemic outbreak worsened. The research identified essential lessons further to educate business leaders, students, and scholars. Notably, the research provided recommendations for future research and application to professional practice

On the Unity and Continuity of Science: Structural Realism\u27s Underdetermination Problem and Reductive Structuralism\u27s Solution

Russell’s claim that only structural knowledge of the world is possible was influentially criticized by Newman as rendering scientific discoveries trivial. I show that a version of this criticism also applies to the “structural realism” more recently advocated by Worrall, which requires continuity of formal structure between predecessor and successor scientific theories. The problem is that structure, in its common set-theoretical construal, is radically underdetermined by the entities and relations over which it is defined, rendering intertheoretic continuity intolerably cheap. I show that this problem may be overcome by supplementing the purely formal relation of intertheoretic isomorphism with the semiformal “Ontological Reductive Links” developed by Moulines and others of the German “structuralist” approach to the philosophy of science

Characterization of a plasma source simulating solar wind plasma in a vacuum chamber

The United States has set an aggressive time line to not only return to the Moon, but also to establish a sustained human presence. In the Apollo missions dust was a significant factor, but the duration of those missions was short so dust and surface charging were problems, but they did not pose an immediate threat. For a long-term mission, these problems instead become incredibly detrimental. Because of this, research needs to be conducted to investigate these phenomena so that mitigation techniques can be developed and tested. To this end, this thesis serves to demonstrate the Gas and Plasma Dynamics Lab\u27s (GPDL) ability to recreate the lunar plasma environment, and to establish competence to conduct meaningful experimental research on this topic. This work may also serve as a guide for future researchers in the GPDL. Further, this work suggests avenues of near-future experimental work, as well as inexpensive improvements to the facility, which will increase the capability of the GPDL in the long term --Abstract, page iii

Existential Analyses: Freud and Camus on Suffering

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Anaerobic Digestion as a Renewable Energy Source and Waste Management Technology: What Must be Done for This Technology to Realize Success in the United States?

Anaerobic digestion technology uses microorganisms to consume waste and produce methane gas, which serves as a source of clean renewable energy. Although anaerobic digestion is widely used for both purposes throughout the rest of the world, it is rarely applied in the United States. This Article explains the scientific processes of anaerobic digestion. It then discusses how anaerobic digestion has been used throughout history and among societies as a waste management technology and source of renewable energy. The Article continues by addressing the legal aspects of anaerobic digestion, examining the reasons why it is not widely used in the United States. The Article concludes with solutions that may allow anaerobic digestion to become more widely adopted throughout the United States

Spatial ecology, habitat selection, and survival of wild turkey gobblers in a managed bottomland hardwood forest

Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) males were captured and radio-tagged in a bottomland hardwood forest of south-central Louisiana. Turkeys were monitored year round from fixed telemetry stations on Sherburne Wildlife Management Area, Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, and Bayou des Ourses to observe seasonal patterns of space use, habitat selection and survival from 2005-07. The largest seasonal home range was in fall/winter (966.41 ha; Oct 1-Feb 28). Spring home range (767.77 ha; Mar 1- May 31) size was lower than reported in previous studies and was a function of female availability. Season and age interacted to influence core area size (F5/63 = 2.35, P = 0.051), but not home range size (F5/63 = 1.49, P = 0.207). Males did not move about their home range differently before or during the breeding season (t20 = 1.11, P = 0.282). Additionally, males did not display spatial shifts of core areas before and during the breeding season at the population level (t20 = -0.92, P = 0.367). Upland forests and water-based forests were selected by adults and juveniles at all 3 spatial scales (habitat selection in home ranges vs. habitat availability across study area [1st order], habitat selection in core areas vs. habitat availability across home ranges [2nd order], and habitat availability across home ranges [3rd order]), whereas lowland forests were avoided at all 3 spatial scales. Habitat selection in spring was based on location of females. Water-based forests were essential to male habitat as they provide quality roosting and feeding sites. Survival was lowest in spring (0.43, SE = 0.09; Mar 1- May 31) due to the spring harvest. Fall/winter survival averaged 0.74 (SE = 0.05; Oct 1-Feb 28) and survival during summer averaged 0.74 (SE=0.06; Jun 1-Sept 30). Mean annual survival was 0.64 (SE = 0.06), among the highest ever reported for wild turkey males. The conservative harvest strategy on Sherburne was likely related to high survival rates for male