Putting an Emphasis on Local and Healthy Living

Local First is an organization located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that works to promote a lifestyle built upon local product consumption. Local First works with a wide variety of compa-­‐ nies to achieve this goal and is not limited to one specific area of the market. Four students from Grand Valley State University have teamed up with Local First to address and improve ar-­‐ eas in need of attention. Nutrition, Diversity, and public awareness of Local First are current areas described as needing improvement by both the students and the Local First executive as-­‐ sistant. Students designed, printed, and distributed a brochure specifically focused on increas-­‐ ing public awareness of the importance of eating nutritional food, as well as how to do so through local food sources. Determining what information is most effective for the limited space a brochure offers is one of the challenge we dealt with during the early design stages of the project. Despite the initial success of the brochure, further work is needed with Local First in order to keep expanding on the importance of nutritional eating achieved locally. Future partners should focus on working with more Local First partners (restaurant owners, farmers, local market owners, etc…) in order to provide the Grand Rapids community with more options on where to obtain nutritional local food

Implementation of the Queensland 2019 Physics syllabus

The introduction of the new Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) in 2020 has been the biggest change in Queensland's senior curriculum and assessment system in a generation. It has seen the implementation of a new Physics syllabus as part of a suite of ten new science syllabuses. Along with the introduction of a 50% external assessment, this syllabus includes three new internal assessment techniques – data test, student experiment and research investigation. This presentation will outline the features of the new Queensland Physics syllabus and describe key quality assurance processes. Key learnings from the initial years of implementation of the new syllabus will be shared. The benefits and challenges of using a common framework for all senior sciences, including subjects as different as Physics and Psychology, will be discussed. REFERENCES Marzano, J. M., & Kendall, J. S. (2008). Designing and assessing educational objectives: applying the new taxonomy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Marzano, J. M., & Kendall, J. S. (2007). The new taxonomy of educational objectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Physics 2019 v1.3 General Senior Syllabus (2022). Retrieved August 13, 2022, from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior-qce/syllabuses/snr_physics_19_syll.pdf QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook v3.0 (2022). Retrieved August 13, 2022, from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/certificates-and-qualifications/qce-qcia-handboo

Casanovas are liars : behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk, and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in live-bearing fishes [version 2; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Male reproductive biology can by characterized through competition over mates as well as mate choice. Multiple mating and male mate choice copying, especially in internally fertilizing species, set the stage for increased sperm competition, i.e., sperm of two or more males can compete for fertilization of the female’s ova. In the internally fertilizing fish Poecilia mexicana, males respond to the presence of rivals with reduced expression of mating preferences (audience effect), thereby lowering the risk of by-standing rivals copying their mate choice. Also, males interact initially more with a non-preferred female when observed by a rival, which has been interpreted in previous studies as a strategy to mislead rivals, again reducing sperm competition risk (SCR). Nevertheless, species might differ consistently in their expression of aggressive and reproductive behaviors, possibly due to varying levels of SCR. In the current study, we present a unique data set comprising ten poeciliid species (in two cases including multiple populations) and ask whether species can be characterized through consistent differences in the expression of aggression, sexual activity and changes in mate choice under increased SCR. We found consistent species-specific differences in aggressive behavior, sexual activity as well as in the level of misleading behavior, while decreased preference expression under increased SCR was a general feature of all but one species examined. Furthermore, mean sexual activity correlated positively with the occurrence of potentially misleading behavior. An alternative explanation for audience effects would be that males attempt to avoid aggressive encounters, which would predict stronger audience effects in more aggressive species. We demonstrate a positive correlation between mean aggressiveness and sexual activity (suggesting a hormonal link as a mechanistic explanation), but did not detect a correlation between aggressiveness and audience effects. Suites of correlated behavioral tendencies are termed behavioral syndromes, and our present study provides correlational evidence for the evolutionary significance of SCR in shaping a behavioral syndrome at the species level across poeciliid taxa

Use of Innovative Concrete Mixes for Improved Constructability and Sustainability of Bridge Decks 2010-2011

Bridge deck crack surveys were performed on twelve bridges on US-59 to determine the effects of mixture proportions, deck type, and girder types on the crack density of reinforced concrete bridge decks. Of the twelve, eight have prestressed concrete girders and four have steel girders. Four of the decks with prestressed girders have partial-depth precast deck panels, two are monolithic, and two have overlays. Of the four decks with steel girders, two have overlays and two are monolithic. The surveys were performed, crack maps were analyzed, and cracking trends were observed. The results for the US-59 bridge decks were compared with crack densities obtained in a study of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) bridge decks in Kansas. The monolithic concrete bridge decks supported by prestressed concrete girders within this study exhibit less cracking than decks supported by steel girders in the first three years. At an age of approximately three years, the US-59 monolithic decks on prestressed girders with deck panels are not displaying significant cracking at the joints of the panels. The US-59 decks supported by prestressed girders without overlays exhibit significantly less cracking than the decks on prestressed girders with overlays. No benefits of using fibers in either the overlay or in the deck have been observed in this study

The Herbal Cabinet

Description of a historical Eli Lilly herb identification collection belonging to University of New England professor David Mokler, including herb scientific names, common names, ranges, and uses. Each herb bottle is pictured, its label information is reproduced, and each herb’s historical and current uses are briefly described.https://dune.une.edu/biomed_facproj/1000/thumbnail.jp

The effects of cognition, discount framing, and expectations on consumer purchase decisions [abstract]

Abstract only availableFaculty Mentor: S. Ratneshwar, MarketingConsumers are constantly faced with discounts, presented either as percentages or as dollar discounts. Also, consumers sometimes enter a store with the expectation of buying an item and saving money because they know beforehand that it is on sale; at other times they discover that the items they are interested in are on sale only after they enter the store. Furthermore, consumers occasionally find out in the store that there will be an additional discount if they are willing to wait until a later date to make their purchase. In such situations, consumers' decisions on whether to purchase a product immediately or to wait could be motivated by their need for instant gratification, use of the product, perceived savings, and/or various other reasons. The purpose of this research is to explore a set of factors that might jointly determine whether consumers choose to buy immediately a product that is on sale or to postpone their purchase to obtain additional savings. Specifically, we expect that the buy immediately vs. delay decision will be influenced by (1) the way a discount is framed (i.e., percentage vs. dollars), (2) prior expectations of savings, and (3) the extent to which consumers are motivated to think about savings information as assessed by their individual "need for cognition." An experiment will be conducted wherein subjects will be presented with hypothetical shopping situations in which they must make the choice of whether to wait or to buy immediately. Discount framing and expectations will be manipulated in the shopping scenarios between subjects. Subjects will also answer a set of items for measuring their need for cognition as an individual difference variable. The results of this study will help us better understand how different groups of consumers react to in-store discounts and the way in which discounts are framed. This information in turn will further our knowledge of how to motivate consumers to buy