Evolution of Scholarly Communication: How Small and Medium-Sized Libraries are Adapting

For the transformation of scholarly publishing to succeed, it is imperative that small and medium-sized institutions are actively engaged in scholarly communication initiatives. This paper presents the results of a survey of scholarly communication initiatives at selected U.S institutions and discusses the influence of institutional variables on the approaches that are employed. The survey was designed to gather information comparable to a 2007 ARL (Association of Research Libraries) survey

Fighting a War Without Rifles: Deconstructing the Image of the Unflappable Medic

“Fighting a War Without Rifles: Deconstructing the Image of the Unflappable Medic” focuses on comparing the official romanticized image of the medic in World War II and the soldiers’ reality. During the Second World War, the US Army in Europe faced high casualty rates, and the soldiers of the Medical Department were tasked with treating the wounded. The medic was the first echelon of care that the wounded would receive, as well as the most important. After the War, the medics were portrayed in a romanticized light. Official literature presented them as highly competent soldiers; infantry men saw them as men who would risk everything to save them. However, when looking at the memoirs and letters of medics, a much different image appears. The medics of the Second World War experienced psychological breakdowns, were ill-prepared for combat, and in some cases insubordinate. The medics’ war has for many years been romanticized by film, television, and literature; this paper seeks to expose a side of war that has not come to light

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Butterfly Valve Performance Factors

Butterfly valves are commonly used in industrial applications to control the internal flow of both compressible and incompressible fluids. A butterfly valve typically consists of a metal disc formed around a central shaft, which acts as its axis of rotation. As the valve\u27s opening angle is increased from 0 degrees (fully closed) to 90 degrees (fully open), fluid is able to more readily flow past the valve. Characterizing a valve\u27s performance factors, such as pressure drop, hydrodynamic torque, flow coefficient, loss coefficient, and torque coefficient, is necessary for fluid system designers to account for system requirements to properly operate the valve and prevent permanent damage from occurring. This comparison study of a 48-inch butterfly valve\u27s experimental performance factors using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in an incompressible fluid at Reynolds numbers ranging approximately between 105 to 106 found that for mid-open positions (30-60 degrees), CFD was able to appropriately predict common performance factors for butterfly valves. For lower valve angle cases (10-20 degrees), CFD simulations failed to predict those same values, while higher valve angles (70-90 degrees) gave mixed results. (152 pages

A Qualitative Analysis of the Health Informatics Role in Addressing the Public Health Crisis of Addiction and Overall Effectiveness of Treatment

In recent years, the implementation of Health Information Management (HIM) data systems has had significant positive impacts in nearly all aspects of both health and healthcare delivery. However, during this time, there has also been a dramatic increase in the demand for addiction and mental health treatment. The rising number of individuals requiring mental health treatment for addiction has resulted in its declaration as an urgent public health epidemic by the Department of Health and Human Services. The all-encompassing effects of addiction are prevalent in all areas of society, seen in the form of across-the-board rising healthcare costs, addiction related crime rate increases, overcrowded prisons, and an inefficient system of communication among overwhelmed mental healthcare professionals and law enforcement officials. A qualitative survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire provided to voluntary participants currently employed as medical professionals. Participants were selected based on their relevant experience with either treating addiction, and/or having firsthand experience with battling addiction themselves. Participants were encouraged to take into consideration the HIM systems in which they currently utilize when providing treatment, and provide evaluative input with emphasis on areas of desired future improvements and enhancements that may assist future HIM professionals envision more efficient mental health and addiction treatment database structures

TURNING UP THE HEAT ON THE LITTLE THINGS THAT RUN THE WORLD: EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ANT BIODIVERSITY IN THE TEMPERATE FOREST COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Climatic change threatens biodiversity worldwide. In the forests of the northeastern United States, climate change is expected to increase mean annual temperatures by up to 4.5˚C and change precipitation seasonality. These changes in climate are likely to have impacts on the biodiversity of the region. In order to better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, I used ants, an indicator taxonomic group, to predict how ant communities and ant-mediated ecosystem processes change as the climate warms. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I review the major ecosystem processes and services mediated by ants using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework. In chapter two of this dissertation I present the results of a major ant sampling effort along environmental gradients of the Appalachian region of the northeastern United States. In 2010 I sampled ant communities in forested and open habitats at 67 localities from Virginia north to Maine and developed macroecological models which show that ant community composition in forested habitats can be explained by the region’s climatic properties. In chapter three, I intensively sampled open and forested plots at Harvard Forest LTER and Myles Standish State Forest in eastern Massachusetts. In chapter four, I present the results of a warming mesocosm experiment using the ant species Formica subsericea. I found that as warming increases, soil movement and soil respiration increases but decomposition and nitrogen availability decreases. In the final chapter of this dissertation, I use different functional diversity and species distribution models to classify the ant communities of the region into different functional groups and explore how their distributions will change in future climates. In this dissertation, I show that ant diversity and ant-mediated ecosystem processes are likely to change under future environmental and climatic conditions. I used observational, experimental and modeling approaches to evaluate and predict the consequences of climatic change on the biodiversity of ants in the northeastern U.S. Ants are considered to be amongst the little things that run the world, and the impacts of climatic change on their communities, abundances, distributions are likely to have major impacts on the forests of the region

Liberal Arts Micro-Credential: Teaching a Police Officer Reflection, Empathy, and Self-Awareness; Going Beyond Training a Police Officer to Act and React

The current precarious relationship between law enforcement and some marginalized minority communities throughout the United States is quite alarming. The Los Angeles riots of 1992, the Baltimore riots of 2015, and the nationwide riots of 2020 serve as a few relatively recent reminders regarding the potentially explosive relationship between marginalized minority communities and the police. Several social and economic factors contribute to the unrest in some marginalized minority communities, such as unemployment and poorly funded educational systems in many areas in the United States. However, in this study, an emphasis was placed on what measures law enforcement agencies can take to establish respectful and productive relationships with marginalized minority communities. Consequently, this study examined the relationship between complaints against the police and a predominantly minority populated police district. This research examined data in the city of Chicago. This study utilized a quantitative non-experimental correlational research design. This study measured a statistical pattern between increasing complaints against the police and predominantly minority populated police districts. The findings of this study disclosed some intriguing results. It seems there is a strong positive correlation between predominantly minority populated police districts and citizen complaints against the police. Subsequently, this study put forth a solution to mend strained relationships with some marginalized minority communities. Specifically, a liberal arts micro-credential can be a solution. A liberal arts micro-credential can provide officers with the needed tools such as enhanced ethics, morals, compassion, and understanding to properly engage with marginalized minority communities. Such a short-term program can cultivate a more ethical and culturally aware attitude among police officers. Subsequently, police officers are better equipped to empathize with marginalized minority communities and foster a healthy relationship

Effect of Caffeine Ingestion on Softball Pitching Velocity and Accuracy

The efficacy of caffeine on sports performance has been extensively researched during steady-state sports, but the influence on motor skills remain understudied. Purpose: The present pilot investigation sought to determine the effects of moderately low caffeine ingestion on softball pitching accuracy and ball velocity. Methods: In a single blind design, five (n=5) female club softball players were either given a pill containing either caffeine (3 mg/kg body weight) (CAFF) from a commercially available product or a non-stimulant carbohydrate-based powder (maltodextrin) as a placebo (PLAC).After an hour of rest and self-selected warm-up post-ingestion, participants performed a total of 30 pitches (20 fastballs, 10 curveballs); pitching velocity and accuracy (% pitches in the strike zone) were determined by a portable pitching analysis software. Paired t-tests were used to determine statistical significance, and Cohen’s dwas used to describe effect sizes. Results: Participants had significantly (p\u3c 0.05) improved pitching velocity following the CAFF treatment (46.6 ±6.3 mph) as compared to the PLAC treatment (42.8 mph ±5.7 mph). There was not a significant difference (p\u3e 0.05) between pitching accuracyfor the CAFF treatment(50.4±7.9%) and the PLAC treatment (43.6 ±7.1%). Conclusion: This evidence suggests that moderately low caffeine dosage may improve softball pitching velocity without deleterious effects on accuracy