The Competition Account of Achievement‐Value

A great achievement makes one’s life go better independently of its results, but what makes an achievement great? A simple answer is—its difficulty. I defend this view against recent, pressing objections by interpreting difficulty in terms of competitiveness. Difficulty is determined not by how hard the agent worked for the end but by how hard others would need to do in order to compete. Successfully reaching a goal is a valuable achievement because it is difficult, and it is difficult because it is competitive. Hence, both virtuosic performances and lucky successes can be valuable achievements

Body size of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) decreases with urbanization

Urbanization influences biodiversity and shapes the functional traits of local biota. While many cities expand, some have experienced significant population decreases resulting in an abundance of vacant greenspace following the demolition of residential structures. These vacant lots may provide suitable habitats for arthropods. Given habitat fragmentation in urban areas, The Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography (ETIB) can be applied to cities wherein rural areas act as mainlands and greenspaces within the city are islands surrounded by concrete that pose barriers to species movement. Within isolated greenspaces, ETIB predicts lower species richness due to colonization limitations. For arthropods such as ground beetles, dispersal ability is often related to body size, suggesting smaller species will be more likely to colonize urban islands because they are more commonly macropterous. This is important, as body size impacts fitness via female fecundity and male mating success, both of which typically increase with increased beetle size. We measured the body size of four species of ground beetles, Scarites vicinus, Poecilus lucublandus, P. chalcites, and Chlaenius tricolor across 40 greenspaces in Cleveland, OH, USA, and surrounding Cuyahoga County, to test whether urbanization poses barriers to carabid assemblages. We applied a functional trait-based approach to ETIB, predicting body size would decrease with increased isolation from rural surroundings. Specimens were collected using unbaited pitfall traps in five treatments including vacant lots mown monthly, urban pocket prairies seeded with wildflowers, urban and rural agroecosystems, and metro park forests. Preliminary results from June 2018 revealed clear habitat associations for these abundant carabid species, suggesting their populations are not ubiquitous among urban and rural greenspaces, although all were capable of flight. Body size of beetles was greater in rural environments, as the larger species S. vicinus and P. lucublandus were abundant in these treatments and not in others. Ground beetles are bioindicators and contribute to ecosystem services such as biological control. Therefore, it is important to understand how urbanization influences their populations and reproductive success in order to guide conservation efforts and to aid the restoration of ecosystem services.Funding provided by USDA NIFA Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018-67012-28011) to K.I.P., and a Division of Environmental Biology CAREER Grant (CAREER-1253197) and USDA Agricultural Research Program Initiative Foundational Programs Grant (2017-67013-26595) to M.M.G.Academic Major: Entomolog

Improving Solder Joints Formed in Microgravity by Use of Magnetic Soldering Paste Additives

With the expansion of the space industry, the need for the capability to repair electronics in space grows. Previous researchers have found that soldering in microgravity has yielded joints of poorer quality than those made on Earth, with increased interior porosity. WVU’s microgravity research team (MRT) constructed an experiment to solder onboard a microgravity aircraft to explore this problem and to test a possible solution. MRT’s experiment collected solder samples both in microgravity and a ground test, which were then cross-sectioned to allow the interior porosity of the joints to be studied. This determined that there was an increase in porosity for the joints formed in microgravity. Exploration into the source of the gases in the solder contributing to porosity was attempted by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis of the interior of the voids. Although carbon, an indication of flux vapor, was found in the voids, this examination proved inconclusive due to the possibility of contamination. In an attempt to reduce porosity in microgravity joints, some of the solder samples utilized solders including iron microparticles, soldered in a magnetic field. This provided a magnetic body force on the solder to replace the gravitational force. The magnetic manipulation of the solder did not provide consistent, statistically significant change to the porosity of the joints. Magnetic manipulation of solder could be further explored; however, the current work has not shown a benefit to the quality of the joints

COVID-19’s Impact on Human Trafficking: The Invisible Industry in New Hampshire

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that operates on the premise of exploitation, such as forced prostitution and labor, and organ trafficking. This is a global industry resulting in billions. Despite the current global pandemic, COVID-19, putting a halt to many livelihoods around the world, human trafficking will persist, but in conditions that are potentially more harmful for the victims. Victims of trafficking are in an increasingly vulnerable position, and it is important to establish possible mechanisms to protect as many victims and potential victims as possible. Typical risk factors (i.e., poverty, state’s interest vs. individual interest, unemployment) are emphasized in the United States, leading to the possibility of higher rates of trafficking with the added risk of a pandemic. Across the country, rates of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) have drastically increased. Statistics regarding human trafficking are difficult to produce as it is still considered a new crime, prosecution is slim, legislation varies state-by-state, and the populations are hidden due to much of the work being done in the informal sector. Unlike DV and IPV, many traffickers prey for their victims on the internet. In situations where we feel vulnerable is where a trafficker thrives. With job loss, they will provide employment, shelter, food, among the various basic needs that are necessary for survival. The trafficker becomes the support system, and in many cases, the victim does not even see this as exploitative. Many victims of trafficking are unaware of their situations, as they have received some level of stability from their trafficker, noting the prominence of a trafficker’s deception. The risks associated with the COVID-19 lockdown, such as isolation and unemployment, create a double-edged sword, where all people are more vulnerable to trafficking, yet many are still unaware of what trafficking is. As traffickers are so versed in extrapolating vulnerability, and their tactics are so flexible, I pondered how the anti-trafficking industry adjusted to help victims during COVID-19. Eight interviews were conducted with key players in the human trafficking industry, discussing the health and human rights of victims of trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also conducted observations at two webinars that were on the topic of human trafficking during COVID-19. Each interview was transcribed and thematically coded based on qualitative findings. My findings illustrated that victims of trafficking are at a disadvantage if attempting to escape their trafficker during COVID-19. The pandemic has created isolation, limiting the victim from accessing resources and being identified as a victim by others. Masks, as well as telehealth, has created a barrier to disclosure, as well as a sense of depersonalization between victim and advocate. Education efforts from non-governmental organizations have also slowed due to the increased emphasis on managing daily operations during the pandemic. Support is needed from the state of New Hampshire in order to better identify and assist victims of trafficking

Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly; In vivo Analysis of the Methanogenic SUF System

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are among the most ancient and prevalent of all biological cofactors. Their assembly into associated proteins is a tightly regulated process with many organisms employing multiple cluster assembly pathways. Much is known about Fe-S cluster assembly in aerobic organisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) but little is known in regards to cluster assembly in more ancient organisms such as methanogens. Methanogens are members of the domain of Archaea and are defined by their ability to generate methane as a byproduct of their main energy generating pathway. Methanogens also have significantly higher Fe-S cluster content compared to many aerobic based organisms. In methanogens there is one conserved Fe-S cluster assembly system, the SUF (sulfur mobilization) system. Within the suf operon there are two genes, sufB and sufC, that are conserved across all methanogens. Biochemical analysis revealed that the core SUF system in methanogens is made up of a cluster assembly scaffold with the structure of SufB2C2 and it appears that the Fe-S cluster assembles on the SufC dimer. In vitro analysis revealed that within this complex three conserved cysteine residues within the SufC protein are essential to Fe-S cluster assembly on the scaffold. To evaluate the functionality of the methanogenic SUF system in vivo E. coli was utilized as a host system. It was found that in addition to the three critical cysteine residues on SufC there were two residues on SufB, a cysteine and histidine residue that were also essential to the scaffold’s functionality in vivo

Marine Biology Faculty Member Contributes Veterinary Expertise

With deep expertise in aquatic veterinary science, Roxanna Smolowitz continues to lead research investigating the health or disease of marine animals

Interview with Margaret Dunkle

Associate Director, Project on the Status and Education of Women Interviewed by Julia Lamber and Jean Robinson on July 10, 2006, in Washington, D.C.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ohtitleix/1008/thumbnail.jp

Foucauldian Genealogy as Situated Critique or Why is Sexuality So Dangerous?

This thesis argues for a new understanding of criticism in Foucauldian genealogy based on the role played by the values of Michel Foucault’s audience in motivating suspicion. Secondary literature on Foucault has been concerned with understanding how Foucault’s works can be critical of cultural practices in the contemporary West when his accounts take the form of descriptive history. Commentaries offered heretofore have been insufficient for explaining the basis of Foucault’s criticism of cultural practices because they have failed to articulate the relation of the genealogist to her present normative context—the social and political values and goals that, in part, define the position of the genealogist within her culture. This thesis shows why previous accounts are insufficient for explaining Foucauldian genealogical critique, and it argues for a simple alternative warranted by Foucault’s writing

Adult Foster Care: Its Tenuous Position on the Care Continuum

Frequently any move away from independent living for an elderly person is viewed as a downhill road to the nursing home and ultimate death. Adult foster care has been viewed as one such step closer to institutionalization. Service provision to the elderly needs to be viewed on a continuum where the elderly are seen as being capable of moving in and out of supportive living arrangements when the need arises. Barriers to providing this care are identified with future needs highlighted