Modern Special Collections: Embracing the Future While Taking Care of the Past

As managers of special collections engage with evolving formats and technologies, it is imperative that these professionals remain well versed in papyrus, paper, and principles that inform archival work. The permanence of this content defines our past, informs our present, and shapes our future. However, a constricting interpretation of archival principles heavily focused on the “integrity” of recordkeeping drives collection managers further from the resources needed to do their jobs in this new age of archiving. Thinking in a non-traditional strategic manner can ensure continued collection development, access and relevance for the next generation

Evaluation of petroleum hydrocarbon weathering on coastal Louisiana beaches and salt marshes following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using ramped pyrolysis – gas chromatography – mass spectrometry

In spring of 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill polluted hundreds of miles of coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. A combination of human-mediated and natural weathering processes then altered the chemical composition (i.e. toxicity) of this spilled crude oil over time and space. One of the most important, yet challenging, aspects of oil spill science is to quantify these chemical changes in natural environments. In this study we evaluate the chemical transformation of petroleum hydrocarbons from the Deepwater Horizon spill on a coastal Louisiana beach and salt marsh from 2010-2012. Using gas chromatographic analysis, we quantify the depletion of n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs and hopanes relative to source oil to evaluate weathering trends across spatial and temporal differences. We report overall depletion of low molecular weight (LMW) n-alkanes and PAHs in all locations with time. The magnitude of depletion at any given time, however, depends on the sampling location, whereby the sites with the highest wave energy have the highest percentage of compound depletion. Oiled sediment from an enclosed bay shows highest retention of high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs, which may have been contributed from sources other than the Deepwater Horizon spill. This provides information regarding where petroleum hydrocarbons are likely to persist in coastal environments, which can be used to inform policy makers and responders for future petroleum pollution. In addition, we confirm these results with the novel application of ramped pyrolysis – gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). We show that bulk flow Py-GC-MS can quantify overall weathering degree of oil samples, and that thermal slicing Py-GC-MS can quantify specific petroleum hydrocarbons as well as qualify changes in non-GC amenable petroleum hydrocarbons with weathering. Our data suggests an increase in HMW (i.e. resin and asphaltene) petroleum fractions and oxygenated products with weathering. This analysis not only elucidates weathering trends with current samples, but also illustrates the analytical capacity of this method for future petroleum hydrocarbon investigations.Marine Scienc

Defining Archives: Ingenuity, Innovation and New Perspectives

At the 2016 Society of Georgia Archivists Annual Meeting Dr. Meredith Evans gave the keynote address on the conference theme: Defining Archives: Ingenuity, Innovation and New Perspectives. This is the text of her remarks

Review of Fundraising for Impact

In Fundraising for Impact, Kathryn K. Matthew uses soundbites from more than 100 interviews she conducted with practitioners from libraries, archives and museums from around the world to share ways they increased their funding. This work emphasizes frameworks that help reveal an institution\u27s value and the impact of community, partnerships, investing and fundraising

I am a Contradiction: Feminism and Feminist Identity in the Third Wave

How is Third Wave feminism defined? What are the implications for self-labeling as a feminist and the evolution of the “I’m not a feminist, but. . . .” group? While much controversy surrounds the etiology and even the very existence of a “Third Wave” of feminism, this nascent movement is a significant aspect of the current dialogue on contemporary feminism. Therefore, it is important to examine the history and the meaning of the identity of Third Wave. In an attempt to elucidate contemporary feminism, four key Third Wave collections of personal narratives were chosen and analyzed for current definitions of feminism. The anthologies used for this research contain the voices of numerous activists from 1995 to 2006 and represent a diverse range of individuals. A thematic analysis produced four themes: inclusion, multiplicity, contradiction, and everyday feminism. An analysis of the interconnections of these themes brought forth the question of whether a movement that is genuinely attuned to inclusion, multiplicity and contradiction can embrace the feminist label, or any label. Labels create boundaries and define the in-group, which is antithetical to these principles of Third Wave feminism. This might explain the current trend in research that finds many individuals supporting feminist ideology but resisting the feminist label. That is, the phrase “I’m not a feminist, but. . . .” may not simply be a reaction to a disparaged label but more precisely, an acknowledgement of the limits and liabilities of categorization

Sexual behaviour of men and women within age-disparate partnerships in South Africa: implications for young women's HIV risk

BACKGROUND: Age-disparate partnerships are hypothesized to increase HIV-risk for young women. However, the evidence base remains mixed. Most studies have focused only on unprotected sex among women in the partnership. Consequently, little is known about other risky behaviours, such as transactional sex, alcohol use, and concurrency, as well as the behaviours of the men who partner with young women. We therefore examined differences in various sexual behaviours of both young women and their male partners by partnership age difference. METHODS: We used nationally representative data from South Africa (2012) on partnerships reported by 16-24 year old black African women (n = 818) and by black African men in partnerships with 16-24 year old women (n = 985). We compared sexual behaviours in age-disparate partnerships and age-similar partnerships, using multiple logistic regression to control for potential confounders and to assess rural/urban differences. RESULTS: Young women in age-disparate partnerships were more likely to report unprotected sex than young women in similar-aged partnerships (aOR:1.51; p = 0.014; 95%CI:1.09-2.11). Men in partnerships with young women were more likely to report unprotected sex (aOR:1.92; p<0.01; 95%CI:1.31-2.81), transactional sex (aOR:2.73; p<0.01; 95%CI:1.64-4.56), drinking alcohol before sex (aOR:1.60; p = 0.062; 95%CI:0.98-2.61), and concurrency (aOR:1.39; p = 0.097; 95%CI:0.94-2.07) when their partners were five or more years younger. The association between age-disparate partnerships and transactional sex (aOR:4.14; p<0.01; 95%CI: 2.03-8.46) and alcohol use (aOR:2.24; p<0.013; 95%CI:1.20-4.19) was only found in urban areas. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide evidence that young women's age-disparate partnerships involve greater sexual risk, particularly through the risky behaviours of their male partners, with the risk amplified for young women in urban areas

Recordkeeping practices in selected Atlanta area black churches

In Black Culture and Black Consciousness, historian Lawrence W. Levine emphasizes the role of religion in the cultural aspects of black identity formation. Through an examination of six selected black churches in the Atlanta area, this study explores the attitudes of church leaders and their congregants toward maintaining records to preserve institutional memory, as well as for legal and administrative reasons. The study examines the impact of recordkeeping practices on the churches' collective memory, and discusses black consciousness and black theology. Also discussed is the role that archives have on the preservation of institutional memory by expounding upon the notion of accountability and custody, their importance to the continued existence of these cultural religious institutions, and how they can greatly benefit the community as well as contribute to the historical literature in America. The study employs a triangulation of methodologies, including content analysis, interviews and a survey

Exploring The Effects Of Microplastics On Marine Biota

There is mounting evidence that microplastics are a persistent and increasing hazard for aquatic organisms. The effects of microplastics on organisms and ecosystems are complex, however, and may be linked to a wide variety of particle characteristics including size, shape, polymer, additive chemistry, and degree of weathering. Assessing risk is complicated by the fact that many known effects of microplastics are sublethal, and that plastics have been postulated to interact with other stressors, such as pathogens. The work presented here expands our understanding of these complex effects. First, the impacts of microplastics on sedimentary microbial ecosystems and biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen cycles were investigated. A microcosm experiment using salt marsh sediment amended with polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane foam (PUF) or polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics was conducted. We found that the presence of microplastics altered sediment microbial community composition and nitrogen cycling processes. Compared to control sediments without microplastics, PUF- and PLA-treated sediments promoted nitrification and denitrification, while PVC inhibited both processes. These results indicate that nitrogen cycling processes in sediments can be significantly affected by different microplastics, which may serve as organic carbon substrates for microbial communities. Second, we probed the virus-related mortality of a commercially important salmonid species under chronic exposure to nylon microfibers, polystyrene microplastics, and natural marsh grass microparticles. Mortality increased when fish were co-exposed to pathogen and microparticle, particularly nylon microfibers. This correlated with host viral load and mild gill inflammation. As such, we speculated that chronic exposure microplastics may create opportunities for pathogens to bypass defenses and colonize hosts via sensitive tissues. To investigate if this was enhanced by the physical properties of plastic microfibers, we assessed differences in mortality following chronic exposure to nylon microfibers and powder, finding that fibers had a greater effect than powdered counterparts. The importance of the timing of microplastic exposure was also confirmed by completing viral/microplastics co-exposures where microplastics were dosed before, after, or before and after viral introduction. Indeed, virulence was most enhanced when fish were exposed to microplastics pre-virus or chronically, significantly more so than post-virus only. Finally, we tested whether UV-weathering changed the effect of natural and plastic microparticles on disease-related mortality. We observed changes in the virulence effects of microparticles following UV-weathering, but the pattern of that change was inconsistent and merits further research. Considering their ubiquity and increasing concentrations globally, further research on the effects of microplastics is warranted. Particularly, the work here demonstrates that microplastics may influence entire communities and inorganic nutrient cycling systems, classifying microplastics as a potential planetary boundary threat. Further, we illustrate that even when microplastics alone may not have substantial effects on a fish population, when combined with disease they may amplify pathogen-related mortality significantly. More research on the interplay between microplastics and infectious disease is recommended, particularly as it may inform researchers on the risks of microplastics to human health

Absolute and Relative Handgrip Strength Across Gender

The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing differences between absolute and relative handgrip strength in men and women. It was hypothesized that male subjects will exhibit higher absolute hand grip strength, lower %BF, higher FFM, and higher forearm circumference when compared to women. However, men and women will have similar hand grip strength when compared relatively to body composition.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/exercise-science-research-proposal-posters/1076/thumbnail.jp