Faculty Internationalization: Experiences, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Full-Time Academics Across Vermont

Thesis advisor: Philip G. AltbachInternationalization on campus is being called for in order to adapt to a rapidly globalizing social and economic context. However, many institutions, including those across Vermont, have not yet polled their faculty to see what international experiences or background faculty members have. Few have a comprehensive understanding of faculty language competencies, or in what ways faculty members have been collaborating with foreign scholars. This study looked at attitudes and beliefs faculty members have towards bringing global dimensions into their faculty role, as well as their perceptions of internationalization on campuses. This study takes the extra step of looking at the data collected on Vermont faculty, and then slices it through multiple lenses, looking to see if there are trends and connections by demographic factors such as gender, academic rank, discipline, number of years in the field, or having a preference for student learning or research. Results of this dissertation study revealed a faculty composition that was reassuringly internationalized when looking at language abilities, international experiences, among other demographic factors. Results also revealed that faculty attitudes and beliefs as well as perceptions of campus climate towards internationalization, were overwhelmingly positive. Following comparisons to prior national and international studies, Vermont institutions have strong evidence to claim support for internationalization among their faculty.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education

The three-dimensional prey field of the northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, and the escape responses of their copepod prey

In the north Atlantic, Meganyctiphanes norvegica feeds predominantly on copepods, including Calanus spp. To quantify its perceptual field for prey, and the sensory systems underlying prey detection, the responses of tethered krill to free-swimming Calanus spp. were observed in 3D using silhouette video imaging. An attack–which occurred despite the krill’s being tethered—was characterized by a pronounced movement of the krill’s antennae towards the target, followed by a propulsion and opening of the feeding basket. Frequency distributions of prey detection distances were significantly different in the light vs. the dark, with median values of 26.5 mm and 19.5 mm, respectively. There were no significant differences in the angles at which prey were detected by krill (relative to the predator’s longitudinal body axis) in the light vs. the dark. Prey detections were symmetrically distributed on either side of the predator, in both light and dark. However, significant asymmetry was found in the dorsal–ventral direction with 80% of the prey detections located below the midline of the krill’s body axis and, given the placement and orientation of the compound eyes, presumably outside its visual field of view. This indicates that, at least under these conditions, vision was not the main sensory modality involved in the detection of active prey by M. norvegica. However, under some circumstances, vision may provide supplemental information. Avoidance responses of copepod prey were nearly twice the velocity of their nominal background swimming speed (153 ± 48 and 85 ± 75 mm s−1, respectively), on average taking them 43 ± 16 mm away from the predator. This is far beyond the krill’s perceptual range, suggesting that the escape reaction provides an effective deterrent to predation (although perhaps less so for free-swimming krill). This information can be used to parameterize models that assess the role of krill as predators in marine ecosystems

Gene expression and epigenetic responses of the marine Cladoceran, Evadne nordmanni, and the copepod, Acartia clausi, to elevated CO2

Characterizing the capacity of marine organisms to adapt to climate change related drivers (e.g., pCO2 and temperature), and the possible rate of this adaptation, is required to assess their resilience (or lack thereof) to these drivers. Several studies have hypothesized that epigenetic markers such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and noncoding RNAs, act as drivers of adaptation in marine organisms, especially corals. However, this hypothesis has not been tested in zooplankton, a keystone organism in marine food webs. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that acute ocean acidification (OA) exposure alters DNA methylation in two zooplanktonic species—copepods (Acartia clausii) and cladocerans (Evadne nordmanii). We exposed these two species to near-future OA conditions (400 and 900 ppm pCO2) for 24 h and assessed transcriptional and DNA methylation patterns using RNA sequencing and Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS). OA exposure caused differential expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix functions, hypoxia and one-carbon metabolism. Similarly, OA exposure also caused altered DNA methylation patterns in both species but the effect of these changes on gene expression and physiological effects remains to be determined. The results from this study form the basis for studies investigating the potential role of epigenetic mechanisms in OA induced phenotypic plasticity and/or adaptive responses in zooplanktonic organisms.publishedVersio

Light Primes the Escape Response of the Calanoid Copepod, Calanus finmarchicus

The timing and magnitude of an escape reaction is often the determining factor governing a copepod’s success at avoiding predation. Copepods initiate rapid and directed escapes in response to fluid signals created by predators; however little is known about how copepods modulate their behavior in response to additional sensory input. This study investigates the effect of light level on the escape behavior of Calanus finmarchicus. A siphon flow was used to generate a consistent fluid signal and the behavioral threshold and magnitude of the escape response was quantified in the dark and in the light. The results show that C. finmarchicus initiated their escape reaction further from the siphon and traveled with greater speed in the light than in the dark. However, no difference was found in the escape distance. These results suggest that copepods use information derived from multiple sensory inputs to modulate the sensitivity and strength of the escape in response to an increase risk of predation. Population and IBM models that predict optimal vertical distributions of copepods in response to visual predators need to consider changes in the copepod's behavioral thresholds when predicting predation risk within the water column

Validity of new child-specific thoracic gas volume prediction equations for air-displacement plethysmography

BACKGROUND: To determine the validity of the recently developed child-specific thoracic gas volume (TGV) prediction equations for use in air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) in diverse pediatric populations. METHODS: Three distinct populations were studied: European American and African American children living in Birmingham, Alabama and European children living in Lisbon, Portugal. Each child completed a standard ADP testing protocol, including a measured TGV according to the manufactures software criteria. Measured TGV was compared to the predicted TGV from current adult-based ADP proprietary equations and to the recently developed child-specific TGV equations of Fields et al. Similarly, percent body fat, derived using the TGV prediction equations, was compared to percent body fat derived using measured TGV. RESULTS: Predicted TGV from adult-based equations was significantly different from measured TGV in girls from each of the three ethnic groups (P < 0.05), however child-specific TGV estimates did not significantly differ from measured TGV in any of the ethnic or gender groups. Percent body fat estimates using adult-derived and child-specific TGV estimates did not differ significantly from percent body fat measures using measured TGV in any of the groups. CONCLUSION: The child-specific TGV equations developed by Fields et al. provided a modest improvement over the adult-based TGV equations in an ethnically diverse group of children

Halo White Dwarfs and the Hot Intergalactic Medium

We present a schematic model for the formation of baryonic galactic halos and hot gas in the Local Group and the intergalactic medium. We follow the dynamics, chemical evolution, heat flow and gas flows of a hierarchy of scales, including: protogalactic clouds, galactic halos, and the Local Group itself. Within this hierarchy, the Galaxy is built via mergers of protogalactic fragments. We find that early bursts of star formation lead to a large population of remnants (mostly white dwarfs), which would reside presently in the halo and contribute to the dark component observed in the microlensing experiments. The hot, metal-rich gas from early starbursts and merging evaporates from the clouds and is eventually incorporated into the intergalactic medium. The model thus suggests that most microlensing objects could be white dwarfs (m \sim 0.5 \msol), which comprise a significant fraction of the halo mass. Furthermore, the Local Group could have a component of metal-rich hot gas similar to, although less than, that observed in larger clusters. We discuss the known constraints on such a scenario and show that all local observations can be satisfied with present data in this model. The best-fit model has a halo that is 40% baryonic, with an upper limit of 77%.Comment: 15 pages, LaTex, uses aas2pp4.sty, 7 postscript figures. Substantially revised and enlarged to a full-length article. Somewhat different quantitative results, but qualitative conclusions unchange