Editor\u27s Introduction

Researchers and practitioners of technical and professional communication deal with culture on a daily basis. We are members of an increasingly complex communication infrastructure that is global in scope and that is fueled by the proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within all aspects of our lives. We are citizens of nations around the world that contain their own laws, rules, and customs. We are members of professional fields and academic disciplines that carry with them particular conceptions of knowledge-making, power, and competency. We are also members of organizations, institutions, and communities that we must navigate on a daily basis in order to develop and sustain our individual identities

The Co-Evolution of Microstructure Features in Self-Ion Irradiated HT9 at Very High Damage Levels.

The objective of this study was to understand the co-evolution of microstructure features in self-ion irradiated HT9 at very high damage levels. HT9 (heat 84425) was pre-implanted with 10 atom parts per million helium and then irradiated with 5 MeV Fe++ in the temperature range of 440-480oC to 188 dpa. A damage dependence study from 75 to 650 dpa was performed at the peak swelling temperature of 460oC. The swelling, dislocation and precipitate evolution was determined using Analytic Electron Microscopes in both Conventional Transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) modes. Void swelling reached a nominally linear rate of 0.03%/dpa from 188 to 650 dpa at 460oC. G phase precipitates were observed by 75 dpa and grew linearly up to 650 dpa. M2X was observed by 250 dpa and peaked in volume fraction at 450 dpa. Dislocation loop evolution was observed up to 650 dpa including a step change in diameter between 375 and 450 dpa; which correlated with nucleation and growth of M2X. The experimental results were interpreted using a rate theory model, the Radiation Induced Microstructure Evolution (RIME), in the damage range from 188 to 650 dpa. A simple system of voids and dislocations was modeled in which the dislocations measured from experiment were used as input, or the dislocations were allowed to evolve dynamically, resulting in swelling that was overestimated by 63% relative to that observed experimentally. G phase had limited effect on the void or dislocation behavior. The behavior of M2X within the microstructure was characterized as a direct effect as a coherent sink, and as an indirect effect in consuming carbon from the matrix, which had the largest impact on both void and dislocation behavior. A slowly monotonically increasing swelling rate was observed both experimentally and computationally, with swelling rates of ~0.025%/dpa and ~0.036%/dpa before and after 450 dpa. The agreement in void behavior between experiment and model when all effects (loops, network, G phase, M2X formation and growth, and removal of carbon) are accounted for demonstrates the importance of characterizing the evolution of the full microstructure over a large dpa range.PHDNuclear Engineering & Radiological SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135912/1/embecket_1.pd

Investigating the Effects of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms on the Vulnerability to Shell Disease of Northern Red-Bellied Turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris) in New Jersey

In 2019, an unknown shell disease was reported in Northern red-bellied turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris), a freshwater turtle species with a range that mainly includes southern New Jersey through North Carolina. This study investigates the effects of harmful cyanobacterial blooms on the vulnerability to shell disease of freshwater Northern red-bellied turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris) in New Jersey by characterizing and enumerating cyanobacteria in lake water and within the epizoic community with a goal to provide data-driven recommendations for P.rubriventris conservation. Phytoplankton community composition and cyanotoxinconcentration were measured in two affected lakes (Daretown Lake and Elmer Lake) and one unaffected lake (Lake Fred) in Salem and Ocean counties, New Jersey. These measures were examined to determine whether the presence of potentially toxin-producing cyanobacteria had any effect on the occurrence of shell disease in these turtles. In addition to water samples, epizoic community was examined and cyanotoxins were measured from samples collected from turtle shells. Results indicate that cyanobacteria may increase the vulnerability of P. rubriventris to the shell disease. In general, cyanobacteria density and cyanotoxin concentrations were greater in water and epizoic samples collected from the affected lakes than the unaffected lake. Additionally, epizoic samples collected from turtles afflicted with shell disease were found to contain significantly greater cyanobacteria density than samples collected from healthy turtles, suggesting epizoic cyanobacteria growth may be the cause of shell diseases of P. rubriventris in New Jersey

Designing for Engagement: Intercultural Communication and/as Participatory Design

Within rhetoric and professional communication, intercultural research has most often focused on such elements of communication situations as languages, issues regarding translation, and adaptation to culturally situated value systems of interlocutors (Maylath, 1997; St.Amant, 1999; Thatcher, 2010; Wang, 2010). Technological infrastructure for intercultural situations, however, is largely conceived of as a material base upon which communication runs. If we consider an infrastructure as a dynamic meeting of communicators, modes of communication, and technologies, however, it is unclear how we might apply existing intercultural research methods and findings to the design of such communication systems. As a heuristic for moving toward thinking about both infrastructure and intercultural inquiry in this more complex manner, I provide below a literature review geared toward wedding best practices in user experience design (UX) with best practices in intercultural inquiry

Vanishing Point

pages 34-3

Numerical equilibrium analysis for structured consumer resource models

In this paper, we present methods for a numerical equilibrium and stability analysis for models of a size structured population competing for an unstructured resource. We concentrate on cases where two model parameters are free, and thus existence boundaries for equilibria and stability boundaries can be defined in the (two-parameter) plane. We numerically trace these implicitly defined curves using alternatingly tangent prediction and Newton correction. Evaluation of the maps defining the curves involves integration over individual size and individual survival probability (and their derivatives) as functions of individual age. Such ingredients are often defined as solutions of ODE, i.e., in general only implicitly. In our case, the right-hand sides of these ODE feature discontinuities that are caused by an abrupt change of behavior at the size where juveniles are assumed to turn adult. So, we combine the numerical solution of these ODE with curve tracing methods. We have implemented the algorithms for “Daphnia consuming algae” models in C-code. The results obtained by way of this implementation are shown in the form of graphs

Designing for Everyday Life in Global Contexts

This special issue is a situated response in this discourse context, to investigate research issues surrounding the mundaneness and messiness of “Designing for Everyday Life in Global Contexts.” For the past two decades, a steadily growing body of work on the intersections of intercultural communication and information design has been developing within the field of Technical and Professional Communication (e.g., Kostelnick,1995; Chu, 1999; Fukuoka, 1999; Honold, 1999; Thatcher, 1999; Zahed, Van Pelt, & Song, 2001; St. Amant, 2002, 2005; Sun, 2006, 2012; Agboka, 2013; Breuch, 2015; Gustav, 2015; St. Amant & Rice, 2015; Maher & Getto, 2016; Sun & Getto, 2017; Zhou & Getto, 2017). This work variously seeks to articulate culturally situated and rhetorically sound practices for designing in intercultural, cross-cultural, and global contexts, contexts in which a variety of cultures, identities, and technologies are required

INCLUSIVE ASSESSMENT: TOWARD A SOCIALLY-JUST METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING INSTITUTION-WIDE ENGAGEMENT

Institutions are increasingly being called upon to collect large amounts of data to demonstrate community impact. At institutions with strong and wide-reaching public engagement/service missions, this expectation is even greater – both for quality improvement and for demonstrating regional transformation. Despite these expectations, the decentralized culture of many campuses and lack of external incentives for individual faculty and departments can present significant barriers to telling a complete, representative, institutional story of engagement. This article explores the efforts of one campus to develop an inclusive assessment methodology in order to meet multifaceted institutional needs and navigate challenges. We take into account the particular dynamics of a specific campus culture to develop a process that is unique to the needs and particularities of our institution. At the same time, we hope that this methodology will demonstrate transferability to other institutions