The Role of ‘the Public’ in the Management of Newfoundland’s Forestry Heritage

Forestry in Newfoundland has a long history of both subsistence and industrial uses, with separate associated tenure systems and property and use rights. Though most forest users on the island are subsistence or recreational users, the public plays only a minimal role in forest decision making, which continues to revolve around industry-based harvesting decisions with little regard for the multiple forest uses valued by the public. With the rapid decline of the industrial pulp and paper sector, which has coincided with policy shifts from productivist to multifunctional forest uses, Newfoundlanders face difficult decisions regarding how to manage their forests, and for whom. This essay provides a brief history of forestry in Newfoundland, including recent changes to policies and practices on the island regarding public participation and ecosystem management. It frames some of the problems and solutions of forest governance as common-pool resource issues and suggests ways to better integrate existing forest users with forest management

Printed Repeat Pattern Development for Textiles: Design Theory and Process

I created a collection of fifteen printed repeat patterns accompanied by a written description of the research and development process as a creative project to fulfill the requirements of a Senior Honors Project. Looking at this project from a traditional research standpoint, I sought out to answer several questions that would help me to develop as a textile artist. How do you find current, up-to-date, relevant trends, both ideological (macro) and material (micro)? How do you take these trends and communicate them visually, in an original fashion? How do you produce a collection of designs that is both diverse and cohesive? What is the specific, step-by-step process of creating a printed repeat pattern? Fashion and textile brands work through this process of identifying trends, establishing color stories, and developing new prints with every season. Through this creative project, I have been able to build on my years of coursework in the Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design department and develop knowledge and marketable skills that will directly translate to a career in the fashion industry. In this accompanying written element, I discuss market and trend research, color story development, planning for diversity and cohesion and design, step-by-step process instruction, and display the resulting collection of patterns

Immigration After the Great Famine: A Case Study of the Passengers of the S.S. Canadian

From 1879 to 1881 Western Ireland suffered a famine that left one million people in a state of destitution. To assist the starving, impoverished farming communities that were scattered across the region English Quaker and philanthropist James Hack Tuke successfully pitched the Tuke Emigration Scheme to the UK government in 1882, lasting through 1884. While historians of Irish immigration have recently begun to research famines other than the Great Famine, very few have delved more deeply into this particular scheme. Of those who have, including Christine Kinnealy and Gerard Moran, analysis has been limited to the perspective of Ireland and thus far only the unpublished research of Margaret Lynch of Cleveland, Ohio’s Irish American Archives Society has delved into the American view of the scheme. While the mission and reports of Tuke and his governmental committee are well documented, investigating the reality of immigrant experiences in the United States requires more effort. Using a database of state and federal biographical records in tandem with Tuke’s sailing manifests, statistical analysis of the status of immigrants can be completed. This research paper along with a complementary ArcGIS Cascade virtual exhibit focuses on one sailing of the Tuke Emigration Scheme, that of the S.S. Canadian in April 1884, uses such analysis to demonstrate that while the scheme was certainly successful in establishing new connections and trends in four particular regions of the United States in later Irish-American immigration as driven by Tuke, in reality it only aligned with Tuke’s more specific vision to a degree. Through a combination of passenger data, the writings of Tuke and his committee, local historical records of Cleveland, Ohio; the Pennsylvania coal mining region; western states; and Holyoke, Massachusetts, and additional source material, the impact and realities of Tuke’s scheme in the United States is revealed

Influence of Physical Variability of Highly Weathered Sedimentary Rock on Nitrate in Area 3 of the ENIGMA Field Research Site at Y-12

Uranium processing and waste storage in unlined waste ponds leached contaminants into the groundwater at Y-12, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, from the 1950s to 1980s. Groundwater wells near the S-3 ponds have had the highest nitrate concentrations of groundwater anywhere in the world (\u3e10,000 mg/L). For reference, the maximum contaminant level for nitrate in drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 10 mg/L. Since 2012, the ENIGMA (Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies) group has been characterizing, monitoring, and conducting field experiments to understand the interactions between contaminants, microbes, and the subsurface. The goals of this project are to measure the variability of physical and hydrogeological properties in the weathered sedimentary rock (i.e., saprolite), (ii) determine how physical properties control contaminant distribution, and (iii) assess nitrate and geochemical correlations, which could provide insight into nitrate transformation processes. Physical characteristics of the shallow subsurface materials were evaluated using cone penetrometer testing (CPT) in 131 locations. Profiles of material type and hydraulic conductivity were generated from the CPT data. Colloidal borescope measurements from ENIGMA wells confirmed groundwater flow is to the south, away from the S3 ponds (now a parking lot), to Bear Creek. Slug tests were performed in six wells to calculate hydraulic conductivity, which ranged from 0.06 (at well FW115-32) to 3.5 m/day (at well FW127). Nitrate concentrations and other geochemical parameters were measured from ten wells. Hydraulic conductivity values estimated by the CPT corresponded to hydraulic conductivity values measured by slug tests in nearby wells. The study concludes that there is lateral connectivity amongst neighboring soil types and that the distribution of soil types across Area 3 is highly variable. Saprolite above the interface with intact rock generally has higher hydraulic conductivity values compared to the shallower saprolite and nitrate concentrations do not appear to have a relationship with hydraulic conductivity. Regions of low nitrate concentrations may be due to flushing by flow through fractures and high concentrations of nitrate may be attributed to low hydraulic conductivity and groundwater being in a state of sulfate reduction or methanogenesis

The Role of the Local Community on Federal Lands: The Weaverville Community Forest

In the wake of the timber wars, communities across the American West have struggled to redefine their relationships to nearby federal forests. The timber-dependent model of the pre-Timber War era, with clear timber targets and economic outputs, has been replaced by more nuanced and less clearly-defined model: ecosystem management. This case study research uses interviews with participants in the Weaverville Community Forest (WCF) to explore the role of a community in managing its nearby federal lands. Momentum for the WCF flowed from a small group of citizens who were invested in the forest despite their cultural and ideological differences regarding its appropriate management. The WCF built upon project successes through management on lands identified as unhealthy or dangerous because of wildland fire risk. The WCF and its partners created a scaffolding of support for politically and economically weakened federal agencies to conduct work in the area

The effects of different cardiovascular devices on carotid and aortic baroreceptors

The baroreflex is a well-studied physiological mechanism that provides instantaneous nerve impulses to higher brain centers about fluctuations in blood pressure. Located within the aortic arch and carotid sinuses, the baroreceptors are mechanosensitive stretch receptors activated by physical distention. When stretched by elevated blood pressure, the baroreflex is activated and serves to reduce sympathetic nerve activity through increased parasympathetic nerve output, ultimately reducing heart rate, contractility and total vascular peripheral resistance. Therefore, through physical perturbation, the baroreflex can be activated and ensuing physiological changes result. Several medical devices have been developed to treat and manage cardiovascular diseases that are affected by blood pressure dysregulation. A significant portion of devices have their mechanistic application at locations at or near the aortic and carotid baroreceptors, which results in alterations of baroreflex activation. This literature review serves to highlight three clinically important cardiovascular devices and the effects they have on the baroreflex through a summarized review of published work in the scientific community. Intra-aortic balloon pumps, left ventricular assist devices and carotid sinus stimulators are cardiovascular devices that have shown promising development and clinical impact since each devices’ initial application in research trials. Each device has been thoroughly reviewed here and the impact that each device has on blood pressure regulation has been investigated via available published work. Results from a limited number of studies have shown that each device has a definite effect on baroreflex activation and subsequent changes in autonomic nervous system function. Modifications in blood pressure through device use appear to be a potential therapeutic approach to managing pathophysiological states, including hypertension and heart failure. Hypertension and heart failure will be discussed in greater detail, reviewing current approaches to disease management and care. The results from the available publications surrounding device use are specific to certain diseases, however, they are also quite generalizable in the sense that these results have shown an overall true effect on blood pressure modification by the baroreflex. Conclusions established from this literature review are that although promising work has been recognized through studying these cardiovascular devices and their effects on blood pressure regulation, much research and development is still needed in order to gain a better understanding of device use and impact in the clinical setting