Debunking Policy Briefs and Beyond: A Best-Practices Guide for Graduate Students

As a graduate student, your duty is to begin to engage in an academic conversation within your field to boost your credibility and recognition as a young scholar. This is achieved by writing and publishing. However, breaking into the publishing realm is both difficult and intimidating, particularly for those in terminal masters degree programs with only two years to accomplish a multitude of tasks. A very suitable entry point into this realm is through policy briefs. Policy briefs provide the opportunity to both expand upon the policies that fuel many debates in a particular field and gain practice synthesizing ideas succinctly. This guide will provide you with some best practices for choosing a topic, designing a template, and writing a brief, in addition to some general practices that will help you write effectively.Ope

Icy Targets in Karajá ATR Harmony as Contrast Preservation

This paper presents a novel application of Contrast Preservation (Lubowicz 2003) to analyze a puzzling pattern of icy targets (Jurgec 2011). Icy targets are segments which harmonize but then block the spread of harmony, and a particularly theoretically challenging type is present in Karajá, in which derived and underlying [+ATR] high vowels behave differently (Ribeiro 2002;2012). We show that this harmony pattern can be successfully analyzed by considering the behaviour of these icy targets as a form of contrast preservation, where high [-ATR] vowels must harmonize when followed by a [+ATR] vowel, but the underlying contrast between [-ATR] and [+ATR] high vowels is preserved on any preceding vowels. The icy target effect thus emerges as a way to compromise between the pressure to harmonize high vowels and the pressure to preserve underlying ATR contrasts in high vowels. In this way, we extend Contrast Preservation Theory to include vowel harmony patterns, opening new opportunities to analyze puzzling patterns as a choice in which contrasts to preserve

The role of integrin avB3 in bone remodeling

This paper examines the role of the avB3 integrin in osteoclastic resorption using a model of a localized inflammatory bone loss

Influence of dams on stream fish biodiversity across a diverse Georgia landscape

The composition of a stream fish assemblage is strongly influenced by the drainage basin, physiographic region, and the stream order it occurs in. It is also well known that anthropogenic disturbances can dramatically influence stream communities. My study investigated responses of fish faunas in Georgia to an anthropogenic disturbance, non-hydroelectric dams, a very common disturbance in streams of the South-eastern U.S. Fish assemblage sensitivity to dams was compared across drainages (Alabama, Altamaha and Apalachicola), physiographic provinces (Ridge and Valley, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain), and stream orders (1-3). Overall, similarity within treatment sites was 5.6% (P = 0.040) higher than similarity within free-flowing reference sites across the landscape, suggesting that dams contributed to fish faunal homogenization. One major difference in the below-dam assemblages was a 13.37% mean increase in relative abundance of Lepomis individuals. However, the relative abundances of darter individuals, non-native species, benthic fluvial specialists, and cyprinid insectivores did not change significantly. Overall biotic integrity was significantly lower for treatment site assemblages (P = 0.041), but native species richness was not significantly affected. I found no significant difference in habitat parameters between treatment and reference sites. Physiographic region, drainage basin, and stream order did not significantly influence assemblage sensitivity to dams as indicated with an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). Site distance downstream of a dam in the range of 0.2-10.5 km did not significantly impact IBI score or native species richness, and likewise proportion of the watershed dammed did not significantly influence either IBI score or native species richness

A Segment-specific Metric for Quantifying Participation in Harmony

Despite substantial phonological research into segmental co-occurrence patterns, there is currently no systematic way of calculating the gradient degree to which a segment participates in a harmony system, across its co-occurrences with all other segments. In this paper, I adopt the statistical concept of relative risk as a measure of participation in harmony. I compute both O/E values and the relative risk measure for vowels in corpora of three languages with front/back harmony: Chuvash, Tatar, and Mari. I show that relative risk corresponds to the intuitive notion of how much a vowel participates in harmony, viewed based on how regularly it occurs in disharmonic contexts. I then consider the implications of the results, given what is known about categorical trends of participation in front/back harmony systems in other languages. For example, the relative risk values show that [i] generally participates less in the harmony system than most other vowels in all of these languages, and that marked vowels are typically highly harmonic. As such, this measure can illuminate gradient language-internal and cross-linguistic patterns in harmony participation that are not apparent from more categorical descriptions or entirely clear from O/E values

Tonal alternations in attributive constructions in Mwaghavul

Mwaghavul is an underdocumented Chadic language spoken in Plateau State, Nigeria, by approximately 150,000 people (Blench 2011). Mwaghavul has tonal lowering in associative constructions, where the first nominal in the construction surfaces with low tone, regardless of its tone in isolation (Arokoyo & Fwangwar 2019). However, tonal lowering is not fully predictable, as some high tone nominals surface as mid tone in associative constructions, instead of low. Number of syllables, vowel length and quality are not consistent predictors, as there are minimal pairs for high tone alternations. We investigate the phonetics of these high tones, to determine whether two phonetically distinct high tones have been incorrectly documented as one, or whether one phonetic high tone has two phonological behaviours. The f0 of 77 tokens in isolation and 561 tokens in associative constructions was extracted at 10 points using Prosody Pro (Xu 2013). In isolation, high tones that become mid in associative are visually distinct from those that become L, with approximately 15-20Hz difference throughout the tone duration. Linear mixed effects models confirm this difference is statistically significant. The presence of separate high and superhigh tones in Mwaghavul indicates that the phonetic implementation of the floating low tone is realized differently depending on the pitch of the original tone. This suggests that the original tone is not deleted, but rather dissociated and present, affecting the realization of the tonomorpheme in an unusual pattern that is not commonly attested.

Differential Regulation of the Period Genes in Striatal Regions following Cocaine Exposure

Several studies have suggested that disruptions in circadian rhythms contribute to the pathophysiology of multiple psychiatric diseases, including drug addiction. In fact, a number of the genes involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms are also involved in modulating the reward value for drugs of abuse, like cocaine. Thus, we wanted to determine the effects of chronic cocaine on the expression of several circadian genes in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) and Caudate Putamen (CP), regions of the brain known to be involved in the behavioral responses to drugs of abuse. Moreover, we wanted to explore the mechanism by which these genes are regulated following cocaine exposure. Here we find that after repeated cocaine exposure, expression of the Period (Per) genes and Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2 (Npas2) are elevated, in a somewhat regionally selective fashion. Moreover, NPAS2 (but not CLOCK (Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput)) protein binding at Per gene promoters was enhanced following cocaine treatment. Mice lacking a functional Npas2 gene failed to exhibit any induction of Per gene expression after cocaine, suggesting that NPAS2 is necessary for this cocaine-induced regulation. Examination of Per gene and Npas2 expression over twenty-four hours identified changes in diurnal rhythmicity of these genes following chronic cocaine, which were regionally specific. Taken together, these studies point to selective disruptions in Per gene rhythmicity in striatial regions following chronic cocaine treatment, which are mediated primarily by NPAS2. © 2013 Falcon et al

Inequalities in the Common European Asylum System: The role of Greek libraries as information resources in the midst of asylum system shortcomings

Historically, the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) has proven challenging for the member states on the periphery of the EU – the same member states that are currently experiencing high volumes of asylum seekers. This inability to address the needs of these member states was particularly highlighted in 2015, when Greece burst at the seams from asylum seekers arriving on their shores. To be sure, to date the CEAS has failed Greece, who was unprepared in infrastructure and procedure. With that in mind, and as Europe continues to share the ‘refugee burden’, stymieing migrant flows by any means, Greece represents an illuminating case for examining the competence and effect of this EU-wide asylum system. To that end, in Part I, this thesis completes a textual analysis and historical review of the Common European Asylum System and national policies in Greece. This analysis will address the root cause of the CEAS shortcomings and, with the addition of comparing asylum application data between 2008-2015 to directive and regulation transposition, how national policies transposed it as a result. Findings reveal CEAS’s shortcomings are rooted in its institutional design, creating formation issues. Additionally, finding reveal CEAS’s failure to consider diverse needs (cultural, geographic, and economic) in the current migration crisis has led to implementation challenges. Collectively, CEAS’s shortcomings have created a void that has left more than 60,000 refugees in Greece alone without basic reception conditions or reliable means to apply for asylum. In large part, this void involves a lack of CEAS information resources and information professionals capable of assisting asylum seekers with the paperwork and process required to apply for asylum. Across Europe, this void is being filled by a variety of public service and non-governmental organizations assisting this at-risk population throughout their entire entrance process (asylum application, refugee relocation, and immigrant integration/assimilation). In particular, throughout Northern and Central Europe (i.e., Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, the UK, and France), public libraries are specifically filling this void by providing a variety of programming initiatives such as conversation based language learning, mentor sessions, increasing vernacular language materials, and assisting with asylum application information when able. As such, Part II of this thesis examines the role public libraries in Greece are currently playing in assisting refugees through any portion of the asylum process. As one of the largest reception countries in Europe, it was presumed Greece would offer similar services as those throughout Northern and Central Europe by utilizing their publically-funded libraries as safe public spaces for refugees. However, findings reveal that, unlike other parts of Europe, refugees do not regularly utilize the public library systems in Greece. I theorize this to be due to mainly three reasons related to geographic distance from detention centers, cultural differences regarding the use of public libraries, and cultural differences regarding the library’s responsibility to these types of patrons. Additionally, due to mandates from the EU as to how aid money should be allocated, severe financial misappropriation is evident in Greece (Howden and Fotiadis, 2017). The routine mishandling of funds exacerbates the resource shortage and creates a false front as to the level of assistance actually reaching asylum seekers. The incorrect presumption of enough aid resources followed by the revelation of this misappropriation no doubt discourages assistance in the future, perpetuating the stereotype that Greece is fiscally irresponsible. Financial misappropriation also consumes much-needed financial resources for other infrastructure projects in the major cities, while also creating an appearance that aid organizations are already filling resource voids since the money has been spent. This is one of many situations in which the lack of CEAS regulation generates a multitude of unforeseen and unintended consequences. This creates an environment in which information resources are scarce and/or inaccessible, and in which libraries now operate to fill this void as a consequence of CEAS shortcomings. This thesis research is the first step in understanding the effects CEAS challenges and shortcomings have had on the functioning of information institutions and professions in Greece in particular, and what this means for the future of librarianship in Europe. The unique and unfortunate set of circumstances surrounding the current migration situation also provide opportunity to learn about the information seeking needs of the at-risk populations impacted by the environment created by CEAS shortcomings, and how to apply the lessons learned here to other instances of mobility, asylum system issues, and information voids