Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 13

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

From earth and ocean: Investigating the importance of cross-ecosystem resource linkages in estuaries of the Pacific Northwest

Similar to how political boundaries do not reflect the cultural ties and ancestral lineages of human history, classical ecological perspectives often do not account for the complex relationships amongst ecosystems at local, regional or global scales. Cross-ecosystem resource linkages provide crucial subsidies to many ecosystems on Earth. Resource subsidies can contribute to the productivity, form, and function of recipient ecological communities. However, a subsidy’s importance can vary widely among landscapes as a result of resource availability, ecosystem characteristics and consumer traits. Estuaries are composed of highly connected habitats that reside at the interface between terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Consequently, they are ideal systems to explore the importance of resource subsidies and how their role can vary spatially. This thesis examines the assimilation of, and response to resource subsidies in estuaries of the Northeastern Pacific. I focus on two spatial subsidies: terrestrial resources delivered to estuaries via the movement of freshwater, and salmon resources that enter coastal watersheds during fall spawning seasons. First, I show that species-specific distributions of live spawning salmon, their associations with terrestrial predators, and physical characteristics of individual systems drive salmon subsidies to riparian forests and estuaries. I then focus on subsidy responses in two estuarine consumers; soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) and Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister). Through the use of stable isotopes, I demonstrate that landscape-level traits such as watershed size and salmon density drive the assimilation of subsidies in both species and that location within an estuary can mediate responses in sedentary consumers. However, terrestrial-derived subsidies also influence the size of individuals, suggesting this resource may have farther-reaching effects. Finally, I compare the dietary composition of three consumers and find that subsidy contributions increase with availability while accounting for other estuarine resources. Mobile consumers may benefit most, by being better able to exploit heterogeneous resource pools. This thesis demonstrates that terrestrial- and salmon-derived resource subsidies contribute to the resource base in estuarine ecosystems and that terrestrial subsidies may have the most pronounced effects. Ecosystems are connected, but the strength of these connections varies. It is therefore crucial to place resource dynamics within the context of specific landscapes and species to properly evaluate subsidy importance

Defending Frankfurt: Moral Responsibility without Alternative Possibilities

According to the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP), a person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. This principle, or something like it, seems quite plausible. And it has played an important role in arguments for the incompatibility of moral responsibility with causal determinism, divine foreknowledge, and divine providence. Yet, despite it’s intuitive appeal, PAP has not gone unchallenged. Beginning with Harry Frankfurt over forty years ago, a number of counterexamples (known as “Frankfurt examples”) have been offered. Since that time, a sizeable literature has developed around Frankfurt’s challenge.The traditional strategy for attacking PAP is to attack it directly by attempting to provide a counterexample to the principle, as Frankfurt did. However, an alternative approach is to attack some other principle that PAP is connected to in an important way. I pursue the second strategy, targeting the following principle:PAP(CC): When an agent is non-derivatively morally responsible for an action, he is so partly in virtue of having been able to have done otherwise.I think the fundamental intuition behind an alternative possibilities requirement on moral responsibility is found in PAP(CC). Although PAP does not entail PAP(CC), if one rejects PAP(CC), then, absent other arguments in favor of PAP, one has little reason to accept PAP. I argue that PAP(CC) is false. Some Frankfurt examples—so-called “complete blockage” cases—are successful counterexamples to PAP(CC). However, since PAP does not entail PAP(CC), it remains possible that PAP is true even if PAP(CC) is false. For this reason, I consider two other arguments offered in support of PAP: the W-defense and the Deontic Maxim Defense. I argue that these arguments are unsuccessful. I conclude that even if PAP is in fact true, we have very little reason to believe that it is. After more than forty years of debate, it is time to say farewell to PAP

Automated Hearing Screening

https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_aud_facbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

A Case Against the Zero: Rethinking Grades and Grading Scales

During this panel discussion UNC faculty share their experiences rethinking grading scales and their use of no-zero grading. Panelists discuss their impetus for this change and the impact on student success and their own practice

Lightning Talks Session 1

Multiple presentations on a variety of topics: Signaling Inclusivity in Genetics Growing [and Assessing] Great Teachers: A Program Level Assessment Measuring the Effectiveness of Peer-Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction Services at Tutorial Services: A correlation study between student use of peer-tutoring, supplemental instruction assistance and end-of-semester grades Summer Support Initiative for First-Time Students Implementing Principles of Smart Teaching: Assessment of their Effectiveness with Undergraduates in CSD The Serengeti CURE: an Authentic Research Experience in an Online Biology Laborator

Perspective: Impact of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Report on the Process for the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommended steps to redesign the process of developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are based on 5 guiding principles (enhance transparency; promote diversity of expertise and experience; support a deliberative process; manage biases and conflicts of interest; and adopt state-of-the-art processes and methods). Using these principles and recommendations, the USDA and HHS updated the process for developing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines, including the process for appointing members and managing the work of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Modifications included having public comment on the topics and questions to be addressed by the Federal Advisory Committee, reviewing professional and financial activities on potential appointees to the committee prior to their appointment, redesigning the website to provide status updates on the work of the committee as analytical frameworks and draft conclusions were developed, strengthening the approaches for conducting systematic reviews, and adding a public meeting for discussion of the final report before its submission to the Secretaries of the USDA and HHS. Because the DGA is reviewed and updated every 5 y, it is possible to learn from each cycle what works well and where improvements in the process can be implemented. The current article illustrates, from the perspective of the advisory committee, the impact of the NASEM report on the development of the scientific report by examining changes in the process consistent with the 5 principles