Optimizing restoration site selection along the Florida Reef Tract for the coral species Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata

The decline of Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata populations and consequent listing as endangered species has prompted the need for restoration. Since financial resources are limited, optimal sites for restoration should not only be environmentally suitable for outplant survival, but also have a greater capacity to replenish surrounding reefs with larvae. However, in Florida coral larval dispersal patterns and reef connectivity remain poorly studied. Here, we measured long term larval survival and competency of A. cervicornis to calibrate a high resolution (100m) biophysical larval dispersal model of Acropora in the Florida Reef Tract (FRT). This model revealed that there is potential connectivity between reefs along the FRT, with most source reefs being located in the southern portion of the reef track, and most sinks in the northern part. The connectivity matrix was used then to develop a metapopulation model accounting for larval dispersal patterns, current and historic habitat for the species, growth, fecundity, and density-dependent post-settlement mortality for A. cervicornis and A. palmata, which allows comparing the capacity of suitable restoration sites to recolonize other reefs through sexual recruitment. Furthermore, it can determine optimal mesoscale spatial scaling and temporal planning of restoration project. We found that there was regional variation in the optimal spatial scaling, due to differences in intra-reginal connectivity and exiting coral cover. We also found that temporally staggering outplanting effort is important in poor environmental conditions. Considering ecological processes in restoration will enhance genetic diversity, hasten coral recovery, and boost resilience across the entire reef system

An Analysis of Stress in Undergraduate Nursing Students at the University of Maine

Prolonged stress has shown a direct correlation to negative health outcomes. College students are amongst the population of individuals who experience chronic stress due to a variety of factors (e.g. heavy course load, pressures to succeed, and a new environment and social setting). Nursing students in particular are exposed to considerable stress as they face these same stress triggers as other college majors in addition to the strict pass/fail guidelines, clinical experience, and the pressures of life or death experiences when working in the health field. Knowing that stress has a profound impact on health and well-being, nursing students should be offered interventions, tools, and specific measures to relieve the stress they experience as undergraduate students working towards their degree. When comparing sophomore-level (predominantly second-year) and senior-level (predominantly fourth-year) undergraduate nursing students at the University of Maine, it was found that the sophomores had higher levels of perceived stress, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism in comparison to seniors. It is essential that nursing faculty target interventions to reduce stress at each level of the nursing program in order to combat the stressors that these students face and provide an environment that enhances learning and facilitates growth as the students continue with their education

Comparison of Electrochemical and Spectrophotometric pH for Freshwater Analysis

Electrochemical and spectrophotometric pH of the Clark Fork River were studied to assess the data quality of both methods. There have been very few comparisons between spectrophotometric pH and electrochemical pH. This comparison is important because pH electrodes remain the primary method for measuring freshwater pH but the data quality is always questionable. Using the spectrophotometric method for measuring pH could potentially improve pH data quality significantly. This is because spectrophotometric pH relies on absorbance measurements that are very reproducible whereas glass electrode measurements have various sources of inaccuracy that are difficult to quantify. Water samples were collected from August 30, 2017 to January 17, 2020 along the Clark Fork River from near Deer Lodge down to Missoula. Using a pH electrode (YSI, Inc.), the electrochemical pH was measured at the same time the samples were collected. The samples were then brought back to our lab and the spectrophotometric measurements were carried out on a benchtop spectrophotometer (Cary 300, Varian) using a 10 cm path length optical cell. A total of 326 samples have been analyzed. The data was compared by graphing the spectrophotometric pH vs the electrochemical pH as well as the difference between the two pH methods vs spectrophotometric pH. Our preliminary analysis shows that the electrochemical pH is usually higher than the spectrophotometric pH and that the spectrophotometric method is more precise. The standard deviation for the electrochemical method is ± 0.18 pH units and the standard deviation for the spectrophotometric method is ± 0.11 pH units. The next step in this study is to devise experiments to determine the sources of these offsets

Refusing Erasure: Nugent, \u3ci\u3eFire!!\u3c/i\u3e, and the Legacies of Queer Harlem

This study examines the work of two queer Black artists, Richard Bruce Nugent and Marlon Riggs, within the historical and sociopolitical contexts of the Harlem Renaissance and cultural backlash of the late 1980s. Through comparative textual analyses, the author explores fluctuations of Black queer cultural production during the twentieth century and considers how each artist subverts dominant racist and heteronormative ideologies in mainstream society and Black communities. Engaging tools from the fields of critical race theory, queer theory, critical legal studies, and cultural representations of race and sexuality, the author analyzes “Smoke, Lilies and Jade” and Tongues Untied structurally and historically, suggesting that both offer valuable strategies for survival in and resistance against an anti-Black and homophobic society. The works of Nugent and Riggs constitute queer interventions in the larger movement toward racial equality, making visible racial and sexual oppression and positing connections between racial justice and queer liberation. Moreover, positioning Riggs within the legacy of Nugent and the Harlem Renaissance points to the generative potential of radical and transgressive queer Black art

Samantha King Honors Portfolio

Samantha King\u27s honors portfolio captured in January 2020

Locating moral responsibility for war crimes : the new justiciability of 'system criminality' and its implications for the development of an international polity

This thesis examines the question of international responses to system criminality. It argues that the assignation of moral responsibility, expressed in the act of prosecuting individuals, expresses a fundamental conceptual shift towards an international polity. Although political rhetoric, the media and international legislation express the moral dimension of system criminality, the character of humanitarian law and the contingency of its operation is the most concrete indicator of such a development. The status of an embryonic international polity becomes particularly evident- with `individual responsibility' being a criminally liable offence, as set against `collective responsibility' which entails `civil', (non-penal) liabilities. However, the principle of individual criminal responsibility, and therefore the expression of a nascent international polity, is by no means as well developed as it may appear because the moral consensus necessary to fully support this shift is still undeveloped. A thoroughly radical re-orientation to a potential international polity had not fully arrived with the Nuremberg Principles and a paucity of individual prosecutions for system crimes indicates the limits of this development. Nevertheless, the contribution to knowledge of this thesis lies in its finding that with the radical developments of criminal tribunals and the International Criminal Court there has been a qualitative shift in the structure of international legal norms

Shaping Inclusive Markets: How Funders and Intermediaries can Help Markets Move toward Greater Economic Inclusion

Positive progress toward worldwide economic inclusion is not only possible, but can also be made more possible. In Shaping Inclusive Markets, we draw lessons from history on how more inclusive markets have been achieved and highlight ways in which funders and intermediaries can strengthen the conditions for change

Student satisfaction with online academic skills session during the pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Northampton changed its usual mode of delivery from face-to-face to online. This may have involved less adjustment than in other institutions as, pre-pandemic, the university already made use of active blended learning using its virtual learning environment. To capture the student voice concerning satisfaction with this change of mode, professional service teams surveyed students attending embedded academic skills and information literacy workshops. The number of students completing the survey was 385 and overall, students were satisfied with online learning. Nearly two-thirds of respondents listed specific advantages and challenges of online learning. The most frequently mentioned advantage was convenience: being at home; the greater ease of combining study with work or home life; and reduced traveling saving both time and money. Other advantages were the improved quality and functionality of the online sessions, and positive motivational/affective factors. The most common challenge was issues with technology. Other challenges were negative motivational/affective factors, with students reporting lack of concentration and that the sessions were impersonal. A significant challenge was a perceived lack of communication between both students and lecturers, and students and their peers. Age was found to be a salient factor with students over the age of 30 markedly more positive about online learning than their younger peers. Concerns for practitioners in moving to online learning would be around ensuring students have access to the appropriate technology and finding ways to improve communication online. However, with appropriate planning, future provision may benefit from the advantages that online learning affords