Networking for Philanthropy: Increasing Volunteer Behavior via Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites (SNSs) provide a unique social venue to engage the young generation in philanthropy through their networking capabilities. An integrated model that incorporates social capital into the Theory of Reasoned Action is developed to explain volunteer behavior through social networks. As expected, volunteer behavior was predicted by volunteer intention, which was influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, social capital, an outcome of the extensive use of SNSs, was as an important driver of users' attitude and subjective norms toward volunteering via SNSs.Advertisin

Municipal Sewage Sludge Drying Treatment by an Composite Modifier

A sludge composite modifier (SCM) which comprises a mixture of three cementitious components was proposed for sludge drying and stabilization. Effect of SCM components on sludge moisture content was analyzed using uniform design and the optimum composition of SCM was determined by computer-aided modeling and optimization. To compare the drying effect of SCM, quicklime, and Portland cement, the effects of material content and curing time on moisture content of sludge were also studied. The results showed that the optimum ratio of modifier component was slag/cement clinker/dihydrate gypsum = 0.64/0.292/0.068 and the moisture content of SCM-stabilized sludge decreased with the increasing material content and extending curing time. Besides, the experimental results showed that optimized SCM behaved better than quicklime and Portland cement in sludge semi-drying and XRD analysis revealed that the main hydrated product of stabilization was ettringite, which played an important role in the effective drying process. Sewage sludge stabilized using SCM could be used as an effective landfill cover

Gene Dispersal In Tropical Trees: Ecological Processes And Genetic Consequences.

Tropical trees constitute an ecologically important functional group in terrestrial ecosystems because of the essential roles that they play in sustaining biodiversity and carbon storage. The persistence and evolutionary potentials of tropical trees are, however, increasingly threatened by human-induced rapid changes in abiotic and biotic environments. For long-lived forest trees, gene dispersal by seeds and pollen is critical for tracking shifting climatic niches and for maintaining genetic variation needed to adapt to changing environments. Understanding the potential responses of tropical trees to environmental changes depends in part upon quantifying the rates of seed and pollen dispersal. This dissertation aims to quantify the spatial extent and magnitude of seed and pollen dispersal and their respective genetic impacts in a comparative context, by focusing on four Neotropical tree species that have distinct dispersal and pollination syndromes and life-history strategies. By using parentage inference and inverse modeling, I found that long-distance gene dispersal by seeds is common in these vertebrate-dispersed tropical trees, in which models predicted 1–18% of dispersal events exceeding 1 km. This fraction of pollen dispersal >1 km could reach 10–20% in these species. Furthermore, simulations with gene dispersal distances realistically represented suggest that seed and pollen dispersal limitation can lead to genetic diversity loss in tropical tree populations. By examining the respective genetic impacts of seed vs. pollen dispersal, I found that seed dispersal is the primary force driving spatial genetic patterns in these species. It suggests that the functional loss of seed-dispersing vertebrates, as a result of anthropogenic disturbance in tropical forests, could alter not only tree population spatial structure and ecological dynamics, but also genetic structure and evolutionary dynamics.PHDEcology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113619/1/weina_1.pd

The Necessity of the Role Change for English Teachers in China’s Junior High Schools

In any language classroom, the whole process of management and organization is quite important and critical for language teachers. With the development of the society, the traditional role of Chinese language teachers has been being under great controversy. This paper is going to analyze the middle school students’ learning characteristics and the present roles teachers are playing, emphasizing the necessity of the role change for English teachers in China’s junior high schools. It is hoped that this discussion will contribute to further studies in this area