Montclair State University Digital Commons

Evelyn Hock Diploma

New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:44:01 PDT

Image of the diploma of Evelyn Dorothy Hock '25. Evelyn Hock wrote the Montclair State Alma Matter.

Examining Students’ Covariational Reasoning Through Mathematical Modeling Activities Embedded in the Context of the Greenhouse Effect

Debasmita Basu — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 08:10:08 PDT

The greenhouse effect is one of the most pressing environmental as well as social issues of the present age. In news media and weather reports, most of the essential information about the phenomenon is expressed in forms of graphs and pictures. However, the interpretation of such graphs is challenging for students; they often focus on the shape of the graphs, overlooking the covariational relationships between the concerned quantities. Building on the framework of critical mathematics literacy and social justice mathematics, in this study I aimed to explore the power of dynamic mathematical modeling activities for engaging students in covariational reasoning and developing their understanding about the greenhouse effect. More specifically, this study aimed to explore a) the extent to which students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect and covariational reasoning changed as a result of their engagement with the mathematical modeling activities, and b) the ways in which students may reason covariationally as they engage with mathematical modeling activities in the context of the greenhouse effect.

To engage students in covariational reasoning in the context of the greenhouse effect, three NetLogo dynamic simulations and accompanied activities were developed and implemented in two sixth-grade classrooms in the form of a whole class design experiment. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the form of pre- and post-assessments and video recordings of whole class discussions and small group interactions. The analysis of the quantitative data shows a significant improvement in post-assessment scores of the treatment group students compared to their peers in a control group. The qualitative analysis that followed helped me understand the meaning of the improved post-assessment scores by studying students’ reasoning as they interacted with the simulations. The analysis of the qualitative data indicates that the design of the three simulations and activities as well as the targeted questioning provided a productive space for students to engage in different levels of covariational reasoning according to Carlson et al.’s mental action framework and helped them identify the causes and the consequences of the greenhouse effect.

Dealing with Hurricanes: Coastal Community Adaptation to Socioeconomic and Environmental pressures in Yaguajay, Central Cuba

Victoria Ramenzoni — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 16:00:00 PDT

Hurricanes can cause extensive long-term damage to small-scale fisheries. Yet, information is scarce on how these communities are impacted by extreme events in the Caribbean as in other parts of the world. Focusing on an artisanal fishery in Yaguajay, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, this presentation discusses how local fishermen have perceived and responded to the different damages brought about by Hurricane Irma in September 2017 and inundations associated with Storm Alberto in May 2018. Combining discussions and short interviews carried out pre and post-hurricane, this study identifies major environmental impacts and matching responses. In addition, the article sheds light on the evolution of small-scale fishing communities in Cuba and their current organization. Results show that extensive biodiversity loss in terms of mangrove coverage, changes in salinity, and the quality of coastal environments has affected capture composition and sizes. As a consequence of these changes, fishermen are adjusting their effort and fishing intensity to match perturbations. Findings underscore the need to identify the synergistic relations that may exist between prior environmental degradation and different extreme events such as drought, hurricanes, and excessive precipitation. The interrelation of these factors may result in compounded aggravated impacts that may unfold over longer temporal scales and not just as a one-time event. Authors conclude by underscoring the importance of including the study of extreme events in fishery management plans to develop efficient restoration and mitigation options that can foster the development of hurricane resistant communities.

Viability and Ecology Based tools for Studying Antibiotic Resistance

Nicole Fahrenfeld — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 16:00:00 PDT

Over 2 million people are sickened and at least 23,000 people die in the U.S. of antibiotic resistant infections each year. Community acquired infections in humans have been linked with environmental sources of antibiotic resistance. Mitigating the risk of environmental AR infections requires understanding hot spots for AR as well as the potential for horizontal gene transfer. A series of case studies will be presented towards understanding hot spots of antibiotic resistance genes in viable cells.

Exploring the Role of Evaporation and Precipitation Rates on Mangrove Island Morphology

Isamar M. Cortés — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 12:18:33 PDT

Mangroves are salt tolerant species of trees that grow in tropical and subtropical environments. Mangroves provide ecosystem services to societies along marine environments, including storm protection, coastal biodiversity, and blue carbon storage. However, as the importance of mangrove ecosystems has become clearer over recent years, their coverage has been reduced through mismanagement and climate impacts. For instance, in terms of climate warming, mangroves cannot survive under abnormally high rates of net evaporation when soil stressor concentrations (e.g., sulfate, sulfide) increase above threshold conditions. To study the effects of this climate driver phenomenon on mangrove islands, we are examining mangrove islands, which typically grow on carbonate platforms, isolated from human activities. In high net evaporation zones (where evaporation is greater than precipitation) such as Florida, Bahamas or Puerto Rico, the soil moisture potential is altered by high net evaporation, which affects mangrove islands by undergoing species zonation and die off within the interior. In contrast, mangrove islands within a low or negative net evaporation zone (relative to precipitation), such as Belize, are typically large and grow to the maximum extent allowed by the carbonate platform. We quantified this phenomenon with a simple mathematical model that relates island vegetated area with the rate of net evaporation, the hydraulic conductivity of the soil, and the salinity threshold for mangrove growth (used as a proxy for soil stressor concentration). We estimated net evaporation rates in the Caribbean using existing meteorological data for the last ~20 years, and the hydraulic conductivity as a function of the area of red mangroves versus black mangroves, which requires remote sensing analysis. Areas with a greater proportion of red mangroves can tend to have higher hydraulic conductivity while those with a greater proportion of black mangroves tend to have lower hydraulic conductivity. Preliminary model results coupled with data from a number of mangrove islands in the Caribbean support the initial premise that an increase in net evaporation reduces mangrove vegetated area. Future work will focus on expanding the mangrove island database and better constrain the input parameter values with local observations.

Characterization of Red Mangrove Proproot Epibiont Communities of St. Johns USVI

Alan M. Buob — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:02:09 PDT

In May 1989, Hurricane Hugo impacted St. Johns USVI destroying the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Forest of Great Lameshur Bay. The impact restricted the tidal flow and caused massive destruction in the mangroves. Hurricane Marilyn (1995) hit St. John causing the storm wall formed by Hugo to be washed out. It returned limited tidal flow to the dead forest. It was not until a subsequent hurricane in 2010 broke down the sediment wall and natural flow returned. Up to that point, water quality restricted any fouling organisms’ survival on the prop roots. By using photo identification, three different bays of St. John were assessed to identify the local fouling community diversity; comparing the new fouling communities of Great Lameshur to that of Hurricane Holes community. The second objective of this study was to use remote sensing data to map the growth rate of the forest. The subsequent Great Lameshur study years showed an increase in similarity to Hurricane Hole as the years progressed. Which is in line with the remote sensing data showing the forest slowly recovering. Given enough time, Great Lameshur Bay’s fouling community is expected to increase in diversity and become similar to undisturbed sites.

The Perversion of Dignity in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions

Lilian Nyanchama Mayaka — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 08:49:17 PDT

The goal of this thesis is to study Tsitsi Dangarembga’s allegory of aid which exploits the recipient’s precarity in her first novel Nervous Conditions. More specifically, I would like to explore how such aid dehumanizes the recipients it purports to help by imposing the giver’s goals and agenda on the recipient. I argue that because aid is after all underwritten by an ethics of power, the recipient’s helplessness in the acceptance of this gift, i.e., the precarious socioeconomic conditions which necessitate the acceptance of such aid, subject the recipient to the giver’s will, up to and even in the pursuit and realization of the giver’s goals and mission. Following Kant’s ideas on humanity and dignity, I argue that the recipients of such aid thus effectively become the means of attaining the giver’s goals. I discuss the novel’s portrayal of formal education, which is anchored to the mission; the missionaries select recipients who demonstrate academic potential, and a willingness to endure and obey their norms of success. He or she is consequently plucked out of the community, and fostered in the mission. And because the recipient is powerless in his or her choice to refuse the missionaries’ gift, he or she is inevitably tethered to the giver’s will and whims. By privileging education, the mission and its emissaries are portrayed as just another facet of social and hegemonic control posing as charity.

The second part of my thesis explores some ways the recipients maintain their dignity in spite of such hegemonic control. I propose that Dangarembga’s novel humanizes her characters’ suffering, hence their humanity. In the voice of Tambu, the characters’ stories of survival elevate their humanity as they navigate their precarity, and negotiate the terms of a life worth living. Following Tambu’s journey from the village to Sacred Heart, which detours into the lives of the characters in the novel, Dangarembga invites us to envision the characters’ humanity as we engage in the novel’s politics. She does not allow her characters, and the reader, to lose sight of their worth as human beings. They live, in spite, or maybe because of the socioeconomic conditions which threaten to control them. Thrust in this limelight, the characters demonstrate their humanity in their continuous search for meaningful forms of self definition, and survival. And therein lies their dignity.

Predictive Biomarkers Demonstrating the Effect of Levels of Copper and Zinc from Exposure to World Trade Center 9/11 Particulate Matter on Human Esophageal Cells in vitro

Rossara Nunez — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 13:10:32 PDT

The World Trade Center Attack on September 11th, 2001 was the largest environmental attack that has ever happened in New York City. In the aftermath of the collapse of the twin towers, many first responders and rescue workers were exposed to the resulting clouds of dust. This toxic material has been shown to be responsible for membrane damage in human lung cells and can possibly become the cause of increased oxidative stress. The underlying factors that produce these findings are thought to the synergistic effects of the many components found within the market street sample. Complete analysis of the heavy metal found in this toxic material were determined by Paul Lioy of Rutgers University and his team of twenty plus scientists. Since Copper and Zinc, found in known quantity in the dust are together known to be antioxidants, studies were performed to determine changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) identified under conditions of increases of these particular heavy metals. Most recently gastroesophageal related diseases have been seen in many first responders. Previously only diseases of the lungs were of great concern. Many first responders have developed Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms since 2005 and long-standing reflux symptoms that are not treated will lead to Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. This study will compare human esophageal and lung cells and will try to determine if high concentration of zinc and copper can reduce or increase oxidative stress in vitro cells exposed to various concentrations of WTC dust.

Examining a Hypothyroid Model of Depressive Symptoms in Mice: Tests of Behavioral Measures

Hannah S. Ovadia — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 10:49:27 PDT

There is abundant evidence suggesting that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is closely related to thyroid hormone (TH) function, but the exact nature of this relationship is poorly defined in the literature. The present study examined whether hypothyroidism could viably model symptoms of MDD in mice using established behavioral paradigms. It was expected that hypothyroidism would produce anhedonia-like behavior in the saccharin preference test, anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze, and spatial memory impairment in the object placement task. C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to one of three groups, which received either a control diet, diet infused with 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (hypothyroid group), or a combination of 6-propyl-2-tiouracil and thyroxine (hyperthyroid group). Each group had ad libitum access to food and water for 4 weeks prior to behavioral assessment. Contrary to our hypothesis, hypothyroid mice did not exhibit more anhedonia or greater spatial memory impairment than controls. However, they did spend a significantly lower percentage of time in the open arms of the elevated plus-maze compared to both the control and hyperthyroid groups. Additionally, hyperthyroidism was associated with increased preference for sweetened water over tap water in the saccharin preference test. These findings raise interesting questions about how TH could regulate specific components of the depressive phenotype, which will be discussed at length. This project also lays the groundwork for a larger investigation of glutamate neurotransmission in hypothyroidism-induced depression. As a future extension of this research, AMPA receptor binding will be examined in the obtained cortical and hippocampal tissue so that relationships between depressive behaviors, thyroid status, and glutamatergic activity can be explored in a truly integrated fashion.

"Making Hegel Talk English" — America's First Women Idealists

Dorothy G. Rogers — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 07:47:30 PDT

Assessment of Mean Annual Precipitation and pCO₂ Effect on C₃ Land Plant Carbon Isotope Fractionation

Woohee Kim — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 12:04:59 PDT

Modern carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels are well known from instrumental observation (just exceeded 415 ppmv on May 13th, 2019). CO₂ levels (pCO₂) in the past, however, are difficult to obtain, especially for geologic time older than 800 thousand years (kyr). Many proxies have been used to infer past CO₂ levels in the geologic records, but the results are often incomplete and inconsistent. Here, I assess the uncertainty of a new pCO₂ proxy that has great potential to reconstruct continuous pCO₂ records across the entire Phanerozoic. This new proxy is based on stable carbon isotope fractionation (Δ¹³C) of C₃ land plants because growth chamber experiments and field observations suggest pCO₂ goes up as Δ¹³C increases for pCO₂ ranges from 198 to 4200 ppm. Although this proxy has been applied widely in the Cenozoic, recent studies raise concerns that the Δ¹³C of C₃ land plants can be affected by mean annual precipitation (MAP), plant species and mean annual temperature (MAT) in addition to pCO₂. Modern C₃ land plants reveal a positive correlation between Δ¹³C and MAP, as well as MAT. The effect of both MAP and CO₂ on Δ¹³C, however, is unknown, making it difficult to interpret the carbon isotope signals in the sedimentary records. The main objective of this work is to assess the extent to which the uncertainty of pCO₂ reconstruction in the geological records can be reduced given independent knowledge of MAP and MAT. I hypothesize that if MAP is known at any given time in the geologic past, then pCO₂ can be estimated with reduced uncertainty. This hypothesis is tested by accounting for changes in MAP in the Quaternary using multi-regression relationship obtained from large modern dataset. Least square multi-regression suggests +0.2‰ changes in Δ¹³C per 100 mm yr^-1 changes in MAP while holding pCO₂ constant, and -1.8‰ changes in Δ13C per 100 ppm changes in pCO₂ while holding MAP constant [Δ¹³C = 25.1 + (0.002) * MAP - (0.02) * pCO₂ (r² = 0.40, p < 0.0001)]. This study provides potential for accounting for changes in MAP usage of this regression equation to offer more precise pCO₂ estimates in the geological records. The reduction in pCO₂ uncertainty using this unique proxy can help better understand how climate will change in the future due to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.

Leadership Conceptualization : The Construct

Jessica Lee Francavilla — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:57:33 PDT

In the last two decades, the leadership conceptualization literature, already shrouded in confusion, has broadened from the traditional, hierarchical view to encompass systemic views that characterize leadership as a process, leadership as a property of the system, and leadership as an outcome. This study seeks to clarify the leadership conceptualization construct by (1) separating it from the leadership construct into its own construct to juxtapose the components of the four theories; (2) proposing and examining an antecedent to leadership conceptualization, leadership experience; and (3) exploring the component structure of leadership conceptualization to see if the range of leadership beliefs are developmental or independent. Two hundred and eighty-seven college student leaders and non-leaders were surveyed in their conceptualization of leadership as a process, as a property of a system, and as an outcome. Responses were correlated at the scale level to determine overlap between measures and theories and categorized into groups corresponding to theory while independent t-tests were used to highlight differences in conceptualization between leaders and non-leaders. Results showed that leaders and leaders differ in their conceptualization of leadership at the systemic level. They also revealed weak but significant relationships between theoretical components and suggested that leadership conceptualization is comprised of an independent set of beliefs. Implications for cognition, adult development, and leadership research and application are discussed.

Perceptions of Age, Maturity, and Self-Control

Nicole S. Troy — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:25:33 PDT

Race is a major source of bias in person perception. Decades of research have shown, for example, that non-Black perceivers tend to see Blacks as threatening (Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003; Wilson, Rule, & Hugenberg, 2017), and that such threat stereotypes may feed into biased age judgements, such that Black adolescents are also judged to be older than same-aged White adolescents (Goff, Jackson, Di Leone, Culotta,& DiTomasso, 2014). Other work has examined possible consequences of such stereotypes. For example, some work has shown that Black children are perceived more as troublemakers than their White counterparts, and that teachers may be especially more likely to inflict harsher punishments to Black students even for small infractions (Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015). I followed up on this work to explicitly examine the link between age perceptions and one component of troublemaking behavior: self-control. Participants viewed the faces of White and Black adolescents aged 12 to 18 and judged either the age of each target (a preliminary study) or the extent to which each target was likely able to exert self-control (the current thesis). I found that although perceivers showed a strong bias to judge the Black adolescents as older than the White adolescents, they did not ascribe Black targets more self-control. Furthermore, confirming the primary hypothesis, the positive correlation between perceived age and perceived self-control was much stronger for White targets than Black targets. The results suggest that although people may see Black adolescents as older than White adolescents, these adolescents may not benefit from other related perceptions that come along with perceived age and maturity. I discuss the implications of these findings for stereotyping and teacher-student interactions.

Microbial Community, Functioning, and Its Relationship with Heavy Metals in an Urban Brownfield

Jay Prakash Singh — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 13:56:39 PDT

The ubiquity of urban brownfields presents a challenge for environmental managers for managing degraded ecosystems that are in close contact with human habitation. Presence of metal contaminants in brownfields further complicate the matters as it cannot be degraded and hence pose a high risk to human and environmental health, and well-being of the local community. However, previous studies indicate that management and restoration of brownfields are possible through the use of low input longer term and sustainable remediation approaches. These sustainable approaches include the use of plants, fungi, and bacteria to increase soil function and mitigate risks from the contaminants. To improve soil function at brownfields, a thorough understanding of their microbial community composition and their responses to metal contamination is required. This understanding is even more critical in brownfields because each brownfield is different from one another. Brownfields differ not only in contaminants but also soil types and climatic context. Therefore, for any restoration and reclamation efforts in brownfields to materialize, it is essential to study the microbial community composition and understand how they respond to contaminants.

Against this backdrop, this dissertation explores the potential of gentle remediation option by understanding the relationship between the microbial community composition and function at Liberty State Park, a unique urban brownfield. LSP is a unique site because of the abundant growth of under-story and over-story vegetation since its abandonment five decades ago. Since vegetation at this site has flourished well, it provides an opportunity to learn more about this ecosystem, which is in the process of natural restoration. We characterized the microbial community, analyzed phosphatase activity, and quantified the metal contamination. Further, we examined the relationship soil heavy metal concentrations, microbial community, soil organic carbon content, bacterial density, and extracellular phosphatase activity as a proxy of ecosystem functioning.

We also investigated the relative importance of biotic factors (inoculum) and abiotic factors (soil base) on the extracellular enzymatic activities in a reciprocal microbial inoculation experiment. To this end, we cross-inoculated microbial communities between two heavy metal-contaminated soils, with high and low extracellular enzyme activities, respectively. We measured extracellular phosphatase activity, a proxy for soil function, after self- and cross-inoculation of microbial communities into sterilized soils. We also analyzed the microbial community composition and explored its relationship with phosphatase activity.

Finally, we studied the effect of bioaugmentation in chromium spiked, autoclaved soil on plant productivity and soil enzyme function. We also examined the translocation of metal from the soil system to belowground biomass and aboveground biomass. We also analyzed the phosphatase activity to investigate the relationship between soil function and plant-microbe interaction. The dissertation sheds light on the composition and functioning of urban brownfield soils. A deeper understanding of these unique ecosystems can mediate successful remediation, restoration and urban sustainability.

A Hybrid Data Mining Approach for Identifying the Temporal Effects of Variables Associated with Breast Cancer Survival

Serhat Simsek et al. — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 11:46:36 PDT

Predicting breast cancer survival is crucial for practitioners to determine possible outcomes and make better treatment plans for the patients. In this study, a hybrid data mining based methodology was constructed to differentiate the variables whose importance for survival change over time. Therefore, the importance of variables was determined for three different time periods (i.e. one, five, and ten years). To conduct such an analysis, the most parsimonious models were constructed by employing one regression analysis method—Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO), and one metaheuristic optimization method, namely a Genetic Algorithm (GA). Due to the high imbalance between the number of survivals and deaths, two well-known resampling procedures—Random Under-sampling (RUS) and Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE)—were applied to increase the performance of the classification models. In the final stage, two data mining models, namely Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Logistic Regression (LR), were utilized along with 10-fold cross-validation. Sensitivity analysis (SA) was conducted for each model to identify the importance of each variable for a certain model and time period. The obtained results revealed that certain variables lose their importance over time, while others gain importance. This information can assist medical practitioners in identifying specific subsets of variables to focus on in different periods, which will in turn lead to a more effective and efficient cancer care. Moreover, the study findings indicate that extremely parsimonious models can be developed by adopting a purely data-driven approach, rather than eliminating the variables manually. Such methodology can also be applied in treating other types of cancer.

The Political Economy of Latin America : Reflections on Neoliberalism and Development After the Commodity Boom

Peter R. Kingstone — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 10:43:21 PDT

Second edition.

Democratic Brazil Divided

Peter R. Kingstone et al. — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 10:36:05 PDT

"Un déjeuner avec M. Maeterlinck": Intermedial Experimentation in Adolphe Brisson's Portraits intimes

Elizabeth Emery — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 18:42:26 PDT

The remarkably intermedial circulation of Adolphe Brisson's Portraits intimes places them closer to travel narratives than has been previously acknowledged. This essay argues that reporters such as Brisson transformed fleeting interviews with illusive subjects such as playwright Maurice Maeterlinck into meaningful exchanges; they drew upon associations with time-consuming painterly "portrait sessions" to enhance the prestige of their own journalistic work. By pretending to spare readers the hardship of travel, reporters provided the reading public with seemingly privileged access to inner sanctums while reinforcing the importance of the press for nineteenth-century French society.