Georgia Southern University
  • Statesboro, United States
Recent publications
The effect of reservoir construction on medically important parasites is well known worldwide but lacks information in Vietnam. With 385 active hydropower plants and numerous water reservoirs, Vietnam provides an ideal setting for studying this issue. This study investigated trematode infection in snail first intermediate hosts from three hydropower reservoirs: Hoa Binh, Son La, and Thac Ba. In total, 25,299 snails representing 16 species were examined, with 959 individuals (8 species) shedding identifiable cercariae. Infection prevalence was highest in thiarid snails (5.4%–15.4%), followed by bithynid snails (2.9%–5.8%). Other snail species showed infection prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 2.9%. Infection prevalence varied significantly across regions, with the highest prevalence in Son La, followed by Hoa Binh and Thac Ba reservoirs. However, no significant differences were observed between snails collected from reservoirs versus canals and paddy fields. Morphological identification resulted in nine cercarial morphotypes, with pleurolophocercaria, xiphidiocercariae, and echinostome being the most common types, accounting for 89.2% of all cercarial infections. Echinostome cercariae were found in seven snail species, while the other cercarial morphotypes were shed by two to five species. Gabbia fuchsiana, Parafossarulus manchouricus, and Melanoides tuberculata were the most common hosts, each harboring five cercarial morphotypes, while Radix auricularia only released echinostome type. In conclusion, our findings highlight the endemic presence of trematodes in hydropower reservoirs and emphasize the need to consider the human-environment interaction around these reservoirs for a better understanding of disease transmission risks.
In this article, I outline the academic life of reading, what it demands, and what it has become for too many—an evasion of thinking. I discuss the crisis that the evasion of reading has caused and how the contemporary university has promoted this crisis. I rely on established critics of reading and academic work (J. Hillis Miller and Isabella Stengers) to think myself out of this crisis and to maintain high standards for living an intellectual life. Further, I discuss the habits I built to construct an intellectual life of solitude centered in reading.
This paper investigates if and how auditors consider positive news, related to their clients, when making audit decisions. Using a large sample of US listed companies, we find that auditors charge lower audit fees and are less likely to issue going‐concern opinions when there are a higher number of positive news items related to their clients. Additional analyses show that the influence of positive client news on audit decisions varies with news characteristics, client size, auditor tenure, and auditor size. We also find some evidence that auditors' reactions to positive client news varies with the topic of news, and positive client news has implications for financial reporting quality and accuracy of going‐concern opinions. Collectively, these findings suggest that the media affects auditors' business risk and that auditors are not insulated to positive news.
This article compares the information content of a sample for two competing Bayesian approaches. One approach follows Dennis Lindley's Bayesian standpoint, where one begins by formulating a prior for a parameter related to the problem in question and incorporates a likelihood to transition to a posterior. This contrasts with the usual Bayesian approach, where one starts with a likelihood model, formulates a prior distribution for its parameters, and derives the corresponding posterior. In both cases, the sample information content is measured using the difference between the prior and posterior entropies. We investigate this contrast in the context of learning about the moments of a variable. The maximum entropy principle is used to construct the likelihood model consistent with the given moment parameters. This likelihood model is then combined with the prior information on the parameters to derive the posterior. The model parameters are the Lagrange multipliers for the moment constraints. A prior for the moments induces a prior for the model parameters; however, the data provides differing amounts of information about them. The results obtained for several problems show that the information content using the two formulations can differ significantly. Additional information measures are derived to assess the effects of operating environments on the lifetimes of system components.
Background Neighbourhood-level social determinants of health (‘SDOHs’) have been linked to negative health outcomes which may include elevated risk of firearm-related injury. This study investigates whether certain SDOHs, including average drive time to trauma hospitals, are associated with increased risk of firearm-related violence and death. Methods We execute a cross-sectional examination of pooled firearm incidents (2018–2023) and the relationship of neighbourhood-level SDOHs across the state of South Carolina using negative binomial count regression models. Results Findings indicate that neighbourhood disadvantage, residential mobility, per cent black, the percentage of older housing units, lack of technology access and lack of insurance access were all positively associated with an increased risk of firearm victimisation and death. The relationship between neighbourhoods with longer drive times of firearm incidents to trauma hospitals and firearm-related death was significantly moderated by the per cent black of residents within census tracts. Conclusions Public health neighbourhood risk factors that are detrimental to individuals’ physical health are also associated with increased risk of firearm victimisation. Longer drive times from trauma hospitals increase the risk of death and this relationship disproportionately affects black Americans. The built environment of neighbourhoods and extended drive times to trauma centres ‘doubly disadvantages’ historically disadvantaged populations.
Although grit has gained attention as a trait-like indicator of an individual’s perseverance and passion for long-term goals, core questions regarding its role in determining positive academic outcomes remain unresolved. We examined college students’ (N = 372) grit and its relations to their adoption of achievement goals and engagement in self-regulated learning. In addition, achievement goals were evaluated as potential mediators linking grit to self-regulated learning. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that grit was negatively related to students’ adoption of performance-avoidance goals even after taking growth mindset into account, and it was also linked to students’ use of various self-regulatory strategies and low levels of procrastination. However, achievement goals did not serve as mediators. Instead, we found that grit was directly related to students’ engagement in self-regulated learning. We discuss how findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of grit as well as the applications within academic contexts.
This study explores commercial and charter fisher perspectives on fisheries management within the South Atlantic region of the United States, to inform potential future citizen science projects. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we investigated fisher participation, trust in management, and perceptions of regulatory practices. Data reveals dissonance between fishers' experiential knowledge and the scientific approaches underpinning management decisions, and distrust in managers and scientific data. Fishers' highlight perceived neglect of their expertise and concerns, and feel marginalized and disillusioned with the system. Findings are relevant to the potential for successful citizen science in the region. We introduce the concept of "moral discord" to encapsulate this ethical dilemma: fishers obliged to comply with a system they distrust, yet potentially benefiting or suffering from outcomes of voluntary efforts in citizen science initiatives. This paper addresses the need for researchers to reflect on the ethical implications of engaging fishers in studies that may exacerbate their sense of disenfranchisement. We offer criteria for assessing whether a citizen science project poses a risk of moral discord for participants, and propose guidance for identifying ways that citizen science projects can reduce ethical risks such as collaboration, transparency, and alignment with fishers' needs to rebuild trust.
Course‐based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have beneficial impacts on students and the capacity to provide authentic research experiences that are accessible and beneficial to all students, especially those from Minoritized Groups. CUREs can be presented in a full semester format (cCURE) and shorter modules incorporated into laboratory courses (mCURE). In this study, protein‐centric CUREs were implemented at two minority‐serving Community Colleges (CCs) in introductory biology and chemistry courses. Using validated assessment tools, student self‐reported gains, and institutional data, we examined student outcomes in three conditions: control, mCURE, and cCURE courses. We also examined whether there was a differential impact on student outcomes by Minoritized Group status. Our findings show that students from Minoritized Groups have improved scientific literacy compared to their White/Asian peers in the cCUREs, whereas students from Minoritized Groups in the control course had lower relative scientific literacy. There was no significant difference in STEM Career Interest between the three conditions. Most significantly, the one‐year retention rate of students from the mCURE condition was 24% higher than that seen among control students. Furthermore, retention of students from Minoritized Groups in mCUREs was significantly higher than in control courses, whereas no significant difference was observed in White/Asian students. Taken together, these data suggest that CUREs can be an impactful practice in introductory courses at CCs, especially for students from Minoritized Groups.
This study examines early childhood preservice teachers’ experiences using diverse picture books to create social justice mathematics lesson plans referencing the Learning for Justice (2022) Social Justice Standards. Data analysis of lesson plans and reflective responses indicated that most preservice teachers designed segmented lessons siloing social justice standards, mathematical concepts, and literature selections. They also selected literature and social justice mathematics lessons connecting Identity and Diversity standards more than Justice and Action standards, thereby exhibiting varied preferences and understandings toward specific targeted goals when planning lessons to develop justice-oriented critical consciousness in mathematics settings. Recommendations note explicit opportunities for preservice teachers to engage with diverse picture books and social justice mathematics lesson plans referencing each domain to develop their professional practice.
Amid global challenges like climate change, extinctions, and disease epidemics, science and society require nuanced, international solutions that are grounded in robust, interdisciplinary perspectives and datasets that span deep time. Natural history collections, from modern biological specimens to the archaeological and fossil records, are crucial tools for understanding cultural and biological processes that shape our modern world. At the same time, natural history collections in low and middle-income countries are at-risk and underresourced, imperiling efforts to build the infrastructure and scientific capacity necessary to tackle critical challenges. The case of Mongolia exemplifies the unique challenges of preserving natural history collections in a country with limited financial resources under the thumb of scientific colonialism. Specifically, the lack of biorepository infrastructure throughout Mongolia stymies efforts to study or respond to large-scale environmental changes of the modern era. Investment in museum capacity and training to develop locally-accessible collections that characterize natural communities over time and space must be a key priority for a future where understanding climate scenarios, predicting, and responding to zoonotic disease, making informed conservation choices, or adapting to agricultural challenges, will be all but impossible without relevant and accessible collections.
The success of introduced species often relies on flexible traits, including immune system traits. While theories predict non-natives will have weak defences due to decreased parasite pressure, effective parasite surveillance remains crucial, as infection risk is rarely zero and the evolutionary novelty of infection is elevated in non-native areas. This study examines the relationship between parasite surveillance and cytokine responsiveness in native and non-native house sparrows, hypothesizing that non-natives maintain high pathogen surveillance while avoiding costly inflammation. We made this specific prediction, as this pattern could enable invaders to effectively mitigate pathogen risk in a manner commensurate with the life-history priorities of a colonizing organism (i.e. rapid maturation and high reproductive effort). To test this hypothesis, we measured TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression, markers of pathogen surveillance and cytokine responses (changes in IL-1β and IL-10), regulators of inflammation, to a simulated bacterial infection. In non-native sparrows, we found that as TLR-4 expression increased, IL-1β and IL-10 responses decreased, a relationship not observed in native sparrows. Additionally, higher body condition predicted larger IL-1β and IL-10 responses in all birds. These findings suggest that high TLR-4 surveillance may mitigate strong inflammatory responses in non-native sparrows, with pathological and resource-based costs driving immune variation among and within populations.
This tutorial review addresses the growing need for accessible water quality monitoring in rivers, lakes, and other surface waters. While commercial monitoring systems effectively serve water utilities and regulatory agencies, many communities lack the resources for regular water quality assessment. We present approaches for developing low-cost monitoring systems specifically designed for community-based environmental monitoring programs, citizen science initiatives, and educational applications. Through systematic analysis of 84 peer-reviewed papers on low-cost water quality monitoring, we identify key implementation approaches, common challenges, and successful design strategies. This analysis informs our tutorial recommendations and provides evidence-based guidance for system development. Specifically, we introduce a web-based portal AQWIC – Aquatic Quality Watch Informed by Communities. This open-source portal includes (1) tutorials on how to construct, program, and deploy water quality sensor systems using commercially available, low-cost components; and (2) an interactive water quality database where users can input their collected water quality data with geolocation. We highlight the functionality of AQWIC and review a set of commercially available low-cost water sensors through several deployments both in the United States and Colombia. The sensor module used is capable of measuring conductivity, temperature, pH, and turbidity, providing a cost-effective alternative to traditional testing methods. Our findings demonstrate that the conductivity, temperature, and pH sensors offer reliable and consistent results, aligning with conventional testing methods over several week periods. However, we also observed limitations in the accuracy of the turbidity sensor, emphasizing the need for improved precision at lower turbidity levels. By offering a cost-effective and user-friendly approach to real-time water quality monitoring, this work aims to empower communities to monitor and characterize their water quality and makes significant strides toward ensuring equitable access to safe water for all.
Coastal deoxygenation poses a critical threat to tropical coral reefs. Dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion can cause hypoxia-induced stress and mortality for scleractinian corals. Coral hypoxic responses are species-specific and likely modulated by the duration and severity of low-DO conditions, although the physiological mechanisms driving hypoxia tolerance are not fully understood. In this study, the Caribbean corals Acropora cervicornis, Porites astreoides, and Siderastrea siderea were exposed to either severe (1.5 mg L−1 DO) or moderate (3.5 mg L−1 DO) deoxygenation or a control treatment (6 mg L−1 DO). All corals survived 2 weeks of deoxygenation but exhibited sublethal changes to coral metabolism after 1- and 2-week exposures, compared to controls. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) was suppressed after 1 week in both deoxygenation treatments in A. cervicornis, and after 2 weeks in S. siderea and P. astreoides exposed to severe or moderate treatments, respectively. Respiration rates were lower than controls in A. cervicornis and S. siderea after 1 and 2 weeks of severe deoxygenation. The reduced respiration of P. astreoides after 1 week of moderate deoxygenation returned to control levels in week 2. Overall coral metabolic budgets, assessed by ratios of gross photosynthesis to respiration (Pg:R), were more autotrophic, or photosynthesis-dominant, after 1 week of severe deoxygenation in S. siderea and P. astreoides, while Pg:R was not significantly different in A. cervicornis between treatments. These results reveal that some corals shift their metabolism to tolerate low-oxygen conditions and avoid bleaching or mortality, indicating that metabolic plasticity is an important aspect of coral resistance to deoxygenation.
We measure sea‐level rise (SLR) risk using two indicators: SLR Impact (whether a census tract would be inundated under a 1‐ft SLR) and SLR Exposure (percentage of land inundated under a 1‐ft SLR). SLR‐impacted areas see 0.36%–1% lower mortgage approval rates, with a 10% increase in SLR Exposure reducing approvals by 14 basis points. These patterns reflect future SLR risk expectations rather than past flood or hurricane events. We also find higher denial rates in regions with stronger climate risk beliefs and greater SLR risk. Additionally, SLR‐related mortgage denials disproportionately affect minority groups.
Electric vehicles (EVs) powered by renewable energy are central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.2, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector. A 2023 projection estimated that EV sales in leading EV-importing Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Mauritius, and Seychelles, would exceed 700 million units within 5 years and grow to 4 million by 2037. Despite these optimistic forecasts, the current adoption rate of EVs in SSA remains significantly low. This study extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework to identify key factors influencing EV adoption in the region. The model incorporates facilitating conditions, trust, performance expectancy, social influence, network externalities, and effort expectancy as critical determinants. Empirical results reveal that facilitating conditions (H6) have a 30% stronger effect on behavioral intentions compared to network externalities (H5). These findings highlight the need for robust infrastructure, supportive policies, and favorable conditions to accelerate EV adoption in SSA and shape EV purchase decisions. The paper concludes by discussing the empirical results and proposing directions for future research to deepen understanding of EV adoption dynamics in the region.
This paper finds that price discrimination tends to enhance social welfare under oligopoly when the number of firms in the strong market is higher than in the weak market. As a result, we obtain a fundamental justification for the “meeting competition” defense (MCD) under the Robinson‐Patman Act (RPA): In cases of primary‐line injury, when the strong market is more competitive than the weak market, the use of MCD may allow price discrimination to improve social welfare. This outcome holds true regardless of whether price discrimination occurs in the final good market or intermediate good market, and it is robust to the nature of competition.
Lack of access to sanitation is a challenge that persists globally, with low sewerage connection rates in many low and lower-middle income countries. Engineered non-sewered sanitation (NSS) technologies can meet treatment requirements without sewers, but their relative sustainability varies across potential deployment sites. Here, we characterize the costs and carbon intensity (CI) of three emerging NSS technologies – two community reinvented toilets and one Omni Processor – across 77 countries, identify sustainability performance typologies, and map typology prevalence in countries across the globe. Locality-specific factors such as wages, diet, and material costs drive regional variability in NSS costs by up to 15-fold and CI up to 2-fold. Low-cost, low-CI typologies are predominantly in countries with lower human development indices (HDI 2-4), demonstrating alignment between sanitation need and NSS opportunity space. By elucidating key sustainability drivers and defining typologies, this work can support early-stage decision-making for NSS technology research, development, and deployment.
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5,515 members
Hani Samawi
  • Department of Biostatistics
Daniel V. Hagan
  • Department of Biology
Lorenza Beati
  • Institute for Coastal Plain Science
Robert L Vogel
  • Biostatistics and Epidemiology
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