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Ebenezer Swamp Ecological Preserve is a valuable location for research. In the past it has been used for environmental, botanical, and zoological studies but this project seeks to understand more about the parasites that utilize the swamp and the species within it to survive. The terrain of the Swamp makes it ideal for opportunistic, non-invasive samplings of soil, water, and fecal material to collect parasites throughout life stages. Tracks, trails, and burrows leading up to and surrounding water access points, dig sites, feces, and food remnants are commonly used to flag a sampling site and host presence. Samples were subjected to filtration to remove sediment, centrifugation to refine samples, flotation to isolate organisms, and microscopy to help link hosts and better examine parasites. Through physical sample analysis, host identifications, and the identification of parasites, better profiles of the health and environmental characteristics of Ebenezer Swamp can be created.
Keywords: parasitology, ecology, conservation, wildlife health
Terror Management Theory (TMT) aims to give an explanation regarding how humans defend against thoughts of our own death. Many studies have shown that strong cultural worldviews are important in keeping thoughts of death out of mind. One of these cultural worldviews is collectivism and, when a person is prompted with thoughts of their own death, thinking about the deaths of others may occur. In this current study, participants (N=120) randomly assigned to receive a death reminder or control prompt were then asked to answer questions about an immortality potion. We wanted to see if being reminded of death would cause them to select group immortality options over the self-immortality option because reminders of death increase feelings of community and closeness with others. Results showed that non-religious, Caucasian
women in the control group were significantly more likely to choose to take the potion as well as share it with others.
Keywords: Terror management theory (TMT), literal immortality, physical immortality, collectivism, death reminders, immortality
In Germany, beer has a far bigger meaning than just an alcoholic beverage. It’s part of Germany's history and culture. Most people associate beer with Germany and the Oktoberfest. However, beer is also very important to a country's economy, as it brings in a lot of revenue and creates a lot of jobs. The focus of this paper will be on the history and cost of beer as well as the importance of beer for a nation's economy, specifically for Germany, as it has a unique beer culture, and the United States.
Even though globalization and convergence of cultures seem to be increasing, there are still big differences in cultures and those create major problems for global companies and their marketing departments. This presentation shows the cultural differences between Germany and the US and how those relate to business and marketing practices in both countries.
Keywords: marketing, culture, marketing practices
Salmon carcasses provide marine-derived nutrients and carbon to freshwater ecosystems, enhancing the diets of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Reciprocally, freshwater macroinvertebrates provide sustenance for juvenile salmon. In this study, we collected benthic macroinvertebrate samples and measured key water quality variables for 20 streams (10 salmon-
bearing and 10 non-salmon streams). We hypothesized that macroinvertebrate total abundance, taxa diversity, and taxa richness would be greater in salmon-bearing versus non-salmon streams, and that community structure would differ between sites. We found that anadromous salmon presence or absence in streams had a significant influence on the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and their taxa diversity. Taxa richness and Shannon’s Diversity Index values in salmon-bearing streams were both significantly greater than in non-salmon streams. Together, these results suggest salmon presence is a strong influence on macroinvertebrate communities in our study area.
Keywords: Macroinvertebrate communities, freshwater ecology, salmon, benthic invertebrates, anadromous
This research paper is about the reasons our society is not ready for the switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. It covers global statistics of electric vehicle production and use as well as facts about ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) bans. It covers the most important hurdles to overcome, which are charging capabilities and infrastructure. The paper also includes information on supply and demand issues with lithium as well as how lithium use in EV batteries is destructive to our planet both environmentally and socially. It also covers lithium recycling and how we do not have facilities to effectively recover recycled lithium.
Keywords: Electric vehicle, EV, lithium, charging, infrastructure
Because of the differences between healthcare systems across the globe, the ability to critique the positives and negatives of each system can be a daunting task. To diagnose the differences between healthcare systems, a better method of classification needs to be developed so that these differences can be more easily understood. This presentation explores a new method of healthcare system classification and applies this classification system to nations alongside statistics that highlight system differences within their categories.
Keywords: Healthcare, Systems, Regulation, Financing, Access