Bioaccumulation Trends of Ten Metals in a Pelagic Food Web of Lake Champlain

Many metals have serious toxic effects when ingested by aquatic organisms, and the process of bioaccumulation intensifies this problem. A better understanding of bioaccumulation trends of anthropogenically introduced metals in freshwater food webs is necessary for the development of effective management strategies to protect aquatic organisms, as well as organisms (including humans) that consume top-predator fish in these food webs. Various fish species representing different trophic levels of a pelagic food chain were sampled from Lake Champlain (VT/NY). Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was used to determine levels of chromium, copper, cobalt, cadmium, lead, zinc, nickel, rubidium, cesium and potassium in the fish samples. Metal concentrations for chromium, cobalt, nickel, cesium, cadmium (<5.0 ppm) and lead (<10.0 ppm) were found to be all below detection limits. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios were analyzed to determine the trophic relationship of each fish species. Stable isotope and AAS metal data were used in tandem to produce linear regressions for each metal against trophic level to assess biomagnification. Both potassium and zinc showed no biomagnification because they are homeostatically regulated essential trace metals. Copper was under the detection limits for all fish species with the exception of the sea lamprey; but showed a significant biodiminution among the invertebrates and lamprey. Rubidium, a rarely studied metal, was shown to increase with trophic level in a marginally significant linear relationship suggesting biomagnification is possible where more trophic levels are sampled.

Rowing Biomechanics: Technique Changes with an Increase of Power Demand

The sport of rowing has become more popular in the past decade. While it is a relatively low impact sport, injuries can occur, specifically to the ribs (Karlson K. A., 1998) and more often in female athletes (Hickey, Fricker, & McDonald , 1997). It has been proposed that as the athlete rows, applying a cyclical load to the body, the mid trapezius fatigues and is unable to resist the force produced during the drive phase (Warden S. J., Gutschlag, Wajswelner, & Crossley, 2002). Once this happens, the scapulae are then pulled anterio-laterally which increases the compression force on the ribs, increasing the risk of injury. The rowing motion of 12 female varsity and club rowers was tracked as they completed a fatiguing rowing test on a rowing ergometer. Results showed that the curvature of thoracic spine changed throughout the rowing cycle but did not change with increasing power level. The transverse shoulder angle decreased (the upper back was less straight) as power level increased (R2=-0.69±19), suggesting that the scapula moved anterio-laterally. This may be that as it tired, the mid-trapezius was unable to hold the scapulae in position. The decreasing transverse shoulder angle when the power level is increased indirectly supports the fatiguing of the retractor muscles as a mechanism of injury. It would be valuable to understand the limitations of each athlete and to be able to prescribe the optimal training zone to reduce the risk of injury.

Vicarious Power: The Interpersonal Transference of Power

Previous research on power has predominantly focused on power as an intrapersonal process. Relatively little research, however, has investigated the interpersonal transference of power. In the present research, I documented the vicarious power effect – people vicariously feel more powerful when their psychological connections with powerful figures were made salient. Compared to participants in the control conditions, who wrote about either a non-powerful figure with whom they felt psychologically connected or a powerful figure with whom they did not feel connected, participants writing about a powerful figure with whom they felt psychologically connected reported a higher level of power. This effect was true for both a real-life powerful figure (Study 1) and a powerful fictional character (Study 2). In Study 3, I found that, compared to participants in the control conditions (non-powerful but close, powerful but not close), participants writing about their experience of taking a picture together with a close and powerful person (close and powerful condition) made a lower counteroffer in a seller-buyer negotiation task. Furthermore, in Study 4, I found that, compared to participants in the control conditions (non-powerful but close, powerful but not close), participants writing about a close and powerful person (close and powerful condition) were more likely to engage in self-beneficial lying behaviors and less likely to engage in other-beneficial lying behaviors. The research sheds light on vicarious psychological processes in general. Remaining issues and directions for future research are discussed.

Governing Big Data: The Political Economy of Power, Knowledge and Consumer Finance in the Digital Age

This dissertation offers a critical international political economy (IPE) analysis of the ways in which consumer information has been governed throughout the formal history of consumer finance (1840 – present). Drawing primarily on the United States, this project problematizes the notion of consumer financial big data as a ‘new era’ by tracing its roots historically from late nineteenth century through to the present. Using a qualitative case study approach, this project applies a unique theoretical framework to three instances of governance in consumer credit big data. Throughout, the historically specific means used to govern consumer credit data are rooted in dominant ideas, institutions and material factors.