A comparison of fish communities between a developed and an undeveloped lake in northern Michigan

Rivers, Lakes, & WetlandsLakes tend to attract human development, but the effects of human development on lakes and their fish communities have not been well documented. We compared fish communities in two lakes in Northern Michigan under different levels of human lakeshore development: Burt Lake, which has high levels of human development, and Douglas Lake, which is mostly undeveloped. Over the course of two weeks, we sampled fishes at two similar sites in each lake using minnow traps and seines. The sites were chosen to be similar in habitat complexity, vegetation, and substrate. We compared species richness, diversity (using the Shannon diversity index), abundance in terms of catch per unit effort (CPUE), and standard length distribution of yellow perch between paired sites and between the lakes as a whole. Besides differences in human shoreline development, we looked at differences in nutrients and habitat complexity between sites, to see if these affected fish community as well. We hypothesized that fish community would differ between the lakes. We found that diversity was significantly higher in Burt Lake compared to Douglas, although there was no difference between lakes in terms of richness and abundance. There were other differences in terms of water chemistry, length of game species yellow perch (longer in Douglas Lake) and in terms of which species were found in which sites. We concluded that while human development might indirectly affect fish communities through changing nutrient levels and habitats, fish communities are perhaps more directly affected by factors such as habitat complexity.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61506/1/Dengate_Elizabeth_2008_RLW.pd

A cross-national, cross-sectional study of women's retention and advancement in Information Technology (IT) and Engineering careers – Canada Report

This report offers summary results from the Canada-phase of the Cross-National, Cross-Sectional Study of Women’s Retention and Advancement in Information Technology and Engineering Careers project. Women continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) fields. This research highlights factors that contribute to the retention and attrition rates of women working in engineering and information and communication technology (EICT) jobs across Canada. The primary objective of this study is to identify the impact of welfare state entitlements, job factors, and family/individual circumstances on women’s intent to stay or leave their jobs. Our findings suggest that job-related factors such as dissatisfaction with salary, few promotion opportunities, and long working hours have the biggest impact on job attrition. As well, emotional exhaustion from the interference of work and life, experiences of sexual harassment and sexual microaggressions, exclusion from peer networks, and a lack of institutional/organizational support can create toxic work environments that contribute to women’s decision to leave their jobs. Therefore, supportive workplaces that offer flexible work options to promote work-life balance, good pay, peer inclusion, and work autonomy can improve job retention. Improvements to welfare state entitlements including childcare, parental leave, elder care, and/or illness/injury leave may also reduce the pressures of work-life interference and improve the work-life balance of EICT women who continue to be primary caregivers. The respondents for the Canada survey also highlight the continued presence of gendered informal and formal networks that are male-dominated within EICT workplaces. It remains a challenge to find “good” mentors and mentors of diversity that can assist them with career advancement. Another objective of this study is to evaluate the impact and variation of these circumstances by employment sector and work type. We directly compared the experiences of women working in engineering to computer science and information technology (CSIT), as well as women working in the academic sector to the non-academic sector. Our findings indicate that there are pros and cons to working in each work area and/or sector. In the future, we will compare these results to similar surveys administered in Sweden and Germany to uncover potential similarities and differences in job attrition and retention. Overall, the statistical analysis demonstrates that, despite increased efforts to improve gender equity across STEM fields, gender inequalities, stereotypes, and biases remain problems within EICT in Canada, shaping women’s day to day workplace experiences across employment sectors. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for their support and funding of this project

COVID-19 Caregiving Avalanche: The Impact on Emotional Exhaustion on Female Natural Science and Engineering Academics

Gender disparity persists in the personal caregiving of children and older adults, and in professional caregiving duties, with many workplace policies and cultures favoring the “ideal worker” and presenting significant and continuing barriers to female caregivers’ professional success and well-being. The recent pandemic both highlighted and augmented this disparity as schools, daycares, and adult care facilities closed or implemented restrictions. This study interprets results from the July 2021 Canadian Natural Sciences & Engineering (NSE) Faculty Workplace Climate Survey by empirically assessing the impact on emotional exhaustion of the increased caregiving burden during the COVID-19 pandemic on female academics in the highly masculinized NSE fields. Results indicate that women were more likely to experience emotional exhaustion even when other factors were considered. Collegiality and inclusion were found to be protective factors, illustrating important implications for, and the retention and support of, success and well-being of female NSE academics.La disparité entre les genres persiste dans la prestation de soins personnels aux enfants et aux personnes âgées : certaines cultures et politiques organisationnelles favorisent le « travailleur idéal » et présentent des obstacles importants pour la réussite professionnelle et le bien-être des mères de jeunes enfants et des aidantes naturelles. La récente pandémie a souligné et accru cette disparité : les écoles, garderies et établissements de soins ont fermé complètement ou partiellement, laissant les tâches aux familles concernées. Nous présentons ici les résultats de l’Enquête canadienne sur le climat de travail pour le corps professoral en sciences naturelles et en génie (SNG), menée en 2021 : cette étude empirique analyse l’impact de l’augmentation du fardeau de la prestation de soins pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 sur l’épuisement émotionnel des professeures. Les résultats indiquent que les femmes étaient plus susceptibles d’éprouver de l’épuisement émotionnel que les hommes, et que la collégialité et l’inclusion se sont révélées comme des facteurs de protection

A cross-national, cross-sectional study of women's retention and advancement in Information Technology (IT) and Engineering careers – Sweden Report

This report offers summary results from the Sweden survey of the Cross-National, Cross-Sectional Study of Women’s Retention and Advancement in Information Technology and Engineering Careers project. Women continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) fields. This project highlights factors that contribute to the retention and attrition rates of women working in engineering and information and communication technology (EICT) jobs across Canada, Sweden, and Germany. The primary objective of this project is to identify the impact of welfare state entitlements, job factors, and family/individual circumstances on women’s intent to stay or leave their jobs. Our findings from the Sweden survey suggest that job-related factors such as limited permanent positions, dissatisfaction with salary, few promotion opportunities, and hostile climate are the main reasons for respondents’ job attrition. Therefore, workplaces that offer job security, good pay, and supportive peers, leaders and management can improve job retention. Improvements to welfare state entitlements for students like increased study allowance, grants, and loans, and increases to benefits for illness/injury leave and unemployment may also reduce the pressures of work-life interference. The respondents for the Sweden survey did not support increasing child-related benefits or parental leave. Another objective of this study is to evaluate the impact and variation of these circumstances by employment sector and work type. We directly compared the experiences of women working in engineering to computer science and information technology (CSIT), as well as women working in the academic sector to the non-academic sector. We also compared Sweden-born respondents to respondents born in other countries. Our findings indicate that broadly there is greater job retention within engineering than CSIT despite CSIT respondents expressing more career satisfaction and less workplace alienation. We also find that respondents born in Sweden have more career satisfaction and less workplace alienation compared to respondents born elsewhere. These differences highlight the need to take an intersectional approach to understanding women’s working experiences within EICT in Sweden. In the future, we will compare these results to similar surveys administered in Germany and Canada to uncover potential similarities and differences in job attrition and retention cross-nationally. Overall, the statistical analysis demonstrates that, despite increased efforts to improve gender equity across STEM fields, gender inequalities, stereotypes, and biases remain problems within EICT in Sweden, shaping women’s day to day workplace experiences across employment sectors. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for their support and funding of this project

A cross-national, cross-sectional study of women's retention and advancement in Information Technology (IT) and Engineering careers – Germany Report

This report offers summary results from the Germany survey of the Cross-National, Cross-Sectional Study of Women’s Retention and Advancement in Information Technology and Engineering Careers project. Women continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) fields. This project highlights factors that contribute to the retention and attrition rates of women working in engineering and information and communication technology (EICT) jobs across Canada, Sweden, and Germany. The primary objective of this project is to identify the impact of welfare state entitlements, job factors, and family/individual circumstances on women’s intent to stay or leave their jobs. Our findings from the Germany survey suggest that job-related factors such as limited contract terms, dissatisfaction with salary, few promotion opportunities, and hostile climate are the main reasons for respondents’ job attrition. As well, turnover intention is impacted by experiences of workplace hostility, incivility, and harassment; lack of work-life balance; and workplaces that are gender-biased and/or unsupportive of women. Therefore, supportive workplaces that promote job security, work-life balance, good pay, peer inclusion, and work autonomy can improve job retention. Improvements to welfare state entitlements for childcare, elder care, child-related benefits, parental leave, and illness/injury leave may also reduce the pressures of work-life interference and improve the work-life balance of EICT women who continue to be primary caregivers. The respondents for the Germany survey also highlight the continued presence of gendered informal and formal networks that are male-dominated within EICT workplaces. It remains a challenge to find “good” mentors and mentors of diversity that can assist them with career advancement. Another objective of this study is to evaluate the impact and variation of these circumstances by employment sector and work type. We directly compared the experiences of women working in engineering to computer science and information technology (CSIT), as well as women working in the academic sector to the non-academic sector. Our findings indicate that there are pros and cons to working in each work area and/or sector. Broadly, there is more job retention within the academic sector compared to non-academic sector but there are challenges to obtaining permanent employment in the academic sector. We find no notable differences in the turnover intention of engineering and CSIT respondents. However, engineering respondents are overall more satisfied with their careers and experience less workplace alienation than CSIT respondents. In the future, we will compare these results to similar surveys administered in Sweden and Canada to uncover potential similarities and differences in job attrition and retention cross-nationally. Overall, the statistical analysis demonstrates that, despite increased efforts to improve gender equity across STEM fields, gender inequalities, stereotypes, and biases remain problems within EICT in Germany, shaping women’s day to day workplace experiences across employment sectors. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for their support and funding of this project

The effect of plant nitrogen levels on insect herbivory in northern Michigan sand dunes

General EcologyNitrogen is a limiting factor for plant and animal growth. Some herbivores have illustrated dietary preferences in regard to nitrogen, choosing some foodstuffs over others in order to get the highest possible levels of nitrogen in their diet. Nitrogen is especially low in particular environments, including the sand dunes at Sturgeon Bay of Lake Michigan, which may make selective feeding of herbivores there more common. Nitrogen levels in plants on dunes have been shown to increase with distance from shore, as moisture and amount of vegetation increase. At Sturgeon Bay, we tested the ideas both of increasing nitrogen with increasing distance from shore and the idea that herbivory increases at higher nitrogen levels, with insects showing a preference for the more nutritious plants. We looked at the dune grass Ammophila, analyzing percent nitrogen and amount of herbivory at 6 distances from shore, ranging from 0 to 125 m. We found that nitrogen levels did increase at increasing distances from shore, but there was no significant relationship between herbivory and nitrogen levels. There was a slight trend which appeared in graphs of increasing herbivory on the dune grass at increasing distance from shore. Further research is suggested on this relationship.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61514/1/Dengate_Clune_Foster_Kiel_2008_GE.pd

Defining failed induction of labor

BACKGROUND: While there are well-accepted standards for the diagnosis of arrested active-phase labor, the definition of a "failed" induction of labor remains less certain. One approach to diagnosing a failed induction is based on the duration of the latent phase. However, a standard for the minimum duration that the latent phase of a labor induction should continue, absent acute maternal or fetal indications for cesarean delivery, remains lacking. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes as a function of the duration of the latent phase among nulliparous women undergoing labor induction. METHODS: This study is based on data from an obstetric cohort of women delivering at 25 U.S. hospitals from 2008-2011. Nulliparous women who had a term singleton gestation in the cephalic presentation were eligible for this analysis if they underwent a labor induction. Consistent with prior studies, the latent phase was determined to begin once cervical ripening had ended, oxytocin was initiated and rupture of membranes (ROM) had occurred, and was determined to end once 5 cm dilation was achieved. The frequencies of cesarean delivery, as well as of adverse maternal (e.g., cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, chorioamnionitis) and perinatal outcomes (e.g., a composite frequency of either seizures, sepsis, bone or nerve injury, encephalopathy, or death), were compared as a function of the duration of the latent phase (analyzed with time both as a continuous measure and categorized in 3-hour increments). RESULTS: A total of 10,677 women were available for analysis. In the vast majority (96.4%) of women, the active phase had been reached by 15 hours. The longer the duration of a woman's latent phase, the greater her chance of ultimately undergoing a cesarean delivery (P<0.001, for time both as a continuous and categorical independent variable), although more than forty percent of women whose latent phase lasted for 18 or more hours still had a vaginal delivery. Several maternal morbidities, such as postpartum hemorrhage (P < 0.001) and chorioamnionitis (P < 0.001), increased in frequency as the length of latent phase increased. Conversely, the frequencies of most adverse perinatal outcomes were statistically stable over time. CONCLUSION: The large majority of women undergoing labor induction will have entered the active phase by 15 hours after oxytocin has started and rupture of membranes has occurred. Maternal adverse outcomes become statistically more frequent with greater time in the latent phase, although the absolute increase in frequency is relatively small. These data suggest that cesarean delivery should not be undertaken during the latent phase prior to at least 15 hours after oxytocin and rupture of membranes have occurred. The decision to continue labor beyond this point should be individualized, and may take into account factors such as other evidence of labor progress

Preterm neonatal morbidity and mortality by gestational age: a contemporary cohort

Although preterm birth less than 37 weeks gestation is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States, the majority of data regarding preterm neonatal outcomes come from older studies, and many reports have been limited to only very preterm neonates. Delineation of neonatal outcomes by delivery gestational age is needed to further clarify the continuum of mortality and morbidity frequencies among preterm neonates