As Clifford Geertz describes it, culture is comprised of the social structures of which we attach significance to that ultimately gives our lives meaning. In the case of Taiwan, a 20th century democratic revolution, coupled with the introduction of modernism into Taiwanese literature, attaches significance to feelings of nostalgia, the importance of memories, and the struggle to find one's personal identity in a rapidly changing environment. This essay explores these themes under the guise of Bai Xian-Yong's "Taipei People" and Zhu Tian-Xin's "The Old Capital." Despite being written nearly forty years apart, these two books use modernist storytelling to directly challenge each other's idea of the Taiwanese collective consciousness, which greatly contributes to the narration of the formation of Taiwanese culture post-1949. What emerges from a tumultuous 20th century is an assured, independent Taiwanese culture that both accepts foreign influence and also expresses a distinct personality.

This study is a systematic review of the current literature surrounding intergenerational trauma in Southeast Asian (SEA) immigrant/refugee families. This review was guided upon using the 2020 PRISMA criteria and framework. After a parallel search across several databases, 14 articles were qualified for inclusion after reviewing exclusion criteria. Across these articles, five main aims were examined: the effect of trauma on parent mental health, the effect on child mental health, the effect on parenting, the effect on family dynamics/relationship, and an exploratory aim on current recommended interventions. The literature indicated that negative mental health outcomes were often present in parents and affected the quality of parenting. Child mental health was negatively affected through close interactions with the parent. Certain parenting behaviors and styles were associated with traumatized parents, which led to the development of attachment issues in children. Family dynamics and relationships were impacted by conflicting cultures and beliefs they were raised with in the United States and the ones taught at home by their parents. Current recommendations for interventions involve therapy, understanding culture and context of trauma, and as well as utilizing the support and influence of the community. There are many gaps in current research and more examination of intergenerational trauma amongst SEA populations is needed to better understand this complex issue in order to improve the relationship between parents, children, and overall family suffering from the effects of intergenerational trauma. Further recommendations for research, gaps in literature, and implications for this study are explored.

The rise in urban populations is encouraging cities to pursue sustainable water treatment services implementing constructed treatment wetlands (CTW). This is especially important in arid climates where water resources are scarce; however, research regarding aridland CTWs is limited. The Tres Rios CTW in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, presents the tradeoff between greater water loss and enhanced nitrogen (N) removal. Previous research has suggested that water loss due to transpiration is replaced by a phenomenon termed the Biological Tide. This trend has been documented since 2011 by combining transpiration values with a nitrogen budget. Calculations were made at both the marsh and whole-system scale. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the Biological Tide enhances N uptake throughout the CTW. Results indicate that about half of the nitrogen taken up by the vegetated marsh is associated with new water entering the marsh via the Biological Tide with even higher values during warmer months. Furthermore, it is this phenomenon that enhances N uptake throughout the year, on average, by 25.9% for nitrite, 9.54% for nitrate, and 4.84% for ammonium at the whole-system scale and 95.5%, 147%, and 118% within the marsh. This paper demonstrates the Biological Tide’s significant impact on enhanced N removal in an aridland CTW.