In the Footsteps of a Shadow: North American Literary Responses to Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa enters the imaginations of these gifted American poets like a frightening medicine, challenging them to self-divide, multiply, renounce stability, and relish in the dead-time that our culture so vehemently abhors. Like a slippery thorn in the myth of bigger, better individualism, Pessoa seems to have privately solicited these poets for disturbing conversations about nothing: a nothing that he promotes as everything. -Larissa Szporluk This lush florilegium of poetic evocations, variations, and inquiries is a beautiful testament to how far and fruitfully Pessoa\u27s shadow reaches. -Richard Zenith This book is one of a kind. What it reveals is how a master of nothingness can inspire an endless fabric of thingness woven by others. This book offers us echoes and reechoes springing from a void. It is a reworking of Genesis. Overwhelming. -Alexis Levitin This superb anthology offers ample testimony to Pessoa\u27s place now in the North American literary mainstream as well as to the momentum towards this distinction that has been building over time. -Onésimo Almeida Source: Publisherhttps://scholarworks.smith.edu/spp_books/1005/thumbnail.jp

Breaking Confirmatory Spells by Implementing Research- Integrated CUREs

Differences in economic and social growth and academic equity, experi ences, and opportunities have left an achievement gap in STEM for underprivileged students. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have attempted to answer these inequalities by leveling the playing field or by offering course-based research opportunities with minimal requirements for background knowledge. When we ask novel questions, more students get the experience of performing research, which lowers thresholds to pursue research and increases participation. Although the learning outcomes have been largely positive, there is a concern that many CUREs are still too scaffolded. In contrast, I propose to develop exploratory, hypothesis-driven CUREs that are integrated into ongoing research (riCURE). By using the opportunities created by the Tiny Earth CURE as a start, I designed exploratory courses that allow for interdiscipli nary hypothesis development, yielding both improved educational outcomes as well as ongoing research dividends

Oxygen Depletion in Lake Waters May Skew brGDGT‐ Inferred Temperatures by More Than 10°C

Abstract Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (brGDGT) paleothermometry is an important tool for paleoclimate research. Oxygen availability has been suggested to skew brGDGT‐inferred temperatures, but the effect is poorly constrained. Here, we examine the influence of dissolved oxygen (DO) on brGDGTs in lacustrine water filtrates. By examini10.1029/2024GL113562ng three subgroups of samples collected within narrow temperature ranges, we more effectively isolate the influence of DO. We find significant correlations between DO and the MBT′5Me temperature index in all three constant‐temperature subgroups. Underlying shifts in key brGDGT abundances indicate the problem is likely to manifest in virtually all existing calibrations. The effects appear at even modest DO depletion, where existing anoxia biomarkers are unlikely to appear. Though creating a quantitative correction is not straightforward, we estimate maximum DO‐driven temperature offsets. These observations highlight a large and hitherto unquantified source of uncertainty in brGDGT‐based paleotemperature reconstructions and underscore the need for further research. Plain Language Summary Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (brGDGT) lipids record the temperature of their environment through their chemical structures. Thus, by measuring their distributions in sedimentary archives, it is possible to reconstruct Earth\u27s temperature back in time. However, these inferred temperatures can be skewed by other environmental parameters, including dissolved oxygen (DO) availability. DO has been shown to affect brGDGT temperatures before, but the effect is not well constrained. Here, we looked at brGDGTs in lake waters from three different locations. To better isolate the influence of DO on brGDGTs, we artificially held temperature constant by grouping samples into three subgroups collected within narrow temperature ranges. We found that, even with temperature held roughly constant in this way, the brGDGT temperature index (MBT′5Me) varied greatly. We also found that this happens even at modest levels of oxygen depletion. We show how this could bias brGDGT reconstructions and highlight the need for more research

Higher Amounts of Habitual Physical Activity Changes the Relationship between Hot Flashes and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease Risk

The menopausal transition is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Hot flashes (HF), a cardinal symptom of menopause, have been associated with increased CVD risk, particularly in perimenopausal women. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is an indicator of endothelial function and a subclinical CVD risk factor. Lower FMD has been associated with more HF. As moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is recognized to reduce CVD risk, our goal was to determine whether higher levels of MVPA change the relationship between HF and FMD in perimenopausal women. Healthy perimenopausal women had HF measured objectively using sternal skin conductance for 24 h. MVPA was determined using 7 days of actigraphy. Endothelial function was measured via brachial artery FMD on the non-dominant arm. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate relationships between variables. Simple slopes analysis was performed to understand how MVPA moderates the relationship between HF and FMD. Lower FMD tended to correlate with a higher objective HF rate, and this relationship was stronger for HF measured during waking hours. Controlling for age and BMI, HF and the interaction between HF and MVPA were significant predictors of FMD. Simple slope analysis showed a significant HF effect on FMD with lower (−1SD) MVPA, whereas there was no significant relationship between HF and FMD with higher (+1SD) MVPA. These results suggest that MVPA moderates the relationship between FMD and objective HFs in perimenopausal women

Towards Connecting Requirements with Developer Artifacts in a Local Context: Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for the paper: Towards Connecting Requirements with Developer Artifacts in a Local Contex

The Gift of Giving: Recognizing Donors and Revealing Donation Amounts

Publicly announcing how much individuals donate on behalf of themselves is a common fundraising strategy. For tribute gifts made on behalf of others, however, charities only reveal donor identities to the honoree with few revealing the size of their contributions. This paper examines the fundraising consequences of recognizing donors with and without information about donation amounts when notifying honorees of gifts made on their behalf. I find that revealing contribution amounts in addition to recognizing donors benefits fundraisers. I find that both the likelihood of giving on behalf of others and contribution amounts increase when honorees learn how much donors give. The results either suggest that fundraisers are leaving tribute donations on the table, or that announcing the size of these gifts may be repugnant and constrains what practices fundraisers can implement

Classical Sanskrit for Everyone A Guide for Absolute Beginners

Surprisingly, Classical Sanskrit for Everyone is indeed for everyone. Playing tour guide to the \u27curious,\u27 the \u27Yoga aficionado,\u27 and the \u27scholar\u27 on an efficient itinerary through Sanskrit grammar and its philosophical cultures, Keating\u27s book is refreshingly accessible and useful. Replete with an excellent analysis of important features of Sanskrit with analogies to English usage and learned \u27pandit points,\u27 it also provides supplemental discussions of Sanskrit poetry and philosophy and up-to-date online resources. Pop culture references and a playfully funny tone, at turns, disarm the uninitiated reader and give the scholar a fresh perspective on how to teach this language to a new generation of eager learners. --Deven M. Patel, University of Pennsylvania Source: Publisherhttps://scholarworks.smith.edu/phi_books/1009/thumbnail.jp

River Valley Radical Futures

River Valley Radical Futures is a gallery exhibition that will be shown at A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton from May 2-25, 2025. This exhibit builds on 2 years of work, supported by a CEEDS Faculty Fellowship, the Humanities and Social Science Labs, and the Design Thinking Initiative. The exhibit will display an illustrated map of the Connecticut River Valley in a future 100 years beyond the fall of capitalism. This map has been co-created with about 13 local groups who build alternative economies in the Valley today. The exhibit will also include work from six local artists who are making artifacts that are excavated from the future envisioned by the map

“My Father Was a Wandering Aramean”: Biblical Conceptions of Migration and Their Relevance to Contemporary Immigration Debates in the United States

Ancient Israel’s foundational story enshrined the notion that its ancestors emigrated to the land of Canaan, a land that they were forced to leave repeatedly and to which they kept returning. Examples of this recurring biblical motif include: Abraham’s emigration from Mesopotamia and subsequent flight from Canaan to Egypt and return to Canaan; Jacob’s forced exile to Mesopotamia and his return to Canaan that is followed by his family’s eventual emigration to Egypt; the Israelites’ journey to Canaan from Egypt; the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem that resulted in forced migrations to Babylonia and Egypt; and the eventual return of some of the exiles to the Persian province of Judea. This national origin story left a significant imprint on a number of biblical laws and narratives that show a deep concern for resident aliens and certain foreigners. This chapter will explore the complexity of the biblical terrain surrounding ancient Israel’s self-perception as an immigrant people and the effect this had on the biblical understanding and treatment of various categories of non-Israelites. Along the way, we will interrogate in what ways the biblical materials and conceptual categories can or cannot be usefully mapped upon and applied to the contemporary immigration crisis in the United States.https://scholarworks.smith.edu/rel_books/1022/thumbnail.jp

The Making of Immigrant Labor: Inequality, Digital Capitalism, and Racialized Enforcement

Book abstract Offers a critique of the economic model of immigration. Most understandings of migration to the US focus on two primary factors. Either there was trouble in the home country, such as political unrest or famine, that pushed people out, or there was a general yearning for “a better life” or “more opportunity,” often conceptualized as the American Dream. Although many contemporary migrants in the United States have been driven by economic interests, the processes of immigration and integration are shaped also by the intersection of a range of noneconomic factors in both sending and receiving countries. The contributors to Beyond Economic Migration offer a nuanced look at a range of issues affecting motives to migrate and outcomes of integration, including US immigration policy and the visa system, labor market incorporation, employment precarity, identity and belonging, and transnationalism relating to female migrants, student migrants, and temporary foreign workers. Beyond Economic Migration argues that, for the dream of fair and equitable migration to be realized, analyses of cross-border movements, resettlement, and integration must pay attention to how migrants’ individual attributes interact with institutional mechanisms and social processes.https://scholarworks.smith.edu/soc_books/1023/thumbnail.jp