Feasting in Florida: Evidence of Swift Creek Ceremonial Feasting and Multi-Group Interactions at Byrd Hammock South (8WA30), Wakulla County, FL

During the LSU 2015 Summer Field School at the Byrd Hammock South site (8WA30) in Wakulla County, Florida, excavations uncovered a large stratified pit-fill feature (Length 78 cm x Width 65 cm x Depth 136 cm) associated with the Early Swift Creek culture (A.D. 0 – 500). The Swift Creek have been generally identified as a transegalitarian society, and are believed to have participated in the phenomenon known as the Hopewell Interaction Sphere. The feature, Feature 1 (F1), was located approximately 60 meters south of Burial Mound B on the western edge of a semi-circular midden that surrounded a clean plaza. Profile maps and photographs of F1 showed no evidence of sediment disturbance, such as water marking, suggesting F1 was filled rapidly. Compared to the other units excavated during the Field School, F1 contained the highest quantity of total artifacts, including exotic and rare items such as quartz crystal and mica. The analysis of ceramic designs, faunal materials, and lithic and exotic artifacts, along with evidence of rapid deposition suggests F1 was created during a large-scale feasting event which may have had other events occurring at the same time. Based on the proximity of F1 to Burial Mound B, the overarching event may have been associated with mortuary activities. The feasting activities may have involved inter-local, and possibly extra-local, group interactions at Byrd Hammock South site

The iBRA (implant breast reconstruction evaluation) study: protocol for a prospective multi-centre cohort study to inform the feasibility, design and conduct of a pragmatic randomised clinical trial comparing new techniques of implant-based breast reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) is the most commonly performed reconstructive procedure in the UK. The introduction of techniques to augment the subpectoral pocket has revolutionised the procedure, but there is a lack of high-quality outcome data to describe the safety or effectiveness of these techniques. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the best way of comparing treatments, but surgical RCTs are challenging. The iBRA (implant breast reconstruction evaluation) study aims to determine the feasibility, design and conduct of a pragmatic RCT to examine the effectiveness of approaches to IBBR. METHODS/DESIGN: The iBRA study is a trainee-led research collaborative project with four phases:Phase 1 - a national practice questionnaire (NPQ) to survey current practicePhase 2 - a multi-centre prospective cohort study of patients undergoing IBBR to evaluate the clinical and patient-reported outcomesPhase 3- an IBBR-RCT acceptability survey and qualitative work to explore patients' and surgeons' views of proposed trial designs and candidate outcomes.Phase 4 - phases 1 to 3 will inform the design and conduct of the future RCT All centres offering IBBR will be encouraged to participate by the breast and plastic surgical professional associations (Association of Breast Surgery and British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons). Data collected will inform the feasibility of undertaking an RCT by defining current practice and exploring issues surrounding recruitment, selection of comparator arms, choice of primary outcome, sample size, selection criteria, trial conduct, methods of data collection and feasibility of using the trainee collaborative model to recruit patients and collect data. DISCUSSION: The preliminary work undertaken within the iBRA study will determine the feasibility, design and conduct of a definitive RCT in IBBR. It will work with the trainee collaborative to build capacity by creating an infrastructure of research-active breast and plastic surgeons which will facilitate future high-quality research that will ultimately improve outcomes for all women seeking reconstructive surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN37664281

Exploring Future Teachers’ Awareness, Competence, Confidence, and Attitudes Regarding Teaching Online: Incorporating Blended/Online Experience into the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Course for Graduate Students

Dalhousie University’s Centre for Learning and Teaching offers a Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, which includes a 12-week course entitled Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. This course provides the certificate’s theory component and has evolved to reflect the changing needs of future educators. One significant change is the development of a blended course model that incorporates graded online facilitation, prompted by the recognition that teaching assistants and faculty are increasingly required to teach online or blended (i.e., combining face-to-face and online) courses. This study invited graduate students enrolled in the course to participate in pre- and post-facilitation questionnaires that assessed their awareness, competence, confidence, and attitudes towards online and blended learning. Students recognized the value of the online component for future teaching expertise and experienced increased awareness, competence, and confidence regarding teaching online. However, preference for face-to-face teaching and student learning did not change.  Le Centre for Learning and Teaching de l’Université Dalhousie offre un certificat en pédagogie de l’enseignement universitaire, lequel comprend un cours de douze semaines intitulé « Teaching and Learning in Higher Education ». Au fil du temps, ce cours théorique a évolué pour s’adapter aux besoins des futurs pédagogues. En outre, parce que les assistants à l’enseignement et les membres de la faculté sont sollicités de plus en plus fréquemment pour donner des cours en ligne ou hybrides (combinant l’enseignement en classe et à distance), on a intégré un modèle de cours hybride facilitant la correction de travaux. C’est ainsi qu’on a invité des étudiants des cycles supérieurs à remplir un questionnaire avant de suivre le cours et après l’avoir suivi. Ce questionnaire évaluait leurs connaissances, compétences et attitudes par rapport à l’enseignement en ligne et hybride. Les étudiants ont reconnu l’importance de l’enseignement en ligne dans leur formation. Ils ont démontré une plus grande connaissance des approches d’enseignement et ont rapporté avoir une meilleure confiance en eux relativement à l’enseignement en ligne. Néanmoins, leur préférence pour l’enseignement en classe n’a pas changé.   &nbsp

How Reliable are Compositions of Series and Parallel Networks Compared with Hammocks?

A classical problem in computer/network reliability is that of identifying simple, regular and repetitive building blocks (motifs) which yield reliability enhancements at the system-level. Over time, this apparently simple problem has been addressed by various increasingly complex methods. The earliest and simplest solutions are series and parallel structures. These were followed by majority voting and related schemes. For the most recent solutions, which are also the most involved (e.g., those based on Harary and circulant graphs), optimal reliability has been proven under particular conditions. Here, we propose an alternate approach for designing reliable systems as repetitive compositions of the simplest possible structures. More precisely, our two motifs (basic building blocks) are: two devices in series, and two devices in parallel. Therefore, for a given number of devices (which is a power of two) we build all the possible compositions of series and parallel networks of two devices. For all of the resulting twoterminal networks, we compute exactly the reliability polynomials, and then compare them with those of size-equivalent hammock networks. The results show that compositions of the two simplest motifs are not able to surpass size-equivalent hammock networks in terms of reliability. Still, the algorithm for computing the reliability polynomials of such compositions is linear (extremely effcient), as opposed to the one for the size-equivalent hammock networks, which is exponential. Interestingly, a few of the compositions come extremely close to size-equivalent hammock networks with respect to reliability, while having fewer wires.

Challenging El Salvador's rural health care strategy

Can a supply-driven network of under-skilled rural health promoters make a difference in rural health care? There are few, if any, signs that the current rural health strategy in El Salvador is working, whether the health promoters are government employees or non-governmental organization (NGO) workers. The authors arrived at this conclusion after conducting interviews and analyzing primary and secondary data. The village-based health promoters lack incentives and supervision, and ultimately have little to offer to local communities. NGO workers are more successful than government workers, but neither group performs satisfactorily. Even the rural poor use private services quite intensively, despite the high cost of the services and of getting access to them. Moreover, people seem to seek the services they need. They select self-treatment in 50 percent of illness episodes, with about the same success rate as when they use health providers. Other options should be considered, as results can be improved without increasing costs.Health Systems Development&Reform,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Public Health Promotion,Housing&Human Habitats,Regional Rural Development,Health Systems Development&Reform,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Housing&Human Habitats

Of Fau?ty Logic and Point?ess Journeys a Collection of Short Stories

Preface This thesis includes an explanatory work consisting of the author\u27s thoughts concerning the stories as a collection and individually. This piece appears after the stories, and it is recommended that the stories be read first. However, you may prefer to consult each respective section of the explanation before continuing to the next story

2000 Spring Quiz and Quill Magazine

https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/quizquill/1089/thumbnail.jp

Plants in the Tapestry (Literally)

Among our studies of ancient Peruvian textiles created in tapestry technique, we have come across some surprising elements, both in the warp and the weft. Andean textiles created over the past 10,000 years have been preserved in certain locations along the Pacific desert coast. They are usually preserved in the cloth bundles that protect and adorn the dead, and composed of fibers from native cotton varieties of Amazonian ancestry, the hair of highland ancestors of today’s llama and alpaca, maguey leaves from the mid-valley canyons, and reeds from coastal marshes. Garment forms, techniques and imagery can indicate textiles produced in different regions of the coast, or produced in the highlands and later deposited in lowland contexts. In a survey of 450 textiles of all historic periods from sites in the greater Ica region, two objects stand out based on their use of unspun elements of vegetable origin in a tapestry structure. The plant parts are dissimilar, as are the species present, and the way in which they are used. In one case, the unusual elements are used strategically and seem related to object function, while in the other case the choice may have been purely aesthetic. One object is approximately 1000 years old, while the other is over 2000 years old. We present them in the contexts of the textile traditions from which they come, and whose rules they appear to break