I look Asian. I was raised by Whites. I feel Cultureless. An Autoethnographic Case Study Approach on Transracial International Adoption Loss of Cultural Identity

The purpose of this research study is to understand transracial international adoptees’ biological and adopted culture and examining the effects having multiple cultural identities have on them. The qualitative study will include participant’s insights on transracial international adoption. Their lived experiences, cultural and racial socialization and parental colorblind attitudes all play a role in their cultural development. The researcher chose autoethography as their qualitative method to give voice to her personal lived experience as a transracial international adoptee. Autoethnography is not a popular research method yet through this study, she hopes to show other researchers the unique opportunities it presents itself in qualitative research

Steady State and Relaxation Spectrum of the Oslo Rice-pile

We show that the one-dimensional Oslo rice-pile model is a special case of the abelian distributed processors model. The exact steady state of the model is determined. We show that the time evolution operator W for the system satisfies the equation W^{n+1} = W^n where n = L(L+1)/2 for a pile with L sites. This is used to prove that W has only one eigenvalue 1 corresponding to the steady state, and all other eigenvalues are exactly zero. Also, all connected time-dependent correlation functions in the steady state of the pile are exactly zero for time difference greater that n. Generalization to other abelian critical height models where the critical thresholds are randomly reset after each toppling is briefly discussed.Comment: 11 pages, latex, no figure

Stretched exponentials and power laws in granular avalanching

We introduce a model for granular avalanching which exhibits both stretched exponential and power law avalanching over its parameter range. Two modes of transport are incorporated, a rolling layer consisting of individual particles and the overdamped, sliding motion of particle clusters. The crossover in behaviour observed in experiments on piles of rice is attributed to a change in the dominant mode of transport. We predict that power law avalanching will be observed whenever surface flow is dominated by clustered motion. Comment: 8 pages, more concise and some points clarified

Climatology of aerosol optical properties in Northern Norway and Svalbard

We present comparisons between estimates of the aerosol optical thickness and the °Angstr¨om exponent in Northern Norway and Svalbard based on data from AERONET stations at Andenes (69 ◦N, 16 ◦E, 379 m altitude) and Hornsund (77 ◦N, 15◦E, 10 m altitude) for the period 2008–2010. The three-year annual mean values for the aerosol optical thickness at 500 nm τ(500) at Andenes and Hornsund were 0.11 and 0.10, respectively. At Hornsund, there was less variation of the monthly mean value of τ(500) than at Andenes. The annual mean values of the °Angstr¨om exponent α at Andenes and Hornsund were 1.18 and 1.37, respectively. At Andenes and Hornsund α was found to be larger than 1.0 in 68% and 93% of the observations, respectively, indicating that fine-mode particles were dominating at both sites. Both sites had a similar seasonal variation of the aerosol size distribution although one site is in an Arctic area while the other site is in a sub-arctic area.acceptedVersio

The Value in a Wetland Area. The Preservation of Vigremyra in Rogaland County. 1981–1986

Vigremyra er en våtmark som er tilknyttet vannsystemet Håelva i Hå kommune i Rogaland. I tidsrommet 1981–1986 ble denne våtmarken arena for en interessekonflikt mellom lokale jordbrukere og den norske stat som kulminerte med verningen av Vigremyra som Ramsarområde og naturreservat i 1986. Denne konflikten kom på veldig mange måter som et resultat av et våtmarkssyn i endring. Historisk har våtmarkene ofte blitt forstått av jordbrukere som potensielle verdier. Gjennom ulike avvanningsmetoder har jordbruksaktører sikret nye dyrkingsarealer som i sin tur har gitt økonomisk inntjening. Dette har også foregått i Vigremyra. Samtidig har våtmarkene sjelden vekket nevneverdig statsinteresse, men utover 1970-tallet skulle dette endre seg. I takt med tiårets stadig økende miljøbevissthet fikk våtmarkene ny betydning i statens øyne og ble betraktet som økologisk verdifulle. Fra starten av 1980-tallet fantes det konkrete verneplaner for Vigremyra. Men statens nye økologiske interesser samsvarte ikke med de lokale jordinteressene. Som vi skal se, var det introduksjonen av verneplanene som sådde kimen til konflikten om Vigremyra utover dette tiåret. Verneplanene viet også stor plass til et natursyn som ikke lar seg etterprøve i Vigremyra eller noen andre våtmarksområder, men som allikevel fikk legge solide føringer for verningen, nemlig tanken om urørt natur. I denne artikkelen skal også Håelvas rolle i utviklingen mellom 1981–1986 analyseres, blant annet ved å se nærmere på hvordan vannsystemet medvirket i utviklingen av aktørenes våtmarksforståelse.Vigremyra is a wetland area connected to the water system Hå, situated in Hå municipality in Rogaland County. The period 1981–1986 gave rise to a conflict between Vigremyra’s local peasants and the Norwegian Government: a con flict that culminated in the preservation of Vigremyra in 1986, as a Ramsar site and a nature reserve. This conflict could very much be considered as the result of a wetland perception in flux. Under historical light one can argue that wetlands often have been comprehended through their potential value as cultivation objects, and therefore consid ered agricultural commodities. Such commodities were made possible through the construction of drainage systems, specifically through the use of ditching canals. This practice has rich historical roots in Vigremyra. Under the same light one can also argue that wetlands hardly sparked any significant national political interest. But in line with the increasing global environmental awareness, conditions changed in the 1970s, which in turn prompted a new national political wetland perception. The wetlands came to be understood, by the government, first and foremost through their ecological value. Governmental plans were devised to preserve the Norwegian wetlands, these plans also included Vigremyra. But the newfound ecological interest did not correspond to the agricultural interest. It was actu ally the introduction of the preservation plans that sowed the roots of a conflict that came to characterize the devel opment in Vigremyra between 1981–1982. The governmental preservation plans also paid considerable attention to an understanding of nature that cannot be proven in Vigremyra or any other wetland site, the idea of unspoiled nature. In the following we shall observe how this problematic notion got to shape important parts of the preserva tion in 1986. By analyzing how the water system collaborated in the shaping of the cultural agent’s wetland perception and interest, this article will also uncover how river Hå played a central role in the events that unfolded in Vigremyra.publishedVersio

Long lasting instabilities in granular mixtures

We have performed experiments of axial segregation in the Oyama's drum. We have tested binary granular mixtures during very long times. The segregation patterns have been captured by a CCD camera and spatio-temporal graphs are created. We report the occurence of instabilities which can last several hours. We stress that those instabilities originate from the competition between axial and radial segregations. We put into evidence the occurence of giant fluctuations in the fraction of grain species along the surface during the unstable periods.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, (2002

Mueller matrix measurements and modeling pertaining to Spectralon white reflectance standards

The full Mueller matrix for a Spectralon white reflectance standard was measured in the incidence plane, to obtain the polarization state of the scattered light for different angles of illumination. The experimental setup was a Mueller matrix ellipsometer, by which measurements were performed for scattering angles measured relative to the normal of the Spectralon surface from −90° to 90° sampled at every 2.5° for an illumination wavelength of 532 nm. Previously, the polarization of light scattered from Spectralon white reflectance standards was measured only for four of the elements of the Muller matrix. As in previous investigations, the reflection properties of the Spectralon white reflectance standard was found to be close to those of a Lambertian surface for small scattering and illumination angles. At large scattering and illumination angles, all elements of the Mueller matrix were found to deviate from those of a Lambertian surface. A simple empirical model with only two parameters, was developed, and used to simulate the measured results with fairly good accuracy.publishedVersio