Faculty ritual, solidarity, and cohesion: Thirty-five years of change at Eastern Mennonite University

This historical case study of Eastern Mennonite University faculty between 1965 and 2000 explored the shifts in social bonds, examined through the concept of ritual (Collins, 2004), concurrent with cultural, social, environmental, and professional forces that impacted the institution. Employing the concepts of cohesion (as the specific other) and solidarity (as the general other) (Mead, 1934) provided a distinction between individual relational networks and the shared ideological commitments that bound faculty together.;Results of the study demonstrated the significance of intrinsic motivators on faculty hiring, persistence, and perceptions of institutional purpose and employment desirability. Physical space (as the place of assembly) and metaphysical space (as the sense of relational or conceptual connection) emerged as significant frames to understand social bond change. Physical faculty dispersal due to campus sprawl contributed to a reduced sense of relational closeness, making opportunities for cross-disciplinary social and task interaction increasingly important.;The terms of social bonds changed concurrent with the shift from strong to weak ties (Granovetter, 1973; Lindenberg, 1998). The strongly-tied religious, educational, and ethnic Mennonite community of the 1960s contained many mutually-reinforcing rituals. The shift toward weak ties was brought on by the professionalization and diversification of faculty, the reinterpretation of Mennonite values and beliefs, and other internal and external forces. The effect was a de-emphasis on ethnic Mennonite rituals as the source of cohesion, and an increased emphasis on educational task rituals. However, social connections established despite difference provided significant new bases for solidarity and cohesion in a professionalized religious community

Multiple Points of Contact: Promoting Rural Postsecondary Preparation through School-Community Partnerships

Formal and informal partnerships between rural schools and their communities can provide a wide range of supports for all students, but particularly those from low-income families. In this analysis of six small rural school districts in Virginia we show how the broad participation of community groups and individuals supports academic achievement as well as preparation and aspirations for postsecondary education. Results demonstrate that school-community partnerships provide multiple points of contact for students that buttress the efforts of school personnel by extended educational opportunities outside the classroom and by meeting the needs of low-income students when parents and teachers are unable to do so

A Function of Nuclear Capability: India's Emergence as a Global Power

India is a growing economic, military, and technological force in the twenty-first century. It is now the fastest growing state in Asia, and subsequently increased its military budget, allowing for the development of better nuclear technology and capability. India’s recent geopolitical engagement includes attempting to establish relations with powerful neighboring China, establish itself as a global power, and continual tensions with Pakistan. These elements of economic and military development and geopolitical relations together create the conditions for India’s current rising geopolitical profile. Nuclear capability is a primary focus in twenty-first century international affairs, and through the primary lens and perspective of the theory of realism in international relations, I will analyze the ways in which the elements of India’s nuclear doctrine that delineate India’s resolve not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states and its No First Use stance and amendments to this stance under major, biological, or chemical weapons attack aid India on its path to emergence as a key actor in international affairs

Leveraging a New Building to Overcome First and Second-Order Barriers to Faculty Technology Integration

This study uses the context of a School of Education’s transition from an old adapted building to a new dedicated structure to explore ways in which that occasion created an opportunity address first and second-order barriers to faculty technology integration and pedagogical innovation.  Barriers were addressed through the convergence of a purposeful application of an adult learner model to technology support and planning, and the opportunities provided by the move to a new building.  Findings from pre- and post-move faculty and administrator interviews highlight intended and unintended strategic, symbolic, and functional outcomes. 

First experimental demonstration of temporal hypertelescope operation with a laboratory prototype

In this paper, we report the first experimental demonstration of a Temporal HyperTelescope (THT). Our breadboard including 8 telescopes is firstly tested in a manual cophasing configuration on a 1D object. The Point Spread Function (PSF) is measured and exhibits a dynamics in the range of 300. A quantitative analysis of the potential biases demonstrates that this limitation is related to the residual phase fluctuation on each interferometric arm. Secondly, an unbalanced binary star is imaged demonstrating the imaging capability of THT. In addition, 2D PSF is recorded even if the telescope array is not optimized for this purpose.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 11 pages, 25 figure

Diversity of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Strains, USA

We analyzed the structure of the expression site encoding the immunoprotective protein MSP2/P44 from multiple Anaplasma phagocytophilum strains in the United States. The sequence of p44ESup1 had diverged in Ap-variant 1 strains infecting ruminants. In contrast, no differences were detected between A. phagocytophilum strains infecting humans and domestic dogs

Dependence of the Characteristics of Mo Films on Sputter Conditions

The residual stress, resistance, orientation, and microstructure of sputtered Mo films were studied as a function of varied-deposition power and pressure

Structural Basis for the Mechanism of ATP-Dependent Acetone Carboxylation

Microorganisms use carboxylase enzymes to form new carbon-carbon bonds by introducing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) or its hydrated form, bicarbonate (HCO3−), into target molecules. Acetone carboxylases (ACs) catalyze the conversion of substrates acetone and HCO3− to form the product acetoacetate. Many bicarbonate-incorporating carboxylases rely on the organic cofactor biotin for the activation of bicarbonate. ACs contain metal ions but not organic cofactors, and use ATP to activate substrates through phosphorylation. How the enzyme coordinates these phosphorylation events and new C-C bond formation in the absence of biotin has remained a mystery since these enzymes were discovered. The first structural rationale for acetone carboxylation is presented here, focusing on the 360 kDa (αβγ)2 heterohexameric AC from Xanthobacter autotrophicus in the ligand-free, AMP-bound, and acetate coordinated states. These structures suggest successive steps in a catalytic cycle revealing that AC undergoes large conformational changes coupled to substrate activation by ATP to perform C-C bond ligation at a distant Mn center. These results illustrate a new chemical strategy for the conversion of CO2 into biomass, a process of great significance to the global carbon cycle

July 2004 Report of Progress

Progress of each ALS-NSCORT project given by each project lead. 10 pages

Morphological characterization of the blood cells in the endangered Sicilian endemic pond turtle,Emys trinacris(Testudines: Emydidae)

In this study, measurements of morphological parameters, sizes and frequencies of peripheral blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes) on blood smear preparation devices stained with May-Grünwald stain were evaluated for both sexes in 20 Emys trinacris (Testudines: Emydidae) specimens. Erythrocytes were higher in male than in female specimens. The leukocyte of E. trinacris contains eosinophil, basophil, monocyte, heterophil and lymphocyte. The eosinophil was higher in males than in females whereas lymphocytes were higher in females than in males. The erythrocyte morphological parameters (EL [erythrocyte length], EW [erythrocyte width], L/W [length/width], ES [erythrocyte size]) were compared with the same data from Emys orbicularis s.l, and from species belonging to other chelonian genera. The erythrocyte size did not vary within the studied Palearctic Emys taxa, whereas it proved to differ from that observed in other chelonians