Shieldmaiden

Shieldmaiden is a poem that examines J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s Lord of the Rings series from a feminist perspective, focusing on the character of Éowyn and her influence on female readers of Tolkien\u27s novels

THE REDESIGNED VORTECONE: A MAINTENANCE-FREE WET SCRUBBER DEVICE

Dust creates health and safety issues in mining and there are several different ways to reduce the amount of respirable dust created. Dust particles also affect the operation and efficiency of mining equipment. One device currently used to reduce dust in a coal mine is a flooded-bed dust scrubber. These type of scrubbers are found on continuous miners and are designed to capture dust particles close to the cutting head. However, the fibrous screens on the flooded-bed dust scrubber clog easily reducing both production and the quality and quantity of air miners are exposed too. The flooded-bed dust scrubber was designed in the 1980s and has not seen any significant changes since. A Vortecone is a wet scrubber system designed to capture small particles in the air and can easily replace the flooded-bed dust scrubber system on a continuous miner. The Vortecone was initially developed to capture over-sprayed paint particles and due to the capture ability was converted over into the mining industry. The first design of the Vortecone had two outlets and a large pressure drop across the system. The Vortecone was redesigned to have one outlet in order to increase confinement time of particles and thus increase the capture abilities. Using CFD analysis and laboratory testing, the redesigned Vortecone has been proven to have a lower resistance than the original design as well as the currently used convention screens. The Vortecone also proved to have a high capture efficiency at high airflows. This maintenance-free wet scrubber device requires much less maintenance than a conventional screen and thus can be used continually without interrupting production. The Vortecone has been designed so it can easily be mounted onto a continuous miner in place of the currently used scrubbers

Telling Stories Together: A collaborative technology-based curriculum project for an endangered language community

Language revitalization efforts are enhanced not only when the language is brought to new users, but also when it is brought into new domains of use. This project creates a template for computer-assisted language learning that aims to maximize L2 learning through task-based, constructivist uses of free Web 2.0 tools. This template includes two sets of parallel activities. For each set, students work together to brainstorm, illustrate, write, edit, and publish a story, conducting all activities in the L2. One set directs students to record native speakers retelling stories they know in their language, while the second develops a new story from the students’ own life experiences or imaginations. Each step of the writing process will be completed using a specific open-access online tool: • Stage 1: Pre-write – This stage uses SoundCloud, a free web-based audio recording and streaming tool which can upload files from a computer, or record directly into the website. • Stage 2: Story development and illustrations – This stage uses Flickr, a free photography and image hosting site, to find images that illustrate or relate to the stories. • Stage 3: Collaborative writing – This stage uses Google Docs. The first team transcribes a known story recorded from an elder while the second develops and elaborates its new story. • Stage 4: Editing and revising – This stage employs Google Tasks to complete revising and editing. • Stage 5: Publishing – This final stage uses Lulu, an internet-based self-publishing service. These tools accommodate special circumstances faced by many indigenous communities. Many communities who fit this intended design have a very small pool of potential language learners, and such small numbers make it difficult to teach separate classes for students at varying proficiency levels; this template accommodates this by employing activities in which learners at every level (beginning, intermediate, advanced, and native speakers) can take leading roles. Additionally, having the entire story-building process take place via low cost web tools means that students can participate and collaborate remotely, if geography or other factors make a physical language classroom impractical. At the end of this project, the learners will have potentially produced two new texts, one based on a traditional story and one based on in-language creative writing. This project, therefore, empowers young learners to be active language revitalizers, not just through their own language acquisition, but also through development of materials that contribute to the literary corpus of their community

Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Urban-Impacted Coastal Marine Sediments

Hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) are anthropogenic compounds that have been used for many decades in a wide range of applications. Due to human activities and improper disposal, many HOCs have been deposited into aquatic environments where they strongly sorb to hydrophobic matrixes like bed sediments and can pose risk to aquatic organisms. Therefore, understanding the processes and factors that influence the bioavailability of HOCs is important for predicting and refining risk assessments, particularly for coastal marine sediments where contamination from adjacent urban centers is expected while relatively much less is known. Here we evaluated the bioavailability of aged DDTs and PCBs in historically contaminated sediment from the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund Site. Total HOC concentrations remain as high as 41,000 mg/kg. However, these aged HOC residues had dramatically reduced bioaccessibility; the bioaccessible fraction was generally <20%, and biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) values ranged from 0.11-29. Therefore, it is important to consider the history and bioavailability of HOCs when conducting risk assessments. A subsequent study evaluated the use of different types of black carbon as an amendment to enhance sequestration and immobilization of HOCs. All amendment materials decreased Cfree and bioaccumulation, with Cfree ranging from nd-1.34 ng/L, and BSAFs from nd-0.024. Although the PAC resulted in significantly higher sequestration, the relative reductions were small, and the limited changes were likely due to the sediment’s high organic matter content (5.4 %) and that the HOCs already had reduced bioavailability due to extensive aging. Therefore, the use of black carbon amendments may not be ideal for remediation of sediments with aged contaminants. The last study evaluated the distribution and source of urban-use insecticides in marine sediments off the coast of Los Angeles. Pyrethroids and a fipronil degradate, fipronil sulfide, were frequently detected across the PV Shelf in concentrations that may pose toxicity (nd-170 µg/kg). Some of these insecticides were attributed to WWTP effluent emission, while the rest were associated with nonpoint sources. These findings highlight the need for more systematic studies on toxicity of legacy and current-use HOCs for marine organisms and development of strategies to minimize their emission into the coastal environment

Incivility in the Workplace: The Experiences of Female Sport Management Faculty in Higher Education

Access to higher education for women has dramatically increased in the United States during the past 50 years. Female college graduates have reversed the figures and gone from being outnumbered by their male counterparts 3 to 2 in the 1970s, to now outnumbering male college graduates 3 to 2. Women also graduate from masters and doctoral programs at a higher rate than men. However, increases in the number of women obtaining college and advanced degrees has not translated to comparable representation in faculty positions or leadership roles in higher education. This lack of women in leadership positions, as well as perceived discrimination against female faculty, may be even more of a concern in sport management programs. Sport is considered a male domain, and women are often seen as intruders in this realm. The purpose of this study was to examine the manifestation of incivility from colleagues and superiors experienced within a sample of female sport management faculty members utilizing social identity theory as a guiding framework. Incivility was conceptualized for the current study as deviant behavior that is not necessarily intended to physically harm the target (e.g., belittling others, showing disdain to someone while they are talking, engaging in outside tasks during meetings)

The effects of commercial cleaning agents on automated DNA extraction efficiency and genetic profile quality.

As forensic DNA analysis has experienced countless advances in the past several decades, it has gained considerable notoriety among the general public, including those that are involved in the commission of crimes, leading to biological evidence that has been contaminated with various cleaning products in an attempt to conceal or destroy DNA evidence. This research examined the effects that three types of cleaning agents have on the ability of the Applied Biosystems® Automate Express™ Forensic DNA Extraction System to efficiently extract high quality DNA free from inhibiting compounds using the Prepfiler Express™ Forensic DNA Extraction Kit. This study further assessed the impact that these chemicals have on the entire forensic DNA analysis process through evaluation of the quality of genetic profiles using a quantitative scale. A dilution series (neat to 1:1000) was prepared from whole human blood, as well as from a bleach product containing sodium hydroxide, a quaternary ammonium-based multi-surface cleaner, and a carpet cleaner with hydrogen peroxide as the active ingredient. Each blood dilution was combined with each dilution of the three cleaning products and each of those samples was analyzed in triplicate. The amount of DNA extracted from bleach-treated samples was reduced compared to corresponding control samples due to destruction of the DNA prior to extraction. The quantification results from samples treated with both the ammonium-based cleaner and the hydrogen peroxide carpet cleaner were similar to controls. The automated system successfully removed inhibitory compounds from samples containing sodium hydroxide and quaternary ammonium compounds, but the blood samples containing the concentrated hydrogen peroxide cleaner showed increased inhibition. The genetic profile quality scores indicated that the ammonium-based cleaner had no effect on profiles regardless of the dilution ratio of the sample, while samples containing at least equal amounts of bleach and blood can be expected to display extensive dropout of alleles. The inhibition previously mentioned due to the hydrogen peroxide carpet cleaner completely inhibited amplification in samples containing 1:100 or 1:1000 diluted blood treated with neat carpet cleaner. These results indicate that crime scene personnel should document any cleaning agents that may have contaminated biological evidence as it could significantly impact the results of DNA analysis depending on the type of product and its concentration in relation to the evidence

Leadership Practices That Influence Teacher Attendance in a Low and High Teacher Absentee School

The impact of teacher absenteeism is all encompassing. Teacher absenteeism affects student achievement and behavior as well as the morale of other teachers. It strains an already overburdened school budget and poorly trained substitute teachers are with students for as much as one whole year of the time that students are in school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The primary purpose of this study was to determine what leadership practices affect teacher attendance at school. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to conduct this study. A school culture survey, which included items addressing three major areas, tasks, processes and relationships, was administered to teachers. The teachers were employed in two middle schools, one with a high rate of teacher absenteeism and one with a low rate of teacher absenteeism. There were 103 surveys completed and returned to the researcher. The researcher analyzed the data and used a t-test to determine if there were any statistical differences in the answers of the respondents. Data analysis revealed that teacher absenteeism was lower at the school where the culture was more positive. The qualitative portion of the study involved both individual and focus group interviews. Seven teachers per school were chosen at random from a list of teachers. Individual interviews as well as the focus group interviews were conducted using a series of questions designed to elicit responses about leadership practices regarding discretionary absence at their particular school