An Analysis of Ground Stone from the Basketmaker Communities Project in Montezuma County, Southwest Colorado

In this thesis, I analyze an assemblage of ground stone tools, including manos and metates, from Basketmaker III period (A.D. 500-725) settlements in the central Mesa Verde region of Montezuma County, Colorado. Ground stone is a historically understudied class of artifacts, and the data collection and analysis practices employed for most projects remain subpar, despite the publication of best practices guidelines (Adams 2014). Ground stone informs on critical research topics and must be analyzed to the same degree as other artifact categories. The sites include the Dillard site (5MT10647), an aggregated site with a great kiva, and five surrounding, smaller habitation sites termed hamlets. The Basketmaker Communities Project, conducted by The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, synthesized comparable data from contemporary sites in the region, asking questions about social dynamics at the earliest period of agricultural, sedentary lifeways in this region. Through the ground stone analysis, I gain insight to the production, use, maintenance and discard of ground stone tools and use the differences and similarities between the Dillard site and the hamlets to discern social dynamics at sites of different scales at the period when lifeways were drastically changing for Ancestral Pueblo people in the central Mesa Verde region. The results show that residents of the Dillard site ground in longer, intensive sessions, as indicated by their preference for formal tools and their investment in the use lives of those tools. While individual households ground some of their own product, not every household contained grinding tools. Combined with the presence of a mealing pit room that is closely associated with the great kiva, this indicates that at least some grinding took place above the household level at the Dillard site. Ground stone tools from the hamlets were less formal than those at the Dillard site, and while less comfortable in long grinding sessions, required less time to manufacture and maintain. Because of the smaller population at the hamlet sites, grinding tasks had to be completed in shorter sessions to allow time for other household tasks. The higher grinding efficiency of tools at the hamlets reflect the need to maximize ground product processed in each session. Advisor: Carrie C. Heitma

An Analysis of Ground Stone from the Basketmaker Communities Project in Montezuma County, Southwest Colorado

In this thesis, I analyze an assemblage of ground stone tools, including manos and metates, from Basketmaker III period (A.D. 500-725) settlements in the central Mesa Verde region of Montezuma County, Colorado. Ground stone is a historically understudied class of artifacts, and the data collection and analysis practices employed for most projects remain subpar, despite the publication of best practices guidelines (Adams 2014). Ground stone informs on critical research topics and must be analyzed to the same degree as other artifact categories. The sites include the Dillard site (5MT10647), an aggregated site with a great kiva, and five surrounding, smaller habitation sites termed hamlets. The Basketmaker Communities Project, conducted by The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, synthesized comparable data from contemporary sites in the region, asking questions about social dynamics at the earliest period of agricultural, sedentary lifeways in this region. Through the ground stone analysis, I gain insight to the production, use, maintenance and discard of ground stone tools and use the differences and similarities between the Dillard site and the hamlets to discern social dynamics at sites of different scales at the period when lifeways were drastically changing for Ancestral Pueblo people in the central Mesa Verde region. The results show that residents of the Dillard site ground in longer, intensive sessions, as indicated by their preference for formal tools and their investment in the use lives of those tools. While individual households ground some of their own product, not every household contained grinding tools. Combined with the presence of a mealing pit room that is closely associated with the great kiva, this indicates that at least some grinding took place above the household level at the Dillard site. Ground stone tools from the hamlets were less formal than those at the Dillard site, and while less comfortable in long grinding sessions, required less time to manufacture and maintain. Because of the smaller population at the hamlet sites, grinding tasks had to be completed in shorter sessions to allow time for other household tasks. The higher grinding efficiency of tools at the hamlets reflect the need to maximize ground product processed in each session. Advisor: Carrie C. Heitma

The Araucaria Project. Population effects on the V and I band magnitudes of red clump stars

We present measurements of the V and I band magnitudes of red clump stars in 15 nearby galaxies obtained from recently published homogenous HST photometry. Supplementing these results with similar data for another 8 galaxies available in the literature the populational effects on the V and I band magnitudes of red clump stars were investigated. Comparing red clump magnitudes with the I-band magnitude of the TRGB in a total sample of 23 galaxies possessing very different environments we demonstrate that population effects strongly affect both the V and I band magnitude of red clump stars in a complex way. Our empirical results basically confirm the theoretical results of Girardi and Salaris, and show that optical (VI) photometry of red clump stars is not an accurate method for the determination of distances to nearby galaxies at the present moment, as long as the population effects are not better calibrated, both empirically and theoretically. Near infrared photometry is a much better way to measure galaxy distances with red clump stars given its smaller sensitivity to population effects.Comment: AJ in pres

Characterization of MHC class I in a long distance migratory wader, the Icelandic black-tailed godwit

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encodes proteins that are central for antigen presentation and pathogen elimination. MHC class I (MHC-I) genes have attracted a great deal of interest among researchers in ecology and evolution and have been partly characterized in a wide range of bird species. So far, the main focus has been on species within the bird orders Galliformes and Passeriformes, while Charadriiformes remain vastly underrepresented with only two species studied to date. These two Charadriiformes species exhibit striking differences in MHC-I characteristics and MHC-I diversity. We therefore set out to study a third species within Charadriiformes, the Icelandic subspecies of black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa islandica). This subspecies is normally confined to parasite-poor environments, and we hence expected low MHC diversity. MHC-I was partially characterized first using Sanger sequencing and then using high-throughput sequencing (MiSeq) in 84 individuals. We verified 47 nucleotide alleles in open reading frame with classical MHC-I characteristics, and each individual godwit had two to seven putatively classical MHC alleles. However, in contrast to previous MHC-I data within Charadriiformes, we did not find any evidence of alleles with low sequence diversity, believed to represent non-classical MHC genes. The diversity and divergence of the godwits MHC-I genes to a large extent fell between the previous estimates within Charadriiformes. However, the MHC genes of the migratory godwits had few sites subject to positive selection, and one possible explanation could be a low exposure to pathogens.Financial support to SP was provided by PhD grant SFRH/BD/84629/2012 from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT); to JAA by FCT grant SFRH/BPD/91527/2012. This study benefited from funding by RANNIS - Icelandic Research Council (130412-051), the strategic project (UID/MAR/04292/2013) granted to MARE and H. Westerdahl financed through Swedish Research Council (621-2011-3674 and 2015-05149) and provided the laboratory facilities for molecular analysis.Peer Reviewe

The Aquarius Co-Moving Group is Not a Disrupted Classical Globular Cluster

We present a detailed analysis of high-resolution, high S/N spectra for 5 Aquarius stream stars observed with the MIKE spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope. Our sample represents one third of the 15 known members in the stream. We find the stream is not mono-metallic: the metallicity ranges from [Fe/H] = -0.63 to -1.58. No anti-correlation in Na-O abundances is present, and we find a strong positive Mg-Al relationship, similar to that observed in the thick disk. We find no evidence that the stream is a result of a disrupted classical globular cluster, contrary to a previously published claim. High [(Na, Ni, alpha)/Fe] and low [Ba/Y] abundance ratios in the stream suggests it is not a tidal tail from a disrupted dwarf galaxy, either. The stream is chemically indistinguishable from Milky Way field stars with the exception of one candidate, C222531-145437. From its position, velocity, and detailed chemical abundances, C222531-145437 is likely a star that was tidally disrupted from omega-Centauri. We propose the Aquarius stream is Galactic in origin, and could be the result from a disk-satellite perturbation in the Milky Way thick disk on the order of a few Gyr ago: derived orbits, UVW velocities, and angular momenta of the Aquarius members offer qualitative support for our hypothesis. Assuming C222531-145437 is a tidally disrupted member of omega-Centauri, this system is the most likely disk perturber. In the absence of compelling chemical and/or dynamical evidence that the Aquarius stream is the tidal tail of a disrupted satellite, we advocate the "Aquarius group" as a more appropriate description. Like the Canis Major over-density, as well as the Hercules and Monoceros groups, the Aquarius group joins the list of kinematically-identified substructures that are not actually accreted material: they are simply part of the rich complexity of the Milky Way structure.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS. Updated to journal versio

Lean Engineering Education : bridging-the-gap between academy and industry

This paper presents Lean Engineering Education (LEE) as an curricular innovation in the Engineering courses. It provides a discussion, mainly based on literature and informal dialogues, about the disconnected world of academy and industry and the demands for new educational methods and strategies. Additionally, it defines LEE as also the principles inherent to this and describes how LEE addresses two complex challenges faced by Higher Education Institutions: the globalized marketplace and the right skills from industry perspective for engineering graduates

The Lean Production multidisciplinary: from operations to education

Lean Engineering (LE) had its roots in Toyota automobile production where the main objective is to standardize operations, so that wastes in the production processes can be identified and eliminated. Pursuing standardization in a systematically and continuous way, companies enter a continuous improvement mode of operation where input from all affected parties across the value stream is sought; this requires personnel on all levels of the organization to be prepared to be active learners. As LE has exceeded its original focus and application in the automotive industry, it has transformed manufacturing industries as well as service providers, including travel agents, health care, and many others. Yet, although engineers and non-engineers alike rely on LE principles and tools almost daily, LE has not yet transforme d Engineering Education. In this paper, the authors review their concept of Lean Engineering Education which they have based on the three-step of ethics, system-thinking and sustainability. The paper concludes with recommendations for curriculum innovations to improve engineering students’ competencies.National Funds - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project Pest-OE/EME/UI0252/2011

Lean engineering education: DNA for change

The Lean Engineering Education (LEE) model is advocated by the authors of a book in press, Lean Engineering Education: DNA for Change (Flumerfelt, et al., 2014) as a methodology to allow for students’ parallel content and competency development, based on the double helix DNA image (Figure 1). This LEE methodology targets the shortcomings in the professional development of engineering students as evidenced in several data sets, such as the ASME’s Vision2030 survey results (2010, 2011). (...

L'entreprise face à la biodiversité : le cas de l'entreprise brésilienne NATURA et son partenariat avec les extraxtivistes de la " réserve de développement durable du fleuve Iratapuru " dans la region de Jarí , Amazonie brésilienne

Les actes de la conférence sont en attente d'apparition. L'ouvrage est coordonné par Sylvie Daviet, Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille).International audienceLa " réserve de développement durable " du fleuve Iratapuru est exploitée par la communauté de São Francisco. Du fait de ses efforts pour s'organiser et pour améliorer les conditions de vie de ses habitants, ce village est petit à petit devenu un symbole des efforts de développement réalisés auprès des " communautés traditionnelles " amazoniennes, en particulier à partir de 2004, suite à l'établissement novateur d'un partenariat avec l'entreprise de cosmétiques Natura. Associant les intérêts économiques de l'entreprise et ceux de la communauté, cette relation est riche de conséquences sur le plan géographique, mais pose également des questions, sur la légitimité de chaque entité dans la gestion de la RDS. Pour faire le point sur ces questions, nous proposons dans un premier temps une présentation du village de São Francisco et de sa principale activité économique, la collecte de la noix du Brésil. Nous montrons ensuite comment le partenariat avec la Natura est l'ultime étape d'un cheminement déjà ancien parmi de très nombreux modèles de développement, et en quoi il diffère des expériences précédentes. Nous verrons enfin que sous le vernis d'une exploitation économique raisonnée et d'un partenariat tourné vers la durabilité, de nombreuses questions se posent sur les relations avec la Natura, tant avec la coopérative des producteurs, qui est son partenaire économique, qu'avec la communauté locale, qui est l'objet de son investissement en terme d'image

Projeto de uma marca gráfica para a identidade visual de um negócio de joias artesanais

PCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Design.Trata-se do relatório de um Projeto de Conclusão de Curso para a obtenção do título de Bacharel em Design. Este projeto objetivou a construção de uma marca gráfica, como base para os demais elementos da identidade visual, de um pequeno negócio de joias artesanais, do qual a autora é a proprietária. Para tal, utilizou-se uma adaptação da metodologia proposta por Wheeler, além do uso de outras técnicas projetuais. O projeto consistuiu-se em três etapas principais, as quais englobam outras sub-etapas que auxiliaram na organização e desenvolvimento do projeto. A primeira etapa é de aprendizagem sobre a marca e o contexto no qual está inserida, onde buscou-se elucidar pontos sobre a empresa em questão para a orientação da parte analítica, na qual marca similares foram estudadas. Realizou-se então uma pesquisa de mercado, para a melhor compreensão do público-alvo da marca e suas preferências, através da aplicação de um questionário online. A segunda etapa consistiu na síntese das ideias reunidas até o momento, resultando na descoberta dos valores da marca, na preparação do briefing do projeto e na geração do nome da empresa. A terceira etapa tratou do processo criativo do projeto, no qual foram concebidas alternativas de marcas gráficas e, por fim, uma vez que a alternativa final havia sido escolhida e refinada, foram feitas simulações das aplicações nos meios digital e físico, com o intuito de ilustrar a marca gráfica após sua implementação. Após finalizado o processo, podemos observar que a marca gráfica resultante contemplou, através de seus elementos e formas, os valores da marca, os quais são: artesanal, qualificado, distinto e usual, transmitindo ao seu público estes conceitos de forma visual e natural