Chinatown Black Tigers: Black Masculinity and Chinese Heroism in Frank Chin\u27s Gunga Din Highway

Images of ominous villains and asexual heroes in literature and mainstream American culture tend to relegate Asian American men to limited expressions of masculinity. These emasculating images deny Asian American men elements of traditional masculinity, including agency and strength. Many recognize the efforts of Frank Chin, a Chinese American novelist, to confront, expose, and revise such images by relying on a tradition of Chinese heroism. In Gunga Din Highway (1994), however, Chin creates an Asian American masculinity based on elements of both the Chinese heroic tradition and a distinct brand of African American masculinity manifested in the work of Ishmael Reed, an African American novelist and essayist known for his outspoken style.^1 Rather than transforming traditional masculinity to include Asian American manhood, Chin\u27s images of men represent an appropriation of elements from two ethnic sources that Chin uses to underscore those of Asian Americans. While deconstructing the reductive images advocated by the dominant culture, Chin critiques the very black masculinity he adopts. Ultimately he fails to envision modes of masculinity not based on dominance, yet Chin\u27s approach also can be read as the ultimate expression of Asian American individualism

The Effect of Mandatory Adoption of IFRS on Transparency for Investors

This paper examines the effect of the mandatory adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on transparency for investors by measuring the increase in earnings management during the post-adoption period of IFRS. One sign of earnings management is current year earnings being only slightly higher than the previous year’s earnings. An increase in earnings management means a decrease in accounting quality and a decrease of transparency for investors. By comparing firms that mandatorily adopted IFRS to similar benchmark firms in terms of strength of legal enforcement, book-to-market ratios, market values and net incomes, I am able to run empirical regressions examining variables of growth, equity issuance, leverage, debt issuance, turnover, size, cash flow, and time period in order to determine the effect of the adoption on IFRS on earnings growth. After looking at 516 firms from 20 countries for the years of 2002-2007, I conclude that IFRS is decreasing financial reporting quality and decreasing transparency for the investing public, and therefore is not accomplishing its goal of bringing efficiency, accountability, and transparency to global financial markets

Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report

This report measures the reach of the Summer Nutrition Programs in July 2015, nationally and in each state. This report is based on a variety of metrics and it examines the impact of trends and policies on program participation.First, the report looks at lunch participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs -- the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), among children certified for free and reduced-price meals, combined -- using free and reduced-price participation in NSLP in the prior regular school year as a benchmark against which to compare summer. Because there is broad participation in the regular school year lunch program by low-income students across the states, it is a useful comparison by which to measure how many students could -- and should -- be benefiting from the Summer Nutrition Programs.Second, the report looks at the number of sponsors and sites operating SFSP, as this is an important indicator of access to the program for low-income children in the states.Finally, the report sets an ambitious, but achievable, goal of reaching 40 children with the Summer Nutrition Programs for every 100 participating in school lunch and calculates the number of unserved children and the federal dollars lost in each state that is not meeting this goal

Exploring Behavior and Social Relationships of a Captive Group of Chimpanzees \u3cem\u3e(Pan troglodytes)\u3c/em\u3e

An observational study was conducted on a captive group of chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes to determine the overall behavior patterns, social organization, grooming relationships, and enclosure usage. Adolescence is a very dynamic time for young males and new group dynamics were expected to occur. The aim of the study was to investigate any shifting of social bonds among the group members and changes in the ranks of the two adolescent males. The two adolescent males (Lu and Mugsy) should have been demonstrating dominance behaviors towards the females, towards each other, and exhibiting sexual behaviors. Due to the unique group composition and the handrearing/ peer-rearing background ofthe males, this study also attempted to assess ifthe males of the group expressed species and sex-specific behaviors characteristic of healthy, socially capable male chimpanzees. A variety of behaviors were examined to determine interindividual relationships and to predict which male will be the next alpha individual; however, due to the low frequency of occurrence of dominance and submissive behaviors, proximity and grooming data were the primary behavioral measures. The data revealed that the males did not exhibit behaviors characteristic of their age and sex. The group remained in a stable state throughout the observation period with no observable status striving behaviors. Overall activity levels were low, with each group member having been stationary for 50%-68% of the observable time. The males did not exhibit sexual behaviors or interest in grooming the females while they were in swell. The group distributed nearly equal amounts of grooming to each male and both males spent nearly equal amounts of time in proximity to other members of the group. Mugsy, however, groomed others significantly more than Lu. Based on previous research, those that groom others more tend to be subordinate. The grooming data analyses determined the group\u27s hierarchical structure to be Debbie \u3c Kerry \u3c Julie \u3c Lu \u3c Mugsy. The data also indicated that Lu is likely to be the next alpha individual when Debbie\u27s status declines as she continues to age. Enclosure usage varied for the males and the females of the group. The patterns of enclosure usage replicated the natural fission-fusion social structure found in wild chimpanzees. The females were found to distribute the majority of their time near the waterfall/second viewing area and the males distributed their time near the first and second viewing area. Although the males and females were most often in separate groups, occasionally they were observed in one group moving through the enclosure or foraging and feeding together. Overall, this captive group of chimpanzees did not demonstrate behavior characteristic oftheir sex and age. A variety of factors may have contributed to the observed behavior patterns, such as the lack of mixed-ages for each sex, lack of adult male role models, hand/peer-rearing of the adolescent males, and the presence of a strong female coalition; however, this study could not distinguish among these factors

An Introduction to Number Theory Prime Numbers and Their Applications.

The author has found, during her experience teaching students on the fourth grade level, that some concepts of number theory haven\u27t even been introduced to the students. Some of these concepts include prime and composite numbers and their applications. Through personal research, the author has found that prime numbers are vital to the understanding of the grade level curriculum. Prime numbers are used to aide in determining divisibility, finding greatest common factors, least common multiples, and common denominators. Through experimentation, classroom examples, and homework, the author has introduced students to prime numbers and their applications

Far from everybody\u27s everything : Literary tricksters in African American and Chinese American fiction

This dissertation examines trickster sensibilities and behavior as models for racial strategies in contemporary novels by African American and Chinese American authors. While many trickster studies focus on myth, I assert that realist fiction provides a unique historical and cultural space that shapes trickster behavior. John Edgar Wideman, Gloria Naylor, Frank Chin and Maxine Hong Kingston use the trickster in their novels to articulate diverse racial strategies for people of color who must negotiate among a variety of cultural influences. My critical trickster paradigm investigates the motives and behavior of tricksters. It utilizes close literary readings that are strengthened by my comprehensive knowledge of the history of African Americans and Chinese Americans. Throughout time, images that define individuals in both groups develop in the popular imagination. The authors use the trickster to critique and revise those representations. African American authors also influence the racial discourse of Chinese American writers. I concluded that the literary trickster\u27s behavior and sensibilities vary from character to character. I found that African American and Chinese American authors share some racial strategies. They also utilize different racial strategies as a result of the different historical and cultural experiences of African Americans and Chinese Americans. Moreover, male and female African American authors differ in the kinds of racial strategies they advocate, just as male and female Chinese American authors. Such research is significant because of its interdisciplinary exploration of racial strategies of African Americans and Chinese Americans. It provides an alternative approach to the study of the trickster. My work also goes beyond the black/white racial paradigm to explore the cultural dialogue between African American and Chinese American writers

Evaluation of an exercise field test using heart rate monitors to assess cardiorespiratory fitness and heart rate recovery in an asymptomatic population.

PurposeMeasures of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and heart rate recovery (HRR) can improve risk stratification for cardiovascular disease, but these measurements are rarely made in asymptomatic individuals due to cost. An exercise field test (EFT) to assess CRF and HRR would be an inexpensive method for cardiovascular disease risk assessment in large populations. This study assessed 1) the predictive accuracy of a 12-minute run/walk EFT for estimating CRF ([Formula: see text]) and 2) the accuracy of HRR measured after an EFT using a heart rate monitor (HRM) in an asymptomatic population.MethodsFifty subjects (48% women) ages 18-45 years completed a symptom-limited exercise tolerance test (ETT) (Bruce protocol) and an EFT on separate days. During the ETT, [Formula: see text] was measured by a metabolic cart, and heart rate was measured continuously by a HRM and a metabolic cart.ResultsEFT distance and sex independently predicted[Formula: see text]. The average absolute difference between observed and predicted [Formula: see text] was 0.26 ± 3.27 ml·kg-1·min-1 for our model compared to 7.55 ± 3.64 ml·kg-1·min-1 for the Cooper model. HRM HRR data were equivalent to respective metabolic cart values during the ETT. HRR at 1 minute post-exercise during ETT compared to the EFT had a moderate correlation (r=0.75, p<0.001).ConclusionA more accurate model to estimate CRF from a 12-minute run/walk EFT was developed, and HRR can be measured using a HRM in an asymptomatic population outside of clinical settings