“[T]hey, like inhumane creatures, laughed”: Calvinist Humor in A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson may not appear, at first glance, to be an appropriate text for categorization under American humor; however, the humor that emerges from Rowlandson’s often hypocritical actions and descriptions during her captivity align well with what Michael Dunne describes as Calvinist humor. Dunne in Calvinist Humor in American Literature states that one form of Calvinist humor “shows us that other people are fallen from perfection without any necessary recognition that we may be in the same boat ourselves” (1). Rowlandson's situation reflects this form of Calvinist humor because although she criticizes her captors for laughing when she tumbles off a horse, she is completely unaware of her own hypocrisy that results in the modern-day reader also laughing at her

Bird Habitation and Species Diversity on UNCP’s Campus

Birds are commonly seen in suburban and urban areas, such as UNC Pembroke’s campus. Observations were conducted for 9 weeks on UNCP’s campus, noting species seen and their behaviors. The different areas of campus were considered and divided into 5 sites. A total of 29 species were seen throughout the sites, and the Old Main and Health Sciences ends of campus had the most species richness. All bird species seen were ones typically found in suburban areas and their behavior changed over the course of the months as it transitioned to spring

Lintheads and barons: filling the silences of the Loray Mill Strike

This dissertation intends by contextual analysis to examine a Southern textile community and through its literature--formal and informal, and written before, during, and after the 1929 Lora Mill strike--to show how the stories of this community construct a "figured world" in which identities were formed and lives were made possible through the genres and language practices of different social groups in Gaston County. It argues that each discourse--that of the mill barons, the mill workers, and the communist labor organizers--developed primarily along lines of money and social class, and shows how each discourse defines itself and is subsequently defined, silenced, and/or given voice by the others. It studies the genres of each written discourse (histories, newspapers, dramatic presentations, songs, and other studies) from a power standpoint that each genre maintains this particular social context

Use of LiDAR data in defining the urban-rural transition zone in stream cross-section morphology

Stream channel geometries have been found to enlarge with urbanization of the upland drainage basin. Although enlargement has been documented in a variety of climatic and urban regimes, little is known about how the geomorphic effects of urbanization translate into rural areas downstream. Models derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data from the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program were used in conjunction with field surveys to explore the urban-rural transition for North Buffalo Creek in Greensboro, NC. Although the model did not accurately represent at-a-point channel geometries, it was able to represent the prevailing geometric relationships between contributing drainage area and averaged channel capacity for channel reaches of approximately 140m. The urban-rural transition for North Buffalo Creek was found to be linear, with decreases in enlargement beginning well within the current urban boundary. Using linear regression, a truly “rural” state was predicted to be achieved when the channel reaches a contributing drainage area of between 400 - 450km2. Local increases in enlargement were found to be directly influenced by the junction of major tributaries

Signposts Along the Road: Monumental Public Writing in Egypt

Studies of writing in developing societies generally focus on book, newspaper and commercial literacy, and do not address the cultural significance of writing on craft and manufactured objects, on the one hand, and the use of writing on public signs, murals and billboards, on the other. Although ‘scattered’ indeed, the two latter genres of writing are important. They are also quite similar in their social roles, for although commodities circulate between public and private space, and public signs form relatively permanent parts of the built environment, both are manufactured displays which use writing in exaggerated form, and act simultaneously as geographical and identity markers, art, and foci of ritual acts. Given the centrality of written texts to the theology and practice of Islam, and also the importance of calligraphy in the visual art of the Islamic world, it is surprising that not much attention has been paid to these alternative uses of the written word. Thus I would like here to examine a specific subset of written culture in urban Egypt: the use of monumental writing in public space

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Reinforcement of core values: A case study at a medium-sized electronics manufacturing plant

The culture at this company was to recognize that their employees were there most important asset, as stated in their core values, “people are our greatest resource.” The company’s core values also state that enthusiastic and committed people are key to our success, and will: “1.) Partner with employees to achieve professional growth through training, development and education, 2.) Provide and maintain a safe and pleasant working environment, 3.) Treat all employees fairly and consistently, 4.) Encourage participation through team building, open communication and mutual respect.” The company’s culture has always been to offer excellent pay and benefits, an open door communication policy, but even more importantly to recognize their employees efforts on a group and individual basis. For years the company had offered financial rewards common in industry, such as: gain sharing, employee recognition programs, such as, employee of the month, and token gift giving, such as holiday gift certificates to all employees. They professed to manage by positive reinforcement. 3 Saying thank you was encouraged for a job well done, as well as postings on all bulletin boards that praised employees for making projects a success, and recognition at quarterly review meetings attended by co-workers. In the last year, the company had gone through many changes. The president that initiated and supported this participative culture and positive management style resigned, going to one of the competitors. The population of employees had doubled, going from 600 to over 1400. Long standing employees had ridden the tidal wave of growth and the demands for them to provide training and mentor new employees while maintaining their own jobs was overwhelming. The new employees were also under great pressure to hasten their learning curve in order to meet the production demands. Additionally, the overall corporate culture was different than the focal plant culture due to the fact that the British headquarters of the company did not encourage a participative culture, but was more control oriented and authoritative in style. There were many changes in the top echelons of management, all having different ideas on how to manage and how to reward. The vision of the company remained clear while there was individual differences as to the means to attain their goals. The dynamic growth, the learning curve, and their commitment to quality were all leading to getting back to the basics. The company was ignoring the culture that had always worked for them, the company was ignoring the non-financial rewards; such as saying thank you for a job well done, and the message that employees extra efforts were appreciated

Social group membership and risk-taking behaviors among college students with ADHD symptoms

Young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are more likely than their peers to engage in risk-taking behaviors, including harmful alcohol use, consumption of illicit drugs, and risky sexual behaviors. These behaviors become more common in the general population of young adults as they enter college, particularly for those who join social groups such as Greek life and athletics. It is unclear whether the presence of significant ADHD symptoms is related to engagement in risky behaviors particularly among students who participate in various social activities. We examined: (a) the degree to which inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms predict risk-taking behavior for a sample of 395 college students, and (b) whether the relationship between ADHD symptoms and risk-taking behavior is moderated by participation in social activities. Results indicated that more significant ADHD symptoms are associated with increased risk-taking behaviors, including harmful alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, and risky sexual behavior. Additionally, social group membership was predictive of increased risk-taking in some cases, particularly for students affiliated with Greek organizations. Findings demonstrate the need for universities to implement preventive programs for students with ADHD symptoms and those in social groups, especially Greek life, to minimize the likelihood of negative outcomes associated with risk-taking

Hydrogeomorphology of alluvial benches in an anabranching reach of the Upper Yadkin River, North Carolina

Prior research has been carried out to determine the relationships between flows cited as important to channel form and the morphology of step-like features bordering streams known as alluvial benches. However little effort has been undertaken to understand such relationships along anabranching river reaches, where relative flow volumes are divided and potentially more variable. Thus, the influence of the anabranching planform on the characteristics of alluvial benches is currently not well understood. In this study, low alluvial benches inset within the larger valley flat were surveyed along a two-branch anabranching reach of the Yadkin River at Patterson, North Carolina and related to calculated bench-full discharges and their recurrence intervals via flow apportionment for each branch. The results were compared with historical discharge and recurrence interval data, and used to infer potential pathways for anabranch adjustment to changing flows. It was determined that most of the lowest benches present in both channels of the anabranch exist in equilibrium with their current respective bankfull discharges and represent incipient floodplains, and also that bench creation via lateral accretion is the primary method for channel dimension adjustment within this reach as bench heights in both channel branches are similar to historical values for the single-channel state. It was also determined that the majority of the benches studied are within close proximity of the point of initial bifurcation, suggesting that anabranching exerts some control on bench location

April 26, 1935

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia