Measuring research progress in photovoltaics

The role and some results of the project analysis and integration function in the Flat-plate Solar Array (FSA) Project are presented. Activities included supporting the decision-making process, preparation of plans for project direction, setting goals for project activities, measuring progress within the project, and the development and maintenance of analytical models

A Reanalysis of the Occurrence, Size and Composition of Communal Groups of Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

In our previous analyses of occurrence, size, and composition of communal groups of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), we treated population density as a categorical variable ( 100/h) and used spring through early autumn and late autumn through winter as seasonal categories. To determine if these broad groupings biased our results, we reanalyzed the data treating density as a continuous variable and using a finer seasonal scale. We also conducted new analyses regarding composition of communal groups (specifically, proportion of adult male residents in relation to season and population density) and compared sex ratios of residents of communal groups, residents of all social groups and non-residents.Ope

Religion and Healing the Mind/Body/Self

In order to understand the linkage between religion and healing, we must go well beyond the theme of body regulation. Although religion does involve body regulation and control, and although these functions are reflected in healing practices, there are many other ways by which religion is linked with human bodies. We will arrive at a far richer appreciation of this linkage if we start with a broad sociology of the human body, its illnesses and healing, and ask the expanded question: How is religion involved in these complex processes

Social Ecological Food Systems: Sustainability Lessons From Maine Dairy Networks

Milk production has played an integral role in the culture, landscape, and economy of Maine’s agriculture. Maine dairy farmers have faced numerous sustainability challenges to economic, environmental, and social aspects of their industry. Like many other complex social ecological systems, the Maine dairy industry faces a gap between scientific knowledge and actionable management or policy. A cultural dichotomy exists between conventional and organic farming. Shifting the focus from this binary, metrics such as social capital may play a key role in solving sustainability issues. Difficulties arise in the governance of complex social ecological systems when the scales of assessment, management, and policy do not match principal challenges. Despite efforts by many, Maine dairy challenges may be fueled by a state political system that is restricted by term limits and short legislative sessions. Piecemeal policy-making leads to assessment and policy outcomes that do not take the complexities of the system into consideration. In the case of the Maine dairy industry, using mental modeling and social network analysis: 1) we seek to explore a method that may improve understanding in cases of disintegration between sustainability policy and action; 2) we test whether social capital, measured using Maine dairy farmers’ information networks, spans perceived boundaries between conventional and organic management and between different farm sizes, and; 3) we investigate the scale problemscape for long-term success of the Maine dairy industry. We found no significant difference in the importance of the economic, environmental, or social factors that dairy farmers considered to be the most challenging to industry sustainability. Social capital, rather than farm management practice or size, is a critical variable for better understanding industry sustainability. We found gaps between the current industry policy structure and the management and assessment scales required to address sustainability challenges. The barriers to effective long-term management, assessment, and policy are numerous for the Maine dairy industry. Our findings suggest that solutions concentrating on only one sustainability factor are unlikely to work in the long-term. Solutions may lie in a more holistic evaluation process, and inclusion of social capital and scale assessments to effectively link science and policy

Religion and the Body: Rematerializing the Human Body in the Social Sciences of Religion

The social sciences of religion could be transformed by taking seriously the fact that humans are embodied. A new conceptualization of a mindful body has the potential to lead to profound shifts in how we view our subjects and their worlds. Our research strategies need to take into account that believers (and nonbelievers) are not merely disembodied spirits, but that they experience a material world in and through their bodies. Greater awareness of the social and political uses of human bodies should guide our research and theory