Search for Tradition in Modern Art

I conducted inter-disciplinary research on the phenomenon of modernity: mainly its economic connotations and its socio-historical impact (primarily in regards to modified social relations) on the creation of several artists. I explored Walter Benjamin's claim that modernity means the loss of traditions. I have studied different modern artists and artistic groups: Charles Baudelaire, Giorgio de Chirico, Italian Futurists, the Situationists International, Jacques Villeglé, Raymond Hains and Gérard Fromanger. I started with the industrial society of the late nineteenth century and finished with the post-war Americanization or Post-Fordism in the 1960s. In my thesis, I argued that modern art maintained a strong connection to traditions; even if at first it seems that the modern artwork’s technique, form, medium, or subject matter does not correspond to that of a traditional artwork – the connection to tradition is nonetheless present in modern art, it is only less explicit and perhaps more difficult to locate

Fox River Watershed Investigation: Stratton Dam to the Illinois River: Phase II Blackberry Creek and Poplar Creek Hydrologic and Water Quality Simulation Models: Executive Summary

Fox River Study Group, Inc.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Using GIS to Evaluate the Effects of Flood Risk on Residential Property Values

Annually, flooding causes more property damage in the United States than any other type of natural disaster. One of the consequences of continued urbanization is the tendency for floodplains to expand, increasing flood risks in the areas around urban streams and rivers. Hedonic modeling techniques can be used to estimate the relationship between residential housing prices and flood risks. One weakness of hedonic modeling has been incomplete controls for locational characteristics influencing a given property. In addition, relatively primitive assumptions have been employed in modeling flood risk exposures. We use GIS tools to provide more accurate measures of flood risks, and a more thorough accounting of the locational features in the neighborhood. This has important policy implications. Once a complete hedonic model is developed, the reduction in property value attributed to an increase in flood risks can, under certain circumstances, be interpreted as the household’s willingness to pay for the reduction of flood risk. Willingness to pay estimates can in turn be used to guide policymakers as they assess community-wide benefits from flood control projects

Detection and Predictability of Spatial and Temporal Patterns and Trends of Riverine Nutrient Loads in the Midwest

The deleterious effects of multiple stressors on global water resources have become more significant over the past few decades. Anthropogenic activities such as industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, and increased application of agricultural nutrients have led to a decline in overall quality of our aquatic environment. Additionally, these activities have increased greenhouse gas concentrations globally, warming the earth’s atmosphere and eventually having a detrimental effect on global water and energy balances. The global water cycle has been altered, leading to its overall intensification and an increase in frequency of extreme floods and droughts. Addressing increasing water demands coupled with declining water quality and a depletion of water resources requires new approaches in water management. In determining optimum management actions, it is critical to understand the spatial and temporal variability and trends in water quantity and quality. This research aims to improve our knowledge of anthropogenic and natural impacts on water resources by evaluating and refining the science of predicting pollutant (nutrient and sediment) loadings from medium- to large-scale watersheds. To enable these goals, this research is centered on large watersheds in the Midwestern United States, which have been some of the primary sources of nutrient and sediment loadings to downstream water bodies such as the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie. In total, 14 watersheds in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, with extensive water quality datasets, are analyzed in different stages of this research. Most of these watersheds are predominantly agricultural with intensive row-cropped farmlands and have a network of sub-surface tile drainage systems. Pollutant loadings and associated hydrological processes have been simulated using four major modeling approaches: statistical modeling, empirical modeling, physically based modeling, and data mining methods. This report includes eight chapters. The first three chapters describe the problem and research objectives, study area, and data preparation and processing. Next, the impacts of available water quality data on concentration and load predictions and trend calculations are assessed based on traditional statistical methods and several new, improved, and modified approaches (Chapter 4). This segment emphasizes the difficulties in predicting nutrient load and concentration trends under changing climatic conditions, highlighting the importance of continuous nutrient monitoring. Next, two data mining techniques (the nearest-neighbor method and decision trees), scarcely used in hydrology, were applied to predict the missing Nitrate Nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations for two extensively monitored watersheds in the Lake Erie basin. These predictions (Chapter 5) are important in load estimations and demonstrate the potential of data mining to produce results comparable with statistical and empirical methods presented in the previous chapter. In Chapter 6, statistical regression techniques are used to assess the role of large load events in predicting Total Suspended Solids (SS), Total Phosphorus (TP), and NO3-N annual loads. A novel constituent-specific baseflow separation technique based on mechanistic differences in nutrient and sediment loadings is proposed and applied. As a result, regression relationships between the largest annual loads and total annual loads were developed for all three constituents. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that these relationships are often statistically indistinguishable from each other when applied to watersheds with a similar land use. Then, in Chapter 7, the temporal patterns of pollutant loadings from large Midwestern watersheds are analyzed using circular statistics. Critical periods of high loadings, precipitation, and river flow were identified. While river flows and pollutant loadings are highest in late winter and early spring (e.g., March and April), rainfall totals are highest during late spring and early summer (e.g., May through August). Finally, Chapter 8 shows the results based on the physically based SWAT model. The model is calibrated for river discharge and water quality in the largest watershed in the Lake Erie basin, the Maumee River watershed. The calibrated model is used to gauge the impacts of future projected climate change from the mid-century and late-century time periods on the hydrology and water quality in the watershed. The results indicate that climate change could have a significant impact on sediment and nutrient loads, and that more detailed studies are needed to more accurately assess this impact and its confidence limits.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Modification of EVA in Value Based Management

AbstractThis article deals with the value based management and the metrics used in it. Nowadays, one of the basic requirements on the company is creation of value for the shareholders and that is why managers have adopted value-oriented methods to be able to measure any change of value. In the past, managers of many companies were focused on the main economic objective which they considered to be the maximization of profits. But this attitude was not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of shareholders, because their preferences lie in the value of the company. There will be described the most common value-oriented indicator, economic value added (EVA), in the article. The developer of the EVA concept is Stern Stewart & Company. They criticized the traditional indicators as ROA, ROI, PAT, EPS etc. for their characteristic and the weak explanatory power in terms of value creation. Company valuation through EVA is an appropriate mean to determine creditworthiness of a company. The EVA calculation also provides valuable information for various areas of management. This metric is quantifying the value that was added as a result of the implementation of operational activities during the reference period. Moreover, there are many modifications of the EVA used in practice, such as MVA, CVA, SVA, RONA that will be described and compared in the article

Facteurs susceptibles d’influencer l'implantation de l'Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes et du Programme-cadre de français pour les personnes immigrantes adultes au Québec

La coexistence des services de francisation au Québec pour les personnes immigrantes adultes a fait l'objet de divers enjeux liés notamment au passage des apprenants d'un lieu de formation à un autre (Québec, MICC, 2011a). Dans le but de répondre à ces enjeux et d’harmoniser l'offre de services gouvernementaux en matière de francisation des adultes, le ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) a élaboré en collaboration avec le ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), une innovation pédagogique, soit un référentiel commun québécois composé de deux instruments : l’Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes et le Programme-cadre de français pour les personnes immigrantes adultes au Québec. Le but de notre étude était de mieux comprendre l'implantation du référentiel commun québécois, de faire état des représentations du personnel enseignant en francisation vis-à-vis de cette innovation pédagogique et d’identifier les principaux facteurs qui structurent son implantation. Pour atteindre ces objectifs de recherche, nous avons mené une étude qualitative dans laquelle nous nous sommes appuyée sur le modèle d'implantation de Vince-Whitman (2009) qui identifie douze facteurs facilitant l’implantation d’une politique et d’une pratique. Nous avons accédé aux représentations de douze enseignantes et enseignants en francisation qui œuvrent au MICC et au MELS lors d’entretiens de groupe en leur permettant de s'exprimer sur leurs pratiques pédagogiques et sur leurs impressions du référentiel commun québécois. À l’aide du logiciel QSF NVivo 8, nous avons analysé le contenu des propos de nos participants de recherche. Nos résultats démontrent que le manque appréhendé de ressources – humaines, matérielles et financières, et un manque de temps, de formation et de collaboration professionnelle pourraient représenter des obstacles et nuire à une éventuelle implantation du référentiel commun québécois. À la lumière de ces résultats, nous proposons un cadre de référence composé de sept facteurs d’implantation d’une innovation pédagogique afin de mieux rendre compte d’une réalité spécifique et contemporaine, celle de l'implantation du référentiel commun québécois pour la francisation des immigrants adultes scolarisés. Les écrits scientifiques et nos résultats de recherche démontrent que de diverses formes de soutien, principalement du matériel pédagogique approprié et suffisant, peuvent constituer un facteur-clé dans la réussite de l’implantation d’une innovation pédagogique.The existence of multiple French second language services in Quebec for adult immigrants has proved to be problematic, especially when students transfer from one institution to another (Québec, MICC, 2011a). In response to this and other similar issues and in order to harmonize government French second language services, the ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (MICC) developed, in collaboration with the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) a pedagogical innovation composed of two tools: the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français des personnes immigrantes adultes and the Programme-cadre de français pour les personnes immigrantes adultes au Québec. This common framework of reference for language is used to describe the achievements of adult immigrant learners in Quebec. This study focuses on the implementation of a pedagogical innovation, in order to gain a greater understanding of the implementation of the Quebec framework of reference, present teacher representations regarding this pedagogical innovation, and identify the key factors that structure its implementation. This qualitative study adopted an implementation model by Vince-Whitman (2009) who identifies twelve implementation factors of a policy and its practice. Our study used as its data collection method group interviews of a total of twelve French second language teachers from the MICC and the MELS. The interviews aimed to collect the comments of these teachers regarding their pedagogical practices and their impressions of the Quebec framework of reference. The software QSF NVivo 8 was used to analyze the content of our participants’ words. Key findings of the study indicate that implementation is challenging due to a number of obstacles, such as the lack of teaching material, human and financial resources, as well as a lack of time, professional training and professional collaborations. In light of these results, we developed a model framework based on seven factors of implementation of a pedagogical innovation in order to account for a specific and contemporary phenomenon, that of the implementation of the Quebec framework of reference for French second language education of adult immigrants. Various studies coupled with our results demonstrate that different types of support, such as appropriate and sufficient pedagogical material, are key elements to consider in ensuring successful implementation of a pedagogical innovation

Overview of recommended phase III water quality monitoring: Fox River watershed investigation

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 16-17)."Prepared for the Fox River Study Group.""December 2005"--Cover.Printed from URL

Winter wheat noodle colour evaluation in sustainable farming systems

The aim of this work was to evaluate colour of noodles that were prepared from winter wheat grown in ecological and integrated arable farming systems after different forecrops with two levels of fertilization (fertilized and unfertilized) during the years 2009 and 2010. Winter wheat noodles were prepared from white flour and wholegrain flour and it’s colour was evaluated using the spectro-colorimeter. Colour of white flour noodles was significantly influenced by forecrop, crop nutrition (fertilized and unfertilized variants) and by meteorological conditions during experimental years. Farming systems had no statistical effect on white flour noodles colour values. The colour of wholegrain noodles was affected by farming system, forecrop, crop nutrition and also the year of growing. Whole grain noodles from ecological system were darker, with lower lightness, higher redness compared to noodles from integrated system. Fertilization increased redness, yellowness and decrease the lightness of white flour noodles, on the contrary, fertilization increase the lightness and decrease the redness of wholegrain noodles.Keywords: ecological, integrated arable system, wheat noodle colou

Fox River Watershed investigation: Stratton Dam to the Illinois River, Phase II: hydrologic models and water quality simulation models, part 2: Blackberry and Poplar Creek HSPF models, calibration and initial simulation results

"Report presented to the Fox River Study Group, Inc.""June 2007.

Geochemical, mineralogical, and petrographic investigations of the Eyreville drill cores from the Chesapeake bay impact structure

Der ICDP-USGS Eyreville Bohrkern wurde in den Jahren 2005-2006 im zentralen Graben der spät-Eozänen Chesapeake Bay Impaktstruktur, nahe der Eyreville Farm (Northampton County, Virginia, USA) erbohrt. Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert petrografische und geochemische Analysen von 166 Impaktgesteinsproben der Eyreville-Bohrkerne A und B. Weiters wurden speziell die Intervalle der Impaktbrekzien und der kieseligen Sande des Bohrkerns detailliert untersucht. Das Impaktbrekzien-Intervall besteht hauptsächlich aus Sueviten, aber es kommen auch zwei dünne Lagen Impaktitschmelzen und große kataklastische Gneisblöcke vor. Dieses Intervall wurde auf Grund der Unterschiede im Matrix-, Schmelzen- und Klastengehalt in sechs Untereinheiten unterteilt. Im Liegenden der Impaktbrekzien kommt eine Dichtestrom-Brekzie vor, wohingegen gegen das Hangende Rückfall (fall-back)- Material häufiger wird. Es wurden verschiedene schockmetamorphe und ähnliche Effekte verzeichnet. In den Gesteinsbruchstücken (Klasten) wurde die Häufigkeitsverteilung geschockter Quarzkörner ermittelt, sowie mittels Universal-Drehtisch die Orientierung der Schocklamellen dieser Quarzkörner bestimmt. Mit zunehmender Tiefe verringert sich die Häufigkeit der stark geschockten Klasten; weiters zeigen Klasten unterschiedlicher Lithologien unterschiedliche Schockintensitäten. Die Zusammensetzung der polymikten Impaktite zeigt mit zunehmender Tiefe einige Unterschiede. Die Konzentration der siderophilen Elemente weist auf keine Präsenz einer extraterrestrischen Komponente hin. Geochemische Mischungsberechnungen lassen vermuten, dass die Hauptkomponenten der polymikten Impaktite aus grundgesteinsbezogenen Gneisen/Schiefern und einer signifikanten sedimentären Komponente bestehen. Basierend auf optischen und elektronenmikroskopischen Beobachtungen, sowie Elektronenmikrosonden-Analysen, konnten die Schmelzpartikel in sechs unterschiedliche Typen gruppiert werden. Diese Beobachtungen, zusammen mit den Mischungsberechnungen, legen einen vorwiegend sedimentären Vorläufer der Schmelzen nahe. Das Intervall der kieseligen Sande besteht aus schlecht sortierten unkonsolidierten Sanden, hauptsächlich zusammengesetzt aus Quarzen, Kalifeldspäten, Smektiten und Kaoliniten. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse bestätigen die Entstehung der kieseligen Sande aus einer vom Impakt induzierten Gesteinslawine, bestehend aus Material der nichtmarinen Potomac-Formation.The late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure is 35.3 Myr old and ~85 km in diameter. Three stacked cores (A, B, and C) were drilled to a total depth of 1766 m in years 2005–2006 at Eyreville Farm, Northampton County, Virginia, USA, located in the central moat of the impact structure. The project was a joint International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaboration. This thesis presents investigations of 166 samples of impactites from Eyreville cores A and B. All samples were described macro- and microscopically and their major and trace element composition was determined. Further work was focused on the impact breccia interval (1397–1551 m depth) and the overlying gravelly sand interval (1371–1397 m depth). The impact breccia interval consists mostly of suevite, but two thin layers of impact melt rock were found in the upper part of the interval and large blocks of cataclastic gneiss occur in the lower part. The impact breccia interval has been divided into six subunits based on the differences in content of matrix, melt, and clasts of different lithologies. Generally the abundance of lithic clasts increases and amount of melt particles decreases with increasing depth. The bottom part is a ground surge breccia, whereas towards the top the fallback material becomes more abundant and is dominant in the uppermost part of the interval. Various shock metamorphic and related effects were noted in the impact breccias, including rare planar fractures (PFs) and abundant planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz, common “toasted” appearance of quartz, occasional ballen silica, rare PDFs in feldspar, and kink banding in mica. Shock metamorphic effects were studied in detail. The proportion of shocked quartz grains (grains displaying PFs and/or PDFs) was investigated in clasts of different lithologies from the impact breccia interval. No linear trend with depth was found, although the highly shocked clasts become generally less abundant with depth. More important differences were found among clasts of different lithologies, e.g., mostly minimally shocked clasts from the crystalline basement versus abundant highly shocked clasts from the overlying sedimentary rocks. In addition, the crystallographic orientations of PDFs were determined (using universal stage measurements) in quartz grains of several clasts. The polymict impactites show a decrease in the SiO2 content and slight increases of the TiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 abundances, with depth. This is in agreement with an increase of the schist/gneiss component with depth. Siderophile element concentrations are lower than in, e.g., the target schists, and do not indicate the presence of an extraterrestrial component. Geochemical harmonic least square mixing (HMX) calculations suggest that the main components of the polymict impactites of the impact breccia interval are basement-derived rocks (gneiss/schist) together with a significant sedimentary component (probably derived mainly from the Cretaceous Potomac Formation) and possibly a pegmatite/granite and amphibolite component. Melt particles were grouped into six different types, primarily based on their appearance under optical microscope (e.g., color, shape, inclusions). Some common melt types occur over a wide depth range, whereas other types are found only in the impact melt rock intervals. Several melt particles of each type were analyzed by electron microprobe. Average composition of each melt type was determined and possible precursors were discussed. The observations, including HMX calculations, suggest a predominance of sedimentary precursors. Mineral phases in the melt (i.e., undigested clasts, quench crystals, as well as secondary phases) were analyzed by electron microprobe and microRaman spectrometry. The gravelly sand interval of the Eyreville drill core consists of grayish, poorly sorted and poorly consolidated sand. The matrix comprises 30 to 40 vol% and includes clasts of mostly mono- and polycrystalline quartz and less abundant K-feldspar. Other minerals are only accessory. The main clay fraction components are smectite and kaolinite. The gravelly sand is non-marine, as indicated by the absence of marine microfossils and glauconite. The composition is very silica-rich (>80 wt% of SiO2). Results of our investigations are in agreement with the hypothesis that the gravelly sand interval was formed by an avalanche during the crater modification and the material originated from the non-marine Potomac Formation. The Eyreville core impactites represent a complex series of depositional events following the shallow-marine Chesapeake Bay impact event. Probably all the lithologies in the core are allochthonous. The deposition mechanism of the impactites changed from ground-surge to fallout, which was soon interrupted by rock avalanches and resurge of the ocean water with sediments. Shock metamorphism effects are present in the impact and resurge breccias, but the allochthonous crystalline blocks are unshocked