Using Origami Folding Techniques to Study the Effect of Non-Linear Stiffness on the Performance of Jumping Mechanism

This research uses Origami patterns and folding techniques to generate non-linear force displacement profiles and study their effect on jumping mechanisms. In this case, the jumping mechanism is comprised of two masses connected by a Tachi-Miura Polyhedron (TMP) with non-linear stiffness characteristics under tensile and compressive loads. The strain-softening behavior exhibited by the TMP enables us to optimize the design of the structure for improved jumping performance. I derive the equations of motion of the jumping process for the given mechanism and combine them with the kinematics of the TMP structure to obtain numerical solutions for the optimum design. The results correlate to given geometric configurations for the TMP that result in the two optimum objectives: The maximum time spent in the air and maximum clearance off the ground. I then physically manufacture the design and conduct compression tests to measure the force-displacement response and confirm it with the theoretical approach based on the kinematics. Experimental data from the compression tests show a hysteresis problem where the force-displacement profile exhibits different behavior whether the structure is being compressed or released. I investigate two methods to nullify the hysteresis when compressing or releasing the mechanism and then discuss their results. This research can lead to easily manufacturable jumping robotic mechanisms with improved energy storage and jumping performance. Additionally, I learn more about how to use origami techniques to harness unique stiffness properties and apply them to a variety of scenarios

Socio-Political Criticism in Contemporary Indonesian Art

The objective of this paper is to understand the connections between contemporary art and politics in Indonesia both in terms of how politics has shaped art practices, and in terms of how art influences politics. Questions I was interested in exploring include how contemporary art practices have changed considering the political changes over the past 30 years; if and how contemporary art is being used to facilitate political dialogues in the country; if and how contemporary art is being used to criticize and invoke change regarding social issues; and what the role of art spaces, collectives and foundations is in enabling the success of Indonesian artist’s socio-police criticism. My interest in this subject was sparked by a contemporary art book, Contemporary Indonesian Art: Artists, Art Spaces, and Collectives, by Yvonne Spielmann. The book said that during the Suharto Dictatorship, from 1966 to 1998, all visual art other than state-supporting realism and apolitical abstraction was strictly censored (Spielmann, 2017, p. 51). Therefore, it was not until the Reformasi era starting 20 years ago after the fall of Suharto that Indonesian art and artists were able to freely create, express and criticize (Jurriëns 2013). Today, Yogyakarta is home to an art scene where art practices are “social critical in intention, using expressive and realistic styles… to embed political criticism in a broader, widely familiar, and unsuspicious traditional cultural context” (Spielmann, 2017, p. 54). I was interested in learning more about how Indonesia’s brand-new contemporary art scene is able to start dialogues, spread information, and criticize society and politics; how the artists create the work; and how it is received by the public. For me, an artist, this topic is part of an important global discussion about the power of visual art as a tool for radical change. This paper will conclude my findings about the factors that both pushed and allowed artists to make contemporary art that addressed social and political problems. In this paper, I will analyze eleven pieces of art made between 1994 and today, which I have chosen because I feel that they successfully represent both the breadth of methods artists have employed to make political art, and the ways artists’ practices have changed over the last decades. To understand any piece of art, it is important to understand the context in which the piece was made. Therefore, the eleven pieces of art presented in this paper will be woven together with the narrative of art and politics in Indonesia beginning with the de-politicization of art under the New Order beginning in 1965, continuing through the creation of the New Art Movement (GSRB) in 1974, the fall of Suharto in 1998, and the 2007 Asian Art Market Boom, and concluding with the issues that contemporary artists are most impacted by and interested in exploring today: globalization, history, and education

Colorado’s move to the New Energy Economy offers lessons on the challenges facing the US transition away from coal towards renewables

While climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the US and the world, efforts towards transitioning away from fossil fuels are often deeply political, as last month’s ruling by the US Supreme Court stalling the implementation of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan shows. In new research, Michele Betsill and Dimitris Stevis look at Colorado’s political transition to a New Energy Economy in the late 2000s as an example of the complex politics of how such transitions can be achieved. They write that Colorado’s experience shows that building a counter-coalition against entrenched interests requires compromises in how goals are articulated by campaigners, and in the policies that are pursued

A changing role in global climate governance: São Paulo mixing its climate and international policies

Cities have been playing an important role in global climate governance for the last two decades, providing climate responses such as mitigation and adaptation policies. The city of São Paulo has positioned itself as one of the “new leaders” combining climate responses with an active international strategy. We analyze the role of São Paulo in global climate governance by crossing its climate and its international agendas from 2005 to 2018. The results demonstrate that São Paulo performed a leadership role during the phase of designing and adopting climate responses, but failed to sustain this position during the implementation phase. © 2019, INSTBRASILEIRORELACOESINT. All rights reserved

Extractive industries and mineral resources:turbulence all around

Few global sectors embody the intersections of turbulent environmental, economic, and geopolitical dynamics at multiple scales as well as the extractive industries and mineral extraction. As highly contentious decarbonization efforts proceed and intensify, the economic and strategic value of minerals critical to low-carbon transition has significantly increased for most countries. The chapter discusses different areas of turbulence surrounding the global decarbonization imperative and its significance for the extractives sector. It examines challenges to global extractives and minerals governance and the turbulence surrounding such governance, organizing the analysis into four types of turbulence: ecological, normative, geopolitical, and multi-scalar. Throughout, the chapter considers whether and how existing forms of governance are dealing with identified challenges and turbulence dynamics. It finds significant governance gaps and forecasts turbulent times ahead for minerals markets, politics, and governance at local, national, regional, and global scales

Sorption of Hydrophobic Organic Compounds in the Presence of Environmental Concentrations of Dissolved Humic and Fulvic Acids at Variable pH Values

Civil Engineerin

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions About the Implementation of the READ 180 Intervention Program

AbstractMany states have used the READ 180 intervention program as an instructional tool to improve reading performance outcomes. The problem was that despite teachers\u27 implementation of the READ 180 program, students at Wonderful Middle School were not learning or developing as well as desired despite the intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of teachers about how they implement, what difficulties they had, and what they might need to be better prepared to use the READ180 program. The conceptual framework guiding the study is based on Florida Reading Initiative, a researched-based school-wide reform effort committed to providing the professional development and follow-up support necessary for schools to achieve 100% literacy. The research question explored the perceptions of teachers about how they implement, what difficulties they had, and what they might need to be better prepared to use the READ 180 program. A basic qualitative design was used to gather the perceptions of eight purposefully selected middle school reading teachers through semistructured interviews. Themes were identified through open coding. The trustworthiness of the study was established through member checking, rich and detailed descriptions, and researcher reflexivity. The findings revealed that teachers need opportunities for professional development, time to collaborate, and direction for using student assessment data to successfully implement programs such as READ 180. A professional development project was created to provide teachers with strategies and approaches for implementing READ 180. This study has implications for positive social change by providing a PD plan to implement improved practices for READ 180 to improve student performance

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions About the Implementation of the READ 180 Intervention Program

AbstractMany states have used the READ 180 intervention program as an instructional tool to improve reading performance outcomes. The problem was that despite teachers\u27 implementation of the READ 180 program, students at Wonderful Middle School were not learning or developing as well as desired despite the intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of teachers about how they implement, what difficulties they had, and what they might need to be better prepared to use the READ180 program. The conceptual framework guiding the study is based on Florida Reading Initiative, a researched-based school-wide reform effort committed to providing the professional development and follow-up support necessary for schools to achieve 100% literacy. The research question explored the perceptions of teachers about how they implement, what difficulties they had, and what they might need to be better prepared to use the READ 180 program. A basic qualitative design was used to gather the perceptions of eight purposefully selected middle school reading teachers through semistructured interviews. Themes were identified through open coding. The trustworthiness of the study was established through member checking, rich and detailed descriptions, and researcher reflexivity. The findings revealed that teachers need opportunities for professional development, time to collaborate, and direction for using student assessment data to successfully implement programs such as READ 180. A professional development project was created to provide teachers with strategies and approaches for implementing READ 180. This study has implications for positive social change by providing a PD plan to implement improved practices for READ 180 to improve student performance