The Sugi Sakit Ritual Storytelling in a Saribas Iban Rite of Healing

This paper describes a Saribas Iban rite of healing called the Sugi sakit. What distinguished this rite from other forms of Saribas Iban healing was that it incorporated within its performance a long narrative epic concerned with the adventures and love affairs of an Iban culture hero named Bujang Sugi. Here I explore the language used by Iban priest bards both in telling the Sugi epic and in performing the larger ritual drama in which it was set, and look, in particular, at how the Sugi epic, which was otherwise told for entertainment, was integrated into this drama and recast by the priest bards as they performed the ritual, so that it not only entertained their listeners, but also served as a serious instrument of healing

Influence of herbicides application on weed and tall fescue management and grazing distribution in Missouri pastures

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on May 30, 2013).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Kevin W. BradleyIncludes bibliographical references.M.S. University of Missouri--Columbia 2012."May 2012"One weed that is of concern in Missouri pastures that can be detrimental is Northern dewberry (Rubus flagellaris Willd.). This weed can be detrimental due its production of spines which can injure grazing animals and also humans. Results from our study show that herbicide applications made in the fall that contain metsulfuron will provide approximately 50% control of this weed, but where severe infestations exist a follow-up application will be required. Tall fescue can also be detrimental to the health of grazing animals. It can contain a fungus known as ergovaline which is in its highest concentration in tall fescue seedheads. Applying herbicides at certain growth stages can reduce tall fescue seedhead density. Applications of metsulfuron-containing herbicides at the boot stage of growth reduced tall fescue seedhead density the most compared to vegetative stage applications of these same herbicides. The distribution of cattle grazing in mixed tall fescue and legume pastures is also an important aspect of pasture management. Overgrazing of certain areas in pastures can cause an increase in weed growth and also reduce the growth of desirable forage. However, many producers are skeptical of treating pastures with broadcast herbicide applications as almost all herbicides available for broadleaf weed control in a pasture setting will eliminate other desirable forage species such as clover. Through this research, it was determined that even with the elimination of legumes, cattle grazing distribution can be increased in herbicide-treated pastures compared to non-treated areas within the same pasture

Edge ideals: algebraic and combinatorial properties

Let C be a clutter and let I(C) be its edge ideal. This is a survey paper on the algebraic and combinatorial properties of R/I(C) and C, respectively. We give a criterion to estimate the regularity of R/I(C) and apply this criterion to give new proofs of some formulas for the regularity. If C is a clutter and R/I(C) is sequentially Cohen-Macaulay, we present a formula for the regularity of the ideal of vertex covers of C and give a formula for the projective dimension of R/I(C). We also examine the associated primes of powers of edge ideals, and show that for a graph with a leaf, these sets form an ascending chain

Students as co-creators of teaching approaches, course design and curricula: implications for academic developers

Within higher education, students’ voices are frequently overlooked in the design of teaching approaches, courses and curricula. In this paper we outline the theoretical background to arguments for including students as partners in pedagogical planning processes. We present examples where students have worked collaboratively in design processes along with the beneficial outcomes of these examples. Finally we focus on some of the implications and opportunities for academic developers of proposing collaborative approaches to pedagogical planning

Care pathways in the transition of patients between district psychiatric hospital centres (DPCs) and community mental health services

Rationale, aims, and objectives: Patients with mental health problems experience numerous transitions into and out of the hospital. Primary care providers have mixed success in identifying and managing patients' needs. This study explores health personnel’s experience of care pathways in patient transition between inpatient and community mental health services. Method: A descriptive qualitative design was chosen. Four focus group interviews with twelve informants from seven different communities were conducted. Interviews were analyzed thematically. Results: Two main themes were identified: integrated care and patient activation. The participants shared their experiences on topics that can affect smooth care pathways in mental health. Six promoting factors were identified for successful patient transition: opportunities for information sharing, implementation of systematic plans, use of e-messages, around-the-clock care, designating one responsible health person in each system for each patient, and the involvement of patients and their families. The following barriers were all found to impede the patients’ transition between levels of care: the lack of a single responsible person at each health care level, insufficient meetings, the absence of systematic plans, difficulties in identifying the right staff at different levels, delays in information sharing, and the complexity of welfare systems negatively affecting patient dignity. Conclusions: Systems and procedures should be developed to ensure clear responsibilities and transparency at each stage of the pathways of care. A single person should take charge of ensuring sufficient connection and communication between inpatient and community mental health services. Finally, both patient and staff in community services should be linked through a direct telephone number with around-the-clock availability

How can we confidently judge the extent to which student voice in higher education has been genuinely amplified? A proposal for a new evaluation framework

This article aims to contribute to the development of frameworks for evaluating student voice projects in higher education by offering a critically evaluative account of two student voice projects. Although both projects had been underpinned by the principles of participatory (inclusive) research, one appeared to be more successful than the other in engaging students in a productive or meaningful way. In order to confirm and explain these perceived differences, this paper draws on both student voice and participatory research literature to identify two potentially useful evaluation criteria: reach and fitness for purpose. These criteria are applied to three project factors: aims and assumptions, processes and outcomes to produce an amplitude framework for evaluating student voice in higher education. It is argued that this framework has the potential to enable a rich account of the relative successes and failures of student voice initiatives in higher education

Preliminary Evaluation of NDE Techniques for Structural Ceramics

A preliminary evaluation of several nondestructive testing methods for flaw detection in high-temperature structural ceramic components is being carried out. The ceramics components being investigated include silicon carbide heat-exchanger tubes and silicon nitride rotors. The nondestructive evaluation techniques under consideration include dye-enhanced radiography, holographic interferometry, infrared scanning, acoustic microscopy, acoustic-emission monitoring, acoustic-impact testing, and conventional ultrasonic testing. The capability of each technique to detect critical-size flaws will be discussed. Preliminary results to date\u27 have shown that (a) dye-enhanced radiographic techniques are capable of detecting tight cracks missed with conventional x-ray methods, (b) acoustic microscopy techniques may be useful in detecting and establishing the size of subsurface defects in reaction-bonded silicon nitride, (c) holographic interferometry techniques should be valuable in locating surface cracks in silicon nitride/silicon carbide components, and (d) the results from various silicon carbide tubes suggests that infrared scanning techniques may reveal changes in heat-flow patterns which are related to variations in physical properties. The results for the other techniques mentioned will be discussed. Future efforts in this program, will be directed toward in-depth investigations of the most useful nondestructive techniques

Cultivating student-staff partnerships through research and practice

No abstract available