Selection V: French watercolors and drawings from the museum\u27s collection, ca. 1800-1910

French art from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries forms one of the strongest areas of our holdings. In addition to the paintings and sculpture that are normally on view in our galleries, the Department of Graphic Arts is blessed with an impressive array of watercolors and drawings by most of the figures that gave such prominence to the period. Yet the breadth and quality of this collection has only been suggested by those few drawings by Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and van Gogh that are exhibited with some regularity. We have long felt the need to systematically research, publish and exhibit a larger group of these sheets, thus sharing with our several publics one of the true treasures of this Museum.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/risdmuseum_publications/1007/thumbnail.jp

AN APPLICATION OF INFORMATION SEEKING ANXIETY SCALE TO A UNIVERSITY LIBRARY: A CASE STUDY AT UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA, SRI LANKA

Libraries and their users are nervous of falling behind with the rapid rate of technological change. All the forms of academic-related anxiety, and frustrations associated when searching information. Most of the research studies have shown that, majority of the undergraduates do not use the library resources in an expected level due to variety of anxieties.Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to assess and apply the Information seeking Anxiety Scale (ISAS) among university library users at University of Peradeniya and determines the suitability of application of this scale to a Sri Lankan university students relating to seeking of information.A survey research method was applied. Close-ended questionnaire was used as the research tool and data was collected from undergraduates in 2013/2014 academic year.The ISAS developed and validated by Mohammadamin, Abrizah and Karim, (2012) was taken as the base construct for this study. The overall a=0.902 of the original scale indicated and the Sri Lankan study increases up to 0.937. It indicates more or less similar results of the original study and it has been proved that, this scale can be applied to the Sri Lankan university context too. All the students are suffering with different types of anxieties related to the seeking of information. Therefore, it is better to have a year-based user education program for them to develop their skills to use resources without getting anxious

Deconstructing the immunopathogenesis of lung infections

Champa Ratnatunga studied the immune system of patients who developed non tuberculous mycobacterial infections. She found that each risk group and each infecting species had specific immune problems associated with infection. The pattern of this immune dysfunction helps to understand the disease and is being used to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies

Functional Analysis of AtVAMP714 gene in Arabidopsis

An activation tagging screen was carried out to identify gain-of-function mutants showing potential auxin defects, with the aim of identifying the new genes regulating plant development. The conjoined (cnj) mutant isolated from the activation tagged screen exhibits duplication of the seedling axis. Sequencing the insertion locus revealed that the activation tag was positioned between ATP-binding protein and vesicle associated membrane protein genes. Cloned mutant locus and expression studies indicated that the vesicle associated membrane protein gene is upregulated in the activation tagging line. The aim of this work is to investigate the function of the vesicle associated membrane protein gene (AtVAMP714), which is a member of an R-SNARE protein family. To determine the expression pattern of AtVAMP714, proAtVAMP714::GUS expression in seedlings was examined. GUS activity was observed in the hypocotyl and roots and the strongest expression was observed in the root vascular tissues. The AtVAMP714 gene is positively auxin regulated. VAMP714::GFP fusion protein localized to Golgi vesicles suggesting it may be involved in the Golgi secretory pathway. Auxin transport levels in roots and shoots found to be greatly reduced in AtVAMP714 overexpressors compared to the wild type plants. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that transcript levels of IAA1 and IAA2 were significantly reduced in AtVAMP714 overexpressors. Immunolocalization of PIN1 and PIN2 showed strong defects in localization. To characterize the development role of VAMP714, SALK null mutants of the AtVAMP714 gene were identified. The mutant phenotype showed an abnormal branching and short root phenotype and PIN1, PIN2 and PIN4 transcript levels were significantly reduced. Dominant negative transgenics of AtVAMP714 were also created as a method of knocking out the function of the protein and F2 generation plants were analysed for developmental defects. Consistent with the above results the dominant negative transgenics showed a short root phenotype with dwarfed, branchy shoots. PIN1 and PIN2 proteins were mislocalized in dominant negative transgenics. The results presented provide evidence for a role of AtVAMP714 in auxin transport through a requirement for correct PIN protein secretion and localization

Long Run Emission-Growth Nexus: An Empirical Evidence

This study presents an empirical investigation of i) testing the Granger Causality between economic growth and aggregated carbon dioxide (CO2) emission; and economic growth and disaggregated CO2 emission from burning fossil fuel coal, oil and natural gas respectively; ii) the potential impact on economic growth if countries substitute CO2 emission from dirty energy, coal, by emission from relatively cleaner energy oil and natural gas. I undertake panel analysis of 30 countries and separate time series analysis for China, United States and United Kingdom during 1960-2010 sample years. The causal relationship between variables has been examined by using a VAR in first differences framework. The results from panel countries show ‘Feedback’ relationship in all cases except an ‘Unidirectional’ causality running from economic growth to CO2 emission from coal. In country level analysis, there is no evidence of causality between economic growth and aggregated emission, whereas a significant ‘Unidirectional’ causality has been found running from economic growth to emission from coal in highest emitter China and United States. This relevant and expected finding imply that higher GDP growth in China and United States cause higher emission in environment, however, we do not find such relationship for the case of United Kingdom. Utilizing Wald test with linear restriction I found that countries will be environmentally benefited, if they substitute emission from coal by that of oil and natural gas, as if they substitute coal consumption by oil and natural gas consumption. But how much GDP would have to forgo for substituting coal by oil and natural gas is a matter of conflict between capitalists and environmentalists and therefore, deserve further research

Spatiotemporal analyses of soil moisture from point to footprint scale in two different hydroclimatic regions

This paper presents time stability analyses of soil moisture at different spatial measurement support scales (point scale and airborne remote sensing (RS) footprint scale 800 m × 800 m) in two different hydroclimatic regions. The data used in the analyses consist of in situ and passive microwave remotely sensed soil moisture data from the Southern Great Plains Hydrology Experiments 1997 and 1999 (SGP97 and SGP99) conducted in the Little Washita (LW) watershed, Oklahoma, and the Soil Moisture Experiments 2002 and 2005 (SMEX02 and SMEX05) in the Walnut Creek (WC) watershed, Iowa. Results show that in both the regions soil properties (i.e., percent silt, percent sand, and soil texture) and topography (elevation and slope) are significant physical controls jointly affecting the spatiotemporal evolution and time stability of soil moisture at both point and footprint scales. In Iowa, using point‐scale soil moisture measurements, the WC11 field was found to be more time stable (TS) than the WC12 field. The common TS points using data across the 3 year period (2002–2005) were mostly located at moderate to high elevations in both the fields. Furthermore, the soil texture at these locations consists of either loam or clay loam soil. Drainage features and cropping practices also affected the field‐scale soil moisture variability in the WC fields. In Oklahoma, the field having a flat topography (LW21) showed the worst TS features compared to the fields having gently rolling topography (LW03 and LW13). The LW13 field (silt loam) exhibited better time stability than the LW03 field (sandy loam) and the LW21 field (silt loam). At the RS footprint scale, in Iowa, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests show that the percent clay and percent sand are better able to discern the TS features of the footprints compared to the soil texture. The best soil indicator of soil moisture time stability is the loam soil texture. Furthermore, the hilltops (slope ∼0%–0.45%) exhibited the best TS characteristics in Iowa. On the other hand, in Oklahoma, ANOVA results show that the footprints with sandy loam and loam soil texture are better indicators of the time stability phenomena. In terms of the hillslope position, footprints with mild slope (0.93%–1.85%) are the best indicators of TS footprints. Also, at both point and footprint scales in both the regions, land use–land cover type does not influence soil moisture time stability

Development of a conceptual model of ICT self-efficacy and the use of electronic information resources

The purpose of the study was to identify the ICT self-efficacy (ICTSE) of users, factors affecting ICTSE, and the EIR usage of undergraduates based on the four sources in relation to the self-efficacy theory. The Survey research design was used in carrying out this research. A structured questionnaire was validated through experts and piloted among the final year undergraduates studying Humanities and Social Sciences of four state universities in Sri Lanka. The structural equation modelling was performed using partial least square. The model revealed that ICTSE has a direct, negative, and significant relationship with ICT anxiety and that ICT training also has a direct, negative, and significant relationship with EIR. The model explained that there is a 27% of variance in the EIR use variable. The management of the library may deem it a worthy investment to instil adequate self-efficacy in users and encourage them to engage in more self-reliant search practices and decrease their dependence on staff. The finalized scales provide a potential tool applicable to different domains and disciplines to yield more common managerial implications in relation to training, teaching, and learning along with can be used as a tool when policy-level decision are made about the behavioral changes among university users on EIR usage in the current ICT domains within the university library systems

Estimated Costs of Injuries in College and High School Female Sports

Injury rates in thirteen U.S. women’s college sports and four U.S. girls’ high school sports are examined in this paper. The sports are categorized as high injury (H) or low injury (L) and differences in injury rates between the two are examined. Estimates are presented of the injury savings that would result if the H sports were changed to have injury rates similar to those in the L sports. The estimated college savings are 13,610 fewer injuries per year and 2,020 fewer healthy years lost-to-injury per year. The estimated high school savings are 143,900 fewer injuries per year and 24,300 fewer healthy years lost-to-injury per year. For concussions the savings are 2,750 per year for college and 49,390 per year for high school. The estimated dollar value (in 2015 dollars) of the total injury savings is between $122 million and$505 million per year for college and between $1.3 billion and$4.9 billion per year for high school

CONSUMER FASCINATING DETERMINANTS OF GLOBAL FIVE-STAR HOTEL BRANDS: A SRI LANKAN PERSPECTIVE

Global brands for five-star hospitality firms such as Sheraton, Hilton, Marriot, Inter-continental, and Shangri-La were examined to scrutinize the determinants of global five-star hotel brands by exploring brand awareness, brand preference and brand association. Multi-methodological approach addresses the determinants of global five star hotel brands with a perspective in Sri Lanka, an emerging tourism small island to answer several questions: (1) how do global consumers of different cultural and different geographical regions and domestic Sri Lankan consumers evaluate global five star hotels brands differently? (Brand Awareness) (2) what determines their preference for global five-star hotels brands? (Brand Preference); and (3) how do different types of services associated with global five-star hotels brands influence consumer preferences? (Brand Association). JEL: D11; D12; L83  Article visualizations

Information seeking trends among the Law course entrants in two Sri Lankan universities: a comparative study

This comparative study is an attempt to understand the pre-university library experiences of two groups of Law course entrants in two universities. The study concentrated on the use of the school library before entering the university, some social media and the communication preferences, and established that both groups have effectively used the school libraries. Yet, there are variations between the groups in using the other information sources such as websites, smart phones, select social media, etc. The study recommends offering a well-planned support programme covering the available resources and services, paying special attention to the use of e-resources, online catalogue, e-mail and social media for their academic purpose