Animal Languages: The Human-Animal Binary in the Works of Clarice Lispector and Jorie Graham

This thesis argues that the human-animal divide plays a key role in the work of the writers Clarice Lispector and Jorie Graham, and that their explorations and complications of the divide in turn shed light on its persistence and the challenges that it poses for linguistic representation and for our understanding of human and animal alike. The human-animal binary refers to the divide that separates the human from all other animal beings. On the one hand, this distinction seems insubstantial: humans are an animal species, and the intelligence and subjecthood of nonhuman animals are increasingly recognised in science and law. On the other, to suggest that no difference exists between humans and other animals is a foolishness similar to suggesting that no difference exists between any two species. Although some scholars have claimed that the division has outlived its usefulness, attempts to transcend the human-animal divide, both in scholarship and in literature, are paradoxically often those most plagued by the return of the binary they seek to overcome. The human-animal binary represents an energetic and restless distinction that, as Lispector’s and Graham’s work shows, cannot be finally resolved into either a simple division between human and animal or an undifferentiated continuity between two indistinct terms. Lispector’s and Graham’s interest in writing about animals derives both from the mysterious self-worlds of animals and from a preoccupation with testing the limits of representation itself. Lispector and Graham make critical use of certain rhetorical strategies—specifically adynaton, defamiliarisation, and anthropomorphism—to imagine what it might be like to be the described animal without claiming to definitively state what that experience is. Further, they reciprocally consider the consequences of representing the human as animal: Graham worries about the possible loss of moral accountability entailed by a biological explanation of human selfhood, whereas Lispector seeks to dissolve the human subject into a wider continuum of animal life and matter as an alternative to humanising the world through symbolic thought and language. Comparing the authors’ works here makes conspicuous the implications of dismantling the human-animal binary and of shirking our moral responsibilities as humans. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that, while authors like Lispector and Graham cannot eradicate the human-animal binary altogether, they can complicate and diversify what each of these terms—human and animal—represents

Which Way Does Time Go?:Differences in Expert and Novice Representations of Temporal Information at Extreme Scales Interferes with Novice Understanding of Graphs

Visual representations of data are widely used for communication and understanding, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, despite their importance, many people have difficulty understanding data-based visualizations. This work presents a series of three studies that examine how understanding time-based Earth-science data visualizations are influenced by scale and the different directions time can be represented (e.g., the Geologic Time Scale represents time moving from bottom-to-top, whereas many calendars represent time moving left-to-right). In Study 1, 316 visualizations from two top scholarly geoscience journals were analyzed for how time was represented. These expert-made graphs represented time in a range of ways, with smaller timescales more likely to be represented as moving left-to-right and larger scales more likely to be represented in other directions. In Study 2, 47 STEM novices were recruited from an undergraduate psychology experiment pool and asked to construct four separate graphs representing change over two scales of time (Earth’s history or a single day) and two phenomena (temperature or sea level). Novices overwhelmingly represented time moving from left-to-right, regardless of scale. In Study 3, 40 STEM novices were shown expert-made graphs where the direction of time varied. Novices had difficulty interpreting the expert-made graphs when time was represented moving in directions other than left-to-right. The study highlights the importance of considering representations of time and scale in STEM education and offers insights into how experts and novices approach visualizations. The findings inform the development of educational resources and strategies to improve students’ understanding of scientific concepts where time and space are intrinsically related

Advocacy 101: how to get a meeting and make a point with legislators and policy leaders

Legislators and policy makers have particular ways of seeing the world. Learn how to make them see your point of view in ways that are effective, evidence-based, and emotionally intense. Find techniques to avoid avoidance and bring important information to the fore of every conversation. This will be part of the larger roundtable

Quantification of Degradation of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons in Saturated Low Permeability Sediments Using Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis

This field and modeling study aims to reveal if degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbons in low permeability sediments can be quantified using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA). For that purpose, the well-characterized Borden research site was selected, where an aquifer−aquitard system was artificially contaminated by a three component chlorinated solvent mixture (tetrachloroethene (PCE) 45 vol %, trichloroethene (TCE) 45 vol %, and chloroform (TCM) 10 vol %). Nearly 15 years after the contaminant release, several high-resolution concentration and CSIA profiles were determined for the chlorinated hydrocarbons that had diffused into the clayey aquitard. The CSIA profiles showed large shifts of carbon isotope ratios with depth (up to 24‰) suggesting that degradation occurs in the aquitard despite the small pore sizes. Simulated scenarios without or with uniform degradation failed to reproduce the isotope data, while a scenario with decreasing degradation with depth fit the data well. This suggests that nutrients had diffused into the aquitard favoring stronger degradation close to the aquifer−aquitard interface than with increasing depth. Moreover, the different simulation scenarios showed that CSIA profiles are more sensitive to different degradation conditions compared to concentration profiles highlighting the power of CSIA to constrain degradation activities in aquitards

Report: 2022 ALA-CORE National Binding Survey

The American Library Association (ALA) Core Preservation Administration Interest Group (PAIG) held a Symposium on the Future of Library Binding in 2022. Following the symposium, the ALA Core Library Binding Practices Survey Team (hereafter, “Team”) was convened to explore issues that arose during the symposium. The Team members volunteered to create a survey on current library binding practices to gain a better understanding of who is using library binding as a preservation and access method, how they are using such services, and the challenges that face the community

Integrated survey methodologies provide process-driven framework for marine renewable energy environmental impact assessment

The authors would like to the thank the FLOWBEC-4D development team as well as the observers and scientists of the MRV Scotia 2016 (Marianna Chimienti, Helen Wade, Laura Williamson, Ewan Edwards, and Eric Armstrong) and 2018 (Tom Evans, Sarah Fenn, Ross Culloch, David Hunter and Adrian Tait) surveys. Additionally, thanks go to Paul Fernandes (University of Aberdeen) for guidance and reviewing of the acoustic fisheries analysis undertaken here.Peer reviewe

Food and Nutrition Extension Programs: Next Generation Impact Evaluation

Grassroots stakeholder input results in relevant and timely Extension programs, but presents a challenge for performance measurement using common indicators. A balanced approach to program evaluation and reporting that is adequately valid and reliable while honoring the Extension culture of service is most likely to be successful. This article reviews recent advances in evaluation methodology of food and nutrition programs. It further describes how this evidence base informs the current set of national Extension program outcomes and indicators. Evaluation work is an essential step in documenting the public value of Extension programs