Incorporating Discussions of Systemic Racism and Implicit Bias into Library Instruction Sessions

Building on our students’ growing awareness of civil unrest in the United States, we incorporated discussions of historical and archival bias in our primary resource literacy sessions. These discussions of bias can help students contextualize and understand our current archival holdings and create greater transparency for our collecting practices regarding underserved populations. In our instruction sessions, students conduct a document analysis followed by a discussion of racism, sexism and other types of prejudice that may influence the creation of documents that represent certain perspectives while excluding others. We will explore our collaboration with the course instructor of the Communication class titled “Rhetoric of Black America” and our process of developing questions to facilitate a discussion of systemic racism in archival collections

Development of a room temperature molecular electronics: Direct vs indirect metal complex synthesis

This thesis discusses the possibility of using molecular units as electronic devices as well as the synthesis of a number of such prototypes. This thesis also serves as a comparison between ‘direct’ (complexes as ligands/complexes as metals) and ‘indirect’ (on-complex) synthesis as a method of metal complex synthesis. Chapter 1 introduces the theory behind molecular electronics and solar energy conversion as well as the applicability of transition metal complexes for this role. The target complexes to be synthesised as well as their methods of preparation are also introduced. The experimental methodology used to synthesize and characterize these complexes is detailed in chapter 2. A number of ruthenium and osmium bis-bipyridyl metal complexes incorporating one phenanthroline type ligand have been synthesised using both direct and indirect synthetic methods and are discussed in Chapter 3. The synthesis of a series of ruthenium complexes containing two such ligands via an ‘indirect’ route is discussed in Chapter 4. These complexes are fully characterized via 1H-NMR, mass spectrometry and CHN with a discussion of their UV/vis and emission properties included. The attempted synthesis of a series of dinuclear metal complexes, including two phenanthroline-thiophene type ligands (thimphen) using 3,5-bispyrid-2-yl-1,2,4- triazole as a bridging ligand is described in Chapter 5. A number of attempted synthetic routes for the dichloride starting material [Ru(thimphen)2Cl2] is also described. The synthetic study of ruthenium(II) complexes containing the tetradentate ligands bis(2-pyridylmethyl)diiminoethane) (paen) and bis(2-pyridylmethyl)diiminopropane) (papn) is described in Chapter 6. A modified method for the synthesis of the starting materials [Ru(paen)Cl2] and [Ru(papn)Cl2] as well as a synthetic route for the metal complexes [Ru(paen)(P0P)Cl]+, [Ru(paen)(P0P)2]2+ and [Ru(papn)(P0P)2]2+ were developed. Again the complexes successfully synthesised are characterised by 1HNMR a discussion of their UV/vis and emission properties included. Finally, the major conclusions drawn from this research and possible future work are also detailed

Security systems in transition: Soviet and Russian attempts to disarm and convert the military industrial complex

For over 40 years Europe and the rest of the world were divided into spheres of influence by two military superpowers. Bi-polarity and nuclear deterrence formed the basis of the international security system. They also gave rise to an arms race which resulted in the destabilization of the economies of both the Soviet Union and the United States. It gradually became apparent that 'war' was no longer a cost effective tool of policy, that international relations had to be conducted in a different manner. As part of this latter process Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, proposed an alternative system, one which would be based on a reduction of military strength, the abandonment of ideological confrontation and an increase in the level of cooperation between states. This thesis examines the steps taken by the Soviet Union and its successor, Russia, to implement this alternative regime. Of particular interest to this study are their consequential attempts to reduce their armed forces and convert defence production. The groundwork is laid for this examination with a discussion in Chapter One on the nature of security. It is generally acknowledged that a state's security is defined in terms of political and economic stability as well as by the ability to physically defend itself. During the Cold War, however, excessive emphasis was placed upon physical security through military rather than economic means. The writings on security of Carl von Clausewitz and Niccolo Machiavelli are examined for their relevance to the security policies formulated during the governments of Vladimir Lenin and Mikhail Gorbachev. Lenin and his successors were influenced by Clausewitz, viewing war as an important instrument of state policy. Gorbachev rejected this approach on the basis that it had become too costly, in human and economic terms, to be used in the modern day. He strongly urged that peace be used in its place. The central argument is that war and peace are more than just tools of policy, they also have the power to form the foundation of the state. The way in which a state perceives the purpose of war will in turn affect the way in which it pursues peace and disarmament. Although Gorbachev recognized the cost of the war system and supported the transition to peaceful means of cooperation, he failed to understand the depth to which society was affected by the preparation for war. In Chapter Two, the literature on the role of military-industrial complexes in society is reviewed as is that literature which analyses the best possible way to transform or convert the defence sector. As a result of this survey an ideal conversion programme is proposed. Chapter Three details the rapid pace of disarmament by reviewing the INF, CFE, START I & II Treaties and unilateral actions. This is not meant to be a detailed account of the disarmament process but an outline of the resulting changes inflicted upon the Soviet armed forces, i.e. unemployment and pension payments and the costs of destroying weapons and restructuring the armed forces. This examination continues in Chapters 5 and 6 with a discussion of the theoretical and practical aspects of the Soviet and Russian conversion programmes. Based on these studies the conclusion is reached that the expected peace dividend need not be illusory and that peace can be used as both a tool of policy and the foundation of the state. However, it can only happen if, among other things, disarmament and conversion are properly prepared and managed. Returning troops can be absorbed into the employment and housing markets and defence manufacturing can be transformed to meet civilian needs. But when these plans are not made and executed, a society becomes disillusioned with the peace dividend

Cost and cost-effectiveness of switching from d4T or AZT to a TDF-based first-line regimen in a resource-limited setting in rural Lesotho

Article approval pendingLatest World Health Organization guidelines recommend shifting away from Stavudine (d4T)-based regimens due to severe side effects. However, widespread replacement of d4T by Tenofovir (TDF) or Zidovudine (AZT) is hampered by cost concerns

Tourism in an unstable and complex world? : searching for a relevant political risk paradigm and model for tourism organisations

This work has a single aim, focusing on developing a political risk model relevant for tourism organisations, which are operating in an increasingly complex and turbulent international environment. It pays particular attention to the language of risk (how risks are articulated and described), the culture of risk (how risks are viewed), and the risk process (how they are analysed and assessed). The work critically evaluates a variety of methods that can be utilised to scan, analyse and assess political hazards and risks. It finds that many of the existing methods of political and country risk assessment are limited and not sufficiently contextualised to the needs of the tourism industry. Whilst many models can have an attractive façade of using positivistic methods to calculate political risks, in practice these are fraught with problems. The study also highlights a more complex relationship between tourism and political instability, whereby tourism can be characterised as much by its robustness, as its sensitivity. A model is developed which primarily adapts a systems theory approach, whereby a language, culture and practical process is developed through which the analysis of various factors and indicators can take place. The approach adopted has a number of stages, which vary in the amount of data necessary for the analysis and assessment of political risks. The model begins by utilising existing travel advice databases, moving onto an analysis of the frequency of past events, then to the nature of the political system itself, finishing with an analysis and assessment of more complex input factors and indicators which relate to notions of causation. One of the more provocative features of the model is the argument that it is more than possible to make an assessment of the risks that the political environment can pose to a tourism organisation, without necessarily understanding theories of causation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Applying for National Science Foundation Funding in Cognitive Science: Cognition, Computation, Development, Education, and Neuroscience

Variation in second language acquisition is evident from earliest stages. This study examined effects of learning tasks (retrieval practice, comprehension, verbal repetition) on comprehension of Turkish as a new language. Undergraduates (N = 156) engaged with Turkish spoken dialogues in a computer-assisted language learning session via Zoom, with learning tasks manipulated between-subjects. Participants completed pre/posttests assessing comprehension of Turkish number and case marking, a vocabulary test, and open-response questions gauging explicit awareness. The retrieval-practice group showed highest performance overall, after controlling for significant effects of nonverbal ability and pretest. For comprehension of number/case marking, the comprehension group performed comparably to the retrieval-practice group. For vocabulary comprehension, the verbal-repetition group performed comparably to the retrieval-practice group. Differential performance associated with learning tasks indicates benefits of testing and production and aligns with transfer-appropriate processing. As predicted by the noticing hypothesis, explicit awareness of number and case marking correlated with comprehension accuracy

Draft genome of the oomycete pathogen <i>Phytophthora cactorum</i> strain LV007 isolated from European beech (<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>)

Phytophthora cactorum is a broad host range phytopathogenic oomycete. P. cactorum strain LV007 was isolated from a diseased European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Malmö, Sweden in 2016. The draft genome of P. cactorum strain LV007 is 67.81 Mb. It contains 15,567 contigs and 21,876 predicted protein-coding genes. As reported for other phytopathogenic Phytophthora species, cytoplasmic effector proteins including RxLR and CRN families were identified. The genome sequence has been deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank under the accession NBIJ00000000. The version described in this paper is version NBIJ01000000.</p

Cross-correlating Carbon Monoxide Line-intensity Maps with Spectroscopic and Photometric Galaxy Surveys

Line-intensity mapping (LIM or IM) is an emerging field of observational work, with strong potential to fit into a larger effort to probe large-scale structure and small-scale astrophysical phenomena using multiple complementary tracers. Taking full advantage of such complementarity means, in part, undertaking line-intensity surveys with galaxy surveys in mind. We consider the potential for detection of a cross-correlation signal between COMAP and blind surveys based on photometric redshifts (as in COSMOS) or based on spectroscopic data (as with the HETDEX survey of Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters). We find that obtaining $\sigma_z/(1+z)\lesssim0.003$ accuracy in redshifts and $\gtrsim10^{-4}$ sources per Mpc$^3$ with spectroscopic redshift determination should enable a CO-galaxy cross spectrum detection significance at least twice that of the CO auto spectrum. Either a future targeted spectroscopic survey or a blind survey like HETDEX may be able to meet both of these requirements.Comment: 19 pages + appendix (31 pages total), 16 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in Ap