‘No additional information required’: Creative writing as research writing

The question of whether artistic practice might be construed as a research practice is one that has been pursued extensively since the 1990s. Much in the discourse remains open to contention, though a degree of consensus has emerged on certain key themes: that art is indeed productive of knowledge, that this knowledge is to be understood experientially and non-conceptually, but that it must be framed in a form consistent with established academic procedures. Jen Webb’s several contributions to this discourse provide a valuable context for considering whether it may be possible to overcome the conceptual and practical separation between art and the academy. Using Webb’s work as a frame, this article engages with the debate about the knowledge status of art through a consideration of its contradictions, and suggests that a pragmatic solution is to be found in the operations of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF), which now accepts the research credentials of creative writing as being self-evident

The Effect of Increasing Aboriginal Educational Attainment on the Labour Force, Output and the Fiscal Balance

Investing in disadvantaged young people is one of the rare public policies with no equity-efficiency tradeoff. Based on the methodology developed in Sharpe, Arsenault and Lapointe (2007), we estimate the effect of increasing the educational attainment level of Aboriginal Canadians on labour market outcome and output up to 2026. We build on these projection to estimate the potential effect of eliminating educational and social gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people on government spending and government revenues using population and economic projections to 2026.Aboriginal, Education, Canada, Forecast of economic growth, Equity and efficiency.

Analysis of Clostridium difficile patterns at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

AIMS: To analyze CDI patterns to TJUH, particularly in Opportunity Units To visually examine the relationship between CDI cases within units Provide data analysis to the CDI working grouphttps://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1072/thumbnail.jp

Walking dynamics are symmetric (enough)

Many biological phenomena such as locomotion, circadian cycles, and breathing are rhythmic in nature and can be modeled as rhythmic dynamical systems. Dynamical systems modeling often involves neglecting certain characteristics of a physical system as a modeling convenience. For example, human locomotion is frequently treated as symmetric about the sagittal plane. In this work, we test this assumption by examining human walking dynamics around the steady-state (limit-cycle). Here we adapt statistical cross validation in order to examine whether there are statistically significant asymmetries, and even if so, test the consequences of assuming bilateral symmetry anyway. Indeed, we identify significant asymmetries in the dynamics of human walking, but nevertheless show that ignoring these asymmetries results in a more consistent and predictive model. In general, neglecting evident characteristics of a system can be more than a modeling convenience---it can produce a better model.Comment: Draft submitted to Journal of the Royal Society Interfac

Changes in the capacity of visual working memory in 5- to 10-year-olds

Using the Luck and Vogel change detection paradigm, we sought to investigate the capacity of visual working memory in 5-, 7-, and 10-year-olds. We found that performance on the task improved significantly with age and also obtained evidence that the capacity of visual working memory approximately doubles between 5 and 10 years of age, where it reaches adult levels of approximately three to four items

Dredged Material Containment Area Siting and Management Practices for the Mcclellan-kerr Arkansas Navigation System

The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas Navigation System (MKARNS) currently has a 9-ft. draft channel for carrying raw materials into the Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma. By deepening the channel to a 12-ft draft, approximately 33 percent more barge capacity can generate greater commerce for the navigation system. However, this creates an engineering problem of disposing of millions of cubic yards of dredged material.A feasibility study by the United States Army Corps of Engineers determined that 41 Dredged Material Containment Areas (DMCAs) would be able to contain and maintain the dredging needs of the new system for a 50-year design life. The need to manage and develop a comprehensive disposal plan to maximize disposal and minimize the time was therefore created.By developing a Linear Model to balance the disposal production rate with the consolidation rate, the dredged disposal operations can be optimized to minimize the overall time to deepen the navigation system. The Linear Model was then checked with current standard practices to see if an accurate reflection of the geotechnical properties of dredged material were maintained during settlement processes.The geotechnical assumptions about the dredged material were broad but are capable of defining a typical soil in the MKARNS. The case study concluded that the current navigation system can be deepened to the required three feet in seven years using 41 proposed DMCAs.School of Civil & Environmental Engineerin