Chinatown Black Tigers: Black Masculinity and Chinese Heroism in Frank Chin\u27s Gunga Din Highway

Images of ominous villains and asexual heroes in literature and mainstream American culture tend to relegate Asian American men to limited expressions of masculinity. These emasculating images deny Asian American men elements of traditional masculinity, including agency and strength. Many recognize the efforts of Frank Chin, a Chinese American novelist, to confront, expose, and revise such images by relying on a tradition of Chinese heroism. In Gunga Din Highway (1994), however, Chin creates an Asian American masculinity based on elements of both the Chinese heroic tradition and a distinct brand of African American masculinity manifested in the work of Ishmael Reed, an African American novelist and essayist known for his outspoken style.^1 Rather than transforming traditional masculinity to include Asian American manhood, Chin\u27s images of men represent an appropriation of elements from two ethnic sources that Chin uses to underscore those of Asian Americans. While deconstructing the reductive images advocated by the dominant culture, Chin critiques the very black masculinity he adopts. Ultimately he fails to envision modes of masculinity not based on dominance, yet Chin\u27s approach also can be read as the ultimate expression of Asian American individualism

Has foreign bank entry led to sounder banks in Latin America?

Policymakers continue to debate the merits of opening emerging market financial sectors to foreign ownership. A comparison of the 1995-2000 performance of foreign and domestic banks in select Latin American countries reveals that while foreign banks differed little from their domestic counterparts in overall financial condition, they showed more robust loan growth, a more aggressive response to asset quality deterioration, and a greater ability to absorb losses_characteristics that could help to strengthen the financial systems of their host countries.Banks and banking - Latin America ; Banks and banking, Foreign ; Economic development - Latin America

Modeling the Cumulative Effects of Forest Fire on Watershed Hydrology: A Post-fire Application of the Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM)

The Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was applied to the Eightmile Creek watershed in western Montana. The purpose of this research was primarily to assess the applicability of the model as a cumulative effects assessment tool in the post-fire landscape of a forested watershed in this region. The model was first calibrated to the pre-fire watershed conditions using six years of historic streamflow data. DHSVM was able to accurately simulate the general shape of the measured hydrograph for each of the six simulated water years, and the normalized median absolute error statistics were below the target threshold of 50% for each year simulated. This relative success of the calibration efforts is particularly surprising when one considers the significant limitations presented by the lack of any sub-daily or high-elevation meteorological data for use in driving the calibration simulations. Because the accuracy of DHSVM simulations were greatly improved through rigorous calibration, this research demonstrates the need for model calibration to a watershed of interest, prior to hydrologic simulations of different landscape scenarios. Next, two different calibrated versions of DHSVM, including DHSVM version 2.0.1 and the DHSVM fire model, were each used to simulate runoff in the Eightmile Creek watershed following a near catchment-wide stand-replacing forest fire. Due to weather anomalies and limited, discontinuous streamflow data, no decisive conclusions could be made regarding the performance of either version of the model in the validation efforts. Results do suggest, though, that the DHSVM fire model has the potential to outperform the standard model version in fire-affected landscapes. Further research utilizing the DHSVM fire model with more substantial post-fire streamflow records for model validation is warranted

Precision Assessment of the HPLC Phytoplankton Pigment Dataset Analyzed by NASA to Quantify Global Variability in Support of Ocean Color Remote Sensing

The ability to generate chlorophyll a (Chl a) assessments from ocean color orbital sensors, such as VIIRS and MODIS, that satisfy the requirements to be climate-quality data record (CDR) quality is contingent in part on the quality of the in situ ground or sea truth observations that serve as datasets for vicarious calibration and algorithm validation activities. NASA has a mandate to collect, analyze, and distribute in situ data of the highest possible quality with documented uncertainties and in keeping with established performance metrics. Using a dataset of over 18,000 HPLC phytoplankton pigment samples representing water collected in all major ocean basins analyzed a central laboratory (Field Support Group (FSG) of the Ocean Ecology Laboratory (OEL) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)), we performed an assessment of the global precision among sample replicates of Chl a as well as major accessory pigments. We investigated the impacts of filtration volume, water basin, collection technique, pigment concentration, and different filtration volumes for replicate filters on replicate filter precision, as well as investigating any pigment-specific differences. Our results quantify sample variability with the goal of understanding any systemic biases or biogeographic influences

Federal Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Weapon in the War on Drugs or War on Blacks

This study will attempt to determine the direct and indirect consequences of Federal mandatory minimum drug sentences and drug policy to African Americans. It will examine statistics on drug use, arrest, convictions, and incarceration of African Americans. These statistics will be gathered from several government agencies and will be used to determine if American drug policy discriminates against African Americans. The purpose of this study is to inform and educate African Americans about Federal mandatory minimum drug sentences and the impact they are having on Black communities and to provide links to resources that can be used to promote drug policy reform