Urban foodscapes and greenspace design: Integrating grazing landscapes within multi-use urban parks

As the world’s population grows rapidly, and urbanisation intensifies at unprecedented rates, the planning for, and design of food landscapes that are integrated within every zone along the rural-urban transect is now being seen as not only desirable but necessary to the long-term sustainability of many urban zones globally. The social, economic and environmental opportunities associated with the development of integrated urban and peri-urban agriculture projects highlights the multi-beneficial nature of urban foodscapes. Now commonly recognised as a critical urban form component, the study of, and engagement with food landscapes is seen as a vital factor in urban resilience and community health and wellbeing. Plant-based urban farms and community gardens have experienced significant growth within the West in recent years, however how we integrate grazing lands for animals within the urban zones has been largely left out of the literature. Animal agriculture is still considered primarily a ‘rural issue’, therefore this research asks, ‘how do we design multi-use, multi-beneficial urban parks that integrate grazing lands within our towns and cities?’. It will specifically investigate how we can successfully integrate urban grazing within city greenspace design, and will examine the opportunities and constraints associated with spatial design models from an urban design perspective. Auckland, New Zealand’s largest urban centre and most populous region provides a unique opportunity in which to consider how grazing lands can be integrated along the full extent of the rural-urban transect. Auckland Council is the region’s biggest urban farmer with 1500ha of greenspaces as farms across regional and urban parks. Through the theoretical position of Agricultural Urbanism, this paper will present a case study-based methodology analysing the design and integration of grazing lands within the Auckland City regional and urban farm parks, providing valuable discussion on the design and integration of future urban foodscapes that include grazing landscapes for animals

Fragments from a Feminist: Periscopes of Poems and Prose Penned in the Wolf’s Den

In the pages that follow are partial manuscripts. Kentucky and Tennessee imply their influence throughout the collection, while feminist ideology shapes the central themes. In the first work, we explore the world of willow, and willow artists of Kentucky. Second, I present a selection of poems investigating the life of Austrian-American artist, Victor Hammer. Hammer was a long-term visiting artist at Transylvania University and began the Lexington private press movement that still thrives today. Third, are poems taken from my own experiences. Finally, a short story that focuses on dysfunctional family, and self-realization. Poetry, willow, Kentucky, Art, Feminist

Marine atmospheric influences on trace gas observations and transport during the ICARTT 2004 campaign

The transport of pollutant trace gases and aerosols above coastal waters is of eminent importance to air quality and global climate processes. The research presented in this dissertation is a two-part investigation of this transport as observed during the ICARTT campaign, with focus devoted to the transit and evolution of trace gases in the lower marine atmosphere above the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and western North Atlantic Ocean. Part I advances a quasi-lagrangian case study of a plume emanating from the New York City source region. In this, analysis of airborne intercepts of the plume captured its transformation from a polluted airmass within a residual layer, to a well defined flow maintained within a stable internal boundary layer (SIBL). The SIBL was defined by sharp gradients in moisture, temperature and wind speed, and persisted throughout the NYC plume\u27s transit. Further investigation showed that the SIBL measurably influenced trace gas variability and evolution. Despite its low altitude, the SIBL strongly inhibited surface interactions, thus limiting removal processes. Pronounced vertical shear in wind speed generated frequent instances of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and turbulence within the plume layer. This resulted in a high degree of spatial variability in mixing ratios observed within the plume, enhanced mixing, and contributions to its overall transit. Surface observations during the plume passage recorded pollutant mixing ratios equaling the most extreme measured that summer, a fact that motivated the further investigation of the SIBL pursued in Part II. In this, an extended analysis of the coastal SIBL was presented in the context of the entire campaign period. The SIBL was detected in the majority of low-altitude flights over the GOM, with its thickness varying significantly with fetch during the day and to a lesser extent at night. Nocturnal observations revealed the periodic detection of a low level jet within the SIBL. Overall, SIBL heights for both time period were higher than the predicted values determined from SIBL relationships established in related studies, suggesting that additional parameters like turbulent fluxes or surface roughness are required to determine SIBL development in the region

Performance and Sustainability Benefits of Concrete Containing Portland-Limestone Cement

Sustainability and reduction of environmental impacts have continued to increase in importance in the concrete marketplace. Portland-limestone cement (PLC) has been shown to reduce total energy consumed and CO2 produced during the cement manufacturing process. This material may also have the ability to benefit concrete properties, such as compressive strength and time of set. Other concrete performance measures of potential interest evaluated in this study include durability and modulus of elasticity. In this dissertation PLC was evaluated for its ability to further increase concrete sustainability, while at the same time providing advantageous properties. This study’s focus was to show that PLC can improve concrete mixtures that are similar to commonly used ordinary portland cement (OPC) mixtures. PLC was also evaluated for its ability to increase the amount of total cement replacement (further increasing sustainability). Additionally PLC properties and concrete mixture combinations were evaluated in an attempt to clarify which PLC properties are crucial in performance benefits. Approximately 2000 concrete specimens were tested along with approximately 1000 cement paste specimens. This dissertation also includes an evaluation of PLC being used in a large scale construction and renovation project on a college football stadium. The scope of the dissertation included 12 cements from four manufacturing facilities that represent a large portion of the cement industry in the southeast US. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), Class C fly ash, Class F fly ash, and slag cement, were also evaluated in single and dual SCM concrete mixtures at replacement rates up to 70%. Replacement rates of this magnitude are not being used in common practice but may become preferred in some conditions with PLC. Results indicated that PLC outperformed OPC in areas tested, in almost all cases at up to 50% replacement with single and dual SCMs. PLC also showed considerable advantages at 60% replacement but was often outperformed by OPC at 70% replacement. Aggregate type played a large role at 70% replacement. Elastic modulus, durability, and variability were all similar with PLC and OPC. Combinations of certain SCMs were more advantageous than others, and optimal SCM combinations changed depending on cement source

Performance and Sustainability Benefits of Concrete Containing Portland-Limestone Cement

Sustainability and reduction of environmental impacts have continued to increase in importance in the concrete marketplace. Portland-limestone cement (PLC) has been shown to reduce total energy consumed and CO2 produced during the cement manufacturing process. This material may also have the ability to benefit concrete properties, such as compressive strength and time of set. Other concrete performance measures of potential interest evaluated in this study include durability and modulus of elasticity. In this dissertation PLC was evaluated for its ability to further increase concrete sustainability, while at the same time providing advantageous properties. This study’s focus was to show that PLC can improve concrete mixtures that are similar to commonly used ordinary portland cement (OPC) mixtures. PLC was also evaluated for its ability to increase the amount of total cement replacement (further increasing sustainability). Additionally PLC properties and concrete mixture combinations were evaluated in an attempt to clarify which PLC properties are crucial in performance benefits. Approximately 2000 concrete specimens were tested along with approximately 1000 cement paste specimens. This dissertation also includes an evaluation of PLC being used in a large scale construction and renovation project on a college football stadium. The scope of the dissertation included 12 cements from four manufacturing facilities that represent a large portion of the cement industry in the southeast US. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), Class C fly ash, Class F fly ash, and slag cement, were also evaluated in single and dual SCM concrete mixtures at replacement rates up to 70%. Replacement rates of this magnitude are not being used in common practice but may become preferred in some conditions with PLC. Results indicated that PLC outperformed OPC in areas tested, in almost all cases at up to 50% replacement with single and dual SCMs. PLC also showed considerable advantages at 60% replacement but was often outperformed by OPC at 70% replacement. Aggregate type played a large role at 70% replacement. Elastic modulus, durability, and variability were all similar with PLC and OPC. Combinations of certain SCMs were more advantageous than others, and optimal SCM combinations changed depending on cement source

SIUE Spring Symposium: Documenting Ferguson

A presentation on Documenting Ferguson for Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE)\u27s annual Spring Symposium, outlining how the project was started, project team members and roles, how to contribute to the collection, how the collection is being used, and next steps for the initiative.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/lib_present/1015/thumbnail.jp

The James Merrill Digital Archive: Channeling the Collaborative Spirit(s)

The James Merrill Digital Archive (JMDA) is comprised of digitized Ouija board session transcripts, poem drafts, and other materials toward Merrill’s epic narrative poem, “The Book of Ephraim,” part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Divine Comedies. The JMDA is the result of expertise and input of many collaborators across the Washington University campus. Shannon Davis and Joel Minor will speak on various aspects of the ongoing project, including successful cross-campus collaboration, employing student workers to perform high-level encoding and exhibit curation, and how Omeka was used to develop the digital archive.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/lib_present/1014/thumbnail.jp

Eyes on the Prize: Delivering archival content with synchronized transcripts in Hydra

Regarded as the definitive work on the Civil Rights Movement, the documentary series, Eyes on the Prize, has been seen by millions since its PBS debut in 1987. However, what remains unseen is the nearly 85 hours of interview outtakes that provide further insight into the series’ original stories of struggle, resistance, and perseverance. Through the Eyes on the Prize Digitization and Reassembly project, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, Washington University Libraries has made the complete, never-before-seen interviews and TEI XML encoded, synchronized transcripts freely accessible through its newly developed Hydra digital repository. This session will provide focuses on the development of workflows, metadata management, and the related challenges of implementing large-scale digitization projects, including digitization specifications, technical decisions, quality control, metadata creation, and Hydra implementation

The James Merrill Digital Archive: Channeling the Collaborative Spirit(s)

The James Merrill Digital Archive, comprised of Merrill’s poetry drafts, typescripts, and Ouija board session transcripts, is the result of expertise and input of many collaborators across the Washington University campus. Shannon Davis and Joel Minor will speak on various aspects of the project, including successful cross-campus collaboration, employing student workers to perform high level encoding and exhibit curation, and how Omeka was used to develop the digital archive. - Shannon Davis, Digital Projects Librarian, and Joel Minor, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscriptshttps://openscholarship.wustl.edu/lib_present/1001/thumbnail.jp