False Binaries: Recentering South Asian Identity for Healing

Many thoughts emerge attempting to define South Asian, Asian, Desi, or Indian. One approach refers to a country, the other cultural norms, and yet another, a racial and ethnic category far too vast. For the sake of this article, South Asian and Desi refer to the composition of individuals with ancestry in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and India. Indian refers to individuals with ancestry solely in India. Asian is the larger United States racial construct for all individuals from the continent of Asia, more specifically South and East Asia such as Japanese, Thai, or Indian. South Asians have a broad definition in terms of racial and ethnic categorization and are one of the fastest-growing minorities in the U.S. (Census, 2012). South Asians, as a racial group, experience a great deal of complexity regarding racial and ethnic constructs in the U.S. These include processes of assimilation, meaning making within the Black and White racial binary, and confronting the stereotypical ‘model minority myth’ as unwavering truth. Because South Asians exist in a racial gray space, they are stereotyped in a contradictory manner as both “model minority” and “dangerous.” Wingfield (2016) describes model minority as “a group whose hard work, initiative, personal responsibility, and success offer proof that American meritocracy works as intended” (para. 1). These challenges positively and negatively affect their narrative. South Asians have started to take political office, to change the societal climate, and to affect the future of the United States. This shift of South Asians being visible in the U.S. is dramatically different from the historic conflict of whether or not South Asians identified as Black or White in their first days of settlement in America. South Asians still face many challenges that immigrants face in the U.S., but these challenges are not necessarily uniquely associated to South Asian identity. The dynamic of living on the margins and responding to systemic oppression and racial categorization demands greater attention to understand South Asian identity as in-between.Educatio

Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Down\u27s Syndrome: An Overview

The association between Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Down\u27s Syndrome is well recognized through clinical observations and genetic studies. However, the exact nature and the implications of this link is far from clear as yet. The challenge of diagnosis, genetics and the differences in clinical presentations of Alzheimer\u27s Disease in relation to the Down\u27s Syndrome are reviewed here. Promising areas of research are pointed out and importance of relevant family history is emphasized. A current knowledge in the subject through various studies is presented

Classifying Exoplanets with Gaussian Mixture Model

Recently, Odrzywolek and Rafelski (arXiv:1612.03556) have found three distinct categories of exoplanets, when they are classified based on density. We first carry out a similar classification of exoplanets according to their density using the Gaussian Mixture Model, followed by information theoretic criterion (AIC and BIC) to determine the optimum number of components. Such a one-dimensional classification favors two components using AIC and three using BIC, but the statistical significance from both the tests is not significant enough to decisively pick the best model between two and three components. We then extend this GMM-based classification to two dimensions by using both the density and the Earth similarity index (arXiv:1702.03678), which is a measure of how similar each planet is compared to the Earth. For this two-dimensional classification, both AIC and BIC provide decisive evidence in favor of three components.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Southern Engines of Global Growth: Very Long Cycles or Short Spurts?

This article views the four economies of the South in a long run historical perspective of 1500-2000. It contrasts the history and the initial endowments of the two Northern hemisphere economies China and India which are land scarce and labour abundant with the two Southern hemisphere economies Brazil and South Africa which are land abundant and labour scarce. It argues for different strategies for future growth and discusses impediments which may come in the paths of these four economies in the near future.China, India, Brazil, South Africa, development, history

An asset management strategy to accommodate a changing climate

Climate change is a significant factor that will affect how people live and work in future. In light of this and of international initiatives on limitations of emissions, the changing climatic conditions will affect the existing building fabric, and inflict a different kind of user demand on corporate property portfolios. A comprehensive literature review has shown that there is an absence of tools and metrics for facilities managers to evaluate the impact of climate change on their organization and develop mitigation and adaptation strategies for their existing and new built corporate property portfolios. There is a little augmentation for accommodating the existing and future climate changes into management of corporate property portfolio. This paper will argue the need to construct a comprehensive strategy for management of corporate property portfolio of large organizations, which will take into consideration climate change mitigation and adaptation

Development and mechanical properties of construction materials from lunar simulants

The development of construction materials such as concrete from lunar soils without the use of water requires a different methodology than that used for conventional terrestrial concrete. Currently, this research involves two aspects: (1) liquefaction of lunar simulants with various additives in a furnace so as to produce a construction material like an intermediate ceramic; and (2) cyclic loading of simulant with different initial vacuums and densities with respect to the theoretical maximum densities (TMD). In both cases, bending, triaxial compression, extension, and hydrostatic tests will be performed to define the stress-strain strength response of the resulting materials. In the case of the intermediate ceramic, bending and available multiaxial test devices will be used, while for the compacted case, tests will be performed directly in the new device. The tests will be performed by simulating in situ confining conditions. A preliminary review of high-purity metal is also conducted