An Analysis of Selected Contents Related to the Usage of Art and Aesthetic in Two Texts in Art Education

Because the terms art and aesthetic are often ambiguously used, the purpose of this study was to develop a method of analyzing and clarifying their usage in written texts. Chapter I includes hypotheses and assumptions of this study. The first hypothesis was that it is possible to develop a systematic, objective, and replicable method of analyzing and clarifying the usage of art and aesthetic in art education texts. The second hypothesis is that, as a result of this analysis, it is possible to compare the usage of art and aesthetic in one text with the usage of these same terms in another. The two texts chosen as sources of data were Becoming Human Through Art by Edmund Burke Feldman and Emphasis; Art by Frank Wachowiak and Theodore Ramsey. The assumptions upon which this analysis was based are (a) that frequency of mention indicates author emphasis, and (b) that, based on analysis which indicates emphasis, summary definition of an author's teaching beliefs regarding art and aesthetic would be possible. Although both hypotheses are accepted, limitations of the method result from the subjectivity which existed in the selection of variables, the inference of contextual meaning which determined placement of variables in categories, and inference of emphasis based on resulting frequencies. Recommendations for further research are (a) examination of categories for appropriateness and inclusion of all relevant variables; (b) use of the method of contingency analysis to determine the usage of other ambiguous words and phrases; (c) use of variables associated with art and aesthetic as a thesaurus for future reference; and (d) application of the method to other literature in art education, transcribed interviews, and/or classroom instruction

Exploring the Nexus of Energy Burden, Social Capital, and Environmental Quality in Shaping Health in US Counties

The United States spends more on health care than any other OECD country, yet the nation’s health is declining. Recent research has identified multiple sources for this decline, including one’s position in social and economic structures, environmental quality, and individual and collective social capital. This paper assesses the primary hypotheses that the health effects of household energy burden, social capital and environmental quality on aggregated community health levels remain while controlling for other determinants. The analysis moves beyond prior research by integrating multiple secondary data sources to assess those effects across US counties. Three indicators of public health are analyzed (premature mortality, self-reported health, and life expectancy). The county-level energy burden is measured by the percent of household income spent on housing energy bills for low- and moderate-income households. In addition to energy burden, social capital, environmental quality and other determinants are included in the analysis. The results produced by multivariate regression models support the primary hypotheses, even while a number of control variables also have a significant effect on health. The paper concludes that public health is associated with a complex nexus of factors, including environmental quality and social capital, and that energy burden needs to be among the considerations

Association of a protease with polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster

Incubation of Drosophila salivary glands with radioactive diisopropyl fluorophosphate results in the uniform labeling of polytene chromosomes. Extensive labeling is seen only when chromosome squashes are prepared by a formaldehyde fixation procedure and not by standard acetic acid techniques. The labeling is inhibited in the presence of tosylphenylalanine chloromethyl ketone and phenylmethane sulfonylfluoride but not by tosyllysine chloromethyl ketone, suggesting that a chymotrypsin-like serine protease is associated with the chromosomes. Protease inhibitors show no apparent effect on heat-shock specific puffing

Finiteness and children with specific language impairment: an exploratory study

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are well known for their difficulties in mastering the inflectional paradigms; in the case of learning German they also have problems with the appropriate verb position, in particular with the verb in second position. This paper explores the possibilities of applying a broader concept of finiteness to data from children with SLI in order to put their deficits, or rather their skills, into a wider perspective. The concept, as developed by Klein (1998, 2000), suggests that finiteness is tied to the assertion that a certain state of affairs is valid with regard to some topic time; that is, finiteness relates the propositional content to the topic component. Its realization involves the interaction of various grammatical devices and, possibly, lexical means like temporal adverbs. Furthermore, in the acquisition of finiteness it has been found that scope particles play a major role in both first- and second-language learning. The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent three German-learning children with SLI have mastered these grammatical and lexical means and to pinpoint the phase in the development of finiteness they have reached. The data to be examined are mostly narrative and taken from conversations and experiments. It will be shown that each child chooses a different developmental path to come to grips with the interaction of these devices

Forecasting the response of Earth's surface to future climatic and land use changes: a review of methods and research needs

In the future, Earth will be warmer, precipitation events will be more extreme, global mean sea level will rise, and many arid and semiarid regions will be drier. Human modifications of landscapes will also occur at an accelerated rate as developed areas increase in size and population density. We now have gridded global forecasts, being continually improved, of the climatic and land use changes (C&LUC) that are likely to occur in the coming decades. However, besides a few exceptions, consensus forecasts do not exist for how these C&LUC will likely impact Earth-surface processes and hazards. In some cases, we have the tools to forecast the geomorphic responses to likely future C&LUC. Fully exploiting these models and utilizing these tools will require close collaboration among Earth-surface scientists and Earth-system modelers. This paper assesses the state-of-the-art tools and data that are being used or could be used to forecast changes in the state of Earth's surface as a result of likely future C&LUC. We also propose strategies for filling key knowledge gaps, emphasizing where additional basic research and/or collaboration across disciplines are necessary. The main body of the paper addresses cross-cutting issues, including the importance of nonlinear/threshold-dominated interactions among topography, vegetation, and sediment transport, as well as the importance of alternate stable states and extreme, rare events for understanding and forecasting Earth-surface response to C&LUC. Five supplements delve into different scales or process zones (global-scale assessments and fluvial, aeolian, glacial/periglacial, and coastal process zones) in detail

Forecasting the Response of Earth\u27s Surface to Future Climatic and Land Use Changes: A Review of Methods and Research Needs

In the future, Earth will be warmer, precipitation events will be more extreme, global mean sea level will rise, and many arid and semiarid regions will be drier. Human modifications of landscapes will also occur at an accelerated rate as developed areas increase in size and population density. We now have gridded global forecasts, being continually improved, of the climatic and land use changes (C&LUC) that are likely to occur in the coming decades. However, besides a few exceptions, consensus forecasts do not exist for how these C&LUC will likely impact Earth-surface processes and hazards. In some cases, we have the tools to forecast the geomorphic responses to likely future C&LUC. Fully exploiting these models and utilizing these tools will require close collaboration among Earth-surface scientists and Earth-system modelers. This paper assesses the state-of-the-art tools and data that are being used or could be used to forecast changes in the state of Earth\u27s surface as a result of likely future C&LUC. We also propose strategies for filling key knowledge gaps, emphasizing where additional basic research and/or collaboration across disciplines are necessary. The main body of the paper addresses cross-cutting issues, including the importance of nonlinear/threshold-dominated interactions among topography, vegetation, and sediment transport, as well as the importance of alternate stable states and extreme, rare events for understanding and forecasting Earth-surface response to C&LUC. Five supplements delve into different scales or process zones (global-scale assessments and fluvial, aeolian, glacial/periglacial, and coastal process zones) in detail