Narrative Quilts and Quilted Narratives: The Art of Faith Ringgold and Alice Walker

There have been two main streams of influence on Chicano artists aside from the obvious one that is the result of their artistic training, education and development in the United States. The primary influence came from Mexico, first during the colonial period in the form of New Spanish art and architecture, and then in modem times provided by the Mexican muralists through their work and their use of pre-Columbian art. The New Spanish materials formed the nucleus for the second stream of influence composed of the various manifestations of religious folk art found primarily in the Southwest

Prototyping Models of Climate Change: New Approaches to Modelling Climate Change Data. 3D printed models of Climate Change research created in collaboration with Climate Scientists

Prototyping Models of Climate Change: New Approaches to Modelling Climate Change Data, identifies a gap in existing knowledge on the topic of 3D Printed, three dimensional creative visualisations of data on the impact of climate change. Communication, visualisation and dissemination of scientific research data to the general-public is a priority of science organisations. Creative visualisation projects that encourage meaningful cross-disciplinary collaboration are urgently needed, from a communication standpoint and, to act as models for agile responsive means of addressing climate change. Three-dimensional creative visualisations can give audiences alternate and more direct means of understanding information by engaging visual and haptic experience. This project contributes new knowledge in the field by way of an innovative framework and praxis for the communication and dissemination of climate change information across the disciplines of contemporary art, design and science. The focus is on projects that can effectively and affectively, communicate climate science research between the disciplines and the general-public. The research generates artefacts using 3D printing techniques. A contribution to new knowledge is the development of systems and materials for 3D printing that embody principles of sustainable fabrication. The artefacts or visualisations produced as part of the research project are made from sustainable materials that have been rigorously developed and tested. Through a series of collaborations with climate scientists, the research investigates methodologies and techniques for modelling and fabricating three-dimensional artefacts that represent climate change data. The collaborations and the research outputs are evaluated using boundary object theory. Expanding on existing boundary object categories, the research introduces new categories with parameters specifically designed to evaluate creative practice- science collaborations and their outputs

Stocking system effects on cattle performance, forage, and soil properties of cool-season pastures

Increasing stocking density and rotation frequency of grazing cattle may improve forage yield and quality and soil carbon content, but may reduce livestock performance and forage persistence and compact soil. Sixty mature August-calving Angus cows (Bos taurus L.; mean body weight (BW), 585 ± 9.9 kg) were allotted to six 4.05-ha cool-season pastures to graze by rotational (RS), strip (SS), or mob (MS) stocking from May through September for two years (2010-2011). Stocking density averaged 16 000, 80 000, and 350 000 kg BW * ha-1 * d-1 in RS, SS, and MS pastures, respectively. Daily live forage allowance was equal across treatments. Forage was offered as an entire paddock until 50% of the forage dry matter (DM) was removed or as strips either one or four times daily in RS, SS, and MS pastures, respectively. Stocking density did not significantly affect cow BW, body condition, or grazing selectivity; calf birth weight, average daily gain, or survival; forage mass, botanical composition, in vitro DM disappearance, or crude protein concentration; or soil moisture, carbon content, or water infiltration rate. Mean monthly forage disappearance was lower in RS than MS and SS pastures in May and June (month*treatment, P \u3c 0.01); lower in RS than MS pastures in 2010, and lower in RS than SS and MS pastures in 2011 (year*treatment, P = 0.02). Soil bulk density tended to be lower in SS than RS pastures in July, but was greater in SS than RS pastures in October in both years (month*treatment, P = 0.07). Results demonstrate that in the first two years of implementation, increased stocking density with adequate forage allowance does not significantly affect cow or calf performance, forage mass or composition, or soil physical properties

Word meanings in the first grade

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Poetry as testimonio: writing human rights in Alicia Partnoy

This thesis studies the poetry of Alicia Partnoy (Argentina, b. 1955) as a form of testimonio. Partnoy is a survivor of disappearance, imprisonment and torture during the 1976-1983 dictatorship in Argentina. She was forced into exile in the United States, where she now works as an academic, writer and human rights activist. Partnoy has testified about her experiences at the United Nations, Amnesty International and CONADEP (Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas). As a writer, she is best known for the testimonial short stories of The Little School (1986) / La Escuelita (2006). My research argues that Partnoy’s literary testimonio also encompasses the poetry collections Venganza de la manzana / Revenge of the Apple (1992), Volando bajito / Little Low Flying (2005) and Fuegos florales / Flowering Fires (2014). Chapter 1 outlines existing scholarship in the field of testimonio studies, including Beverley (1987; 1993), Sklodowska (1992), Strejilevich (2006), Partnoy (2009), Portela (2009) and Forcinito (2012). I explore debates regarding testimonial ‘truth’ and attitudes to testimoniantes, before using the work of Scarry (1985) and Forché (2012) to understand how figurative language functions in the communication of suffering. Chapter 2 establishes the importance of the paratext in testimonio, building on the theories of Genette (1997). I reflect on the role of information provided by the publishers and the translator Gail Wronsky, in addition to analysing paratexts written by Partnoy herself. Dedications, a prose introduction and prefatorial poems all serve a significant testimonial purpose in the collections. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 comprise thematic close readings of Partnoy’s poems. Chapter 3 explores Partnoy’s approach to testimonial poetry, and her development of the poetic ‘I’, as a challenge to the maxim that ‘to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric’ (Adorno 1967). Chapter 4 examines Partnoy’s portrayal of the effect of dictatorship on family, drawing on the intimate relationships with her daughter, brother, and life partner. Chapter 5 considers the creation of a collective testimonial voice. I conclude that in response to state violence in Argentina and beyond, Partnoy creates a poetic testimonio that is a chorus against injustice and a demand to be heard

Increasing Physical Activity of Preschool Students

Background. Childhood overweight and obesity is a serious health issue. Childhood obesity is associated with asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea, psychosocial complications, increased presence of cardiovascular disease risk factors, and increased medical costs. A decrease in physical activity, an increase in sedentary behavior, and unhealthy eating likely contribute to childhood overweight and obesity. Over the last 3 decades, the prevalence of early childhood obesity has also risen. The level of physical activity that preschoolers engage is influenced by policies and practices of childcare centers they attend. Given the large number of children enrolled in preschool settings and the variability of physical activity among centers, these environments provide a promising opportunity to engage more children in health promoting levels of physical activity. Preschool students are highly sedentary and very little is known about how to significantly increase physical activity in childcare environments with structured, teacher-led activity. Methods. Activity levels among children aged 4-5 in four childcare centers were measured before and after a one-day preschool physical activity teacher training by accelerometry for approximately 5 hours per child over two mornings. Observers coded individual child activities by time. Accelerometer measures of activity levels in METs and related indicators were linked at one-minute intervals with child activity codes. Data were evaluated using single-group repeated measures analysis of variance. Results. After six weeks of implementation the intervention, average MET levels in preschoolers in three of the four centers increased by 11.5% from baseline to follow up. The average MET level per minute for these children at baseline was 2.69±0.40 and at follow-up was 2.98±0.52 (p value= .001). Teachers from all four centers reported spending 24.6 ±13.0 minutes per activity session with up to two sessions completed per day. Teachers reported following the curriculum closely and indicated that the children were generally enthusiastic. Conclusions. These results justify larger trials to determine the impact of physical activity teacher training on the intensity and duration of preschool students\u27 physical activity in childcare setting

When good news leads to bad choices

Pigeons and other animals sometimes deviate from optimal choice behavior when given informative signals for delayed outcomes. For example, when pigeons are given a choice between an alternative that always leads to food after a delay and an alternative that leads to food only half of the time after a delay, preference changes dramatically depending on whether the stimuli during the delays are correlated with (signal) the outcomes or not. With signaled outcomes, pigeons show a much greater preference for the suboptimal alternative than with unsignaled outcomes. Key variables and research findings related to this phenomenon are reviewed, including the effects of durations of the choice and delay periods, probability of reinforcement, and gaps in the signal. We interpret the available evidence as reflecting a preference induced by signals for good news in a context of uncertainty. Other explanations are briefly summarized and compared

Micromechanisms of paperboard deformation

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-246).An experimental study of the micromechanisms of paperboard deformation has been conducted. Experiments were performed in a scanning electron microscope, allowing visual observation and coincident acquisition of load vs. deformation data. Deformation mechanisms were determined and correlated with features of the load vs. deformation curves for different loading modes. A macroscopic study was performed concurrently to provide accurate continuum-level load vs. deformation data. This study contributed to an effort to model the creasing process. In creasing, paperboard is punched to create an internal line of damage and then folded along that line to create a corner. It has been determined experimentally that the creasing process involves through-thickness compression and transverse shear loading, as well as in-plane tension loading. Out-of-plane delamination also plays an important role. Experiments were conducted to determine the stress-strain behavior and corresponding deformation mechanisms under several well-controlled loading conditions. These include through-thickness compression, shear, and tension, as well as combined tension/shear loading. In-plane tensile behavior was also investigated. Paperboard loaded in out-of-plane compression behaved linearly at small strains, with an exponential increase in stiffness at larger strains. Deformation mechanisms included void closure and fiber collapse. In out-of-plane shear, paperboard initially behaved linearly, but departed from linearity before a peak in load. The dominant failure mechanism at the microscopic scale was sudden fiber disengagement throughout the entire cross-section, corresponding to the peak in load. Loaded in out-of-plane tension, the paperboard first exhibited many small cracks at the interfaces between layers. As these cracks grew, one became dominant, and all further delamination occurred by extension of that crack. Similar behavior was observed in combined loading experiments with tension as the larger load component. With shear as the larger component, delamination generally occurred suddenly rather than being preceded by small local cracks. In-plane tensile behavior also included an initial linear region, followed by nonlinearity and a peak in load. The dominant mechanisms were fiber break and fiber disengagement in the different layers of the board; this again corresponded to the ... [missing rest of abstract]by Heather M. Dunn.S.M

Stocking System Effects on Soil and Forage Characteristics, and Performance of Fall-Calving Cows Grazing Cool-Season Grass Pastures (A Progress Report)

The effects of stocking densities of fall-calving Angus cattle grazing cool-season pastures on cow and calf performance; forage mass, quality, and botanical composition; soil carbon content and compaction; and grazing selectivity of cattle were evaluated. Two blocks of three 10-acre cool-season pastures, divided into 1-acre paddocks, were grazed by 10 fall-calving Angus cows by one of three stocking systems: rotational stocking (RS, low stocking density), strip stocking (SS, moderate stocking density), and mob stocking (MS, high stocking density). Pastures were grazed from mid-May through late September in 2010 (yr 1) and 2011 (yr 2). Cattle received a daily live forage dry matter (DM) allowance of 4.0 and 3.2% of cow body weight (BW) in yr 1 and 2, respectively. Cattle in RS pastures were moved to new paddocks after initial forage sward height, measured with a falling plate meter (8.8 lb/yd2), was reduced by 50% by measurement (yr 1), and after the estimated intake at 3.2% of cow BW/day (yr 2). Cattle in SS and MS pastures received strips containing 100 and 25% of the daily forage allowance one and four times per day, respectively. Cow BCS did not differ between treatments in any month of either year. Cow BW was greater in MS than RS and SS pastures in June of yr 2 and greater in RS than MS pastures in August of yr 2, but did not differ in any other months of either year. Birth weight and average daily gain (ADG) of live calves at the end of the trial did not differ between treatments in either year; however, there were fewer calves per cow in MS pastures at the termination of the trial in yr 2. Forage sward height did not differ between treatments in any month of either year. Rotational stocking decreased forage disappearance in yr 2 compared to strip or mob stocking. Forage disappearance was lower in RS than SS and MS pastures in May and June of both years and was greater in RS than SS pastures in September of yr 1, but did not differ in any other months. Forage botanical composition prior to grazing each year did not differ between years, but dead forage as a percent of total forage DM was lower in RS than SS and MS pastures in yr 2. Soil bulk density from 0-3 inches in yr 1, water infiltration rate into the soil in either year, and penetration resistance at depths of 0 and 3 inches in yr 2, did not differ between treatments in any month. Soil penetration resistance at 6 inches was greater in SS than RS and MS pastures in May, and was greater in MS than SS pastures in August. Grazing selectivity did not differ between treatments in yr 1. Results suggest that, at constant forage allocation, mob stocking does not affect cow or live calf performance, but may reduce the proportion of surviving calves. Mob stocking also does not affect forage mass, botanical composition, or soil compaction measures within the first two years of implementation