A Literary and Narratological Reading of Titurius Sabinus and Quintus Cicero in Julius Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum

This thesis argues that the characters of Titurius Sabinus and Quintus Cicero, as depicted by Caesar in his Bellum Gallicum, fulfill a narrative function that furthers the political aims of Caesar’s text. I start by arguing that there are three Caesars present in the Bellum Gallicum, employing Gérard Genette’s three definitions of “narrative” as a model: Caesar the historical author, Caesar the narrative voice, and Caesar the character. I also argue that Caesar the author writes in the “zero degree,” a term Roland Barthes created to describe a seemingly unadorned writing style. When characterizing Sabinus and Cicero, Caesar will occasionally break his degree zero style to pass judgment (frequently implicit rather than explicit) on the two men and their actions. Through this process Caesar establishes his narrative voice as an arbiter of proper military conduct: when an officer acts in accordance with what the narrative voice approves, he is shown to be successful in the field. This approach has allowed me to engage with, and advance, the scholarly approaches to Caesar undertaken in valuable recent monographs by Luca Grillo and Andrew Riggsby

Improving Learning Environments: Integration of Nature in Education, K-6

Schools are one of the most crucial atmospheres for children as they begin to learn and grow into the people they are going to become. The average student will be in school for twelve years, and then four years of college. This makes up a significant amount of their young lives. School is where students go to develop the basic foundations of education. School provides chances for children to acquire knowledge on various fields of study, such as literature, history, mathematics, social sciences and physical sciences. Attending school allows for opportunities to meet and form relationships with peers in the same age group. Nowadays, school has become the first stepping stone in the life of a child, meaning, children learn a lot more than just simple subjects. Developing hobbies, learning basic etiquettes, getting skilled at multitasking, and developing social skills are some of the many things that a school begins to equip students with. The school designs have to be able to keep up with the complexities of what educators have to teach our children. Every student is different and has various needs that have to be addressed in order for each student to become successful. They need to have the right facilities and environment for strong development. It has become a topic that is closer to my heart and thus I have decided to take on the challenge of designing a highly effective, hands on learning environment that caters to the students of today

Kinematic analysis of cam profiles used in compound bows

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on December 22, 2009).Thesis advisor: Yuyi Lin.Includes bibliographical references.M.S. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Mechanical and aerospace engineering.The first compound bow was invented in Missouri in 1969. [Allen, 1968] Compound bows are uniquely different from other types of bows in that they use a set of cables, cams and pulley, and two elastic limbs that act as springs, to create a mechanical advantage while the bowstring is being drawn. In what is known as the let-off (draw force verses draw length) curve, this allows the archer to hold the bow at a fully drawn length with significantly less force than the maximum draw force. This design is advantageous for hunting, where arrow speed, accuracy, and holding weight become important requirements in being successful. Since the invention, technology has progressed in improving the bow's efficiency, accuracy, and arrow speed through patented empirical methods. However, very little has been shown in analytically modeling and optimal design of this complex mechanical system. A preface to various types of bows as well as subtypes of compound bows will be introduced. A kinematic analysis will be shown for an eccentric-circular cam design and a one-cam one-pulley design. By iteratively determining the bow limb, cam, and cable positions a relationship between the drawn length and drawn force will produce a draw-force curve. In fact, this curve represents the strain energy stored within the system, and upon arrow release will be transferred into kinetic energy. Like all mechanical systems, there is a loss in energy and efficiency. A method for accurately determining efficiency will be explained. Experiments are also conducted using carbon fiber composites to create an adequate limb design

Using 3 Dimension Health Vegetation Index Point Clouds to Determine HLB Infected Citrus Trees

Three-dimensional NDVI point clouds can be an innovative method for detecting Huanglongbing (HLB) disease in citrus trees. In February 2018, an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) captured narrow-band multispectral images to detect healthiness variations of infected citrus trees. A 30-acre section of a citrus grove in Florida with a known HLB infection was examined to determine if three-dimensional Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) point clouds can indicate healthiness variations in HLB-infected citrus trees and how three-dimensional NDVI point clouds compared to two-dimensional NDVI reflectance maps for detecting healthiness variations in HLB-infected citrus trees. Wilcoxon Sign Rank testing compared Whole-Tree Vegetation Indices (WTVI) comprising of point or pixel proportions within five NDVI classifications between three-dimensional NVDI point clouds and two-dimensional NDVI reflectance maps. The results indicated significant differences between three-dimensional and two-dimensional points, grouped at the tree level, for suspected HLB-infected trees (p = 0.000). The data suggests three-dimensional NDVI point cloud points were more sensitive to less healthy levels of NDVI values by 2.7% compared to two dimensional NDVI data for suspected HLB-infected trees and by 10.6% (p = 0.000) for non-suspected HLB-infected trees. Researchers concluded three-dimensional NDVI point clouds could be used to determine healthiness variations in suspected HLB-infected citrus trees. Three-dimensional NVDI point clouds had a wider distribution of five index classifications than two-dimensional NDVI reflectance maps for suspected HLB-infected trees. The vertical structure of the citrus tree may contribute to the difference in distribution. There was a 10.01% (p = 0.021) increase in 3D NDVI point cloud points for non-suspected HLB-infected trees compared to the suspected HLB-infected trees. Additionally, there was a 9.04% (p = 0.032) increase in tree crown dimension for non-suspected HLB-infected trees compared to suspected HLB-infected trees. These data suggest non-suspected HLB-infected trees were larger than suspected HLB-infected trees

Understanding metacomprehension : a multidimensional examination of metacognitive cues and their impact

Metacomprehension is a cornerstone in self-regulated learning, crucial for calibrating study strategies and resource allocation. Understanding the mechanisms through which learners form their metacomprehension judgments is therefore crucial for both academic success and lifelong learning. Contemporary metacomprehension cue research often relies on a single open-ended response, but this approach assumes that learners possess accurate insights. My research reveals that this assumption is problematic: learners consistently struggle to explicitly report using these cues without additional prompts. The primary objective of this dissertation is to develop and implement innovative methods for measuring the cues learners employ in making metacomprehension judgments. Synthesizing prior research, I created a set of cues for learners not only to report but also to rate their experienced valence as they studied complex learning materials (e.g., text-based essays and instructional videos). My research offers four key contributions. First, it emphasizes the importance of measuring multiple cues over the traditional approach of focusing on a single cue. Second, it reveals that learners are often unaware of the cues affecting their judgments: cue valence ratings were more predictive of their judgments than reported cue use. Third, it demonstrates that the cues that relate to comprehension judgments are not always the same as those that relate to learning. Specifically, cues that reflect the use of deeper strategies are more likely to be uniquely related to comprehension. What this implies is that there may be value in directing learners to focus specifically on the deeper cues that support comprehension. Fourth, it shows how individual differences in reading strategies and topic interest impact the experience of metacognitive cues. Collectively, this series of studies not only introduces a new paradigm for exploring metacomprehension and the cues that inform these judgments but also investigates how patterns of cue use vary across individuals and are differentially associated with comprehension. The final chapter elaborates on these contributions, discussing their implications for future research and potential interventions.Educational Psycholog

Pooling financial resources for universal health coverage: options for reform.

Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people can access health services of good quality without experiencing financial hardship. Three health financing functions - revenue raising, pooling of funds and purchasing health services - are vital for UHC. This article focuses on pooling: the accumulation and management of prepaid financial resources. Pooling creates opportunities for redistribution of resources to support equitable access to needed services and greater financial protection even if additional revenues for UHC cannot be raised. However, in many countries pooling arrangements are very fragmented, which create barriers to redistribution. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of pooling reform options to support countries who are exploring ways to enhance redistribution of funds. We outline four broad types of pooling reforms and discuss their potential and challenges in addressing fragmentation of health financing: (i) shifting to compulsory or automatic coverage for everybody; (ii) merging different pools to increase the number of pool members and the diversity of pool members' health needs and risks; (iii) cross-subsidization of pools that have members with lower revenues and higher health risks; and (iv) harmonization across pools, such as benefits, payment methods and rates. Countries can combine several reform elements. Whether the potential for redistribution is actually realized through a pooling reform also depends on the alignment of the pooling structure with revenue raising and purchasing arrangements. Finally, the scope for reform is constrained by institutional and political feasibility, and the political economy around pooling reforms needs to be anticipated and managed

Determination of Adult Learning Styles of United States Coast Guard Personnel

Occupational and Adult Educatio