On the Margins of Friendship: Aggression in an Elementary School Peer Group

This article uses qualitative data from a larger study of two elementary schools in a rural city of about 15,000 people in the Midwestern United States. Here, I focus on a single peer group and those who are on its margins to provide insight into the intersection of friendship, aggression, and masculinity. In doing so, I address the lack of research examining how aggression functions within peer groups and why those who are victimized choose to remain in these groups

Study of optimum methods of optical communication

Abstracts are reported relating to the techniques used in the research concerning optical transmission of information. Communication through the turbulent atmosphere, quantum mechanics, and quantum communication theory are discussed along with the results

Sea Height Information from Complex SAR Data

Synthetic aperture radar data was used to construct an estimation algorithm for development of information on long waves. The evolution of chaotic dynamic systems was also explored

The IRB as Gatekeeper: Effects on Research with Children and Youth

Gatekeepers play an important role in research conducted with children and youth. Although qualitative researchers frequently discuss institutional and individual gatekeepers, such as schools and parents, little attention has been paid to the role that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) play in determining who is allowed to research particular populations and the ramifications of these decisions for findings involving children and youth. In order to examine this role, we compare negotiations of two researchers working on separate projects with similar populations with the IRB of a large Midwestern university. In both cases, it is likely that board members used their own personal experience and expertise in making assumptions about the race, social class, and gender of the researchers and their participants. The fact that these experiences are supported by findings across a wide range of IRBs highlights the extent to which qualitative research with children is changed (or even prevented) by those with little knowledge of typical qualitative methodologies and the cultural contexts in which research takes place. While those such as principals, teachers, and parents who are traditionally recognized as gatekeepers control access to specific locations, their denial of access only requires researchers to seek other research sites. IRBs, in contrast, control whether researchers are able to conduct research at any site. Although they wield considerably more control over research studies than typical gatekeepers, the fact that they are housed in the institutions at which academic researchers work also means that we can play a role in their improvement

Race, Gender, and Research: Implications for Teaching from Depictions of Professors in Popular Film, 1985-2005

When students enter college classrooms for the first time they inevitably have preconceived images of professors. According to research on student evaluations of teaching, these preconceptions have important implications in college classrooms. This study explores one avenue through which these preconceptions are perpetuated – popular film. Using content analysis we examine popular films released between 1985 and 2005 that contain professors in either primary or secondary roles. Our findings show stereotypical depictions beyond glasses, bow ties, and tweed jackets. Specifically, we find stereotypical images of race and gender as well as an emphasis on the importance of research, sometimes at the expense of teaching or ethical behavior. This research provides instructors with knowledge of the stereotypes that students may have upon entering the college classroom, which may impact classroom interactions and provides insight into how race and gender affect student evaluations of professors

Using \u27The Autobiography of Malcolm X\u27 to Teach Introductory Sociology

In this chapter, we make the case for using The Autobiography of Malcolm X to teach introductory sociology classes. While The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an autobiography and not a novel, we summarize the literature on using novels in sociology and compare this literature to our own experiences using autobiographies in the classroom. We then describe how autobiographies are particularly helpful for introducing students to the concept of the ‘‘sociological imagination’’ before highlighting this with an in-class exercise. Finally, we discuss student feedback and some of the drawbacks to using autobiographies and the extent to which these drawbacks can be mitigated. [excerpt

Pico-Power Production from a Squirrel-Cage Darrieus HAMCT

The United Nations has recognized the need for renewable energy sources through the Sustainable Development Goals. Pico-hydrokinetic energy has the potential to be portable and far-reaching. Applications range from small land-locked communities to portable sources of energy for the holiday hike or field operations. This research is in its early stages and has not been tested with hydrokinetic sources. However, by using air pressure and applying hydrokinetic principles, an idea can be formed to the effectiveness of a squirrel-cage darrieus HAMCT. Research showed this device can be used in horizontal-axis and vertical-axis orientations. The turbine along with its updated generator boasts stability and promising results in energy production. As pico-power generator is categorized up to 5 kW, this turbine produces between 1.4 and 1.8 W of energy. There is plenty more research this project needs for it to become a viable energy source for remote locations

Gossip at Work: Unsanctioned Evaluative Talk in Formal School Meetings

This article uses a form of linguistic ethnography to analyze videotaped recordings of gossip that took place during formal school meetings. By comparing this gossip data against existing models of gossip based on data collected in informal settings, we identify eleven new response classes, including four forms of indirectness that operate to cloak gossip under ambiguity, and seven forms of avoidance that change the trajectory of gossip. In doing so, this article makes three larger contributions. First, it opens a new front in research on organizational politics by providing an empirically grounded, conceptually rich vocabulary for analyzing gossip in formal contexts. Second, it contributes to knowledge about social interactions in organizations. By examining gossip talk embedded within a work context, this project highlights the nexus between structure, agency, and interaction. Third, it contributes to understandings of gossip in general. By examining gossip in a context previously unexamined, this project provides analytical leverage for theorizing conditions under which gossip is likely and when it will take various forms

Efficient detection, analysis and classification of lightning radiation fields

Modeling the large scale lightning flash structure is considered. Large scale flash data has been measured from strip charts of storms of August 5, August 26, and September 12, 1975. The data is being processed by a computer program called SASEV to estimate the large scale flash statistics. The program, experimental results, and conclusions for the large scale flash structure are described. The progress made in examining the internal flash structure consists mainly of developing the software required to process the NASA digital tape data. A FORTRAN program has been written for the statistical analysis of series of events. The statistics computed and tests performed are found to be particularly useful in the analysis of lightning data

The Effects of a Vocally Fatiguing Reading Task and Hydration Intervention on Voice

The aims of this study were to a) investigate the precise changes in voice during two consecutive reading tasks, b) measure any changes to that same voice after oral hydration interventions following each task, and c) gain insight into the onset and progression of the fatigue as the individual spoke at their normal loudness and pitch throughout the experiment. Within a single experimental session, nine college-aged participants (3 male and 6 female) read aloud (in their normal loudness and pitch) during two 30-minute blocks with hydration and breaks in between. It was hypothesized that acoustic voice measures would decline from the beginning to the end of each reading session, and that drinking water would effect an immediate, transient change in voice that would be masked with continued sustained voice use