The poetic is political….and other notes on engaged scholarship

Instrumental and objectivist logics maintain a hegemonic place in Western scholarship, reasoning skills powerfully equipped to address certain dilemmas even as they may obscure other ways of knowing. In this chapter, we enlarge dominant notions of rationality by offering an aesthetic view of knowledge as vital for engaged communication scholarship. Our interest in aesthetic logics parallels concerns that have led scholars to develop feminist practices of inquiry (e.g., Harding, 1998; Hesse-Biber, 2007), interrogate the aesthetics of representations in West-centric knowledge structures from postcolonial and Subaltern Studies standpoints (e.g., Broadfoot & Munshi, 2007; Dutta, 2007, 2008), focus on autoethnographic and poetic accounts ( e.g., Carr, 2003; Ellingson, 2009), introduce reflexivity and the politics of personhood in the scholarly process ( e.g., Harding, 1991; Reinharz, 1992), and adopt narrative and dialogic understandings of knowledge constructions (e.g., Frank, 2005; Harter, 2005). Loosely coupled, these research trajectories advance alternative rationalities for witnessing and answering salient social issues. We argue for the theoretical and practical incorporation of aesthetic rationalities in engaged scholarship-logics of poss ibility that cultivate individuals \u27 capacities to imagine otherwise. Reimagining scholarly inquiry to reflect and embrace aesthetic logics requires us to rethink our methods of data collection, analysis, and representation and our own roles as researchers and writers . When we resist the art/science dichotomy, opportunities abound for sensemaking and representation that embody aesthetic ways of knowing. Furthermore, rejection of dichotomous thinking opens up possibilities for listening to ways of knowing that lie beyond the realm of Eurocentric knowledge structures (Dutta, in press). Even after the interpretive turn, instrumental and objectivist logics often underlie and sometimes constrain the processes and products of social scientific research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). Traditional structures and modes of research offer important but limited conceptualizations of knowing. We can open ourselves to other ways of asking questions that include overt attention to aesthetic sensibilities . We need not reject or abandon traditional modes of research. Instead, we can enlarge the realm of possibilities for what counts as accepted research practices and advance methods for studying the aesthetic nature of communal life (Ellingson, 2009). In this chapter, we develop an understanding of rationality that incorporates imagination, and we explore methodologies that draw on creative sensibilities. We then articul ate the salience of creativity for rendering credible previously subjugated voices, and we articulate its value for engaged communication theory and research

Assessment of fish populations and habitat on Oculina Bank, a deep-sea coral marine protected area off eastern Florida

A portion of the Oculina Bank located off eastern Florida is a marine protected area (MPA) preserved for its dense populations of the ivory tree coral (Oculina varicosa), which provides important habitat for fish. Surveys of fish assemblages and benthic habitat were conducted inside and outside the MPA in 2003 and 2005 by using remotely operated vehicle video transects and digital still imagery. Fish species composition, biodiversity, and grouper densities were used to determine whether O. varicosa forms an essential habitat compared to other structure-forming habitats and to examine the effectiveness of the MPA. Multivariate analyses indicated no differences in fish assemblages or biodiversity among hardbottom habitat types and grouper densities were highest among the most complex habitats; however the higher densities were not exclusive to coral habitat. Therefore, we conclude that O. varicosa was functionally equivalent to other hardbottom habitats. Even though fish assemblages were not different among management areas, biodiversity and grouper densities were higher inside the MPA compared to outside. The percentage of intact coral was also higher inside the MPA. These results provide initial evidence demonstrating effectiveness of the MPA for restoring reef fish and their habitat. This is the first study to compare reef fish populations on O. varicosa with other structure-forming reef habitats and also the first to examine the effectiveness of the MPA for restoring fish populations and live reef cover

Antiferromagnetic correlations and impurity broadening of NMR linewidths in cuprate superconductors

We study a model of a d-wave superconductor with strong potential scatterers in the presence of antiferromagnetic correlations and apply it to experimental nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results on Zn impurities in the superconducting state of YBCO. We then focus on the contribution of impurity-induced paramagnetic moments, with Hubbard correlations in the host system accounted for in Hartree approximation. We show that local magnetism around individual impurities broadens the line, but quasiparticle interference between impurity states plays an important role in smearing out impurity satellite peaks. The model, together with estimates of vortex lattice effects, provides a semi-quantitative description of the impurity concentration dependence of the NMR line shape in the superconducting state, and gives a qualitative description of the temperature dependence of the line asymmetry. We argue that impurity-induced paramagnetism and resonant local density of states effects are both necessary to explain existing experiments.Comment: 15 pages, 23 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Doping evolution and polar surface reconstruction of the infinite-layer cuprate Sr1−x_{1-x}Lax_{x}CuO2_{2}

We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the doping evolution of infinite-layer Sr$_{1-x}$La$_{x}$CuO$_{2}$ thin films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. At low doping, the material exhibits a dispersive lower Hubbard band typical of the superconducting cuprate parent compounds. As carriers are added to the system, a continuous evolution from charge-transfer insulator to superconductor is observed, with the initial lower Hubbard band pinned well below the Fermi level and the development of a coherent low-energy band with electron doping. This two-component spectral function emphasizes the important role that strong local correlations play even at relatively high doping levels. Electron diffraction probes reveal a ${p(2\times2)}$ surface reconstruction of the material at low doping levels. Using a number of simple assumptions, we develop a model of this reconstruction based on the polar nature of the infinite-layer structure. Finally, we provide evidence for a thickness-controlled transition in ultrathin films of SrCuO$_2$ grown on nonpolar SrTiO$_3$, highlighting the diverse structural changes that can occur in polar complex oxide thin films

Nodeless superconductivity arising from strong (pi,pi) antiferromagnetism in the infinite-layer electron-doped cuprate Sr1-xLaxCuO2

The asymmetry between electron and hole doping remains one of the central issues in high-temperature cuprate superconductivity, but our understanding of the electron-doped cuprates has been hampered by apparent discrepancies between the only two known families: Re2-xCexCuO4 and A1-xLaxCuO2. Here we report in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements of epitaxially-stabilized films of Sr1-xLaxCuO2 synthesized by oxide molecular-beam epitaxy. Our results reveal a strong coupling between electrons and (pi,pi) antiferromagnetism that induces a Fermi surface reconstruction which pushes the nodal states below the Fermi level. This removes the hole pocket near (pi/2,pi/2), realizing nodeless superconductivity without requiring a change in the symmetry of the order parameter and providing a universal understanding of all electron-doped cuprates

Enhanced heat capacity and a new temperature instability in superfluid He-4 in the presence of a constant heat flux near T-lambda

We present the first experimental evidence that the heat capacity of superfluid 4He, at temperatures very close to the lambda point Tλ, is enhanced by a constant heat flux Q. The heat capacity at constant Q, CQ, is predicted to diverge at a temperature Tc(Q)<Tλ at which superflow becomes unstable. In agreement with previous measurements, we find that dissipation enters our cell at a temperature, TDAS(Q), below the theoretical value, Tc(Q). We argue that TDAS(Q) can be accounted for by a temperature instability at the cell wall, and is therefore distinct from Tc(Q). The excess heat capacity we measure has the predicted scaling behavior as a function of T and Q, but it is much larger than predicted by current theory

Formation of the coherent heavy fermion liquid at the 'hidden order' transition in URu2Si2

In this article we present high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) spectra of the heavy-fermion superconductor URu$_2$Si$_2$. Measurements as a function of both excitation energy and temperature allow us to disentangle a variety of spectral features, revealing the evolution of the low energy electronic structure across the hidden order transition. Already above the hidden order transition our measurements reveal the existence of weakly dispersive states below the Fermi level that exhibit a large scattering rate. Upon entering the hidden order phase, these states transform into a coherent heavy fermion liquid that hybridizes with the conduction bands.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Architecture of coatomer: Molecular characterization of delta-COP and protein interactions within the complex

Copyright © 2011 by The Rockefeller University Press.Coatomer is a cytosolic protein complex that forms the coat of COP I-coated transport vesicles. In our attempt to analyze the physical and functional interactions between its seven subunits (coat proteins, [COPs] alpha-zeta), we engaged in a program to clone and characterize the individual coatomer subunits. We have now cloned, sequenced, and overexpressed bovine alpha-COP, the 135-kD subunit of coatomer as well as delta-COP, the 57-kD subunit and have identified a yeast homolog of delta-COP by cDNA sequence comparison and by NH2-terminal peptide sequencing. delta-COP shows homologies to subunits of the clathrin adaptor complexes AP1 and AP2. We show that in Golgi-enriched membrane fractions, the protein is predominantly found in COP I-coated transport vesicles and in the budding regions of the Golgi membranes. A knock-out of the delta-COP gene in yeast is lethal. Immunoprecipitation, as well as analysis exploiting the two-hybrid system in a complete COP screen, showed physical interactions between alpha- and epsilon-COPs and between beta- and delta-COPs. Moreover, the two-hybrid system indicates interactions between gamma- and zeta-COPs as well as between alpha- and beta' COPs. We propose that these interactions reflect in vivo associations of those subunits and thus play a functional role in the assembly of coatomer and/or serve to maintain the molecular architecture of the complex.This work was supported by The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 352), the Human Frontier Science Program, and the Swiss National Science Foundation No. 31-43366.95