The Impact of Globalization on Women: Testing Vandana Shiva’s Critique of Development

Vandana Shiva argues that through the masculinization of agriculture globalization has turned nature and women into passive fields for sowing. Shiva’s critique that international trade, and globalization more generally, has undermined the social and economic position of women in less developed countries provides a wealth of testable hypotheses. For example, Shiva’s argument implies that gender earnings inequality is higher in countries that are more integrated into the world economy, ceteris paribus. After summarizing her argument, we test this hypothesis through cross-sectional regression analysis.Gender Earnings Inequality; Vandana Shiva; Kuznets Curve

Extracting temporal and spectral parameters from surface electromyography signals during a fatigue contraction

This paper presents findings from a study of five healthy subjects performing 50% maximum voluntary contraction until complete fatigue of the muscle. An overlapping window technique was used to find the values for mean frequency (MNF), median frequency (MDF) of the power spectrum, root mean square (RMS) and muscle fibre conduction velocity (MFCV). The surface electromyography signal (sEMG) was collected from the vastus lateralis muscle using a three channel Laplacian electrode. The results show the MNF and MDF values showed a consistent trend with each other where they remained at steady values between 20-30% and 75-80% of the signal after which they fell 15-30% of this value. The RMS showed a linear increase in value. The MFCV showed a similar trend to that found in the MNF and MDF values

Control/structure interaction during Space Station Freedom-Orbiter berthing

The berthing maneuver is essential for the construction and assembly of Space Station Freedom (SSF) and has a direct effect on the SSF assembly build up and SSF/Orbiter operations. The effects of flexible body dynamics coupled with the available control system may impose new requirements on the maneuver. The problem is further complicated by the effect of the SSF control system on the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS). These effects will play a major role in the development of operational requirements which need to be identified and validated in order to assure total safety and maneuver execution during SSF construction. This paper presents the results of ongoing studies to investigate the Control/Structure Interaction (CSI) during the berthing operations. The problem is formulated in terms of multi-flex body equations of motion for SSF and the SRMS and on-orbit flight control systems for the SRMS and the SSF, which includes the Control Moment Gyro (CMG) and Reaction Control System (RCS) Attitude Control Systems (ACS). The SSF control system designs are based on the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) version of the Honeywell design. The simulation tool used for the analysis is briefly described and the CSI results are presented for given berthing scenarios

A Modified Single Defect Cavity Study for Coherent Coupling in Photonic Crystal VCSELs

A modified single defect cavity study was conducted to determine if a calibrated simplified model could be use to predict and subsequently design for coherent coupling in PhC VCSELs. Modeled and fabricated devices are compared

The writing of trauma: trauma theory and the liberty of reading

Analyses the recent upsurge of interest in trauma theory in cultural studies

Ultra-low-energy non-volatile straintronic computing using single multiferroic composites

The primary impediment to continued downscaling of traditional charge-based electronic devices in accordance with Moore\u27s law is the excessive energy dissipation that takes place in the device during switching of bits. One very promising solution is to utilize multiferroicheterostructures, comprised of a single-domain magnetostrictive nanomagnet strain-coupled to a piezoelectric layer, in which the magnetization can be switched between its two stable states while dissipating minuscule amount of energy. However, no efficient and viable means of computing is proposed so far. Here we show that such single multiferroic composites can act as universal logic gates for computing purposes, which we demonstrate by solving the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of magnetization dynamics in the presence of room-temperature thermal fluctuations. The proposed concept can overwhelmingly simplify the design of large-scale circuits and portend a highly dense yet an ultra-low-energy computing paradigm for our future information processing systems

The Parallaxis: a game of walking between worlds

The Parallaxis is an exploration of resonance and possibility within the landscape of the everyday. It is an experiment in calibrating our senses to more subtle frequencies; a quest for cracks and shadows that transform the known into the unknown. Ultimately it is a conversation with the places that we are continuously creating — and that are continuously creating us. The phenomenon of parallax provides depth and dimensionality to our binocular vision by requiring us to synthesise two different lines of sight. The word is derived from the Greek parallaxis, meaning "to change" — and deeper within its etymological roots we find allos, other. Word magic. With parallax we can locate ourselves when we are lost at sea, by measuring the distance between our horizon and the brightest of celestial bodies. Star magic. The Parallaxis is likewise a triangulation; an inductive journey toward a point of synthesis. It is a process, a practice, a proposition (Jones 2009). Situated at the crossroads of art and human geography, it contributes to both disciplines an articulation of knowledge that is unstable and ambiguous (Smith & Dean 2009). The assertion of a multivalent epistemology has become central to creative practice research, and in recent years has also begun to influence thinking in the field of human geography (Thrift 2008). It is an orientation toward knowledge that has much to offer within the academy and beyond, suggesting as it does 'a performative technology for adaptive living' (Vannini 2015, p. 4) and 'a way to come to understand the world that does not simultaneously set the stage for limited use of that knowledge' (Langer & Piper 1987, p. 280). The Parallaxis uses the methodology of creative practice research to enact a speculative epistemology of place, through the realisation of a creative work and this accompanying text

The Single-Angle Plane-Wave Spectral Response of One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Structures

The multiple-incident-angle transmittances or reflectances of fabricated 1-D photonic crystal (PC) structures are measured. Regularization methods are applied to these measurements to determine the single-angle plane-wave spectral response of the structure

Microbial TLR Agonists and Humoral Immunopathogenesis in HIV Disease

Although T cells are the primary and most-studied targets of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), B cells, especially memory B lymphocytes, are also chronically depleted in the course of HIV disease. Although the lack of CD4+ T cell help may explain these deficiencies, intrinsic defects in B lymphocytes appear to contribute to B cell depletion and reduced antibody (Ab) production in the setting of HIV, especially of some antigens eliciting T cell-independent responses. The gut mucosal barrier is disrupted in HIV disease, resulting in increased systemic exposure to microbial products such as Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) agonists. The association of enhanced systemic levels of TLR agonists and B cell dysfunction in HIV disease is not understood. This review discusses the potential role of microbial TLR agonists in the B cell depletion, enhanced autoantibody production and impaired responses to vaccination observed in HIV-infected hosts. Increased microbial translocation in HIV infection may drive B cells to produce autoantibodies and increase susceptibilities of B cells to apoptosis through activation-induced cell death. Determining the mechanisms of B cell perturbations in HIV disease will inform the design of novel strategies of improve immune responses to vaccines, reduce opportunistic infections and slow disease progression