Organic architecture and direct democracy: Claude Bragdon\u27s Festivals of Song and Light

Bragdon\u27s approach to organic architecture, based on communitarian principles, which contrasted with Sullivan and Wright\u27s

Marcel Breuer and Postwar America

At the center of Slocum Hall, four stories below a large skylight, stands a big shaggy lens - a deep, fur-lined scoop framed by a broad rectangle eight feet high. Between stepped floor and slanted ceiling is a curved wall punctuated by a trapezoidal aperture through which you glimpse a purple-tinted fragment of face. Forehead and cheeks, a nose and two eyes: Marcel Breuer. The lens, a pavilion encasing deep embrasures, marks an exhibition of material from the archive of this leading 20th century architect. It points you toward the adjacent gallery, where more than 120 drawings and photographs reproduced at full scale document thirteen major buildings and projects by Breuer and his office. Image enlargements, wall texts and diagonally striped fields of purple, pink and blue integrate walls and artworks into a color-saturated ambiance. Marcel Breuer and Postwar America offers a new picture of postwar modernism, along with the pleasure of looking at compelling drawings and photographs culled from the archive. It results from an innovative collaboration mobilizing archives and special collections in research and teaching. The exhibition emerged from a seminar I taught with visiting professor Barry Bergdoll at the School of Architecture in fall 2010. Each of the case studies was selected, researched, and curated by one of the students in the course, supported by the Special Collections Research Center of Syracuse University Library, which holds the Marcel Breuer Papers. The Installation was designed and build by faculty members Jon Lott and Brett Snyder with a team of students and staff. The catalogue documents the outcome of these partnerships in researching, teaching, curating, designing, building, and learning from Breuer. -Jonathon Masse

A systematic investigation into the effect of roughness on self-propelled swimming plates

This study examines the effects of surface topography on the flow and performance of a Self-Propelled Swimming (SPS) body. We consider a thin flat plate of length $L$ with an egg-carton roughness texture undergoing undulatory swimming kinematics at the typically observed biological Strouhal number of $0.3$, amplitude to length ratio of $0.1$, and Reynolds number of $12,000$. As the roughness wavelength, $\lambda$ is decreased, we find that the undulation wave speed $\zeta$ must be increased to maintain SPS. We find that large wavelength roughness results in the formation of horseshoe vortices around each element while smaller wavelengths result in large leading-edge vortices that dominate the flow field and the wake. Generally, increasing the wave speed $\zeta$ increases the power and side forces required to maintain SPS. However, when $\lambda\approx L/16$ there is a dramatic increase in the enstrophy (within the flow) that is not reflected in the forces on the body. The enstrophy increases when $\lambda$ is equivalent to the boundary layer thickness, a scaling known to amplify vorticity within the boundary layers. This indicates an interaction between the roughness and kinematics beyond a simple increase in viscous drag. Finally, we find that all but the longest roughness wavelength decreases the power required and reduces the RMS amplitude of the forces when compared to a smooth plate undergoing identical kinematics. This study reveals the nonlinear interaction between roughness and motion, illustrating that roughness studies on static shapes do not transfer directly to unsteady swimmers

Students’ perceptions of research projects in a first-year integrated science program

Science One at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is an intensive, integrated first-year science program in which the 75 accepted students take math, chemistry, physics, and biology in a year-long cohort. They participate in term projects each semester which are supported by lessons in Scientific Thinking & Literacy, faculty mentorship and reflective exercises. In the term 2 project, students are tasked with answering a scientific research question of their choosing through experimentation or modeling. The term 2 project culminates in a written and oral report at the end of the year. This is a unique opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience with the scientific method while placing an emphasis on transferable skills. We investigated the impact of the term 2 project on students’ perception of learning the scientific method. Students from the most recent cohort of Science One (2022-23) were recruited to participate. Using a mixed methods approach, we conducted a survey to assess the students’ perceptions of the project following completion of their final oral and written reports. Students were also invited to consent to the use of their term 2 reflection assignments to assess their attitudes and perspectives at multiple points throughout the project. This presentation will detail the process of the term 2 project for both students and instructors and provide a detailed discussion of our results. We will conclude with an analysis of the benefits and limitations of expanding small-scale research projects into the broader science curriculum. This research was approved by the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board

Introduction: Black Lives Matter

Introduction: Black Lives Matter by Jonathan Massey and Meredith TenHoor with Sben Korsh — Inspired by the scholars, activists, and everyday citizens who spoke out, marched, and protested against police killings of African-Americans, we present this collection of short essays that put Black lives at the center of our thinking about architecture and its history. Addressing the Black Lives Matter movement through architectural and urban research, the essays in this collection diagnose sources of violence, identify forms of resistance, and reimagine Black aesthetics

The metallicity profile of M31 from spectroscopy of hundreds of HII regions and PNe

The oxygen abundance gradients among nebular emission line regions in spiral galaxies have been used as important constraints for models of chemical evolution. We present the largest ever full-wavelength optical spectroscopic sample of emission line nebulae in a spiral galaxy (M31). We have collected spectra of 253 HII regions and 407 planetary nebulae with the Hectospec multi-fiber spectrograph of the MMT. We measure the line-of-sight extinction for 199 HII regions and 333 PNe; we derive oxygen abundance directly, based on the electron temperature, for 51 PNe; and we use strong line methods to estimate oxygen abundance for 192 HII regions and nitrogen abundance for 52 HII regions. The relatively shallow oxygen abundance gradient of the more extended HII regions in our sample is generally in agreement with the result of Zaritsky et al. (1994), based on only 19 M31 HII regions, but varies with the strong-line diagnostic employed. Our large sample size demonstrates that there is significant intrinsic scatter around this abundance gradient, as much as 3 times the systematic uncertainty in the strong line diagnostics. The intrinsic scatter is similar in the nitrogen abundances, although the gradient is significantly steeper. On small scales (deprojected distance < 0.5 kpc), HII regions exhibit local variations in oxygen abundance that are larger than 0.3 dex in 33% of neighboring pairs. We do not identify a significant oxygen abundance gradient among PNe, but we do find a significant gradient in the [N II] ratio that varies systematically with surface brightness. Our results underscore the complex and inhomogeneous nature of the ISM of M31, and our dataset illustrates systematic effects relevant to future studies of the metallicity gradients in nearby spiral galaxies.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ, full tables available at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~nsanders/papers/M31/summary.htm

Does normalization of voluntary EMG amplitude to MMAX account for the influence of electrode location and adiposity?

Voluntary surface electromyography (sEMG) amplitude is known to be influenced by both electrode position and subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness, and these factors likely compromise both between- and within-individual comparisons. Normalization of voluntary sEMG amplitude to evoked maximum M-wave parameters [MMAX peak-to-peak (P-P) and Area] may remove the influence of electrode position and subcutaneous tissue thickness. The purpose of this study was to: (i) assess the influence of electrode position on voluntary, evoked (MMAX P-P and Area) and normalized sEMG measurements across the surface of the vastus lateralis (VL; experiment 1: n=10); and (ii) investigate if MMAX normalization removes the confounding influence of subcutaneous tissue thickness [muscle-electrode distance (MED) from ultrasound imaging] on sEMG amplitude (experiment 2; n=41). Healthy young men performed maximum voluntary contractions (MVCs) and evoked twitch contractions during both experiments. Experiment 1: voluntary sEMG during MVCs was influenced by electrode location (P≤0.046, ES≥1.49 "large"), but when normalized to MMAX P-P showed no differences between VL sites (P=0.929) which was not the case when normalized to MMAX Area (P<0.004). Experiment 2: voluntary sEMG amplitude was related to MED, which explained 31-38% of the variance. Normalization of voluntary sEMG amplitude to MMAX P-P or MMAX Area reduced but did not consistently remove the influence of MED which still explained up to 16% (MMAX P-P) and 23% (MMAX Area) of the variance. In conclusion, MMAX P-P was the better normalization parameter for removing the influence of electrode location and substantially reduced but did not consistently remove the influence of subcutaneous adiposity

Training-specific functional, neural, and hypertrophic adaptations to explosive- vs. sustained-contraction strength training

Training specificity is considered important for strength training, although the functional and underpinning physiological adaptations to different types of training, including brief explosive contractions, are poorly understood. This study compared the effects of 12 wk of explosive-contraction (ECT, n = 13) vs. sustained-contraction (SCT, n = 16) strength training vs. control (n = 14) on the functional, neural, hypertrophic, and intrinsic contractile characteristics of healthy young men. Training involved 40 isometric knee extension repetitions (3 times/wk): contracting as fast and hard as possible for ∼1 s (ECT) or gradually increasing to 75% of maximum voluntary torque (MVT) before holding for 3 s (SCT). Torque and electromyography during maximum and explosive contractions, torque during evoked octet contractions, and total quadriceps muscle volume (QUADSVOL) were quantified pre and post training. MVT increased more after SCT than ECT [23 vs. 17%; effect size (ES) = 0.69], with similar increases in neural drive, but greater QUADSVOL changes after SCT (8.1 vs. 2.6%; ES = 0.74). ECT improved explosive torque at all time points (17-34%; 0.54 ≤ ES ≤ 0.76) because of increased neural drive (17-28%), whereas only late-phase explosive torque (150 ms, 12%; ES = 1.48) and corresponding neural drive (18%) increased after SCT. Changes in evoked torque indicated slowing of the contractile properties of the muscle-tendon unit after both training interventions. These results showed training-specific functional changes that appeared to be due to distinct neural and hypertrophic adaptations. ECT produced a wider range of functional adaptations than SCT, and given the lesser demands of ECT, this type of training provides a highly efficient means of increasing function

The influence of patellar tendon and muscle-tendon unit stiffness on quadriceps explosive strength in man

What is the central question of this study? \ud Do tendon and/or muscle–tendon unit stiffness influence rate of torque development? What is the main finding and its importance? In our experimental conditions, some measures of relative (to maximal voluntary torque and tissue length) muscle–tendon unit stiffness had small correlations with voluntary/evoked rate of torque development over matching torque increments. However, absolute and relative tendon stiffness were unrelated to voluntary and evoked rate of torque development. Therefore, the muscle aponeurosis but not free tendon influences the relative rate of torque development. Factors other than tissue stiffness more strongly determine the absolute rate of torque development. The influence of musculotendinous tissue stiffness on contractile rate of torque development (RTD) remains opaque. In this study, we examined the relationships between both patellar tendon (PT) and vastus lateralis muscle–tendon unit (MTU) stiffness and the voluntary and evoked knee-extension RTD. Fifty-two healthy untrained men completed duplicate laboratory sessions. Absolute and relative RTD were measured at 50 N m or 25% maximal voluntary torque (MVT) increments from onset and sequentially during explosive voluntary and evoked octet isometric contractions (supramaximal stimulation; eight pulses at 300 Hz). Isometric MVT was also assessed. Patellar tendon and MTU stiffness were derived from simultaneous force and ultrasound recordings of the PT and vastus lateralis aponeurosis during constant RTD ramp contractions. Absolute and relative (to MVT and resting tissue length) stiffness (k) was measured over identical torque increments as RTD. Pearson's correlations tested relationships between stiffness and RTD measurements over matching absolute/relative torque increments. Absolute and relative PT k were unrelated to equivalent voluntary/evoked (r = 0.020–0.255, P = 0.069–0.891). Absolute MTU k was unrelated to voluntary or evoked RTD (r ≤ 0.191, P ≥ 0.184), but some measures of relative MTU k were related to relative voluntary/evoked RTD (e.g. RTD for 25–50% MVT, r = 0.374/0.353, P = 0.007/0.014). In conclusion, relative MTU k explained a small proportion of the variance in relative voluntary and evoked RTD (both ≤19%), despite no association of absolute MTU k or absolute/relative PT k with equivalent RTD measures. Therefore, the muscle-aponeurosis component but not free tendon was associated with relative RTD, although it seems that an overriding influence of MVT negated any relationship of absolute MTU k and absolute RTD