137 research outputs found
Analysis of Feminist Appearance
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2015. Major: Design, Housing and Apparel. Advisor: Marilyn DeLong. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 144 pages.In an age when the term feminist has evolved to include various strains of the women's movement and is highly inclusive of women and men, people are often quick to disassociate themselves from the term, viewing it as controversial and divisive. The present study investigates whether this dissociation with feminism has to do with a perceived negative appearance stereotype tied to feminists, a stereotype women feel is not representative of their personal appearance. The purpose of this project is to provide an analysis of feminist appearance and to explore appearance negotiations feminists deal with in their everyday lives. Another goal is to discover if feminists feel their appearance is representative of feminism as a whole and whether they feel their appearance choices conflict with their feminist beliefs. Drawing from analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 17 self-identified feminist graduate students, I explore the following overarching research question: "Are there appearance cues tied to feminism, and if so, does the perception of these cues shape society's understanding of the current feminist movement?"� Each participant took part in an in-depth interview, consisting of open-ended questions in addition to a four question written pulse survey. Each agreed to be photographed for the purpose of the interview. Using Marilyn DeLong's "Apparel-Body-Concept"� (1998) as a conceptual aesthetic framework to guide my analysis, this study focuses on participants' own perceptions of the interaction of apparel and the human body as they examine images of themselves and discuss ways they alter their appearance depending on the contexts, environments, and roles in which they find themselves. I examine modern definitions of feminism, both broad and personal, provided by the participants and I investigate how these definitions affect how the participants have developed their personal appearance and the types of dress and appearance they associate with the feminist movement. I explore whether participants believe this appearance has evolved over time, as the feminist movement has progressed from the suffragist movement in the 1800s to its current form in the 21st century
Exploring Answers to Questions
We explore potential uses of physics formulated in Kleinian (i.e., )
signature spacetimes as a tool for understanding properties of physics in
Lorentzian (i.e., ) signature. Much as Euclidean (i.e., ) signature
quantities can be used to formally construct the ground state wavefunction of a
Lorentzian signature quantum field theory, a similar analytic continuation to
Kleinian signature constructs a state of low particle flux in the direction of
analytic continuation. There is also a natural supersymmetry algebra available
in signature, which serves to constrain the structure of correlation
functions. Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry can produce various
supersymmetry algebras that in signature correspond
to non-supersymmetric systems. We speculate on the possible role of these
structures in addressing the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figur
Instantons, Quivers and Noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas Theory
We construct noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas invariants associated with
abelian orbifold singularities by analysing the instanton contributions to a
six-dimensional topological gauge theory. The noncommutative deformation of
this gauge theory localizes on noncommutative instantons which can be
classified in terms of three-dimensional Young diagrams with a colouring of
boxes according to the orbifold group. We construct a moduli space for these
gauge field configurations which allows us to compute its virtual numbers via
the counting of representations of a quiver with relations. The quiver encodes
the instanton dynamics of the noncommutative gauge theory, and is associated to
the geometry of the singularity via the generalized McKay correspondence. The
index of BPS states which compute the noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas
invariants is realized via topological quantum mechanics based on the quiver
data. We illustrate these constructions with several explicit examples,
involving also higher rank Coulomb branch invariants and geometries with
compact divisors, and connect our approach with other ones in the literature.Comment: 95 pages, 5 figures; v2: clarifying comments added, discussions using
tilting strengthened, references added and updated; v3: minor corrections,
final version to be published in Nuclear Physics
Origin of Life
The evolution of life has been a big enigma despite rapid advancements in the
fields of biochemistry, astrobiology, and astrophysics in recent years. The
answer to this puzzle has been as mind-boggling as the riddle relating to
evolution of Universe itself. Despite the fact that panspermia has gained
considerable support as a viable explanation for origin of life on the Earth
and elsewhere in the Universe, the issue remains far from a tangible solution.
This paper examines the various prevailing hypotheses regarding origin of life
like abiogenesis, RNA World, Iron-sulphur World, and panspermia; and concludes
that delivery of life-bearing organic molecules by the comets in the early
epoch of the Earth alone possibly was not responsible for kick-starting the
process of evolution of life on our planet.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures,invited review article, minor additio
Occurrence and Treatment of Bone Atrophic Non-Unions Investigated by an Integrative Approach
Recently developed atrophic non-union models are a good representation of the clinical situation in which many nonunions develop. Based on previous experimental studies with these atrophic non-union models, it was hypothesized that in order to obtain successful fracture healing, blood vessels, growth factors, and (proliferative) precursor cells all need to be present in the callus at the same time. This study uses a combined in vivo-in silico approach to investigate these different aspects (vasculature, growth factors, cell proliferation). The mathematical model, initially developed for the study of normal fracture healing, is able to capture essential aspects of the in vivo atrophic non-union model despite a number of deviations that are mainly due to simplifications in the in silico model. The mathematical model is subsequently used to test possible
treatment strategies for atrophic non-unions (i.e. cell transplant at post-osteotomy, week 3). Preliminary in vivo experiments corroborate the numerical predictions. Finally, the mathematical model is applied to explain experimental observations and
identify potentially crucial steps in the treatments and can thereby be used to optimize experimental and clinical studies in this area. This study demonstrates the potential of the combined in silico-in vivo approach and its clinical implications for the early treatment of patients with problematic fractures
Productivity, Wages, and Marriage: The Case of Major League Baseball
The effect of marriage on productivity and, consequently, wages has been long debated in economics. A primary explanation for the impact of marriage on wages has been through its impact on productivity, however, there has been no direct evidence for this. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by directly measuring the impact of marriage on productivity using a sample of professional baseball players from 1871 - 2007. Our results show that only lower ability men see an increase in productivity, though this result is sensitive to the empirical specification and weakly significant. In addition, despite the lack of any effect on productivity, high ability married players earn roughly 16 - 20 percent more than their single counterparts. We discuss possible reasons why employers may favor married men
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