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 2+2\boldsymbol{2+2} Answers to 3+1\boldsymbol{3+1} Questions

We explore potential uses of physics formulated in Kleinian (i.e., $2+2$) signature spacetimes as a tool for understanding properties of physics in Lorentzian (i.e., $3+1$) signature. Much as Euclidean (i.e., $4+0$) 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 $2+2$ signature, which serves to constrain the structure of correlation functions. Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry can produce various $\mathcal{N} = 1/2$ supersymmetry algebras that in $3 + 1$ 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