Phillip Glass: A Never-Ending Circular Staircase

Although he may be one of the greatest composers that you’ve never heard of,he has been portrayed on the animated television shows, The Simpsons and South Park. But Philip Glass is no cartoon character: he has had a powerful impact on the worlds of theatre and film. Throughout his career,he has composed for opera and theatre in his trance-inducing, distinctive style.He has also earned major accolades for his film scores, earning Academy Award nominations for Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997)as well as The Hours(2002) and Notes on a Scandal(2006). Additionally, he won a Golden Globe for Best Music Score for The Truman Show(1998). His fusions of Western and world music were among the earliest and most successful global experiments of their kind. He also enjoyed a successful career as a recording artist, signing an exclusive contract with the CBS Masterworks label. He is recognized as one of postmodern music’s most renowned proponents for the development of ambient and new age sounds

Occurrence of Bat Species at Water Sources in Two Urban Parks in Nashville, Tennessee

Animal behavioral patterns can shift due to anthropogenic factors related to pollution, human impact on flora/fauna, and changes in local water sources. While sound pollution can impact the occurrence of bats in urban areas, other factors could also influence bat behavior. This study examines bat occurrence near a water source at two urban parks in Nashville, Tennessee: one is in a highly trafficked area while the other is secluded and bordered by a suburban neighborhood. Both parks have small ponds, numerous trees, and open green spaces. Echo Meter Touch 2 devices were used to capture bat echolocation data at each park near the ponds and in open areas. Kaleidoscope was used to identify the bat species. We expect more calls near water sources and a greater diversity of bats in the secluded park. These results can provide information regarding impacts of anthropogenic factors on bat occurrence in urban areas

Vaccine Hesitancy in the Post-COVID-19 Era: An Interdisciplinary Approach for a Trust-and-Risk Paradigm with Governmental and Intergovernmental Implications

Vaccine hesitancy was described as a major global health challenge by the World Health Organization before the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Ten Health Issues WHO Will Tackle This Year, 2019). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of several new vaccines (notably Pfizer, Moderna, J&J) and with them new vaccine technologies (mRNA) under emergency use authorization (EUA), combined with the political context of these vaccines’ accelerated development, triggered a heightened level of vaccine hesitancy and refusal in the United States and around the world (FDA, 2021). This paper study undertakes to investigate the foundations and recent evolution of this phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy (and refusal) using a broad, inductive, and interdisciplinary approach with a focus on the role of risk perception and trust in risk/benefit assessment. (1) In particular, this study considers the issue of risk perception based on both objective and subjective criteria, using the well-known phenomenon of ‘fear of flying’ as a point of reference as well as successful interventions developed to address this common problem (Slovic, 2013). (2) This study then considers existing vaccine hesitancy interventions against the framework of risk perception and trusted sources (Jarrett et al., 2015). (3) An additional contribution to knowledge takes the form of a possible model able to offer a credible risk/benefit calculator which could be used as part of such an intervention. Overall, this research makes a significant contribution to the study of vaccine hesitancy by identifying the complexity of the underlying issues, the inadequacy of current responses, as well as a need for a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to improve both local and global public health policies

Neoliberalism and For-Profit Universities: The Case of Laureate International

For-profit universities are growing in importance as alternative providers in higher education. This thesis analyses structural changes in the configuration of global higher education systems, particularly where states have instrumented neoliberal policies, thus modifying traditional social structures and the meaning of the public good. Moreover, I describe existing global trends in higher education and explore the implications of neoliberalism in higher education. Adopting a qualitative positivist research strategy, I conduct a case study approach of an American multinational corporation with four units of analysis and using interviews with Laureate staff and higher education analysts (n=35) and documents as primary evidence, I drew my findings using thematic analysis. The thesis contributes to an emerging body of scholarly research about for-profit universities and multinational corporations investing in global higher education. Analysis indicates that the for-profit universities’ operational efficiency and strategic flexibility contributes to the reproduction of neoliberalism in higher education in the search for institutional legitimacy and that this is achieved through multiple strategic collaborations with public and private institutions. The profit motive is not only an ideological driver for the reproduction of neoliberalism in academia, but often a starting point in the intellectual and pragmatic configurations of a privatized higher education system by the state. Analysis revealed that social responsibility and sustainability in higher education is of great importance for the operation of a for-profit university and its legitimacy, and that there are multiple roles of the state given increasing privatization, massification, commodification, marketisation, internationalization and unbundling of higher education, where austerity, increasing tuition fees and the philosophy of competition and operational efficiency assimilates universities’ financial priorities between public and private higher education institutions and reproduces neoliberalism in academia. These findings have significant implications for national governments, policy makers, as well as leaders of academic institutions and societies

The Welcome Project Brochure 2007

The Welcome Project is a diverse group of URI students, faculty, and staff organized to examine and address the climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (GLBT) individuals on the URI campuses and beyond. The purpose of the Welcome Project is to affirm the dignity of all members of the URI community regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression, as well as to promote a safe, comfortable, and inclusive environment for all. The Welcome Project strives to identify and eliminate various forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and works toward developing a tradition of visibility and respect for GLBT people within our community. This is the 2007 edit of the brochure. The Welcome Project; GLBT Center; “All individuals have the right to take pride in who they are - to live, to work, and to learn in a comfortable atmosphere without fear of rejection or punishment of any kind.” The Welcome Project; Andrew Winters, Assistant to the Vice-President of Student Affairs, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Programs and Services Phone: (401) 874-2894 E-Mail: [email protected]; Roxanne Gomes, Assistant Director, URI Office of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity & Diversity Carlotti Administration Building Phone: (401) 874-4929 E-Mail: [email protected]; Kiev-Tuen Atreides, Assistant Director URI GLBT Center Phone: (401) 874-0014 E-Mail: [email protected]; URI Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Center; The GLBT Center, located in Adams Hall, strives to create a welcoming and safe environment for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Prioritizing around dimensions of education, support, and advocacy, the Center works directly with students, faculty, staff, and community members to provide meaningful programs and services. “The University community respects the dignity of each individual, valuing the diversity among us. We demand of ourselves uncompromising integrity, with imagination and pride evident in every aspect of our work.” - President Robert L. Carothers; “The University of Rhode Island prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, handicap, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or discrimination against disabled and Vietnam era veterans in the recruitment, admission, or treatment of students; the recruitment, hiring, or treatment of faculty and staff; and the operation of its activities and programs.” University of Rhode Island Anti-discrimination Policy; The Welcome Project is a diverse group of URI students, faculty, and staff organized to examine and address the climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (GLBT) individuals on the URI campuses and beyond. The purpose of the Welcome Project is to affirm the dignity of all members of the URI community regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression, as well as to promote a safe, comfortable, and inclusive environment for all. The Welcome Project strives to identify and eliminate various forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and works toward developing a tradition of visibility and respect for GLBT people within our community

Reactive Programming with Swift Combine:An Analysis of Problems Faced by Developers on Stack Overflow

Reactive programming is a programming paradigm that enables systems to automatically react to changes in data or events in a responsive and asynchronous manner, leveraging the concept of streams. The adoption of reactive programming techniques has grown significantly, particularly in developing mobile applications that demand efficient frameworks for creating adaptable and scalable systems. An example of such a framework is Combine, introduced by Apple in 2019 for Swift application development on the iOS platform. A framework that is worth mentioning is Combine, which was introduced by Apple in 2019 for Swift application development on the iOS platform. However, transitioning from imperative to reactive paradigms presents complex challenges for developers. This study aims to address the research gap that exists in Swift Combine by identifying and understanding the key challenges faced by developers when adopting and using that framework. Using a data mining approach, we analyzed questions and accepted answers from Stack Overflow related to Combine usage. Employing topic modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation, our analysis revealed 14 topics related to Combine usage, highlighting the most relevant and challenging aspects. These findings provide valuable insights for developers learning or incorporating Combine into their applications and serve as a reference for future studies in the field.</p