Performing photographs: memory, history, and display

In my study, I place concepts and practices of photography and performance in dialogue to enable our understanding of how photographs perform and how performance contains or can contain elements we attribute to photographs. The connection between photography and performance that most intrigues me is how they make memories and when collected or restored in some socially shared way make histories too. My specific aim is to understand how photographs and performance might benefit from each other in how they make and transmit memories and histories. To activate the study, I select and focus on five specific events in which photographs are or have been displayed. I analyze each event in terms of its “internal,” “original,” and “external” or display context (Barrett 96), pertinent concepts and practices of photography, and also those of performance that are similar. By means of a comparative approach, I look at what memories and histories appear to be remembered and forgotten, and how, in each photographic event and the performance practices I draw on. My study is significant because while scholars have discussed the conceptual links between photography and performance, they have not considered the practical links. This study emphasizes the latter and thereby offers methods for “doing” photography and/in performance that feature rather than minimize how memories and histories are made in both mediums

A performance genealogy of Etchings of Debutantes

In this thesis history performs that which Della Pollock terms “historicity” in her “Introduction” to Exceptional Spaces: Essays in Performance and History. History as historicity is no longer an evolutionary master narrative that dictates essential Truths. Rather, it is a site for performance where unfinalized and partial fragments of the past cluster into stories that mingle fact and fiction. Historicity defines a space or an event where history is a doing. The performer of this history embraces agency, which she uses to place herself within history rather than dominate or be dominated by it. Observing history as historicity, Joseph Roaches “genealogies of performance” provide a method for my analysis of the performances of debutante culture as I represented them in Etchings of Debutantes, a script I compiled, and the performance of that script. This thesis traces the historical performance of southern debutante culture by comparing and contrasting various texts and materials, included in my script, Etchings of Debutantes, as equal co-texts. The script is a belated response to my skeptical performance of a debutante at the Augusta Symphony Debutante Cotillion in Augusta, Georgia on November 26, 1999. At that time, I was assured by my mentor to one day be able to creatively engage dialogue with my performance of the debutante ritual. In 2001 I began the dialogue by collaging a script of icons, photographs, invitations, magazines, fairytales, personal narratives, music, dance, film, and literature. The following year, I staged the script in the Hopkins Black Box theatre at Louisiana State University. Learning about Joseph Roach’s genealogies of performance shortly after, I found genes or themes in the script and performance to insight new ways of exploring and interrogating my history performing debutante culture. My thesis engages scholarly and performative discourse with the cultural performance of debutantes by observing various representations of debutante culture in the script and performance of Etchings of Debutantes. Etchings of Debutantes, followed by its staging and the writing of this thesis, are all part of my continuous dialogue with southern debutante culture

Economic Analysis for an F-22 Organic vs. Contractor Aircraft Battle Damage Repair Ownership Decision

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) is a viable alternative to Combat Logistics Support Squadrons (CLSSs) for providing F-22 Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR). Legalities, practicalities, and cost-effectiveness were key ownership concerns. United States Code, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Defense (DoD), and United States Air Force (USAF) requirements were reviewed to address legal and policy issues and whether F-22 ABDR is military essential. The Army\u27s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOCCAP) award fee history was used to assess the potential performance of F-22 ABDR CLS personnel. F-117 ABDR team requirements and costs were used to estimate F-22 CLSS costs. Results show DoD must decide if F-22 ABDR is a core logistics function and the USAF must determine F-22 ABDR requirements before outsourcing legality is clear. However, DoD civilian reliance continues today, and LOGCAP experiences attest that contractors consistently meet or exceed all clearly stated requirements. Analysis found that CLSS will provide higher combat readiness; although, CLS may provide slightly less combat readiness, but for potentially less cost. A dual approach, using a mixture of CLSS and CLS, could provide the most effective capability in terms of both combat readiness and cost

Analysis of Hydrologic Data for the White River Basin

The value of the natural resources of the White River Basin (Basin), AR is recognized by the area's designation as a "Wetland of International Importance". The Basin constitutes one of the Nation's largest remaining intact forested wetland landscapes, second only to the Atchafalya Basin. It supports the North American continent's largest concentration of over-wintering mallard ducks, a world-class trout fishery, the last vestige of a big river fishery remaining in the Mississippi River Basin, and numerous threatened and endangered species. The continued viability of this wetland ecosystem depends on the suitability of the hydrologic environment to the resident flora and fauna. Numerous modifications of the Basin hydrologic features in the past century have seriously impaired the sustainability of these resources. The Basinwide alterations of hydrologic processes (e.g., impoundment and regulatory releases of flows and volumes in the upper reaches, navigational modifications of lower reaches, and consumptive demands for agricultural use throughout) have affected the hydrology of the system profoundly. The result is highly regulated flows and stages, vastly altered hydrologic patterns, over-stabilized water levels, and disruption of seasonal water distribution patterns. Given the critical nature of hydrology in regulating the structure and function of wetland ecosystems, the impacts have been devastating, particularly to the critical bottomland hardwoods that support the Basin's fish and wildlife resources. To date these piece-meal, system-wide, hydrologic alterations have cornmutatively degraded the habitat value of this resource for fish and wildlife in the Basin, and have lead to changes in their numbers and distributions. In spite of the enormous stakes involved, there has been no comprehensive characterization of the Basin hydrology. System alterations such as channel deepening, dam construction, water allocation plans, and flood control measures are currently pending. These projects will potentially hrther modify the hydrologic environments of the Basin, and no doubt require mitigation measures. In addition, there is genuine interest in restoring aspects of the Basin's historic hydrologic regime within some set of reasonable limits. In order to proceed with this effort, the anticipated effects of these modifications and restorations on the Basin ecology require thorough study of the area's historic hydrology, so that connectivity among Basin precipitation patterns, flow fluctuations, and land use changes can be made. A basin hydrologic characterization is an initial component of this effort. The focus of this effort was to determine and assemble the data set from which characterization of the hydrologic environments of the Basin using historic and recent water level, flow, (primarily by USGS-WRD) at locations throughout the Basin could proceed. ( Document has 11 pages.

Microdevices and Methods of Manufacture

Illustrative embodiments of microdevices and methods of manufacturing such microdevices are disclosed. In at least one illustrative embodiment, a method of manufacturing one or more microdevices may include forming a liquid dispersion containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), depositing the liquid dispersion containing the CNC on a substrate, drying the liquid dispersion containing the CNC to form a solid film on the substrate, where the liquid dispersion contains a sufficient concentration of CNC to form a continuous solid film having a controlled microstructure, and processing the solid film to form the one or more microdevices on the substrate

Microdevices and methods of manufacture

Illustrative embodiments of microdevices and methods of manufacturing such microdevices are disclosed. In at least one illustrative embodiment, one or more microdevices may be formed on a substrate, with each of the one or more microdevices comprising a body micromachined from a continuous film formed on the substrate, the continuous film having a controlled microstructure of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)

Partial abdominal evisceration and intestinal autotransplantation to resect a mesenteric carcinoid tumor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Midgut carcinoids are neuroendocrine tumors that commonly metastasize to the intestinal mesentery, where they predispose to intestinal obstruction, ischemia and/or congestion. Because of their location, many mesenteric carcinoid tumors are deemed unresectable due to the risk of uncontrollable bleeding and prolonged intestinal ischemia.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 60-year-old male with a mesenteric carcinoid tumor obstructing his superior mesenteric vein, resulting in intestinal varices and severe recurrent GI bleeds. While his tumor was thought to be unresectable by conventional techniques, it was successfully resected using intestinal autotransplantation to safely gain access to the tumor. This case is the first described application of this technique to carcinoid tumors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Intestinal autotransplantation can be utilized to safely resect mesenteric carcinoid tumors from patients who were not previously thought to be surgical candidates. We review the literature concerning both carcinoid metastases to the intestinal mesentery and the use of intestinal autotransplantation to treat lesions involving the mesenteric root.</p

Stress-associated metabolites vary with both season and habitat across populations of a climate sentinel species

Relating physiological stress to habitat quality could refine conservation efforts. Habitat quality, which is often inferred from patch occupancy or demographic rates, might be measured in a more timely and nuanced way using metrics of physiological stress. To understand whether stress-associated hormones vary with metrics of habitat quality, we measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels in the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small mammal with well-defined habitat (talus), which can vary in quality depending on the presence of subsurface ice features. In spring and fall 2018, we collected feces noninvasively from pika territories in taluses “with” or “without” subsurface ice to capture seasonal variation in FGM between habitat types. We used linear mixed effects models to explore the interactions among season, habitat metrics (including subsurface ice status), and subsurface temperature as predictors of FGM. We found support for interacting effects on FGM levels, which covaried with season, elevation, putative ice presence, graminoid to forb ratio, graminoid cover, and measures of acute subsurface heat exposure. However, only one subsurface temperature metric differed according to putative presence of subsurface ice. Our results contribute to the growing evidence that FGMs might be developed as a tool to assess habitat quality

Finite type approximations of Gibbs measures on sofic subshifts

Consider a H\"older continuous potential $\phi$ defined on the full shift A^\nn, where $A$ is a finite alphabet. Let X\subset A^\nn be a specified sofic subshift. It is well-known that there is a unique Gibbs measure $\mu_\phi$ on $X$ associated to $\phi$. Besides, there is a natural nested sequence of subshifts of finite type $(X_m)$ converging to the sofic subshift $X$. To this sequence we can associate a sequence of Gibbs measures $(\mu_{\phi}^m)$. In this paper, we prove that these measures weakly converge at exponential speed to $\mu_\phi$ (in the classical distance metrizing weak topology). We also establish a strong mixing property (ensuring weak Bernoullicity) of $\mu_\phi$. Finally, we prove that the measure-theoretic entropy of $\mu_\phi^m$ converges to the one of $\mu_\phi$ exponentially fast. We indicate how to extend our results to more general subshifts and potentials. We stress that we use basic algebraic tools (contractive properties of iterated matrices) and symbolic dynamics.Comment: 18 pages, no figure