“Beneath the Starry Flag”: the Flags and Songs of the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike as Image-making in the American Labor Movement

The 1913-14 Michigan copper strike is unlike many American labor actions of the period in that it did not include red flags or socialist anthems. Many of the most familiar photographs of the strike involve American flags, not red ones. Similarly, the songs mentioned in journalistic accounts of the strikers are American Civil War songs, not popular labor songs of the period. The few newly-written songs about the strike, published in the local newspapers, seem cautiously polite and espouse values such as patriotism, liberty and human rights. During a time when sections of the friendly press were concerned with labor presenting the correct image and avoiding unfavorable associations, the Copper Country strikers, and the W.F.M., seem to have been attempting to create a fresh narrative regarding what this strike was (and what it was not). This paper will consider elements of the Copper Country strike in the light of media coverage, prior to July 1913, of several American labor topics that might have influenced the way the strike was presented. Particular attention will be given to photographs, songs, and accounts from the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, as well as contemporaneous critiques of labor song lyrics. Most of this commentary will be drawn from the labor and socialist press, demonstrating that the 1913-14 Michigan copper strike occurred during a period in which the labor movement was struggling to craft and image that would display it as it wished to be seen. This paper has not yet been submitted

Late Completers : How and Why Non-Traditional Graduate Students Who Exceed Program Timelines of 10 Years Ultimately Complete the Doctoral Process

Problem. Doctoral completion rates within the U.S. have historically been shown to be within the 50-60% range; in 2008, the completion rate was 56%. Although most who complete their doctorates do so within 10 years or less, there is a small percentage of students who continue their studies beyond the 10-year mark and ultimately graduate. As more non-traditional students enter the PhD pursuit, particularly older students with full-time jobs, family, and other commitments and who enroll in non-traditional programs, it is important to understand what enables some to continue beyond the 10-year mark and still graduate, what influences the elongation of their journey, and to explore potential ways to decrease their timelines to completion. Method. This qualitative case study discusses the experiences of non-traditional students within a non-traditional leadership program who completed their PhDs after the 10-years. The sample was comprised of 12 graduates interviewed about their journeys and perceptions throughout their years of doctoral study. These interviews focused on progressions, reasons for delay, and how they ultimately were able to complete their doctorates. Combined with personal university records and publically accessible university documents, the information was analyzed and combined into themes used to formulate the discussions and conclusions of the study. Results. The journeys and experiences of the students were varied within the program, their personal lives and their jobs, but revealed seven themes which were common among their elongated progressions to completion. The theme of ‘personal intentions’ revealed that unlike many doctoral students who have external motivations for entering programs, such as career opportunities and economic gains, these graduates had no external reason to pursue the PhD. Instead, they did it for personal growth, using their training to improve their performance on the job or for personal validation at work. ‘Flexibility and structure’ was a theme that resonated for these non-traditional students. Being fully employed with many other responsibilities, the flexibility of a non-traditional program appealed to them. However, at times, flexibility became ambiguity, which caused difficulties and delays. The blend of structure and flexibility was identified as a need for better progression through the doctoral journey. The theme of ‘doctorate, job, and life’ showed that for these graduates, unlike many students, the doctorate was not the primary focus for them. Many went into the program knowing the PhD would be secondary to their families, churches, and jobs. The themes of ‘right advice’, ‘right experience’ and ‘right time’ indicated that, for each graduate, there was a moment when someone or something provided some ‘words of wisdom’ that enabled them to move forward during a difficult phase. Most experienced an event that prompted them to decide it was truly time to complete. The right time was forged through the combination of advice and experiences that enabled them to shift their mind-set from ‘being in a PhD program’ to one of ‘finishing a PhD program’. Most set an artificial deadline in order to finish their doctoral journey. Lastly, the theme of ‘conviction’ stood out for these graduates. These were individuals who were highly successful in terms of education, job, and in their lives. Based upon their own personal self-efficacy, previous academic and professional successes, and for some a belief that God would also see them through to completion, no one thought that they couldn’t complete the PhD. Despite the elongated time to completion they would not fail. Conclusions. Four conclusions emerged as part of the analysis of the study, providing insight into the experiences of these late completers. The ‘non-traditional paradox’ is an issue for these completers. The people who require a non-traditional program in order to participate in the PhD process can also be the people who are most in need of direction, oversight, and help. Successful people with fully integrated lives who do not ‘need’ the doctorate can easily spend significant amounts of time not working on their doctorate. Their part-time and non-residency statuses, seeking support from peers who have similar time constraints and external commitments, and limited contact with faculty can make it easier for these students to ‘fall off the grid’, particularly as their time in the program elongates. Faculty proactively reaching out to these students during periods of non-contact may assist in faster progression. Having a completion mind-set is vital in the overall completion of the PhD. Once the students changed their focus they maintained the motivation and work effort to complete the PhD. Finding triggers and structure for the individual to move to a completion mind-set more quickly assists in faster progression. The student’s conviction, be it through belief in God’s will or personal self-efficacy, was a key component of completion. When needed, they sought support, leaned on the past successes, or mimicked the path of other completers in order to buoy their beliefs in success. Failure was not an option. Although there were academic issues and external experiences encountered by the students which led to delays, they did not experience barriers the way barriers are largely depicted within the literature. As the PhD was not the primary focus of the students but part of their overall lives, the students chose to focus on the more-important facets of their lives in certain times, whether it was the PhD or other events. Although they experienced long periods of inactivity within the program, none were disenfranchised from the program. When it was the right time to make the PhD the focal point of their lives, they got it done. Finding ways to mitigate the academic issues encountered as well as maintaining touchpoints with the students during those times when the student is ‘off-grid’ may help with progression and overall completion

Center of Mass Dynamics and Slip Severity

The National Safety Council listed falls as the third ranked cause (14.6%) of unintentional deaths in the general population of the US. It is postulated that an attempt to control the COM is employed to prevent falls during perturbed gait. The goal of this research was to gain an understanding of (1) the relationship between COM dynamics at slip initiation and slip severity, and (2) how individuals control their COM dynamics when warned about the possibility of slipping (anticipatory control). The dynamics of the body's COM during slips may reveal insights into the biomechanical reasons behind the high prevalence of slip-precipitated falls in the elderly. The findings may also be helpful in differentiating between postural strategies that successfully recover balance and responses that result in falls.Sixteen healthy young (20-35 yrs) and 11 older (55-70 yrs) subjects were exposed to an unexpected slip (no prior knowledge of the floor's contaminant condition), and alert slip (warned of the potential contamination), and known slip after two baseline walking trials. Body motion from 79 VICON markers attached to the body was sampled at 120 Hz. Segmental mass was generated using a segmental analysis. For an unexpected slip, maintaining the COM closer to the leading leg, an elevated COM position and fast medial-lateral COM transfers to the slipping leg at heel contact were associated with an increase in slip severity. For anticipation conditions (alert and known), COM placement and velocity was geared toward continuing the gait cycle. Age was significant in regards to COM position variables

Investigation of the potentialities of photochemical laser systems. Part I - Survey and analysis Final report, 1 Feb. 1966 - 31 Jan. 1967

Photodissociative laser systems used to convert solar radiation to monochromatic coherent emission - excitation mechanisms, spectroscopy of gases absorbing light, and chemical processe

Applications of Human Factors in Space

The main question for human factors practitioners is to determine if the user population can be accommodated within a design. Given the wide range of variables feeding into a design, just one of which is human factors, oftentimes designers will have restrictions that may potentially impact the level of accommodation. This paper focuses on two case studies where there have been impacts at the design level that may be detrimental to the ability of the design to meet certain criteria. The studies use novel approaches to determine what, if any, changes in population accommodation levels have occurred and what factors are important when manipulating the design in the future. The results of these studies provide a backbone for future analyses when working with design considerations

Maine Healthy Beaches Program: Working Together to Improve Coastal Water Quality (2010 State of the Bay Presentation)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-presentations/1045/thumbnail.jp

Optical-to-optical interface device

An investigation was conducted to develop an optical-to-optical interface device capable of performing real-time incoherent-to-incoherent optical image conversion. The photoactivated liquid crystal light valve developed earlier represented a prototype liquid crystal light valve device capable of performing these functions. A device was developed which had high performance and extended lifetime

Model for Predicting the Performance of Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Designs

Designing a space suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. During the development period of the suit numerous design iterations need to occur before the hardware meets human performance requirements. Using computer models early in the design phase of hardware development is advantageous, by allowing virtual prototyping to take place. A virtual design environment allows designers to think creatively, exhaust design possibilities, and study design impacts on suit and human performance. A model of the rigid components of the Mark III Technology Demonstrator Suit (planetary-type space suit) and a human manikin were created and tested in a virtual environment. The performance of the Mark III hip bearing model was first developed and evaluated virtually by comparing the differences in mobility performance between the nominal bearing configurations and modified bearing configurations. Suited human performance was then simulated with the model and compared to actual suited human performance data using the same bearing configurations. The Mark III hip bearing model was able to visually represent complex bearing rotations and the theoretical volumetric ranges of motion in three dimensions. The model was also able to predict suited human hip flexion and abduction maximums to within 10% of the actual suited human subject data, except for one modified bearing condition in hip flexion which was off by 24%. Differences between the model predictions and the human subject performance data were attributed to the lack of joint moment limits in the model, human subject fitting issues, and the limited suit experience of some of the subjects. The results demonstrate that modeling space suit rigid segments is a feasible design tool for evaluating and optimizing suited human performance. Keywords: space suit, design, modeling, performanc

Modeling the Impact of Space Suit Components and Anthropometry on the Center of Mass of a Seated Crewmember

The Crew Impact Attenuation System (CIAS) is the energy-absorbing strut concept that dampens Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) landing loads to levels sustainable by the crew. Significant COM variations across suited crew configurations would amplify the inertial effects of the pallet and potentially create unacceptable crew loading during launch and landing. The objective of this study was to obtain data needed for dynamic simulation models by quantifying the effects of posture, suit components, and the expected range of anthropometry on the COM of a seated individual. Several elements are required for the COM calculation of a suited human in a seated position: anthropometry, body segment mass, suit component mass, suit component location relative to the body, and joint angles defining the seated posture. Three-dimensional (3D) human body models, suit mass data, and vector calculus were utilized to compute the COM positions for 12 boundary manikins in two different seated postures. The analysis focused on two objectives: (1) quantify how much the wholebody COM varied from the smallest to largest subject and (2) quantify the effects of the suit components on the overall COM in each seat configuration. The location of the anterior-posterior COM varied across all boundary manikins by about 7 cm, and the vertical COM varied by approximately 9 to 10 cm. The mediolateral COM varied by 1.2 cm from the midline sagittal plane for both seat configurations. The suit components caused an anterior shift of the total COM by approximately 2 cm and a shift to the right along the mediolateral axis of 0.4 cm for both seat configurations. When the seat configuration was in the standard posture the suited vertical COM shifted inferiorly by as much as 1 cm, whereas in the CEV posture the vertical COM had no appreciable change. These general differences were due to the high proportion of suit mass located in the boots and lower legs and their corresponding distance from the body COM, as well as to the prevalence of suit components on the right side of the body