From Mouth to Mind: A Close Examination of Two Carved Boxwood Peapods Through Print, Paint, and Sculpture & References to Fertility

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College. The following three chapters consider the boxwood peapods against the context gathered from different sources. In chapter one, I look at the inspiration for the shape of the carvings: the peapod. Today, peapods like snap peas and snow peas, are common throughout the world, and while the medieval world had more seasonal access to the plant, peapods and similar legumes were often still a staple food throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, so much so that they were mentioned in the Old Testament. Chapter two turns to representations of peapods in medieval manuscripts, such as botanical illustrations and books of hours, that early sixteenth century patrons and artists might have encountered, possibly inspiring the shape of the peapod carvings. Peapods and their flowers were often included near the Virgin Mary in the margins of books of hours, devotional books usually made for women, passed down and used in the family, 4 possibly from woman to woman. The plants were not limited to the Virgin, appearing in other scenes around Christ and other Saints, with a less clear symbolic connection. Chapter three largely considers the material background of the peapods, such as where the wood was sourced, how it was carved, who commissioned the objects, and the collections the objects were apart of. Finally, in chapter four, I explore the interiors of the peapods, and the possible symbolism of specific details. Along with this, I try to expand upon the possible ownership of the objects and reasons for depicting specific scenes

Fostering internationalisation: the benefits to home students of mentoring international students

There is a substantial and growing body of research on the experience of international students in higher education, much of which focuses on the disappointing levels of integration between visitors and their host community. This article reports on a study of a pilot mentoring project designed to promote interaction between home and international students. Few studies have investigated the home students’ experience of internationalization. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the experience of a small group of undergraduate business students who had acted as volunteer mentors to international students. Data was collected from a survey and via qualitative interviews with the mentors. Participants in the study revealed an overwhelmingly positive attitude to the experience and reported many benefits. Although students sometimes demonstrated an over-­‐simplistic notion of cultural difference, they also displayed an openness and willingness to interact with, and learn from, people from other cultures

Long-Term Optical Observations Of Two Lmxbs: Uw Crb (=Ms 1603+260) And V1408 Aql (=4U 1957+115)

We present new optical photometry of two low-mass X-ray binary stars, UW CrB (MS 1603+260) and V1408 Aql (4U 1957+115). UW CrB is an eclipsing binary and we refine its eclipse ephemeris and measure an upper limit to the rate of change of its orbital period, vertical bar P vertical bar < 4.2 x 10(-11) (unitless). The light curve of UW CrB shows optical counterparts of type I X-ray bursts. We tabulate the times, orbital phases, and fluences of 33 bursts and show that the optical flux in the bursts comes primarily from the accretion disk, not from the secondary star. The new observations are consistent with a model in which the accretion disk in UW CrB is asymmetric and precesses in the prograde direction with a period of similar to 5.5 days. The light curve of V1408 Aql has a low-amplitude modulation at its 9.33 hr orbital period. The modulation remained a nearly pure sine curve in the new data as it was in 1984 and 2008, but its mean amplitude was lower, 18% against 23% in the earlier data. A model in which the orbital modulation is caused by the varying aspect of the heated face of the secondary star continues to give an excellent fit to the light curve. We derive a much improved orbital ephemeris for the system.NSF 0958783Astronom

Comparing Community Structure to Characteristics in Online Collegiate Social Networks

We study the structure of social networks of students by examining the graphs of Facebook "friendships" at five American universities at a single point in time. We investigate each single-institution network's community structure and employ graphical and quantitative tools, including standardized pair-counting methods, to measure the correlations between the network communities and a set of self-identified user characteristics (residence, class year, major, and high school). We review the basic properties and statistics of the pair-counting indices employed and recall, in simplified notation, a useful analytical formula for the z-score of the Rand coefficient. Our study illustrates how to examine different instances of social networks constructed in similar environments, emphasizes the array of social forces that combine to form "communities," and leads to comparative observations about online social lives that can be used to infer comparisons about offline social structures. In our illustration of this methodology, we calculate the relative contributions of different characteristics to the community structure of individual universities and subsequently compare these relative contributions at different universities, measuring for example the importance of common high school affiliation to large state universities and the varying degrees of influence common major can have on the social structure at different universities. The heterogeneity of communities that we observe indicates that these networks typically have multiple organizing factors rather than a single dominant one.Comment: Version 3 (17 pages, 5 multi-part figures), accepted in SIAM Revie

Philharmonic and Concert Band

KSU School of Music presents Philharmonic and Concert Band.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1316/thumbnail.jp

What’s Intersectional about Intersectionality Now?

What’s Intersectional about Intersectionality Now?Thematic Cluste

Child Sexual Exploitation. : An analysis of Serious Case Reviews in England: Poor communication, incorrect assumptions and adolescent neglect

Background Child sexual exploitation (CSE) has evolved from being a largely concealed and unrecognised form of child abuse to being the subject of substantial political and public attention. The purpose of this research was to explore health professionals’ role in detection and prevention. Methods A systematic thematic analysis and synthesis of serious case review (SCR) reports of CSE in England using a socioecological theoretical framework was undertaken. Results Themes identified included health professionals’ lack of understanding of CSE, limited knowledge of the UK law, reluctance to apply relevant policies, and lack of appropriate action. Suboptimal communication with the child, between agencies and with families, lack of understanding of the young person’s context, their vulnerabilities and their continued needs for care and protection were also important. Conclusions This is the first time, to our knowledge, that an analysis and synthesis of all SCRs related to CSE in England has been conducted. The potential to recognise young people vulnerable to CSE is essential for public health prevention and intervention. Acknowledging that the SCRs represent the worst case scenario; nevertheless, this research highlighted the multi-factorial and complex nature of CSE and identified factors that require system-level awareness, training and intervention

The age of racial profiling in the context of terrorism

Racial profiling refers to the law enforcement practice of using only race or ethnicity as probable cause to search or arrest an individual. The public has found racial profiling to be unjustified in the context of common crime, but tends to support the practice in the context of terrorism. The current study uses an explicit judgment survey to examine the expression of prejudice and factors that influence stereotyping. The study found that participants aged 18 to 24, and those who identified with a political party, were the participants most likely to racially profile individuals with stereotypical Middle-Eastern features to be potential terrorists

PREPARE manual for nurses : Building trust, promoting health and changing communities

One in every five people in the world is an adolescent and 85% live in low and middle-income countries. Nearly two thirds of premature death and one third of the total disease burden in adults are associated with conditions or behaviour that begin in youth. Among 15-19 year olds, suicide is the second leading cause of death, followed by violence in the community and family. Promoting nurturing relationships between parents and children early in life, good relationships between young people, training in life skills, and reducing access to alcohol and lethal items such as firearms and knives can help prevent violence. More effective and sensitive care for adolescents experiencing violence is needed. Many adolescent health challenges are closely interrelated and successful interventions in one area can lead to positive outcomes in other areas. The World Health Organization reports that among women aged 15-45 years, gender-based violence accounts for more deaths and disability than cancer, malaria and traffic injuries put together. This has become an important factor, which negatively affects girls and women’s reproductive health and wellbeing. This manual was written for the PREPARE school clinics to promote positive relationships through mentoring, role modelling, education, research and empathic service provision so that young people feel valued, respected and can enjoy positive self and peer relationships free from harm