Magic Surfaces

Magic figures are discrete, two-dimensional (2-D) objects. We translated the definitions of magic squares and magic circles in an attempt to find three-dimensional (3-D) surfaces that adhere to the same definitions. This is what we defined as a magic surface. First, we translated these definitions by thinking of the discrete integer entries in the magic squares and magic circles as volumes under the magic surfaces; these were evaluated by volume integrals. We then translated these definitions in a similar way to apply line integral constraints. We found polynomial functions that satisfied thse re-definitions of conditions for a magic surface. In the case over magic squares using volume integrals, we were able to form conjectures about the polynomial solutions and the systems of equations that formed them

Open Access Funds: Getting a Bigger Bang for Our Bucks

Many libraries offer open access publishing funds to support authors in paying article processing charges (APC) levied by some OA journals. However, there are few standard practices for managing or assessing these funds. The Open Access Working Group (OAWG) of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) was asked to investigate and articulate best practices for successful open access fund management. In spring 2015, the OAWG surveyed Canadian academic libraries with OA funds to review their criteria and collect feedback on current practices. The survey proved timely because many OA funds are under review. Shrinking budgets, ending pilots, and questions around scale and sustainability of funds provide context for some institutions revisiting or reconfiguring these funds. At the same time, Canada’s principal funding agencies have issued the new Tri‐Agency Open Access Policy on Publications (effective May 2015) which mandates open access for funded research and which is increasing the demand from researchers for financial support from their institutions to pay APCs and other OA costs. This paper addresses findings of the survey, some best practices for open access publishing fund management, and counter arguments for OA funds, as well as other strategies developed by international agencies including the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)

Maintaining Credibility and Authority as an Instructor of Color in Diversity-Education Classrooms: A Qualitative Inquiry

The movement for multicultural or diversity-centered education has resulted in changes to the academic demography of the United States (Banks, 1991; Butler & Walter, 1991; Goodstein, 1994; Morey & Kitano, 1997). Institutions of higher education have integrated the voices, knowledge, and lived experiences of various underrepresented cultures and excluded groups into their formal academic curriculum. A recent survey by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) shows that 63% of colleges and universities report that they have in place, or are in the process of developing, a diversity education component in their undergraduate curriculum (AACU, 2003). Of those that have implemented dimensions of diversity into their curriculum, the majority of campuses (68%) require their students to take at least one course from among a list of approved diversity-education courses. The success of many colleges and universities at integrating this level of multicultural or diversity education into the academic curriculum marks a significant higher education milestone. However, an organized and entrenched resistance to this movement has emerged at both individual and organizational levels (Butler & Walter, 1991; Jayne, 1991). The diversity-education classroom, in particular, is a site wherein this conflict takes on particular meaning for instructors of color at all academic ranks including graduate teaching assistants and full professors (Perry, Moore, Acosta, Edwards, & Frey, 2006; Turner, 2002). Much of the existing scholarship on higher education and multicultural classrooms has focused on the impact of backlash and resistance in the general academic workplace (Yang, Barrayo, & Timpsin, 2003; Timpsin, 2003). Our current study is part of a larger investigation into the professional, emotional, and physical labor associated with teaching diversity-education courses in higher education

A Deep Photometric Look at Two of Andromeda's Dwarf Spheroidals: X and XVII

We use deep wide-field photometry from the Large Binocular Camera to study the stellar and structural properties of the recently discovered Andromeda X and Andromeda XVII (And X and And XVII) dwarf galaxies. Using the mean apparent magnitude of the horizontal branch (HB), we derive distances of 621 +- 20 kpc to And X and 734+- 23 kpc to And XVII, closer by >60 kpc than the previous estimates which were based on red giant branch (RGB) observations. Thus our results warrant against the use of the RGB tip method for determining distances to systems with sparsely populated RGBs, and show how crucial HB observations are in obtaining accurate distances in systems such as these. We find that And X is a relatively faint (MV = -7.36), highly elongated (e = 0.48) system at a distance of 174 +- 62 kpc from Andromeda. And XVII is brighter (MV = -8.61) with an M31-centric distance of 73 kpc which makes it one of the closest satellites to Andromeda. Both galaxies are metal-poor: we derive =-2.2 for And X, while And XVII shows = -2.0, consistent with the relation of higher luminosity dwarfs being more metal- rich. Additionally, both galaxies show considerable intrinsic spreads in metallicity (0.2 and 0.3 dex for And X and And XVII respectively), consistent with multiple stellar populations.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Key Components of Musical Discourse Analysis

Musical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary study which is incomplete without consideration of relevant social, linguistic, psychological, visual, gestural, ritual, technical, historical and musicological aspects. In the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, musical discourse can be interpreted as social practice: it refers to specific means of representing specific aspects of the social (musical) sphere. The article introduces a general view of contemporary musical discourse, and analyses genres from the point of ‘semiosis’, ‘social agents’, ‘social relations’, ‘social context’, and ‘text’. These components of musical discourse analysis, in their various aspects and combinations, should help thoroughly examine the context of contemporary musical art, and determine linguistic features specific to different genres of musical discourse

Holding on to the indispensable medication -A grounded theory on medication use from the perspective of persons with medication overuse headache

Abstract Background: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a chronic headache disorder, caused by overuse of acute medication. To date, it remains unclear why some people overuse these medications. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how individuals with MOH use medications and other strategies to manage headaches in their daily lives, and their thoughts about their own use of acute medication. Our intention was to develop a theoretical model about the development of MOH, from the perspective of those with MOH