Young Readers at Risk: Quilt Patterns and the Underground Railroad

Gently introducing young readers to difficult historical events and traditions through children’s literature is a valuable tool for parents, teachers, and librarians. Well written stories excite children’s imaginations and help broaden their world beyond time and space. However, in writing for impressionable young children, how important is authenticity when dealing with grim subjects? Nina Mikkelsen asserts in her article, “Insiders, Outsiders, and the Question of Authenticity: Who Shall Write for African American Children?” that we should ask, “What makes a story good? Replicating reality to the fullest? Getting the facts and feelings right? Suppressing or distorting reality to make us think and feel differently?” Mikkelsen ends her article by challenging African American story tellers to “get it right.” No matter how authors justify the construction of a good story when writing fiction, historical fiction falls into another category where authenticity becomes necessity, especially when writing for impressionable young children. Although librarians hesitate to censor, the need to critically evaluate these selections becomes imperative. The story may become so distorted that the truth is lost. A disservice is done to what Mikkelsen calls “inherited cultural imperative.” An example of this situation is the Underground Railroad quilt myth

Research into fundamental phenomena associated with spacecraft electrochemical devices, calorimetry of nickel-cadmium cells Progress report, 1 Oct. - 31 Dec. 1967

Calorimetry of nickel cadmium cells for spacecraft electrochemical system

Global partnerships in governing labour migration: the uneasy relationship between the ILO and IOM in the promotion of decent work for migrants

This paper examines the multi-actor and multi-sited character of global labour migration governance as a sphere in which various organisations seek influence on the direction of global policy via various methods. We focus on the relational dynamics between the two key organisations which engage in the governance of labour migration, yet which have fundamentally different mandates and modes for governing: the ILO and the IOM. This paper contributes to the existing literature on global migration governance and the role of international organisations by applying the concept of ‘global partnerships’ to our examination of the relationship between those two key international organisations in the field of migration. We characterise the evolving ILO–IOM global partnership as an uneasy alliance along a “competition/clash-cooperation spectrum” and argue that, in order to manage the competing-cooperating dynamics, a type of strategic ILO–IOM partnership has emerged, an alliance which has also been driven by the blurring of public and private realms in new global migration governing forms and formats. The ultimate question raised by these developments is whether this global partnership will promote or obstruct the advancement of the decent work policy agenda for migrant workers

Swift UVOT Grism Observations of Nearby Type Ia Supernovae - I. Observations and Data Reduction

Ultraviolet (UV) observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are useful tools for understanding progenitor systems and explosion physics. In particular, UV spectra of SNe Ia, which probe the outermost layers, are strongly affected by the progenitor metallicity. In this work, we present 120 Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory UV spectra of 39 nearby SNe Ia. This sample is the largest UV (lambda < 2900 A) spectroscopic sample of SNe Ia to date, doubling the number of UV spectra and tripling the number of SNe with UV spectra. The sample spans nearly the full range of SN Ia light-curve shapes (delta m(B) ~ 0.6-1.8 mag). The fast turnaround of Swift allows us to obtain UV spectra at very early times, with 13 out of 39 SNe having their first spectra observed >~ 1 week before peak brightness and the earliest epoch being 16.5 days before peak brightness. The slitless design of the Swift UV grism complicates the data reduction, which requires separating SN light from underlying host-galaxy light and occasional overlapping stellar light. We present a new data-reduction procedure to mitigate these issues, producing spectra that are significantly improved over those of standard methods. For a subset of the spectra we have nearly simultaneous Hubble Space Telescope UV spectra; the Swift spectra are consistent with these comparison data.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Believing the Integrity of a System (Invited Talk)

AbstractAn integrity policy defines the situations when modification of information is authorised and is enforced by the protection mechanisms of a system. Traditional models of protection tend to define integrity in terms of ad-hoc authorisation techniques whose effectiveness are justified more on the basis of experience and "best practice" rather than on any theoretical foundation. In a complex application system it is possible that an integrity policy may have been incorrectly configured, or that the protection mechanisms are inadequate, resulting in an unexpected system compromise. This paper examines the meaning of integrity and and describes a simple belief logic approach for analysing the integrity of a system configuration

Developing Expertise: Benefits of Generalising Learning from the Graphic Design Project

2019 NSEAD and John Wiley & Sons Ltd The ability to transfer knowledge between design projects has been linked to developing expertise and, as such, is an important skill for designers. However, externalising and analysing the knowledge from the design project in ways that support transfer can be a challenge. This article explores how reflective practice can foster the conditions for knowledge transfer and links these outcomes with design expertise characteristics. A structured and critical approach to reflection was introduced alongside a graphic design project with the aim to foster the conditions for transfer to other projects. A case study strategy of inquiry was employed, drawing on a qualitative research approach, and framed by theories of reflective practice and cognitive psychology. The research demonstrates that graphic design students readily reach an ability to describe, analyse and make judgements from their design experience. However, the types of reflection that supports knowledge transfer from one design experience to another - generalisation and abstraction - are not as apparent. This outcome aligns with the behaviours associated with the expertise characteristics of a novice designer