Sport Combo Theory

The mind-body is not separate just as artist and Art are not separate entities either. Because the human subject is tied to the Art object, rather than striving for perfection, a more fruitful approach to artmaking is one that utilizes imperfection to its advantage. By subverting what is thought of as error, the glitch acts as a transgressive image. It functions as a symbol of embracing imperfection by leveraging mishap as a catalyst for experimentation and re/invention. Profile on platform serves as a curatorial space, one of agency, access, and opportunity, to display images of our selfiest selves. In this way, it is possible to hyper-curate a profile to the point of epitomizing the self as an empathy generator. From digital platform to analog substrate, this body of work demonstrates how a Painting, Drawing, Writing, Printing, and Photography practice can collapse into various “Sport Combos” in an effort to combat conformity, support subjectivity, and work towards transgressive image(s), as a means of creating… a better world

Environmental Racism in a Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts in Salt Lake City\u27s Polluted Neighborhoods

Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial categories other than “white alone.” Latinx people represent the largest proportion of SLC’s growing racial diversity (21.2%). We analyze American Community Survey (ACS) demographic data comparing 2 years spanning a ~10 year period (2010 and 2019) to determine whether census tracts with high densities of environmental hazard sites have a growing, shrinking, or unchanging proportion of Latinx residents. We connect this analysis to mortgage redlining practices that promoted urban segregation along race and class lines and ask whether these practices and the resulting geographies of housing inequality have created conditions restricting the growth of communities of color to polluted areas. We argue that racist planning practices effectively weave environmental racism into the fabric of cities and that cities with growing communities of color must consider how existing spatial patterns of segregation may perpetuate exposure to environmental harms

Conversion of Amides into Esters by the Nickel-Catalyzed Activation of Amide C-N Bonds

The amide function is ubiquitous in natural compounds as well as in man-made molecules and materials. It is generally very stable and poorly reactive owing to its resonance-stabilized C–N group that imparts a planar geometry to amides. In contrast, carboxylic esters are generally reactive under a variety of mild conditions; therefore, it is not surprising that a number of direct methods are available to the chemist for converting esters into amides (amino-de-alkoxylation reaction) but very few for achieving the opposite transformation. Recently, Professors Neil Garg and Ken Houk from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, USA) reported in Nature a groundbreaking method for converting amides into esters with a high degree of efficiency

Reaction Discovery Using Nickel Catalysis and Total Syntheses of Indolactam Alkaloids

Transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are useful tools to assemble carbon–carbon (C–C) and carbon–heteroatom (C–X) bonds. Traditionally, electrophilic halides and pseudohalides have been cross-coupled to their nucleophilic counterparts with palladium. Recently, however, the implementation of nickel as a catalyst for cross-coupling reactions has enabled the use of less reactive cross-coupling partners, such as carbamates, sulfamates, and amides. This dissertation describes the development of nickel-catalyzed cross-couplings of untraditional electrophiles to forge carbon–heteroatom (C–X) bonds. Additionally, the total syntheses of four indolactam alkaloids, indolactam V, pendolmycin, lyngbyatoxin A, and teleocidin A-2, using both a key distortion-controlled indolyne reaction and palladium-catalyzed sp2–sp3 C–C bond construction, are described.Chapters one and two describe the development of nickel-catalyzed amination reactions of aryl electrophiles to form carbon–nitrogen (C–N) bonds. The amination reaction of aryl carbamates to form aryl amines is discussed. Subsequently, the development of green cross-couplings of aryl sulfamates and chlorides to similarly form aryl amines is reported.Chapter three introduces a means to accomplish a controlled cine substitution. This two-step process is comprised of a carbamate-directed ortho-lithiation/functionalization of an arene, followed by a nickel-catalyzed reductive deoxygenation of the directing group. This sequence provides a new strategy for synthesis and complements the more commonly employed ipso substitution in arene functionalization.Chapter four concerns the utility of amides as electrophilic cross-coupling partners. These traditionally unreactive moieties are activated by nickel and coupled to alcohols to form acyl C¬–O bonds. This study suggests that amides may serve as useful building blocks to construct C–X and C–C bonds.Chapter five describes the total syntheses of (–)-indolactam V and its C7-substituted natural product derivatives, (–)-pendolmycin, (–)-lyngbyatoxin A, and (–)-teleocidin A-2. The C4–N linkage is constructed with a distortion-controlled indolyne functionalization. The total synthesis of (–)-indolactam V provides a platform for the divergent syntheses of the other three natural products via a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling to functionalize C7 and introduce a quaternary center

Teaching Paraeducators to Support the Communication of Individuals Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A Literature Review

Individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to communicate in school and community activities often have paraeducators[1] as communication partners.  For individuals who use AAC, successful communication often depends upon their personal skills as well as the skills of their communication partners.  Because the skills of communication partners are critical, and can be taught, a review was conducted to identify the effect of teaching paraeducators to provide appropriate communication supports for individuals using AAC using studies that included data for both paraeducators and individuals with CCN.  Studies were analyzed using the recommendations from the Communication Partner Instruction Model (Kent-Walsh & McNaughton, 2005).  Findings from seven studies suggest that communication partner training to paraeducators can have positive outcomes for the communication behaviors of both paraeducators and individuals using AAC. Implications for practice and future research directions are addressed. [1] For the purpose of this article the term paraeducator refers to personnel who support individuals with disabilities in educational, vocational, and human service organizations. Paraeducators carry out plans designed by teachers or human service professionals. In the literature paraeducators are also referred to as paraprofessionals, educational assistants, instructional assistants or aides, program staff, carers, etc