‘Maid in the USA’: Immigrant Women, Domestic Labor and Double Alienation

In the past three decades, as the economy of the industrialized countries has moved towards the growing Tech industry, middle-class women have found more opportunities to fill in white-collared job positions (McDowell, 2009). The increase in the rate of women’s participation in the labor market has made them less willing to do (or capable of doing) the housework and child/elderly care _ the tasks which are historically stereotyped as feminine (ibid). Therefore, a considerably growing trend in paid domestic labor is being introduced to formerly blue-collared and dominantly immigrant women (England, P.: 2005). The tasks which are regarded as “labor of love” and home as defined the place of “affection” are now commodified (McDowell, 2009; England, K.: 2010). The transformation of unpaid reproductive labor to paid reproductive labor as well as the transformation of home as a place of no-work to the place of production of surplus-value, not only affects women economically and socially but also intervenes in their identity formation. This project takes a quick look at the situation immigrant women domestic workers experience, and how their embodiment of labor is affected through the transformation of unpaid reproductive work in their own home to the waged out-of-home reproductive labor. This study applies the lenses of feminist studies, sociology, geography and economics in the intersection of gender, race, and nationality to argue that to immigrant domestic working women such an economically transformative process generates double alienation due to the stereotypically genderized notion of the reproductive labor, as well as the racial/ethnic/transnational cultural conflicts.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/1050/thumbnail.jp

Spatial Prediction of Slope Failures in Support of Forestry Operations Safety

This study produces a slope failure susceptibility map for evaluation of the Caspian Forest for its capacity to support road construction and timber harvesting. Fifteen data layers were used as slope failure conditioning factors, and an inventory map of recent failures was used to detect the most susceptible areas. Five different datasets of conditioning factors were constructed to compare the efficiency of one over the other in susceptibility assessment. Slope failure susceptibility maps were produced using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy interface system (ANFIS) and geographical information system (GIS). The accuracy of the maps was then evaluated by the area under curve (AUC). The validation results suggest that the ANFIS model with input conditioning factors of slope degree, slope aspect, altitude, and lithology performed the best (AUC=83.74%) among the various ANFIS models explored here. The five ANFIS models have performed reasonably well, and the maps allow development of prudent hazard mitigation plans for the safety in forestry operations

Esfahan multi-node metropolis: conflicts and opportunities on urban nodes and intersections

(English) As one of the world's most famous Islamic cities globally, Esfahan has been the focus of previous architectural and urban studies discussing its forms and structures and presenting its most distinctive features. Based on prior local and international knowledge, the study deals specifically with the urban transformation of Esfahan through the lenses of urban history and urban morphology, and it stresses the theme of urban nodes and encountering places which are characteristics of the different mobility modes and their associated city forms. The urban transformation of the city has been interpreted and summarized in three fundamental periods linked to the enormous expansion and changes in communications, mobility and transportation as the root of major urban changes. The thesis states that Esfahan has not one but three identities overlapped in its urban structure. The "Ground and Water" city (from ancient time, pedestrian-based city), the "Asphalt" city (modern time, wheel-based city), and the "Iron" city (currently, metro-rail-based city) respond to varying forms of mobility and exchange, configuring the three networks of central nodes and intersections. From this perspective, the three main chapters unveil the leading logics of the three cohabiting models in the current city and depict the urban changes through new mapping series. The research reveals some traditional urbanism potentials for hosting in the intersection points of coincidence, diversity, and exchange through studying four historical and paradigmatic examples of the "Ground and Water" city's nodes and intersections, including relevant Bazaar nodes and the Khaju bridge case. At the same time, it offers some applicable lessons from these spots that can be useful for the intervention or the creation of the future of intersections and central places in Esfahan. The construction of a new network of arterial streets (since the 1930s), large-scale development and redevelopment plans (since the 1960s), and a radical spatial transformation dominated twentieth-century attitudes towards the historic contextual environment represented a point of rupture for a traditionally capillary city, altering the identity of Iranian cities. In most cases, the birth of a modern identity meant the death or weakening of its precedent. In other words, the continuity of contemporary arterial streets devoted to automobile traffic cost the discontinuity of historical arterial long-distance water streams (Madi) and ground passages, which caused segregation in their associated relevant and surrounding buildings and residential neighborhoods. On the other hand, since the metro lines run underground and their connection with the ground level is punctual in each station, the relationship with its previous city structures may be set in a complementary mode. This complementary character, which generally adds to its previous systems, allows the metro to be more than a new exclusive metropolitan mobility system. The research employs in-depth analysis of some case studies as the investigation's main methodological, qualitative, and exploratory nature. Gazing at different potential intersection points, some paradigmatic historical nodes, and current and in-progress urban projects show how it is possible to improve the quality of the urban condition of various city nodes and intersections by enhancing the relationship of their different corresponding logics, which in their multiple interactions might rebalance the efficiency of the entire city. The future of Esfahan is not only about developing new networks of urban nodes but mainly about figuring out the opportunities for enhancing the relations between the diverse networks in favor of a higher urban quality. The research considers the proximity and the synergies between the three described city logics as the golden and key opportunity for transforming the contemporary city and building upon its future.(Español) Siendo una de las ciudades islámicas más famosas del mundo, Esfahan ha sido el foco de estudios arquitectónicos y urbanos previos discutiendo sus formas y estructuras y presentando sus características más distintivas. Sobre la base del conocimiento local e internacional previo, el estudio aborda específicamente la transformación urbana de Esfahan a través de las miradas de la historia y morfología urbana y pone énfasis en el tema de los nodos urbanos y los lugares de encuentro característicos de los diferentes modos de movilidad y las formas de ciudad asociadas. La transformación urbana de la ciudad ha sido interpretada y resumida en tres periodos fundamentales ligados a la enorme expansión y cambios en las comunicaciones, la movilidad y el transporte como raíz de los grandes cambios urbanísticos. La tesis afirma que Esfahan no tiene una sino tres identidades superpuestas en su estructura urbana. La ciudad "Tierra y Agua" (desde la antigüedad, ciudad basada en la movilidad peatonal), la ciudad "Asfalto" (moderna, ciudad basada en la movilidad rodada) y la ciudad "Hierro" (actual, ciudad basada en la movilidad discontinua del metro y el ferrocarril). Estas tres identidades responden a diversas formas de movilidad e intercambio, configurando tres redes de nodos centrales e intersecciones. Desde esta perspectiva, los tres capítulos principales revelan las lógicas rectoras de los tres modelos de convivencia en la ciudad actual y retratan los cambios urbanos a través de nuevas series cartográficas. La investigación revela la potencialidad del urbanismo tradicional para albergar la coincidencia, la diversidad y el intercambio a través del estudio de cuatro ejemplos históricos y paradigmáticos de los nodos e intersecciones de las ciudades "Tierra y Agua", incluidos los nodos relevantes del Bazar y el caso del puente Khaju. Al mismo tiempo, ofrece algunas lecciones aplicables de estos ejemplos que pueden ser útiles para la intervención o la creación del futuro de las intersecciones y lugares centrales en Esfahan. La construcción de una nueva red de calles arteriales (desde la década de 1930), los planes de desarrollo y reurbanización a gran escala (desde la década de 1960) y una transformación espacial radical dominaron las actitudes del siglo XX hacia el entorno contextual histórico, representaron un punto de ruptura para una ciudad tradicionalmente capilar, alterando la identidad de las ciudades iraníes. Por otro lado, en la actualidad la construcción de las líneas de metro que discurren bajo tierra y su conexión puntual con el nivel del suelo en cada estación permite la relación complementaria con anteriores estructuras urbanas. Este carácter complementario, que en general se suma a los sistemas anteriores, permite que el metro sea algo más que un nuevo sistema independiente de la movilidad metropolitana. La investigación emplea el análisis en profundidad de algunos casos de estudio como principal carácter metodológico, cualitativo y exploratorio de la investigación. La mirada a diferentes puntos de intersección potenciales, algunos nodos históricos paradigmáticos y proyectos urbanos actuales y en curso, muestran cómo es posible mejorar la calidad de la condición urbana de la constelación de nodos e intersecciones de la ciudad al mejorar la relación de sus diferentes lógicas correspondientes, que en sus múltiples interacciones podría reequilibrar la eficiencia de la ciudad en su conjunto. El futuro de Esfahan no está únicamente en el desarrollo de nuevas redes de nodos urbanos, sino principalmente en descubrir las oportunidades para mejorar las relaciones entre las diversas redes a favor de una mayor calidad e interacción urbana. La investigación considera la proximidad y las sinergias entre las tres lógicas identitarias de ciudad descritas como la oportunidad dorada y clave para transformar la ciudad contemporánea y construir su futuro.Postprint (published version

Muslim Woman:Heavenly Body, Communal Autonomy

This project is a quick review and analysis of different socio-cultural impacts that influence the formation of a Muslim woman’s identity through the embodiment of womanhood and motherhood. I will argue that the self-determination of a Muslim woman’s body and autonomous social identity is highly influenced by their cultural and economic notions of self; the ground, based on which their emancipation can be better paved.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/1052/thumbnail.jp

Measurement the extract content of chlorophyll pigment (a,b,c) and correlations hydrologic parameters in summer (Case Study: Gomishan International Wetland)

Concentration of chlorophyll-a is an adequate parameter for assessing the trophic state in the summer. So, check the photosynthetic content of pigments as a bioindicator of chlorophylla,b,c were studied in six stations of Gomishan international wetland and a sea station. Furthermore were investigated the qualitative evaluation of trophic state of the wetland and its dynamics. Phytoplankton samples after the filtration were extracted in 90% acetone, and were obtained the absorption of pigments in Spectrophotometer. In addition to chlorophyll, were measured the water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, turbidity and depth. Based on results, the increasing concentrations of chlorophyll-a in September showed the trophic level was hypertrophic and occurred the cyanobacterial bloom. The statistical results showed log Chl-a a positive significant correlation with water temperature, dissolved oxygen and salinity (p<0.01). Also in the Gorganrud estuarine (S2) was measured the diatom bloom as pollution indicator in July. The Gomishan coastal wetland on one hand affected by the human activities in adjacent areas and the other hand under is the influence of global warming on a large scale and in its catchment area, that causing the intensity of evaporation, salinity and become its shallow. Accordingly, improving circulation of wetland water and connection with the sea, improving future guidelines on the estuarine management, reduce and control of urban wastewater and aquaculture wastewater filtration is suggested

A second-order splitting method for a finite difference scheme for the Sivashinsky equation

AbstractA finite difference method is analyzed for the approximation of the solution of the evolutionary fourth-order in space, Sivashinsky equation.We prove that the scheme has a unique solution and we study error estimation for the numerical scheme

Esfahan metro stations, opportunities for urban regeneration

Màster universitari en Estudis Avançats en Arquitectura: UrbanismeEsfahan City is composed by varied interconnected classes of crossings which represent the idea of difference plus coincidence in the city. These crossings can happen in the varied formats of superimposition, juxtaposition, or accumulation of different layers, which could be known as different size centers, key points, and such places that give services and provide varied options to the local and passengers, and get constructed by accumulating different things, constructive elements such as historical and new passages, architecture, uses and activities around the corners of the meeting points, intersections, or historical and new centralities. As there are a high numbers of city crossings which have been emerged to the life of the city by super imposition of complete alien systems of roads and streets and recently metro stations, on the historical structure and layers of the city, there is a big opportunity for the city to think of putting ignoring elements in contact, joining them, letting them to boost each other rather than just passing without having any constructive dialogue, constructing new centralities and regenerating the cities through enterprising, and doing specific and different size interventions on these points of intersections. As a part of whole new system of public transportation, “Metro stations”, the most recent type of city crossings imposed on previous city structure, to get it more complete and diverse. Metro stations can be counted as complete examples of underground collective spaces. The spaces of metro, including stations, their platforms and wagons are like ground level streets and squares or such those places where the quality of collective life get materialized there. This thesis will look at the “metro stations” as the strategic places which have merit of being new centralities for the city, where there are lot of uses, activities and possibilitis and options for people to chose from, working as intermediated collective spaces in the center of each site. These spaces are linking or interconnecting different existing elements, such as other sourrounded crossings or intersections, different system of passages, modes of mobility, uses activities and important facilities, with each other through having connectivity with the new centralities of metro stations and their platforms. It is really interesting to see how theses regenerative punctual intervention of metro stations, as a part of grand urban and regional enterprise for the metropolitan city of Esfahan are in a close interaction with different existing elements and logics and, simultaneously, in various scales from local and city scale to the territorial