Stories of Africa: The politics of displaying African objects in museum exhibitions

In this paper, I will analyze how museum exhibitions use material culture to construct and present a narrative about Africa. Exhibiting material culture reflects the power, authority, and ideology of the exhibitor, sometimes at the expense of the displayed culture’s agency in representation. Museums have a particularly infamous history of distorting African cultures in exhibits, often validating racist ideologies. Consequently, zealous museum critics have begun to question the relevance of museums in the future public education. The public, however, continues to visit museums and experience exhibits featuring African objects. Based on the challenges and controversies museums exhibiting African objects face today, I will explore how current museum exhibitions in the Midwest display African objects, and by extension how African cultures are constructed and represented in selected exhibits, used as case studies. DePauw University’s Emison Ethnographic Arts Gallery, Indiana University Art Museum’s Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Eiteljorg Suite of African and Oceanic Art and “Majestic African Textiles”, and the Field Museum of Natural History’s “Africa” offer diverse approaches to display, the African object, and narratives about African cultures and arts. Drawing from James Clifford, I argue that it is impossible for museums such as these to holistically represent African cultures. However, a critical gaze “reading” these exhibitions reveals the strengths and areas for improvement in the museums’ constructed narratives

Africa in the Museum: The Politics of the Display of African Material Culture at the Field Museum

In this paper, I will analyze how museum exhibitions use material culture to construct and present a narrative about Africa. Exhibiting material culture reflects the power, authority, and ideology of the exhibitor, sometimes at the expense of the displayed culture’s agency in representation. Museums have a particularly infamous history of distorting African culture in exhibits, often validating racist ideologies. Consequently, zealous museum critics have begun to question the relevance of museums in the future public education. The public, however, continues to visit museums and experience exhibits featuring African objects. Based on the challenges and controversies museums exhibiting African objects face today, I will explore how current museum exhibitions display African objects, and by extension how African cultures are constructed and represented in selected institutions. This paper is an adapted section of a larger senior thesis involving multiple exhibit case studies. For this paper, I will focus on one case study at the Field Museum’s Africa exhibit. Africa uses in-situ displays to produce an experience for the viewer as they “travel” through various scenes in modern day and historical Africa and America. However, the perspective given to the viewer as a tourist at the beginning of the exhibit shifts dramatically when they suddenly encounter the era of slavery, distancing the viewer from a potentially powerful and resonant topic. The inclusion of the African experience of slavery reflects an attempt to include multiple perspectives of Africa for the visitor, but the execution of the transition in the exhibit distances, rather than connects, the viewer from Africa. Drawing from James Clifford, I argue that it is impossible for museums such as the Field Museum to holistically represent African cultures. However, a critical gaze reveals the strengths and areas for improvement in the museum’s constructed narrative, and the future potential for museums exhibiting African objects

How To Create A Successful Learning Environment For Students With Challenging Behaviors

As an experienced special education teacher working with a range of school districts, I have observed the need for further training on how to manage challenging behaviors within our schools. Though there are many researched based strategies available for helping educators manage challenging behaviors, there are very few trainings that guide educators to program for students with challenging behaviors. With teacher shortages at all-time high in the state of Minnesota, and schools working hard to provide inclusive classrooms, the need for further training for educators appears to be at the forefront. This project on: How to create successful learning environments for students with challenging behaviors, will help educators set up classrooms, special education rooms, or specialized programs for students who struggle with challenging behaviors. This project trains educators on 6 key components needed to create a successful learning environment for students with challenging behaviors. These components are supported by research-based methods like PBIS, Restorative Justice, and Token Based Economy Systems

Towards a Framework for Corporate Data Quality Management

Today’s market environment requires companies to adapt to new business models and to improve their operational excellence in terms of process efficiency and organisational effectiveness. Agility and flexibility build on high-quality corporate data and powerful corporate data management. This paper proposes a framework for corporate data quality management. The structure of the framework consists of the three layers of Business Engineering (strategy, organisation and information systems) as well as the two perspectives of data management (governance and execution). The scope of the framework is deduced from the state of the art in the domains of IT and data management such as COBIT and ITIL. The framework helps to determine which tasks need to be performed for improving corporate data quality and how they are interrelated. It helps to combine corporate data management to the business objectives of an organisation and to anchor it efficiently within the existing organisational structure

Substratwahl-Versuche mit Asterias rubens L.

Asterias rubens is feeding at beds of Mytilus edulis and living on hard substrate between the mussels. The behaviour of Asterias rubens was studied in order to evaluate the choice of substrate without wave exposure, predators or prey available. In laboratory experiments, favoured selection of Fucus vesiculosus, Crassostrea gigas and covered stone was observed. Our observations showed preferential choice of shadowed substrate and revealed that presence of conspecifics did not affect the substrate choice of Asterias rubens juveniles. The experiments indicated that aggregation of individuals is not avoided, but no evidence is found for intended aggregation. The study demonstrated that the substrate choice behaviour of Asterias can’t be described as randomly.Asterias rubens frisst an Betten von Mytilus edulis und lebt auf hartem Substrat zwischen den Muscheln. Das Verhalten von Asterias rubens wurde untersucht, um die Wahl des Substrats ohne Wellenexposition, Räuber oder Beute zu bewerten. In Laborexperimenten wurde eine bevorzugte Selektion von Fucus vesiculosus, Crassostrea gigas und bedecktem Stein beobachtet. Unsere Beobachtungen zeigten eine bevorzugte Wahl des beschatteten Substrats und zeigten, dass die Anwesenheit von Artgenossen die Substratwahl von Asterias rubens (juvenil) nicht beeinflusste. Die Experimente zeigten, dass eine Aggregation von Individuen nicht vermieden wird, aber es werden keine Hinweise auf eine beabsichtigte Aggregation gefunden. Die Studie zeigte, dass das Substratwahlverhalten von Asterias nicht als zufällig beschrieben werden kann.Peer Reviewe

Kompetenzdienstleistungen im Vermittlungs- und Integrationsprozess: Eine qualitative Studie

Der Berufspsychologische Service (BPS) der Bundesagentur für Arbeit hat vier neue Dienstleistungen zur Kompetenzfeststellung (K-DL) entwickelt, die den Vermittlungs- und Integrationsfachkräften der Agenturen für Arbeit und Jobcentern in Form der gemeinsamen Einrichtungen (gE) zur Identifizierung von überfachlichen Kompetenzen der Kundinnen und Kunden dienen sollen. Durch die genaue Kenntnis der Ressourcen und Stärken der Kundinnen und Kunden soll eine passgenaue Vermittlung und gezielte Förderung ermöglicht werden. Die vier K-DL unterscheiden sich in den durch sie erfassten überfachlichen Kompetenzen und in der Art ihrer Durchführung: Bei K1 handelt es sich um einen computergestützten Fragebogen zur Selbsteinschätzung von Verhalten im Berufsleben; K2 ist ein Test zur Erfassung der Auffassungsgabe, K3 ein diagnostisches Gespräch zur Begutachtung der Leistungsorientierung und K4 ein Assessmentcenter zur Erfassung sozial-kommunikativer Kompetenzen. Nachdem die K-DL im Jahr 2012 flächendeckend eingeführt worden waren, erfolgte im Jahr 2013 eine breit angelegte Evaluation. Das hier vorgestellte qualitative Forschungsvorhaben ist Bestandteil dieser Evaluation. Die Untersuchung sollte vor allem die Frage beantworten, welche erwünschten und unerwünschten Effekte die K-DL auf den weiteren Integrations- und Vermittlungsprozess entfalten. Weitere, damit zusammenhängende Untersuchungsgegenstände waren der Anlass für die Nutzung einer K-DL, die Kommunikation zwischen Fachkräften und Kundinnen und Kunden bei der Einschaltung der K-DL sowie die Diskussion und Nutzung der Ergebnisse. Kernstück des Projektes waren qualitative Interviews mit Vermittlungs- und Integrationsfachkräften sowie Kundinnen und Kunden an sechs Standorten, wobei jeweils eine Agentur für Arbeit und eine gemeinsame Einrichtung berücksichtigt wurden.The Vocational and Career Psychology Service (BPS) of the German National Employment Agency has developed four new services for competence assessment. They can be used by job placement officers and case workers to better identify soft skills of their customers and use the results for job search and targeted integration measures. The four services differ in the competencies they assess and in their mode of operation. After nationwide implementation of the services had been completed in 2012, a large evaluation project was commissioned in 2013. The qualitative evaluation project whose results are presented in this report is an integral part of this evaluation. The main research question focuses on the effects that these new services have on the further processes of integration and job search. Other, related research questions focus on the constellations, in which the services are used, the communication about their use between job placement officers or case workers and customers and the use of the results of competence assessment for decision making and further support of customers. Central to this project have been qualitative interviews with job placement officers, case workers and customers in six regions or cities. In each region or city, job placement officers and case workers as well as customers of both jurisdictions of the social code (SGB II and SGB III) have been interviewed. The most important result is that the competence assessment services can have a positive effect on the further job search and integration processes, if they are embedded in a generally strength-oriented approach. Positive effects are strongest if the communication process between job placement officers/case workers and customers was already constructive and solution-oriented, and if the reasons for using a competence assessment are made transparent to the customer. Even if these conditions are met, however, the services are considered to be helpful only in specific constellations. In most cases, the positive effect consists in better knowledge of the soft skills of customers, which helps making better decisions about the aims in the job search and integration process, choosing appropriate qualification measures and analysing various other problems arising in the integration process. However, it could also be shown that the services cannot implement strength-orientation in job search and integration processes on their own. If the whole process is not oriented towards supporting and using interdisciplinary competences, the services are rarely used and/or their results are often not used productively

Function Based Design-by-Analogy: A Functional Vector Approach to Analogical Search

Design-by-analogy is a powerful approach to augment traditional concept generation methods by expanding the set of generated ideas using similarity relationships from solutions to analogous problems. While the concept of design-by-analogy has been known for some time, few actual methods and tools exist to assist designers in systematically seeking and identifying analogies from general data sources, databases, or repositories, such as patent databases. A new method for extracting functional analogies from data sources has been developed to provide this capability, here based on a functional basis rather than form or conflict descriptions. Building on past research, we utilize a functional vector space model (VSM) to quantify analogous similarity of an idea's functionality. We quantitatively evaluate the functional similarity between represented design problems and, in this case, patent descriptions of products. We also develop document parsing algorithms to reduce text descriptions of the data sources down to the key functions, for use in the functional similarity analysis and functional vector space modeling. To do this, we apply Zipf's law on word count order reduction to reduce the words within the documents down to the applicable functionally critical terms, thus providing a mapping process for function based search. The reduction of a document into functional analogous words enables the matching to novel ideas that are functionally similar, which can be customized various ways. This approach thereby provides relevant sources of design-by-analogy inspiration. As a verification of the approach, two original design problem case studies illustrate the distance range of analogical solutions that can be extracted. This range extends from very near-field, literal solutions to far-field cross-domain analogies.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-0855326)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-0855510)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMMI-0855293)SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC

Design-by-analogy: experimental evaluation of a functional analogy search methodology for concept generation improvement

Design-by-analogy is a growing field of study and practice, due to its power to augment and extend traditional concept generation methods by expanding the set of generated ideas using similarity relationships from solutions to analogous problems. This paper presents the results of experimentally testing a new method for extracting functional analogies from general data sources, such as patent databases, to assist designers in systematically seeking and identifying analogies. In summary, the approach produces significantly improved results on the novelty of solutions generated and no significant change in the total quantity of solutions generated. Computationally, this design-by-analogy facilitation methodology uses a novel functional vector space representation to quantify the functional similarity between represented design problems and, in this case, patent descriptions of products. The mapping of the patents into the functional analogous words enables the generation of functionally relevant novel ideas that can be customized in various ways. Overall, this approach provides functionally relevant novel sources of design-by-analogy inspiration to designers and design teams.SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant Numbers CMMI-0855326, CMMI-0855510, and CMMI-08552930

Facilitating Design-by-Analogy: Development of a Complete Functional Vocabulary and Functional Vector Approach to Analogical Search

Design-by-analogy is an effective approach to innovative concept generation, but can be elusive at times due to the fact that few methods and tools exist to assist designers in systematically seeking and identifying analogies from general data sources, databases, or repositories, such as patent databases. A new method for extracting analogies from data sources has been developed to provide this capability. Building on past research, we utilize a functional vector space model to quantify analogous similarity between a design problem and the data source of potential analogies. We quantitatively evaluate the functional similarity between represented design problems and, in this case, patent descriptions of products. We develop a complete functional vocabulary to map the patent database to applicable functionally critical terms, using document parsing algorithms to reduce text descriptions of the data sources down to the key functions, and applying Zipf’s law on word count order reduction to reduce the words within the documents. The reduction of a document (in this case a patent) into functional analogous words enables the matching to novel ideas that are functionally similar, which can be customized in various ways. This approach thereby provides relevant sources of design-by-analogy inspiration. Although our implementation of the technique focuses on functional descriptions of patents and the mapping of these functions to those of the design problem, resulting in a set of analogies, we believe that this technique is applicable to other analogy data sources as well. As a verification of the approach, an original design problem for an automated window washer illustrates the distance range of analogical solutions that can be extracted, extending from very near-field, literal solutions to far-field cross-domain analogies. Finally, a comparison with a current patent search tool is performed to draw a contrast to the status quo and evaluate the effectiveness of this work.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number CMMI-0855510)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number CMMI-0855326)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number CMMI-0855293)SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC

Deletion of fabN in Enterococcus faecalis results in unsaturated fatty acid auxotrophy and decreased release of inflammatory cytokines

The Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis can cause life-threatening infections and is resistant to several commonly used antibiotics. The type II fatty acid pathway in bacteria is discussed as a potential target for antimicrobial therapy. However, it was shown that inhibition or deletion of its enzymes can be rescued in Gram-positive bacteria by supplementation with fatty acids. Here we show that by deletion of the fabN gene, which is essential for unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) synthesis in E. faecalis, growth is impaired but can be rescued by supplementation with oleic acid or human serum. Nonetheless, we demonstrate alterations of the UFA profile after supplementation with oleic acid in the fabN mutant using a specific glycolipid. In addition, we demonstrate that cytokine release invitro is almost abolished after stimulation of mouse macrophages by the mutant in comparison to the wild type. The results indicate that fabN is not a suitable target for antimicrobials as UFA auxotrophy can be overcome. However, deletion of fabN resulted in a decreased inflammatory response indicating that fabN and resulting UFA synthesis are relevant for virulence