STAR framework revisited: Curriculum for user-centered design summer schools

Annually, an interdisciplinary community of students, researchers and practitioners from computer engineering, social sciences, Human Computer Interaction, visual communication and other related disciplines, gather together for 2-to-5 weeks to participate in intensive summer school sessions. Although the overall theme and the participants vary each year, these programs remain focused on the teaching and practice of User-Centered Design (UCD) in the context of the local community where the academy is conducted. By listening to lectures, working in ateliers, living with target users and facing real-world design problems, participants experientially learn a mixture of IxD processes, ethnographic methods, prototyping techniques and teamwork skills, despite the program's short duration. Intensive design summer academies like this are essential, as they offer an environment for experimentation that is difficult to create in other educational settings. However, organizing and implementing these programs in ways that optimize the learning process is challenging. As past participants, atelier leaders and instructors for a variety of summer workshops, the authors made several poignant observations about the need for an educational framework to facilitate learning and to address the students' diverse cultural backgrounds, educational disciplines, learning techniques and cultural markers. Upon further examination of the educational literature, ethnographic observation during subsequent summer sessions and interviews of past students, atelier leaders, lecturers and organizers, the authors proposed the STAR Framework for design summer schools. [see Schadewitz, Adler, Moncur, Roberts, 2006] While this framework offers organizers clear direction on structuring IxD summer schools, it provides little guidance on the curriculum itself. It has become clear that special attention must also be paid to the content, order and delivery of the curriculum, particularly given the limited time frame of the session. Building upon the established framework, this paper proposes a curricular construct that will maximize knowledge transfer within the summer school context

Op-Ed: It’s time to renew the fight against housing voucher discrimination

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), known as Section 8, is the most recognizable public housing program in the U.S. Through empowering households to use their voucher to rent units in high-opportunity neighborhoods, this program can liberate and transform the outcomes of families experiencing poverty. However, in many Cleveland neighborhoods landlords still exclude Section 8 tenants by simply refusing to accept housing choice vouchers as payment. This explicit refusal leaves low-income households with limited options and traps participants into high-poverty neighborhoods

Direct in-situ evaluation of liquefaction susceptibility

textEarthquake-induced soil liquefaction that occurs within the built environment is responsible for billions of dollars of damage to infrastructure and loss of economic productivity. There is an acute need to accurately predict the risk of soil liquefaction as well as to quantify the effectiveness of soil improvement techniques that are meant to decrease the risk of soil liquefaction. Current methods indirectly measure the risk of soil liquefaction by empirically correlating certain soil characteristics to known instances of surficial evidence of soil liquefaction, but these methods tend to overpredict the risk in sands with silts, to poorly predict instances of soil liquefaction without surface manifestations, and fail to adequately quantify the effectiveness of soil improvement techniques. Direct in-situ evaluation of liquefaction susceptibility was performed at a single site at the Wildlife Liquefaction Array (WLA) in Imperial Valley, California, in March 2012. The project included a CPT sounding, crosshole testing, and liquefaction testing. The liquefaction testing involved the measurement of water pressure and ground particle motion under earthquake-simulating cyclic loading conditions. The objective of this testing technique is to observe the relationship between shear strain in the soil and the resulting generation of excess pore water pressure. This fundamental relationship dictates whether or not a soil will liquefy during an earthquake event. The direct in-situ evaluation of liquefaction susceptibility approach provides a more accurate and comprehensive analysis of the risks of soil liquefaction. It also has the ability to test large-scale soil improvements in-situ, providing researchers an accurate representation of how the improved soil will perform during a real earthquake event. The most important results in this thesis include the identification of the cyclic threshold strain around 0.02% for the WLA sand, which is very similar to results achieved by other researchers (Vucetic and Dobry, 1986, and Cox, 2006) and is a characteristic of liquefiable soils. Another key characteristic is the 440 to 480 ft/sec (134 to 146 m/s) shear wave velocity of the soil, which are well below the upper limit 656 ft/sec (200 m/s) and an indication that the soil is loose enough for soil liquefaction to occur. The third significant point is that the compression wave velocity of the sand is greater than 4,500 ft/sec (1,370 m/s), indicating that it is at least 99.9% saturated and capable of generating large pore water pressure due to cyclic loading. These three conditions (cyclic threshold strain, shear wave velocity, and compression wave velocity) are among the most important parameters for characterizing a soil liquefaction risk and must all be met in order for soil liquefaction to occur.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Fireworks for the Emperor. A new hand-colored impression of Sebald Beham’s “Military Display in Honor of the Visit of Emperor Charles V to Munich”

A little studied Einblattdruck, or single-sheet woodcut, from the sixteenth century shows early incendiary devices used to honor the entry of the Holy Roman Emperor in 1530. The large woodcut displays the military honors given to the emperor: cannons firing on a castle constructed for the occasion and fireworks. Harnessing the potential of powders for both pyrotechnics and color added by hand to prints was among the many cultural developments of the sixteenth century. This article makes known a recently rediscovered impression of the print, unique with hand coloring, which serves as the focus of discussion for several aspects of the print including the ephemeral and incendiary, the states, and related prints with rocket Turks. A technical analysis discusses the color azurite and completes the article. “The Military Display in Honor of the Visit of Emperor Charles V to Munich” ( Pauli 1115)1 measures slightly over 1 foot x 4 feet (360 x 1340 mm, 14.17 x 52.76 in.). It was printed from five wood blocks onto five sheets of paper glued side-by-side, with each image and sheet measuring ca. 350/360 x 1330/1340 mm.2 The banderole at the top indicates that the “The Princely City of Munich – Die Furstlich Statt München” is the location depicted. The year 1530 is included at lower left, and although the print is not signed, the style is unmistakably Sebald Beham’s. It is initialed “NM” at center bottom indicating the printer was Niklas Meldemann, also from Nuremberg, for whom Beham designed other prints.3 Meldemann included his name and date in the placard at upper right as the person responsible for printing the woodcut (“ytzd im druck verfertigt vnd auszgangen […] 1530. Des 10. Tags Junij”). The date of 10 June 1530 indicates the day Charles V victoriously entered Munich after his defeat of the Ottoman Turks at Vienna. The Bavarian and Austrian coat of arms, upper left and right, underscore the connection to the men identified in the placard as Bavarian dukes, the brothers Wilhelm and Ludwig. The print appears to have been made both to commemorate the event and to honor the two brothers (“Zu eren den Hochgebornen Fürsten vnd Herrn”) on the occasion of the entry of his Imperial Majesty. The inscription calls the woodcut a “true record – aigentlich verzeichnus”) of the event. The Emperor’s name, Charles V, appears to have been included only in the first state of the print, which is now lost, and his image is almost impossible to locate in the composition as are those of Wilhelm and Ludwig. Zu den bedeutendsten Stücken in der Sammlung des Historischen Vereins von Oberbayern gehört das einzige bekannte altkolorierte Exemplar von Sebastian Behams Holzschnitt »Manöver zu Ehren Kaiser Karls V. anlässlich dessen München-Besuchs 1530«. Das von Niklas Meldemann gedruckte Blatt wurde 1860 im Rahmen der Gesamttagung der Geschichtsvereine an den Verein geschenkt und jahrzehntelang in den Vereinsräumen ausgestellt. Durch den vorliegenden Beitrag wird es aus seiner zwischenzeitlichen Versenkung wieder hervorgeholt und – im Vergleich mit eindrucksvollen Abbildungen verschiedener Siegesfeiern – als herausragende Dokumentation eines Huldigungsevents und einer militärischen Darbietung der Zeit vorgestellt. Neben der Darstellung militärischer Macht wurden auf Blättern dieser Art stets die technischen Errungenschaften der Zeit, darunter die verschiedenen Formen der Pyrotechnik, mit Freude am Detail illustriert. Auch die besiegten »Feinde« – insbesondere die einfach darzustellenden Türken – wurden gerne vorgeführt. Unter vergleichbaren Siegesfeier-Darstellungen nimmt der Beham-Holzschnitt des Historischen Vereins aufgrund seiner außergewöhnlichen Größe, seines theatralischen Aufbaus und vor allem seiner Farbigkeit eine Sonderstellung ein. Jüngst auf Anregung der Autorin Alison Stewart durchgeführte Analysen der eingesetzten Farben bestätigten, dass die eindrucksvolle Kolorierung – mit der Ausnahme einer kleinen Retusche – aus der Zeit des Drucks stammt. Die reichhaltige Farbpalette beinhaltet Pigmente, die zu dieser Zeit in der Malerei weit verbreitet waren. Die Farben kamen aus den gleichen Quellen, die auch die Chemikalien für das abgebildete Schießpulver und die Pyrotechnik lieferten – den deutschen Apotheken des 16. Jahrhunderts. Dieser Beitrag ist das Ergebnis einer Zusammenarbeit von Alison G. Stewart und Nicole Roberts. Letztere schrieb den Abschnitt »Farbanalyse« am Ende des Aufsatzes

Insights into understanding malaria parasite biology : characterization of the Plasmodium protein, MAL13P1.319

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on May 30, 2012).The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Brenda BeerntsenVita.Ph. D. University of Missouri-Columbia 2011."December 2011"Malaria is responsible for approximately 250 million human infections and about a million deaths annually and is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, with P. falciparum the most pathogenic form of human malaria. In an effort to discover molecules that aid in parasite invasion, P. falciparum MAL13P1.319 (PfMAL13P1.319) was identified by a search of the Plasmodium genome database and demonstrates significant similarity with orthologs in other Plasmodium spp. and no orthologs in humans. The PfMAL13P1.319 transcript was present during the erythrocytic stages, oocyst sporozoites, and salivary gland sporozoites and protein was detected only during the late erythrocytic stages. Additional mosquito parasite stages not previously observed or reported, such as zygotes, hemolymph sporozoites, and oocyst sporozoites, also were analyzed however displayed no detection of PfMAL13P1.319. The functional role of PfMAL13P1.319 has yet to be determined, although multiple failed attempts at disrupting the gene would suggest that the PfMAL131.319 protein may have an important function for intraerythrocytic parasites. A comparative study of the P. bergheiortholog of MAL13P1.319 (PbMAL13P1.319) discovered a 2.0-kb gene predicted to encode a surface or secreted antigen and has transcript expression during the erythrocytic stages. Overall, this dissertation describes the characteristics of MAL13P1.319 in parasite biology.Includes bibliographical reference

Estimating the proportion of Medicaid-eligible pregnant women in Louisiana who do not get abortions when Medicaid does not cover abortion.

BackgroundTo estimate the proportion of pregnant women in Louisiana who do not obtain abortions because Medicaid does not cover abortion.MethodsTwo hundred sixty nine women presenting at first prenatal visits in Southern Louisiana, 2015-2017, completed self-administered iPad surveys and structured interviews. Women reporting having considered abortion were asked whether Medicaid not paying for abortion was a reason they had not had an abortion. Using study data and published estimates of births, abortions, and Medicaid-covered births in Louisiana, we projected the proportion of Medicaid births that would instead be abortions if Medicaid covered abortion in Louisiana.Results28% considered abortion. Among women with Medicaid, 7.2% [95% CI 4.1-12.3] reported Medicaid not paying as a reason they did not have an abortion. Existing estimates suggest 10% of Louisiana pregnancies end in abortion. If Medicaid covered abortion, this would increase to 14% [95% CI 12, 16]. 29% [95% CI 19, 41] of Medicaid eligible pregnant women who would have an abortion with Medicaid coverage, instead give birth.ConclusionsFor a substantial proportion of pregnant women in Louisiana, the lack of Medicaid funding remains an insurmountable barrier to obtaining an abortion. Forty years after the Hyde Amendment was passed, lack of Medicaid funding for abortion continues to have substantial impacts on women's ability to obtain abortions

Medicaid Expansion as Completion of the Great Society

On the doorstep of its fiftieth anniversary, Medicaid at last could achieve the ambitious goals President Lyndon B. Johnson enunciated for the Great Society upon signing Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965. Although the spotlight shone on Medicare at the time, Medicaid was the “sleeper program” that caught America’s neediest in its safety net—but only some of them. Medicaid’s exclusion of childless adults and other “undeserving poor” loaned an air of “otherness” to enrollees, contributing to its stigma and seeming political fragility. Now, Medicaid touches every American life. One in five Americans benefits from Medicaid’s healthcare coverage, and that number soon will increase to one in four due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Medicaid’s universalization reveals that the program can now be best understood as a vehicle for civil rights

Implicit racial biases can undermine liberal and moderate Whites’ support for Black politicians.

In new research Daniel Byrd, Deborah Hall, Nicole Roberts and José Soto seek to understand whether liberal and moderate Whites are biased towards Black politicians over White politicians, and if this favorability is mitigated by any implicit racial bias. They find that liberal and moderate Whites do have a preference for Black politicians over White politicians on a variety of measures of political support. They also find that this favorability disappeared among those who were more likely to rate Black politicians as less intelligent because of their implicit pro-White/anti-Black biase

Regional inactivations of primate ventral prefrontal cortex reveal two distinct mechanisms underlying negative bias in decision making.

Dysregulation of the orbitofrontal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices is implicated in anxiety and mood disorders, but the specific contributions of each region are unknown, including how they gate the impact of threat on decision making. To address this, the effects of GABAergic inactivation of these regions were studied in marmoset monkeys performing an instrumental approach-avoidance decision-making task that is sensitive to changes in anxiety. Inactivation of either region induced a negative bias away from punishment that could be ameliorated with anxiolytic treatment. However, whereas the effects of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex inactivation on punishment avoidance were seen immediately, those of orbitofrontal cortex inactivation were delayed and their expression was dependent upon an amygdala-anterior hippocampal circuit. We propose that these negative biases result from deficits in attentional control and punishment prediction, respectively, and that they provide the basis for understanding how distinct regional prefrontal dysregulation contributes to the heterogeneity of anxiety disorders with implications for cognitive-behavioral treatment strategies.All authors contributed extensively to the work presented in this article, and we thank Rudolf Cardinal for helpful advice and discussion and Mercedes Arroyo for histology. This research was funded by a Medical Research Council Programme Grant (to A.C.R.) and Career Development Award (to H.F.C.). The research was conducted at the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, which is supported by a joint award from the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust (G00001354).This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in PNAS (Clarke HF, Horst NK, Roberts AC, PNAS 2015, 112, 13, 4176-4181, doi:10.1073/pnas.1422440112). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.142244011