From spectator to participant: artist commentary on museum experience

As traditional museum dynamics have shifted from primarily visual engagement with artifacts to a multisensory experience, the interaction between the viewer and the object has changed. On the part of museums, the goal has been to move away from previous conceptions of the institution as an elite environment where touching was forbidden and people spoke in whispers to an inclusive place of exploration and discovery. This has opened up possibilities for more active engagement with the objects, which has encouraged the visitor to become a participant, rather than a spectator. Artists have become increasingly interested in the changing practices of the museum. By incorporating in their work the traditional methods used by museums for archiving, display, and storage, artists such as Hamilton’s Between Taxonomy and Communion (1990) and Toren’s Safety Regulation Painting No. 10 (1999), use creative means to comment on the changing approach of the museum to the visitor’s experience, providing a fresh take on the institution and the role of the visitor. The research presented in this essay examines how, historically, artists have commented on and critiqued the practices of museums in their work, particularly with found object installations such as Dion’s Cabinet of Curiosities for the Wexner Center for the Arts (1997) and Fontcuberta/ Forminguera’s collaboration in Fauna. (1987/90) The subject of my research is intimately linked with my own creative work, which uses humor and social commentary as a bridge to connect with a diverse body of viewers. The purpose of the work is to explore how fabricated artifacts along with an invented narrative, when displayed using the techniques employed by museums, might be accepted as authentic due solely to their manner of presentation, which confers legitimacy on the artifacts regardless of whether the work is displayed in a public place such as a museum or library or in a private setting such as clubs or parlors. The research presented in my thesis as well as incorporated in my body of work underscores the need for awareness of the role played by the museum: even when the changes to the visitor’s experience are positive, the decisions made by the museum still influence the viewer’s assessment of the cultural and historical value of the artifacts on display

Everyone Else Is Doing It (I Think): The Power Of Perception And Society In Fat Talk

Fat talk (FT) involves critiquing one’s own appearance in social conversations and has been associated with negative outcomes such as higher body dissatisfaction, increased depression, and a greater perceived sociocultural pressure to be thin. Although parents, peers, and media have all been established as distinct sociocultural influences on body image and eating behaviors, there has been minimal exploration of the influence of family, friends, and media in extant FT literature. This study addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the relationships between an individual’s FT, internalization of thin ideal, and the self-reported and perceived influence of her mother and closest friend’s FT. A sample of 233 undergraduate, primarily Caucasian female students, their mothers, and their friends completed a set of online self-report surveys assessing FT behavior and other related variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the predictive power of internalization of the thin ideal, mothers’ and friends’ self-reported FT, and mothers’ and friends’ perceived FT on participants’ FT behavior. Analyses showed that internalization of the thin ideal, body mass index, perception of mother’s FT, and perception of friend’s FT were significant predictors of participant FT

Statistical quality characterization of selective laser melting (SLM) for additive manufacturing

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a relatively new technology to the rapid prototyping field. The process is unique in that it can produce rapid prototyped metal parts vs. conventional polymer three dimensional printing. The benefit of Selective Laser Melting is that metal parts can be made that would not be capable of being created through traditional machining techniques. Selective Laser Melting is also advantageous because the production of similar parts compared to traditional machining requires less skill and training, which equates to cost reduction.The College of Engineering and Technology has acquired an EOS M290 Selective Laser Melting machine that has not yet been validated. Validating the SLM machine will benefit future research by establishing the machine capability. Future research will depend on this information as a basis for further development of rapid prototyping techniques. This will also support the Center for Rapid Product Realization for clients by increasing the quality of parts produced and increasing the opportunities available by broadening the scope of their current capabilities. Both of these will promote and support further economic development for the region as well as the university.purpose of the study will be to use statistical quality methodology to characterize SLM printing with regards to machine capability. This study will use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine how part placement on the build plate affects machine capability. Ultimately, the results of the statistical analysis may provide EOS M290 users a better understanding of how build plate location affects part geometry capability related to height and diameter

Impact of response to intervention training on teacher and school outcomes

The primary focus of education is to instill knowledge in children in order to lead them to a successful life. However, there are many children who struggle academically and many teachers who feel helpless in knowing how to help children succeed. Traditional interventions such as retention in grade or placement in special education have had limited success. Empirical studies have shown that these children can be more successful by offering earlier academic interventions for them, before they have begun to fail (First Signs, 2004). Early interventions are a range of services that are offered to children, particularly young children, who have been diagnosed with or are at-risk for a condition that could affect their learning capabilities. In other words, early interventions are those that attempt to provide children with assistance in learning before a problem develops. One particular form of early intervention that has recently become popular is Response to Intervention (RTI), which is the practice of offering evidence-based procedures within the general education curriculum to assist students with academic difficulties and monitor their response to those procedures (Harris-Murri, King, & Rostenburg, 2006). Response to Intervention is intended to reduce the overall number of referrals and placements within special education (Brown-Chidsey & Steegeg, 2005); increase reading capacity for children (Dunn, 2007); reduce minority overrepresentation in special education (Harry, Klingner, Sturges, & Moore, 2002; Marston, Muyskens, Lau, & Canter, 2003); reduce the number of children grade-retained each year (Jimerson, Pletcher, Graydon, Schnurr, Nickerson, & Kundert, 2006); and improve overall academic instruction from teachers (Brown-Chidsey & Steegeg, 2005). However, there is limited research on the actual effects of utilizing RTI. In particular, there is significantly limited research demonstrating how training in RTI impacts a teachers’ self-efficacy regarding their teaching effectiveness and how teachers perceive their ability to impact student academic progress is imperative to successful academic interventions. According to Lane, Mahdavi, and Borthwick-Duffy (2003) if teachers do not feel they have the knowledge and skills to implement services, the service integrity will suffer. Therefore, this study looked at the effects of Response to Intervention on reducing special education assessment referrals. Also, this study examined the impact of RTI training and implementation on teacher selfefficacy. Finally, teacher perceptions regarding the RTI training provided to them was examined. Unfortunately, the current study was not able to add to this literature base with any significant findings

Novel to Novel to Film: From Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway to Michael Cunningham’s and Daldry-Hare’s The Hours

Adaptation is a fundamental part of storytelling, yet oftentimes adaptations of pre-existing works are devalued precisely for their presumed unoriginality; if a work borrows material from a pre-existing one, it is assumed to be automatically less valuable or worse than the original. The prevailing attitude towards adaptations seems incapable of viewing them as artistic creations unto their own, often judging based on faithfulness to content rather than artistic quality. An interesting case of adaptation to study is that of Stephen Daldry and David Hare’s film adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s novel, The Hours. Published in 1998, Cunningham’s novel is an adaptation of sorts, a re-writing of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. In this paper the author posits that contrary to all claims against film as a flawed adaptive medium for literature, Daldry-Hare’s The Hours proves more faithful to Woolf’s text in terms of its treatment of, and interaction with, certain formal aspects of Woolf’s modernist project of accurately representing concepts of time, space, and the human lived experience. To this effect, the paper analyzes both the novel and the film in relation to Mrs. Dalloway and show that the film version of The Hours converses and interacts better with Woolf’s text than Cunningham’s novelistic version does

Clec9a-mediated ablation of conventional dendritic cells suggests a lymphoid path to generating dendritic cells In Vivo

Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are versatile activators of immune responses that develop as part of the myeloid lineage downstream of hematopoietic stem cells. We have recently shown that in mice precursors of cDCs, but not of other leukocytes, are marked by expression of DNGR-1/CLEC9A. To genetically deplete DNGR-1-expressing cDC precursors and their progeny, we crossed Clec9a-Cre mice to Rosa-lox-STOP-lox-diphtheria toxin (DTA) mice. These mice develop signs of age-dependent myeloproliferative disease, as has been observed in other DC-deficient mouse models. However, despite efficient depletion of cDC progenitors in these mice, cells with phenotypic characteristics of cDCs populate the spleen. These cells are functionally and transcriptionally similar to cDCs in wild type control mice but show somatic rearrangements of Ig-heavy chain genes, characteristic of lymphoid origin cells. Our studies reveal a previously unappreciated developmental heterogeneity of cDCs and suggest that the lymphoid lineage can generate cells with features of cDCs when myeloid cDC progenitors are impaired

Carson McCullers : the tragedy of the grotesque

The dark truth of human loneliness and spiritual isolation is the central theme of Carson McCullers. In each of her novels, the characters seek a way to break through the barrier of isolation and that condition which makes all people an I rather than a we. This perception of loneliness is an aspect of life that McCullers deems universal. In considering the theme of spiritual isolation in her novels, Oliver Evans observes that "the essential loneliness of the individual in a world full of other individuals as lonely as himself is a paradox which intrigued Carson McCullers from the first...."1 McCullers herself explicitly states her central theme in the foreword to one of her plays, The Square Root of Wonderful

An accommodation of intuitively combined images employing objects with constructed forms

The major pieces in this thesis are three dimensional objects constructed of paper maché, or plaster and burlap, on wire and wood frames with objects interpolated and applied to the basic construction. Materials that congeal, such as paper maché or plaster and burlap, are used since they take the immediate stamp of suspended animation. Paper maché is preferable when the reshaping of a basic construction is desired before completion since it maintains its flexibility for several days. Conversely, plaster is desirable where the basic construction is not to be reshaped or where the application of plaster may be considered later

To Live Until We Die: An Overview of Death and Dying in America since the Eighteenth Century

Since man has walked upon this earth he has faced death. It is the final stage of the growth process and is inevitable. It begins the moment man enters this world. Yet, man still has an extremely difficult time accepting and dealing with death. People do not like to think and talk about it and politely change the conversation to a less morbid topic when it is introduced. In the past attention has been focused on the physical of the dying. The emotional, psychological, and social needs of the terminally ill and their families have been virtually ignored. However, changes in the attitudes towards death and the treatment of the dying are slowly taking root and growing. The total needs of the patient and the family have begun to be focused on in the last two decades. This paper will trace the attitudes of Americans toward death and dying since the eighteenth century. An understanding of the changes that have taken place is necessary to fully appreciate the efforts made today to treat the "total" person and the family. It will also report on people and organizations that have helped to change the attitude toward death and the treatment of the dying. A small scale study has been included to appraise the perceived value of those involved in a new program or movement known as the Hospice. The final chapter contains the opinions of the researcher. References and additional suggested readings for background information are included at the end of the paper. It should be noted initially that as used throughout this paper the term terminally ill refers to patients diagnosed as having incurable illnesses such as cancer and chronic heart disease

Nature with water and the Spirit: a response to Rowan Williams

For Paul, ‘nature’ works differently for free Jewish men (torah-observers) and others (slaves, Gentiles, women), so that in Paul ‘nature’ is a differentiated rather than universal philosophical concept. Paul so differentiates natures according to theological considerations we might call narrative. Stories about God's relations with Israel set the context in which Paul's use of ‘nature’ makes sense. ‘Nature’ is a character in a story of captivity observed in the light of release (Rom 1:17–18). The eucharist mobilizes the related concept of ‘body’ to enact a parallel story of captivity and release – the binding of Isaac and the crucifixion of Jesus – in which God exposes the worst that human beings can do (child sacrifice, execution of innocents) so that it can be healed. Nature is a character in a story liturgically enacted in baptism, eucharist, marriage. The character's changing circumstances are plotted by the Spirit in traditions Syriac, Latin, Greek, German, and Russian. (Nature is perfected by grace.) No mere scenery, nature is dynamic. A creature of the Spirit, it is to grow. Ontologies of nature depend on the narrative for which they seek conditions. This narrative requires a dynamic and differentiated account so that nature can serve the promise of blessing