Friends from isolation

Friends from Isolation is part science fiction tale, part exploration of form and surface through ceramic sculpture. The energy of each and the unity of the whole through strong individuality implies life and the wild possibility of the human imagination. This work's spirit is deeply rooted in my imagination as a storyteller and craftsman; unleased to the world to tease the senses, to inspire and fuel the imagination of others. Each Friend is alive in insectoid form; their dense and vibrant color palette, gestural and identifiable textures; and the puzzle of their meticulous and carefully crafted construction stir impulses of attraction and repulsion, wonder and whimsy, curiosity and adventure in the viewer. A variety of other materials such as paper, lace, fur, wire, steel, and polymer clays are present and easily identifiable; playing a role as a man-made grounding point in the puzzle of this visual adventure. The variety of materials present, the use of vibrant color and rich texture, the execution form and bold gesture masterfully balances unity and variety. Each Friend has taken shape in my hands as a kind of character study; their form and surface completed in ways that instill each creature with a beautifully strange and mysterious individual identity. They are the companions of an interstellar traveler, the destroyer of Earth; hammered with regret and remorse, doomed to a self-imposed isolation; a seeker of redemption by the only means he can -- the inspiration of new creation

What’s in a username? Finding local health departments on Twitter

Social media platforms such as Twitter may be useful for local health departments (LHDs) in providing the essential service of educating and informing constituents.1 However, health departments have relatively few Twitter followers overall.1 One of the challenges that may be associated with following LHDs on Twitter is knowing how to find an LHD Twitter feed. With no suggested or required conventions for LHDs adopting social media, practitioners are left to independently develop their name and description, resulting in much variety. This report examines the names and descriptions for LHDs using Twitter and uses the Twitter people search function to identify which health departments can be found by searching for the health department name. Finally, we examine the relationship between being found through the Twitter people search and the number of followers for an LHD. We conclude with suggested LHD naming, description, and use practices for Twitter

Continuous Catalytic Deoxygenation of Waste Free Fatty Acid-Based Feeds to Fuel-Like Hydrocarbons Over a Supported Ni-Cu Catalyst

While commercial hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) processes convert fats, oils, and grease (FOG) to fuel-like hydrocarbons, alternative processes based on decarboxylation/decarbonylation (deCOx) continue to attract interest. In this contribution, the activity of 20% Ni-5% Cu/Al2O3 in the deCOx of waste free fatty acid (FFA)-based feeds—including brown grease (BG) and an FFA feed obtained by steam stripping a biodiesel feedstock—was investigated, along with the structure-activity relationships responsible for Ni promotion by Cu and the structural evolution of catalysts during use and regeneration. In eight-hour experiments, near quantitative conversion of the aforementioned feeds to diesel-like hydrocarbons was achieved. Moreover, yields of diesel-like hydrocarbons in excess of 80% were obtained at all reaction times during a BG upgrading experiment lasting 100 h, after which the catalyst was successfully regenerated in situ and found to display improved performance during a second 100 h cycle. Insights into this improved performance were obtained through characterization of the fresh and spent catalyst, which indicated that metal particle sintering, alloying of Ni with Cu, and particle enrichment with Cu occur during reaction and/or catalyst regeneration

Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World

Our Space is a set of curricular materials designed to encourage high school students to reflect on the ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation.Our Space was co-developed by The Good Play Project and Project New Media Literacies (established at MIT and now housed at University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism). The Our Space collaboration grew out of a shared interest in fostering ethical thinking and conduct among young people when exercising new media skills

Limits on the luminosity function of Ly-alpha emitters at z = 7.7

The Ly-alpha luminosity function (LF) of high-redshift Ly-alpha emitters (LAEs) is one of the few observables of the re-ionization epoch accessible to date with 8-10 m class telescopes. The evolution with redshift allows one to constrain the evolution of LAEs and their role in re-ionizing the Universe at the end of the Dark Ages. We have performed a narrow-band imaging program at 1.06 microns at the CFHT, targeting Ly-alpha emitters at redshift z ~ 7.7 in the CFHT-LS D1 field. From these observations we have derived a photometric sample of 7 LAE candidates at z ~ 7.7. We derive luminosity functions for the full sample of seven objects and for sub-samples of four objects. If the brightest objects in our sample are real, we infer a luminosity function which would be difficult to reconcile with previous work at lower redshift. More definitive conclusions will require spectroscopic confirmation.Comment: 12 pages, accepted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability

Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning

Using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to Assess and Plan for Sustainability

Implementing and growing a public health program that benefits society takes considerable time and effort. To ensure that positive outcomes are maintained over time, program managers and stakeholders should plan and implement activities to build sustainability capacity within their programs. We describe a 3-part sustainability planning process that programs can follow to build their sustainability capacity. First, program staff and stakeholders take the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure their program’s sustainability across 8 domains. Next, managers and stakeholders use results from the assessment to inform and prioritize sustainability action planning. Lastly, staff members implement the plan and keep track of progress toward their sustainability goals. Through this process, staff can more holistically address the internal and external challenges and pressures associated with sustaining a program. We include a case example of a chronic disease program that completed the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool and engaged in program sustainability planning