Organizing Communities to Protect West Virginia's Natural Environment: Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC)

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) is a relatively small group that effectively takes on the most powerful industrial interests in West Virginia. Since 1987 Janet Fout, Dianne Bady (and their cofounder, the late Laura Forman), have organized Appalachian communities to protect their air, water and mountains from being destroyed for oil, timber, coal and other profitable enterprises

Using a Social Entrepreneurial Model to Treat Substance Abuse: Triangle Residential Option for Substance Abusers (TROSA)

At the Triangle Residential Option for Substance Abusers (TROSA), a North Carolina residential treatment program, Executive Director Kevin McDonald and his colleagues have advanced a social entrepreneurial model for nearly a decade. In the process, they've built hundreds of active, engaged citizens, not just sober individuals

Fighting for Pollution Cleanup in a Company Town: Silver Valley People's Action Coalition

Barbara Miller and a coalition of local activists, members of the Silver Valley People's Action Coalition (SVPAC), address the environmental and health consequence of 100 years of mining in Idaho's Silver Valley. They are up against the physical damage wrought by lead poisoning as well as community members' deep reluctance to speak out against the mining companies that had such a hold on the community

How Theater is Building Bridges in Diverse Communities: Cornerstone Theater Company

For over 15 years, Bill Rauch and the Cornerstone Theater Company have been creating theater productions that explore issues of race and prejudice. Members of the ensemble travel to communities throughout the country. They engage community members from all walks of life to help create and perform plays that reflect their local experiences and build bridges. The Company produces commissioned and contemporary works as well as classics

How a Coalition of Immigration Groups is Advocating for Broad Social and Political Change: New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)

In the late 1990's members of the New York Immigration Coalition took the bold step of beginning to use their collective clout to be effective, not just on immigration policy, but on issues like housing, education and health care. They have found strength in the core issues that knit them together. Director Margie McHugh and coalition members engage in power sharing, voter education, policy development and above all, winning

Developing Leadership and Political Capacity Among Laotian Refugees: Laotian Organizing Project

Formed in 1995, the Laotian Organizing Project builds trust and leadership among Laotian refugees in Richmond, California. Richmond is home to a growing number of Laotian refugees from tribal groups that do not have a history of interacting and for whom getting involved is both new and scary. But, faced with over 350 industrial facilities and issues such as a lack of affordable housing or living-wage jobs, community members are speaking out and challenging traditional tribal conflicts and beliefs. The Laotian Organizing Project's significant political victories include a warning system to alert citizens, in their own languages, of industrial pollution accidents

Preventing Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge: Gwich'in Steering Committee

Members of the Gwich'in Nation, which means "caribou people," number only in the thousands. But they have been united, even reborn, in pursuing their steadfast goal: to prevent oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is their home and the calving grounds of the caribou, upon which the Gwich'in rely for food and a way of life. Over the course of 15 years they have effectively organized themselves and built strategic alliances with environmental groups, young people and others

From Services to Activism: CASA of Maryland, Inc

For over a decade, Gustavo Torres and CASA of Maryland have been working with day laborers, tenants, and domestic workers to fight and advocate for themselves. The organization responds to the growing phenomenon of immigrants working as temporary laborers, ripe for exploitation. Going beyond services, CASA also develops workers as leaders in their communities and engages them in broader policy issues

Analysis of a mathematical model for the heave motion of a micro aerial vehicle with flexible wings having non-local damping effects

In this work we analyze a one dimensional model for a flexible wing micro aerial vehicle which can undergo heaving motion. The vehicle is modeled with a non-local type of internal damping known as spatial hysteresis as well as viscous external damping. We present a rigorous theoretical analysis of the model proving that the linearly approximated system is well-posed and the first order feedback system operators generate exponentially stable C0–semigroups. Furthermore, we present numerical simulations of control designs used on the linearly approximated model to control the associated nonlinear model in two different strategies. The first strategy used to control the system is a target tracking strategy. The second strategy used in this work is morphing the system to a target state over time. The controllers used in this work include Linear Quadratic Regulator, Linear Quadratic Gaussian, and central control. In light of the theory of this work we have incorporated the appropriate Riccati equation solutions into the control design for a system with a mode problem (i.e. zero eigenvalue for stiffness operator). This work remains consistent with the literature that concerns multiple component structures with a mode problem

Sun of Justice Rising: Tonatierra Community Development Institute

Salvador Reza, a longtime organizer for indigenous Mexican rights, helped lead a successful campaign to organize taco vendors in Phoenix. Faced with a local ordinance that would restrict the operation of mobile food stands, effectively banning them, Reza and his colleagues at Tonatierra mobilized the vendors to fight back. Their ultimate success recaptured the spirit of a community traumatized by 500 years of colonization and cultural destruction. Tonatierra's strategies included the following:Involve Vendors: Once vendors understood that the ordinance targeted them and threatened their livelihoods, they were able to establish a working group, representative of the community. They fashioned a way of regulating vendors that would ensure safe food and safe neighborhoods.Create a Team and a United Voice: The vendors negotiated among themselves until they could present their recommendations as a team.Rekindle Culture: According to Reza, "We are fighting back, but not with weapons of guns. Our weapons are culture and understanding and communication.