Design: Feel It, See It, Speak It, Do It...

Description of Project: This project explores the design process for Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (adapted for the stage by Bruce Mason) as performed at Orlando Repertory Theatre in Orlando, Florida. In this exploration, I approach the topics of the design process from conceptual discussions with the design team through closing night. I document this process with a lighting design journal (including thoughts about the design approach, renderings, sketches, research images, rough plots and paperwork.) The project concludes with a self evaluation, completed plots and paperwork, and finished production photos

Hydraulic fracturing and water use in Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas is located in North Texas and sits above the eastern portion of the Barnett Shale natural gas formation. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, was introduced to the region as a means to access previously inaccessible natural gas within the formation. This fracking concerns many because it requires large amounts of fresh water, an average of over 4 million gallons per well within Dallas Water Utilities’ service area. This thesis examines whether water use for fracking will have a negative effect on the water supply for the city of Dallas and its wholesale water customer cities. The water is typically removed from the water cycle because chemical additives required for fracking are difficult to remove and the water is often disposed of underground. Methods of recycling and treating this water are being pursued but are not currently employed at a high rate in the Barnett Shale area. Water is of special concern in this region due to drought, increasing population, and the recent discovery of Zebra Mussels in the water supply. Texas is experiencing the worst drought other than the 1950s drought of record which is reducing the available water supply, through both evaporation and lack of recharge. The population in the area is also projected to nearly double by 2060 which will lead to increased water demand. Zebra Mussels have been found in Dallas’ supply system and these mussels are impossible to remove and can clog pipes, reducing the flow of water and so potentially reducing the available supply. Future water plans are prepared to address these issues, focusing on conservation as well as increasing available supplies. Based on this analysis, hydraulic fracturing in Dallas, Texas and within Dallas Water Utilities’ wholesale customers should not significantly affect Dallas’ water supply in the near term. Other methods of conservation, such as limiting landscape watering, should be considered as more beneficial ways to save water

User: Reflections on the narrativization of self within social networking sites: A presentation and discussion of the processes involved in the development of a creative work-in-progress

This article explores the subject of narrative and self within social media contexts through a presentation and discussion of the project and processes involved in the development of creative writing work-in-progress. The activity has taken place over an eighteen-month period from February 2009–September 2010 with support from the National Lottery Fund through Arts Council East, Arc Digital, CODE and the new writing development scheme Gold Dust. The work undertaken so far consists of the completion of a novel manuscript entitled User and preliminary investigations into how elements of the novel could be extended online. The work aims to be a dual platform in both subject and form; offering a traditionally authored text about where our online and offline worlds intersect as well as a meaningful intertextual digital experience that invites readers to respond to the work in critical and creative ways

Investigating the seasonal and interannual variability of the poleward undercurrent in the northern Benguela system

Includes bibliographical references.The Benguela Current System is unique as both the equatorward and poleward boundaries are warm water current systems. Between 15° S – 37° S the surface currents are generally equatorwards, with 7 distinct upwelling cells, narrow equatorward shelf-edge jets and a poleward undercurrent along the continental slope. Model data was used to determine the seasonal and interannual variability of the poleward undercurrent (PUC) in the northern Benguela system. The PUC is the southward extension of the Angolan Current that carries low oxygen water (LOW) originating from the Angola Dome. The LOW flows from the Angolan region southwards in the Benguela system. The focus of the study is on the PUC associated with the Sverdrup relation. The model ORCA-025 was used to reproduce zonal transects from 17° S to 30° S to determine the changing characteristics of the PUC with latitude as well as seasonal and interannual variability of this current. The PUC is faster moving in the north (~17° S) and decreases in velocity moving south (~30° S). The PUC is shallower in the north increasing in depth in the south. The model data shows the velocity of the PUC has a seasonal cycle that is faster in the austral summer and autumn and weakens in the winter. The transport of the PUC is amplified during austral winter and spring, which is consistent with the increased negative wind stress curl during those seasons. The wind stress curl in the region exhibits a strong connection with the transport of the PUC via the Sverdrup relation. The PUC exhibits interannual variability when comparing to the Benguela Niño events, but does not show a correlation with El Niño Southern Oscillation

Thriving and Spirituality in Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to explore doctoral students’ perceptions of personal thriving and spirituality at a private Christian, liberal arts university in the southeastern United States. Eighty-one Ed.D. students from the target university responded to the Thriving Quotient for Graduate Students (Schreiner, 2010), a survey designed to measure student perceptions of personal thriving in the areas of engaged learning, academic determination, positive perspective, social connectedness, and diverse citizenship. In addition, the researcher added items to the survey to measure students’ spirituality. The target students’ responses to the survey were compared to the national norms of the Thriving Quotient for graduate students. The current article discusses doctoral students’ perceptions of the spiritual climate at the target university and its relationship to overall student thriving. Respondents from the target university reported a higher mean score on the composite Thriving Quotient for graduate students than the mean score of respondents in the national norm group. In addition, ratings of the spiritual climate at the target university were significant predictors of the overall composite score of the Thriving Quotient. This study adds to the body of knowledge of the factors that comprise the construct of thriving in post-secondary education. The study may prove valuable to doctoral advisors, professors, and student services personnel to help doctoral students thrive on a holistic level

SURVIVING OR THRIVING? A STUDY OF ENGAGED LEARNING, ACADEMIC DETERMINATION, SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS, POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE, AND SPIRITUALITY OF DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

There are factors that contribute to thriving in a doctoral program. The purpose of this study was to compare doctoral students’ Thriving Quotient at a private Christian, liberal arts university to the national norms on the Thriving Quotient while evaluating how the spiritual climate related to student thriving at the subject university. By examining the factors that comprise thriving, doctoral advisors, professors, and workers in student services may better understand the support needed to help students not only survive a doctoral program, but to thrive on a holistic level. The quantitative study utilized a survey research method. Students pursuing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree at the subject university were emailed a survey known as the Thriving Quotient. Participants had a higher Thriving Quotient than the national norm. The means scores of each of the five domains within the Thriving Quotient (engaged learning, academic determination, social connectedness, positive perspective, and diverse citizenship) were higher in the sample than in the national norms. The participants’ rating of the spiritual climate of the subject doctoral program represented a statistically significant predictor of the overall Thriving Quotient. Implications of the study include strategies for universities working to create environments conducive to thriving

Gently, gently: A school-university participatory research partnership in a post-disaster setting

In 2010/2011, the city of Christchurch and the surrounding district of Canterbury in New Zealand suffered a series of devastating earthquakes. A study led by The University of Auckland and co-funded by UNESCO followed schools as they came to terms with these events and began to rebuild their lives. The process to recruit and engage schools was slow and respectful as we built trust with first one school, then another. We offered a facilitative and participatory process where each school could choose how they wanted to proceed, who they wanted to involve and what they wanted the outcome to be. We engaged the students in various activities (narratives, video-making and arts-based activities) to help them process the events and move forward. The outcomes included a community mosaic, an illustrated book and video documentaries. This article charts the evolving partnerships between university researchers, school principals, teachers, students and parents. The lessons learned about successful school-university partnerships are summarised under dispositional, relational and situational factors.Keywords: School-university partnership; participatory research; disaster settings; children and young peopl

Plasticity in transmission strategies of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium chabaudi : environmental and genetic effects

Parasites may alter their behaviour to cope with changes in the within-host environment. In particular, investment in transmission may alter in response to the availability of parasite resources or host immune responses. However, experimental and theoretical studies have drawn conflicting conclusions regarding parasites' optimal (adaptive) responses to deterioration in habitat quality. We analyse data from acute infections with six genotypes of the rodent malaria species to quantify how investment in transmission (gametocytes) is influenced by the within-host environment. Using a minimum of modelling assumptions, we find that proportional investment in gametocytogenesis increases sharply with host anaemia and also increases at low parasite densities. Further, stronger dependence of investment on parasite density is associated with greater virulence of the parasite genotype. Our study provides a robust quantitative framework for studying parasites' responses to the host environment and whether these responses are adaptive, which is crucial for predicting the short-term and evolutionary impact of transmission-blocking treatments for parasitic diseases

Navigating Blackness in the African Diaspora

This thesis offers a comparative reading of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Percival Everett’s Erasure, Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light and NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names in order to explore the diversity of subjectivities included within the terms ‘African’ and ‘black’ and to argue for the necessity of renewed definitions of Africa(nness) and blackness which allow for diverse and fluid representations. The diverse historical and political contexts in which these novels are published, as well as the critical and theoretical discussions which surround them demonstrate an evolution in literary portrayals of identity politics. As the categories of race and nation become more fluid, so too do narrative forms. In particular, this thesis is interested in the textual strategies authors use to navigate the various ways in which depictions of blackness continue to be restricted by racism, stereotypes, and the dynamics of a global literary market. As portrayals and discussions of identity politics proliferate in popular culture, they become increasingly commodified, and therefore increasingly restricted by the market