Ivo van der Graaff, Assistant Professor of Art & Art History, COLA travels to Italy

As the director of excavations for the Oplontis Project, Professor van der Graaff investigated two structures that were buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE

Validation Of Naval Platform Electromagnetic Tools Via Model And Full-Scale Measurements

Reliable EMC predictions are very important in the design of a naval platform's topside. Currently, EMC predictions of a Navy ship are verified by scale model and full-scale measurements. In the near future, the validation of software tools leads to an increased confidence in EMC predictions and (hopefully) removes the need for scale model measurements. In general, full-scale verification measurements will remain necessary, although perhaps fewer measurements will be required. The paper presents our topside design experience, from rough estimations 40 years ago, to analytical calculations and model measurements 20 years ago, to the numerically supported process as it is now. It shows the process of validating simulation tools with model and full-scale measurements. It also describes the challenges encountered and the deficiencies of commercial tools used now and the roadmap for Thales Naval Netherlands towards the integrated tools of the future

From Prairienet to the CDI: Writing the History

This paper, the companion to the written work I completed for the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) at the University of Illinois, will provide the background of the project and describe my involvement in its production. The project itself is a comprehensive history of the center\u27s work in the field of information access, with particular emphasis on the digital divide. Insofar as gaining an understanding of digital divide theory was a necessary precursor to researching and writing this history, the companion paper will begin with an exploration of the literature on the digital divide debate and proceed with an analysis of the debate with respect to my client\u27s work. It will conclude with a discussion of the literature on professional writing for organizations as it applies to my professional writing experience in the present context. My applied thesis--the work I completed for my clients--consisted of a white paper and a suite of promotional materials in support of the CDI and its parent organization, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois. My clients, professors from the CDI, requested that I write a 10,000-word narrative describing the school\u27s ongoing efforts to bridge the digital divide. As happened in the real history, the story was to begin with Prairienet, proceed through the initiatives that came after, and conclude with the work currently being carried out

Gatsby and JAZZ: One Coin, Two Sides

F. Scott Fitzgerald\u27s The Great Gatsby and Toni Morrison\u27s JAZZ both tell the story of the American 1920s, but from opposite points of view. Fitzgerald and Morrison offer two compelling narratives of the societal shift that took place in post-World War 1-era America, but although the accounts share the same general topic and historical era, it is otherwise difficult to reconcile the two American portraits that have been painted. It is as though the two authors are giving a description of the same coin, but one describes the front and the other describes the back. To the white population this decade was the Jazz Age, a time of disillusioned self-indulgence. But to the black community it was the Harlem Renaissance, a time of discovery and of the rebirth of the African-American identity

Citizens contributing in landscape in the Netherlands

With the continuing loss of landscape elements and open space, landscape management is gaining importance in tandem with the design of acceptable private and voluntary financing arrangements. Here, we analyze the awareness, involvement, socio-demographic characteristics and the contribution of citizens regarding the landscape. The contribution of citizens has been classified into three fields of activities. Data analysis is based on a survey among 1.060 inhabitants in and around three designated peri-urban areas in the Netherlands. The results show that these areas are well known, albeit on a limited scale. Most of the stated willingness of the inhabitants to contribute to the landscape has been related with their socio-demographic characteristics and to a less extent with their involvement with the landscape. To increase the willingness of citizens to contribute to the landscape the communication strategy may be improved

Efficient cloning system for construction of gene silencing vectors in Aspergillus niger

An approach based on Gateway recombination technology to efficiently construct silencing vectors was developed for use in the biotechnologically important fungus Aspergillus niger. The transcription activator of xylanolytic and cellulolytic genes XlnR of A. niger was chosen as target for gene silencing. Silencing was based on the expression vector pXLNRir that was constructed and used in co-transformation. From all the strains isolated (N = 77), nine showed poor xylan-degrading activities in two semi-quantitative plate assays testing different activities for xylan degradation. Upon induction on D-xylose, transcript levels of xlnR were decreased in the xlnR-silenced strains, compared to a wild-type background. Under these conditions, the transcript levels of xyrA and xynB (two genes regulated by XlnR) were also decreased for these xlnR-silenced strains. These results indicate that the newly developed system for rapid generation of silencing vectors is an effective tool for A. niger, and this can be used to generate strains with a tailored spectrum of enzyme activities or product formation by silencing specific genes encoding, e.g., regulators such as Xln