Making Exhibitions, Brokering Meaning: Designing new connections across communities of practice

New media museum exhibits often see designers representing the research of expert content providers. Despite perceptions that such exhibits provide museum visitors with a greater depth and range of experience, differences in knowledge and practice between designers and content providers can see content development become an unruly, competitive process in which audience experience, digital mediation, visualisation techniques and meaning become contested territory. Drawing on Etienne Wenger’s theory of “communities of practice”, this paper argues that designers’ advocacy for audiences and distance from exhibition content well positions them to broker interdisciplinary goal setting so that exhibitions observe the representational objectives of content providers and meet the needs and preferences of museum visitors. A wide range of design literature already discusses the pragmatic benefits and ethical importance of user-centered design, while the literature on co-design suggests that designed outcomes are more successful if the design process considers the interests of all stakeholders. These discussions can be compelling, but the inherent challenges in engaging others’ perspectives and knowledge in the design process are less acknowledged, Wenger’s ideas on the social dynamics of group enterprise offering designers valuable insights into the actuality of negotiating designed outcomes with non-designer stakeholders. The paper has two main aspects. The first outlines the theory of communities of practice, focusing on the brokering of knowledge and practice between disciplines. This discussion frames an analysis of the design process for two museum exhibitions. Representing an original application of Wenger’s ideas, the discussion recognises the unique role of the designed artifact in brokering information visualization processes, transcending the actions and intentions of individual stakeholders. While accepting there are successful examples of interdisciplinary exchange in various areas of design, the interpretation of examples via Wenger contributes useful principles to the theorisation of co-design with non-designer stakeholders. Keywords: Information visualization; New media museum exhibits; Multidisciplinary projects; Communities of Practice; Brokering; User-centered design; Co-Design; Etienne Wenger</p

The introduction of coffee in Gusiland, Kenya: 1933-1942

This paper is part of a broader study of the socio-economic history of arabica coffee growing in Gusiiland from 1933 to 1950. Using the contemporary correspondence and statements of colonial officials and interviews with the growers, the methods of extension, the processing and marketing of the crops and the financing of the industry are discussed. In addition, the factors are assessed which prevented greater adoption of coffee by Gusii farmers and greater expansion of production. At first the farmers were reluctant to plant coffee because they were suspicious of government's motives. Those who did plant, were primarily interested in earning a greater incomes. By 1938, many of the farmers were willing to grow coffee, but expansion was halted by government's policy of limiting coffee production by Kenya Africans

A conceptual analysis of approaches to rural development

Using Kenya as a case stndy, pragmatic dimensions of rural change are briefly discussed. Weaknesses are pointed out in the "directed change" approach to rural development and in the integrated, multi-dimensional approach. The criteria for a development from below strategy are presented which should help planners understand and effectively deal with the realities of the dynamism of rural development. Lastly, development from below in Kenya is reviewed through case study analysis of the Harambee self-help movement and an assessment of the current rural development efforts — the Special Rural Development Programme and the district planning strategy

Dois novos sinônimos e uma espécie restabelecida em Phoradendron Nuttall (Viscaceae)

Três mudanças taxonômicas são propostas baseadas em coletas intensivas de Viscaceae no Distrito Federal, Brasil. Phoradendron andersonii Rizzini, previamente considerada sinônimo de P. perrottetii (DC.) Eichler é restabelecida baseada na seguinte combinação de caracteres: entrenós jovens compressos com ângulos agudos na porção distal, espigas curtas com até 2,5 cm de comprimento, artículos mistos de flores masculinas e femininas, flores bisseriadas e frutos amarelo-pardacentos. Phoradendron irwinianum Kuijt é sinonimizada sob P. apiciflorum Rizzini, espécie previamente conhecida apenas do tipo do oeste de Minas Gerais. Por fim a localização do material tipo de P. brachyklados Rizzini, incorretamente citado no protólogo, resulta em proposta para que esta espécie seja tratada como um sinônimo de P. hexastichum (DC.) Grisebach. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThree taxonomic changes are proposed based on intensive collecting of Viscaceae within the Distrito Federal, Brazil. Phoradendron andersonii Rizzini, previously a synonym of P. perrottetii (DC.) Eichler is reinstated based on the following combination of characters: young internodes compressed with sharp angles at the distal ends, short spikes to 2.5 cm long, articles with intermixed male and female flowers, biseriate flowers, and dirty yellow fruits. Phoradendron irwinianum Kuijt is synonymized under P. apiciflorum Rizzini, previously known only from the type from western Minas Gerais. Finding of the type collection of P. brachyklados Rizzini, incorrectly quoted in the protologue, led to the synonymization proposal of this species under P. hexastichum (DC.) Grisebach

AN EXPERIMENT WITH AFRICAN COFFEE GROWING IN KENYA: THE GUSII, 1933-1950

This study analyzes the factors within and without Gusii society which directly influenced the introduction and expansion of coffee production. It also describes the assumptions of the colonial administrators in regard to the form and structure of the industry. Furthermore, salient characteristics of the pioneer growers, those who adopted coffee before 1938, are compared with a subsequent group of Gusii coffee farmers to test hypotheses on innovation.'t combination of research methods and techniques were employed. Primary, written documents and relevant secondary materials were consulted in the United States, England and Kenya. Also, pioneer, growers and other informants were questioned fol-lowing an interview guide. Then a structured questionnaire was administered to the pioneers, a random sample of the next setof coffee adopters, and respondents for the deceased members of the study unit. Information from the questionnaires is provided in tables, giving frequency counts and percentages, while chi-square tests indicate levels n7 significance

Political Learning Revisited: How Nonprofit Service Provision Shapes Political Participation Among the Poor.

In recent years political scientists have suggested that public policies shape mass political behavior by offering resources and incentives for political action and by acting as sources of information and meaning about citizenship (Pierson, 1993; Mettler and Soss, 2004; Schneider and Ingram, p. 442, 1995). Policy feedback research shows higher levels of political participation among beneficiaries of universal public programs when compared to recipients of means-tested public programs (Mettler and Stonecash, 2008; Soss, 1999; 2001). Scholars attribute these differences to distinct program designs, which confer different resources and incentives for participation and convey distinct messages about citizenship and political participation (Mettler, 2002; Campbell, 2002; Soss, 1999). This study explores the insights of this literature in the context of nonprofit social service provision, an integral component of post-welfare reform policy administration (Allard, 2009, Winston, 2002; Allard, 2009; Smith and Lipsky, 1993, Salamon, 1996; Marwell, 2004). In particular, I focus on subsidized childcare services through an in-depth case study of two subsidized nonprofit afterschool programs. I integrate existing resource and recruitment models of political participation and the policy feedback framework to explore how these programs influence the political behavior of clients. Furthermore, I broaden the contextual range of the prevailing of concept of program design and work to identify how elements of program design inform feedback processes. Through participant observations, 30 client interviews, and 14 staff interviews, I find that these types of providers offer alternative pathways to political participation. With regards to equipping low income individuals with resources for political participation, I find that one organization serves as venues for skill building and political engagement. Interpretively, these community based providers convey “place-based” cues about effective responses to neighborhood conditions that inform client political efficacy beliefs and political action. An interplay of staff and client discretion determined how these providers shaped client political behavior. Parents choose their level program involvement which results in varied program experiences and exposure to aspects of program design. Parents who are most involved receive material assistance, gain access to decision-making roles and skill building opportunities, and garner entree to opportunities for political action.PHDPublic Policy and Political ScienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110483/1/cybarnes_1.pd

Microscopic evaluation of damage by Staphylococcus aureus on a knitted nylon-cotton fabric before and after laundering

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1969 B36

Use and availability of medicinal resources in Ouro Verde de Goiás, Goiás State, Brazil

O objetivo do presente estudo foi realizar um levantamento etnobotânico das plantas medicinais usadas por comunidades rurais e urbanas no município de Ouro Verde de Goiás, situado na mesorregião do mato grosso goiano; eleger espécies nativas do bioma Cerrado potenciais para estudos farmacológicos com base na concordância de uso popular corrigida (CUPc); e avaliar se o conhecimento botânico e o cultivo de espécies medicinais em quintais podem ser afetados por classes de idade, gênero, escolaridade, local de nascimento e procedência rural/urbana do informante pelos testes Kruskal-Wallis (H) e Qui-quadrado (c 2). Foram selecionados 84 informantes por meio de amostragens aleatórias, sendo efetuadas entrevistas estruturadas. As fontes disponíveis de recursos medicinais foram: quintais, áreas antrópicas, matas de galeria e remanescentes de florestas estacionais. Foram registradas 98 espécies distribuídas em 45 famílias destacando-se em número as exóticas cultivadas. Nos quintais, foram catalogadas 78 espécies cultivadas, sendo 39,7% para remédios, e demais associações com a alimentação (39,7%) e a ornamentação (20,5%). Vinte espécies são adquiridas pelo extrativismo na vegetação do entorno, sendo todas nativas do bioma Cerrado, com exceção de Senna occidentalis, que é invasora. Duas espécies de florestas estacionais (Forsteronia refracta e Celtis iguanaea) apresentaram a CUPc > 50%, evidenciando consensos de uso popular. Verificou-se que 41% dos informantes da zona rural recorrem ao extrativismo na vegetação nativa, procura que é consideravelmente maior em relação aos informantes da zona urbana (16,7%). A quantidade de espécies citadas foi significativamente maior entre os informantes que tinham quintal. O número de espécies citadas e a presença de quintal independem do grau de escolaridade, gênero, local de nascimento, idade e zona de procedência rural ou urbana do informante.The goal of this study was to conduct an ethnobotanical survey of the medicinal plants used by rural and urban communities in the town of Ouro Verde de Goiás, situated in the mato grosso goiano meso-region of the state of Goiás; to pinpoint species native to the Cerrado biome with potential for pharmacological studies based on corrected popular use concordance (CUPc); and to determine if ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants from backyards differed by age, gender, education, place of birth and rural versus urban setting of the informant. Statistical tests applied were Kruskal-Wallis (H) and Qui-square (c 2). Eighty-four informants were selected by random sampling and interviews were structured. The available sources of medicinal plants were: backyards, disturbed areas, gallery forests and deciduous dry forests. Ninetyeight species, distributed in 45 botanical families, were found, with cultivated exotics outnumbering native plants. In backyards, 78 species were cultivated, of which 39.7% were cited exclusively as medicinal, the remaining also being reported as food (39.7%) or ornamentals (20.5%). Twenty species were gathered from the surrounding vegetation, all of which are native to the Cerrado biome, except for Senna occidentalis which is weedy. Two species that occur in deciduous dry forest (Forsteronia refracta and Celtis iguanaea) had high CUPc (> 50%), showing consensus of popular use. Forty-one percent of rural area informants reported gathering medicinal plants from native vegetation, which is significantly more than those in urban areas (16.7%). The number of species cited by informants with cultivated backyards was significantly greater than those that did not. The number of medicinal plants cited by informants and the presence of a backyard did not differ significantly among informants from different classes of gender, education, place of birth and rural versus urban dwelling