Pleasures in Socialism: Leisure and Luxury in the Eastern Bloc

This book is a significant contribution to the studies of everyday life in Eastern Europe under communist rule. It is the third in a series of volumes edited and written with Susan E. Reid, which examine the material culture of the Eastern Bloc: see Style and Socialism (Berg, 2000) and Socialist Spaces (Berg, 2003). Reviewing these titles in the London Review of Books, Sheila Fitzpatrick credits Crowley and Reid as ‘two cultural historians who have played a leading role in the development of studies of the everyday in the former Soviet bloc’. The 14 essays explore how leisure and the consumption of luxury goods formed zones that communist states sought to shape, and thereby to extend the reach of their authority. Yet at the same time, they also presented opportunities for people to assert their individuality and enjoy unlicensed pleasures. This contrasts strongly with the conventional scholarship on the Soviet Bloc, which stresses poverty and repression. Crowley's contribution was to write, with Reid, a 21,000-word critical review of existing debates about leisure and luxury in the Bloc and make a number of propositions about the way in which these concepts and practices need to be further conceptualised and researched. This essay also functions as an introduction to the book. The origins of the book lie in a conference organised by Crowley and Reid at the V&A Museum in London in 2007. Following publication, Crowley was invited to talk about the themes in this volume at Södertörn University, Centre for Baltic and East European Studies in Stockholm (2012). A review of this book was published in Slavic Review (2011). Crowley and Reid were also interviewed about the volume in an hour-long podcast for New Books in Eastern Europe Studies (2012)

The emergence of the human rights and democracy clause in agreements between the European community and third states

Since the early 1990s the European Community has sought to make the protection of human rights and democracy an essential condition of its cooperation (both developmental and economic) with third states. This action combines economic and political objectives in a manner which pushes the boundaries of Community competence to its limits, both internally and externally. This thesis examines first the development of human rights in the international legal system, to establish the legitimacy of any international actor to take such action. It also examines the extent to which the international legal order has developed to accommodate a non-state actor such as the Community. Then, once these wider questions have been considered, the thesis focuses on the internal aspects. The development of human rights within the Community and the developing concern over human rights violations in third states are examined. The definitions of "human rights" in each context are compared. Finally, it examines the operation of the policy, with particular reference to the experiences in the negotiations with Australia and Mexico. No attempt is made to judge the morality of this policy, the question throughout is whether the Community possesses the competence to pursue these aims, and whether the legal mechanism chosen is appropriate to the pursuit of these aims. Ultimately it concludes that the universal approach adopted lays the Community open to unwarranted criticism. The Community is attempting to achieve greater consistency and transparency in the operation of this policy: it is submitted that this does not require a uniform mechanism. The Community should recognise, both in the expression of the policy itself, and in the expression of the rights to be protected, the differences that warrant different implementation in different cases

Archaeological Monitoring and Limited Survey Investigations at 41HY261 and 41HY141 for the Cheatham Street Waterline Improvements Project, San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, for Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8332

During the months of April, May, September, and October, the Center for Archaeological Studies (CAS) at Texas State University conducted archaeological monitoring of mechanical excavations for the Cheatham Street Waterline Improvements Project (CSWIP). These excavations were located within archaeological sites 41HY261 and 41HY141, on opposite banks of the San Marcos River. Working under Texas Antiquities Permit 8332, CAS conducted archaeological monitoring and limited survey-level investigations on behalf of the City of San Marcos (the City) to assist them with their regulatory compliance obligations. The total estimated volume of sediment excavated for this project is 718.54 m3. Cultural deposits were encountered within these excavated sediments in association with both 41HY141 and 41HY261. Due to the limited exposure of intact sediments associated with sites 41HY261 and 41HY141, CAS recommends that no further archaeological investigations are necessary for the CSWIP. However, it is recommended that the City continue to coordinate any developments planned within or in the vicinity of the sites with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) prior to undertaking development. Additionally, future Areas of Potential Effect(s) (APE) should be carefully evaluated to determine whether they have a high probability to contain intact archaeological deposits

The Regional Response to Federal Funding for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects

Examines the efficacy of federal funding for non-motorized modes of transportation based on funding patterns across metropolitan regions, case studies of policies and projects, and an analysis of the funding's impact on bicycling and walking behavior

Long-Term Outcomes of Low Achieving Third Grade Readers

This brief examines long-term academic outcomes for students who demonstrate low reading achievement in third grade. Following three cohorts of students from third grade through early high school, we find that students who are behind in third grade are unlikely to ever read proficiently. Economically disadvantaged students, Black students, and male students demonstrate less improvement in reading achievement over time than other types of students

Multi-Digit Coordination in Absence of Cutaneous Sensory Feedback During Grasping Tasks

Motor learning and adaptation to object properties and task requirements requires integration of cutaneous sensory feedback with motor commands. Joint mechanics constantly change, with individual joints or muscles compensation so performance output is the same per task. Effects of mixed cutaneous sensory feedback on multi-digit coordination is not well understood. Investigators sought to determine the influence absent cutaneous sensory feedback has on motor learning and adaptation, and how the CNS coordinates multi-digit mechanical output to adapt to manual tasks, with partially intact digital sensory feedback. 19 participants were randomly assigned for three-digit anesthesia administration (TIM- thumb, index, middle; TRL- thumb, ring, little). Experimental tasks were repeated on two visits (control and anesthesia): grasping and lifting an object, and a functional task. Under partial digital anesthesia, total maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was lower, and decreased force production was seen in all five digits (

Ca II H and K Chromospheric Emission Lines in Late K and M Dwarfs

We have measured the profiles of the Ca II H and K chromospheric emission lines in 147 main sequence stars of spectral type M5-K7 (0.30-0.55 solar masses) using multiple high resolution spectra obtained during six years with the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck 1 telescope. Remarkably, the average FWHM, equivalent widths, and line luminosities of Ca II H and K increase by a factor of 3 with increasing stellar mass over this small range of stellar masses. We fit the H and K lines with a double Gaussian model to represent both the chromospheric emission and the non-LTE central absorption. Most of the sample stars display a central absorption that is typically redshifted by ~0.1 km/s relative to the emission, but the nature of this velocity gradient remains unknown. The FWHM of the H and K lines increase with stellar luminosity, reminiscent of the Wilson-Bappu effect in FGK-type stars. Both the equivalent widths and FWHM exhibit modest temporal variability in individual stars. At a given value of M_v, stars exhibit a spread in both the equivalent width and FWHM of Ca II H and K, due both to a spread in fundamental stellar parameters including rotation rate, age, and possibly metallicity, and to the spread in stellar mass at a given M_v. The K line is consistently wider than the H line, as expected, and its central absorption is more redshifted, indicating that the H and K lines form at slightly different heights in the chromosphere where the velocities are slightly different. The equivalent width of H-alpha correlates with Ca II H and K only for stars having Ca II equivalent widths above ~2 angstroms, suggesting the existence of a magnetic threshold above which the lower and upper chromospheres become thermally coupled.Comment: 40 pages including 12 figures and 17 pages of tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Early Access: Elementary School Outcomes for Arkansas Better Chance Pre-Kindergarten Participants

The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program has been providing low-income and at-risk Arkansas children with tuition-free pre-K since 1991. Enrollment in the state’s public pre-K programs has increased modestly over the last ten years. This brief reports the results of an analysis of the 3rd and 5th grade outcomes for students who attended ABC pre-K in the academic years of 2011-12 through 2014-15. We find that students who enroll in ABC programs in the year prior to starting Kindergarten outperform similar peers on math and reading state tests in 3rd grade, but these effects largely fadeout by 5th grade

Investigating Outcomes for English Language Learners in Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) Pre-K

Students with limited English proficiency face a number of educational challenges, and there are dramatic achievement gaps between these students and their English proficient peers. This brief describes the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) students who attend Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-Kindergarten, a state-funded program that is free to income-eligible families. Results indicate that ABC has the potential to improve academic outcomes for ELL students in Arkansas

Problem representations of employability in higher education : using design thinking and critical analysis as tools for social justice in careers education

We present an analysis of narratives that emerged from a recent interdisciplinary design thinking careers intervention exploring how employability is represented within one UK University. We conducted a critical discourse analysis using a policy analysis framework that revealed four emergent problem representations. These exposed tacit assumptions about students’ lack of employability skills and the responsibilisation of ‘employability’, amplified silences around opportunity structures and highlighted unquestioned expectations about employability in the neoliberalist paradigm. The need for critical discourse is foregrounded, as is the importance of collective engagement in reframing these narratives. Design Thinking shows promise as a novel intervention for future career education practice, enabling practitioners and individuals to begin to co-create a new critical consciousness