Paul by Paul by Paul

In 2020 flamboyant fashion is associated with queer performativity. Psychologist Alan Downs and queer theorist madison moore understand this to be a response to a culture that is hostile to sexual behaviour and gender expression that falls outside a rigid binary. I study the history of flamboyant aesthetics and camp sensibilities from an intersectional perspective, and locate designers and artists who have produced clothes in ways that materialize the political implications of fashion. As a studio-based artist, I employ traditional sewing techniques, digital technologies, and performance to create clothes and new media works that demonstrate a circular understanding of time, and highlight the role of the artist as both creator and creation. I complicate a capitalist notion of progress with one-of-a-kind costumes, and reuse and transform textiles to develop a rhetorical strategy of self-expression that fosters sustainable community

Political Culture and Child Poverty: An examination of Western and post-communist European states

This paper examines political culture in relation to child poverty outcomes in Western European and post-communist Central and Eastern European (CEE) states. Although the European Union represents advanced industrial economies and has committed itself to the eradication of child poverty, variation in welfare policies as well as child poverty outcomes exist across Europe. Research has shown that egalitarian attitudes towards redistribution are linked with lower poverty outcomes. In addition to egalitarianism, this paper examines the relationship between gender roles and child poverty. The findings of this study indicate that support for feminist gender roles and an egalitarian distribution of wealth are related to lower child poverty outcomes. The situation in Eastern Europe, however, is complicated by a communist past that has left behind a political culture of egalitarian ideals of redistribution combined with a backlash of traditional values regarding gender roles

Green roof soil organisms:Anthropogenic assemblages or natural communities?

Green roofs provide a range of ecosystem services, from stormwater retention to thermal insulation. They can also provide habitat for biodiversity, remediating land lost in development. However, few extensive green roofs are designed with this benefit in mind and, as such, biodiversity often does not reach its full potential. In particular, the soil ecology of green roofs is poorly understood, despite soil microorganisms having a large impact on nutrient cycling and thus plant diversity. In particular, whilst there are studies describing the soil microarthropods and microbial communities present on green roofs, little is known about how these species arrive there. This paper aims to determine how soil microarthropods and microbes colonise green roofs and which species survive post-construction, to inform green roof technosol design and to understand if remediation of impoverished green roof soils is possible. To do this, we conducted a preliminary study by analysing green roof construction materials (substrates and Sedum plugs) for microarthropods, bacteria and fungi before constructing a new green roof. We then monitored survival and independent colonisation over eleven months. Whilst green roof substrates were a poor source of colonisation, Sedum plugs showed potential as a vehicle for colonisation by microbes and, especially, by soil microarthropods. However, the majority of the species present within Sedum plugs were not adapted to the harsh conditions of the green roof, resulting in high mortality. Two ubiquitist species, the Collembola species complex Parisotoma notabilis and a mite of the family Scutoverticidae survived in high abundance after the eleven month sample period, and the functional role of these species on a green roof should be investigated. Some species colonised independently during the study, highlighting that microarthropods and microbes in green roofs consist of a mix of anthropogenic assemblages and natural communities. Mycorrhizal fungi were extremely successful, independently colonising almost all Sedum plants by the end of the study. However, the absence of arbuscules suggests that this colonisation may not have a benefit to plant growth in this instance. Demonstrating that the succession of soil organisms is influenced by the communities present in construction materials has implications for substrate design, demonstrating that soil organisms may be inoculated onto green roofs to provide functioning technosols. In addition, the independent colonisation of mycorrhiza in this study stimulates discussion about the role of commercially applied mycorrhizal fungi in green roof construction

Deliverable D2.4. Modelling module for biological diversity and functions in land surface water balance

The WP2 "Soil Functioning and Ecosystem Services", of the EcoFINDERS project, has produced a modelling module linking soil biodiversity and its functioning to hydrological properties of agricultural soil. The scope is of a proof-of-concept, including only earthworm burrows as a proxy for cropping systems. The biodiversity focus is on anecic earthworm burrows, which traverse vertically into the deep soil. At the LTO Lusignan this group of earthworms dominates the cropping systems of permanent grass (T5) and of three years of grass in a sequence with three years of annual crops (T2). In contrast, a cropping system without grass and with frequent tillage (T1) is dominated by the soil dwelling endogeic earthworms. The hydrological modelling starting point was the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), but the soil hydrology module in JULES only considers water-flow through the soil matrix. Hence, we incorporated a representation of the water flow through macropores made by earthworms by adopting representation of macropore soil water flow in the open source soil-plant-atmosphere model, DAISY. The macropore parameters used for this module are: density, diameter, depth, conductivity of the macropore wall and soil water pressure. The approach has enabled the assessment of events of waterlogging and water deficiency in agricultural soils in real case scenarios, identifying the periods of risk in relation to earthworm burrowing. Two metrics were calculated from the simulated soil water contents: trafficability and vegetation soil water stress, corresponding to detrimental effects of water logging and insufficient plant accessible water. The presence of burrows could somewhat mitigate the risks for soil water logging and hence increase trafficability of the land. However, a trade-off was observed in a corresponding increase of the risk for water deficiency, although this may be a model artefact as water uptake related to crop type was not included in the model. A sensitive aspect in our data is the number of hydrologically active earthworm burrows which vary by season. The results of this study should not be extrapolated to other soil types or land uses and management. For extrapolation purposes, further research would be required. The output of the modelling is input to an economic assessment, e.g. by quantitatively assessing the occurrences of soil water deficiency and water logging as risk to farmers’ income stability as a result of reduced yields or loss of entire crops

Search for B0s oscillations using inclusive lepton events

A search for B0s oscillations is performed using a sample of semileptonic b-hadron decays collected by the ALEPH experiment during 1991-1995. Compared to previous inclusive lepton analyses, the proper time resolution and b-flavour mistag rate are significantly improved. Additional sensitivity to B0s mixing is obtained by identifying subsamples of events having a B0s purity which is higher than the average for the whole data sample. Unbinned maximum likelihood amplitude fits are performed to derive a lower limit of Deltam_s>9.5ps^-1 at 95% CL. Combining with the ALEPH D-s based analyses yields Deltam_s>9.6ps^-1 at 95% CL.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Superintendent Leadership during Economic Austerity: A Multiple Case Study

In contrast with recent decades of economic growth and stability, today\u27s education funding landscape appears to be entrenched in a pattern of diminishing financial resources that may persist for a number of years. This is occurring also amid unprecedented efforts by lawmakers and public officials to intervene in school reform work. School leaders, specifically superintendents of the public school districts, are expected to make difficult leadership decisions in cutting back and downsizing the district organization while still maintaining an innovative and positive environment in schools. The effective leader must be well informed of best practices in positively influencing critical determinants of the district\u27s organization in these critical times. Researchers have stressed that there is a need to examine dynamic, evolutionary processes within organizations and populations of organizations (Cameron & Whetten, 1981; Kimberly & Quinn, 1984; Tushman and Anderson, 1986). A universally accepted concept from the biological sciences is the idea of organizations taking on a life that can be compared to living organisms. Management researchers have developed various models to depict the life cycle of organizations, including phases or stages of birth, growth, decline, renewal (or revival) and death (Dodge, Fullerton, & Robbins, 1994; Greiner, 1972; Hanks, Watson, Jansen, & Chandler, 1993; Miller & Friesen, 1983). Among the early studies of economic life cycles is the seminal work of Danny Miller and Peter Friesen (1984). They identified primary factors or determinants to an organization\u27s phase in the life cycle: situation, structure, decision-making style, and strategy. Every organization exhibits organizational life cycle characteristics and can be affected by contextual factors and leadership choices from these four determinants. However, while this research was initially prevalent in business and public organization models, a lack of research interest in the public realm has persisted. Public education leaders, especially superintendents, need to demonstrate significant leadership during times of economic decline. Better information, including a synthesis of the literature from empirical and statistical studies in this area, is needed. Furthermore, a study of superintendents in their natural setting through qualitative research and thematic analysis is needed to explain their experiences in leading schools through years of economic austerity. The outcome of this research was the development of a leadership framework that informs public school superintendents who deal with seasons of economic austerity, and a contribution to the research and knowledge base of best practices for managing organizational decline