Insiders and Outsiders: The Case for Alaska Reclaiming Its Cultural Property

Because of the historically troubling treatment of American Indians by the United States government, the nation’s native populations have been largely unable to control their cultural identities. Cultural property laws provide a framework for transferring stolen art and cultural objects to their native owners in an attempt to return cultural sovereignty to native communities. Despite Alaska’s large and thriving native population, Alaska Natives have trailed behind other states’ native populations in asserting their cultural property rights. This Note considers the current cultural property framework and its evolution in an effort to understand why Alaska Natives are not seeking return of their cultural objects to the same extent as other native groups

GAS-007: First step in a series of Explorer payloads

As part of the NASA Get Away Special program for flying small, self-contained payloads onboard the Space Shuttle, the Alabama Space and Rocket Center (ASRC) in Huntsville has sponsored three such payloads for its Project Explorer. One of these is GAS-007, which was carried originally on STS mission 41-G in early October 1984. Due to an operational error it was not turned on and was, therefore, subsequently rescheduled and flown on mission 61-C. This paper will review Explorer's history, outline its experiments, present some preliminary experimental results, and describe future ASRC plans for Get Away Special activities, including follow-on Explorers GAS-105 and GAS-608

The effects of correlation on goodness of fit

Autocorrelated normal random variates were generated via computer and the effects of various levels of correlation on goodness of fit problems were studied. The results are useful in determining the distribution or estimating the parameters of populations that correlate observations such as wind speeds and temperature. The model used to generate the autocorrelated data is an autoregressive process of order 1. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and chi-square statistics are used in the analysis. It was observed in the simulation that high positive correlations tend to shift the sample mean away from the population mean and negative correlations tend to shift the sample mean towards the population mean. In many cases, it was observed that positive and negative correlations tend to decrease the standard deviation. However, since this did not occur in all cases, no definite conclusion can be made regarding the standard deviation. Since the autoregressive process is a linear transformation, it is not surprising that normality was preserved. However, a possible extension of this problem could be to generate non-normal data and observe how the distribution is affected by correlation. Another extension might utilize another model such as autoregressive of order k or a moving average process of order k

A study of user perceptions of the relationship between bump-mapped and non-bump-mapped materials, and lighting intensity in a real-time virtual environment

The video and computer games industry has taken full advantage of the human sense of vision by producing games that utilize complex high-resolution textures and materials, and lighting technique. This results to the creation of an almost life-like real-time 3D virtual environment that can immerse the end-users. One of the visual techniques used is real-time display of bump-mapped materials. However, this sense of visual phenomenon has yet to be fully utilized for 3D design visualization in the architecture and construction domain. Virtual environments developed in the architecture and construction domain are often basic and use low-resolution images, which under represent the real physical environment. Such virtual environment is seen as being non-realistic to the user resulting in a misconception of the actual potential of it as a tool for 3D design visualization. A study was conducted to evaluate whether subjects can see the difference between bump-mapped and nonbump-mapped materials in different lighting conditions. The study utilized a real-time 3D virtual environment that was created using a custom-developed software application tool called BuildITC4. BuildITC4 was developed based upon the C4Engine which is classified as a next-generation 3D Game Engine. A total of thirty-five subjects were exposed to the virtual environment and were asked to compare the various types of material in different lighting conditions. The number of lights activated, the lighting intensity, and the materials used in the virtual environment were all interactive and changeable in real-time. The goal is to study how subjects perceived bump-mapped and non-bump mapped materials, and how different lighting conditions affect realistic representation. Results from this study indicate that subjects could tell the difference between the bump-mapped and non-bump mapped materials, and how different material reacts to different lighting condition

Effects of landscape gradients on wetland vegetation communities: information for large-scale restoration

Projects of the scope of the restoration of the Florida Everglades require substantial information regarding ecological mechanisms, and these are often poorly understood. We provide critical base knowledge for Everglades restoration by characterizing the existing vegetation communities of an Everglades remnant, describing how present and historic hydrology affect wetland vegetation community composition, and documenting change from communities described in previous studies. Vegetation biomass samples were collected along transects across Water Conservation Area 3A South (3AS)

Puppy Love and [Information] Play: an intersection of theatre, queer kink and consent

This note from the field is about a nexus of queer kink subcultures and consent-based intimacy work in theatre. I report, investigate and wrangle with the process of incorporating queer kink into a university production of Love and Information by Caryl Churchill I directed. What I have learned and hope to demonstrate throughout this paper, is that queer kink subcultures are paradigmatic communities built on consent, and we as performing arts practitioners can more visibly expand the margins of our cultural competency dialogues to not only include them but look to them as productive modes to investigate relationships of power, embodiment and performance.  &nbsp

The Emerging Millennial Majority

This thesis operates under the framework of two theories: the realignment theory and the generational theory. I focus on a model of realignment developed by Arthur Paulson which determines three criteria that are necessary for a political realignment to occur: 1.) a new governing coalition, which is 2.) lasting and durable with 3.) a new policy agenda. A realignment can be driven by various factors, one of which being through generational replacement. Generational change can lead to a realignment when a new generation of voters emerges with unique political views that are likely to remain over time and cause the power to shift from one party to another. By using existing sources of survey data, the purpose of this research is to show that 1.) Millennials are a unique generation with distinct experiences and characteristics; and 2.) that the Millennial generation will thus bring about a realignment that meets Paulson’s criteria of a “new and persistent governing coalition, yielding a new policy agenda.” The results of this study confirm that Millennials are distinctly more Democratic with more progressive policy views as result of generational factors that will persist throughout their lifetime and result in an imminent political realignment

The Reactivity of Metal Phosphites: Oxidative Rate Analysis

Phosphorous compounds are involved in many of the biomolecular processes deemed fundamental for life. DNA, ATP, and phospholipids are a few of the molecules where phosphates can be found in the body. Phosphates are geochemically characterized by their low solubility and poor reactivity. This has led to the investigation of reaction mechanisms that could lead to the formation of the phosphorous compounds found in organisms. The oxidation of phosphite into phosphate could be how phosphates were introduced to life, due to phosphites being more soluble and more reactive than phosphates. We will present the synthesis and oxidation reactivity of four metal phosphite compounds: calcium phosphite, magnesium phosphite, iron (II) phosphite, and iron (III) phosphite. Thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, also known as TGIR, measures the thermal decomposition products of metal phosphite samples, and when performed with a slow ramp rate (~1°C/min) can be used to determine the activation energy of metal phosphite oxidation. This is performed to characterize the reactivity of the metal phosphites. Additionally, a tube furnace is used for the oxidative heat treatment of larger samples of metal phosphites for their analysis using different methods. FTIR and 31P NMR analysis confirm the structure and, indirectly, the oxidative state of the phosphorous compound. Characterizing the oxidative reactivity of metal phosphites will improve the parameters used in geochemical models of the early Earth and can help determine their plausibility as a source of phosphorus for prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life

How Classifications Shape Asylum Seeker and Italian Interactions and Experiences in Siena, Italy

In recent years mass migration has taken place across the Mediterranean Sea, with individuals attempting to arrive in Europe from many countries in Africa and the Middle East. Italy is one of the primary countries that people arrive at, because of its vicinity to North Africa where many people cross the Sea. Italians have not had to deal with this kind of mass migration in the past and are thus struggling to define what assimilation will look like. Earlier works tend to focus on the crossing of transnational barriers, or migrants in the first stages of applying for documents. There are very few works that address the ways in which asylum seekers attempt to assimilate to their new Italian communities. Different constructed ways of cultural communication produce moments of miscommunication, that are then embedded with additional values such as race, gender, and language. The categorization of these values determines assumptions about the ways in which individuals view and interact with their definition of communities and the world. This basis of understanding fosters cultural (mis)communications that can serve as barriers to asylum seeker integration and Sienese acceptance of outsiders in Siena, Italy. Using data I collected over eight months of ethnographic research, and close reading of anthropological literature, I propose to examine the ways that asylum seekers and the Sienese classify who belongs to a community, in order to understand their interactions in Siena