Gathering the Voices: disseminating the message of the Holocaust for the digital generation by applying an interdisciplinary approach

The aim of the Gathering the Voices project is to gather testimonies from Holocaust survivors who have made their home in Scotland and to make these testimonies available on the World Wide Web. The project commenced in 2012, and a key outcome of the project is to educate current and future generations about the resilience of these survivors. Volunteers from the Jewish community are collaborating with staff and undergraduate students in Glasgow Caledonian University in developing innovative approaches to engage with school children. These multimedia approaches are essential, as future generations will be unable to interact in person with Holocaust survivors. By students being active participants in the project, they will learn more about the Holocaust and recognize the relevance of these testimonies in today’s society. Although some of the survivors have been interviewed about their journeys in fleeing from the Nazi atrocities, for all of the interviewees, this is the first time that they have been asked about their lives once they arrived in the United Kingdom. The interviews have also focused on citizenship and integration into society. The project is not yet completed, and an evaluation will be taking place to measure the effectiveness of the project in communicating its message to the public

Space Station Freedom altitude strategy

The Space Station Freedom (SSF) altitude strategy provides guidelines and assumptions to determine an altitude profile for Freedom. The process for determining an altitude profile incorporates several factors such as where the Space Shuttle will rendezvous with the SSF, when reboosts must occur, and what atmospheric conditions exist causing decay. The altitude strategy has an influence on all areas of SSF development and mission planning. The altitude strategy directly affects the micro-gravity environment for experiments, propulsion and control system sizing, and Space Shuttle delivery manifests. Indirectly the altitude strategy influences almost every system and operation within the Space Station Program. Evolution of the SSF altitude strategy has been a very dynamic process over the past few years. Each altitude strategy in turn has emphasized a different consideration. Examples include a constant Space Shuttle rendezvous altitude for mission planning simplicity, or constant micro-gravity levels with its inherent emphasis on payloads, or lifetime altitudes to provide a safety buffer to loss of control conditions. Currently a new altitude strategy is in development. This altitude strategy will emphasize Space Shuttle delivery optimization. Since propellant is counted against Space Shuttle payload-to-orbit capacity, lowering the rendezvous altitude will not always increase the net payload-to-orbit, since more propellant would be required for reboost. This altitude strategy will also consider altitude biases to account for Space Shuttle launch slips and an unexpected worsening of atmospheric conditions. Safety concerns will define a lower operational altitude limit, while radiation levels will define upper altitude constraints. The evolution of past and current SSF altitude strategies and the development of a new altitude strategy which focuses on operational issues as opposed to design are discussed

New Mexico Economy: Review and Outlook

Presentation given at a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas conference on the Southwest economy. Includes a brief review of the New Mexico economy, with charts and tables covering population, employment growth, and income

New Mexico and Albuquerque Economic Outlook

A review of recent economic conditions in the state of New Mexico (NM) and the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), with an economic forecast for 1999, presented to the NM state legislature. Primarily illustrated with charts and tables, the presentation features an overview of NM and US economic indicators; growth in Albuquerque MSA and NM employment and income; a socioeconomic profile; and an overview of NMs manufacturing sector.\u2

A wait-list controlled evaluation of the Qhubeka bicycle on an adolescent's physiology, executive function, and school performance

Learner mobility and active school travel (AST) has been proposed to improve school attendance and academic performance. In South Africa, approximately 86% of learners have been reported as walking to and from school. AST in Africa is becoming less common in urban areas, and this may be a contributing factor to the increased risk and frequency of noncommunicable diseases due to decreased physical activity. The aim of this wait-list controlled evaluation was to assess the physiological and cognitive changes of access to a bicycle versus walking on adolescents. Specifically, changes adolescent's physical activity levels and executive function in a South African low-income community. Two schools were recruited, with the evaluation school receiving bicycles and the control a school who were yet to receive bicycles. Significant differences were observed across the physiological and executive function assessments. Most notably in the executive function tests, the evaluation group showed significant time to completion decreases across all three tests (N-Back, Arrow Flanker, WCST: p< 0.001). The results from this study are significant, as they are the first to assess anthropometric, physiological and executive function in South African adolescents from low-socioeconomic regions. It is evident that there are potential improvements in working memory, inhibition and shifting due to cycling as a mode of AST or during leisuretime. Further research needs to determine the specific mechanisms associated with these improvements

Evaluation of industrial promoted agroforestry in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India

In many parts of the world, pulp and paper companies are becoming heavily dependent on private agroforestry schemes. With growing demand for wood fiber and limited commercial land to grow it on, the forest industry is continually turning to private farmers and individuals to contract timber. In order to alleviate this problem, many companies have turned to out-grower schemes to supply wood to the mills. Local farmers now have the opportunity to benefit from company extension and supplies, and in return, the company can guarantee its supply of raw materials.;A recent trend in agriculture is adding trees to farmers? traditional croplands or agroforestry, in which farmers typically select fast growing tree species that can be harvested after only a few years. However, careful consideration of the economics of such conversion is important to farmers in order to make informed decisions to convert their farms to forestry use. Since this is a new practice in many regions of the world, there is little data available, especially to farmers, on the financial feasibility of these agroforestry systems.;This study investigates commercially promoted agroforestry schemes in two states in India. Specifically, this study evaluates the financial feasibility of agroforestry techniques employed by farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India and examines factors affecting the financial feasibility of agroforestry schemes in these regions.;The data for this study were collected by personal interviews of 47 farmers, in the summer of 2009. To examine the economic feasibility of converting traditional agricultural lands to agroforestry or farm forestry, standard financial criteria were calculated such as Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Equivalent Annual Income (EAI), and Land Equivalency Value (LEV). Results show that the agroforestry systems adopted by farmers in both regions are profitable at all discount rates applied.;Regression analysis was carried out to understand how NPV is influenced by farmer characteristics (education, gender), costs of farming practices (plowing cost, fertilizer cost, planting cost, etc.), revenues from both forestry and agricultural products (eucalyptus revenue, intercrop revenue), agroforestry practices (spacing, trees per acre, number of intercrops, type of intercrops), and farm characteristics (size, location). Results show that region, the starting year of agroforesty establishment, plowing cost, irrigation cost, spacing, trees per acre, number of intercrops used, type of intercrops used, intercrop cost, intercrop revenues, and eucalyptus plantation revenues are influential factors in determining the financial feasibility of converting traditional croplands into agroforestry systems