White Liberalism: Jordan Peele Reads Harper Lee

Black activists have historically accused white liberals of hampering black Americans’ struggle for racial justice. This begs the question of how the white liberal exists today and whether it still serves as a hindrance in America’s search for racial justice. Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and Go Set a Watchman are all fictional works that assist us in answering these questions. A look into the first half of Get Out and To Kill a Mockingbird allows the reader to analyze the different ways white liberalism can exist in society, such as racial colorblindness. In these two works, the troubles with white liberalism can appear implicitly and prevent readers from recognizing its problems. The second half of Get Out and Go Set a Watchman, however, pull back the liberal façade and confront the thin line between white liberalism and white supremacy. This research considers whether the white liberal is still “the Negro’s great stumbling block” and how it manifests in contemporary society by offering a political analysis of three depictions of white liberalism in American popular culture and the critical and popular responses to these cultural artifacts

Robust muscle synergies for postural control

The musculoskeletal structure of the human and animal body provides multiple solutions for performing any single motor behavior. The long-term goal of the work presented here is to determine the neuromechanical strategies used by the nervous system to appropriately coordinate muscles in order to achieve the performance of daily motor tasks. The overall hypothesis is that the nervous system simplifies muscle coordination by the flexible activation of muscle synergies, defined as a group of muscles activated as a unit, that perform task-level biomechanical functions. To test this hypothesis we investigated whether muscle synergies can be robustly used as building blocks for constructing the spatiotemporal muscle coordination patterns in human and feline postural control under a variety of biomechanical contexts. We demonstrated the generality and robustness of muscle synergies as a simplification strategy for both human and animal postural control. A few robust muscle synergies were able to reproduce the spatial and temporal variability in human and cat postural responses, regardless of stance configuration and perturbation type. In addition inter-trial variability in human postural responses was also accounted for by these muscle synergies. Finally, the activation of each muscle synergy in cat produced a specific stabilizing force vector, suggesting that muscle synergies control task-level variables. The identified muscle synergies may represent general modules of motor output underlying muscle coordination in posture that can be activated in different sensory contexts to achieve different postural goals. Therefore muscle synergies represents a simplifying mechanism for muscle coordination in natural behaviors not only because it is a strategy for reducing the number of variables to be controlled, but because it represents a mechanism for simply controlling multi-segmental task-level variables.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Ting, Lena H.; Committee Member: Chang, Young-Hui; Committee Member: Lee, Robert H.; Committee Member: Nichols, T. Richard; Committee Member: Wolf, Steve L

Reflexiones filosóficas y políticas alrededor de los efectos sociales y culturales de un modelo de dominación: el caso colombiano

En el presente análisis se realiza un análisis filosófico y político sobre el proceso de dominación en Colombia, haciendo una mirada de las razones que han mantenido la existencia del conflicto social, político, económico y cultural que ha tenido unas expresiones armadas; posteriormente se abordaran, los efectos culturales que generan la dominación en relación a la dignidad humana y la imagen social. Igualmente se hará una mirada a las salidas políticas, económicas y sociales que se le ha dado al fenómeno en Colombia y por último, algunas conclusiones sobre el tema en cuestión, que más que conclusiones son caminos o alternativas para pensar el problema.This analysis is philosophical and political analysis on the process of domination in Colombia, with a look of the reasons that have kept the existence of social conflict, political, economic and cultural expressions has had a military, and later be addressed, cultural effects that generate the rule in relation to human dignity and social image. Also be given a look at the outputs political, economic and social changes have given the phenomenon in Colombia and finally, some conclusions on the subject in question, rather than conclusionsor alternative ways to think about the problem

Gestión de carreras contemporáneas: desafíos críticos para la gestión humana

This review article lays out some conceptual guidelines regarding careers in organizations. Special emphasis has been made on the transformation that this practice has experienced since the late twentieth century, given the new working conditions created by the technological, economic, and cultural changes that have taken place. The literature shows a more dynamic and complex stage for people and organizations in the current historical moment. It was found that, under the current conditions, people guide their own careers, aiming at achieving higher levels within and/or outside the organization. This poses new challenges and ways of thinking about managing people, leading to the development of alternative practices. Finally, as a suggestion, some questions to be addressed by those responsible of human management are presented, aimed at building reciprocal relationships that contribute to mutual development.Con el presente artículo de revisión se exponen algunos lineamientos conceptuales sobre carreras en organizaciones. Se hace especial énfasis en la transformación que esta práctica ha sufrido, dadas las nuevas condiciones del trabajo generadas por los cambios tecnológicos, económicos y culturales que se han venido presenciando desde finales del siglo XX. La literatura especializada muestra, en el presente momento histórico, un escenario más dinámico y complejo para las personas y las organizaciones. Se encontró que en las condiciones actuales, las personas dirigen su propia carrera con el propósito de alcanzar mejores niveles en sus trayectorias dentro o fuera de la organización. Ello plantea nuevos retos y maneras de pensar la gestión de personas, a fin de generar prácticas alternativas. En último término, a modo de sugerencia, se plantean algunas cuestiones para ser abordadas por los responsables en gestión humana, en el sentido de construir relaciones recíprocas con las que se contribuya al desarrollo mutuo

Locomotor Adaptability for Community Mobility of Older Adults: The Role of Gait Automaticity

"Restrictions in community mobility, the ability to move outside of one’s home, are common in older adults and contribute to disability, institutionalization, and poor quality of life. Successful community mobility requires the brain to quickly use information from the environment (e.g. surface quality, distances) to appropriately adapt gait to the current situation. This locomotor adaptation can be induced in the laboratory by having an individual walk on a split belt treadmill on which each leg is moving at a separate speed. Repeated exposure to split belt walking improves the rate of adaptation to this new environment. The brain mechanisms of this adaptation are unknown in healthy older individuals. The impact of locomotor adaptability on mobility and fall risk are also unknown. Our central hypothesis is that the ability to improve locomotor adaptability with repeated exposure is greater in those with better brain integrity, specifically the integrity of subcortical-prefrontal connections that contribute to the automaticity of walking. We will test whether: Brain integrity, measured by neuropsychological test battery and brain function during walking tasks, is related to locomotor adaptability. Better brain integrity predicts greater improvements in locomotor adaptability with repeated exposure. Improvements in locomotor adaptability are related to clinical measures of mobility and fall risk.

Localization and extinction of bacterial populations under inhomogeneous growth conditions

The transition from localized to systemic spreading of bacteria, viruses and other agents is a fundamental problem that spans medicine, ecology, biology and agriculture science. We have conducted experiments and simulations in a simple one-dimensional system to determine the spreading of bacterial populations that occurs for an inhomogeneous environment under the influence of external convection. Our system consists of a long channel with growth inhibited by uniform UV illumination except in a small ``oasis'', which is shielded from the UV light. To mimic blood flow or other flow past a localized infection, the oasis is moved with a constant velocity through the UV-illuminated ``desert''. The experiments are modeled with a convective reaction-diffusion equation. In both the experiment and model, localized or extinct populations are found to develop, depending on conditions, from an initially localized population. The model also yields states where the population grows everywhere. Further, the model reveals that the transitions between localized, extended, and extinct states are continuous and non-hysteretic. However, it does not capture the oscillations of the localized population that are observed in the experiment.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Perspectivas de aplicación del compostaje de biorresiduos provenientes de residuos sólidos municipales. Un enfoque desde lo global a lo local

De los residuos sólidos municipales (RSM), los biorresiduos son la fracción másalta y de mayor potencial de contaminación; el compostaje permite disminuir el impacto ocasionado por su manejo y contribuye con la sostenibilidad de la producción agrícola. Aspectos como el alto grado de contaminación de la materia prima, el uso de tecnologías inadecuadas, mínimas actividades operativas y de control del proceso, baja calidad del producto y la poca comercialización y mercadeo del mismo, han limitado la implementación del compostaje en mayor escala en países en desarrollo como Colombia. En este artículo se plantea una reflexión sobre las perspectivas de aplicación del compostaje en Colombia y se proponen estrategias como la separación en la fuente y recolección selectiva, el posicionamiento del aprovechamientode biorresiduos en el marco político y normativo, la investigación aplicada sobreciencia e ingeniería del compostaje, la capacitación profesional, técnica y operativa,y el establecimiento de alternativas para impulsar el producto

Guerrillas liberales vs guerrillas comunistas en el sur del Tolima. Las diferencias de base social como factores explicativos en el enfrentamiento bélico entre insurgencias

En la década del 50, en Colombia se gestaron movimientos guerrilleros en resistencia a la opresión y persecución del Gobierno Conservador después de que se diera el Bogotazo en 1948. Una de la zonas con mayor conflicto fue el departamento del Tolima. Al norte del departamento se encontraba una fuerte corriente conservadora que iba reprimiendo hacia el sur a los militantes liberales junto a sus familias convirtiendo de esta forma al sur del departamento como un refugio. Dentro de este gran grupo de guerrillas liberales se encontraba una gran variedad de personas entre los que se destacaban hacendados, campesinos-colonos y militantes comunistas. Todos los grupos luchaban por resistir las avanzadas de los 'chulavitas' (la policía conservadora), sin embargo al momento de realizar la contra-avanzada las formas de proceder eras distintas entre las guerrillas liberales – o liberales limpios - y las guerrillas comunistas – o liberales comunes. Es de esta forma como las diferencias entre ambas guerrillas fueron aumentando hasta el punto de tener que separarse para luchar independientemente una de la otra. Con la llegada del Dictador Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, se impulsó a la desmovilización de las guerrillas liberales, específicamente las del Sur del Tolima. Lo que fue el sector de los guerrilleros 'limpios' entregaron sus armas al Gobierno. Sin embargo, las guerrillas comunistas no hicieron lo mismo bajo el fundamento de la lucha de clases sociales y no de partidos políticos. Los conflictos partidistas finalmente caducaron cuando se entró al Frente Nacional, liberales y conservadores compartirían el poder político. Este hecho acrecentó la lucha guerrillera comunista pues a su vez el Gobierno comenzó una persecución intensa al comunismo, en parte por el fenómeno político que ocurría en Cuba. Dadas estas condiciones, el último hecho determinante de la relación entre ambas guerrillas fue la cooptación de las guerrillas limpias, a cabeza en ese momento de Jesús María Oviedo, alías “El Mariachi” Oviedo, como fuerzas paramilitares para perseguir a los guerrilleros comunistas encabezados por los Alías de “Charro Negro” y “Manuel Marulanda Velez”. Dada esta relación entre guerrillas, esta investigación busca entonces determinar (elementos económicos, políticos, sociales) de la base social de las guerrillas comunistas y de las guerrillas liberales, para compararlos y de esta manera determinar factores que daría explicación a las diferencias que luego se marcaron de una forma radical entre ambos grupos.In the 1950s, guerrilla movements were developed in Colombia in resistance to oppression and persecution by the Conservative Government after the Bogotazo in 1948. The department of Tolima was one of the areas with the greatest conflict . In the north of the department there was a strong conservative current that was repressing the liberal militants with their families to the south. Inside the group of liberal guerrillas was a great variety of people: landowners, peasants-colonists and communist militants. All the groups struggled to resist the advancements of the 'chulavitas' (the conservative police), however at the time of making the counter-advance the ways of war were different between the liberal guerrillas and the communist guerrillas. It is in this way that the differences between the two guerrillas increased to the point of having to separate to fight independently of one another. With the arrival of the Dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, the demobilization of the Liberal guerrillas was promoted, specifically those of the South of Tolima. The liberal guerrillas handed their arms to the Government. However, the communist guerrillas did not do the same under the foundation of the struggle of social classes and not of political parties. Partisan conflicts finally expired when the "Frente Nacional" was entered, liberals and conservatives would share political power. This fact increased the communist guerrilla fight, since the government began an intense persecution of communism, in part because of the political phenomenon that was taking place in Cuba. Given these conditions, the last determining fact of the relationship between both guerrillas was the cooptation of the liberal guerrillas by Jesús María Oviedo, alias "El Mariachi" Oviedo, as paramilitary forces to persecute the communist guerrillas led by the Alías of "Charro Negro" and "Manuel Marulanda Velez". Given this relationship between guerrillas, this research seeks then to determine (economic, political, social elements) the social base of the communist guerrillas and the liberal guerrillas, to compare them and in this way determine factors that would explain the differences that later they marked in a radical way between both groups.Politólogo (a)Pregrad

Lineamientos para un modelo de ecosistema de innovación social universitario en la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

La presente investigación se sustenta en la idea principal que la IS (innovación social) soluciona de forma efectiva y eficiente los desafíos que acontecen en la sociedad, mediante la participación amplia que permite que todo actor social pueda involucrarse en la solución de dichos problemas. Un actor fundamental son las universidades dado que, en la sociedad del conocimiento, han acumulado y aumentado los saberes científicos a través de la docencia y la investigación por décadas. Sin embargo, el rol de las universidades ha pasado tener una incidencia más activa y ha comenzado a desarrollar búsquedas por tener una mayor injerencia en los desafíos sociales. Es en este punto que la IS aparece como una posibilidad para seguir desarrollando sus funciones sustantivas y poner al servicio sus capacidades a la sociedad. Surge entonces la cuestión de comprender de qué forma la academia puede participar y potenciar los procesos de IS. Dado lo anterior, la presente investigación toma como referencia la PUJ (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) para comprender cómo, en el marco de servir a la sociedad e incidir en los desafíos socioambientales, opera su actual ecosistema de innovación y si dicho ecosistema posee rasgos de IS. En este estudio de caso se procede entonces a comparar el ecosistema Modelo PUJ con otro ecosistema universitario planteado por el Proyecto Tuning Latinoamérica llamado ISUR (Innovación Social Universitaria Responsable). Después del ejercicio comparativo, se realiza una investigación al interior de la PUJ para que en un ejercicio de autoevalución y entrevista se pueda determinar el grado de capacidad de innovación social que tiene la Instistución. Finalmente se procede a brindar algunos lineamientos claves para que el actual Modelo PUJ pueda desarrollar elementos principales para ser cada vez más un ecosistema de innovación social.This research is based on the idea that social innovation solves the society challenges through wide participation with all social actors possible to get involved in solving these problems. Universities are a fundamental actor, in the knowledge society, because they have accumulated and concerned scientific knowledge through teaching and research for decades. However, the role of universities has become more active and has begun to develop searches for more intervention in social challenges. At this point, the Social Innovation appears as a possibility to continue developing this functions and serve their capacities to the society. The research starts approach the question of how the academy can participate and promote the Innovation Social processes. Given the above, this research takes the PUJ (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) as a reference to understand how, with the framework of serving society and influencing socio-environmental challenges, the innovation ecosystem operates and if said ecosystem has innovation social traits. In this case study, we proceed to compare the PUJ Model ecosystem with another university ecosystem proposed by the Tuning Latin America Project called ISUR (Responsible University Social Innovation). After the comparative exercise, we proceed to investigate inside PUJ, through self-assessment exercise and interview, the level of social innovation capacity that the Institution has. Finally, we proceed to provide some key guidelines so that the current PUJ Model can develop main elements to become increasingly an social innovation ecosystem