Sacred Space: Design with Collaborative Meaning for Community

The history of human society has developed closely with religious thought and traditions associated with the supernatural, the divine, and the extraordinary. In a modern consumerist society, the opportunity the role the greater plays in public space can be a rich context for consideration. This practicum explores that idea in two sections. In the first part, the history of sacred space in varying traditions is analyzed to inform the design decisions involved in creating such a public space. The separation of the sacred from the ordinary and the boundaries that divide them are reviewed. Physical manifestations of the sacred, as well as the act of sacralization are investigated. As cultures develop amid a complex series of interactions, the futility of imposing a fabricated meaning upon a neighborhood has been well recognized. The neighborhood’s participation is essential in generating worth. Authenticity of meaning cannot be designed for immediate acceptance; rather it must be cultivated within a community. In the second part, a template is proposed for a local suburban community and its visitors to foster significance in a public environment. Dequindre park, Eckstein park, and Denton park have been designed as a network of public spaces and trails along the Red Run, a creek running through Warren, Michigan. This creek is part of the Clinton river watershed, and feeds into Lake St. Clair. As a trail connects public areas along the creek, a structure of themes is reinforced throughout the passage. Areas of play, spaces of reflection, and procession of experience unite to emphasize a connection with the greater. The goal of this project is to contribute forms that emphasizes substance beyond the conventional, and offers people the opportunity to develop their own value of experience. Rather than force a narrow scope of specific metaphors into programmatic elements, a variety of traditions, ideas, and forms are evaluated for appropriateness in a public forum. Abstraction of symbolism is pursued to retain broad public appeal. Showcasing stormwater management in an aesthetically compelling way is employed to utilize awareness of actions and responsibilities as a strong asset for promoting a sense of ownership. Advocating mindfulness of surroundings and experience is a key design objective.Master of Landscape ArchitectureNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111038/1/Suburban Sacred Space Design with Collaborative Meaning for a Community - Woznicki.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111038/4/DentonAnimation.avihttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111038/5/EcksteinAnimation.av

In search for a global munus A dialogue with Roberto Esposito

In search for a global munus A dialogue with Roberto Esposit

"Thus Saith the Lord": Edwardsean Anti-criterialism and the Physicalist Problem of Resurrection Identity

The doctrine of bodily resurrection is a core tenet of Christian faith, yet it is a doctrine fraught with several philosophical problems, the most significant of which concerns the persistence of personal identity. This is especially true for physicalist accounts of human nature. Here I put forth a possible solution to the problem of resurrection identity. Turning to the theology of the 18th century American colonial theologian, Jonathan Edwards, as a resource, I argue for what I am calling “Edwardsean Anti-Criterialism.” This is a form of anti-criterialism in which pre- and post-resurrection bodies are identical because God treats these bodies a metaphysically one. After providing a sketch of this view I defend Edwardsean Anti-Criterialism from two objections and provide three reasons why Christians might be inclined to accept this proposal

Wood Fiber from Norway Spruce—A Stand-Alone Growing Medium for Hydroponic Strawberry Production

There is an increased interest in the hydroponic production of strawberries in protected cultivation systems, and it is, therefore, urgent to develop new, more sustainable growing media alternatives. This study investigated the physical properties of wood fiber produced from Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and peat:wood fiber substrate blends as well as the performance of the wood fiber in comparison to the industry standards, i.e., peat and coconut coir in the cultivation of hydroponic strawberry. Tray plants of the June-bearing strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cultivar ‘Malling Centenary’ were transplanted into five different growing media: a peat (80%) and perlite (20%) mixture, stand-alone (100%) coconut coir and three stand-alone (100%) Norway spruce wood fiber substrates (including coarse textured fibers with compact and loose packing density and compacted fine-textured fibers). Ripe strawberries were harvested and registered throughout the production season. The overall marketable yield was comparable across all the tested growing media; however, after 4 weeks of harvest, both coarse wood fiber and fine wood fiber showed better fruiting performance than the peat-perlite mixture. A trend for earlier berry maturation was observed for all wood fiber-based substrates. Plant parameters recorded after the end of production showed that plant height, number of leaves, and biomass production were higher in coarse wood fiber than in the peat-perlite mixture. Moreover, plants grown in wood fiber-based substrates had less unripe berries and flowers not harvested in comparison to both the peat and coir treatments.publishedVersio

Monitoring Achilles tendon healing progress in ultrasound imaging with convolutional neural networks

Achilles tendon rupture is a debilitating injury, which is typically treated with surgical repair and long-term rehabilitation. The recovery, however, is protracted and often incomplete. Diagnosis, as well as healing progress assessment, are largely based on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. In this paper, we propose an automatic method based on deep learning for analysis of Achilles tendon condition and estimation of its healing progress on ultrasound images. We develop custom convolutional neural networks for classification and regression on healing score and feature extraction. Our models are trained and validated on an acquired dataset of over 250.000 sagittal and over 450.000 axial ultrasound slices. The obtained estimates show a high correlation with the assessment of expert radiologists, with respect to all key parameters describing healing progress. We also observe that parameters associated with i.a. intratendinous healing processes are better modeled with sagittal slices. We prove that ultrasound imaging is quantitatively useful for clinical assessment of Achilles tendon healing process and should be viewed as complementary to magnetic resonance imaging.Comment: Paper accepted to MICCAI'19 SUSI worksho