The Contest: Hearts, Minds, and the History of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the 'Third World'

Streaming video requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Jason Parker is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. He received in Ph.D. in History at the University of Florida under Robert McMahon in 2002, and since then has been an Assistant Professor of History at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown. Parker will lecture on his current book project "The Contest: Hearts, Minds, and the History of American Public Diplomacy in the 'Third World'."Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent webpage, streaming video, photo

Free algebras of topologically enriched multi-sorted equational theories

Classical multi-sorted equational theories and their free algebras have been fundamental in mathematics and computer science. In this paper, we present a generalization of multi-sorted equational theories from the classical ($Set$-enriched) context to the context of enrichment in a symmetric monoidal category $V$ that is topological over $Set$. Prominent examples of such categories include: various categories of topological and measurable spaces; the categories of models of relational Horn theories without equality, including the categories of preordered sets and (extended) pseudo-metric spaces; and the categories of quasispaces (a.k.a. concrete sheaves) on concrete sites, which have recently attracted interest in the study of programming language semantics. Given such a category $V$, we define a notion of $V$-enriched multi-sorted equational theory. We show that every $V$-enriched multi-sorted equational theory $T$ has an underlying classical multi-sorted equational theory $|T|$, and that free $T$-algebras may be obtained as suitable liftings of free $|T|$-algebras. We establish explicit and concrete descriptions of free $T$-algebras, which have a convenient inductive character when $V$ is cartesian closed. We provide several examples of $V$-enriched multi-sorted equational theories, and we also discuss the close connection between these theories and the presentations of $V$-enriched algebraic theories and monads studied in recent papers by the author and Lucyshyn-Wright.Comment: 51 pages plus six page Appendix. Revised to include more discussion of enrichment of categories of algebras (expanded Remarks 3.1.4 and 4.1.6; added more details to Section 6; expanded item 6.9; added an extra item to Theorem 6.10; shortened Remark 6.11

Animal-Word and Sound Test: An Auditory Cognitive Interference Effect

This study presented a method in which the Stroop Color Word Test can be adapted to an auditory form. This auditory test used a series of animal words, animal sounds and word-sound combinations. This Animal-Word-and-Sound test contained three subtests. The test tasks were to repeat a list of words, identify a list of animal sounds, and to identify the sound in a combined animal word-sound pairings (Both the animal\u27s name and sound are presented simultaneously). An alternate form of this audio test was examined. The alternate form followed the same construction except in the final condition, the task was to identify the spoken word. Twenty-eight undergraduate college students from Old Dominion University participated in the experiment. A comparison was made between two groups. One group received the Animal Word and Sound Test, the other, received an alternate form of the test. Both groups were given the Stroop Color and Word test for comparison. Participants\u27 response times were recorded, and analyzed by means of a Multiple Analysis of Variance. The results showed that interference can be created from the association of animal names to the corresponding sound that animal makes. Theoretical implications of a comparison to the Stroop test were also discussed

The Effect of Social Influence on Perception of Tornado Warnings

Tornado activity annually results in many deaths throughout the U.S. As a result, the emergency alert system (including tornado warnings) has made considerable advancements throughout the past few decades. However, continued improvements could be made to warning content that aid to facilitate adaptive decision-making by increasing individuals’ motivation to respond. One method that could increase adaptive responses to warnings is by including the modality of descriptive social information within the warning. Research suggests that normative social influence acts as a powerful motivator for individuals to conform toward the witnessed or perceived behaviors of others. The current study examined the impact of descriptive social normative information in the context of tornado warnings. National Weather Service tornado warnings were modified to display social information concerning the percent of people taking shelter in a localized area. We examined the effect of social influence and tornado severity on perceptions of (1) susceptibility to the threat, (2) response-efficacy, and (3) self-efficacy, as well as comprehension of the auditory and visual variables of the warning content. Results confirmed previous findings for perceived susceptibility (i.e., F4 category tornadoes were perceived as more severe the F2 category) and comprehension of warning information (i.e., comprehension was significantly worse for the F4 category compared to the F2 category warnings). A boomerang effect was observed for the effect social influence within the F2 category condition with regard to the response-efficacy outcome measure. Further results and implications are discussed

Algorithms for fusion systems with applications to p-groups of small order

For a prime $p$, we describe a protocol for handling a specific type of fusion system on a $p$-group by computer. These fusion systems contain all saturated fusion systems. This framework allows us to computationally determine whether or not two subgroups are conjugate in the fusion system for example. We describe a generation procedure for automizers of every subgroup of the $p$-group. This allows a computational check of saturation. These procedures have been implemented using MAGMA. We describe a program to search for saturated fusion systems $\mathcal{F}$ on $p$-groups with $O_p(\mathcal{F})=1$ and $O^p(\mathcal{F})=\mathcal{F}$. Employing these computational methods we determine all such fusion system on groups of order $p^n$ where $(p,n) \in \{(3,4),(3,5),(3,6),(3,7),(5,4),(5,5),(5,6),(7,4),(7,5)\}$. This gives the first complete picture of which groups can support saturated fusion systems on small $p$-groups of odd order

Identification and deconvolution of overlapped peaks derived from raw 2D PAGE images [abstract]

Abstract only availableA standard approach for the analytical separation of proteins in the field of proteomics is the use of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE), which separates a complex crude protein samples from a given cellular or organellar sample based upon charge and size in separate perpendicular dimensions. However, often separation is incomplete, leaving gel spots (or peaks) that are overlapped spatially in not one but often both dimensions. We are attempting to ameliorate these instances by mathematically deconvoluting these peaks de novo from raw 2D-PAGE images. It is our overarching goal to engineer algorithms that will be applicable to global sets of proteomics data where pre-sample conditions have been varied and individual protein levels can be reasonably quantified for even the most overlapped of peptide species. This will greatly increase the quality and speed of information gleaned from a given proteome gained visualized via standard 2D-PAGE analysis. As a first step and proof of principle, we have begun to formulate an image process and analysis method, which utilizes a novel nonlinear least squares algorithm (NLLS) to fit and quantify the spots on a single gel image. The first step of this process is to digitize the 2D image data, creating a three-dimensional densiometric image, roughly creating a data matrix of the JPEG or TIFF file of the original gel. This 3D data matrix is then fit through the application of a nonlinear least squares algorithm modified with a chemically relevant constraint. Specifically, we have imposed a voight line profile, composed of a combination of gaussian and lorentzian functions, on the 3D data matrix. Limiting these functions with convergence criteria based upon the error of the areas of cross-sections of the nonlinear least squares fit compared to that of the original data have yielded the promising preliminary results that will be discussed