Women\u27s Heart of Sorrow: Versions of the Truyen Kieu in the Works of Duong Thu Huong and Le Ly Hayslip

Nguyen Du\u27s Truyen Kieu or Tale of Kieu has arguably provided a life model for Vietnamese females. The poem\u27s influence extends in important ways to contemporary Vietnamese writers as well, including those as politically and artistically diverse as Duong Thu Huong and Le Ly Hayslip. In Novel Without a Name, Paradise of the Blind and Memories of a Pure Spring, Duong Thu Huong transforms the terms of Nguyen Du\u27s poem to those of Vietnam during its revolutionary period and today. As an overseas Vietnamese who had earlier experienced prostitution and the moral chaos of war, Le Ly Hayslip\u27s experience clearly has much in common with Kieu\u27s story. Whereas Duong Thu Huong uses the Truyen Kieu as the ground for shaping a critique her society, Hayslip\u27s use of the poem is nostalgic or recuperative. In both cases, however, Vietnam\u27s national poem offers a common vocabulary and ground for contemporary Vietnamese both at home and overseas

The effects of cross-functional integration mechanisms and customer characteristics on the outcomes of new product development projects

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.Over the past numbers of years, the important role of new product development (NPD) has been acknowledged by both academics and practitioners. NPD is not only a crucial means for the survival and renewal of organizations, but also a valuable source of competitive advantage and prosperity of firms. New products have been found to account for up to 50% of sales and 50% of profits of firms. Firms, however, have to confront the high failure rates of new products, which range from 40% to 50%. The importance of NPD, coupled with the poor performance of new products, motivates us to look for the drivers of new product success. The literature suggests that cross-functional integration mechanisms and customer involvement in NPD projects are crucial for new product success. Nonetheless, there is lack of research on the direct impact of cross-functional integration mechanisms and customer characteristics on NPD performance. Therefore, we aim to identify which cross-functional integration mechanisms and which customer characteristics directly affect NPD outcomes. To this end, based upon the information processing perspective and resource dependence theory, we proposed a conceptual model and developed hypotheses of the relationships between cross-functional integration mechanisms, customer characteristics, and NPD outcomes. Data was collected from marketing managers, sales managers, product managers, brand managers, and the like who have been working in Australian firms and have been involved in NPD projects. The hypotheses were tested by employing variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). We find that five mechanisms, namely co-location, superordinate goals, the use of information and communication technology, cross-functional training, and joint reward systems have a positive impact on NPD outcomes (i.e. NPD speed, new product advantage, and new product success), whilst three other mechanisms, namely job rotation, the use of cross-functional teams, and informal coordination do not. Concerning the customer side, customers with product expertise, customers with lead user characteristics, and financially attractive customers can help firms enhance NPD speed, new product advantage, and new product success. Nevertheless, innovative customers and customers with price expertise have no influence on these three NPD outcomes. Our study adds to the limited research on the direct effects of cross-functional integration mechanisms and customer characteristics on NPD outcomes, and provides a more comprehensive picture of the factors driving NPD performance than existing studies in the research stream. Our findings also enable firms to select the effective integration mechanisms as well as the right customers for NPD projects, thereby maximizing the success of new products

A Qualitative Analysis Of Facilitators And Barriers To Breastfeeding Among Black Mothers In The Greater New Haven Area

Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding persist in Connecticut, with Black and African American mothers breastfeeding at the lowest rate. A qualitative study of Black mothers in the Greater New Haven Area was conducted to understand the barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding. Methods: A qualitative design adapting the Barrier Analysis tool was used to conduct in-depth focus groups with Black mothers who did exclusively breastfeed for 3 months (EBF3) and Black mothers who did not exclusively breastfeed for 3 months (NEBF3). 3 focus groups were conducted with EBF3 participants and 3 focus groups were conducted with NEBF3 participants. Focus groups were recorded and transcripts were analyzed by a four-person research team. Results: Barriers and facilitators were categorized based on the ecological model at the following levels: policy, cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and individual. The major barriers include lack of awareness and access to workplace policies, sexualization of breastfeeding, lack of publicly-accessible lactation spaces, cultural bias against breastfeeding, inaccessible lactation support, unhelpful breastfeeding support, lack of lactation supplies, discouragement from social networks, returning to work and having to make substantial lifestyle changes. The major facilitators include staying home from work, generational breastfeeding, and having a strong support network. Conclusion: This study describes the additional barriers that Black mothers face when trying to breastfeed and the facilitators that can help mitigate difficulties. These findings help to contextualize racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding to inform public health practitioners in breastfeeding campaigns and program development

AN ANALYSIS OF THE SUSPENDED SEDIMENT RATING CURVE PARAMETERS IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN AT THE MONTHLY AND ANNUAL LEVELS

Suspended sediment rating curve parameters were analyzed to investigate the relationship of suspended load and discharge in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) at the annual and monthly levels. The rating curve parameters were obtained from the power function of load and discharge: Load = a × (Discharge)b [(Discharge)^b]. The function was solved by ordinary least squares regression on its logarithmic form. The annual rating coefficient a and exponent b ranged from 0 to 0.25 (kg/s)(s/m3)b [(kg/s)(s/m^3)^b] and from 0.91 to 4.27, respectively. The monthly rating coefficient a and exponent b ranged from 0 to 0.239 (kg/s)(s/m3)b and from 0.09 to 3.72, respectively. The intercept ln(a) and slope b of the logarithmic graph of suspended load and discharge were negatively correlated. This correlation was stronger for rivers categorized as having high discharge (\u3e 218 m3/s [m^3/s]). This study also showed negative correlations between the rating coefficient a and stream discharge at annual and monthly levels, indicating that in large rivers, the rating curve tends to have a smaller intercept and larger slope. Smaller values of a and b in winter compared to other seasons suggested a low supply of sediment into streams due to frozen ground and the inactive state of streams in transporting sediment during winter months. The dominant shape of annual sediment rating curves in the region was convex, suggesting a transport-limited system for sediment transport in the basin. The transport-limited system indicates the potential of a flow to entrain additional sediment (possibly of larger grain sizes) during high discharge due to its higher competence. The apparent contradiction between the transport-limited condition and the findings of Meade and Moody (2010) is attributed to different approaches to the issue (trend of mean suspended load over time versus sediment rating curve). The results of this thesis also suggested that the UMRB has remained transport-limited after the flood in 1993, although this merits further investigation

Low Cost Timing System for High Precision Particle Detection

The project goal was to find a way to make a low-cost high precision timing system. High precision timing systems are already on the market, however, at a high cost. Various particle research projects need a large number of timers, so a substantial budget is required. In order to bypass the need for a large enough budget, commercially available parts were used and tested. The timing system consisted of multiple parts with different low-cost microchips and counters. In order for the project to meet its goal, the timers need to work under 50 picoseconds. Although some tests showed the timers working under 50 picoseconds, most tests were over. Additional testing and research need to be done to improve on the work that was done

Regulation of spatial distribution of BMP ligands for pattern formation

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), members of the transforming growth factor-ss (TGF-ss) family, have been shown to contribute to embryogenesis and organogenesis during animal development. Relevant studies provide support for the following concepts: (a) BMP signals are evolutionarily highly conserved as a genetic toolkit; (b) spatiotemporal distributions of BMP signals are precisely controlled at the post-translational level; and (c) the BMP signaling network has been co-opted to adapt to diversified animal development. These concepts originated from the historical findings of the Spemann-Mangold organizer and the subsequent studies about how this organizer functions at the molecular level. In this Commentary, we focus on two topics. First, we review how the BMP morphogen gradient is formed to sustain larval wing imaginal disc and early embryo growth and patterning in Drosophila. Second, we discuss how BMP signal is tightly controlled in a context-dependent manner, and how the signal and tissue dynamics are coupled to facilitate complex tissue structure formation. Finally, we argue how these concepts might be developed in the future for further understanding the significance of BMP signaling in animal development.Peer reviewe