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Who Controls the Image?: Observing Visual Rhetoric of Black Women
Full text linkBlack women are visible in American culture now more than ever before. And scholars have taken up theorizing about the images they convey. Crystal LaVoulle and Tisha Lewis Ellison created the term “Bad Bitch Barbie” to describe some of our most famous Black female entertainers who embody corporeal performances. Seth Cosimini, Margaret Hunter and Alheli Cuenca have identified some Black female entertainers as perpetuating the Jezebel controlling image; the image was used to diminish the ethos of Black women and absolve their rapists because Black women were imagined to be sexually aggressive and morally obtuse. Because the gazes that set their sights on Black women are now more diverse, some of the gazes can inflict violence. Kesha James writes about the white gaze that asserts white supremacist logics and how it can be performed by a variety of people. It is not possible to consider every individual gaze that sets their sights on Black women, but there can be some understanding of the ways Black female images are perpetuated and realized. This study aims to understand how visual rhetoric of Black women is realized by an audience of college-aged Black women. The participants looked at visual rhetoric of Black women, including stereotypical images, popular images, and visual art images. Using individual interviews and a focus group to gather their reactions to the visual rhetoric, the participants' responses were turned into counterstories with composite characters to express their experiences looking at the visual rhetoric. As they performed close looking at visual rhetoric of Black women, it became evident that there is a rhetorical resistance practice performed by employing a mediated gaze. Their attention to the rhetorical situation allowed them to resist demoralizing interpretations of the popular imagery of Black women they viewed. This study affirms what scholars, including John Trimbur, have advocated, that visual literacy needs to move down from graduate-level study to the composition classroom where first-year students can start to analyze the increasing number of visual images they are inundated with daily
Exploring Structure Risk and Hazard Analysis Using Geographic Information and Spatiotemporal Trends
Full text linkThis research reviews the past, current, and future approaches to hazard risk assessment and its use in accreditation and insurance processes for local governments. The overarching theme of this research is modeling potential risk, defined as the likelihood of an event multiplied by the consequences of the outcomes of a hazard. For the last millennia, efforts have been taken to reduce the risk of fire impacts on surrounding structures, and to reduce the potential for catastrophic spread and destruction of property and loss of life. This thesis research includes an in-depth look at past instances of large fires that resulted in large scale changes in approaches for reducing risk and hazard to structures, and doctrinal approaches for reducing risk and hazards over time. Past visualizations of hazard risk with examples form Sanborn Maps in the late 19th and early 20th century are presented, finding similarity with modern GIS-based modeling and mapping approaches. The current industry standard modeling approaches are demonstrated, using frameworks and risk metrics defined by the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). These are used to develop optimized models for fire and structure risk in the City of Fairfax, in the context of local fire and rescue capabilities. The groundwork for future technologies is also analyzed for potential spatiotemporal modeling of an important dynamic risk factor: building occupancy. The technologies reviewed are evaluated according to their function and capability for developing a dynamic spatiotemporal model, with a goal of incorporating risk analysis into the framework of a detailed 4-dimensional structure model. The final discussion in the thesis
is about strategies and methods to further model and analysis of risk from the perspective of fire response
SYNTHESIS OF RELEVANT COMMUNICATION FEATURES IN VEHICLES WITH AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEMS
Full text linkVehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) partially relieve human drivers of vehicle control until the ADS has full control of driving actions and decision making. However, concerns arise regarding the transparency of the ADS’ actions, decision making, and situation awareness (SA), contributing to drivers’ inappropriate trust and reduced SA. One way to mitigate transparency concerns is to communicate relevant actions, decisions, and road elements to the driver. To synthesize relevant communication features, three studies were conducted. The first study systematically reviewed in-vehicle augmented reality (AR) interfaces and identified heterogenous communication systems and the need for understanding relevant, scenario-specific communication features. The second study explored drivers’ information needs across various driving scenarios. Participants watched a series of driving scenarios and provided feedback on desired and redundant information. This resulted in a framework of key vehicle-human communication features that would enhance drivers’ anticipated trust and SA. This framework identified scenario-stable and scenario-specific features supporting the importance of only communicating relevant information. The third study validated the findings from study 2. Participants watched a series of driving scenarios with different communication interfaces corresponding to four levels of information relevancy (no cues, relevant cues, full cues, re-test of no cues). The findings indicated that self-reported trust (general and situational) and usefulness (but not satisfaction) of the ADS was greater than presenting no information but did not differ across relevant and full cue conditions. This indicates that communicating greater transparency (full cues) does not offer additional perceptual benefits and that presenting relevant cues was more efficient at enhancing individuals’ perceptions. Overall, the three studies provide a step-by-step approach in reviewing, exploring, and validating a driver-centric vehicle-human communication framework of features considered relevant by drivers. The findings build a foundation for standardizing which vehicle and environment features are relevant and when they are relevant across driving scenarios. The vehicle-human framework is expected to foster more consistent ADS communication research that ultimately improves driver safety through enhanced system transparency
Development of Lithium-ion Battery Simulation Models for Impact Applications
Full text linkWith the increasing usage of battery technology in electric vehicles (EV) and aerospace applications, there is a need to develop a predictive and computationally efficient model for fully understanding battery and electric vehicle crash safety. This dissertation presents a system solution to model the lithium-ion battery and EV crash performance by modeling and simulating the thermal runaway process of batteries with a thermal-mechanical-electrical coupled analysis. A representative cell model is first developed based on matching dimensions and material properties for each material of a realistic battery cell. Each battery component is modeled separately with realistic material properties assigned to respective mechanical, electrical, and thermal material models. To improve computational efficiency, the electric circuit of the battery is modeled with the resistant solver and a user defined Randles Circuit Model is used to capture the dynamic effect of this circuit. An external short circuit test and a punch test are used to calibrate the circuit dynamic response and mechanical properties. It is demonstrated that the model is able to predict current density, Ohmic heating power and temperature distribution contours for each layer of battery component. The model also captures the local heat generation caused by coupling effect in an event that an active cell is punched. In the second part of the work, the thermal-mechanical-electrical coupled battery model is integrated into a generic EV finite element model, which includes active battery cells connected in series with normal discharging current. A pole side impact simulation and a moving deformable barrier (MDB) side impact simulation are carried out to demonstrate the applicability of this model. In addition to predicting deformation and acceleration similar to mechanical-only crash analysis, these models also provide the heat generation and temperature contour caused by impact loading and electric short circuit. This full vehicle with battery simulation model runs for about 18 hours on a 32-core cluster for a crash event duration of 0.2 s. This model demonstrates the feasibility of using thermal-electrical-mechanical coupling in EV crash simulation. In addition to lithium-ion batteries, the material modeling process developed in this research is adaptable to future new battery material and cell technologies
Dismantling Bias Through Upholding Dignity and a Sense of Activism: A Phenomenological Investigation Into Early Childhood Professionals’ Implementation of Anti-Bias Pedagogy
Full text linkAnti-bias education is a labor-intensive pedagogical approach, aimed at building strong personal identities, acceptance for diversity, and the ability to recognize and stand up against injustice (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2019). Due to the complex and unpredictable nature of implementing anti-bias pedagogy, how educational professionals in early childhood settings strive to implement this pedagogical approach has yet to be explored. This study presents a phenomenological investigation into four educational professionals’ experiences striving to implement anti-bias pedagogy in early childhood settings. Through interviews, supplemented by pedagogical artifacts and children's work samples, findings suggest early childhood professionals who strived to implement anti-bias pedagogy hold an onto-epistemological perspective of all things holding dignity. Their anti-bias pedagogical perspectives as defined by their acknowledgement of dignity, respect for the culture of childhood, view of young children as capable and competent, adherence child-centered pedagogical approaches, efforts to authentically understand the perspectives of young children, and value of the learning process over final products. Additionally, participants revealed a sense of advocacy evident through their own personal sense of activism, their view of the role of early childhood education to teach values of equity and appreciation for diversity, and their advocation for high quality early childhood experiences. The cumulation of participants onto-epistemological perspective of inherent dignity and advocacy contributed to the decisions they made in the classroom intentionally addressing bias, purposefully selecting diverse materials, facilitating social constructivist learning opportunities, and flexibly improvising and responding to children’s question or comments in a manner consistent with the goals of anti-bias education
Dreams and Shelter: A Mural's Exploration of Cultural Displacement, Dual Identities, and the Journey of a Chinese International Student
No full textThis thesis, “Dreams and Shelter,” investigates the narratives of cultural displacement
and dual identity development among Chinese international students in the U.S., using
murals to express these complex experiences. Based on theories of cultural identity,
architectural symbolism, gender identity, and anthropomorphism, this study uses a
qualitative approach. It explores these concepts by both creating and analyzing murals,
using them as both method and medium for exploration. The thesis uncovers how murals
capture the themes of cultural integration, personal evolution, and the search for
belonging. It concludes that art, particularly murals, effectively bridges diverse cultural
experiences, offering insights into the intricate process of cultural displacement and
identity formation. This work contributes to broader discussions in art therapy,
educational psychology, and cross-cultural studies, highlighting the significance of creative practices in understanding and supporting the identity negotiation of individuals
in cross-cultural transitions
Broad and fine acoustic categories in bod, bond, bald, and bard: A step toward acoustic phonology
Full text linkPoster presented at The 186th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Ottawa, ON, Canada.Acoustics is central to the study of speech communication, but it is conspicuously under-represented in abstract representations of speech. Many flavors of phonological analysis tend toward articulatory descriptions, and transcriptions focus on strings of articulatory actions. All this is despite acoustics being easier to measure than articulation with current technology. The present study explores basic concepts for an acoustic phonology, with two types of postulated categories: broad and fine. Resonant, turbulent, transient, and occludent types of sounds comprise the broad categories, as general methods of filtering the speech source. Fine categories are conceptualized as specific types of acoustic actions within a broad category. These acoustic actions are goal-oriented, as for achieving a particular acoustic effect like the presence of antiformants or a lowered F2 or F3. However, these actions are not explicitly restricted to manipulating traditional phonetic features like formants. By default, fine categories are assumed to be produced in parallel when possible, yielding overlap effects like anticipatory nasalization, lateralization, and rhotacization. These concepts are explored in a microanalysis of bod, bond, bald, and bard from the speaker in the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision data set, with an eye to seeding the ground for a future acoustic phonology
Small Modular Reacots for Powering Data Centers
Full text linkHoused in Northern Virginia is the Data Center Capital of the world.
Accommodating such large forms of infrastructure requires copious amounts of
electricity, and as a result, an immense strain is placed on the adjoining power grid.
Correspondingly, energy availability, accessibility, and reliability have each become
substantial points of contention between data center operators and the utilities. To
alleviate this hinderance to the grid, data centers must participate in demand response.
More often than not, however, data center operators and stakeholders are reluctant to
partake in demand response programs due to concerns in maintaining quality-of-service
(QoS) and the resultant impacts to their bottom-line. Simultaneously, societal pressure
from policymakers and their constituents, for increased clean energy sourcing, has been
placed on the shoulders of both utility owners and data center benefactors. To address
each side of this multipronged equation; grid reliability, QoS/profit margins, and clean
energy, much research has been conducted on the topic of server load curtailment
solutions for demand response. In fact, one of the prevailing paradigms in data center
demand response research is load migration between geo-distributed data centers. Such demand response programs are based on forecasted carbon-free energy availability and
current, regional energy pricing. Real world implementations of this form of demand
response have proven to be successful, however, latency concerns remain as an obstacle
to time-sensitive workloads. Likewise, the underlying issue with dynamic virtual machine
consolidation is the timing of workload allocations to the appropriate host. Presented in
this study is an alternative solution, one that addresses each of the aforementioned issues;
the incorporation of nuclear powered small modular reactors (SMRs) for powering data
centers. This report will explore the technical aspects of SMRs that make them ideal
candidates for future data center power generation. An overarching drawback to SMRs,
however, is the associated costs. Hence, the other complimentary focus of this study will
be a cost analysis of onsite SMR installation. HOMER Pro was used to conduct this
study, specifically, to determine how different cost parameters affect the levelized cost of
energy as well as the economic viability of SMRs
IN HER OWN VOICE: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY OF BLACK WOMEN IN STEM
Full text linkKim Cherry Burnett, Ph.D.George Mason University, 2024 Dissertation Director: Dr. Andrew Gilbert This dissertation presents a phenomenological case study exploring the experiences of Black women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The study focuses on Black women who attended urban schools and pursued STEM majors at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). This study employs a narrative inquiry approach to understand the lived experiences of six Black women in STEM, focusing on their learning strategies, formation and understanding of identities, adoption of coping and resilience strategies, and the pivotal influence of community and support systems on their STEM journeys.The research addresses the limited depth and breadth of existing studies on the representation of African American women in STEM, particularly the lack of qualitative data representing their voices. (Ferguson, 2016; Ferguson & Martin-Dunlop, 2021). Through surveys, journal responses, in-depth interviews and analysis of narratives, this research seeks to uncover the experiences of Black women in STEM, highlighting their achievements, challenges, and the strategies they employ to navigate a predominantly white field. By giving voice to their stories, this study aims to provide insights that can inform policy, practice, and advocacy efforts aimed at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion for Black women in STEM. The findings of this research will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on diversity in STEM and provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and organizations seeking to create more inclusive environments. Ultimately, this research seeks to empower Black women in STEM, validate their experiences, and inspire future generations to pursue careers in these fields
Virtual Screening of FDA-approved Compounds as Inhibitors of the Binding of VEEV nsP2 Protein to Importin-alpha
Full text linkVenezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus endemic to Latin America. VEEV can cause disease in both humans and equines and may progress into encephalitis and other severe neurological sequalae. VEEV is a public health concern because of its potential for epidemic outbreak and lack of treatment. The cytotoxic mechanism of VEEV infection is related to its ability to interfere with nuclear cytoplasmic trafficking. Although the VEEV capsid protein appears to be the primary agent of nuclear import disruption, its nsP2 protein also contains a nuclear localization signal (NLS) enabling it to be imported into the nucleus and has been implicated in the pathology of other alphaviruses. We hypothesize that inhibition of nsP2 binding to the nuclear import machinery, particularly importin-α, can therefore partially diminish VEEV’s cytotoxic effect and give the host much-needed time to respond to viral infection. The main purpose of our study is to perform virtual screening using computational docking tools to find existing FDA-approved drugs that interact with nsP2 protein’s NLS sequence or bind to the nuclear import protein importin-α NLS binding site. Importantly, the identification of these drugs represents a critical first step in discovering putative VEEV treatments, and this information can be leveraged in future studies for drug candidate optimization and validation. Our results indicate that the most critical substructures for binding to the VEEV protein 3VE6 are benzene rings, bicyclic rings, tertiary amines, aromatic nitrogens, and carbonyl oxygens excluding COOH. Similarly, the top features for binding to 2HWK are largely the same, and this includes bicyclic rings, benzene rings, tertiary amines, aromatic nitrogens, and amides. Based on our analysis, we propose the drug indinavir or dasabuvir as potential inhibitors of VEEV NLS sequences to importin-α and the drug elbasvir as a masking agent of the VEEV protein nsP2. These drugs exhibit high binding affinity to their targets and are known anti-infection agents