University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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The Experience of an Enlisted US Army Soldier During and After the Punitive Expedition and World War I: Thomas F. Cunningham, a case study.
No full textThis thesis explores the experience of Thomas F. Cunningham as an enlisted soldier during the Punitive Expedition and World War I. His experience is both typical and unique as compared to that of other soldiers during the same period. He grew up in the deep South and in a family where he learned a variety of definitions of service, from his faith, his family's economic situation, and experiences of his family members, especially his maternal grandfather and father. While the majority of World War I soldiers were drafted, Cunningham had enlisted and served along the Texas-Mexican border during the Punitive Expedition. However, his experience is also typical of World War I soldiers because he served in France, was injured and gassed, and later expected the US government to compensate him financially for his service. He had paid into the War Risk Insurance program while enlisted and received benefits after returning home and being discharged from the military. Eventually, this financial compensation is denied and Cunningham fought as an individual, similar to those that fought collectively in events such as the Bonus March, for the reinstatement of these benefits. His experience as an individual during this period, highlights both the micro and macro history of the period
THE IMPACT OF UPPER TROPOSPHERIC DYNAMICS ON SURFACE AIR QUALITY OVER THE UNITED STATES
No full textMonitoring air quality and source attribution at the surface requires a vast understanding of radiative and dynamical effects in the lower atmosphere to capture influential processes affecting human health, the environment, and current pollutant standards. In order to accurately determine all sources impacting lower atmospheric composition, a more thorough comprehension of the dynamical, chemical, and radiative coupling of the stratosphere and troposphere is required. Particularly significant is the transport or exchange of trace gases (i.e. ozone), both natural and anthropogenic, between the stratosphere and troposphere also known as stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE). During previous research campaigns, STE was found to contribute to the tropospheric ozone budget. In this work, a plan was designed to determine whether or not stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) was a viable mechanism for elevated ozone at the surface, particularly in cases where unhealthy air quality conditions were detected. An investigation of several case studies in which high levels of surface ozone appear to originate from the stratosphere shows that a variety of dynamical processes from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere are involved. Starting with the quasi-geostrophic equations of vertical and horizontal motion, dynamical parameters can be derived and evaluated from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) meteorological fields. Reanalysis diagnostics, such as Q-vector, can locate the prevailing STT mechanism and capture the extent of vertical transport and mixing into the lower troposphere. Back trajectories from the UMBC-LT model released at the ground sites present additional support for stratospheric contribution to measured ozone levels. Along with the reanalysis dataset, a combination of satellite-retrieved and surface observations of chemical tracers were utilized to demonstrate the plausibility of a stratospheric source and to rule out anthropogenic surface contributions where possible. The practicality of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS), Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), and HIgh Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) satellite observations to infer stratospheric transport as the probable source was tested for these case studies and the results supported dynamical evidence of STE using tracer correlations, as in the ozone-water vapor relationship. The overall strategy of implementing satellite, reanalysis, and surface measurements together provided strong evidence that unhealthy ozone anomalies at the ground were incurred primarily by STE in these events and setup future studies of resulting ozone signatures
Critical Ecoliteracy: An Interdisciplinary Secondary and Post-Secondary Humanities Curriculum to Cultivate Environmental Consciousness
No full textI argue that contemporary struggles with sustainability must be addressed from the perspective of critical cultural analysis that identifies attitudes and behaviors as rooted in specific worldviews, narratives, metaphors, and belief systems, and that challenges and re-envisions these structures of thought in order to reformulate new alternative conceptual frameworks for positive interaction with the more-than-human world. I define this pursuit of critical cultural reflection and creative conceptual transformation as critical ecoliteracy, and I propose the incorporation of its goals and practices into educational curricula in secondary and post-secondary humanities classrooms. I outline a list of conceptual resources that I consider essential for engaging in critical ecoliteracy and for developing an approach to the world that values and considers the full, interconnected community of life in our global ecosystem. These skills and capacities include the practice of empathy; an understanding and appreciation of ecological and relational interdependence; ethical consciousness; an awareness of local and global socio-environmental systems and problems; critical awareness of the role that language and discourse play in shaping attitudes and behaviors; knowledge of the varying worldviews and belief systems of different cultures; a capacity for imagining creative alternative future paths; and a sense of agency to enact change. I encourage the development of critical ecoliteracy curriculum materials that cultivate this set of capacities. I next describe pedagogical strategies I recommend employing when applying critical ecoliteracy materials in school settings, and I offer my own model critical ecoliteracy curriculum as an example of these goals and approaches. In order to assess the potential value of such a curriculum, I test my materials in classrooms by teaching them myself and by asking a volunteer teacher to use them. I then analyze student writing, survey results, and teacher feedback in order to gauge the effect of the curriculum materials on student thinking. Using qualitative content analysis, I explore the patterns of reactions presented by students in response to the materials, and I draw conclusions as to how effective the model curriculum may be at achieving the goals of critical ecoliteracy that I have outlined
Experiences of Japanese Women Who Married American Military Personnel and Emigrated to the United States Between 1945 and 1965
No full textThis study focused on the cultural transition and adjustment of Japanese women, commonly known as war brides, who married American military personnel after World War II and moved to the United States. Qualitative investigation by face-to-face semi-formal interviews was used to collect the data. This is an investigation of how these women made the transition from Japanese to American life, experiencing adaptation, acculturation and assimilation processes in a relatively short time. It is also an investigation of how they tell the stories of their lives. They were encouraged to talk about their lives and experiences freely. Thus, the major text consists of the participants' stories in their own words. Six participants from the Washington DC/Baltimore, MD areas were chosen who met four criteria: Japanese citizens at the time of marriage who moved to the United States between 1945 and 1965; the reason for emigration was their marriage to US military personnel connected to the Allied Occupation Forces or to subsequent military involvement in Japan during the same period; husbands' past and present occupations were not restricted to the military after the completion of their initial military duty; and neither age, religion, nor social and economic status would determine eligibility. Interviews were conducted either in English or Japanese, audio taped, and transcribed verbatim or translated into English for analysis. The participants talked about their lives in Japan before and after the war as well as in the US. The conclusion was the result of comparisons of all data for emerging themes or topics. Analysis revealed the five most frequently discussed topics to be intercultural relations, cultural clash or conflict, Japanese language and culture, independence, and race relations in the United States. In spite of differences in education, backgrounds or social positions, all participants adjusted remarkably well because of their independent streaks and mental strength. Their common sense intelligence, flexibility, endurance or a never giving up attitude, and their patience allowed them to survive in many difficult situations. Thus, the participants demonstrated an outstanding adaptability to make their newly adopted country their new homeland
IMPROVING UPSTREAM BIOPROCESSING BY ENABLING PROCESS SCOUTING DEVICES WITH LOW COST, DISPOSABLE OXYGEN AND pH SENSORS
No full textBioprocess information generated at the Process Scouting Devices (PSDs)-scale (<100mL) constitutes the initial building block upon which an industrial bioprocess is developed. Despite the key role that they play in bioprocess development, PSDs often lack the capability of monitoring the critical cell culture process parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, substrate consumption, product formation, etc.), and measuring certain engineering physical characteristics (e.g. , , mixing time). As a result there is a process information gap between un-instrumented PSDs and fully instrumented lab cell culture devices that makes the process transfer from research to manufacturing scale more of an art than a science. In this project we have equipped T-flasks, small-scale spinner flasks and novel PSDs such as SuperSpinner D 1000® with low cost disposable dissolved oxygen and pH sensors which can convert these un-instrumented PSDs to cell culture devices that can provide greater quantitative process information. By taking this approach, we have been able to 1) Convert T-flasks into novel upstream bioprocessing tools for scale-up/down applications such as cell clone stability testing. We observed from DO and pH profiles that after cell vial thaw significant biochemical pathway changes can occur during extended cell passaging in static T-flasks. Our on-line monitoring of pH and DO profiles picked the metabolic shifts ten passages earlier that the off-line sampling methods. 2) Develop empirical mass transfer correlations for rocking and shaken T-flasks and compare the oxygen transfer capabilities of these sensor enabled T-flasks with other PSDs such as spinner flasks. We observed that rocking/shaken T-flasks have superior mass transfer coefficient (kLa) than novel and traditional PSDs such as CultiFlask 50, SuperSpinner D 1000® and standard spinner flasks. 3) Provide a novel vial thaw and inoculum expansion train (rocking) with on-line monitoring capabilities for critical cell culture parameters such as DO and pH. We have observed that a design space based on kLa or DO can be developed at the PSDs-scale and integrated with bench-scale devices (and beyond). As a first step, this project shows how patch-based disposable optical technology can aid integrating research and manufacturing scales by using chemical engineering principles (mass transfer). We hypothesize that a robust and predictable bioprocess can be obtained by providing the cells with similar DO levels (or mass transfer coefficients) at every step of the bioprocess development cycle and thereby enabling implementation of Process Analytical Technology (PAT)
