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Ritual (and Myth) transformations in the Gran Chaco
Get PDFBased on the inspiration Peter Gow takes from Lévi-Strauss\u27 canonical formula or double twist and his concept of ensemble, this article aims to illustrate by analogy how the rituals of female initiation, such as the Yammana of the Enlhet-Enenlhet, or male initiation, such as the Debylytá of the Yshiro, exemplify a regional system of transformation of transformations. In this sense, Gow uses Lévi-Strauss\u27 formula to analyse the myths of the peoples of southeastern Peruvian and western Peruvian-Brazilian Amazonia as a very specific type of mythic transformation caused by the presence of thresholds, whether cultural or linguistic. The records of the rituals (and myths) of the indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco, ancient and contemporary settlers near and on the banks of the Paraguay River, such as the Enxet, Enlhet, Enenlhet, and Maskoy of the Enlhet-Enenlhet linguistic family and the Yshiro Ebitoso and Tomarâho, is very extensive. Without completely abandoning the controlled comparison of myths, we apply this formula to the rituals of the Chaco peoples, whose vitality is dithering (and, in fact, transforming) under the current historical conditions
A Single-Parameter Model for Soft Bellows Actuators under Axial Deformation and Loading
Get PDFSoft fluidic actuators are becoming popular for their backdrivability, potential for high power density, and their support for power supply through flexible tubes. Control and design of such actuators requires serviceable models that describe how they relate fluid pressure and flow to mechanical force and motion. We present a simple 2-port model of a bellows actuator that accounts for the relationships among fluid and mechanical variables imposed by the kinematics of the deforming bellows structure and accounts for elastic energy stored in the actuator\u27s thermoplastic material structure. Elastic energy storage due to axial deformation is captured by revolving a differential strip whose linear elastic behavior is a nonlinear function of the actuator length. The model is evaluated through experiments in which either actuator length and pressure or force and pressure are imposed. The model has an error of 9.8% of the force range explored and yields insight into the effects of geometry changes. The resulting model can be used for model-based control or actuator design across the full operating range and can be exercised under either imposed force or imposed actuator length
Examining the Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, and Ethnic Identity of Venezuelan Immigrants
Get PDFThe number of Venezuelan immigrants living in the U.S. reached 545,000 in 2021, with Venezuelans becoming one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the U.S. Many Venezuelan immigrants have been driven to leave their country due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, economic collapse, and political instability. This study explores the experiences of Venezuelan immigrants living in the U.S. Data from an online survey and semi-structured interviews was collected from 113 Venezuelan immigrants. The quantitative data was analyzed using systematic methods while the qualitative data was analyzed by identifying key themes and providing sample quotes. Participants were recruited through various methods: university organizations, social media, WhatsApp groups, flyers in local business, and word of mouth. Participants were categorized into four main groups based on their age of arrival and time in the U.S. Acculturation was highest among immigrants who arrived as children and had spent more than seven years in the U.S. Overall, acculturation was described as a necessary but difficult task. However, acculturative stress was relatively low for this population compared to other Latino immigrants. The type and level of acculturative stress differed depending on the age of arrival and time in the U.S. Meanwhile, all participants reported a strong sense of pride and commitment to their ethnic identity with younger immigrants spending more time actively exploring their identity. Findings from the present study highlight the importance of strong social networks and cultural values for Venezuelan immigrants living in the U.S
The Bard and the Myth of Universality: Decentering Shakespeare in Asian American Appropriations
Get PDFAsian American appropriations of Shakespeare challenge the myth-like status of the Bard, utilizing the plays to tell stories unique to Asian American experiences. Shakespeare and race studies has interrogated the relationship between Shakespeare, the reception of his works, and the problematic nature of his works’ role in western notions of whiteness and colonialism. This thesis continues this interrogation, extending the theory to understand the unique ways that Asian American playwrights appropriate Shakespeare. This thesis offers a case study of two plays: Do it for Umma by Seayoung Yim (an appropriation of Hamlet) and Peerless by Jiehae Park (an appropriation of Macbeth). Both plays offer a distinctive commentary on race dynamics. Do it for Umma focuses on Korean American culture, adapting Shakespeare’s most celebrated work to suit a narrative about immigration, generational trauma, and family. Peerless provides a biting commentary on race discourse and college admissions. This analysis delves into the ways both texts utilize cultural or political specificity to challenge the notion that Shakespeare’s work is in any way perfect or universal
Healing the Harm: Why Restorative Justice is the Solution to Campus Sexual Misconduct
No full textSexual assault is pervasive on college campuses. It is a result of the social ecosystem that allows it to happen and prevents it from being reported. For years, institutions have been dealing with this issue in processes modeled after the criminal legal system. The rates of sexual assault are not declining and survivors do not feel supported or satisfied, so there is a clear need for change. Restorative justice is an approach to conflict that centers the feelings and needs of the harmed party while seeking to rehabilitate and educate the offender. Restorative justice is a beneficial alternative to formal Title IX processes that have been proven to deter students from speaking up and cause further harm to those that choose to report. Through my interviews with staff and faculty at universities nationwide, I was provided a framework through which restorative justice could be implemented at Trinity University. Furthermore, I interviewed Trinity staff and students to better understand the issues our community is facing and how restorative justice could mitigate these problems. This work contributes to the literature that examines how universities undergo a change in relation to similar institutions. This research also adds to the existing literature on the precarious circumstances that maintain sexual assault culture on college campuse
Hemisphere-Specific Characterization of Projections from the Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus to Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta Dopaminergic Neurons
No full textProper functioning of memory, learning, and attention processes relies on regulation of intricate neural networks. Disturbances to neural processing give rise to disease-state symptoms, such as neuronal loss, drug-seeking behavior, and motor dysfunction. To understand the underlying mechanisms which drive these processes, it is necessary to understand how information is encoded and refined by communication between neurons. As such, our research investigates the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway by honing in on the synapse between the midbrain structures pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). The PPN is unusual in that it sends projections to both ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the brain, unlike other brain structures that confine their innervations to either ipsilateral or contralateral. These projections have not been previously studied due to a lack of tools. To understand the nature of these inputs, the current study focuses on glutamatergic excitatory projections and GABAergic inhibitory projections within the PPN-SNc circuit using optogenetics in combination with electrophysiological and confocal microscopic methods. Specifically, we assess how hemisphere-specific inputs differ in their synaptic strength and neurotransmitter make-up. Preliminary findings suggest GABAergic PPN efferents project only to ipsilateral SNc, while glutamatergic PPN efferents project to both ipsilateral and contralateral SNc, with greater strength on the ipsilateral side. Our research will permit greater clarity for future studies to understand the underlying neural network and synaptic-level processes of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway
“Helpless”: reflections on grief and sociality in three Amerindian societies
Get PDFIn this article, we reflect on one of Peter Gow’s key pieces of work, “Helpless,” tracing how his scholarship has informed and influenced our own work, from our experiences in the field to our approaches to analysis. We explore some of the main themes from this piece of writing, including how intersubjectivity is produced by creating relations of mutual dependence—a precondition for sociality. Helplessness is a characteristic of newborn babies as much as it is of those recently bereaved. In both cases, memories of love and care—in short, kinship—are in question. For babies, kin relations have not yet been produced, while for the recently bereaved these affective relations have become impossible. Death disrupts intersubjective relations by rendering mutual dependence and care a delusion. While the dead and the living may mutually desire to remain in each other’s company, it is the work of the living to persuade the dead that they are dead, and indeed to persuade the living that social relations with the dead are delusional. By reflecting on how humanity is made and unmade through sociality and kinship, we think through the importance of helplessness for the constitution of relationships, together with local understandings of death and the danger associated with prolonged grief. We situate these reflections in the ethnographic contexts we are most familiar with in southern Guyana, Central Brazil, and southern Chile
Liquitronics Final Project Report
Get PDFThis final project report details the design evaluation and tests the Liquitronics team conducted on the 96 well plate robotic liquid handler. The team was able to create a prototype that reflects the most important aspects the team set out to accomplish. The main focus of the semester was completing a functioning chassis and movement system along with the pipette mechanism.
The following tests were completed: z-axis positional accuracy, x/y-axis positional accuracy, tip discard test, plunger actuator test, fluid volume test, sustained power draw test, and a size and weight test.
Both positional accuracy tests passed without significant issues. The z-axis needed to be within 0.5 millimeters of the location for every trial, and the trial with the largest error had an error of 0.1 millimeters. Similarly, the x/y test needed each trial to be within 1 millimeter and the greatest error measured was only 0.6 millimeters. The tip discard test proved that the prototype could eject a pipette tip without fail. This test also gave the time a relationship between the voltage supplied to the linear actuator and the speed at which it moved. These results will aid in determining the working voltage for the prototype’s actuators and electronics.
Unfortunately, there were two tests that did not meet their acceptance criteria. The final design is limited to a four foot wide and 2 foot deep space. The current prototype is currently 2.23 feet in both directions. However, after speaking with the project sponsor, it was agreed that the size limit was more flexible than originally stated and thus the current dimensions do not present any practical issues. Additionally, the prototype is well under the 500 pound weight limit measuring at 34 pounds.
The second unsuccessful test was the sustained power draw test. This test is meant to prove that the circuitry of the prototype can run for extended periods of time without any components failing. Without any of the motors running, the prototype was drawing just over 300 milliamps. This was lower than what was expected. Also, the voltage regulator began to burn out, and 2 of the 9 stepper motor drivers stopped working. The reason for these failures is not yet known, but the team is currently brainstorming ideas for how to pinpoint the solution, and ensure that it will be fixed.
Future improvements will be focused on getting a fully automated prototype. For this to happen, assembly of the mechanical parts must be completed, a full code must be written, and the power draw problems must be addressed
Clever animals: Naturalcultural interactions in Karitiana hunting practices (Rondônia, Brazil)
Get PDFThis article addresses hunting practices and human-animal relations among the Karitiana, a Tupi-Arikém-speaking indigenous people in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon, asserting that if humans can learn from animals in long-lasting hunting experiences in the forest, animals can also learn how to deal with their human predators as well as their knowledge and techniques. Furthermore, animals must be understood here as species and individuals. This is an almost natural conclusion drawn from Amazonian ethnography, which suggests that distinctions between humans and the nonhumans that we call animals are not classified according to a categorization in which human beings have resourcefulness and creative adaptability and animals only possess instinctive and mechanical reactions, following certain widespread (and rather simplistic) Cartesian naturalistic ontologies. Thus, if Amazonian landscapes were manufactured over millennia of human and non-human interactions, there is no reason to exclude animals from these historical processes of mutual co-constitution, which have already been described in detail in the literature focusing on plants (especially palm trees), soils, and landscapes
The way of warriors: annotated narratives of the Mebengokre (Kayapo) in Brazil, by Gustaaf Verswijver
Get PDFThis is a review of The Way of Warriors: Annotated Narratives of the Mebengokre (Kayapó) in Brazil, by Gustaaf Verswijver. Turuti Books: Almería, Spain