37 research outputs found
The Predisposed Agency of Genomic Fiction
No full textHamner's essay analyzes Richard Powers's novel Generosity: An Enhancement as an example of genomic fiction, a genre-bending science fiction subgenre focused on relationships between biology and identity. Prefacing this study with brief readings of novels by Michael Crichton and evangelical author Angela Hunt, the essay reflects extensively on the metaphors and mythologies involved in contemporary genomics. Here Powers has the distinct advantage of being one of only eight individuals, as of 2008, to have had his entire genome sequenced. Hamner interweaves essays about such experiences from Powers and others with questions about the extent to which genomics can be expected to yield new self-understanding. The essay's broadest argument is that by juxtaposing fictional creativity and genomic modification, Generosity effectively illustrates the need for bridge-building across science-religion, religion-humanities, and humanities-science divides. Specifically, Powers reveals the extent to which genes are gaining sacrosanct status in U.S. culture, and in response offers a postsecular, metanarratival science fiction that contextualizes some of the more inflated rhetoric. Defending scientific research but denouncing its metamorphosis into techno-transcendent spectacle, Powers's work aligns fiction and evolution as processes of painfully slow, bottom-up “compositing,” wherein complexity emerges from simplicity, purpose appears in apparent randomness, and agency persists in tension with both inherited and environmental determinants. Ultimately, Hamner's essay shows that beneath questions about genomic identity lie even more profound ones about the nature and purposes of narrative.</jats:p
Nanda-Hamner curves show huge latitudinal variation but no circadian components in Drosophila montana photoperiodism
No full textAbstractInsect species with a wide distribution offer a great opportunity to trace latitudinal variation in the photoperiodic regulation of traits important in reproduction and stress tolerances. We measured this variation in the photoperiodic time-measuring system underlying reproductive diapause in Drosophila montana, using a Nanda-Hamner (NH) protocol. None of the study strains showed diel rhythmicity in female diapause proportions under a constant day length (12 h) and varying night lengths in photoperiods ranging from 16 to 84 h at 16°C. In the northernmost strains (above 55°N), nearly all females entered diapause under all photoperiods and about half of them even in continuous darkness, while the females of the southern strains showed high diapause proportions only in the circadian 24 h photoperiod. Significant correlation between the strains’ mean diapause proportions in ≥ 24 h photoperiods and critical day length (CDL; half of the females enter diapause) suggests at least partial causal connection between the traits. Interestingly, females of the northern strains entered diapause even in ≤ 24 h photoperiods, where the night length was shorter than their critical night length (24 h — CDL), but where the females experienced a higher number of Light:Dark cycles than in 24 h photoperiods. NH experiments, performed on the control and selection lines in our previous selection experiment, and completed here, gave similar results and confirmed that selection for shorter, southern-type CDL decreases female diapausing rate in non-circadian photoperiods. Overall, our study shows that D. montana females measure night length quantitatively, that the photoperiodic counter may play a prominent but slightly different role in extra short and extra long photoperiods and that northern strains show high stability against perturbations in the photoperiod length and in the presence of LD cycles. These features are best explained by the quantitative versions of the damped external coincidence model.Abstract
Insect species with a wide distribution offer a great opportunity to trace latitudinal variation in the photoperiodic regulation of traits important in reproduction and stress tolerances. We measured this variation in the photoperiodic time-measuring system underlying reproductive diapause in Drosophila montana, using a Nanda-Hamner (NH) protocol. None of the study strains showed diel rhythmicity in female diapause proportions under a constant day length (12 h) and varying night lengths in photoperiods ranging from 16 to 84 h at 16°C. In the northernmost strains (above 55°N), nearly all females entered diapause under all photoperiods and about half of them even in continuous darkness, while the females of the southern strains showed high diapause proportions only in the circadian 24 h photoperiod. Significant correlation between the strains’ mean diapause proportions in ≥ 24 h photoperiods and critical day length (CDL; half of the females enter diapause) suggests at least partial causal connection between the traits. Interestingly, females of the northern strains entered diapause even in ≤ 24 h photoperiods, where the night length was shorter than their critical night length (24 h — CDL), but where the females experienced a higher number of Light:Dark cycles than in 24 h photoperiods. NH experiments, performed on the control and selection lines in our previous selection experiment, and completed here, gave similar results and confirmed that selection for shorter, southern-type CDL decreases female diapausing rate in non-circadian photoperiods. Overall, our study shows that D. montana females measure night length quantitatively, that the photoperiodic counter may play a prominent but slightly different role in extra short and extra long photoperiods and that northern strains show high stability against perturbations in the photoperiod length and in the presence of LD cycles. These features are best explained by the quantitative versions of the damped external coincidence model
CB library celebrates Banned Book Week
No full textThe author discusses the Coos Bay Library\u27s policies regarding materials selection and refers to a challenge at a Gold Beach elementary school that occurred in 1994. The author mentions titles that have been challenged in the past and lists reasons why materials are typically challenged
The Gross Anatomy of the Alimentary Canal of Solubea Pugnax (Fab.) (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae)
No full textAuthor Institution: State College, Mississipp
Differences in Google Analytics between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0: A case study
No full textThis thesis is designed to study the field of Google Analytics and apply it to real-world projects—the official website of Texas Woman's University and MatrixZK. The science of Google Analytics includes storing and analyzing users' information for a specific web site. Google Analytics works completely with the official website of TWU (Web 1.0). For studying Web 2.0, the author designed and programmed MatrixZK; however, the contents category did not observe useful data. After several testing, the author added functions of Google Analytics API to MatrixZK in order to monitor visitors' actions in the Web 2.0 website
Exile and Identity: Chaim Potok\u27s Contribution to Jewish-American Literature
No full textQuestions of identity and exile are deep in the bones of the Jewish people. In this thesis I will discuss the manifestations of exile and identity in the works of Chaim Potok, a Jewish-American novelist. Potok’s work has long been excluded from the canon of Jewish-American criticism. I suspect this exclusion is due to critical oversight, as Potok’s characters lead more traditional Jewish lives in terms of religious beliefs, backgrounds, and behaviors. In order to prove the critical value of Potok’s work I will note the gaps in Jewish-American criticism where Potok’s work is missing. Then I will concentrate around two of Potok’s novels, The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, examining these works in terms of exile and identity themes that come across in other Jewish-American works. By finding the aforementioned gaps in Jewish-American criticism and explaining the characteristics of Potok’s novels that fill those gaps, I will connect the new ideas of Potok with the more accepted ideas of other Jewish authors. For many years, Jewish-American authors have remained distanced from their traditional Jewish roots and have written about characters who remained distanced from these roots as well. The choice between Jewish religious tradition and progress in the secular world was just that, a choice. Jewish-American characters were either more Jewish than they were American, or more American than they were Jewish. Through Chaim Potok’s characterization of Danny Saunders, Reuven Malter, and Asher Lev, Potok creates narratives that allow for characters to have a third alternative: to remain faithful to Jewish religious tradition and participate in secular American life. This thesis serves to claim that Chaim Potok’s hopefulness, depicted in The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev must be married with a more typically “Jewish” bitterness in order to provide a clear picture of Jewish-American identity that is true for our world today. Incorporating Chaim Potok’s work into the Jewish-American canon would broaden the spectrum of Jews who are represented in Jewish-American literature and eliminate the pervasive idea of how a Jewish author is supposed to write
THE INFRARED SPECTRA OF SUBSTITUTED 1, 3, 5, TRIAZINES
No full textAuthor Institution: Monsanto Chemical CompanyThe infrared spectra of a series of substituted 1, 3, 5 triazines have been obtained in order to identify bands characteristic of the triazine ring. Empirical correlation of the spectra of substituted 2, 4-diamino- and 2, 4, 6 triamino triazines confirms the assignment of strong bands near and to in-plane vibrations involving the ring. These bands are shifted to lower frequency in the spectra of cyanuric chloride, cyanuric acid and , trichloroisocyanuric acid. In the spectra of amino-substituted traizines the band appears to be extremely consistent and stable, while the absorption is more erratic, perhaps disappearing altogether in the spectra of two dialkyl-amino chloro triazines. The medium strength band occurring consistently near was assigned a ring vibrational origin also, and may be related to the vibration of unsubstituted 1, 3, 5 triazine. The band, which has found analytical application previously in melamine determinations, has proved to be an excellent identifying characteristic of amino substituted triazines in general. The observed spectra of some mono-substituted melamines, trisubstituted melamines, diamino alkoxy triazines, and diamino chloro triazines will be presented
The Microsoft Academic Search challenges at KDD Cup 2013
No full textMicrosoft Academic Search is a free search engine specific to scholarly material. It currently covers more than 50 million publications and over 19 million authors across a variety of domains. One of the main challenges in correctly indexing this material is author name ambiguity and the resulting noise in author profiles. KDD Cup 2013 invited participants to tackle this problem in 2 ways: (1) by automatically determining which papers in an author profile are truly written by a given author, and (2) by identifying which author profiles need to be merged because they belong to the same author. This paper presents a brief account of the contest and the lessons learned
Unveiling History: Exploring America's Past
No full textThe TXT file contains the content from the website.Unveiling History: Exploring America’s Past provided intensive professional development focused on history, historical thinking, and practical classroom activities for K-12 teachers in Montgomery County, Maryland. RRCHNM collaborated to design the program content and structure; designed and built the website in WordPress; developed classroom activities; produced videos of historians and educators discussing and teaching with primary sources; and collated related resources from other RRCHNM sites and across the web. During the grant period, teachers participated in summer institutes led by RRCHNM-affiliated faculty, and engaged in school-year activities focusing on American history, historical thinking skills, and practical applications. Themes included: History through Biography, History through Images, History through Objects, History through Drama, and History through Place. The website served as a platform for teachers to share experiences and ideas with peers. Full site content, as of 2017 rebuild, consisted of a single about page with the following text: The Project Unveiling History: Exploring America’s Past was a Teaching American History grant that provides professional development opportunities for elementary, middle-, and high- school teachers. Teachers who participate in the program will receive graduate credits in history from George Mason University. Elementary teachers will participate in a 1- week summer institute lead by Professor Christopher Hamner and several school year activities. Workshops will focus on American history, historical thinking skills, and practical applications. Summer workshop themes include: History through Biography, History through Images, History through Objects, History through Drama, and History through Place. The content focus of each theme will alternate between the 4th and 5th grade curriculum each year, beginning with 5th grade during the 2011–2012 program. However, all U.S. history teachers are welcome to participate in any year, regardless of the content focus. Secondary teachers will participate in a 2-week summer institute led by professors Mike O’Malley (high school) and Adam Rothman (middle school). Workshops blend lectures, demonstrations of teaching strategies, and hands-on activities that emphasize content and historical thinking skills. Content themes include: Founding Documents, Immigration, Technology and Cultural Change, and War and Society. The website homepage provides resources for teachers nationally, including primary source activities, lessons, teaching resources, and podcasts. Participating teachers will login for detailed information and the course blog. The Staff Maria Tarasuk (MCPS PreK–12 Program Supervisor, Social Studies)has worked in MCPS for 18 years as a middle and high school social studies teacher, a middle school instructional specialist and curriculum writer, and as the preK–12 program supervisor for social studies. Her contributions to the social studies program in MCPS include the integration of historical thinking skills in to middle school curriculum, development of resources for ESOL and Special Education students, creation of middle and high school assessments aligned to state standards, development of curriculum for more than ten middle- and high-school social studies courses, supervision of a previous Teaching American History grant, and providing a variety of professional development opportunities to teachers K–12. Linda Spoales (Project Coordinator) was an educator in Montgomery County Public Schools for 34 years, serving as a social studies classroom teacher, social studies resource teacher, and curriculum specialist. She taught both core and elective courses offered in the MCPS curriculum for grades 7 through 12, at all levels from inclusion to on-level, honors and AP courses. She has pioneered the use of technology in teaching, developing software to help teachers present information using primary sources with multimedia. Linda has also worked extensively with teacher training, having co-written and taught a course through MCPS staff development titled “Recent Trends in Social Studies.” This course focused on developments in social studies methodology, teaching reading and writing within a social studies course, and developing a variety of assessment strategies. She was project coordinator of the MCPS TAH grant Conflict and Consensus prior to coordinating the Unveiling History grant. Kelly Schrum (Academic Program Director) is the director of educational projects at the Center for History and New Media and an associate professor at George Mason University. Schrum is the author of Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girls’ Culture, 1920–1950, U.S. History Matters: A Student Guide to History Online, and World History Matters: A Student Guide to History Online. Schrum is director of Teachinghistory.org and co-director of the websites Children and Youth in History, World History Sources, and Women in World History, and History Matters. She has worked extensively in the areas of 20th-century American culture, digital humanities, and teacher training. Christopher Hamner (Lead Historian) specializes in the social dimensions of U.S. military history. An honors graduate of Dartmouth College, he received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 2004. His first book, Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776–1945, explores the changes in individual soldiers’ experiences in combat and the factors that motivated them to continue fighting as warfare became progressively more industrialized. He has been a fellow at Harvard University’s John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies and the U.S. Army’s Center for Military History, and taught at Duke University and Appalachian State University in North Carolina before coming to George Mason University in 2005. Adam Rothman (Lead Historian) is an Associate Professor in the History Department at Georgetown University, where he teaches classes on the history of the Atlantic world, slavery, and Jeffersonian America. Rothman received his B.A. from Yale in 1993 and his Ph.D. from Columbia in 2000. Adam Rothman’s principal research interests lie in the history of the United States from the American Revolution to the Civil War, and in the transatlantic history of slavery. Rothman’s book, Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South, was published by Harvard University Press in 2005 and explains how and why slavery expanded in the United States in the decades after the American Revolution. Michael O’Malley (Lead Historian) received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught at GMU since 1994. Publications include Keeping Watch: A History of American Time(1994) and The State of Cultural History (2009). His most recent book, Face Value, On the History of Money and Value in Nineteenth-century America, is forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press. As Associate Director of the Center for History and New Media, he has done extensive work in digital media, including publications and presentations on web design and digital pedagogy as well as the production of video and audio for web-based educational projects. An amateur musician, O’Malley is also interested in the history of recorded sound and recorded sound technology. He maintains a blog, theaporetic.. Rosemarie Zagarri (Lead Historian) is university professor and professor of history at George Mason University. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University and specializes in Early American history. She has published four books, the most recent of which is Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007; paperback, 2008). Her articles have appeared in scholarly journals such as the Journal of American History, American Quarterly, Journal of the Early Republic, andThe William & Mary Quarterly, and in numerous edited collections. Jessica Kilday (Project Associate) is the project associate for Unveiling History, the Teaching American History Grant for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, as well as for Exceptional Americans, Everyday Americans, the Teaching American History Grant for Loudoun County Public Schools. Jessica graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mary Washington in 2010 with a B.A. in History and a secondary education license in History and Social Sciences. She completed her student teaching in a 7th-grade social studies class and graduated with honors in history for her undergraduate thesis, “Feuding the Fairytale: The Contention Between ‘Women’s Lib’ and Prescribed Femininity in the Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star, 1967–1973.” The site is hosted at unveilinghistory.org.Department of Educatio
