12 research outputs found
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as "shero": Re-defining the mythological hero.
No full textThis thesis examines Buffy Summers from the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer using feminist television criticism to position the character within third wave feminism and pop-culture hero mythology. The central question is: how and why is Buffy not a hero but a "shero"? The term "shero" is a feminist backlash to the traditional heroine and hero. She is a strong, courageous woman, who accomplishes great things in the face of patriarchal forces that would keep her meek and dependent. The methods used in this thesis are based on television theory methodologies, including ideological analysis and literary analysis from a third wave feminist perspective. I argue that female stereotypes, represented in television, language and hero mythology play a significant role in limiting women's roles within these areas. However, I believe that BfVS is a show that challenges female stereotypes and successfully redefines traditional views of women and heroes on television. The results of this thesis contribute to the growing literature of third wave feminism and feminist television criticism. More importantly, this thesis establishes the character, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as a shero and feminist role model, which has been lacking in popular culture.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b128985
Easy Integrability and Data Processing of a Soft Tactile Array Sensor Through Reconfiguration
No full textThis work was supported by the SHERO Project, a Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Program of the European Commission under Grant 828818. The work of Julie Legrand was supported by the Personal FWO under Grant 12Y8622N. The work of Ellen Roels was supported by the Personal FWO under Grant 1S84120N. The associate editor coordinating the review of this article and approving it for publication was Dr. Levent Yobas. (Corresponding author: Julie Legrand.
Examining the stability of emotional intelligence among U.S. adults before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No full textEmotional Intelligence (EI) has been established as a critical skill with the ability to influence positive outcomes and mitigate challenging situations. Research connects EI to such benefits as better health, superior job performance, and psychological well-being. EI has also been shown to help moderate the negative impacts of stress. The recent COVID-19 pandemic is well-recognized as a source of unprecedented stress with implications for emotional well-being; however, continued research is needed to understand its impact on EI. We examined EI across both known and unknown subpopulations before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our purpose was to investigate the stability of EI among the general U.S. population (n = 33,875) during this time. In addition, we investigated the measurement invariance of an EI instrument not previously examined in the literature. Our EI instrument demonstrated measurement invariance over time. In addition, EI did not vary meaningfully, either among known or unknown subgroups. These findings align with previous research in which EI is an independent variable that moderates or mediates other factors. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of EI and its stability, which is critical to the ongoing debate regarding the significance of EI. If substantial claims are to be made regarding the efficacy of EI, then evidence supporting its stability is needed to demonstrate that EI is usually the actor and not the variable acted upon by circumstances. This study provides important evidence of the stability of EI during highly stressful and chaotic circumstances
Finite Element Analysis-Based Soft Robotic Modeling: Simulating a Soft Actuator in SOFA
No full textThis tutorial was validated during the first International Winter School on Smart Materials for Soft Robots, held 12-17 December 2021, at the University of Cambridge, U.K. We would like to thank the organizational team and participants of this event. This project was funded by Fonds Wetenschap-pelijk Onderzoek via the personal grants of Ellen Roels (Grant 1S84120N) and Seppe Terryn (Grant 1100416N); European Union (EU) FET Open RIA Project SHERO (Grant 828818); and euROBIN (Grant 101070596). The corre-sponding author is Pasquale Ferrentin
Embedded Leadership: The Role of Gisu Clan Elders in Uganda in Supporting and Limiting Executive Authority
No full textResearch has identified a problem of executive authorities in Africa that operate largely free of accountability and/or balance of power, often resulting in oppression, tyranny, or other abuses of power. In response to calls for greater understanding of indigenous African leadership (Littrell, 2011), this dissertation used problem-focused ethnographic methods to investigate characteristics of Gisu/Masaaba clan elder leadership in East Africa, specifically as elders interact with executive authority. Elders are a tribal form of leadership wherein leaders are embedded in the community but lack political power. The research question asked: What are the modalities indigenous to Gisu culture, specifically from elder councils, that facilitate accountability and balance of power in African governance, and how could biblical descriptions of elders be useful in the Gisu's self-perception and construction of elder-based leadership? The study (N = 49) employed participant observation as well as directed observation and interview-based participant listening with elders, youth, and government leaders to produce rich qualitative data. After coding emergent themes and categories, thick descriptions of Gisu clan elder leadership formed a foundation for analysis. Emergent themes were first analyzed using indigenous typologies and then using analyst-constructed typologies before being interpreted to present an indigenous portrayal of traditional Gisu elders' characteristics, concerns, actions, and modalities. Research data provided support for elders' facilitating accountability through speaking directly to the leader, escalating complaints to higher authorities, and taking the case to the public; the data also offered support, to a lesser degree, for elders facilitating balance of power related to executive authority through formation of supraclan bodies such as the Inzu ya Masaaba and Elders Forum as well as through persistently utilizing the modality of elders' voice to call for reform. Drawing from the research data, the author offered suggestions for how biblical descriptions of elders could be useful in the Gisu's self-perception and construction of elder-based leadership, specifically addressing two threats to elder self-perception and construction of elder-based leadership by way of reclaiming important traditional aspects of eldership
Comparing Relative Efficiency of Nonparametric to Parametric Methods using Monte Carlo Simulation
No full textIt is well-known that Type I or Type II error control in parametric statistical inference is related to the tenability of various model assumptions. The purpose is to demonstrate situations in which nonparametric tests may be more powerful than parametric tests under varying degrees and types of model assumption violation. The method is simulation-based, using a new, mixture-based simulation method for generating distributions with varying degrees of nonnormality. The results of this study will provide applied researchers with important information that can be used for designing studies and/or getting the most statistical power out of the available data
Salmonella in two gecko species on the island of Hawaii
No full textWestern Region, National Park Servic
Development of a Perceptions of Online Learning Scale to Assess Teachers' Beliefs
No full textDuring the COVID pandemic, the sudden switch to online learning brought an unintended spotlight to this gradually expanding educational innovation. However, while numerous tools exist to assess student perceptions of or readiness for online learning quantitatively, a research gap exists regarding teachers' perceptions of online learning. To facilitate future research among teachers, the authors describe the development of a new perceptions of online learning scale (POOLS). The POOLS seeks to measure teachers' perceptions of online learning across four theoretical constructs associated with quality education in online and traditional face-to-face formats. The POOLS was constructed using expert review and a sample (N=654), where an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on split halves of these data. The results of this initial validation study provide the basis for using the POOLS as an approach to measuring four aspects of perceptions of online learning: Effective Learning (ω^2 = 0.77), Student-Centered Learning (ω^2 = 0.67), Interactive Learning (ω^2 = 0.73), and Engaged Learning (ω^2 = 0.66). We recommend that the POOLS be used in research settings to describe the relationship among POOLS factors and other characteristics such as self-efficacy, amount or type of experience with online learning, and personality traits
Studying Developmental Growth with Multilevel Models for Linear and Categorical Change
No full textMethods for longitudinal modeling help gain insight into developmental processes. However, different modeling approaches allow for unique perspectives on developmental processes. We explored the development of depression using (1) multilevel growth modeling (ML-GM) and (2) multilevel latent transition analysis (ML-LTA) which conceptualize change over time in differently. ML-GM focuses on individual trajectories while ML-LTA identifies transitions through stages of depression. We used a subset of the public-use dataset, National Longitudinal Survey Youth (’97), for didactic use. Our talk and paper will focus on describing what inferences can be drawn using these different conceptual approache
Temporal changes in Weddell seal dive behavior over winter: are females increasing foraging effort to support gestation?
No full text© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Evolution, 8(23), (2018): 11857-11874. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4643.In capital‐breeding marine mammals, prey acquisition during the foraging trip coinciding with gestation must provide energy to meet the immediate needs of the growing fetus and also a store to meet the subsequent demands of lactation. Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) that give birth following the gestational (winter) foraging period gain similar proportions of mass and lipid as compared to females that fail to give birth. Therefore, any changes in foraging behavior can be attributed to gestational costs. To investigate differences in foraging effort associated with successful reproduction, twenty‐three satellite tags were deployed on post‐molt female Weddell seals in the Ross Sea. Of the 20 females that returned to the area the following year, 12 females gave birth and eight did not. Females that gave birth the following year began the winter foraging period with significantly longer and deeper dives, as compared to non‐reproductive seals. Mid‐ to late winter, reproductive females spent a significantly greater proportion of the day diving, and either depressed their diving metabolic rates (DMR), or exceeded their calculated aerobic dive limit (cADL) more frequently than females that returned without a pup. Moreover, non‐reproductive females organized their dives into 2–3 short bouts per day on average (BOUTshort; 7.06 ± 1.29 hr; mean ± 95% CI), whereas reproductive females made 1–2 BOUTshort per day (10.9 ± 2.84 hr), comprising one long daily foraging bout without rest. The magnitude of the increase in dive activity budgets and depression in calculated DMR closely matched the estimated energetic requirements of supporting a fetus. This study is one of the first to identify increases in foraging effort that are associated with successful reproduction in a top predator and indicates that reproductive females must operate closer to their physiological limits to support gestational costs.We are grateful for the help of field team members: Drs. Luis Hückstädt, Linnea Pearson, and Patrick Robinson for sample collection. Group B‐009‐M led by Drs. Robert Garrott, Jay Rotella, and Thierry Chambert provided information regarding animal reproductive status and provided great assistance in locating study animals. Logistical support was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) U.S. Antarctic Program, Raytheon Polar Services, and Lockheed Martin ASC; we thank all the support staff in Christchurch, NZ and McMurdo Station. This research was conducted with support from NSF ANT‐0838892 to D.P.C. and ANT‐0838937 to J.M.B. For J.M.B., this material is based upon work while serving at the National Science Foundation, and M.R.S was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE‐1242789. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Animal handling protocols were approved by the University of Alaska Anchorage and University of California Santa Cruz's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees. Research and sample import to the United States were authorized under the Marine Mammal permit No. 87‐1851‐04 issued by the Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. Research activities were also approved through Antarctic Conservation Act permits while at McMurdo Station
