62,215 research outputs found
Smith College Campus ADA Accessibility Report
No full textWith Smith College being a residential campus for a diverse population of students, accessibility around campus is extremely important for the wellbeing of these students. All students should have access to physically accessible paths to move around campus.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. The act addresses a wide range of topics related to accessibility, including but not limited to: physical accessibility and accessible design, equal employment opportunity, discrimination prevention, and benefits. This project focuses specifically on physical accessibility across Smith College campus. The standards referenced for the rest of this report are based on the most recently updated ADA standards from 2010.
Most of the buildings on campus were built before the passing of the ADA, and because of this they are not required to meet ADA requirements unless they are subject to large-scale renovations. In order for Smith to truly be an equitable institution, it must be proactive and implement changes to make campus more accessible as soon as possible instead of just waiting for major renovations. Through this project, we will investigate the extent to which the campus is accessible to all students through evaluating select criteria for campus pathways and identifying potential areas for improvement. In our data collection, we prioritized paths on the basis of being essential for traveling across campus and accessing frequently used academic buildings, parking lots, and facilities. We also primarily focused on paths because our community partner is the Smith College Botanic Garden, who wanted to know how they could use Smith’s 21st century landscaping plan to improve accessibility on campus. The criteria we chose to focus on include path width, the presence of cracks/potholes/obstacles that hinder accessibility, path slope, the presence of stairs, the presence of railings, and path material. All of these factors are important to consider when thinking about potential physical barriers that can hinder movement
A Hydrologic Study of Smith College and Impacts on the Mill River Watershed
No full textEnvironmental practices of Smith College negatively affect the local community, particularly the Mill River watershed. Models of the surface hydrology of Smith College show that runoff originating from the campus flows directly into Paradise Pond and the Mill River. This runoff carries sediment, chemicals, and materials used for lawn and walkway maintenance. Similarly, particulates generated by the numerous sites of construction flow directly into the watershed, increasing turbidity with the increase of suspended and dissolved sediment. Storm water and runoff management practices, such as the use of siltfences and filter cloths, as well as changes in chemical types and applications, can greatly reduce the impact Smith College has on the Mill River and improve the Campus’s overall sustainability. Other Five College campuses, particularly Mount Holyoke, currently employ these management practices and can act as models for future Smith College sustainability policies
Smith Act – Alien Registration Act 1940
No full textAlien Registration Act of 1940 was principally an anti-sedition enactment passed by the Congress in June, 1940 and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This Act is commonly referred to as the Smith Act, named after Howard D. Smith, the author of its’ anti-sedition section, and is similar to the New York Criminal Anarchy Act of 1902, sustained in 1925 in Gitlow v. New York. The Smith Act made it a criminal offence for any person or organization to advocate the forcible or violent overthrow of the United States Government. It also required registration of personal and professional details as well as political affiliations and fingerprinting of all alien residents of United States above to age of 14. Within four months from the passage of Smith Act, about 4,741,971 aliens were registered.
This article discusses the effects, implementation, application and subsequent modifications of this Act
Exploring the Development of a Sustainability Innovation Initiative at Smith College
No full textThe climate is changing at an unprecedented rate (IPCC, 2014). Addressing the complex problem of climate change requires creative sustainable solutions that many college campuses are equipped to create. Smith College does not have a clear structure in place to empower students to create their own sustainable initiatives and oncampus projects. Our goal is address the SGCC recommendations to “explore the development of sustainability innovation funds to implement cost and carbonsaving programs” (SGCC 2017). Our objectives include assessing the need for implementing a sustainability innovation fund at Smith College. We also aim to identify the resources students need to implement sustainable projects on campus. ` Our methods included an anonymous student survey, semistructured interviews with key stakeholders on campus, and a literature review of peer institution sustainability project programming. Our survey results indicate that students have specific project ideas for oncampus sustainable innovation, but lack the resources to access funding on campus. Semistructured interviews with key stakeholders indicate that there are a considerable amount of existing funding sources on campus, including the newly developed House Sustainability Challenge. Based these results, we conclude that there is not a need for an entirely new Sustainability Innovation Fund. Instead Smith College should utilize existing resources to engage and empower students to create innovate sustainable project oncampus. Furthermore, we recommend that the House Sustainability Challenge act as a foundation to expand into a Sustainability Innovation Initiative (SII) for studentled projects on campus. We provide additional recommendation regarding governance, funding source, project eligibility, applicant eligibility, programming and publicity engagement of the proposed Sustainability Innovation Initiative (SII)
"Sundry accounts in the hands of Esqr Smith not in the genl act."
No full text"Sundry accounts in the hands of Esqr Smith not in the genl act.
Place
No full textIn helping students form a sense of place, a connection with the community and environment where they live, colleges can help encourage a sense of stewardship. This sense of responsibility can lead to a reduction in the ecological footprint of a college both through student resource use and through increased efforts by students to make the college a more sustainable institution. I attempted to add to and rework programs on the Smith campus to help foster a sense of place in the first year class. By meeting with faculty and staff who organize the programs, I assessed the programs Smith has in place and offered recommendations for the future. I suggested additions to the pre-orientation and orientation programs for incoming students, suggested a book for the incoming students to read that has a local environmental theme, and designed a first year seminar that investigates the reciprocal relationship between Smith and its surrounding environment. I hope that these programs will help Smith students become more aware of their social and ecological impacts on the surrounding areas, and subsequently act to reduce their resource use and become positive members of the Northampton community. In addition, I hope this sense of place will provide the impetus for students to become involved with environmental movements on campus and beyond
The responsibilities of audiences to speakers : a speech act theory of epistemic violence
No full textIn recent years, feminist philosophers have written about epistemic violence and the silencing effects of speech without deploying speech act theory. Speech act theory debunked the dichotomy between speech and action, but has yet to be fully deployed in the silencing and epistemic violence literature. This paper highlights the implicit reliance on speech acts that pervades the literature on epistemic violence and silencing and argues that a rigorous and explicit application of speech act theory to silencing provides a better account of epistemic violence. I argue that speakers are responsible for performing the speech acts they intend to perform and that audiences are responsible for fulfilling or frustrating the speaker’s intended speech acts. I further argue that epistemic violence occurs when practices of silencing systematically and predictably prevent speakers from performing the speech acts they intend to perform
The vanishing author in computer-generated works: a critical analysis of recent Australian case law
No full textAbstract
The use of software is ubiquitous in the creation of many copyright works, yet the requirement in copyright law that every work have a human author who engages in independent intellectual effort means that its use may prevent copyright subsistence. Several recent Australian cases have refocused attention on authorship as an essential criterion of copyright subsistence, and these cases suggest that much computer-produced output may be authorless and thus lack copyright protection. This article, the first in a two-part series, analyses how each case deals with the question of authorship of computer-produced works and why the use of software diminishes copyright protection for a significant number of computer-generated works. The article critiques the application of conventional notions of human authorship developed in the pre-computer age to modern productions and suggests alternative approaches to authorship that satisfy both the major objectives of copyright policy and the need to adapt to the computer age. The article argues that, without a broader judicial approach to authorship of computer-generated works, Parliament must remedy the lacuna in protection for these ‘authorless’ works. Possible solutions for reform are suggested. In a forthcoming article, the author comprehensively examines those reform proposals
Proposal to Implement An Institutional Food Recovery System and Fortify Existing Sustainable Programs on Campus
No full textReducing food waste, lowering Smith’s carbon footprint, and strengthening Smith’s commitment to the community by creating a year-round staff position to coordinate sustainable practices in dining:
According to the NRDC, nearly 40% of food in the US is wasted, primarily due to distribution losses and premature disposal. In Massachusetts alone, more than a million tons of food waste were sent to landfills in 2016, representing a quarter of the state’s waste stream. Smith College loses thousands of dollars each year on disposal of unserved food. Due to students not consistently swiping their OneCards for meals, in addition to Smith’s lack of centralized dining with up to 12 dining halls open each day, Smith dining hall chefs cannot account for fluctuations in student traffic to estimate food quantity preparation for the day, which causes overproduction and significant food waste. Meanwhile, more than 650,000 Massachusetts residents are food insecure, with 13,000 located in Hampshire County alone.
Smith spends thousands on compost tipping costs for 1 disposal of hundreds of pounds of food surplus generated by these dining halls daily. However, according to the NRDC and EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy, donation has a greater environmental and social impact than composting. Under the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1966, donors are protected from liability when donating food in good faith for distribution to needy individuals; yet, a stark disparity remains between those with food surplus and the food insecure
Clinical use of music as an adjunct to evidence-based treatment for treating posttraumatic stress disorder
No full textSubstantial efforts have been made to provide evidence based therapeutic treatment for combat veterans seeking mental health services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the clinical complexity of PTSD, discovering a muti-effect approach treating both the diagnostically significant PTS symptoms as well as the non-diagnostic associated features of PTSD would be beneficial. This independent investigation was developed to explore the relationship of music to the current evidence-based treatment practices for PTSD. The researcher explored the relationship between the physiological, psychological and social effects of both music and PTSD, the mechanisms of change intrinsic to PTSD therapy, and the clinical applications of music as an adjunct to in vivo exposure therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness. The uniquely holistic biopsychosocial processes engaged by music and the associated theoretical underpinnings informed the author\u27s approach. During the experience of working musically with trauma survivors, the author developed specific experiential and behavioral exercises to compliment the therapeutic elements of ACT, mindfulness and in vivo exposure therapy. The utilized approach included individual guitar lessons and group listening exercises designed to work musically with clients\u27 anxieties in vivo, foster mindfulness skills with the goal to become re-engaged in life by practicing noticing when thoughts become a distraction from fully participating in the present moment, and to provide a valued activity that can act as a bridge from the psychological principles of ACT to the ultimate goal of behavioral activatio
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