bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Providing Elementary and Middle School Science Teachers with Content and Pedagogical Professional Development in an Online Environment
Authors: Mawn Mary V. , Davis Kathleen S.
Published: October 2014

There is a great need to provide science teachers with on-going and relevant professional development, but access to such opportunities can be challenging due to time, distance, and budget pressures. Online courses and programs can provide alternatives to address these challenges. This chapter presents approaches, findings, and recommendations for online professional development of elementary and middle school science teachers based on a case study of an online science education course and an online chemistry course. Three themes are discussed: the ability to incorporate inquiry-based teaching and learning in online environments, the importance of online discourse and reflection, and the role of linking theory with practice. Teacher participants reported increased experience exploring content via inquiry, felt actively engaged with their peers as they constructed their knowledge, and expected to adapt inquiry-based activities in their classrooms as a result of these online courses.
The Integration of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Project-Based Learning in a Blended Environment
Authors: Bullock Daniel Kelvin
Published: October 2014

The use of blended learning environments is rapidly expanding in education. This chapter examines a teacher's enactment of the New Tech Network educational model, which utilizes a blended learning environment, and the teaching strategies she used to engage students and gauge student achievement. Detailed teacher interviews, classroom observations, and analyses of student assignments were the sources of data for the study. The findings centered on the integration of culturally relevant pedagogy and authentic instruction within this learning environment and the implications of this integration. Recommendations for future research include a more expansive study of the use of blended learning in social studies and different means of integrating culturally relevant pedagogy and authentic instruction into blended learning.
Regulatory T Cells Dynamically Regulate Selectin Ligand Function during Multiple Challenge Contact Hypersensitivity
Authors: Abeynaike Latasha D. , Deane James A. , Westhorpe Clare L. V. , Chow Zachary , Alikhan Maliha A. , Kitching A. Richard , Issekutz Andrew , Hickey Michael J.
Published: October 2014

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play critical roles in restricting T cell–mediated inflammation. In the skin, this is dependent on expression of selectin ligands required for leukocyte rolling in dermal microvessels. However, whether there are differences in the molecules used by Tregs and proinflammatory T cells to undergo rolling in the skin remains unclear. In this study, we used spinning disk confocal microscopy in Foxp3-GFP mice to visualize rolling of endogenous Tregs in dermal postcapillary venules. Tregs underwent consistent but low-frequency rolling interactions under resting and inflamed conditions. At the early stage of the response, Treg adhesion was minimal. However, at the peak of inflammation, Tregs made up 40% of the adherent CD4+ T cell population. In a multiple challenge model of contact hypersensitivity, rolling of Tregs and conventional CD4+ T cells was mostly dependent on overlapping contributions of P- and E-selectin. However, after a second challenge, rolling of Tregs but not conventional CD4+ T cells became P-selectin independent, and Tregs showed reduced capacity to bind P-selectin. Moreover, inhibition of E-selectin at this time point resulted in exacerbation of inflammation. These findings demonstrate that in this multiple challenge model of inflammation, Treg selectin binding capacity and the molecular basis of Treg rolling can be regulated dynamically.
What’s now, what’s new and what’s next in virgin olive oil elaboration systems? A perspective on current knowledge and future trends
Authors: Clodoveo Maria Lisa , Dipalmo Tiziana , Schiano Cristina , La Notte Domenico , Pati Sandra
Published: October 2014

The aim of virgin olive oil elaboration process is to obtain the highest recovery of the best quality oil from the fruits. The aim of the researchers is to understand the key elements that allow to modulate the complex series of physical, physico-chemical, chemical and biochemical transformations in order to develop innovative and sustainable plant solutions able to increase simultaneously both yield and quality of product. The basic principles applied also in the newest olive oil industrial plants still follow the technical knowledge which have been empirically learned by humans thousands of years ago. In fact, it is well known that three factors, mixing, water adding and warming, are the three macroscopic driving forces able to favour the separation of the oily phase from the mass of crushed olives. In this consolidated scenario, can new elements emerge? The whole process should be considered more than a simple extraction of the oil present in fruit cells, but a complex elaboration of a product, which is depleted and enriched of both constitutive and neo-synthesised compounds through complex phenomena only in part discovered. In fact, while it is evident that numerous studies have been conducted to elucidate the behaviour of olive paste during virgin olive oil extraction process, a key conclusion is that the current level of understanding can be improved further by means the development of more rigorous researches with more focused targets aimed to understand the rheological changes, the coalescence phenomena, the changes in hydrophobic and hydrophilic phenomena, the partition equilibrium of minor compounds between aqueous and oily phases and, last but not least, the favourable and unfavourable enzymatic reactions. This paper provides an analysis of the present research field and its strengths and weaknesses are discussed. Potentially important future directions for research are also proposed.
A wireless telecommunications network for real-time monitoring of greenhouse microclimate
Authors: Vox Giuliano , Losito Pierfrancesco , Valente Fabio , Consoletti Rinaldo , Scarascia-Mugnozza Giacomo , Schettini Evelia , Marzocca Cristoforo , Corsi Francesco
Published: October 2014

An innovative wireless monitoring system for measuring greenhouse climatic parameters was developed to overcome the problems related to wires cabling such as presence of a dense net of wires hampering the cultivation practices, wires subjected to high temperature and relative humidity, rodents that can damage wires. The system exploits battery-powered environmental sensors, such as air temperature and relative humidity sensors, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation sensors, integrated in the contest of an 802.15.4-based wireless sensors network. Besides, a fruit diameter measurement sensor was integrated into the system. This approach guarantees flexibility, ease of deployment and low power consumption. Data collected from the greenhouse are then sent to a remote server via a general packet radio service link. The proposed solution has been implemented in a real environment. The test of the communication system showed that 0.3% of the sent data packed were lost; the climatic parameters measured with the wireless system were compared with data collected by the wired system showing a mean value of the absolute difference equal to 0.6°C for the value of the greenhouse air temperature. The wireless climate monitoring system showed a good reliability, while the sensor node batteries showed a lifetime of 530 days.
Residual properties of groups defined by basic commutators
Authors: Baumslag Gilbert , Mikhailov Roman
Published: October 2014

In this paper we study the residual nilpotence of groups defined by basic commutators. We prove that the so-called Hydra groups as well as certain of their generalizations and quotients are, in the main, residually torsion-free nilpotent. By way of contrast we give an example of a group defined by two basic commutators which is not residually torsion-free nilpotent.
On growth of random groups of intermediate growth
Authors: Benli Mustafa G. , Grigorchuk Rostislav , Vorobets Yaroslav
Published: October 2014

We study the growth of typical groups from the family of

p

-groups of intermediate growth constructed by the second author. We find that, in the sense of category, a generic group exhibits oscillating growth with no universal upper bound. At the same time, from a measure-theoretic point of view (i.e., almost surely relative to an appropriately chosen probability measure), the growth function is bounded by

e^{n^\alpha}

for some

\alpha

< 1.
Geometry of locally compact groups of polynomial growth and shape of large balls
Authors: Breuillard Emmanuel
Published: October 2014

We generalize Pansu’s thesis [27] about asymptotic cones of finitely generated nilpotent groups to arbitrary locally compact groups

G

of polynomial growth. We show that any such

G

is weakly commensurable to some simply connected solvable Lie group

S

, the Lie shadow of

G

and that balls in any reasonable left invariant metric on

G

admit a well-defined asymptotic shape. By-products include a formula for the asymptotics of the volume of large balls and an application to ergodic theory, namely that the Ergodic Theorem holds for all ball averages. Along the way we also answer negatively a question of Burago and Margulis [7] on asymptotic word metrics and give a geometric proof of some results of Stoll [33] of the rationality of growth series of Heisenberg groups.
The isomorphism problem for profinite completions of finitely presented, residually finite groups
Authors: Bridson Martin R. , Wilton Henry
Published: October 2014

We consider pairs of finitely presented, residually finite groups

u:P\hookrightarrow \Gamma

. We prove that there is no algorithm that, given an arbitrary such pair, can determine whether or not the associated map of profinite completions

\hat{u}: \widehat{P} \to \widehat{\Gamma}

is an isomorphism. Nor do there exist algorithms that can decide whether

\hat{u}

is surjective, or whether

\widehat{P}

is isomorphic to

\widehat{\Gamma}

.
Relative amenability
Authors: Caprace Pierre-Emmanuel , Monod Nicolas
Published: October 2014

We introduce a relative fixed point property for subgroups of a locally compact group, which we call
relative amenability
. It is a priori weaker than amenability. We establish equivalent conditions, related among others to a problem studied by Reiter in 1968. We record a solution to Reiter's problem.

We study the class

\mathscr{X}

of groups in which relative amenability is equivalent to amenability for all closed subgroups; we prove that

\mathscr{X}

contains all familiar groups. Actually, no group is known to lie outside

\mathscr{X}

.

Since relative amenability is closed under Chabauty limits, it follows that any Chabauty limit of amenable subgroups remains amenable if the ambient group belongs to the vast class

\mathscr{X}

.
A normal subgroup theorem for commensurators of lattices
Authors: Creutz Darren , Shalom Yehuda
Published: October 2014

We establish a general normal subgroup theorem for commensurators of lattices in locally compact groups. While the statement is completely elementary, its proof, which rests on the original strategy ofMargulis in the case of higher rank lattices, relies heavily on analytic tools pertaining to amenability and Kazhdan’s property (T). It is a counterpart to the normal subgroup theorem for irreducible lattices of Bader and the second named author, and may also be used to sharpen that result when one of the ambient factors is totally disconnected.
Deformation theory and finite simple quotients of triangle groups II
Authors: Larsen Michael , Lubotzky Alexander , Marion Claude
Published: October 2014

This paper is a continuation of our first paper [10] in which we showed how deformation theory of representation varieties can be used to study finite simple quotients of triangle groups. While in Part I, we mainly used deformations of the principal homomorphism from

{\rm SO}(3,\mathbb R)

, in this part we use

{\rm PGL}_2(\mathbb R)

as well as deformations of representations which are very different from the principal homomorphism.
$C$*-simple groups without free subgroups
Authors: Olshanskii Alexander Yu. , Osin Denis
Published: October 2014

We construct first examples of non-trivial groups without non-cyclic free subgroups whose reduced

C^\ast

-algebra is simple and has unique trace. This answers a question of de la Harpe. Both torsion and torsion free examples are provided. In particular, we show that the reduced

C^\ast

-algebra of the free Burnside group

B(m, n)

of rank

m ≥ 2

and any sufficiently large odd exponent

n

is simple and has unique trace.
Countable degree-1 saturation of certain $C$*-algebras which are coronas of Banach algebras
Authors: Voiculescu Dan-Virgil
Published: October 2014

We study commutants modulo some normed ideal of

n

-tuples of operators which satisfy a certain approximate unit condition relative to the ideal. We obtain results about the quotient of these Banach algebras by their ideal of compact operators being

C

*-algebras which have the countable degree-1 saturation property in the model-theory sense of I. Farah and B. Hart. We also obtain results about quasicentral approximate units, multipliers and duality.
Immediate Surgical Skills Feedback in the Operating Room Using “SurF” Cards
Authors: Connolly AnnaMarie , Hansen Darci , Schuler Kevin , Galvin Shelley L. , Wolfe Honor
Published: October 2014

Background

Ensuring residents develop operative skills requires application of the principles of guided learning, deliberate practice, and directed feedback.

Objective

We sought to create and implement a tool to promote procedural “key” step review and immediate feedback on surgical skills, and examined faculty and resident satisfaction with surgical skills feedback.

Methods

We created surgical skills feedback (SurF) cards for 8 gynecologic procedures. Faculty/fellows and residents completed prestudy surveys querying frequency of preoperative key step review and satisfaction with surgical skill feedback, a SurF card each time 1 of 8 procedures was performed, and poststudy surveys to evaluate for changes.

Results

Prestudy surveys were completed by 31 faculty/fellows and 20 residents, with 55% (17 of 31) of the faculty/fellows and 5% (1 of 20) of the residents reporting key step review before surgery. All reported low satisfaction rates with feedback frequency, quality, and timeliness. After implementation of SurF cards, preoperative key step review occurred in 78% (82 of 105) of the procedures. Twenty-one faculty/fellows (68%) and 16 residents (80%) completed our poststudy survey. Faculty/fellows reported statistically similar key step review (n  =  15 [71%], P  =  .23), while residents reported that key step review had significantly improved (n  =  6 [38%], P  =  .01). Resident satisfaction with feedback frequency (5% to 50%, P  =  .002) and quality (15% to 50%, P  =  .02) increased significantly.

Conclusions

The SurF cards we developed facilitated procedural key step review, were associated with significantly improved resident satisfaction with surgical feedback, and could prove helpful with outcomes assessments, such as Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–required documentation of Milestone attainment.
An Effective Multimodal Curriculum to Teach Internal Medicine Residents Evidence-Based Breast Health
Authors: Corbelli Jennifer , Bonnema Rachel , Rubio Doris , Comer Diane , McNeil Melissa
Published: October 2014

Background

Breast health is an area fraught with controversy and missed opportunities to meet women's needs, and the state of internal medicine residency training in this area is inadequate.

Objective

Our objective was to develop, implement, and evaluate a curriculum to equip internal medicine residents with the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality, comprehensive breast health care.

Methods

We developed a 4-hour curriculum for internal medicine interns. It incorporated a team-based learning format and used MammaCare breast model software to teach and evaluate the clinical breast examination. We compared interns' precurriculum and postcurriculum test results to a historical comparison group of postgraduate year (PGY)–2 interns who did not complete the curriculum. We retested interns as PGY-2s to assess knowledge retention.

Results

A total 41 of 52 interns (79%) completed the curriculum. Their average MammaCare scores improved from 63% to 91%. Scores on a knowledge-based assessment improved from 47% on the pretest to 85% on the posttest (P < .001). Comparison PGY-2s who did not complete the curriculum averaged a score of 52% (P < .001). When retested 9 months after exposure to the curriculum, participants' mean score was 63% (compared to historical comparison PGY-2 group, P < .001). Only 9% of interns who retook the test as PGY-2s reported having received any breast health training subsequent to curriculum completion.

Conclusions

A targeted half-day, low-cost breast health curriculum significantly improved knowledge and skills in multiple domains, and these improvements were retained in subsequent assessment despite minimal reinforcement in residency training.
Approaches to Well-Being, Use of Psychology and Paternalism in Economics
Authors: Collewet Marion
Published: October 2014

This paper discusses three approaches in economics which take a position on the definition of well-being and which use insights from psychology to support their positions: Scitovsky’s Joyless Economy, happiness economics, and the constitutional approach to happiness in economics. The paper shows first that the definition of well-being by each approach, which is a normative step, is revealed by the choice of a psychological theory or method rather than resulting from the application of a theory or method. Secondly, this paper demonstrates that personal judgement by the authors is often needed in the positive realm, in order to interpret psychological results and to then translate them into practical recommendations. Both of these issues have implications for those theories that define well-being as something other than the fulfillment of individual preferences whatever their content, and which therefore yield a potential justification for paternalism. This paper argues that the potential paternalistic implications of these approaches are not based on positive science only, but rely on normative choice and personal judgement.
Typhoons exert significant but differential impacts on net ecosystem carbon exchange of subtropical mangrove forests in China
Authors: Chen H. , Lu W. , Yan G. , Yang S. , Lin G.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. Typhoons are very unpredictable natural disturbances to subtropical mangrove forests in Asian countries, but little information is available on how these disturbances affect ecosystem level carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange of mangrove wetlands. In this study, we examined short-term effect of frequent strong typhoons on defoliation and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of subtropical mangroves, and also synthesized 19 typhoons during a 4-year period between 2009 and 2012 to further investigate the regulation mechanisms of typhoons on ecosystem carbon and water fluxes following typhoon disturbances. Strong wind and intensive rainfall caused defoliation and local cooling effect during the typhoon season. Daily total NEE values decreased by 26–50% following some typhoons (e.g., W28-Nockten, W35-Molave and W35-Lio-Fan), but significantly increased (43–131%) following typhoon W23-Babj and W38-Megi. The magnitudes and trends of daily NEE responses were highly variable following different typhoons, which were determined by the balance between the variances of gross ecosystem production (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (RE). Furthermore, results from our synthesis indicated that the landfall time of typhoon, wind speed and rainfall were the most important factors controlling the CO2 fluxes following typhoon events. These findings indicate that different types of typhoon disturbances can exert very different effects on CO2 fluxes of mangrove ecosystems and that typhoon will likely have larger impacts on carbon cycle processes in subtropical mangrove ecosystems as the intensity and frequency of typhoons are predicted to increase under future global climate change scenarios.
Origin and fate of particulate and dissolved organic matter in a naturally iron-fertilized region of the Southern Ocean
Authors: Tremblay L. , Caparros J. , Leblanc K. , Obernosterer I.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. Natural iron fertilization of high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters induces annually occurring spring phytoplankton blooms off Kerguelen Islands (Southern Ocean). To examine the origin and fate of particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM and DOM), D- and L-amino acids (AA) were quantified at bloom and HNLC stations. Total hydrolysable AA accounted for 21–25% of surface particulate organic carbon (%POCAA) at the bloom sites, but for 10% at the HNLC site. A marked decrease in %POCAA with depth was observed at the most productive stations leading to values between 3 and 5% below 300 m depth. AA contributed to only 0.9–4.4% of dissolved organic carbon (%DOCAA) at all stations. The only consistent vertical trend was observed at the most productive station (A3-2) where %DOCAA decreased from ∼2% in the surface waters to 0.9% near 300 m. These AA yields and other markers revealed that POM and DOM were more rapidly altered or mineralized at the bloom sites compared to the HNLC site. Different molecular markers indicated that POM mostly originated from diatoms and bacteria. The estimated average proportion of POM from intact phytoplankton cells in surface waters was 45% at the bloom station A3-2, but 14% at the HNLC site. Estimates based on D-AA yields indicated that ∼15% of POM and ∼30% of DOM was of bacterial origin (cells and cell fragments) at all stations. Surprisingly, the DOM in HNLC waters appeared less altered than the DOM from the bloom, had slightly higher dissolved AA concentrations, and showed no sign of alteration within the water column. Unfavorable conditions for bacterial degradation in HNLC regions can explain these findings. In contrast, large inputs of labile organic molecules and iron, likely stimulate the degradation of organic matter (priming effect) and the production of more recalcitrant DOM (microbial carbon pump) during iron-fertilized blooms.
Atmospheric circulation controls on the inter-annual variability in precipitation isotope ratio in Japan
Authors: Kurita N. , Fujiyoshi Y. , Nakayama T. , Matsumi Y. , Kitagawa H.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. This study explored the primary driver of variations of precipitation isotopes at multiple temporal scales (event, seasonal and inter-annual scales) to provide a greater depth of interpretation for isotope proxy records in Japan. A one-year record of the isotopic composition of event-based precipitation at Nagoya in central Japan showed less seasonal variation, but there is large isotopic variability on a storm-to-storm basis. In the summer, southerly flows transport isotopically enriched moisture from subtropical marine regions with the result that the rainfall produced by the subtropical air, or warm rainfall, was relatively enriched in heavy isotopes in comparison with the other rainfall events. In the winter, storm tracks are the dominant driver of storm-to-storm isotopic variation, and relatively lower isotopic values occurred when northerly winds in association with extratropical cyclones passing off the south coast of Japan (Nangan cyclone) brings cold precipitation. Using the historical 17 year record of monthly isotopes in precipitation at Tokyo station, we explored if the factors controlling event-scale isotopic variability can account for inter-annual isotopic variability. The relatively higher isotopes in summer precipitation were attributed to the higher contribution of the warm rainfall to the total summer precipitation. On the other hand, year-to-year variation of isotopic values in winter precipitation was negatively correlated with the relative ratio of the Nangan cyclone rainfall to the total winter precipitation. The 17 year precipitation history demonstrates that event-scale isotopic variability related to changes in meridional moisture transport is the primary driver of inter-annual isotopic variability in winter and summer precipitation. The meridional moisture transport to central Japan is likely linked to the activity of the western North Pacific subtropical high in summer and the intensity of the East Asian winter monsoon in winter. Therefore, isotope-based proxy records archived in central Japan may enable us to examine past atmospheric circulation changes in East Asia in response to climate variability.
Subsurface North Atlantic warming as a trigger of rapid cooling events: evidences from the Early Pleistocene (MIS 31–19)
Authors: Hernández-Almeida I. , Sierro F.-J. , Cacho I. , Flores J.-A.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. Subsurface water column dynamics in the subpolar North Atlantic were reconstructed in order to improve the understanding of the cause of abrupt IRD events during cold periods of the Early Pleistocene. We used Mg / Ca-based temperatures of deep-dwelling (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral) planktonic foraminifera and paired Mg / Ca-δ18O measurements to estimate the subsurface temperatures and δ18O of seawater at Site U1314. Carbon isotopes on benthic and planktonic foraminifera from the same site provide information about the ventilation and water column nutrient gradient. Mg / Ca-based temperatures and δ18O of seawater suggest increased temperatures and salinities during ice-rafting, likely due to enhanced northward subsurface transport of subtropical waters during periods of AMOC reduction. Planktonic carbon isotopes support this suggestion, showing coincident increased subsurface ventilation during deposition of ice-rafted detritus (IRD). Warm waters accumulated at subsurface would result in basal warming and break-up of ice-shelves, leading to massive iceberg discharges in the North Atlantic. Release of heat and salt stored at subsurface would help to restart the AMOC. This mechanism is in agreement with modelling and proxy studies that observe a subsurface warming in the North Atlantic in response to AMOC slowdown during the MIS3.
Paleo-modeling of coastal saltwater intrusion during the Holocene: an application to the Netherlands
Authors: Delsman J. R. , Hu-a-ng K. R. M. , Vos P. C. , de Louw P. G. B. , Oude Essink G. H. P. , Stuyfzand P. J. , Bierkens M. F. P.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. Coastal groundwater reserves often reflect a complex evolution of marine transgressions and regressions, and are only rarely in equilibrium with current boundary conditions. Understanding and managing the present-day distribution and future development of these reserves and their hydrochemical characteristics therefore requires insight into their complex evolution history. In this paper, we construct a paleo-hydrogeological model, together with groundwater age and origin calculations, to simulate, study and evaluate the evolution of groundwater salinity in the coastal area of the Netherlands throughout the last 8.5 kyr of the Holocene. While intended as a conceptual tool, confidence in our model results is warranted by a good correspondence with a hydrochemical characterization of groundwater origin. Throughout the modeled period, coastal groundwater distribution never reached equilibrium with contemporaneous boundary conditions. This result highlights the importance of historically changing boundary conditions in shaping the present-day distribution of groundwater and its chemical composition. As such, it acts as a warning against the common use of a steady-state situation given present-day boundary conditions to initialize groundwater transport modeling in complex coastal aquifers or, more general, against explaining existing groundwater composition patterns from the currently existing flow situation. The importance of historical boundary conditions not only holds true for the effects of the large-scale marine transgression around 5 kyr BC that thoroughly reworked groundwater composition, but also for the more local effects of a temporary gaining river system still recognizable today. Model results further attest to the impact of groundwater density differences on coastal groundwater flow on millennial timescales and highlight their importance in shaping today's groundwater salinity distribution. We found free convection to drive large-scale fingered infiltration of seawater to depths of 200 m within decades after a marine transgression, displacing the originally present groundwater upwards. Subsequent infiltration of fresh meteoric water was, in contrast, hampered by the existing density gradient. We observed discontinuous aquitards to exert a significant control on infiltration patterns and the resulting evolution of groundwater salinity. Finally, adding to a long-term scientific debate on the origins of groundwater salinity in Dutch coastal aquifers, our modeling results suggest a more significant role of pre-Holocene groundwater in the present-day groundwater salinity distribution in the Netherlands than previously recognized. Though conceptual, comprehensively modeling the Holocene evolution of groundwater salinity, age and origin offered a unique view on the complex processes shaping groundwater in coastal aquifers over millennial timescales.
A seasonal agricultural drought forecast system for food-insecure regions of East Africa
Authors: Shukla S. , McNally A. , Husak G. , Funk C.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. The increasing food and water demands of East Africa's growing population are stressing the region's inconsistent water resources and rain-fed agriculture. More accurate seasonal agricultural drought forecasts for this region can inform better water and agropastoral management decisions, support optimal allocation of the region's water resources, and mitigate socioeconomic losses incurred by droughts and floods. Here we describe the development and implementation of a seasonal agricultural drought forecast system for East Africa (EA) that provides decision support for the Famine Early Warning Systems Network's (FEWS NET) science team. We evaluate this forecast system for a region of equatorial EA (2° S–8° N, 36–46° E) for the March-April-May (MAM) growing season. This domain encompasses one of the most food-insecure, climatically variable, and socioeconomically vulnerable regions in EA, and potentially the world; this region has experienced famine as recently as 2011. To produce an "agricultural outlook", our forecast system simulates soil moisture (SM) scenarios using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model forced with climate scenarios describing the upcoming season. First, we forced the VIC model with high-quality atmospheric observations to produce baseline soil moisture (SM) estimates (here after referred as SM a posteriori estimates). These compared favorably (correlation = 0.75) with the water requirement satisfaction index (WRSI), an index that the FEWS NET uses to estimate crop yields. Next, we evaluated the SM forecasts generated by this system on 5 March and 5 April of each year between 1993 and 2012 by comparing them with the corresponding SM a posteriori estimates. We found that initializing SM forecasts with start-of-season (SOS) (5 March) SM conditions resulted in useful SM forecast skill (> 0.5 correlation) at 1-month and, in some cases, 3-month lead times. Similarly, when the forecast was initialized with midseason (i.e., 5 April) SM conditions, the skill of forecasting SM estimates until the end-of-season improved (correlation > 0.5 over several grid cells). We also found these SM forecasts to be more skillful than the ones generated using the Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) method, which derives its hydrologic forecast skill solely from the knowledge of the initial hydrologic conditions. Finally, we show that, in terms of forecasting spatial patterns of SM anomalies, the skill of this agricultural drought forecast system is generally greater (> 0.8 correlation) during drought years (when standardized anomaly of MAM precipitation is below 0). This indicates that this system might be particularity useful for identifying drought events in this region and can support decision-making for mitigation or humanitarian assistance.
Uncertainty analysis of a spatially-explicit annual water-balance model: case study of the Cape Fear catchment, NC
Authors: Hamel P. , Guswa A. J.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. There is an increasing demand for assessment of water provisioning ecosystem services. While simple models with low data and expertise requirements are attractive, their use as decision-aid tools should be supported by uncertainty characterization. We assessed the performance of the InVEST annual water yield model, a popular tool for ecosystem service assessment based on the Budyko framework. Our study involved the comparison of ten subcatchments in the Cape Fear watershed, NC, ranging in size and land use configuration. We analyzed the model sensitivity to the eco-hydrological parameters and the effect of extrapolating a lumped theory to a fully distributed model. Comparison of the model predictions with observations and with a lumped water balance model confirmed that the model is able to represent differences in land uses. Our results also emphasize the effect of climate input errors, especially annual precipitation, and errors in the eco-hydrological parameter Z, which are both comparable to the model structure uncertainties. In practice, our case study supports the use of the model for predicting land use change effect on water provisioning, although its use for identifying areas of high water yield will be influenced by precipitation errors. While the results are inherently local, analysis of the model structure suggests that many insights from this study will hold globally. Further work toward characterization of uncertainties in such simple models will help identify the regions and decision contexts where the model predictions may be used with confidence.
Non-Gaussian interaction information: estimation, optimization and diagnostic application of triadic wave resonance
Authors: Pires C. A. L. , Perdigão R. A. P.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. Non-Gaussian multivariate probability distributions, derived from climate and geofluid statistics, allow for nonlinear correlations between linearly uncorrelated components, due to joint Shannon negentropies. Triadic statistical dependence under pair-wise (total or partial) independence is thus possible. Synergy or interaction information among triads is estimated. We formulate an optimization method of triads in the space of orthogonal rotations of normalized principal components, relying on the maximization of third-order cross cumulants. Its application to a minimal one-dimensional, periodic, advective model, leads to enhanced triads that occur between oscillating components of circular or locally confined wave-trains satisfying the triadic wave resonance condition.
Asymmetry of high-velocity lower crust on the South Atlantic rifted margins and implications for the interplay of magmatism and tectonics in continental breakup
Authors: Becker K. , Franke D. , Trumbull R. , Schnabel M. , Heyde I. , Schreckenberger B. , Koopmann H. , Bauer K. , Jokat W. , Krawczyk C. M.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. High-velocity lower crust (HVLC) and seaward-dipping reflector (SDR) sequences are typical features of volcanic rifted margins. However, the nature and origin of HVLC is under discussion. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of deep crustal structures in the southern segment of the South Atlantic and an assessment of HVLC along the margins. Two new seismic refraction lines off South America fill a gap in the data coverage and together with five existing velocity models allow for a detailed investigation of the lower crustal properties on both margins. An important finding is the major asymmetry in volumes of HVLC on the conjugate margins. The seismic refraction lines across the South African margin reveal cross-sectional areas of HVLC 4 times larger than at the South American margin, a finding that is opposite to the asymmetric distribution of the flood basalts in the Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province. Also, the position of the HVLC with respect to the SDR sequences varies consistently along both margins. Close to the Falkland–Agulhas Fracture Zone in the south, a small body of HVLC is not accompanied by SDRs. In the central portion of both margins, the HVLC is below the inner SDR wedges while in the northern area, closer to the Rio Grande Rise-Walvis Ridge, large volumes of HVLC extend far seaward of the inner SDRs. This challenges the concept of a simple extrusive/intrusive relationship between SDR sequences and HVLC, and it provides evidence for formation of the HVLC at different times during the rifting and breakup process. We suggest that the drastically different HVLC volumes are caused by asymmetric rifting in a simple-shear-dominated extension.
The Effect of Conductor Expressivity on Choral Ensemble Evaluation
Authors: Morrison Steven , Selvey Jeremiah
Published: October 2014

Visual information can contribute significantly to the opinion one makes, the meaning one ascribes, and the interpretation one derives from musical information. An ongoing series of studies has examined whether a conductor’s use of gesture in a manner considered either “expressive” or “inexpressive” affects listeners’ evaluations of an ensemble performance. Prior results have indicated that among university music students instrumental performances led by conductors deemed to be expressive were evaluated more positively than those led by inexpressive conductors even when the performances were actually identical. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a similar response pattern would be observed (a) among younger and less experienced music students and (b) for choral performance examples, as well as (c) to compare responses against evaluations of performances presented in an audio-only condition. Students (N = 429) enrolled in secondary level music classes rated the expressivity of two pairs of two identical choral performance excerpts (four excerpts in all) using a 10-point Likerttype scale. One group (n = 274) watched a video performance of the four excerpts featuring conductors who demonstrated either high-expressivity (HE) or low-expressivity (LE) conducting techniques. There was a significant effect of conducting condition on both the conductor and choral performance evaluations. When compared with the evaluations of a second group of participants (n = 155) who heard the same excerpts presented in an audio-only format, LE performance ratings were significantly lower; there was no difference between HE and audio-only ratings.
Negotiating Sexual Identity: Experiences of Two Gay and Lesbian Preservice Music Teachers
Authors: Paparo Stephen , Sweet Bridget
Published: October 2014

Few studies in the field of teacher education have examined the experiences of gay and lesbian preservice teachers. Donahue (2007) suggests that gay and lesbian preservice teachers struggle with how to negotiate their sexual identity as developing teachers. This intrinsic case study explored how two preservice music teachers hid or disclosed their gay or lesbian identity during their studentteaching placements. The participants were enrolled in two different universities in midwestern states. Brett, who identified as gay, taught with a straight female cooperating teacher in a small, rural community; Nicole, who identified as lesbian, taught with two lesbian cooperating teachers in a suburban setting. Each student teacher participated in three interviews and provided weekly journal entries via email during the 16-week semester. Brett’s within-case analysis revealed the following themes: Selectively sharing personal information and coping with the cooperating teacher. Nicole’s within-case analysis yielded the following themes: Cooperating teachers as role models and coming out to a student whom she knew to be a lesbian. Cross-case analysis illuminated the challenges that these student teachers faced, including the dilemma of being out, covering and being explicitly out, the influence of the cooperating teacher in their student-teaching experience, and the school environment. Discussion includes implications for music teacher education and future research.
An Exploratory Study of Musicians’ Self-Efficacy to Maintain Practice Schedules
Authors: Rojas Joanne , Springer D. Gregory
Published: October 2014

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate musicians’ self-efficacy to maintain practice schedules in the face of adverse situations and conditions. Respondents (N = 159) were graduate student musicians, sampled from a national music organization in the United States. They completed the Self-Efficacy to Maintain Practice Schedules Scale (SEMPSS), a survey instrument designed by the researchers. The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .93) and was found to measure a single latent construct through factor analysis. Among different types of adversity, respondents reported that internal situations provided more challenge to maintaining a practice schedule than environmental or social situations. Music-performance majors reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy to maintain practice schedules than nonperformance majors, but no significant differences were found between instrumentalists and vocalists in the sample. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that age, number of days practiced per week, and hours of practice per week significantly predicted musicians’ self-efficacy to maintain a practice schedule in adverse situations.
Saga’s Sorrow: Femininities of Despair in the Music of Radical White Nationalism
Authors: Teitelbaum Benjamin R.
Published: October 2014

Abstract. This article examines the construction of gender roles in contemporary white nationalist music. Grounded in extensive and ethnographic fieldwork, the article traces the rise of leading Swedish singer Saga and argues that her music frames women as besieged embodiments of racial and national essence dependent on men for deliverance. The discussion of Saga’s music draws from a review of recent social and ideological shifts in radical white nationalism, insider interviews, performance observations, and structural and textual analyses.
Dialect, Diffusion, and Balinese Drumming: Using Sociolinguistic Models for the Analysis of Regional Variation in Kendang Arja
Authors: Tilley Leslie
Published: October 2014

Abstract. In the early twentieth century, the Balinese village of Singapadu became famous for its distinctive tradition of arja, a sung dance-drama accompanied by paired, improvised, interlocking drumming: kendang arja. At that time, Singapadu arja drum patterns were transmitted to drummers throughout Bali. While some maintained the original patterns without alteration, others varied them or even innovated new ones within the idiom. In this article, I use concepts and terminology borrowed from linguistics—issues of language contact, proficiency, and ideologies of change—to determine the reasons behind these varying levels of innovation among drum masters trained in the Singapadu style.
Revolta da antena: redes, dispositivos móveis, artivismo e mídia livre nas manifestações de 2013 no Brasil
Authors:   UDESC - Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Presta Gustavo Antoniuk
Published: October 2014

Este artigo visa discutir as influencias exercidas pelas tecnologias de redes digitais, facilidades tecnológicas e dispositivos móveis nos eventos de manifestações populares e artivismo que vem acontecendo no mundo globalizado. O foco principal direciona-se às jornadas de junho de 2013 no Brasil, fazendo um levantamento de como ações de artivismo podem representar alternativas de ação na ocupação do espaço público, como a mídia livre pode representar uma alternativa distinta da mídia tradicional comercial na divulgação das informações e revelando a importância de projetos como a Revolta da Antena, desenvolvido em Florianópolis, nesse contexto. Ao refletir sobre as propostas da Revolta da Antena, centralizada sobre a ideia da liberdade de informação, analisa-se as possibilidades e influencias da sociedade de redes com relação ao ser humano e as novas mídias, nos contextos sociais contemporâneos, pontuando novas possibilidades de interação midiática e social.
Ilhas de Croatã – mapeamentos transdimensionais de intervenções artísticas em espaços públicos
Authors:   Universidade Estadual Paulista ", Silva Richard Augusto ,   Júlio de Mesquita Filho",   - UNESP/Campus Bauru, Rossi Dorival Campos , Laranjeira José dos Santos
Published: October 2014

Influenciada pelo movimento de contracultura Provos (1965), a narrativa poética Ilhas de Croatã apresenta uma breve análise sobre suas duas ações artísticas: na implantação experimental de uma bicicleta branca como transporte coletivo, público e livre, inserida no campus universitário da Unesp/Bauru; e na ação TRANSITOSensorium, reterritorializando uma cidade imaginária a partir de QRcodes espalhados pela cidade de Bauru, onde o usuário encontra um hibridismo entre as linguagens visuais, sonoras e escritas. A pesquisa relaciona a ideia de território por meio de uma relação entre espaço e poder, elencando as concepções de Psicogeografia – estudo de ações afetivas no espaço coletivo e Zonas Autônomas Temporárias. Trata-se de um estudo experimental, com a inserção de novas tecnologias.
A arte, o urbano e o social: um espaço de provocação
Authors:   UFSM, Guerche Tatiana Palma , Vieira Andreia Machado
Published: October 2014

Este artigo tem como objetivo propor considerações sobre os novos espaços ocupados pela arte e como essa pode interferir no espaço comum, no espaço urbano, criando uma rede de significações e reestruturando relações no meio urbano. A reorganização da sociedade contemporânea engloba também a reorganização dos espaços da arte, para exemplificar tais intervenções buscou-se destacar a obra de dois artistas que trabalham exclusivamente no espaço urbano, Jenny Holzer e Rafael Lozzano-Hemer. Diante de tais considerações busca-se visualizar como a arte comporta-se inserida no espaço das cidades, bem como inquirir outros arranjos de composições e fazeres que provoquem intensidades do viver.
Subjetividade e corporalidade: elementos da arte digital
Authors:   Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Melo Vaneza Rita Silva
Published: October 2014

Este artigo apresenta uma reflexão da arte digital e seus desdobramentos na atualidade, compreendendo elementos pertinentes ao universo da arte e que se encontram presentes na contemporaneidade. A relação homem e máquina é analisada a partir do desenvolvimento do pensamento da arte moderna, estabelecendo uma interligação com os processos criativos realizados nos últimos tempos. Na exposição, A Arte Somos Nós, que utiliza o digital, o elo entre a subjetividade e a corporalidade estão presentes no fazer da obra que ora tem o observador/participante como co-autor, ora o tem como parte integrante da obra.