cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
La réflectance et l'albédo de la neige dans la chaîne des monts Kluane : une méthode d'estimation utilisant des données satellitaires et un modèle numérique d'élévation.
Creators: name: Crevier, Yves.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1994
Subjects: subject: Physical Geography.

description: This paper proposes an estimating method of snow reflectance based on Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data (June 21 1988) and a 30-meter resolution digital terrain model that correct and adjust the problems mentioned above. A radiative transfert model (LOWTRAN-7) in conjunction with radiosonde data was used to eliminate the radiometric distortion on the signal created by the presence of the atmosphere. A software package called PRODEM was use to model the terrain shape from the digital elevation data. PRODEM was also very helpful for integrating the digital elevation model to the digital analysis of the remote sensing data. The results were compare to a series of data extracted from the literature. The estimated values of reflectance and albedo are in good correspondence with the values in the literature. However, we observed various problems to estimate the reflectance and albedo of surfaces that present extreme topographic characteristics. First, we think that those problems can be related to an under evaluation of the diffuse component of the incident radiation. Second, it can also be attributed to an imperfect match between the satellite data and the incident solar radiation image. Also, the differences between the estimated and the observed snow reflectance values (literature) can be imputed coarsely to the approximation of the different model constituents and the spatial and temporal correspondence of satellite and in situ data. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
title: Thiol-polyethylene glycol-folic acid (HS-PEG-FA) induced aggregation of Au@Ag nanoparticles : a SERS and extinction UV–Vis spectroscopy combined study
Creators: name: Verdin, Alexandre
name: Malherbe, Cedric
name: Sloan-Dennison, Sian
name: Faulds, Karen
name: Graham, Duncan
name: Eppe, Gauthier
Publisher: name: Strathprints - University of Strathclyde
Year: 2024

description: Plasmonic colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) functionalised with polymers are widely employed in diverse applications, offering advantages demonstrated over non-functionalised NPs such as enhanced colloidal stability or increased biocompatibility. However, functionalisation with polymers does not always increase the stability of the colloidal system. This work explores the intricate relationship between the functionalisation of plasmonic core@shell Au@Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with thiol-polyethylene glycol-folic acid (HS-PEG-FA) polymer chains and the resulting stability and spectral characteristics of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) nanotags based on these NPs. We demonstrate that varying levels of HS-PEG-FA grafting influence nanotag stability, with a low level of grafting causing aggregation and subsequently affecting the spectral signature of Raman-reporter molecules attached to the surface of the NP. Electrostatic destabilisation is identified as the primary mechanism driving aggregation, impacting the SERS spectrum of Malachite Green isothiocyanate (MGITC) whose spectral shape is different between the aggregated and non-aggregated NPs. The findings provide valuable insights into NPs stability under different conditions, offering essential considerations for the design and optimisation of SERS nanotags in bio-analytical applications, particularly those involving data processing based on spectral shape, such as in multiplex approaches where experimental spectra are decomposed with several reference components.
Problems in Food Security Data Collection Practices with an illustration from northern Ghana
Creators: name: Rancatore, Jason
Publisher: name: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food
Year: 2022

description: Solutions to food security issues at all levels typically include a call for more and better data. This paper finds that food security data problems are only partially remedied by gathering more data or applying new and innovative metrics. Examination of various research in Ghana covering published academic work as well as the World Food Programme’s reporting at both the country and sub-state levels reveals some fundamental problems (both practical and theoretical). Coupled with the author’s observations of a market operation in northern Ghana, evidence suggests that these issues are overlooked in order to serve an institutional demand for more data. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications focusing on three ideas: differentiating issue management and knowledge production, reconsidering methodology, and local-level understandings.
description: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Vol. 28 No. 1 (2022): Regular Issue
Liking and Empathic Accuracy in Intergroup Contexts
Creators: name: Abcede, Denise
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2019
Subjects: empathy
empathic accuracy
liking
closeness
similarity
intergroup context
relationship
communication group
experience-sharing
intergroup
intragroup
perspectivetaking

description: We examined the role intergroup scenarios on affecting third-party perceiver liking and how liking affected empathic accuracy. In a within-group design, third-party perceivers viewed and continuously rated the affective states of targets sharing events that happened in their lives to perceived ingroup or outgroup members. The videos were followed by questionnaires on how much perceivers liked and felt close to the targets and questionnaires about themselves on trait empathy. Results indicated that liking did not play a crucial role in empathic accuracy and significant differences in empathic accuracy or liking were not fueled by intergroup contexts. Further, we contributed to the controversy of the relationship between empathy and empathic accuracy.
Acute Psychosocial Stress Induces Changes in Norepinephrine Sensitivity of Stimulated TNF-Alpha Production
Creators: name: Kaye, Karen
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2015
Subjects: Norepinephrine
Inflammation
Stress

description: Background and Rationale: It is well established that psychosocial stress induces changes in glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity, but little is known about how repeated psychosocial stress induces changes in norepinephrine sensitivity of stimulated TNF-α production. Psychosocial stress induces an increase in blood concentrations of catecholamines, which are important modulators of the immune system. Since stress is known to exacerbate the symptoms of autoimmune disorders, which disproportionally affect women, and catecholamine resistance has been reported among women with autoimmune disorders, it is important to study inflammatory cytokine sensitivity catecholamine differences in both men and women. Little is also known about how catecholamine responses to stress and catecholamine sensitivity of immune cells changes with increasing age. Thus, the current study set out to assess gender and age differences in alterations of in vitro sensitivity of inflammatory cytokine production to the effects of norepinephrine.\r Methods: Thirty-five younger (18-35) and older (50-64) males (N=12) and females (23) were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) on two consecutive days, and salivary alpha-amylase responses and catecholamine sensitivity were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to analyze concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF- α), and colorimetric assays were used to analyze alpha amylase concentrations. \r Results: Men and women significantly differed in sensitivity on day 1 (time*gender effect: F4, 148= 3.464, p< .01), where females showed a decrease in sensitivity and males show increased sensitivity. However, gender differences were not found on day 2 (time*gender effect: F4, 176= 1.636, p< .167), where men and women both showed decreases in catecholamine sensitivity. Older (50-64 years) and younger (18-35 years) groups did not significantly differ in catecholamine sensitivity overall (F5,165= 0.670, p= .647). Figure 3 and Table 1 could not be embedded within the file. \r Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of showing gender differences with inflammatory cytokine production to the immunosuppressive effects of catecholamines after repeated stress. Future studies on stress effects on inflammatory regulation will have to include assessments of both, glucocorticoid and catecholamine sensitivity in addition to measurements of circulating hormone levels.
Fundamental study of heat transport by phonons and electrons in semiconductors at micro and nanoscale
Creators: name: Bong, Victor Nee Shin
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: The advancement of nanotechnology has enabled the miniaturization of electronic components to the extent of several nanometres, thus leading to heat dissipation issues which often result in device failure. This thesis involves a fundamental study on phonon and electron transport in semiconductor materials commonly used in electronic components. It proposes Monte Carlo phonon and electron transport simulation models to stochastically capture the physics of the transport mechanisms. Such information is essential to facilitate the study of heat distribution in sophisticated electronic devices in order to ensure optimum device performance and to prolong the device life.
Specialized and the Terrorized: A Tale of Two “Civil Organics” in China
Creators: name: Li, Xueshi
Publisher: name: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food
Year: 2022

description: It is important to study governance in alternative market fields as a set of knowledge /rationalities that structures collaboration for everyday knowledge making by the participants. This article examines how two camps of advocates negotiate the definition of what composes civic organic food. A divide has emerged in the community of Beijing civic organic growers between organic agricultural producers who espouse traditional approaches, and those who rely on modern approaches. The ambiguity of the civic organic standards opens up a contingent arena for participation and negotiating boundaries between “traditional” and “scientific” organic practices outside the current “certified” version of organic food in China. This article applies the framework of boundary work to demonstrate how alternative market actors maintain boundaries between real and fraudulent organic food by engaging in debates with the rival camp. The boundaries between traditional and modern scientific organic camps are not defined by the pre-existing or by the internal properties of any given knowledge system as certain producers have claimed/presented. Instead, these situated social actors, through a set of ongoing dynamics in their daily practices, are constantly constructing and transforming the boundaries of the civic organic food supply. This is also how they attempt to gain legitimacy for their practice even though non-certified organic has never been recognized by the state. Growers’ reputation, public exposure, and consumers’ judgement on the moral compass of producers have all been influential factors in maintaining the legitimacy of civic organic in alternative food networks.
description: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Vol. 28 No. 1 (2022): Regular Issue
The Second Athenian League: An Alliance Crippled by Institutional Stagnation
Creators: name: MacFarline, Matthew
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2016
Subjects: Second Athenian League
Second Athenian Confederacy
Athenian imperialism
Athenian institutions
Fourth-century Athenian history
Social War
War of the Allies
Xenophon
Diodorus Siculus
Jack Cargill
Athenian Empire
F. H. Marshall
Athenian finances
Institutional stagnation

description: The Second Athenian Confederacy, established in 378/7 BCE, saw many defections of Athenian member states, both before and during the Social War of 357-5. One issue facing scholars of the fourth century is determining the impetus behind the defections and eventual outbreak of the war. To answer this question, this thesis examines both Marshall's seminal work on the League and Cargill's subsequent revised history. The main controversy rests on whether the defections and eventual collapse of the League should be attributed to outside forces or Athens' own imperialistic ambitions. The evidence derived from fourth-century Greek historians, orators, and epigraphy suggests Athens' foreign policy did have an imperialistic component and exhibited remarkable continuity from the fifth century. While League defections were often instigated by events external to the alliance, both allied discontent and widespread distrust of Athens are historically supported in our sources. Based upon this conclusion, the inquiry becomes one of identifying the force or forces behind unjust treatment of Athenian allies. Due to the paucity of primary sources documenting the history of the League, necessity demands close analysis of various circumstantial passages from the fourth\r century. What emerges from these scattered sources is a picture of perennial League poverty as a result of institutional stagnation. Athens' inability to adjust to fourth-century circumstances, relying instead on fifth-century precedent, crippled the League from within. This debilitating poverty and institutional failure was exacerbated by an apparent lack of focus and allied disenfranchisement following the 371 Battle of Leuktra. With this understanding, the Social War becomes much better contextualized, and a clearer picture emerges of the war as a process rather than an event.
The relationship between teacher training in measurement and classroom assessment procedures in Kenya's secondary schools.
Creators: name: Chirchir, Andrew K.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1995
Subjects: subject: Education, Tests and Measurements.

description: The purpose of this study was to determine teacher use of measurement principles and the factors influencing this use in the assessment of student achievement in the Riftvalley Province (Kenya). Given that most of the assessment in the classroom consists of instruments developed by teachers, a first step in exploring the utility of measurement principles is to investigate the use of these principles in specific assessment areas. This could lead to the determination and the improvement of the fit between measurement training and teacher classroom assessment practices. The study was designed to provide information on teacher use of measurement principles by considering whether teachers had received training in educational measurement principles, how important they perceived these principles to be, and how often they used the principles in the assessment of student achievement. The study was also designed to determine factors influencing the use of measurement principles in schools. The results show that teachers have been trained in the principles of educational measurement. However, there is some indication that measurement training did not effectively address the assessment concerns of many classroom teachers. Teachers do not feel adequately prepared in test construction, marking, and the reporting of student assessment results. The results on the importance of measurement principles provide some clear indication that teachers attach much importance to the principles for test construction, test administration, marking, and the reporting of student assessment results. Teacher interviews revealed that teachers are overwhelmed by the demands associated with Kenya's 8-4-4 system of education. On the basis of the study findings, suggestions were made for improving teacher training in measurement and for further research. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
IMPROVING CRYOGENIC MAXIMUM STRAIN OF POLYMERS VIA ROOM TEMPERATURE PLASTIC DEFORMATION
Creators: name: Dunne, Francis
Publisher: name: Washington State University
Year: 2024
Subjects: CRYOGENIC
PLASTIC DEFORMATION
hydrogen
polymeric origami bladders

description: Hydrogen is the only combustible fuel that can be cleanly utilized without implementing secondary systems to trap and store harmful byproducts such as CO2, CO, or NOx. Private industry, governments, and research institutions are collaborating to implement hydrogen into the energy sector. One challenge of utilizing hydrogen is its low volumetric energy density. To overcome low energy density, it is common practice for hydrogen to be compressed to 700 Bar or liquified. Liquified hydrogen is the highest energy density form of hydrogen, however, liquifying hydrogen requires cooling gaseous hydrogen to 20K (-423 °F) at atmospheric pressure. Cryogenic environments cause exponential changes in materials’ thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties, which make engineering systems compatible with liquid hydrogen (LH2) expensive and reduces reliability. Liquid hydrogen storage is a critical challenge that must be addressed to enable current and future LH2 vehicles. The research in this dissertation focuses on polymeric origami bladders, which can reduce several of the primary storage challenges of LH2.
description: Chapter 2 is a literature review covering two important overarching themes for this work. First, a review of state-of-the-art LH2 storage technologies is provided, including historical attempts at LH2 bladders. Next, a review of low-temperature properties and physics of polymeric materials is provided, which is relevant to the thermoplastic bladders developed by NASA in the 1960s and the polycarbonate origami bladders presented in this dissertation.
description: Key milestones of the experimental work conducted during the development of the origami bladders are presented in Chapter 3. First, the initial demonstration of small-scale hand-folded origami bellows is described. A vacuum-forming manufacturing procedure is provided, which enables the production of single-body origami bladders with only one open face remaining at the bottom of the structure. Next, expulsion experiments were conducted using a borosilicate test cell capable of collapsing the origami structure by applying pressure gradients to the bladder while monitoring expulsion flow rates. The expulsion rates out of the bladder using liquid nitrogen are reported as a function of time, as well as the relationship between the applied pressure and the flow rate out of the bladder. Finally, a hypothesis for the effects of crazing on PC at cryogenic temperatures is presented, followed by tension tests of plastically deformed PC specimens.
Utilizing Incentives for Global Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services Uptake: Altruistic or a Euphemism for Population Control?
Creators: name: Norman, Chelsea
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2013

description: In recent years, international development has increased the use of a controversial\r approach to improve initiative uptake and to achieve targeted outcomes: performancebased\r incentives. Although incentives have been effective additions to many international\r development projects, some scholars are highly critical of their usage in sectors such as\r family planning and reproductive health. Given this controversy, this thesis examines the\r historical use of incentives, primarily as a means to control the fecundity of populations,\r and unveils the institutionalization of human rights violations within the population\r control and family planning movements. Ultimately, this thesis provides policy solutions\r that suggest, in spite of a troubled history, incentives can be used to promote family\r planning and reproductive health services without violating the rights of men and women.
title: Global Aging: Demography, Social Policy, and Human Rights
title: Reading list and Resources for Instructors
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Bern-Klug, Mercedes E
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: global studies
subject: openhawks
subject: open educational resource
subject: Gerontology
subject: Public Health
subject: Social Work
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Undergraduate Education

description: This document contains course goals and objectives, a brief discussion of student assessment options, and a detailed list of readings and resources for a 16-week semester course. The course can be used to address two Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) competencies: Social Aspects of Aging, Research and Critical Thinking.
description: Versions of this course have been taught to both undergraduate and graduate students in gerontology, public health, global studies, and social work.
description: The conceptual framework used to select and organize course materials is the United Nations Principles for Older Persons. The first half of the course lays the foundation to understand population aging basics and relies heavily on sections of the Population Reference Bureau's, Population Handbook, as well as United Nations reports. The second half of the course focuses on the UN Principles for Older Persons, with readings related to each principle: Independence, Participation, Care, Dignity, and Self-Fulfillment. Two other UN frameworks introduced in the course are: WHO Active Aging Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
description: A main message of the course is that the meaning of "older adulthood" is a product of society. It can and does change over time. Societies can choose to develop programs and policies that affirm the older adulthood stage of life or can stigmatize or ignore the life stage. Each approach has implications for all members of society.
A Mechanistic Mystery: Catalysis and Allostery in the SAMHD1 dNTPase from the Parasite Leishmania tarentolae
Creators: name: Schwartz, Grace Lillian
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2025
Subjects: Lt SAMHD1
dNTPase
catalysis
allostery
oligomerization

description: Human SAMHD1 is a critical dNTP triphosphohydrolase. This enzyme is involved in regulating cellular concentrations of dNTPs, acts as an antiviral factor for retroviruses like HIV, and has been thought to be involved in innate cancer prevention. These functions highlight the promising nature of SAMHD1 as a drug target. The catalytic activity of Hs SAMHD1 is governed through a two-step tetramerization process, specific oligomerization patterns, and metal-ion binding. Although many studies have been conducted on Hs SAMHD1, little is known about its exact mechanisms. Our study focuses on elucidating mechanistic information about SAMHD1 from the Leishmania tarentolae ortholog, Lt SAMHD1, a parasitic SAMHD1. Not only does this ortholog provide a simpler template to investigate, but provides an antiparasitic therapeutic target due to the role of parasitic SAMHD1 in African trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness.” In this study, we aim to uncover details about the mechanism of catalysis and allosteric activation of Lt SAMHD1 via various mutants. We found that like the human enzyme, Lt SAMHD1 conserves the histidine residue important for coordination of the second metal ion in the active site. Additionally, we confirmed that Lt SAMHD1 follows a similar activation pattern by tetramerization but prefers binding of GTP at the first allosteric site and dCTP at the second allosteric site. We also discovered that allosteric site 1 is imperative for protein stability; mutations at allosteric site 1 severely destabilize the protein and result in insolubility. These results provide the first fundamental basis towards our understanding of how parasitic SAMHD1s regulate their activity and select for their substrates. Our work has set the grounds for establishing the basic mechanism of dNTP regulation in parasitic SAMHD1s and provides a framework for the development of therapeutic avenues. 
Nme1 Inhibits CaMKII Catalytic Activity Independent of Nme1 Kinase Activity
Creators: name: Shangraw, Kathryn
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2018
Subjects: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II
Pathophysiology

description: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) is best known for its roles in learning and memory, but it also plays a role in cancer and cardiac function. Due to its ability to become autonomous upon autophosphorylation, it is proposed to act as a molecular memory. Overactivity of CaMKII, however, is linked to cancer and heart failure. Finding inhibitors of CaMKII could therefore have important health applications. During a mass spectrometry study, our lab discovered that Nme1, a nucleoside diphosphate kinase, interacts with CaMKII. We determined that this interaction results in CaMKII inhibition. In order to characterize this inhibition, we performed a series of kinase assays to monitor the kinase activity of CaMKII. Nme1 can inhibit the activity of CaMKII in both its naïve and autonomous states, and it inhibits S- and T-type substrates equally well. Conversely, Nme1 was found to enhance the activity of CaMKII at concentrations of 0.5 μM compared to the inhibition observed at concentrations at or above 2 μM. Finally, we also determined that the mechanism underlying inhibition of CaMKII kinase activity does not rely on the phospho-transfer capacity of Nme1. Our discovery therefore offers new leads into investigating the mechanisms by which Nme1 affects several pathophysiological processes.
Comparing Cancer Genetic Counseling Services Offered at Main Hospitals Versus Satellite Clinics in the United States
Creators: name: Berry, Delany Marie
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Access to genetic counseling
Cancer genetic counseling
Satellite Clinics
Service Delivery

description: The majority of clinical genetic counselors practice in hospitals in metropolitan areas.However, there are systemic and functional barriers for patients to access genetic counseling services in these locations. To expand access and equity for a more diverse patient base, many genetic counselors consult with patients at satellite clinics. These clinics are accessed in a number of ways by clinicians and patients, and are generally smaller and more community- based than larger area hospitals. The goal of this study was to compare and contrast experiences in the practice of genetic counseling in satellite and primary workplaces in terms of patient numbers, available resources and departments, and service delivery. We also aimed to gather additional information regarding challenges and benefits of working in satellite clinics, and differences in identities of patients seen between the two settings. An anonymous online survey was developed and distributed via an email blast to a listserv hosted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors to recruit cancer genetic counselors who see patients at satellite clinics in addition to their main place of work in the United States of America.
description: A total of 24 responses were completed and evaluated using frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and two-sample t-tests. Analysis revealed that most respondents (84.9%) do not see patients at satellite clinics in the same city as their primary workplace, and the majority (90.9%) agreed that those clinics were established for patients’ convenience. However, 72.7% agreed that the satellite clinics served a different patient demographic than their primary workplace. Additionally, the mean number of resources and departments available at satellite clinics was fewer than those available at respondents’ primary places of work. Data from this study suggest that there is no standardized approach to cancer genetic counseling at satellite clinics, and that it most likely differs among health systems. While they may be more convenient for the average patient, satellite clinics are overall less-resourced than the larger institutions with which they are associated. This is a rich area yet to be explored by genetic counseling research, and more studies are needed to reveal details about genetic counseling provided in satellite clinics.
NIPT: Current Utilization and Implications for the Future of Prenatal Genetic Counseling
Creators: name: Buchanan, Amanda
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2013
Subjects: non-invasive prenatal testing
cell free fetal DNA
informed consent
genetic counseling

description: Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for select fetal trisomies became clinically available\r in 2011. When it was introduced, there were no formal recommendations regarding how\r healthcare providers should incorporate NIPT into the prenatal genetic counseling setting.\r We sought to identify how genetic counselors have incorporated NIPT, how they obtain\r informed consent from their patients, and their opinions regarding the informed consent\r process for NIPT. We distributed an anonymous online survey to NSGC members\r through an e-blast to the NSGC listerv. We directed our recruitment toward prenatal\r genetic counselors in late October 2012, which was approximately one year after NIPT\r became clinically available. Two hundred and six prenatal genetic counselors responded\r to the survey, and 181 indicated they had incorporated NIPT into their practice with the\r majority offering this testing to patients whose pregnancies are high risk. Respondents\r indicated that genetic counselors, as well as other healthcare providers, obtain informed\r consent from patients, and most do so verbally. Most respondents indicated that there\r should be a separate informed consent form for NIPT and that a discussion about NIPT\r with a patient should highlight that it is a screening test, it has a detection rate superior to\r that of maternal serum screening, an explanation of the specific conditions that NIPT\r screens for, and recommendations for invasive testing following a positive NIPT result.\r Following data collection for our study, the American College of Obstetricians and\r Gynecologists (ACOG), the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC), and the\r American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released practice\r guidelines for offering NIPT. Our results demonstrate that most genetic counselors have\r been offering NIPT in a manner consistent with the guidelines that the major governing\r bodies in prenatal genetics have since published. Future research should investigate\r patient understanding following NIPT to determine the best method for obtaining\r informed consent.
The Counter Reformation from Florence to Munich: Politics, Religion, Art and the Making of a Counter-Reformation Painter
Creators: name: Timbers, Sam
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Reformation
Catholic Reformation
Counter-Reformation
Maniera
Counter-Maniera
Peter Candid

description: An examination of Counter-Reformation painting and politics in Florence and Munich, focusing particularly on the Bruges-born painter Peter Candid.
Understanding low-carbon food consumption transformation through social practice theory
Creators: name: Standal, Karina
name: Westskog, Hege
Publisher: name: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food
Year: 2022

description: Drawing on a qualitative case study of consumers involved in community-supported agriculture farms in Norway, this article applies social practice theory to understand pro-environmental behaviour transformation in relation to community-supported agriculture. Situating social practice theory in the larger framework of the political economy of low-carbon transformation provides a holistic and grounded perspective on consumer behaviour change and potential for social transformation. In contrast to conventional individualistic and rationalist approaches, our study suggests that there is no linear path of transformation; rather, people join community-supported agriculture to use their consumer power to push for social transformation. Simultaneously, community-supported agriculture influences a reorientation of values and practices because it opens up opportunities and resources for sustainable lifestyles. We argue that the collaborative aspects of community-supported agriculture can challenge unsustainable consumption by emphasising sharing over private ownership and frugality over accumulation of growth. However, the consumer practices of the wider political economy produced by the ‘culture of capitalism’ continue to be ingrained in people’s social relations and contexts, and thus weaken new and more sustainable forms of food consumption.
description: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Vol. 28 No. 1 (2022): Regular Issue
Novel robust controller design to enhance transient stability of power systems
Creators: name: Mahmud, Md Rasel
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Power system stability is a major concern for the operation of power systems as the instability significantly affects both economic and technical benefits. The major challenge to maintain the power system stability is to match the continuously changing loads with the generation. Since power systems are mostly dominated by synchronous generators, excitation controllers have been useful to maintain this challenge including external disturbances. The excitation controllers need to be designed in such a way that these can provide robustness against all grid events. This thesis focuses to design a novel robust excitation controller for power systems to enhance transient stability.
title: Does Party Banning Work?
title: The Political Costs of Party Banning as a Strategy of Militant Democracy
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Dana, Javin Cooke
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2021
Subjects: Party Bans
Party Banning
Militant Democracy
Anti-democrats
Democratic Dilemma
Populism
Media and Politics
Belgium
Comparative Government or Politics
Democracy
Germany
Nationalism
Political Parties
Political Theory

description: Numerous authors have written on the broad normative costs that may emerge from party banning – in that party bans can erode the very democratic norms they seek to protect. However, there is limited empirical research on what types of costs emerge from party banning, and how they emerge. This thesis endeavors to answer the questions: what are the political costs of banning anti-democratic parties incurred by mainstream parties in liberal democracies? Given these costs, what are the potential negative outcomes for both mainstream parties and democratic institutions in liberal democracies? This thesis examines these questions by using process tracing of news stories and electoral outcomes in Germany and Belgium following attempted bans to evaluate the political ramifications of party banning that lead to dangerous systematic outcomes. From this analysis, this thesis finds that party bans increase the media coverage, public awareness, and issue salience of anti-democrats, making them more politically popular and legitimate. From these findings, this thesis highlights that party banning can be counterproductive, and that mainstream parties should be careful when handling anti-democrats in the political arena.
Effects of Aging on Associative Memory for Socially Meaningful Information
Creators: name: Orlovsky, Irina
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2014
Subjects: Memory
Associative Memory
Social Pscyhology
Aging

description: An extensive body of research exists detailing the decline in memory that occurs with healthy aging. Specifically, episodic memory has been shown to degrade over time in a wealth of paradigms varying in retrieval methods and cognitive load. One type of episodic memory that is particularly impaired with age is associative memory. Recent research investigating the discrepancies between memory for single items of information and memory for the association of such items has led to the Associative Deficit Hypothesis (ADH). Though this research has been extended to social associations such as face-name pairs, no studies to date have explored how personally meaningful social information at encoding impacts recognition. Our study aimed to address how aging affects memory for socially meaningful information using a face-word association. Younger and older adults were asked to encode three conditions of associative pairs (non-social, names, and traits) and their memory was immediately tested in a yes-no recognition task. Signal detection measures were used to explore recognition accuracy and decision making \r processes. Testing effects of age on hits, false alarms, discrimination and response bias measures revealed that associative memory was not preserved for the socially meaningful condition (traits) in older adults. Rather, the non-social condition enhanced hit rates across both age groups. Participants also better discriminated socially meaningful stimuli in comparison to social only (name) stimuli, however this finding was marginal, while response bias analyses revealed that young and older adults adopted a more conservative decision criterion for socially meaningful pairs, compared to social and non-social pairs. The implications of these findings are discussed and potential pitfalls in the methodology that could be addressed in future research are considered.
Local Culturalisation of Pro-Environmental Policy
Creators: name: Häyrynen, Simo
name: Farinella, Domenica
name: Mononen, Tuija
Publisher: name: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food
Year: 2022

description: This article explores responses of farmers and other agricultural experts to organic farming in two cultural spheres as examples of the cultural adoption of pro-environmental innovations. The data is based on semi-structured interviews with agricultural actors conducted in Kainuu, Finland, and Sardinia, Italy, and it was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The research’s analytical approaches are based on a regional and professional division of collective identifications, that is, on division by their spatial location and industrial sector. The local perception is derived from identities shaped by local environmental capital and cultural landscapes. In both cases, the peripheral territories belong to the contemporary capitalist arena, and their representatives aspire towards social mobility through isomorphism with respect to the centre. Organic farming provides a platform with which to analyse the peripheral regions, showing that unidirectional and diffusionist modernisation schemes do not always work similarly. The separation between organic farming as a neutral technical concept and as a symbol indicates that similar criteria and official requirements vary according to local realities in different cultural spheres. In such situations, formal environmental standards meet centuries-long traditions, with all their implications. Sometimes these implications ease pro-environmental diffusion. Sometimes they may expose a lack of local knowledge and cultural sensitivity in formal standards.
description: The International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Vol. 28 No. 1 (2022): Regular Issue
OPERATOR SPLITTING METHOD AND PROPAGATION FAILURE IN REACTION-DIFFUSION EQUATIONS
Creators: name: Veerayah-McGregor, Sharon-Yasotha K
Publisher: name: Washington State University
Year: 2024
Subjects: operator splitting scheme
Nagumo equation
reaction-diffusion equations
propagation failure

description: The focus of this dissertation is to study the solution behavior of the Nagumo type reaction-diffusion equation that is known for modeling impulse propagation in nerve axons. The study involves working with an operator splitting scheme along with an innovative regularization idea. The use of an operator splitting scheme helps in de-constructing a problem into simpler subproblems. Our work involves studying the the forward and inverse problems of the Nagumo equation. We also extend our study to understand pinning or propagation failure in the discrete version of the Nagumo equation. We implement the numerical scheme while maintaining the stability and accuracy of the full problem.
The Care Seeking Journeys of People with Endometriosis
Creators: name: Galatan, Joelle Hannah
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2022
Subjects: Endometriosis
Health Care
Womens Health

description: Endometriosis care-seeking was a complex and difficult process for all of the women in this study. For many participants the process began with pain, however, they did not seek out care at this point, because they believed that what they were experiencing was normal, interpreting it within a cultural context that normalizes period pain. This thesis is a qualitative interview study examining the journeys of ten women with endometriosis in seeking out appropriate care for their condition. It also includes survey data collected from 108 respondents. The research explores the complicated care-seeking journeys of folks with endometriosis and looks at the barriers they experience in their quest to find appropriate care. Most of these barriers center around issues relating to the healthcare system and social attitudes surrounding chronic pain. Many participants experienced financial hardships in paying for care, and some had difficulty finding an experienced provider within their insurance network. The thesis also explores in particular the role that social attitudes towards women’s pain play in the care they seek out, receive, and fail to receive. Many subjects struggled to have doctors believe their pain and had difficulty finding a physician whom they could trust. All of these stories show the difficulties in navigating the healthcare system with endometriosis and portray how social and systemic barriers combine to hinder access to appropriate care.
Software tools for improving classroom interaction.
Creators: name: Pilon, Daniel.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1995
Subjects: subject: Education, Technology.

description: Cette these decrit un systeme informatise d'aide aux presentations et aux assistances lors d'exposes magistraux et presente ses fonctionnalites. Elle introduit un systeme utilisant les blocs-notes stylo et un ensemble d'outils logiciels pour ameliorer la communication entre les professeurs et les etudiants. Les outils logiciels permettent aux professeurs d'interagir efficacement avec les etudiants durant les cours et aident les etudiants a prendre des notes pertinentes. Le systeme peut etre employe dans une classe traditionnelle, lors d'enseignement a distance ou dans un environnement de teleconference. Pour cette these, les outils logiciels lorsque referes comme un tout, seront designes comme Class Tool.
title: Pressure-assisted additive manufacturing of energetic composites
title: processing science and applications
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Kirby, Levi
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023
Subjects: public abstract

description: Binder jetting is a widely used technique in additive manufacturing that has found numerous applications. However, it suffers from processing limitations that lead to poor green densities in the final parts. To address this issue, a novel process called pressure-assisted binder jetting (PBJ) has been developed, enabling layer-by-layer compaction of the powder bed and improving the density of printed objects. In-depth analysis of the heterogeneous stress network has been conducted to further enhance the density of PBJ prints. The unique characteristics of powder density and binder deposition in the PBJ process offer an opportunity to overcome existing challenges in the fabrication of energetic materials such as propellants and polymer-bonded explosives. While conventional fabrication techniques in energetics can achieve desirable density, solids loading, and mechanical properties, they lack the flexibility required to construct complex structures or modify grain gradients, both of which play a crucial role in determining thrust profiles in propellants and detonation evolution in polymer-bonded explosives. While various additive manufacturing techniques have shown improvements in complex geometric fabrication, they often come at the expense of other important features. PBJ, on the other hand, has demonstrated promising capabilities in both avenues of energetics. It has enabled the construction of propellants with excellent resolution of complex features, offering one of the few methods to incorporate gradients within the grain structure. Furthermore, satisfactory results have been achieved in terms of density, solids loading, and mechanical properties. In the case of polymer-bonded explosives, similar outcomes have been observed, but an additional level of control was desired. By selectively depositing microwave reactive thermites in printed polymer-bonded explosives, it became possible for switchable control of defect-induced porosity, a crucial factor influencing safety and performance. Detailed investigations have been carried out to map the process and fabrication parameters and understand their impact on the generation of defects. The results exhibit great promise in producing polymer-bonded explosives that offer both safety in handling and excellent ignition and performance characteristics in real-world applications
Kitsap County 4-H Newsletter, October 2022
Creators: name: Washington State University Kitsap County Extension
Publisher: name: Washington State University
Year: 2022

description: In this issue:
description: Important Dates
description: In the Spotlight
description: 4-H in Kitsap County
description: 4-H Fundraisers
description: State & National 4-H Opportunities
description: Scholarship Opportunities
description: Volunteer News
description: 4-H Office Contact Information
Elucidation of stereochemistry by N.M.R. spectroscopy.
Creators: name: Zamora, Cesar Reyes.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1968
Subjects: subject: Chemistry, Analytical.

description: The analysis of the N.M.R. spectra of a series of substituted 1,4-dioxanes showed the following configurations and conformations for the compounds: 2,3-dichloro-1,4-dioxane m.p. 52°, 2,3-diphenyl-1,4-dioxane m.p. 132° and naphtodioxane have the cis configuration and at room temperature are rapidly interconverting between chair conformations; 4a,8a-dimethoxy-4a,8a-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxan and 4a,8a-dimethoxy-4a,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro-1,4-benzodioxan have the trans configuration with a rigid chair conformation. Non-equivalence in the vicinal coupling constants JAX and JBX were found for 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-2-tetrahydrofuranyl ether and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-2-tetrahydrofuranyl ether and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-2-tetrahydrothiapyranyl ether as found previously for 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-2-tetrahydrofuranyl ether by Dr. R.R. Fraser and P. Hanbury. No definite conclusion regarding the origin of this non-equivalence could be drawn from the results. Linear Hammett plots were obtained in a study of the effect of substituents on the chemical shift of the methylene protons in para-substituted benzyl phenyl sulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones. It has been found that the protons in the methylene group are affected very differently by the substituent in each series. The causes for this variation have been examined and it is proposed that the effect is conformational. In the conformation in which a C-H bond is paralled to the adjacent p-orbital of the benzene ring, that C-H proton will experience the maximum substituent effect.
The Tutte Polynomial and Its Applications
Creators: name: Fang, Jonathan Jay
Publisher: name: Brandeis University
Year: 2023

description: The Tutte polynomial is a classical invariant of both graphs and matroids. In this paper, we give a survey of some motivations for the Tutte polynomial, its properties, and possible applications. We cover basic graph theory and graphical invariants and how they relate to the Tutte polynomial. We define matroid theory and extend the Tutte polynomial to matroids. Then we describe a generalization of the Tutte polynomial to polymatroids.