Tuning the Sonic Playing Field: Teaching Ways of Knowing Sound in First Year Writing

In recent years there has been a call within composition to include sound, among other modes, such as word and image in writing. Some of this call relies on a movement to multimodal composition in order to capture both the richness of rhetorical possibility and the reality of communities of practice, and some is in response to a perceived shift in writing due to digital media tools and environments. Regardless of the impetus for including the auditory realm in the composition classroom, it is important for the field of composition and rhetoric to develop further pedagogies of sound so that students are not simply offered the opportunity to produce diverse texts, but instead, are invited to enter “the playing field.” In order to do this I first explore an approach to teaching auditory rhetoric based on ways of knowing sound from an acoustics and musicology perspective, then I consider a phenomenological approach based on listening, and finally I construct a model of “tuning the sonic playing field” that draws on the literal, material practice of tuning as a metaphor for how sound may be taught in composition. The “tuning” approach to teaching sound draws on attention, embodiment, listening, and negotiation. Rather than simply offering students opportunities to use sound in rhetorically sensitive ways, this final approach asks instructors to become “attuned” to how different auditory epistemologies influence students’ ability to design and compose in sound.     

The natural history and fisheries ecology of Lake Chilwa,southern Malawi

Lake Chilwa produces between zero and 24,000 metric tons of fish per year, making it one of the most productive but variable lakes in Africa. The size of the lake varies seasonally and among years, sometimes drying completely. Its surrounding wetland and floodplain provide habitat for a diversity of birds and economically valuable grasses and reeds. When the lake has water, there is considerable activity on its shores and temporary fishing villages spring up. People move in and out of the lake basin in concert with these seasonal and longer term changes. This paper examines the environmental dynamics of Lake Chilwa and its surrounding wetlands, presents an overview of the socio-economic context of the area and discusses threats to this resilient system that might occur as a result of climate change. We conclude that management of Lake Chilwa must place the lake in the wider economic and ecological system in which it is situated. Ultimately, land-use practices within the basin present more of a threat to the resilience of the fishery and people's livelihoods than overfishing or a strict focus on the lake's resources. These perspectives present significant challenges to conventional fisheries governance.     

Assessing abrasion performance of self-consolidating concrete containing synthetic fibers using acoustic emission analysis

The key objective of this investigation was to evaluate the abrasion resistance of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) with and without synthetic fibers (SynFs). The abrasion resistance of normal concrete was also investigated in this study for comparison. The abrasion test was performed on concrete specimens according to the rotating-cutter method along with continuous monitoring of acoustic emission (AE) using attached AE sensors. The effects of changing concrete type and incorporating various types (flexible and semi-rigid) and lengths of SynFs on the abrasion behaviour were investigated with the aid of AE analysis. AE signal characteristics such as amplitude, signal strength, number of hits, and duration were gathered during testing. Furthermore, the collected AE data was used to complete b-value analysis as well as intensity analysis resulting in three additional parameters: b-value, severity (S_r), and historic index (H(t)). The results showed that the AE parameters were directly correlated with the abrasion damage in all tested mixtures. Adding SynFs to all SCC mixtures enhanced their abrasion resistance. The flexible fibers variety exhibited better abrasion performance on average than the semi-rigid fibers. Meanwhile, longer fibers showed lower abrasion resistance than the shorter ones with the same type. The results also indicated that AE intensity analysis was able to determine the ranges for H(t) and S_r that identify the extent of damage due to abrasion of SynF-reinforced SCC.     

Comparison of paper-and-pencil versus Web administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): Participation,data quality,and perceived privacy and anonymity

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors priority health-risk behaviors among US high school students. To better understand the ramifications of changing the YRBSS from paper-and-pencil to Web administration, in 2008 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study comparing these two modes of administration. Eighty-five schools in 15 states agreed to participate in the study. Within each participating school, four classrooms of students in grades 9 or 10 were randomly assigned to complete the Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire in one of four conditions (in-class paper-and-pencil, in-class Web without programmed skip patterns, in-class Web with programmed skip patterns, and “on your own” Web without programmed skip patterns). Findings included less missing data for the paper-and-pencil condition (1.5% vs. 5.3%, 4.4%, 6.4%; p < .001), less perceived privacy and anonymity among respondents for the in-class Web conditions, and a lower response rate for the “on your own” Web condition than for in-class administration by either mode (28.0% vs. 91.2%, 90.1%, 91.4%; p < .001). Although Web administration might be useful for some surveys, these findings do not favor the use of a Web survey for the YRBSS.     

Remote sensing of phytoplankton community composition along the northeast coast of the United States

Satellite imagery has proven to be a powerful tool for measuring chlorophyll a in surface waters. While this provides an estimate of total phytoplankton biomass, it does not distinguish between phytoplankton groups, many of which have functional differences and therefore affect biogeochemical cycles differently. Phytoplankton pigment analysis has been used to quantify a wide range of photosynthetic and accessory pigments, and chemotaxonomic analysis (e.g. CHEMTAX) has been used to successfully quantify functional taxonomic groups in nature based on pigment distributions. Here, we combine CHEMTAX analysis with satellite-derived distributions of specific phytoplankton pigments to describe the distributions of particular components of the phytoplankton community in the northeast coast of the United States from space. The spatial and seasonal variations in phytoplankton community structure elucidated through satellite remote sensing methods generally agreed with observations of abundance estimates of cell counts. Diatoms were generally the most abundant phytoplankton in this region, especially during Winter-Spring and in the inner shelf, but phytoplankton populations shifted to increasing abundance of other taxa during Summer, especially offshore. While still preliminary, satellite-derived taxa-specific information with proper regional controls holds promise for providing information on phytoplankton abundance to a taxonomic group level which would greatly improve our understanding of the impacts of human activity and climate change on ecosystems.     

Modelling acute renal failure using blood and breath biomarkers in rats

This paper compares three methods for estimating renal function, as tested in rats. Acute renal failure (ARF) was induced via a 60-min bilateral renal artery clamp in 8 Sprague-Dawley rats and renal function was monitored for 1 week post-surgery. A two-compartment model was developed for estimating glomerular filtration via a bolus injection of a radio-labelled inulin tracer, and was compared with an estimated creatinine clearance method, modified using the Cockcroft-Gault equation for rats. These two methods were compared with selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) monitoring of breath analytes. Determination of renal function via SIFT-MS is desirable since results are available non-invasively and in real time. Relative decreases in renal function show very good correlation between all 3 methods (R² = 0.84, 0.91 and 0.72 for breath-inulin, inulin-creatinine, and breath-creatinine correlations, respectively), and indicate good promise for fast, non-invasive determination of renal function via breath testing.     

CRT and LCD monitor and process materials evaluated for environmental improvement

Decision rules have been developed and applied to the bills of materials of a color cathode‐ray tube (CRT) and a liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) desktop monitor to determine which product and process materials will be evaluated in an environmental life‐cycle assessment. Materials of significant mass, of technological importance, and of potential environmental impact are targeted. The list of materials identified are those for which life‐cycle inventory data will be obtained for the materials extraction and materials processing life‐cycle stages of a CRT and an LCD. Additionally, materials identified will also be used to represent life‐cycle impact in terms of resource consumption, as well as surrogates for occupational health impacts.     

Self-absorption correction for solid-state photoluminescence quantum yields obtained from integrating sphere measurements

A new method is presented for analyzing the effects of self-absorption on photoluminescence integrating sphere quantum yield measurements. Both the observed quantum yield and luminescence spectrum are used to determine the self-absorption probability, taking into account both the initial emission and subsequent absorption and reemission processes. The analysis is experimentally validated using the model system of the laser dye perylene red dispersed in a polymer film. This approach represents an improvement over previous methods that tend to overestimate the true quantum yield, especially in cases with high sample absorbance or quantum yield values.     

The effect of action video game experience on task-switching

There is now a substantial body of work demonstrating that action video game experience results in enhancements in a wide variety of perceptual skills. More recently, several groups have also demonstrated improvements in abilities that are more cognitive in nature, in particular, the ability to efficiently switch between tasks. In a series of four experiments, we add to this body of work, demonstrating that the action video game player advantage is not exclusively due to an ability to map manual responses onto arbitrary buttons, but rather generalizes to vocal responses, is not restricted to tasks that are perceptual in nature (e.g. respond to a physical dimension of the stimulus such as its color), but generalizes to more cognitive tasks (e.g. is a number odd or even), and is present whether the switch requires a goal-switch or only a motor switch. Finally, a training study establishes that the relationship between the reduction in switch cost and action game playing is causal.     

Physical, Mental, and Social Catastrophic Cognitions as Prognostic Factors in Cognitive-Behavioral and Pharmacological Treatments for Panic Disorder.

The authors explored the prognostic value of 3 different types of catastrophic cognitions in the treatment of panic disorder with and without mild-to-moderate agoraphobia using a sample of 143 participants who received either cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or imipramine in a randomized controlled trial. Stronger fears of social catastrophes both prior to and following treatment with CBT or imipramine were associated with a poorer outcome. In contrast, cognitions involving physical or mental catastrophes were unrelated to outcome, regardless of whether these thoughts were measured prior to or following treatment. These findings are consistent with the notion that although the intensity of physical catastrophe cognitions may best discriminate between panic disorder and other anxiety disorders, it is the intensity of social catastrophe cognitions that is most closely tied to success in treating this disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)