In this enlightening discussion, Prof. Tadeusz Slupski of Poland, a visitor to Zangskar since November 1977, discusses the cultural shifts over the decades with a couple from Sani village. Slupski narrates the socio-cultural transformations he witnessed since his initial visit and invites the couple to expand on these changes from their firsthand experiences. They discuss the nuances of the architectural evolution of Zangskari houses, delving into traditional heating and lighting methods, recalling cherished olden poems, songs, and dances—emphasizing the "chham" (Chham) dance and costumes, and reminisce about traditional weddings marked by horseback marriage processions. Dr. Jamphel Sheyan, Assistant Professor of English at GMDC, skillfully interprets the conversation, bridging Zangskari and English. Recorded in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

Stanzin Choszin and her parents discuss the transformation Zangskar has witnessed in recent decades with Tshering Namgyal. Stanzin Choszin is a student at the Government Model Degree College (GMDC), Zangskar. Tshering Namgyal is a GMDC BA student. They discuss shifts in language, changing tastes in food and liquor, evolving work cultures, and matrimonial traditions. this discussion captures the essence of a rapidly transforming Zangskari society. Recorded at Choszin's residence in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

In this insightful discussion, Gyafo (King) Phuntsok Dawa, the King of Padum, answers the questions raised on Zangskar and its history by Dr. Tadeusz Slupski, a regular visitor to Zangskar since 1977. Gyafo Dawa delves into the rich heritage of his lineage and the Zangskari royal family. He recounts the pivotal moment in June 1948 when Zangskar faced invasion from Pakistani forces, prompting his father and the entire family, accompanied by Kushok Bakula Rimpoche, to seek refuge in Himachal Pradesh. Dr. Slupski further inquires about the demographics of Zangskar, leading the discussion towards the significant societal and cultural changes Zangskar has experienced over the past four and a half decades, since he first visited. Recorded in Old Padum village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

In this recording, Kunzang Chhuskit, an elder from Sani village, discusses the changes in Zangskar's agricultural practices. Prompted by questions from Dr. Jamphel Sheyan and students of GMDC, Zangskar, Chhuskit contrasts the recent adoption of machine harvesting and flour grinding with the traditional practices of hand-harvesting and water-mill grinding. Additionally, she recounts a tale about a prince named Kargyen Chocho. Concluding her discourse, she touches upon transformations in the dowry system and the broader changes Zangskar has undergone in its journey towards development. Recorded in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

This is a discussion with Norbu Tashi, an elder from the Sani village, about the shifts in language, culture, and lifestyle that Zangskar has witnessed over the recent years. Recorded in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

This is a discussion with Tshering Tashi, a Lama (monk) at the Bardan Monastery, who hails from the Sani village. Lama Tashi delves into the shifts that have taken place in Zangskar in terms of language, culture, lifestyle, and the environment over recent years. He explains how these alterations have affected the local Zangskari populace. In addition, Lama Tashi addresses questions from the students of GMDC, Zangskar, about the observed transformations within Zangskar's monasteries. Recorded in Sani village, Ladakh Union Territory, India.

Article exploring graph node property prediction. Originally presented as part of the application track at the 38th International Conference on Logic Programming in Haifa, Israel.

Article is a study determining whether ReN cells, a superior cell model system for studying neurodevelopment, differentiation, and neuroprotection, express proteins involved in canonical eCB NAE signaling and whether oxidative stress can induce their expression. This study is a first step toward determining how oxidative stress affects CB1, CB2, FAAH, NAAA, and NAPE-PLD expression and their potential defense against oxidative stress.

Article presents a case study of a 35 year-old Caucasian woman who experienced multiple vertebral fractures two months after her second pregnancy. The results suggest a potential role of heterozygous WNT1 variants in the pathogenesis of early-onset osteoporosis. The authors suggest that teriparatide is one of the most appropriate available therapies for such cases.

Article provides an overview of recent progress in superlubricity research involving solid, liquid, and gaseous media and discuss the prospects for achieving superlubricity in engineering applications leading to greater efficiency, durability, environmental quality, and hence global sustainability.

Biweekly, comprehensive compilation of decisions, reports, public notices, and other documents of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Following school closures in the spring semester of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts across the United States began making plans for a remote start to the 2020-2021 school year. In Texas, professional development plans were required by the Texas Education Agency for K-12 public school districts planning to provide online learning options for students. This study examined these professional development plans using directed qualitative content analysis methods to identify and categorize the learning experiences provided to educators in preparation for online instruction. The plans were coded in NVivo using etic codes based on relevant literature related to the TPACK framework, online teacher competencies, and standards for quality online teaching. Emic codes were created as needed during the iterative coding process. Data analysis revealed trends related to teacher training gaps, district priorities, target audiences, and the occurrence of professional development sessions. The study findings were discussed, and suggestions were made to inform the development and design of future professional development plans for online teachers at multiple levels. Recommendations for further research specific to in-service teacher professional development and preservice teacher preparation programs were offered.

The Blue Flag program is a French international eco-award for beaches, marinas, and tour boats. With a set of 33 criteria required for obtaining the award, the Blue Flag program has sites all over the world, but none in the United States. The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) sought to change that and provided an opportunity for locations in the U.S. to apply for the award. One of those applicants was the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees in Galveston, Texas. This thesis focuses on data obtained for the park board through a survey to determine beachgoer support and interest in the Blue Flag program. Data was collected through the use of a survey and ad hoc interviews during the summer of 2021. Examined through various theoretical lenses, the data was analyzed to determine its impacts on the local community, and its relationship with other historical conservation projects. The results for this project were provided through a paper report and presentation on the findings to the client and presented at the ASBPA National Coastal Conference in October of 2021.

The School of the Americas (SOA), currently known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), is a Latin American training program run by the U.S. army since 1946. While the U.S. claimed they were training young men to serve as security personnel for South America, the trainees were often violent, acting more like CIA-trained terrorists, killing innocent people and serving as leaders in some of the worst South American dictatorial regimes. Most of these regimes heavily utilized rape as a key tactic of repression rising to the level of genocide, such as reported by other researches in both the Peruvian and Guatemalan civil wars where rape was used by SOA graduates against Indigenous populations to physically and psychologically damage the populace. While the functions of rape in civil conflicts have been identified by research and witnessed in the actions of SOA graduates, I find hesitant evidence that sexual assault was a legitimate torture and counterinsurgency tool taught at the SOA.

Monthly magazine for Texas Lottery retailers that contains news, retailer spotlights, and a list of lottery winners.

South Asians are the third fastest growing racial/ethnic minority group in the United States with distinct cultural characteristics. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S, including South Asians, across several life domains: work, home life/education, social activities, economic, emotional and physical health, infection, quarantine, and positive changes. The COVID-19 pandemic may have critically impacted South Asians with traumatic event experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity across several life domains. Limited work suggests high rates of interpersonal traumas and substantial PTSD symptom severity in the South Asian community. Uniquely, the current study examined which life domains impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic associated with a greater count of traumatic event types, interpersonal vs. non-interpersonal traumas, and PTSD symptom severity. Results revealed that negative experiences in social activities, as well as distress in economic, emotional, and physical health domains, were significantly associated with the count of traumatic event types. Negative social activity experiences, and distress in the economic and emotional health domains, were also significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity. Quarantine and physical health domains significantly associated with the count of interpersonal traumas, while COVID-19-related experiences (in social, quarantine, and infection domains) …

Size premium puzzle, also known as the size effect, is one of the most studied anomalies in asset pricing literature. It refers to the observation that, on average, smaller firms have higher risk-adjusted returns than larger firms over a long period of time. While many studies have debated the existence of the size effect, the question of why it exists has become a subject of heated debate. Thus, this dissertation aims to examine if previously overlooked factors can, at least partially, explain the size effect. Essay 1 examines if merger and acquisition activity can explain a part of the size effect. I find that merger and acquisition activity explain a part of the size effect. The size effect is found to be stronger during merger waves but is not consistent across industries. Further, the size effect tends to be stronger when acquisition activity is concentrated among smaller firms. Essay 2 investigates if expectational errors explain the higher return of small firms. Several empirical studies show that stocks that investors underestimate yield higher returns. However, I do not find support for the underestimation explanation in explaining the higher returns of small firms. Instead, I find that investors are overly optimistic about …

Since the creation of the first all-state vocal jazz ensemble in 1978, similar ensembles have been established in roughly half of the United States. This paper contains historical summaries of the creation of all-state vocal jazz ensembles in nineteen of those states, primarily as recounted via interviews with those ensembles' founders. Each semi-structured interview was conducted over video conference or phone and lasted approximately one hour; resulting interview data was analyzed using qualitative methods. During the creation of each ensemble the respective founders needed to secure the support of a host organization, determine where and when to convene, and decide how to address auditions, sound reinforcement, rhythm sections, and funding. The diversity of solutions to these shared challenges reflects the diverse priorities of each founder as well as the unique conditions in which each all-state vocal jazz ensemble was established. However, several elements were common across these stories, including the influence of existing festivals and all-state ensembles, and tensions within the choral education community regarding the value of the vocal jazz idiom relative to traditional choirs, show choirs, and other vocal ensembles. In a few cases, established all-state vocal jazz ensembles were discontinued; these stories further illustrate the challenges such …

In 2016, the Colombian Constitutional Court recognized the Atrato River as a subject of rights based on the theory of biocultural rights. This dissertation analyzes a new legal concept that aims to defend the rights to a good life for humans and other-than-human co-inhabitants who share river ecosystems, focusing on the case of the Atrato River in Colombia. The 3Hs framework of biocultural ethics is adopted to interconnect complex and interrelated historical, biophysical, cultural, and political dimensions. With this analysis, broader biocultural approaches are suggested. They could be valuable for understanding and implementing biocultural rights in other world regions. Moreover, it could transform the current situation that destroys biocultural diversity toward public policies that favor more just and sustainable forms of co-inhabiting biocultural diversity. A primary limitation of the implementation of biocultural rights is the context of a "failed state," in which the Colombian State is subject to severe problems of corruption, illegal mining, conflicts between legal and illegal armed groups, and drug trafficking. There is a need for a dialogue solution to the conflict. This requires that illegal armed groups are valued as co-inhabitants. Achieving social-environmental justice is essential for biocultural ethics. In this case, it is the condition …

This study addresses the antecedents of individuals' disposition to use telemedicine applications, as well as the antecedents of their usage to provide insight into creating sustained usage over time. The theoretical framework of this research is Bhattacherjee's expectation-confirmation IS continuance model. By combining a series of key factors which may influence the initial and continued usage of telemedicine applications with key constructs of Bhattacherjee's IS continuance model, this study aims to provide a deeper understanding of barriers to telemedicine app usage and how to facilitate continued use of these apps. Online survey data was collected from college students who are telemedicine application users. A total of 313 responses were gathered, and data analysis was conducted using SmartPLS 3. This dissertation contributes by looking at the IS adoption and IS continuance research simultaneously to connect these two research streams as well as suggesting the usage context of some established IS theory being different with regard to healthcare applications.

Non-professional investors often rely on information obtained from social media to make investment decisions. Extant literature has not examined the most effective strategy for the target company to counter the rumors so that investors will be more willing to continue investing in the target firm. Drawing on source credibility theory and the moral intensity model, I propose that the most effective strategy would vary given different agents who are selected to counter the rumor. After conducting a 2 x 3 (counter-rumor source x counter-rumor strategy) experiment with 272 non-professional investors recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, my study shows that when an internal agent (e.g., the CEO) acts as a counter-rumor source, shareholders are more willing to invest in the company when the internal agent utilizes a denial strategy rather than a reassociation or a questioning strategy. In contrast, when an external agent (e.g., a famous food blogger) serves as the counter-rumor source, the external agent can also use a questioning strategy in addition to a denial strategy to motivate shareholders to be more willing to invest in the company; however, the external agent still needs to avoid from engaging a reassociation strategy. Moderated serial-mediation analysis shows that the persuasiveness of …

Article summarises the known structures, biological activities, and biosynthetic pathways of the tropolone sesquiterpenoid family of fungal secondary metabolites. Synthesis of this knowledge allows likely structural and stereochemical misassignments to be revised and shows how the compounds can be divided into three main biosynthetic classes based on the stereochemistry of key biosynthetic steps.

Article describes how processes including hot compression, cold compression and subsequent annealing on the structures and properties are investigated and compared. They found that applying pressure up to 10 GPa at the glass transition temperature led to permanent densifications and a dramatic increase of elastic moduli by 90%, while thermal annealing reversed the increase and applying pressure at ambient temperature did not increase the modulus.

Weekly newspaper from Elgin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.