Fighting the Prison–Industrial Complex: A Call to Communication and Cultural Studies Scholars to Change the World1

Collectively authored by the members of Prison Communication, Activism, Research, and Education (PCARE), an NCA-based group of scholars and activists, this essay argues that the prison–industrial complex has grown into a dire threat to the practices of US democracy. The essay “maps” the crises spawned by the prison–industrial complex and then offers a comprehensive action plan for pursuing new forms of scholarship, pedagogy, and activism. The essay therefore hopes to launch nothing less than a revolution in communication and cultural studies scholarship and a new wave of peace-and-justice activism.     

Inside Oz: Hyperviolence,Race and Class Nightmares,and the Engrossing Spectacle of Terror

In this essay I analyze the HBO prison drama Oz as a cultural artifact of the current era of rampant incarceration. I argue that Oz's hyperviolent spectacle legitimizes both the expansion of the prison–industrial complex and the continuing prevalence of inhumane prison environments. I also contend that Oz's framing of race and class within a violent spectacle functions as a justification of discriminatory criminal justice practices.     

Cumulative trauma and symptom complexity in children: A path analysis

Multiple trauma exposures during childhood are associated with a range of psychological symptoms later in life. In this study, we examined whether the total number of different types of trauma experienced by children (cumulative trauma) is associated with the complexity of their subsequent symptomatology, where complexity is defined as the number of different symptom clusters simultaneously elevated into the clinical range. Children's symptoms in six different trauma-related areas (e.g., depression, anger, posttraumatic stress) were reported both by child clients and their caretakers in a clinical sample of 318 children. Path analysis revealed that accumulated exposure to multiple different trauma types predicts symptom complexity as reported by both children and their caretakers.     

论《名誉领事》中的“父与子”母题

格雷厄姆·格林的《名誉领事》的主要人物结构印证了西方文学中一个重要母题——父与子母题,文本中表现了这一母题的基本内涵:子对父的认同、对父的仇恨以及弑父娶母情结的情感走向。这一母题渊源于西方文学的两大源头:古希腊文学与古希伯来文学。而文本创作主体个性化的成长经历则激活了这一传统母题。     

Dynamical analysis and optimal control simulation for an age-structured cholera transmission model

Cholera is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium vibrio cholerae, which can lead to widespread epidemics in the deterioration of public health systems or the associated infrastructure. Vaccination and water sanitation are two well-known methods for the prevention and intervention of cholera epidemics. In this paper, we propose an age-structured cholera model that incorporates both the environment-to-human and human-to-human transmission pathways and that includes host vaccination and water sanitation as disease control measures. We rigorously investigate the threshold dynamics of this model using the basic reproduction number derived from our analysis. Meanwhile, we perform an optimal control study to explore cost-effective intervention strategies for cholera. Our numerical simulation results show that the outcome of the optimal control is shaped by the complex interactions among the age structure of the hosts, the costs of the control measures, the transmission modes of the disease, and the different approaches of cholera intervention.     

基于弹性分析的复杂产品系统研发管理机制研究

在复杂产品系统的早期设计阶段,研发质量和研发成本问题一直是人们关注的问题。通过研究系统的弹性、可靠性和恢复力之间的关系,构建基于弹性理论的复杂产品系统关键组件的分级管理框架,为不同层级的关键组件制定出相应的研发管理措施,并通过对不同弹性分级管理机制作用下系统性能的恢复时间、恢复水平和恢复状态的管理来改善复杂产品的研发设计,使得复杂产品在达到系统安全要求的情况下,最大限度地降低研发成本,提高研发质量。     

国家复杂产品生产能力——一个基于IPO范式的思考

从经济学"投入-生产-产出"(IPO)范式的过程视角,探讨以创新为核心思想的复杂产品生产能力(包括技术能力和管理能力),并构建从资源投入、组织范式到复杂产品生产,再到生产绩效产出的全过程能力分析框架。分析表明,国家复杂产品生产能力是一个系统,需要用系统思维方式构建更为宏大的理论;以及,更要体现政策研究的规范性、描述性和工具性的统一。     

南水北调中线工程的壮丽史诗——报告文学《大江北去》的文本分析

《大江北去》是中国作协重点扶持作品,是梅洁继《山苍苍,水茫茫》、《西部的倾诉》之后的又一长篇报告文学力作,也是2007年中国报告文学界的亮点之一。从女儿般优伤的江湾走来,梅洁怀着“无法告别”的故园之恋,以史诗手笔审视了北中国严峻的水资源危机,全景式地表现了鄂西北在长达半个世纪的调水工程中所付出的巨大牺牲和无私奉献,深情讴歌了调水源头人民强劲的韧性和卓越的创造,具有深厚的文化底蕴和艺术魅力。     

The effects of part-task and whole-task instructional approaches on acquisition and transfer of a complex cognitive skill

This study was designed to investigate the effects of two instructional approaches (whole-task versus part-task) and two levels of learner prior knowledge (lower versus higher) on learner acquisition and transfer of a complex cognitive skill. Participants were 51 undergraduate pre-service teachers. In the part-task condition, a complex skill (preparing a grade book using Excel) was decomposed into a series of smaller tasks, each of which was demonstrated and practiced separately. In the whole-task condition, which was based on the 4C/ID-model (van Merriënboer 1997), learners were exposed to the entire complex skill from the beginning of the instruction and were required to practice performing a series of whole tasks throughout the unit. Results indicated that the whole-task group performed significantly better than the part-task group on a skill acquisition test and a transfer test. Possible reasons for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.