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The Faculty Notebook, December 2006, Provost's Office

Faculty Notebook

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost.

Pedagogical Possibilities For The N-Puzzle Problem, Zdravko Markov, Ingrid Russell, Todd W. Neller, Neli Zlatareva

Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this paper we present work on a project funded by the National Science Foundation with a goal of unifying the Artificial Intelligence (AI) course around the theme of machine learning. Our work involves the development and testing of an adaptable framework for the presentation of core AI topics that emphasizes the relationship between AI and computer science. Several hands-on laboratory projects that can be closely integrated into an introductory AI course have been developed. We present an overview of one of the projects and describe the associated curricular materials that have been developed. The project uses machine learning as …

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2006, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

Table of Contents:

From the Director: Various Library Improvements (John Harner ’40, Jim Agard, Heather Grace-Rutledge ’09, Robin Wagner); Governor Donates Papers (George Michael Leader ’39); Summer Intern Crafts College History Exhibit (Tara Wink ’07); Magic in the Air; Friends Fall Program Features Maps; Stuckenberg Maps Online; Music at Musselman; Ninth Holley Intern Named (Chris Gwinn ’06); Report of Gifts 2005-2006; Bowers Bestows Japanese Artifacts; (Akiko Bowers, Dr. John Z. Bowers ’33); GettDigital: Hidden in Plain Sight (Michael Birkner ’72); Focus on Philanthropy (Vernon Lidtke, William Bowman); Out of the Park (Andy Gurley ’60, Jack Gabig ’57, Robert H. Joseph …

Conception: A Personal History, Kathryn Rhett

English Faculty Publications

November 19 is Remembrance Day in Gettysburg, the day that Lincoln dedicated part of the battlefield as a cemetery for the Civil War dead in 1863. That year in July the dead lay on the battlefield, on the farmers’ fields planted with crops and in the summer-green woods where they had taken positions behind boulders and tree trunks. Some lay covered with dirt, and others just lay bare to the weather. When land for a cemetery was set aside, the townspeople moved the dead to proper graves.

As a citizen of Gettysburg more than a century later, I carry no …

'Yet In A Primitive Condition': Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian, Shannon Egan

Art and Art History Faculty Publications

From 1907 to 1930, Edward S. Curtis created The North American Indian, a forty-volume edition of photographs and writings that he hoped would cover “every phase of Indian life of all tribes yet in a primitive condition.” All evidence indicates that he set out to make a singular and unified work of art. However, a comparative analysis of photographs made at different moments in this ambitious project reveals that The North American Indian ultimately is characterized not by stylistic and thematic unity but by significant shifts in aesthetic and political orientation. [excerpt]

The Faculty Notebook, September 2006, Provost's Office

Faculty Notebook

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost.

Book Review: Hsieh Liang-Tso And The Analects Of Confucius: Humane Learning As A Religious Quest, Thomas Selover, Deborah A. Sommer (司馬黛蘭)

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Hsieh Liang-tso is the first volume to explore Chinese traditions in the Academy Series sponsored by Oxford and the American Academy of Religion. Most previous titles in the series focus on Christianity, which perhaps explains Selover’s attention to the perspectives of comparative religions and comparative theology in his introduction. There he briefly traces the history of the issues concerning the religious dimensions of the Chinese literati tradition and outlines a comparative framework for approaching eleventh-century Chinese thought. Inspired by Robert Neville’s Beyond the Masks of God, Selover focuses in the introduction on four themes—scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. This framework, …

"A Contingent Somebody": Hannibal Hamlin's Claim For A First Reading Of The Emancipation Proclamation, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

On more than one occasion, the historical record has implied that Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was a hastily composed document: an impulsive reaction to military events surrounding the Civil War. In fact, it was an evolving idea that began to take shape long before Lincoln had read the initial draft of the Proclamation to his cabinet on July 22, 1862. A closer look at the role of Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin of Maine during the most divisive presidency in American history sheds new light on the consideration and deliberation that went into drafting a document that, on January 1, 1863, essentially …

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Spring 2006, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

Table of Contents:

From the Director: 25^th Anniversary (Matt Harris ’83, Jenniger Pollock ’06); Unveiling the Past: Hidden Treasures of the Gettysburg College Asian Art Collection (Molly Hutton, Dr. Frank H. Kramer ’14); Music at Musselman: Smithsonian Global Sound; Just What is a Music Librarian? (Tim Sestrick); Spotlight on Collecting: Lincoln Sermons (Karen Drickamer, John Barnett); Focus on Philanthropy; Spring Blooms at Musselman Library (Pat Henry ’71); Library news: BoNanas, Muscle Man, Hoch’s Book, Mashiko Potters, One Book, Summer Reads (Gabor Borrit, Dr. Bradley Hoch); GettDigital: Gettysburgian; Library acquires Early American Newspapers; Coming This Fall: Jewish Literature (Stephen Stern, …

The Eclipsing Binary V1061 Cygni: Confronting Stellar Evolution Models For Active And Inactive Solar-Type Stars, Guillermo Torres, Claud H. Sandberg Lacy, Laurence A. Marschall, Holly A. Sheets, Jeff A. Mader

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the chromospherically active (X-ray strong) eclipsing binary V1061 Cyg (P = 2.35 days) showing that it is in reality a hierarchical triple system. We combine these observations with Hipparcos intermediate data (abscissa residuals) to derive the outer orbit with a period of 15.8 yr. We determine accurate values for the masses, radii, and effective temperatures of the eclipsing binary components, as well as for the mass and temperature of the third star. For the primary we obtain M = 1.282 ± 0.015 M⊙, R = 1.615 ± 0.017 R⊙, Teff = 6180 ± …

In Transit, Kathryn Rhett

English Faculty Publications

There is the birthplace and there is the deathplace. We are in the deathplace. The deathplace is Bad Aibling, in southern Germany, just north of the Austrian border. To get here, we have driven through the Tyrol, the Italian-Austrian-German alpine region in which gingerbread houses stack up on the green slopes of valleys.

Bad Aibling sounds fitting for a deathplace, a bad place, though in fact “bad” means “bath.” As we drive on a two-lane road, we see cars parked in bunches on the grassy shoulder, and it seems people might be bathing, dipping their feet in the country creeks …

Measuring Inter-Dna Potentials In Solution, Xiangyun Qiu, Lisa W. Kwok, Hye Yoon Park, Jessica S. Lamb, Kurt Andresen, Lois Pollack

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Interactions between short strands of DNA can be tuned from repulsive to attractive by varying solution conditions and have been quantified using small angle x-ray scattering techniques. The effective DNA interaction charge was extracted by fitting the scattering profiles with the generalized one-component method and inter-DNA Yukawa pair potentials. A significant charge is measured at low to moderate monovalent counterion concentrations, resulting in strong inter-DNA repulsion. The charge and repulsion diminish rapidly upon the addition of divalent counterions. An intriguing short range attraction is observed at surprisingly low divalent cation concentrations, ~16 mM Mg2+. Quantitative measurements of inter- DNA potentials …

The Faculty Notebook, March & May 2006, Provost's Office

Faculty Notebook

The Faculty Notebook is published periodically by the Office of the Provost at Gettysburg College to bring to the attention of the campus community accomplishments and activities of academic interest. Faculty are encouraged to submit materials for consideration for publication to the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. Copies of this publication are available at the Office of the Provost.

Qu'est-Ce Que La Postcolonie? Contribution À Un Débat Francophone Trop Afrocentré, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Cet essai n’a rien d’une élaboration philosophique. Même si la question du titre fait songer à un Kant du « Was ist Aufklärung ? », un Sartre de Qu’est-ce la littérature ? ou encore à un Foucault de « Qu’est-ce que les lumières? ». Il a moins la prétention d’être un exercice théorique. Encore que les discussions sur la postcolonialité ne le sont guère que très rarement. Plutôt, ce texte est la contribution d’un américaniste, observateur de surcroît des sociétés et espaces publics francoafricains de l’après Deuxième Guerre mondiale ; contribution à un débat initié— il y a quelques temps …

Interview With Robert O'Brien, January 9, 2006, Robert O'Brien, Michael J. Birkner

Oral Histories

Robert O'Brien was interviewed on January 9, 2006 by Michael J. Birkner about his military service during World War II and his years as a student at Gettysburg College. He discusses his childhood and time at Muhlenberg College, before he enlisted in the US Navy Air Corps and served at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. After the war he came to Gettysburg on a basketball scholarship. He discusses his experience as a physics major, fraternity brother, and college athlete.

Length of Interview: 94 minutes

Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by …

The Effects Of Isokinetic Contraction Velocity On The Concentric To Eccentric Strength Relationship Of The Biceps Brachii, Daniel G. Drury, Kristin J. Stuempfle, Clifford W. Mason, Julia C. Girman

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of contraction velocity on the eccentric (ECC) and concentric (CON) torque production of the biceps brachii. After performing warm-up procedures, each male subject (n = 11) completed 3 sets of 5 maximal bilateral CON and ECC isokinetic contractions of the biceps at three different speeds on a Biodex System 3 dynamometer. The men received a 3-minute rest between sets and the order of exercises was randomized. Peak torque (Nm) values were obtained for CON and ECC contractions at each speed. Peak torque scores (ECC vs. CON) were compared using …

Piloting A Digitized Evidence-Based Assessment System, Divonna M. Stebick, Jonelle Pool

Education Faculty Publications

One of the most difficult challenges facing university-based teacher education programs is to document program effectiveness. Demands for supporting data come from a number of different constituencies including state legislators, hiring officials and parents, and state officials. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) survey (Wineburg, 2006) identified that institutions are besieged by the demands for data and frustrated by the time and energy required to collect and retrieve evidence. A primary recommendation emerging from the AASCU findings focused on the proactive development of institutional data systems that guide program progress and demonstrate the achievement of educational outcomes …

Full Nps As Subjects, Jenny Dumont

Spanish Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify factors that influence 3rd person (singular and plural) subject expression in the spoken Spanish of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the role of full NPs as subjects. Subject expression has been the topic of many linguistic studies, especially with respect to personal pronouns (Bayley & Pease Alvarez 1997; Bentivoglio 1987; Cameron 1994, 1995; Cameron & Flores 2003; Flores-Ferrán 2002; Silva-Corvalán 1994; Travis 2005, To appear). What distinguishes this investigation from other studies of subject expression is that it focuses on the third person, which is a more heterogeneous category …

Lastarria, Bello Y Sarmiento En 1844: Genocidio, Historiografía Y Proyecto Nacional, Alvaro Kaempfer

Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Faculty Publications

En la Memoria histórica que presentó a la Universidad de Chile en 1844, José Victorino Lastarria sostuvo que el proceso de independencia nacional había respondido a una voluntad de emancipación nacida con la resistencia indígena al colonialismo hispano. La independencia, aseguró, fue la victoria sobre un orden que "se apoyaba (...) en las costumbres i marchaba con ellas en íntima unidad i perfecta armonía" (122-3). Ese orden era muy diferente a la "manera de vivir profundamente democrática" de las trece colonias británicas, con "costumbres industriales, intereses mercantiles que elaboraban en aquel pueblo desde mucho tiempo atrás un elemento poderoso de …

Can Corporations Be Morally Responsible? Aristotle, Stakeholders And The Non-Sale Of Hershey, Steven Gimbel

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Stakeholder theory is a significant development in the drive to provide a foundation for intuitions concerning the moral responsibility connected to corporate decision making. The move to include the interests of workers, consumers, the communities and biological environment in which the corporations instantiations are located run counter to the view in which stakeholders' interests are paramount. The non-sale of the Hershey Foods company to Wrigley was the ultimate result of a massive call by stakeholders to put other interests before stakeholder financial stakes, yet the discussion was notably not held in terms of stakeholder theory. Rather, the discussion was explicitly …

How Learning Styles Impact E-Learning: A Case Comparative Study Of Undergraduate Students Who Excelled, Passed, Or Failed An Online Course In Scientific/Technical Writing, William West, B.R. Simon Rosser, Salma Monani, Laura Gurak

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Online classes appear increasingly popular, making it critical in each discipline to study the advantages and disadvantages of learning online. Following up on anecdotal impressions that scientific/technical writing students appeared to do either better or worse in an online course than an offline equivalent (unpublished data), it was decided to study the impact of learning style and experience in using the Internet on grades. The 60 students who participated in an online course on scientific/technical writing were emailed post-course evaluations which included questions on learning styles. Of these, 37 (62%) returned the evaluations, revealing a clear and significant pattern of …

Our So-Called Illustrious Past, Kathryn Rhett

English Faculty Publications

I went to London not to see the queen, but to find the Dutch baronet from whom we were all descended. I went as my father and forefathers and foremothers had done, to turn the crackling pages of a parish register and put my finger on our name. I went with an image of Gualter de Raedt, a young Dutchman in 1660, boarding a ship to accompany Charles the Second back to England, where monarchy would be restored. The fleet of thirteen ships sailed from Schevinengen on a flat gray sea as fifty thousand people stood on the beach to …

Periodismo, Orden Y Cotidianeidad: Presentación De La Gaceta De Buenos Aires De Mariano Moreno (1810) Y Prospecto De La Aurora De Chile (1812) De Camilo Henríquez, Alvaro Kaempfer

Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies Faculty Publications

En junio de 1810, Mariano Moreno aseguró que la Gaceta de Buenos Aires nacía para apoyar la exactitud, sinceridad, franqueza y continuidad del orden creado por la Revolución de Mayo y garantizar “que el Pueblo no resfríe en su confianza” (Gaceta 1-2). El periódico enfrentaría el engaño intencional e interesado, el uso malicioso de los errores del gobierno y la ignorancia sobre los asuntos públicos. Buscaría cohesionar a sus lectores y ordenar una sociedad en transición, ayudando a evitar “al fin una disolución, que envuelve a toda la comunidad en males irreparables” (Gaceta 1). Se planteaba, además, asegurarle a Pueblos …

Is Pigmentation Important For Face Recognition? Evidence From Contrast Negation, Richard Russell, Pawan Sinha, Irving Biederman, Marissa Nederhouser

Psychology Faculty Publications

It is extraordinarily difficult to recognize a face in an image with negated contrast, as in a photographic negative. The variation among faces can be partitioned into two general sources: (a) shape and (b) surface reflectance, here termed 'pigmentation'. To determine whether negation differentially affects the processing of shape or pigmentation, we made two sets of faces where the individual faces differed only in shape in one set and only in pigmentation in the other. Surprisingly, matching performance was significantly impaired by contrast negation only when the faces varied in pigmentation. This provides evidence that the perception of pigmentation, not …