My final product is finally and fully complete.
I cannot express my appreciation enough for those who helped me get here.
Now, time to tackle my presentation, which is proving quite challenging because of the time factor again.. I have been focusing on getting my final product together for the past few weeks and developing them, and I intended to start on concentrating on my presentation this week and the next, up until the 13th! But then I found out that we're rehearsing this week, which only gave me a day to work on my presentation, seeing as my rehearsal session is on Tuesday. I'm writing this in my break from working on my presentation, haha. Fortunately, the administration of BASIS Tucson is marvelous and I was able to schedule more than one rehearsal. My first one won't go too comprehensively, I know for certain. I now realized how limiting twenty minutes actually is. But I'll get it down soon!
Also, I better not get a sore throat/strep-throat this time around. I swear...
Anyways.. It's great to see everyone coming back again--well, just getting to see them again! From surveying about, it sounds like most of us have a handle on our projects, hurrah. Before we know it, we'll already be there, guys. Keep at it!
Cheers,
Axk
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
End Project (-jw)
1 am.
Paper is done, Presentation is done.
First page:
It only gets better.
Next step for you, come see my presentation (and those of my classmates.) For anyone not already familiar with the dates of our presentations, continue reading.
I am partial to the May 14th date, as that's when I'll be delivering my presentation. Here is the information for that:
May 14th @ the Loft 10:00 am - 12:00 pm 3233 East Speedway Boulevard
Josh
Angelynn
Clarice
Samone
Also, check out
May 11th @ The Poetry Center U of A 6:00pm - 8:00pm Dorothy Rubel Room 1508 E. Helen Street
Zobella
Nicole
Sierra
Dany
May 16th @ the U of A College of Sciences 6:00pm - 8:00pm 1040 E. Fourth Street
Joseph
Andrew
Gabriel
Jayanth
May 17th @ the U of A College of Sciences 6:00pm - 8:00pm 1040 E. Fourth Street
Agustin
Greg
Clover
Rita
See you there.
Remember, class, the end of the project is really just a segue to the rest of our lives.
Paper is done, Presentation is done.
First page:
It only gets better.
Next step for you, come see my presentation (and those of my classmates.) For anyone not already familiar with the dates of our presentations, continue reading.
I am partial to the May 14th date, as that's when I'll be delivering my presentation. Here is the information for that:
May 14th @ the Loft 10:00 am - 12:00 pm 3233 East Speedway Boulevard
Josh
Angelynn
Clarice
Samone
Also, check out
May 11th @ The Poetry Center U of A 6:00pm - 8:00pm Dorothy Rubel Room 1508 E. Helen Street
Zobella
Nicole
Sierra
Dany
May 16th @ the U of A College of Sciences 6:00pm - 8:00pm 1040 E. Fourth Street
Joseph
Andrew
Gabriel
Jayanth
May 17th @ the U of A College of Sciences 6:00pm - 8:00pm 1040 E. Fourth Street
Agustin
Greg
Clover
Rita
See you there.
Remember, class, the end of the project is really just a segue to the rest of our lives.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Final week
I have finished my experiement. After I repeat it to make sure the results are consistent I will be done with the Riehle lab. In between protocols I am taking pictures of the lab for my presentation and writing up my final product.
My experiement is testing the gene activity of AKT in one of the transgeneic lines of mosquitoes. AKT is a protein that is involved in regulating lifespan, reproduction and metabolism. In my first experiement the transgene lit up nicely in the gel, which means that the transgene is indeed active. Experiements that might follow up my research would be reproductive studies(counting the eggs, seeing which ones are viable) and lifespan studies(sticking them in a cage and seeing how long they live compared to wild type mosquitoes). If the changes in lifespan and reproductive capabilities are significant, the transgene might be used in the mosquitoes that will be released into the wild.
My final product is going to be an easy to understand summary of my research. This will include an abstract, easy to understand proceedures, and results. Hopefully even a bio noob will be able to understand what is going on and why it is important to the research at the Riehle lab.
Next week will be my last week in the lab. During this week I will be DNase treating my RNA samples, making cDNA, running PCR, and doing a gel. After that I'm done!
My experiement is testing the gene activity of AKT in one of the transgeneic lines of mosquitoes. AKT is a protein that is involved in regulating lifespan, reproduction and metabolism. In my first experiement the transgene lit up nicely in the gel, which means that the transgene is indeed active. Experiements that might follow up my research would be reproductive studies(counting the eggs, seeing which ones are viable) and lifespan studies(sticking them in a cage and seeing how long they live compared to wild type mosquitoes). If the changes in lifespan and reproductive capabilities are significant, the transgene might be used in the mosquitoes that will be released into the wild.
My final product is going to be an easy to understand summary of my research. This will include an abstract, easy to understand proceedures, and results. Hopefully even a bio noob will be able to understand what is going on and why it is important to the research at the Riehle lab.
Next week will be my last week in the lab. During this week I will be DNase treating my RNA samples, making cDNA, running PCR, and doing a gel. After that I'm done!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Big Crunch
Hello Everybody,
I just finished coding all point-by-point summaries of all table tennis matches that I observed from the 2010 World Table Tennis Championship. Since I had to code the server, direction, court, and game progression (who won the point) for all 1,826 serves. This process took, as expected, a really long time. For the last month, I have been coding all these point-by-point summaries, which is the reason why I haven't posted in a while.
There is good news and bad news. The good news is that after confirming all the data with these point-by-point codes, there are only very slight changes in the overall results of the data. The winning probabilities for serving to either the left or right side are still the same, which is great news. When controlling for Ad and Duece court, there are slight changes to that hypothesis, but I would stress that the difference is VERY slight.
Now, for this to be a comprehensive study, I have to test for the equality of winning probabilities for each player in each match with distribution statistics such as the chi-squared statistic (P-Value), the run test, and the joint statistic test (a combination of the previous two). The bad news is that in an individual table tennis match, there aren't very many serves for any one player (on average, only about 35 per match). It is likely that these statistics will reject the null hypothesis in more matches than expected. However, I can do an Empirical CDF test, which tests for uniformity of P-Values. If I have a uniform distribution of P-Values, I believe that it would okay to assume an equality of winning probabilities. Of course, there aren't enough serves in any individual match to say whether or not there is an asymptotic distribution, which is what the confirmation statistics assume. But studies like these, especially high school studies, are never perfect.
So now it is a big crunch. A big crunch of numbers and a big crunch of work to have a good paper by next Friday. I'll be sure to work hard, because I don't want my presentation to be like a black hole singularity.
Jayanth
I just finished coding all point-by-point summaries of all table tennis matches that I observed from the 2010 World Table Tennis Championship. Since I had to code the server, direction, court, and game progression (who won the point) for all 1,826 serves. This process took, as expected, a really long time. For the last month, I have been coding all these point-by-point summaries, which is the reason why I haven't posted in a while.
There is good news and bad news. The good news is that after confirming all the data with these point-by-point codes, there are only very slight changes in the overall results of the data. The winning probabilities for serving to either the left or right side are still the same, which is great news. When controlling for Ad and Duece court, there are slight changes to that hypothesis, but I would stress that the difference is VERY slight.
Now, for this to be a comprehensive study, I have to test for the equality of winning probabilities for each player in each match with distribution statistics such as the chi-squared statistic (P-Value), the run test, and the joint statistic test (a combination of the previous two). The bad news is that in an individual table tennis match, there aren't very many serves for any one player (on average, only about 35 per match). It is likely that these statistics will reject the null hypothesis in more matches than expected. However, I can do an Empirical CDF test, which tests for uniformity of P-Values. If I have a uniform distribution of P-Values, I believe that it would okay to assume an equality of winning probabilities. Of course, there aren't enough serves in any individual match to say whether or not there is an asymptotic distribution, which is what the confirmation statistics assume. But studies like these, especially high school studies, are never perfect.
So now it is a big crunch. A big crunch of numbers and a big crunch of work to have a good paper by next Friday. I'll be sure to work hard, because I don't want my presentation to be like a black hole singularity.
Jayanth
Thursday, April 14, 2011
'Keep Calm and Carry On.' /Angelynn
Yes, so I haven't posted too recently as I haven't been doing much other than scrambling for my final product (problems, problems, problems..)! Consequently, this will be a short blurb too.
So what have I been presenting to..well..almost everyone I meet?
The issue here is the time factor. Initially, I wanted to create a program and host it at MoCA that reached to the youth about contemporary art and the museum. Unfortunately, I found out two weeks ago that this would not work, as all the events that take place at the MoCA have been in development for a while, since MoCA operates on a curatorial model (which basically means my plan is premature and has not had the time and work put into it for it to be something of good quality!).
So like any normal student, I panicked a tad. Brainstorms over brainstorms, after several calls to a few good and amazing friends (Rapatan, Isom and Andrew--hurrah!), I settled on one idea. I still wanted something interactive, creative and visual..artsy. I am putting together a mini book/album of a collaboration of pieces that address the prompt above. And between these pages, I will have bits of my writing of my experiences and what I learned from them.
Hopefully, everything will eventually fall into place...soon. I'm finding it terribly difficult to gather enough participants, seeing as it is so close to exam season, and students everywhere are up to their necks with the work! However, as to those who have contributed or will soon be contributing their part, I am truly appreciative and cannot thank you enough! (You have no idea.)
Dankeschön,
Axk
P.S.: Can't believe it's nearing mid-April already.. This is crazy.
So what have I been presenting to..well..almost everyone I meet?
The prompt is:
Create an artistic piece (ex. poem, prose, sketch, drawing, etc.) that expresses what you believe is 'contemporary art' and a 'contemporary art museum'. This piece should be something that can fit or be fitted into a book/album, though it does not necessarily have to be 2-D (be as creative as you'd like).
Basically, I want to know what you think those two phrases are and what you associate with them. There are no criteria for the final piece. All these pieces will ultimately be compiled into a book/album.
The issue here is the time factor. Initially, I wanted to create a program and host it at MoCA that reached to the youth about contemporary art and the museum. Unfortunately, I found out two weeks ago that this would not work, as all the events that take place at the MoCA have been in development for a while, since MoCA operates on a curatorial model (which basically means my plan is premature and has not had the time and work put into it for it to be something of good quality!).
So like any normal student, I panicked a tad. Brainstorms over brainstorms, after several calls to a few good and amazing friends (Rapatan, Isom and Andrew--hurrah!), I settled on one idea. I still wanted something interactive, creative and visual..artsy. I am putting together a mini book/album of a collaboration of pieces that address the prompt above. And between these pages, I will have bits of my writing of my experiences and what I learned from them.
Hopefully, everything will eventually fall into place...soon. I'm finding it terribly difficult to gather enough participants, seeing as it is so close to exam season, and students everywhere are up to their necks with the work! However, as to those who have contributed or will soon be contributing their part, I am truly appreciative and cannot thank you enough! (You have no idea.)
Dankeschön,
Axk
P.S.: Can't believe it's nearing mid-April already.. This is crazy.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Temporini's Just Sittin' and Writin'
Howdy,
As my not-so-interesting title proclaims I've spent these last few weeks just sittin' and writin'. Now, I know y'all have heard me say this before, but I love it. I really do. I could sit and write about the social climate in 1976 Argentina or the undertones of racism and elitism involved in a military takeover for weeks. But unfortunately, I have a lot more to write about and a lot less time than I would like to spend on each topic. So where am I at right now? Well, I have translated all my data and have constructed a simple outline, and I've been writing for about a week, just filling in my outline. Its going pretty well. With all the notes and information that I have (products of long hours of research and expertly conducted interviews) there really isn't a whole lot for me to do. I just have to put all my notes together, add a few literary flourishes once in a while ("variegated and diffuse") and the paragraphs just come together. I like to think of it as like when you're reading a book, you read what the author tells you, but your mind constructs the story. I take all the facts that I have and I use them to construct a story. Its really interesting to see how everything is taking shape, and its just cool to put all my notes together and draw connections and to reread what I've written and try to make sound more professional. It really is just fun. Anyways, that's all I really have for now. I finished one of my sections of my paper and am looking forward to start working on the next one, though I really do need to think about starting to limit the scope of my product.
Goodbye for now,
Agustin
As my not-so-interesting title proclaims I've spent these last few weeks just sittin' and writin'. Now, I know y'all have heard me say this before, but I love it. I really do. I could sit and write about the social climate in 1976 Argentina or the undertones of racism and elitism involved in a military takeover for weeks. But unfortunately, I have a lot more to write about and a lot less time than I would like to spend on each topic. So where am I at right now? Well, I have translated all my data and have constructed a simple outline, and I've been writing for about a week, just filling in my outline. Its going pretty well. With all the notes and information that I have (products of long hours of research and expertly conducted interviews) there really isn't a whole lot for me to do. I just have to put all my notes together, add a few literary flourishes once in a while ("variegated and diffuse") and the paragraphs just come together. I like to think of it as like when you're reading a book, you read what the author tells you, but your mind constructs the story. I take all the facts that I have and I use them to construct a story. Its really interesting to see how everything is taking shape, and its just cool to put all my notes together and draw connections and to reread what I've written and try to make sound more professional. It really is just fun. Anyways, that's all I really have for now. I finished one of my sections of my paper and am looking forward to start working on the next one, though I really do need to think about starting to limit the scope of my product.
Goodbye for now,
Agustin
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Things that get the heart pounding
Almost getting hit by crazy Guatemalan micro-bus drivers? My arm got acquainted with the side mirror. Unfortunately, that is the most exciting part of my weekly update...
Traveling last week was exhausting yet invigorating. Minimal sleep, bumpy bus rides, Mayan ruins, the "most beautiful lake in the world" (supposedly Lake Atitlan, but I'm not sure if I'm convinced), and a noisy hostel found me completely ready to return to Nebaj and set back to work. So that is exactly what I have done.
Yesterday, I completed the first version of an informational pamphlet (in English) for Soluciones Comunitarias. The general intent is to provide English-speaking inquisitors with an idea of how the Micro-Consignment works, where SolCom operates in Guatemala, how it was founded, and a brief description of the products/services it provides. This will be particularly useful to give to the slew of Peace Corps volunteers and other NGOs who want to know how they may be able to coordinate with SolCom. Also, with a conference coming up at the end of the month centered around the use of the Micro-Consignment model, as hosts it would be nice to have pamphlets to give our guests. Currently, the pamphlet is being reviewed by other members of the team and then I will make changes as necessary.
This morning, I began to work in updating descriptions of hikes offered by the tourism office that SolCom manages in Nebaj. With a fairly steady flow of travelers and backpackers (many European), the "Guias Ixiles" office (Ixil Guides) aims to keep travelers in the region for an extra couple of days, thus causing them to contribute to the local economy. A problem, however, is that the descriptions are vague and none are in Spanish, so I will provide new descriptions for hikes that I have done and translate other descriptions to English.
While I was in the SolCom office in Antigua, I found "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" by C.K. Prahalad. The title seemed relevant to my project so I have borrowed it and commenced to read it. The general assertion is that Multi-National Corporations should adapt their business practices to include "the Bottom of the Pyramid," which Prahalad defines to be the four billion people in the world who live on less that two dollars a day. By lowering prices of products and packaging them differently (single-serving for example), the private sector could provide the poor with products that range from shampoo to construction materials. Indeed, significantly lowering prices would decrease the profit margin per item sold, but considering the sheer volume of commerce amidst four billion people, the ventures would still be in the best interest of firms. Prahalad also addresses the difficulties in distribution to rural communities which makes the discourse interesting for me as I am every day gaining personal experience in that department. In fact, tomorrow I believe I will be traveling to Canilla (four hours away...) to observe the training of new entrepreneurs in that region and will return on Thursday.
Completely unrelated: next week is Holy Week and I might have the opportunity to travel to Antigua again to view the festivities. It is said to be the largest celebration of the season in the world, but that also means a HUGE CROWDED CITY, and I'm not sure if I wish to deal with that and the six hour trip each way. I guess we will see what happens! I'm sure Nebaj gets pretty festive as well.
Traveling last week was exhausting yet invigorating. Minimal sleep, bumpy bus rides, Mayan ruins, the "most beautiful lake in the world" (supposedly Lake Atitlan, but I'm not sure if I'm convinced), and a noisy hostel found me completely ready to return to Nebaj and set back to work. So that is exactly what I have done.
Yesterday, I completed the first version of an informational pamphlet (in English) for Soluciones Comunitarias. The general intent is to provide English-speaking inquisitors with an idea of how the Micro-Consignment works, where SolCom operates in Guatemala, how it was founded, and a brief description of the products/services it provides. This will be particularly useful to give to the slew of Peace Corps volunteers and other NGOs who want to know how they may be able to coordinate with SolCom. Also, with a conference coming up at the end of the month centered around the use of the Micro-Consignment model, as hosts it would be nice to have pamphlets to give our guests. Currently, the pamphlet is being reviewed by other members of the team and then I will make changes as necessary.
This morning, I began to work in updating descriptions of hikes offered by the tourism office that SolCom manages in Nebaj. With a fairly steady flow of travelers and backpackers (many European), the "Guias Ixiles" office (Ixil Guides) aims to keep travelers in the region for an extra couple of days, thus causing them to contribute to the local economy. A problem, however, is that the descriptions are vague and none are in Spanish, so I will provide new descriptions for hikes that I have done and translate other descriptions to English.
While I was in the SolCom office in Antigua, I found "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" by C.K. Prahalad. The title seemed relevant to my project so I have borrowed it and commenced to read it. The general assertion is that Multi-National Corporations should adapt their business practices to include "the Bottom of the Pyramid," which Prahalad defines to be the four billion people in the world who live on less that two dollars a day. By lowering prices of products and packaging them differently (single-serving for example), the private sector could provide the poor with products that range from shampoo to construction materials. Indeed, significantly lowering prices would decrease the profit margin per item sold, but considering the sheer volume of commerce amidst four billion people, the ventures would still be in the best interest of firms. Prahalad also addresses the difficulties in distribution to rural communities which makes the discourse interesting for me as I am every day gaining personal experience in that department. In fact, tomorrow I believe I will be traveling to Canilla (four hours away...) to observe the training of new entrepreneurs in that region and will return on Thursday.
Completely unrelated: next week is Holy Week and I might have the opportunity to travel to Antigua again to view the festivities. It is said to be the largest celebration of the season in the world, but that also means a HUGE CROWDED CITY, and I'm not sure if I wish to deal with that and the six hour trip each way. I guess we will see what happens! I'm sure Nebaj gets pretty festive as well.
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