Now and Then: Fiber Meets Fibonacci; The Shape of Things to Come

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-262
Author(s):  
Art Johnson

AN OLD SAYING GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS, “ARTISTS ARE born, not made.” For Billie Ruth Sudduth, this statement is not quite true. Billie Ruth, who lives in the North Carolina mountains, makes baskets that are prized by collectors from all across North America and have been displayed in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She is internationally known for her basket artistry and was the first woman to be designated a Living Treasure by the state of North Carolina. But she was not always a basket maker.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Haynes-Maslow ◽  
Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts ◽  
Kathryn A. Boys ◽  
Jared T. McGuirt ◽  
Sheila Fleischhacker ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The North Carolina Healthy Food Small Retailer Program (NC HFSRP) was established through a policy passed by the state legislature to provide funding for small food retailers located in food deserts with the goal of increasing access to and sales of healthy foods and beverages among local residents. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine perceptions of the NC HFSRP among store customers. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 customers from five NC HFSRP stores in food deserts across eastern NC. Interview questions were related to shoppers’ food and beverage purchases at NC HFSRP stores, whether they had noticed any in-store efforts to promote healthier foods and beverages, their suggestions for promoting healthier foods and beverages, their familiarity with and support of the NC HFSRP, and how their shopping and consumption habits had changed since implementation of the NC HFSRP. A codebook was developed based on deductive (from the interview guide questions) and inductive (emerged from the data) codes and operational definitions. Verbatim transcripts were double-coded and a thematic analysis was conducted based on code frequency, and depth of participant responses for each code. Results Although very few participants were aware of the NC HFSRP legislation, they recognized changes within the store. Customers noted that the provision of healthier foods and beverages in the store had encouraged them to make healthier purchase and consumption choices. When a description of the NC HFSRP was provided to them, all participants were supportive of the state-funded program. Participants discussed program benefits including improving food access in low-income and/or rural areas and making healthy choices easier for youth and for those most at risk of diet-related chronic diseases. Conclusions Findings can inform future healthy corner store initiatives in terms of framing a rationale for funding or policies by focusing on increased food access among vulnerable populations.


Author(s):  
Joanne G. Carman

This article explores the accountability relationship between the state auditor’s office and non-profit organisations by examining the audit reports prepared by the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office for non-profit organisations from 2009 to 2018. The data collected for this study show that the extent to which the state auditor conducts audits of non-profit organisations is fairly limited. Yet, when it does audit them, it is doing so to police their behaviours, monitor their expenditures and ensure that they are being good stewards with the resources they have been given. The findings from this study have important implications, in that they suggest that other accountability mechanisms continue to be important, including: training and education for board members about their legal and fiduciary responsibilities; the importance of adhering to best practices and standards; and the important role that third-party watchdog organisations and accreditors can play in ensuring non-profit accountability.


2005 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Fener ◽  
Joshua R. Ginsberg ◽  
Eric W. Sanderson ◽  
Matthew E. Gompper

Coyotes (Canis latrans) were historically restricted to central North America. In less than two centuries, however, Coyotes have colonized most of the continent, including much of northeastern North America. Better understanding causes and proximate mechanisms of this expansion requires a detailed understanding of how Coyotes colonized areas on a fine scale. We examined the establishment of Coyotes in the State of New York by collecting and analyzing reports of their first occurrence throughout the state over the past century, and creating a detailed map of range expansion. Coyotes first entered New York from the north, circled the Adirondack region prior to colonizing it, and then expanded southward and westward at ca. 78-90 km/decade. The revealed pattern lends little support to the hypotheses that the range expansion is attributable to translocations and releases, or that Coyotes were historically present in the region and only recently expanded in numbers. Rather, the data suggest a correlative relationship between anthropogenic land use and Coyote range expansion.


Author(s):  
Sandy Smith-Nonini

Labor relations are a paramount consideration in crop agriculture, a labor-intensive industry that is dependent on land. The U.S. government has long regulated the supply of foreign farm labor on behalf of agribusiness, and that role became more critical as the industry restructured itself in the competitive neoliberal climate since the early 1990s. The H2A program, which permits quasi-private labor brokers to import Mexican “guest workers” for seasonal work on U.S. farms, expanded after 1990 into states in the mid-South, which was also experiencing new flows of undocumented immigrants. North Carolina emerged as the state importing the most H2A workers. This chapter draws on the case of the North Carolina Growers Association, the state's large H2A brokerage, to examine the relationship between the neoliberal state and guest workers during the 1990s. It shows that during the 1990s, the North Carolina H2A program morphed into a model of contractual labor relations that represented a case of “government by proxy,” not unlike other public-private partnerships formed in the neoliberal era. In this case, the state delegated responsibility for labor supply manipulation, control of workers, and regulatory oversight directly to private brokers who publicly represented and shared revenue streams with agribusiness growers.


2014 ◽  

This chapter discusses the circumstances of Ramseur's promotion to the state militia after his resignation from the U.S. Army. It reports that Ramseur applied for a commission in the new Confederate army. The chapter notes that on the way south, Ramseur stopped to see his mentor, Daniel Harvey Hill, who was concluding his tenure as superintendent at the North Carolina Military Institute in Charlotte, and quickly received an appointment as first lieutenant. The chapter further notes that Ramseur was offered a more attractive opportunity on the way to his posting in the Department of Mississippi. It reports that he was immediately elected as captain of the eponymous light battery (Company A, Tenth North Carolina State Troops), and that, within a month's time, he was promoted to the rank of major in the state militia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Winters ◽  
Daniel Keyser ◽  
Lance F. Bosart

Abstract Previous studies employing empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analyses of upper-tropospheric zonal wind anomalies have identified the leading modes of North Pacific jet (NPJ) variability that prevail on synoptic time scales. The first mode corresponds to a zonal extension or retraction of the exit region of the climatological NPJ, while the second mode corresponds to a poleward or equatorward shift of the exit region of the climatological NPJ. These NPJ regimes can strongly influence the character of the large-scale flow pattern over North America. Consequently, knowledge of the prevailing NPJ regime and the forecast skill associated with each NPJ regime can add considerable value to operational medium-range (6–10-day) forecasts over North America. This study documents the development of an NPJ phase diagram, which is constructed from the two leading EOFs of 250-hPa zonal wind anomalies during 1979–2014 excluding the summer months (June–August). The projection of 250-hPa zonal wind anomalies at one or multiple times onto the NPJ phase diagram provides an objective characterization of the state or evolution of the upper-tropospheric flow pattern over the North Pacific with respect to the two leading EOFs. A 30-yr analysis of GEFS reforecasts with respect to the NPJ phase diagram demonstrates that forecasts verified during jet retraction and equatorward shift regimes are associated with significantly larger average errors than jet extension and poleward shift regimes. An examination of the best and worst forecasts further suggests that periods characterized by rapid NPJ regime transition and the development and maintenance of North Pacific blocking events exhibit reduced forecast skill.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chase D Brownstein

During the Cretaceous period, North America was divided into two landmasses, the eastern Appalachia and western Laramidia. Recent research on several sites scattered across the eastern margin of North America has allowed for the analysis of vertebrate faunas from the once obscured terrestrial fossil record of Appalachia, revealing the landmass harbored a distinctive fauna composed of mostly relict forms. One geological unit that has produced a comparatively extensive record of terrestrial vertebrates, including non-avian dinosaurs, is the Tar Heel Formation of North Carolina. Here, I report the first definitive occurrence of a dromaeosaurid from the Tar Heel Formation in the form of a tooth from a fairly large member of that group. This tooth, like others previously discovered from the southeastern portion of North America, compares favorably with those of saurornitholestine dromaeosaurids from the western United States and Canada. The North Carolina tooth differs in morphology and size from previously reported southeastern North American dromaeosaurid teeth, but is still assignable to a saurornitholestine dromaeosaurid, evincing that the diversity of carnivorous bird-like dinosaurs in the southeastern part of North America during the Late Cretaceous may have been rather low. The tooth, which is intermediate in size between those of smaller dromaeosaurids like Saurornitholestes and gigantic forms like Dakotaraptor, helps fill the gap between larger- and smaller-bodied dromaeosaurids from the Late Cretaceous.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kelly Tate

Since 1989, the United States has witnessed 289 DNA exonerations, with exonerees serving an average of thirteen years in prison. Although DNA and its unmatched power for conclusive results is what brought popular attention to wrongful convictions, the scope of the problem is vastly larger than the number of known DNA exonerations. The actual number of convicted individuals who are factually innocent is unknown. The state of North Carolina has recently responded to this national crisis via a newly created state agency. This essay applauds North Carolina's response, but urges that ordinary citizens, qua jurors, be active participants in its important work.


Author(s):  
Angel Cruz ◽  
Alice Ammerman ◽  
Nancy Creamer ◽  
Barry Nash ◽  
Ethan Phillips ◽  
...  

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Local Food Council has strengthened its role as a cohesive and effective organization during a public-health crisis to share challenges, devise solutions, and build resilience across local food systems in North Carolina. The Council includes representatives from 21 organizations working across the state, as well as three representatives from regional local food councils. The Council’s response to the pandemic addressed three key areas of action: (1) Coordinate responses across multiple sectors; (2) Enhance collaboration across the food supply chain; and (3) Facilitate data collection and public messaging. This paper describes the positive impacts the Council has had across North Carolina on consumers and producers of local food as a result of this collaborative network and long-established relationships across the state. Now, more than ever, the relationships and collaborative efforts of statewide organizations and partners are needed. The Council’s crisis response has been strong because of the long-standing relationships of its members and its ability to share resources quickly, allowing it to work toward coordinated responses. The work of the North Carolina Local Food Council can serve as a model for other states that have state-level local food coun¬cils or want to develop them. In addition, the Council’s work demonstrates how collaborations among statewide partners can foster resilience within local food systems, particularly during a public health crisis.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document