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Preserving the Navajo Language, One Interpreter at a Time

By Guest PostJune 2, 2011Cultureagnese nelms haury, arizona, arizona supreme court, armando valles, casey watchman, christian missionaries, english to navajo, karen frances begay, navajo interpreter training institute, navajo nation, new mexico, perphelia fowler, philanthropist, rick nez, roseann gonzalez, university of arizona, university of new mexico, vocabulary

*A group of 33 students were competively selected to earn free certification from the UA’s Navajo Interpreter Training Institute to gain eligibility to serve as interpreters in New Mexico and Arizona state courts.*

Many of the 33 students enrolled in the University of Arizona’s Navajo Interpreter Training Institute have similar backgrounds – they began their unofficial role as English-to-Navajo language interpreters as children translating for their parents and grandparents.

Now, as adults who live and work across Arizona and New Mexico, they still find themselves providing the same service. (more…)

Ants Give New Evidence for Interaction Networks

By Guest PostMay 25, 2011Culture, Scienceanna dornhaus, ant species, antennae, ants antennate, benjamin blonder, daniel wolf, dornhaus and blonder, evolutionary argument, Facebook, han jing, information, interaction networks, internet, kayla lauger, local grapevine, milan curry, paradigm, self directed networks, southern arizona, temnothorax rugatulus, trophallaxis, tuan cao, unique color code, university of arizona

*UA researchers have uncovered evidence in ant colonies suggesting that social networks may function differently than previously assumed.*

Be it through the Internet, Facebook, the local grapevine or the spread of disease, interaction networks influence nearly every part of our lives.

Scientists previously assumed that interaction networks without central control, known as self-directed networks, have universal properties that make them efficient at spreading information. Just think of the local grapevine: Let something slip, and it seems like no time at all before nearly everyone knows. (more…)

Why Russians Think Americans Don’t Own Their Homes

By Guest PostMay 22, 2011Culture, Economyamerican housing system, american model, credit card debt, fannie mae, free market economy, home ownership, homeowners, housing the new russia, jane zavisca, metaphor, mortgage, russia, russian government, russians, sociologist, soviet era, soviet era housing, soviet union, university of arizona

*UA sociologist Jane Zavisca says the two countries are polar opposites when it comes to mortgage financing.*

When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, one of the structural problems the new government and free-market economy had to deal with was housing. Most Russians lived in government-owned apartments that had been built beginning in the late 1950s. The question then became, who owned all of that Soviet-era housing?

In her new book, “Housing the New Russia,” due to be published by Cornell University Press, Jane Zavisca said the new Russian government dealt with it by announcing that this huge stock of apartments was, as of 1992, privately owned. (more…)

Color View from Orbit Shows Mars Rover Beside Crater

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2011Scienceball aerospace, color image, crater, denver, high resolution imaging science experiment, hirise, lockheed martin space systems, mars exploration rover opportunity, mars reconnaissance orbiter, NASA, opportunity, orbiting camera, robotic arm, ruiz garcia, santa maria, university of arizona

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has nearly completed its three-month examination of a crater informally named “Santa Maria,” but before the rover resumes its overland trek, an orbiting camera has provided a color image of Opportunity beside Santa Maria.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired the image on March 1, while Opportunity was extending its robotic arm to take close-up photos of a rock called “Ruiz Garcia.” From orbit, the tracks Opportunity made as it approached the crater from the west are clearly visible. Santa Maria crater is about 90 meters (295 feet) in diameter. (more…)

Simulating Human Decision-Making Could Improve Emergency Evacuation Planning

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2010Education, Environment, Naturecomputer simulation, effective law-enforcement, evacuations, seungho lee, traffic management, university of arizona

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A unique disaster-response planning tool takes real-time human decision-making into account to determine effective law-enforcement strategies during evacuations. A University of Michigan researcher contributed to the development of the tool. (more…)

Tag Archives: university of arizona

Preserving the Navajo Language, One Interpreter at a Time

Ants Give New Evidence for Interaction Networks

Why Russians Think Americans Don’t Own Their Homes

Color View from Orbit Shows Mars Rover Beside Crater

Simulating Human Decision-Making Could Improve Emergency Evacuation Planning