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High-Quality Reference Genome for an Arid-Adapted Mammal, the Banner-Tailed Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys spectabilis)
Avril M. Harder, Kimberly K. O. Walden, Nicholas Marra, and Janna R. Willoughby
Kangaroo rats in the genus Dipodomys are found in a variety of habitat types in western North America, including deserts, arid and semiarid grasslands, and scrublands. Many Dipodomys species are experiencing strong population declines due to increasing habitat fragmentation, with two species listed as federally endangered in the United States. The precarious state of many Dipodomys populations, including those occupying extreme environments, make species of this genus valuable subjects for studying the impacts of habitat degradation and fragmentation on population genomic patterns and for characterizing the genomic bases of adaptation to harsh conditions. To facilitate exploration of such questions, we assembled and annotated a reference genome for the banner-tailed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) using PacBio HiFi sequencing reads, providing a more contiguous genomic resource than two previously assembled Dipodomys genomes. Using the HiFi data for D. spectabilis and publicly available sequencing data for two other Dipodomys species (Dipodomys ordii and Dipodomys stephensi), we demonstrate the utility of this new assembly for studies of congeners by conducting inference of historic effective population sizes (Ne) and linking these patterns to the species’ current extinction risk statuses. The genome assembly presented here will serve as a valuable resource for population and conservation genomic studies of Dipodomys species, comparative genomic research within mammals and rodents, and investigations into genomic adaptation to extreme environments and changing landscapes.
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Pilot Study of a Culturally Sensitive Intervention to Promote Genetic Counseling for Breast Cancer Risk
Vida Henderson, Jessica M. Madrigal, Le'Chaun Kendall, Pooja Parekh, Jennifer Newsome, Ifeanyi Beverly Chukwudozie, De Lawnia Comer-Hagans, Vickii Coffey, Giesela Grumbach, Shirley Spencer, Carolyn Rodgers, Ravneet Kaur, Lara Balay, Tara Maga, Zo Ramamonjiarivelo, Catherine H. Balthazar, Robert Winn, Karriem Watson, Angela Odoms-Young, and Kent F. Hoskins
Despite the benefits of genetic counseling and testing, uptake of cancer genetic services is generally low and Black/African American (Black) women are substantially less likely to receive genetic services than non-Hispanic White women. Our team developed a culturally sensitive, narrative decision aid video to promote uptake of genetic counseling among Black women at risk for a hereditary breast cancer syndrome that can be incorporated in conjunction with population-based cancer risk assessment in a clinical setting. We report here a pilot study to demonstrate changes in intention to access genetic counseling and intervention satisfaction.
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Effects of g-C3N4 on Bacterial Community and Tetracycline Resistance Genes in Two Typical Sediments in Tetracycline Pollution Remediation
Xuemei Hu, Xiaoyong Chen, Yao Tang, Zhenggang Xu, Yelin Zeng, Yonghong Wang, Yaohui Wu, and Guangjun Wang
Photocatalysis, as a novel technique, has been widely used for antibiotic pollution remediation in wastewater. In the processes of degradation and removal of antibiotics, the impact of photocatalysts on microenvironment is very important but remains poorly understood. In the present study, the effect of typical photocatalyst g-C3N4 (Graphitic carbon nitride) on microbial community was investigated in two sediment types (riverbed sediment and pig-farm sediment) polluted by tetracycline (TC) in central southern China. The riverbed sediment and pig farm sediment samples were respectively exposed to g-C3N4 (25, 75, 125 mg⋅kg–1) and TC (60, 120, 180 mg⋅L–1) treatments alone or combination for 30 days, respectively. The bacterial community and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) of the treated sediments were analyzed by Illumina sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. Studies had shown that: TC, g-C3N4, and TC/g-C3N4 have significant effects on the changes of microbial communities and components in riverbed sediment, but they do not exist in pig farm sediment. The most alterations of microbial taxa were Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, and Desulfobacterota in riverbed sediment, and Elusimicrobiota in the pig farm sediment under various treatments. Through network analysis, it was found that the distribution of microorganisms in the pig farm sediment is more complex and more stable. The addition of g-C3N4 reduced the absolute abundance of ARGs in the two examined sediments, but not significantly changed their relative abundance of ARGs. The g-C3N4 application was beneficial to the removal of TC residues and to the prevention of the generation and transmission of ARGs in sediments. Our results suggested that g-C3N4 was a suitable photocatalyst with excellent application prospect for the removal of TC residues and the control of ARGs in environment.
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School Social Work: A Skills-Based Competency Approach
JoDee Keller and Giesela Grumbach
Informed by a social justice approach, this user-friendly text for social work students provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary school social work practice structured around the 2022 CSWE EPAS Competencies. With a focus on skills development, this innovative text is competency-based and encompasses professionalism, cross-disciplinary collaboration, research applications, theoretical foundations, policies, engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Following a brief historical overview and introduction to the discipline, the book delves into school social work practice and delivers timely content regarding professional identity, supervision, anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. Practice knowledge is examined through social work theory, evidence-informed practice, use of data, and policies regarding school, children, and families. The text addresses the full range of client engagement, service provision, the multi-tiered system of supports, trauma-based practices, social emotional learning, termination, and transition-planning.
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Estranging the Novel: Poland, Ireland, and Theories of World Literature by Katarzyna Bartoszyńska
Liam Lanigan
Review of Estranging the Novel: Poland, Ireland, and Theories of World Literature by Katarzyna Bartoszyńska.
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Utilizing Choice Theory to Empower Parents of Children at Risk of School Failure
Shaalein C. Lopez and Patricia A. Robey
Obtaining academic support beyond standard classroom instruction should be within reach for any school student in need. The active participation of parents in efforts to secure this support is essential but can feel overwhelming for parents who are unfamiliar with the internal procedures of the school system or the educational access rights that are available for students. School Psychologists are specially trained to help parents and families understand the needs of their children and to help them develop strategies for more effective collaboration. Choice Theory provides a conceptual model for understanding and empowering parents and students to get their needs met within the context of school systems.
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Synergistic Adsorption-photocatalytic Activity using Z-Scheme Based Magnetic ZnFe2O4/CuWO4 Heterojunction for Tetracycline Removal
Jinhua Luo, Yaohui Wu, Xiaoyong Chen, Tianpei He, Guangjun Wang, Yonghong Wang, Yunlin Zhao, and Zhefen Chen
Developing efficient and economical photocatalysts was considered as an efficient and economical strategy for pollution remediation. Herein, magnetically separable ZnFe2O4/CuWO4 composites (ZW) had been developed via combining ZnFe2O4 with CuWO4. The composite with a mass ratio of 40% CuWO4 (ZW-40) performed best, and the tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) removal by adsorption-photocatalysis of ZW-40 reached 86.5%. The photocatalytic degradation rated constant of it was 9.44 × 10−3 min−1, which was approximately 5.04 and 3.28 times compared to the ZnFe2O4 and CuWO4 samples, respectively. Pseudo-second-order kinetic models could describe well the TC adsorption process, in which chemisorption was the major driving factor, with the maximum adsorption at 23.56 mg g−1. The improved photo-catalytic capability owed to the formation of Z-scheme heterojunctions with ZnFe2O4 and CuWO4, which improved the intensity of visible light absorption and enhanced the separation electron-hole pairs as well as the redox capability of the composite. ZW-40 was high stability as its removal ability of TC in different water conditions slightly dropped about 15% after 5 cycles. ZW-40 could effectively remove TC in different water matrix, its removal ability for 40 mg/L was as follows: super-pure water> municipal wastewater> swine farm wastewater. Hence, the complexation of ZnFe2O4 with CuWO4 provides a valuable strategy to improve the photocatalytic potential for ZnFe2O4-based catalysts as well as providing a promising pathway for water clarification.
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Soil Quality and r – K fungal Communities in Plantations after Conversion from Subtropical Forest
Ting Lu, Xiaohong Wu, Huangwei Li, Chen Ning, Yong Li, Xuyuan Zhang, Jinsong He, Ekaterina Filimonenko, Shu Chen, Xiaoyong Chen, David J. Gibson, Yakov Kuzyakov, and Wende Yan
Intensive clear-cutting of natural forests and conversion to monoculture plantations are ongoing worldwide, leading to the degradation of soil quality and microbial functions. Here, we compared soil quality index (SQI) and fungal communities in a natural forest (Forest) and four 5-year-old monoculture plantations, including Camellia oleifera (Oil), Amygdalus persica (Peach), Myrica rubra (Berry) and Cunninghamia lanceolate (Fir) in a subtropical region of China. After conversion, soil pH in the plantations rose up to 0.31, but organic carbon and total nitrogen contents, sucrase, acid protease, glutaminase, acid and alkaline phosphatase activities decreased by 83%, 59%, 40%, 64%, 66%, 94% and 59%, respectively. Correspondingly, the SQI dropped by 65%. High-throughput sequencing of the ITS1 region demonstrated an increase in α-diversity and a striking difference in β-diversity of fungi following conversion. Changes in the dominant fungal taxa following forest conversion to plantations were interpreted by r- and K-selection of life strategies. Conversion increased the fungal groups with r-strategies, such as Ascomycota and Zygomycota, but decreased the fungal groups with K-strategies, such as Basidiomycota. Genera affiliated to those phyla including Pseudophialophora, Rhytisma increased, but Russula decreased. Redundancy analysis and structural equation modeling indicated that the diversity and composition of fungal communities changed with soil degradation, which was mainly driven by increased pH and total phosphorus content, but decreased C/N ratio and C and N related enzymes activities. Overall, the conversion of forest to monoculture plantations decreased soil quality and the abundance of K-strategists, retarded the decomposition of persistent organic matter, but boosted the prevalence of r-strategists in a more diverse fungal community.
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Public Capital Infrastructure Management: Cases of Germany, Hungary and the USA
G. Nyikos and Natalia Ermasova
The study uses a comparative case study approach to analyze contrasts and similarities of capital infrastructure management at the national level in Hungary, Germany, and the USA. Public investment has decreased in Germany and the USA while Hungary has benefited from significant public investments financed by EU funds over the past 15 years. Ageing infrastructure and public infrastructure maintenance has been found to be the weakest area in all three countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated existing challenges in underinvestment in public infrastructure. Political support for capital infrastructure project could be more important than cost-benefit estimates in the USA and Hungary. These study findings show that there has been an increased need to institutionalize recommended practices in capital infrastructure management at national levels of government, in particular during COVID-19 crisis. The countries have a unique opportunity to reinvest in capital infrastructure and jumpstart countries’ economy during COVID-19 crisis.
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Telepractice, AAC & the SLP
Danielle Osmelak and Angela M. Riccelli
As our whole profession shifts efforts toward telepractice post the myriad of COVID-19 pandemic mandates, has anyone wondered what happens to those who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)? How do we adapt our AAC services to increase access and continue providing support to our clients in need of AAC and their families? The answer lies in tele-AAC. So, what is tele-AAC you may ask? Tele-AAC is a unique type of telepractice in the field of speech-language pathology that requires technical expertise in both telepractice and AAC systems (Anderson, et.al, 2012). ASHA defines telepractice as the application of telecommunications technology to the delivery of speech-language pathology and audiology professional services at a distance by linking clinician to client/patient or clinician to clinician for assessment, intervention, and/or consultation. (ASHA, nd). Tele-AAC services range from direct services (where an AAC user receives real-time feedback on their device from an experienced clinician) to more indirect services (where novice practitioners and family members receive feedback to support the AAC user (Hall & Boisvert, 2014).
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The Effects of g-C3N4/biochar and g-C3N4 on Bacterial Community in Riverbed Sediment
Yao Tang, Xuemei Hu, Zhenggang Xu, Xiaoyong Chen, Yelin Zeng, Guangjun Wang, Yonghong Wang, Gaoqiang Liu, Yunlin Zhao, and Yaohui Wu
Biochar had been widely used to improve the activity of photocatalysts, the biochar-based photocatalysts had more potential for environmental pollution remediation, but their effect on the sediment remained unknown. To understand these, the typical photocatalyst g-C3N4 was modified by biochar to develop g-C3N4/biochar with enhanced photocatalytic ability. Riverbed sediment was exposed to g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/biochar respectively for 30 days, and Illumina sequencing was utilized to examine the changes in the bacterial community in the sediment. The results showed that in riverbed sediment, g-C3N4 exposure had a concentration-dependent effect on the diversity of bacteria, while g-C3N4/biochar exposure had a slight influence on the bacterial diversity and the diversity almost maintained stable with different g-C3N4/biochar concentration. The application of g-C3N4 exhibited an inhibition influence on the growth of Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Rokubacteria in sediment, whose relative abundance increased when g-C3N4 was 25 mg/kg, and then decreased when g-C3N4 beyond this concentration. The presence of g-C3N4/biochar increased the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria in sediment and showed no obvious impact on other dominant phyla. Both g-C3N4 and g-C3N4/biochar could alter the levels of TP, NN, and AN in the sediment, but the magnitude of the changes of these physicochemical factors caused by g-C3N4/biochar was much smaller than those caused by g-C3N4. In addition, the complexity of the bacterial community network was reduced in a high concentration of g-C3N4, while it remained stable with different concentrations of g-C3N4/biochar treatments. Totally, this study demonstrated that, compared to g-C3N4, g-C3N4/biochar was able to maintain the relative stability of the bacterial community in riverbed sediment and mitigate the negative effects of photocatalysts to some extent, making biochar an ecological remediation agent with great potential for application.
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Using Peer Evaluations as Embedded Assessments: Comparing Teamwork Evaluations for Group Projects in Face-to-Face and Online Classes
Stephen H. Wagner, Cecil Wagner, and Olumide Ijose
Peer ratings of teamwork associated with a group project assignment within online and face-to-face classes of a graduate-level course in Organizational Behavior were examined in this article. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that peer ratings of teamwork in the initial (i.e., newly developed) online classes would be lower than those in the face-to-face classes offered in the same time period. Also receiving partial support was the hypothesis that peer ratings of teamwork would be more favorable in later online classes that had enhancements to the group project assignment when compared to those in the initial online classes. Post-hoc analyses suggested there were no significant differences in the peer rating of teamwork observed in online and face-to-face classes after enhancements were made to the group project assignment. Discussion focuses on the value of embedded assessments for continuous quality improvement processes associated with curriculum development.
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Addressing the Career Needs of Transgender and Gender Expansive Students
Leonis Wright, Jon Borland, and Ahmet Can
Changing demographics, multiple worldviews, and cultural plurality are major influences in the career development process for diverse students. As school counselors are considered social justice advocates, they should utilize differentiated strategies when working with transgender and gender-expansive students (TGE). This conceptual paper provides an overview of TGE individuals’ challenges, discusses the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) stance on working with this population, and highlights a career development group counseling curriculum for TGE students at the secondary (middle/high) education level.
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Combined Toxicity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Cadmium Inducing Root Damage in Phytolacca americana L.
Yunmu Xiao, Yong Li, Yang Shi, Xuyuan Zhang, Ting Liu, Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Yuliang Pan, Xiaoyong Chen, and Wende Yan
In recent years, nano-contamination in the soil environment has aroused concern. But it is still uncertain whether the interactions of nano- and metal-pollutants would have a combined toxic effect on plants. In this study, we investigated the effects of joint exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and Cd on the root tissue of Phytolacca americana L. Spin-polarized density functional theory simulations assumed that the plant may undergo metal toxicity or acidosis upon joint exposure to ZnO NPs/Cd. Subsequently, experimental exposure of P. americana verified the combined toxic effects. The plant grew normally with a single treatment of ZnO NPs (500 mg/kg) or low doses of Cd (10 mg/kg). However, root growth was significantly inhibited with the combined treatments (up to 43% reduction); additionally, Cd ions were transported to the shoot, leading to shoot growth inhibition (translocation factor > 1). The antioxidant enzymes in the root (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase) were highly activated to resist stress, accompanied by a greater than two-fold increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Corresponding to physiological indicators, biological transmission electron microscopy revealed severe damage to the root cells. Moreover, ZnO NPs/Cd accumulation was observed in the root cytoderm, which confirmed the toxicity of the combined effects. Our study provides insight into the potential combined toxicity of ZnO NPs and heavy metals in polluted environments, such as mining areas and electronic waste sites, and agricultural soils.
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Magnetically Recyclable PbMoO4/BC/Fe3O4 Composite for Tetracycline Removal: Fabrication, Performance, and Mechanism
Hongzhi Yang, Tianpei He, Jinhua Luo, Aihua Zhang, Xiaoyong Chen, Yelin Zeng, Yonghong Wang, Yunlin Zhao, and Guangjun Wang
A novel PbMoO4@MBC (MBL-2) magnetic heterojunction photocatalyst was prepared by the successful loading of Fe3O4 with PbMoO4 onto the highly conductive BC surface through the integration of co-precipitation and pyrolysis. Using advanced characterization methods could reveal the composition, morphology, and optoelectronic properties of the material. The results showed that using BC as the electron transfer interface provided a pathway for charge transfer between Fe3O4 and PbMoO4, and importantly, the PbMoO4@MBC (MBL-2) nanocomposite had a large specific surface area, excellent magnetic response, high light absorption capacity for efficient carrier separation, and thus the photocatalytic activity was high. The degradation rate of MBL-2 for TC under visible light was as high as 89%. More importantly, PbMoO4@MBC (MBL-2) possessed good stability and reusability. The Z-scheme electron transfer pathway for improved photocatalytic performance was proposed by radical capture experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement analysis.
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Soil Nitrogen Transformation Process Influenced by Litterfall Manipulation in Two Subtropical Forest Types
Wende Yan, Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Yi Chen, Wancai Wang, Rubab Shabbir, Uttam Kumar, Muhammad Umair Riaz, Saqer S. Alotaibi, Yuanying Peng, and Xiaoyong Chen
Nitrogen (N) is often recognized as the primary limiting nutrient element for the growth and production of forests worldwide. Litterfall represents a significant pathway for returning nutrients from aboveground parts of trees to the soils and plays an essential role in N availability in different forest ecosystems. This study explores the N transformation processes under litterfall manipulation treatments in a Masson pine pure forest (MPPF), and Masson pine and Camphor tree mixed forest (MCMF) stands in subtropical southern China. The litterfall manipulation included litterfall addition (LA), litterfall removal (LR), and litterfall control (LC) treatments. The project aimed to examine how litterfall inputs affect the soil N process in different forest types in the study region. Results showed that soil ammonium N (NH4+-N) and nitrate N (NO3−-N) content increased under LA treatment and decreased under LR treatment compared to LC treatment. LA treatment significantly increased soil total inorganic N (TIN) content by 41.86 and 22.19% in MPPF and MCMF, respectively. In contrast, LR treatment decreased the TIN content by 10 and 24% in MPPF and MCMF compared to LC treatment. Overall, the soil net ammonification, nitrification, and N mineralization rates were higher in MCMF than in MPPF; however, values in both forests were not significantly different. LA treatment significantly increased annual net ammonification, nitrification, and mineralization in both forest types (p < 0.05) compared to LC treatment. LR treatment significantly decreased the values (p < 0.05), except for ammonification, where LR treatment did not differ substantially compared to LC treatment. Our results suggested that changes in litterfall inputs would significantly alter soil N dynamics in studied forests of sub-tropical region. Moreover, mixed forest stands have higher nutrient returns due to mixed litter and higher decomposition compared to pure forest stands.
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Simulation of Soil CO2 Efflux under Different Hydrothermal Conditions Based on General Regression Neural Network
Li Zhang, Wende Yan, Yijun Liu, Xiaocui Liang, and Xiaoyong Chen
Soil respiration (Rs) is an important component of global carbon (C) cycle and represents the second largest C exchange between atmosphere and geosphere. Regression models have been widely applied to describe Rs process and its relations to environmental factors in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the development of these semi-empirical regression model needed a large number of observation data in order to chives a reliable result. The successful performance of the regression model was highly dependent on data quality. In this study, a general regression neural network (GRNN) model and six validated two-factor-semi-empirical regression models were compared to stimulate changes of Rs under the influence of soil temperature (Tsoil) and soil moisture (Wsoil) alone and combination in camphor forests in subtropical China. The results showed the GRNN model produced greater accuracy than the regression models in predicting Rs. The R2 ranged 0.773-0.809 for the six two-factor regression models, but 0.84 for the GRNN model, with calculated RMSE of 0.404-442 in the regression models compared to 0.20 in the GRNN model. The dataset expanded by GRNN model could better fit the semi-empirical model than the observation dataset, which indicated the GRNN model had satisfactory generalization properties. Additionally, the GRNN model revealed the non-linear relationship between Rs and Wsoil when Wsoil was not a limiting factor, while the regression models were hard to detect the internet linkage. Therefore, GRNN model can not only be considered as a method to provide more accurate predication of Rs in forest ecosystems, but also provide an optional scheme for studying Rs under extreme and long-term climate change.
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Value Disputes in Urban Ecological Restoration: Lessons from the Chicago Wilderness
Ben Almassi
As a practice to facilitate the recovery of degraded ecosystems, ecological restoration is an inherently value-laden endeavor. Urban ecological restoration further underlines the complexity of value-ladenness involved by situating restoration in politically, ethically, epistemically, and otherwise normatively heterogenous social contexts. One such context that is particularly rich in opportunities for both significant restoration projects and social disputes about the value of such projects is the Chicago Wilderness, a region comprised of a variety of ecosystems on public and private lands across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Here I offer a close reading of value disputes in the Chicago Wilderness among ecologists, practitioners, policymakers, activists, and journalists over the aims, methods, and constitutive activities of urban ecological restoration.
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University and Professor Practices to Support DACA and Undocumented Students: DACA Student Experiences, Teacher Knowledge, and University Actions
Jenny Banh and Jelena Radovic-Fanta
The United States immigration policy Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which protects some individuals from deportation was enacted in 2012, phased out in 2017 and is now under court challenges. There are still thousands of DACA students currently in higher education. The article highlights promising practices that professors and universities can put in place to support DACA students in the United States. Several semi-structured interviews were conducted with DACA students and Dream Center Directors in California universities to gauge students’ barriers and bridges to their higher education success. DACA students articulated public policy suggestions that universities and professors can immediately enact and have tangible results. Three themes were revealed in the interview data: the need for teacher knowledge, diversity of DACA student experiences, and for actions. These were explained as (1) knowledge of student’s lives, and, conversely, students’ access to information necessary for navigating college life; (2) the diversity of students’ life stories and experiences of trauma suffered during and after DACA rescinding decision; and (3) actions that should be taken by the faculty, staff, and the university community that would help students succeed academically.
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Utilizing Reality Therapy and Choice Theory in School Counseling to Promote Student Success and Engagement: A Role Play Demonstration and Discussion
Ahmet Can and Patricia A. Robey
The guidance/curriculum component of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) National Model is designed to promote mental health and to enhance academic achievement. The role of school counselors is to deliver short-term individual and group services. The large ratio of students to school counselors necessitates the use of approaches that can provide effective interventions for students within a short period of time. The Reality Therapy process helps students move from a problem focus to choosing more effective behaviors. This article provides a brief example and discussion of how Reality Therapy and Choice Theory can be successfully employed in a school counseling scenario.
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What Do We Know About Corporate Philanthropy? A Review and Research Directions
Wonsuk Cha and Ujvala Rajadhyaksha
During the past decades, academics and practitioners have been extensively focusing on corporate philanthropy as an important part of corporate social responsibility and a vast number of papers have been published on this topic in various disciplines. To have a better understanding of the evolution of corporate philanthropy, this paper critically reviews some 60 years of research covering 228 corporate philanthropy documents (including 214 journal articles, 5 dissertations, and 9 books and book chapters) across and between disciplines, and analyzes their content in a systematic and comprehensive manner. A multi-level and multidisciplinary theoretical framework that synthesizes and integrates the corporate philanthropy literature at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels of analysis is offered. Specifically, the framework presents antecedents, intermediaries (moderators and mediators), consequences of corporate philanthropy, and the underlying mechanisms of the corporate philanthropy–firm performance relationship. This paper helps bridge important knowledge gaps of corporate philanthropy and its relation with firm performance by studying corporate philanthropy at a multi-level of analysis and applying diverse theoretical frameworks of corporate philanthropy. The paper concludes by offering several suggestions for future research on corporate philanthropy.
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Cannot Give you Because of Living on the Top of a Castle: CEOs, Corporate Philanthropy and Firm Age
Wonsuk Cha and Dongjun Rew
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of firm age in the relationship between CEO characteristics (measured by founder status and civic engagement) and the level of corporate philanthropy which is one of the important components of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices (Carroll, 1991).
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from upper echelons theory, this study argues that firm age functions as a barrier that limits the relationship between CEO characteristics and the level of corporate philanthropy. Moderated regression analysis (MRA) was used to analyze data from 146 publicly traded US firms between 2010 and 2017.
Findings
This study verified that there is a significantly positive relationship between CEO civic engagement and the level of corporate philanthropy although the relationship between CEO founder status and the level of corporate philanthropy was not found to be significant. Specifically, the relationship between CEO characteristics and the level of corporate philanthropy was weaker as firms get older. Overall, the results indicate that the organizational inertia of older firms can restrict the effect of CEO characteristics on corporate philanthropy. -
In-situ Synthesis of Biochar Modified PbMoO4: An Efficient Visible Light-driven Photocatalyst for Tetracycline Removal
Zhifen Chen, Zhengping He, Miao Zhou, Meilin Xie, Tianpei He, Yunlin Zhao, Xiaoyong Chen, Yaohui Wu, and Zhenggang Xu
For highly efficient photocatalytic remediation of organic pollutants, broad-spectrum light response and effective charge separation are two key goals. To achieve these goals, a novel biochar (BC) modified PbMoO4 composite catalyst was successfully synthesized in situ by combining coprecipitation with pyrolysis treatment of poplar sawdust and the technical feasibility of degradation of tetracycline (TC) with compound photocatalyst prepared from recovered agricultural and forestry residues was preliminarily demonstrated. The characterization demonstrated that the presence of BC narrowed the bandgap, enhanced visible light absorption as well as facilitated charge separation. Three composites (with the mass ratio of PbMoO4 to BC = 1:4; 1:1; and 4:1, respectively) displayed higher activity than pure PbMoO4. The results showed that the composite with the PbMoO4 to BC ratio of 1:4 exhibited the best photocatalytic activity, for 150 mg L−1 TC the removal rate was 61.0%, and the rate constant was 8.1 × 10−3 min−1, while the photocatalytic activity of PbMoO4 was 26.0% and 3.9 × 10−3 min−1. The reactions in the presence of radical quenchers indicated that holes (h+) and superoxide radicals (radical dotO2−) were the dominant active species for photodegradation. In different water matrices, for 150 mg L−1 TC solution the photocatalytic activity of optimal photocatalyst decreased as follows: ultrapure water > artificial sewage > farm sewage > municipal sewage. Moreover, the catalyst exhibited good stability over five cycles. Therefore, BC doped PbMoO4 provides a useful strategy for improving the photocatalytic ability of PbMoO4-based photocatalysts and offers a promising method for water purification.
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An Introduction to Critical Thinking & Research Writing in the Social Sciences
Alli Cipra
This book is an easy-to-read workbook that helps undergraduate students learn the basics about understanding research articles and arguments and begin the process themselves. This book uses critical thinking skill building to form the basis of successfully writing a literature review.
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Reform Under Turbulence: Leveraging Accreditation to Improve Principal Preparation Programs
David L. Conrad and Jeannine Klomes
One principal preparation program in Illinois experienced severe turbulence following the statewide redesign of all principal preparation programs. Myriad problems contributed to a cascading turbulence that negatively skewed stakeholder perceptions of program quality. In addition, the program failed two national accreditation submissions and faced the looming deadline for a final submission attempt. Using the conceptual framework of Turbulence Theory, this self-study illuminates how the program leveraged the accreditation process to quickly lower the turbulence level. Accreditation brought focused reflection and improvement, resulting in program stability, improved program outcomes, and full national recognition. Principal preparation programs are encouraged to use accreditation for collaborative reflection, study, and improvement.
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Bullying Types and Roles in Early Adolescence: Latent Classes of Perpetrators and Victims
Samantha Coyle, Alli Cipra, and Sandra Yu Rueger
Although research has suggested that youth involved in bullying as victims, perpetrators, or both are at risk for negative outcomes, less work has investigated different patterns in how youth are involved in bullying with consideration for both the role (i.e., victimization and perpetration) as well as type of behaviors experienced (i.e., cyber, verbal, relational, and physical). Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), the current study investigated patterns of bullying involvement with a sample of 799 middle school students. Results indicated that five classes of bully-involved youth emerged, including a (a) not involved class, (b) traditional bully victim class, (c) verbal bully-victim class, (d) traditional victim-only class, and (e) cyber bully-victim class. Notably, the bully-involved groups demonstrated significantly more internalizing, externalizing, and school related problems than youth not involved in bullying. Implications regarding identification of youth at risk for social and emotional challenges and intervention planning for bully involved youth are discussed.
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Access to Students and Parents and Levels of Preparedness of Educators during the COVID-19 Emergency Transition to e-Learning
Rasha Elhage
In response to the COVID-19 school closures and the emergency transition to eLearning, faculty at Chicago State University organized a series of nine professional development webinars centered on the subject of eLearning. 3,428 educators attended the nine webinars. This study consisted of an exploratory research reporting on the participants’ answers to the polls questions administered during the webinars, in an attempt to identify levels of preparedness of educators during the COVID-19 Emergency Transition to eLearning and their access to students and parents. The study revealed low levels of preparedness in relation to teaching remotely in general, teaching students with disabilities in particular, and using technology tools. The study also revealed challenges of educators reaching students and parents. The study concludes with a number of recommendations to address these identified challenges.
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E-learning Recommendations for Teaching Students with Disabilities
Rasha Elhage
COVID-19 disrupted educational systems around the world in attempts to contain the spread of the pandemic, countries announced widespread school closures (Van Lancker >amp; Parolin, 2020). Educators, especially special education teachers, have struggled to offer distance learning and adapt to the unique challenges the pandemic posed. Teachers faced aggressive multifaceted challenges (Cross >amp; Polk, 2018) to identify e-learning structures and strategies to address the needs of students with disabilities (SWD) and help them be successful in the online classroom. The following framework and tips can help educators approach online teaching with more confidence to meet the needs of their students with individualized education plans (IEP).
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Cross-cultural Issues in Business Ethics: A Review and Research Agenda
Natalia Ermasova
This paper reports a systematic literature review of articles published over the past 35 years on cross-cultural issues in business ethics. A screening process resulted in a final sample of 306 papers in 26 double-blind reviewed journals with an impact factor score of at least 1.0 in the field. This study uses citation analysis, systematic literature review method, and knowledge-stock analysis. This study highlights the findings from prior studies, compares and contrasts salient characteristics and provides directions for future research. This study identifies important gaps between the literature and the challenges of cross-cultural issues in business ethics. These gaps include lack of conceptual articles, multi-countries level analysis, and deficiency of comparison analysis between developed and developing countries. This article proposes to apply virtue ethics and model of cultural sense-making as some analytical frameworks in the field of cross-cultural issues in business ethics. This review of the literature could provide managers with a longitudinal perspective on how the institutional environment and national culture affect business ethics perception of employees. This paper contributes to the cross-cultural literature on ethical attitudes, helps us better understand cross-cultural differences in business ethics, and provides directions for further research.
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Ethical Behavior Perceptions in Russia: Do Ethics‐related Programs and Individual Characteristics Matter?
Natalia Ermasova and Polina Ermasova
This paper aims to analyze how individual differences and ethics-related programs predict Russian business students and working adults' perception of personal business ethics. This research evaluates the business ethics perceptions based on surveys of 1,207 managers, employees, and business students in Russia. This study finds the significant correlations between individual differences (gender, age, education level, and management experience), ethics-related programs (business ethics courses taught in universities, ethics and diversity professional development training), and personal business ethics' perceptions of Russian business students and working adults. We also find that individual differences moderate the relationship between ethics-related programs and how the personal business ethics of Russian business students and working adults are perceived. These findings advance current literature by revealing that age moderates the relationship between ethics-related programs (formal ethic courses, ethics, and diversity trainings) and personal ethical behavior perceptions of working adults and business students in Russia. Our study found that gender had a significant positive moderating effect on relationship of organizational code of ethics, formal ethic courses, and diversity professional development with personal ethical behavior perceptions. The relation between personal ethical behavior perceptions and the presence of an organizational code of ethics was negative and marginally moderated by age and managerial experience. This study contributes to business ethics research by deepening the understanding of the impact of individual differences on the relationship between ethics-related programs and personal business ethics' perceptions.
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Legacy Effect of Soviet Budgeting System on Public Capital Budgeting: Cases of Russia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan
Natalia Ermasova, Tatyana Guzman, and Erica Ceka
This comparative study uses the legacy effect of the Soviet past to explain the changes in public capital budgeting and management in the three former Soviet republics: Russian Federation, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. The main argument is that the legacy of the Soviet planning and budgeting traditions in forms of the centralized control, inadequate capital planning, and strong informal powers of political elites are embedded in the capital budgeting and management practices of the case countries. The analysis reveals that regardless of the differences in the countries’ socio-economic characteristics, political regimes, and institutional developments, the budgetary outcomes are consistently shaped by the public management principles rooted in the Soviet budgeting traditions. The study findings are significant to the field of International Public Administration, Post-Soviet Affairs, and Public Finance because they disclose the legacy effect of the Soviet practices on the implementation of public administration reforms in post-communist countries. By exploring areas in international public capital budgeting and investments, this study also attempts to address the gap identified by public finance scholars.
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The Relationship Between Culture and Tax Evasion Across Countries: Cases of the USA and Germany
Natalia Ermasova, Christian Haumann, and Laura Burke
The purpose of this study is to compare the national culture for the Germany and the United States (US) and to analyze how the national culture affects the perception of tax evasion. This research analyzes the different types of tax evasions, the tax audit, and criminal investigation approaches in the USA and Germany. This study identifies important gaps in academic and practical understanding of tax evasion, and provides suggestions for revision of tax audit in the USA and Germany. The article provides a greater understanding of the impact of national culture on tax evasion and offers policy recommendations for the improvement of tax audit.
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Unraveling the Influence of Land-Use Change on δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and Soil Nutritional Status in Coniferous, Broadleaved, and Mixed Forests in Southern China: A Field Investigation
Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Xiaoyong Chen, Awais Shakoor, Yong Li, Jun Wang, Muhammad Haroon U. Rashid, Uttam Kumar, and Wende Yan
Natural isotopic abundance in soil and foliar can provide integrated information related to the long-term alterations of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in forest ecosystems. We evaluated total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and isotopic natural abundance of C (δ13C) and N (δ15N) in soil and foliar of coniferous plantation (CPF), natural broadleaved forest (NBF), and mixed forest stands at three different soil depths (i.e., 0–10, 10–20, and 20–40 cm). This study also explored how soil available nutrients are affected by different forest types. Lutou forest research station, located in Hunan Province, central China, was used as the study area. Results demonstrated that the topsoil layer had higher TC and TN content in the mixed forest stand, resulting in a better quality of organic materials in the topsoil layer in the mixed forest than NBF and CPF. In general, soil TC, TN, and δ15N varied significantly in different soil depths and forest types. However, the forest type did not exhibit any significant effect on δ13C. Overall, soil δ13C was significantly enriched in CPF, and δ15N values were enriched in mixed forest. Foliar C content varied significantly among forest types, whereas foliar N content was not significantly different. No big differences were observed for foliar δ15N and δ13C across forest types. However, foliar δ13C and δ15N were positively related to soil δ13C and δ15N, respectively. Foliar N, soil and foliar C:N ratio, soil moisture content (SMC), and forest type were observed as the major influential factors affecting isotopic natural abundance, whereas soil pH was not significantly correlated. In addition, forest type change and soil depth increment had a significant effect on soil nutrient availability. In general, soil nutrient availability was higher in mixed forest. Our findings implied that forest type and soil depth alter TC, TN, and soil δ15N, whereas δ13C was only driven by soil depth. Moreover, plantations led to a decline in soil available nutrient content compared with NBF and mixed forest stands.
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Intercropping of Peanut–tea Enhances Soil Enzymatic Activity and Soil Nutrient Ntatus at Different Soil Profiles in Subtropical Southern China
Taimoor Hassan Farooq, uttam Kumar, Jing Mo, Awais Shakoor, Jung Wang, Muhammad Haroon U. Rashid, Muhammad Aammar Tufail, Xiaoyong Chen, and Wende Yan
Intercropping is one of the most widely used agroforestry techniques, reducing the harmful impacts of external inputs such as fertilizers. It also controls soil erosion, increases soil nutrients availability, and reduces weed growth. In this study, the intercropping of peanut (Arachishypogaea L.) was done with tea plants (Camellia oleifera), and it was compared with the mono-cropping of tea and peanut. Soil health and fertility were examined by analyzing the variability in soil enzymatic activity and soil nutrients availability at different soil depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–40 cm). Results showed that the peanut–tea intercropping considerably impacted the soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nutrient availability, and soil enzymatic responses at different soil depths. The activity of protease, sucrase, and acid phosphatase was higher in intercropping, while the activity of urease and catalase was higher in peanut monoculture. In intercropping, total phosphorus (TP) was 14.2%, 34.2%, 77.7%, 61.9%; total potassium (TK) was 13.4%, 20%, 27.4%, 20%; available phosphorus (AP) was 52.9%, 26.56%, 61.1%; 146.15% and available potassium (AK) was 11.1%, 43.06%, 46.79% higher than the mono-cropping of tea in respective soil layers. Additionally, available nitrogen (AN) was 51.78%, 5.92%, and 15.32% lower in the 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–40 cm layers of the intercropping system than in the mono-cropping system of peanut. Moreover, the soil enzymatic activity was significantly correlated with SOC and total nitrogen (TN) content across all soil depths and cropping systems. The depth and path analysis effect revealed that SOC directly affected sucrase, protease, urease, and catalase enzymes in an intercropping system. It was concluded that an increase in the soil enzymatic activity in the intercropping pattern improved the reaction rate at which organic matter decomposed and released nutrients into the soil environment. Enzyme activity in the decomposition process plays a vital role in forest soil morphology and function. For efficient land use in the cropping system, it is necessary to develop coherent agroforestry practices. The results in this study revealed that intercropping certainly enhance soil nutrients status and positively impacts soil conservation.
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Perspectives of Plantation Forests in the Sustainable Forest Development of China
Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Xiaohong Wu, Yong Li, Xiang Zhang, Xiaoyong Chen, Wende Yan, Awais Shakoor, Muhammad Haroon U. Rashid, and Uttam Kumar
Modern forestry is gradually moving towards man-made forests on a large scale. Plantations with advanced forestry system have been introduced with the goal of sustainable forestry development and to enhance social, ecological, and economic benefits. Forest plantations with native and exotic species have been established in China and worldwide with shorter rotation cycles than natural forests. In this paper, we discuss the role and perspectives of plantation forests in the Chinese sustainable forest development, the evolution of various plantation programs, the ecological effects of plantations, and the measures to improve plantation forestry. The Chinese government has given substantial importance to nurturing plantation forest resources through various large scale afforestation programs. In 2019, the total area covered by plantations in China reached 79.54 million ha, with a stock volume of 3.39 billion m³ (59.30 m³ per ha); coniferous forests (26.11 million ha, 32.83%) and broad-leaved forests (26.45 million ha, 33.25%) are the dominant types. Plantations have been primarily distributed in the central and southern parts of the country. Plantations with fast-growing and high-yielding tree species facilitated Chinese afforestation activities and improved the administration of forest production, which effectively boosted the forest industry. Plantation forest resources offer many potential productive, economic, and social advantages, though they are also associated with a loss of biodiversity and climate change makes them likely susceptible to disease and insect attack. Appropriate forest management practices during planning, execution, and maintenance of plantations can contribute to the conservation, promotion, and restoration of biodiversity, with the final aim of attaining a balance between having forest plantations and natural forests.
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Why Aren't My Students Reading: Faculty & Student Research Unveiling the Hidden Curriculum of Course Material Usage
Jayne Goode, Kerri K. Morris, Bradley Smith, and J. Christopher Tweddle
This reflective essay follows a faculty working group as they attempt to understand barriers to access to course materials through the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Through the workgroup’s research and collaboration with students in a problem-based learning course, the workgroup uncovered elements of the hidden curriculum in assumptions regarding course material procurement. The collaboration has served as the foundation for efforts to begin to transform the way that faculty on campus make use of textbooks and course materials in their courses. This transformation should make explicit to faculty that the utilization of course materials for all aspects of the course are often hidden pedagogy and must be made explicit by each instructor.
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Dissonance, Detachment and College Student Identity: An Exploration of Identity Gaps in the Emerging Majority Student
Jayne Goode, Jelena Radovic-Fanta, and Alli Cipra
As emerging majority students learn to adjust to academic life, they frequently confront feelings of inadequacy and face changing identities in relation to their home communities. These students often feel underprepared, experience both isolation and marginalization, and have difficulty navigating academic culture and expectations. Drawing on a qualitative data collected from 49 students using focus groups and open-ended interviews, this article uses the Communication Theory of Identity to examine disassociation and distancing in the form of personal-relational identity gaps that influence the emergence of the self-categorization of a college student identity among emerging majority students.
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Intersectionality and the Emerging Majority Student: Negotiating Identity in the Liminalities of the University Environment
Jayne R. Goode, Jelena Radovic-Fanta, and Sayoni Bose
Students at the intersection of social, political, and economic struggles must often forge new paths to make college entrance possible, even as dominant social narratives predict their failure. Faculty and administration endeavor to engage this emerging majority population and devote valuable time and resources to support structures meant to foster belonging and a sense of community. This article provides insight into the liminality of the university environment for this population and the communicative processes of college student identity development. Analysis reveals identity construction processes through the liminal practices of experimentation, reflection, and recognition are successful and complex, as students discursively position themselves as college students. Implications for intersectional research and liminality as space for possibility are discussed.
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Virtual Termination amid COVID-19: Strategies for School Social Work Interns and Field Instructors
Giesela Grumbach, Annette H. Johnson, Erik Engel, and Linda Campos-Moreira
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the natural rhythm of the school year, affecting the way services are rendered. This shift has implications for the termination of services and the guidance of school social work interns through the termination process. This article provides lessons learned from the rapid transition from face-to-face practice to telemental health services in schools. The authors present strategies for supervising the termination process in a remote environment. In keeping with social work’s professional mandate, field instructors must guide interns on conducting termination services properly and engage interns in this reflective process. This article also addresses issues of equity and access for students and their families. Attention is given to the impact of termination on student clients, families, school social work interns, and field instructors. Telemental health demonstrates promise in supporting a model of practice that provides opportunities for innovation. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to continue this discourse for engaging in and developing best practices for telemental health services, termination of services, and supervision of social work interns in the school setting. The school social work profession must continue to augment policies related to the provision of telemental health services in school settings.
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Narrative Resistance to Organizational Hegemony and Power Plays: Illinois School Social Workers Fight for Voice and Inclusion
Giesela Grumbach, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Brenda Lindsey, Annette H. Johnson, and Adrian Delgado
Professional organizations aim to strengthen and protect the professions they serve. However, organizations can also behave in hegemonic ways, eroding specializations and advancing a policy agenda without critical member input. Exploring issues of power and inclusion is essential not only for the survival and stability of the organization, but also for ensuring that the organization's actions are consistent with its values and ethics. The Illinois chapter of NASW disregarded stakeholders and minoritized voices, as well as organizational values and ethics, when it recently lobbied for a bill (S. B. 2071) that would eliminate graduate level specialized training for the post-master's professional educator license. As we consider the role of organizations and the unique features of the school social work specialization, we will analyze these issues through the framework of master narratives that advance hegemonic notions that disregard inclusion and counter narratives as a form of resistance that attend to issues of power and oppression.
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A Preliminary Study of Nursing Practice Patterns Concerning Dysphagia Diet Modification: Implications for Interprofessional Education With SLPs
Naomi Gurevich, Danielle Osmelak, and Sydney Osentoski
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are trained to evaluate and treat dysphagia. One treatment method is to modify diet consistency or viscosity to compensate for swallowing dysfunction and promote a safer intake; this typically involves softening solids and thickening liquids. Thickening liquids is not safer for all patients, and modification of dysphagia diets without adequate training may reduce the quality of dysphagia patient care. Over 90% of SLPs working in health care report exposure to nurses who regularly downgrade dysphagia diets without an SLP consult. This study explores dysphagia diet modification practices of nursing staff with and without dysphagia training.
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Carceral Non-Profits and the Limits of Prison Reform
Zhandarka Kurti and Jarrod Shanahan
Today there is a growing chorus to end mass incarceration ranging from leftists and liberals to some on the right. For abolitionists, decarceration—or the reduction of the prison population—is an important first step in a vision that seeks to do away with the social ills the present criminal justice system simply manages. While some attention has been paid to the growing bi-partisan consensus that acknowledges, at least rhetorically, the need to end mass incarceration, we know very little about one of its key players: criminal justice non-profits. In what follows, we devise a conceptual schema that we term carceral non-profits to interrogate the complex class position of certain non-profit organizations surrounding decarceration and criminal justice reform. We argue that the defining feature of carceral non-profits is their role in steering radical change towards piecemeal liberal reform, and the promotion of carceral expansion under the guise of decarceration. This paper is an attempt to engage with an audience of abolitionist activists and scholars trying to make sense of the shifting terrain of the non-profit industrial complex at the grassroots level.
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Book Review: Modernism, Empire, World Literature by Joe Cleary
Liam Lanigan
Book Review: Modernism, Empire, World Literature by Joe Cleary
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Toward a Realism of the World-System: John Lanchester’s Capital and the Global City
Liam Lanigan
This essay explores how John Lanchester’s Capital adapts classical realism to represent the contemporary global city; it pays particular attention to how London’s position in the world-system disrupts Lukácsian totality. Because the novel attends to the complexity and extensiveness of the world-system, it depicts the city not as a representative totality but as embedded in the global circuits of capital, shaped by the influences of inward migration and global finance. In this the novel has affinities with many fictions of the global periphery, for instance portraying the city as at once socially fragmented and structurally connected. Furthermore, the novel departs from classical realism in its closure; though the 2008 financial crisis is omitted from the novel, it overshadows the entire plot, and its absence emphasizes the lack of finality in the story of this phase of capitalism itself. In demonstrating the temporal and spatial unknowability of contemporary capital, Lanchester’s novel both affirms the capacity of realism to trace deep systemic connections and reveals the fragility of its construction of a social totality, positing a realism attendant to its own perspectival limits within the world-system.
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Overcoming Addiction: College Women Formerly Involved with the Criminal Justice System Account of Successful Reentry
Shonda Lawrence and Cynthia Honoré-Collins
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Social Work Students' Perceptions of Their Writing Skills Pre/Post Writing Intervention
Shonda Lawrence and Ivis Renee King
This cross-sectional study assessed undergraduate social work students’ perception of their writing skills, individualized writing intervention plans, and writing workshop pilot program designed to improve students’ academic and professional writing. The present study used convenience sampling to administer a prewriting assessment and implemented individualized writing interventions to participants during Fall, 2018. Participants were junior social work majors enrolled in two sections of the Writing for Social Work course in a CSWE accredited BSW program. We used Qualtrics to administer the pre- and post-writing workshop interventions. Thirty-nine Participants completed a pre-test and post-test measuring their perceptions of their writing skills before and after participating in writing workshops. Mixed-methods provided quantitative and qualitative analysis of participants’ perceptions. Pretest results indicated that 85% of the participants were confident in their writing abilities and would earn at least an 85% in the course. Subsequently, post-test results indicated a drastic 47% decrease in students' assessment of their writing skills. Qualitative analysis indicated participants valued specific writing interventions. The theme analysis provides information that may assist in developing writing interventions for undergraduate social work students. The significance of the present study demonstrates that undergraduate students recognize their writing strengths and weakness, and prefer scaffolding assignments when focusing on academic writing in social work.
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Effects of Thinning on Soil Nutrients in a Chronosequence of Chinese Fir in Subtropical China
Jiping Li, Xiaoyu Cao, Yiru Wang, Wende Yan, Yuanying Peng, and Xiaoyong Chen
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Robust Event Classification Using Imperfect Real-world PMU Data
Yunchuan Liu, Amir Ghasemkhani, Hanif Livani, Virgilio A. Centeno, Pin-Yu Chen, and Junshan Zhang
This paper studies robust event classification using imperfect real-world phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. By analyzing the real-world PMU data, we find it is challenging to directly use this dataset for event classifiers due to the low data quality observed in PMU measurements and event logs. To address these challenges, we develop a novel machine learning framework for training robust event classifiers, which consists of three main steps: data preprocessing, fine-grained event data extraction, and feature engineering. Specifically, the data preprocessing step addresses the data quality issues of PMU measurements (e.g., bad data and missing data); in the fine-grained event data extraction step, a model-free event detection method is developed to accurately localize the events from the inaccurate event timestamps in the event logs; and the feature engineering step constructs the event features based on the patterns of different event types, in order to improve the performance and the interpretability of the event classifiers. Based on the proposed framework, we develop a workflow for event classification using the real-world PMU data streaming into the system in real-time. Using the proposed framework, robust event classifiers can be efficiently trained based on many off-the-shelf lightweight machine learning models. Numerical experiments using the real-world dataset from the Western Interconnection of the U.S power transmission grid show that the event classifiers trained under the proposed framework can achieve high classification accuracy while being robust against low-quality data.
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Commentary: Unbiasing Genome-Based Analyses of Selection: An Example Using Iconic Shark Species
Nicholas Marra, Michael J. Stanhope, Nathaniel K. Jue, Vincent P. Richards, Stephen J. O'Brien, Agostinho Antunes, and Mahmood S. Shivji
Yamaguchi and Kuraku (2021) published an opinion article in this special issue of Frontiers in Marine Science, discussing certain analyses of the white shark genome, published earlier in another journal (Marra et al., 2019). Their opinion article involves selected data from our paper, as well as data released by others, subsequent to the analyses reported in our paper. We here, address their opinions.
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The Wakanda Effect: A Protective Factor to Navigate Racialized Environments
Cassandra McKay-Jackson, Giesela Grumbach, and Linda Campos-Moreira
In 2018 the Afrofuturistic film, Black Panther, exposed a hunger for the portrayal of Black people in a positive light. Utilizing critical race theory, the authors conducted a mixed-methods study to explore viewers’ experiences with racial microaggressions, their means of coping with racial battle fatigue, and how the film impacted them. Viewers described the film as empowering, which elicited critical consciousness, and expressed an appreciation for the counter-narrative, introducing a “Wakanda effect.” Further, social validation and connection, centering, and counter-narratives were key strategies in resisting racial microaggressions. The authors provide a figure that describes the Wakanda effect and end with a discussion of resilience in addressing racial battle fatigue.
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School Counselor Roles for Student Success During a Pandemic
Robert Pincus, Denise Ebersol, Judith Justice, TeShaunda Hannor-Walker, and Leonis Wright
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, school counselors continue to provide necessary mental health services, support, prevention, intervention, and referrals, as needed, to the increasing number of PK-12 students with mental health needs. School counselors are essential mental health professionals who provide developmentally appropriate, comprehensive, and evidence-based support for all students across education settings including in-person, blended, and virtual formats. Through their ongoing leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and systemic change, school counselors strive to ensure that their roles and responsibilities include supporting the mental health needs of students especially now that those needs have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Adverse childhood experiences during the pandemic have resulted in a need for additional early identification, prevention, and interventions to address the increasing mental health needs of students. Recommendations for more effectively addressing the mental health and social emotional needs of students are included as are suggestions for increasing advocacy for school counselor roles and responsibilities, evidence-based assessments, and the utilization of technology. Finally, the authors conclude by affirming that school counselors should be viewed as essential mental health professionals who are prepared to support the social emotional and behavioral health of students now more than ever when students need support overcoming COVID-19 related obstacles, stressors and trauma-inducing situations
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Maintaining Effective Leadership During Times of Environmental Stress
Kent B. Provost and Patricia A. Robey
Applying the concepts of lead management in a world that has traditionally experienced the external control of boss management is particularly challenging in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, the pandemic has meant a challenge to getting needs met, both inside and outside the workplace. At the most primal level, survival needs are being threatened, and the quality of our relationships can be influenced as we must find ways to work together from a distance. In the workplace, organizational survival also must be addressed. Deadlines remain in place and workers are expected to function effectively on their jobs despite other challenges they may be facing as a result of the pandemic. In this article, the authors integrate Glasser’s (1998) model of lead management with other management strategies that can be effective in addressing workplace concerns. The article concludes with a discussion in which Provost shares his experience in developing his own management style and explains how he focuses on how to balance the needs of individuals and groups within the constraints of the system, particularly in the time of stress within a pandemic.
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Good Mothers and Good Workers: Discipline and Care in Chile's Grape-Packing Plants
Jelena Radovic-Fanta
This article explores the affective dimensions of precarious labor in Chile's grape-export industry in the centrally located Aconcagua Valley. Although the country's billion-dollar fruit industry is marked as an example of successful development, female seasonal workers (called temporeras) navigate hazardous working conditions and noncompliance of labor laws. Contrary to common assumptions of workers' alienation from labor, their personal identities are deeply entangled in their workplace. This article examines how management invokes temporeras' identities as mothers and care providers as a disciplinary mechanism. At the same time, workers articulate motherhood as a form of endurance. Although efforts by the Chilean government attempt to regulate the fruit-export sector, there is a dismal lack of enforcement of recent labor laws. As a result, temporeras bear the burden of safeguarding their physical well-being. I conclude by suggesting that social relations and the moral textures of everyday interactions provide the possibilities through which workers endure precarious labor.
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Culture of Prevention and Early Disease Detection of Cancer in Russia
Natalia Rekhter and Natalia Ermasova
This study analyzed the early cancer detection in Russia. Using data from the Russian Ministry of Health from 2005 to 2016, this study aims to evaluate relationships between the number of patients diagnosed with I-II stage of cancer with the number of preventive visits, screening tests, and expedited access to specialists. The results of de-trending time-series model indicate that the number of specialists in outpatient facilities and the number of patients' preventive visits positively affect the number of patients diagnosed with cancer for the first time and the number of patients diagnosed with I-II degree cancer. The Russian Federation's experience suggests that early detection of cancer can be achieved by increasing the number of early cancer screening facilities, providing free screening, and moderating geographical and time constraints that prevent people of different geographic and socio-economic backgrounds from being screened. Another strategy includes dispelling myths associated with cancer screening, fostering outreach and patient education, and assuring availability and timely referrals to specialists and laboratory work.
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Effect of the COVID-19 on Perceptions of Health, Anticipated Need for Health Services, and Cost of Health Care
Natalia Rekhter and Natalia Ermasova
Objective: This article investigates how perceived vulnerability to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at its early stages is associated with people's perception of their health, the need for health-care services, and expenses related to addressing the COVID-19 impact on their health. Methods: The results are based on the analysis of surveys that were distributed among members of 26 random Facebook groups in April-May, 2020. Perceived COVID-19 pandemic related stress and health concerns were examined by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Results: Among 315 respondents, 64% have experienced COVID-19 related stress and identified anxiety, headache, insomnia, and weight gain as their primary health concerns. The ANOVA test revealed that females are more impacted by the COVID-19 stress than males. Around 40% of respondents believed that the COVID-19 would lead to an increase in the cost of health services, and 20% of respondents anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would increase their need for health services. Conclusions: Learning about how people perceive the COVID-19 pandemic impact on their health, particularly in the pandemic's early stages can allow health professionals to develop targeted interventions that can influence pandemic preventative behaviors among different population groups. This study can help understand use patterns and mitigate financial barriers that could interfere with patients' care-seeking behavior.
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The Effects of Resilience and Familiarity on the Relationship Between CSR and Consumer Attitudes
Dongjun Rew and Wonsuk Cha
Purpose
This study aims to explore the effects of consumer resilience and brand familiarity on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer attitudes toward the company conducting CSR in places that have suffered from traumatic events such as natural or anthropogenic disasters and uncertainty of public health issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected survey-based data from 194 participants who suffered from natural and anthropogenic disasters in the state of Texas. Path analysis was used to test each structural relationship among variables after verifying the reliability and validity of each variable. Analysis of variance was used to investigate the difference in resilience between the two groups.
Findings
This study verified that there is a positive relationship between CSR and consumer attitude. More importantly, the results show that both resilience and familiarity play an important role as a mediator in the relationship between CSR and attitudes. In particular, it tells us that a group with high resilience shows a higher possibility of having positive attitudes toward the company than another group having low resilience. -
ASHA Minority Student Leadership Program: A Student’s Perspective
Angela M. Riccelli and Danielle Osmelak
Xochitl Regalado, a graduate student at Governors State University (GSU), was selected to participate in ASHA’s Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP), class of 2023. Xochitl was one of forty undergraduate seniors, graduate, and clinical doctoral students who was selected out of a competitive national selection process to participate in the MSLP. Per ASHA, the MSLP is a leadership development program for communication sciences and disorders (CSD) program students in order to recruit and retain racial/ethnic minorities that have been historically underrepresented in the field of CSD and to provide educational programming to build and enhance leaderships skills, while learning about how ASHA works.
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Telepractice: Behavior Management and the Speech-Language Pathologist Key information
Angela M. Riccelli and Danielle Osmelak
Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are now finding themselves jumping into a world of telepractice as the coronavirus pandemic has elevated fears and anxieties, closed schools, and in many instances, forced education to move completely online. Telepractice has been defined as the application of telecommunications technology to deliver clinical services at a distance by linking clinician to client, caregiver, or any person(s) responsible for delivering care to the client, for the purposes of assessment, intervention, consultation, and/or supervision (Speech Pathology, Australia, 2014). The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recognizes telepractice as an acceptable mode of expanding services from a distance while still maintaining clinician and client connections sufficient for assessment, intervention, or consultation (Cherney et al., 2011).
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Finding Mental Freedom Within Pandemic Constraints: An Interview with Kim Olver
Patricia A. Robey
Kimberly Olver is a senior faculty member and executive director of William Glasser International. She is known internationally for her work as a counselor, coach, author, and trainer. Kim's background includes 22 years in social work, a certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University, and she is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. In this interview, Kim explains how she integrates her professional experience with her knowledge of Glasser's ideas and offers strategies that could be immediately useful for individuals struggling to manage some of the current challenges related to the pandemic
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Promoting "Scholarship, Research, Professionalism and Excellence in the Mental Health Field." An Interview with Lauren Joyce, Chair of the Student Leadership
Patricia A. Robey
Lauren Joyce is a member of the Glasser Institute for Choice Theory - US (GIFCT-US) and is founder and chair of the GIFCT student leadership committee. The mission of the Student Leadership Committee is "to build leadership across a prestigious student organization through the lens of Choice Theory/Reality Therapy and to promote scholarship, research, professionalism, and excellence in the mental health field". In this interview, Joyce shares how she was introduced to Glasser's ideas and what her plans are to engage students in learning, understanding and applying Glasser's ideas.
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Knowing How to Feel: Racism, Resilience, and Affective Resistance
Taylor Rogers
This article explores the affective dimension of resilient epistemological systems. Specifically, I argue that responsible epistemic practice requires affective engagement with nondominant experiences. To begin, I outline Kristie Dotson's account of epistemological resilience whereby an epistemological system remains stable despite counterevidence or attempts to alter it. Then, I develop an account of affective numbness. As I argue, affective numbness can promote epistemological resilience in at least two ways. First, it can reinforce harmful stereotypes even after these stereotypes have been rationally demystified. To illustrate, I examine the stereotype of Black criminality as it relates to false confessions (Lackey 2018). Second, it can encourage “epistemic appropriation” (Davis 2018), which I demonstrate by examining the appropriation of “intersectionality” and #MeToo by white culture. Finally, I conclude that resisting harmful resilience requires affective resistance, or efforts that target numbness via different kinds of affective engagement. I consider Kantian “disinterestedness” as a candidate.
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Abbreviated Assessment Tool of Learned Helplessness and Mastery Orientation: The Student Behavior Checklist—Brief
Sandra Y. Rueger, Alli Cipra, Wyungjoon Choe, Jake C. Steggerda, Andrea E. Kirby, and Lauren B. Stone
Measurement limitations have hindered research on learned helplessness (LH) and mastery orientation (MO) in the classroom. We reduced the 24-item Student Behavior Checklist to a 6-item scale and tested the abbreviated measure for evidence of reliability and validity in a sample of 5th and 6th graders (N = 299). We then replicated findings in an independent sample of middle school students (N = 116). Results demonstrated strong support for construct validity of the Student Behavior Checklist-Brief (SBC-B), including a hierarchical two-factor structure indicating the distinctness of LH and MO and an overarching construct, which we refer to as learning approach. Results also demonstrated consistent evidence supporting criterion and convergent/discriminant validity, internal consistency reliability, and temporal stability. The SBC-B offers a psychometrically sound teacher-report measure of LH and MO.
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‘Fight the Reds, Support the Blue’: Blue Lives Matter and the US Counter-subversive Tradition
Jarrod Shanahan and Tyler Wall
In the wake of the rightwing siege of the US Capitol, which put ‘Blue Lives Matter’ supporters at odds with police protecting the Capitol, the authors look to the history and contours of the ‘counter-subversive tradition’ in the United States and its locus in local police departments. They examine a similar moment of social unrest – the mid-to-late 1960s – and the pro-police organising undertaken by Support Your Local Police (SYLP), a front group of the ultra-right John Birch Society, which blended anti-communism with opposition to the Black Freedom Movement, with particular anxiety about the spectre of united white and black revolt from below and the encroachment of the federal government on local power from above. The campaign also presented a kind of uniquely rightwing anti-statism, largely through the rejection of impediments to local powers and, specifically, the untrammelled power of the cops. In making sense of the Capitol siege, and the years of rightwing organising that preceded it, the article argues that this important precursor to ‘Blue Lives Matter’ presents a schema for understanding longstanding efforts in police organising in defence of what James Baldwin called ‘arrogant autonomy’ – freedom from civilian oversight or political challenges to cop power, and from all challenges to locally entrenched structures of white power.
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Hostess, Ghost, and Apocalypse: Reconsidering Alice Munro’s “Carried Away”
Josh Sopiarz
The global COVID-19 pandemic affords contemporary readers a unique perspective for reinterpreting the relationship between Jack and Louisa in Alice Munro’s short story “Carried Away.” This alternate reading prioritizes Louisa’s difficult experiences with illness and rejection and reconsiders Jack as an abusive interlocutor who takes advantage of Louisa’s status as town librarian and the era’s social mores, its calamities, and the fog of war to exert control over a woman he desires, but could otherwise not be with. In this reading, Jack uses Louisa’s professional ethos of availability and her public workspace to reorder an otherwise heterotopic space and establish a system whereby he can anonymously surveil her and keep her under his control. Louisa’s pandemic-associated anxieties are acutely present for contemporary readers who are experiencing the most impactful global sickness of the past 100 years. This reading positions Jack as an intentional bad actor rather than as a man simply “carried away.”.
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“Unbreak My Heart”: Clinical Implications for Working With Bereaved Couples
Ileana Ungureanu and Cadmona A. Hall
Death and bereavement remain a cultural taboo that continues to impact helping professionals. The death of a child is a particularly difficult loss as it challenges expectations about the life cycle. Many clinicians find themselves unprepared and ill-equipped to appropriately intervene. Bereaved couples require knowledgeable and culturally competent support to facilitate positive and healthy outcomes. The aim of this article is to provide clinicians with a theoretical framework and clinical conceptualization to assess and intervene in the lives of bereaved couples.
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Non-targeted Metabolomics Reveal the Impact of Phenanthrene Stress on Root Exudates of Ten Urban Greening Tree Species
Jiaolong Wang, Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Ali Aslam, Awais Shakoor, Xiaoyong Chen, and Wende Yan
Different root exudations can modify the bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Among these exudations, the low molecular weight organic acids play an imperative role in this process. The study was conducted to analyze the effect of phenanthrene (PHE) stress on root exudation variations and changes in its chemical composition in ten urban greening tree species, namely Loropetalum chinense, Gardenia ellis, Photinia fraseri, Ligustrum japonicum, Rhododendron simsii, Osmanthus fragrans, Gardenia jasminoides, Buxus sinica, Camellia sasanqua, and Euonymus japonicas. The experiment was carried out in three PHE concentration treatments (0 mg kg−1 (CK), 200 mg kg−1 (PHEL), 2000 mg kg−1 (PHEH)). The root exudates were collected and analyzed by GC-MS method. In total, 673 compounds were identified either with high or low abundance among all species and treatments. Compounds identified in CK, PHEL, and PHEH were 240, 180, and 256, respectively. The results illustrated that carbohydrates, phenols, and esters were the dominant compounds, accounted for more than 92%. Principal component analysis depicted that tree species grown in PHEH showed obvious alteration in compounds of root exudation, whereas little difference was noticed between PHEL and CK. Phenols (80%) were the most abundant, while nitriles contributed a small portion. Moreover, among all species, R. simsii released the maximum number of compounds, and L. japonicum released the least number of compounds accounting for 89 and 46, respectively. The results achieved here to illustrate that plant type, and PHE stress can significantly change the concentrations and species of root exudates. This study provides the scientific reference for understanding the phenanthrene responsive changes in root exudates and phytoremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as well as a screening of urban greening tree species.
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Book Review: Expertise: A Philosophical Introduction by Jamie Carlin Watson
Ben Almassi
Book Review: Expertise: A Philosophical Introduction by Jamie Carlin Watson (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020).
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Explicit Grammatical Intervention for Developmental Language Disorder: Three Approaches
Catherine H. Balthazar, Susan Ebbels, and Rob Zwitserlood
This article summarizes the shared principles and evidence underpinning methods employed in the three sentence-level (syntactic) grammatical intervention approaches developed by the authors. We discuss associated clinical resources and map a way forward for clinically useful research in this area. Method: We provide an overview of the principles and perspectives that are common across our three syntactic intervention approaches: MetaTaal (Zwitserlood, 2015; Zwitserlood, Wijnen, et al., 2015), the SHAPE CODING™ system (Ebbels, 2007; Ebbels et al., 2014, 2007), and Complex Sentence Intervention (Balthazar & Scott, 2017, 2018). A description of each approach provides examples and summarizes current evidence supporting effectiveness for children with developmental language disorder ranging in age from 5 to 16 years. We suggest promising directions for future research that will advance our understanding of effective practices and support more widespread adoption of syntactic interventions with school-age children. Conclusion: In each approach to syntactic intervention, careful and detailed analysis of grammatical knowledge is used to support target selection. Intervention targets are explicitly described and presented systematically using multimodal representations within engaging and functional activities. Treatment stimuli are varied within a target pattern in order to maximize learning. Similar intervention intervals and intensities have been studied and proven clinically feasible and have produced measurable effects. We identify a need for more research evidence to maximize the effectiveness of our grammatical interventions, encompassing languages other than English, as well as practical clinical tools to guide target selection, measurement of outcomes, and decisions about how to tailor interventions to individual needs.
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Questioning Poverty: Experiences of Women in South-Western and North-Central Nigeria
Lohna Bonkat and Morenikenji Asaaju
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Making a Case for Culturally Humble Leadership Practices through a Culturally Responsive Leadership Framework
Linda Campos-Moreira, Marlon Cummings, Giesela Grumbach, Henry E. Williams, and Kylon Hooks
Fluctuations in cultural and racial demographics of communities require leaders to consider the changing needs and expectations of stakeholders. Combining systems theory, theories of organizational change, and the literature on cultural humility and competence, this paper proposes a culturally responsive leadership framework (CRLF) for public sector and human service leaders to improve organizational outcomes equitably. Central to this framework are three elements: considering the socio-cultural aspects of an organization; creating inclusive environments to help facilitate distributed decision making; and a leader’s willingness to learn from all people to mitigate gaps in service delivery that are inadequate and inequitable.
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Use of Employee Assistance Programs to Manage Stress in Policing: The Effects of Perceived Adequacy of Assistance and Opportunity for Promotion
Erica Ceka and Natalia Ermasova
This study investigates the relationship between police officer's willingness to use Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and their perceptions about stress and help-seeking in policing, considering the effect of gender and ethnicity in this association. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 431 Illinois police officers is used to measure officer's perceptions about help-seeking and organizational stressors. The conditional PROCESS modeling (Hayes, 2012) was employed to analyze the hypothesized mediation model. The ANOVA test was used to determent the effect of gender and ethnicity on organizational stressors in policing. Findings Findings suggest police officer's willingness to use EAP is shaped by the perceived negative effect of stress on promotion through the mediator, confidence in their departments to receive adequate assistance, with noticeable gender and ethnic differences. The analysis demonstrated that female police officers feel stressed because of unfair promotional opportunities and poor relationships with supervisors. Female police officers are less willing to apply for the EAP services to mitigate stress than male police officers. The findings reveal that ethnicity is a significant predictor of the police officers' willingness to apply for EAP services to mitigate stress. Research limitations/implications The current study is limited by its focus on only one police department located in the Illinois, USA. This may limit the generalizability of the results. The cross-sectional nature of data used to draw conclusions and variation in departments' characteristics and compositions could influence results. Practical implications The research has practical implications for those who are interested to understand organizational stressors and perceptions on help-seeking in policing. This study provides suggestions for police administrators to make effort in creating more sensitive working environment to reduce stressors for female police officers and representatives of ethnic groups. Originality/value The research unveils the significance of officer's confidence in their departments in modifying their willingness to use EAP, revealing the effect of organizational stressors on confidence. The study adds empirical evidence to existing research on impact of gender and ethnicity on their willingness to use EAP.
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Reexamining "Perfect" Attendance in Schools
David L. Conrad
The COVID-19 emergency has created new challenges for schools regarding student attendance. The predominant practice of “perfect” attendance incentives in schools conflicts with new government policies regarding student self-quarantine due to the COVID-19 virus. School leaders must change their procedures and communication regarding student attendance to reflect these new conditions.
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A Bibliometric Analysis of Folate Receptor Research
Cari Didion and Walter A. Henne
Background The objective of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the entire field of folate receptor research. Folate receptor is expressed on a wide variety of cancers and certain immune cells. Methods A Web of Science search was performed on folate receptor or folate binding protein (1969-to June 28, 2019). The following information was examined: publications per year, overall citations, top 10 authors, top 10 institutions, top 10 cited articles, top 10 countries, co-author collaborations and key areas of research. Results In total, 3248 documents for folate receptor or folate binding protein were retrieved for the study years outlined in the methods section search query. The range was 1 per year in 1969 to 264 for the last full year studied (2018). A total of 123,720 citations for the 3248 documents retrieved represented a mean citation rate per article of 38.09 and range of 1667 citations (range 0 to 1667). Researchers in 71 countries authored publications analyzed in this study. The US was the leader in publications and had the highest ranking institution. The top 10 articles have been cited 7270 times during the time frame of this study. The top cited article had an average citation rate of 110 citations per year. Network maps revealed considerable co-authorship among several of the top 10 authors. Conclusion Our study presents several important insights into the features and impact of folate receptor research. To our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of folate receptor.
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Fiscal and Health Effects of U.S. Marijuana Legislation at the State Level
Natalia Ermasova
Public and academic interest in legalization of recreational marijuana is increasing after legalization campaigns in 2018. This study describes state government experiences implementing marijuana laws. This article seeks to provide a snapshot of these experiences by a comparative analysis of marijuana tax revenues in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The article provides a history of legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use in different states, highlights how state legalization would affect the social sphere and what potential health effect this would have as well as the unintended consequences of marijuana laws at the state level in the United States.
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The 35 Years of Public Capital Budgeting: A Review and Future Research Agenda
Natalia Ermasova
This paper reviews a large number of works published over the past 35 years on public capital budgeting. the purpose of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive analysis of research on capital budgeting. Through this review, this study seeks to critically analyze the literature on the public capital budgeting, identify the research gaps, and set future research agenda based on those gaps. Our study presents a review of 106 academic studies on this topic. the main finding is that constructs, such as international capital budgeting, infrastructure maintenance, cross-state and cross-local municipalities’ analysis, need further attention. This study found that there is a lack of literature that examines how the federal, state, and local governments cope with challenges and pressures during economic decline. Future studies could examine the effects of economic decline during and after Covid-19 pandemic on changes in capital budgeting practices in different countries on national, regional and local levels. the paper is intended as a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, focusing on public capital budgeting issues.
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Perceived Stress and Coping Among Law Enforcement Officers: an Empirical Analysis of Patrol Versus Non-patrol Officers in Illinois, USA
Natalia Ermasova, Ardis D. Cross, and Evgenia Ermasova
The purpose of this paper is to examine the main perceived stressors and coping among law enforcement officers. Based on Stress Management for Law Enforcement Officers surveys of 427 law enforcement officers in Illinois, USA, descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA tests were performed to analyze perceived stress and coping among patrol versus non-patrol police officers. The findings suggest that financial situation, situation when fellow officer killed or witnessing a fatality, poor personal relationships with supervisor(s), and unfair promotional opportunities are the leading causes of stress. One-way ANOVA test showed a marginal difference in the mean of perception of stress when fellow officer killed or witnessing a fatality among officers in patrol in comparison to non-patrol officers. One-way ANOVA test showed a significant marginal difference in the mean of relationship with supervisor(s) stress perception scores among non-patrol officers in comparison to patrol officers. Non-patrol officers had a higher relationship with supervisor(s) stress perception scores than officers in patrol. The study reveals that exercising is the main stress reliever for law enforcement officers. The study refutes the notion that alcohol is a preferred stress reliever as has been indicated in other studies. Analysis of stress perception and coping is allowing for a more rich understanding of stress and coping among law enforcement officers and provides recommendation for implementation of stress reduction techniques in police departments.
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Stress and Coping of Russian Students: Do Gender and Marital Status Make a Difference?
Natalia Ermasova, Evgenia Ermasova, and Natalia Rekhter
This study examines the triggers for stress, and the coping mechanisms, of Russian students in relation to their gender and marital status. Based on the Stress and Coping Questionnaire administered to 539 students, this study analyzes whether gender and marital status have an effect on academic and interpersonal stressors. This study found that female students are more likely to experience stress than male students and that single students are impacted by academic and interpersonal stressors to a higher degree than married students. Male students are more likely to use exercise to alleviate stress but also more likely to use smoking, than female students. Male students are more likely to agree that the use of a psychologist leads to a perception of weakness than female students. Female students are more likely to agree that support services were not a priority on campus and male students are more likely than female students to show a preference for talking to friends over a psychologist. The choice of confiding in family during periods of stress is less often the case for single students than for married students, while single students may be more likely to use alcohol to alleviate stress.
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Dynamics of Canopy Development of Cunninghamia Lanceolata Mid-age Plantation in Relation to Foliar Nitrogen and Soil Quality Influenced by Stand Density
Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Wende Yan, Xiaoyong Chen, Awais Shakoor, Muhammad Haroon U. Rashid, Matoor Moshin Gilani, Zongming He, and Pengfei Wu
It has been generally accepted that different silvicultural practices affect the forest canopy morphology and structure. During forest establishment, many natural sites were converted to coniferous plantations in southern China. Retention of the canopy during stand conversion may be desirable to promote ecological function and meet conservation objectives. We tested the impact of planting density, foliar nitrogen and soil chemical properties on the canopy development of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) mid-age monoculture stands. Low density (1450 trees hm−2 with planting spacing of 2.36 × 2.36 m), intermediate-density (2460 trees hm−2 with planting spacing of 1.83 × 1.83 m) and high density (3950 trees hm−2 with planting spacing of 1.44 × 1.44 m) stands were selected in Xinkou forest plantations in Sanming City, China. Canopy characteristics such as leaf area index (LAI), mean tilt angle of the leaf (MTA) and average canopy openness index (DIFN) were measured. Measurements were taken using LAI-2200 PCA. The results illustrated that stand density was the primal factor responsible in canopy structuring while soil chemical properties seem to play a secondary role for canopy dynamics. LAI increased from 3.974 m2 m-2 to 5.072 m2 m-2 and MTA increases from 34.8° to 48.7° as the stand density increased while the DIFN decreased from 0.1542 to 0.0902 with the increasing stand density but it was no significantly different in intermediate and high-density stands. Additionally, LAI and MTA were positively correlated to foliar nitrogen while the DIFN was negatively correlated. In general, soil available nitrogen, available phosphorus and soil pH were not significant to canopy parameters. The results presented provide guiding principles about the canopy dynamics distribution in varying stand densities from LICOR measurements in mid-age Chinese fir monoculture. Furthermore, this provides a base to study canopy dynamics at mature stage forests because of more senescence activities.
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Interprofessional Education Between Speech Pathology and Nursing Programs: A Collaborative e-platform Curriculum Approach
Naomi Gurevich, Danielle Osmelak, and Cindy Farris
Interprofessional practice between nurses and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in healthcare is essential, and it is a priority for both professions. Interprofessional education (IPE) is warranted to move forward professional partnership, and would be best served through incorporation into academic training for both disciplines. A combined synchronous and asynchronous e-platform collaborative approach that minimizes encroachment on already overcrowded clinical curricula is described. Implementation is outlined for use within a graduate-level dysphagia course for SLP students and a medical/surgical undergraduate course for nursing students. This model is flexible and lends itself for use in other courses within clinical disciplines.
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Recommending Hearing Assessment for Individuals With Dementia: A Survey of Medical Professionals
Naomi Gurevich, Heidi Ramrattan, Mary Kubalanza, Danielle Osmelak, and Jenna Boese
Older adults are at risk for age-related hearing loss and for dementia. Hearing loss increases the risk of dementia and accelerates cognitive decline. There is no cure for dementia, but hearing loss is treatable. Medical professionals who work with individuals with dementia are surveyed to explore whether recommendations made to individuals diagnosed with dementia include hearing assessments.
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Novel Magnetic Fe3O4/g-C3N4/MoO3 Nanocomposites with Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Activities: Visible-light-driven Degradation of Tetracycline from Aqueous Environment
Tianpei He, Yaohui Wu, Chenyang Jiang, Yonghong Wang, Gaoqiang Liu, Zhenggang Xu, Ge Ning, Xiaoyong Chen, and Yunlin Zhao
In the present work, a series of magnetically separable Fe3O4/g-C3N4/MoO3 nanocomposite catalysts were prepared. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, EDX, TEM, FT-IR, UV-Vis DRS, TGA, PL, BET and VSM. The photocatalytic activity of photocatalytic materials was evaluated by catalytic degradation of tetracycline solution under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, the influences of weight percent of MoO3 and scavengers of the reactive species on the degradation activity were investigated. The results showed that the Fe3O4/g-C3N4/MoO3 (30%) nanocomposites exhibited highest removal ability for TC, 94% TC was removed during the treatment. Photocatalytic activity of Fe3O4/g-C3N4/MoO3 (30%) was about 6.9, 5, and 19.9-fold higher than those of the MoO3, g-C3N4, and Fe3O4/g-C3N4 samples, respectively. The excellent photocatalytic performance was mainly attributed to the Z-scheme structure formed between MoO3 and g-C3N4, which enhanced the efficient separation of the electron-hole and sufficient utilization charge carriers for generating active radials. The highly improved activity was also partially beneficial from the increase in adsorption of the photocatalysts in visible range due to the combinaion of Fe3O4. Superoxide ions (O2−) was the primary reactive species for the photocatalytic degradation of TC, as degradation rate were decreased to 6% in solution containing benzoquinone (BQ). Data indicate that the novel Fe3O4/g-C3N4/MoO3 was favorable for the degradation of high concentrations of tetracycline in water.
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Photosynthesis Performance and Antioxidative Enzymes Response of Melia azedarach and Ligustrum lucidum Plants Under Pb–Zn Mine Tailing Conditions
XinHao Huang, Fan Zhu, ZhiXiang He, Xiaoyong Chen, GuangJun Wang, MengShan Liu, and HongYang Xu
Lead–zinc (Pb–Zn) mine tailings pose a great risk to the natural environment and human health because of their high toxicity. In this study, the responses of photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, and antioxidative enzyme of Melia azedarach and Ligustrum lucidum in the soil contaminated by Pb–Zn mine tailings were investigated. Results showed that Pb–Zn mine tailings significantly reduced net photosynthetic rates and leaf photosynthetic pigment content of both trees, and the reduction of net photosynthetic rates was mainly caused by their biochemical limitation (BL). The chlorophyll fluorescence parameters from Pb–Zn tailing stressed leaves indicated that Pb–Zn tailings affected PSII activity which was evident from the change values of energy fluxes per reaction center (RC): probability that an electron moves further than QA− (ETO/TRO), maximum quantum yield for primary photochemistry (TRO/ABS), the density of PSII RC per excited cross-section (RC/CSO), the absorption of antenna chlorophylls per PSII RC (ABS/RC), and the turnover number of QA reduction events (N). Pb–Zn mine tailings also affected the oxidation and reduction of PSI, which resulted in a great increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents and then stimulated the rate of lipid peroxidation. Both trees exhibited certain antioxidative defense mechanisms as elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities, then declined under high level of Pb–Zn tailing treatment. Comparatively, L. lucidum showed less extent effect on photosynthesis and higher antioxidative enzyme activities than M. azedarach; thus L. lucidum was more tolerant than M. azedarach at least under the described Pb–Zn tailing treatment. These results indicate that the effect of Pb–Zn mine tailings on photosynthesis performance mainly related to imbalance of the PSII activity and PSI redox state in both trees. We propose that M. azedarach and L. lucidum could relieve the oxidative stress for phytoremediation under the appropriate Pb–Zn mine tailing content.
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Consolidating Scholarship on Irish Modernism
Liam Lanigan
Book Review: A History of Irish Modernism by Gregory Castle and Patrick Bixby
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Soil Organic Matter, Nitrogen and pH Driven Change in Bacterial Community Following Forest Conversion
Ting Liu, Xiaohong Wu, Huangwei Li, Hattan Alharbi, Jun Wang, Peng Dang, Xiaoyong Chen, Yakov Kuzyakov, and Wende Yan
Fast expansion of forest conversion to monoculture plantations has profound effects on ecosystem structure and functions. Through altering litter and rhizodeposition composition as well as one-sided effects on soil chemical properties, monoculture plantations may tremendously decrease biodiversity and functions of soil microorganisms. We investigated the impacts of conversion of natural evergreen and deciduous broad-leaf forest (Forest) to four 5-year old monoculture plantations (plantations), such as Camellia oleiferaAbel.(Oil), Amygdalus persica (Peach), Myrica rubra (Lour.) S. et Zucc.(Berry) and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.(Fir), on soil properties and bacterial community and its driving factors using the high-throughput sequencing technique. Soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen decreased up to 59%–83% and pH increased by 0.31 units following the forest conversion. The changes in soil properties and bacterial communities were depended on the type of the plantation. Bacterial diversity increased by 6.5% after forest conversion. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria in the Forest were remarkably higher compared with all plantations, whereas that of Chloroflexi and Planctomycetes was less. All plantations had low abundance of Acidobacteria, while the highest abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Planctomycetes was observed under Peach. The co-occurrence patterns of bacterial communities identified rare taxa rather than abundant taxa as central players in bacterial network. The redundancy analysis indicated that the variation in the composition of bacterial community was mainly driven by soil pH, organic carbon and total nitrogen content. Therefore, good management practices, such as reasonable fertilization and soil erosion prevention, need to be developed for monoculture plantations to mitigate the depletion of nutrients and to enhance microbial functioning after forest conversion.
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Synergistic Adsorption Photocatalytic Degradation Effect and Norfloxacin Mechanism of ZnO/ZnS@BC Under UV-light Irradiation
Wen Liu, Tianpei He, Yonghong Wang, Ge Ning, Zhenggang Xu, Xiaoyong Chen, Xinjiang Hu, Yaohui Wu, and Yunlin Zhao
Norfloxacin (NOF) is an environmentally harmful and ubiquitous aquatic pollutant with extensive production and application. In this study, a novel composition named carbon-based composite photocatalytic material of zinc oxide and zinc sulphide (ZnO/ZnS@BC) was successfully obtained by the impregnation-roasting method to remove NOF under UV-light. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer characterised the composition. ZnO/ZnS was successfully decorated on the surface of biochar (BC). The pH, the ZnSO4/PS ratio, and ions and quenchers, were investigated. High removal efficiency was obtained with a pH of 7 and a ZnSO4/PS ratio of 1:1, and the removal ratio of NOF reached 95% within three hours; the adsorption and degradation ratios reached 46% and 49%, respectively. Fe2+ promoted the degradation of NOF, whereas other ions inhibited it, with NO3− showing the strongest inhibitory effect. Three reactive species (tert-butanol, quinone, and ammonium oxala) were identified in the catalytic system. The decreasing order of the contribution of each reactive species was: O2− > ·OH− > h+. Additionally, a recycling experiment demonstrated the stability of the catalyst; the catalytic degradation ratio of NOF reached 78% after five successive runs. Therefore, ZnO/ZnS@BC possessed strong adsorption capacity and high ultraviolet photocatalysis ability.
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Weathering COVID-19 Storm: Successful Control Measures of Five Asian Counties
Ning Lu, Kai-Wen Cheng, Nafees Qamar, Kuo-Cherh Huang, and James A. Johnson
The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created the first viral pandemic storm of this nature and scale in our lifetime. As of April 24, 2020 there is a total of 2,631,839 COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide with 182,100 confirmed deaths affecting 213 countries, areas or territories.1 In this paper, we bring together the measures taken by 5 Asian countries that first got hit by the novel coronavirus. The purpose of the paper is to learn from those countries adeptly as we continue to discover what works for the United States to control COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 control measures taken by 5 Asian countries first hit by coronavirus. China took extremely aggressive measures of lockdowns and closing business. Singapore took proactive measures of border controls and extensive contact tracing. Taiwan-seized border control and strict home quarantine with the use of big data. South Korea executed widespread testing and contact tracing. Japan promoted measures of social distancing.
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Robotic Assisted Surgery for Women Undergoing Gynecological Surgery
Nancy J. MacMullen, Laura A. Dulski, and Lisa Mendelson
One of the current alternatives to open gynecological surgery and laparoscopy is Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery (RALS), which is done utilizing Robotic Assisted Surgical Devices (RASD). These alternatives present another dimension to the cascade of decisions women make regarding surgery and recovery. Nurses are often called upon to help the women in the decision making process by providing education and current information. This requires requisite knowledge on the part of the nurses and collaboration with all members of the health care team. The purpose of this paper is to fully explain the trending new technology of robotic assisted gynecologic surgery, its advantages and disadvantages, and its implications for nursing through examining the available research and clinical literature on the topic.
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Grade Efficacy, Grade Point Average, Aggregation, and Covid-19 Readiness at Proximity Learning®-A Company Providing Certified Teachers and Accreditated Courses Through Online Streaming
G. McClendon, Rasha Elhage, and O. Laosebikan
This study investigated grade point average efficacy and aggregation at an educational technology company based in the United States. Proximity Learning ® allowed researchers to examine multiple data sets to analyze individual and aggregate outcomes according to demographics, course type, grade level, geographic location.
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What Determines Investment in Renewable Energy?
Evelina Mengova
Investment in renewable energy is an investment in our future. This paper explores the determinants of investment in renewable energy capacity in Europe, the Former Soviet Union, and the Middle East and North Africa. It explores the major challenges each of these regions faces in moving towards a more environmentally friendly generation and use of energy. We find that specific country and regional characteristics, together with the level of pollution of a country, have a significant impact on its total renewable capacity installed. We find mixed evidence that the overall quality of governance promotes renewables.
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Rikers Island Jail Complex: The Use of Social History to Inform Current Debates on Incarceration in New York City
Jayne Moody and Jarrod Shanahan
Rikers Island is the main jail complex for New York City. At its height in the 1990s, 22,000 people were incarcerated there. Having attracted national and international condemnation, it is regarded as one of the city's biggest failures: a magnet for scandal and controversy. In 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged that the complex would be closed within ten years with smaller ‘state of the art’ jails built to replace it. Our research explores the social history of Rikers from its origins to the present day, in a bid to provide a more nuanced understanding of the island and incarceration in New York City, and to engage with ongoing debate on the future of penal reform.
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Rikers Island: The Failure of a “Model” Penitentiary
Jayne Mooney and Jarrod Shanahan
New York City’s Rikers jail complex is gripped by a crisis of legitimacy. Following a series of investigations, it has been denounced as a major symbol of criminal justice dysfunction, with calls for its closure and replacement with new smaller “state of the art” jails. Yet, when it opened, Rikers was hailed as a “model” facility, at the cutting edge of prison design and prisoner rehabilitation. To elucidate the present situation, we provide a focus on the under-explored history of New York City’s penal institutions
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A Reflection on Integrating Ethics Within Communication Sciences and Disorders Curriculum
Danielle Osmelak
Regardless of work setting, the ways in which we as an organization of audiologics, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists navigate our profession has profoundly been altered given the impact of COVID-19. As a speech-language pathologist and professor, the transition to alternative modes of course delivery in March challenged me to look at my own course curriculum and the modes in which I disseminate and foster learning with my students.
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