How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students

A growing number of parents, university officials, and employers want our elementary and secondary schools to better prepare students for our increasingly racially and ethnically diverse society and the global economy. But for reasons we cannot explain, the demands of this large segment of Americans have yet to resonate with most of our federal, state, or local policymakers. Instead, over the past forty years, these policy makers have completely ignored issues of racial segregation while focusing almost exclusively on high-stakes accountability, even as our schools have become increasingly segregated and unequal.This report argues that, as our K -- 12 student population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, the time is right for our political leaders to pay more attention to the evidence, intuition, and common sense that supports the importance of racially and ethnically diverse educational settings to prepare the next generation. It highlights in particular the large body of research that demonstrates the important educational benefits -- cognitive, social, and emotional -- for all students who interact with classmates from different backgrounds, cultures, and orientations to the world. This research legitimizes the intuition of millions of Americans who recognize that, as the nation becomes more racially and ethnically complex, our schools should reflect that diversity and tap into the benefits of these more diverse schools to better educate all our students for the twenty-first century.The advocates of racially integrated schools understand that much of the recent racial tension and unrest in this nation -- from Ferguson to Baltimore to Staten Island -- may well have been avoided if more children had attended schools that taught them to address implicit biases related to racial, ethnic, and cultural differences. This report supports this argument beyond any reasonable doubt

Music and Metaphor: Anaïs Nin’s Soundtrack in The Cities of the Interior

The Cities of the Interior, roman-fleuve d’Anaïs Nin, offre un cas d’étude de l’intertextualité entre musique et littérature, et de la « traversée » entre ces deux arts. La présence de personnages musiciens, le champ lexical de la musique, et les références à des œuvres musicales contribuent à créer une bande-son audible lors de la lecture. Les évocations de la Symphonie en ré mineur de César Frank et de l’Isle Joyeuse de Claude Debussy poussent également les lecteurs à s’interroger sur le sens que ces références ajoutent à la trame du roman. Son histoire personnelle révèle que Nin avait un attachement aux deux morceaux, mais nous concluons également qu’elle emploie le symbolisme de chacun pour renforcer les scènes et les interactions entre les personnages dans son propre texte. La mélodie de la Symphonie en ré mineur reflète la dynamique de la relation entre Djuna et Michael. L’histoire et la mélodie de l’Isle Joyeuse représentent une euphorie romantique, qui vient d’un déplacement réel ou imaginaire vers une île, où une femme aurait l’occasion de s’empaler "gaiement" sur un "mât viril". Les lecteurs sont invités à opérer cette traversée entre le texte de Nin et les morceaux évoqués pour entrer dans la ville intérieure qui constitue l’ensemble des histoires rassemblées dans The Cities of the Interior.Anaïs Nin’s roman-fleuve, The Cities of the Interior, offers a case study when considering the interdisciplinary crossings between text and music. The overwhelming presence of musicians, musical vocabulary, and specific references to musical works creates a soundtrack for readers to listen to the text as they read it. Furthermore, the evocation of César Frank’s Symphony in D Minor and Claude Debussy’s Isle Joyeuse begs readers to ask what extra meanings these pieces of music bring to the storyline. We may conclude that Nin had a personal attachment to both pieces, but that she also used the symbolism of each to reinforce scenes from her own text. Symphony in D Minor rises and falls, maintaining a gentleness that does not climax, like Djuna’s relationship to Michael. Isle Joyeuse is about a romantic euphoria, either from a real or mythological island getaway, where woman can « joyfully » impale herself on « man’s mast. » Readers are invited to cross the intertextual bridge between Nin’s text and the referenced musical context in order to enter The Cities of the Interior

Deep Brain Stimulation to Increase Generalized Arousal in Intact Mice and a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are dynamic membrane proteins that bind extracellular molecules to transduce biological signals. Although GPCRs represent the largest class of targets for therapeutic agents, ligand-binding sites have been precisely defined for only a small percentage of the receptors in the human genome. A general cellbased photocrosslinking approach was developed to investigate the binding interfaces necessary for the formation of GPCR signaling complexes. Amber codon suppression was extended to facilitate the incorporation of photoactivatable unnatural amino acids, pbenzoyl- L-phenylalanine and p-azido-L-phenylalanine, into engineered GPCRs expressed in mammalian cells in culture. Proof-of-concept studies were carried out in chemokine receptors C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5), which are known HIV-1 co-receptors required for HIV-1 cellular entry in CD4+ cells. A cyclic peptide CXCR4-specific inhibitor, T140, photocrosslinked primarily to a specific site on CXCR4 and the result was reconciled with existing structural biology data. A small molecule drug, maraviroc, photocrosslinked to multiple sites on CCR5 and the results were extended to develop a computer homology model of the CCR5-maraviroc complex. In summary, the application of a novel targeted cellbased photocrosslinking strategy provided detailed information about receptor-ligand complexes in two chemokine receptors. The general approach described here using genetically-encoded photoreactive molecules to study the binding interactions between GPCRs and ligands represents a significant advance in the application of photocrosslinking reagents to address problems in biochemistry and pharmacology

Tampa Bay Extension Agents’ Views of Urban Extension: Philosophy and Program Strategies

The purpose of this article was to explore the concept of urban Extension as perceived by Extension agents within the Tampa Bay area, one of Florida’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. From a theoretical perspective, it is critical to understand Extension agents’ beliefs about urban Extension because behaviors are directly related to attitudes (Ajzen, 2012). In 2016, a qualitative investigation was undertaken to explore the perspectives of 23 agents working within the Tampa Bay area. Results showed the majority of agents believed that context and client needs are unique for urban Extension, and that to a lesser extent, unique agent expertise is required. Further, these beliefs impacted how agents reported their approach to programming, with an emphasis on providing convenience and seeking partnerships. Difficulties were identified related to identifying the role of Extension in a resource-rich environment of service providers, which contributed to the existence of a perceived disconnect between urban audiences and Extension. Opportunities exist for Extension leadership to provide strategic organizational support that will enhance agents’ abilities to succeed in the metropolitan environment

Networked Families

Presents survey results on the use of the Internet and ownership of cell phones and computers, by household type. Examines how technology ownership affects the frequency, form, purpose, and quality of communications among family members and friends

Socioeconomic-Demographic Characteristics and Supporting Resources of the Chinese Elderly

Inspired by the perspectives of Modernization Theory and Social Stratification Theory of Aging, this paper examines the social resources and the demographic characteristics of the Chinese elderly. The paper addresses the following questions: What social resources are available to the Chinese elderly after retirement? Are the demographic characteristics of the elderly associated with their social resources? Utilizing the 2006 China national survey data, this study demonstrates the current characteristics of the Chinese elderly aged 60 years and above and presents the availability of social resources for the elderly in five categories: external financial resources, medical resources, physical resources, family resources, and self-resources. The study explores the associations between demographic characteristics and the social resources in each area. To complete the above analysis and to test the above theories, methods of statistics of cross-tabulations, Chi-square significance test, and indicators of strengths shown by Cramer’s V and tau-c are applied. The results disclose a comprehensive picture of diverse social resources of the older people in contemporary Chinese society. The findings show that medical and self-resources are most closely associated with the demographic characteristics, followed by family resources, external financial resources, and lastly, physical resources. Policy implications are also addressed

Redefining Transformative Change in Higher Education

Introductio

School Choice Policies and Racial Segregation: Where White Parents’ Good Intentions, Anxiety, and Privilege Collide

A growing body of school choice research has shown that when school choice policies are not designed to racially or socioeconomically integrate schools, that is, are “colorblind” policies, they generally manage to do the opposite, leading to greater stratification and separation of students by race and ethnicity across schools and programs. Since white, advantaged parents are more likely to get their children into the highest-status schools regardless of the school choice policy in place, we believed that more research was needed on how those parents interact with school choice policies and whether they would support changes to those policies that would lead to less segregation across schools. Our interviews with advantaged New York City parents suggest that many are bothered by the segregation but that they are concerned that their children gain access to the “best” (mostly white) schools. The contradictions inherent in their choices are reconcilable, we argue, by offering more diverse and undivided school options