Reconsidering the Obstetrical Dilemma: Correlations Between Head and Pelvic Size

The Obstetrical Dilemma (OD) theory has become canon in biological anthropology. The OD posits that i] dystocia results from bipedal mothers and encephalized infants, ii] contrasting selection for bipedality and obstetrics hinders locomotive efficiency, and iii] the contradicting requirement of the fetus being small enough to pass through the birth canal yet being cognitively advanced enough to cling to its mother after birth. Females, theoretically, exhibit deficient gait efficiency for the sake of successful childbirth. An obstetric advantage theory has been posited where taller individuals with a larger head size have larger pelves. If the distance between the acetabulae increases as an obstetric advantage, it would be necessary for there to be a concomitant increase in femoral neck length to maintain equivalent locomotor efficiency. This study tests that individuals with larger cranial circumferences have wider pelves and, in turn, longer femoral neck lengths. The cranium, pelvis, and femur of a modern sample of 100 individuals were assessed (49 females and 51 males) at the Sam Houston State University’s Applied Anatomical Research Center. Cranial circumference encompassed the widest points of the cranium. Pelvic and femoral metrics include anterioposterior diameters of the pelvic inlet, midplane, and outlet as well as the transverse diameter of the pelvic inlet, bi-iliac diameter, bi-acetabular diameter, femoral head circumference, and femoral length. Three variables were computed: i] pelvic inlet shape, ii] lateral iliac flare, and iii] skeletal effective mechanical advantage. Results show statistically significant correlations between cranial circumference and the anterioposterior diameters of the pelvic inlet and midplane for females as well as bi-iliac diameter and lateral iliac flare for males. No significant difference was found in pelvic inlet shape for either sex in this sample; nor was there a significant correlation in either sex between femoral length, a correlate of stature, and pelvic inlet shape. There was no significant association among cranial circumference and pelvic inlet shape nor femoral neck length. The proposed hypothesis fails to be supported. Results also show no convincing evidence of significant deficient locomotive ability for females, as theorized by the OD

(Re)Imagining TESOL through Critical Hip Hop Literacy

In this study, I intend to contribute to the expansion of American-centric Hip Hop pedagogy discourse by taking up the view of Hip Hop as a global youth culture - a view that is rapidly gaining ground in Hip Hop scholarship (Ibrahim, 2009; Pennycook, 2007; Roth-Gordon, 2009).  To this end, I use an applied ethnographic approach to understand where the combined insights of scholarship and theory on critical literacy and global Hip Hop might lead us in a real high school ESL classroom setting.  The principles of the lesson I co-facilitated (with the main ESL teacher) are grounded in what I am calling Critical Hip Hop Literacy (CHHL).  CHHL draws attention to social issues and power relations as they are expressed through Hip Hop literacies.  Data were collected through interviews and transcribed data from recorded video footage of the CHHL lesson.  Throughout this paper I capture the ways that student identities are engaged within and around the task of interacting with Hip Hop literacies and interpreting text.  The findings reveal the role that the underlying sociocultural concerns and practices of the Global Hip Hop Nation (Alim, 2009) play in mediating students’ articulations of (dis)affiliation along ethnic, national and linguistic social axes

An Almost Ideal Demand System Analysis of Orange and Grapefruit Beverage Consumption in the United States

This thesis estimates a demand system for natural fruit juices and flavored citrus drinks. Consumption and price data from the Florida Department of Citrus is used to estimate a Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System for natural fruit and fruit juice drink elasticities. The monthly data covers the period from October 2004 to June 2014. Elasticities show orange juice does not have a substitute among the other beverages. 100% orange juice and grapefruit juice are compliments, although other studies have found them to be substitutes

Finding Our Rhythm: Contextualizing Second Language Development Through Music-Based Pedagogy

Each person learning a second or foreign language faces a unique developmental path. Individual learning trajectories have been obscured, however, by the search for “best practices” in second language educational research and praxis (Edge & Richards, 1998). This one-size-fits-all view has been further reinforced by a predominant cognitivist tradition, which orients to cognition mainly through mechanical and input and output processing, or a “mind as machine” metaphor (Boden, 2006). My dissertation aims to offer an alternative to this tradition. In my dissertation, I introduce a music-based intervention designed to develop students’ pronunciation (speech rhythm) in a U.S. college-level English as a second language classroom. The intervention draws heavily on the rhythmic properties of rap and other forms of popular music. Rather than contending solely with the binary question of whether the intervention works (or results in “best practices”), I use mixed methods to examine individual student outcomes through the lens of three major complex subsystems of second language development (Larsen-Freeman, 2011): ideological, interactional and speech production. I aim to demonstrate that students’ rich in-class interactional practices and ideological understandings of the (African American) language associated with the music in the intervention (and with my own Blackness as a teacher-researcher) reveal as much about their second language development as does an assessment of their speech rhythm production. Building on the premise that language learning is an endeavor that is not only cognitive in nature, but also social, my dissertation advocates for a much fuller contextualization of second language development and classroom practices

High Reliability Organizational Suggestions to Reduce the Risk of Hospital-Associated Infections

Over 1.7 million hospital-associated infections (HAIs), resulting in 99,000 deaths, occur each year in the United States. HAIs are defined as infections that occur within 48 hours of hospital admission without evidence of the infection being present or incubating at the time of admission. HAIs are a major concern to the medical community due to the potential loss of life and high costs. Healthcare providers should be accountable for reducing the rates of HAIs and society needs to hold them accountable for the safe implementation and outcomes of the services they provide. A high-reliability organization (HRO) is commonly described as an organization that performs high-risk work but without rare, catastrophic events. Any industry relying heavily on human performance, such as healthcare, can benefit from emulating an HRO. Embedding high-reliability principles in a healthcare organization is a proven way to increase quality and meet the demands of higher quality expectations. The ways HROs generate and maintain high levels of safety cannot be directly applied to today’s hospitals; however, a commitment to achieving zero patient harm events and the deployment of effective process improvement tools can enable hospitals to reach a safety standard comparable to HROs. Steps to becoming an HRO are not clearly defined; characteristics are. Correlating high-reliability constructs with safety culture surveys provides an opportunity for survey developers and hospital accrediting bodies to offer better tools and guidelines pursuant to a hospital becoming an HRO. Positively responding to societal needs for safe implementation and improved hospital-associated infections outcomes will increase hospital accountability for patient safety

France confronts the crisis: economic symptoms exacerbate social inequality

International audienceThe economic crisis at the end of the 2000s was costly for the French economy. The number of employees in the non-agricultural market sector fell by 187,000 between the start of 2008 and the end of 2009. Never in the past forty years had job losses been so high. Overall, 412,000 jobs were eliminated in 2009. But this crisis does not boil down solely to job losses, nor even to a collapse in the growth rate (economic activity slumped by 2.2 per cent in 2009 alone): it is also rooted in economic and social inequality. And the responses provided by France’s political authorities, in turn, had a distinct effect on the scale of this inequality. All of which conspires to permanently weaken the bedrock of the welfare state, and more generally the French model. We should like to demonstrate this by looking, first, at how this model evolved before the crisis. Next we shall examine the way in which France reacted to the crisis, in particular as concerns its labour market. Lastly we shall attempt to learn lessons from, and consider the implications of, the economic crisis three years after it erupted

Postface : quelle professionnalisation pour l’aide à domicile ?

Il est heureux que la Revue Formation Emploi, revue française de sciences sociales, se saisisse de la question de la professionnalisation des services d’aide à la personne en lui consacrant un dossier. La professionnalisation de l’« aide à domicile », en tant que catégorie sociale et profession instituée, est en effet traversée par un enjeu majeur.Elle apparaît comme l’un des principaux paramètres de résolution de l’équation (ou plutôt de l’inéquation actuelle) entre la capacité (i) de créer..

Preschool Teachers’ and Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Factors That Affect Kindergarten Readiness

When children enter kindergarten, they are expected to demonstrate an interrelated set of skills and competencies including pre-academic skills, cognitive abilities, socioemotional well-being, and physical health. The problem that was the focus of this study was that many students who complete prekindergarten are not ready for kindergarten. Guided by Garcia’s kindergarten readiness framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to increase understanding of the perspectives of parents and prekindergarten teachers regarding their role in developing kindergarten readiness, and the factors they believe support or hinder their efforts. Eight prekindergarten teachers and 8 parents of prekindergarten students from one school district completed semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive, open coding to identify themes. Findings showed teachers and parents each play an important role in developing kindergarten readiness, but that their actions differ based on experiences and point of view. Support participants suggested for these efforts included explicit teaching of basic skills, reliance on established curriculum, and collaborative efforts between parents and teachers. Factors that hindered their efforts were lack of time, gaps in partnership, unrealistic achievement expectations, and favoritism from school administrators. Information gained from this study may aid school leaders as they make adjustments to how prekindergarten teachers and parents are supported in their efforts to develop kindergarten readiness. This study highlights the inherent complexity of building kindergarten readiness and suggests the need for a comprehensive approach that engages both professionals and parents, which may lead to positive social change for young children over time

Mentoring: The College Freshman Female Perspective

Grant-Vallone, Reid, Umali, and Pohlert (2004) outlined how students who regularly take advantage of student support services, mentoring, or academic support programing opportunities are more likely to accomplish their academic goals. Postsecondary institutions are responsible for providing innovative educational experiences to students. Proactively identifying key delimiting factors that inhibit student achievement can increase the persistence and retention rates of critical populations. Mentoring relationships are especially crucial to the academic achievement and successful matriculation of first-year freshman students. Approximately one out of three freshmen does not successfully matriculate to the second year of the collegiate endeavor (U.S. News & World Report, 2014). Through same gendered mentoring relationships, female students can positively enhance their life and educational involvements (Carroll, 1997). The relationship between mentoring experiences of first-year female college students positively affects their academic achievement and selfefficacy as they relate to their matriculation throughout college