Embracing a Productive Rhetorical Pragmatism: Teaching Writing as Democratic Deliberation

Our current points of stasis in American politics make clear: we are facing a deep crisis of imagination in public life. Our (in)ability to imagine the interests and experiences of others limits not only how we understand domestic and global citizenship but also how we enact that citizenship with others. In talk and in practice, the inability to take seriously the interests and experiences of others leads Americans – in English Language Arts classrooms and in public life – to cast those who disagree as deeply flawed in character – unpatriotic, ungodly, lazy, irresponsible, or criminal. In this article, I contend that many of the logics underlying this version of public life are perpetuated – among other places – in our writing pedagogy and praxis. Where our writing pedagogy highlights writing as a critical/interpretive activity over writing as a practical/productive activity, we enact a skeptical view of rhetoric and writing – one that is also skeptical of difference, conflict, and uncertainty. Moving beyond critique of prevailing disciplinary practices, this article casts a framework for re-inventing writing pedagogy first by considering what is at stake with skeptical views of rhetoric that disrupt public life and limit the public work of writing and second, by describing and offering examples of four practices for instantiating a productive writing pedagogy that might support dialogue, deliberation, and collaborative action across difference

Quiet Please: The effects of sleep quality and quantity as a result of a QI project to minimize nighttime sleep interruptions

Quiet Please! The effects on sleep quality and quantity as a result of QI project to minimize nighttime interruptions INTRODUCTION: Sleep is a significant component of health that is often overlooked in hospitalized patients. We introduced a QI project in 2016 to minimize nighttime interruptions in clinically stable patients by performing “passive vitals” which eliminated temperature and blood pressure readings at 4am and allowed patients to sleep longer overnight. Despite this intervention, the effects on sleep quality and quantity are unknown. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to compare total sleep time, sleep interruptions, and sleep quality between patients eligible for passive vitals and those ineligible through survey data collected from July to November 2019. METHODS: Participants eligible and non-eligible for passive vitals self-reported the number of hours of sleep, number of nighttime awakenings, awakenings attributed to hospital staff, and elaborated on reasons for poor sleep. The survey also allowed previously hospitalized patients to compare the current stay to those in the past by assessing their quality of sleep and how tired they felt upon waking using a 5-point scale. Data was analyzed using Chi-square test. RESULTS: Forty-eight eligible and fifty-six non-eligible patients were surveyed. The total hours of sleep between groups was not statistically significant (p=0.11). There were no significant differences in the number of total sleep interruptions (p=0.95) and those by hospital staff (p =0.55). For patients who were previously hospitalized, there were no significant differences in sleep quality rating (p=0.10) and how tired they felt the next morning (p=0.78). Both groups cited similar reasons for poor sleep including care-related and illness symptom-related disruptions most commonly, followed by environmental-related complaints. DISCUSSION: The total hours of sleep, number of sleep interruptions, sleep quality, and rating of tiredness did not differ among the eligible and non-eligible groups. Many factors contributed to poor overall sleep which cannot be mitigated by passive vital signs in eligible patients at 4am. Other factors will need to be addressed

Missouri Child Support Guidelines

The Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984\u27 and the Family Support Act of 1988, are designed to improve the adequacy, consistency, and collectability of child support awards. These two laws require states to develop specific guidelines providing a numerical formula for the determination of child support award amounts\u27 and require that the guidelines be presumptive. Following the federal mandate, the Missouri Supreme Court enacted child support guidelines which have been mandatory since April 1, 1990

The age of austerity: the impact of welfare reform on people in the North East of England

According to Mark Carney the Governor of the Bank of England the United Kingdom economic outlook is getting brighter: "For the first time in a long time you don’t have to be an optimist to see the glass is half full. The recovery has finally taken hold (Carney 2013).” Unemployment is falling; as have interest rates and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth has been upgraded from 2.5 per cent to 2.8 per cent for the year 2014. Despite these “green shoots of recovery”, the impact of government austerity measures and social policy decisions means the outlook for millions of citizens remains blea

A Constructive Approach to Infrastructure: Infrastructure \u27Breakdowns\u27 and the Cultivation of Rhetorical Wisdom

It is not typically the bent of infrastructure to be continually responsive in a way that is expansive and inclusive; instead, for newcomers or those with alternative histories, aims, vision, values, and perspectives, the inertia of infrastructure is more likely to be experienced as infrastructural breakdowns. We ask: What might wisdom look like in these “structured” encounters? That is, what is the intellectual work of rhetoric on those thin ledges where institutional chronos shapes and limits possibilities for knowledge work and working relationships among people who likely would not have otherwise met? In response, we advance a framework for a constructive approach to infrastructure—one that prizes deliberation over rationalization and actively attends to the warrants underlying calls for public engagement. We first consider the relationship between infrastructure, rhetorical wisdom, and the imagination of possibilities, then lay out a framework for cultivating rhetorical wisdom in response to infrastructure breakdowns

The Acute Effect of Magnesium Supplementation on Endothelial Function: A randomized cross-over pilot study

: Magnesium (Mg) deficiency might be a catalyst in the process of endothelial dysfunction, an early event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the acute effect of an oral Mg supplement as compared to control on endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Nineteen participants (39 years, body mass index (BMI) 22.9 kg/m2 ) completed this randomized cross-over study. Blood pressure (BP) and FMD were measured and blood samples were taken before participants drank 200 mL water, with or without an over the counter Mg supplement (450 mg and 300 mg for men and women). Measurements were repeated at 60 and 120 min. There was a statistically significant two-way interaction between treatment and time on serum Mg (p = 0.037). A difference of −0.085 mm in FMD was observed 60-min post drink in the control group, as compared to baseline FMD, and no difference was observed in the supplement group as compared to baseline. Despite the non-significant interaction between treatment and time on FMD, once adjusted for baseline, the difference seen in the control group and the lack of change in the supplement group at 60 min post-drink suggests that Mg might attenuate the reduction in FMD post-prandiall

The Role of Choice in Weight Loss Strategies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Effective strategies to achieve weight loss and long-term weight loss maintenance have proved to be elusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore whether the choice of weight loss strategy is associated with greater weight loss. An electronic search was conducted using the MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, or MEDLARS Online), EMBASE (Excerpta Medica database), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and PsycINFO (Database of Abstracts of Literature in the Field of Psychology, produced by the American Psychological Association and distributed on the association’s APA PsycNET) databases for clinical trials and randomized controlled trials, investigating the role of choice in weight loss strategies. A total of nine studies were identified as meeting the pre-specified criteria. All of the studies included a ‘Choice’ or preference arm and a ‘No Choice’ arm or group who did not receive their preference as a control. A total of 1804 subjects were enrolled in these studies, with weight loss observed in both experimental and control groups of all studies, irrespective of dietary intervention, study duration, or follow-up length. Twelve interventions in nine trials were used for the meta-analysis, with results indicating a greater weight loss in the control groups, 1.09 ± 0.28 (overall mean difference in weight loss between groups ± standard error; p = 0). There was no significant effect of duration or attrition. In this meta-analysis, the choice of weight loss strategy did not confer a weight loss benefit. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

The Implementation of the Coaching Approach to Professional Experience (CAPE) Model in Indonesian initial Teacher education: The Participants’ Perspectives

Professional experience is considered essential to enable pre-service teachers (PSTs) to implement what they have learned during their initial teacher education (ITE) program to school environments. There are multiple models of professional experience that address the issue of integrating theory and practice. This article reports on findings of the implementation of the Coaching Approach to Professional Experience (CAPE) model in an ITE program in Jambi University, Indonesia. Using qualitative focus groups, this research focuses on the perceptions of PSTs, a school principal, mentor teachers, teacher educators (lecturer) and a coach regarding the implementation of the CAPE model. The research findings indicate that the role of the coach helped PSTs as they were able to individualise and focus on developing teaching skills. However, several weaknesses were also identified. In adapting the model to Jambi University’s context, the structure of the CAPE model was too general. The coach working with PSTs was not entirely free from her/his teaching duties, thus limiting the PST-coach interactions. This article discusses these findings and concludes by offering recommendations for future adaptions of the CAPE model in Indonesia and beyond

Long-term weight maintenance and cardiovascular risk factors are not different following weight loss on carbohydrate-restricted diets high in either monounsaturated fat or protein in obese hyperinsulinaemic men and women

The aim of this study was to determine after 52 weeks whether advice to follow a lower carbohydrate diet, either high in monounsaturated fat or low fat, high in protein had differential effects in a free-living community setting. Following weight loss on either a high monounsaturated fat, standard protein (HMF; 50 % fat, 20 % protein (67 g/d), 30 % carbohydrate) or a high protein, moderate fat (HP) (40 % protein (136 g/d), 30 % fat, 30 % carbohydrate) energy-restricted diet (6000 kJ/d) subjects were asked to maintain the same dietary pattern without intensive dietary counselling for the following 36 weeks. Overall weight loss was 6·2 (sd 7·3) kg (P < 0·01 for time with no diet effect, 7·6 (sd 8·1) kg, HMF v. 4·8 (sd 6·6) kg, HP). In a multivariate regression model predictors of weight loss at the end of the study were sex, age and reported percentage energy from protein (R2 0·22, P < 0·05 for the whole model). Fasting plasma insulin decreased (P < 0·01, with no difference between diets), 13·9 (sd 4·6) to 10·2 (sd 5·2) mIU/l, but fasting plasma glucose was not reduced. Neither total cholesterol nor LDL-cholesterol were different but HDL was higher, 1·19 (sd 0·26) v. 1·04 (sd 0·29) (P < 0·001 for time, no diet effect), while TAG was lower, 1·87 (sd 1·23) v. 2·22 (sd 1·15) mmol/l (P < 0·05 for time, no diet effect). C-reactive protein decreased (3·97 (sd 2·84) to 2·43 (sd 2·29) mg/l, P < 0·01). Food records showed that compliance to the prescribed dietary patterns was poor. After 1 year there remained a clinically significant weight loss and improvement in cardiovascular risk factors with no adverse effects of a high monounsaturated fat diet.Jennifer B. Keogh, Natalie D. Luscombe-Marsh, Manny Noakes, Gary A. Wittert and Peter M. Clifto

Non-structural carbohydrate profiles and ratios between soluble sugars and starch serve as indicators of productivity for a bioenergy grass

There is a pressing need to find a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels that will not compromise food security or require extensive use of agrochemicals. Miscanthus is a perennial energy grass predominantly used for combustion but with the current advancement of ligno-cellulosic fermentation technologies there is an interest in using Miscanthus for bioethanol production. Currently, the only commercially grown genotype of Miscanthus is M.× giganteus; a high yielding, interspecific hybrid of M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis. As M.× giganteus is a sterile triploid, it cannot be used as a parent so Miscanthus breeding effort is focused on producing new interspecific varieties that out-perform M.× giganteus. The carbohydrate profiles of four genotypes of Miscanthus, including M. sacchariflorus (Sac-5), M.× giganteus (Gig-311), M. sinensis (Sin-11) and M. sinensis (Goliath), were characterized at replicated field sites in Aberystwyth, West Wales and Harpenden, south-east England. Our hypothesis was that a distinctive carbohydrate profile underlies enhanced biomass accumulation. Biomass accumulation is greatest when day-lengths and solar intensity are highest; so, observations were made in the middle of UK summer (July) for 2 years. Gig-311 had a greater abundance of fructose in its stems at both sites, and both Gig-311 and Sac-5 had low abundance of starch. At both sites, the highest yielding genotype was Gig-311 and Sac-5 was also high yielding at Harpenden, but performed comparatively poorly at Aberystwyth. At both sites Gig-311 had a distinctly high concentration of fructose, low starch and a high ratio of soluble sugars: starch, and at Harpenden, Sac-5 was similar. We conclude that the abundance of starch and fructose and a greater partitioning of soluble sugars, relative to starch, are candidate biomarkers of productivity in Miscanthus