Altered Narratives: How Women Changed History in the Post-Civil War South

This project examines the rise and fall of various women’s organizations in the approximately half century following the American Civil War, focusing specifically on how these organizations strove to alter the historical narrative of the war and the Confederacy. By examining the broader trend of Ladies’ Memorial Associations and the resulting creation of the United Daughters of the Confederacy – a memorial group still active today – it becomes clear how and why the narrative of the Civil War differs so drastically between the north and the south. Through an examination of the origins of these women’s movements, as well as an analysis of the various activities they engaged in, this paper aims to explain the process by which these women were able to change the accepted historical narrative of this period. The source material for this project includes the authoritative texts on women and the Lost Cause, documentation of the various monuments and memorials erected to the memory of Confederate veterans, as well as various texts written by these organizations explaining their methods and purpose. The white southern women of the immediate post-war era are an interesting example of how the historical narrative of a region can become intentionally biased through an organized effort, as well as how women of this time period utilized the often patriarchal structure of their culture in order to make an impact on the next generation. Through their involvement in supposedly benevolent activities, such as memorialization, education, and preservation of “true” history, these women were able to almost completely rewrite the history of the Civil War, and indoctrinate entire generations of southern children into this belief system, leading to the perpetuation of dangerous misinformation into the modern era

Exploring The Effects Of State-Sanctioned Torture On Human Rights In America

Since 2002, detainees in Guantanamo Bay have been subject to egregious human rights abuses, but a lesser-known aspect of the torture they suffer is the use of extraordinary renditions, or the forced kidnapping of a person to another location to avoid a country’s laws regarding interrogation or torture. In Johnston County, North Carolina, the CIA used charter company Aero Contractors Ltd. to aid these renditions by flying planes out of the county airport with the intent to transport (render) detainees from foreign countries to CIA detention centers, such as Guantanamo Bay. Because of methods used on detainees such as beatings and stress positions, these rendition flights were torture in and of themselves and played a key role in the mental breaking of a detainee. Since North Carolina supported this program knowing it was illegal and morally wrong, we must ask ourselves what consequences this acceptance of torture could have on both NC and the United States.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1032/thumbnail.jp

Enhancing student engagement to positively impact mathematics anxiety, confidence and achievement for interdisciplinary science subjects

Contemporary science educators must equip their students with the knowledge and practical know-how to connect multiple disciplines like mathematics, computing and the natural sciences to gain a richer and deeper understanding of a scientific problem. However, many biology and earth science students are prejudiced against mathematics due to negative emotions like high mathematical anxiety and low mathematical confidence. Here, we present a theoretical framework that investigates linkages between student engagement, mathematical anxiety, mathematical confidence, student achievement and subject mastery. We implement this framework in a large, first-year interdisciplinary science subject and monitor its impact over several years from 2010 to 2015. The implementation of the framework coincided with an easing of anxiety and enhanced confidence, as well as higher student satisfaction, retention and achievement. The framework offers interdisciplinary science educators greater flexibility and confidence in their approach to designing and delivering subjects that rely on mathematical concepts and practices

Homegrown Terrorism and the British Experience: A Historical Analysis of the Rise of British Muslim Radicalization

The rise in terrorist acts carried out by individuals who have been raised and radicalized within the Western countries they are attacking has increasingly become a common topic for study and conversation over the past few decades. With revelations that numerous British individuals have now joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the issue has heightened the interest of the British population and government. This study utilizes theories of revolution and psychological theories of radicalization in order to analyze the rise in homegrown terrorism within the British context on three levels: the societal, the global, and the individual. This examination demonstrates that while multiple variables are involved, they are interacting and contingent, showing that isolation of a single aspect cannot lead to a full understanding of how and why this situation has arisen. A historical review shows that immigration and other externally originated forces helped create dysfunction in the British social system, which, combined with the influence of globalization, has allowed the process of radicalization to take root. The study concludes that this disequilibrium is a result of misalignment of the values of the population and the socioeconomic structure of the society, which, if not corrected, will potentially allow situations such as these to develop

Leucaena establishment on frontage country in the Queensland Gulf

Introduction and successful establishment of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) has the potential to improve annual liveweight gains (LWGs) of grazing cattle in northern Australia, sustainably increase gross margins and mitigate methane production (Harrison et al. 2015). However, leucaena adoption in northern Queensland to date has been low (<2,500 ha established) compared with other regions of the State

The identification of Staphylococcus aureus factors required for pathogenicity and growth in human blood

Staphylococcus aureus is a human commensal but also has devastating potential as an opportunist pathogen. S. aureus bacteraemia is often associated with an adverse outcome. To identify potential targets for novel control approaches we have identified S. aureus components that are required for growth on human blood. An ordered transposon mutant library was screened, identifying 9 genes involved specifically in haemolysis or growth on human blood agar compared to the parental strain. Three genes (purA, purB and pabA) were subsequently found to be required for pathogenesis in the zebrafish embryo infection model. The pabA growth defect was specific to the red blood cell component of human blood, showing no growth difference compared to the parental strain on human serum, human plasma, sheep or horse blood. PabA is required in the tetrahydrofolate (THF) biosynthesis pathway. The pabA growth defect was found to be due to a combination of loss of THF-dependent dTMP production by the enzyme ThyA and an increased demand for pyrimidines in human blood. Our work highlights pabA and the pyrimidine salvage pathway as potential targets for novel therapeutics and suggests a previously undefined role for a human blood factor in the activity of sulphonamide antibiotics