Modernist Medievalisms and Medieval Modernisms: Auꝺr the Deep-Minded and Derdriu in Norse, Old Irish, Modernist Irish and Post-1945 Scottish Literature

This dissertation explores in a comparative manner the connection between female identity and war in medieval and twentieth-century literature, arguing that texts written before the early modern period acknowledge a relationship between women and conflict that modernist and post-1945 writing mitigates or expunges. Given the binary opposition of women to war that underlies traditional gender roles, my work therefore challenges common perceptions of the twentieth-century as an essentially progressive period in relation to the political and social status of women while addressing widely held notions of the medieval as backwards and irrelevant in order to demonstrate the lack of connotative opposition between the terms medieval and modern. More specifically, my dissertation considers two particular figures as both a medieval and a twentieth-century text respectively conceive of them. The Old Icelandic Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements) identifies Auꝺr in djúpúꝺga ( Aud the deep-minded ) as the only woman among its most prominent settlers and, in keeping with this stature, provides a correspondingly lengthy account of her settlement in Iceland; Scottish writer Naomi Mitchison\u27s 1955 novel, The Land the Ravens Found, provides an expanded retelling of Auꝺr\u27s establishment in Iceland. Derdriu (Deirdre) is the female protagonist of Longes mac nUislenn ( The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu ) from the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology. Numerous poets, fiction writers and playwrights have since retold this narrative, including William Butler Yeats whose 1907 play, Deirdre, I have chosen to explore. Through an analysis combining feminist, new historicist, philological and legal approaches to literature, my dissertation demonstrates that Landnámabók and Longes mac nUislenn implicate Auꝺr in djúpúꝺga and Derdriu in war while Naomi Mitchison\u27s The Land the Ravens Found and William Butler Yeats\u27 Deirdre conventionalize these figures\u27 association with conflict by diminishing their agency as aggressors and identifying them with domesticity

The effects of systematic and explicit morphologic instruction of prefixes on vocabulary acquisition and comprehension

This study investigated the effects of a systematic and explicit morphological intervention of prefixes on the vocabulary and comprehension performance of fifteen fourth grade students in an urban primary school in the Midwestern United States. The intervention focused on systematic and explicit instruction, practice, and review of the 20 most commonly used prefixes in the English language (Stahl, 1999). A variety informal vocabulary and comprehension assessments were administered and used to analyze the effects of the intervention. Although the data demonstrated mixed results, the morphologic intervention greatly improved students understanding of the 20 most common prefixes and showed promising students growth in both vocabulary and comprehension

Species Diversity and Relative Abundance of Reptiles and Amphibians at Glacier Creek Preserve

Glacier Creek Preserve, located in Bennington, Nebraska, is dedicated to restoring land to native prairie. Restoration at Glacier Creek Preserve began in 1970. Over the years, the preserve has acquired more land, as well as acquiring more habitat diversity. This research is the first to look at the community dynamics of herpetofauna in the preserve. The sampling areas were determined by choosing seven random sites to represent the following habitats, (1) prairie, (2) non-prairie, (3) prairie burned in 2014, and (4) prairie burned in 2016. Data sampling occurred from April 2016 to October 2016 and from February 2017 to March 2017. Preliminary statistics showed that there were no statistically significant differences of species diversity between the compared sites (i.e., prairie versus non-prairie and burned prairie versus unburned prairie). The low sample numbers are a possible explanation as to why there were no significant differences between habitat types and treatments. It is recommended that there be future studies with long-term sampling periods to detect changes in species diversity and relative abundance at these sites within Glacier Creek Preserve

Big brother is watching - using digital disease surveillance tools for near real-time forecasting

Abstract for the International Journal of Infectious Diseases 79 (S1) (2019).https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(18)34659-9/abstractPublished versio

Evidence and knowledge use in a meta-policy: results from an Italian case study

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Acute pulmonary embolism in a child with ANCA-negative Idiopathic Pulmonary Capillaritis

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is an uncommon and often fatal condition in children that is characterized by distinct histopathological etiologies. Herein, we discuss the case of an 11-year-old girl who presented with acute worsening of hypoxia and left-sided chest pain. The patient had lung biopsy-proven idiopathic pulmonary capillaritis and was being treated with prednisolone every alternate day, azathioprine, and hydroxychloroquine. A contrast-computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest showed an acute left lower-lobe pulmonary embolism. Negative results were obtained on a test for thrombophilia. In children, pulmonary embolism with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-negative idiopathic pulmonary capillaritis is a rare clinical condition. The exact cause of thrombus formation in this case is unknown; however, obesity, immobility, and chronic systemic corticosteroid therapy probably played a role.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Literacy skills of Australian Indigenous school children with and without otitis media and hearing loss

This study examined the relationship between reading, spelling, and the presence of otitis media (OM) and co-occurring hearing loss (HL) in metropolitan Indigenous Australian children, and compared their reading and spelling outcomes with those of their non-Indigenous peers. OM and HL may hinder language development and phonological awareness skills, but there is little empirical evidence to link OM/HL and literacy in this population. Eighty-six Indigenous and non-Indigenous children attending pre-primary, year one and year two at primary schools in the Perth metropolitan area participated in the study. The ear health of the participants was screened by Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre EarBus in 2011/2012. Participants’ reading and spelling skills were tested with culturally modifi ed sub-tests of the Queensland University Inventory of Literacy. Of the 46 Indigenous children, 18 presented with at least one episode of OM and one episode of HL. Results indicated that Indigenous participants had significantly poorer non-word and real word reading and spelling skills than their non-Indigenous peers. There was no significant difference between the groups of Indigenous participants with OM and HL and those with normal ear health on either measure. This research provides evidence to suggest that Indigenous children have ongoing literacy development difficulties and discusses the possibility of OM as one of many impacting factors

Risk perception of air pollution: A systematic review focused on particulate matter exposure

The adverse health effects of exposure to air pollutants, notably to particulate matter (PM), are well-known, as well as the association with measured or estimated concentration levels. The role of perception can be relevant in exploring effects and pollution control actions. The purpose of this study was to explore studies that analyse people’s perception, together with the measurement of air pollution, in order to elucidate the relationship between them. We conducted a systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In March 2020, PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases were explored in an attempt to search for studies published from 2000 to 2020. The review included 38 studies, most of which were conducted in China (n = 13) and the United States (n = 11) and published over the last four years (n = 26). Three studies were multicenter investigations, while five articles were based on a national-level survey. The air quality (AQ) was assessed by monitoring stations (n = 24) or dispersion models (n = 7). Many studies were population questionnaire-based, air monitoring and time-series studies, and web-based investigations. A direct association between exposure and perception emerged in 20 studies. This systematic review has shown that most of the studies establish a relationship between risk perception measurement. A broad spectrum of concepts and notions related to perception also emerged, which is undoubtedly an indicator of the wealth of available knowledge and is promising for future research

Disrupting Norms to Increase Diversity of Teacher Candidates: Restraining Forces for Junior Faculty

Research in teacher preparation programs in Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) suggests that diverse and non-traditional students face barriers and challenges within teacher preparation programs (Widiputers et al., 2017). Diverse students include non-traditional students, first-generation students, students who have work responsibilities, who may have family or other care-giving responsibilities, students with disabilities, students living in poverty, and may also include culturally and linguistically diverse students. Issues such as unpaid practicum hours (similar to an internship), conflicting course and work schedules, attendance policies, due dates/late work policies, course expectations that value verbal participation, office hours not available when students are available, and how often courses are offered (e.g., yearly vs every semester) negatively impact diverse student populations. Many of these decisions are made at the preference of administration and tenured and established faculty while others are left-over from a time when students did not have to balance the work and family requirements many students face today. As we attempt to increase representation of students in teacher prep programs, the policies and practices to meet their unique situations have not been equitably incorporated into the daily practices in higher education. This continues to maintain of the status quo rather than increasing the diversity of teachers in the workforce as the diversity of teacher candidates has not increased to represent the diversifying population despite efforts (United States Department of Education, 2016). Many junior faculty may engage or attempt to engage in disrupting the status quo to create and implement policies that respond to students' needs that result in increased support for students from backgrounds that are disproportionately impacted by traditional practices. Junior faculty can serve as change agents if IHE can recognize the tremendous time and effort that goes into making sustainable change within the college and surrounding educational systems. Recognizing the barriers to junior faculty and providing support to do this challenging work and remain on target for promotion and tenure is critical. Tenure protections ensure faculty can be leaders in sustained change and establishes them as leaders within IHE and in their professional fields and disciplines. Establishing support systems, especially from administration, within the university and community can support junior faculty and accelerate the timeline or target systems open and more responsive to change