7th Graders and Their Pasts: A New Brunswick Case Study

This research presents findings from a case study that involved an entire class of Anglophone 7th grade students in New Brunswick. It expands upon the scholarly work of Canadians and Their Pasts as well as current research surrounding historical consciousness in Canada. The data provides a rare micro glimpse into the ways in which Anglophone youth in New Brunswick are currently engaging with the past. It also reveals some of the collective memory narratives students employ when remembering New Brunswick’s (as well as Canada’s) past. The findings present several points for consideration by both educators and public historians in this province.Cette recherche présente les résultats d’une étude de cas à laquelle a participé une classe entière d’élèves anglophones de la 7e année du Nouveau-Brunswick. Elle se fonde sur les travaux universitaires de Canadians and Their Pasts ainsi que sur la recherche actuelle portant sur la conscience historique au Canada. Les données donnent un petit aperçu rare sur les façons dont les jeunes anglophones du Nouveau-Brunswick s’intéressent actuellement à l’histoire. De plus, la recherche révèle certains récits de la mémoire collective qu’évoquent les élèves lorsqu’ils se souviennent de l’histoire du Nouveau- Brunswick (ainsi que celle du Canada). Les résultats montrent plusieurs points à considérer par les enseignants et les historiens publics de la province

A High School Dropout Prevention Program for At-Risk Students

Dropping out of high school is an issue that has faced the educational system for years. At a high school in Mississippi, the dropout prevention plan implemented was not beneficial to all at-risk students because it mainly focused on academic issues. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand why students dropped out of high school and to gather strategies for a dropout prevention plan. The conceptual framework was based on 5 factors: general deviancy, deviant affiliation, family socialization, structural strain, and academic quandary. The research questions inquired about experiences that caused students to drop out and suggested strategies for a new dropout prevention plan. Data collection methods included interviews with 18 teachers, 3 counselors, and 20 former students who dropped out between 2007 and 2012. Interpretive data analysis was used to analyze data. Open and axial coding was used to develop themes about why students dropped out of high school. Those themes included behavioral issues, peer and work-related influences, family structure, school environment, and academic problems. Data analyses indicated that tutoring, staff development, mentoring, counseling, parental involvement, teenage mother programs, and alternative options were useful in preventing students from dropping out. These findings were used to develop a high school dropout prevention plan to benefit at-risk students. The overall goal for this project was to decrease high school dropout rates. By implementing the high school dropout prevention plan, schools may enable more students to further their education and become productive citizens within their communities

"Providential Openings": The Women Weavers of Nineteenth-Century Queens County, New Brunswick

This case study demonstrates how women living in a rural region of New Brunswick depended upon handweaving as a means of supporting or supplementing the household income. The relationship of handwoven textiles to the lives of residents was deeply rooted in the economies of community and household. Upon combined analysis of archival material, census returns, and material evidence, it becomes clear that many more women were weaving for income than previous information would suggest; and contrary to any popular belief, high quality production was not exclusively a male preserve. Working within the context of household, the women weavers bartered their skills for goods or services, floating in and out of the community network as need required. Résumé La présente étude de cas décrit comment les femmes qui habitaient une région rurale du Nouveau-Brunswick dépendaient du tissage à bras comme moyen de rehausser le revenu du ménage. Le rôle des produits textiles tissés à la main dans la vie des habitants était lié profondément à la vie économique de la communauté et du ménage. Une analyse conjuguée des archives, des résultats de recensement et de la culture matérielle indique clairement que le nombre de femmes qui s'adonnaient au tissage comme source de revenu était nettement supérieur à ce que l'on a cru jusqu'à présent. Contrairement à l'opinion populaire, la production de haute qualité n 'était pas le domaine exclusif des hommes. À l'intérieur du contexte domestique, les tisseuses échangeaient leurs talents contre des biens et des services, faisant partie ou non du réseau communautaire selon les besoins

“I like to take everything and put it in my own words”: Historical Consciousness, Historical Thinking, and Learning with Community History Museums

This article presents ndings from a recent case study involving seventh-grade students (n = 25) and a group of community history museum adult volunteers (n = 5). Over 14 weeks, participants engaged in a series of scaffolding activities designed around a Material History Framework for Historical Thinking. The purpose of the inquiry was to explore pragmatic applications for historical thinking within a community history museum. Data collection included pre- and post-Canadians and Their Pasts surveys, written assignments, photovoice photography, in-depth interviews, and a nal class- room museum project. Conclusions are discussed within the context of Rüsen’s (1987, 1993, 2004) typology of historical consciousness. This article presents a “call to action” for community history museums in Canada. It points to ways in which students can be empowered to become active members of a museum’s community of inquiry

Refocusing Distinctive Capabilities: Strategic Shifts in Baker Library Services

This paper outlines how Baker Library Services, a department of Harvard Business School's Knowledge and Library Services, has re-focused its distinctive capabilities in order to become more integrated with research and course development and increase the value its human and material resources contribute to research, teaching, and learning. As part of a multi-pronged strategy, this work has developed new individual and organizational capabilities, including a: Research Support Continuum, Research Services Delivery Model, Project Management Office, and service to support the development of Collaborative Research and Course Development Environment. The work is positioned as a journey with reference to an earlier report on the creation of a Curriculum Services Group, update on current initiatives, and outline of future plans for continuing priorities to achieve the group's strategic shifts

Bookmobile Service in Indiana: Its History, Its Present, and Its Future

Traditionally, the bookmobile has played an important role in meeting the needs of the reading public and in providing information to a broad segment of society. But in the past few years, bookmobiles have fallen on hard times, and their demise has long been predicted. They have fallen victim to such things as the gas crisis, construction of branch libraries, and automation

Culture of urine specimens by use of chromID CPS Elite medium can expedite Escherichia coli identification and reduce hands-on time in the clinical laboratory

Urine is one of the most common specimen types submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory; the use of chromogenic agar is one method by which the laboratory might expedite culture results and reduce hands-on time and materials required for urine culture analysis. The objective of our study was to compare chromID CPS Elite (bioMérieux), a chromogenic medium, to conventional primary culture medium for evaluation of urine specimens. Remnant urine specimens (n = 200) were inoculated into conventional media and into chromID CPS Elite agar (chromID). The time to identification and consumables used were documented for both methods. Clinically significant pathogen(s) were recovered from 51 cultures using conventional media, with Escherichia coli being the most frequently recovered organism (n = 22). The rate of exact uropathogen agreement between conventional and chromogenic media was 82%, while overall categorical agreement was 83.5% The time interval between plating and final organism identification was decreased with chromID agar versus conventional media for E. coli (mean of 24.4 h versus 27.1 h, P < 0.001). Using chromID, clinically significant cultures required less hands-on time per culture (mean of 1 min and 2 s [1:02 min]) compared to conventional media (mean of 1:31 min). In addition, fewer consumables (2.4 versus 3.3 sticks and swabs) and rapid biochemical tests (1.0 versus 1.9) were necessary using chromID versus conventional media. Notably, antimicrobial susceptibility testing demonstrated good overall agreement (97.4%) between the chromID and conventional media for all antibiotics tested. chromID CPS Elite is accurate for uropathogen identification, reduces consumable usage, and may expedite the identification of E. coli in clinical specimens