Foregrounding the Margins: A Dialogue about Literacy, Learning, and Social Annotation

Annotation, or the addition of a note to a text, enables readers-as-writers to make their thinking visible. This article, which is structured as a dialogue among four literacy educators, discusses the potential for social annotation to transform literacy learning, assessment, and teacher education. Collectively, the authors argue for social annotation as a vital and transformative practice in hybrid and post-pandemic education. The authors reflect on their personal and pedagogical uses of annotation, sharing related resources for educators across K-12 and higher education contexts

Applying TLC (a Targeted Learning Community) to Transform Teaching and Learning in Science

This article describes the development of a Targeted Learning Community (TLC) that supports first-year science students enrolled in a General Chemistry course. Drawing on student feedback and knowledge and expertise in their respective disciplines, four faculty members from two colleges at Kennesaw State University came together to develop a learning community that would prevent early attrition in the science majors and increase student metacognition. In this paper, the design of the TLC is presented, and the effect it had on faculty vitality is discussed. Ruth A. Goldfine is Chair of the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. Hillary H. Steiner (Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology) and Stephanie M. Foote (Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Master of Science in First Year Studies) are also members of the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies at Kennesaw State University. Michelle L. Dean is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Kennesaw State University

Sustainable Agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture team is dedicated to developing alternative and sustainable agricultural solutions to alleviate poverty in western Africa. The team is currently working with Sheltering Wings in Yako, Burkina Faso and Trans World Radio in Parakou, Benin. Both clients currently have a working aquaponics system, but the type of system varies between clients. Sheltering Wings has a flood and drain system and Trans World Radio has an ebb and flow system. Throughout this year, our team has focused on reducing power consumption and costs for our clients. The development of the ebb and flow prototype was a consequence of this mission as we reduced power consumption by one pump using a manual siphon. We have also worked towards lowering the costs of water quality testing kits by introducing a Nutrient Film Technique with basil plants. Lastly, we have strived to research best practice methods for fish food making and fish feeding in order to keep the biology of the prototypes healthy. To support present and future clients, the year will conclude with final deliverables for the ebb and flow prototype including an operations and maintenance manual, a construction manual, and a troubleshooting manual.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1016/thumbnail.jp

A validation study of a commercial wearable device to automatically detect and estimate sleep

The aims of this study were to: (1) compare actigraphy (ACTICAL) and a commercially available sleep wearable (i.e., WHOOP) under two functionalities (i.e., sleep auto-detection (WHOOP-AUTO) and manual adjustment of sleep (WHOOP-MANUAL)) for two-stage categorisation of sleep (sleep or wake) against polysomnography, and; (2) compare WHOOP-AUTO and WHOOP-MANUAL for four-stage categorisation of sleep (wake, light sleep, slow wave sleep (SWS), or rapid eye movement sleep (REM)) against polysomnography. Six healthy adults (male: n = 3; female: n = 3; age: 23.0 ± 2.2 yr) participated in the nine-night protocol. Fifty-four sleeps assessed by ACTICAL, WHOOP-AUTO and WHOOP-MANUAL were compared to polysomnography using difference testing, Bland–Altman comparisons, and 30-s epoch-by-epoch comparisons. Compared to polysomnography, ACTICAL overestimated total sleep time (37.6 min) and underestimated wake (−37.6 min); WHOOP-AUTO underestimated SWS (−15.5 min); and WHOOP-MANUAL underestimated wake (−16.7 min). For ACTICAL, sensitivity for sleep, specificity for wake and overall agreement were 98%, 60% and 89%, respectively. For WHOOP-AUTO, sensitivity for sleep, wake, and agreement for two-stage and four-stage categorisation of sleep were 90%, 60%, 86% and 63%, respectively. For WHOOP-MANUAL, sensitivity for sleep, wake, and agreement for two-stage and four-stage categorisation of sleep were 97%, 45%, 90% and 62%, respectively. WHOOP-AUTO and WHOOP-MANUAL have a similar sensitivity and specificity to actigraphy for two-stage categorisation of sleep and can be used as a practical alternative to polysomnography for two-stage categorisation of sleep and four-stage categorisation of sleep

An assessment of high carbon stock and high conservation value approaches to sustainable oil palm cultivation in Gabon

Industrial-scale oil palm cultivation is rapidly expanding in Gabon, where it has the potential to drive economic growth, but also threatens forest, biodiversity and carbon resources. The Gabonese government is promoting an ambitious agricultural expansion strategy, while simultaneously committing to minimize negative environmental impacts of oil palm agriculture. This study estimates the extent and location of suitable land for oil palm cultivation in Gabon, based on an analysis of recent trends in plantation permitting. We use the resulting suitability map to evaluate two proposed approaches to minimizing negative environmental impacts: a High Carbon Stock (HCS) approach, which emphasizes forest protection and climate change mitigation, and a High Conservation Value (HCV) approach, which focuses on safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems. We quantify the forest area, carbon stock, and biodiversity resources protected under each approach, using newly developed maps of priority species distributions and forest biomass for Gabon. We find 2.7–3.9 Mha of suitable or moderately suitable land that avoid HCS areas, 4.4 million hectares (Mha) that avoid HCV areas, and 1.2–1.7 Mha that avoid both. This suggests that Gabon's oil palm production target could likely be met without compromising important ecosystem services, if appropriate safeguards are put in place. Our analysis improves understanding of suitability for oil palm in Gabon, determines how conservation strategies align with national targets for oil palm production, and informs national land use planning

The Grizzly, February 5, 1988

Cavorting Cop Caught • Lewis Disclaims Labels at Forum • Rock\u27N America • Patterns Campaign Nears Completion • Hockey Held as Hokey • Contra-versial Censorship Irks Student • History Department Interviews a New Way • Concert Features Christian Music • Summer Study in France a Fun-do • Notes: R.A. Rap Session Announced; Presidency Probers Convene; ALF Re-runs Rewarding; Child Safety Course Offered • Men\u27s Hoopsters Suffer Temporary Setback • Track Team Making Great Strides • Record Books Rewritten • U.C. Matters: Wrestling Tough and Confident • Men \u27Mers Holding Their Ownhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1203/thumbnail.jp

Sustainable Agriculture

The Sustainable Agriculture team is addressing malnutrition through aquaponics. Aquaponics is a soil-free farming method that reduces growing periods and water consumption by 90% compared to traditional methods. The Sustainable Agriculture team works alongside its clients, Youth with a Mission and Trans World Radio, to develop and implement universal and scalable aquaponics prototypes. This year, the team designed and constructed nine working prototypes for a sensitivity analysis. The team also constructed two unique airlift pumps to create alternatives for their clients. They also produced a digital system monitor for tracking temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen in the aquaponics prototypes for our clients at Youth with a Mission. Funding for this work provided by The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2022/1019/thumbnail.jp

Secular trends in reported portion size of food and beverages consumed by Irish adults

The present analysis aimed to investigate the changes in the reported portion sizes (PS) of foods and beverages commonly consumed by Irish adults (18–64 years) from the North South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (NSIFCS) (1997–2001) and the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) (2008–10). Food PS, which are defined as the weight of food (g) consumed per eating occasion, were calculated for comparable foods and beverages in two nationally representative cross-sectional Irish food consumption surveys and were published in NSIFCS and NANS. Repeated measure mixed model analysis compared reported food PS at the total population level as well as subdivided by sex, age, BMI and social class. A total of thirteen commonly consumed foods were examined. The analysis demonstrated that PS significantly increased for five foods (‘white sliced bread’, ‘brown/wholemeal breads’, ‘all meat, cooked’, ‘poultry, roasted’ and ‘milk’), significantly decreased for three (‘potatoes’, ‘chips/wedges’ and ‘ham, sliced’) and did not significantly change for five foods (‘processed potato products’, ‘bacon/ham’, ‘cheese’, ‘yogurt’ and ‘butter/spreads’) between the NSIFCS and the NANS. The present study demonstrates that there was considerable variation in the trends in reported food PS over this period

The Grizzly, January 29, 1988

Social Changes at Ursinus Become Evident • New Student Center Instituted • Restructuring Plagues Pledging System • Commencement Tradition to Change • Letters: Speak for Outside Graduation; Response to Tuition Increase • Swanson: No Chicken Fillet • Lewis to Present Black Perspective • Notes: Wismer Chimneys Smoked Out; Noon Aerobics Active Again; Chic Sharp Shooters Sought; Air Band Contest Announced • Men\u27s B-ball Win Brings Hopes for National Ranking • Match-Tough Matters Ready for Tourney • Gymnasts Take Bear Classic • Swimmers Stroke Victory in Season Opener • Bears Looking Hot in Winter Track • Chemistry Key for 1st Place Bears • Koffel\u27s Silver Anniversary Made Golden • Shikoda Not Far from Home • Europe Encounter Enraptures Jones • Rock \u27N Roll Forum • Robertson\u27s Release Rocks with Rhythmhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1202/thumbnail.jp

New Perspectives on Transforming States' Health and Human Services: Practical Commentaries on the First Year of the Work Support Strategies Initiative

Millions of low-income working families in America today are struggling to make ends meet. While working hard, often in low-wage jobs, many of these families are living close to the edge of hardship and have little or no resources to fall back on in case of emergencies. Public benefit programs can make a huge difference in the well-being of these working families, providing help with food, child care, and health insurance expenses. These programs help families address immediate needs and weather short-term crises, such as repairing a car needed to get to work or dealing with an unexpected health problem. They can make it possible for families to hold onto their jobs in these emergencies, stabilizing employment and keeping families from falling further into poverty. Yet many families that are eligible for public benefit programs do not participate. Although the recession and its aftermath led to unprecedented increases in receipt of nutrition assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the latest data (from 2010) show that only 65 percent of the eligible working poor are participating. Similarly, of all children eligible for public health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, only 86 percent are participating. The participation rate for public health insurance for parents is only 66 percent. And, these participation rates vary widely across states.The Work Support Strategies, or WSS, Initiative is motivated by the value public benefit programs can provide to working families and the belief that the states and localities administering these programs can improve how eligible families access and retain these benefits. In the first year of the demonstration, nine states took on the challenge of streamlining, integrating, and improving the provision of work support benefits through their SNAP, Medicaid, and child care programs (and, in some states, additional programs such as heating assistance and cash welfare). While most states hope their efforts will also reduce burden on caseworkers and administrative costs in these systems, all are motivated to improve the lives of the families they serve