Travel for Transformation: Embracing a Counter-Hegemonic Approach to Transformative Learning in Study Abroad

This article reviews literature from 2006-2016 on study abroad (and other forms of travel) to investigate frameworks that create the best plausible opportunities for transformative learning within study-abroad experiences. According to the literature reviewed, in order to be considered travel for transformation, the travel experience must respect the values and knowledge of the host culture, acknowledge the presence of differences in privilege among study-abroad participants, and utilize environmentally sustainable practices. In addition, the duration, purpose of travel, and degree of immersion plays a significant role in perspective transformation. A repeated benefit to study-abroad programs among the articles indicate that study abroad is better positioned for transformative learning than the traditional classroom environment is that it situates the student in a new context where the place, culture, people, and hopefully the language are “other.” While almost all of the literature reviewed for this article included cautions to avoid essentializing and exploiting the host culture, very little could be found on the possible negative outcomes to participants—and especially the host culture—when students from the United States study in other contexts. Therefore, the author recommends that future research investigate the possibility of study abroad as exploitation of both the host culture and the participants of the study-abroad program

Fuel Dynamics Across Southern Appalachian Landscapes

Although there have been several individual studies measuring hardwood fuels, across the central Hardwood Region and southern Appalachian Mountains, little is known of how hardwood fuels are distributed across the landscape. Understanding this distribution is essential for fire management planning. Previous studies suggest that the decay rate of litter and fine woody fuel is greater on mesic sites as compared to dryer sites. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, northeast facing slopes and protected bottoms are generally the more mesic sites, while southwest facing slopes and exposed ridge tops receive sunlight for longer periods and should be more xeric. The objectives of this study were to measure the annual accumulations and decomposition of leaf litter, fine woody fuel and total fuel loadings on undisturbed sites across different topographical positions in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The study site was located in Rabun County Georgia on the Warwoman Wildlife Management Area (WWMA). There were five \u27treatments\u27 used in this study, representing five topographic positions: ridge tops and middle slopes, and lower slopes on northeast (325 - 125 ) and southwest (145 - 305 ) aspects. Sites with lower slope positions and northeast aspects were considered more productive than those with middle slope and southwest aspects, because they are more protected (shaded) and should have had greater soil moisture. Ten plots (replicates) were established at each topographic position for a total of 50 plots. The results suggest that there are few differences in accumulation and decomposition of leaf litter, 1-, 10-, and 100-hour fuels among different topographical positions. The only exception was coarse woody debris (CWD), which was significantly more on northeast facing slopes (26.6 t/ha) compared to all other slope positions (10.8 t/ha). Ericaceous shrubs were present on 74% of plots and could have influenced the results. Further study is needed to determine if ericaceous shrubs impact both the accumulation and decomposition of hardwood fuels across the southern Appalachian Mountains

Screening St. Augustinegrass For USDA Zone 7

St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] generally has poor cold tolerance yet excellent shade tolerance. As mostly hot summers follow cold winters in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, severely damaging tall fescue [Festuca arundineacea Schreb.] and centipedegrass [Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.], a St. Augustinegrass cultivar cold tolerant enough to be grown for shady lawns would greatly benefit both home owners and sod growers in USDA Hardiness Zone 7. Eight St. Augustinegrass samples were selected, including industry standards \u27Raleigh\u27 and \u27Palmetto\u27, for further testing from an established germplasm collection of material collected from lawns grown in USDA Hardiness Zone 7. Morphological differences, establishment rates, shade tolerance, and most importantly cold tolerance were evaluated through field trials, greenhouse trials, and growth chamber trials. When applicable experimental samples were compared to industry standards to determine either similar or improved performance. The studies revealed several germplasm samples with differences compared to industry standards indicating possible increased performance capabilities. These findings warrant further investigation and possible DNA testing to determine genetic differences

Evidence-Based Best Practice Policy Recommendation for Postoperative Sore Throat

Airway management is a fundamental aspect of patient care when general anesthesia is being administered. Unfortunately, tracheal intubation can lead to the development of postoperative sore throat (POST) in the recovery room. POST is a minor yet preventable consequence of manipulation and injury of the airway mucosa. POST is routinely considered a minor postoperative complication; however, the occurrence of POST can have a negative influence on patient satisfaction as well as their perception of the perioperative experience. The etiology of POST is multifactorial, but evidence indicates that prevention is possible when evidenced-based practices are employed by anesthesia providers. A targeted review of the current literature explains that the topical application of ketamine or dexamethasone can mitigate the local inflammatory response that occurs with airway manipulation. By employing preemptive POST treatments anesthesia providers can produce a meaningful reduction in the incidence of POST. This project utilized the evidence identified during the review of the literature to develop a POST prevention policy recommendation. The policy recommendation was created and presented to a panel of experts in the field of anesthesia. Following the presentation, the panel members were asked to complete a questionnaire and provide feedback regarding the policy recommendation. The resulting feedback from the questionnaires indicated that panel members were open to the implementation of policy that required the use of preemptive treatments for patients at risk for POST. This data was then incorporated into the construction of a POST prevention policy and executive summary to be presented to the panel of experts for the potential implementation at their facility

Vertex-neighbor-integrity of magnifiers, expanders, and hypercubes

AbstractA set of vertices S is subverted from a graph G by removing the closed neighborhood N[S] from G. We denote the survival subgraph of the vertex subversion strategy S by G/S. The vertex-neighbor-integrity of G is defined to be VNI(G)=minS⊆V(G){|S|+ω(G/S)}, where ω(H) is the order of the largest connected component in the graph H. The graph parameter VNI was introduced by Cozzens and Wu [3] to measure the vulnerability of a spy network. Cozzens and Wu showed that the VNI of paths, cycles, trees and powers of paths on n vertices are all on the order of n. Here we prove that the VNI of any member of a family of magnifier graphs is linear in the order of the graph. We also find upper and lower bounds on the VNI of hypercubes. Finally, we show that the decision problem corresponding to computing the vertex-neighbor-integrity of a graph is NP-complete

Sequential processing deficits in reading retardation

Doehring (1968) hypothesized that a basic sequential processing deficit underlies specific reading disability. To investigate sequential processing deficits in reading retardation, four tasks involving the reproduction of stimuli in a particular sequence were administered to a group of retarded readers and a group of normal readers matched on age, sex, race, educational opportunity, sociocultural environment, and Non-Language IQ on the CTMM. The normal readers were significantly superior to the retarded readers on the four sequential processing tasks and on two other tests, vocabulary and rhyming. The two groups did not differ significantly on reversals discrimination, perceptual speed, or cumulative learning. These results clearly support the hypothesis that retarded readers are basically deficient in ability to process sequences. Procedures and results of clinical studies were compared with those of the present junior high school study. Similarities and differences of retarded readers in clinical settings and retarded readers participating as Ss in this study were delineated and discussed

Is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Enough? Toward Culturally “Real”-evant Curriculum. A Response to Democratic Foundations for Spiritually Responsive Pedagogy

In this response to Lingley\u27s (2016) article Democratic Foundations of Spiritually Responsive Pedagogy, the author invites the framework of (a)spiritually responsive curriculum to include a more direct engagement with a culturally relevant curriculum as well. The author agrees with Lingley\u27s postulation that (a)spirituality is deeply embedded within the worldview of many students in K–12 classrooms, whether educators include this important aspect of their epistemology or not. Similar to the problems that come when we ignore identities of race, gender, (a)sexuality, (dis)ability, and social class, ignoring these important characteristics of students’ lived experiences is detrimental to learning outcomes and reinforces dominating narratives. Synthesizing literature from the broader educational justice movement, the author engages Lingley\u27s culturally responsive (a)spiritual pedagogy and invites her to more directly engage students in a culturally relevant curriculum, as well

That\u27s a Lotta Faith We\u27re Putting in a Word : Language, Religion, and Heteroglossia as Oppression and Resistance in Comtemporary British Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian literature, in which writers imagine a chaotic, uncertain future, has become a trend in contemporary literature. Three recent British dystopian texts--Alan Moore and David Lloyd\u27s graphic novel V for Vendetta , Patrick Ness\u27s young adult novel The Knife of Never Letting Go , and China Miéville\u27s detective novel The City & the City --reveal important themes of dystopian literature that transcend genre and stylistic convention. When a totalitarian regime governs the people, language and religion become commodities used by both government and citizens. First, I will explain the role of naming in establishing identity of both governing bodies and individual citizens. Next, I will explore how language and religion are used to oppress citizens and, finally, how those citizens recognize corruption and reclaim language through Bakhtin\u27s notion of heteroglossia, an intermingling of language that allows one to escape the false consciousness bestowed by the totalitarian regime