A Digital Immigrant Venture into Teaching Online: An Autoethnographic Account of a Classroom Teacher Transformed

This paper presents an autoethnographic account of a classroom teacher’s experience transitioning to teaching online within the shifting culture of academe in the 21st Century. After decades as a classroom teacher, the author engages in autoethnography to reflexively analyze her challenging transition to teaching online. The author examines her perspectives, beliefs, thought process, learning, and development. Findings regarding her new way of teaching, thinking, and living as an online instructor may provide insights for others in academe

Creating Opportunities or Building Barriers: Framing Policy for Placement Testing as an Impactful Part of the First-Year Experience

Placement tests are an integral aspect of the first-year experience. As policymakers seek to raise high school standards and ensure that more students graduate prepared for the academic rigor of college, placement tests are being called upon to serve new purposes. Placement tests are touted for their ability to predict college success, but do these tests really measure student attainment of specific college readiness skills? How can they fit with or contribute to institutional initiatives

Culturally Relevant Care Through the Lens of Duoethnography

Our study endeavors to explore how culturally relevant care manifests in our teaching at a predominantly Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Through duoethnography and collaborative interpretation of narrative data from our former students, we seek to better understand our own and our students’ learning experiences. Collecting our own and our students’ perspectives and stories about lived experiences with us as professors in narrative form allows for us and our respondents to reflect and express freely--to share views, impressions, interpretations, and experiences in our/their own words. Analysis of narrative reflections provides an opportunity to craft a story, to give voice to those living within the intersection of race, ethnicity, and cross-cultural teaching–learning relationships at a predominantly Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Findings intend to illuminate personal epistemologies (Hofer & Bendixen, 2012) and dispositions for transcending cultural, racial, and linguistic boundaries in higher education, thus providing a multifaceted collective story of cultivating care in cross-cultural teaching–learning relationships

Lessons Learned: Teaching Latinx Teacher Candidates Through Digital Literacy and Community Service Learning

The authors focus on digital literacy and community service learning (CSL) strategies from research of Latinx undergraduate teacher candidates (TCs) engaged with technology in CSL courses. The qualitative studies have taken place in a tutorial agency and university classrooms in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, one of the most economically-strapped U.S. regions. The 60 participants were Bussert-Webb’s TCs in Summer 2016 and Summer 2017 (n=28) and Lewis’s TCs in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 courses (n=32). Data sources include participant observations, surveys, focus groups, lessons, and reflections. Using social justice and New Literacies frameworks and thematic data analysis, the authors discuss four concepts that have influenced their practices: 1) risk-taking is more important than our digital expertise, 2) digital literacy connects to social justice contexts, 3) TCs engage in authentic technology experiences, and 4) technology-infused CSL is provided. Implications relate to closing a three-tier digital divide among Latinx teachers and youth

Culturally Relevant Care Through the Lens of Duoethnography

Our study endeavors to explore how culturally relevant care manifests in our teaching at a predominantly Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Through duoethnography and collaborative interpretation of narrative data from our former students, we seek to better understand our own and our students’ learning experiences. Collecting our own and our students’ perspectives and stories about lived experiences with us as professors in narrative form allows for us and our respondents to reflect and express freely--to share views, impressions, interpretations, and experiences in our/their own words. Analysis of narrative reflections provides an opportunity to craft a story, to give voice to those living within the intersection of race, ethnicity, and cross-cultural teaching–learning relationships at a predominantly Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Findings intend to illuminate personal epistemologies (Hofer & Bendixen, 2012) and dispositions for transcending cultural, racial, and linguistic boundaries in higher education, thus providing a multifaceted collective story of cultivating care in cross-cultural teaching–learning relationships

Gene doctoring: a method for recombineering in laboratory and pathogenic Escherichia coli strains

Background: Homologous recombination mediated by the lambda-Red genes is a common method for making chromosomal modifications in Escherichia coli. Several protocols have been developed that differ in the mechanisms by which DNA, carrying regions homologous to the chromosome, are delivered into the cell. A common technique is to electroporate linear DNA fragments into cells. Alternatively, DNA fragments are generated in vivo by digestion of a donor plasmid with a nuclease that does not cleave the host genome. In both cases the lambda-Red gene products recombine homologous regions carried on the linear DNA fragments with the chromosome. We have successfully used both techniques to generate chromosomal mutations in E. coli K-12 strains. However, we have had limited success with these lambda-Red based recombination techniques in pathogenic E. coli strains, which has led us to develop an enhanced protocol for recombineering in such strains. \ud \ud Results: Our goal was to develop a high-throughput recombineering system, primarily for the coupling of genes to epitope tags, which could also be used for deletion of genes in both pathogenic and K-12 E. coli strains. To that end we have designed a series of donor plasmids for use with the lambda-Red recombination system, which when cleaved in vivo by the I-SceI meganuclease generate a discrete linear DNA fragment, allowing for C-terminal tagging of chromosomal genes with a 6xHis, 3xFLAG, 4xProteinA or GFP tag or for the deletion of chromosomal regions. We have enhanced existing protocols and technologies by inclusion of a cassette conferring kanamycin resistance and, crucially, by including the sacB gene on the donor plasmid, so that all but true recombinants are counter-selected on kanamycin and sucrose containing media, thus eliminating the need for extensive screening. This method has the added advantage of limiting the exposure of cells to the potential damaging effects of the lambda-Red system, which can lead to unwanted secondary alterations to the chromosome. \ud \ud Conclusion: We have developed a counter-selective recombineering technique for epitope tagging or for deleting genes in E. coli. We have demonstrated the versatility of the technique by modifying the chromosome of the enterohaemorrhagic O157:H7 (EHEC), uropathogenic CFT073 (UPEC), enteroaggregative O42 (EAEC) and enterotoxigenic H10407 (ETEC) E. coli strains as well as in K-12 laboratory strains

Extraction of Acids and Bases from Aqueous Phase to a Pseudoprotic Ionic Liquid

We report experiments on the extraction of acids and bases from an aqueous phase to a pseudoprotic ionic liquid phase consisting of an equimolar mixture of trihexylamine and octanoic acid. We observed the extraction of a wide range of acids and bases, and investigated the mechanism of extraction in detail. Our results confirmed the observation of the Hofmeister effect in these systems reported in our previous work, where the extent of the extraction of copper salts was significantly influenced by the interactions between extracted inorganic anions and the organic phase. Our results further demonstrated that the organic layer served as a “floating buffer” capable of stabilizing the pH of an acidic or alkaline aqueous phase. The results tie current interest in protic and pseudoprotic ionic liquids to earlier work on the extraction of acids using amine and acid–base couples as extraction agents in an inert organic solvent

The experiences of service users with a learning disability living in adult placements

Adult Placement offers people with a learning disability a highly flexible form of accommodation and person-centred support provided by individuals and families in the local community and enables an individual to share in the life of the Adult Placement carer. A limited amount of research has focused on the characteristics of carers, and the reasons why people become providers of such placements. There has been little focus in research on service users’ experiences of Adult Placements. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences of adults with learning disabilities living in long-term Adult Placements, drawing upon the perspectives of service users and carers. Twelve participants (six service users and six carers) were recruited from two Adult Placement Schemes and took part in a semi-structured interview. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis produced four superordinate themes from the participants’ experiences: The Function of Adult Placements - as a different model of care offering an opportunity for an ‘ordinary’ life for service users; Characteristics of the Service User/ Carer Relationship – one that is differentiated from others and provides a ‘secure base’ and ‘safe haven’ for service users; “Family” – integration into the family, experiences of family dynamics, family changes and coping; and Personal and Professional Issues for Carers – their relationships with the teams, important factors for the carer role, rewards and benefits, and challenges and dilemmas. The results highlight the meaning associated with Adult Placement for service users and relationships developed with carers were found to closely resemble attachments as they are conceptualised in adulthood. This study provides evidence from the service user perspective to support the view that Adult Placement carers fulfil the role of attachment figures for adults with learning disabilities. Findings are considered in relation to existing literature. Clinical and service implications are discussed and recommendations for future research are made

Foam fractionation for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Towards closing the mass balance

Foam fractionation has recently attracted attention as a low-cost and environmentally benign treatment technology for water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). However, data on the mass balance over the foam fractionation process are scarce and when available, gaps in the mass balance are often identified. This study verified the high treatment efficiency of a pilot-scale foam fractionation system for removal of PFAS from industrial water contaminated with aqueous film-forming foam. ΣPFAS removal reached up to 84 % and the removal of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) up to 97 %, but the short-chain perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) was only removed with a mean efficiency of 1.5 %. In general, mobile short-chain PFAS were removed less efficiently when the perfluorocarbon chain length was below six for carboxylic acids and below five for sulfonic acids. Fluctuations in treatment efficiency due to natural variations in the chemistry of the influent water were minor, confirming the robustness of the technology, but significant positive correlations between PFAS removal and influent metal concentration and conductivity were observed. Over all experiments, the mass balance closure did not differ significantly from 100 %. Nonetheless, PFAS sorption to the walls of the reactor was measured, as well as high PFAS emissions by the air exiting the reactor. PFAS emissions in aerosols correlated positively with mass balance closure. The elevated aerial PFAS concentrations measured in the experimental facility have implications for worker safety and prevention of PFAS-emissions to the atmosphere, and demonstrate the importance of installing appropriate filters on the air outlet of foam fractionation systems

Unchoreographed Dance: Trust and Venture into Vulnerability—Building a Plural, Organic, and Recursive Collective

In this autoethnography, we—four Hispanic Serving Institution colleagues at the USA–Mexican frontera—share our process of building a collective where a plural, organic, vulnerable, and recursive space was created. In this space, through readings, conversations, feedings, discussions, and memories, un/anticipated stories emerge…in our unchoreographed writings, we whirl, twirl, collide, and craft our collective space, which was at once chaotic, cathartic, and sustaining