Insights From Three Online Art Educators: Strategies for Instruction, Interaction, and Assessment

Currently, the entire world is experiencing an unprecedented threat due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which requires the majority of K-16 education to be temporarily taught online. The three authors have been teaching virtual courses with a studio art focus for a number of years. We share our collective insights for approaches to instruction, interaction, and assessment in virtual courses that might help other art educators to achieve successful learning outcomes for their students. We learned that building a learning community and peer connections is of the utmost importance; we propose mixing asynchronous and synchronous methods and providing prompt and comprehensive feedback on students’ artwork. The authors encourage other art educators to stay open-minded to new and flexible teaching environments, transforming this crisis into an opportunity to incorporate innovations into their teaching that even more effectively meet every student’s needs

Multi-institutional Implementation of Digital Humanities: Pedagogies for the Virtual Art Classrooms

Can studio art classes be taught online? How can students create and submit artworks online? In 2020 spring, worldwide higher educators had to convert their classes online because of the Covid-19. The two presenters of this study had also transitioned classes to entirely online. However, they have devoted themselves to online art teaching for several years so that the complete transition has become another opportunity to develop their teaching. Using the presenters' experiences and investigations of how undergraduate students adopted the transition to online education, this presentation will answer these questions with the virtual art classrooms' digital humanity pedagogies. Educators have implemented digital humanities for immersive learning (Novotny & Wright, 2020; Ziegler Delgado, 2020). The presenters, especially from the art education field, have designed art studio courses to create, appreciate, present, and critique arts by utilizing digitalized artworks/texts and digital technologies. The first presenter will share how she has adopted Google Arts & Culture, virtual museums, and virtual reality in her classes and how her students have presented and critiqued artworks in online spaces. The second presenter will focus on the creations and presentations with digital humanity pedagogies. She will also share how she has developed the digitalization of art instructions and students' art creation to fit into the online environments. Through this presentation, participants can learn practical applications and strategies for digital humanities pedagogies for online art education

Graded Associations of Blood Lead and Urinary Cadmium Concentrations with Oxidative-Stress–Related Markers in the U.S. Population: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Although oxidative stress has been proposed as a mechanism of lead and cadmium toxicity mostly based on in vitro experiments or animal studies, it is uncertain whether this mechanism is relevant in the pathogenesis of lead- or cadmium-related diseases in the general population with low environmental exposure to lead and cadmium. We examined associations of blood lead and urinary cadmium levels with oxidative stress markers of serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), vitamin C, carotenoids, and vitamin E among 10,098 adult participants in the third U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After adjusting for race, sex, and age (plus serum total cholesterol in the case of serum carotenoids and vitamin E), blood lead and urinary cadmium levels both showed graded associations, positive with serum GGT and inverse with serum vitamin C, carotenoids, and vitamin E (p for trend < 0.01, respectively). These associations were consistently observed among most subgroups: non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, men, women, all age groups, non-drinkers, drinkers, nonsmokers, ex-smokers, current smokers, and body mass index (< 25, 25–29.9, and ≥30). The strong association of blood lead and urinary cadmium levels with oxidative stress markers in this population suggests that oxidative stress should be considered in the pathogenesis of lead- and cadmium-related diseases even among people with low environmental exposure to lead and cadmium

Key global challenges and opportunities for scaling up upcycling businesses in the world: Interpretive structural modelling workshop preliminary analysis

Upcycling is one promising approach to extending the lifetimes of products, components, and materials by utilising a variety of material processes and innovations to turn waste products and materials into products of higher quality or value than the compositional elements. Upcycling increases resource efficiency and reduces solid waste and industrial energy consumption. It creates new job opportunities for businesses and reduces costs for materials. Despite such benefits, however, upcycling remains a niche practice. Moving from a niche to a mainstream practice (or scaling-up) could realise the full potential of upcycling. Understanding interrelated and self-reinforcing challenges in the global upcycling value chain is critical for scaling up global upcycling businesses. As existing studies of upcycling are mostly industry and country-specific, the factors impacting upcycling success across industries and countries still need to be discovered, making it difficult to establish which challenges can be prioritised in effectively scaling up upcycling businesses internationally. This study aimed to identify critical global challenges and opportunities for scaling up upcycling businesses worldwide. We organised two online workshops with nine international experts in upcycling, utilising Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). The preliminary analysis of the ISM workshop results showed that all global challenges and opportunities are interlinked and that key opportunities reflect key challenges, with the first priority intervention suggested as ‘involving citizens in upcycling initiatives or events’ followed by ‘improving material provision’

How to understand and teach upcycling in the context of the circular economy: Literature review and first phase of Delphi

Transitioning from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE) requires changes in education at all levels, especially in higher education. The changes in education for the transformation towards CE in both formal and informal settings will eventually inform, inspire, and affect professional practices in industries in a positive way. Aligned with CE, a promising umbrella concept and practice called ‘upcycling’ is emerging. The concepts and practices of CE and upcycling overlap depending on the diverse definitions of the terms provided by academics and practitioners in various disciplines and sectors in different parts of the world. This has caused some confusions and misunderstanding by some academics and professionals. For teachers and training providers that aim to teach students and professionals about sustainable production and consumption including upcycling and CE, it is beneficial to distinguish between these two concepts. Understanding the interrelationships between them in theory and practice is important to provide researchers and practitioners with a clear guidance and recommendations. This study aimed to explore how we should understand and teach upcycling in the context of CE utilising a Delphi method. This short paper presents the literature review and preliminary analysis results based on the first phase of Delphi: definitions of upcycling and CE, comparisons between upcycling and CE, upcycling as part of CE (or interrelationships between them), and effective ways to communicate the aforementioned contents

An osteocalcin-deficient mouse strain without endocrine abnormalities

Osteocalcin (OCN), the most abundant noncollagenous protein in the bone matrix, is reported to be a bone-derived endocrine hormone with wide-ranging effects on many aspects of physiology, including glucose metabolism and male fertility. Many of these observations were made using an OCN-deficient mouse allele (Osc– ) in which the 2 OCN-encoding genes in mice, Bglap and Bglap2, were deleted in ES cells by homologous recombination. Here we describe mice with a new Bglap and Bglap2 double-knockout (dko) allele (Bglap/2p.Pro25fs17Ter) that was generated by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. Mice homozygous for this new allele do not express full-length Bglap or Bglap2 mRNA and have no immunodetectable OCN in their serum. FTIR imaging of cortical bone in these homozygous knockout animals finds alterations in the collagen maturity and carbonate to phosphate ratio in the cortical bone, compared with wild-type littermates. However, μCT and 3-point bending tests do not find differences from wild-type littermates with respect to bone mass and strength. In contrast to the previously reported OCN-deficient mice with the Osc− allele, serum glucose levels and male fertility in the OCN-deficient mice with the Bglap/ 2pPro25fs17Ter allele did not have significant differences from wild-type littermates. We cannot explain the absence of endocrine effects in mice with this new knockout allele. Possible explanations include the effects of each mutated allele on the transcription of neighboring genes, or differences in genetic background and environment. So that our findings can be confirmed and extended by other interested investigators, we are donating this new Bglap and Bglap2 double-knockout strain to the Jackson Laboratories for academic distribution

The commissioning of the CUORE experiment: the mini-tower run

CUORE is a ton-scale experiment approaching the data taking phase in Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Its primary goal is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay in 130Te using 988 crystals of tellurim dioxide. The crystals are operated as bolometers at about 10 mK taking advantage of one of the largest dilution cryostat ever built. Concluded in March 2016, the cryostat commissioning consisted in a sequence of cool down runs each one integrating new parts of the apparatus. The last run was performed with the fully configured cryostat and the thermal load at 4 K reached the impressive mass of about 14 tons. During that run the base temperature of 6.3 mK was reached and maintained for more than 70 days. An array of 8 crystals, called mini-tower, was used to check bolometers operation, readout electronics and DAQ. Results will be presented in terms of cooling power, electronic noise, energy resolution and preliminary background measurements

XENON100 Dark Matter Search: Scintillation Response of Liquid Xenon to Electronic Recoils

Dark matter is one of the missing pieces necessary to complete the puzzle of the universe. Numerous astrophysical observations at all scales suggest that 23 % of the universe is made of nonluminous, cold, collisionless, nonbaryonic, yet undiscovered dark matter. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are the most well-motivated dark matter candidates and significant efforts have been made to search for WIMPs. The XENON100 dark matter experiment is currently the most sensitive experiment in the global race for the first direct detection of WIMP dark matter. XENON100 is a dual-phase (liquid-gas) time projection chamber containing a total of 161 kg of liquid xenon (LXe) with a 62kg WIMP target mass. It has been built with radiopure materials to achieve an ultra-low electromagnetic background and operated at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. WIMPs are expected to scatter off xenon nuclei in the target volume. Simultaneous measurement of ionization and scintillation produced by nuclear recoils allows for the detection of WIMPs in XENON100. Data from the XENON100 experiment have resulted in the most stringent limits on the spin-independent elastic WIMP- nucleon scattering cross sections for most of the significant WIMP masses. As the experimental precision increases, a better understanding of the scintillation and ionization response of LXe to low energy (< 10 keV) particles is crucial for the interpretation of data from LXe based WIMP searches. A setup has been built and operated at Columbia University to measure the scintillation response of LXe to both electronic and nuclear recoils down to energies of a few keV, in particular for the XENON100 experiment. In this thesis, I present the research carried out in the context of the XENON100 dark matter search experiment. For the theoretical foundation of the XENON100 experiment, the first two chapters are dedicated to the motivation for and detection medium choice of the XENON100 experiment, respectively. A general review about dark matter focusing on WIMPs and their direct detection with liquid noble gas detectors is presented in Chap. 1. LXe as an attractive WIMP detection medium is explained in Chap. 2. The XENON100 detector design, the detector, and its subsystems are detailed in Chap. 3. The calibration of the detector and the characterized detector response used for the discrimination of a WIMP-like signal against background are explained in Chap. 4. In an effort to understand the background, anomalous electronic recoils were studied extensively and are described in Chap. 5. In order to obtain a better understanding of the electronic recoil background of XENON100, including an estimation of the electronic recoil background contribution, as well as to interpret dark matter results such as annual modulation, measurement of the scintillation yield of low-energy electrons in LXe was performed in 2011, with the dedicated setup mentioned above. The results from this measurement are discussed in Chap. 6. Finally, the results for the latest science data from XENON100 to search for WIMPs, comprising 225 live-days taken over 13 months during 2011 and 2012 are explained in Chap. 7

An Inquiry of How Art Education Policies are Reflected in Art Teacher Preparation: Examining the Standards for Visual Arts and Art Teacher Certification

Policy changes influence various aspects of art education such as K-12 art education curricula, state licensure systems, and contexts of art teacher preparation. Despite strong relationships between art education policy and practical fields, few studies have attempted to understand art education from the perspective of policy analysis. This study explores the connections between art education policy and the field of art education through a focus on art teacher preparation in Indiana. Additional attention was paid to perceptions of the appropriateness of alternative licensure routes in relation to policies of academic and quality standards and the extent to which visual art teachers’ sense of identity as teachers and artists is affected by appropriation of these standards. The theoretical framework of this study is the need to understand policy appropriation of standards (including visual art and art teacher preparation standards) as an on-going process, that is continually influenced and changed by internal (human level) and external (institutional level) factors. The appropriation process is effectively expressed through practices, narratives, and texts of practitioners. To understand the status and factors of the art education policy appropriation in art teacher preparation, I collected data as printed or digital documents, and as interviews with faculty members and pre-service art teachers in two traditional visual art teacher preparation programs in Indiana. I analyzed external (institutional level) and internal (human level) factors to adopt and work with state and national standards. While national standards for visual art education (were adopted by many states and presented as voluntary policy, in Indiana the national standards were built into the Indiana’s Academic Standards for Visual Art Standards for K-12 students. Visual art teachers were required to complete a traditional teacher preparation program and pass examinations to become licensed to teach art. Findings reveal that faculty of higher art teacher education programs in Indiana paid attention to the national and state standards in K-12 visual art and the standards for teacher education when preparing students to become licensed K-12 art educators. External motivations were accreditations system for teacher preparation requested by Indiana Department of Education related to NCATE. Schools and districts could be external motivations that pre-service art teachers adopt the standards in order to succeed in a job market. Internal factors were respects of roles and leaders of art education associations, desires to train/be qualified teachers and attain balanced knowledge between art studio and art education. Alternative routes to licensure were viewed as economically advantageous but not supportive of high-quality education. Policy had little impact on issues of identity. I concluded with recommendations for improvement in art teacher preparation that were needs of supportive policies for pre-service teachers’ teaching and teaching licensure including traditional and alternative licensures

Isolation, Connection, and Embracement: Exploring Students’ Perspectives on Virtual Art Education During the Pandemic

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy on 20 May 2022, available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15505170.2022.2075496.Utilizing storytelling, two art educators explore how their undergraduate students experienced the transition to online education after the outbreak of COVID-19. Three themes are examined based on the students’ reflections: 1) new characteristics of and experiences within virtual learning, 2) isolation and connection, and 3) embracement and adjustment. The participating students shared their course experiences, with regard to the changes in course design and structure made due to the abrupt transition to online instruction. The participating students felt some loneliness due to isolation and social distancing. They experienced multilayered connections purposefully made through learning communities, small groups, student pairs, and student-instructor communication using discussion boards, emails, group chat, personal webpages, and Canvas messages and feedback. We suggest that exchanging narratives about students’ learning and art making experiences helps educators build their own teaching communities and serves as a strategy to overcome challenges and develop resilience in uncertain times full of changes and transitions