Dialogue in Educational Organizations: An Exploratory Study of Dialogue and Shared Vision

The use of dialogue is theoretically proposed in educational literature and in documents produced by school divisions (Bohm, 1996; Mitchell & Sackney, 2001; Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2008; Shields & Edwards, 2005; Wheatley, 1999; Senge, 1990). Dialogical communication is increasingly being encouraged in response to the diversity and complexity of today’s school populations (Mitchell & Sackney, 2001; Shields & Edwards, 2005). Dialogue is the suggested mode of communication for constructivist practices in schools. Lacking in the literature is evidence from the field on how dialogue actually works in schools to enhance constructivist ways of doing to produce shared vision. This exploratory study was an investigation into PLC members’ understandings of dialogue as a process for building shared vision. Instrumental case study was used to gather members’ understandings. Data were collected from members of two separate professional learning communities using observations, focus groups, and interviews. A thematic analysis of the data revealed that along with what is already known about dialogue are five catalytic components participants used to create and sustain dialogic communication: (a) Building shared vision requires dialogue to meld perspectives and acknowledge group member emergent roles, (b) Dialogue provides access to others’ ideas; enhancing learning through developing broad perspectives and modifying thinking, (c) Mindsets enhancing dialogue are: desire for commonality, cohesion, and consistency; keen attention to what others need; a desire to function as professionals; and ownership over practice, (d) Two conditions enhancing dialogue are: systemic support and measurable outcomes, and (e) A highly developed commitment to students enhances dialogical communication in schools. The study’s findings add to existing theory and provide implications for policy and practice. Policy makers, leaders, and educators wishing to enhance dialogical communication in schools need to employ, and provide opportunity for others to employ, these catalytic components deliberately and explicitly. Deliberate and explicit use of these five components would aid in enhancing dialogic communication in schools

Closing the gap? Overcoming limitations in sociomaterial accounts of early literacy

This article uses a sociomaterial perspective to explore how deficit views of young children’s language and literacy are sustained and can be challenged. Foregrounding the notion of multiplicity, it considers how diverse sociomaterial relations work to uphold particular kinds of practice and particular arrangements of bodies and things over others. These relations may interfere with and interface with each other in different ways, sometimes sustaining but also potentially disrupting deficit discourses and practices. Our sociomaterial perspective is illustrated with a short vignette from a study of children and touchscreen tablets in an early years setting. An initial analysis is followed by a series of alternate and tentative tracings of other kinds of relations that play through those moments. The article contributes to debates about social inequality by troubling the certainties generated though deficit models of children’s literacy, whilst working proactively to envision and produce alternate possibilities that foreground the potentialities generated as people and other materials assemble together

Obstetrical Complications and Outcome in Two Families with Hereditary Angioedema due to Mutation in the F12 Gene

Backgroud. Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is characterized by recurrent swelling of the skin, the abdomen (causing severe acute pain), and the airways. A recently discovered type caused by mutations in the factor XII gene (designated as HAE type III) occurs mainly in women. Estrogens may play an important role, but few obstetrical complications have been reported. Case. We report the symptoms and obstetrical complications of women in two families with HAE attributable to the p. Thr328Lys mutation in the F12 gene. Clinical manifestations included acute and severe maternal abdominal pain, with transient ascites, laryngeal edema, and fetal and neonatal deaths. Patients had normal C4 levels and a normal C1 inhibitor gene. Administration of C1-inhibitor concentration twice monthly decreased the attack rate in one mother, and its predelivery administration (1000 U) led to the delivery of healthy girls. Conclusions. Obstetricians and anesthesiologists should be aware of this rare cause of unexplained maternal ascites and in utero or fetal death associated with edema

Gettysburg College Sustainability Proposal

In the fall of 2011, the Environmental Studies capstone class led by Professor Rutherford Platt was asked to write Gettysburg College’s first Sustainability Plan. The goal of the plan was to develop specific sustainable practices for the campus that were related to the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental, and how integrating diligent sustainable practices into each of these respected pillars will result in a more conscious campus, community, and future. In 2010, Gettysburg College turned to the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) to quantify the institution’s sustainability efforts, providing a self-check mechanism to encourage sustainability applications to all aspects of the College. The American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment was signed in 2007 by former Gettysburg College President Katherine Haley Will, declaring that Gettysburg College would become carbon neutral by 2032. Gettysburg College has made large strides in the search for sustainability, and aims to continue its dedication to furthering sustainable practice. The following plan outlines the six priority areas identified by the Capstone class: progress of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, Dining Services, campus green space, community outreach, integration of sustainability into the Gettysburg College Curriculum, and the Sustainability Advisory Committee. The first priority area identified was monitoring and upholding the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). Though creating new sustainability initiatives on campus is the driving force towards an increasingly sustainable college and community, it is imperative that these goals be carried out in full to maximize beneficial returns. In order to reach carbon neutrality, Gettysburg College hopes to increase energy efficiency in buildings, incorporate renewable energy sources on campus, and mitigate remaining emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets. To further the College’s progress, it is proposed that Gettysburg College continue its energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy, as well as create a policy to offset all greenhouse gas emissions generated by air travel for students study abroad. As stated by the ACUPCC, a Sustainability Committee should take responsibility for the updates and progress reports required to meet the goal of carbon neutrality. The second priority area identified was sustainability in Dining Services. Gettysburg College is home to 2,600 students, all of whom require three full meals a day. Dining Services accounts for a large fraction of Gettysburg College’s sustainability efforts, already implementing sustainability through composting, buying local produce, and using biodegradable products. The proposed on-campus sales cuts of non-reusable to-go items, a change in campus mentality on food waste, and improved composting practices will translate to an increasingly sustainable campus, as well as a well-fed campus body. The third priority was maintaining green space on campus. Ranked as the 23rd most beautiful campus in the United States by The Best Colleges, Gettysburg College utilizes campus green space to create an atmosphere that is conducive to activity as well as tranquility. The plan proposes that Gettysburg College and its grounds facilities continue their exceptional efforts, focusing on increasing the use of the student garden, creating a new rain garden or social area on campus, and converting unnecessary parking lots into green space. As these additions are completed, they must be introduced to the student body and faculty alike to assure these areas are known and utilized. The fourth priority was utilizing community outreach to spread awareness of sustainability initiatives on and off campus. To connect the sustainability-geared changes proposed in this plan, community outreach at Gettysburg College is assessed to estimate how well these initiatives are communicated and promoted to both potential and enrolled students, faculty, and other concerned parties. To evaluate the efficiency of communication at Gettysburg College, a quantitative assessment is presented to measure the ease of finding the sustainability webpage, the quality of sustainability-related topics available on the webpage, and quality of webpage design. The webpage is in need of improved text to image ratios, locations of sustainability topics, and data displays. Despite not having a link to the sustainability webpage on the Gettysburg College homepage, sustainability events should be covered and presented on the rotational news feed found on the homepage to maximize outreach to interested parties or simply to add to the definition of Gettysburg College. The fifth priority was integrating sustainability into the Curriculum to build a culture on campus that values academic rigor, supports students as they cultivate intellectual and civic passions, and promotes the development of healthy social relationships and behaviors. The proposed Sustainability Committee on Sustainability in the Curriculum (SCC) will hold sustainability workshops for faculty with the aim to instill sustainability into all academic disciplines, providing all Gettysburg graduates with a means to approach their professional careers in a fashion that is conscious of sustainability. The sixth and last priority was the Sustainability Advisory Committee. Established in 2007, the Sustainability Advisory Committee is currently under review, but it is recommended that the committee restructure itself in accordance with the new Sustainability Committee Bylaws. These bylaws aim to define the purposes, membership, governance, and involvement with the college. With a clearly defined set of goals and methodology, the Sustainability Advisory Committee will be able to improve the solidarity of the sustainability movement on campus as a whole. By following the propositions laid out in the Gettysburg College Sustainability Plan, the student body, faculty, and community alike will become a part of a multi-faceted progression toward a more sustainable future

Calcium phosphate crystals induce cell death in human vascular smooth muscle cells: a potential mechanism in atherosclerotic plaque destabilization

Vascular calcification is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction; however, the mechanisms linking these 2 processes are unknown. Studies in macrophages have suggested that calcium phosphate crystals induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines; however, no studies have been performed on the effects of calcium phosphate crystals on vascular smooth muscle cell function. In the present study, we found that calcium phosphate crystals induced cell death in human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells with their potency depending on their size and composition. Calcium phosphate crystals of approximately 1 microm or less in diameter caused rapid rises in intracellular calcium concentration, an effect that was inhibited by the lysosomal proton pump inhibitor, bafilomycin A1. Bafilomycin A1 also blocked vascular smooth muscle cell death suggesting that crystal dissolution in lysosomes leads to an increase in intracellular calcium levels and subsequent cell death. These studies give novel insights into the bioactivity of calcified deposits and suggest that small calcium phosphate crystals could destabilize atherosclerotic plaques by initiating inflammation and by causing vascular smooth muscle cell death

Reproductive Biology of the Cape Honeybee: A Critique of Beekman et al: A critique of "Asexually Produced Cape Honeybee Queens (Apis mellifera capensis) Reproduce Sexually,” authors: Madeleine Beekman, Michael H. Allsopp, Julianne Lim, Frances Goudie, and Benjamin P. Oldroyd. Journal of Heredity. 2011:102(5):562-566

Laying workers of the Cape honeybee parthenogenetically produce female offspring, whereas queens typically produce males. Beekman et al. confirm this observation, which has repeatedly been reported over the last 100 years including the notion that natural selection should favor asexual reproduction in Apis mellifera capensis. They attempt to support their arguments with an exceptionally surprising finding that A. m. capensis queens can parthenogenetically produce diploid homozygous queen offspring (homozygous diploid individuals develop into diploid males in the honeybee). Beekman et al. suggest that these homozygous queens are not viable because they did not find any homozygous individuals beyond the third larval instar. Even if this were true, such a lethal trait should be quickly eliminated by natural selection. The identification of sex (both with molecular and morphological markers) is possible but notoriously difficult in honeybees at the early larval stages. Ploidy is however a reliable indicator, and we therefore suggest that these "homozygous” larvae found in queen cells are actually drones reared from unfertilized eggs, a phenomenon well known by honeybee queen breeder

Functional Analysis of Conserved Motifs in Influenza Virus PB1 Protein

The influenza virus RNA polymerase complex is a heterotrimer composed of the PB1, PB2, and PA subunits. PB1, the catalytic core and structural backbone of the polymerase, possesses four highly conserved amino acid motifs that are present among all viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. A previous study demonstrated the importance of several of these conserved amino acids in PB1 for influenza polymerase activity through mutational analysis. However, a small number of viruses isolated in nature possesses non-consensus amino acids in one of the four motifs, most of which have not been tested for their replicative ability. Here, we assessed the transcription/replication activities of 25 selected PB1 mutations found in natural isolates by using minireplicon assays in human and avian cells. Most of the mutations tested significantly reduced polymerase activity. One exception was mutation K480R, observed in several pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viruses, which slightly increased polymerase activity relative to wild-type. However, in the background of the pandemic A/California/04/2009 (H1N1) virus, this mutation did not affect virus titers in cell culture. Our results further demonstrate the functional importance of the four conserved PB1 motifs in influenza virus transcription/replication. The finding of natural isolates with non-consensus PB1 motifs that are nonfunctional in minireplicon assays suggests compensatory mutations and/or mixed infections which may have ‘rescued’ the inactive PB1 protein

Persistent net release of carbon dioxide and methane from an Alaskan lowland boreal peatland complex

Permafrost degradation in peatlands is altering vegetation and soil properties and impacting net carbon storage. We studied four adjacent sites in Alaska with varied permafrost regimes, including a black spruce forest on a peat plateau with permafrost, two collapse scar bogs of different ages formed following thermokarst, and a rich fen without permafrost. Measurements included year-round eddy covariance estimates of net carbon dioxide (CO2), mid-April to October methane (CH4) emissions, and environmental variables. From 2011 to 2022, annual rainfall was above the historical average, snow water equivalent increased, and snow-season duration shortened due to later snow return. Seasonally thawed active layer depths also increased. During this period, all ecosystems acted as slight annual sources of CO2 (13–59 g C m−2 year−1) and stronger sources of CH4 (11–14 g CH4 m−2 from ~April to October). The interannual variability of net ecosystem exchange was high, approximately ±100 g C m−2 year−1, or twice what has been previously reported across other boreal sites. Net CO2 release was positively related to increased summer rainfall and winter snow water equivalent and later snow return. Controls over CH4 emissions were related to increased soil moisture and inundation status. The dominant emitter of carbon was the rich fen, which, in addition to being a source of CO2, was also the largest CH4 emitter. These results suggest that the future carbon-source strength of boreal lowlands in Interior Alaska may be determined by the area occupied by minerotrophic fens, which are expected to become more abundant as permafrost thaw increases hydrologic connectivity. Since our measurements occur within close proximity of each other (≤1 km2), this study also has implications for the spatial scale and data used in benchmarking carbon cycle models and emphasizes the necessity of long-term measurements to identify carbon cycle process changes in a warming climate