Teaching and Learning Anthropology in the Museum: Developing an Exhibit with the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm

Elements of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP), or teaching and learning in the Jesuit tradition, can be successfully integrated into both formal anthropology courses, as well as informal environments such as museum exhibits in order to advance anthropological pedagogy. This article discusses how I integrated the IPP into the design of an anthropology course on museum exhibit development, and within the exhibit itself. Students benefitted from direct activities such as opportunities to study and interpret material culture, and were asked to reflect on the experience of applying their anthropological knowledge and interests in a public venue. Visitors to the exhibit were provided opportunities for reflection, which may lead to changes in their actions

A Retrospective Study of Handwriting Skills of Kindergarten Students

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to guide teachers and occupational therapist in recognizing handwriting needs in order to provide appropriate early intervention support for handwriting. METHOD: 218 kindergarten students in a public school district were screened for handwriting ability using the Handwriting Without Tears and the Public School’s copy screeners. Students were assessed three times during the 2014 to 2015 school year on letter memory, line placement, letter orientation, copy legibility, and copy placement skills. RESULTS: The results indicated that winter scores were a better predictor of spring scores. Significant effects in four out of five variables were found when utilizing repeated measures of retrospective data. CONCLUSION: Winter scores were shown to be significant in determining handwriting outcomes measured in the spring. The Handwriting Without Tears’ screener and the Public School’s screener are appropriate tools for school-based occupational therapists to use to identify intervention needs

Women\u27s Work: Sumbanese Textiles from the May Weber Collection

This catalogue was produced to accompany Women’s Work, an exhibition of textiles from the May Weber Ethnographic collection held from March 16 — June 2017 in the Damen Student Center. The exhibition was curated by Anthropology student Grace Iverson (B.A. Loyola University Chicago 2017)

How broadband adoption and availability impacted rural employment during COVID-19

The authors thank Joe Lear, University of Missouri System; Alice Roach, University of Missouri and TaylorAnn Washburn, University of Missouri, for their assistance and input."This publication highlights findings from a recent MU Extension study that investigated how broadband has affected rural employment. It found that broadband availability and adoption had positive and economically significant impacts on rural employment rates during the COVID-19 pandemic and before the pandemic. Results suggest that increasing broadband infrastructure availability and adoption should provide economic benefits for rural communities. Understanding how broadband availability and adoption affected rural employment during the pandemic helps to gauge how broadband infrastructure and its uptake may impact rural areas going forward as society relies more on technology."--Page 1.Written by Catherine Isley (Former Exceed Graduate Research Assistant), Zane Nichols (Exceed Undergraduate Communications Assistant), Sarah A. Low (Associate Professor of Regional Economics, MU Extension Exceed)New 6/2022Includes bibliographical reference

The role of NH2-terminal positive charges in the activity of inward rectifier KATP channels

Approximately half of the NH(2) terminus of inward rectifier (Kir) channels can be deleted without significant change in channel function, but activity is lost when more than ∼30 conserved residues before the first membrane spanning domain (M1) are removed. Systematic replacement of the positive charges in the NH(2) terminus of Kir6.2 with alanine reveals several residues that affect channel function when neutralized. Certain mutations (R4A, R5A, R16A, R27A, R39A, K47A, R50A, R54A, K67A) change open probability, whereas an overlapping set of mutants (R16A, R27A, K39A, K47A, R50A, R54A, K67A) change ATP sensitivity. Further analysis of the latter set differentiates mutations that alter ATP sensitivity as a consequence of altered open state stability (R16A, K39A, K67A) from those that may affect ATP binding directly (K47A, R50A, R54A). The data help to define the structural determinants of Kir channel function, and suggest possible structural motifs within the NH(2) terminus, as well as the relationship of the NH(2) terminus with the extended cytoplasmic COOH terminus of the channel

Structural and Functional Determinants of Conserved Lipid Interaction Domains of Inward Rectifying Kir6.2 Channels

All members of the inward rectifiier K+ (Kir) channel family are activated by phosphoinositides and other amphiphilic lipids. To further elucidate the mechanistic basis, we examined the membrane association of Kir6.2 fragments of KATP channels, and the effects of site-directed mutations of these fragments and full-length Kir6.2 on membrane association and KATP channel activity, respectively. GFP-tagged Kir6.2 COOH terminus and GFP-tagged pleckstrin homology domain from phospholipase C δ1 both associate with isolated membranes, and association of each is specifically reduced by muscarinic m1 receptor–mediated phospholipid depletion. Kir COOH termini are predicted to contain multiple β-strands and a conserved α-helix (residues ∼306–311 in Kir6.2). Systematic mutagenesis of D307-F315 reveals a critical role of E308, I309, W311 and F315, consistent with residues lying on one side of a α-helix. Together with systematic mutation of conserved charges, the results define critical determinants of a conserved domain that underlies phospholipid interaction in Kir channels

Migration Narratives

Migration Narratives presents an ethnographic study of an American town that recently became home to thousands of Mexican migrants, with the Mexican population rising from 125 in 1990 to slightly under 10,000 in 2016. Through interviews with residents, the book focuses on key educational, religious, and civic institutions that shape and are shaped by the realities of Mexican immigrants. Focusing on African American, Mexican, Irish and Italian communities, the authors describe how interethnic relations played a central role in newcomers’ pathways and draw links between the town’s earlier cycles of migration. The town represents similar communities across the USA and around the world that have received large numbers of immigrants in a short time. The purpose of the book is to document the complexities that migrants and hosts experience and to suggest ways in which policy-makers, researchers, educators and communities can respond intelligently to politically-motivated stories that oversimplify migration across the contemporary world. This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Boston College

Kicking the Tires: A Usability Study of the Primo Discovery Tool

Discovery tools offer users a powerful way of searching library holdings, as well as external databases and indexes. They are becoming an increasingly common part of the library user experience, and research on the usability of such tools is expanding. In 2012, a mid-sized academic research library implemented Primo Discovery and Delivery by Ex Libris and conducted a diagnostic usability test to investigate how the tool is used without instruction, to discover patterns in searching behavior, and to uncover how compatible Primo is with user search behavior. This paper will describe the design and implementation of the usability study. Despite some design flaws, users adapt to the tool over time and can perform effective searches. This paper also provides recommendations for future usability studies in specific targeted areas where problems were detected

Usability Testing to Enhance User Experience: The CATQuest Usability Study

After implementing the discovery tool Primo (eventually renamed CATQuest), the UVM Libraries conducted a usability test to understand how our users approach using this tool without instruction, to discover patterns in searching behavior, and to uncover how compatible Primo is with user search behavior. This presentation will demonstrate the design and implementation of the usability study, as well as reveal some surprising results