The Impact Of A Media Literacy Curriculum On Middle School Students’ Ability To Recognize Racial Bias In Mass Media

This paper outlines an action research study focused on the possible effects of a media literacy curriculum on middle school students’ ability to recognize racial bias in mass media. The research study also evaluated the possible differences in sensitivity to mass media messages based on gender and race. Currently, while numerous forms of media literacy education exist, very few K-12 educational systems in the United States have implemented a formal media literacy curriculum; instead, teachers who are not trained in media literacy education are expected to include the teaching of these skills within their daily lessons. The questions this research attempts to answer is: How can a media literacy curriculum sensitize middle school students to the racial bias and stereotypes present in mass media? and How do gender and race affect student sensitivity to the racial bias and stereotypes present in mass media? While there are some studies concerning media literacy, they have not been conclusive, and additional research needs to be done. This action research study focuses on middle school students of various ability levels, and it looked both quantitatively and qualitatively at the impact of media literacy education. The data collected were evaluated through the lens of two theories that apply to media messages. Social Identity Theory combined with the idea of Identity Threat Theory are used to help negotiate the data gathered from the participants

STRENGTHENING THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S BUDGETARY AND ECONOMIC SURVEILLANCE CAPACITY SINCE GREECE AND THE EURO DEBT CRISIS: A STUDY OF FIVE DIRECTORATES-GENERAL

Has the executive role of the European Commission changed since the euro debt crisis? Intergovernmentalists point to the increased role of the member states and the Council at the expense of the Commission and other supranational institutions. This paper examines how the Commission has responded to the expansion of fiscal and economic rules such as the regulations that strengthen the EU’s statistical competence and the Six-Pack and Two-Pack. Based on interviews conducted with key staff, we find that these rules have created significant coordination, information, and analytical demands on the Commission. The latter has enhanced its horizontal and vertical coordination efforts, prioritized staff for the Directorate-Generals conducting surveillance activities, added DGs to these efforts, and reorganized their organizational structures to promote a deeper understanding of the member states’ fiscal and economic policies. Using a principal-agent approach this paper explains how the Commission has increased its role in European integration process

Servant Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Practices, Experiences, Organizational Effectiveness, And Barriers

The subject of leadership is complex, and one of the main issues facing organizational leaders today is how to motivate employees to actively participate in the efforts that lead to accomplishing organizational goals. This study gathered lived experiences of 15 organizational leaders who practice the servant leadership philosophy, and explored how business leaders link their servant leadership practices to their organization’s effectiveness. The qualitative responses obtained during this study indicated that the perceived organizational barriers that prevent the servant leadership practices are the organization’s culture, the fear of change, and the lack of knowledge regarding the servant leadership philosophy. This study also gained insight into the impact that these organizational barriers have on one’s ability to practice servant leadership

Cohesive Integration of E-Learning in Nursing Leadership Reality

There is a constant challenge to develop and implement courses in a manner that leads to direct translation of principles and skills to the workplace. As health care is an everchanging field, nursing faculty are faced with a constant state of flux that leads to research, review and re-creation of course materials. Most students in graduate nursing programs are nontraditional students. These students need to apply their newly learned skills in order to remain motivated and see the immediate value from course work. Problem-based learning is a way to meet the needs of nursing students. Creating unique opportunities through the combination of distance learning, virtual face to face interaction, and local practica experiences not only leads to student success, but profound student satisfaction. It is the value-added hybrid intervention that leads to the development of work-ready students and nurse leaders

Anoplolepis gracilipes invasion of the Samoan Archipelago: Can mutualisms with native species amplify ecological consequences?

Integrating mutualism into the study of ecological communities is likely to be critical to understanding community dynamics and to predict the consequences of anthropogenic changes to ecosystems. Invasive species are among the greatest of these threats to global biodiversity. Throughout the Pacific, the invasive ant Anoplolepis gracilipes associates mutualistically with Morinda citrifolia , a native plant with extrafloral nectaries (EFN). I tested the hypothesis that these interactions can mediate invader impacts Anoplolepis gracilipes abundances were positively correlated with the dominance of EFN-bearing plants per site and negatively correlated with the species richness of native ants. Additionally, A. gracilipes displayed a higher magnitude of responses to nectar than other dominant ants. Mutualisms also had significant impacts on the structure of arthropod communities. These effects were strongest when A. gracilipes dominated local ant assemblages. These results suggest that novel mutualisms between invasive and native species can facilitate the impacts of invasions on communities

Signatures of the non-Maxwellian κ\kappa-distributions in optically thin line spectra. II. Synthetic Fe XVII--XVIII X-ray coronal spectra and predictions for the Marshall Grazing-Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

We investigated the possibility of diagnosing the degree of departure from the Maxwellian distribution using the Fe XVII - Fe XVIII spectra originating in plasmas in collisional ionization equilibrium, such as in the cores of solar active regions or microflares. The original collision strengths for excitation are integrated over the non-Maxwellian electron $\kappa$-distributions characterized by a high-energy tail. Synthetic X-ray emission line spectra were calculated for a range of temperatures and $\kappa$. We focus on the 6-24 A spectral range to be observed by the upcoming Marshall Grazing-Incidence X-ray Spectrometer MaGIXS. We find that many line intensity ratios are sensitive to both $T$ and $\kappa$. Best diagnostic options are provided if a ratio involving both Fe XVII and Fe XVIII is combined with another ratio involving lines formed within a single ion. The sensitivity of such diagnostics to $\kappa$ is typically a few tens of per cent. Much larger sensitivity, of about a factor of two to three, can be obtained if the Fe XVIII 93.93 A line observed by SDO/AIA is used in conjuction with the X-ray lines. We conclude that the MaGIXS instrument is well-suited for detection of departures from the Maxwellian distribution, especially in active region cores.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, accepte

Dynamic Moss Observed with Hi-C

The Highresolution Coronal Imager (HiC), flown on 11 July 2012, has revealed an unprecedented level of detail and substructure within the solar corona. HiC imaged a large active region (AR11520) with 0.20.3'' spatial resolution and 5.5s cadence over a 5 minute period. An additional dataset with a smaller FOV, the same resolution, but with a higher temporal cadence (1s) was also taken during the rocket flight. This dataset was centered on a large patch of 'moss' emission that initially seemed to show very little variability. Image processing revealed this region to be much more dynamic than first thought with numerous bright and dark features observed to appear, move and disappear over the 5 minute observation. Moss is thought to be emission from the upper transition region component of hot loops so studying its dynamics and the relation between the bright/dark features and underlying magnetic features is important to tie the interaction of the different atmospheric layers together. HiC allows us to study the coronal emission of the moss at the smallest scales while data from SDO/AIA and HMI is used to give information on these structures at different heights/temperatures. Using the high temporal and spatial resolution of HiC the observed moss features were tracked and the distribution of displacements, speeds, and sizes were measured. This allows us to comment on both the physical processes occurring within the dynamic moss and the scales at which these changes are occurring

Dynamic Moss Observed with Hi-C

The High-resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C), flown on 11 July 2012, has revealed an unprecedented level of detail and substructure within the solar corona. Hi-C imaged a large active region (AR11520) with 0.2-0.3'' spatial resolution and 5.5s cadence over a 5 minute period. An additional dataset with a smaller FOV, the same resolution, but with a higher temporal cadence (1s) was also taken during the rocket flight. This dataset was centered on a large patch of 'moss' emission that initially seemed to show very little variability. Image processing revealed this region to be much more dynamic than first thought with numerous bright and dark features observed to appear, move and disappear over the 5 minute observation. Moss is thought to be emission from the upper transition region component of hot loops so studying its dynamics and the relation between the bright/dark features and underlying magnetic features is important to tie the interaction of the different atmospheric layers together. Hi-C allows us to study the coronal emission of the moss at the smallest scales while data from SDO/AIA and HMI is used to give information on these structures at different heights/temperatures. Using the high temporal and spatial resolution of Hi-C the observed moss features were tracked and the distribution of displacements, speeds, and sizes were measured. This allows us to comment on both the physical processes occurring within the dynamic moss and the scales at which these changes are occurring