399 research outputs found

    A Postcolonial Discourse Analysis of a Tenth Grade Science Curriculum Guide

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    This study analyzed the construction of the concepts “science,” “scientific literacy,” and “Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing” in Science 10, Saskatchewan’s tenth-grade school science curriculum guide. The postcolonial discourse analysis revealed several key presuppositions of modern Western (Eurocentric) discourses in the curriculum guide. The construction of “science” and “scientific literacy” revealed assumptions characteristic of modern Western science, while “Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing” were paradoxically constructed as commensurable with but other than “science.” These findings demonstrate that Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing are misunderstood in the curriculum guide. Moreover, the research suggests that thematic content may provide a better point of entry for the integration of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing into mainstream science programs than specific knowledge content (which may not necessarily cross cultural borders). This indicates the need to reconsider the development of multicultural science curricula across culturally diverse borders

    Impact of the Ethanol Boom on Livestock and Dairy Industries: What Are They Going to Eat?

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    Increased demand for corn for ethanol production has helped push grain prices to record levels. This has increased livestock production costs, and producers have responded with changes to production systems. This paper explores the degree to which costs can be mitigated with alternative feeds, the effect this might have on physical performance, and the impact of alternative feeds on the competitive position of different species.cattle feeding, corn, cost of production, ethanol, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q12, Q13,

    Draft Genome Sequence of the Yeast Rhodotorula sp. Strain CCFEE 5036, Isolated from McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.

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    A draft genome sequence was assembled and annotated of the basidiomycetous yeast Rhodotorula sp. strain CCFEE 5036, isolated from Antarctic soil communities. The genome assembly is 19.07 megabases and encodes 6,434 protein-coding genes. The sequence will contribute to understanding the diversity of fungi inhabiting polar regions

    The Value of Wellness-Related Courses in Higher Education

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    Background: General education curriculums provide students with knowledge and skills that empower them to engage in their communities and prepare them for life after graduation.  Furthermore, colleges and universities can establish campus culture and express their values through their general education curriculum.  Aim: The aim of this article was to inspire faculty and administrators to reflect on the wellness culture present at their institution, specifically within their general education program. Methods: The authors addressed the need for a campus-wide wellness-related general education course. Arguments against and benefits of such a course were presented, as were suggestions for future research. Results: Wellness is a pertinent topic woven throughout our lives and the lives of our students.  Attending college offers students newfound independence and autonomy, as well as an opportunity to develop positive lifelong habits. A wellness-related course reinforces the holistic, interdisciplinary approach to general education and teaches the importance of healthy behaviors. Conclusion: Although concerns surrounding institutional resources exist when considering the creation of a new campus-wide requirement, the potential improvements in academic performance, student retention, and health behaviors outweigh the challenges

    A Framework for Analyzing, Developing, and Applying Community Practice Interventions

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    Due to multiple factors, the community practice field struggles with incongruent community practice language and activities. In this article, authors unpack various challenges associated with community practice and explore implications for analysis, development, and application of effective interventions. Grounded in applied social science paradigms, authors offer a framework incorporating multi-paradigmatic approaches to inform intervention development and application. Principally centered in praxis—that is, reflection and action—this article builds on the work of foundational scholars to cultivate contextual interventions in planned change work. The authors aim to further develop the community practice knowledge base, expand what constitutes relevant evidence, and aid practitioners in making sense of complexity and contradiction in practice

    Applying Critical Grounded Theory to Community Intervention Development Methodology: Designing the Critical Difference Engagement Approach

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    Multiple factors contribute to community practice’s ongoing challenge of developing effective, evidence-informed, and socially just practice interventions. Currently, rationally driven systematic reviews dominate intervention design and development in various interprofessional applied health and human service fields, including community practice. As a result, community interventions often undergo significant development outside complex community contexts in which social problems manifest. Drawing from a case example of one author’s participation in a community engaged intervention development study based on mobilizing across differences, this piece advances an inclusive approach to community-based participatory intervention development driven by critical grounded theory. Undergirded by critical research perspectives, the article offers an early-stage intervention development methodology derived from the field in collaboration with community practitioners and resident leaders. Built upon existing interdisciplinary scholarship, it blends prominent intervention development frameworks, participatory research approaches, and critical grounded theory methods. Authors aim to aid scholars, practitioners, and community leaders in developing socially just, inclusive, and contextually relevant intervention approaches that originate from within communities directly impacted by social problems

    Strengths Perspective in Critical Macro Practice: Tentative Guidance for Transformative Strengths-Based Policy, Organizational, and Community Practice

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    This chapter aims to expand both theorizing and application of strengths perspec- tive in policy, organizational, and community contexts across inter-professional settings in human services. It begins with a brief overview of the history of strengths perspective and its pivotal influence on social work, human services, community psychology, community development, and other disciples. It goes on to bring to light traditionally dominant policy, organization, and community practice foundations within interdisciplinary human service practice. By highlighting these historically situated and presently reinforced rational, bureaucratic, and linear approaches; it argues for intentional integration of strengths perspective into macro practice en- vironments. Aligned with early scholars and practitioners that use critical perspec- tives as a foundation for the development of strengths perspective, and who assert its practical efficacy in numerous direct practice settings, it affirms broadening strengths perspective to policy, organizational, and community settings. In the interest of clarity, throughout the chapter, we use the term macro practice to describe human service activities within policy, organizational, and community set- tings (Reisch, 2017). Additionally, following the lead of other scholars in establishing critical community practice (Butcher, Banks, Henderson, & Robertson, 2007; Evans, 2015), many terms we conceive, such as critical strengths-based practice, critical macro practice, critical policy practice, and critical organizational practice. These terms, defined in further sections, differentiate these approaches from their more traditional, rational, and incremental counterparts. Beginning with a brief historical overview of strengths perspective, authors define critical strengths perspective, detail essential elements of critical macro practice, and provide examples of these distinct approaches in practice. The piece offers a critical lens to frame strengths perspective in macro contexts and demonstrates ways in which it can be applied in multiple policies, community, and organizational settings. Concluding with a set of tentative guides and considerations for critical strengths-based practice, such as prefigurative practices, humanization, intersec- tionality, democratic practice, and critical consciousness; we hope it offers tools, opens dialogue among practitioners and scholars, encourages active scholarship in this area, and spurs the necessary flourishing of truly transformative critical strengths-based practice

    Crossing Boundaries: Building a Model to Effectively Address Difference in Community Practice

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    Community organizing has a rich tradition within the field of social work. Prevailing community practice models, approaches, and frameworks remain primarily based on practice wisdom, experience, and intuition. Difference, pervasive in various contemporary contexts of practice, largely mediates interactions at the community level. Although difference is addressed at various levels of the practice continuum and within the IFSW and NASW codes of ethics, few methodologically driven tools exist within the literature to guide practitioners. This grounded theory study initiates early development of a community practice model based on forging alliances across boundaries of difference. The Critical Difference Engagement model is based on local community leaders’ and organizers’ experiences working across dimensions of power, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, it provides practitioners with a framework for social change and building solidarity across difference in multiple contexts

    A Human-Systems Approach to Proactively Managing Risk through Training in an Evolving Aviation Industry

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    The Aviation industry is rapidly evolving through increased automation on the flight deck, new air traffic control tools and procedures, and expanded applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The majority of these enhancements will rely on human operators (pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, etc.) in order to be safely integrated into the National Airspace System. The staggered development cycle of these technological changes, coupled with independent development teams and relatively limited operational testing opportunities, can create significant challenges. These technological enhancements must be met with similarly rapid advancements in risk mitigation and training. In this presentation we describe a standardized approach to proactively identify and assess the potential human error modes and conditions for new or proposed technological or procedural changes in the context of NAS operations. The Human-Organization and Safety Technique (HOST) is designed to examine a system or tool with the goal of improving human performance during the design stages by mitigating opportunities for human error. Human error in complex systems is rarely the result of a single error but stems from the complex interactions of multiple factors and natural performance variability. Results of a HOST analysis outline critical human-human and human-system interactions and describe and prioritize potential human performance hazards associated with each interaction. The resulting models and human performance hazards provide a comprehensive roadmap for the development of new human factors-focused training programs to ensure that pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance personnel are prepared for the changes and have the best opportunity to avoid error and mitigate risk in the future
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