(Post)colonising Disability

Disability and postcolonialism are two important, and inter-related, discourses in the social construction of the nation and those bodies deemed worthy of citizenship rights. This paper acknowledges the material dimensions of disability, impairment -and postcolonialism and its associated inequalities – but it also highlights the rhetorical connections which are commonly made between elements of postcolonialism (exile, diaspora, apartheid, slavery, and so on) and experiences of disability (deafness, psychiatric illness, blindness, etc.) The paper suggests that researchers need to be far more careful in their language around experiences of both disability and postcolonialism. Neither disability nor postcolonialism should be understood as simply a metaphor for the other experience; nor should they be rhetorically employed as a symbol of the oppression involved in a completely different experience

Exploring Disability Hate Crimes

This paper identifies some of the characteristics of disability hate crimes and explains the difference between a “hate crime” and other sorts of crimes. Hate crimes are best understood as crimes with two victims (both individuals and communities) and as two crimes in one act. The high level of violence associated with hate crimes are noted, and the evidence necessary to demonstrate “hate” exists is also discussed. The differences between hate speech and hate crimes are outlined. The paper discusses the rapid growth in recent years of anti-disability websites on the Internet. It suggests that the use of the Internet to promote hatred of disabled people is a serious concern. Finally, some possible responses to disability hate crimes are identified, including legislation, improvements in reporting procedures, community interventions, and support for individual victims

Service Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Model of Temporal, Spatial, and Cultural Adaptability

In this study, the researchers analyze the progress of undergraduate and graduate ASL/English interpreting students (n = 34) in service learning courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was an exploratory investigation of student adaptability and approaches to collaboration with the Deaf community amidst the global crisis. Using student assignments as the primary data source, the analysis yielded five themes that contextualized student growth throughout their service learning journeys: outlook, approach, effort, focus, and locus of control. Further, the findings are framed within the concepts of habitus and boundary work, resulting in a model of temporal, spatial, and cultural adaptability that conceptualizes student experience. Taken together, the data indicate that service learning activities and coursework continue to offer mutually beneficial opportunities to students and community partners even amidst challenging circumstances

Speckle Camera Observations for the NASA Kepler Mission Follow-up Program

We present the first results from a speckle imaging survey of stars classified as candidate exoplanet host stars discovered by the Kepler mission. We use speckle imaging to search for faint companions or closely aligned background stars that could contribute flux to the Kepler light curves of their brighter neighbors. Background stars are expected to contribute significantly to the pool of false positive candidate transiting exoplanets discovered by the Kepler mission, especially in the case that the faint neighbors are eclipsing binary stars. Here, we describe our Kepler follow-up observing program, the speckle imaging camera used, our data reduction, and astrometric and photometric performance. Kepler stars range from R = 8 to 16 and our observations attempt to provide background non-detection limits 5-6 mag fainter and binary separations of ~0.05-2.0 arcsec. We present data describing the relative brightness, separation, and position angles for secondary sources, as well as relative plate limits for non-detection of faint nearby stars around each of 156 target stars. Faint neighbors were found near 10 of the stars

Managing Pig Feed Costs in Niche Pork Production

The rising price of corn has created increased interest in alternative feedstuffs by livestock producers, and niche market pork producers are no exception. Unfortunately, there is currently no single replacement for corn in Midwest pig diets, even at today’s market prices. Thus, managing factors that you can more easily control is critical for continued success in pork production

Multiskilled Health Practitioners: Results of a Graduate Assessment

To ascertain the assimilation of graduates into multiskilled practice, the Add-A-Comp Program, Methodist Hospital of Indiana, conducted an assessment of graduates over a 30-month period. Input was received both from the program’s graduates and supervisors of the graduates. Of the 40 responding graduates, 24 (60%) had functioned in a multiskilled capacity. The majority of graduates reported increased job satisfaction, security, challenge, opportunities, and perceived value to their employer resulting from their multiskilled employment, with 58% receiving additional compensation for multiskilled functioning. Of the 24 supervisor respondents, 92% felt that their multiskilled graduates’ knowledge and competency levels had met their expectations and that the sponsorship was worth the investment. Many of the Add-A-Comp modules utilize a self-directed learning packet approach with 92% of graduates using these packets indicating an excellent or satisfactory rating for this instructional method

Feeding Bioenergy Coproducts to Swine: Crude Glycerol

Biodiesel can be produced from a variety of fats and oils. Soybean oil is the primary feedstock in Iowa. In general, soybean oil is mixed with an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst. The action of the alcohol and catalyst cause the oil (triacylglyceride) molecules to be broken down into methyl esters (biodiesel) and crude glycerol. Crude glycerol is the principal co-product of biodiesel production. For every gallon of biodiesel produced, 0.7 pounds of crude glycerol are co-generated. Biodiesel sales in the United States have increased rapidly since 1999 and annual production capacity in the U.S. is nearly 1.4 billion gallons. Iowa has 11 operating plants with 3 additional plants expected to be operational by December 2007. Production capacity in Iowa for biodiesel is 318.5 million gallons. Approximately 110,000 tons of crude glycerol could be generated annually by the biodiesel plants within Iowa