The 4-C’s Model: Care Theory for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Classroom teachers strive to create environments in which all students have the possibility of success. As schools become increasingly more diversified, research shows that even experienced teachers struggle with the challenges presented by classroom diversity. In this article we propose the 4-C’s Model, a theoretical framework that provides guidance to teachers for implementing Care Theory in their classrooms.  The design of the 4-C’s Model functions as an efficacious, pedagogical, conceptual structure through which the critical components of school Curriculum, professional Competence and Culture are bridged by Care Theory. The 4-C’s Model, as a socio-constructivist framework, supports efforts to create culturally responsive classrooms. The Model operationalizes the notion of a “caring environment” to include cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as effective pedagogy and authentic learning experiences as pathways toward a classroom environment that is inclusive and empowering for all students. This article offers significant pedagogical directions to support educators as they scaffold learners from diverse backgrounds. Keywords: Care Theory, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Curriculum Design, Diversity, Socio-Cultural Theory DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-21-10 Publication date:June 30th 202

The Factors Affecting the Lack of Post-project Reviews in IT Projects

Post-Project Reviews are highly rated as a process to evaluate project outcomes and to leverage learning. Nevertheless they have remained the least-developed area of project management although the incidence of failed projects remains persistently high. The purpose of this research was to determine factors which affect the slow uptake and often ineffectual application of Post-Project Reviews. A case study was undertaken in a large, multinational, mobile Services Provider with an ad-hoc approach to Post-Project Reviews. Storytelling was the approach employed to extract information from stakeholders and role-players, representing both project and business areas. Thematic analysis of the stories revealed that business personnel and project teams had widely opposing views. It was also determined that although there were sufficient frameworks available most of the stakeholders required executive direction to compel them into action, which was not forthcoming. Areas identified for further research are methods for effective transference of tacit data into organisational learning, and development of strategies to align project outputs to expected and successful business outcomes

Energy Inefficiency in Industrial Agriculture: You Are What You Eat: Working Paper Series--09-09

Modern industrial farming technologies for growing fruits, vegetables and grains have changed substantially in recent decades. In many locations such as Arizona, these industries are highly energy and water-intensive operations. As such, the sustainability of these operations is called into question. The economic, social and climate implications of energy use in agriculture are worth further discussion. Based on the idea of a sustainable energy budget, the production processes of various foods are analyzed which prove to be very energy inefficient. Various primary and secondary sources are used to evaluate a series of industrial production methods to produce food. The conclusions are presented in a series of calculations based on the direct fossil fuel inputs used in production. Fossil fuel based industrial agriculture raises numerous issues requiring more advanced analysis. The environmental, ecological and social justice issues of modern industrial agriculture require a reassessment form myriad perspectives: farm subsidies, consumer demand and preferences, engineering technologies and water policy

Energy planning for Indian nations within the WRAP: A field guide: Working paper series--05-14

This paper provides an overview of the process for developing a tribal energy plan. The process includes the following steps: developing a tribal energy vision, energy efficiency programs, renewable energy resource development, electrification programs and energy plan implementation. Working with the Hualapai Tribe in Arizona, the workshop curriculum was presented and led to instantaneous energy efficiency projects. Stemming from the tribal reports from the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), the foremost recommendation for the 237 tribes within the WRAP was to create energy plans. Tribes should begin the process of energy planning due to the following issues: economic development (cost savings, revenue generation, job creation, and profit creation), increasing tribal sovereignty, energy independence, and cultural integrity

Rates of Bone Loss in Young Adult Males

Osteoporosis-related fractures occur more frequently in women compared with men, but mortality is greater in men compared with women. Peak bone mass is a significant predictor of osteoporosis and fracture risk; therefore, it is important to optimize peak bone mass during young adulthood. Several recent longitudinal studies, which are summarized in this article, have investigated bone changes among young men. Cortical bone loss does not appear to be significant until individuals reach their mid-30s and is associated with decreased sex hormone concentrations. Significant trabecular bone loss in young men aged in their 20s has been reported and is associated with reduced lean mass and activity levels, especially among former athletes. Whether changes in activity levels among nonathletes lead to bone loss among young men requires further investigation

Building Sustainable Success in Art Galleries: An Exploratory Study of Adaptive Strategies

Historically, art galleries have operated in a cottage industry that placed a premium on building unique relations with artists and clients. Recent economic and technological trends threaten the viability of this model. Art galleries now face a very challenging environment, demanding careful attention to strategy formulation and execution. However, more questions than answers can be found in the literature about management practices, art gallery performance, and factors affecting gallery success. This paper reports findings on these issues from an exploratory survey of Colorado art galleries. Results suggest that art gallery owners and mangers are not overly concerned about external pressures influencing their organizations. This attitude could adversely affect efforts to build sustainable success and value through adaptive strategies

Simulated Galaxy Interactions as Probes of Merger Spectral Energy Distributions

We present the first systematic comparison of ultraviolet-millimeter spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of observed and simulated interacting galaxies. Our sample is drawn from the Spitzer Interacting Galaxy Survey, and probes a range of galaxy interaction parameters. We use 31 galaxies in 14 systems which have been observed with Herschel, Spitzer, GALEX, and 2MASS. We create a suite of GADGET-3 hydrodynamic simulations of isolated and interacting galaxies with stellar masses comparable to those in our sample of interacting galaxies. Photometry for the simulated systems is then calculated with the SUNRISE radiative transfer code for comparison with the observed systems. For most of the observed systems, one or more of the simulated SEDs match reasonably well. The best matches recover the infrared luminosity and the star formation rate of the observed systems, and the more massive systems preferentially match SEDs from simulations of more massive galaxies. The most morphologically distorted systems in our sample are best matched to simulated SEDs close to coalescence, while less evolved systems match well with SEDs over a wide range of interaction stages, suggesting that an SED alone is insufficient to identify interaction stage except during the most active phases in strongly interacting systems. This result is supported by our finding that the SEDs calculated for simulated systems vary little over the interaction sequence.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ. Animations of the evolution of the simulated SEDs can be found at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~llanz/sigs_sim.htm

The Gulf Surgeon, Acanthurus randalli, a Junior Synonym of the Ocean Surgeon, Acanthurus bahianus (Teleostei: Acanthuridae)

We compared 62 specimens, 48-126.5 mm standard length, of Acanthurus bahianus from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico with 95 specimens from other localities to determine if the distinguishing characters in the original description of the Gulf of Mexico endemic surgeonfish Acanthurus randalli were valid. No color pattern or meristic differences were found, and the only measurement that allowed distinction (91% percent concordance) was the shallower caudal concavity of northeastern Gulf of Mexico specimens. Acanthurus chirurgus from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico also have shallower caudal concavities (93.7% percent concordance) than do conspecifics from other areas, suggesting that this trend may be correlated with some unknown environmental influence. Considering the extended planktonic larval dispersal capabilities of Atlantic surgeonfishes, and that the single divergent morphological character state is also exhibited in a sympatric northeastern Gulf of Mexico population of A. chirurgus, recognition of A. randalli is untenable, and the name is considered a junior synonym of A. bahianus. An identification key to western Atlantic species of Acanthurus that incorporates the results of this study is given