iDilemmas and Humanities Education: Redefining Technology Literacy Pedagogy and Practice

U.S. and global citizens will increasingly be called upon to navigate complex social issues surrounding information and communication technologies (ICTs). At the start of the 21st century, humanities educators are uniquely positioned to impact the ways technology literacy is taught and learned in secondary and post-secondary educational settings. Cultural, social, and textual criticism are increasingly embedded in the evolving theories surrounding technology literacy. To build the new kinds of technocultural humanism required, however, humanities educators must continue to fight against fragmented, atheoretical technology literacy practices that while not ill-intentioned, do not fit the methodologies needed to produce the best results. Humanities educators must 1) inoculate themselves against the E Literacy Myth positing that Gen-Y / Millennial students are inherently tech savvy ; 2) be willing to provide key perspectives and conversations that have been largely absent from technology discussions; 3) avoid focusing research on narrow textual perspectives, but also investigate the vast range of practical and social implications of technology\u27s use conditions; and 4) explore new classroom techniques that can produce immediate technology literacy gains even if programmatic changes are not forthcoming

Gaseous, PM2.5 Mass, and Speciated Emission Factors from Laboratory Chamber Peat Combustion

Peat fuels representing four biomes of boreal (western Russia and Siberia), temperate (northern Alaska, USA), subtropical (northern and southern Florida, USA), and tropical (Borneo, Malaysia) regions were burned in a laboratory chamber to determine gas and particle emission factors (EFs). Tests with 25 % fuel moisture were conducted with predominant smoldering combustion conditions (average modified combustion efficiency (MCE) =0.82+/-0.08). Average fuel-based EFCO2 (carbon dioxide) are highest (1400 +/- 38 g kg(-1)) and lowest (1073 +/- 63 g kg(-1)) for the Alaskan and Russian peats, respectively. EFCO (carbon monoxide) and EFCH4 (methane) are similar to 12 %15 % and similar to 0.3 %0.9 % of EFCO2, in the range of 157171 and 310 g kg(-1), respectively. EFs for nitrogen species are at the same magnitude as EFCH4, with an average of 5.6 +/- 4.8 and 4.7 +/- 3.1 g kg(-1) for EFNH3 (ammonia) and EFHCN (hydrogen cyanide); 1.9+/-1.1 g kg(-1) for EFNOx (nitrogen oxides); and 2.4+/-1.4 and 2.0 +/- 0.7 g kg(-1) for EFNOy (total reactive nitrogen) and EFN2O (nitrous oxide). An oxidation flow reactor (OFR) was used to simulate atmospheric aging times of similar to 2 and similar to 7 d to compare fresh (upstream) and aged (downstream) emissions. Filter-based EFPM2.5 varied by \u3e 4-fold (1461 g kg(-1)) without appreciable changes between fresh and aged emissions. The majority of EFPM2.5 consists of EFOC (organic carbon), with EFOC / EFPM2.5 ratios in the range of 52 %98 % for fresh emissions and similar to 14 %23 % degradation after aging. Reductions of EFOC (similar to 79 g kg(-1)) after aging are most apparent for boreal peats, with the largest degradation in low-temperature OC1 that evolves at \u3c 140 degrees C, indicating the loss of high-vapor-pressure semivolatile organic compounds upon aging. The highest EFLevoglucosan is found for Russian peat (similar to 16 g kg(-1)), with similar to 35 %50 % degradation after aging. EFs for water-soluble OC (EFWSOC) account for similar to 20 %62 % of fresh EFOC. The majority (\u3e 95 %) of the total emitted carbon is in the gas phase, with 54 %75 % CO2, followed by 8 %30 % CO. Nitrogen in the measured species explains 24 %52 % of the consumed fuel nitrogen, with an average of 35 +/- 11 %, consistent with past studies that report similar to 1/3 to 2/3 of the fuel nitrogen measured in biomass smoke. The majority (\u3e 99 %) of the total emitted nitrogen is in the gas phase, with an average of 16.7 % as NH3 and 9.5 % as HCN center dot N2O and NOy constituted 5.7 % and 2.9 % of consumed fuel nitrogen. EFs from this study can be used to refine current emission inventories

Profiles in Parole Release and Revocation Nevada

Felony sentences in Nevada have both a minimum and a maximum term, unless a definite term is required by statute. In 2017, legislation was passed creating the Nevada Sentencing Commission. The Commission hasmany statutory duties, including formulating statutory sentencing guidelines to be enacted by the legislature. Nevada's first Pardons Board was created in 1867. The Board was granted the power to parole inmates in 1909. In 1989, Nevada passed legislation that required the Board to create standards for parole release and revocation.Nevada also signed justice reinvestment legislation in 2007, which increased incentives for parolees to comply with supervision and expanded alternatives to incarceration

The Impact of Writing Intensive Professional Development on High School Teachersa Science Content Knowledge of Energy in Systems

The Communication in Science Inquiry Project CISIP investigated the impact of writing intensive inquiry based professional development on high school teachers science content knowledge of Energy in Systems In particular we investigated whether different forms of assessment provided different information about the depth of teacher knowledge We developed a two-tier Energy Test linked to both national and state science standards which was administered both before and after science teacher particip-ation in 23 hours of professional development on energy in biological and societal systems Our study found that we were successful in relaying content knowledge to the teachers When we analyzed misconceptions in distracter choices and written responses on the same test however we found we were successful in some areas but not in others The application of knowledge gained about energy in systems through writing scientific explanations was the least successful of al

Environmental practices and the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to natural disasters : the differential impacts of Hurricane Janet and Hurricane Ivan upon mangrove-dependent livelihoods in Grenada

xii, 202 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.), col. maps ; 29 cm.Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202).In this thesis I respond to one of Ian Scoones' (2009) identified failures of livelihoods perspectives: a lack of rigorous attempts to deal with long-term change in environmental conditions. I seek to address the increasing prevalence of natural disasters, given, the impediments they pose to development pursuits, and do so through the lens of a hybrid theoretical framework that combines perspectives from the livelihoods framework and political ecology. In order to inform strategies to reduce the impacts of natural disasters, this thesis explores the role of environmental practices in influencing the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to such occurrences. Field research was conducted in Grenada in communities located between Telescope Point and Artiste Point on the east coast in the Parish of St. Andrew's. The events of Hurricane Janet (1955) and Hurricane Ivan (2004) are compared, with the differentiating factor between them being the intensity in which beach sand was extracted; with small-scale sand removal occurring in the Hurricane Janet era, and large-scale, capital-intensive sand mining taking place in the Hurricane Ivan era. It is found that mangroves recovered far more quickly following Hurricane Janet than Hurricane Ivan, and in turn, so too did the viability of mangrove-dependent livelihoods; thereby, revealing the influence of environmental practices on the vulnerability of rural livelihoods to natural disasters

Changes in PM2.5 Peat Combustion Source Profiles with Atmospheric Aging in an Oxidation Flow Reactor

Smoke from laboratory chamber burning of peat fuels from Russia, Siberia, the USA (Alaska and Florida), and Malaysia representing boreal, temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions was sampled before and after passing through a potential-aerosol-mass oxidation flow reactor (PAM-OFR) to simulate intermediately aged (∼2 d) and well-aged (∼7 d) source profiles. Species abundances in PM2.5 between aged and fresh profiles varied by several orders of magnitude with two distinguishable clusters, centered around 0.1 % for reactive and ionic species and centered around 10 % for carbon. Organic carbon (OC) accounted for 58 %–85 % of PM2.5 mass in fresh profiles with low elemental carbon (EC) abundances (0.67 %–4.4 %). OC abundances decreased by 20 %–33 % for well-aged profiles, with reductions of 3 %–14 % for the volatile OC fractions (e.g., OC1 and OC2, thermally evolved at 140 and 280 ∘C). Ratios of organic matter (OM) to OC abundances increased by 12 %–19 % from intermediately aged to well-aged smoke. Ratios of ammonia (NH3) to PM2.5 decreased after intermediate aging. Well-aged NH+4 and NO−3 abundances increased to 7 %–8 % of PM2.5 mass, associated with decreases in NH3, low-temperature OC, and levoglucosan abundances for Siberia, Alaska, and Everglades (Florida) peats. Elevated levoglucosan was found for Russian peats, accounting for 35 %–39 % and 20 %–25 % of PM2.5 mass for fresh and aged profiles, respectively. The water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) fractions of PM2.5 were over 2-fold higher in fresh Russian peat (37.0±2.7 %) than in Malaysian (14.6±0.9 %) peat. While Russian peat OC emissions were largely water-soluble, Malaysian peat emissions were mostly water-insoluble, with WSOC ∕ OC ratios of 0.59–0.71 and 0.18–0.40, respectively. This study shows significant differences between fresh and aged peat combustion profiles among the four biomes that can be used to establish speciated emission inventories for atmospheric modeling and receptor model source apportionment. A sufficient aging time (∼7 d) is needed to allow gas-to-particle partitioning of semi-volatilized species, gas-phase oxidation, and particle volatilization to achieve representative source profiles for regional-scale source apportionment

Root density distribution and biomass allocation of co-occurring woody plants on contrasting soils in a subtropical savanna parkland

Background and aims: Root niche partitioning among trees/shrubs and grasses facilitates their coexistence in savannas, but little is known regarding root distribution patterns of co-occurring woody plants, and how they might differ on contrasting soils. Methods: We quantified root distributions of co-occurring shrubs to 2m on argillic and non-argillic soils. Results: Root biomass in the two shrub communities was 3- to 5- fold greater than that in the grassland community. Prosopis glandulosa, the dominant overstory species was deep-rooted, while the dominant understory shrub, Zanthoxylum fagara, was shallow-rooted (47% vs. 25% of root density at depths >0.4m). Shrubs on argillic soils had less aboveground and greater belowground mass than those on non-argillic soils. Root biomass and density on argillic soils was elevated at shallow (0.4m. Root density decreased exponentially with increasing distance from woody patch perimeters. Conclusions: Belowground biomass (carbon) pools increased markedly with grassland-to-shrubland state change. The presence/absence of a restrictive barrier had substantial effects on root distributions and above- vs. belowground biomass allocation. Differences in root distribution patterns of co-occurring woody species would facilitate their co-existence.NSF [BSR-9109240]; NASA [NAGW-2662]; NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant [DEB/DDIG-1600790]; USDA/NIFA Hatch Project [1003961]; Sid Kyle Graduate Merit Assistantship from the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management; Tom Slick Graduate Research Fellowship from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas AM University; Office of Graduate and Professional Studies at Texas AM University12 month embargo; first online: 11 March 2019This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

RangeShifter 2.0 : An extended and enhanced platform for modelling spatial eco-evolutionary dynamics and species’ responses to environmental changes

Acknowledgements We thank R. L. Allgayer, A. Ponchon and N. W. Synes for their help and contribution to the RangeShifter development and application. We also thank the many users of RangeShifter and participants to workshops for their invaluable feedback. Funding Development of RangeShifter 2.0 was supported by the project PROBIS funded by the BiodivERsA European Joint Call 2012–2013. GB was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF160614). AKM and DZ were supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under grant agreement no. ZU 361/1-1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD