Pushing Back Against Deficit Narratives: Mentoring as Scholars of Color

In this article we share our lived experiences with mentoring. As tenured women professors of color, we push back against the assumption that institutions of higher education are neutral sites, that we have to change to belong, and that we do not belong. Each of us underscores the importance and value of our realities and the knowledge we generate to address inequality and to counteract negative stereotyping. We argue that rejecting deficit narratives and privileging the narratives of those we mentor and of those who have mentored us is vital to increasing faculty of color diversity, inclusion and belonging in higher education.Educatio

Serving the Storyline of the Novel: The Powerful Role of the Feudal Servant-Narrator

This thesis addresses issues of class as represented through the narrative agency exercised by the servant-narrator in Castle Rackrent and Wuthering Heights. Thady Quirk and Ellen Dean are servant-narrators who strategically use feigned allegiance, astute perception, and selective disclosure to wield power over the lives of their masters. These “arts of subordination” allow the servant-narrator to tell his or her own life narrative, while appearing to share the masters’ memoirs. While both servant-narrators are motivated by economic means, Ellen Dean’s involvement throughout Wuthering Heights is further complicated by her desires of emotional connection. However, each servant-narrator achieves his or her goals by manipulating the events and relationships that constitute his or her masters’ lives

Microbial communities and microbial nitrogen cycling in soil depth profiles over 120,000 years of ecosystem development

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Manganese cycling and transport in boreal estuaries impacted by acidic Mn-rich drainage

As critical transition zones between the land and the sea, estuaries are not only hotspots of hydrogeochemical and microbial processes/reactions, but also play a vital role in processing and transferring terrestrial fluxes of metals and nutrients to the sea. This study focused on three estuaries in the Gulf of Bothnia. All of them expe-rience frequent inputs of acidic and Mn/metal-rich creek waters due to flushing of acid sulfate soils that are widespread in the creeks catchments. Analyzing existing long-term water chemistry data revealed a strong sea-sonal variation of Mn loads, with the highest values in spring (after snow melt) and autumn (after heavy rains). We sampled surface waters, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediments from the estuarine mixing zones and determined the loads and solid-phase speciation of Mn as well as the composition and metabolic potentials of microbial communities. The results showed that the removal, cycling, and lateral transport of Mn were governed by similar phases and processes in the three estuaries. Manganese X-ray absorption spectroscopy data of the SPM suggested that the removal of Mn was regulated by silicates (e.g., biotite), organically complexed Mn(II), and MnOx (dominated by groutite and phyllomanganates). While the fractional amounts of silicate-bound Mn(II) were overall low and constant throughout the estuaries, MnOx was strongly correlated with the Mn loadings of the SPM and thus the main vector for the removal of Mn in the central and outer parts of the estuaries, along with organically complexed Mn(II). Down estuary, both the fractional amounts and average Mn oxidation state of the MnOx phases increased with (i) the total Mn loads on the SPM samples and (ii) the relative abundances of several potential Mn-oxidizing bacteria (Flavobacterium, Caulobacter, Mycobacterium, and Pedobacter) in the surface waters. These features collectively suggested that the oxidation of Mn, probably mediated by the potential Mn-oxidizing microorganisms, became more extensive and complete towards the central and outer parts of the es-tuaries. At two sites in the central parts of one estuary, abundant phyllomanganates occurred in the surface sediments, but were converted to surface-sorbed Mn(II) phases at deeper layers (>3-4 cm). The occurrence of phyllomanganates may have suppressed the reduction of sulfate in the surface sediments, pushing down the methane sulfate transition zone that is typically shallow in estuarine sediments. At the outermost site in the estuary, deposited MnOx were reduced immediately at the water-sediment interface and converted most likely to Mn carbonate. The mobile Mn species produced by the Mn reduction processes (e.g., aqueous Mn(II) and ligand complexed Mn(III)) could partly diffuse into the overlying waters and, together with the estuarine Mn loads carried by the surface waters, transfer large amounts of reactive Mn into open coastal areas and subsequently contribute to Mn shuttling and inter-linked biogeochemical processes over the seafloor. Given the widespread occurrence of acid sulfate soils and other sulfidic geological materials on many coastal plains worldwide, the identified Mn attenuation and transport mechanisms are relevant for many estuaries globally

THE CASE OF THE ZIA: LOOKING BEYOND TRADEMARK LAW TO PROTECT SACRED SYMBOLS

This Article tells the story of a tribe’s fight, over the past two decades, to reclaim its sacred symbol. Members of the Zia tribe, a Native American group located near Albuquerque, New Mexico, have been using their sacred sun symbol in religious ceremonies since 1200 C.E. Today, the symbol appears on the New Mexico state flag, letterhead, and license plate, and on numerous commercial products, including motorcycles and portable toilets. The tribe claims that the state appropriated the symbol without permission in 1925, and that the continued use of the symbol by various parties dilutes its sacred meaning and disparages the Zia people. This Article considers the harms the tribe faces when outsiders appropriate its symbol and the possible solutions within current trademark law. Ultimately, this Article illustrates that, for the Zia, non-legal measures have been more effective than legal ones. The case of the Zia thus suggests that indigenous groups should look beyond trademark law in the fight to protect their sacred symbols

Analysis of fiscal and monetary impacts of the U.S. wheat exports to Japan

Wheat is one of the most essential agricultural commodities In the world, and one of the top three commodities produced by the U.S. The U.S. exports the majority of Its wheat. Japan has been a major market for U.S. wheat, mainly purchasing hard red winter, hard red spring, and soft white wheats. The objective of this study Is to measure the Impacts of macroeconomic variables on U.S. wheat exports to Japan. Two major hypotheses were proposed: (1) the exchange rate plays a significant role In affecting the level of U.S. wheat exports to Japan and (2) other macroeconomic variables Impact the level of U.S. wheat exports to Japan. Three economic theories were Integrated to Incorporate the exchange rate and other macro variables In the same demand equations. In accordance with previous research In this area, the results led to ambiguity In what actually Impacts the level of agricultural exports. The results did not have any significance In showing that the exchange rate and other macro variables had an impact on the level of exports. Three reasons for perhaps the non-Influence on exports Is one, monetary variables do not determine the exchange rate and thus, do not influence U.S. wheat exports to Japan through the exchange rate. Two, political reasons which cannot be quantitatively measured and three, Japan has a government agency which does all of the purchasing of wheat for Its country. The government Intervention could. In fact, break off some kind of link between macro variables and agricultural exports

Review: The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing by Rachel Polinquin

Rachel Poliquin, The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012 Reviewed by Stephanie S. Turner, University of Wisconsin-Eau Clair

Protecting Citizen Journalists: Why Congress Should Adopt a Broad Federal Shield Law

On August 1, 2006, a federal district judge sent Josh Wolf, a freelance video journalist and blogger, to prison. Wolf, a recent college graduate who did not work for a mainstream media organization at the time, captured video footage of an anti-capitalist protest in California and posted portions of the video on his blog. As part of an investigation into charges against protestors whose identities were unknown, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Wolf to testify before a grand jury and to hand over the unpublished portions of his video. Wolf refused to comply with the subpoena, arguing that the First Amendment allows journalists to shield their newsgathering materials. The judge disagreed, and, as a result, Wolf spent 226 days in federal prison, the longest incarceration ever of an American journalist

Increasing the Value of Medicare Annual Wellness Visits for Patients and Providers

The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) has been available to Medicare beneficiaries since 2005; however, most eligible individuals have not taken advantage of this benefit. The literature supports that patients are willing to schedule and complete an AWV if urged to do so by their primary care provider; however, providers are reluctant to advise patients to pursue the AWV due to the lack of perceived value and overall health benefit. The integrative theory of health behavior change was used as the theoretical framework for the project. By increasing patient self-management skills through education, engagement, and support, the project was designed to create a positive impact on the overall health of individuals eligible for the AWV, as demonstrated by evidence of a long-term decrease in chronic conditions and related complications. A retrospective chart review was conducted to evaluate the number of preventive care measures completed in 2 patient populations: -¬those with a completed AWV in 2017, and those without a completed AWV in 2017. The number of completed preventive screenings for colon cancer, breast cancer, fall risk, and depression was as much as 41.6% higher among patients that had completed an AWV. The project\u27s findings will be used to educate providers and patients about the usefulness of Medicare AWVs. Finally, the project findings support positive social change through enhanced patient activation in preventive health strategies