The role of business agreements in defining textbook affordability and digital materials: A document analysis

Adopting digital materials such as eTextbooks and e-coursepacks is a potential strategy to address textbook affordability in the United States. However, university business relationships with bookstore vendors implicitly structure which instructional resources are available and in what manner. In this study, a document analysis was conducted on the bookstore contracts for the universities included in the State University System of Florida. Namely, issues of textbook affordability, digital material terminology and seller exclusivity were investigated. It was found that textbook affordability was generally conceived in terms of print rental textbooks and buyback programs, and that eTextbooks were priced higher than print textbooks (25% to 30% markup). Implications and recommendations for change are shared.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i4.28

TOPR Turns 10! Celebrating 10 Years Of Curating UCF’S Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

In this paper, the editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) will share global insights derived from the last ten years of pedagogical entries. What technologies and techniques of online teaching and learning were “hot” a decade ago, and what is currently trending? What are the most visited entries? TOPR’s value in relation to the COVID-19 crisis will be explored, as many educators were forced to teach in remote and online learning environments for the first time. Finally, readers will learn about the process of submitting their own strategies to TOPR, along with an update on the peer-review process for submissions in Spring 2021

Disrupting the Model: Fostering Cultural Change Through Academic Partnerships

Book chapter featured in the book, Affordable course materials: Electronic textbooks and open educational resources. This chapter highlights the University of Central Florida\u27s efforts and experiences related to textbook affordability and open educational resources

Poking the bear: Promoting textbook affordability in the face of a restrictive institutional environment

Librarians and instructional designers formed an informal partnership to promote low-cost textbook solutions in the absence of formal initiatives at a public, four-year institution. Learn how we negotiated institutional barriers such as bookstore contract prohibitions and protected revenue streams. Our case examples describe solutions and workflows undertaken to transform course materials, in addition to activities being pursued to make textbook affordability an institutional priority

The Responses of Plankton Communities in Experimental Ponds to Atrazine, the Most Heavily Used Pesticide in the United States

Experimental ponds received single additions of the herbicide atrazine in concentrations of 20 and 500 gg/L, and were compared to control ponds for 136 d. Atrazine is an inhibitor of photosynthesis, and both concentrations depressed phytoplankton growth in the ponds within a few days. This was followed by successional changes leading to the establishment of species of phytoplankton more resistant to inhibition by atrazine. Laboratory studies verified this resistance and verified effects on other species at concentrations of atrazine as low as 1-5 Jig/L. When and to what extent resistant species appeared in the phytoplankton communities differed with treatment. At the atrazine concentration of 500 gg/L, there was a delayed appearance but eventually a greater biomass and persistence of these species. The grazing zooplankton influenced these differences and were in turn affected by them. Natural interactions such as competition and predation among the species of the communities greatly affected their responses to the toxic chemical. The importance of atrazine as an environmental pollutant is suggested by these responses to concentrations of 1-5 gg/L, which are common downstream in many agricultural watersheds, 20 /Ig/L, which is the high level found in these waters, and 500 gg/L, which is the high level found in waters directly adjacent to treated fields

Deep chlorophyll maxima in small boreal forest lakes after experimental catchment and shoreline logging

In situ profiles of chlorophyll fluorescence combined with depth-specific water chemistry and biotic analysis were used to assess deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) in four boreal shield lakes that were subjected to different levels of watershed disturbance by clear-cut logging. Phytoplankton communities within the DCPvl varied among lakes, but were generally comprised of chrysophytes, diatoms, and cryptophytes. One lake also had deep cyanobacterial populations. Relative in situ fluorescence (absolute fluorescence at each peak minus background fluorescence) at the fluorescence peaks was significantly correlated with the level of chlorophyll a at the peak (r(2) = 0.81, p < 0.025) for all lakes. In general, DCM peak heights were consistent in each lake over the four-year post-logging sampling period, whereas DCM depths declined slightly in the most heavily logged takes associated with increases in dissolved organic carbon. Therefore, on the basis of DCM data, only mild effects on lake water quality were apparent after the logging activity

A new cell primo-culture method for freshwater benthic diatom communities

A new cell primo-culture method was developed for the benthic diatom community isolated from biofilm sampled in rivers. The approach comprised three steps: (1) scraping biofilm from river pebbles, (2) diatom isolation from biofilm, and (3) diatom community culture. With a view to designing a method able to stimulate the growth of diatoms, to limit the development of other microorganisms, and to maintain in culture a community similar to the original natural one, different factors were tested in step 3: cell culture medium (Chu No 10 vs Freshwater “WC” medium modified), cell culture vessel, and time of culture. The results showed that using Chu No 10 medium in an Erlenmeyer flask for cell culture was the optimal method, producing enough biomass for ecotoxicological tests as well as minimising development of other microorganisms. After 96 h of culture, communities differed from the original communities sampled in the two rivers studied. Species tolerant of eutrophic or saprobic conditions were favoured during culture. This method of diatom community culture affords the opportunity to assess, in vitro, the effects of different chemicals or effluents (water samples andindustrial effluents) on diatom communities, as well as on diatom cells, from a wide range of perspectives

A 21-year record of vertically migrating subepilimnetic populations of Cryptomonas spp.

The vertical distribution and diel migration of Cryptomonas spp. were monitored continuously for 21 years in mesotrophic Cross Reservoir, northeast Kansas, USA. The movements of these motile algae were tracked on multiple dates during July–October of each year using in situ fluorometry and optical microscopy of Lugol’s iodine-preserved samples. Episodes of subepilimnetic diel vertical migration by Cryptomonas were detected and recorded on 221 different days between 1994 and 2014, with just 2 of these years (1998 and 2013) lacking any sampling events with deep peaks sufficiently large enough to track. Whenever a subepilimnetic layer of Cryptomonas was detectable, it was generally observed to ascend toward the bottom of the epilimnion beginning approximately at sunrise; to descend toward the lake bottom during the late afternoon and evening; and to remain as a deep-dwelling population until dawn of the following day. Moreover, there was high day-to-day consistency in the absolute water column depths at which the migrating algal cells would cease their ascending or descending movement. We believe this unique and remarkable dataset comprises the most detailed record of diel migratory behavior for any planktonic freshwater alga reported for a single freshwater lake

Female gaming, gaming addiction, and the role of women within gaming culture

Research investigating female gaming has begun to emerge despite gaming being traditionally more popular with males. Research in the 21st century has drawn attention to the role of women in culture, society, and technology, and female gaming is one of the growing phenomena not to have been researched in depth. The aim of the present paper was to review female gaming (i.e., the role of females within video game culture) and identify any associated psychopathological symptomatology. The review adapted the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research (SPIDER) model in conducting a narrative literature review. A search of three scientific electronic databases yielded 49 papers for further evaluation. From a methodological perspective, studies had to fulfill the following criteria to be included: i) published between the years 2000 and 2018; ii) assessed female gaming or the female position within gaming culture, iii) contained quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to produce empirical data or discuss theoretical implications through reviews, iv) be retrievable as a full-text peer-reviewed journal paper, and v) published in English, German, Polish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or French. Four categories emerged from the papers: i) the benefits of female gaming, ii) why women might play video games less than men, iii) perceptions and realities of female characters within video games, and iv) women’s position in gaming culture. The main findings showed playing video games has benefits for women in terms of enhancing cognitive, social, and physical abilities. However, they are less encouraged to play video games due to negative expectations based on gender and/or experiences during game play. Video games are associated with stereotypical male characteristics, such as being overly aggressive, and frequently contain sexualized content. Female gamers appear to require coping strategies to handle online harassment. Females look for different things in video games, which are not often included in game designs thereby limiting their abilities. For instance, female avatar representation—which is exaggerated and hypersexualized—can prompt social comparisons and lead to feelings of decreased self-esteem, depression, and other impacts on well-being. Overall, there are still obstacles for women playing video games even though they comprise half of the gaming population