Need Zing? Use Jing!

Learn how to enrich your online courses with this free screencast product by TechSmith. In this session, you will see a live demonstration of how to use this product, watch actual screencasts that were created using Jing, discuss pros and cons of the product, and brainstorm ways to use Jing in courses you teach or for asynchronous training

Poll Here, Poll There, Poll Everywhere!

Bring your phone and be ready to participate in this interactive introduction to Poll EverywhereTM! Use of audience response in lectures can significantly improve student attention and retention of information through immediate feedback. Poll EverywhereTM is a simple audience response system. People participate by using mobile devices (phones, laptops, etc.), thereby eliminating the need for the university to purchase expensive, bulky clickers which the instructor or students must haul around from class to class. Poll Everywhere offers a free subscription plan for higher education. At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: explain how using an audience response system can enhance a lecture; describe four poll types; and use Poll Everywhere to enrich an upcoming course, meeting, or other speaking engagement

Adaptive Leadership for Administrators

Adaptive leadership is: “The practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive” (Heifetz, Linsky, & Grashow, 2009). Problems without easy solutions face us in higher education today. To tackle these problems, all university employees must follow the lead of Heifetz, Linsky, and Grashow in viewing leadership as “a verb, not a job.” In this workshop, the presenter will provide a brief overview of adaptive leadership. Then we will work in small groups to identify adaptive challenges we face and discuss how we could use adaptive leadership to bring about positive chang

Baby Boomers in Technology-Rich Environments: Using PIAAC to Study the Association of Workplace Learning with Technology Competency

A skill gap in Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (PS-TRE) between U.S. Baby Boomers and younger generations has been documented in previous studies using the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Survey of Adult Skills (Rampey et al., 2016). Bringing this generation of workers up to speed in this competency area is important because older workers are a growing segment of the U.S. workforce with 13 million employees expected to be age 65 or older by 2024 (Toossi & Torpey, 2017). Workplace learning may be a solution, but few studies in adult learning document outcomes of training interventions specifically for this generation, and few if any studies explore the efficacy of informal learning to improve technology competency among Baby Boomers. By using PIAAC to study the association of nonformal and informal workplace learning with PS-TRE competency among U.S. Baby Boomers, this study directly responds to these gaps in the literature. Multiple linear regression was used to conduct this analysis. Results indicate that Baby Boomers may make significant gains in PS-TRE if they participate in an optimal amount of nonformal workplace learning (on-the-job training or seminar/workshop participation). Some caution may be warranted, however, in use of on-the-job training among workers age 60-70. Learning informally from coworkers or supervisors was not associated with significant gains in PS-TRE. An optimal amount of learning-by-doing may be beneficial in large organizations, but findings also indicate too much learning-by-doing may be detrimental. No significant differences were found between men and women, between supervisors and non-supervisors, or between workers in different economic sectors. Since this is a cross-sectional study, findings are not causal; however, future research seems most promising in exploring the impact of seminar or workshop participation on PS-TRE competency for Baby Boomers

Tracking Faculty Data with an ERP System

Tracking affiliate faculty using the college’s student information system enables Southwestern College administrators to evaluate aggregate data as well as current and historical data on individual affiliates. In this session we will review our process for faculty data tracking, discuss how the data are used, and brainstorm ways to achieve similar outcomes at your institutions

Della Porta: Natural Magic

Giambattista della Porta was one of the most widely known European Renaissance magicians. In 1558, at the age of twenty three, the first edition of his book Natural Magic was printed. Due to its popularity and Della Porta s increased fame, he published an expanded second edition in 1589, increasing the original four books to twenty books. Learn more in this learning leaflet

Local adaptation and genetic divergence in the dominant grass Andropogon gerardii across the Great Plains’ rainfall gradient

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of BiologyLoretta C JohnsonMany prior studies have uncovered evidence for local adaptation using reciprocal transplant experiments. However, these studies are rarely conducted for a long enough time to observe succession and competitive dynamics in a community context, limiting inferences for long-lived species. Furthermore, most studies lack comprehensive investigation with only few responses or measurements included, and lack integrative studies combining both ecology and genomics. Here, we report on a long-term experiment focused on Andropogon gerardii, the dominant grass of the North American Great Plains tallgrass ecosystem. Our approach used a reciprocal garden platform in which four reciprocal garden sites were planted with three regional ecotypes of Andropogon gerardii, using dry, mesic, and wet ecotypes originating from western KS to Illinois that span 500–1,200 mm rainfall/year. We focus on this foundation grass that comprises 80% of tallgrass prairie biomass, is a major forage grass for cattle, and is widely used in restoration. First, we aimed to assess genetically based local adaptation of A. gerardii ecotypes in realistic competitive settings. We addressed the following questions: 1) Do ecotypes display local adaptation to regional climate when planted in realistic ecological communities? 2) Does adaptive genetic variation underlie divergent phenotypes? 3) Do we see evidence of local adaptation if the plants are exposed to competition among ecotypes of A. gerardii in mixed ecotype plots? 4) Is local adaptation related to climate gradients? We demonstrate local adaptation and differentiation of ecotypes in wet and dry environments. Surprisingly, the apparent generalist mesic ecotype performed comparably under all rainfall conditions. Ecotype performance was underpinned by differences in neutral diversity and candidate genes corroborating strong differences among ecotypes. Ecotype differentiation was related to climate, primarily rainfall. Second, we used the reciprocal gardens in plants growing singly without competition to detect genetic and environmental plasticity effects on phenotypic variation and combined with genetic analyses. The goal was to evaluate the extent to which A. gerardii ecotypes differ across spatially varying climatic regions, thus potentially signaling local specialization, i.e., genetic differentiation and adaptation of ecotypes to precipitation. Here we addressed the following questions: 1) Are A. gerardii ecotypes locally adapted to environment across the precipitation gradient? 2) What is the relative role of genetic constraints and plasticity in controlling phenotypic differences? 3) How will different ecotypes of A. gerardii respond under different climatic conditions, especially precipitation, when planted in home environment and reciprocally transplanted into foreign environments? 4) What are the underlying genetic bases for these traits? 5) How are genotypes and phenotypes structured by climate? Surprisingly, we did not detect consistent local adaptation. Rather, we detected co-gradient variation primarily for most vegetative responses. All ecotypes were stunted in western KS. Eastward, the wet ecotype was increasingly robust relative to other ecotypes. In contrast, fitness showed evidence for local adaptation in wet and dry ecotypes with wet and mesic ecotypes producing little seed in western KS. Earlier flowering time in the dry ecotype suggests adaptation to end of season drought. The wet ecotype was robust, tall with high biomass, and wide leaves putatively adapted for the highly competitive, light-limited Eastern Great Plains. We detected genetic differentiation and outlier genes associated with primarily precipitation. We identified candidate gene GA1 for which allele frequency associated with plant height. Sourcing of climate adapted ecotypes should be considered for restoration. Finally, we aimed to determine to what extent this ecologically-important prairie grass, big bluestem, responds to environmental change, both ecologically and transcriptionally through expression of genes. Here we aimed to answer: 1) Do bluestem ecotypes growing across a longitudinal precipitation gradient transcribe a different suite of genes or show differential expression levels of the same genes in response to environment? 2) Is the local ecotype of big bluestem more transcriptionally responsive in its home environment? and 3) How does an ecologically important grass respond ecologically and at the level of its transcriptome to a drier or wetter environment at the margin of its range? Without long-term studies, wrong conclusions would have been reached based on insufficient data. Ultimately, restoring and conserving prairies with climate-matched ecotypes is critical to future ecology, conservation, and sustainability of these vital grasslands under climate change

Lessons Learned from Implementing Unconscious Bias Training at an Academic Medical Center

Introduction. In 2018, our Midwestern university medical center began offering unconscious bias training. Each session concluded with a standard evaluation. We analyzed two years of data that focused on three areas: 1) whether demographic differences or amount of prior knowledge on the topic influenced the training experience; 2) what participants liked best about the training; and 3) whether participants’ stated intentions to apply their learning at the end of the training aligned with institutional goals of the training. Methods. Participants attended sessions open to the campus community pre-scheduled by the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and posted on its website. Chi-square tests were utilized to test associations between outcomes and questionnaire responses. Outcome measures included race/ethnicity, prior knowledge level, and overall rating of the training. Thematic analysis was used to code comments and establish themes from two open-ended survey questions. Results. Significant differences were found by race and ethnicity for all questionnaire responses; each were p < 0.001. Those who reported they had advanced/expert knowledge on the topic were less likely to report the training increased their knowledge, and those who reported their race as White/Caucasian tended to give the training the highest overall rating, as did heterosexuals. Through thematic analysis, participants valued the interactive nature of the training sessions, the use of storytelling, and the safety of the learning environment. Participants’ intention to apply their learning indicated they had gained general awareness of bias and settings where it might influence their work. Conclusions. In an effort to foster a better working and learning environment for those who are underrepresented in the health professions, training was provide that may not have met the expectations of all participants. At the same time, participants who identified as White clearly increased their awareness of bias. Therefore, it is recommended to move away from one-size-fits-all unconscious bias training and develop a robust training continuum to provide ongoing advancement for diverse audiences

Clinical Outcomes of Intermediate-Length Cephalomedullary Nails for Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture Repair in Older Adults

Introduction. Hip fracture is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Intertrochanteric hip fractures often are treated surgically using cephalomedullary nails (CMN), in either a short or long length. Their outcomes are documented in the literature; however, outcomes of the intermediate-length CMN have not been well described. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of older adults with intertrochanteric hip fractures that were treated with cephalomedullary nail fixation using an intermediate-length (235 mm Synthes Trochanteric Fixation® nail or 240 mm Stryker Gamma 3®) nail. Outcome data were collected during the inpatient stay and 16 months post-operatively. Results. Seventy-seven patients met inclusion criteria and were reviewed during inpatient stay; however, only 42 had documented post-operative outcomes. Of those, two patients died post-discharge and were not included in the 16-month follow-up. Comparison of results to published literature suggested that intermediate-length nails are comparable to short-length nails with regard to time in the operating room and estimated blood loss. The rate of blood transfusion was lower and length of hospital stay was shorter than in comparable studies of both short- and long-length nails. There were no post-operative periprosthetic fractures in the 16-month follow-up. This rate was lower than published rates for short and long nails. The hardware failure rate (3/42, 7.1%) of intermediate-length nails was higher than comparison studies of both short- and long-length nails.    Conclusions. Patient outcomes for intermediate-length nails were similar to outcomes of shorter length nails. Utilization of the intermediate-length nail appears to be an effective treatment option for repair of intertrochanteric femur fractures. However, direct comparison is difficult since periprosthetic fracture rate may increase over time and nail length and hardware failure are not defined consistently in the literature.  Further study is needed with a larger sample size followed over a longer period of time to confirm our findings