Application of Biotechnology to Solve Relevant Biological Problems Promotes Understanding of Underlying Concepts

Although some efforts have been made to modify the curriculum of the Introductory Biology laboratories from a passive to a more experimental form, the use of modern biotechnology had not been implemented at our institution. The need to understand the applications of modern technology to real-life situations seems imperative at the turn of the century [1,2]. Because several studies have shown that the study of biotechnology by itself does not increase conceptual understanding, the objective of this research was to determine if the use of biotechnology to solve relevant biological problems increased conceptual understanding among our students. We designed two complex problems: one on the conservation of an endangered Puerto Rican frog, and the other on tropical plant evolution. Two students majoring in Biology-Education participated as research assistants in the design and implementation of the laboratory activities. Graduate biology students who worked as teaching assistants in the laboratories were trained to use equipment and teach the activities. Assessment evidence indicated that students exposed to these experiences: (1) increased biological literacy by understanding the use and application of cutting-edge biotechnology; (2) were able to make connections between organismal and molecular biology; (3) decreased levels of anxiety and insecurity associated with the use of laboratory equipment; and, (4) were motivated to conduct research within and beyond the classroom setting

Katangale or Kuba?: Development Assistance and the Experiences and Perceptions of Local Corruption in Malawi

There is lively debate concerning the influence of development assistance (‘aid’) on corruption in recipient countries; however, to date, few studies have systematically examined the subject subnationally. This study estimates the association between sub-national aid levels and citizens’ perceptions and experiences of local corruption in Malawi. Overall, we find that individuals in districts receiving high amounts of aid are no more likely to view local leaders as corrupt than those in districts receiving lower amounts of aid. However, higher levels of aid are associated with more experiences of bribe solicitation. We also find evidence that aid channeled through NGOs may have different effects than government-implemented aid, as it is associated with better perceptions of local corruption and reduced bribe solicitation. The findings suggest that, in aggregate, corruption resulting from receiving aid may not be of sufficient magnitude or visibility to change citizens’ broader beliefs about government performance or legitimacy

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome A Literature Review on African American Community Healing and Expressive Arts Therapy

Post traumatic slave syndrome (PTSS) is defined as “a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionalized racism today.” Throughout this literature review, the physical, mental, and socioemotional impacts of institutionalized oppression through the years from the 1600s to the present, exhibited in the multiple sectors of society as it relates to the African American (AA) community are explored and addressed through the theoretical framework of PTSS. While a sizable body of literature has supported Expressive Arts Therapy (EAT) with traumatized populations, very little research has been developed regarding specific Expressive Arts Therapy interventions for reducing the negative effects of PTSS in the AA community. This literature review seeks to acknowledge the gaps in the research while identifying the intersectionality between the benefits of individual Expressive Arts modality interventions with the AA community and Expressive Arts Therapy theoretical frameworks with populations who have experienced trauma exposure

Influence of magnetic viscosity on domain wall dynamics under spin-polarized currents

We present a theoretical study of the influence of magnetic viscosity on current-driven domain wall dynamics. In particular we examine how domain wall depinning transitions, driven by thermal activation, are influenced by the adiabatic and nonadiabatic spin-torques. We find the Arrhenius law that describes the transition rate for activation over a single energy barrier remains applicable under currents but with a current-dependent barrier height. We show that the effective energy barrier is dominated by a linear current dependence under usual experimental conditions, with a variation that depends only on the nonadiabatic spin torque coefficient beta.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

The narrative structure of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur

The efforts of the critics of Sir Thomas Malory's romance, Le Morte Darthur, seem to have been confined for the most part to two phases of Malory's work, namely, to the prose sytle and to the relation of the work to its sources. Judgements of Malory's narrative power there are in plenty; but no scanty are they so frequently in direct conflict one with another, that they impress the reader as emotional rather than scientific. There is a wide gulf between the estimate of Hallam, who calls the Morte Darthur "a translation from several French romances, though written in a very spirited manner" 1), and that of Mr. George M. Harper 2), who maintains that Malory "cannot be denied great orginality, both for substance and arragement." The judgement of the student, moreover, is often obscured by a comparison between some passage in Malory and the corresponding passage in an older romance, sometiems to the disadvantage of Malory's work so far as the particular episode itself is concerned

‘In Spain with Orwell’: George Orwell and the Independent Labour Party volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

Book review: Christopher Hall, "‘In Spain with Orwell’: George Orwell and the Independent Labour Party volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, Tippermuir Books, Perth, Scotland, 2013, pp. 265 + i-xii