Trends in Undergraduate General Education in the U.S., the Texas Core Curriculum, and Communication Course Requirements

In October 2011, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board revised Texas Core Curriculum (TCC) rules impacting all public higher education institutions in Texas. The new rules were implemented in the fall semester of 2014. In this study, we review the history of undergraduate general education requirements in the United States and recent changes to the TCC. Then to determine how recent changes reflect historical trends in general education and affect the course offerings of departments of English and communication, we use descriptive statistics to examine courses included under the TCC Communication Foundational Component Area of 37 state universities and 53 community colleges. Findings indicate the number of re-quired English and speech communication courses decreased both at community colleges (-11.5%) and universities (-15.9%), signaling a shift toward providing students greater choice in course selection which could impact academic programs in the years to come.Educatio

A Hierarchical Regression Analysis of the Relationship Between Blog Reading, Online Political Activity, and Voting During the 2008 Presidential Campaign

The advent of the Internet has increased access to information and impacted many aspects of life, including politics. The present study utilized Pew Internet & American Life survey data from the November 2008 presidential election time period to investigate the degree to which political blog reading predicted online political discussion, online political participation, whether or not a person voted, and voting choice, over and above the predication that could be explained by demographic measures of age, education level, gender, income, marital status, race/ethnicity, and region. Ordinary least squares hierarchical regression revealed that political blog reading was positively and statistically significantly related to online political discussion and online political participation. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds of a political blog reader voting were 1.98 the odds of a nonreader voting, but vote choice was not predicted by reading political blogs. These results are interpreted within the uses and gratifications framework and the understanding that blogs add an interpersonal communication aspect to a mass medium. As more people use blogs and the nature of the blog-reading audience shifts, continuing to track and describe the blog audience with valid measures will be important for researchers and practitioners alike. Subsequent potential effects of political blog reading on engagement, discussion, and participation will be important to understand as these effects could impact the political landscape of this country and, therefore, the world

Synthesis, Infra-red, Raman, NMR and structural characterization by X-ray Diffraction of [C12H17N2]2CdCl4 and [C6H10N2]2Cd3Cl10 compounds

The synthesis, infra-red, Raman and NMR spectra and crystal structure of 2, 4, 4- trimethyl-4, 5- dihydro-3H-benzo[b] [1, 4] diazepin-1-ium tetrachlorocadmate, [C12H17N2]2CdCl4 and benzene-1,2-diaminium decachlorotricadmate(II) [C6H10N2]2Cd3Cl10 are reported. The [C12H17N2]2CdCl4 compound crystallizes in the triclinic system (P-1 space group) with Z = 2 and the following unit cell dimensions: a = 9.6653(8) angstrom, b = 9.9081(9) angstrom, c = 15.3737(2) angstrom, alpha = 79.486(1)degrees, beta = 88.610(8)degrees and gamma = 77.550(7)degrees. The structure was solved by using 4439 independent reflections down to R value of 0.029. In crystal structure, the tetrachlorocadmiate anion is connected to two organic cations through N-H...Cl hydrogen bonds and Van Der Waals interaction as to build cation-anion-cation cohesion. The [C6H10N2]2Cd3Cl10 crystallizes in the triclinic system (P-1 space group). The unit cell dimensions are a = 6.826 (5)angstrom, b = 9.861 (7)angstrom, c = 10.344 (3)angstrom, alpha = 103.50 (1)degrees, beta = 96.34 (4)degrees and gamma = 109.45 (3)degrees, Z=2. The final R value is 0.053 (Rw=0.128). Its crystal structure consists of organic cations and polymeric chains of [Cd3Cl10]4- anions running along the [011] direction, In The [C6H10N2]2Cd3Cl10 compounds hydrogen bond interactions between the inorganic chains and the organic cations, contribute to the crystal packing. PACS Codes: 61.10.Nz, 61.18.Fs, 78.30.-jComment: 19 pages, 10 figure

Identification of functional elements and regulatory circuits by Drosophila modENCODE

To gain insight into how genomic information is translated into cellular and developmental programs, the Drosophila model organism Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (modENCODE) project is comprehensively mapping transcripts, histone modifications, chromosomal proteins, transcription factors, replication proteins and intermediates, and nucleosome properties across a developmental time course and in multiple cell lines. We have generated more than 700 data sets and discovered protein-coding, noncoding, RNA regulatory, replication, and chromatin elements, more than tripling the annotated portion of the Drosophila genome. Correlated activity patterns of these elements reveal a functional regulatory network, which predicts putative new functions for genes, reveals stage- and tissue-specific regulators, and enables gene-expression prediction. Our results provide a foundation for directed experimental and computational studies in Drosophila and related species and also a model for systematic data integration toward comprehensive genomic and functional annotation

Educators’ Experiences Teaching Literary Journalis: Insights Gained from Five Years of Web-Based Surveys

To support international literary journalism as a discipline, and for the discipline to reach its full potential, it may be helpful to understand how literary journalism is being taught. As John S. Bak states, “[t]he steady production of strong criticism, theory, and pedagogy will eventually coalesce the literary journalism that is out there now and create the discipline’s niche” (BAK, 2017, p. 236). In this article, we investigate questions about teaching literary journalism from both a broad and narrow perspective. In what countries, universities, departments, and classes is literary journalism taught, and how is it being taught? What methods and texts are used? What challenges do educators face, and how do they meet those challenges? These are just some of the questions that we have attempted to address here by surveying educators online annually since 2011 (with the exception of one year, 2013). The purpose of this article is to summarize some of what we have learned through these web-based surveys. We hope that readers will digest what is offered here, ask questions, discuss with colleagues, and consider future lines of inquiry so that the discipline of literary journalism may continue on its path of coalescence and achieve its potential. Para apoiar o jornalismo literário internacional como uma disciplina, e para que esta alcance todo o seu potencial, pode ser importante entender como o jornalismo literário está sendo ensinado. Como afirma John S. Bak, “a produção sólida de crítica, teoria e pedagogia eventualmente aglutinará o jornalismo literário que existe agora e criará o nicho da disciplina” (BAK, 2017, p. 236). Neste artigo, investigamos questões sobre o ensino do jornalismo literário de uma perspectiva ampla e específica. Em que países, universidades, departamentos e classes há o ensino do jornalismo literário e como ele está sendo ensinado? Quais métodos e textos são utilizados? Que desafios os educadores encontram e como eles estão sendo enfrentados? Estas são apenas algumas das questões que tentamos abordar aqui, investigando educadores on-line anualmente desde 2011 (com exceção do ano de 2013). O objetivo deste artigo é o de resumir um pouco do que aprendemos com tais pesquisas feitas na internet. Esperamos que os leitores digiram o que é oferecido aqui, façam perguntas, discutam com colegas e considerem futuras linhas de pesquisa para que a disciplina do jornalismo literário possa continuar em seu caminho de desenvolvimento e alcançar seu potencial. Para apoyar el periodismo literario internacional como una disciplina, así como para que la disciplina alcance todo su potencial, puede ser útil entender cómo se está enseñando el periodismo literario. Como afirma John S. Bak, “la producción sólida de crítica, teoría y pedagogía eventualmente aglutinará el periodismo literario que existe ahora y creará el nicho de la disciplina” (BAK, 2017, p. 236). En este artículo, investigamos cuestiones sobre la enseñanza del periodismo literario desde una perspectiva amplia y específica. ¿En qué países, universidades, departamentos y clases se enseña el periodismo literario y cómo se está enseñando? ¿Qué métodos y textos se utilizan? ¿Qué desafíos los educadores encuentran y cómo los están haciendo frente? Estas son sólo algunas de las cuestiones que tratamos de abordar aquí, investigando a los educadores en Internet anualmente desde 2011 (con la excepción del año de 2013). El objetivo de este artículo es resumir un poco de lo que aprendemos de estas investigaciones realizadas. Esperamos que los lectores digieren lo que se ofrece aquí, hagan preguntas, discutan con colegas y consideren futuras líneas de investigación para que la disciplina del periodismo literario pueda continuar en su camino de desarrollo y alcanzar su potencial