Beyond the Screen: An Exploration of Black Girls\u27 Social Media Content as Dialogue

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the ways in which Black girls between the ages of 13 and 18 leveraged social media to address sociopolitical issues relevant to their lives within a digital literacy collaborative. This study drew upon Black feminist-womanism theories to unpack how the girls’ digital content creating on social media shifted during their time in the program, how they addressed sociopolitical issues through their content, and the composing processes instrumental to their digital content creating via social media. As forerunners in digital content creating, it appears that Black youth, particularly Black girls are drawing upon social media as a public platform to engage in sociopolitical transformation and that their literary practices appear to bear resemblance to Black women writers of the past. In order to learn more about adolescent Black girls’ digital content creating, I hosted a digital literacy collaborative where each session served as a space to learn about the importance of digital content creating to the girls’ lives. Data sources from these sessions included pre-program and post-program interviews, participants’ digital content, screen recordings, and think alouds which were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings from this study revealed that throughout the digital literacy collaborative, the girls in this study gradually saw their social media platforms as an additional space for their sociopolitical engagement. Their sociopolitical engagement on social media consisted of bring awareness to the issues of importance to them and fostering conversations amongst their viewers. As the girls created content, their composing process was recursive. This study has the potential to assist literacy scholars, educators, and others to better understand the literacies Black girls draw upon during this specific social time to articulate their epistemologies, ideologies, and visions of the future

Social Media Outreach: How the Ernest J. Gaines Center Explores New Platforms

The Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) is an international center for scholarship on Ernest Gaines and his work. The center honors the work of UL Lafayette’s Writer-in-Residence Emeritus and provides a space for scholars and students to work with the Gaines papers and manuscripts. Born in 1933 on a plantation near New Roads, Louisiana, Gaines based his award-winning novels on the African American experience in the rural South. His works include The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying, both later produced as award-winning films. Having a great research collection is a start, but it is important to attract patrons that will utilize these important resources. As a new and growing research center, the Ernest J. Gaines Center presents and introduces itself using social media platforms such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ErnestGainesCenter) and Twitter (@Gaines_Center). The results of this type of outreach have been positive and very easy to continue

Ngatish

Ngatish is a tragedy involving the lives of Othello\u27s African family. My purpose in writing this play is to explore the shifts in roles between women and men in powerful and subservient positions. Therefore, I have created an historical 16th-century African setting for the play while the story-line explores the lives of Othello, his African family, and his first wife, Ngatish. Through Ngatish, I want to answer some to the unknowns in Othello: how was such a notorious general so easily and readily duped by an obviously envious man as Iago: what were his secrets; his torments; what drove Othello to agree to murder? (In Cinthio\u27s original Tale of The Moor, Othello agrees to Desdemona\u27s murder, but Iago carries out the deed.) I use the tragic drama as a means for expressing the relationships between the characters because of the parallel with Othello and my belief that a character like Othello would have more than one tragedy in his life. A realistic play, Ngatish attempts to portray relationships as they truly exist--all of us at one time or another being either the antagonist or the protagonist as we believe the situation warrants

Ngatish

Ngatish is a tragedy involving the lives of Othello\u27s African family. My purpose in writing this play is to explore the shifts in roles between women and men in powerful and subservient positions. Therefore, I have created an historical 16th-century African setting for the play while the story-line explores the lives of Othello, his African family, and his first wife, Ngatish. Through Ngatish, I want to answer some to the unknowns in Othello: how was such a notorious general so easily and readily duped by an obviously envious man as Iago: what were his secrets; his torments; what drove Othello to agree to murder? (In Cinthio\u27s original Tale of The Moor, Othello agrees to Desdemona\u27s murder, but Iago carries out the deed.) I use the tragic drama as a means for expressing the relationships between the characters because of the parallel with Othello and my belief that a character like Othello would have more than one tragedy in his life. A realistic play, Ngatish attempts to portray relationships as they truly exist--all of us at one time or another being either the antagonist or the protagonist as we believe the situation warrants

MOBILE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY: ASSESSMENT OF USERS' REQUIREMENTS, TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Navy is in the process of implementing Ready Relevant Learning and looking at technology solutions to deliver modern training capabilities anytime and anywhere. Mobile learning is a practical option for Ready Relevant Learning. To support the Navy initiatives, we conducted a qualitative study to answer the following research questions: (1) Under what conditions will implementing mobile learning technologies provide the most value? (2) What are the requirements for delivering educational value to Navy users of mobile learning? (3) What are the pros and cons for Navy users of personal versus government-issued mobile learning devices? (4) How can Navy leaders select suitable options and deliver mobile learning? We conducted 13 semi-structured interviews of Navy active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel across ranks and job communities to answer our research questions. We found that most participants were interested in mobile learning. Still, their acceptance of mobile learning technologies is dependent on their assessment of perceived ease of use of the technology and perceived usefulness to job performance. Additionally, we found that participants’ device preferences were context-of-use dependent. Therefore, we recommend further evaluation of user requirements and to operationalize and test the usability factors identified to implement best practices for mobile learning.NPS Naval Research ProgramThis project was funded in part by the NPS Naval Research Program.Outstanding ThesisMajor, United States ArmyLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

An Innovative Approach to Teaching Robotics

Problem Solving Using LEGOS is a 3-credit hour course offered to any student at Pace University of Pleasantville, New York. The class uses a project­ based learning environment, which consists of four design projects. This paper discusses the pedagogical advantages of teaching robotics in a mixed-reality environment with a virtual instructor as opposed to teaching robotics in a traditional laboratory setting

Vertical Excavation below Footing Solved by Compaction Grouting

One of the problems regularly facing engineers in designing additions to buildings or other structures is dealing with excavating for footings directly adjoining existing footings but at a deeper level. This was accomplished in sandy soils economically and quickly for a noted Conference Center in 1983 by using compaction grouting. Compaction piles were utilized to pick up existing loads as well as the horizontal loads which would normally allow the building to tip, settle and crack. We believe this was the first use of compaction piles as anchor piles to pick up horizontal loads. By using this process, the sandy soils along the excavation stood without other support when excavating with a backhoe. The paper presents the criteria used in developing this method, summarizes the critical loads, and explains the operation. There has been no settlement at the site

Effects of amputation and Corynebacterium parvum on tumour metastases in mice.

The effects of operation (lower-limb amputation) on the growth of the Lewis lung tumour and its metastases were studied. The role of C. parvum in counteracting these effects was investigated. Anaesthesia alone or with amputation did not affect primary tumour growth. C. parvum depressed this growth. Anaesthesia did not affect the number of pulmonary metastases, but amputation caused a significant increase. C. parvum inhibited metastases and completely counteracted the effects of operation on them. Large doses of cortisone acetate significantly increased metastases but small doses had no effect. Experiments with adrenalectomized mice suggested the effects of operation were due to non-specific stress

Connecting Contemporary Trauma Care to Florence Nightingale\u27s Visionary Work

The impact of Florence Nightingale\u27s visionary work continues to influence the delivery of nursing care in the contemporary emergency department (ED). Her foundational work in the Crimean War resulted in data-based recommendations for using the environment to promote healing and wellness among sick and wounded British soldiers. She advocated for attention to environmental details, including ventilation, air, warmth, drainage, cleanliness, natural light, and low noise levels. These important environmental concepts play a significant role in the nursing management of trauma patients in today\u27s ED. This article features an application of Nightingale\u27s environmental concepts to a trauma patient case exemplar and demonstrates the enduring impact of her work for trauma patients who receive care in the ED

Wild capuchin monkeys adjust stone tools according to changing nut properties

Animals foraging in their natural environments need to be proficient at recognizing and responding to changes in food targets that affect accessibility or pose a risk. Wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) use stone tools to access a variety of nut species, including otherwise inaccessible foods. This study tests whether wild capuchins from Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil adjust their tool selection when processing cashew (Anacardium spp.) nuts. During the ripening process of cashew nuts, the amount of caustic defensive substance in the nut mesocarp decreases. We conducted field experiments to test whether capuchins adapt their stone hammer selection to changing properties of the target nut, using stones of different weights and two maturation stages of cashew nuts. The results show that although fresh nuts are easier to crack, capuchin monkeys used larger stone tools to open them, which may help the monkeys avoid contact with the caustic hazard in fresh nuts. We demonstrate that capuchin monkeys are actively able to distinguish between the maturation stages within one nut species, and to adapt their foraging behaviour accordingly