Improving Environmental Conditions in the Tomb of Tutankhamen

ABSTRACT

The tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, one of the major attractions of the World Heritage Site of Ancient Thebes and its Necropolis on the West Bank of modern day Luxor, is today a destination for mass tourism. Visitors to the tomb increase relative humidity, elevate carbon dioxide levels, and encourage natural ventilation which facilitates entry of dust into the tomb. These conditions negatively impact the wall paintings and remaining artifacts in the tomb and create an uncomfortable environment for visitors. The deposition of dust inside the tomb collects on uneven wall painting surfaces, obscures their legibility and necessitates cycles of cleaning, which in turn leads to further damage. Developing environmental management strategies in the tomb to counter the effects of visitors and mitigate dust entry is an important component of the collaborative project between the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities (MoA) to conserve the tomb. These included implementation of a filtered-air supply and exhaust ventilation system to stabilize the interior microclimate and reduce dust in order to improve visitor comfort and contribute to the long-term preservation of the tomb.     

Using Rhetorical/Relational Goal Theory to Examine College Students’ Impressions of Their Instructors

Guided by rhetorical/relational goal theory, the purpose of this study was to examine whether students’ impressions of their instructors’ credibility, attraction, and homophily are influenced by four specific rhetorical and relational communication behaviors that instructors use when communicating with their students in the classroom. Participants were 193 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of introductory communication courses at a large mid-Atlantic university. Using a series of multiple regression analyses, it was found that (a) clarity emerged as the sole indicator of instructor competence, trustworthiness, and task attraction; (b) clarity and confirmation emerged as indicators of goodwill; and (c) humor and confirmation emerged as indicators of social attraction and attitude homophily.     

Necropolitical voices and bodies in the rhetorical reception of Iranian women's asylum claims

In the mid-1990s, US immigration courts were introduced to a group of Iranian women who claimed that they feared persecution because of their “pro-Western and feminist” political opinions and because of the way they performed gender on their bodies. The claims were, in total, unsuccessful bids to asylum. Analyzing these cases set against the geopolitical background of US–Iranian history and contemporary relations, I argue that their denials illustrate three important dynamics. First, building on rhetorical theorizing of voice and body, this essay demonstrates the uneasy reception in US law and politics of willful noncitizen women of color with explicit political voices and bodies, and second, the consequential racialization of these subjects as willful, unorderable migrant subjects too akin in their sovereignty to their state of birth. Third, this analysis adds to the field's attentiveness to geopolitics by consequently demonstrating US necropolitical desires toward Iran in the state's engagement with these cases. I argue that for the United States to recognize these claimants as having political voices contrary to their state would be to recognize the presence and legitimacy of that state—a sovereign that challenges US power and modernity on the global stage.     

The Effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Positive Action</Emphasis> on Preschoolers’ Social–Emotional Competence and Health Behaviors

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social–emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the Positive Action (PA) preschool lessons improved low-income children’s social–emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed findings emerged with regard to whether the lessons facilitated growth in child outcomes. Results showed positive effects of PA on children’s directly assessed social problem solving skills and their parent-rated social–emotional competence and health behaviors. Unexpectedly, program effects on teacher ratings of social–emotional competence were in the opposite direction. These findings provide preliminary evidence that PA may be effective in promoting positive social–emotional and health behavior outcomes for children, particularly when outcomes are assessed directly and by parents.     

Tracking the Elusive Student: Opportunities for Connection and Assessment

ABSTRACT

At Eastern Michigan University, information about library resources and services for Extended Programs (off-campus and online) students was provided in a number of online locations and was sometimes inconsistent and difficult to manage. The library formed an internal task force to evaluate all of the library information and instructional materials provided to Extended Programs students. The task force consolidated key information in one location on the library Web site and collaborated with departments within the library and around campus to provide links from the relevant online locations. This case study describes how Google Analytics was used to assess the use of the revised library Web site and online instructional materials by Extended Programs students. The researchers describe examples of techniques for using Google Analytics and explain how the data collected was used to identify further enhancements to the information provided to Extended Programs students.     

Fear of Death and Examination Performance in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course with Cadaveric Dissection

Cadaveric dissection offers an important opportunity for students to develop their ideas about death and dying. However, it remains largely unknown how this experience impacts medical students' fear of death. The current study aimed to address this gap by describing how fear of death changed during a medical gross anatomy dissection course and how fear of death was associated with examination performance. Fear of death was surveyed at the beginning of the course and at each of the four block examinations using three of the eight subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale: Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. One hundred forty-three of 165 medical students (86.7%) completed the initial survey. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant changes in Fear of the Dead (F (4, 108) = 1.45, P = 0.222) or Fear for the Body After Death (F (4, 108) = 1.83, P = 0.129). There was a significant increase in students' Fear of Being Destroyed (F (4, 108) = 6.86, P < 0.0005) after beginning dissection. This increase was primarily related to students' decreased willingness to donate their body. Concerning performance, there was one significant correlation between Fear for the Body After Death and the laboratory examination score at examination 1. Students with higher fears may be able to structure their experience in a way that does not negatively impact their performance, but educators should still seek ways to support these students and encourage body donation.     

But I’m Married: Understanding Relationship Status and College Students’ Sexual Behaviors

Sexual health programs on college campuses are often directed toward single individuals with a focus on sexual risk. Using a sample of college students, this study examines how relationship status relates to sexual behaviors and may be a factor for sexual risk. Based on the study's results, expansion of sexual health programming on college campuses to include those married and in committed relationships is justified.     

Proactive interference, recency, and associative strength: Comparisons of black-capped chickadees and dark-eyed juncos

Black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) were required to match to the last item from a series of up to three stimuli differing in both location and color. When rewarded for pecking the target stimulus during the study phase of each series, black-capped chickadees demonstrated proactive interference (PI) from stimuli presented prior to the target, whereas juncos did not. When they made an error, chickadees were more likely than were juncos to choose a distractor from the study series rather than a novel stimulus. When reward was no longer associated with presentation of the final target sample in a series, juncos also suffered PI. These results indicate that chickadees and juncos differ in the degree to which the recency of stimuli and the associative strength of stimuli control correct matching.     

Inquiry identity and science teacher professional development

An effective inquiry-oriented science teacher possesses more than the skills of teaching through investigation. They must address philosophies, and ways of interacting as a member of a group of educators who value and practice science through inquiry. Professional development opportunities can support inquiry identity development, but most often they address teaching practices from limited cognitive perspectives, leaving unexplored the shifts in identity that may accompany teachers along their journey in becoming skilled in inquiry-oriented instruction. In this forum article, we envision Victoria Deneroff’s argument that “professional development could be designed to facilitate reflexive transformation of identity within professional learning environments” (2013, p. 33). Instructional coaching, cogenerative dialogues, and online professional communities are discussed as ways to promote inquiry identity formation and collaboration in ways that empower and deepen science teachers’ conversations related to personal and professional efficacy in the service of improved science teaching and learning.