Ethanol-glycerin fixation with thymol conservation: a potential alternative to formaldehyde and phenol embalming

Anatomical fixation and conservation are required to prevent specimens from undergoing autolysis and decomposition. While fixation is the primary arrest of the structures responsible for autolysis and decomposition, conservation preserves the state of fixation. Although commonly used, formaldehyde has been classified as carcinogenic to humans. For this reason, an adequate substitute was developed. Ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation are described and compared with formaldehyde and phenol in this technical report. The setup, tissue qualities, financial aspects, and health concerns of this method are discussed. Ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation provide outstanding haptic and optic tissue qualities. Typical formaldehyde and phenol effects, such as skin, airway, and eye irritation, as well as carcinogenic effects, can be circumvented by using ethanol-glycerin and thymol instead. Ethanol-glycerin fixation is more expensive than formaldehyde and requires an explosion-proof facility. However, the absence of health effects and its convincing tissue qualities balance these higher costs. Therefore, ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation provide a potential alternative and complement established fixation techniques. The use of carcinogenic formaldehyde and toxic phenol can be effectively restricted through the use of the described method.     

Librarians and Mandatory Academic Advising at a Mid-sized Public University: A Case Study

This article provides a case study of librarians being assigned the responsibility of providing academic advising to undeclared students at a mid-sized public university. The experience of academic advising as librarians is explored as well as challenges, benefits, best practices and next steps. The implications and impact of advising on library work is discussed. For the most part, the librarians found that academic advising dovetailed well with the culture of librarianship.     

Alfred Russel Wallace and the flat earth controversy

In 1870, the eminent naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace accepted a wager for £500 from a flat earth fanatic to demonstrate in public that the earth is a globe. In effect, Wallace sought to prove a scientific fact for monetary gain. The wager and its wider context are important in highlighting issues of authority and professionalism in Victorian science.     

Friendship Fictions: The Rhetoric of Citizenship in the Liberal Imaginary

This introductory essay makes the case that rhetorical studies as a field and the Quarterly Journal of Speech as the journal of record for that field are racist. Racism need not imply that evildoers in pointy hoods are pulling the strings of the journal and field; indeed, the assumption that racism is rooted in the bad thoughts and deeds of intentional individuals is part of the problem and is further evidence of the field's ignorance on the subject. Drawing inspiration and guidance from Ibram X. Kendi's work on antiracism, and anchoring my analysis in Paula Chakravartty et al.'s “#CommunicationSoWhite,” I make an honest effort to diagnose aspects of rhetoric's racism problem and suggest some of the attitudinal and material shifts that will be necessary to challenge the whiteness of rhetorical studies. An introduction of the remaining essays in this #RhetoricSoWhite forum concludes the introduction.     

The Pathway Program: How a Collaborative,Distributed Learning Program Showed Us the Future of Social Work Education

This paper describes a three-campus collaborative, distributed learning program that delivers social work education to remote rural and desert communities in California via distance learning modalities. This “Pathway Program” provides accredited social work education for a career ladder beginning with advising and developing an academic plan and leading to BSW and MSW degrees. The paper offers assessment data on the Pathway Program and also suggests the potential for major changes in social work education. Questions about the nature of the university, the role of the faculty member, and the future of social work students in the twenty-first century are discussed.     

Defining family engagement among Latino Head Start parents: A mixed-methods measurement development study

Given the increasing numbers of Latino children and, specifically, of dual-language learning Latino children, entering the U.S. educational system, culturally contextualized models are needed to understand how parents construct their involvement roles and support their children's educational experiences. Current measures of parenting and family engagement have been developed primarily with European American families and, thus, might not capture engagement behaviors unique to other ethnic groups. Lacking culture-appropriate measurement limits our ability to construct programs that adequately incorporate protective factors to promote children's successful development. The present mixed-methods investigation employed an emic approach to understand family engagement conceptualizations for a pan-Latino population. One hundred thirteen parents from 14 Head Start programs in a large, northeastern city participated in the first study, in which domains of family engagement were identified and specific items were co-constructed to capture family engagement behaviors. Then, 650 caregivers participated in a second study examining the construct validity of the resulting 65-item measure across two language versions: Parental Engagement of Families from Latino Backgrounds(PEFL-English) and Participación Educativa de Familias Latinas (PEFL-Spanish). Four theoretically meaningful dimensions of family engagement among Latino Head Start families were identified empirically. The measure was then validated with teacher report of family involvement and parent report of satisfaction with their experiences in Head Start.     

The Impact of Teacher Professional Development to Reposition Pedagogy for Indigenous Students in Mainstream Schools

There is a dearth of empirical evidence that examines the impact of teacher professional development for culturally responsive pedagogies, particularly on Indigenous student achievement and teacher practices. Te Kotahitanga was a large-scale professional development initiative for culturally responsive practices for secondary teachers in New Zealand. To study its impact, we used a mixed-methods research approach to gather and analyze data on student achievement outcomes, classroom practices, and perceptions of teachers and students. While results suggested positive changes associated with the program, findings also highlighted ongoing challenges associated with transforming practice for Indigenous Māori students. Specific challenges of analysis are highlighted, along with recommendations for further research and development work in secondary schools.     

The technical adequacy of curriculum-based writing measures with English learners

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of Curriculum-Based Measures in writing for English learners. Participants were 36 high school English learners with moderate to high levels of English language proficiency. Predictor variables were type of writing prompt (picture, narrative, and expository), time (3, 5, and 7 min), and scoring procedure (words written, words spelled correctly, correct word sequences, correct minus incorrect word sequences). Criterion variables were teacher ratings of writing performance and student performance on the Test of Written Language-III, the writing subtest of the Test of Emerging Academic English, and the Minnesota state writing test. Results supported the validity and reliability of a 5 to 7-min writing sample written in response to a narrative or picture prompt and scored for percent of correct word sequences, correct minus incorrect word sequences, or words written plus correct minus incorrect word sequences.     

The Superintendent's Leadership in School Improvement: A Rural Perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper contains a brief review of the research literature on superintendents’ leadership for school improvement as an introduction. Following that, the patterns of five superintendents’ leadership that evolved in five school improvement sites is reported; the activities in which the superintendents engaged in five quite different organizational settings is the focus. In addition, the strategies and events used by external assisters assigned to the sites to develop and enhance leadership behaviors are shared. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the unique conditions and influences on rural superintendents and their leadership for increasing educational effectiveness.