‘Whatever Else May Be Going On:’ Sharing Books in Bechdel’s Fun Home

ABSTRACT

In Fun Home, Alison Bechdel recounts a version of her family’s history through moments of meaningful textual exchange. This paper takes up one such moment, when Alison’s father Bruce offers his daughter a queer text, which she uses both to understand her own sexuality and to broach the the queer connection she has just learned they have. I read this exchange as a case study for considering what happens when we share our meaningful books with others. Here I map the way literary works function in this text both developmentally, following Grumet’s reading of Winnicott, and erotically, following Bechdel’s own narration. I read the act of sharing books as an act of love that helps build the world worth noticing, core relationships, and individual identities, reading too how literature functions as ‘currency’ in the difficult father-daughter relationship at hand in this graphic memoir.     

Cross-lagged relationships between person-based resources,self-perceptions,and career and life satisfaction in young adults

We tested the across-time relationships between the person-based resources of assimilation (or goal pursuit) and accommodation (or goal adjustment) and two well-being outcomes (satisfaction with career progress and life satisfaction), and assessed if these relationships were mediated by self-perceptions (perceived goal attainability and optimism). Participants were 204 young adults (79 % female; M _age 26 years), who were surveyed twice, 6 months apart. Consistent with the dual-process framework for goal management, assimilation was associated with more positive self-perceptions (attainability and optimism) and higher subsequent satisfaction with career progress and life satisfaction. Perceived goal attainability mediated between assimilation and the two satisfaction outcomes. Accommodation was associated with higher subsequent life satisfaction only. Thus, both assimilation and accommodation were related to better life satisfaction in young adults, but assimilation was more adaptive in the career domain.     

At second glance: employers and employees with learning disabilities in the Americans with Disabilities Act era

The impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 on the American workplace is examined. The findings of a previous study (Gerber, 1992) on employer knowledge about learning disabilities are compared to current findings. Important themes and employer beliefs and practices that were consistent in employer responses are described. Although employers are continuing to make efforts to comply with the regulations of the ADA, they still have relatively little knowledge or experience with it in terms of learning disabilities.     

Measuring differentiated instruction in The Netherlands and South Korea: factor structure equivalence,correlates, and complexity level

Differentiated instruction is considered to be an important teaching quality domain to address the needs of individual students in daily classroom practices. However, little is known about whether differentiated instruction is empirically distinguishable from other teaching quality domains in different national contexts. Additionally, little is known about how the complex skill of differentiated instruction compares with other teaching quality domains across national contexts. To gain empirical insight in differentiated instruction and other related teaching quality domains, cross-cultural comparisons provide valuable insights. In this study, teacher classroom practices of two high-performing educational systems, The Netherlands and South Korea, were observed focusing on differentiated instruction and other related teaching quality domains using an existing observation instrument. Variable-centred and person-centred approaches were applied to analyze the data. The study provides evidence that differentiated instruction can be viewed as a distinct domain of teaching quality in both national contexts, while at the same time being related to other teaching domains. In both countries, differentiated instruction was the most difficult domain of teaching quality. However, differential relationships between teaching quality domains were visible across teacher profiles and across countries.

     

Aligning goals, assessments, and activities: an approach to teaching PCR and gel electrophoresis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis have become common techniques used in undergraduate molecular and cell biology labs. Although students enjoy learning these techniques, they often cannot fully comprehend and analyze the outcomes of their experiments because of a disconnect between concepts taught in lecture and experiments done in lab. Here we report the development and implementation of novel exercises that integrate the biological concepts of DNA structure and replication with the techniques of PCR and gel electrophoresis. Learning goals were defined based on concepts taught throughout the cell biology lab course and learning objectives specific to the PCR and gel electrophoresis lab. Exercises developed to promote critical thinking and target the underlying concepts of PCR, primer design, gel analysis, and troubleshooting were incorporated into an existing lab unit based on the detection of genetically modified organisms. Evaluative assessments for each exercise were aligned with the learning goals and used to measure student learning achievements. Our analysis found that the exercises were effective in enhancing student understanding of these concepts as shown by student performance across all learning goals. The new materials were particularly helpful in acquiring relevant knowledge, fostering critical-thinking skills, and uncovering prevalent misconceptions.     

让薪酬管理我为公司的战略组成部分

在核心业务开发中扮演主要角色 薪资支出是否已经成了公司的负担？人力资源部门管理人员给出的答案经常为“是”,毕竟没有人愿意不领薪水还努力工作。既然如此,要怎样改变薪酬管理规则,才能使之成为公司的战略组成部分呢？理想的解决方案就是,让你的薪资工作人员意识到自己是公司成功不可或缺的因素激发他们的创造力和激情。通过这些方法,薪酬部门才能在核心业务开发中扮演主要角色。     

J.D. Bernal and science education: A tribute to the 50th anniversary of the publication of “the social function of science”

Conclusion Bernal worked tirelessly for the cause of socially responsible science. He felt that the progress of science was sufficient to alleviate the many problems that confront humankind. He believed that science should concern itself in a planned way to improving the lot of humankind (Ravetz, 1971, p. 312). He was hampered by being linked with the planned scince of the USSR while Russia was suffering the worst of Stalin's excesses. He did irreparable harm to his cause by the constancy of this support for the Soviet methods of controlling scientific investigations. Certainly the Lysenko affair (Rose and Rose, 1976) was an Achilles heel; even as late as 1949 he was reviewing Lysenko's work in a favourable light (Bernal, 1949b). With the flux of time his grand design, which seemed so radical in the 30s and 40s now appears to be an essential part of the writings and conference papers which abound on the subject of science, technology and society. Curriculum developers and science education specialists could do worse than to adopt Bernal's blueprint for the establishment of science working for society's needs.     

The Relationship Between Body Weight and Motor Skill Competence in Hispanic Low-SES Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor competence and BMI in Hispanic preschool children from low SES backgrounds. One hundred and forty-eight Hispanic low SES preschool children (male = 81, female = 67 participated in this study. All children were measured on gross and fine motor competence using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2). Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for all participants. A Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the preschool children’s BMI and PDMS-2 performance. A 2 (gender) × 3 (BMI) MANOVA was conducted to assess the gender and BMI differences on each PDMS-2 subtest. Nearly one-third of children in the study demonstrated gross and fine motor delays and slightly over one-third of the children were classified as overweight or obese. A significant negative correlation was found between BMI and visual motor integration scores. The MANOVA analysis showed that low SES Hispanic boys were significantly better in gross motor skill competence and girls were more advanced in fine motor performance. These findings will make a significant contribution to the literature in identifying relationship between motor competence and children’s body weight. This study is also beneficial to practitioners and educators in designing intervention and preschool curriculum to improve children identified with motor delays and to reduce BMI through physical activity.     

Motor Skill Performance by Low SES Preschool and Typically Developing Children on the PDMS-2

The purpose of this study was to compare the motor skill performance of preschool children from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds to their age matched typically developing peers using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2). Sixty-eight children (34 low SES and 34 typically developing; ages 3–5) performed the PDMS-2. Standard scores from each subtest (i.e., stationary, locomotion, object manipulation, grasping, and visual-motor integration) and three quotient scores were calculated for the children identified as low SES and typically developing children. A MANOVA was used to analyze the PDMS-2 standard score and quotient score differences between the children identified as low SES and the typically developing children. All preschool children identified as low SES scored at average or lower on total motor quotient scores. Specifically, 88.2 % of children identified as low SES were classified as average, and 11.8 % of children were in the below average performance category. The MANOVA analysis showed that children identified as low SES scored significantly lower than the typically developing children on the visual-motor integration subtest, F(1,64) = 7.232, p = .009; locomotion subtest, F(1,64) = 11.449, p = .001; and TMQ, F(1,64) = 4.732, p = .033. Children identified as low SES were significantly delayed in both fine and gross motor skill areas when compared to their typically developing age and gender matched peers. Researchers are recommended to provide comprehensive assessments for preschool children and to include motor tasks when designing early intervention programs.