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Old Wives’ Tales: Collections from Beneath the Floorboards
Get PDFOld Wives’ Tales: Collections from Beneath the Floorboards draws on the rich tradition of feminist speculative fiction, particularly in the genre of the fairy tale. It responds to Walidah Imarisha’s idea of “visionary fiction,” a kind of fiction which seeks to participate in “the decolonization of the imagination.” Using an experimental fragmentary form, it explores themes of story and counter-story, maternal legacy, female interconnectedness and community, and magic as a form of female empowerment in opposition to patriarchal control and surveillance
Teacher Efficacy in Co-teaching Science Classrooms: Implications for Training
Get PDFFollowing legislation to educate students in the least restricted environment, schools are using co-taught inclusive settings to teach secondary science classrooms. Traditionally, general educators do not receive robust instruction in differentiation, co-teaching, or collaboration with special educators. Special educators traditionally do not receive training in science content. An online survey was distributed through social media inviting teachers to share their experiences with co-teaching in science classrooms. Likert scales were used to measure teacher efficacy in co-teaching secondary science classes and teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of current teacher training. Based on the data collected, recommendations are provided for adjustments to pre-service teacher training programs and in-service professional development opportunities that can be utilized by teacher educators, school administrators, and school district trainers to strengthen ongoing training and better prepare teachers to co-teach in science classrooms
Step Into Jury Room 302: Nikki Rizzo as Juror #7
No full textNikki Rizzo \u2725 senior project website on her process as an actor in UMW Theatre\u27s Twelve Angry Jurors in the Fall of 2024. Recipient of departmental honors. UMWSITES domain used
Ultrafast Temporal Phase-resolved Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy in the Molecular Frame
No full textIn an ultrafast nonlinear optical interaction, the electric field of the emitted nonlinear signal provides direct access to the induced nonlinear transient polarization or transient currents and thus carries signatures of ultrafast dynamics in a medium. Measurement of the electric field of such signals offers sensitive observables to track ultrafast electron dynamics in various systems. In this work, we resolve the real-time phase of the electric field of a femtosecond third-order nonlinear optical signal in the molecular frame. The electric field emitted from impulsively pre-aligned gas-phase molecules at room temperature, in a degenerate four-wave mixing scheme, is measured using a spectral interferometry technique. The nonlinear signal is measured around a rotational revival to extract its molecular-frame angle dependence from pump-probe time-delay scans. By comparing these measurements for two linear molecules, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, we show that the measured second-order phase parameter (temporal chirp) of the signal is sensitive to the valence electronic symmetry of the molecules, whereas the amplitude of the signal does not show such sensitivity. We compare measurements to theoretical calculations of the chirp observable in the molecular frame. This work is an important step towards using electric field measurements in nonlinear optical spectroscopy to study ultrafast dynamics of electronically excited molecules in the molecular frame
Strategic Planning Tools for Educational Developers Supporting SoTL Cultures and Programs at Their Institutions
No full textAs centers for teaching and learning increasingly offer support and leadership for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) at their institutions, educational developers need better tools to plan their SoTL programming. This article shares the work of a regional network of educational developers across six institutions in Virginia, who aimed to enhance SoTL offerings within and across their institutions. While SoTL tools and models for individual instructors proliferate, this community of practice noted a gap in support for developers doing more institution-level planning. Through their collaboration, they developed two tools for planning and launching institution-level SoTL programs: the SoTL Strategic Planning Worksheet and the SoTL Program Taxonomy. This article describes the development of these tools and assesses their implications for educational development practice
From Goths to Romans? Changing Conceptions of Visigothic Kingship in the Reigns of Leovigild and Reccared
Get PDFThe historiography of Visigothic Spain has always been relevant, from the days of what is known as the Reconquista, to Franco-era propaganda efforts, and even to the modern day. Scholars have debated the varying qualities of Roman-ness or Gothic-ness that appear in the Visigothic kingdom, the importance of the Visigothic conversion to Nicene Christianity at the Third Council of Toledo in 589, and other details. Leaving those debates to others, this paper focuses on the question why did the Arian Visigothic kingdom abandon the Arian religion that had defined the Visigoths for generations? In examining this question through archaeological research and the relevant primary narrative sources, a deeper idea, the reimagining of Visigothic kingship, begins to appear in the reigns of the sixth century kings Leovigild and Reccared. The impetus for this change – one that ultimately led to conversion at Toledo in 589 – was the Byzantine threat, a threat not only to the Visigothic kingdom’s territory, but also to the very legitimacy of Visigothic kingship
Tools of Oppression: The Virginia School System and the School to Prison Pipeline
Get PDFThis paper examines the intersection of race, cultural expression, and disciplinary practices within the American education system, focusing on Virginia\u27s school districts. Recent legislative efforts, such as the CROWN Act in Texas, have sought to address discriminatory practices related to cultural expression in schools. Legal actions, like the lawsuit against the Winner School District in South Dakota, have aimed to rectify disparities in disciplinary outcomes for Indigenous students. However, meaningful reform requires more than just legislative and legal interventions; it necessitates a fundamental shift in educational practices to promote inclusivity and cultural sensitivity. This includes diversifying school staff, implementing culturally relevant curricula, and adopting disciplinary policies that recognize and accommodate cultural differences. Drawing on historical precedents and recent initiatives in various states, this paper underscores the need for concerted efforts at all levels of governance to effect meaningful change in school disciplinary practices. Despite the challenges, the examples demonstrate that innovative reforms are possible and essential for fostering a more equitable and inclusive education system
Unraveling the Threads: Memory and Narrative in Ian McEwan\u27s Atonement
Get PDFThis paper, written for Dr. Haffey’s English 449U course on 21st Century Fiction, explores the intricate narrative structure and metafictional elements in Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement. The novel is a commentary on the power and responsibilities of storytelling, particularly how narratives shape our understanding of memory and truth. Through the lens of its protagonist, Briony Tallis, McEwan demonstrates the complexities of memory and the subjectivity of truth. Briony’s narrative, marked by guilt and a quest for forgiveness, becomes a vehicle for examining how biases and emotions influence perception. The paper delves into the novel’s use of multiple narrative perspectives and a nonlinear narrative structure, illustrating how these techniques enhance the thematic concerns of memory and truth. Additionally, this paper highlights how McEwan’s narrative drives readers to question the reliability of contemporary storytelling and contributes to the discourse in 21st Century Fiction literary studies
State Antitrust Enforcement: Politics or Economics?
Get PDFAntitrust enforcement on the federal level has clear partisan influences; Democrats usually support expansive enforcement regimes while Republicans oppose them. On the state level, the ideological divide appears muddled. State attorneys general, who are mostly elected officials, are responsible for initiating lawsuits. This study seeks to determine whether state attorneys general mirror their federal counterpart in enforcing antitrust law on a partisan basis or whether unique state variables such as economic factors overwhelm ideological motivations. Public choice theory dictates politicians prioritize re-election and will adhere to constituent interest, thus providing the theoretical foundation for why politicians may tailor antitrust enforcement to their voters. Using panel data from all fifty states from 2009-2023, political factors seem irrelevant to whether a state attorney general is a plaintiff on a competition law case while economic indicators such as median household income and unemployment rate robustly predict enforcement. The implications are plentiful: state attorneys general might be gaining autonomy, the nature of antitrust lawsuits could be shifting, and the same political party may have different ideologies contingent upon the constituency
Companionship, Romance, and Self-Perception with Conversational Chatbots
Get PDFServing as a metaphorical gateway transcending the communicative barriers of physical relationships in interpersonal dialogues, artificial imators of human behavior and speech, also known as conversational chatbots; a simulation of human knowledge and existence in a bi-directional conversation, functions as a rhetor of expression. Spanning from contexts of professional to romantic, I serve to dissect and critically analyze the nuances of human-machine relationships based on pre-established literature, inviting ethical considerations and biases in their design and marketing. Corporate influences spark pre-established servitude-esque relationships with conversational agents. Professional applications, both task-oriented and emotionally based alike, paint a mixed picture of longevity and evidence of lacking real-life solutions. Considering cooperative game environments, I discuss modern implementations of artificial intelligence and its influence on immersion. I discern a push away from technological reliance and a focus upon human-human interaction. Modern and historical representations of artificial intelligence are discussed, and considerations for further research served regarding potential feasibility for long-term human-machine relations