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Reflective Teaching as a Catalyst for Change: Inspiring New Approaches in Library Instruction
Full text linkHow do you improve as a teacher? How do you know if learners have really understood or connected with the material? Adapting and honing pedagogical approaches can feel daunting, but a reflective teaching practice offers a pathway to making thoughtful, iterative adjustments to our instruction. Reflective teaching can inspire strategic new directions, increase equity in the classroom, and promote a holistic evaluation of instruction methods and materials. Despite these benefits, library instructors face unique challenges in adopting reflective practices. The varied nature of library responsibilities presents barriers to this work including time constraints, lack of institutional support, and the diverse range of instructional contexts within academic libraries. Sharing insights from our research and a recent survey on reflective teaching in academic libraries, we share how other academic librarians implement this practice, highlighting benefits, barriers, and tips for becoming a reflective practitioner
Childhood Adversity, Stress Management, and Reactions to Sensitive Content: A Latent Profile Analysis of Undergraduates
Full text linkCurrent rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in undergraduate students point to a need for evaluating the impact of these events on student well-being, particularly in the context of courses that contain sensitive and trauma-based content. The current latent profile analysis study included 94 students and sought to identify patterns of exposure to adversity, stress management, and self-reported experiences in a trauma-based undergraduate course. Profile results indicated three distinct groups, interpreted as low-ACE exposure, moderate-ACE exposure, and high-ACE exposure. Student perceptions of sensitive course content were generally favorable across groups, suggesting that despite varying levels of prior adversity and stress management practices, students adequately coped with potential stress of being exposed to sensitive course content. This study addresses gaps in empirical research and implications for trauma-informed teaching practices for sensitive and trauma-based course material
Film Review: Motherhood and Mathematics: Hegemonic Femininity and Deviance in Shakuntala Devi (2020)
Full text linkAutomated Media: Challenges and Opportunities for Media Literacy Education
Full text linkThis paper offers a theoretical reflection on the evolving landscape of automated media, focusing on how automation and so-called Artificial Intelligence (AI) are reshaping traditional mediarelated practices and the competences required for media literacy. It examines how automated media technologies, such as recommendation algorithms and generative AI, might reshape the critical skills necessary to navigate a complex digital ecosystem. By framing AI-driven media practices through a social-action perspective and treating media as human activities, we argue that media literacy models should encompass competences related to the operation of computational automata, particularly through the management of inbound and outbound information flows. We propose three categories of operative tasks: implementation, orchestration, and evaluation. In the remainder of this article, we apply the aforementioned theoretical framework to discuss significant challenges for media literacy education. By doing so, we aim to underscore how automated media are reshaping user agency, content creation, and human-machine interaction
Comparing field-based microplastic observations with ocean circulation model outputs in estuarine surface waters along a human population gradient
No full textDespite the significant ecological and human health risks posed by microplastic (MP) pollution in estuarine environments, documentation of their distribution remains absent in most water quality analyses. This study evaluated the distribution and characteristics of MPs in surface waters of Narragansett Bay, RI, the largest estuary in New England, which exhibits a strong north-to-south human population gradient along its shoreline. We implemented seasonal and tidal surface water sampling across two years coupled with simulations of MP movement using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). We observed higher concentrations of MPs in the urbanized northern regions of Narragansett Bay (mean ± SD, 0.67 ± 0.6 particles m−3) compared to the less populated southern regions (0.21 ± 0.1 particles m−3), but with significant temporal variability influenced by seasonal freshwater inputs, wind, and tides. Similarities between ROMS output and field-collected data were evident when evaluating broad trends in MP movement while fine-scale accuracy was limited. Simulated counts of virtual ROMS MPs were moderately correlated to field-collected data in shorter model durations (Spearman\u27s coefficient, 3 d, ρ = 0.64) with correlation strength decreasing with increasing model duration (7 d, ρ = 0.49; 14 d, ρ = 0.13). This study emphasizes the importance of spatially comprehensive and appropriately replicated sampling to characterize the dynamic nature of MPs in estuaries. Our results suggest that coastal pollution management strategies would benefit from adaptive monitoring programs that account for spatio-temporal fluctuations in MP concentrations and consider the drivers of MP movement unique to each estuary to mitigate inputs
Venezuelan Migrants in Prostitution: A Personal Decision?
Full text linkThis paper explores the multifaceted experiences of Venezuelan migrant women engaged in prostitution, framed through three critical moments: the “decision to enter in prostitution,” the unique abuses faced, and the resultant consequences on mental, physical, and social health. The study highlights how socioeconomic vulnerabilities—exacerbated by migration and poverty—significantly influence the likelihood of entering prostitution. It also shows how traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood and adolescence, coupled with a lack of support networks, contribute to a heightened risk of exploitation. Eleven life stories were collected through a phenomenological approach, revealing a common narrative of abuse, poverty, and the search for survival in a foreign country. The findings underscore that prostitution is not merely a personal choice, but a complex phenomenon shaped by structural inequalities and systemic violence. Overall, the research highlights the urgent need for comprehensive support systems to aid these women in overcoming the profound challenges they face, both during and after their involvement in prostitution
06. Brownian Motion I
No full textPart six of course materials for Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics (Physics 626), taught by Gerhard Müller at the University of Rhode Island. The available PDF includes both the lecture notes, additional materials, and exercises without solutions
Observational and Model-Based Assessment of a Self-Contained Receiver for Long-Range Underwater Acoustic Geolocalization
No full textThe RAFOS ocean acoustic monitoring (ROAM) tag is a miniature, low-cost, attachable device that is de-signed to augment oceanographic float instruments, autonomous vehicles, and marine wildlife with RAFOS-style subsur-face acoustic geolocation. Equipped with an acoustic receiver, clock crystal, internal batteries, and temperature sensor, ROAM tags detect the arrival times of regularly scheduled signals from low-frequency underwater sound sources. Once the data are recovered, these records enable trilateration of subsurface positions over months to years. Tag success im-proves with proximity to the deep ocean sound channel (approximately 500–1300-m depth), where the range of sound sources can extend for hundreds of kilometers. Here, we analyze geolocation results from a pilot study using a tag-equipped glider in the vicinity of a moored sound source. We also evaluate predictions of transmission strength and positional uncertainty for different source configurations based on acoustic models. With this analysis and discussion, we aim to offer a comprehensive description of considerations for successful ROAM tag deployments, such as depth regime (shallow versus deep water), environmental characteristics of the water and sediments, and sound source arrangement
Import Substitution Industrialization in Africa: Guinea\u27s Experience
No full textImport substitution industrialization (ISI) is such a template that many countries lagging behind in terms of development considered as an essential phase. The process of adopting ISI by these countries, however, displays contrasts in many aspects. The more apparent cases of differences in ISI adoption emanate from the East-Asian and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) models. These two regions are both latecomers in that industrial revolution, compared to Latin American countries being pioneers, was a chronologically later undertaking. Despite constraining factors, the East-Asian model thrives to become a successful experience. Meanwhile, SSA and Latin American countries still strive to achieve this ambition. This paper presents the developing countries’ approach to ISI in general, and the Sub-Saharan African particular case to this process. The paper dives into national level to unveil features that favor or hinder this initiative in SSA. Guinea’s case offers an interesting framework to gauge the effect of different economic policies espoused in implementing ISI. The paper applies a qualitative approach and draws on existing literature with the complement of the author’s account to apprehend the “nuts and bolts” of Guinea’s experience with ISI. Due to critical obstacles, ISI implementation in SSA and Guinea particularly has failed to meet expectations