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Behavioral and Thermal Correlates of Alternative Overwintering Strategies in a Southeastern Population of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus)
Full text linkTemperate non-avian reptiles are under selective pressure to minimize the costs of low winter temperatures. For high latitude or high elevation snake populations, this has often favored communal overwintering behavior, while lower latitude populations typically overwinter solitarily. Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) are distributed across a wide latitudinal gradient in North America and represent ideal models for exploring how variable winter selective regimes might favor different overwintering strategies. We studied a unique population of C. horridus from central Georgia, USA, that maintains both communal and solitary overwintering behavior. Through time-lapse videography, temperature datalogging, radio telemetry, and accelerometry, we quantified the potential costs and benefits of communal and solitary overwintering while assessing variation in individual plasticity in strategy. Migration distance (mean ± s.e.) among communal rattlesnakes (561.41 ± 86.74 m) was significantly greater than solitary rattlesnakes (334.71 ± 50.48 m). Communal individuals might trade-off this cost for increased winter basking opportunities, as they exhibited greater activity levels and a reduced dependency on ambient temperature for activity relative to solitary snakes. However, there were no differences in basking frequency, body temperatures, and environmental temperatures between communal and solitary sites. We documented individual plasticity in overwintering strategy, with several males and females shifting between communal and solitary sites across years. Our results only partially explain the simultaneous maintenance of both overwintering strategies in this population. We suspect that multiple lurking variables related to individual condition are at play, such as disease (Ophidiomycosis) status and inclusive fitness benefits to communal snakes
Los inmigrantes indocumentados y su pelea para la salud medica en los Estados Unidos
Full text linkThis essay explores the critical issue of healthcare access for undocumented immigrants in the United States. Despite contributing significantly to the economy through labor and taxes, undocumented immigrants face systemic barriers to medical care, including lack of insurance, fear of deportation, and economic troubles. These barriers result in untreated illnesses, mental health struggles, and increased use of emergency services, which generate higher long-term costs. The paper argues for inclusive healthcare policies, such as Medicaid expansion and protections for patient privacy, to improve public health, reduce disparities, and enhance economic stability. Drawing from U.S. and international examples, the essay demonstrates that providing preventive care to undocumented immigrants is not only a moral obligation but also an economic necessity. Inclusive healthcare access strengthens communities and leads to a more equitable and efficient healthcare system for all
Exploring Black Identity in Chester Himes’ Cotton Comes to Harlem
Full text linkChester Himes’ 1965 novel, Cotton Comes to Harlem, is perhaps his most celebrated and renowned work. The novel is firmly rooted in the detective fiction genre; however, Himes loads the text with so many rich racial concepts that it also functions as a political piece. His characterization of the novel’s protagonists, Detectives Coffin Ed and Grave Digger, whose identities are trapped between being officers of the law and civilians of Harlem, highlights Himes’ personal identity struggles. Likewise, the text’s villains, Rev. Deke O’Malley and Colonel Robert Calhoun, play on the nostalgic question of black identity in America, which has ties to both African heritage and Southern slavery. Even Himes’ depiction of Harlem, which is an uncanny representation of the actual city, allows for the exploration of the black experience in America. Applying W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness as a framework, this essay analyzes Himes’ work to better understand the complex history of African American identity
Donna Guatier and the First Presbyterian Church
Full text linkDaniel Sims talks with Donna Guatier about the history of the First Presbyterian Church.
Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s0jnh2Suxuk
Listen on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/flannery-oconnor-institut/episodes/Collecting-the-Past-Podcast---Episode-22-Donna-Guatier-and-the-First-Presbyterian-Church-e35e2ruhttps://kb.gcsu.edu/collectingthepast/1035/thumbnail.jp
Disability
No full textWhen Shiva’s marriage collapses, he leaves behind the pain and familiarity of Georgia and moves to the quiet landscapes of New Hampshire. There, he finds refuge in the company of his closest friend and takes a job as a direct support professional at a disability services organization—hoping for stability, not love. But then he meets Kristy. Kristy is a witty, intelligent woman with cerebral palsy—and one of Shiva’s clients. As they grow closer, their connection deepens into a romance, using the technique of the Kamasutra, that is as powerful as it is forbidden. The organization’s strict policies forbid any personal or intimate involvement between staff and clients. Even speaking openly about sex or marriage is off-limits. Yet Shiva finds himself pulled deeper into a relationship that challenges not only professional boundaries, but cultural ones, too. Originally from Nepal, Shiva must navigate not only the complexities of organization\u27s regulations but also the haunting realization that pursuing a future with Kristy could cost him everything: his job, his freedom, and perhaps even his chance to remain in the country. Torn between the rules of the organization and the call of his heart, Shiva takes a risk that could change his life forever
A brief social skills intervention and its effect on elementary students’ social behaviors
Full text linkStudent social skill improvement interventions are primarily conducted at the school site. Students also need social skills to navigate out-of-school time, and more focus on the elementary level is advised. Successful interventions are developmentally appropriate for the age group and focus on skill building. In this study, puppetry was the developmentally appropriate strategy used to teach a social skills-building curriculum. Trained volunteers presented four short, weekly lessons on positive social skill development to elementary students attending their district’s afterschool program. Pre-post intervention, student social skill knowledge scores significantly improved, and afterschool teachers reported significant decreases in student emotional problems and hyperactivity scores as well as a significant increase in pro-social behavior scores. Interestingly, conduct problem scores improved but not significantly, and peer problem scores significantly increased. Afterschool programming may be a promising initial or bridging step towards fully integrating school-based elementary-level social skill improvement interventions into community-based settings and organizations
John Hargaden and Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Full text linkEowyn Agullo interviews John Hargaden about the significance of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Milledgeville.
Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KCgfVVRyL3Y
Listen on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/flannery-oconnor-institut/episodes/Collecting-the-Past-Podcast---Episode-24-John-Hargaden-and-Sacred-Heart-Catholic-Church-e35njvshttps://kb.gcsu.edu/collectingthepast/1033/thumbnail.jp
Impact of Professional Development on Teacher Perceptions of Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Students
Full text linkDeficit thinking is when we view another as having less potential based on preconceived notions defined by our backgrounds and, oftentimes, society. A predominantly White teaching force is encountering more cultural and ethnic diversity in their classrooms than ever before. Professional development for teachers is historically beneficial and promotes change in teaching and pedagogy. This study utilized a mixed-methods methodology that examined the effects of professional development on teachers’ knowledge and skills as they pertained to culturally responsive teaching. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to test the study\u27s questions. This study surveyed teachers before and after a professional development intervention on culturally responsive teaching and teacher expectations of culturally and ethnically diverse students. In addition, classroom observation data and a voluntary sample of teachers participated in interviews to help explain the data collected from the surveys (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005). The professional development intervention was extended over 5 months. The findings indicated that professional development impacted teachers’ perceptions of culturally and ethnically diverse students and the strategies they would use in their classrooms to be inclusive of all students. Teachers\u27 perceptions of culturally diverse students underwent notable changes following their participation in the professional development program. Additionally, there was clear evidence that participants began implementing culturally responsive teaching strategies in their classrooms after completing the training. This suggests that the professional development had a positive impact on both teachers\u27 attitudes and their teaching practices
Los prefijos de la revolución chilena
No full textThis study explores how Chilean literature serves as both historical testimony and symbolic resistance by analyzing the works of Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, and Alejandro Zambra through the conceptual prefixes “sub,” “neo,” and “post.” These frameworks—subalternity, neoliberalism, and post-hegemony—help trace Chile’s sociopolitical shifts across three key periods: the pre-dictatorship era, the Pinochet dictatorship, and the post-dictatorship transition. Gabriela Mistral’s poetry reflects a pre-dictatorial Chile marked by marginalization, where subaltern voices—indigenous, rural, and female—are emphasized. Her work anticipates the cultural erasure to come and highlights memory as a form of resistance. Pablo Neruda, though he died days after the 1973 coup, offers a prophetic critique of oppression in Canto General, where anti-imperialist and anti-colonial themes reject authoritarianism and implicitly challenge the neoliberal model later installed. Alejandro Zambra writes from the post-dictatorship context, portraying a Chile shaped by fragmented identity, historical amnesia, and globalized consumer culture. His stories in Mis Documentos reveal the unresolved trauma inherited by a generation raised under dictatorship but living in a flawed democracy. Drawing on theorists such as Jean Franco, Gareth Williams, and Jon Beasley-Murray, this paper argues that these three authors document a literary response to Chile’s political evolution. Their works resist hegemonic narratives by preserving marginalized experiences and confronting collective trauma. Ultimately, the prefixes “sub,” “neo,” and “post” offer more than linguistic meaning—they provide tools for interpreting literature as political memory and critique in a society shaped by inequality and repression