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Struggling Toward Abolition And Dreaming Beyond Ableism In Teacher Education
No full textAbolition is a verb, referencing how people build safe conditions while dismantling (and developing solutions beyond) harmful institutions, including within education. Considering disability justice movement work in our roles as teacher educators, we explored how we might contend with the harmful purposes and functions of educational structures as we prepare future teachers to adopt abolitionist stances in their pedagogies. We begin with the premise that the current educational system, rooted in ableism, is fundamentally designed to rank, categorize and hypervalue/devalue children based on ability. Ableism intersects with multiple oppressions, fueling the inequitable distribution of resources in special/gifted education; and racist educational outcomes. To divest from ableism — decoupling learning from punishment in practice — we share three pedagogical examples from our own teaching, discussing how we support future teachers to imagine and enact teaching practices beyond providing services or accommodations, so that multiply-marginalized children and educators can be recognized as whole
Acoustic Activation Imaging With Intravenous Perfluoropropane Nanodroplets Results In Selective Bioactivation Of The Risk Area
No full textBackground: Acoustically activatable perfluoropropane droplets (PD) can be formulated from commercially available microbubble preparations. Diagnostic transthoracic ultrasound frequencies have resulted in acoustic activation (AA) predominately within myocardial infarct zones (IZ). Objective: We hypothesized that the AA area following acute coronary ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) would selectively enhance the developing scar zone, and target bioeffects specifically to this region. Methods: We administered intravenous PD in 36 rats and 20 pigs at various stages of myocardial scar formation (30 minutes, 1 day, and 7 days post I/R) to determine what effect infarct age had on the AA within the IZ. This was correlated with histology, myeloperoxidase activity, and tissue nitrite activity. Results: The degree of AA within the IZ in rats was not associated with collagen content, neutrophil infiltration, or infarct age. AA within 24 hours of I/R was associated with increased nitric oxide utilization selectively within the IZ (P \u3c .05 compared with remote zone). The spatial extent of AA in pigs correlated with infarct size only when performed before sacrifice at 7 days (r = .74, P \u3c .01). Conclusions: Acoustic activation of intravenous PD enhances the developing scar zone following I/R, and results in selective tissue nitric oxide utilization
Designed To Fail: Why Racial Equity In School Funding Is So Hard To Achieve
No full textA provocative examination of how systemic racism in education funding is sustained. For people who care about urban school districts like Philadelphia’s, addressing the challenges that these schools face often boils down to the need for more money. But why are urban districts that serve Black and Brown students still so perennially underfunded compared to majority-white ones? Why is racial equity in school funding so hard to achieve? In Designed to Fail, Roseann Liu provides an inside look at the Pennsylvania state legislature and campaigns for fair funding to show how those responsible for the distribution of school funding work to maintain the privileges of majority-white school districts. Liu analyzes how colorblind policies, political structures, and the maintenance of the status quo by people in power perpetuate wide and deepening racial disparities in education funding. Taking a lesson from community organizers fighting for a racially equitable school funding system, Liu’s work is a bold call to address structural racism at the root and organize from a place of abundant justice
The Buenos Aires Reader: History, Culture, Politics
No full textThe Buenos Aires Reader offers an insider’s look at the diverse lived experiences of the people, politics, and culture of Argentina’s capital city primarily from the nineteenth century to the present. Refuting the tired cliché that Buenos Aires is the “Paris of South America,” this book gives a nuanced view of a city that has long been attentive to international trends yet never ceases to celebrate its local culture. The vibrant opinions, reflections, and voices of Buenos Aires come to life through selections that range from songs, poems, letters, and essays to interviews, cartoons, paintings, and historical documents, many of which have been translated into English for the first time. These selections tell the story of the city’s culture of protest and celebration, its passion for soccer and sport, its gastronomy and food traditions, its legendary nightlife, and its musical, literary, and artistic cultures. Providing an unparalleled look at Buenos Aires’s history, culture, and politics, this volume is an ideal companion for anyone interested in this dynamic, disruptive, and inventive city
British Slave Trade In The Atlantic
No full textNearly 3.4 million Africans departed Atlantic Africa on British slave ships destined for the Americas between the 16th century and the first decade of the 19th century, when the British abolished the trade. The vast majority of these enslaved Africans were taken as war captives in West (primarily the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Biafra) and West Central Africa before being sold to European slave traders. Most of them struggled to survive treacherous journeys to the Americas between the 1670s and 1807. Much of this trade was driven by sugar production in the Caribbean, where the majority of enslaved Africans were sold. These Africans also endured secondary and tertiary voyages to North and South America, where they arrived in British and Spanish territories. The British slave trade reached its zenith in the second half of the 18th century, when the ports of Liverpool in England and Bonny in the Bight of Biafra rose to prominence as slave trading hubs. A discussion of the history of the British slave trade from its inception in the 16th century through the era of abolition in the early 19th century includes a description of the historiographical literature and online resources for teaching and learning
K2-399 b Is Not A Planet
No full textContext. The transit technique has been very efficient over the past decades in detecting planet-candidate signals. The so-called statistical validation approach has become a popular way of verifying a candidate’s planetary nature. However, the incomplete consideration of false-positive scenarios and data quality can lead to misinterpretation of the results. Aims. In this work, we revise the planetary status of K2-399 b, a validated planet with an estimated false-positive probability of 0.078% located in the middle of the so-called Neptunian desert, and hence a potential key target for atmospheric prospects. Methods. We used radial velocity data from the CARMENES, HARPS, and TRES spectrographs, as well as ground-based multiband transit photometry provided by LCOGT MuSCAT3 and broad band photometry to test the planetary scenario. Results. Our analysis of the available data does not support the existence of this (otherwise key) planet, and instead points to a scenario composed of an early G-dwarf orbited –with a period of a 846.62−0.28+0.22 days– by a pair of eclipsing M-dwarfs (hence a hierarchical eclipsing binary) likely in the mid-type domain. We thus demote K2-399 b as a planet. Conclusions. We conclude that the validation process, while very useful to prioritize follow-up efforts, must always be conducted with careful attention to data quality while ensuring that all possible scenarios have been properly tested to get reliable results. We also encourage developers of validation algorithms to ensure the accuracy of a priori probabilities for different stellar scenarios that can lead to this kind of false validation. We further encourage the use of follow-up observations when possible (such as radial velocity and/or multiband light curves) to confirm the planetary nature of detected transiting signals rather than only relying on validation tools
How Parties And Ambitious Politicians Undermined American Democracy—And The Reforms That Might Save It
No full textAsserting that American checks and balances have broken down, Lawrence Jacobs asserts that parties must filter out dangerous candidates such as Donald Trump. To do so requires a number of reforms to undo several wrong turns in the evolution of the party system. Ambitious political elites including Jefferson, Jackson, LaFollette, and McGovern introduced changes in the name of greater equality that served their own interests but also had a number of harmful consequences. Reforms are needed to expand and reinvigorate citizen political participation along many dimensions and curb elite influence. In his book Democracy Under Fire: Donald Trump and the Breaking of American History, Lawrence Jacobs offers a robust vision of democracy and argues democracy is incompatible with entrenching minority control of electoral outcomes or political decision-making. Yet some of the failures and changes that gave rise to current threats to democracy, including authoritarian candidates, have affected other nations and have causes that go beyond remedies considered here. Some of the modest reforms proposed by Jacobs seem unlikely to achieve the purposes he envisions. However, reforms that do not require constitutional amendments and broader citizen political engagement that extends beyond election season are welcome proposals
The Future Of Protection In UN Peace Operations
No full textUnited Nations peacekeeping is experiencing a generational shift as several large missions downsize and close. Amid this change, this essay considers the future of the Protection of Civilians (PoC) mandate, which has been a priority of UN peacekeeping since it was first authorized twenty-five years ago. It argues that PoC has evolved significantly, expanding from a narrow focus on physical protection from immediate threats to a holistic approach that includes establishing a protective environment. It suggests that while the PoC mandate has proven effective in reducing violence, the future is fraught with four significant challenges: waning state commitment to UN peacekeeping, the fragmentation of global peace and security mechanisms, shifting local perceptions in a rapidly changing information landscape, and mounting disillusionment among UN personnel. This essay contends that these obstacles underscore the inherently political nature of PoC, where power dynamics and perceptions profoundly impact mission success. As peacekeeping missions scale back, PoC remains essential but increasingly precarious, demanding strategic adaptability and sustained commitment. Ultimately, the essay argues that without renewed political and institutional dedication, PoC’s effectiveness—and the UN’s credibility—will be difficult to uphold in the face of evolving conflict dynamics and geopolitical shifts
