Wake Technical Community College

ABSTRACT Given current enrollment patterns that feature a predominance of women, community college enrollment may offer potential for increasing gender diversity in STEM fields if students transfer successfully to four-year institutions. While many do not transfer, those who do can increase their stocks of science capital while enrolled at community college. This project follows pathways of some of the low-income students who successfully complete transfers to four-year institutions, focusing on interviews with White women. While not positive in every aspect, community college enrollment offered these low-income interviewees time to build science-related social and cultural capital that then helped them to succeed in transferring to four-year universities and to support them in STEM fields they perceived as being male-dominated. All the students came from households with low levels of science capital and had not strongly considered majoring in STEM prior to enrolling in community college. Interviewees describe their time at community colleges as critical in allowing them to explore STEM fields, construct positive relationships with STEM instructors, improve their time management skills, and increase their STEM self-confidence. These increased stores of science capital were not sufficient to keep all the transfer students majoring in STEM fields but did support the educational trajectories of all transfer students. Thus, community college enrollment can give students time to incubate both science capital and science-related transfer capital, the latter being especially useful for low-income White women in STEM.

Este artículo presenta y analiza dos experiencias pedagógicas que incorporan el desarrollo de liderazgo en la clase de lenguas. En un contexto de baja matrícula en las clases de idiomas, y del aumento de los hablantes de herencia de español, una forma en que los educadores de idiomas pueden atraer a los estudiantes es mediante la incorporación de habilidades transferibles al mundo real y al mercado laboral. El liderazgo es una habilidad útil para que todos los estudiantes fomenten la civilidad, la comprensión mutua, la comunicación intercultural y la buena ciudadanía global. En este contexto, el artículo sigue la guía de habilidades del Consejo Americano de Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras (ACTFL siglas en inglés) para la educación en lenguas extranjeras, que nombran como habilidades críticas para el futuro al “liderazgo y la responsabilidad.” Basándose en este documento, este artículo comparte un enfoque interdisciplinario de la enseñanza de las lenguas y las prácticas de liderazgo que ayudarán a los estudiantes de idiomas a mantenerse comprometidos con la comunidad y con sus compañeros mientras aprenden y enseñan español.

The US population over 65 is projected to increase to 21% by 2050. Given mobility issues arising from health concerns, economic status changes, loss of friends and partners, older people are at a higher risk for social isolation and loneliness. Since the declaration of national emergency for COVID-19 on March 13, 2020, many older adults have not been able to connect with others in traditional ways. Instead, activities and contacts have been facilitated virtually via videoconferencing or phone calls to maintain physical and social distance. Amidst COVID-19, the transition to using technologies to connect socially and reduce loneliness has been a critical factor in preventing social isolation and loneliness. Identifying effective strategies involving the use of technology, designing new ways to deliver services virtually, and developing educational programs to promote technology is vitally necessary. This systematic review explored the relationship between technology use and social isolation or loneliness, and examined interventions that reduced social isolation in older adults. A unified strategy was used to systematically search seven databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and AgeLine) to examine qualitative and quantitative studies published in English between 2010 and 2020. Preliminary results indicate that technology can alleviate social isolation and loneliness in older adults despite some mixed results. The findings of this study will provide a foundation for policymakers and practitioners to shape policies and design programs that help older adults to alleviate social isolation and loneliness, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some form of regeneration occurs in all lifeforms and extends from single-cell organisms to humans. The degree to which regenerative ability is distributed across different taxa, however, is harder to ascertain given the potential for phylogenetic constraint or inertia, and adaptive processes to shape this pattern. Here, we examine the phylogenetic history of regeneration in two groups where the trait has been well-studied: arthropods and reptiles. Because autotomy is often present alongside regeneration in these groups, we performed ancestral state reconstructions for both traits to more precisely assess the timing of their origins and the degree to which these traits coevolve. Using an ancestral trait reconstruction, we find that autotomy and regeneration were present at the base of the arthropod and reptile trees. We also find that when autotomy is lost it does not re-evolve easily. Lastly, we find that the distribution of regeneration is intimately connected to autotomy with the association being stronger in reptiles than in arthropods. Although these patterns suggest that decoupling autotomy and regeneration at a broad phylogenetic scale may be difficult, the available data provides useful insight into their entanglement. Ultimately, our reconstructions provide the important groundwork to explore how selection may have played a role during the loss of regeneration in specific lineages.

Matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) has many benefits over conventional methods (e.g., dip-coating, spin coating, and Langmuir–Blodgett dip-coating) for manufacturing coatings containing pharmacologic agents on medical devices. In particular, the thickness of the coating that is applied to the surface of the medical device can be tightly controlled. In this study, MAPLE was used to deposit rapamycin-polyvinylpyrrolidone (rapamycin-PVP) thin films onto silicon and borosilicate optical glass substrates. Alamar Blue and PicoGreen studies were used to measure the metabolic health and DNA content of L929 mouse fibroblasts as measures of viability and proliferation, respectively. The cells on the MAPLE-deposited rapamycin-PVP surfaces exhibited 70.6% viability and 53.7% proliferation compared to a borosilicate glass control. These data indicate that the antiproliferative properties of rapamycin were maintained after MAPLE deposition.

Texting tools are useful communication tools used by higher education instructors to send short messages to students or guardians. The tool can also be a vehicle for enhancing student engagement and communication by sending reminders, words of encouragement, and other announcements. Some texting tools are accessible to students with disabilities thanks to the voice-to-text feature, highlighted in this article. Challenges to using texting tools are addressed and best practices for implementation are described.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion on the added value of a library science degree in a community college setting. Design/methodology/approach This is a viewpoint supported with research from current field literature. Findings This is demonstrating the variances of perceived value of LIS degrees in different library settings. Recommendations are made for individuals to lead their own career needs. Originality/value This is the author’s own points of view.