Faculty Research & Creative Scholarship 2020: A-B

Journal Title: Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
Abstract: I draw attention to an ambiguity of the expression ‘phenomenal consciousness’ that is an avoidable yet persistent source of conceptual confusion among consciousness scientists. The ambiguity is between what I call phenomenality and what I call conscious states, where the former denotes an abstract property and the latter denotes a phenomenon or class of its instances. Since sentences featuring these two terms have different semantic properties, it is possible to equivocate over the term ‘consciousness’. It is also possible to fail to distinguish between statements that are true about conscious states in virtue of their phenomenality, and statements that are true in virtue of other properties of conscious states. I review empirically informed arguments by scientists Bernard Balleine and Anthony Dickinson, Stevan Harnad, and Jeffrey Alan Gray, arguing that each of them makes errors based on the ambiguity. I conclude with some tentative suggestions for avoiding further confusion about the ambiguity.
Author: Mikio Akagi, Assistant Professor, History and Philosophy of Science

Journal Title: ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
Abstract: Despite significant advances of nanomedicine, the issues of biocompatibility, accumulation-derived toxicity, and the lack of sensing and in vivo imaging capabilities hamper the translation of most nanocarriers into clinic. To address this, we utilize nitrogen, boron/nitrogen, and sulfur-doped graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as fully biocompatible multifunctional platforms allowing for multicolor visible/near-IR imaging and cancer-sensing. These GQDs are scalably produced in one-step synthesis from a single biocompatible glucosamine precursor, are water-soluble, show no cytotoxicity at high concentrations of 1 mg/mL, and demonstrate substantial degradation at 36 h in biological environments as verified by TEM imaging. Because of their small sizes, GQDs exhibit efficient internalization maximized at 12 h followed by further degradation/excretion. Their high-yield intrinsic fluorescence in blue/green and near-infrared allows for multicolor in vitro imaging on its own or in combination with other fluorophores, and offers the capabilities for in vivo near-IR fluorescence tracking. Additionally, nitrogen- and sulfur-doped GQDs exhibit pH-dependent fluorescence response that is successfully utilized as a sensing mechanism for acidic extracellular environments of cancer cells. It allows for the deterministic, ratiometric spectral discrimination between cancerous (HeLa and MCF-7 cell) versus healthy (HEK-293 cell) environments with substantial intensity ratios of 1.6 to 8. These results suggest fully biocompatible GQDs developed in this work as multifunctional candidates for in vitro delivery of active agents, multicolor visible/near-IR fluorescence imaging, and pH-sensing of cancerous environments.
Author: Giridhar R. Akkaraju, Professor & Department Chair, Biology

Journal Title: ACS Applied Bio Materials
Abstract: Biodegradable porous silicon nanotubes (pSiNTs), functionalized with primary amine moieties via the use of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), is demonstrated as a template for formation of platinum nanocrystals (Pt NCs) (1–3 nm). Transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM–EDX) indicates a relatively high and tunable concentration of Pt uniformly immobilized on a given nanotube (wt % Pt: 20–60%). In vitro viability and cellular uptake studies are consistent with a time-dependent toxicity of Pt NCs-pSiNTs against HeLa cells that is influenced by the degradation kinetics of the pSiNTs; internalization of the composites inside the cells exerts cellular damage in an apoptotic manner, therefore suggesting promising future applications in anticancer treatments.
Author: Giridhar R. Akkaraju, Professor & Department Chair, Biology

Journal Title: Community College Journal of Research and Practice
Abstract: This qualitative, multi-site, case study examined the personal and professional experiences of women of color who currently hold higher-level administrative positions at a Texas community college district and the role that Bicultural Socialization Theory played in their pathway to the leadership pipeline. Using interviews, campus observations, document analysis, and analytic memos, this study found who are the mentors (i.e., cultural translators, cultural mediators, and role models) who supported women of color achieve high-level administrative positions. The findings revealed that women of color navigated home and work culture due to their ability to balance multiple responsibilities required at home and the responsibilities required by their leadership roles. The findings indicated that women of color were successful because they had the ability to drawn upon their minority culture towards a successful bicultural pathway. The implications and recommendations for practice and future research are included.
Author: Taryn Ozuna Allen, Associate Professor, Education

Journal Title: Texas Education Review
Abstract: This qualitative study examined the perceptions of sense of belonging among ten Latino male students enrolled in two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Texas. Through one-on-one interviews, the Latino males revealed relationships with faculty members and an openness to diversity fostered a sense of belonging. However, Greek Letter Organization infrastructure, campus cultural representation, and work responsibilities created obstacles to Latino males’ campus connections. Implications for research and practice are offered.
Author: Taryn Ozuna Allen, Associate Professor, Education

A music composition for flute and alto saxophone
Composer: Neil Anderson-Himmelspach, Assistant Professor, Music Technology and Music Theory/Composition, Music

Journal Title: Journal of Special Education Technology
Abstract: This study investigated the perspectives of elementary special education teachers regarding integrating technology into lessons. Eight special education teachers at a private university laboratory school, who varied in their levels of teaching experience and confidence with using technology, participated in the study. We interviewed each teacher three times, with two of the interviews following our observations of technology-integrated lessons. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts provided insight into the interrelationships among teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge, teaching experience, confidence with using technology, beliefs about the role of technology in education, and perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with using it. Teachers’ perceptions of the value of technology in special education classrooms included providing differentiation, offering varied representations of content, enhancing motivation and engagement, facilitating formative assessment, and fostering life skills. Challenges of integrating technology included technology malfunctions and lack of teacher and student technological knowledge.
Author: Susan E. Anderson, Associate Professor, Education

Journal Title: ACS Omega
Abstract: The incorporation of a hexadecyl group on imidazolium, pyridinium, and pyrrolidinium scaffolds produces low-molecular-weight ionic organogelators that can gel several types of ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents (DESs), and several molecular organic solvents. Minimum gelator concentrations fall in the 0.9–15.0% (w/v) range, with the lower end of the gelator concentrations observed in the gelation of DESs. On the basis of polarized optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray data, crystallization of these salts appear to produce high-surface-area crystals, which generate sufficiently stable three-dimensional networks that are capable of trapping the solvent molecules. Importantly, the nature of the fluid component of the gel appears to have a profound effect on the morphology of the crystallized organogelators. On the other hand, the organogelators appeared to modulate phase transitions of the liquids.
Author: Onofrio Annunziata, Professor, Biophysical and Macromolecular Chemistry

Description: Archival pigment print with maple frame, 14 x 8 in.
Artist: Kalee Appleton, Assistant Professor, Art

Description: Archival pigment print with maple frame, 15.5 x 9 in.
Artist: Kalee Appleton, Assistant Professor, Art

Journal Title: Music Theory Online
Abstract: In this article, I explore the analytical potential of musical topics and tropes in the study of video game music. Following Neumeyer (2015), Almén (2008), and Hatten (1994), I establish a methodology with which to approach musical topics in video game music. By way of a case study, I begin by defining the soaring topic through a historical and cultural examination of flying in cinema and video games. Flying, and more specifically soaring, has been a staple in film from the earliest days of cinema, and the music that accompanies it is also found in video games that prominently feature flying. I then engage the music of flying sequences in two specific video games, Final Fantasy IV (1991) and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011). The resulting analyses demonstrate that this approach helps to unpack the complex narratives found in video games.
Author: Sean E. Atkinson, Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Journal Title: Journal of Latinos and Education
Abstract: Parental and community supports are important factors for Latino student academic success. The purpose of this paper is to explore the parental and community activism surrounding the San Antonio v. Rodriguez school finance case in order to better understand how historic means of activism relate to the contemporary ways that Latino parents and community members continue to be involved in the education of Latino youth. Historic methods, guided by a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework, were employed to analyze archival records and oral histories. This critical analysis revealed influences of labor organizing, traditional civil rights, and the Chicano movement surrounding the parental and community involvement that prompted this lawsuit. Learning from historic events allows us to challenge the contemporary White normative definitions of parental involvement that marginalize the ways Latino parents and community members support student success.
Author: Erin Atwood, Assistant Professor, Education

Journal Title: Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership
Abstract: Using data is foundational to school leadership; however, when “data” are narrowly construed as academic outcomes, important data perceived as tangential to academics can be backgrounded, ignored, or unused. Today’s school leaders must also attend to data around chronic absenteeism, discipline, learning climate, and social, emotional, and physical well-being—all of which factor into students’ ability and readiness to learn. In this case, educators at Copper Springs Middle School move from frustrations with “poor student choices” to a better understanding of student needs and issues related to food insecurity through the collection and analysis of broader data through an equity lens.
Author: Erin Atwood, Assistant Professor, Education

Journal Title: Educational Research for Social Change
Abstract: Research supports the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to inform and direct action in geography and urban planning. As critical researchers, we also see the power of GIS in participatory projects with students to analyse power, privilege, and oppression in order to move toward action. Understanding that meaning shifts through an interplay of social, linguistic, and material interactions, GIS has the unique ability to show fluidity yet connectedness across geographic borders, providing intriguing opportunities as a research tool. Drawing on recent studies of GIS in research, we recognise the potential to build understanding of spatial context as both socially and politically constructed, but also the tendency to see a map as bounded data in finality. We argue here the importance to return the data back to the material itself in order to avoid reifying a flat, discursive representation of the material without claiming agency.Through the planning of a participatory project with GIS as a research tool, we consider the implications, cautions, and potential of using GIS as a fluid and incomplete representation of a moment in time and space that is also a path moving toward something else.
Author: Erin Atwood, Assistant Professor, Education

Description: Be a Girl Champion is a compilation of stories about seven young girls who faced hardships in their lives but who came out stronger and wiser. Readers of this book will take away one thing: everything that happened to these girls has happened and continues to happen to millions of others just like them, not just in Asia but around the world. Author Chloe Reynaldo wrote these stories hoping readers will realize that these unfortunate circumstances are commonplace, and that they are happening all around us, even though they go unnoticed. Reynaldo wrote them simply, to impress upon people of all ages the daunting problems these very young girls face. But these are also stories of hope--stories that show any step forward, no matter how small, can be a major improvement. One way or another, these girls strive to overcome their difficulties and to continuously grow as people. Reynaldo hopes that all will always be inspired to move past obstacles and look forward to the future--and always remember to support, bolster, and champion one another.
Designer: Jan Ballard, Instructor, Design

Description: Teaching Graphic Design History is the first collection of essays, syllabi, and guides for conveying the heritage of this unique practice, from traditional chronologies to eclectic themes as developed by today's historians, designers, scholars, and documentarians. Teaching the history of graphic design cannot simply be outlined by dates nor confined by places, but is defined by concepts and philosophies, as well as those who made, make, and inspire them. Long overlooked within the broader history of printing and typesetting, when graphic design's artifacts finally became the subject of serious study, the historian had to determine what was worthy and on what the history of graphic design should focus: the makers or the artifacts, the content or the context, or all of the above. With the author's distinct viewpoint and many exclusive contributions, Teaching Graphic Design History chronicles the customs and conventions of various cultures and societies and how they are seen through signs, symbols, and the artifacts designed for use in the public--and sometimes private--sphere. Areas of focus include: Social and political effects of graphic design Philosophical perspectives on design Evolution of branding Development of the graphic design profession Predictions for the future of the practice An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
Essayist: Jan Ballard, Instructor, Design

Journal Title: Journal of Youth Development
Abstract: Urban youth living in poverty are less socially and academically prepared to access postsecondary education compared to their more affluent peers. College and career readiness (CCR) programs traditionally focus on skill-building to assist with college and financial aid applications, test taking, and career exploration. The Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) program includes these components, but also incorporates positive youth development (PYD) and leadership skill development strategies to further prepare urban youth for college and career through internship, service, and leadership opportunities. Using a mixed methods approach, this study explored youth perceptions of the YLA, evaluating the influence of the program on youth outcomes and distilling what, if any, program design components contributed to their growth and learning. Qualitative findings suggest participation in the YLA was perceived to support growth in communication skills, social skills, readiness for leadership roles, and preparation and knowledge for future college and career opportunities. Additionally, quantitative results demonstrate positive, significant increases from pre- to post-program test in leadership, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills for youth. Program design components shown to support positive outcomes included positive relationships with peer and adults, skill-building sessions, and applied internship experiences. Findings suggest that PYD approaches with CCR and leadership skill development programming may promote positive social outcomes for vulnerable youth. Implications for intervention, practice, and future research are discussed.
Author: Samantha Bates, Assistant Professor, Social Work

Journal Title: Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work
Abstract: Using a mixed methods approach, the current study tested whether an intervention, the Gender By Us® Toolkit, decreased implicit gender bias compared to a generic conversation. Researchers randomly assigned participants in the study to the intervention (n = 11) or a generic conversation (n = 12). Participants completed pre-, post-, and 2-week follow-up surveys. Valid psychometric instruments and t tests were used to assess group differences on the following measures: (1) the Social Dominance Orientation Scale, (2) the Neosexism Scale, and (3) the Modern Sexism Scale. Quantitative results showed the intervention group scored significantly higher on the Modern Sexism Scale at posttest than the control group (p = .00), demonstrating increased acknowledgment of gender discrimination. Both groups also were asked open-ended questions related to the intervention and implicit gender bias. Qualitative results suggested that participants’ overall perception was that the intervention increased their awareness of implicit gender biases within themselves and their ability to identify biases in others, yet a comparatively low number of intervention participants retained the ability to identify an example of implicit gender bias at posttest. Findings may indicate the intervention had a small but positive effect on disrupting implicit gender bias.
Author: Samantha Bates, Assistant Professor, Social Work

Journal Title:Social Studies Research and Practice
Abstract: Purpose: In recent years, the field of social studies education has seen renewed interest in using inquiry to teach intradisciplinary concepts and skills. However, prospective primary grade teachers may have few (if any) opportunities to observe classroom teachers modeling inquiry during field placements. Methods courses provide fitting contexts in which to introduce preservice teachers (PSTs) to inquiry as a basis for intellectually challenging, meaningful social studies instruction. The purpose of this paper is to utilize a published inquiry curriculum developed for the New York Social Studies Toolkit (NYSST) Project as a tool to explore PSTs’ thinking about teaching first grade economics.
Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study utilized focus groups with two groups of early childhood PSTs enrolled in a social studies methods course (n=28). Secondary data sources included PSTs’ handwritten comments on hard copies of the inquiry curriculum and the researcher’s analytic memos.
Findings: In the process of critiquing curriculum during focus group interviews, PSTs concentrated on the proposed tasks, evaluated those tasks for their potential to affect children’s understanding, and suggested new activities that would promote more active student engagement. Participants recognized the significance of children’s prior knowledge and were sensitive to students’ family values, although they underestimated young children’s capacity for robust discussion and intellectually challenging content.
Originality/value: This study is unique in its use of a published NYSST Project inquiry to explore how PSTs make sense of new curriculum. Its attention to PST education for primary grades contributes to elementary social studies literature. Additionally, this study addresses a general concern in teacher education about the need for PSTs to develop skills in interpreting and adapting curriculum materials. Findings suggest that engaging PSTs in discussions about social studies curriculum can help teacher educators identify latent learning goals for their courses that may be overlooked or assumed unnecessary.
Author: Michelle Bauml, Winter Professor of Education

Journal Title: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
Abstract: Decision-making is essential for the work of teaching. Preservice teachers must learn to leverage knowledge about young readers’ strengths, needs, and interests in order to plan and teach guided reading lessons skillfully. However, limited research examines preservice teachers’ decision-making based on what they know about individual children. In this qualitative case study, we report findings from 12 preservice teachers enrolled in a reading methods course who used teacher knowledge to inform their teaching decisions for guided reading lessons with Kindergarteners. Findings reveal how participants used knowledge of learners to make planning as well as in-the-moment teaching decisions. The data show that most of these decisions were lesson planning decisions about text selection and word solving strategies, indicating that participants were beginning to engage in responsive teaching strategies. This study makes a new contribution to early childhood teacher education literature by underscoring the significance of learner knowledge in the context of authentic teaching practice while learning to teach guided reading to young children.
Author: Michelle Bauml, Winter Professor of Education

Description: In an age of sharply increasing cultural polarization that has led many people to consider retreat into enclaves of the like-minded, this book seeks to persuade its readers that we need better quality conversations across ideological camps, and that the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and René Girard provide very effective tools for facilitating such conversations. The writings of Kenneth Burke are also drawn on, as an important bridge figure who influenced Girard. All three thinkers can lead us to careful reflections on the psychological and social roots of violent behavior, which is a crucially important topic in need of deeper and broader understanding. Disagreements among people of differing worldviews tend to descend quickly into shrill shouting matches, as Alasdair MacIntyre predicted in After Virtue; but his proposed answer--read Aquinas--is less likely to gain traction than this trio of more contemporary authors. The incident involving the Covington Catholic High School boys was described by many observers as a "media lynching" of the boys, made possible by "Trump Derangement Syndrome." It is to be hoped that no one who has read this book and absorbed its insights would contribute to the lynching of anyone, whether they think from the left, the right, or the increasingly rare center. Girard memorably said that "The victims most interesting to us are always those who allow us to condemn our neighbors. And our neighbors do the same." Thinking with Kierkegaard, Girard, and Burke can lead us into a different and more productive mode of conversation.
Author: Charles K. Bellinger, Religion and Philosophy Librarian

300mm x 300mm x 300mm, steel, bronze, handmade miniature rope, urethane plastic
Artist: Nick Bontrager, Associate Professor, Art

Description: Drone Beuys is a collaborative, non-gender specific gesture at the extension of technology as a contemporary reference to the conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, and fashioning of myth in our shared practice. Adam Fung and Nick Bontrager’s work as Drone Beuys heavily involves the use of drones, aerial and underwater, with a focus on how artists operate within a scientific fieldwork setting or expedition framework in the environment. Past residencies at Herhúsið in Siglufjörður, Iceland and subsequent multi-media exhibitions are concrete demonstrations of this. Our roles in a university environment also play into our collaborative interdisciplinary practice as we actively work with anthropologists, scientists, strategic communicators, dancers, musicians, and engineers. We are fascinated with unique landscape formations and how they might be non-invasively, holistically mapped, with aerial photography or laser scanning. Of chief interest are places that connect us to other planets, real or imagined. As a historical reference, NASA’s past use of sites in Iceland to prepare astronauts for moon landings or current sites in the American West that are being used as testing for Mars exploration further our shared interest in the confluence of reality and simulated landscape. As we compile an archive of material from our collaborative trips and personal practices, we have often found a collapsing of spaces and places into a new virtual world. This extensive mapping allows for a secondary exploration in a digital realm as we produce videos for audience immersion, digitally fabricated/3D printed artifacts, or new art works in a traditional exhibition format. We love to share our working knowledge of using drones and technology in art as we engage with the surrounding landscape..
Artist: Nick Bontrager, Associate Professor, Art

Journal Title: Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research
Abstract: Reentry research has primarily focused on systemic and structural issues, with relatively little attention paid to the individual differences among ex-offender participation in community-based reentry services. Researchers often assume that the limiting factor for utilization of reentry services is the capacity for these services, without taking into account individual agency. This study examines factors that contribute to whether individuals participate or forego services, using data from a North Texas nonprofit client support organization, Texas ReEntry Services. Utilizing descriptive statistics and logistic regression, the researchers examine individuals who participate in the Job Readiness Program and compare them to individuals who do not utilize this service. Initial findings suggest that only a small percentage of unemployed ex-offenders take advantage of employment training and other free services.
Author: Kendra N. Bowen, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice

Journal Title: Sexual Abuse
Abstract: Research has established that sexually abusive priests often use grooming strategies on victims. Recently, researchers have proposed a behavioral taxonomy used specifically by clergy who sexually abuse children. Because this nascent taxonomy has only been studied once using a limited sample of sexually abusive priests, we seek to replicate and expand on its findings using a sample of abusive clergy from a separate institution. Specifically, we analyzed files of 18 monks in Minnesota who were credibly accused of sexual abuse. Using a deductive approach, we searched through these files in an effort to find all instances of eight clergy sexual grooming behaviors that were identified in previous research by Spraitz, Bowen, and Strange. Our findings suggest there is evidence to support the existence of this taxonomy of priest sexual grooming, although we argue that certain aspects of the centerpiece technique of their classification scheme are faulty and must be studied more extensively.
Author: Kendra N. Bowen, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice

Journal Title: Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics
Abstract: Analysing spoken and written language samples across different genres provides speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and educators with information about adolescents’ production of complex syntax, an important socially and academically related language skill. However, researchers report that production of complex syntax is affected by genre and modality. Although the narrative and expository genres elicit a greater amount of complex syntax than conversational discourse, it is unknown whether differences in production of complex syntax exist between the persuasive and expository genres. The purpose of this study was to compare adolescents’ production of complex syntax across spoken and written expository and persuasive genres. Spoken and written expository and persuasive language samples were elicited from 64 adolescents. Complex syntax was measured by calculating per cent of complex utterances and clausal density. Two repeated measures ANOVA revealed that complex syntax production was affected by genre and modality. Adolescents produced a higher percent of complex utterances and a higher clausal density in the persuasive genre than the expository genre. Adolescents produced a higher percent of complex utterances in the written modality than the spoken modality across genres; however, there was not a significant difference in adolescents’ clausal density across modalities. There were significant interaction effects between genre and modality for percent of complex utterances and clausal density. The significant interaction effects suggest that differences in the production of complex syntax between the spoken and written modalities depended on the genre elicited. We discuss multiple implications and specific directions for future research.
Author: Danielle Brimo, Associate Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders

Journal Title: Journal of Operations Management
Abstract: Organizations operate under ongoing pressure to conduct product development (PD) in ways that reduce errors, improve product designs, and increase speed and efficiency. Often, managers are expected to respond to this pressure by implementing process improvement programs (PIPs) based on best practices elsewhere (e.g., in another part of their organization or in another industrial context). Successful PIP implementation depends on two criteria: (a) demonstrating (symbolic) success by meeting externally imposed deadlines and producing mandated artifacts and (b) sustaining the expected (substantive) changes in their employees' underlying beliefs and practices. Given the mixed success of PIPs in nonmanufacturing contexts, identifying factors that contribute to both symbolic and substantive implementation is important to both researchers and practitioners. We explore this challenge through an in‐depth field study at a PD company (DevCo) that implemented a PIP across its 11 PD projects. We examine DevCo's change message to implement the PIP, how DevCo's engineers experienced it, factors that impeded implementation, and factors that could improve substantive success. Along with this empirical evidence, we leverage organizational change concepts to facilitate effective PIP implementation in new contexts such as PD. We distill our findings into eight propositions that expand theory about effectively transferring PIPs across contexts.
Author: Tyson R. Browning, Professor of Operations Management

Journal Title: Project Management Journal
Abstract: Uncertainty, risk, and rework make it extremely challenging to meet goals and deliver anticipated value in complex projects, and conventional techniques for planning and tracking earned value do not account for these phenomena. This article presents a methodology for planning and tracking cost, schedule, and technical performance (or quality) in terms of a project’s key value attributes and threats to them. It distinguishes four types of value and two general types of risks. The “high jumper” analogy helps to consider how high the “bar” is set for a project (its set goals) and therefore how challenging and risky it will be. A project’s capabilities as a “jumper” (to clear the bar and meet its goals) determine the portion of its value at risk (VaR). By understanding the amounts of value, risk, and opportunity in a project, project managers can design it for appropriate levels of each. Project progress occurs through reductions in its VaR: Activities “add value” by chipping away at the project’s “anti-value”—the risks that threaten value. This perspective on project management incentivizes generating results that eliminate these threats, rather than assuming that value exists until proven otherwise.
Author: Tyson R. Browning, Professor of Operations Management

Journal Title: Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences
Abstract: The purpose of using technology in education today is to provide students with an opportunity to learn a given topic at their own pace and convenience. Integrating technology into education is of considerable value because using technology effectively has the potential to make learning meaningful (Kirschner, 2015). Within a decade, technology has transformed education by affecting (a) the method of delivering course content to students, (b) student engagement with course content outside class hours, (c) the capability of a teacher to create different learning opportunities for students of diverse learning styles, (d) and the ability to convert course information into knowledge bytes for students of varied educational back-grounds and abilities. In this short span of time, the purpose of using technology in education has shifted from merely delivering course content to aiding students in learning the content. Using technology in education is more like "the idea that you can learn something without directly learning it" (Henriksen et al., 2019, p. 86). In other words, even though technological competence may not be the objective of a course, learning the technology will certainly help in achieving the objective of the course.
Author: Janace Bubonia, Department Chair and Professor, Fashion Merchandising

Journal Title: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Abstract: Permian carbon isotopic and clay mineralogical records were recovered from the carbonates in the Xikou section, a complete and uninterrupted Upper Carboniferous to Lower Triassic carbonate-dominated succession exposed in Zhen'an, Shaanxi Province, central China, which were used to document carbon isotopic signatures and climatic changes affecting the easternmost Paleo-Tethys region during the Permian. Both carbon isotope and clay mineralogical data suggest fluctuating climatic conditions and trends that can be approximately correlated with eastern Australian glaciations and North American craton during the Artinskian to Capitanian Stages. Two global carbon isotopic anomalies across the Permian-Triassic boundary and the Guadalupian-Lopingian Series boundary were detected for the first time in the stratigraphic record of the South Qinling micro-continental block. The Capitanian Stage comprises an early phase of climatic warming followed by a later phase of climatic cooling. The Kungurian Stage represents a climatic warming interval and the main phase of deglaciation during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA). A δ13C positive shift across the boundary of the Artinskian to Kungurian Stages, together with the following negative excursion recorded in the early Kungurian Stage can be used as an indicator for the boundary between the Artinskian and Kungurian Stage.
Author: Arthur B. Busbey, Associate Professor, Department Chair, Geological Sciences