An Investigation of Multicultural Education in Public and Private Schools at the Primary Level

Thirty public school early childhood teachers and seventeen private school early childhood teachers were surveyed to compare 1) their attitudes toward multicultural education; 2) their access to multicultural materials and methods; and 3) the frequency with which they actually utilize multicultural materials and methods. The North Carolina Multicultural Education Survey was completed by both teacher groups. Four scale scores and a total score were compared using a t-test. The results of the study indicated no significant difference between public early childhood teachers and private early childhood teachers on either of the four scale scores or the total score. Both teacher groups indicated a fairly neutral attitude toward multicultural education; did not believe they had access to a variety of instructional methods and materials to facilitate multicultural education, and did not use multicultural teaching activities in their classrooms

Severity of Articulation Disorders

Records, of thirty male and thirty female students, were surveyed to compare duration of time enrolled in articulatory therapy to the severity of the problem. The records were checked for severity rating, sex, race, age, and duration of time in program. Only students between the ages of five and seven years of age were included in this study. Students had to be enrolled for articulation only, no other exceptionality or abnormality, and on grade level equivalent to age. The Frisbie Educational Statistics Computer Program was used to compute means, standard deviations, and t test in computing the results, nonе of which supported the hypothesis that a relationship existed between the severity of the disorder and the duration of time enrolled in therapy for an articulation disorder. The survey did reveal that males are enrolled longer than females

Resource recovery and reduction of tidal waste to produce cellulose through sulphur-free pulping

The transition towards a sustainable cellulose industry needs more environmentally friendly technologies, including the use of lignocellulosic waste as alternative raw materials. This work shows the potential of dead biomass from the Andalusian Mediterranean coastline to obtain cellulosic pulp. With this purpose, predominant species in onshore residues (mainly Posidonia oceanica) were prepared, characterized, and subjected to a soda-anthraquinone pulping process. A central composite design was defined in order to relate the process conditions to the composition and characteristics of the cellulose pulp. It was concluded that polynomial models encompassing linear, quadratic, and binary efect parameters reproduce the experimental results satisfactorily. Results allowed to choose high anthraquinone dosage, alkali charge and temperature, low liquid/solid ratio and short time as a compromise solution, by which the brightness, ethanol–benzene extractives content, kappa number, lignin content and viscosity were near their optimal. Low values of liquid/solid ratio reduce water consumption, which is of utmost importance in cellulose industries likewise short time treatments to save energyECOWAL Group, Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering Department, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spai

Revalorización de residuos de algas y fanerógamas marinas mediante tecnologías limpias

La eutrofización causa acumulación excesiva de algas y fanerógamas marinas en las costas de las playas ocasionando un aumento del número de insectos, nematodos y bacterias que pueden producir problemas sanitarios, medioambientales y económicos que afectan negativamente al turismo. Una alternativa sostenible a su recogida y eliminación es la reutilización como fuente renovable de celulosa para su posterior modificación y transformación en productos con valor añadido. La celulosa extraída mediante tecnologías limpias se modifica químicamente mediante reacciones de mercerización-cationización para obtener compuestos con capacidad floculante que puedan competir con los floculantes sintéticos empleados en el tratamiento de aguas residuales reduciendo la producción de lodos, principal problema medioambiental de las depuradoras. Proyecto: UPO-1381251, FEDERECOWAL Group, Molelular Biology and Biochemical Engineering Dpt. Universidad Pablo de Olavid

Revalorization of tidal waste as sustainable flocculants through clean technologies.

The current trend towards seeking renewable resources, as a consequence of the environmental impact triggered by the use of polluting raw materials, has led to an increase in research on cellulose. This natural polymer accounts for around 1.5×1012 tons of the total annual biomass production and is considered a virtually inexhaustible source of raw material for the growing demand for environmentally friendly products [1]. However, the cellulose industry relies heavily on lignocellulosic biomass such as wood, cotton, flax, hemp, etc., materials in which lignin removal poses a major challenge due to the harsh chemical treatment required, resulting in partial cellulose degradation and the production of highly polluting effluents. For this reason, readily accessible biomass with lower lignin content, such as seaweeds and marine phanerogams, represents a sustainable alternative source of cellulose [2]. Among the various industrial applications of this polymer, the production of flocculants has recently gained popularity for wastewater treatment, due to their non-toxicity and biodegradability compared to chemical flocculants derived from materials like petroleum [3].Therefore, this study examined the production capacity of flocculants using cellulose extracted from tidal waste (seaweeds and marine phanerogams) collected on a beach in Nerja (Malaga, Andalusia, Mediterranean Sea) aiming to revalue beach wrack that accumulate on the coasts causing environmental and economic damage, thus contributing to the framework of the circular economy. To achieve this, 28 experiments were designed with different cooking conditions using the "soda-anthraquinone"process for cellulose extraction. Lignin removal was performed with hydrogen peroxide and the morphologicalcharacterization of the product was carried out using the Morfi Lab equipment (Techpap) [4]. The results obtained revealed key properties in our cellulose fibers through statistical parameters, allowing the selection of the most interesting samples for satisfactory flocculation, highlighting the use of tidal waste as a sustainable alternative to traditionally used chemical flocculants

Valorization of Seaweed and Seagrass Waste in Flocculant Synthesis

Motivation: The accumulation of tide waste generates serious environmental and economic impacts on coastlines around the world. Among the most negative effects are the emission of greenhouse gases and the death of various marine species, caused by the creation of anoxic habitats due to eutrophication. In this context, there is growing interest in exploring the potential of tide waste as a source of cellulose materials for the production of flocculants, which would be used in wastewater treatment, aligning with the principles of the circular economy. [1] This approach also enables the production of new functionalized products, including flocculants synthesized from the extracted cellulose, in order to reduce dependence on petrochemical flocculants such as polyacrylamide.[2]Methods: The collected tide waste was subjected to a water washing process, followed by detailed chemical characterization. Experiments were then designed to investigate the morphological properties of the tide waste, specifically the ones derived from Halopteris scoparia, using various cooking conditions and the soda-anthraquinone process to extract cellulose. Lignin removal was carried out using hydrogen peroxide, and the morphological characterization of the product was performed with specialized equipment, the Morfi Lab (Techpap).[3]Results: The results showed key properties in the extracted cellulose fibers, through statistical analysis that helped identify the most suitable samples for achieving efficient flocculation. These findings highlight the use of tide waste as a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical flocculants, suggesting a promising path towards reducing the environmental impact derived from the use of chemicals in water treatment. Additionally, the utilization of these waste materials as resources in the circulareconomy helps mitigate the accumulation of marine debris, transforming it into a valuable material for industrial applications

Political parties, motivated reasoning, and public opinion formation

A key characteristic of democratic politics is competition between groups, first of all political parties. Yet, the unavoidably partisan nature of political conflict has had too little influence on scholarship on political psychology. Despite more than 50 years of research on political parties and citizens, we continue to lack a systematic understanding of when and how political parties influence public opinion. We suggest that alternative approaches to political parties and public opinion can be best reconciled and examined through a richer theoretical perspective grounded in motivated reasoning theory. Clearly, parties shape citizens' opinions by mobilizing, influencing, and structuring choices among political alternatives. But the answer to when and how parties influence citizens' reasoning and political opinions depends on an interaction between citizens' motivations, effort, and information generated from the political environment (particularly through competition between parties). The contribution of motivated reasoning, as we describe it, is to provide a coherent theoretical framework for understanding partisan influence on citizens' political opinions. We review recent empirical work consistent with this framework. We also point out puzzles ripe for future research and discuss how partisan-motivated reasoning provides a useful point of departure for such work