Social Justice and the Basic Course: A Central Student Learning Outcome

The economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of globalization impacting our society demand new ways of thinking, acting, and teaching the Basic Communication Course (BCC). By emphasizing the learning outcomes of intellectual and practical skills and acceptance of personal and social responsibility, students will experience a new central learning outcome: what we are calling a social justice sensibility. In this essay we will emphasize the need to integrate the intellectual and practical skills of oral communication and personal and social justice in the BCC. We will discuss how the BCC can help students learn habits of citizenship and the art of parrhesia by incorporating service learning for social justice advocacy. Importantly, we discuss how faculty can modify their grading rubric to assess this new outcome

Delusions in frontotemporal lobar degeneration

We assessed the significance and nature of delusions in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), an important cause of young-onset dementia with prominent neuropsychiatric features that remain incompletely characterised. The case notes of all patients meeting diagnostic criteria for FTLD attending a tertiary level cognitive disorders clinic over a three year period were retrospectively reviewed and eight patients with a history of delusions were identified. All patients underwent detailed clinical and neuropsychological evaluation and brain MRI. The diagnosis was confirmed pathologically in two cases. The estimated prevalence of delusions was 14 %. Delusions were an early, prominent and persistent feature. They were phenomenologically diverse; however paranoid and somatic delusions were prominent. Behavioural variant FTLD was the most frequently associated clinical subtype and cerebral atrophy was bilateral or predominantly right-sided in most cases. We conclude that delusions may be a clinical issue in FTLD, and this should be explored further in future work

The Linguistic Invention of Sophistic Rhetoric

This paper reviews modern scholarship on the Older Sophists that began in the early nineteenth-century. At this time, philosophers and philologists took important steps to salvage the Sophists from the obscurity of history. However, these scholars did so in a way that continued to confuse sophistic fragments and contributions. The tendency of these scholars to view the Sophists from the vantage point of disciplinary perspectives has colored subsequent scholarship, as evidenced in the concept of sophistic rhetoric. This essay, extending from the work of Edward Schiappa (1991a, 1991b), reviews (and critiques) the modern scholarship which constructs theories of sophistic rhetoric. As developed in the work of such scholars as Poulakos (1983, 1987) and Neel (1988), sophistic rhetoric involves the notion that rhetoric, as a distinct art, was practiced prior to rime of Plato, and that it is a study of how to make choices and a study of how choices form character and make good citizens (Neel, 1988, 211). In particular, I argue that, while the Sophists engaged in important pre-disciplinary thought, their importance in the history of consciousness does not necessarily warrant the construction of a sophistic rhetorical theory. This claim is made by Schiappa (1991b), who argues that \u27 sophistic rhetoric” is, for the most part, a mirage - something we see because we want and need to see it - which vaporizes once carefully scrutinized (5). My argument, continuing from Schiappa\u27s, explores some of the dimensions of Schiappa\u27s position that have not been fully elaborated upon. In the following, I review the period of modern scholarship on the Older Sophists that began in the early nineteenth-century. At this time, philosophers and philologists took important steps to salvage the Sophists from the obscurity of history. However, these scholars (most notably Cope, Grote, Hegel, and Sidgwick) did so in a way that continued to confuse sophistic fragments and contributions. The tendency of these scholars to view the Sophists from the vantage point of disciplinary perspectives, however inevitable, has colored subsequent scholarship, as evidenced in the concept of sophistic rhetoric

On “Marriage Dissidents”: From Marriage to “Radical Parenting”

While “marriage equality” represents progress, “marriage” as a legal concept insufficiently recognizes its roots as a problematic institution. By examining the essentialism of “traditional marriage,” we can begin to understand many of the existing contemporary problems of marriage, which same-sex marriage may have imported. Marriage has historically contributed to a profound sense of sexism that, in general, oppresses women and promotes a white, middle-class heteronormativity that can be problematic for many, including same-sex couples who, having vindicated their civil rights, might be perpetuating a dysfunctional social institution

Climate change stands as the new challenge for whale watching and North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Bahia Magdalena, Mexico, after their recovery from overexploitation

IntroductionSocial-ecological systems (SES) recognize the intricate relationship between human activities and the environment and advocate for comprehensive approaches to address complex environmental issues. This study investigates the factors influencing whale watching, particularly the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in northern Mexico, after significant recovery following overexploitation. Despite reaching a peak in 2015, the eastern North Pacific gray whales experienced unusual mortality events (UME), the most recent from 2019 to 2023, leading to a population decline and historically low calf production in 2022. This decline is evident in the reduced presence of whales and calves in winter breeding lagoons. Concurrently, whale watching has become a significant tourist attraction in these areas.MethodsOur objective was to develop a mental model of the SES of gray whale watching, integrating ecological and socioeconomic data to identify key variables and interactions that support system resilience. From an ecological perspective, we analyzed the long-term temporal trends of eight years of gray whale counts in the southernmost breeding and nursing lagoons within the Bahía Magdalena–Bahía Almejas Complex, Mexico. Additionally, we incorporated the current discussion in the literature about the potential impact of global climate change on gray whale populations. In the socioeconomic subsystem, we used participatory methods, including interviews, surveys, and workshops with government officials, tourism operators, and visitors. We also added on-site assessments of compliance with welfare regulations to understand tourism dynamics. ResultsOur findings identified as main external stressors the changes in ice levels in feeding areas and sea warming in breeding areas, and as internal stressors the compliance with official regulations and the number of vessels observing whales at the same time. The key socioeconomic factor of the system was tourist satisfaction, influenced by factors such as the quality of the information provided by operators. DiscussionUltimately, our mental model provides a framework for further exploration of relevant interactions and trajectories, offering insights for developing effective management strategies

FMRFamide-Like Peptides (FLPs) Enhance Voltage-Gated Calcium Currents to Elicit Muscle Contraction in the Human Parasite Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomes are amongst the most important and neglected pathogens in the world, and schistosomiasis control relies almost exclusively on a single drug. The neuromuscular system of schistosomes is fertile ground for therapeutic intervention, yet the details of physiological events involved in neuromuscular function remain largely unknown. Short amidated neuropeptides, FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs), are distributed abundantly throughout the nervous system of every flatworm examined and they produce potent myoexcitation. Our goal here was to determine the mechanism by which FLPs elicit contractions of schistosome muscle fibers. Contraction studies showed that the FLP Tyr-Ile-Arg-Phe-amide (YIRFamide) contracts the muscle fibers through a mechanism that requires Ca2+ influx through sarcolemmal voltage operated Ca2+ channels (VOCCs), as the contractions are inhibited by classical VOCC blockers nicardipine, verapamil and methoxyverapamil. Whole-cell patch-clamp experiments revealed that inward currents through VOCCs are significantly and reversibly enhanced by the application of 1 µM YIRFamide; the sustained inward currents were increased to 190% of controls and the peak currents were increased to 180%. In order to examine the biochemical link between the FLP receptor and the VOCCs, PKC inhibitors calphostin C, RO 31–8220 and chelerythrine were tested and all produced concentration dependent block of the contractions elicited by 1 µM YIRFamide. Taken together, the data show that FLPs elicit contractions by enhancing Ca2+ influx through VOCC currents using a PKC-dependent pathway