bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Editors’ Introduction: Decolonizing Research in the Teaching of English(es)
Authors: Cushman Ellen West , Juzwik Mary , Macaluso Kati , Milu Esther
Published: February 2024

Text-driven, quantitative methods provide new ways to analyze student writing, by uncovering recurring grammatical features and related stylistic effects that remain tacit to students and those who read and evaluate student writing. To date, however, these methods are rarely used in research on students transitioning into US postsecondary writing, and especially rare are studies of student writing that is already scored according to high-stakes writing expectations. This study offers a corpus-based, comparative analysis of higher- and lower-scoring Advanced Placement (AP) exams in English, revealing statistically significant syntactic patterns that distinguish higher-scoring exams according to “informational production” and lower-scoring essays according to “involved” or “interactional” production (Biber, 1988). These differences contribute to what we label emphatic generality in the lower-scoring essays, in which writers tend to foreground human actors, including themselves. In contrast, patterns in higher-scoring essays achieve what we call elaborated specificity, by focusing on and explicating specific, often abstract, concepts.These findings help uncover what is rewarded (or not) in high-stakes writing assessments and show that some students struggle with register awareness. A related implication, then, is the importance of teaching register awareness to students at the late secondary and early university level—students who are still relative novices, but are being invited to compose informationally dense prose. Such register considerations, and specific features revealed in this study, provide ways to help demystify privileged writing forms for students, particularly students for whom academic writing may seem distant from their own communicative practices and ambitions.
Beyond the Language Barrier: Opening Spaces for ELL/Non-ELL Interaction
Authors: Borsheim-Black Carlin
Published: February 2024

Cultivating interaction among English Language Learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL peers remains a desirable, yet often elusive, goal. While existing literature documents the challenges of ELL/non-ELL interaction and proposes strategies for overcoming them, there is little research examining concrete episodes of interaction from both the ELL and non-ELL perspectives. In response, I explore how a group of refugee and immigrant high school students (ELLs and non-ELLs) negotiated their interaction while collaboratively creating a digital video. In particular, I consider the role of the “language barrier” and how the participants interacted through and despite language. In the tradition of humanities-oriented educational research, I draw on Levinasian philosophy to reflect on the relational and ethical aspects of ELL/non-ELL interaction. Findings suggest that while language played a key role, communication obstacles tended to defy simple and strategic anticipation and resolution. Negotiation of meaning was often a creative, situated, and multidirectional process. Most importantly, interaction seemed to be ultimately about people in relationshipâ€”uncertain and at times uncomfortable, but also full of promise and opportunities for ethical response. I propose opening spaces as a new approach to ELL/non-ELL interaction that foregrounds human and ethical dimensions. Such reframing dislodges the issue from common assumptions which may unwittingly reduce ELLs to a “language problem,” and it honors the potential of participants creatively working out the interaction for themselves. By pursuing insights from both ELLs and non-ELLs, this study offers an important perspective rarely explored in the literature.
On the Ascendance of Argument: A Critique of the Assumptions of Academe’s Dominant Form
Authors: DeStigter Todd
Published: February 2024

For at least the last several decades, argumentative writing has been of central importance in secondary and higher education, and this emphasis has been heightened by argumentation’s designation as a “cornerstone” of the Common Core State Standards. Moreover, this focus on argumentation has been encouraged by extensive scholarship that investigates how argumentation is learned and deployed in various settings and how the teaching of argumentation might be improved. However, far less attention has been paid to determining why so many literacy educators,researchers, and policy makers believe that privileging argumentative writing is justified.Using a methodology that combines ethnographic case study of writing pedagogy in an urban high school with theoretical analysis of scholarly writings that endorse argumentation, in this essay I demonstrate that the prominence of argumentation is underwritten by three commonly held assumptions: (1) that argumentative writing promotes clear and critical thinking, (2) that it provides training in the rational deliberation that is essential for a democratic citizenry, and(3) that it imparts to students a form of cultural capital that facilitates their upward academic and socioeconomic mobility. My findings are that these assumptions are unwarranted and that schools’ overemphasis on argumentation imposes severe limits on what counts as valid thought,legitimate political subjectivity, and a feasible strategy for addressing economic inequality. This study’s implication is that educators should reassess the value of argumentation and revise ELA curricula to include more diverse genres and discursive modes.
Disinviting Deficit Ideologies: Beyond “That’s Standard,” “That’s Racist,” and “That’s Your Mother Tongue”
Authors: McBee Orzulak Melinda J.
Published: February 2024

Current research suggests that attention to language variation in teacher preparation can promote equity and narrow achievement gaps, particularly for African American students. However, persistent ideologies about language and race can stymie teachers’ desires for equitable teaching.Teachers who take up linguistically responsive positions that value student language variation still struggle in the moments of enactment due to expectations that they serve as gatekeepers for “standard” English(es). In this article, I conceptualize these struggles as linguistic ideological dilemmas (LIDs) and use discourse analytic and qualitative methods to present illustrations of preservice English teachers’ LIDs as they grapple with deficit language ideologies in relation to course work about language variation. In the focal illustration, I use positioning theory to illustrate the LIDs faced by a student teacher when responding to a student’s blog writing that included features of African American English. The findings show how this participant and others hadlimited awareness of how they were positioned racially until the moment of teaching in which they struggled to articulate and enact linguistically informed principles; in some cases, this positionality led to avoidance of future discussions of race and language. The findings advance past scholarship through generative description of students’ internalized deficit language ideologies and teachers’ struggles with implementation related to valuing language variation. Findings show the affordances and limitations of code-switching for addressing language variation in classroom interactions and the need for preparation about when, how, and why to have conversations about language variation, including greater understanding of language-related ideological triggers.
The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development: Results from a Large-Scale Multi-institutional Study
Authors: Anderson Paul , Anson Chris M. , Gonyea Robert M. , Paine Charles
Published: February 2024

Conducted through a collaboration between the Council of Writing Program Administrators(CWPA) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study identified andtested new variables for examining writing’s relationship to learning and development. EightyCWPA members helped to establish a consensus model of 27 effective writing practices. EightyUS baccalaureate institutions appended questions to the NSSE instrument based on these 27practices, yielding responses from 29,634 first-year students and 41,802 seniors. Confirmatoryfactor analysis identified three constructs: Interactive Writing Processes, Meaning-Making WritingTasks, and Clear Writing Expectations. Regression analyses indicated that the constructs werepositively associated with two sets of established constructs in the regular NSSE instrument “DeepApproaches to Learning (Higher-Order Learning, Integrative Learning, and Reflective Learning)and Perceived Gains in Learning and Development as defined by the institution’s contributionsto growth in Practical Competence, Personal and Social Development, and General EducationLearning” with effect sizes that were consistently greater than those for the number of pageswritten. These were net results after controlling for institutional and student characteristics, aswell as other factors that might contribute to enhanced learning. The study adds three empiricallyestablished constructs to research on writing and learning. It extends the positive impact of writing beyond learning course material to include Personal and Social Development. Although correlational, it can provide guidance to instructors, institutions, accreditors, and other stakeholders because of the nature of the questions associated with the effective writing constructs.
Forum: A Tribute to George Hillocks, Jr.
Authors: Smagorinsky Peter , Anagnostopoulos Dorothea , Smith Michael W. , lee Carolx D.
Published: February 2024

Conducted through a collaboration between the Council of Writing Program Administrators(CWPA) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study identified andtested new variables for examining writing’s relationship to learning and development. EightyCWPA members helped to establish a consensus model of 27 effective writing practices. EightyUS baccalaureate institutions appended questions to the NSSE instrument based on these 27practices, yielding responses from 29,634 first-year students and 41,802 seniors. Confirmatoryfactor analysis identified three constructs: Interactive Writing Processes, Meaning-Making WritingTasks, and Clear Writing Expectations. Regression analyses indicated that the constructs werepositively associated with two sets of established constructs in the regular NSSE instrument “DeepApproaches to Learning (Higher-Order Learning, Integrative Learning, and Reflective Learning)and Perceived Gains in Learning and Development as defined by the institution’s contributionsto growth in Practical Competence, Personal and Social Development, and General EducationLearning” with effect sizes that were consistently greater than those for the number of pageswritten. These were net results after controlling for institutional and student characteristics, aswell as other factors that might contribute to enhanced learning. The study adds three empiricallyestablished constructs to research on writing and learning. It extends the positive impact of writing beyond learning course material to include Personal and Social Development. Although correlational, it can provide guidance to instructors, institutions, accreditors, and other stakeholders because of the nature of the questions associated with the effective writing constructs.
Resources Preservice Teachers Use to Think about Student Writing
Authors: Zuidema Leah A. , Fredricksen James E.
Published: February 2024

This article identifies five categories of resources that preservice teachers drew on as they considered student writing and planned their own approaches to assessing and teaching writing. Identifying these resources helps us better understand how beginning writing teachers think about student writing—and better understand mismatches that commonly occur between what teacher educators teach and what new teachers actually do. Our study builds on literature that considers how writing teachers are prepared, extends research about how preservice teachers use what they learn, and adds layers of detail to literature about the resources that beginning teachers draw upon to aid and support them in their work. The pedagogical and research projects described in this study stem from a communities-of-practice framework. Our methods surfaced preservice teachers’ claims about writing and the resources they drew upon to support those claims. Drawing upon our rhetorical view of writing, we worked inductively to identify these claims and resources, using grounded analysis of transcripts from preservice teachers’ VoiceThread conversations to develop a taxonomy of 15 resources grouped into 5 categories: understanding of students and student writing; knowledge of context; colleagues; roles; and writing. This research has implications for educators and researchers working in teacher preparation. Scaffolded instruction is essential to help beginning teachers use particular resources—and to employ resources in ways connected with rhetorical conceptual frameworks. To that end, the taxonomy of resources can be used as a tool for individual and programmatic assessment, as well as to facilitate scaffolded instruction.
What Makes a More Proficient Discussion Group in English Language Learners’ Classrooms? Influence of Teacher Talk and Student Backgrounds
Authors: Zhang Jie , Niu Chunling , Munawar Shahbaz , Anderson Richard C.
Published: February 2024

Despite the growing evidence of the language and literacy benefits of collaborative discussions for English language learners, the factors contributing to productive discussions that promote ELLs’ positive language outcomes are less understood. This study examined the influence of teacher talk, students’ initial language and literacy skills, and home language backgrounds on the discussion proficiency of four groups participating in eight peer-led literature discussions, called collaborative reasoning (CR), in two 5th-grade classrooms serving mainly Spanish-speaking ELLs. Levels of discussion proficiency were determined using a holistic rating approach and utterance-by utterance coding of discourse features. Teachers’ scaffolding moves were coded. Students’ pre- and post-intervention language and literacy skills and home language backgrounds were assessed. Results showed greater group variation in discussion proficiency in the mainstream class than in the bilingual class. The two teachers differed in their ways of facilitating CR discussions. Group discussion proficiency was associated with oral English skills (sentence grammar) and reading comprehension, as well as student English language use at home and parental assistance with homework. The talk volume and indicators of high-level comprehension such as articulating and responding to alternative perspectives, elaborations, extratextual connections, and uses of textual evidence were associated with post-intervention language and literacy outcomes. These findings contribute to the understanding of sources of variations in discussion proficiency among groups composed predominantly of ELLs and provide implications for teacher scaffolding strategies to facilitate ELLs’ learning and participation in classroom discussions.
Instructional Note: Classroom Reading Experiments: Systematic Inquiry to Motivate Sentence-Level Instruction
Authors: Roth Daniel
Published: February 2024

This article shows how brief psycholinguistic reading experiments can illustrate the effects of various grammatical features, pique students’ interest, and position them to construct their own understanding of English grammar, separate from the teacher’s dictates.
Feature: The Two-Year College Teacher-Scholar-Activist
Authors: Sullivan Patrick
Published: February 2024

I suggest that we deliberately frame our professional identity, in part, as activistsâ€”accepting and embracing the revolutionary and inescapably political nature of our work.
Feature: Reconsidering Transfer Knowledge at the Community College: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Tinberg Howard
Published: February 2024

While formidable at both two- and four-year colleges, the obstacles to knowledge transfer from ENG 101 to other courses are especially challenging at community colleges—a point overlooked by transfer scholars in composition, whose gaze so often seems to be on universities and liberal arts colleges.
Feature: Living Composition
Authors: Sommers Nancy
Published: February 2024

A veteran writing teacher asks the question—What keeps teaching fresh and new?—and discovers, in the process of writing a teaching narrative, how her teaching voice and writing voice intertwine, both in the classroom and on the page.
Feature: “Forget What You Learned in High School!”: Bridging the Space between High School and College
Authors: Dennihy Melissa
Published: February 2024

This essay considers the contexts and constraints that shape high school and college teaching and limit opportunities for faculty at both levels to collaborate; it then offers suggestions for how to bridge the space between these two institutional cultures and make studentsâ€™ transitions from one level to the next more seamless and successful.
Feature: Self-Regulated Strategy Instruction in Developmental Writing Courses: How to Help Basic Writers Become Independent Writers
Authors: Blake Michelle F. , MacArthur Charles A. , Mrkich Shannon , Philippakos Zoi A. , Sancak-Marusa Ilknur
Published: February 2024

An experimental study shows that integrating instruction in writing strategies with support for self-regulation strategies in basic writing classes results in significant gains in both the quality of student writing and in student motivation.
Feature: Writing about Language: Studying Language Diversity with First-Year Writers
Authors: Looker Samantha
Published: February 2024

This article describes a first-year writing course focused on language diversity and asserts the importance of this focus as a foundation for college writing success and linguistic inclusivity.
Teaching from a Disciplinary Literacy Stance
Authors: E. Pytash Kristine , Ciecierski Lisa
Published: February 2024

Disciplinary literacy is not simply a change in terminology; rather this is a conceptual shift in how middle school teachers should approach literacy instruction in content area classrooms. The goal for this article is twofold. First, we aim to explore and provide insight into the term “disciplinary literacy.” Second, we provide specific examples of teaching from a disciplinary literacy stance. To support these suggestions, we present examples from our work with middle school students and science preservice and inservice teachers.
Teaching the Common Core: Using Paired Text to Teach CCSS Anchor Standards in Reading
Authors: Bintz William P.
Published: February 2024

The Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts (CCSS) encourage recognizing connections across texts but offer little direction for incorporating this idea into curricula. The author suggests using paired text as a way to introduce intertextuality, especially across subject matter, and uses examples from physical science to demonstrate. An added bonus of using paired text is that it requires teachers to be readers, thus keeping them current with literature available to their grade level. The author provides resources with which to discover appropriate paired text for teaching the CCSS Anchor Standards.
CODA: Teaching Texts to Somebody! A Case for Interpretive Complexity
Authors: Wilhelm Jeffrey D.
Published: February 2024

While the Common Core State Standards seem to encourage reading outside of regular classwork, their definition of “complex” texts seems to marginalize most of the texts students actually read, including graphic novels/animÃ© and most genre fiction. The author argues that the measure of complexity should be on the interpretive work students do to understand the texts they read, not on the texts themselves. Rather, teachers should focus on answering three key questions when selecting student texts, including considerations of students’ interest, cognitive capacity, and other factors that motivate students to develop reading strategies.
Digital Transmediation and Revision
Authors: E.Batchelor Katherine
Published: February 2024

This article showcases how transmediation via digital tools enhanced students’ writing and revision during a three-week flash science-fiction unit of study. It begins with a brief rationale for pairing transmediation with revision. Then, I share two students’ stories of how they revised while transmediating their thinking of their initial flash sci-fi drafts. I end by showcasing students’ thoughts on how transmediating encouraged deeper revision and connected transmediation to play as inquiry. Transmediation paired with revision increases student motivation, engagement, and learning; increases taking risks with thinking and writing; encourages deeper revision with macrostructural changes in writing; increases abductive thinking and creativity; and allows students to work within out-of-school literacies.
Understanding the Purpose and Tools of Revision
Authors: N.Morgan Denise , Beko Leslie , Long Valerie , Marek Hauptman Gayle
Published: February 2024

Revising is hard work. Many students do not understand the purpose of and tools for revision. This article examines a revision unit of study that has been implemented with 7th-grade students for the past two years. The goals for the unit are highlighted: develop a mindset for revision and learn practical tools of revision. The lessons that helped students meet these two goals are highlighted, and student voices and experiences are woven throughout the article.
Designing Inquiries That Matter: Targeting Significance, Diversity, and Fit
Authors: Damico James , Honeyford Michelle , Panos Alexandra
Published: February 2024

Quality teaching effectively expands the spaces we have to work together as educators, within and across subject areas, to collaboratively design meaningful inquiries with topics, texts, and tools that matter to students and make a difference in society. Supporting inquiry in our classrooms means targeting topics of significance to students’ lives, diversity in the perspectives, genres, and complexities of the texts we explore, and fit in the design and use of tools that are responsive to students’ cultural, linguistic, and community resources and interests. Designing inquiry for significance, diversity, and fit means purposefully engaging students in literacy that matters.
Fostering Authentic Inquiry and Investigation through Middle Grade Mystery and Suspense Novels
Authors: Hood Yolanda , Zygouris-Coe Vicky
Published: February 2024

College- and career-ready students are critical readers and thinkers. New educational standards call for providing students with opportunities to critically read texts, answer and formulate meaningful questions, and conduct research that will result in deeper learning. Teachers can use quality young adult literature to develop students’ reading, research, and inquiry skills. The authors of this article share their analysis of sample middle grade mystery and suspense novels and provide specific suggestions for fostering students’ authentic inquiry and investigation skills in the English language arts classroom.
Fostering Habits of Mind: A Framework for Reading Historical Nonfiction Illustrated by the Case of Hilter Youth
Authors: Hinton KaaVonia , Suh Yonghee , O’Hearn Maria , Colón-Brown Lourdes
Published: February 2024

A disciplinary literacy approach encourages students to engage with nonfiction in a way that allows them to consider discipline-specific tasks associated with understanding the past and exploring the world around them. In this article, we offer a three-part framework ELA and social studies teachers can use when fostering students’ responses to historical nonfiction and encouraging investigations of the past. This article introduces each part of the framework, using Hitler Youth (2005) by Susan Bartoletti. We discuss Hitler Youth in two ways. We first illustrate how Bartoletti used the three habits of mind in her writing and then list ways in which middle school ELA and social studies teachers model these habits of mind for students.
Quality Teaching: Seven Apps That Will Change the Way You Teach in the English Language Arts Classroom
Authors: Marshall James
Published: February 2024

Apps have prompted educators to rethink and reimagine instructional practices. With student access to technology in- and outside of the classroom continuing to—grow, educators face important decisions, and seemingly limitless options, about where to invest their instructional capital. This article profiles and provides—classroom examples of seven apps that may challenge your notion of teaching in the English language arts classroom. Each app aligns with one or more best—instructional practices and, when implemented with purpose, can result in a higher quality of instruction for students. The article also provides a helpful tool—that will help educators select a suitable app for their work with students based on instructional needs.
Teaching the Common Core: Responding to Young Adult Literature: A Motivational Perspective
Authors: McLaughlin Maureen , Gibb-Lucas Alexandra
Published: February 2024

This article discusses motivating young students to respond to literature in creative ways. The authors begin by describing how motivation influences readers and—how teaching students to use multiple representations of thinking can motivate them to read. Next, they present four performance projects in which middle level—students readily engage: first-person author studies, form poems, lyric summaries, and transmediations. They then detail each project and provide classroom—examples to support its use. Student examples throughout the article are based on both classic and contemporary young adult titles. Finally, they connect the four—projects to the Common Core State Standards.
LEADING THE CALL: Creating Passionate Readers
Authors: Ripp Pernille
Published: February 2024

Once we recognize the very powerful role teachers play in shaping a child’s identity, we can also recognize the immense power we have to help a child become, or remain, a reader. What we do right now may have ramifications far into their future. What we do today, the foundation we lay, may support not just their further academic pursuits, but even shape the children they may have someday and whether the next generation will be readers.
College and Career Readiness in Middle School: From George Costanza to Oprah Winfrey
Authors: Burkins Jan , Yaris Kim , Hoffmann-Thompson Kathryn
Published: February 2024

Trends toward joyless, anxiety-ridden learning environments are often attributed to the advent of the Common Core State Standards, which are commonly interpreted in ways that place great emphasis on presumably quantifiable aspects of instruction. Education is rife, however, with examples of children whose interests and talents—which later led to world-changing careers—were not supported by traditional classroom instruction. We find that middle school, when students’ quests for identity are on overdrive, is an optimal time to help students deeply explore the rich and diverse possibilities for futures that connect to the things that bring them joy. But, how might educators engage in this added layer of college and career thinking when supporting reading competency in middle school requires such tremendous resources?
Discovering Giftedness and Autonomy: Jayda Becomes a Reader
Authors: Stygles Justin
Published: February 2024

When students face challenges in reading because of pedagogy, practices, or programs, they can become accommodating readers rather than gifted readers, especially when under pressure for meeting expectations along a continuum. When students like the one featured in this piece are allowed to discover autonomy by volume and strategic reading, their gifts—a combination of perception and comprehension—flourish. As a result, disenfranchised readers become more committed and engaged readers.
Collaborating for Success: Teachers and Librarians as Partners in Learning
Authors: Latham Don , Gross Melissa
Published: February 2024

When discussing collaboration in an educational setting, most thoughts turn to teacher-teacher collaboration. The authors give us a reminder that teacher-librarian collaborations can be useful in teaching twenty-first-century skills, including information analysis (fake news vs. news), and discuss how to apply Patricia Montiel-Overall’s four-level model of collaboration to enhance instructional strategies, facilitate learning, and achieve learning outcomes.
Factors that Affect the Level of Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intention on Tokopedia
Authors: Komara Edi , Fathurahman Fajar
Published: February 2024

This study investigates the roles of various factors such as Customer Service, Shipping, Tracking, Returns, Sales Promotion, Customer Satisfaction, and Repurchase Intention within the Tokopedia E-Commerce application. Data collection took place over a week, from July 13 to July 20, 2023, with a sample size of 144 respondents. The research employed a descriptive research design and gathered empirical data through online surveys. Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to analyze the data and test several hypotheses. Findings indicate that Customer Service and Tracking do not significantly impact Customer Satisfaction, whereas Shipping, Returns, and Sales Promotion positively influence Customer Satisfaction. Additionally, Customer Satisfaction positively affects Repurchase Intention. The managerial implication suggests that optimizing Customer Service and Tracking could enhance Repurchase Intention. Future research may explore different samples and incorporate additional variables.
Do Financial Performance and Corporate Governance Effect on Firm Value: Evidence from Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Farawansyah Nur Indah , Rahayu Sovi Ismawati , Gunawan Andri , Zhafiraah Nazma Riska
Published: February 2024

This study attempts to investigate, either partially or simultaneously, the effects of Financial Performance as determined by Profitability, Solvency, liquidity well, and Good Corporate Governance, as decided by the Audit Committee on Firm Value and the Independent Board of Commissioners. The study approach is quantitative and makes use of secondary data-manufacturing firms registered on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The population in this study is made up of 143 manufacturing firms. In the interim, the sample for this study was chosen through the technique of purposeful sampling. The analysis method used is multiple linear regression analysis. The Kolmogrof-Smirnof test, multicollinearity test, heteroscedasticity test, t-test, and coefficient of determination test were all employed in this investigation. The study's findings demonstrate that the factors Independent Board of Commissioners, Profitability, Solvency, Liquidity, and Audit Committee each partially positively impact firm value. Managerial implications related to the influence of financial performance and good corporate governance are increased focus on financial performance, increased transparency and disclosure of information, implementation of good corporate governance practices, and risk and compliance management. The valuation of the firm is key in the transfer of business decisions, such as mergers, acquisitions, and stock offerings.
Taxonomic revision of Lake Tanganyikan Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae)
Authors: Wright Jeremy J. , Page Lawrence M.
Published: February 2024

The taxonomy of the Synodontis of Lake Tanganyika was investigated by examining 312 museum specimens. Morphometric, meristic, and nontraditional internal and external characters were examined, resulting in the recognition of 11 species of Synodontis from Lake Tanganyika. Ten of the species are endemic to the lake basin, and three are new to science. Synodontis grandiops n. sp. is most similar to S. multipunctatus but is distinguished by measurements of the eye (64.2-81.0% of snout length vs. 44.9-62.0% in S. multipunctatus) and pectoral-fin ray counts (7 vs. 8 in S. multipunctatus). Synodontis lucipinnis n. sp. is most similar to S. petricola but is distinguished by the lack of an axillary pore and the presence of light-colored windows at the bases of the rayed fins. Synodontis ilebrevis n. sp. is most similar to S. polli but is distinguished by the absence of a hindgut chamber, the shortness of the gut (0.8-1.4 times TL in S. ilebrevis vs. 4.0-5.5 times TL in S. polli), and the presence of short, flattened papillae on the skin (vs. villous papillae in S. polli).
A New Fossil Land Tortoise in the Genus Chelonoidis (Testudines: Testudinidae) From the Northern Bahamas, With an Osteological Assessment of Other Neotropical Tortoises
Authors: Franz Richard , Franz Shelley E.
Published: February 2024

An extinct tortoise, Chelonoidis alburyorum n. sp., is described from nearly complete, beautifully preserved fossils from Sawmill Sink, a deep inland blue hole and cave system, on Great Abaco Island, Little Bahama Bank, in the northern Bahamas. This tortoise is part of an extensive fossil fauna in peat deposits associated with an immense debris cone in the entry shaft of this water-filled cave. The peat fauna also includes intact skeletons, skulls, and isolated bones of Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer), large birds, native rodents (Geocapromys ingrahami), and bats. The turtle remains include the first complete skull, first intact shells, and first associated vertebrae and appendicular skeletons of a tortoise from The Bahamas and/or West Indies. A morphological assessment of this tortoise and other Neotropical tortoises shows greater similarity of this new species with modern Chelonoidis nigra from the Galápagos Islands and fossils from the greater Caribbean area, than with the Cuban Chelonoidis cubensis or living and fossil continental Chelonoidis. AMS radiocarbon dates obtained from bones from the holotype and female paratype of the new tortoise, and from three Cuban crocodiles from Sawmill Sink, indicate a late Holocene age (2,580-3,820 yrs BP) for the peat deposits that produced the fossils of Chelonoidis alburyorum. Two other fossil faunas from this sink are thought to be older, possibly Pleistocene in age. These older fossils lack sufficient carbon to permit reliable radiometric dating. Chelonoidis alburyorum is one of a series of tortoise fossils recently found in blue holes, caves, and archaeological sites in the Bahamian archipelago, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, BWI. Two other fossil species from Abaco and the Turks and Caicos Islands, both in the genus Chelonoidis, are also new to science and will be described elsewhere. Affinities of the fossils from other Bahamian banks remain unstudied. A morphological asssessment of Neotropical tortoises shows greater similiarities between the new species, modern Cheolonoidis nigra, and to a lesser degree fossils from the greater Caribbean than with the Cuban Chelonoidis cubensis and continental Chelonoidis.
Taxonomy of the Pleistocene giant beaver Castoroides (Rodentia: Castoridae) from the southeastern United States
Authors: Hulbert Richard C. , Kerner Andreas , Morgan Gary S.
Published: February 2024

Two late Pleistocene skulls of Castoroides from Florida share a suite of morphologic features with two partial skulls from the early Pleistocene of Florida (including the holotype of Castoroides leiseyorum Morgan and White, 1995) and a late Pleistocene skull from South Carolina. These specimens are regarded as conspecific and can be readily distinguished from skulls of Castoroides ohioensis Foster, 1838 from the northeastern and midwestern United States by a number of characters including absence of a mesopterygoid fossa, shorter sagittal crest, lambdoidal crest strongly inflected anteriorly at midline of skull, larger postorbital process and incisive foramen, cheektooth rows less divergent posteriorly and located more anteriorly (relative to maxillary process of zygomatic arch), and a more massive premaxilla without an anterior protuberance. All Florida samples of Castoroides are now regarded as belonging to a single species that is not Castoroides ohioensis. The rule of nomenclatural priority requires raising Castoroides ohioensis dilophidus Martin, 1969 to the rank of species, Castoroides dilophidus, and regarding it as the senior synonym of Castoroides leiseyorum Morgan and White, 1995. The dental character which formed the basis for the subspecies name dilophidus is only known to occur in some late Pleistocene teeth from peninsular Florida and coastal Georgia, and is not present in all populations of the species C. dilophidus.
The Brooksville 2 Local Fauna (Arikareean, latest Oligocene): Hernando County, Florida
Authors: Hayes F. Glynn
Published: February 2024

Vertebrate fossils from fissure fill deposits in the Suwannee Limestone located near the town of Brooksville, Hernando County, Florida, represent at least 27 mammalian species, constituting the Brooksville 2 Local Fauna. Taxa from the Brooksville 2 Local Fauna that include first occurrences in Florida are Agnotocastor, Megalagus, Palaeogale, Enhydrocyon, and an Entoptychine rodent. Described in detail are two insectivores (Centetodon, Parvericius), the lagomorph (Megalagus abaconis n. sp.), the castorid (Agnotocastor sp.), and all carnivores (Palaeogale, two new musteloids: Acheronictis webbi n. gen. et sp., Arikarictis chapini n. gen. et sp., and three canids: Enhydrocyon, Osbornodon wangi n. sp., Phlaocyon taylori n. sp.). Biochronologic correlation indicates the age of the fauna is within the undefined biochronologic interval of the "medial" Arikareean NALMA (latest Oligocene). The Brooksville 2 Local Fauna is correlative with the Cow House Slough Local Fauna and SB-1A Local Fauna.
Three-toed browsing horse Anchitherium clarencei from the Early Miocene (Hemingfordian) Thomas Farm, Florida
Authors: MacFadden Bruce J.
Published: February 2024

Anchitherium clamncei Simpson 1932 is described from the early Miocene (early Hemingfordian, ca. 18 million-year-old) Thomas Farm locality in north central Florida. This rare species of three-toed browsing horse demonstrates diagnostic characters including a reduced m3 hypoconulid heel and relatively robust metapodials, both of which also differentiate Anchitherium from its close relative Kalobatippus. The distinctness of these two genera has been questioned for 85 years. Some workers argue that Anchitherium Meyer 1844 is the senior synonym of Kalobatippus Osborn 1915, with the former genus being distributed throughout Holarctica during the Miocene. Other workers believe that Kalobatippus is restricted to the New World, whereas Anchitherium is restricted to the Old World during the Miocene. In the interpretation presented here, both Kalobatippus and Anchitherium occur as distinct genera in North America, with the former found principally in Arikareean faunas and the latter found principally in Hemingfordian faunas (although A. clarencei extends into the early Barstovian in Florida). New World Anchitherium sensu stricto, such as A. clarencei, has the derived characters shared with Old World species of Anchitherium. The postcranial morphology represented by A. clarencei from Thomas Farm indicates relatively flexible fore- and hind-limbs with functional tridactyly.
Skeletochronology: A Method For Determining The Individual Age and Growth of Modern and Fossil Tortoises (Reptilia: Testudines)
Authors: Ehret Dana J.
Published: February 2024

Skeletochronology is a method used to estimate the individual ages of animals by counting lines of arrested growth (LAGs) within skeletal tissues. This method was applied to evaluate the ages of modern gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, from north central Florida and fossil tortoise species, Gopherus laticuneus and Stylemys nebrascensis, from the White River Group in northwestern Nebraska. Different skeletal elements were tested for growth lines and the humerus was determined to be the most useful bone for analysis. LAGS in Gopherus polyphemus were correlated with alternative age estimations based on scute annuli counts, carapace lengths, and plastron lengths. While age estimates were similar in younger individuals, the alternative aging techniques did not accurately reflect the ages of older individuals. Scute wear, sexual dimorphism, and decreased growth with age are factors contributing to this discrepancy. Similarly, LAGS were found in the humeri of Gopherus laticuneus and Stylemys nebrascensis. Fossil specimens range in age from 0 years (hatchling) to over 40 years old. Fossil samples provide insight into changing ecological conditions during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition. This critical period appears to show a shift from a Stylemys nebrascensis to Gopherus laticuneus dominant ecosystem.
Occurrence of Plio-Pleistocene phosphatized macro-invertebrates from the upper west Florida slope, eastern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Oyen Craig W. , Fountain Kendall B. , Portell Roger W. , McClellan Guerry H.
Published: February 2024

Numerous phosphatized internal molds of an articulate brachiopod, along with fossils from four other phyla (Cnidaria, Mollusca, Annelida, and Echinodermata), were collected from several dredge sites in the Gulf of Mexico. The samples were collected during two cruises aboard the RV Suncoaster in December 1989 and May 1993, approximately 250 km west-southwest of Tampa, Florida. These cruises were not designed to collect fossils, rather they were aimed at studying the origin of phosphorite nodules and hardgrounds developing in response to marginal upwelling of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current along the western margin of Florida. The invertebrate fossils were collected as part of the phosphorite nodule dredge hauls and are the focus of this study. Mineralogical analysis of these internal molds, including a brachiopod and the largest of the three echinoid specimens, indicates they are composed of francolite, low-magnesium (Mg) calcite, aragonite, and variable amounts of quartz, which is consistent with nonferruginous nodules recovered from the same areas. Petrographic examination also identified glaucony and iron-oxyhydroxides (FeOOH) within the phosphatic molds. The timing of phosphogenesis associated with the fossils and nonferruginous nodules has been identified as occurring after a late Miocene (Tortonian) sea level lowstand, most likely during Plio-Pleistocene sea level highstands that favored marginal upwelling over the west Florida slope. We interpret the paleoecology of the fauna to represent a continental shelf environment of shallower depth than where the fossits were collected (511-520 m) along the west Florida slope. Though all the taxa have ranges of depth from which they have been recorded, the best synthesis using all the fossils indicates an environment of less than several hundred meters depth. It is likely that some transportation of the organisms occurred after death. Also, significant exposure effects (such as encrusting organisms and borings) are present on the fossils. Therefore, some mixing of the shallower water and deeper water fauna possibly occurred prior to their ultimate inclusion within the limestone outcrops on the west Florida slope.
Chronoclinal variation and sexual dimorphism in Mammut americanum (American mastodon) from the Pleistocene of Florida
Authors: Green Jeremy L.
Published: February 2024

This study quantitatively and statistically analyzes chronoclinal variation in Mammut americanum fossils over a broad temporal range (~1. 5 Ma to 10,000 year BP). A large sample of elements (third molars, mandibles, limb bones) from the Irvingtonian and Rancholabrean of Florida were measured and statistically compared for significant differences. Rancholabrean elements are generally found to be significantly larger than Irvingtonian elements. Florida M. americanum shows directional selection for increased body mass from the Irvingtonian to the Rancholabrean. Anterior mandibular height is the only measurement that demonstrates significant sexual dimorphism in Rancholabrean individuals, with males having a larger anterior mandibular height than females. Mandibular tusk presence/absence ratios. in Florida M. americanum show directional selection against these small tusks from the Irvingtonian to the Rancholabrean. M. americanum demonstrates a heterochronic increase in growth rate at the onset of puberty from the Irvingtonian to the Rancholabrean. In addition, Rancholabrean M. americanum populations also exhibit holobiotic heteromorphism, with males growing at a faster rate than females. The results of this study demonstrate that throughout its ~1.5 Ma range in Florida, M. americanum was not static in its evolution.
GRASS GIS for classification of Landsat TM images by maximum likelihood discriminant analysis: Tokyo area, Japan
Authors: Lemenkova Polina
Published: February 2024

The presented paper is focused on satellite image analysis using GRASS GIS. The aim is to perform comparative analysis of the land cover changes in Tokyo metropolitan area through spatial analysis. Data include multi-temporal Landsat TM satellite images on 2002, 2006 and 2011. The images were captured from GloVis USGS service and imported to GRASS GIS via GDAL (utilities gdalwarp, r.in.gdal, gdalinfo). The methodology is based on GRASS GIS. The technique includes raster modules (d.rast, r.colors, g.region) and modules of image processing (i.landsat.rgb, i.class). Color composites were created by modules d.rgb, r.composite and auxiliary modules for visualization (d.rast, r.colors, etc). Spectral signatures were generated in an image using 'i.cluster' algorithm and 'i.group' for clustering data. The classification was done by Maximum Likelihhood classifier 'i.maxlik'. The results show variations in land cover types for 2001, 2006 and 2011, which also resulted in the automated grouping pixels into 7, 10 and 6 classes, respectively. The paper demonstrated technical functionality of the GRASS GIS applied for multi-temporal image processing aimed at land cover types / change analysis using shell scripting approach.
Terrain Modelling on the Basis of the Project Execution Plan by the Method of Developing Cross-Sections For the Needs of Machine Navigation
Authors: Čohadžić Adnan
Published: February 2024

The development of digital terrain models in civil engineering for the purpose of modern, efficient and economical construction has become an indispensable part of geodetic work in modern countries such as Germany. By using well – known machine navigation technologies, it is possible to transfer a large part of the execution plan into reality, i.e. into the field. The method of obtaining models from execution plans is a complex process that requires a good knowledge of how to make the upper and lower layer of the road or railway. The paper presents a method of making a 3D model by developing cross - sections, and preparing a model for field transfer and errors and complications that may occur during this process.
EXPLORANDO FRONTERAS MÉDICAS: UN VIAJE A TRAVÉS DE LAS ESPECIALIDADES VOLUMEN VII
Authors: Alvarado Raymi , Anagallo Cristian , Lagos Byron , Maldonado Laura , Menéndez Wilber , Ortiz José , Pavón Camila , Vélez Josselyn , Zambrano Karolayn
Published: February 2024

Realizamos la séptima entrega de la serie "Explorando Fronteras Médicas: Un Viaje a través de las Especialidades volumen VII". En este volumen, como sus predecesores, nos adentramos una vez más en este apasionante universo de la Medicina, con el fin de compartir con nuestros colegas esta gran ciencia que evoluciona constantemente.