bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maori Mentors: Expectations and perceptions
Authors: Barnett Shirley Jean , Te Wiata Ina
Published: September 2023

This article is informed by a kaupapa Māori methodology and reports on a “by Māori for Māori” peer mentoring programme. The programme, offered by the College of Business at Massey University, focuses on Māori students who are studying at a distance. We outline the programme and the experiences and perceptions from kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) interviews and discussions with seven Māori student mentors who are studying internally. Using Durie’s (2009) model of Māori student success we identify a number of attributes that mentors developed by participating in this programme and providing help and support to distance students. Results suggest that mentoring programmes can provide mentors with opportunities to develop in areas such as leadership, which may not have been previously identified and discussed in the literature.
Reflections of a new educational designer
Authors: Nichols Mark , Meuleman Nicky
Published: September 2023

Educational design is an area of growing significance in tertiary education. However, the career pathway to educational design is varied. Because few specific qualifications are available, educational designers (EDs) tend to take up their roles with little experience or indepth knowledge. The purpose of this study is to investigate one new ED’s development from new-to-role to experienced practitioner, in order to identify what new EDs might expect as they develop. In the early stages of her role Nicky Meuleman, ED at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, captured significant encounters and recorded ongoing reflection. This paper summarises and discusses the key themes from those reflections, providing insight into one ED’s journey from beginner to proficient practitioner.
Inhabiting the Multiple Places, Spaces, and Time for Learning
Authors: Hartnett Maggie , Carvalho Lucila , Lamond Heather , Murray Fiona , O'Hara Duncan , Fields Alison
Published: September 2023

This editorial of the Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (JOFDL) provides an overview of the FLANZ2018 biennial conference held at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 9–11 April, 2018. The conference theme, From Inception to Infinity:Inhabiting the Multiple Places, Spaces and Time for Learning provided the context for the five keynote speakers to explore the opportunities for learning that are emerging from the rapidly changing world of digital technologies. An overview of their presentations is discussed below. These, in addition to the two extended conference papers in the issue, offer insights into emerging learning opportunities. The other contributions in this issue extend our understanding of how digital technologies are influencing learning and teaching in different contexts.
Size Only Matters If You Have Vision: An Exploration of an Urban e-Learning Cluster
Authors: Barbour Michael K , Siko Jason P
Published: September 2023

Historically, primary and secondary distance education in New Zealand was focused on providing opportunities for rural students. With the advent of Tomorrow’s Schools, the need for rural schools to compete with urban schools in terms of their curricular offerings were one of the reasons for the creation of e-learning clusters that would eventually become the Virtual Learning Network (VLN). After 25 years of practice, there is a growing body of research into these rural e-learning clusters. However, in 2011 the HarbourNet cluster bucked that trend, and became the first active urban-based VLN program. This study begins to address this research gap by exploring the challenges HarbourNet was able to overcome in order to become a successful member of the VLN.
Student Engagement in Distance-based Vocational Education
Authors: Yates Anne , Brindley-Richards Wendy , Thistoll Tony
Published: September 2023

Students enrolled in distance education courses tend to have lower course completion rates than those who attend face-to-face classes (Simpson, 2013). This article reports on a collective case study undertaken at a vocational, distance education provider in New Zealand, whose course completion rates have risen over recent years to match those of similar face-to-face institutions. This research investigated institutional factors that have contributed towards this improvement, from the perspectives of the staff involved. Results show staff believe there are key enablers and barriers to student engagement and course completion, but the barriers are not insurmountable. The implication is that distance education providers can improve student engagement and completion rates through effective interventions.
Paradigms, Distance Learning, Education and Philosophy
Authors: Higgins Andrew
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this article is to illuminate some of the difficulties experienced by distance educators in the philosophical sense. It will show  distance learning practice is still a highly pragmatic enterprise that is academically successful. Despite its academic success distance learning is not accepted by the education profession generally because it challenges the most fundamental paradigm of western education, namely, the co-location in time and space of teachers, students and resources.  Distance learning challenges the need for a place or institution for study, for example, a school. This appears to disrupt the social and economic imperatives of having a place to work. Finally, distance learning challenges the socialisation purposes used by society through schools to enculture young people.
Social media: A flexible collaborative learning space for teacher professional learning to integrate education for sustainability in schools
Authors: Mostafa Fariba
Published: September 2023

The importance and need for education for sustainability (EfS) are recognised in the New Zealand Curriculum. Teachers face challenges, however, due to lack of support and professional learning about how to integrate EfS in school curricula. Social media can be used for teacher professional learning (TPL), and communication and resources can be combined to create flexible collaborative learning opportunities. However, there is little evidence to date of social media being used for  TPL in EfS. Based on findings from a wider study exploring teachers’ perceptions of professional learning through social media in EfS, this paper focuses on how social media facilitates flexible TPL in EfS.
The study adopted a mixed-methods approach using questionnaires, interviews, and a combination of document analysis and interviews in three phases. Findings from Phases 1 and 2 suggest that participants see TPL through social media as offering flexibility, and being useful for collaborative learning and support for teachers. In Phase 3, these findings are used to design and establish TPL for EfS teachers using Google+ to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous interactions between teachers, EfS experts, and resources. Although participants understood the flexibility of social media for enabling collaboration and providing support opportunities in EfS, the use of social media for professional learning is particularly attractive for teachers who work in rural and remote areas..
Kōrero Mai
Authors: Karaka-Clarke Te Hurinui , Fletcher Jo , Macfarlane Angus , Bell Bryanna
Published: September 2023

Online teaching and learning programmes allow ākonga who live in isolated areas, or who have differing learning requirements, to study by distance. Maintaining student engagement in the online environment is an important aspect. This article explores how kaiako (teachers) can engage their ākonga (students) better in online environments. The article has a particular emphasis on supporting Māori learners, who represent 25% of the New Zealand school population. Five kaiako were interviewed about their experience of teaching New Zealand secondary school students online. The study found that the kaiako had some awareness of bicultural values and practices, but lacked confidence in embedding it in their online teaching, which was limited to synchronous timetabled sessions with some communication by text and email. The time provided for online students was considerably less than for the secondary students in traditional classrooms.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students in New Zealand
Authors: Cameron Michael P. , Fogarty-Perry Barbara , Piercy Gemma
Published: September 2023

The coronavirus pandemic and associated move to online learning for students in higher education has been disruptive and challenging. We report on the New Zealand arm of an international survey of higher education students (n = 147). Using quantitative and qualitative data from the survey, we find that students coped reasonably well with the disruption to their studies and were generally satisfied with how their lecturers and institutions responded to unanticipated lockdowns. In comparison with the global sample, New Zealand students demonstrated a higher level of satisfaction. New Zealand students reported the highest satisfaction with recorded video lectures, whereas the global sample preferred real-time teaching. Many New Zealand students felt that their studies were negatively affected, and vulnerable groups such as students with low financial resources were the most severely affected. Moreover, students reported a range of negative emotions during lockdown that suggest mental health impacts may be a concern. Our results indicate that clear communication from authorities, reducing the uncertainty for students, and ensuring that vulnerable groups are appropriately supported, may be the best avenues to reduce negative impacts on students during future significant disruptions to study, whether pandemic-related or otherwise.
Transforming Learning Support in ODFL: The LESS model
Authors: Brice Lynnette Patricia , Harrison Alison , Cadwallader Alan
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this paper is to share insights gained from the discovery, design, and delivery phases of creating a three-tiered model of non-academic learning support in ODFL, “Learner Engagement & Success Services (LESS),” at Open Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga, New Zealand.  Presented as a case-study, this paper discusses the early vision of the model, examines theoretical understandings related to learner support and engagement, and describes the successes and challenges faced in bringing this vision to reality.  It outlines challenges related to the emergent use of learning analytics (LA) in identifying “exception” learners, the contestability of ethical use and choices of data, and the rapid evolution and devolution of commercially available solution tools.  The tiered model is described as a scalable blend of human and technology enabled interventions and services, underpinned by the values of agency and equity.  The component parts of this model are replicable, and its success is measurable.
Self-management skills may be key to helping Community Health Workers cope amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Johnson Levona J , Frantz Josè M
Published: September 2023

Community Health Workers are a key frontline cadre in the Primary Health Care approach to patient-centred care and are well recognised as the link between the communities and the formal health sector. From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this cadre’s duties became more critical as they had to assist with COVID-19 screening in communities and to co-ordinate queries around medication delivery in addition to their regular duties. This chapter explores and describes how Community Health Workers coped during the pandemic and whether the skills learnt through a self-management training programme they had attended prior to the COVID-19 outbreak assisted them in managing themselves and others during the pandemic.

A qualitative exploratory design using mobile instant-messaging interviews was used to explore and describe the coping methods employed by Community Health Workers and the value of self-management knowledge and skills in their personal and professional capacity during COVID-19. Five themes emerged, namely spirituality, communities of practice, self-care, taking action, and self-efficacy.

Self-management skills proved very valuable in empowering Community Health Workers to cope during the epidemic and facilitated their professional and personal resourcefulness and resilience. This strategy should be considered formally as Community Health Workers sustain their contribution to COVID-19 responses, because the effort directed at improving their own-self-care will not only allow them to be maximally available for their job demands, but should also lead to them transferring these skills to the communities and colleagues they engage with daily. This may ultimately lead to a wider improvement of overall health status.
The modeling of earnings per share of Polish companies for the post-financial crisis period using random walk and ARIMA models
Authors:   University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, Kuryłek Wojciech
Published: September 2023

The proper forecasting of listed companies’ earnings is crucial for their appropriate pricing. This paper compares forecast errors of different univariate time-series models applied for the earnings per share (EPS) data for Polish companies from the period between the last financial crisis of 2008–2009 and the pandemic shock of 2020. The best model is the seasonal random walk (SRW) model across all quarters, which describes quite well the behavior of the Polish market compared to other analyzed models. Contrary to the findings regarding the US market, this time-series behavior is well described by the naive seasonal random walk model, whereas in the US the most adequate models are of a more sophisticated ARIMA type. Therefore, the paper demonstrates that conclusions drawn for the US might not hold for emerging economies because of the much simpler behavior of these markets that results in the absence of autoregressive and moving average parts.
Cash usage in Poland in 2020: Insights into the role of the COVID-19 pandemic and spatial aspects
Authors:   Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Kotkowski Radoslaw , Manikowski Arkadiusz ,   University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management
Published: September 2023

The study explores the factors likely to induce Polish customers to pay by cash, instead of payment cards, for goods and services they are purchasing. The basis of our investigation is microdata obtained in 2020, during the “Payment Habits in Poland in 2020” study, which was conducted by Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) in 2020. The analysis is performed using the two-stage Heckman approach. In the first stage, card adoption factors are analyzed using a probit model; then, in the second stage, the OLS model is employed to analyze the propensity to pay by cash, despite having a payment card. Apart from typical factors affecting the use of different payment methods, e.g., age, income, education, or perceptions about payment methods, we find an important role of two, yet under-investigated factors, namely: the COVID-19 pandemic and spatial aspects. E.g., we find that self-reported change in payment behavior during the pandemic indeed was reflected in diary studies. Furthermore, we show that instances of merchants’ refusal to accept cash significantly impacted payment choices. Moreover, the results indicate significant spatial heterogeneity in payment behavior and that aspects like distance to the nearest ATM impacted cash usage, as more cash is used when ATMs are farther away, illustrating the concept of "cash burns." Lastly, it has been noticed that during the pandemic, ownership of contactless payment cards significantly reduced cash usage, most probably due to the fear of contracting the disease by physical contact with surfaces (like cash).
Exploring News Avoidance in the Spanish Hybrid Media Landscape
Authors: Pérez Altable Laura , Díaz-Noci Javier
Published: September 2023

This study investigates the phenomenon of news avoidance in the Spanish context, considering factors such as stress, information overload, media scepticism, and political polarisation that contribute to this behaviour. Utilising a focus group methodology, this study explores the complexities of news avoidance in supportive and non-judgmental settings. The study acknowledges the significant decline in news interest in Spain and the nation's socio-political dynamics as influential factors. These findings have implications for media literacy education, journalism, and understanding the role of the media in shaping public opinion. Furthermore, this study provides insights into countries facing similar challenges in their media landscapes. By uncovering the underlying reasons for news avoidance, this study has implications in various fields, including journalism, communication, and political science, to enhance democratic participation and informed decision-making.
Introduction
Authors: Fine Richard
Published: September 2023

This chapter reviews the accepted history of US war reporting that reveals how the close and cooperative relationship between the military and the press established during the Second World War ran off the rails in Vietnam. It provides a nuanced view of the assumed amity between reporters and the military during World War II, emphasizing service rivalries, institutional pressures, and political cross-currents. It also details Ed Kennedy's surrender story that challenges the premise of the prevailing amity narrative. The chapter describes the frequent clashes of Kennedy and the other journalists with military officials during the course of the Second World War. It considers the Kennedy affair as the story of government officials trying to bend the media to their own ends and of one journalist who risked much to inform a public sick of the fighting that the war in Europe had ended.
The Debate
Authors: Fine Richard
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the censorship controversy in the Public Relations Division (PRD) of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), noting the plans to continue military censorship as long as SHAEF remained operational. The chapter points out how Ed Kennedy's surrender controversy stoked fears about the government's excessive control of information. It also covers Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry Truman's overruling of the Office of War Information's announcement that the military will regulate which foreign newspapers and magazines would be imported into Germany. The chapter recounts how Eisenhower tried to address press skepticism over censorship by releasing a statement on the effective end of censorship. It mentions Kent Cooper's attempt to control the damage of the Associated Press's mistake in assuming Kennedy's flash had been officially sanctioned.
New York in the Federal System
Authors: Schneier Edward V. , Pole Antoinette , Maniscalco Anthony
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores New York in the federal system. It details a dynamic quality in which the relationships between federal, state, and local authorities are in constant flux. As relations between the three levels of government shift between modes of conflict and cooperation, the role of the states has varied over time. New York benefited as much as any other state from the early growth of grant-in-aid programs due to the well-established programs following the New Deal and Great Society. The chapter highlights the localized nature of politics in the United States, referencing the political parties' vital role in sustaining federalism.
Power, Pluralism, Public Opinion, and the Permanent Government
Authors: Schneier Edward V. , Pole Antoinette , Maniscalco Anthony
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the pluralistic nature of power, wherein power is dispersed among numerous groups that struggle for influence and control. In group theory, public policy was seen as the outcome of this group competition. Additionally, special interests are manifestly influential at all levels of politics. The chapter discusses the significance of media in communicating politics to the masses. Early pluralists made an important contribution to the study of politics both by underscoring the importance of interest groups and showing how electoral politics and the politics of governing were not the same. The chapter acknowledges shifting patterns of national politics and the long-term consequences of COVID-19 as disruptive factors in contemporary New York politics.
New York’s Living Constitution, and Beyond
Authors: Schneier Edward V. , Pole Antoinette , Maniscalco Anthony
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the New York Constitution. The constitution of a state or nation refers to the fundamental document that defines the structure of government and the extent of its powers. The New York Constitution embodies traditions, statutes, local laws, judicial opinions, and related texts that simultaneously reinforce, supplement, constrict, and sometimes even nullify the basic text of the Constitution. Thus, the constitution is vital to the policymaking process as it acts as a roadmap for the operation of the political process. The chapter looks into the New York governor's exercise of power, which references their extended and enhanced formal authority. It mentions the difficulty of the amendment process in New York.
New Directions for New York
Authors: Schneier Edward V. , Pole Antoinette , Maniscalco Anthony
Published: September 2023

This chapter speculates on the future of New York. It cites that New York is not an easy state to govern due to its demographic diversity and persisting tensions across the city and state. Even with machine politics, New York State did a credible job of assimilating and educating millions of immigrants and building a solid infrastructure. The chapter mentions the significance of virtue in experience, noting that the more the electorate is polarized, the less incentive for politicians to reach out for new supporters or introduce new policies or reforms. It explains that a grip on state and local debt offers a stronger prospect for change.
Conclusion
Authors: Eaton Nicole
Published: September 2023

This chapter talks about Hans Count von Lehndorff, who was one of the many Germans that remained in Königsberg in 1945 and documented his experiences under Soviet rule. The chapter highlights Lehndorff 's evocative diary, which helped shape public conception in both West Germany and the English-speaking world about the fate of Königsberg. It also reviews local manifestations of Nazi and Soviet rule in Königsberg/Kaliningrad that shared more features than the national versions of the revolutions due to geography. The chapter describes inhabitants of both Königsberg and Kaliningrad, who felt that their city was both a bridge to civilization and a bulwark against the barbarians. It mentions the practitioners of socialism in Kaliningrad that paired the rising wartime and postwar trends of Great Russian nationalism with a persistent sense of universal human perfectibility.
Everyday Transcendence
Authors: Borenstein Eliot
Published: September 2023

This chapter contends that one of Steve Englehart's primary themes is the quest for enlightenment and personal growth. Throughout his Marvel work, Englehart appeared to be interested in his characters only to the extent that he could show them growing and changing before the reader's very eyes, preferably in a manner that required a great deal of introspection and, not infrequently, esoteric or pharmacological assistance. Englehart's drama was one of self-development, but that did not mean that all his characters advanced along the same predetermined path. For some of Englehart's characters, the self was something to be altered and reaffirmed, using superheroic adventures as a crucible (Captain America); transcended entirely (Mantis); extended and explored (Wanda and the Vision); reforged through partnership (Doctor Strange and Clea, Captain Marvel and Rick Jones, among many others); or utterly annihilated in the name of an ego-less enlightenment (the Ancient One and, to a lesser extent, Doctor Strange). At the same time, Englehart also explores the more harmful results of obsession and compulsion (Drax and Kang), of selves who are doomed to repeat the same patterns again and again.
Bodies and Words
Authors: Borenstein Eliot
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines Don McGregor's florid, emotional scripts, which highlight his preoccupation with bodies. In particular, with bodies in pain. There were only three Marvel titles that McGregor wrote for an extended period. In all of them McGregor cultivates a romantic sensibility tempered by the intense suffering the characters are forced to endure. Where the stereotypical superhero is heroic because he is powerful, McGregor's protagonists prove their heroism through their ability to survive physical pain. For McGregor, heroic storytelling is a matter of shared pain, transmitted through the medium of art. However, the chapter also notes that while his work is defiantly anti-racist, there is something about black bodies that McGregor (unconsciously) finds conducive to exploring this particular dynamic.
Claremont Rising
Authors: Borenstein Eliot
Published: September 2023

This concluding chapter discusses the aftermath of the writer-driven explorations of Marvel in the 1970s. Corporate reorganizations centralized Marvel's lineup, and the experiments of 1970s Marvel found their way to independent comics, if not to Marvel's rival, DC Comics as well as Vertigo. Yet despite the increasing homogenization of the company's line, the developments of the 1970s left their mark. More than that, they played a role in the success of the sales juggernaut of the 1980s: The Uncanny X-Men. Here, the chapter briefly turns to the career of Chris Claremont, the driving force behind this comic-turned-franchise. His long, complicated plots and exciting twists and turns deserve some of the credit for the book's success, as do his artistic collaborators. But one of the elements readers repeatedly point to in Claremont's work is the series' “soap opera:” we read his X-Men stories to find out what the characters will do next.
Introduction
Authors: Gerits Frank
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into how African liberation shaped the international system and altered decolonization. It considers how international historians believed that decolonization globalized the Cold War. Africanists and global and transnational historians view the Cold War as a force that doomed to failure such alternative political projects as Pan-Africanism. Operatives adopted and adapted one another's techniques and in effect produced hybrid products of cultural assistance, which would sometimes result in misunderstandings that furthered animosity between competitors. Moreover, the centrality of psychological decolonization also affected the position of race and anti-racism in a postcolonial order. The chapter mentions how the liberationist agenda also shaped diplomacy.
Chapter 1 A Foreign Policy of the Mind, 1945–1954
Authors: Gerits Frank
Published: September 2023

This chapter covers the notion of psychology as a way to sustain nation building, despite a growing unease with racism and the colonial project's ineffectiveness. The chapter acknowledges economic and military assistance as other aspects of foreign policy. From the inception, British and French rule depended on a psychological understanding of underdevelopment. Meanwhile, cultural assistance as a means to prepare, educate, and convince Africans created the illusion of control over a process with an uncertain outcome as liberationist demands for change grew louder. The chapter cites how anticolonial activists rebuked psychological modernization and debated the value of the African past as a means to mitigate the damage to African psychology.
Chapter 3 The Pan-African Path to Modernity, 1957–1958
Authors: Gerits Frank
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers the independence of Ghana to be a turning point since Kwame Nkrumah succeeded in charting an alternative path to modernity. It mentions that the Bandung delegates were unsuccessful in working out a tangible anticolonial development agenda. Ghanaian foreign policymakers were guided by the Pan-African ideology to decolonize Africa, which sought to export Nkrumah's modernization scheme of cultural integrity and continental unity through conferences and a network of activists. To convert Ghana's symbolic strength into real influence, Nkrumah and his aides relied on a network strategy and Accra was converted into a revolutionary mecca. The chapter highlights the Pan-African ambition to construct a modernity based on African culture and unity influenced Ghanaian diplomacy.
Chapter 6 Managing the Effects of Modernization, 1961–1963
Authors: Gerits Frank
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the effects of modernization. Following the Congo Crisis, the shift toward socioeconomic modernization revealed an increased appetite among leaders in the North and South to build development programs on industrialization. Both South and North sought to transform anticolonial nationalism into something more suited to their own aim. The chapter mentions how underdeveloped people were believed to be incapable of coping with fast-paced industrialization. It explains how the Belgrade Conference forced policymakers in Paris, London, Brussels, Lisbon, Moscow, and Washington to consider the concepts of anticolonialism, non-alignment, neutralism, and Afro-Asian solidarity, while noting the cycle of misunderstanding hindering the development of a stable postcolonial order.
Chapter 7 The Struggle to Defeat Racial Modernity in South Africa and Rhodesia, 1963–1966
Authors: Gerits Frank
Published: September 2023

This chapter tackles the struggle to defeat racial modernity in South Africa and Rhodesia. It elaborates on the liberationist promise of anticolonial modernity that instigated a crisis in the last holdouts of racial modernity in southern Africa. By the mid-1960s, the vision of anticolonial modernity collapsed when a younger generation of African nationalists became unhappy with the limited gains of independence. The chapter then considers the settler conceptions of underdevelopment that structured much of society until its independence. It cites that African nationalists increasingly turned to the Cold War powers and regional units after the abandoment of the anticolonial ambition to create an international order.
The Listener
Authors: Einhorn Cheryl Strauss
Published: September 2023

This chapter exemplifies how a Listener got a whole village of people in their lives whom they trust and who support them. When they are faced with a challenge or a decision, Listeners know they can rely on their people. They always have a plethora of advice ready for them when they ask, and they don't have to make a decision by themselves. The chapter assesses how having a tight network of people whom you support and who support you is one of Listeners' biggest assets. It underlines that they have people whom they trust to help them make decisions and move forward in their life. In general, they are a trusting person who believes in the people around them. The chapter also examines the blind spots of being a Listener. Since being a Listener means that they may rely too heavily on other people to make decisions for them, Listeners may be swayed by people in positions because they are loyal to those they trust. The chapter then analyzes authority bias, liking bias, narrative bias, and social proof bias.
The Relationship between PSPs and Life Outlook
Authors: Einhorn Cheryl Strauss
Published: September 2023

This chapter talks about how Problem Solver Profiles (PSPs), both strengths and weaknesses, and the open embrace of situationality and dynamic decision-making have transformed the nonprofit into a focused, team-oriented, effective organization. It chronicles the stories of two Visionary leaders who have become practical and process-oriented in figuring out how to think through and communicate their vision in a way they never could have envisioned. They started their journey looking outward, but in order to work effectively “out there,” they had to learn to look inward. The chapter reviews how they were able to limit the blind spots and biases by leaning into behaviors that might be natural for other decision makers but were not natural for them. The chapter then stresses that each PSP has a life outlook that stems from their decision-making approach—and each one has a certain beauty to it. By taking the time to understand ourselves, our outlook on life, and how we move in the world, the chapter highlights that we can become better versions of ourselves—and build better versions of our relationships.
Introduction
Authors: Funahashi Daena Aki
Published: September 2023

This introductory chapter considers Finnish workers who worked in excess and complained in private. With increasing complaints of stress, insomnia, and fatigue in the national work-life surveys the early 2000s, Finnish health experts set out to question what drives this unhappy excess. The chapter maps out a terrain state officials recognized as symptoms of occupational burnout (työuupumus), a chronic stress disorder that when taken to its extreme carried lethal consequences. In turn, naming occupational burnout as a new workplace hazard had the effect of directing national attention onto the challenges of the new economy (uusi talous). The new economy had given birth to a new type of worker—the “martyr worker” (marttyyri työntekijä). Martyr workers pointed to workers who fail to make their sacrifices count in ways other than in the extreme and sometimes terminal sense. Moreover, the coinage of the martyr worker circulates and gains currency in a nation alerted to the unhealthy and potentially lethal consequences of the new economy—occupational burnout.
March 29, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter details the author's observations and thoughts during her daily half-hour run just before lunch. One of these thoughts is about US culture. The author describes how their tarmacked driveway is too narrow for any car, so the garage is used for storing a myriad of complex, noisy machinery that one needs for the backyard. These include a lawnmower, spade, and rake, a trowel, and a rusty pair of secateurs. The author also keeps the dustbins in the garage to protect them from the raccoons. The chapter then highlights the violets in the raised bed by the east fence of the estate. Meanwhile, the birds that keep the author company through her trot varied from one day to the next. The robins are not the same as the European robins that adorn Christmas cards, but a kind of thrush with an orange breast extending to its belly. Robins leave for several months of the winter; some go into the woods, and many go south, perhaps only to the south of New York State. Their return to the backyard is an early sign of spring.
April 5, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter illustrates how daffodils bloomed in the author's backyard. All too often, daffodils are a frustration. They burst into flower when the weather switches from winter to summer in late April, and then they wilt within days from heat exhaustion. Moreover, they appear at exactly the same time as everything else, the tulips, serviceberry tree and redbud, apple and cherry blossom. That year, however, the daffodils have come into flower in the right order, after the snowdrops are done. The author then reflects on William Wordsworth's favorite flower, which was the lesser celandine. The lesser celandine is no more native to the US than the daffodil, and it is definitely an uninvited guest in the author's backyard.
June 7, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter identifies the native and exotic or invasive species in the author's backyard. One of the natives is the Virginia waterleaf, which has appeared under the maple tree and privet hedge. It is a member of the small family Hydrophyllaceae, related to the borages, and the clusters of pretty white flowers with long stamens are much loved by the bumblebees. The other native is bloodroot with the Linnaean name of Sanguinaria canadensis. The active ingredient in the sap of the bloodroot, known as sanguinarine, is an alkaloid and seriously toxic. Although used sparingly in traditional medicines, it was also painted onto weapons of Native Americans. Meanwhile, one of the alien plants is Morrow's honeysuckle, which came all the way from Japan. It was brought to the US in the 1870s for gardens, and the rest is history along roadsides and old railways.
June 28, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the plants under the maple tree in the author's backyard. These include lily of valley, lesser celandines, forget-me-nots, and Virginia waterleaf. The author recounts her discovery of poison ivy under the maple tree. Poison ivy is the nettle of North America; it is a sumac that goes by the name Toxicodendron radicans. The toxin in its sap is called urushiol, released when the plant is damaged. The author details how they were instructed to plant their lawn with white clover, selfheal, dandelion, and creeping Charlie to make it a bee lawn. Creeping Charlie is a US name for ground ivy. Ultimately, the author's bee lawn has been achieved by benign neglect.
August 2, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter describes how the author managed the summer heat in Ithaca, highlighting two strategies. One is to become a termite mound in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa. They opened all the windows to create airflow that pulls the cool air up from the underground chamber (the basement). However, as the temperature outside rises, the airflow switches. The author then transitions to a Mediterranean-style siesta in a country villa in Tuscany, with all windows and doors firmly shut and all curtains drawn. She also mentions a third strategy which can be called the Ithaca Strategy. It is to open the window wide and shove in a portable air conditioner. The author then examines the scissor grinder cicada occupying the honey locust tree in the front of the eastern neighbor's house.
August 9, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores the activities of the birds in the author's backyard, which can best be described as “busy, busy, busy.” These birds have broods of offspring to get safely off their hands. Although that is most evident for the noisy blue jays, all the birds are at it. Undoubtedly, the most attentive parents of all are the juncos. Perhaps because these little birds are ground-feeders and so very vulnerable to predators, juncos are “helicopter parents,” continuously tending and feeding their fledglings. However, the family of juncos in the author's backyard was parasitized by a brown-headed cowbird. The cowbird is related to American blackbirds and grackles, all in the New World family Icteridae.
August 30, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins with the author's reflection on an essential ingredient of British culture that is absent from Ithaca: teenage boys cleaning the windows of their neighbors. The reason for this absence is because US windows are complicated. The author explains the importance of the storm window tracks; they are a wonderful resource in the summer—for wasps. These wasps are called yellow jackets in the US and, until about a decade ago, they were Vespula vulgaris, the same as the common wasp in the UK. But now, the North American common wasp has been transformed into a different species, Vespula alascensis. The author describes how the storm window tracks provided the perfect nesting site for the grass-carrying wasp Isodontia mexicana.
September 20, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on the late-season flowers in the author's backyard, including snowdrops, winter aconites, and lesser celandines. The Sedum spectabile is salmon pink and has to be treated very regularly with the bad egg spray to escape being eaten by deer. It also attracts bees, wasps, butterflies, and spiders. Another invited late bloomer in the author's backyard is the autumn clematis, which seems to thrive from one year to the next on pure neglect. Also white-flowered but uninvited is white snakeroot. Beyond the backyard, the flowering plants at that time of year are dominated by goldenrods. Although the goldenrod plants appear to be unsuited to accommodate web-building, they are the perfect habitat for crab spiders.
October 11, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter highlights the activity of the ants in the author's backyard. They have many of the large carpenter ants that nest under the bark of trees. There are also lots of pavement ants (probably Tetramorium caespitum) and Lasius black garden ants that nest in dry patches of the lawn. Apart from the ants, there are wasps, tree crickets, and stylops. The author then reflects on Aesop's fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper”: how the diligent ant was busy foraging, so that it had a wintertime larder, while the grasshopper just made music all summer long. She concludes that, in her backyard, there are many ways to make a living.
October 25, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter reflects on the colors of fall in the author's backyard. The author wondered why the trees invest so much in these amazing pigments—all the carotenoids, the flavonoids, the anthocyanins. The standard story is that the plant breaks down the green chlorophyll into products that are returned to the body of the tree, and these other pigments are left behind. Getting so much expensive pigment into every leaf must be a costly business for a tree. The famous evolutionary biologist Bill Hamilton realized this. He infamously argued that brightly colored leaves are a Keep Out sign: a tree with the resources for such a colorful show also has the resources to defend itself against marauding beetles, caterpillars, aphids, and so on. Ultimately, all the autumnal glory is self-protection against insects and microbes.
November 15, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins by recounting how the author and most of her neighbors had forgotten about Veterans' Day, which meant that the yard waste collection was delayed by a day. Although most businesses work through Veterans' Day, the public duties of the City of Ithaca stop for the occasion. The author then describes the shrinking menu in her backyard. A cottontail rabbit visited to eat the forsythia leaves. This visitation was a special event because the forsythia leaves were at the perfect stage of senescence to be a rabbit delicacy. Another source of food is fungi, which the author identifies as the Geastrum earthstars. Less well protected is the fungal “fairy line.” Many of the mushrooms have been nibbled at, with a telltale line of slug slime nearby; some have great chunks removed, and a few have been upended by scrabbling of the earth.
November 29, 2020
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter describes the pumpkins in the author's backyard, several of which have been smashed open and eviscerated. During the morning, a squirrel visited and started to pick out pumpkin seeds from a partially eaten fruit. However, the author's main suspect is deer, specifically the local group of white-tailed deer that holes up in the wild area to the south of their estate. The author then turns to the cardinals. Although they cannot feed directly from the bird feeders, they forage avidly for seeds spilled onto the ground by messy feeders above. The author is confident that the cardinals have contributed to the many discarded sunflower seed shells beneath their feeder.
February 21, 2021
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter highlights the crows that come and go in the author's backyard. The American crows in Ithaca have been studied for many years, in particular by the author's colleague, Anne Clark at Binghamton University. Many of the crows that visit the neighborhood in the summer and fall are ringed and tagged. However, few of the birds that the author sees during the day in winter are ringed and tagged. This is because of the massive influx of winter visitors, escaping the greater rigors of the Canadian winter. They spend their nights in roosts of thousands of birds at a few locations, mostly in town, and then go off to spend the day feeding elsewhere. One of the main roosts, with an estimated ten thousand birds, is a bunch of trees just behind the Ithaca ReUse Center on Elmira Road at the southern end of town.
March 7, 2021
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter begins by discussing the three types of Ithacan snow. It then focuses on the snow fleas that the author found in her backyard. These fleas were either Hypogastrura harveyi or Hypogastrura nivicola. Although snow fleas are not fleas, they use the same resilin protein as in the hind legs of fleas to jump many times their own height. As well as jumping up and down, the snow fleas feed on the microbes and bits of debris that fall onto the snow. These tiny jet-black animals are also loaded with antifreeze, and they absorb heat from the bright sunshine to warm up enough for jumping around in the cold.
March 14, 2021
Authors: Douglas Angela E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter details the changes in the author's backyard over the first four days of the week. On Monday, the snow started to melt in the bright sunshine; the snowdrops have made it through the winter. By Tuesday, the author was finally able to do her driveway run. High in the sky overhead there were skeins of geese, all flying from south to north. Some of the skeins were Canada geese, others were snow geese, and some were mixed. By midday Wednesday, the winter aconites and crocuses were emerging in the soggy snowmelt, and some of the snowdrops were in flower. Thursday was the best day of the week, when the author saw a woodchuck and the first honeybees of the season. However, the wind turned gustily to the north on Friday, and it snowed again.
Introduction
Authors: Shelton Jon
Published: September 2023

This chapter points out how Americans have sought to use the education system for socioeconomic gain. It shows how problematic it is to expect the education system, by itself, to overcome economic inequality and create social mobility. The chapter also looks at the exceptional work of other historians to show how this unrealistic expectation about public education, which once coexisted with other mainstream alternatives about how to ensure economic independence, and later, economic security, has, in the recent past, utterly quashed those alternatives. It then explains how the expansion of public education in the United States was embedded in an expanding democratic promise. The chapter clarifies a few terminologies in the book such as social democracy and human capital. It also points out that the book does not comprehensively cover every quarter of American society. It is best thought of as the political history of an idea: how it is that the education myth became a dominant idea in our politics and how that idea is losing its salience.