Unexpected Places Research Articles

A roadmap for the future: Teaching humanities in unexpected places

Troubling signs about the state of humanities in higher education are not new, but the steady decline in humanities majors is cause for concern. The humanities, however, play a critical role in society and public life, promoting citizenship and public engagement along with valuable skills. There are untapped opportunities for expanding history, and more broadly humanities, appreciation through cross-disciplinary collaborations and stronger connections with pre-professional programs. History of higher education courses in higher education and student affairs (HESA) programs have the potential to introduce the value of the humanities to a new audience. This article presents the results of the study examining efforts to teach historical thinking skills and appreciation for humanities to future higher education professionals.

Firewalls at exponentially late times

We consider a version of the typical state firewall setup recently reintroduced by Stanford and Yang, who found that wormholes may create firewalls. We examine a late-time scaling limit in JT gravity in which one can resum the expansion in the number of wormholes, and we use this to study the exact distribution of interior slices at times exponential in the entropy. We consider a thermofield double with and without early perturbations on a boundary. These perturbations can appear on interior slices as dangerous high energy shockwaves. For exponentially late times, wormholes tend to teleport the particles created by perturbations and render the interior more dangerous. In states with many perturbations separated by large times, the probability of a safe interior is exponentially small, even though these would be safe without wormholes. With perturbation, even in the safest state we conceive, the odds of encountering a shock are fifty-fifty. One interpretation of the phenomenon is that wormholes can change time-ordered contours into effective out-of-time-ordered folds, making shockwaves appear in unexpected places.

6645 Paraganglioma or Benign Ectopic Thyroid Tissue?

Abstract Disclosure: J.A. Dower: None. R. MacLeod: None. B. Cardoso: None. C. Matouk: None. S. Mehra: None. G. Riccio: None. L. Williams: None. S.K. Majumdar: None. Introduction: During gestation, cells destined to form the thyroid descend through the thyroglossal duct; ectopic thyroid tissue may deposit anywhere along this route from tongue base to mediastinum (1). Less commonly, thyroid tissue can be found lateral to the duct, either alone or in association with a lymph node (2). We present a case of lateral ectopic thyroid tissue mimicking paraganglioma. Clinical Case: A healthy 32-year-old woman presented to ENT with cervical adenopathy persisting for several months after a flulike illness. FNA showed no evidence of malignancy. A neck CT with contrast ordered for further evaluation revealed a 3.2 x 2.3 x 1.5 cm enhancing mass within the right carotid space, splaying the external and internal carotid artery branches, most concerning for paraganglioma. A second, smaller lesion was noted inferiorly. Neck MRI confirmed these findings and revealed a subcentimeter T2 lesion within the right thyroid lobe. The patient was referred to endocrine for further workup. She had no symptoms of sympathetic hyperactivity and no family history suggestive of pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma. Biochemical workup was largely within normal limits: plasma metanephrines 53 pg/mL (57), normetanephrines 94 pg/mL (148), calcitonin <2 pg/mL, TSH 1.210 uIU/mL (0.27-4.2), FT4 1.52 ng/dL (0.8-1.7). Follow-up 24-h urine studies were also unremarkable: metanephrines 166 mcg (36-190), normetanephrines 159 mcg (35-482). Brain MRI, chest CT, and abdomen/pelvis MRI were negative for additional masses. DOTATATE PET/CT was completed to determine if the thyroid lesion was another potential paraganglioma requiring resection versus a nodule amenable to biopsy; uptake was confined to the carotid space lesions, so FNA of the thyroid nodule was considered safe. Thyroid FNA revealed FLUS with genetic testing indicating low likelihood of malignancy. The patient underwent tumor embolization followed by neck dissection with successful removal of both the larger and smaller masses identified on imaging. Frozen and permanent tissue section revealed that both masses consisted of benign thyroid tissue without associated lymphoid tissue. The patient experienced jaw pain with eating after surgery and is under consideration for Botox injection. Conclusion: Benign thyroid tissue can deposit in unexpected places, mimicking malignancy and paraganglioma, alike. Even a very thorough workup can mistake the identity of a mysterious mass; only the tissue itself can make the diagnosis.

Guidance from Unexpected Places after COVID-19: Learning from Jesus and the Early Christian Communities in Responding to Trauma

The COVID-19 pandemic proved challenging and traumatic for many, with its effects still being felt four years later. This article contends that the witness of Jesus of Nazareth and the early Christian communities can serve as guides for navigating post-pandemic life. This article will do so by examining the historical context of first-century Jewish Palestine with attention given to the Roman Empire’s brutality and traumatizing impact. It will then provide an analysis of the Matthean Jesus’ call to love one’s enemies and the Markan Jesus’ emphasis on bearing the cross as constructive responses to the trauma Matthew and Mark’s communities went through. Lastly, it will show how Jesus and the early Christian communities reveal that pain and trauma can be healthily transcended for better ways and behaviors. Thus, what has happened to us, however painful, can bear the seeds of a healthy purpose and meaning that can lead to us and our world becoming more humanized. The research methodology in this article is interdisciplinary, employing biblical theological, historical, and psychological methodologies.

The affective toll of COVID-19 on queer joy: A study of young people in Toronto, Melbourne and New York

Pandemic restrictions shuttered educational, community and support spaces for queer youth. Despite the pervasive despair, many young, queer people found joy and opportunities for connection, empowerment and intimacy during this period. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of self-reported data from 270 young queer people in Toronto (82), Melbourne (90), and New York (98), this paper explores how queer joy is complicated by less positive and complex emotions such as fear and stress and is found in unexpected places such as school, friends/peers, sex/dating and coming out. We propose a definition of queer joy that attends to the myriad of complex and conflicting emotions that make joy possible. Queering understandings of joy allows educators and influential adults in young people’s lives to support queer youth in accessing joy.

Zombies in Unexpected Places: Rebellion, Subversion, and the Undead in Romantic Depictions of Obeah

Abstract: The lineage of the zombie myth is complex, reaching far beyond Haiti and Haitian folklore. To expand the zombie's literary history and further complicate our understanding of its cultural heritage, this paper will read four Romantic texts through Sarah Juliet Lauro's framework of the "protozombie": Maria Edgeworth's "The Grateful Negro" (1804), "Song of an Obeah Priestess" (Anonymous, 1821), Cynric R. William's Hamel, the Obeah Man (1827), and William Earle's Obi; or, The History of Three-Fingered Jack (1800). Although these texts do not depict a Haitian zombie-drone, their depictions of Obeah complicate the boundaries between life and death, raising questions about rebellion, subversion, and freedom in response to the transatlantic slave trade. Reading these texts through the lens of the protozombie expands our understanding of the cultural and historical forces that shaped the zombie, moving the conversation beyond Vodou to consider Obeah's connection to the zombie myth.

Educators' invisible labour: A systematic review

AbstractThe hidden or overlooked nature of many of educators' professional activities complicates the already difficult task of supporting educators' labour—in both K‐12 and higher education settings. These efforts can be understood as types of invisible labour. Following PRISMA standards, we conducted a systematic literature review to answer a single research question: How have scholars framed educators' professional activities in terms of invisible labour? This systematic review searched 10 educational databases and identified 16 peer‐reviewed journal articles spanning 2011–2021. From thematic analysis of these studies, we developed a model of five types of invisibility that intersect and mask educators' professional efforts: background, care, precarious, identity and remote labour. The review also showed several overall themes related to educators' invisible labour, which we discuss in connection to the literature: effort is often semivisible, invisibility is subjective, effort by marginalised educators is often overlooked, labour in unexpected places often means effort is overlooked, and there are layers of factors masking effort. We then discuss implications for practice, starting with five invisible labour questions to prompt reflection, then how to apply invisible labour as an improvement lens for identifying needs, allocating resources, analysing jobs and tasks, and evaluating performance.

디지털 인문학으로 분석한 문화재 안내판의 분포와 어휘

The Cultural Heritage Interpretation Boards are public facilities erected on site to explain the designation, historical background, and preservation value of the cultural heritages. The Cultural Heritage Administration has been revising the inscriptions for the improvement project since 2019. With the previous literature largely grounded upon linguistics, this article analyzes the distribution and vocabulary of the Boards reinstalled from 2019 to May 2023. To do so, I employ the methodology of GIS and corpus linguistics in the name of digital humanities. The first half of the analysis performs inductive analyses examining a total of 2,705 Boards revised. Gyeongju-si houses the greatest number of them, while Paldal-gu in Suwon-si has the highest density. The top-frequency words — involving designation, periodization, and appearance — vary across the four regions and affirm the corpora’s uniqueness as Boards. In the second half devoted to deductive analyses, I visualize the locations where specific terms are mentioned. The search words are found in unexpected places unless irrelative usages are filtered out. Although this paper examined only the latest revisions due to the limited accessibility to the previous information, I hope to identify the complete patterns of the Boards in follow-up projects by incorporating the pre-revision data.

Literature, Feminism, and Activism in Rojhelat and the Diaspora

Abstract In this conversation, Essmat Sophie (author of the novel and animation film Dancing Amid Fire, Rising Above Ruins), talks with Wendelmoet Hamelink (researcher on gender, migration, activism, and conflict at the University of Oslo), about her interest in literature, about the creation of her novel and film, and about feminist life in the Diaspora. We discuss the fragmented lives of people who left Iran and can never return, and the history of the city Sine/Sanandaj. The conversation shows the complexity of Kurdish Iranian women’s triple struggle to escape political oppression, state violence, male dominance, as well as enduring a life of exile and marginalization. Essmat remembers the literature gatherings she attended in Sine, where women writers made a deep impact on her life as a young woman. Arguably, activist lives can be found in unexpected places and through creative strategies developed by women on the margins.

Apaches in Unexpected Places

Apaches in Unexpected Places

Help Comes from Unexpected Places: How a Tiny Fairy and a Tropical Fish may help us Model Mucopolysaccharidoses

Introduction:: When it comes to disease modeling, countless models are available for Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSD). Historically, two major approaches are well-established: in vitro assessments are performed in patient fibroblasts, while in vivo pre-clinical studies are performed in mouse models. Still, both platforms have a series of drawbacks. Thus, we implemented two alternative and innovative protocols Methods:: The first one relies on a non-invasive approach using dental pulp stem cells from deciduous teeth (SHEDs). SHEDs are multipotent neuronal precursors that can easily be collected. The second uses a state-of-the-art gene editing technology (CRISPR/Cas9) to generate zebrafish disease models. Results:: Even though this is an ongoing project, we have already established and characterized two MPS II and one MPS VI SHED cell models. These cells self-maintain through several passages and can give rise to a variety of cells including neurons. Furthermore, all MPS-associated sub-cellular phenotypes we have assessed so far are easily observable in these cells. Regarding our zebrafish models, we have successfully knocked down both naglu and hgsnat and the first results we got from the behavioral analysis are promising ones, as we can observe altered activity and sleep patterns in the genetically modified fish. For this particular approach we chose MPS III forms as our target disorders, since their neurological features (hyperactivity, seizures and motor impairment) and lifespan decrease would be easily recognizable in zebrafish. Conclusion:: Now that these methods are well-established in our lab, their potential is immense. On one hand, the newly developed models will be of ultimate value to understand the mechanisms underlying MPS sub-cellular pathology, which have to be further elucidated. On the other hand, they will constitute an optimal platform for drug testing in house. Also noteworthy, our models will be published as lab resources and made available for the whole LSD community.

Heed warnings gleaned from hazing case at Northwestern

The hazing scandal that has enveloped the Northwestern University football team serves as an important reminder that allegations of misconduct — which in this case consisted of bullying, harassment, discrimination, and hazing by student‐athletes with the alleged knowledge of some of the coaches — have the potential to occur within any athletics department and can happen at the most unexpected times and places.

A Diversity Leadership Program Takes Neurologists to Unexpected Places

A Diversity Leadership Program Takes Neurologists to Unexpected Places

Chief Thunderwater: An Unexpected Indian in Unexpected Places by Gerald F. Reid (review)

Chief Thunderwater: An Unexpected Indian in Unexpected Places by Gerald F. Reid (review)

Taking workers' rights to unexpected places

To help prevent discrimination, particularly against women and ethnic minorities, policymakers in the United States (US) have written and passed civil rights laws that require employers to address hate or harassment at workplaces. Sometimes, however, the programs that corporate managers create do not actually give workers a full opportunity to resolve their complaints; the programs are, instead, symbolic attempts to comply with federal and state civil rights legislation. Moreover, judges have come to see the mere existence of these programs, inadequate as they are, as evidence that corporations protect workers' rights.

An Investigation into the Stylistic Functions of Misplaced Modifiers in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"

This paper explores the impact of the purposeful use of misplaced modifiers in John Steinbeck's Novella to create certain effects on the readers. In the narrative, George and Lennie, migrant workers during the Great Depression, pursue their dreams, with misplaced modifiers adding intrigue and character depth. George, practical and astute, continually corrects his mentally challenged yet kind companion, Lennie. Steinbeck employed this technique to infuse his writing with charm and captivation by placing descriptive phrases in unexpected places within the sentence, adding complexity, seizing attention, and nurturing thought-provoking reading. In "Of Mice and Men," these modifiers contribute to the growth of key characters, increasing tension, surprise, and irony, evoking emotions and setting the narrative tone. This empowered Steinbeck to express his unique style, displaying linguistic prowess. The paper sheds light on that linguistic phenomenon in Steinbeck’s novel, exploring his skillful manipulation of language, and how he uses it to create specific effects on the readers.

A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers

This is a review of A Poetry Pedagogy for Teachers: Reorienting Classroom Literacy Practices by Maya Pindyck and Ruth Vinz, with Diana Liu and Ashlynn Wittchow. The authors, U.S-based poets, educators, and arts-academics, share a crafted master class in creative thinking and poetic confidence building for teachers. They employ a strongly collaborative stance, and take readers with them on a poststructural journey by weaving together a collection of poems, scholarly literature, and resources which aim to provoke their teacher-readers to write. Readers should ready themselves with pen and paper, notebook, or computer as the many ”Invitations” (writing exercises which appear at the end of each chapter and in a section of their own towards the end) will have readers sliding into poetry and seeing it in the most unexpected places.

Connection in Unexpected Places: How, Why, and With What Consequences Workers Connect with Clients

Connection in Unexpected Places: How, Why, and With What Consequences Workers Connect with Clients

A Q fever outbreak among visitors to a natural cave, Bizkaia, Spain, December 2020 to October 2021.

We describe a large Q fever outbreak reported in Spain, including 108 cases, 53 with pneumonia and 27 requiring hospitalisations. The first cases were detected in February 2021 among rock climbers visiting a cave in Bizkaia, and the last case was detected in October 2021. Most cases were notified after the Easter holiday (April-May 2021). More males (63.9%) than females (36.1%) were infected (median ages: 42 (1-68) and 39 years (6-61), respectively). We detected Coxiella burnetii by PCR in faecal, dust and/or aerosol samples taken inside the cave in March 2021, and in dust and aerosol samples collected between March 2021 and February 2023. Coxiella burnetii from dust samples were cultured on Vero cells, showing viability for 24 months. Based on serological and genotyping data, goats sheltering in the cave were the most likely source of infection. The cave was closed on 29 April 2021, movements of goats and sheep in the area were restricted (March-July 2021), and the animals were vaccinated in October 2021. Investigation of Q fever outbreaks requires a multidisciplinary One Health approach as these outbreaks can occur in unexpected places like natural sites where animals are present.

In Stanisław Lem's Orbit

In Stanisław Lem's Orbit