Defining Rural Literacies

Defining Rural Literacies The term rural literacies can conjure up a variety of images-that of a young woman teaching students of mixed ages and grades in the one-room schoolhouse, a farm wife mending socks or preparing meals by the fireside, the farmer working in bucolic fields, or the racism and bigotry of small-town rednecks. Many of the images rural literacies bring to mind, positive and negative, are based on established stereotypes and inaccuracies about rural people and what counts as literacy or a misguided understanding of the sameness of rural populations (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Green Corbett, 2015). Understanding how rural literacies are defined and operationalized can offer an avenue for getting beyond stereotypical thinking about rural places and reconstructing new rural literacies to confront global change. There is lack of scholarly work around rural education and literacy studies (Brooke, 2003; Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Green Corbett, 2015). In fact, researchers have long wrestled with whether examining education through a rural lens is of value (Biddle Azano, 2016). Modern literacy research is often skewed towards urban or suburban sites and participants (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007), and education policy largely reflects an urban or suburban bias where reformers and policy makers wrongly assume that what works in these places will work for rural schools as well (). Many rural researchers are calling for an increased focus on the rural context of literacy studies (Azano, 2015; Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Edmondson, 2003; Green Corbett, 2015). Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) state, rural literacies are not something for only rural people to pay attention to; rural should not be seen in opposition to urban but as part of a complex global economic and soci al network (p. xi). They go on to suggest that in order to understand the connection of rural, urban, and suburban areas, we must examine rural lives and literacies and challenge the commonplace assumptions about rural people and rural places that deem them lacking in opportunities for literacy work and community engagement (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, p. xi). At this moment in history, scholarly insight into the role and significance of literacy practice in rural societies may be more important than ever. The incipient story of rural America in the 21st Century is one of change, challenge, promise, and uncertainty. Multiple elements, including environmental, economic, and political factors, contribute to this story. Globalization and technological advancements have transformed industries that traditionally characterize rural places (Edmondson, 2003; Green Corbett, 2015; Schafft Jackson, 2010) while simultaneously changing rural peoples connection to a global world (Bonanno Constance, 2003). Environmental factors, including fracking, strip mining, clear cutting, unsustainable hunting and fishing practices, and corporate farming, further alter rural landscapes (Tieken, 2014). Population demographics are shifting as well, with 80% of nonmetropolitan growth between 2000 and 2010 resulting from an influx of racial and ethnic minorities (Johnson, 2012). The proportion of white rural residents is dropping while the Hispanic population rises (Tieken, 2014). Outmigration experienced in some rural communities as young people leave to seek perceived economic and social benefits (Carr Kefalas, 2009; Corbett, 2007) and influx of baby boomer retirees (Cromartie Nelson, 2009) further contributes to a changed rural America. The question of how rural literacies are defined and operationalized in a globalized world is the focus of this paper. Green and Corbett (2015) explain, Rural literacies are multiple, mutable, and mobile, and ever relational. They inevitably float in a global sea (p. 12); yet little attention to date has been given to the distinctive features of literacy in rural contexts. The phrase rural literacies is, however, used in rural research (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Edmondson, 2003; Eppley Corrbett, 2012; Green Corbett, 2015; Pyles, 2016; Sohn, 2006), but answers to questions of what the term means, how to go about researching rural literacies, and whether there is an actual relationship between literacy studies and rural education are ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize literature on rural literacies in an attempt to offer a description of how rural literacies are defined and operationalized and what role, if any, they play in literacy instruction. I will describe the theoretical framework for rural literacies studies, the difficulties in defining rural literacies, and endeavor to synthesize proposed definitions of rural literacies. Conceptual Framework for Rural Literacies Guiding an understanding of the meanings of rural literacies are three strands of thinking: place-conscious pedagogy, New Literacy Studies, and rural studies. Place-Conscious Pedagogy While educators tend to understand the importance of context for learning, practices of standardization deemed more fair and equalizing have typically been more valued in schools. Schafft and Jackson (2010) explain that standardization is a code for the erasure of difference and assimilation to a norm often set by the standards of urban, middle class life. Federal mandates ignore the rural context and define for rural communities the literate practices needed to succeed. Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) state that standardization movements take away the decision-making power of local communities for their schools. They write that national standardization movements, remove from local schools the possibility to define what constitutes literacy and how literacy should be valued in ways that could best integrate literacy practices into the needs and life of the local community (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, p. 26). At the root of place-conscious pedagogy, however, is the idea that th e most powerful forms of learning provide relevance by engaging students in issues of importance in their local communities (Green Corbett, 2015). Place-conscious pedagogy is an approach intended to ground learning in local phenomenon and students lived experiences (Smith, 2002, p. 586). Woodhouse and Knapp (2000) identified five characteristics of place-conscious learning: 1) learning emerges from characteristics of place, 2) learning is multidisciplinary, 3) learning is experiential, 4) learning connects place with individuals and their communities, and 5) learning is designed to educate, and potentially offer solutions to, problems in their communities. Place-conscious pedagogy in relation to rural literacies allows for a valuing of rural literacies that simultaneously foster a deep connection to place and identify those aspects that may require action for local sustainability. Considering rural literacies with regard to place-conscious pedagogy allows for viewing rural literacies with an eye towards sustainability and relevance rather than seeing rural literacies from a deficit perspective. For more than a century, the common public perception regarding rural literacy was one of lack-rural people lacked the same mental fortitude and valued education less than their urban and suburban counterparts (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Schafft Jackson, 2010; Tieken, 2014). Considering how the rural is depicted in literature and the literacies used in place in rural communities helps to define and understand various rural literacies. New Literacy Studies The New Literacy Studies viewed literacy as not just a cognitive act, but a sociocultural one as well (Gee, 2010b). People learn a given way of reading and writing by participating in the distinct practices of a social or cultural group. Two main premises underlie the New Literacy Studies. First is the understanding that literacy has changed from that of the past and will continue to change in the future. These changes happen because of social, cultural, and technological changes meaning that literacy is always situated in a context. Second, understanding how people use literacies in their everyday life can provide insight into how to improve formal literacy learning in school (Gee, 2004). The New Literacy Studies position literacy as a social act and examine how people use situated literacy skills in practicing multiple forms of literacy (Gee, 2010b). Literacy as a social practice means that what counts as literacy is expanded to include reading, writing, speaking, and listening and is not limited to printed text on a page. The ways literacies are read and written by the individual are guided by the values of their social or cultural group (Gee, 2010a). The New Literacy Studies, then, offer a guide for studying rural literacies by examining the ways rural people participate in social and cultural groups. Gee (2010a) writes, follow the social, cultural, institutional, and historical organization of people (whatever you call them) first and then see how literacy is taken up and used in these organizations, along with action, interaction, values, and tools and technologies (p. 5). The sustainability of rural life requires a variety of literate behaviors from rural resid ents revolving around how to make decisions about growth and change in rural communities (Collins Blot, 2003), and examining these literacies can guide educators in understanding to what extent the texts produced in rural settings are representative of rural cultures. Rural as a Field of Study Rurality as a field of study has been debated throughout United States history, and a recent literature review of the rural school problem by Biddle and Azano (2016) documents, in part, the evolution of thinking around rurality as a field of study. These authors found that researchers, educators, and reformers have fluctuated in their focus on rurality as a field of study over the past 100 years. Green and Corbett (2015) argue for the current imperative for rural studies, writing, The question of (dis)advantage is crucial here. Thinking through the relations between space and equity, education and poverty, literacy and social justice, is clearly a matter of some urgency. Addressing the rural in these terms is crucial (p. 5). Rurality is often characterized as the other, different from the norm. This characterization stems from a long history of stereotyping and stigmatizing of rural peoples. Beginning in the 19th Century, publications spoke of the backwardness of rural life and people while advocating for the sophistication of city life (Theobold Wood, 2010). This idea of rural people as lacking education and sophistication continues to be seen in modern television shows like My Big Fat Redneck Wedding or My Name is Earl. Recognizing the complexity of rurality, confronting and critically examining stereotypes, and conceptualizing rural literacies in a globalized world is important for the sustainability of rural places and for rurality as a field of study. Difficulties in Defining Rural Literacies Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) explain that, in their attempts to define rural literacies for their book of the same name, they could not find a specific definition in literacy research. Part of the difficulty in defining rural literacies arises from the complex, differing, and broad definitions of their component parts. Because the words rural and literacy are loaded terms with multiple definitions offered, it becomes challenging to concretely define rural literacies. The following sections describe the complications in defining the terms rural and literacy and thereby the difficulty in defining rural literacies. Defining Rural Many people can offer definitions for the term rural; however, these definitions are usually vague and varied from person to person. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledges this incongruity, stating, For some, rural is a state of mind. For others, rural is an objective quantitative measure. (Reynnells, 2016, para. 1). Quantitatively, rural is defined by what it is not-namely, anything that is not urban or suburban is rural. The United States General Accounting Office Fact Sheet for Congressional Requesters (1993) states, Metro/urban areas can be defined using several criteria. Once this is done, nonmetro/rural is then defined by exclusion any area that is not metro/urban is nonmetro/rural (para. 1). In general, rural is determined quantitatively by using population numbers and/or analysis of amount of open countryside (Reynnells, 2016). The most common Federal definitions of rural come from the Department of Commerces Bureau on the Census, the White Houses Office of B udget and Management, and the USDAs Economic Research Service. In choosing a particular definition, the USDA advises selecting based on the purpose of the activity on which the definition is based (Reynnells, 2016). Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2012) suggest that these demographic methods of defining rural as anything not urban lead to the homogenization of rural people as the other while elevating urban and suburban to the norm. It is a mistake to regard rural America as homogeneous as the myth of rural homogeneity masks underlying diversity among the people who have historically lived in the American countryside (Davis Marema, 2008, para. 9). While many people may think of rural America as made up of primarily white, working and middle class individuals, the proportion of white rural residents is decreasing while minority populations, particularly the Hispanic population, are growing (Housing Assistance Council, 2012). Definitions of rurality should acknowledge the complexity and diversity of rural populations. Rural can also be understood as a way of identifying oneself or a group. People may identify themselves or others as rural regardless of their current location. In other words, someone can live outside of a rural area and still identify themselves as rural. Howley (2009) relates that it is the meanings associated with rural life and community, not geography or demographics, that qualifies rurality. It is, therefore, important to define rural not only geographically and demographically, but culturally as well (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, 2012; Tieken, 2014). Defining Literacy Like the term rural, the term literacy also conjures up a variety of definitions from the basic, functional skills required for reading and writing to knowledge in a specified area, i.e. digital literacy or country music literacy. The literacy valued in todays schools is typically constrained to a back to basics mentality advocating systematic reading instruction (Edmondson, 2006). Cook-Gumperz (1986) suggests that a standardized notion of literacy tied to schooling leads to a belief that what counts as literacy is that which can be assessed, measured, and compared to the norm. This version of standardized, systematic literacy, it is argued, ignores the context in which literacy occurs. Others argue for broader definitions of literacy which encompass more than grapho-phonic relationships and traditional texts (Cope and Kalantzis, 2009; Gee, 2004; Lankshear and Knobel, 2007; New London Group, 1996). Green and Corbett (2013) suggest that a range in what constitutes literacy is to be we lcomed as it conjures up possibilities for new realizations and articulations of literacy, rurality, and education and helps in rethinking the [] literacy practices of the school, and thereby in enriching both praxis and inquiry (p. 4). Defining Rural Literacies The broad and differing definitions of the terms rural and literacy help to explain the difficulty in defining rural literacies. Any definition of rural literacies should elucidate the role and significance of literacy practices for (and perhaps unique to) rural communities while also acknowledging the diversity of different ruralities and the complex nature of a globalized society. Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) propose a definition for rural literacies that takes into account the rural context and has as its goal the sustainability of rural areas when they define rural literacies as the particular kinds of literate skills needed to achieve the goal of sustaining life in rural areas (p. 4). Their concept of sustainability stems from the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development definition, which defined sustainability as the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Donehower, Hogg, Schell , 2007, p. 4). This definition has guided how rural literacies have been operationalized, which will be discussed next. Conceptualizations of Rural Literacies In reviewing literature on rural literacies, it became evident that no fixed qualities exemplify rural literacies. In part, this is because the diversity and breadth of rural areas precludes a concrete definition. The particular literacy practices valued in one rural area may not be those valued in another area. Three broad conceptualizations of rural literacies, however, have been offered by scholars (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007; Edmondson, 2003; Eppley, 2013). Although scholars have not referred to these conceptualizations by the same terms, they can be synthesized under the categories: traditional rural literacies, neoliberal or modern rural literacies, and new or postmodern rural literacies (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007; Edmondson, 2003; Eppley, 2013). Traditional Rural Literacies Both Edmondson (2003) and Eppely (2010) refer to their first category of rural literacies as traditional literacies. Traditional rural literacies reflect a nostalgia for the past that is read in opposition to the conditions of todays modern life. Often idealized, traditional rural literacies envision a simpler, more moral life strongly connected to place and attached to the land (Edmondson, 2003). These literacies advocate a return to so-called glory days as a way to solve the problems of modern rural life. Dominant traditional rural literacies are based on the ideal of the family farm- rural families making their living off the land and stoic farmers characterized by a belief in taking care of their own (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, Edmondson, 2003; Eppely, 2013). In traditional literacies, the farm and its land are symbolic of the very best way to be American; yet this dominant understanding of traditional rural literacies is misguided and ignores the fact that not all tradition al rural literacies are agrarian (Eppely, 2013, p. 81). In fact, small farms have been radically changed due to globalization. Of the 60 million people who reside in rural areas, less than 2% earn their primary living through farming (USDA, 2012); yet, for many people, the ideal of the farm still exemplifies rural America. Preservation of rural culture is typically offered as the solution to modern rural problems by those who envision rural literacies as primarily traditional. Preservationists recognize rural culture as something apart from urban life and see the need to preserve its difference (Shapiro, 1978). In schools, oral history projects and other preservation projects which isolate the particularities of rurality are often used as a way to educate students concerning traditional rural literacies and as a way to preserve the past (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007). While these types of projects which educate students about traditional rural literacies can be beneficial, Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) caution teaching traditional literacies with an eye only toward preservation. They write, We must interrogate the source of our desires to preserve rural places and be ever-conscious of the danger that lies in preservationist models that seek to make of rural places a monolithic symbol of a collective American heritage for those who live in urban and suburban areas, rather than vital and diverse communities that can adapt to economic and demographic shifts. Preservationist projects that seek to turn rural communities into museums essentially ensure that those communities cease to exist, as no one actually lives in a museum. (p. 44) Giroux (2004) advocates using public memory not as a museum to cultural perfection but as an opportunity to critique and debate the complexities of that memory. Modern or Neoliberal Rural Literacies Another way to conceptualize rural literacies is what Edmondson (2003) terms neoliberal rural literacies and Eppely (2010) describes as modern rural literacies. Modern/Neoliberal literacies see a rural way of life as ill-equipped to meet the needs of people in a global economy (Edmondson, 2003; Eppely, 2010). Mass production, efficiency, and neoliberal principles should characterize rural life where rural communities are seen as vehicles for reducing production costs. Agribusiness, free market logic, and capitalism are king while literacy is reduced to a generalizable set of practical skills necessary for economic participation as employee or consumer (Eppely, 2010, p. 85). Neoliberalism/modernism, then, insinuates that education for life in place is not sufficient for rural students, and the solution to the inadequacy of rural communities is to modernize rural education (Edmondson, 2003; Shapiro, 1978). Local literacies are disregarded in the face of standardization, and the purpose of public education is narrowed to ensure American economic success in a global economy (Eppely, 2010). Shafft and Jackson (2015) write, public education serves the economic imperative of capitalism by severing attachment to place and producing mobile, adaptable youth flexibly responsive to changing labor market conditions (p. 2). Green (2013) writes that the idea that location plays no part in the delivery of instruction leads to contemporary arguments that introducing new digital technology into schooling overcomes many of the difficulties and disadvantages of rural education (p. 20). Technology is seen as a way to solve many of the inadequacies of rural schools despite s trong assertions that place matters. Standardization removes from local school systems the ability to define what constitutes as literacy for their communities, and neoliberal/modern interpretations of rural literacies do not allow the opportunity for local places to determine how rural literacies can best be enacted to sustain local communities. New or Postmodern Rural Literacies The inadequacies of traditional and modern or neoliberal rural literacies in encapsulating contemporary rural literacies necessitates a third conceptualization of rural literacies in a globalized world. A new conceptualization, termed new (Edmondson, 2003) or postmodern (Eppely, 2010) rural literacies, has been suggested that proposes ways of understanding literacy as a resource for democratic citizenship that shapes the potential for rural communities to experience the economic prosperity, environmental protection, and social equity desired to make rural communities sustainable places (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007, p. 12). The key to this conceptualization is the idea of sustaining rural places rather than preserving an ideal rural culture or modernizing rural places so they resemble urban and suburban areas. An important understanding of sustainability is that economic systems are interlinked-the consumer practices of urban and suburban people affect rural communities (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007). Postmodern rural literacy practices enable people to critically examine their communities, including taken for granted truths about rural people and life, and communicate with others both their potential and limitations (Eppely, 2010). Postmodern rural literacies also allow for critique of modern assumptions that new is always better (Edmondson, 2003). Rural literacies become a tool for citizens to deconstruct and critique their own literacy practices to determine how they want to live together. Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) write, rural people can and do make conscious, informed choices among different alternatives for practicing and valuing reading and writing, acknowledging literacys important functions in navigating the complex economic and social realities of rural life (p. 68). Defining and understanding new or postmodern rural literacies is essential in shaping relationships both inside rural communities and with the outside world. This conceptualization acknowledges multiple forms of rural literacies and encourages Add more here about Prairie Town identification among rural, urban, and suburban citizens. In Prairie Town, Edmondson (2003) advocate for a critical public pedagogy that questions and renegotiates the relationships among rural, urban, and suburban people in order to sustain rural communities (__). Instead of placing rural, suburban, and urban communities in opposition to one another, new rural literacies enable examining the ways literate practices can connect communities and ensure a sustainable future for everyone (Donehower, Hogg, Schell, 2007). Conclusion It is a myth that rural literacies are based solely on traditional models of literacy. Examining the literature on rural literacies shows the complexity of literate practices in rural communities that reflect a mixture of traditional, modern or neoliberal, and postmodern or new rural literacies. Rurality is not defined by images of a one-room schoolhouse, a farm wife mending socks, a farmer working in bucolic fields, or an uneducated hillbilly. The realities of rural literacies are that they are complex, multiple, and evolving in relation to a globalized world. As Donehower, Hogg, and Schell (2007) conclude, the phrase rural literacies should suggest reading and writing as social action that supports and sustains diverse communities trying to cope with complex, often interlinked economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues (p. 193). Rural literacies research that addresses these issues and contributes in the ability of rural communities to address these issues is essential. References Azano, A.P. (2015). Addressing the rural context in literacies research. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 59(3), 267-269. Biddle, C., Azano, A.P. (2016). Constructing and reconstructing the rural school problem: A century of rural education research. Review of Research in Education, 40, 298-325. Bonanno, A., Constance, D.H. (2003). The global/local interface. In D.L. Brown and L.E. Swanson, eds., Challenges for rural America in the twenty-first century, 241-251. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Press. Brooke, R. (2003). Rural voices: Place-conscious education and the teaching of writing. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Carr, P.J., Kefalas, M.J. (2010). Hallowing out the middle: The rural brain drain and what it means for America. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Cope, B. Kalantzis, M. (2009). Multiliteracies: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4, 164-195. Corbett, M. (2008). Learning to leave: The irony of schooling in a coastal community. Black Point, Nova Scotia, Canada: Fernwood. Cromartie, J., Nelson, P. (2009). Baby Boom Migration and Its Impact on Rural America. Retrieved from USDA website: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/ err79/9346_err79_1_.pdf Davis, D., Marema, T. (2008). A rural perspective. Grantmakers in the Arts, 19(3). Retrieved from http://www.giarts.org/article/rural-perspective Donehower, K., Hogg, C., Schell, E.E. (2007). Rural literacies. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Donehower, K., Hogg, C., Schell, E.E. (2012). Reclaiming the rural: Essays on literacy, rhetoric, and pedagogy. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Edmondson, J. (2003). Prairie Town: Redefining rural life in the age of globalization. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield. Eppley, K. (2013). My roots dip deep: Literacy practices as mirrors of traditional, modern, and postmodern ruralities. In Green, B. Corbett, M. (Eds.) Rethinking rural literacies: A transnational perspective. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Eppely, K., Corbett, M. (2012). Ill see that when I believe it: A dialogue on epistemological difference and rural literacies. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 27(1/2), 1-9. Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated language and learning: A Critique of traditional schooling. London: Routledge. Gee J. P. (2010a). A situated-sociocultural approach to literacy and technology. In Baker E. (Ed.), The new literacies: Multiple perspectives on research and practice (pp. 165-193). New York: Guilford. Gee, J.P. (2010b). New digital media and learning as an emerging area and worked examples as one way forward. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Giroux, H.A. (2004). Cultural studies, public pedagogy, and the responsibility of intellectuals. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 1(1), 59-79. Green, B., Corbett, M. (2015). Rethinking rural literacies: A transnational perspective. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Housing Assistance Council. (2012). The rural data portal report: Demographic data, 2010. Retrieved from Housing Assistance Council website: www.ruraldataportal.org/ search.aspx Johnson, K.M. (2012). Rural demographic change in the new century: Slower growth, increased diversity (Issue Brief No. 44). Retrieved from scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1158context=carsey Lankshear, C., Knobel, M. (2007). Sampling the new in new literacies. In Knobel, M., Lankshear, C. (Eds.) A new literacies sampler (pp. 1-24). New York, NY: Peter Lang. New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-89. Pyles, D.G. (2016). Rural media literacy: Youth documentary videomaking as rural literacy practice. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 31(7), 1-15. Reynnells, L. (2016). What is rural? Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture website: www.nal.usda.gov/ric/what-is-rural Schafft, K.A., Jackson, A.Y. (2010). Rural education for the twenty-first century: Identity, place, and community in a globalizing world. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Shapiro, H. (1978). Appalachia on our minds: The southern mountains and mountaineers in the American consciousness, 1870-1920. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Silver, R., DeYoung, A.J. (1986). The ideology of rural/Appalachian education, 1895-1935: The Appalachian education problem as part of the Appalachian life problem. Educational Theory, 36(1), 51-65. Smith, G.A. (2002). Place-based education: Learning to be where we are. The Phi Delta Kappan, 83(8), 584-594. Sohn, K.K. (2006). Whistlin and crowin women of Appalachia: Literacy practices since college. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Tieken, M.C. (2014). Why rural schools matter. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. Theobald, P., Wood, K. (2010). Learning to be rural: Identity lessons from history, schooling, and the U.S. corporate media. In K. A. Schafft A. Y. Jackson (Eds.), Rural education for the twenty-à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst centur

Forensic Science Questions

Review Questions1. What are club drugs? What are some of the factors that support the use of club drugs? â€Å"Club Drugs† are drugs that are usually used at a club, nightclub, raves, and such. It is synthetic drugs, but they are used to â€Å"enhance† the experience. The type of factor that supports club drugs would be either environment and/or development. 2. What are screening tests? Why are they used?The screening tests are a type of test that can identify any substance that someone has used. This helps forensic scientists rule out any possibilities of certain types of drugs being used. 3. What are color tests? Why are these tests used?Color tests are used by introducing a chemical reagent to the drug, then you observe and examine if the material changes colors. The color tests are mainly used with trying to find drugs at a crime scene. 4. What are microcrystalline tests? What information do they provide? Microcrystalline tests use the same method as the color test, but the reagent also helps examine the morphology of the crystals that form, as well as the shape of it.This test is more accurate and more specific than the color test, it is also much faster and you do not need to separate the substance from other substances it’s with. 5. What is spectrophotometry? How can this be useful in identifying drugs? The Spectrophotometry is useful by identifying drugs. Like the color test, it cannot point out a specific drug, but it is very useful for determining if a drug is present. The spectrophotometry uses UV and infrared light and is tested to see how the light reflects or absorbs the light.Critical Thinking Questions1. Why are forensic scientists an important part of drug cases? Forensic scientists are an important part of drug cases because they have different types of tests that they can use to help find and identify drugs. Because of forensic scientists, I bet a lot more drugs have been discovered at crime scenes.2. If you were a forens ic scientist and you were called to a crime scene to see if drugs were present, what would you do to determine this? As  a forensic scientist, I would use all of the tests to be able to find if any drugs are present, and if so, where and what kind.3. Why is it important for forensic scientists to have as much information as possible about the place where a possible drug substance was found? It is important for forensic scientists to have as much information as possible about the place where a possible drug substance was found because the location can help you track other substances, and it may help discover what happened and who used drugs.4. What are some of the difficulties in identifying particular drugs? Why is it important for forensic scientists to be able to identify particular drugs? The difficult part of identifying a particular drug is that some people may mix substances with other substances, legal or illegal. Some people use items in their houses to try and hind their drugs the best that they can, which will make it hard for you to find it and identify it. It’s important for forensic scientists to be able to identify particular drugs because there’s a lot of crime scenes that involve drugs and there will be court cases and charges for drugs that are found, and forensic scientists and other investigators will have to identify the drug(s) to be able to prove that it’s that drug and not any other type of substance.

What You Must Know About Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples and Why

What You Must Know About Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples and Why Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples Options It's far better to alter the text while it's being written than when the full essay is ready. That is, you own an opportunity to produce your customized essay more personal. If you purchase an essay beforehand, you pay a normal price. A quotation should not show up in the prose of your essay without a number of your words attached to it. It is not easy to claim that you're interested in the way an author expresses himself should you don't demonstrate that expression in your essay. Your reader will definitely want to be aware of the context of your quotation or paraphrase. Readers of your essay will search for an argument that's clearly expressed in a logical purchase. Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples: the Ultimate Convenience! If you begin with a narrow focus, you could always expand the scope of your topic later in the paper. A rather large amount of research has revealed that meditation has benefits on mental well-being, including a decrease in proneness to depression, an increase in emotional positivity, and an elevated ability to cope with life's inevitable stresses. If you're using any secondary sources here, they have to be paraphrased or quoted. If you can just find a couple of sources for your subject, you might need to decide on another. In an extremely developed society it's inevitable to c omprehend the roots of biological, physical and mental nature of somebody. Writemyessayx have skilled students as founders either writers so the writing process is one which is understood in the working relationship between the author and the customer. Together with the evolution of political regimes in addition to religion, human beliefs have undertaken a string of changes. The humanities are essentially the study of the various ways in which people from various parts of the world and during different periods of history have processed and documented the human experience. What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples Hands-on service learning within the field of child intervention is intended to link the class work on research and theory to human service practice. The course will comprise a string of certain presentations by selected instructors that explore the aforementioned places and themes. Several instructors could be invited to return and interact with one another and with the students relating the many areas to one another. For nearly all students, the practice of mastering the academic paper represents one of the most difficult tasks however thorough the high school preparation. Writing quality research proposals has ever been a herculean job for many students. All research has to attempt to answer a focused question associated with medicine that's of interest to other scholars in the specialty. Soon universities were transformed too. Technology may be used to produce and destroy. Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples - Overview A great guideline for college humanities papers is to have a minumum of one resource for each page of required text that you must write. What's more, your teacher has shared their private opinion about your topic. Every time a student must compose an essay on humanities, they should bear in mind that it's required to compose a humanities essay that is associated with the subjects, in which he or she's engaged in. There's no such student who's permitted to submit papers after the deadline. When it comes to humanities essays, you may probably list these as follows. Every humanities paper must have a specific guideline or structure. If you would like to display your persuasion skills, you're welcome. It's well worth noting that humanities is made up of a lot of aspects, like languages, religion, philosophy, art etc.. The Ultimate Approach to Humanities 1101 Field Trip Essay Samples On the flip side, you need to ensure that the passages you quote, whether in a primary or secondary source, need to get quoted. You won't ever have to be concerned about receiving a paper that somebody else has written. After the timer goes off, take a look at what you've written. It is essential that every paragraph in the body has 1 principal idea. When you order a paper on the web, there's a probability of a misunderstanding involving you and your writer. The conclusion has to be very enticing. When you're exploring an idea, you would like to represent it accurately first, and after that interpret or criticizeit next. Aristotle was the very first person to concentrate on the literary theory.

World War II in Europe - 1691 Words

World War II was after the war that was supposed to be â€Å"the war to end all wars†, but World War II started just over a couple decades later. World War II started because of Germany and Japan’s greedy wants of more land, and they were willing to use force to acquire it, spiraling many countries of the world into war. The total aftermath of this war ended up being 60 million people or 2.5 percent of the worlds population at the time. The people who said WWI was the war to end all wars could not have had nightmares about the horrifying events of WWII. World War II was a massive conflict across continents that ultimately caused by one man, this man being Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s rise to power began when he joined the Nazi political party in†¦show more content†¦Before his speeches Hitler would let the crowd wait building tension and anxiety while military music and when Hitler finally came out there would be shouts of â€Å"Heil† to show worship to Hitler and the Nazis.(The Rise of Hitler) Germany had become the Nazi Germany that Hitler had wanted it to become. On September 14,1930, election day, the Germans voted the Nazi party into 107 seats of the German government, and thus making the Nazi party the second largest party in German politics.(Weinberg, Gerhard L.) In celebration of the victory the SS decided to smash all the glass of jewish stores in Germany, foreshadowing events to come under Nazi Germany. Even with the large support for the Nazi party, Hitler lost in the elections to become prime minister of Germany because many people thought he would become dictator and start a reign of terror. Hitler did eventually gain the prime minister position he so badly needed for his plans, and set the wheels of WWII and the Holocaust into motion. When Hitler took control of Germany he changed the prime minister position into a dictator position, so he could control everything that went on around Germany. Hitler wanted to regain land lost at the end of WWII, so he annexed Austria back into Germany. Hitler then started urging the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia that was mostly German, to rejoin Germany. This forcedShow MoreRelatedCommunism And Eastern Europe : World War II1385 Words   |  6 PagesSupremacy in Eastern Europe: World War II shocked and dismantled many Eastern European countries leaving Europe in a state of shock, with many unanswered, open ended questions. Buildings were blown up, streets cracked, people slaughtered, and governments destroyed. As turmoil struck Eastern Europe, an opportunity arose for a new political system to come into power. 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