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Journalism and media censorship in Eritrea and societal implications.
No full textThis study examines the impact of media censorship on public discourse, human rights, and quality of life in Eritrea. Through interviews with exiled journalists from Eritrea, it is evident that media censorship is used as a tool to control information diffusion, stifle diverse perspectives and promote governmental narratives. The absence of diverse voices and perspectives in Eritrea's media landscape as a result of media censorship contributes to human rights violations including detention, torture, exile and promoting a climate of fear throughout the country. Access to unbiased information is restricted, forcing citizens to rely on limited sources and perpetuate a skewed perception of the government and human rights. While this study faces limitations in sample size, it highlights the critical role of journalism and the adverse effects of media censorship in Eritrea
Forging pathways : how low-income STEM students navigate college on a free tuition program.
No full textIn light of the ever-increasing cost of tuition, colleges and universities are starting to turn to free-tuition programs as a way to make college affordable for those students demonstrating the most need. In particular, STEM majors offer a unique chance to understand the true effectiveness of this financial aid as students in these programs traverse some of the hardest academic courseloads on campus. This proposed project, therefore, seeks to answer the following question: How and in what ways is the college-going navigation of low-income STEM students influenced by a free tuition pathway in a selective, affluent university? Answering this question will help higher education scholars and practitioners understand how low-income STEM students negotiate the barriers and possibilities present on campus, and free tuition programs can be better modified to improve the student experience
Self-efficacy and transition success : an explanatory sequential mixed methods study of post-9/11 military veterans.
No full textTransitioning out of the military is a stressful process often detrimental to veterans' health (Mobbs & Bonanno, 2018; Ravindran et al., 2020). Approximately 150,000 service members transition out of active duty each year (Kamarck, 2018; U.S. Department of Defense, 2021b), and nearly half of post-9/11 veterans report not being well prepared for civilian life (Parker et al., 2019b). Veterans face increased risk of suicide (Blow et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2009; Ravindran et al., 2020; Reger et al., 2015), familial troubles (Hogan & Furst Seifert, 2010; Karney & Crown, 2007), and problems with mental health, drug use, and housing insecurity (Metraux et al., 2017; O'Connor et al., 2013; Stacy et al., 2017; Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). There is a need to give attention to theories and frameworks more likely to provide and enable individualized support to military service members and veterans to produce successful transitions out of the military. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of self-efficacy in military veterans' transition to post-service life. I used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to collect, analyze, and integrate quantitative and qualitative data. Using this data, I answered research questions about veterans' perception of their general self-efficacy, transition out of the military, and how their lived experiences in the military developed or hindered their efficacy development. I found self-efficacy a statistically significant predictor of transition success in a quantitative sample of 87 participants. I conducted interviews with a qualitative sample of six participants and identified three themes that highlighted the importance of decision-making, active engagement in personal and professional communities, and overcoming challenges to produce desirable results. I integrated the quantitative and qualitative data to determine good financial management and veterans' belief that they can leverage knowledge and skills from military service in civilian careers heavily influenced successful transitions out of the military. The findings of this study can inform veteran-serving organizations, military Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) organizations, and researchers of military and veteran studies. The findings are useful to help refine or develop new programming, interventions, or tools to support military service members and veterans
From generation to generation : a qualitative single case study of a Pentecostal church in Central Arkansas' successful growth and retention programs involving young adults.
Get PDFIn 1945, church participation in America started to decline, despite the efforts of many Christian church leaders, the problem continues to escalate (Jones, 2021; Inglehart, 2020). Research reveals that the most dramatic decrease in church participation occurs in Generation Z young adults (born 1995 to 2012; Jones, 2021; Twenge, 2017). This problem culminates into one of the most significant challenges facing the Christian church today. Until now, Pentecostal churches fared better than many other Christian denominations (Wilson, 2016). However, the phenomenon of declining church participation does not preclude Pentecostal churches. If Pentecostal churches hope for continued growth, the church leaders must proactively approach the problem of declining church participation. In this study, I used a qualitative single case study design to examining a Central Arkansas Pentecostal church's successful practices of engaging Generation Z young adults aged 18–25. The study focused on the innovations the church's pastoral leadership implemented to engage young adults. Therefore, the study centers on three distinct categories adapted from Gopalakrishnan and Damanpour's (1997) innovation research theory framework: new technology, administrative structures, and new member processes. This qualitative single case study's research findings proved the need for church leaders to employ specific innovations to engage Generation Z young adults. The participants asserted that the implementation of new technologies, administrative structures, and new member processes assisted the First Pentecostal Church of North Little Rock, Arkansas, in opposing the trend of declining church participation among Generation Z. As digital natives, Generation Z young adults find the standard practices of the church uninspiring (Twenge, 2017; White, 2018). Though Generation Z young adults thrive in digital environments, the findings of this study proved that regardless of how large a church grows, young adults desired personal interaction of church leadership. The results of this case study research offer insights into engaging Generation Z young adults using specific innovations successfully
Purpose-driven entrepreneurship : when business venturing makes a difference.
No full textThere has been a global rise in purpose-driven entrepreneurship in recent years, as evidenced by individuals entering and persisting in business venturing aspiring to make a difference in the world. While seeking purpose beyond profits is expected among social entrepreneurs, should we also expect the owners of for-profit commercial business ventures who have historically been portrayed as self-oriented to also aspire to make a difference in the world? This dissertation explores this "purpose-driven" phenomenon among commercial entrepreneurs by examining the influence of aspirations to make a difference in the world on decision-making in their ventures. Through an inductive qualitative research approach, this dissertation demonstrates that purpose-driven aspirations can play a significant role in shaping the venture decisions of commercial entrepreneurs and introduces a theory of entrepreneurial purpose. The dissertation reveals three primary pathways by which commercial entrepreneurs fulfill purpose-driven aspirations in business venturing and a typology of five distinct purpose-seeking profiles of commercial entrepreneurs
Power, Dominance, and Charisma : An Examination of Narcissistic Leadership.
No full textNarcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a serious and complicated burden to the people who suffer from it. This article is an examination of examples and research on narcissism and what can be drawn from a theoretical application of such principles in the context of leadership. The scope of this article expands on narcissism through the lens of transformational leadership and is backed by case studies. The article critically examines transformational leadership and its sub-theory, charismatic leadership. A thorough overview of narcissism is laid out to provide the reader with strong context for the rhetorical aspect of the article that explains what persuasive tactics make narcissistic leadership work or fail. Additionally, it explores the relationship between leadership and narcissism and identifies strategies for interacting with a narcissist
American exodus, American identity : biblical texts and national identities from the American Revolution to the Civil War.
No full textThe broad question that drives my interest in this topic is how people's religious beliefs influenced their participation in public culture or their interpretation of that culture, particularly national identity. Forming Americans' national identity as if they were the people of God has always been a complicated and controversial topic, not least because of the questionable exercise of trying to discern and declare the will of God for a whole nation. Americans have always been many peoples, and the era between the Revolution and the Civil War was no different. Though only white males had formal political roles, interpreting national life through biblical ideas was as important to slaves, women, freed people, and others. This was possible because those living by religious belief saw themselves as relating not just to the political body or broader society and its many parts but also to God and his perspective on their social and cultural context. Biblical narratives like the Exodus were useful for many different kinds of people, whether politically powerful or not, because from their perspective God acted in a history they believed to be continuous in some way with their own. He acted on behalf of the nation, but he also acted against the nation that oppresses. He delivered and he punished for sin. Tracking the many uses and changes of biblical texts central to American national identity highlights conflict over beliefs about the religious life of the nation and related political issues and draws in a cross-section of Americans not typically among the political or theologically elite. While this is not, alone, a new idea, this study offers a careful examination of how national identities and scriptural texts were connected across time and between a diversity of groups in America. In particular, the Exodus was a central biblical text with both a timeless quality and an ever-shifting usage in American public religion
Total synthesis of (-)-Flueggeacosine C.
No full textYing Wang and co-workers reported the isolation of Flueggeacosines A-C from Flueggea suffruticosa in 2018. Flueggeacosine C showed potential bioactivities to promote the differentiation of Neuro-2a cells. It is a heterodimer of securinine-type and benzoquinolizidine alkaloids. This unprecedented skeleton makes it an interesting and challenging target to synthesize. The efforts described herin continue to broad the scope of acyloxynitroso ring expansion chemistry, a process which serves as the key reaction in assembling the amide core found in flueggeacosins's benzoquinolizidine fragment. In addition, we describe the development of a novel intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction to construct the butenolide / [2,2,2] azabicyclic core in one step. The latter chemistry proved very efficient, allowing the preparation of material on gram-scale. In completing this fragment, a copper-catalyzed diastereoselective hydration reaction was employed to efficiently introduce the secondary alcohol in a regio- and stereoselective fashion. Finally, a Liebeskind−Srogl reaction served to couple the two fragments. Given that the fragments were both generated as racemates and coupling gave rise to inseparable mixture of diastereomers, we turned to chiral separations technology to provide the coupling partners in enantioenriched form. Following separation, the absolute stereochemistry of benzoquinalizadine fragment was assigned via chemical correlation. Coupling of the resolved materials furnished the natural product in an overall 13 step sequence from commercially available compounds
Classifying Simulated Event Cochlea Data Using an Artificial Neural Network.
No full textNeuromorphic engineering, a specialized engineering field inspired by the human brain, may remedy the fear of stagnation against Moore's Law. This law states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. Following in the footsteps of R. F. Lyon and C. A. Mead, an electronic cochlea has been selected to explore audio processing similarly to a human ear. While we do not have an electronic hardware cochlea, we have created a simple software model, inspired by cochlear models, in the programming and simulation language MATLAB. To do this, we first explored preexisting base code options and described the process of creating wholly original code. Initial tests of audio frequency analysis were done via spectrograms with a brief consideration of spike conversion for analysis. Ultimately, the project was completed by processing input signals through a cascade of simulated bandpass filters. The magnitude sampled from each filtered frequency range was plotted to represent different musical notes' ranges onto a 4x4 pixel image grid. These images were then prepped to be used in a neural network algorithm that mathematically uses them to progressively recognize musical chords
Can you get "clean" in dirty water? : a qualitative case study exploring the prison environment, basic needs, and the barriers to substance abuse rehabilitation.
No full textThe prison environment has historically been synonymous with criminality, brutality, and drug activity. Yet, offenders are expected to release from prison facilities clean from drug abuse and with a rehabilitated mindset, even though they have had little to no access to the basic needs necessary to successfully rehabilitate. Considering that one of the main purposes of corrections is rehabilitation, understanding how providing basic needs within the prison environment in which treatment occurred is an important factor in the motivation of an offender to move toward self-actualization. This study explores the prison environment, basic needs, and the barriers to substance abuse rehabilitation. In this research study, I employed a single qualitative case study design. Due to the qualitative design, I gathered rich, detailed data through the use of individual interviews, observations, and a focus group from the participants. Collecting such data allowed for the voices of the participants to be heard regarding their experiences with basic needs within the prison environment. The case study method also allowed the exploration of this problem within the bounded system of one substance abuse treatment program within one Louisiana prison. This qualitative case study was conducted to hopefully bring awareness and change to the lived experiences of the offenders. The results and implications of this study revealed the importance of providing basic needs within the prison environment to promote the motivation of rehabilitative change. The lack of these basic needs had the potential to thwart any desire to seek or make positive behavioral and life changes during treatment. On the contrary, providing these basic needs on some level allowed the offenders, in this case study, to feel safe from the temptation of drug and criminal activity, build positive relationships, raise self-esteem, set small goals, and focus on rehabilitative change. Although all basic needs were not fully met in the opinions of the participants, this study conveyed the potential impact providing basic needs during incarceration can have on the lives of the offenders, their families, and the community