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Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap the World: The Story of Two Groundbreaking Environmental Artists
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Leadership Emergence and Factors Preventing Emergence of Elders in the Churches of Christ in the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly
Get PDFThis study investigates the persistent absence of formally appointed elders in five Churches of Christ within Teshie in the Ledzokuku municipal assembly, Ghana, despite these congregations’ existence for over two decades. The research seeks to critically examine the factors contributing to the inability of long-serving leaders to align with biblical qualifications. Utilizing a case study methodology, the research examines leadership emergence within the congregations, exploring the discrepancy between tenure and adherence to scriptural standards, and emphasizing the causes and implications for leadership effectiveness and spiritual integrity that facilitate or obstruct the ordination of elders. The study employs a qualitative research design, collecting data through structured interviews with church ministers, key leaders, long-standing members, and heads of ministries and committees. An inductive approach, underpinned by grounded theory, guides the analysis, allowing themes related to leadership dynamics to emerge organically from the data. The data reveals a tension in church leadership development between minister-directed selection processes that emphasize pragmatic engagement and local community needs, and the biblical standards for eldership outlined in the Pauline epistles, which prioritize spiritual maturity and specific character qualifications. The limited literature on the emergence of leadership within the Churches of Christ in Ghana constrains the development of a robust theoretical framework and restricts background information and comparative analysis. This scarcity necessitates a reliance on primary data and alternative sources to build foundational insights and contextual understanding. Therefore, the interview framework draws on the scholarly literature on biblical leadership and contextualizes African leadership models and the historical context of Christianity and the Churches of Christ in Ghana. The findings underscore the influence of informal leadership structures, the difficulty in aligning with biblical standards for eldership, and the impact of cultural factors on congregational leadership development. The analysis offers insights into how these churches can reconcile their leadership practices with biblical expectations while considering cultural dynamics. The study recommends creating a streamlined guide to help these congregations develop effective leadership. This guide includes practical strategies for reassessing eldership criteria and establishing structured mentorship programs to nurture future leaders. The recommendations aim to cultivate a new generation of leaders capable of maintaining the congregations’ spiritual well-being, with implications that extend to church leadership practices beyond the Ledzokuku municipal assembly
Organizational Toxicity: Exploring Factors That Cultivate Toxicity in Air Force Maintenance Organizations and Their Impact on Enlisted Airmen
Get PDFWorkplace toxicity negatively impacts organizations and harms employees within those organizations. However, each organization is subject to various influences and contexts, and understanding toxicity within specific contexts provides practitioners with the knowledge of its origin, influential factors, and how to respond. The U.S. Air Force is rich in culture and subcultures; it is also subject to toxicity, which is affected by several military-unique factors. Yet, toxicity in the military has been primarily explored through the leadership lens with limited insights into other influential elements, such as followers and the workplace environment. Additionally, little attention has been placed on the effects of toxicity from the enlisted perspective or within a specific career field. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate the experiences of senior enlisted airmen in the U.S. Air Force maintenance career field who served under toxic leaders to better understand the social and environmental conditions that influence toxicity as well as any perceived psychological effects and experienced physiological outcomes. Through in-depth interviews, six senior enlisted members from active-duty aircraft maintenance squadrons shared rich data about their experiences with toxicity. The researcher used coding and thematic analysis to identify five major themes, including variations in understanding toxicity, workplace environment and its unique culture, destructive organizational behaviors, negative organizational functioning, and impacts on personal and professional well-being. This study’s findings remained aligned with previous research on toxic leadership and its outward effects but differed in describing the most influential factor affecting toxicity in a military setting. Participants suggested that the workplace environment, consisting of culture, structure, hierarchy, and external demands and pressures drove its leaders and the organization to be perceived as toxic. Furthermore, the nature of military service, its culture, and contractual commitments have limited service members’ ability to respond, escape, quit, or relocate. These constraints require various approaches to mitigating toxicity while building personal and organizational resiliency. Finally, this study found that workplace toxicity in maintenance can negatively impact recruitment and retention, discouraging others from seeking a career in maintenance or committing more years to it
Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 66, No. 2
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This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service
A Study on the SMARTS Executive Functioning Curriculum: Explicitly Teaching Executive Functioning Skills in a Fourth-Grade Classroom
Get PDFThe SMARTS executive functioning curriculum explicitly teaches executive functioning skills to students within a classroom setting. The purpose of this study was to explore what happened when the SMARTS executive functioning curriculum was implemented into a single fourth-grade classroom. This study specifically investigated perceptions of the SMARTS executive functioning curriculum. The participants of this study included 20 fourth-grade students, the classroom teacher, and the elementary school principal. The researcher used a survey, observations, and interviews to compile data. The qualitative data was analyzed using the constant comparative method, and the quantitative data from the student survey was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The data revealed four major themes: positive feelings towards the curriculum, perceptions of student improvements, room for growth, and students lack necessary skills
Exploring the Experiences of African American Female Students in Engineering: A Narrative Literature Review
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This narrative literature review delves into the experiences of African American female students in engineering, addressing their persistent underrepresentation in the field despite advancements in postsecondary education. By examining a broad range of research, the study explores the unique challenges faced by these students and investigates tools for their persistence and degree completion. The theoretical framework draws from intersectionality theory, emphasizing the intersecting identities of race and gender in shaping these experiences. Methodologically, a narrative literature review approach was employed, facilitating a comprehensive analysis of existing scholarship. Data collection involved rigorous criteria focusing specifically on empirical research or original analyses of African American women in engineering education. The review identified key themes, both interpersonal and intrapersonal, highlighting issues such as racism, sexism, lack of support, isolation, and the need to prove oneself. Additionally, the study uncovers tools for persistence, including family support, faith, engagement in student organizations, and a strong sense of self. By shedding light on these experiences and factors, the review contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by African American female students in engineering and offers insights for better support and recruitment strategies within STEM education.
Key terms: African American women, engineering education, underrepresentation, intersectionality, persistence, diversity
Using Self-Assessment Tools and Complementary Alternative Therapy for Chronic Migraines in Menopausal Women
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Migraine headaches are ranked as one of the highest disabling conditions in the United States. Women who are in the perimenopausal transition phase have a higher prevalence of disabling migraines that can result in a decreased quality of life, loss of income, decreased productivity, and a higher risk for emotional difficulties. The gap in practice is the lack of education on complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and the use of a migraine diary to recognize individual symptoms as a substitute or cotherapy with pharmacologic treatments. The purpose of this scholarly project was to improve clinical practice and outcomes for perimenopausal women who experience disabling migraines. Self-efficacy and prevention have not been well characterized in the epidemiology of the population in the past, but research has recognized the lack of education and self-awareness for further studies. The gap in practice was the lack of education on CAM and the use of a migraine diary to elicit individual symptoms as a substitute or cotherapy with pharmacologic treatments. The purpose of this scholarly project was to determine if using the Midas Screening tool and CAM therapy helped decrease migraine symptoms and increase the quality of life for the migraineur. Although not statistically significant due to the small number of participants, they did report an improvement in symptom awareness by utilizing the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) pre- and postscreening tool in addition to CAM therapy to decrease the impact of symptoms as measured by MIDAS. The replication of this study showed significant relief of migraine symptoms and improved quality of lif