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Building resilience, navigating crises since 2019: a phenomenological study of leadership factors influencing retail business owners in Lebanon
Get PDFThe Lebanese population and culture are recognized for their resilience when facing adversity withstanding events such as the Lebanese Civil War, and multiple country invasions. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of retail business owners from different geographical regions and retail types in Lebanon and to identify the leadership factors that kept them resilient while navigating the compounding crises since 2019. The leadership factors included leadership styles, strategies, and agility. The conceptual framework encompassed all leadership factors, the retail industry, cultural context, and resilience. Data for this hermeneutic phenomenology was collected through semi-structured interviews followed by document analysis of the 13 participants. Based on the findings, the study had four major conclusions. A combination of value-centered and adaptive leadership styles was prominent among the retail leaders in Lebanon, which led to collective resilience. The overlap of the strategies during the different phases of the crises affected resilience. High levels of agility coupled with reflective action nurtured resilience in a country in a constant VUCA state. Finally, the interplay of leadership factors resulted in the retail leaders’ collective and leadership resilience. So, from the conceptual framework, the researcher proposed the MIRA (Multifaceted Intercultural Resilience Approaches) Leadership model. Therefore, the findings and conclusions indicate that integrating the MIRA Leadership model into training and mentorship programs, and curriculums would benefit business schools, policymakers, and retail business owners to foster collective resilience. The study also encourages other researchers to conduct inclusive studies considering diverse geographic regions and participants, capturing a holistic perspective, and refining the model further
Religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: A personal bedrock of faith
Get PDFPersonal beliefs and values conjoin with professional training to influence clinical practice. This article examines the role of religion and spirituality (R/S) through the lens of the author’s personal experiences and illustrates the confluence of faith, belief, identity, and practice in professional life. An autobiographical “glimpse” introduces the author’s formative experiences as a Roman Catholic and illustrates how religious narratives furnished conceptions of suffering, forgiveness, and transcendence that contributed to authentic hope for the client. Although often seemingly silent, R/S may influence psychotherapy practice. Clinical supervision provides a context to examine these personal factors
Board Gender Diversity, CEO Turnover, and Firm Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms
Get PDFThis article examines recent literature on corporate boards and the interplay between director gender and CEO turnover and how it affects firm performance after CEO turnover. The primary focus is board gender diversity and CEO job embeddedness in entrepreneurial firms. This article discusses gender diversity and the frequency of CEO turnover. This paper finds that board gender diversity is associated with lower CEO involuntary turnovers and better overall performance in entrepreneurial firms. The article highlights how board gender diversity, especially in small firms, provides a unique pathway to create firm value and examines recent evidence on how gender diverse board decreases the likelihood of CEO turnover, thus saving small firms from costly CEO replacement and poor firm performance after the CEO turnover
Effectiveness of Frog Skin Secretions Against UV-B Radiation
Get PDFAs an increasing number of their species face possible extinction, amphibian populations have been steadily declining over the past decades (IUCN). While various factors have been suggested or proven to be partially responsible for this reduction, increased ultraviolet B radiation (UVBR) appears to be one of the more prominent explanations, especially when considering the continual thinning of the Earth’s ozone layer due to anthropogenic climate change. However, it has also been discovered that skin secretions, which are reported to function as a component of amphibians’ innate immune systems, may have an effect on UVBR (Cramp and Franklin). With this in mind, we wondered if the skin secretions of two local frog species, California tree frogs (Pseudacris cadaverina) and Pacific tree frogs (Pseudacris regilla), might be indicative of this. We hypothesized that a small glass slide consisting of an individual frog’s secretory layer would have a lower ultraviolet radiation reading than that of an unaltered glass slide, suggesting that a frog’s secretions protect it from a quantifiable amount of harmful UVBR. Using a consistently positioned UV meter, six frogs of each species were collected and tested independently at the streambank in Arroyo Sequit Park. Wavelengths of an individual’s secretions were recorded five separate times, with control measurements being taken before and after each trial. While nearly all secretions from both sampled species saw a slight decrease in UVBR levels when compared to the control readings, our findings were not significant enough to support our hypothesis, suggesting that amphibians’ skin secretions act as only a minimal deterrent to ultraviolet radiation
The Rise of ISIS: A Growing Threat to the World
Get PDFISIS has inflicted terror onto civilians in several ways, through ransoms, kidnapping, beheadings, mass shootings, and bombings. These acts of terror are funded through the internet. They use this tool as a mechanism to spread online propaganda and radicalize people, in addition to terrorizing civilians with cyberterrorism to collect money. This analysis also compares ISIS to other terrorist organizations, specifically in their online propaganda tactics and funding. Further, it will posit policy recommendations that are aimed at helping policymakers combat online terrorist activity. The goal should be making cyberspace safer for the public and increasing challenges for terrorists to conduct their activities, deterring them from using the internet. Livemap, cyber risk assessments, lawful hacking, and education among the public (specifically youth) are all potential solutions to mitigating online radicalization and cyberterrorism
A Case Study of Russian Cyber-Attacks on the Ukrainian Power Grid: Implications and Best Practices for the United States
Get PDFThis paper examines the rise of cyber warfare affecting power grid security, focusing on the vulnerabilities exploited in the Ukrainian power grid infrastructure by programs like BlackEnergy and CRASHOVERRIDE. It extends this analysis to similar vulnerabilities that may be in critical command and control systems of the United States\u27 power grids. The Sandworm and Electrum cyber-attacks on Ukraine\u27s grid are dissected, revealing the escalating threat to industrial control systems. Detailed exploits of the Radmin command-and-control software such using the plugin tool Mimikatz with NTLM and Kerberos for static and dynamic analysis, the CVE-2008-3431 DSEFix exploit, and the Win32/SSHBearDoor trojan are analyzed, alongside the unique nature of the Russian TDoS attacks and the use of KillDisk software. In the context of the United States cyber-energy policy, the paper highlights key initiatives like NERC\u27s bi-annual GridEx preparedness exercise, the CRISP public-private information sharing program, the American Public Power Association’s cybersecurity scorecard, and the NIST Cybersecurity framework. Emphasis is placed on the importance of application whitelisting, multi-factor authentication, proactive use of the Yara forensic tool, and SIP server rate limiting as defensive measures. The paper concludes by underscoring the evolving capabilities of foreign adversaries, the ambiguity in interpreting the scope and intent of cyber-attacks, and the necessity of a robust combination of intelligence, governmental, and civilian cyber capabilities to defend power grids against threats from nation-states and cybercriminals
Perceptions of classroom technology use among adult English learners
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to assess adult English Learners’ perceptions of using Microsoft Teams in classes. Specifically, the study aims to explore the strength and direction of the correlation between the elements of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and using Microsoft Teams in English language courses. This study addressed the following research question: What are the strengths and directions of the correlations between the elements of the technology acceptance model and the use of Microsoft Teams among adult ELs?
The researcher utilized a quantitative methods approach to investigate the relationship between TAM variables and the use of Microsoft Teams in an adult English course. An anonymous online survey questionnaire based on Alfadda and Mahdi’s (2021) research was used in the study through a secure online platform Survey Monkey and also the researcher sent out the link to colleagues to collect data from their adult EL. SPSS will be used to analyze the data using descriptive statistical techniques. The research participants were 195 adult English learners who utilized Microsoft Teams for their English learning during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2022. The researcher developed descriptive statistics for the Likert-scale survey items and used SPSS to run Person’s correlation coefficient to obtain more information on the relationships between the variables. The study’s descriptive statistics findings reveal a strong positive correlation between the effective use of Microsoft Teams and the attitudes and intentions of students regarding its usage.
As the results showed, the positive correlation can be used by educators as well as institutions to get more individuals to use Microsoft Teams as a useful tool for teaching English to adults
Rethinking interventions for dementia through a nonpharmaceutical lens: An analysis of five interventions
No full textThe future welfare of older adults is a worldwide concern. By 2034, it is estimated that individuals 65 and older in the U.S. will be 77 million. Consequently, this reality will impact healthcare facilities and increase Medicare and Medicaid costs, resulting in higher incidents of homeless older adults, children caring for parents, the need for more caregivers, and an increased number of older individuals experiencing various forms of dementia. To address these concerns, the current trend for treating the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease has been moving toward nonpharmaceutical interventions. Even though researchers have tapped into the benefits of several nonpharmaceutical treatments, there appears to be a constant debate on establishing which method is most effective. Deciding on best practices and methods to slow down and/or halt the progression of dementia is the gap this research needs to fill. To provide clarity on the topic, an analysis of alternative interventions to treat the onset of dementia is what this paper strived to achieve. The analysis involved comparing and contrasting the benefits of each intervention as well as illustrating the implications of the findings. In this regard, a systematic review was conducted examining the benefits of five nonpharmaceutical strategies; mental training, music therapy, technology usage, physical activity, and social interaction. Although findings revealed some form of improvement in each of the nonpharmacological interventions examined, the overarching theme appeared to lean toward providing mental stimulation. It was also not conclusive that physical activity prevented cognitive decline. More research is recommended
