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California Politics: A Primer
No full textUnderstand how California\u27s political system works with this concise text, thoroughly revised for the Sixth Edition. Renee Van Vechten presses the reader to think about how history, political culture, rules, and institutions conspire to shape politics today, and how they will determine the state of affairs tomorrow. From the structure of the state\u27s government to its local representatives, policies, and voter participation, California Politics: A Primer delivers the concepts and details students need.https://inspire.redlands.edu/oh_books/1009/thumbnail.jp
Clan and Tribal Perspectives on Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability: Indigenous Stories from Around the Globe
No full textFrom the Indigenous perspective, sustainability must be understood as a means of survival. In a climate of in-migration, clan and tribal communities have been forced to build sustainable solutions together to protect their sovereignty, recognition and mutual respect.
In the midst of a global pandemic that threatens the economic and social well-being of millions of people, this edited collection addresses the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of tribes, clans, and Indigenous cultures across national and global origins. Acknowledging that these peoples around the globe have addressed threats to their survival for millennia, the authors showcase examples of indigenous groups spanning South Africa, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bolivia and North America. Regional examples also come from Rwanda, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Easter Island, and Nunavit, Canada. Breaking fresh ground by shining a light on sustainability journeys from outside the global mainstream, this book demonstrates how sustainable recovery and development occurs in respectful collaboration between equals.https://inspire.redlands.edu/oh_books/1122/thumbnail.jp
Critical Recognition of the Experiences of Therapeutic Behavioral Strategist Voices in Addressing Student Trauma
No full textUsing narrative inquiry, this study aims to examine the role of therapeutic behavioral strategists (TBS) in addressing the impact of trauma to students who are in the primary and secondary levels of public education. This dissertation studies and amplifies the experiences of the participating therapeutic behavioral strategists (TBS) in the Rialto Unified School District. Six (6) therapeutic behavioral strategists are interviewed and the narrative data analyzed through the constructed lenses of critical consciousness, recognition and redistribution, and transformative learning theory. The paradigm shift from the traditional approach to trauma-informed care highlights the framework of best professional practices in appropriately responding to students experiencing trauma
Impacts of Major Storage Dams on the Sediment Transport in the Colorado River
No full textSince the construction of large dams along the Colorado River in the 1950’s, water quality and stream bed morphology have changed drastically impacting many species that are reliant on the Colorado River. The Colorado River is home to many endangered and endemic fish species, and understanding human impacts is critical for their survival. This project aims to answer the question: To what extent do major dams along the Colorado River, such as the Parker, Hoover, and Glen Canyon, impact sediment transport? Previous studies are focused mostly on singular dam impacts. This study compares the difference between different water quality variables of multiple dam sites. Sediment and water samples taken below and above the Parker, Hoover, and Glen Canyon Dams were used to analyze turbidity, grain size, and sediment load. Temperature and dissolved oxygen were measured on site. This study found that Glen Canyon Dam withheld a large component of the sediment load from downriver, while the other two dams also contributed to the decrease of sediment downriver. Turbidity and organic carbon levels decreased below dam locations as well. Temperature steadily rose downstream. From these results, the study shows that the main impact dams have on water quality are the reduction of suspended sediment load and organic carbon, and riverbed sediment grain size. These factors affect downstream benthic ecosystems by reducing habitat, decreasing desirable conditions for native species, and interrupting nutrient flow
The Last Four Decades of Wildfire Impacts on the Western Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) in Southern California
No full textWest of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, located in southwestern California lives an endemic and very iconic North American Mojave Desert species, the Western Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia). The Western Joshua Tree (WJT) is a keystone species in a healthy Mojave Desert ecosystem and provides environmental resources and shelter to species located within it. Over the last 40 years wildfires have been recorded to be one of the most negative factors impacting the WJT by having a high mortality rate in wildfire events and destroying their reproduction efforts. This study was conducted to contribute to a peer reviewed status report to list the WJT as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) of 1970 with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. All data used in this study was spatially analyzed using ArcGIS Pro ESRI-supported shapefiles illustrating 6.62 % (271,065 acres) of the WJT habitat has been burned over the past four decades. This study found that in Southern California the WJT habitat is being burned at an increasing rate and is being negatively impacted by California wildfires. Although there are conservation efforts to protect the WJT through national parks, national forests, and local NGO’s, the act of utilizing the CESA and listing the WJT as a threatened species must be enacted to ensure survivorship
The Incompatibility of Liberalism and Drug Criminalization
No full textAmerica’s conviction of nonviolent drug offenders has become rote. Outside of academics, there are few people asking where the state derives such a power. This essay questions whether a neutral liberal state can criminally punish a consenting adult for his drug use without violating its respect for individual autonomy. A liberal state which is neutral holds that there is a wide range of activities that different people derive satisfaction from, and that given this diversity, recreational behavior which is reasonable should not be criminalized. To determine what is reasonable, this paper consults Mill’s Principle of Harm and applies it to nonviolent drug use/possession. For a liberal, the burden of proof lies on the state to demonstrate that a particular action, irrespective of its popularity, cannot be permitted because it infringes the health or safety of others. After refuting justifications for criminalization, this essay concludes that the proscription of drug use is incompatible with the values of a neutral liberal society
Narrating Parents/Guardians’ Experiences: Advocating for Students on Individualized Education Programs
No full textThe purpose of this study was to uncover the narratives of parents/guardians with students on IEPs to determine their needs and perceptions about the IEP process. The goal of this study was to answer three research questions: 1) How do parents/guardians’ educational experiences affect their ability to navigate the educational system for their child?, 2) What supports are needed by parents/guardians of students with IEPs to support/advocate for their child’s education?, and 3) What are parents/guardians\u27 self-perceptions about their abilities to advocate for their students on IEPs? The researcher developed a narrative methodology design that involved interviewing participants who are parents or guardians of students currently on IEPs in in kindergarten to sixth grade.
Participants in the study were mothers with at least one student on an IEP. They participated in two interviews between February and December 2020. Interviews took place during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to school closures. With the exception of the first interview with Participant 1, all interviews occurred after the school closures. This had some effect on the responses of participants and may have affected the conclusions made. Through the interviews, participants shared their personal school experiences as well as their experiences with the IEP process. The researcher determined the correlation between parents/guardians’ education and their experience with the IEP process, what supports are desired by parents/guardians when working through the IEP process, and what parents/guardians\u27 perceptions of the process are. Parents/guardians’ overall were content with the IEP process as an overall system, but participants did share their struggles with the process and supports they wanted from their students’ schools
The Reality of Online Education Programs in Universities of Saudi Arabia Case Study on the Online Bachelor Program at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
Full text linkIn 2018, Saudi Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa ordered the country’s universities to discontinue online bachelor’s degree programs starting in the new academic year (Ministry of Education No: 143966, July 15, 2018). In one of his statements, Al-Issa said that the shutdown of these online educational programs was aimed at upgrading the quality of education by focusing on face-to-face classrooms. There was, however, no official investigation applied to online education in Saudi Arabia, neither about the decision to stop the programs nor focused on the quality of these programs. Further, it seems that educators and students alike are not happy with the decision, and they argue on social media outlets that the quality of these programs was equal to that of face-to-face classrooms. This research, thus, first conducts a qualitative study from a social constructivist perspective to investigate the reasons behind the decision to end the online bachelor’s degree programs. The second part of this research examines the students’ and faculties’ satisfaction with the online programs and brings their opinions about the decision to light in an academic study. The research found that, although there was an internal study that was conducted in the Ministry of Education before the decision to end online education, the results and methodology of that study are not available to the public. Further, the research concluded that although both students and faculty agree that online education has some problems, they also both agree that they had a good experience with online education, which has provided access to the educational experience for those who may otherwise not have been able to continue their education. Almost all interviewees disagreed with the decision to end the online education programs and recommended only fixing the existing issues
Addressing the Wicked Problem of English Learner Disproportionality by Examining Speech-Language Pathologists’ Beliefs: Applying Q Methodology to Special Education
Full text linkThe attribution of academic failure to an educational disability instead of a lack of English proficiency is one factor contributing to the disproportionate representation of English learners (ELs) in special education. As gatekeepers to special education, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must ensure that ELs found eligible for special education under the category of Speech and Language Impairment are truly those with an impairment due to Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or another developmental disability, not children exhibiting differences from standard English use due to cultural or linguistic differences or lack of English proficiency. However, many SLPs’ ongoing reliance on invalid procedures to make a determination about an EL’s language learning ability makes their ability to make appropriate determinations of special education eligibility problematic. This exploratory study hypothesized that factor(s) besides the lack of knowledge or resources as previously documented may be presenting a barrier to the fidelity with which SLPs perform bilingual assessments.
This study utilized Q methodology, a unique gestalt procedure whose aim is to reveal how configurations of themes are interconnected among a group of participants. A set of California school-based SLPs sorted a set of subjective statements about linguistic diversity, bilingualism, ELs’ learning potential, and the use of EL language assessment best practices. Sorts were intercorrelated and revealed 4 distinct profiles defined by their beliefs and attitudes. While areas of consensus among the 4 profiles were discovered, the profiles diverged in their beliefs about the importance and value of using EL assessment best practices, their perceptions of social pressure to utilize these best practices, their perceptions of ELs situated in either strengths-based or deficit thinking, and their perceptions of the degree of control they have over using EL assessment best practices. Results shed new light on the association of SLPs’ assessment practices with the issue of EL disproportionality and suggest ways to enhance the ability of pre-service educators, professional development providers, and school administrators to create targeted remedies for the “wicked” problem of EL disproportionality in special education
Role of Work and Family Factors in Predicting Career Satisfaction and Life Success
Full text linkThe mediating roles of work-family balance, job satisfaction and family satisfaction in work-family dynamics research has not been explored fully to delineate their probable intervening effects. Using spillover theory as the basis, the current study tests a model to identify the role of these factors in work-family conflict (and work-role ambiguity), career satisfaction and perception of life success. Responses obtained through an online survey from a final sample of 344 academic faculty, across different educational institutions in India, tend to suggest that work-family balance mediated work-family conflict and its potential influence on life success as well as career satisfaction, and also the relationship between work-role ambiguity and both life success and career satisfaction. While job satisfaction also showed similar results except for non-significant mediation between work-role ambiguity and life success, family satisfaction mediated only between work role ambiguity and life success. The importance of job satisfaction and work-family balance is highlighted in the context of reducing the negative impact of work-family conflict and work-role ambiguity on one’s career and life satisfaction. Results and their practical and theoretical implications, and future directions of research to further our understanding of work-family dynamics, etc., are discussed