8411 research outputs found
Sort by
Intercultural Communication in International Student Advisor-Advisee Relationships
Get PDFInternational Student Advisors are expected to have an understanding of the cultural norms of the students they advise. Intercultural competency is a key expectation in the roles and responsibilities of advisors. They can use tools and theories, such as Edward T. Hall’s Cultural Factors and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, to help them better understand and be better prepared for the advising needs of their students.
This research aims to have a better understanding of the extent and importance of intercultural communication and competency in international student advising. The data collected was from an advisor perspective and related to their experience with intercultural communication. The study suggests that advisors would like to be more intentional, mindful, and aware of students’ needs in their interactions with their advisees. However, factors such as limited resources, staff, and time inhibit this. Despite this, when it comes to incorporating intercultural communication theories and techniques into advising, the best way to truly learn and understand a student and their culture is to learn from them, through questions and conversation. The true intercultural learning comes not from trainings, workshops, and professional development, but instead comes simply from personal connections
Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence: A Case Study of Travis and Williamson Counties in Texas
No full textThis paper explores the current approaches to preventing and intervening in intimate partner violence [IPV] as understood by a sampling of the staff at two different organizations focused on IPV and located in Texas’ Travis and Williamson counties. The author interviewed four people and surveyed eighteen individuals via an online survey. The findings focus on the staff’s understanding of the conceptualization, application, and assessment of their approaches to IPV and discuss the political links, shifts in understanding, and areas of growth the staff identified.
Keywords: IPV, prevention, interventio
AFGHAN STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES AND CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
Get PDFThis study explores Afghan students’ academic experiences in pursuing graduate studies in the United States and contributes to the scarce literature on the adjustment experiences of Afghan students in the US. Data was obtained by employing a qualitative research methodology, particularly phenomenology, through individual interviews with four participants. The findings of this study reveal that the education these participants received throughout their schooling in Afghanistan was rote learning and teacher-centered. Studying in the US, Afghan students experienced a range of academic challenges (teaching methodologies, educational practices, language, research, and educational facilities). They were also confronted with non-academic challenges (social, cultural, psychological, food, and new environment) that exacerbated their academic challenges in the US. Despite the challenges, their education in the US was rewarding. Findings of this study present a list of recommendations to U.S. study abroad program organizers to provide support services that will help Afghan students succeed in their studies. Additionally, recommendations are provided to the Afghan students who are aiming to study in the US to overcome potential challenges in the US
Improving Access to Clean Water in Rural Ecuador: The Connection Between Willingness to Pay and Population Health
Get PDFClimate change is affecting social and environmental determinants of health through access to safe drinking water, safely managed sanitation systems, and access to health care services and the ability for individuals to break free from unsuitable circumstances. Ecological disturbances such as those caused by climate change can cause a shift in host vectors or a change in habitat that results in a greater likelihood of the pathogen coming in contact with humans. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and their accessibility to populations can directly impact a community’s vulnerability to diseases and limiting factors to increase economic growth. If rural communities in Ecuador gained access to safe water services their healthy life years would be improved compared to those accessing unsafe water by reducing the burden of a water-related disease. The intended outcomes of this project are to establish a willingness to pay (WTP) price that represents how much rural Ecuadorian communities are willing and able to pay for access to safe water services and to quantify how one’s healthy life years are affected. Lastly, this research speaks to the larger global correlation between WASH and climate change. As the range of climate change impact expands in intensity and frequency this directly impacts water and sanitation infrastructure, the quality and quantity of water sources and heightens favorable conditions for pathogens of communicable disease growth and reproduction increasing their rate of human infection and suitable environments. Measures that mitigate the risks of diseases include the implementation of safe and effective sanitation systems and drainage such as, construction, reforestation, expanded access to safe drinking water services and development of healthcare services with increased hygiene practices
Couvrant les Yeux, les Oreilles et la Bouche: How the Musée Royale de Batoufam Preserves Tradition and Culture for Multiple Audiences and Perspectives
No full textMuseums are important to study as a way of representing, preserving, and teaching culture. In this study, I wanted to explore how James Clifford’s exhibitionary complex, about the interactions of the viewer, the museum, and the represented culture, applies in the unique case of Musée Royale de Batoufam, a living site museum full of art and rich with tradition. In studying this, I examined the way different audiences use the museum and how the museum can preserve the idea of the coexistence of modernity and tradition, which is integral to Batoufam life, for all audiences. In conducting 20 interviews with actors from all three perspectives and 17 observations, I found that while currently Batoufam people preserve tradition orally and foreigners learn it through written form, the best preservation method is symbolic art in the museum which bridges the two forms of preservation and the two groups of people in the museum.
Les musées sont importants d’étudier comme une façon de représenter, préserver, et enseigner la culture. Dans cette étude, j’ai voulu d’explorer comment Le Complex d’Exhibition de James Clifford, à propos des interactions du voyeur, le musée, et la culture représentée, applique dans le cas unique du Musée Royale de Batoufam, une musée vivant de site avec beaucoup d’art et riche avec la tradition. En étudiant ça, j’ai examiné comment les audiences différentes utilisent le musée et comment le musée peut préserver l’idée de la coéxistance de la tradition et de la modernité, qui est essentiel pour la vie de Batoufam, pour toutes les audiences. En faisant 20 entretiens et 17 observations, j’ai trouvé que malgré que les Batoufams actuellement préservent leurs traditions orallement et les étrangers les apprennent à travers l’écriture, la meilleure méthode de la préservation est l’art symbolique dans le musée, qui rejoint les deux types de la préservation et les deux groupes dans le musée
The Hapless State of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in India: A comprehensive look at life and medical services for ALS patients in rural Himachal Pradesh
Get PDFAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to paralysis. The disease requires a high amount of medical intervention and interdisciplinary focus to achieve quality of life for patients. This study looks at ALS patient’s lifestyles, their access to these medical devices, Indian therapeutic approaches and policy that impacts patients in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. As caretakers have a critical part in the care for this disease, their lives were also considered in the case studies. It was found that ALS patients are not experiencing access to medical devices necessary for life because of physical accessibility barriers, financial barriers and a lack of knowledge about the disease. Knowledge of government healthcare financial policy and awareness of services offered by Asha Ek Hope to improve the access to these devices for ALS patients was not found in the study. Access to one of two pharmaceuticals was found to be achieved across the study group, however, the treatment methods for edaravone were inaccessible because of physical barriers and finances. With no known cure for the disease, the focus switches towards the Indian perspective on life and offering a death with dignity and comfort. It was found that ALS patients and their caregroups do not support passive euthanasia as determined by a 2018 Supreme Court decision while palliative care was found to be inexistent despite a dire need for this supportive care for families and patients living with ALS. The findings of this study shed light on the dire need for support of these patients in accessing devices and political advocacy. This study also brings public health awareness to the rare disease community in India—breaking down the public health and rare disease oxymoron
Intersections Between Health and Disability: A Case Study at Disha Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Get PDFThis study investigated intersections between health and disability by asking the question: how do community perceptions of disability at Disha: A Resource Centre for the Disabled in Jaipur, India relate to health and quality of life for a person with multiple disabilities? This study utilized a case study methodology. The researcher took qualitative interviews from six respondents in the immediate educational and familial support network of a 27-year-old man with multiple disabilities. An interview based, qualitative methodology was important for investigating the complexity of perceptions of multiple disabilities and health as intersecting identities. The responses were analyzed and reflected upon in this paper through the cross-cultural lens of the researcher. Upon analyses, many connections were found between the concepts of health and disability, particularly as they related to the social advancement of people with disabilities
What About the Environment?: Exploring the Neglected Third Dimension of Antimicrobial Resistance
Get PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most urgent and complex health risks of our time, with links to human health, animal health, and the environment. The majority of research and policy related to AMR, however, has been dedicated to human and animal health. The third dimension — the environment — has been relatively neglected. Conversations about this problem have begun, but gaps in understanding remain. This study explores the key barriers that have hindered developments related to the environmental aspect of AMR and some of the solutions that have begun to or could be utilized to overcome these barriers.
A grounded theory approach was used to critically analyze qualitative data from expert interviews and field observations, quantitative data from the Global Database for Antimicrobial Resistance Country Self Assessment, and supplementary data from scientific and gray literature. While this study revealed many barriers — including characteristics of the issue like its complexity, gaps in research, conflict with existing norms and priorities, leadership failures, and country-level differences — just as many, if not more, solutions were identified. These included awareness-raising campaigns, emphasis of the links between AMR in the environment and other prominent issues like climate change to boost funding for research, increased surveillance, the introduction of policies to enhance coordination and collaboration among international agencies and national ministries, the inclusion of environmental leaders in the development and implementation of plans to combat AMR, and technical and financial support for developing countries. These and other solutions will be crucial not just to overcoming the neglect of the environmental aspect of AMR, but also to tackling this global health threat as a whole
El empoderamiento económico de las mujeres y los programas del Estado argentino / The Economic Empowerment of Women and Programs of the Argentinian State
No full textEsta investigación estudia dos programas nacionales del Estado argentino en relación al empoderamiento económico de las mujeres. Tiene un marco específico de economía feminista que reconoce el cargo del cuidado y los trabajos no remunerados de las mujeres, especialmente en los sectores populares. Este marco de economía feminista está usada para analizar cómo los programas del Estado, los comedores nacionales y Hacemos Futuro, interactúan con el empoderamiento económico de las mujeres. A través de entrevistas y revistas de literatura, identificó las maneras en que las mujeres participan en cada programa y los impactos cada tiene. Se encuentra que los dos programas sirve el empoderamiento económico de las mujeres en algunas maneras, pero tienen una organización que no reconoce la economía del cuidado. Los comedores son espacios esenciales del cuidado en los barrios más pobres. Pero el Estado no remunera las mujeres en cargo de los comedores y este sigue patrones violentos de desigualdad de género en que el Estado beneficia del trabajo no remunerado de las mujeres en los comedores. Y en relación al otro programa Hacemos Futuro, el Estado use un marco socioproductico en vez de una política asistencial como los comedores. Mientra el programa de Hacemos Futuro tiene apoyos grandes para ayudar las mujeres entran el mercado de trabajo y ganan empoderamiento económico, no logra un reconocimiento de la economía del cuidado así que para benefician del programa depende de la capacidad externalizar el cargo de cuidado.
This research studies two national programs of the Argentine State in relation to the economic empowerment of women. It has a specific feminist economy framework that recognizes the position of care and unpaid work that is the responsibility of women, especially in the popular sectors. The feminist economy framework is used to analyze how the programs of the State, national food kitchens and Hacemos Futuro, interact with the economic empowerment of women. Through interviews and literature journals, I identified the ways in which women participate in each program and the impacts each has. It is found that the two programs serve the economic empowerment of women in some ways, but they have an organization that does not recognize the care economy. In relation to the food kitchen, they are essential spaces of care in the poorest neighborhoods. But the State does not remunerate women in charge of the cooking and management, and this follows violent patterns of gender inequality in which the State benefits from the unpaid work of women in the food kitchens. And in relation Hacemos Futuro, the State uses a socio-productive framework instead of a welfare policy like the food kitchens. While the Hacemos Futuro program has great support to help women enter the labor market and gain economic empowerment, they do not achieve recognition of the care economy, so to benefit from the program it depends on each woman’s ability to outsource their own charge of care
A Delicate Balance: The Effects of Habitat Type on Frog Communities: A three-pronged study examining the effects of differing habitat characteristics on anuran diversity at el Centro de Investigación Sumak Kawsay in situ, Ecuador
Get PDFWe conducted 60 hours of visual encounter surveys and 3 hours of calling surveys on 6 different habitat types near Sumak Kawsay in situ Reserva (SKIS) near Mera, Pastaza, Ecuador. We defined habitat types defined by two variables: type of forest and proximity to water. The aim of the study was to determine what effect each variable has on anuran community composition. We compared the effectiveness of the two survey methods as well. High anuran community dissimilarity was found between each habitat type surveyed, indicating that both forest type and proximity to water are important factors that shape species richness and relative abundance of anurans. We analyzed habitat characteristics and species life histories in order to determine the mechanisms for differences in frog communities among the habitats. We identify 3 habitat types as priorities for conservation based on high uniqueness: Primary dry, Primary wet, and Cultivated wet. As a supplement, vegetation preferences of frogs in the genera Dendropsophus were analyzed, and we found that they preferentially utilize broad leaf plants instead of cultivated grass as perching habitat. We also establish elevation records for 5 different species