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Aren\u27t Only Girls Secretaries…?”: Leadership Lessons From Women U.S. Secretaries of State
Get PDFAmerican political systems, predominantly steered by White males, often conform to masculine leadership paradigms derived from traditionally male-dominated domains like the U.S. government. Thus, it is vital to explore women’s roles in political leadership to foster a more comprehensive understanding of effective leadership.
The purpose of this study was to examine how women who have served as U.S. secretary of state exhibited leadership. Of the 71 people to have served as secretary of state, just three have been women: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Due to the complexity of gendered experiences, and the challenges of having direct contact with leading figures, I used biographical research as a means of data collection and a case study/cross-case analysis design paired with a constructivist grounded theory strategy as the method of inquiry.
Findings reveal Albright’s leadership is anchored in her Czech American heritage, unwavering optimism, and commitment to democracy. Her adept use of humor and direct communication facilitated diplomatic negotiations and fostered relationships on the global stage. Similarly, Rice’s leadership exemplified the complexities of leadership dynamics and the pursuit of personal empowerment within institutional structures. Her story served as a testament to the importance of fostering strong relationships, maintaining loyalty, and navigating power dynamics skillfully to wield influence effectively in high-level governance. Clinton’s leadership journey emphasized the impact of personal values and building connections on diplomatic engagement. Her implementation of smart power—combining traditional sources of power with innovative and inclusive methods—reshaped U.S. foreign policy, emphasizing the interconnectedness of various factors in addressing global challenges.
This study illuminated the role of identity in shaping leaders’ backgrounds, values, and objectives. It also emphasized their engagement with power, whether through personal authority, navigating established dynamics, or employing strategic approaches to achieve diplomatic goals. Moreover, the importance of nurturing meaningful relationships emerged as a common theme among the three leaders.
Practical implications for future leaders included prioritizing genuine relationships, strategic diplomacy, and adeptly navigating power dynamics within institutional structures. By examining these women’s leadership experiences, the study contributed to a more nuanced understanding of effective leadership beyond traditional masculine frameworks
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogical Practices in Early Literacy Classrooms: A Qualitative Case Study of Two Kindergarten Classrooms
Get PDFStudents who attend school possess their own “funds of knowledge” from their home life and prior experiences (Moll et al., 1992). Yet, learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are not viewed from a strengths-based perspective but rather a deficit perspective. The deficit perspective perpetuates the oppression and marginalization of students of color and multilingual students. Using a qualitative comparative case study research design, the study is rooted in the tenets of Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 2000), Critical Literacy, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy as it sought to uncover insights into asset-based instructional strategies that allow multilingual learners opportunities to participate equitably while developing essential foundational early literacy skills. As such, the following questions guided the study: What literacy instructional practices already exist in primary-aged classrooms that can draw from multilingual learners\u27 assets? How does the density of multilingual learners in the classroom impact literacy practices?
As a result of the data collection, it was apparent that multimodal supports, English Language Development, and Creating Identity and Agency through Inclusive Classrooms were asset enhancing strategies already occurring in kindergarten classrooms. What the study also revealed was a discrepancy in the number or frequency of strategies being used in the classroom based on the density of multilingual learners in the classroom. The findings and analysis section discuss recommendations for state and district policies, and implications for district professional development
Ripple of Hope: Understanding the Lived Experience and Academic Achievement of Latinx Students at Arrupe College and Dougherty Family College: A Case Study
Get PDFOne of the most common and important entry points into higher education for Latinx and other underrepresented students is through community college. However, national completion rates for Latinx community college students have been trailing their white peers. This gap in academic achievement has prevailed since the 1990s. The trailing rates of degree completion for Latinx students can lead to lower lifetime salary earnings, lack of career advancement, greater risk of losing employment, and an increased chance of living in poverty. However, a successful community college model may be seen as a disruptor in the educational sector due to its much higher completion rate for Latinx students: the model at Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago and Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of Latinx students and explore what contributed to their academic success at Arrupe College and Dougherty Family College. A qualitative study was undertaken using foundational texts and frameworks on critical race theory and Latino critical theory to discover insights into the academic success of Latinx students at the two institutions. Factors such as community cultural wealth and critically relevant pedagogy were also reviewed to see if they contributed to student success. Findings of the study revealed a significant correlation of community cultural wealth, culturally relevant pedagogy, and Garcia’s six practices for Hispanic-serving institutions, which provided the theoretical framework for Latinx academic achievement at Arrupe College and Dougherty Family College
The Rhythms and Rituals of a Sacred Epistolary: Expressing my Experiences in Holistic and Embodied Ways
No full textThis dissertation offers readers a spiritual and intellectual journey through the Saturday Morning Letters, an autoethnographic exploration grounded in endarkened feminist epistemology and the improvisational move—tarrying.
I join Dillard (2006), who argued “our methodological choices are spiritual choices, interrelated, and whole” (p.86). Therefore, I offer three interlinked manuscripts to present this work rooted in Black women\u27s onto-epistemologies, concerned with Black womanhood, embodiment, and spirituality.
The first paper traces the lineage of Black women\u27s intellectual legacy, positioning Saturday Morning Letters, a ceremonial and digital letter-writing project within the continuum of Black feminist scholarship and public intellectualism. It sets the foundation for a study that not only interrogates historical and contemporary forms of knowledge production but also reimagines them through the praxis of personal and communal liberation.
The anthology presented in the second manuscript is the heart of the project, a compilation of letters written to my co-journeyers (readers) that weave together my multifaceted narratives. This manuscript serves as both a reflection on and a celebration of the communal bonds forged through the act of contemplative storytelling, which underscores the project\u27s role in co-creating a shared space for spiritual dialogue and reflection.
The third manuscript critically examines the methodology of surrender as a guiding principle in the conceptualization, writing, dissemination, and reception of the letters. By analyzing the tenets of love, compassion, reciprocity, and ritual, it highlights how the project facilitates a unique form of communal solidarity through sincere connections and healing.
Collectively, these manuscripts contribute to the discourse on autoethnography, critical qualitative methodologies, and Black feminist scholarship. Saturday Morning Letters\u27 significance lies in its sincerity, methodological innovation, and cultural congruence. May this work serve as permission for us all to collectively embrace the wisdom that shapes our individual and shared realities
Postpartum Depression Screening in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital
Get PDFPOSTPARTUM DEPRESSION SCREENING IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT A TERTIARY PEDICTRIC HOSPITAL
By
Abbie Kim Bates
Razel Bacuetes Milo, PH.D. DNP., FNP-C
Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a treatable mood disorder with an onset at 1-3 months after childbirth. In the United States, PPD occurs at a rate of 1 in 8 women and as high as 1 in 5 women in parts of the country. In unique populations such as the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), PPD rates can be as high as 40%. The treatment rate for PPD is 50% with a sizable percentage of PPD going undetected.
EBP Change Project Process: In this EBP project, 58% of the NICU nurses in the unit participated in 1-hour PPD education during a staff meeting on two different days. The content of the nurses’ education included the following: PPD prevalence rates, maternal mortality rates, symptoms of “baby blues” compared to PPD, types of treatments, the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Screening tool, hormones that affect PPD, and the Postpartum Health Alliance brochure. Before implementing the project, the NICU social worker was able to identify policies and procedures to handle the potential situation of a mother with suicidal ideation during their PPD assessment. An eight-question Nurse Knowledge Measurement survey scored on a Likert scale was used before and after the education offerings. A final 2-questions nurse survey was administered 3 months post-education to measure clinical practice change.
EBP Outcomes: The combined two-day average difference comparison indicates the education increased the nurses’ knowledge of postpartum depression and screening. The total possible average score of the nurse education survey was 40 points. The average score of the pre-education survey was 26.5 and the post-education survey 31.5, an average difference of 5 points. For the final nurse survey to assess the change in the clinical practice, 18 nurses responded. The results indicate a 22.22% increase in nurses providing PPD education to parents and a 55.56% increase in social work referrals for PPD assessment during the 3-months after the education offering
Keep Our Children Smiling: Fluoride Varnish Education in the Pediatric Primary Care Setting
Get PDFBackground: Dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease. In early childhood, it is associated with many negative factors such as pain, loss of teeth, and impaired growth. Fluoride varnish (FV) is a protective resin coating treatment that is reimbursable by most insurances and is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), and the American Dental Association (ADA) due to its high efficacy in preventing dental caries. FV is a low-cost treatment that can be easily applied in 1-2 minutes during a well-child visit in the primary care setting, where children are seen frequently by primary care providers in the first few years of life.
Objectives: To educate pediatric primary care providers on FV treatment and increase their willingness to provide these treatments in clinical practice, therefore setting the foundation for FV implementation in the pediatric primary care setting.
Methods: A one-time FV treatment educational session was given to pediatric primary care providers. A pre- and post-survey was provided to the providers to measure knowledge level and willingness to provide FV treatment before and after the educational session.
Results: Results concluded that the pediatric primary care providers had and increased knowledge of FV treatments and were more willing to offer these treatments in their clinical practice at the 1-week post-education mark.
Conclusions: Future research is needed to further assess the implications and outcomes of FV education and treatment implementation in the pediatric primary care setting
Late Summer Plankton Community Variation in Near Shore Environments
Get PDFPhytoplankton communities have profound impacts on ecosystem health and function. In the Southern California Bight, hydrographic conditions play a key role in determining the composition of phytoplankton communities. This study conducted hydrographic and plankton community analyses of the nearshore environment off Dana Point, California, during late September. Similar to other studies in the SCB during fall, we observed weakly stratified, oligotrophic waters dominated by dinoflagellates under 10 μm. However, the recorded plankton abundances onshore vs. offshore deviated from the “green ribbon” typical of the SCB, in which phytoplankton are much more abundant onshore than offshore. Additionally, while the onshore community was dominated by Ceratium furca, the offshore community was dominated by Lingulodinium polyedra. L. polyedra is known to form Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), and the presence of this toxic dinoflagellate appears to have impacted community dynamics in the nearshore environment off Dana Point
Cloud Server\u27s Impact: The Environment and Supply Chain
Get PDFIn our data-driven society, the exponential growth of data generation presents both opportunities and challenges. Each day, 328.77 million terabytes of data are produced, necessitating vast storage solutions. Traditional data storage methods, such as HDDs and SSDs, have given way to the revolutionary Cloud, which offers scalable and accessible storage options. However, the environmental impact of Cloud servers, characterized by significant energy and water consumption, raises concerns. This chapter examines the evolution of data storage, the environmental ramifications of Cloud servers, and the sustainability efforts of Cloud companies. The chapter also explores the transformative effects of the Cloud on global supply chains, enhancing efficiency and enabling remote work. As businesses and individuals, it is crucial to recognize the environmental impact of our data storage practices and adopt responsible approaches to ensure a sustainable future
Valuing Conscience and the Conscientious Provision of Abortions
Get PDFIn this paper, I hope to do two things. First, I want to show that we should take the ability of physicians to act on their conscience seriously, because normally something important is at stake in allowing them to do so. That’s true regardless of what their views are on abortion. There is value in allowing physicians to act conscientiously, whether that action involves the conscientious provision or conscientious refusal of abortions. I will argue that the value of acting conscientiously supports a system that regulates these two types of action symmetrically. Here, I will draw on a theory about the value of conscience that I develop fully in my book, Conscience in Reproductive Health Care.
The value of conscience is not all that is relevant, however, in deciding how to regulate the conscientious refusal and provision of abortions; there are other values at stake. The second main claim that I want to make concerns this fact and focuses on the value of physicians using their power as physicians appropriately. Drawing from a moral theory I defend in the book about the professional role of physicians, I will argue that they abuse or misuse the power they have in this role when they conscientiously refuse abortions; however, this outcome does not obviously occur when they conscientiously provide abortions. Since their conscientious conduct deserves less protection when it involves an abuse or misuse of power, I am led to conclude that the regulation of the conscientious refusal and conscientious provision of abortions should very likely be asymmetrical, in a way that favours conscientious provision. I call this regulatory scheme, the “new asymmetry.”
My recommendation in favor of the new asymmetry is somewhat tentative; I do not support it fully, because the normative issues here are complex. I also very much doubt that unfriendly states would ever adopt it. I doubt, in particular, that they would ever legally protect the conscientious provision of abortion while maintaining that abortion should be illegal. Given that my position is unlikely to have any purchase with them, I close by discussing what sort of conscientious conduct physicians could engage in when faced with such a legal regime (i.e., one where legally-protected conscientious provision is not an option). Ideally, in my view, they should participate in what Matthew Wynia calls “professional civil disobedience,” which is “collective civil disobedience by a professional group” or groups. In this case, the relevant groups could be any number of medical organizations that have spoken out against the abortion bans (e.g., the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, etc.).
The paper will proceed as follows. To begin, I will clarify how I am using the terms ‘conscientious refusal,’ ‘conscientious provision,’ and ‘civil disobedience.’ I will then discuss the importance of valuing conscience in medicine. Finally, I will present moral reasons in favor of the new asymmetry, and how ideally physicians should react when the states they live in fail to adopt this regulatory option