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Internationalizing Courses: A Case Study of Community College Faculty.
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to faculty commitment to internationalization and the approaches faculty take to internationalize their courses at a community college. “While community colleges are historically focused on serving their local communities, the local community has become increasingly global, as community businesses expand overseas, immigration flows increase the ethnic diversity of towns, and worker mobility is an expected reality” (Green & Siaya, 2005, p. 1). Institutions of higher education in the United States recognize the need to internationalize their campuses, and faculty are encouraged to internationalize their courses to prepare students to serve as global citizens. This qualitative study was based on interviews with key faculty members who were actively engaged in the process of internationalization on a south Texas community college campus and in their classrooms. Themes that emerged in an analysis of the resulting data are presented and related to the research questions and professional literature. Conclusions were drawn and general recommendations were made with specific recommendations made to administrators and faculty
Deconstructing the Corrido\u27s Validity: The Transformation of the Corrido Into the Narcocorrido
Get PDFThe classic corrido is a part of Mexican tradition and is woven into Mexico\u27s rich cultural history. Listeners have endeared corridos for generations simply for the storytelling. They characterize small Mexican communities and their iconic heroes and represent the hope and courage that they must have in the face of injustice, oppression or danger. The protagonist in the corrido, commonly possessing the characteristics of Robin Hood, is a constant theme. This hero character also meets with an untimely death, usually the result of betrayal. The heightening of the element of conflict and violent death has transformed the classic corrido into the narcocorrido. It is often compared to American rap and the hip-hop music genre, glorifying violence, corruption and illegal activities. As with the classic corrido, the narcocorrido also has its icons, although some become icons through self-proclamation by commissioning the ballads. This study explores the content of the corrido and its role as the narrative of Mexican culture. Through in-depth video recordings of interviews in the field, the researcher gathers information on stories, folklore and personal experiences associated with the corrido
Community Participation in the Education of Young Children
Get PDFMany young children from low-income families are prepared for kindergarten through a well established, federally designed and funded preschool education program called Head Start. This paper explores how a program blending education, health, and social interventions is successful in a school-based environment. A Head Start program on the Texas-Mexico border is then described as part of a reciprocal learning partnership with a health professions program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Through the example of Head Start, occupational therapy students become immersed in issues of social policy, social justice, and the interdependence of health and education in addressing the needs of low-income children and families
The War on Terror- Or the Terror that Leads to War
Get PDFThe most avowedly religious and Christian of all the developed nations, America is also a country perennially ready to answer the call to arms, disproportionately disposed to wage war against other nations and a wide range of social ills, and habituated to justifying these crusades and campaigns by casting them as part of some cosmic battle against the forces of evil and sin. An apocalyptic strain, which has long shaped America\u27s religious imagination, is often used to mobilize an unreasonably frightened public into unnecessary and counterproductive wars and to demonize internal or external groups so as to justify violations and abuses of their rights and dignity. The present war on terror offers a classic example of the use of fear and apocalyptic theology to manipulate Americans to wage an unnecessary and counterproductive war, and it challenges Christian theology to find other ways to interpret and respond to all measures of threats facing our nation and worl
Using the Competing Values Framework to Compare Leaders\u27 Roles, Managerial Activities/Behaviors, and Organizational Culture Between Generations of Family Business in Taiwan
No full textThe purpose of the study was to identify, describe, and compare perceptions of leaders’ roles, managerial activities/behaviors, and organizational culture between generations of family businesses using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) in Taiwan. A secondary purpose of the study was to further explore the suitability of the use o f CVF instruments in Taiwan. Taiwan is a small country going through a process of Westernization and modernization, it is inevitable for Taiwanese to be exposed to Western leadership concepts. As a successor (second generation), the researcher is more aware of the differences between Western and Chinese leadership, organizational culture, and the researcher struggles to integrate the two. The researcher realizes that neither is inherently good nor bad, but the researcher also understands that the social trend toward Westernization is moving the business culture away from reliance on family friends and personal relationships The participants were 275 leaders of family businesses of the Construction Development Association in South Taiwan. A quantitative methodology was used to conduct this study. Data was collected based on the responses to Chinese translations of the instruments: Competing Values Leadership Assessment (CVLA), Managerial Behavior Instrument (MBI), Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), and Demographics Data Survey Instrument (DDSI). Descriptive and inferential statistics, including Levene’s test of homogeneity, independent samples /-test, and one-way ANOYA were used for data analysis. Several major findings were identified. First, the first generation identified their roles as monitor, coordinator, director, and producer; identified their activities as control and compete; identified their behaviors as expect accurate work, control projects, and show strong work ethic; identified their perceived current organizational culture as hierarchy and market. Second and third generations identified their roles as facilitator, mentor, innovator, and broker; identified their activities as collaborate and create; identified their behaviors as develop people, acknowledge personal needs, encourage participation, inspire people, and anticipate customer needs; identified their perceived current organizational culture as clan and adhocracy. These findings are consistent with Cameron and Quinn’s (1999) competing values framework theory. These results support the use of these instruments for studies measuring leaders’ roles, managerial activities/behaviors, and organizational culture between generations in family business in Taiwan. Second, first generation still desired organizational culture in the hierarchy and market; second and third generations had balanced scores in all organizational cultures. This result indicates that first generation prefers the comfort of past visions, the safety of old routines; they enjoy the fixed power of their positions. Most second and third generations had higher educational levels bringing a greater opportunity for exposure to Western leadership styles. Because of the difference between generations in educational level, when younger generations take over management from the older generation, conflict may arise between generations
Leading Distance Learning: Possible Differences in Subjects Enrolled in Online and Traditional Instruction.
No full textThe purpose of this study was to compare three classes of students enrolled in a traditional Principles of Accounting course to their distance learning counterparts. Both groups were exposed to the same teaching material and were taught by the same instructor. Both groups were given equal access opportunities to the instructor beyond class meetings. The groups were compared on items such as final course grade, attrition rate, behavior types, and demographics. There was no significant difference in final course grades or in attrition rate between the online and traditional students. However, there was a significant difference in the self-reported behavior types between the online and traditional students. The descriptive statistics illustrated differences between the online and traditional students in most of the demographics including gender, ethnicity, class level, marital status, number of children, employment status, and age. Less academic socialization appeared to be of very little concern to the online students. Scholars planning professional preparation courses in a distance modality may benefit from this research
Recreational Motivation, Sensation Seeking, and Recreational Involvement of Taiwan\u27s Adventure Recreation Participants.
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to investigate the relationship among recreational motivation and sensation seeking as well as the recreational involvement among adventure recreational participants in Taiwan. The field of adventure recreation has been studied for a long time in some parts of the world; however, in Taiwan, this field of research has been explored for only a few years within limited areas. Most current studies in Taiwan have focused on only one single sport, such as rock climbing, scuba diving, and surfing. In Taiwan, adventure recreation still has many dimensions that need to be studied. This research used a quantitative approach to investigate the relationships among individual behaviors of sensation seeking and recreational motivation and recreational involvement among the adventure sports of Paragliding, Mountaineering, Scuba Diving, Surfing, and Rock Climbing and demographic characteristics in Taiwan. The survey instruments included the Recreation Experience Preference (REP) by Driver (1976) to measure recreational motivation; Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) by Zuckerman (1994) to measure sensation seeking ability; and Involvement Profile Scale (IPS) by Havitz and Dimanche (1997) to measure the levels of recreational involvement. A stratified random sample collection method was used with 416 adventure participants. Factor analysis was conducted to ensure each item presented its own factor; Cronbach’s alpha was used to verify reliability. In the major focuses of this study, participants’ recreational motivation, sensation seeking, and demographics served as the independent variables while the recreational involvement served as the dependent variable. The result showed that: (a) there was no significant correlation between demographic characteristics (gender, age, occupation, marital status, education, salary, year(s) of participation, skill level, frequency, expenditures, and travel time), (b) age, gender, education, year(s) of participation, and skill level were significant predictors of sensation seeking; (c) age, skill level, and frequency were significant contributors to recreational involvement; (d) recreational motivation of relaxation and interaction with peers were significant predictors of recreational involvement; (e) thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, and susceptibility to boredom were significant predictors of recreational involvement; (f) recreational motivation and sensation seeking were significant predictors of recreational involvement; (g) age, marital status, year(s) of participation, skill level, and frequency were dependent of the level of recreational involvement
From Operations to Performance: The Evolution of Chief Information Officers in Higher Education
No full textThe purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify the technological expertise, professional experience, and academic credentials of higher education CIO’s, and (b) to understand how CIOs perceive their contribution to the organization using Baldrige Criteria 4: measurement, analysis, and knowledge management.
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) play a vital role in managing technology in higher education institutions. The field of informational technology (IT) has changed dramatically in recent decades and has presented a great challenge to those involved in technology leadership. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify the technological expertise, professional experience, and academic credentials of higher education CIO’s, and (b) to understand how CIOs perceive their contribution to the organization using Baldrige Criteria 4: measurement, analysis, and knowledge management. This exploratory study employed a mixed method approach— sequential explanatory strategy— and both survey and interview techniques were involved. The findings of the study showed that the majority of the CIOs in this study had: approximately 10 years of CIO experience; up to 25 years of experience in higher education; extensive technological expertise in all areas except outsourcing; and CIOs grew out of other roles in higher education. Most CIOs felt comfortable with their understanding of internal organizational concepts such as culture, but not as comfortable with understanding external forces such as competition. CIOs perceived their contribution to the organization primarily through responding to changing needs and providing opportunities for innovation, and there was lower involvement in and importance of selecting, collecting, reviewing, and analyzing data related to key organizational aspects
Women in Positions of Leadership and Gender-Specific Emotional Intelligence Attributes
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative research study devoted to researching women executives, was to take Goleman’s EQ leadership theory and Bar-On’s gender-related emotional intelligence research to another level by specifically focusing on the possible relationships between women in positions of leadership and gender-specific emotional intelligence attributes. Previous studies by Goleman (1998, 2000, 2004) and Bar-On and Handley (1999) explored emotional intelligence (EQ) as it relates to leadership development and success in organizations. EQ has gained acceptance and validity in describing leadership styles and capabilities, and women are recognized as being equally as emotionally intelligent as men. The research was question: is there a relationship between what has been defined as gender-specific EQ attributes and women who hold positions o f leadership? Bar-On’s EQ-i self-report instrument was used for EQ assessment of the 114 participants to explore the research question: is there a relationship between what has been defined as gender specific EQ attributes and women who hold positions of leadership? Findings confirm that EQ differences exist between age groups, which are consistent with Bar-On’s (1999) model. However, unlike Bar-On’s (1999) model which indicated that EQ improves with maturity to the age o f 50, but may decline thereafter, this study found that EQ continued to improve in those participants over the age of 50, as those in the oldest age group, 61-74, obtained the highest EQ scores. Additionally, participants in the youngest age group had scores that generally supported Bar-On’s (1999) premise that such individuals would in fact have EQ strengths in those attributes identified as female gender-specific, i.e., empathy and social responsibility. Similarly, these participants scored low on the male gender-specific attributes of stress tolerance, self confidence, and adaptability. Significantly although with variances, however, the female executives in the 29-40, 41- 50, 51-60, and 61-74 age groups self reported strengths in all o f the attributes identified as crucial areas o f EQ for leaders
The Future of Television: An Analysis on the Impact of the Internet on Both National and Local Television
Get PDFTelevision has served as the most influential medium in the 20th century. Its popularity soared as programming developed on broadcast TV in the 1950s. Like television, the Internet was developed slowly in stages, over a number of years. Today, both mediums are widely used. However, more people are starting to read, view and download television news and entertainment content on the Internet. In order tor the major networks and local TV stations to transition in the media broadcasting industry, station websites have become a requirement, so viewers may have the alternative to watch television on the Internet. This transition has resulted in many changes for the network\u27s and local TV station\u27s news, entertainment and advertising practices. In this thesis, the author will research, analyze, identify, compare and discuss the changes networks and local TV stations have undergone due to the influences from the Internet. A short history of television and the Internet will be provided, to include the adoption of interactive television websites on the Internet. The researchers\u27 areas of primary concentration will consist of news and entertainment content and video streaming, along with advertising. The purpose of the research is to explore the current TV and Internet convergence on a national and local level