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Sākshi: The Transnational Consciousness of Second-Generation Indian American Teachers
No full textThe United States is increasingly populated by first- and second-generation Asian immigrants, while nearly 40% of New York State minors live with at least one immigrant parent. Immigration is a politically-charged topic. There is a persistent lacuna regarding immigration in teacher education, despite the fact that teachers’ attitudes about immigration impact how they teach about immigration and immigrants. Yet, discussions about diversifying the profession rarely move beyond race or include transnationalism or religion. When immigrant teacher voices are amplified, the focus is often on first-generation immigrants’ struggles with acculturation and English language acquisition. Teaching for inclusion and social justice seldom recognizes or incorporates the knowledges of second-generation immigrant teachers. This study is theoretically grounded in transnational feminism, transnational literacy, and decoloniality; it recognizes the United States as an imperialist, settler colonial nation that promotes and forces its image upon other countries and people from other countries, often in the name of multiculturalism, justice, and humanitarianism. Most Indian Americans are not Christian (in contrast to the majority of immigrants from East Asia); this gave significant cause to disaggregate the category of Asian American and discover if the transnational consciousness of second-generation Indian American teachers might offer unique insights into the intersection of immigration, immigrant experiences, and inclusive education. Four New York City-based teachers volunteered to participate in the study. Data was collected over the course of seven months in one-on-one interviews, group dinners, and in a private WhatsApp group. The teachers articulated asset-based views on immigrants, with an emic understanding of the factors that animate acculturation and resistance to assimilation. Their experiences and knowledges were embedded within transnational social fields that were locally grounded. The participants’ transnational consciousness illuminated dominant epistemic norms in school, media, and society, including: individualism; monotheistic, Christian epistemic normativity; and a persistent colonial gaze on Hinduism and India. None of the participants had explored their immigrant knowledges as a part of their teacher education experiences. The study indicates that further engagement with the knowledges and transnational consciousness of second-generation immigrant teachers would enrich teacher education practices and research, and theorizing about social justice education
Evaluating Transitioning U.S. Military Personnel – Levels of Positionality and Hope Toward Civilian Sector Acculturation
No full textEVALUATING TRANSITIONING US MILITARY PERSONNEL – LEVELS OF POSITIONALITY AND HOPE TOWARD CIVLIAN SECTOR ACCULTURATIONTrident at American InterContinental University [2020]Contemporary peer-reviewed research universally contends suicide manifests as a result of a series of complex interactions between risk and protective factors, at mixed and varied stages, and at multifaceted levels. Clinical advancements in predictive modeling platforms addressing individual likelihood toward suicidal ideation or suicide among transitioning U.S. military service members, identifying root attributions remain elusive. Attempts addressing such over the previous decade has witnessed, DOD, Veterans Affairs and Veterans Health Administration collaborative progression toward establishing a coherent operational infrastructure for modeling predictive prevention strategies. Yet despite lauded efforts and strengthened collaboration, nationwide estimates identify 20-22 military service members succumbing each day from suicide. Particularly troubling, of the total active duty and veteran population, the cohort identified as most vulnerable is the population identified as within the first three months of transition from military service commitment to the civilian sector. Among numerous studies examining various approaches to developing risk assessment, predictive modeling, or varied-level intervention practices, few, if any, have evaluated such likelihood predictive models addressing this vulnerable cohort population. More recent research studies have sought to achieve greater understanding of the military-to-civilian transition cycle and identify plausible factors contributing to successful transition. Research exploring challenges associated with acculturation is prompting DOD/VA stakeholders to actively engage community-based non-profit organizations. As an integral part of the stakeholder population, at present, there are more than 45,000 nonprofit Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) registered with the IRS, identified as dedicated to providing services to transitioning veterans and their families. Each of these organizations, at times, collaborate or compete to provide a wide array of services ranging from holistic health and well-being support services to education, training and employment assistance. As VSOs collegially compete to provide such services, each organization strives to develop and establish innovative practices to advance evolution of the TAP ecosystem. It is within this context that a considerable portion of VSOs have directed focus on processes that act as a force-multiplier for DOD/TAP to: a) identify/mitigate transition stress or stressors; b) anticipate or predict transition vulnerabilities; and c) measure for predictive likelihood as to positive progression toward acculturation
Succession Success in Family Business in Ghana
No full textSome FOB leaders lack effective strategies to successfully transition a family-owned business (FOB) from one generation to another. Seventy percent of family-owned businesses (FOB) fail to transition from the first generation to the second generation. Guided by the theory of planned behavior as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the business strategies that three FOB leaders used to achieve a successful transition of a FOB from one generation to another. This study included three FOB leaders in Ghana who successfully sustained their business operations after leadership succession. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews and member checking. Methodological triangulation of data sources such as interview transcripts, notes, and reviews of publicly available data from their Internet websites and member checking augmented the findings credibility and trustworthiness. Data analysis included word frequency analysis, coding of related phrases, and generation of themes. The data analysis results revealed three themes: successor selection between interest and commitment, family values and organization’s culture, and transferring knowledge and experience. A key recommendation is for FOB leaders to prudently implement successor selection strategies in choosing the person who displayed the highest interest, commitment, and qualifications to become the new leaders of the FOB. The potential positive social change implications include stable employment opportunities, a better standard of living for employees and their families, and more investments in communities by FOB leaders
The Versatility and Performance of Neural Networks for Digital Signal Data
No full textWith the significant increase of available computation power in recent years, the study and applications of data are becoming a growing staple in a variety of fields. The increasing availability of data and computational resources also requires an increasing demand for highly intelligent individuals who can leverage mathematical and statistical ideas to propose new groundbreaking applications in an attempt to solve challenging problems. In recent years, there have been many newly proposed models that perform at such high levels for the specific task that they can achieve better results than a trained professional. A common ground for these models is that a lot of them are new variations of neural networks, where the components of the model are selected with mathematical and statistical methods that perform significantly well for a specific type of data or problem. The purpose of this study is to explore a few of the various applications of neural network architectures and their performance compared to traditional statistical models for spatial image data and sequential data. There will be two tasks for each data type including classification and segmentation for image data, and time series forecasting and anomaly detection for sequential data
Psychologist Preparedness for Working with End-Of-Life Patients
No full textResearch psychology is continually focused on identifying and addressing areas of practice where clinicians might improve efficacy of treatment while addressing the needs of special populations. To that end, this research was conducted with a focus on understanding attitudes of psychology clinicians in working with the special population of end-of-life patients and working with end-of-life decision making in therapeutic settings. Participants included 20 licensed counselors (MFT or Psychologists) working in the state of California, recruited via word of mouth and with the help of county and state psychological association message boards. Participants were provided with questionnaires measuring attitudes toward death and dying, and results were compared to an original set of questions pertaining to comfort in practice with end-of-life patients regarding values, ethics, and preparedness for working therapeutically with end-of-life patients and requests for hastened death. This method was designed to determine relevant correlation between preparedness and factors of ethics, training, and death anxiety which may contribute to poorer preparedness to work with end-of-life patients. Findings suggest some preliminary evidence that psychological professionals lack preparedness for working with this special population, especially with respect to personal and professional ethics, as well as specific therapeutic training. The implications of this research demonstrate the need for greater availability of training and education relating to helping end-of-life patients and understanding the ethical imperatives for counselors working with end-of-life issues like hastened death requests
An Investigation into the Sense of Community of Muslim-American Parents of Children with Special Needs in a Support Group
No full textThe purpose of this study was to bring to life the unique voices of the individuals that make up the support group. This qualitative study examined a support group of Muslim parents of children with special needs. It examined how the group created and maintained a sense of community as it transitioned from being a self-formed support group to being a part of a mosque’s non-profit infrastructure. This study used McMilan’s Revised-Sense of Community theory (1996) as a conceptual framework to examine group participant perceptions. This was an instrumental case study design that included semi-structured interviews, multiple non-participant observations and group artifacts to explore and examine how group members and leaders describe and make sense of their experiences in a support group for Muslim parents of children with special needs. Supporting Sub-Questions were: 1) How do members describe their interactions within the group? 2) How do they describe the organizational structure of the group? 3) What role, if any, does religion play in the group? There is limited research on American Muslim parents of children with special needs. This research offers a unique glance into the inner workings of a support group and how they operated both independently and as part of a non-profit structure. This research reviewed types of engagement offered to participants as well. This research reviewed types of engagement offered to participants. Overall themes related to how members described and made sense of their experiences emerged around the importance of member visibility and collective power. Themes with how participants described their interactions within the group emerged around emotional support and the exchange of formal and informal resources. Results found that the organizational structure and leadership model changed over time. The role of a cultural broker was found to be critical to the organization being better integrated into the non-profit structure. Lastly, religion was found to play a role upon the group structure and group members view of themselves as a parent of a child with special needs. An additional theme regarding the less visible role of fathers emerged as well. Insight gained from this study highlights the need for further study on Muslim parents of children with special needs
Faculty Methods for Engaging Doctoral Students Online
No full textIn this study, the researcher explored how doctoral-level faculty engaged students in online courses. Institutions of higher education are incorporating online degree programs in their strategies and should understand how to prepare faculty, especially new faculty, for facilitating online courses for nontraditional students using the learning management system (LMS), technology, pedagogical approaches, and best practices. Faculty who teach doctoral-level courses online were invited to participate in interviews designed to gain insight into the approaches they used to facilitate online courses for nontraditional learners and their usage of technology in the online classroom to engage learners. Online faculty shared their experiences utilizing technology to engage learners in the online classroom, how their approaches impacted the learning experiences, and suggested methods for supporting best practices engaging learners. Using Chickering and Gamson’s best practices for engaging learners, the results of this study revealed potential methods and technology online faculty can use in their own online classrooms to engage learners and support their learning
School Discipline: Zero Tolerance Policies
No full textThe present study assessed teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness and equitability of, and policy alternatives to, zero tolerance policies, as well as how teachers perceived the consideration of higher levels of governance to implement their recommendations regarding policy alternatives. This study used a research design of a case study, which included interviews with 17 teachers in Polk County, Florida, as well as historical data, and was guided by the theoretical framework of Lindblom’s incremental theory. The findings of this study are that teachers perceive zero tolerance policies ranging from ineffective to mildly effective. Teachers perceived zero tolerance policies as inequitable and indicated that a differentiated discipline approach is more effective and equitable. Also, teachers identified some salient qualities of effective discipline practices due to the different needs of students, but did not consider themselves as key contributors in developing school discipline policies. The implications of this study can provide insight to policymakers in helping develop legislation, and provides insight that could make discipline practices more equitable through a differentiated approach, as teachers believe that a singular discipline approach will not be effective. The recommendations for practice are to reserve zero tolerance policies for major infractions and to grant teachers more discretionary power to make discipline practices more equitable. It is recommended that accountability measures be implemented by higher levels of governance to reduce the disproportionality of suspension rates. Also, it is recommended that each school in Polk County develop a committee of stakeholders to develop school discipline policies and practices. The recommendation for future research focuses on assessing the perceptions of other stakeholders and assessing the effectiveness of recommended practices after implementation. This study can be used to inform policymakers and stakeholders of the needs of reform regarding school discipline policies and practices
Factors Associated with Posttraumatic Growth in Professional Firefighters in South Florida
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore several personal and work-related variables associated with posttraumatic growth (PTG) levels in professional firefighters employed in a large fire district in south Florida. First, the researcher identified common factors in professional firefighting research that were associated with PTG in firefighters (independent variables: perceived supervisor support, occupational stress, coping style, and sense of belongingness). Second, the researcher determined if there was a significant relationship between these independent variables and the dependent variable (PTG). Then the researcher examined whether demographic variables identified from the literature moderated PTG in professional firefighters, such as: number of years of service, trauma history, and military history prior to joining the fire service. The sample consisted of 63 firefighters in a large Fire District in south Florida. The sample size was small and underpowered, and the response rate was low due to the concurrent eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic during the data collection period. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, internal consistency, range, and bivariate correlations) and multiple regression with hierarchical entry were used to test the six proposed hypotheses. The results indicated that perceived supervisor support had a statistically significant relationship with PTG levels in the sample (p = .027). Two of the controlling variables, prior trauma and military history, showed contradictory effects than was indicated in prior research. The present study’s sample reported lower incidences of prior trauma and military history prior to joining the fire service. Clinical implications, ideas for future research, practice, and policy were discussed
A Time-Sensitive Knapsack Framework for Optimizing R&D Post-Competition Value
No full textResearch and development (R&D) is a key source of value and competitive advantage. However, as decision-makers consider R&D opportunities in practice, competition can often be a driving factor in determining opportunity value. Competition is a complex and interactive process that is difficult to predict and has significant effects on the value of R&D investments over time. Initially promising investments may ultimately result in little value, due to the actions of others in a competitive environment. This is clearly reflected in the case of multiple organizations researching a new technology, in which one is first to patent and receives the majority of the rewards. These effects can be conceptualized as forms of time-sensitivity, in which the resulting values of R&D opportunities are not static but instead are the dynamic product of interaction in an environment. Despite their importance, these effects are challenging to account for in the R&D decision process. In this work, we establish a quantitative framework to determine effective decision-making behaviors for competitive conditions. The approach is built on the insight that decision-making can be optimized for the resulting Post-Competition Value (PCV) of opportunities, rather than for their initial pre-competition value. Our framework utilizes an agent-based model to simulate forms of interactive competition and determine PCV. Its fundamental mathematical structure is, in effect, a new time-sensitive formulation of the stochastic knapsack problem. Applying the framework, we evaluate candidate R&D decision-making behaviors and characterize their performance in relevant competitive conditions. This defines the optimal strategy region for decision-making and correspondingly, the relative gains in PCV that can be attained in each competitive condition through improved decision-making. We synthesize the results into practical heuristics, which can be implemented by engineering managers to effectively account for competition in their R&D decision process and gain a competitive advantage. Our heuristics are appropriate for typical R&D applications. However, some real-world applications have complex or divergent competition dynamics that require specialized analysis. For these cases, we further introduce an evolutionary methodology that performs optimization of PCV within our framework in a model of a specific application. We demonstrate this methodology in three important defense R&D applications, considering a case of defense industry companies, government laboratories, and nonprofits. In all cases, we identify optimized behaviors that achieve significantly more average value than standard alternatives that do not account for competition. We also show how the unique conditions in each case lead to major differences in the most effective decision-making behaviors. This analysis provides actionable recommendations to leaders in defense R&D, and also a practical demonstration of how decision-makers can optimize for PCV in complex new applications of interest. Crucially, in both this methodology and our heuristic approach, implementation does not require a decision-maker to attempt to estimate post-competition value. Instead, our framework provides behaviors that already effectively account for competition effects through the underlying optimization