Horses Preparing Superintendent Candidates for the Leadership Arena

2020 ◽  
pp. 105382592096634
Author(s):  
Heather P. Williams

Background: This study considers the use of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), specifically horses, in an educational setting, which has received minimal attention in the human–animal interaction research. Purpose: The study sought to understand perceptions of students in an educational leadership preparation program as they participated in equine assisted learning (EAL) activities. Methodology/Approach: Participants ( n = 66) were graduate students who completed an open-ended survey questionnaire in 2014 to 2018. In addition to the survey answers, the data included observation notes and course evaluations. Data were analyzed for themes and transfer. Findings/Conclusion: Evidence in understanding the impact of EAL activities. In addition, the study explores student perceptions of how they related the EAL experiences to not only their own traits and beliefs as leaders (self-awareness), but also in exploring their beliefs and biases about systems leadership in public education. Implications: The use of AAIs in educational programs may provide students a living, active metaphor for what they need to do in their own leadership lives, question boundaries, and gain a sense of self as a future system leader.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
James Ford ◽  
Katherine Rotzenberg ◽  
David Mott

Background: Management skills are an essential component of a pharmacy graduate’s abilities for successful practice.  Although pharmacy education standards require that students have a working knowledge of management principles, students often do not see the value in management and business courses.  One innovative approach is restructuring course content using case examples and real-world experiences to improve student understanding of finance and management principles. Innovation: Two specific changes were implemented in a second year (P2) management and finance course to improve the relevance of business principles.  Course content was organized around current pharmacy service cases from a variety of practice settings and supported by the value of problem-based learning.  Post-graduate year 1 (PGY-1) administrative pharmacy residents were engaged as course teaching assistants (TAs) who brought real-world experiences into the class.  An analysis of pre- and post-course voluntary surveys, course evaluations, and TA evaluations assessed the impact of the course redesign. Findings: The course redesign achieved its intended goal of improving student-perceived course relevance.  This was shown through statistically significant improvements in course evaluations that were intended to measure student perception of pharmacy management and its relevance in their future career.  Student completed TA evaluations showed that those who reported their TA shared real-world applications had higher confidence in applying course concepts and greater understanding of course materials. Conclusions: Administrative pharmacy residents were successfully integrated into a pharmacy management course redesign, resulting in improved student perceptions of course relevance. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. 52-60
Author(s):  
Dr.S. Gunapalan ◽  
Dr.K. Maran

Emotional Intelligence is play a vital role to decide  leadership excellence. So this paper to study the  impact of emotional intelligence on leadership excellence of executive employee in public sector organization.Hence the objective of this  research   is to identify the  impact of emotional intelligence on leadership excellence of executive employee in Public Sector Organization in Ampara districtof Sri Lanka.emotional intelligence includes the verbal and non-verbal appraisal and expression of emotion, the regulation of emotion in the self and others, and the utilization of emotional content in problem solving. Cook (2006)[1]. Emotional intelligence is one of the  essential skill for leaders to manage their subordinate. Accordingly although there is some research done under “Emotional intelligence on leadership excellence of the executive employee in the public organization in Ampara district so this study full filed the gap. Based on the analysis, Self-awareness, Self-management, Social-awareness and Relationship management are the positively affect to the Leadership excellence. So, executive employees should consider about the Emotions of their subordinators when they completing their targets. leaders should pay the attention for recognize the situation, hove to impact their feelings for the performance & recognized their own feelings. Leaders should consider and see their own emotions when they work with others by listening carefully, understand the person by asking questions, identifying non-verbal expressions and solving problems without helming someone’s. Leadersshould consider their subordinators emotions when they find a common idea, government should give to moderate freedom to executive employees in public organization to take the decision with competing the private sector organizations.


Author(s):  
Arthur McIvor

This article is an attempt to comprehend deindustrialisation and the impact of plant downsizing and closures in Scotland since the 1970s through listening to the voices of workers and reflecting on their ways of telling, whilst making some observations on how an oral history methodology can add to our understanding. It draws upon a rich bounty of oral history projects and collections undertaken in Scotland over recent decades. The lush description and often intense articulated emotion help us as academic “outsidersˮ to better understand how lives were profoundly affected by plant closures, getting us beyond statistical body counts and overly sentimentalised and nostalgic representations of industrial work to more nuanced understandings of the meanings and impacts of job loss. In recalling their lived experience of plant run-downs and closures, narrators are informing and interpreting; projecting a sense of self in the process and drawing meaning from their working lives. My argument here is that we need to listen attentively and learn from those who bore witness and try to make sense of these diverse, different and sometimes contradictory stories. We should take cognisance of silences and transgressing voices as well as dominant, hegemonic narratives if we are to deepen the conversation and understand the complex but profound impacts that deindustrialisation had on traditional working-class communities in Scotland, as well as elsewhere.


Author(s):  
Lisa Daniels ◽  
John C. Kane ◽  
Brian P. Rosario ◽  
Thomas A. Creahan ◽  
Carlos F. Liard-Muriente ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-145
Author(s):  
Ellen Williams ◽  
Anne Carter ◽  
Jessica Rendle ◽  
Samantha J. Ward

Prolonged and repetitive COVID-19 facility closures have led to an abrupt cessation of visitors within UK and Irish zoos for variable periods since March 2020. This study sought to increase understanding of the impact of closures and reopenings on animal behaviour, thereby broadening understanding of whether zoo animals habituate to visitors. Data were collected from June to August 2020 at two UK facilities on eight species (n = 1 Chinese goral, n = 2 Grevy’s zebra, n = 11 swamp wallaby, n = 2 Rothschild’s giraffe, n = 2 nyala, n = 4 Chapman’s zebra, n = 2 snow leopard and n = 3 Amur leopard). Behaviour change and enclosure use was variable across species but most changes were non-significant. Grevy’s zebra engaged in more comfort behaviour during closure periods than post-closure (p < 0.05). Chinese goral engaged in more environmental interactions during closure periods (p < 0.05). Grevy’s zebra spent longer than would be expected by chance closest to public viewing areas during closure periods (p < 0.008). These results suggest variable impacts of covid-19 closures and reopenings, mirroring human-animal interaction literature. We highlight the potential for some species to take longer to re-habituate to the presence of zoo visitors. As facility closures/reopenings are ongoing, we advocate a longitudinal monitoring approach. Furthermore, we recommend incorporation of physical and physiological measures of welfare where possible, alongside behavioural responses, to enable a holistic approach to answering fundamental questions on whether zoo animals habituate to visitors.


Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Dimitra Kale ◽  
Daniel S. Mills ◽  
Catherine Reeve ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents an opportunity to explore the role of animals as sources of emotional and physical support during a period when most of the population is experiencing social and environmental challenges. We investigated how companion animal owners perceived the influence of human–animal interaction on their physical and mental health during the first COVID-19 lockdown phase in the U.K., and what concerns they had regarding their animals at this time. We also explored the impact of participants’ interaction with non-companion animals during this phase. A cross-sectional online survey of U.K. residents aged over 18 was conducted between April and June 2020. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe any experiences and/or perceptions of their human–animal relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown phase. A qualitative thematic analysis of responses was undertaken. Four main themes related to the following aspects of human–animal interactions during the COVID-19 lockdown phase were identified: the positive impact of animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., amelioration of wellbeing and mental health), concerns relating to animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., concerns over animals carrying the COVID-19 virus), grief and loss of an animal during the COVID-19 lockdown and the impact of engaging with non-companion animals during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings complement and extend previous insights into the impact of human–animal interaction with both companion and non-companion animals. They also highlight the challenges of caring for an animal during the lockdown phase and indicate the need to consider the development of further targeted support strategies, such as “day care” for the companion animals of key workers in this context.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
Lehel Balogh ◽  
Masaru Tanaka ◽  
Nóra Török ◽  
László Vécsei ◽  
Shigeru Taguchi

Psychotherapy is a comprehensive biological treatment modifying complex underlying cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and regulatory responses in the brain, leading patients with mental illness to a new interpretation of the sense of self and others. Psychotherapy is an art of science integrated with psychology and/or philosophy. Neurological sciences study the neurological basis of cognition, memory, and behavior as well as the impact of neurological damage and disease on these functions, and their treatment. Both psychotherapy and neurological sciences deal with the brain; nevertheless, they continue to stay polarized. Existential phenomenological psychotherapy (EPP) has been in the forefront of meaning-centered counseling for almost a century. The phenomenological approach in psychotherapy originated in the works of Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, and Viktor Frankl, and it has been committed to accounting for the existential possibilities and limitations of one’s life. EPP provides philosophically rich interpretations and empowers counseling techniques to assist mentally suffering individuals by finding meaning and purpose to life. The approach has proven to be effective in treating mood and anxiety disorders. This narrative review article demonstrates the development of EPP, the therapeutic methodology, evidence-based accounts of its curative techniques, current understanding of mood and anxiety disorders in neurological sciences, and a possible converging path to translate and integrate meaning-centered psychotherapy and neuroscience, concluding that the EPP may potentially play a synergistic role with the currently prevailing medication-based approaches for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jin Cho ◽  
Michael R. Melloch ◽  
Chantal Levesque-Bristol

Abstract Background Active learning pedagogy has recently received a great deal of attention, and many universities have attempted to create student-centered learning environments to improve students’ academic success. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of concept-point-recovery (CPR) teaching sessions as an active learning strategy on students’ perceptions of the learning environment, motivation, and academic learning outcomes in an electrical engineering course. To investigate the effectiveness of CPR sessions, students’ perceptions of learning and their performance were compared to those of students in a control classroom. Finally, students’ written comments on the course and instructor were explored in further analysis. Results The quantitative findings revealed that there was a significant change in students’ perceptions of learning after the CPR teaching sessions, and there was an increase in students’ perceptions and learning outcomes compared with those of the control group. In addition, the qualitative findings from students’ written feedback demonstrated that students felt that the instructor cared about students’ learning and success and that they had a positive learning environment. Conclusions CPR teaching sessions can be an alternative model for instructors to connect with students and create supportive environments to help students achieve academic success, which in turn promotes the satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation. Therefore, increasing students’ engagement in their learning processes and making connections with students through CPR teaching sessions can facilitate improvements in students’ motivation and academic success. How this new active learning technique can be applied to higher education is discussed.


Author(s):  
Kathleen R. Brazeal ◽  
Tanya L. Brown ◽  
Brian A. Couch

AbstractWhile formative assessments (FAs) can facilitate learning within undergraduate STEM courses, their impact likely depends on many factors, including how instructors implement them, whether students buy-in to them, and how students utilize them. FAs have many different implementation characteristics, including what kinds of questions are asked, whether questions are asked before or after covering the material in class, how feedback is provided, how students are graded, and other logistical considerations. We conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with students from eight undergraduate biology courses to explore how various implementation characteristics of in-class and out-of-class FAs can influence student perceptions and behaviors. We also interviewed course instructors to provide context for understanding student experiences. Using thematic analysis, we outlined various FA implementation characteristics, characterized the range of FA utilization behaviors reported by students, and identified emergent themes regarding the impact of certain implementation characteristics on student buy-in and utilization. Furthermore, we found that implementation characteristics have combined effects on student engagement and that students will tolerate a degree of “acceptable discomfort” with implementation features that contradict their learning preferences. These results can aid instructor reflection and guide future research on the complex connections between activity implementation and student engagement within STEM disciplines.


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