scholarly journals Foreign-born Faculty’s Perceptions and Experiences in a Turbulent Sociopolitical Climate

Author(s):  
Bita Bookman

This study investigated the experiences of five foreign-born faculty in the US after the 2016 election. Through a written questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, the participants shared their recollections of several critical incidents, their reactions to Trumpism, and their perceptions of support from their institutions. The analysis of the critical incidents revealed that while the participants experienced varying degrees of collegial support and sense of isolation, for some, their concern with Trumpism impacted their intent to stay at their institution and in the US. The article concludes with recommendations to increase diversity in faculty body, training US-born faculty about diversity and inclusivity, and increasing systems of support for foreign-born faculty in order to increase the recruitment and retention of foreign-born faculty.

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-483
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
Madelyne J. Valdez ◽  
Denisse Delgado ◽  
Emily Restrepo ◽  
Yessica M. Guzmán ◽  
...  

This descriptive qualitative study explored Latinx mothers’ acceptance of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for their adolescent children. Data were collected through individual, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a hybrid method of thematic analysis that incorporated deductive and inductive approaches. Twenty-two ( n = 22), mostly foreign-born, Latinx mothers of male and female adolescents participated in the study. Three main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the analyses. Findings identified the need for increased efforts to raise awareness and knowledge among Latinx mothers of the direct benefits of the HPV vaccine for sons, including stressing prevention of HPV-associated cancers in males. Findings also underscore the need for improved health care providers’ communication and recommendation of the HPV vaccine for Latinx adolescent males. Future research should intervene upon the study’s findings to address barriers that remain and affect Latinx mothers’ acceptance and uptake of the HPV vaccine for their children, in particular their sons.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110361
Author(s):  
Gentian Qejvanaj

Roma segregation in Albania has been causing growing concern since the fall of the communist regime. In this study, we analyze the effectiveness of the Albanian national action plan for Roma inclusion 2016–2020, in 2018, halfway in its implementation period. We gathered data on education and employment from the pre-implementation period (2015) and compared it with the latest available data in 2018. Interviews with local experts and surveys by the Balkan Barometer will provide background information to assess the current state of Roma integration in Albania. Moreover, descriptive statistics from national and international institutions and structured interviews will draw an independent narrative of Roma affairs. In our conclusion, we suggest moving beyond the “us and them” approach with programs run on inertia; our findings highlight that although encouraging achievements have been reached under the 2016–2020 action plan, real inclusion is still far, as statistical achievements do not say much about the quality of the education or job training provided under the 2016–2020 action plan.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rosa Linde ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Siqueira

Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences to pregnancies has made governments, national and international agencies issue advices and recommendations to women. There is a clear need to investigate how the Zika outbreak affects the decisions that women take concerning their lives and the life of their families, as well as how women are psychologically and emotionally dealing with the outbreak. We conducted a qualitative study to address the impact of the Zika epidemic on the family life of women living in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the US, who were affected by it to shed light on the social repercussions of Zika. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. We describe the effects in mental health and the coping strategies that women use to deal with the Zika epidemic. Zika is taking a heavy toll on women’s emotional well-being. They are coping with feelings of fear, helplessness, and uncertainty by taking drastic precautions to avoid infection that affect all areas of their lives. Coping strategies pose obstacles in professional life, lead to social isolation, including from family and partner, and threaten the emotional and physical well-being of women. Our findings suggest that the impacts of the Zika epidemic on women may be universal and global. Zika infection is a silent and heavy burden on women’s shoulders.


Author(s):  
Hamid Roodbari ◽  
Karina Nielsen ◽  
Carolyn Axtell ◽  
Susan E. Peters ◽  
Glorian Sorensen

(1) Background: Realist evaluation is a promising approach for evaluating organisational interventions. Crucial to realist evaluation is the development and testing of middle range theories (MRTs). MRTs are programme theories that outline how the intervention mechanisms work in a specific context to bring about certain outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, no organisational intervention study has yet developed initial MRTs. This study aimed to develop initial MRTs based on qualitative evidence from the development phase of an organisational intervention in a large multi-national organisation, the US food service industry. (2) Methods: Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with the organisation′s managers, five focus groups with a total of 30 employees, and five worksite observations. Template analysis was used to analyse data. (3) Results: Four initial MRTs were developed based on four mechanisms of participation, leadership commitment, communication, and tailoring the intervention to fit the organisational context to formulate ‘what may work for whom in which circumstances?’ in organisational interventions; (4) Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into ‘how’ and ‘which’ initial MRTs can be developed in organisational interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose The study of an energy company in the US was intended to explore how employees’ emotions after downsizing impacted their learning following the downsizing event. Design/methodology/approach The authors elected to study an energy company based in Oklahoma City that had experienced several downsizings over the previous 10 years. More recently, there had been a major restructuring on departments as a result of the downsizing. At the time of the study there were 400 employees. They carried out 30-60 minute semi-structured interviews with nine volunteers, all affected by layoffs. Five were impacted by the loss of a supervisor and all had faced the loss of a co-worker. Findings Three main themes emerged – firstly “resilience”, where they focused on getting back to work, secondly “loyalty”, where most participants spoke about their new-found appreciation for their job and willingness to help colleagues, and finally “moral support” in which they spoke about how the experience strengthened relationships with colleagues, and they came to rely on each other. Originality/value The authors said their study pointed the way forward for organizations that wanted to understand the emotional impact of downsizing, and its effect on learning. They suggested some practical methods to enhance empathy and rebuild relationships.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Peter Rooney

After the initial flurry of interest, government reports rarely receive the attention they deserve. Often based on detailed research, the information they contain is largely inaccessible, even when published in digital form, due to the lack of indexes. After briefly examining the extent to which such reports are indexed (and why they are usually not indexed), the background to and publication of the much-anticipated Mueller report on Russian interference in the US 2016 election is outlined. The inadequacies of several independently published editions are considered and the case is made for indexing the report, despite not having been commissioned to undertake this task. The indexing process is outlined, especially dealing with the metatopic, Donald Trump, and the redacted sections, and possible future developments are suggested. The online index is available at https://www.muellerreportindex.net.


Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Fang ◽  
Keming Yuan ◽  
Carma Ayala ◽  
Renee Gindi ◽  
Brian Ward

Introduction: The proportion of US adults who are foreign-born has almost tripled since 1970. While foreign-born adults have lower cardiovascular disease mortality and risk factors (e.g., hypertension) than US-born adults, less is known about the morbidity of stroke in this population. Objective: To compare the prevalence of stroke among US adults by birthplace. Methods: We used data on 223,842 non-institutionalized adults from the 2006-2013 National Health Interview Survey. Birthplace was categorized as US- and foreign-born, and foreign-born was then grouped into 7 regions. Data on years of living in the US was included. Self-reported stroke was defined as ever being told by doctor or other health professional that s/he had a stroke. Select descriptive (age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, health insurance, language of interview, use of interpreter) and health characteristics (hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, alcohol use, smoking status) were used in analysis. Age-standardized prevalence of stroke was compared between US- and foreign-born and then by birthplace regions among foreign-born. Adjusted odd ratios (AORs) were used to assess stroke risk between US- and foreign-born after adjusting for demographic and health characteristics. Results: Sixteen percent of US adults were classified as foreign-born. Age-standardized prevalence of stroke was higher among US- than foreign-born adults overall (2.7% vs 2.0%, p<0.0001) and by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic blacks (4.1% (US) vs 2.2% (foreign-born), p<0.0001), Hispanics (2.8% vs 2.2%, p=0.03) and non-Hispanic whites (2.5% vs 1.7%, p<0.0001). Compared to US-born men, AORs of stroke for foreign-born men by region of birth, ranged from 0.24 (95% confidence interval 0.08-0.69) for Africa to 1.05 (0.74-1.51) for Europe. Among foreign-born women, AORs ranged from 0.07 (0.01-0.43) for the Middle East to 1.13 (0.54-2.34) for Africa, after adjustment for selected characteristics. Among foreign-born adults, there was no association between age-standardized stroke prevalence and the number of years living in the US. Conclusion: Overall, foreign-born US adults had a lower prevalence of stroke than US-born adults. However, considerable heterogeneity of stroke risk was noted by region of birth.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M Crookes ◽  
Lisa M Bates ◽  
Amelia K Boehme ◽  
Earle C Chambers ◽  
Martha Daviglus ◽  
...  

Background: News reports and hate crime data suggest that anti-Hispanic/Latino immigrant sentiment was expressed by some sectors of the U.S. public during the 2016 Presidential campaign and election. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between this period and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors thought to be responsive to acute stress exposure among Hispanic/Latino adults in the US. Methods: Data were from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a prospective cohort study of Hispanic/Latino adults living in the US. The analytic sample was limited to non-pregnant adults, 35 to 74 years old, who participated in Visit 1 (2008-2011) and Visit 2 (2014-2017). The exposed were defined as participants who completed Visit 2 in 2016 and the unexposed were defined as participants who completed Visit 2 in 2014 or 2015. Cardiovascular disease risk factors included elevated depressive symptoms (CESD-10 score: 10+), current smoking, and at-risk levels of alcohol consumption (women: 7+ drinks/week; men: 14+ drinks/week). Current alcohol use (i.e., any current alcohol use) was also examined as a potential stress-related outcome. Predicted marginal risk ratio models were used to estimate incident Visit 2 outcomes as a function of exposure to the year 2016 among individuals who did not have those outcomes at Visit 1. Models were adjusted for age and insurance status at Visit 1. A priori interactions with nativity status, duration of residence in the US, and Hispanic/Latino background group were examined. Results: No statistically significant association between 2016 exposure and elevated depressive symptoms was observed in the main model, but additive interaction by Hispanic/Latino background group was observed ( p = 0.03) (Mexican and Central American background: RR adjusted : 1.28 (0.94, 1.76); Hispanics/Latinos of other background groups: RR adjusted : 0.85 (0.66, 1.09)). No association between 2016 exposure and incident smoking or incident at-risk alcohol consumption was observed and tests for interaction were not statistically significant. For incident current alcohol use, borderline trends in the main model suggested an association with the exposure (RR adjusted : 1.11 (0.99, 1.26)). Further, statistically significant additive interaction by nativity status was observed (Foreign-born: RR adjusted : 1.20 (1.06, 1.37); US/Puerto Rico-born: RR adjusted : 0.78 (0.55, 1.09)). Conclusions: Trends from study findings suggest an association between exposure to anti-Hispanic/Latino immigrant sentiment in 2016 and current alcohol use among foreign-born Hispanic/Latino adults. Given limitations of using time as a proxy for exposure to anti-Hispanic/Latino immigrant sentiment, future studies should explore more specific measurements of sentiment during this time and explore short and long-term effects of this sentiment.


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