The Madman and Psychotherapy in the Neoliberal Academy: A Chinese Doctoral Student's Experience in the United States

This self-reflective paper examines my experience as a Chinese doctoral student while studying in a large research university in America. Through my self-reflection, with Foucault's analysis on power, I hope to shed some light on my experience with the neoliberal academy, which caused much discomfort and created my fragmented identities. Instead of questioning the problematic neoliberal power relations that caused my discomfort in the first place, as the madman of higher ed, I was directed to psychotherapy to treat my symptoms, which only caused more confusion. Through my story, I hope to reveal how social context, Neoliberalism in this case, and social discourse of psychotherapy, work hand in hand in higher education space, which have exercised intangible power and created the fragmented identities among many international doctoral students in America. At the end of the paper, I also provided suggestions for graduate students to navigate the neoliberal academy.

People, Place, and Purpose

While higher ed institutions have been incorporating online learning into their curriculum and delivery of content, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for major reform and reconsideration of learning practices, especially online. This chapter focuses on the ramifications of the pandemic on people, place, and purpose in ways that will have long-lasting meaning for both higher education options and the future of work for years to come. From the form of delivery to the way in which content becomes measured, mastered, and linked to employment opportunities, the future of higher education and work will demand non-degree offerings (NDO) that align with skills gap needs to improve efficiency, speed to completion, and qualifications for jobs and/or promotion.

The Impact of Declining Enrollment and Re-Careering on Community College Gerontology Programs

According to Inside Higher Ed (2020), community college enrollment declined by 10.1% during the fall 2020 semester and this decline in enrollment continued into the spring 2021 semester for many community colleges. Gerontology programs within community colleges were among curriculums impacted by this downswing in enrollment. This presentation will discuss what this means for community college Gerontology programs across the United States in a time when the older adult population is rapidly increasing, and a qualified workforce is needed to fill the multiple fields serving this aging population. One area of discussion will be the number of returning adults who are re-careering into Gerontology, some because of the impact of a family caregiving situation while others are motivated to change careers because of their interest in the numerous career pathways available in the field of aging. Suggestions for encouraging and supporting these newly returning adults will be discussed.

Excess deaths reveal unequal impact of COVID-19 in Ecuador

Latin America has struggled to control the transmission of COVID-19. Comparison of excess death (ED) rates during the pandemic reveals that Ecuador is among the highest impacted countries. In this analysis, we update our previous findings with the most complete all-cause mortality records available for 2020, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity and geography. Our study shows that in 2020, Ecuador had a 64% ED rate (95% CI 63% to 65%) or 64% more deaths than expected. Men had a higher ED rate, 75% (95% CI 73% to 76%), than women’s 51% (95% CI 49% to 52%), and this pattern of higher EDs for men than women held for most age groups. The only exception was the 20–29 age group, where women had 19% more deaths, compared to 10% more deaths for men, but that difference is not statistically significant. The analysis provides striking evidence of the lack of COVID-19 diagnostic testing in Ecuador: the confirmed COVID-19 deaths in 2020 accounted for only 21% of total EDs. Our significant finding is that indigenous populations, who typically account for about 5% of the deaths, show almost four times the ED rate of the majority mestizo group. Indigenous women in each age group have higher ED rates than the general population and, in ages between 20 and 49 years, they have higher ED rates than indigenous men. Indigenous women in the age group 20–29 years had an ED rate of 141%, which is commensurate to the ED rate of indigenous women older than 40 years.

Potential Winners and Losers: Understanding How the Oncology Care Model May Differentially Affect Hospitals

PURPOSE: With the introduction of the Oncology Care Model and plans for the transition to Oncology Care First, alternative payment models (APMs) are an increasingly important piece of the oncology care landscape. Evidence is mixed on the Oncology Care Model's impact on utilization and costs, but as policymakers consider expansion of similar models, it is critical to understand the characteristics of hospitals that may be differentially affected. METHODS: We used 2007-2016 SEER-Medicare data to identify patients with breast and prostate cancer receiving chemotherapy, endocrine therapy (breast), or androgen deprivation therapy (prostate). For each hospital, we calculated 6-month expected mortality, emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient admissions, and costs, all commonly collected APM outcomes. After calculating observed-to-expected rates for each outcome by hospital, we estimated the association between observed-to-expected rates and characteristics of each hospital to understand hospital characteristics that might be associated with higher- or lower-than-expected rates of each outcome. RESULTS: Hospitals with > 15% rural patients had significantly higher-than-expected mortality (0.31 points higher, P < .001) and ED visit rates (0.10 points higher, P = .029) as well as significantly lower costs (0.06 points lower, P = .004). Hospitals unaffiliated with a medical school also experienced significantly higher-than-expected mortality and ED visits. Hospitals eligible for disproportionate share hospital payment experienced significantly higher ED visits but lower costs. For-profit hospitals experienced higher-than-expected mortality. CONCLUSION: Rural hospitals and those unaffiliated with a medical school may require special consideration as APMs expand in oncology care. Designated cancer centers and larger hospitals may be advantaged.

Informing, implying or directing? Testing the effects of message sidedness, conclusiveness and their interaction in national and local Google Ads campaigns

PurposeThis study aims to apply and test the effectiveness of message sidedness and conclusiveness in Google Ads advertising.Design/methodology/approachFour field experiments on Google Ad campaigns were conducted on the topics of energy and environment, the water–energy–food nexus, and a Higher-Ed program (at the national and local levels).FindingsTwo-sided search engine advertisements are more effective than one-sided advertisements in national campaigns but less effective in local campaigns. In national campaigns, conclusive search engine advertisements are more effective in increasing impressions and clicks, but inconclusive advertisements are more effective in increasing the click-through rate (CTR); in local campaigns, inconclusive advertisements are more effective when being one-sided, while conclusive advertisements are more effective when being two-sided. Overall, the two-sided and inconclusive advertisement generates the best results in a national campaign, but the one-sided and inconclusive advertisement generates the best results in a local campaign.Originality/valueAs the first to test sidedness and conclusiveness with Google Ads advertising, the paper provides theoretical and practical suggestions to search engine marketers by identifying the effective copywriting strategies, moderating factors and more measurements of effectiveness.