Loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics: pedagogical practices amid pandemic online learning

Purpose Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including contact restrictions and the switch to virtual classes, loneliness has become a pressing concern for college students and their learning. This study aims to interrogate current discussions about college student loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics to reimagine online pedagogical practices. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad literature base and anecdotes from personal teaching experiences, the authors contend that Black Feminist perspectives on love, care and solidarity can illuminate the sociopolitical dimensions of loneliness in pedagogically productive ways. Findings The authors explore various pedagogical practices that are inspired by Black feminist approaches that aim to promote solidarity, love and care in either virtual or in-person classrooms. These pedagogical suggestions result from the authors’ teaching experiences amid online learning and current literature in education. Practical implications The authors seek to support educators’ understanding of the most pervasive yet misunderstood emotional experiences of student learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores strategies for addressing feelings of loneliness within online learning-related contexts in higher education. This discussion will be particularly relevant for educators and students from historically marginalized populations. Originality/value This work focuses on the plight of community college students, a demographic that has not garnered enough attention in the educational research concerning this pandemic. In addition, this paper offers an account of loneliness that aligns with the political and ideological crisis of today and places it in conversation with Black feminist thought.

Behavior analytic technologies mediated via augmented reality for autism: A systematic review

This review synthesizes the literature base evaluating the effects of behavior analytic interventions delivered via augmented reality (AR) technology for individuals with autism. We also conducted a quality review. We identified 14 studies with a majority of the studies (n = 11; 79%) utilizing single-case research design. Of the 14 studies, three met the quality criteria to be classified as “strong” and can offer evidence on the integration of AR technology into the practice of behavior analysis. All three studies taught a functional skill (i.e., tooth brushing and navigation). The remaining studies focused on skill acquisition with zero studies utilizing AR within the context of behavior assessment or behavior reduction interventions. This literature base is emerging with additional research required.

Diversity Management Interventions for Enhancing Competitive Advantage

Diversity and diversity management is a new organizational paradigm and a business imperative. We already have a vast and rich literature base on these two. Many and varied empirical findings are also available from earlier qualitative and quantitative research studies. An attempt is made in this chapter (1) to examine various theoretical concepts and constructs used in diversity and diversity management, (2) to come up with a synthesis of management research and current literature on diversity and diversity management, (3) to develop a theoretical framework, and (4) to suggest directions for future research as well. This chapter lists some of the challenges faced by firms, the major issues to be addressed, potential research directions, and themes in the Indian context before finally coming up with a conceptual model detailing the antecedents and consequences of diversity and diversity management.

Another Perspective of the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test – Part I: A Narrative Review

Reference [1] presented a skewed perspective of the M-FAST literature base and provided the flawed conclusion that the M-FAST should no longer be used in practice. In an attempt to correct the many issues with [1], this article provides a narrative review of the strengths and weaknesses of research findings for the M-FAST interpretation as well as reviews methodological concepts underlying feigning research. The M-FAST was designed to screen for potential feigning of psychiatric symptoms. It was not designed to conclude that an examinee is feigning or malingering psychiatric symptoms. A positive result on the M-FAST only indicates that additional data needs to be collected to make the aforementioned conclusions. Applying the M-FAST in any other way is a serious error on the part of the user. The research literature thus far generally supports the use of the M-FAST cut-off as a screening measure for possible feigning of psychiatric symptoms. However, there are scenarios when the M-FAST may not operate as efficiently, and these scenarios are discussed. Reference [1] misrepresented the purpose of the M-FAST as well as research findings on the M-FAST. Therefore, [1] should be read with great caution.

Book Review: Roma Minority Youth across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice

Roma Minority Youth across Cultural Contexts: Taking a Positive Approach to Research, Policy, and Practice is an important academic resource that has added to the scarce literature base on Roma culture. Through contributors from diverse backgrounds and utilizing relevant methodological approaches, the book bridges the gap between research and practice in the field of positive youth development (PYD), as applied to Roma youth. This text is an informative tool for students, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers from PYD and related fields.

Contributions of microRNAs to peripheral insulin sensitivity

An extensive literature base combined with advances in sequencing technologies demonstrated microRNA levels correlate with various metabolic diseases. Mechanistic studies also establish microRNAs regulate central metabolic pathways and thus play vital roles in maintaining organismal energy balance and metabolic homeostasis. This review highlights research progress on the roles and regulation of microRNAs in the peripheral tissues that confer insulin sensitivity. We discuss sequencing technologies used to comprehensively define the target spectrum of microRNAs in metabolic disease that complement studies reporting physiologic roles for microRNAs in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in animal models. We also discuss the emerging roles of exosomal microRNAs as endocrine signals to regulate lipid and carbohydrate metabolism.

Influence of Women in Leadership in the African Society: A Case of Women Characters in Selected Kiswahili Plays.

Research suggests that women in leadership positions pose different and extra challenges as compared to their male counterparts. Yet, the number of women leaders has grown but they are still a small group that is appreciated. This has made the list of their numbers be still relatively low. Leadership studies have focused on the upbringing and traits of a leader, decision making, psychology of leaders, and so on but less work has been devoted on the influence of women in leadership in the African society as portrayed in written literature. Literature is the greatest asset in any society this century. There is a rich literature base on women in leadership. Surprisingly little research has been devoted to their portfolio influence. Due to this insufficient attention, this study has built profiles of four selected women leaders in Kiswahili plays. It has paid attention to the uniqueness of women leaders and analysed their role and how they are challenged as officeholders on account of their sex. The theory of feminism- a look at the African society was used to help achieve its main tenets like gender equality, gender issues, characterisation based on traits, and thematic focus on plays was used to study this objective. The purposive sampling design was relevant because it proved to provide reliable data for the study by homogeneously analysing written Kiswahili plays. The literature texts used contained few relevant cases where in-depth analysis related to the central issue was studied. The study concluded that women leaders have a great role and have made great strides in leadership, especially in changing the negative perception the continent has on them, that they cannot lead while men exist.

Taxation and Public Financial Management of Mining Revenue in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This rapid review provides a summary of the evidence on the taxation and public financial management of mining revenues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is a very complex topic, with a large and growing literature base, a huge interest by donors, non-governmental organisations and businesses, with some conflicting information at times. In particular, specific data on provincial budgets and spending was not identified during this review. No specific information on public financial management in either of these provinces was identified during the course of this review. Given the burgeoning size of the literature base and the complexity of the mining sector in the DRC, this rapid review only provides a snapshot of the literature. It draws on academic, grey and donor literature sources. Some papers for further reading are highlighted. The report first provides a brief background discussion of general taxation in the DRC, the decentralisation process, and provincial public revenue management. The next section provides general information on the mining sector in the DRC, including the regulatory system and official duties, royalties and tax provisions. Section 4 goes into more detail about taxation and rent-seeking in the mining sector, touching on both large-scale mining (LSM) and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The next section looks at smuggling of minerals in the DRC, with a focus on gold. Finally, some specific lessons learned were drawn from two World Bank projects and highlighted in the final section. Lessons and experiences from other mining-related projects are also highlighted throughout the report. Literature in French was not included in this rapid review, which may mean that some key documents were omitted.

Assessing Language in Unstructured Conversation in People With Aphasia: Methods, Psychometric Integrity, Normative Data, and Comparison to a Structured Narrative Task

Purpose This study evaluated interrater reliability (IRR) and test–retest stability (TRTS) of seven linguistic measures (percent correct information units, relevance, subject–verb–[object], complete utterance, grammaticality, referential cohesion, global coherence), and communicative success in unstructured conversation and in a story narrative monologue (SNM) in persons with aphasia (PWAs) and matched participants without aphasia (M-PWoAs). Furthermore, the relationship of language in unstructured conversation and SNM was investigated for these measures. Methods Twenty PWAs and 20 M-PWoAs participated in two unstructured conversations on different days with different speech-language pathologists trained as social conversation partners. An 8- to 12-min segment of each conversation was analyzed. Additionally, a wordless picture book was used to elicit an SNM sample at each visit. Correlational analyses were conducted to address the primary research questions. Normative range and minimal detectable change data were also calculated for the measures in both conditions. Results IRR and TRTS were moderate to good for parametric measures and moderate to excellent for nonparametric measures for both groups, except for TRTS for referential cohesion for the PWAs in conversation. Furthermore, in PWAs, a strong correlation was demonstrated for three of eight measures across conditions. Moderate or weaker correlations were demonstrated for three of eight measures, and correlations for two of eight measures were not significant. An ancillary finding was no significant differences occurred for sample-to-sample variability between the two conditions for any measure. Conclusions This study replicates previous research demonstrating the feasibility to reliably measure language in unstructured conversation in PWAs. Furthermore, this study provides preliminary evidence that language production varies for some measures between unstructured conversation and SNM, contributing to a literature base that demonstrates language variation between different types of monologue. Thus, these findings suggest that inclusion of the specific types of discourse of interest to the PWA may be important for comprehensive assessment of aphasia. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16569360

Constructing and performing hotel hospitality culture

This article discusses the social processes underpinning the co-construction and performance of hotel hospitality culture. The influence of culture within the hospitality sector has inspired conceptual and empirical research resulting in a significant literature base. However, gaps remain in understanding how culture manifests itself through behaviour in the publicly accessible areas of a hotel. This gap was addressed by research designed to uncover the social processes and behavioural dynamics underpinning the construction of hotel culture/s. Informed by social constructionism, a purposeful sampling strategy and a range of qualitative methods were employed: participant observation, a fieldwork diary recording observations of behavioural encounters, conversational and semi-structured interviews. The findings demonstrate that hotel hospitality culture is co-constructed and performed through interactions between people. Two distinct hotel cultures emerged, Second home/extended family and Corporate leisure. The findings provide a deeper, more holistic understanding of how hospitality culture is brought to life in hotels through the taken-for-granted social encounters between people, encounters wherein hospitality is given, received and experienced.