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In Black Women Speaking From Within: Essays and Experiences in Higher Education, contributors use intersectional and interdisciplinary lenses to share the ways in which they understand, navigate, resist, and transform student services, learning, teaching, and existing in the academy. This book explores and discusses the following question: How do Black women experience and perceive place and agency in higher education? Black Women Speaking From Within draws upon the influence organizational culture, sense-making, and sisterhood has on praxis and pedagogy and places the Black woman’s stories and experiences at the center of the conversation.

Communication is an integral part of our everyday life. Every day, everybody creates and receives communication, and content, and receives communication, or content. Being able to do both things well is advantageous to you, professionally and personally, those you interact with, and those you work for. Part of the difficulty in communicating has to do with the various channels of communication to which you have access. Traditional channels of communication, including in-person communication and presentations, printed communication, such as letters and memos, and remote communication, by telephone or radio, have been expanded to include online, internet-based communication. Newer communication channels include e-mail, blogs, vlogs, wikis, texting, and social media: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others. Business and Technical Writing for the Real World: Skills You Can Use Now presents a view of the components of modern business and technical communication. Aspects of writing using templates and styles, tools, and technology are presented in way that relates to your needs. Armed with this information, you can make decisions about communication and content that affect your personal and professional communication immediately.

This paper explores how social workers integrate personal spirituality within nursing homes, where a highly regulated, stressful environment marginalizes professional identity and challenges retention. Researchers offer new evidence of how spirituality informs professional identity, ethical practice, and continuation in the role. Twenty BSW/MSW licensed nursing home social workers (NHSWs) reported how they daily navigate the personal spirituality-at-work opportunity and challenge. Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews resulted in three primary codes and related subcodes: Spirituality-Integrated Professional Identity (Vocational Affirmation and Value Alignment), Spirituality-Informed Practice (Intervention Asset, Relational Affinity, and Ambiguous Boundaries), and Spiritually-Sustained Career Resilience. Respondents reported how spirituality animated professional identity, informed daily role enactment, and sustained role involvement. Recommendations are provided for normalizing ethical spirituality-at-work through social work education and practical guidance in navigating the spirituality and practice space.

Since the last quarter of the twentieth century there has been growing interest in women’s contributions to the histories of science, philosophy, and literature dating back to the very beginnings of these disciplines. This volume offers a contemporary, multinational, multidisciplinary exploration of some of these "hidden figures". © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent sleep disorder that affects approximately 3–7% of males and 2–5% of females. In the United States alone, 50–70 million adults suffer from various sleep disorders. OSA is characterized by recurrent episodes of breathing cessation during sleep, thereby leading to adverse effects such as daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, and reduced concentration. It also contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions and adversely impacts patient overall quality of life. As a result, numerous researchers have focused on developing automated detection models to identify OSA and address these limitations effectively and accurately. This study explored the potential benefits of utilizing machine learning methods based on demographic information for diagnosing the OSA syndrome. We gathered a comprehensive dataset from the Torr Sleep Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. The dataset comprises 31 features, including demographic characteristics such as race, age, sex, BMI, Epworth score, M. Friedman tongue position, snoring, and more. We devised a novel process encompassing pre-processing, data grouping, feature selection, and machine learning classification methods to achieve the research objectives. The classification methods employed in this study encompass decision tree (DT), naive Bayes (NB), k-nearest neighbor (kNN), support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), logistic regression (LR), and subspace discriminant (Ensemble) classifiers. Through rigorous experimentation, the results indicated the superior performance of the optimized kNN and SVM classifiers for accurately classifying sleep apnea. Moreover, significant enhancements in model accuracy were observed when utilizing the selected demographic variables and employing data grouping techniques. For instance, the accuracy percentage demonstrated an approximate improvement of 4.5%, 5%, and 10% with the feature selection approach when applied to the grouped data of Caucasians, females, and individuals aged 50 or below, respectively. Furthermore, a comparison with prior studies confirmed that effective data grouping and proper feature selection yielded superior performance in OSA detection when combined with an appropriate classification method. Overall, the findings of this research highlight the importance of leveraging demographic information, employing proper feature selection techniques, and utilizing optimized classification models for accurate and efficient OSA diagnosis.

Background: The Community Research Fellows (CRF) program seeks to mobilize New Haven residents with lower incomes or from communities of color who are educated and equipped to engage as equal partners in health research at Yale University. The training program combines curriculum-based information with 'on-the-ground' experience with Yale research projects, while building relationships between CRFs and researchers. The Community Alliance for Research and Engagement launched two consecutive cohorts of the program in 2018–2020., Objectives: To assess the effect of the CRF program on participants' knowledge of the research process and confidence to engage in research and participants' satisfaction and perspectives on the program., Methods: The evaluation of the CRF program included four components: 1) Pre- and Post- Program Surveys to assess change in confidence and self-reported knowledge. 2) Curriculum Feedback Satisfaction Survey to gauge satisfaction and make program improvements after each training session. 3) Post-Program CRF Interviews to explore their CRF experiences. 4) Research Team Surveys to assess program satisfaction and areas for improvement., Results: CRFs reported increased confidence and knowledge, personal and professional growth, and interest in community-engaged research. Overall, participants were very satisfied with each training module., Conclusions: The CRF program demonstrated that community members are well-suited, well-positioned, and eager to engage in and inform public health research. CRFs bring capacity and valuable perspective to research teams. The CRF training program offers an innovative approach to address power imbalances in research and to move towards more equitable community–university partnerships for improved health outcomes.

Shortcomings in traditional methods for understanding sources of bacteriological contamination limit the ability of public health o cials to adequately protect public health and mitigate pollution sources. This study used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a tool for microbial source tracking to attempt to identify host species contributing bacteria to three watersheds fl owing into Long Island Sound. Samples were collected once a month near the mouth of each watershed and analyzed for other E. coli (a traditional fecal indicator) and genetic markers for members of the phylum Bacteroidetes. Genetic markers included host-specifi c markers that can be used to identify sources of contamination such as humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Despite observing elevated E. coli levels in all three watersheds, we could not make a conclusive determination of actual sources using the available tools. Additionally, as there was disagreement between the E. coli levels and the presence of the general Bacteroidetes marker, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of this indicator with respect to recent fecal contamination and human health risks. Limitations posed by using indicator organisms, such as enterococci, illustrate the need to develop other methodologies for assessing actual sources of bacterial contamination.

We initiated a collaboration between local government, academia, and citizen scientists to investigate high frequencies of elevated Escherichia coli bacteria levels in the coastal Short Beach neighborhood of Branford, Connecticut. Citizen scientist involvement enabled collection of short-duration postprecipitation outfall flow water samples (mean E. coli level = 4930 most probable number per 100 mL) and yielded insights into scientific collaboration with local residents. A records review and sanitary questionnaire identified aging properties with septic systems (3.3%) and holding tanks (0.6%) as potential sources of the E. coli contamination. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(9):1261–1264. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306943)

Recreational boating is increasing in popularity worldwide, prompting challenges concerning pollution management, aquatic ecosystem preservation, and waterway access. Electric boating technology may provide a sustainable alternative to gasoline-powered boats, helping to address these challenges. In this study, the environmental and health impacts associated with using electric service vessels in the recreational boating industry were assessed. The focus was on pump-out boats, which enable the sanitary management of human waste generated onboard recreational vessels, as a tractable model of the whole recreational boating service sector. To query stakeholder attitudes about changing to electric technology, surveys were distributed to a nationwide network of pump-out boat service providers. A wide range of attitudes exists among this group towards the adoption of electric technology, and financial concerns dominate the anticipated barriers to electric technology adoption. A life-cycle assessment of electric and gasoline-powered pump-out boats revealed that electric boats have lower lifetime greenhouse gas emissions than do gasoline-powered equivalents, especially when electric boats are charged using renewable resources. Our study demonstrates that already-existing electric technology is a sustainable alternative to gasoline combustion in the boating service sector, and identifies the key challenges remaining for the widespread adoption of electric service boats.

Abstract It is clear that there is an increasing proportion of the United Kingdom (UK) population who are suffering with food allergies and this combined with an increase in the frequency of eating away from home (where there is less control over the content of food) poses a significant risk. In December 2014, the European Union (EU) introduced legislation which aimed to ensure that customers with food allergens could make informed choices and safely consume food, without the risk of a potentially life-threatening reaction. The research used semi-structured interviews with staff from a BCB, located in the North West of the UK, as the aim of the research was to explore food handlers’ knowledge, attitudes and understanding of food allergens. The findings of the semi-structured interviews identified five themes: E-learning training programmes: the staff felt that these were ineffective and did not take into account individual learning styles. Responsibility: there is a lack of clarity as to who is responsible, with staff believing the key responsibility lies with the customer. Communication: similarly, communication, both within the kitchen and within the company was not clear and likely to give rise to confusion. Need to make a profit: the staff felt that the drive for profit meant that customer safety was being compromised, especially when staff numbers were reduced. Staff awareness: the staff felt confident in their own ability to prepare a safe meal but indicated that staff may be dismissive towards claims of allergen sufferers. In conclusion, these themes illustrate that a significant risk exists for allergen suffers, who rely upon the knowledge, attitudes and understanding of BCB staff to ensure their meals are safely prepared.

The consequences of adolescent drug and alcohol use may be serious and far-reaching, forecasting problematic use or addictive behaviors into adulthood. School counselors are particularly well suited to understand the needs of the school community and to seamlessly deliver sustainable substance use prevention. This pilot study with 46 ninth-grade students investigates the impact of the Making Choices and Reducing Risk (MCARR) program, a drug and alcohol use prevention program for the school setting. The MCARR curriculum addresses general knowledge of substances and their related risks, methods for evaluating risk, and skills for avoiding or coping with drug and alcohol use. Using a motivational interviewing framework, MCARR empowers students to choose freely how they wish to behave in relation to drugs and alcohol and to contribute to the health of others in the school community. The authors hypothesized that the implementation of the MCARR curriculum would influence student attitudes, knowledge, and use of substances. Results suggest that the MCARR had a beneficial impact on student attitudes and knowledge. Further, no appreciable increases in substance use during the program were observed. Initial results point to the promise of program feasibility and further research with larger samples including assessment of longitudinal impact.

A solar electric pump-out boat for removing human waste. The pump-out boat may include a boat hull, wherein the boat hull may include a bow, a stern, and a self-draining sole disposed therein. The pump-out boat may further include a holding tank disposed within the hull underneath the self-draining sole for collecting waste. The pump-out boat may further include a console disposed approximately center of, and on a top surface of the self-draining sole. The pump-out boat may further include a solar panel for absorbing sunlight to convert into electrical power. The pump-out boat may further include a pump disposed within the console. The pump-out boat may further include a battery connected to a motor, the pump, and the solar panel, such that the solar panel charges the battery to provide the electrical power to operate the pump and the motor.

This study extends research on adult narrative identity in two major ways. First, it focuses on Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs), which refer to individuals who spent a part of their early developmental years abroad. In spite of the fact that they are an important demographic to study in this rapidly globalizing world, they have tended to be neglected in the field of psychology. Second, this study incorporates the cutting-edge tools of automated language analysis to extract developmental themes from autobiographical narratives using a bottom-up exploratory approach, as well as to identify psychological patterns and processes associated with the themes. The participants (N = 350; 18–80 + years old) were recruited from an alumni office of an international school and asked to write a narrative about the impact their international experiences had on their development. The meaning extraction method (MEM) yielded four developmental themes, which were remarkably consistent with the recurring themes that emerge from past research on adult narrative identity as well as ATCKs: past focus, communion, agency, and global focus. These four developmental themes, in turn, showed theoretically coherent patterns of relations with the demographic variables, linguistic markers of psychological patterns and processes, as well as self-reports of dimensions of well-being.

Research demonstrates discriminatory and inequitable practices related to students identified with (disabilities). Inequitable practices and discrimination reveal the necessity of collaboration and advocacy as an integral part of the pedagogy of professional development for members of the IEP team. Providing pre-service (or preparing) teachers simulated experiences of individualized education program (IEP) meetings can support PSTs understanding of how ableism and racism can manifest in schools, develop skills in collaborating with families, and begin to develop advocacy practices that support students that are marginalized at the intersection of their race and ability status. This chapter focuses on how to develop materials that leverage critical theoretical frameworks, provide learning experiences that mirror teacher practice in schools, and provide authentic representations of families of color to develop PSTs collaborative and advocacy practices. © 2023 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

The book is a handbook of cultural discourse analysis, a theory developed by Donal Carbaugh, and celebration of his work. The book features an explanation of the theory and sixteen chapters using ...

This book was designed with student nurses in mind. It is intended to serve as a tool to provide practice, enhance learning, and increase the propensity for retention and application of basic concepts of health and physical assessment. The book can be used by early-career nursing students who have just begun to cover its concepts as well as by pre-licensure exam students who may benefit from reiteration and reinforcement of concepts learned early on in nursing school and from practicing applying these concepts to more complex scenarios.Divided into 13 chapters, all of which are geared toward a particular subject matter. Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the concept of an unfolding case study and the nursing process. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth guide to answering NCLEX-style questions. There are several NCLEX-style questions broken down and analyzed within this chapter and several practice questions for your benefit. The remainder of the chapters are subject-based and cover assessment of the major body systems in a systematic and learner-friendly way. Readers will notice that while each chapter covers different content matter, the chapters are structured in similar ways so the reader can begin to develop a feel for and familiarity with an unfolding case study analysis.Goals for the book are:*Increased comfort level and confidence in analyzing patient scenarios in regards to basic health assessment *A more in-depth knowledge of basic health assessment concepts *Ample chances to practice applying concepts learned in your health assessment course to solidify the information you have learned*Increased confidence in answering NCLEX-style questions *Increased knowledge, skill levels, and confidence in assessing and managing patients with a variety of healthcare needsThe chapters of the book do not have to be completed in any particular order, as they are each individualized to certain subject matter categories. The authors recommend you use these unfolding case studies as a means of evaluating the ability to think critically and apply the concepts learned in health assessment classes to realistic patient scenarios. The book can be used as a study tool during health assessment classes, a health assessment refresher tool during other classes, and an NCLEX study tool after finishing nursing school.

Women faculty often view academic leadership as incompatible with their work-life balance, detracting from research and teaching commitments, resulting in a loss of autonomy and an abandonment of discipline, promoting change in their relationships with colleagues, and placing an increased emphasis on budgeting, regulations and compliance (DeZure et al., 2014).  Many researchers suggest that institutional culture works against leadership development for faculty, making the transition from faculty to administrator unlikely (Barden & Curry, 2013). It is increasingly important to identify the key factors that make the difference for women faculty to assume these roles.  As such, in this study qualitative methods were employed to examine the experiences and career trajectories of 16 academic women who held tenured, fully promoted faculty positions prior to becoming administrators.  The researcher found evidence to support future recruitment and retention in higher education leadership.