Language barriers in clinical trials: Exploring impacts on continuity and participants’ engagement and effective mitigation strategies

Clinical trials are crucial for advancing medical knowledge and developing new treatments. However, language barriers can pose significant challenges for participants, particularly in understanding trial procedures, risks, and benefits. Existing policies, guidelines, and studies from 2020 to 2024 identify key challenges in recruiting and retaining non-English-speaking participants. The lack of data on dropout rates highlights the need for improved language services and culturally sensitive communication methods. Findings demonstrate the importance of addressing linguistic disparities to enhance trial inclusivity and success. Innovative strategies to overcome language-related hurdles include the use of professional interpreters, translated materials, and community engagement initiatives. By addressing these challenges, the diversity and representativeness of clinical trials can be improved

Supporting multilingualism in Michigan schools: Educator perspectives on language education and the seal of biliteracy

Learning more than one language has cognitive, emotional, and social benefits. Despite evidence in favor of bi/multilingualism, and a growing multilingual American population, bilingual education programs are scarce in the United States, foreign language education programs are being eliminated at an alarming rate, and English learners often do not receive the support that they need in American schools. Historically, political positions in the United States have ranged from espousing monolingual language ideologies that enact educational policies favoring English-only education to multilingual language ideologies that create policies in support of multilingual education. Surprisingly, despite the longstanding monolingual hegemonic pull by conservative lawmakers, one multilingual educational initiative, known as the Seal of Biliteracy, has received widespread bipartisan support and has been recently enacted in all 50 states. The goal of the current study is to understand the opinions and perceptions of Michigan educators regarding multilingualism, language education, and the Seal of Biliteracy. In doing so, the hope is not only to understand Michigan’s current implementation of the Seal of Biliteracy, but also to shed light on how language ideologies can affect language education in general. In this study, eight Michigan educators and administrators were interviewed. The conversations revealed five important themes regarding ideological and practical matters in language education. The themes are as follows: Language ideologies may predict the success of the Seal of Biliteracy, there are practical barriers to robust language education programs, English learner kids have more hurdles on their language journeys, language education is changing, and foreign language learning is important, but there are other important subjects in education as well

The interplay between friendship quality and emotion regulation in the prediction of weight-related concerns among adolescent girls

Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. Interaction effects revealed that friendship discord could either exacerbate or buffer the effects of ER difficulties on restraint eating and objectified body consciousness. These findings highlight the roles of interpersonal (friendship) and intrapersonal (emotion regulation) factors in understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to weight-related issues and inform potential interventions

2025 EMU Spring Commencement Ceremony for CAS, COE, and Individualized Studies

Streamed live on Apr 27, 2025 GEORGE GERVIN GAMEABOVE CENTER 4,323 views • Streamed live on Apr 27, 2025 • GEORGE GERVIN GAMEABOVE CENTER Download event program [PDF]: https://www.emich.edu/commencement/do... Learn more: https://true.mu/39m5RNr We are pleased to announce that Eastern Michigan University will hold an in-person Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. This ceremony will be for students who have an active application to graduate in April 2025. For more information, visit the EMU Commencement website at https://www.emich.edu/commencement

Integration of agile approach into the implementation of the ISO/SAE 21434 on top of the V-model to enable continuous secure-by-design automotive cybersecurity development

The rapid evolution of technology is revolutionizing the automotive industry, with connected and autonomous vehicles at the forefront. These vehicles rely on complex digital ecosystems to enhance safety and efficiency but are increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Addressing these challenges requires following robust development methodologies, while complying with cybersecurity standards. This study introduces a framework that merges the widely used agile methodology practices with the ISO/SAE 21434 standard to support secure-by-design automotive product development. Traditional development approaches like the V-model provide structured and linear project phases, but they often lack the flexibility and the ability to adapt to evolving security needs. By incorporating agile principles, the framework promotes iterative, adaptive, and collaborative processes, ensuring timely identification and mitigation of risks. This research highlights the critical role of integrating agile methodologies with the established cybersecurity standards to meet the growing demands of connected vehicle security, offering valuable contributions to both academic and industry practices. The study also demonstrates how iterative threat analysis and risk assessments can be performed to refine cybersecurity goals and prioritize risks. It also provides a practical case study, which implements the above integration, showing how techniques, such as continuous testing of the tool, were applied within every agile sprints to verify the tool\u27s effectiveness by shifting verification and validation earlier in the development process. This approach improved risk management efficiency and ensured compliance with ISO/SAE 21434 requirements. The study highlights the framework’s practicality, showing how it can streamline cybersecurity processes in a dynamic automotive development environment. By adopting this agile-driven methodology, organizations can better manage cybersecurity risks, align with industry standards, and foster a culture of continuous improvement

Sowing the Seeds of Utopia Collectively, from Australia to America and Everywhere in Between: A Methodology and Practice for Resistance and Emancipation

This reflection on internationally renowned scholars Peter Beilharz and Sian Supski’s visit to Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in October 2024 presents utopia as a sociological methodology useful for research in educational studies. Presenting a brief introduction and exploration of the methodology, this article considers the cultural changes that are necessary to teach toward democratic, ecologically sustainable utopias compared to capitalist visions of utopia. As a starting point for further discussion, this personal reflection merely scratches the surface to provide a glimpse into the conditions that would underlie a democratic, ecologically sustainable utopia and serves to document a few of the historic and current local efforts toward a more fair and just world, while putting those efforts into conversation with similar labor and indigenous movements in Australia, as Beilharz and Supski presented during their visit. This is a work that emerged out of hope generated by identifying common ground and similarities in vision and collective memory bridging across oceans. Keywords: utopia, education, democracy, ecological sustainability, labor movement, sociology, labor history, conservation, collective action, union

Online and in-person intimate partner violence: The role of relationship initiation context

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive phenomenon, and cisgender women and sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals are particularly affected. Despite the prevalence of internet usage and online dating among young adults, less research has examined how IPV manifests across relationships in which interactions are predominantly online, as well as those that begin online and transition to predominantly in-person interactions (i.e. hybrid). This study\u27s primary aims are to examine the rates of IPV and nondating technology-facilitated sexual victimization among SGM and nonSGM emerging adults and explore how IPV victimization and mental health outcomes vary based on the extent to which the relationship was initiated and continued (online, hybrid online/in-person, inperson). Method: Emerging adults (N = 328) completed an anonymous online survey about dating experiences, protective behavioral strategies, and violence in online only, in-person only, and hybrid online and in-person relationships. Results: SGM individuals experienced more technology-facilitated sexual violence outside of dating relationships than non-SGM participants. Discussion: Replication in larger, national samples is critical to replicate and expand upon these results

From dictatorship to sectarianism: Iraq\u27s domestic politics and minority rights (1979-2023)

This study looks at how Iraq’s domestic politics have changed, moving from Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian rule to the post-2003 era that’s been heavily shaped by sectarian divisions. It focuses on how Shi’a communities were systematically oppressed under Saddam’s Sunni-led Ba’athist regime and then compares that to the frustrations many Sunnis have faced under the mostly Shi’a-led government that came after the U.S. invasion. By looking at government policies, shifts in society, and the current status of minority rights, I explore how sectarianism has shaped governance, complicated the Kurdish issue, and affected things like inter-sect marriages between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. Through interviews with Shi’a individuals, I was able to get a more personal view of what these political changes have meant for people on the ground. My main argument is that while Iraq’s move toward democracy was supposed to bring fairness and inclusion, it’s actually made sectarian tensions more visible and deepened the divide in new ways. This paper adds to the conversation by centering real lived experiences and showing how identity and power are still at the heart of Iraq’s ongoing political struggles