Global Horizons: Assessing the Impact of Study Abroad Programs on Intercultural Competence Development Pre-College Technology Students

Across fields, college and university graduates are increasingly expected to perform effectively in diverse, multi-cultural work environments. Given this reality, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are actively designing strategies to help students develop intercultural skills. Prior research has revealed that deliberately structured study abroad programs are an effective approach to nurturing intercultural competence among graduates. Consciously designed study abroad programs can provide students with opportunities to learn and reflect on their experiences. In this study, we aim to understand the impact of a study abroad program on pre-freshmen students enrolled in a College of Technology. Using a mixed-methods design, we examined the intercultural learning gains and experiences of the participating students. The results of the study showed that studying abroad contributed significantly to the intercultural development of the students. Additionally, the study characterized the challenges faced by the students and the valuable insights they gained while interacting with people from different cultures. In summary, our findings confirmed that study abroad programs can serve as a gateway for students by equipping them with the practical skills and strategies needed to navigate the complexities of cross-cultural interactions

Southern New England High Tunnel Soil Data Set

These data were collected as part of the USDA NRS CIG project “How much is too much? Managing fertilizer nutrients in high tunnel vegetable production” (award NR203A750008G009). The objectives of the project were 1) to determine whether nutrient leaching (particularly of nitrogen) was a problem in commercial high tunnel tomato production; 2) to develop a model to predict nutrient mineralization and uptake in high tunnels; and 3) to construct a web-based tool growers could use to manage applications of nutrient and water to tomatoes. These data were used to build the model, which became the basis for the tool

Public Discourse, User Reactions, and Conspiracy Theories on the X Platform About HIV Vaccines: Data Mining and Content Analysis

Background: The initiation of clinical trials for messenger RNA (mRNA) HIV vaccines in early 2022 revived public discussion on HIV vaccines after 3 decades of unsuccessful research. These trials followed the success of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines but unfolded amid intense vaccine debates during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to gain insights into public discourse and reactions about potential new vaccines, and social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) provide important channels. Objective: Drawing from infodemiology and infoveillance research, this study investigated the patterns of public discourse and message-level drivers of user reactions on X regarding HIV vaccines by analyzing posts using machine learning algorithms. We examined how users used different post types to contribute to topics and valence and how these topics and valence influenced like and repost counts. In addition, the study identified salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 and prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories through manual coding. Methods: We collected 36,424 English-language original posts about HIV vaccines on the X platform from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. We used topic modeling and sentiment analysis to uncover latent topics and valence, which were subsequently analyzed across post types in cross-tabulation analyses and integrated into linear regression models to predict user reactions, specifically likes and reposts. Furthermore, we manually coded the 1000 most engaged posts about HIV and COVID-19 to uncover salient aspects of HIV vaccines related to COVID-19 and the 1000 most engaged negative posts to identify prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories. Results: Topic modeling revealed 3 topics: HIV and COVID-19, mRNA HIV vaccine trials, and HIV vaccine and immunity. HIV and COVID-19 underscored the connections between HIV vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines, as evidenced by subtopics about their reciprocal impact on development and various comparisons. The overall valence of the posts was marginally positive. Compared to self-composed posts initiating new conversations, there was a higher proportion of HIV and COVID-19–related and negative posts among quote posts and replies, which contribute to existing conversations. The topic of mRNA HIV vaccine trials, most evident in self-composed posts, increased repost counts. Positive valence increased like and repost counts. Prominent anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories often falsely linked HIV vaccines to concurrent COVID-19 and other HIV-related events. Conclusions: The results highlight COVID-19 as a significant context for public discourse and reactions regarding HIV vaccines from both positive and negative perspectives. The success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines shed a positive light on HIV vaccines. However, COVID-19 also situated HIV vaccines in a negative context, as observed in some anti–HIV vaccine conspiracy theories misleadingly connecting HIV vaccines with COVID-19. These findings have implications for public health communication strategies concerning HIV vaccines

Digital Citizenship Education: Perceptions on the concept, self-reported competences and practices of Georgian school society

The project ‘Digital Citizenship in General Education Schools in Georgia: Challenges and Ways of Implementation’ aimed to understand to what extent were teachers, students and parents aware of the Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) concept, whether teachers felt competent to implement it in the classroom and what DCE activities were carried out there. Data were collected from 1954 individuals, among teachers (205), students (972), parents and guardians (777), following an exploratory sequential design (qualitative followed by quantitative), and data analysis exposed that even half of the school society members claim to be aware of the DCE concept, they lack the right competences to apply them in their daily practice. Considering the project, two guides were created, one for teachers and one for parents, both aligned with the Georgian curriculum. Both documents aim to raise awareness of DCE and become key resources in training teachers and other educators

Ritual Child Homicides in Ghana and Kenya: A Criminological Analysis

Child homicide is a frequent occurrence in many African communities, and juju beliefs trigger a sizable proportion of this crime. Yet a systematic and critical analysis of juju’s impact on pedicides is lacking in the literature. The sparse extant studies on juju-driven homicide or ritual murder mainly offer historical perspectives rather than criminological analysis of the phenomenon. The present study explores the magnitude, characteristics, and motivations, as well as the socio-cultural and economic contexts of ritual child homicide or juju-driven pedicide (i.e., the killing of children for ritual or occult purposes) in Ghana and Kenya. This aim is achieved by conducting an in-depth analysis of ritual murder reports publicized on the websites of eight major news/media outlets between 2012 and 2021. The content analysis results are complemented by semi-structured interviews involving 28 academics and experts. The data show that ritual child homicide usually involves multiple offenders, primarily unemployed young adult males aged between 20 and 39 years. Most perpetrators are motivated by pecuniary gain and the desire to protect themselves against perceived spiritual attacks. The body parts primarily extracted from victims for rituals are the head, limbs, private parts, and blood. The major factors contributing to the persistence of ritual pedicides are obsession with juju, economic hardship, illiteracy, inefficient criminal justice system, authorities’ failure to bring juju practitioners under closer scrutiny, and the emergence of a new consumerist ethos—the unrestrained quest for luxurious effects

Expanding the pathfinder’s purpose: A pedagogical approach to redesigning LibGuides

Online research guides are an important service in academic libraries. Many argue for an instructional design approach that prioritizes course or assignment focused guides; however, this does not address how to design effective subject or topic guides that often follow outdated pathfinder structures. This case study outlines one subject library’s approach to redesigning their guides with pedagogy and accessibility at the forefront, demonstrating how to apply best practices articulated for course-based guides to a general setting. It addresses how to design effective subject guides to better facilitate patron browsing, promote the collection, and supplement training for staff at service points

Ironic and Absurd Discourse of Dress and Appearance on Social Media

The purpose of this paper is to interpret how absurdity can be ironic through dress and appearance. By using two popular culture examples, one contemporary and one from the 1990’s, I look at how existential philosophies impact comparisons to society and how their reactions of dress and appearance can be ironic. This paper discusses Lee Alexander McQueen and Austin Babbitt (AssPizza) to find the intersection of irony, absurdism, social comparison, and dress and appearance. These two examples prove irony can be interpreted through an understanding of existentialism and how one views society and if they draw comparisons to their peers. McQueen and Babbitt–aligning with philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Camus–are unique as individuals within their respective practices, but aspects of their ideologies and irony can be seen across society today