A Clinical Guide to Discussing Prejudice Against Men

Prejudice against men may result in emotional distress, interpersonal conflict, and impairments in a man’s view-of-self. It can be a contributing factor for explaining increased substance use and suicide by men, as well as rates of violence against men. Awareness of the prejudices men may face allows clinicians to form better alliances with their clients by helping them understand the feelings and perspectives of men who experience various forms of prejudice. This dissertation begins with an overview of the general causes of prejudice and a summary of the mechanisms that maintain a prejudice’s social acceptability. It then provides a taxonomy of different forms of the prejudices men face, as well as the mechanisms that maintain the social acceptability of prejudice against men. Finally, it describes examples of prejudice against men, applying the taxonomy put forth in this dissertation

The Reacculturation of Veterans Post Transition Assistance Program

As many as 61% of veterans have sought reintegration services after the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to help them cope with culture shock. TAP is not designed to address cultural transition. However, culture shock has resulted in disassociating behavior, unemployment, and homelessness in the veteran community. The purpose of this study was to identify the unmet reacculturation needs of post-active duty veterans in Chester County, Pennsylvania, who have utilized the United States’ Department of Defense’s TAP. Using an ethnographic approach, this study identified the extent that the TAP helps 13 post-active duty veterans obtain the autonomy stage of culture shock theory to the extent of career transition preparation only. In areas of reacculturation, veterans reported feeling on their own to manage mounds of paperwork during a perceived pointless “check the box” out process course set to calibrate an individual to civilian life through “toxic positivity.” This study found that veterans do not perceive separation from the military as solely a career change but as a cultural and lifestyle change. TAP does not address the needs of cultural and/or lifestyle changes, which impedes veterans' reacculturation through autonomy obtainment. It is recommended that TAP expand the application of 10 U.S.C. §1142(b)(10) to include cultural transition as a part of the transition plan. Addressing veterans' culture shock will help reduce the 20 veteran suicides per day due to readjustment issues leading to positive social change

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms as a Moderator of Affective Reactions to Perceived Interpersonal Behaviors

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms often struggle with heightened sensitivity and arousal in response to perceived threats. Moreover, interpersonal dysfunction in GAD has become increasingly a focus of empirical investigation and treatment, given the possibility that responses to social interactions may contribute to GAD symptom maintenance. Laboratory studies and cross-sectional trait assessments of interpersonal problems comprise most of our understanding of interpersonal dysfunction in GAD. However, how GAD symptoms interact with perceived interpersonal threats to predict affective responses (increased arousal, lower valence) within daily life remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine effects of in vivo social perceptions on state affect, and how GAD symptoms may moderate those relationships. Participants (N = 161) completed baseline measures of trait GAD and depression symptoms (as a covariate). Then participants completed 30 social interaction surveys over the subsequent 10 days. In each survey, participants rated interaction partners’ dominant, cold, and immoral behavior (each conceptualized as interpersonal threats) as well as their own arousal and valence in response to the behavior. Multilevel modeling analyses of between- and within-person effects revealed that mean perceptions of cold and immoral behavior predicted higher arousal and lower valence as hypothesized, whereas mean perceived dominance unexpectedly predicted only lower valence. All within-person fluctuations in social perceptions predicted both higher arousal and lower valence. Regarding the moderating effects, GAD symptoms unexpectedly buffered the effect of average perceived cold behavior on valence and strengthened the effect of average perceived immoral behavior on valence. These results provide a deeper understanding of how social perceptions may contribute to affect in naturalistic interactions, and add to the literature on interpersonal correlates of GAD symptoms

Mind the Gap: A Crosswalk Analysis of California Teacher Preparation Standards and Public K-12 Local Teacher Evaluations

This study utilizes an alignment-crosswalk of metro-Los Angeles public K-12 school districts’ teacher evaluation items and the California Teacher Performance Expectations to determine which local school district evaluation items do not align with pre-service preparation course work standards, and which pre-service preparation course work standards are not assessed by local school districts. Findings initially indicated that many districts utilize the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, a set of standards defined by the same California regulatory body which responsible for developing and authorizing the California Teacher Performance Expectations. Initial findings also included school district evaluations not aligned to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession which were also crosswalked with the Teacher Performance Expectations to determine their alignment and non-coverage areas. Content analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis were performed to determine what gaps exist between preservice teachers’ preparation standards and in-service early-career evaluation standards

Prevention of Combat and Operational Stress Reactions in Female Active Duty Service Members: A Literature Review

This study is a critical review of the existing literature pertaining to combat and operational stress reactions (COSRs) in female active duty service members. Presented is a description of COSRs, a review of prevention programs, and an examination of gender differences. Utilizing literature from academic journal databases, the researcher reviewed articles demonstrating the content, feasibility, and efficacy of primary and secondary prevention activities. These activities included unit needs assessments, stress inoculation, mindfulness, master resiliency training, anxiety reduction training, psychological first aid, restoration centers, deployment transition centers, debriefings, graphic novels, and the influence of family and leader systemic levels. Females’ unique experiences are narrated from the literature to include motherhood, pregnancy, contraception, menstruation, and “gendered stress.” A discussion of military sexual assault is presented. Suggestions are made for future research to involve development of COSR criteria, screening tools including unique gendered questions, oversampled efficacy studies for females, and studies focused on transgender service members

Social Influences on U.S. Postdoctoral Researchers’ Participation in ResearchGate

Academic social networking services (ASNS) will need to rely on the continued participation of their members in order to transition from venture-backed to self-sustaining businesses. Postdoctoral researchers, or PDRs, are likely to have a particular interest in membership participation as a means of distinguishing themselves professionally. The following paper is quantitative research into PDRs’ intent to participate in an ASNS from the perspectives of Social Influence Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. A survey of postdoctoral researcher users will identify the relationship between social influences and participation in an ASNS

Early Detection of Decline in Executive Functioning in Alzheimer's, Frontotemporal, and Lewy Body Dementia

Cognitive deficits associated with an aging population have been the focus of clinical research interest as an increasing number of people survive into older age. These research interests have determined that there is a need to accurately detect the onset of cognitive changes that show the beginning of a dementia syndrome and to differentiate among disorders with distinct etiologies and sites of pathology. Impairment in executive functions has been recognized as one cognitive feature in which changes and deficits have been reported in various types of neurodegenerative disorders. Mild cognitive impairment is often viewed as a transitional stage between normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal lobe dementia (FTD), and Lewy body dementia (LBD). Neuropsychological evaluations can assist in detecting the onset of cognitive executive functioning changes and decline in the early stages of dementia disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a change in executive functioning profiles in subjects who initially have no dementia but later receive a diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders of Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal lobe, and Lewy body dementias. Possible early executive functioning indicators might be found that could then be used to identify at-risk individuals before a formal diagnosis is made. Strategic interventions could then be provided to lessen the effects of these disorders. Early intervention allows more time for individuals to gain access to strategies and plan for changes that may occur throughout the process of these disorders. It also provides information for further study. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that once a subject has been diagnosed with dementia a detectable change has occurred in executive functioning measures. Participants were 34 persons between the ages of 61-89 who had been given a series of neuropsychological tests of executive functioning. Individuals who met criteria for AD, LBD, and FTD disorders were included in this sample, and their scores from baseline evaluation to initial diagnosis of AD, LBD, and FTD were analyzed to determine changes in executive functioning measures. The executive functioning tests included verbal associative fluency retrieval of animal and vegetable exemplars, Trail Making Part B, and Digit Span Backward from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMR-R). Analysis included changes in executive functioning measures when the diagnosis of AD, LBD, or FTD was made after a change from the initial diagnosis of no dementia. The results of this study are that patients performed similarly across different measures, with the exception of the Trails B subtest, which indicated a significant difference. This subtest difference emerged between the initial evaluation and the first diagnosis of AD, LBD, or FTD

Sync Variations

Almost every ensemble in nature demonstrates synchronized behavior, from thousands of fireflies blinking, schooling fish swimming as a group, the singing of crickets, and even the synchronization of menstrual cycles of women living in the same household. In physics, synchronization appears from the largest scales such as clusters of galaxies to the smallest scales such as subatomic particles, and from slow-coupled planets to ultrafast-coupled lasers. All these synchronized phenomena require coupling between the different components of the ensemble, and the synchronization depends on the specific parameters of the system. In many cases, it is possible to shift the system from a synchronized state into a chaotic state by changing a single parameter. The transition from a synchronized ensemble to chaotic behavior is not abrupt but rises after splitting the entire system into more and more synchronized clusters. When introducing human nature into a coupled physical system, the situation becomes even more interesting. In some cases, people can behave as simple oscillators and in other cases, they enrich the system thanks to their complicated psychology. This is the main focus of this piece. We demonstrate this unique conflict between synchronization and chaos of an ensemble of people to the audience while investigating new and novel aspects of the interaction within complex human networks. This piece is the outcome of the synchronization between professional violin players in complex human networks with full and accurate control over the network connectivity, coupling strength of each connection, and delay between players. We set 16 isolated electric violin players to repeatedly play a musical phrase. We collect the sound output from each violin and control the input to each player via noise-cancelling headphones. The players cannot see or hear each other apart from what is heard in their headphones. All the players start playing the musical phrase with the help of an external rhythmical beat, to verify that they all start together. The external rhythmical beat is stopped after one cycle of the phrase and the only instruction to the players is to try to synchronize their rhythm to what they hear in their headphones. At this point we establish a chain of connectivity between the players and begin to incorporate delays in the system of communication

an Exploration of the Perceptions of Science Teaching Orientations of 5th Grade Science Teachers in the Context of Specialized Science Instruction

Science instruction in elementary schools can be poorly defined, of low status, and taught by teachers with inadequate subject knowledge (Shulman, 2015). This confusion can lead to low teacher confidence, morale, and professional dissatisfaction which may contribute to high attrition rates and diminished value of science teaching and learning (Alliance for Excellence in Education, 2014; Johnson, 2006; MetLife, 2013). Research has been useful in defining and conceptualizing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in science and how the construct of PCK supports the professional work of science teachers. Using a new conceptualization of PCK, the model of teacher professional knowledge and skill that includes PCK (TPK&S) (Gess-Newsome, 2015), this study investigates the perceptions fifth grade teachers have of their orientations within the specific context of the specialist science classroom. Teacher interview and observational data along with data collected from a card-sort, documents, and artifacts, is analyzed to identify components of and influences on science teaching orientations. This study provides new understandings of the orientations of specialist elementary science teachers which may prove beneficial to inform school and district policy related to departmentalization at the elementary level, and to refine the TPK&S model for understanding the perspectives of elementary science teachers

Mapping of Auditory Cortical Functions Using Electrocorticography

Communication is a dynamic process through which we translate our inner thoughts in such a way that they can be shared with another person. This complex neurological phenomenon is a key predictor of our productivity and health. When our ability to communicate is compromised, our quality of life suffers. Although numerous methods to investigate the neuroscientific underpinnings of human language exist, our understanding of this process remains incomplete. Improving our understanding of where, when, and how auditory cortical activity occurs can enhance diagnostic techniques and improve treatment methods for neurological conditions that can impact auditory processing, such as epilepsy, or brain tumors. Recently, electrocorticography (ECoG) has come forward as a promising neuromonitoring technique for evaluating auditory cortical functions. ECoG has the ability to investigate cortical activity at a sub-centimeter scale with millisecond time resolution. This can provide new insights into the spatiotemporal activation patterns elicited when human subjects hear sounds and understand language. In this dissertation, I use ECoG recordings to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of cortical activity during receptive auditory tasks. I demonstrate that ECoG is an excellent technique for localizing functional cortical activity and that this technique has the capacity to supplement and eventually replace current localization techniques. Beyond localizing the areas of cortex responsible for processing receptive auditory information, I show that cortical activity progresses in a characteristic caudal-to-rostral direction along the length of the superior temporal gyrus when subjects are presented with speech stimuli, but not in the absence of speech components. Together, these results advance our understanding of the human auditory cortex and open up new avenues for developing medical diagnostic techniques and improved treatment methods for auditory cortical dysfunction