In This Skin, at This Institution, at This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories of Survival During the Pandemic and Racial Reckoning

The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for leadership during the racial reckoning and pandemic. Utilizing a basic interpretive inquiry methodology, I conducted semi-structured interviews with six Black women holding executive-level leadership positions at PWIs. The findings shed light on the challenges faced by these women, including sabotage, discrimination, and political complexities. Despite these obstacles, the participants demonstrated remarkable resilience in overcoming adversity. The study uncovers transformed and elevated leadership approaches, including strategies such as avoiding the glass cliff, employing strategic approaches, setting boundaries, and embracing authenticity. The insights gained from this research provide a deeper understanding of the unique leadership approaches employed by Black women executives at PWIs during times of crisis. Moreover, there are implications for fostering greater diversity and inclusion in executive positions within higher education institutions. By acknowledging the experiences and strategies of Black women leaders, organizations can better support their advancement, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and inclusive leadership landscape

Exploring Digital Marketing Optimization: Enhancing Company Performance with a Focus on the FMCG Industry in Lebanon

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, companies within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in Lebanon are recognizing the imperative need to optimize their digital marketing strategies to enhance overall performance. This study delves into the intricacies of digital marketing optimization, with an emphasis on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, user experience, and consumer engagement as pivotal themes impacting company performance. Employing a qualitative research methodology, in-depth insights were garnered from 15 industry professionals through semi-structured interviews. These individuals were carefully selected for their expertise and firsthand experience with digital marketing within the Lebanese FMCG sector. The analysis of the qualitative data led to the extraction of nuanced understandings regarding how perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness directly influence the user experience and, subsequently, consumer engagement in digital platforms. The study highlights the critical role of user-friendly interfaces and valuable content in fostering positive consumer experiences, which in turn, amplify engagement rates. Moreover, the research identifies the chain effect that starts with the initial consumer interaction with digital marketing campaigns and cascades into long-term company performance metrics. The findings reveal that the FMCG companies in Lebanon are at a pivotal junction, where embracing digital marketing optimization can lead to significant competitive advantages. Companies that adeptly leverage the ease of use and usefulness of their digital content can create enhanced user experiences, thereby fostering deeper levels of consumer engagement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Former Students\u27 Perceptions of How Theatre Impacted Life Skills and Psychological Needs

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate former high school theatre students\u27 perceptions of how theatre education addressed their psychological needs and impacted life skills. Participants were graduates of a large metropolitan high school, located near Atlanta, GA. A focus group, individual semi-structured interviews and collection of artifacts were the data collection procedures utilized to discover students\u27 perceptions. Pseudonyms were used to protect the identities of the participants. The data analysis process included initial coding, axial coding and memo writing. Based on the information from the interviews, this case study showed the benefits of offering youth opportunities to engage in theatre education and supported research that indicates the positive outcomes of arts education. The findings of the study indicate that theatre education impacts students\u27 life skills and psychological needs. Participants report gaining life skills, such as, hard-work, social skills, perseverance and career training. The data also revealed that participants experienced psychological benefits, such as, confidence, sense of belongingness, accomplishment and cognitive abilities

Winsome Wounds: A New Perception of Pastoral Suffering

Pastors may view their divine calling as quid pro quo assurance against personal suffering. Yet everyone suffers. Seminaries train pastors in the technical skills required for ministry, but hermeneutics and homiletics do not help a pastor who is wounded. Churchcraft is about thriving as a leader in a church environment and acquiring the navigational tools, experiential knowledge, and soft skills to do so. Section 1 establishes the problem: Misperceptions about typical pastoral suffering, the disorientation it causes, and the lack of tools needed to respond in a productive way. Section 2 presents possible responses such as Stoicism, Legalism, Epicureanism, increasing one’s faith, and adapting through resiliency. But what ministers really need is a new perception of their suffering and tools to work through it. Therefore, Section 3 introduces the art of Churchcraft. When pastors possess the tools to work through their ministry wounds, it can help them grow spiritually and use their experience to compassionately guide others. A better perception is that suffering finds meaning when it helps pastors help others—ultimately giving a pastor’s wounds a winsome effect. The metanarrative of scripture is presented as comedy and a case study from Matthew 15 demonstrates Jesus’ perceptive genius in dealing with the daily challenges of ministry. A literary and theological perspective substantiate these tools: A theology of suffering; personal agency; self-differentiation, and a comic spirit. Section 4 presents an application of the research. Navigational tools may be taught from mentor to apprentice. The artifact, a book, attempts to play the role of mentor using stories and experiences to translate written words into so-called elbow knowledge. The book serves as the basis for development of a Churchcraft Apprenticeship and Advance (retreat), in which seasoned pastors act as mentors to younger pastors. Section 5 suggests further research opportunities related to Churchcraft

Combat Psychology: Learning to Kill in the U.S. Military, 1947-2012

In his 1947 work Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command, historian S. L. A. Marshall convinced the U.S. government and military of the critical need for improved techniques in combat psychology. However, his more fundamental assertion that soldiers needed to be trained to overcome an innate psychological resistance to killing would prompt some in the military as well as scholars and medical experts to examine the heart and mind of the soldier in combat. As a result, an emergent science called killology became a critical component in the U.S. military’s quest to better train soldiers for the rigors of combat. This thesis will explore the development of sophisticated technology and training techniques used by the U.S. military to create soldiers that were more efficient at killing in combat

Interrogating the specific challenges of teaching play texts in heterogeneous classrooms in the Eastern Cape

This study is an autoethnographic reflection, rooted in Action Research based on my teaching experience in a multicultural high school environment in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is an analysis, in particular, of teaching play texts in two classes, Dramatic Arts and English Home Language, at matric level. A combination of discourse analysis and autoethnography formed the theoretical basis for the interpretation of data drawn from lesson transcripts, group interviews, learners’ reflections and my own journalled reflections. This analysis has formed the foundation for a deeper reflection on culture, the colonist within, and the colonialism embedded with in my teaching, and in the education system more broadly. At a practical level, I suggest embracing student-led and co-led discussions of literature, as advocated by Mayer (2012), as well as transcultural readings (Keating, 2007), and Drama activities, as ideals in the teaching of play texts. These techniques are designed to encourage learners to develop intellectual authority as well as allowing them the space to enter discussions around culturally sensitive topics, while minimising the teacher’s hierarchical, dominant position. I also argue for the importance of making culture an overt topic of conversation. White English-speaking South African culture, in particular has been prone to “invisibility” and, through this, an unspoken normative position, particularly in multicultural school environments. I challenge myself and others to engage in ongoing efforts to articulate our particular perception of our cultures, dynamic and diverse though they may be

Dorothy Heathcote: A Model for Alchemical Leadership

This thesis explores the possibility of using a drama in education classroom model of practice, to construct a leadership model that may be used in commercial organisations and in schools. Using a case study approach of the Manx Myth, Mantle of the Expert approach to teaching, devised by the late Dorothy Heathcote the researcher attempts to demonstrate that not only was she an inspirational pedagogue, but that within her work lay seeds of a leadership model which the researcher has named the Alchemical Model of leadership. Data, consisting of two interviews alongside fourteen transcripts was subjected to thematic analysis. The study is concerned with exploring the chronological development of the leadership theory continuum to see where the classroom practice of Dorothy Heathcote may be placed among the recognised models of leadership. The researcher will make the analogy of Dorothy Heathcote as the teacher, leading learners in a constructivist classroom, to leaders leading a workforce in an organisation. Reference throughout is made to the importance of finding a new model of leadership that can contribute to the many changes facing the leading of organisations in the twenty first century