A psychotherapeutic understanding of black identity in workplace contexts.

Sustaining cohesion in working groups, in businesses or institutions, is often fraught with problems. Increasing work demands may intensity levels of stress, thus diminishing a worker's contentment in their job. The dynamics of the group can exert pressures on individuals to conform to the norms of the dominant culture, and may pose further problems for group relations. When racial difference is added to the picture, it may be the trigger for further troubles, as old and comfortable ways of upholding a culture - essentially that of the dominant group - break down or move into crisis, as an additional challenge has to be faced. The solidarity of the dominant group, hitherto asserted in benign ways, may turn a simple difference into a 'threat', or create an 'enemy' perceived as problematically 'different' from the rest. This research has examined the phenomenon of racial difference through the stories and experiences of a section of the workforce who have found themselves outside the 'pack'. They were invited to share and discuss their experiences. Their evidence forms the backbone of this enterprise. The study was conducted in three institutional workplace settings - the NHS, Social Services and Education. The aim was to gain deeper understanding of the nature of stress observed in this particular group, and to understand the effects of stress on the individual's sense of self and identity. The approach is designed to fit well with a person-in-environment perspective and seeks to scrutinise the experiences of black people in predominantly white workplace settings. Drawing on the qualitative research methods of Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and a Heuristic Enquiry, the study aims are to: a) explore the experiences of being black in the workplace b) examine the impact of these experiences on the well-being of the individual c) identify causes (external and internal) that contribute to 'workplace oppression ' (my term) and trauma d) give expression to the unspoken, unspeakable, unsayable e) develop knowledge that is transferable lo working with issues of black identity wounding f) offer a therapeutic strategy for managing black identity trauma through a culturally sensitive and effective model of helping The underlying principle running through the research and the writing of this final document is that it was not a study done on black people, which would have necessitated a comparative research approach with a contrasting group, but research done with black people, sharing stories emanating from their and our everyday experiences. As the researcher, 1 saw myself as a privileged 'insider', researching as well as being researched. Taking up the position of ‘insider researcher' was going to be qualitatively different. This location would offer the unique position of being not only the insider researcher, but the cultural insider-researcher, It was important that the methodology challenged oppression rather than perpetuate it, and within this framework, there was a collaborative approach to designing the study, obtaining information, giving voice to the unspoken and testing out the analysis of the evolving data. A mixture of personal and professional reasons has driven my passion for this enterprise. From the personal, direct and indirect experiences of racial discrimination and a determination to do something were important. From the professional perspective, meeting similar such experiences in clients' stories and being disturbed by the hold and extent of their effects, increased my drive to investigate the phenomenon, develop new understanding and share this knowledge. From an educational perspective, there seemed to be a need to widen the discourse on racism to include the theme of subtle racism and its impact of the self. The research attempts to deal with this latter theme, as it reports on the problems of black workers whose stories describe what it is like to be defined as 'different'. In their accounts of what they experienced, the subtle phenomenon of racism was shown to generate external and internal stressors, which contributed to difficult interactions, fragile relationships and effects to health. The study's analysis reveals a dialectic between internal and external aspects of racial oppression and an emphasis on internal matters. In this scrutiny, the inner dynamics of what black people themselves might also be bringing to these situations are explored. This thesis highlights subtleties and complexities of a historical legacy that continues to shape black people's interactions with the white other. The main finding concerns what I call 'the internal oppressor which George Bach's work (1985) highlights as the inner enemy, that can be more formidable a foe than the most manipulative or oppressive associate. The 'flow chart' in Table 1 that follows will show at a glance, the various stages of my journey throughout this project

Factors Affecting Student Performance in the First Accounting Course in Diploma Program under Political Conflict

Investigating student performance in the first accounting course, under situations of political conflict, is a unique and rare case of investigation. In light of this gap, the current study aims to investigate the impact of some factors on student performance in the first accounting course in diploma program under political conflict. Using correlation matrix and multiple regression analysis, a sample of 122 students is analyzed. The study finds that three factors (CGPA, high school grade, and high school branch) have a significant impact on student performance in the first accounting course under political conflict. Regarding student’s gender and age, the current study finds no significant differences between males and females, and between younger and older students in their performance in the first accounting course. Keywords: Student performance; the first accounting course; diploma program; political conflict.

The Impact of Behavioral Factors and War on Decision Making under Political Conflict: Evidence from Palestine

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of behavioral factors and war on decision making under political conflict. We consider the impact of irrational factors (overconfidence, optimism, pessimism), and war on decision making in such unique case. Investigating the period 2008 to 2016, covering 2,185 stock-day observations, we find that all factors, excluding overconfidence, experience a significant impact on decision making. More specifically, optimism significantly increases the volume of trade (as a proxy for decision making), whereas, pessimism and war have significant adverse effects on the variation of financial markets under political conflict. Keywords: Decision making; overconfidence; optimism; pessimism; war; political conflict

Exploring the belief systems of domestic abuse victims using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA)

Research exploring domestic abuse victims has primarily focused on the shorter term avenues of support for victims and the risk factors which put women at risk of victimization. There is limited research exploring the belief systems of domestically abused women that need to be targeted to achieve longer term effects. The present study therefore explored the association between the beliefs of abused women and their experiences as victims. Twenty-one women with a history of domestic abuse were asked about their attitudes towards authority figures and perceived opportunities around the time of their abusive experience. Data were analyzed using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Four distinct belief themes (personal responsibility, antisocial attitudes, environmental factors, and negative police attitudes) were found in the analysis. The findings highlighted not only the importance of considering the long standing and personalized beliefs of abuse victims, but also demonstrates the need for support services to offer more personalized support to abuse victims to help change their belief systems. Although this research sets the groundwork in understanding the beliefs of domestic abuse victims, these results need to be built upon with future research examining the wider implications of targeting the belief systems of domestically abused women

Design of a Linear Time-Varying Cross-Coupled Iterative Learning Controller

In many manufacturing applications contour tracking is more important than individual axis tracking. Many control techniques, including iterative learning control (ILC), target individual axis error. Because individual axis error only indirectly relates to contour error, these approaches may not be very effective for contouring applications. Cross-coupled ILC (CCILC) is a variation on traditional ILC that targets the contour tracking directly. In contour trajectories with rapid changes, high frequency control is necessary in order to meet tracking requirements. This paper presents an improved CCILC that uses a linear time-varying (LTV) filter to provide high frequency control for short durations. The improved CCILC is designed for raster-scan tracking on a Cartesian robotic test platform. Analysis and experimental results are presented

Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joint Bank-Fund Library

Managing volatile capital flows: experiences and lessons for Sub-Saharan African frontier markets / prepared by Trevor Alleyne [and eight others], under the guidance of Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf. – Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund, 2014. pages.; cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN: 978-1-61635-884-

The influence of individual, team and contextual factors on external auditors' whistle-blowing intentions in Barbados. Towards the development of a conceptual model of external auditors' whistle-blowing intentions.

Following the collapse of Arthur Andersen in the Enron debacle, whistle-blowing within audit firms has taken on greater importance. Given the profession's requirements to be confidential, independent and to act in the public's interest, there is a need for a model that addresses auditors' whistle-blowing intentions. This thesis presents a conceptual model on whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors, where individual-led antecedents influence whistle-blowing intentions, but are moderated by isomorphic and issue-specific factors. Survey questionnaires were administered to 226 external auditors, and 18 individual interviews as well as 2 focus groups were conducted in Barbados. Results indicated that individual antecedents (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting, and personal cost of reporting) were significantly related to internal whistle-blowing, but only perceived behavioural control was significantly related to external whistle-blowing. Partial support was found for the moderating effects of perceived organizational support, moral intensity, team norms and group cohesion on the relationships between the majority of the independent variables (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting and personal cost of reporting) and internal whistle-blowing. However, partial support was found for the moderating effects of perceived organizational support, moral intensity, team norms iii and group cohesion on the relationships between fewer independent variables and external whistle-blowing. Overall, respondents preferred anonymous internal channels of reporting, and showed a general reluctance to report externally. The presence of an open-door policy, ethics partners, hotline, on-going training and clearly defined policies could encourage whistle-blowing. Further implications for research and practice are discussed.University of the West Indie

Interaction of Lamb Waves with Defects in a Semi-Infinite Plate

Many airplanes, both military and commercial, have exceeded their original design service lives. For such aging structures, the presence of hidden damage can severely limit their performance. It is important to monitor the progress of damage to ensure the safety and integrality of these structures. Typical damage can be several types of corrosion and fatigue cracking. Lap-joints trap moisture and air and are initiation sites for corrosion. These sites are potential locations for wide spread fatigue damage. Generally, corrosion can cause material loss and thickness reduction, which can be detected by non-destructive ultrasonic methods. Conventional methods require point-by-point inspection, which is a time-consuming process. Guided waves, which direct wave energy in the plate, carry information about the material in their path and offer a possible more efficient tool for non-destructive inspection of material loss or thickness reduction. Using a pitch-catch technique, in which one transducer sends a guided wave in a plate structure and a second transducer picks up the signal at a different position, guided waves can be launched and detected to inspect plate-like structures, line by line, thus increasing the inspection efficiency by an order of magnitude. Also, when guided waves pass through a region with material loss, some energy would be reflected back. By studying the characteristics of the reflected waves, information about material loss can be obtained