Exploring the Black White Achievement Gap: The Connection Between Upward Bound, Oppositional Culture, and the Multicultural Navigator Concept

Racial equality in the United States educational system has long been and continues to be a source of debate. Specifically, the disparities between whites and other minority groups have been increasingly more critical. Blacks and Latinos consistently score lower than whites on standardized tests and academic course work. There have been several explanations given for poorer school performance by certain minority groups than whites. In this dissertation, I explore the black white achievement gap through the examination of one widely known explanation, oppositional culture theory. This research investigates the major tenets of oppositional culture theory and the contemporary multicultural navigator concept. Using a grounded theory method of analysis, I examine the connections between suppositions of the theory and black students in the Upward Bound academic achievement program

Native and invasive inoculation sources modify fungal community assembly and biomass production of a chaparral shrub

Feedbacks between plants and surrounding soil microbes can contribute to the establishment and persistence of invasive annual grasses as well as limit the success of restoration efforts. In this study, we aim to understand how three sources of soil inocula – native, invasive (from under Bromus diandrus) and sterile – affect the growth response and fungal community composition in the roots of a chaparral shrub, Adenostoma fasciculatum. We grew A. fasciculatum from seed in a greenhouse with each inoculum source and harvested at six months. We measured above- and below-ground biomass, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization and conducted targeted-amplicon sequencing of the 18S and ITS2 loci to characterize AMF and general fungal community composition, respectively. Native inoculum resulted in roots with richer communities of some groups of AMF and non-AMF symbionts, when compared to roots grown with invasive or sterile inoculum. Seedlings grown with invasive and native inoculum did not have different growth responses, but both produced more biomass than a sterile control. These findings suggest that inoculation with soil from native species can increase the diversity of multiple groups of fungal symbionts and inoculation with live soil (invasive or native) can increase seedling biomass. Moreover, future work would benefit from assessing if a more diverse community of fungal symbionts increases seedling survival when planted in field restoration sites

A clinico-pathologicalanalysis of uterine leiomyomata in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Uterine leiomyoma (UL) is the commonest benign tumour of the female genital tract in the reproductive age group. There is little or no literature on the histopathological study of the disease in Nigeria. This may be the first study to serve as a baseline data in Maiduguri. Objective: To analyse the frequency of occurrence, age and parity of the patients, clinical presentation, degenerative changes, diseases associated with uterine leiomyomata and the treatment modalities of the tumour in Maiduguri. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all cases of uterine leiomyomata histologically diagnosed in the Histopathology Department of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria between January 1994 and December 2003 inclusive. Results: A total of 501 cases of uterine leiomyomas were examined in this study, representing 4.5% of all disease conditions histopathologically diagnosed within the study period. The mean age of patients was 36.3 (±8.3SD) and the th peak age incidence was in the 4 decade of life. The symptoms are presented in the following order of frequency: lower abdominal pain, 187 (87.8%); menstrual pain and irregularity, 164 (77.0%); urinary frequency/hesitancy/urgency, 68 (31.9%); infertility/subfertility, 42 (19.7%) and constipation 24 (11.3%). Multiparous women accounted for 64.9% of all cases. There were 121 cases of uterine leiomyoma coexisting with adenomyosis (30), ovarian cysts [Non-neoplastic (41), Neoplastic [benign (12), malignant (8)] and cervical inflammatory diseases (30). The commonest mode of treatment was myomectomy in 367 (73%) and hysterectomy in 134 (27%) cases, with mean age of 33.9 and 46.7 years respectively There were 104 cases of degenerative changes: hyaline (92), cystic (12), calcification (9) and red degeneration(6) Conclusion: Uterine leiomyoma is common, especially in the reproductive age group and is often associated with degenerative changes, and coexistent with ovarian cysts, adenomyosis and chronic cervicitis. There is need to find the aetiological relationships of the disease in order to reduce its incidence as well as the frequent exposure of women to operations that are necessitated by the disease and its associated complications

Vignettes: Social Media Practices of Selected Social Enterprises in the Philippines

Social media enable firms to engage their consumers at a lower cost and at a higher level of efficiency than traditional communication tools. Using the typology for social media marketing of Coursaris et al (2013), we illustrate how two Philippine social enterprises, namely Human Nature and HOPE, utilize social media, specifically their Facebook brand pages, to promote their social and economic objectives. Our exploratory study shows that social enterprises adopt different approaches in crafting the messages they release on social media. Their choice of highlighting either their products or their advocacies are influenced by the nature of their products and services and also by how the messaging in one platform such as Facebook fits into the overall communication strategy. Our findings also reveal that social enterprises can be either product-driven or advocacy-driven in their social media posts; that they can formulate single-layered or multi-layered messages; and that they have the option of occasionally highlighting their partners’ advocacies on top of their own. Given the skillful crafting of social media messages, it is possible for social enterprises to support both economic and social objectives, especially if they choose to utilize multi-layered communication that send both explicit and subtle messages. We conclude that social media platforms offer social enterprises a level playing field in the competitive business landscape. By taking advantage of social media, social enterprises can build brand equity, gain a larger consumer base, and achieve social, economic, and environmental objectives

Online Financial Education Programs: Theory, Research, and Recommendations

Technological advances have created unprecedented opportunities for online financial education that can be used to improve financial literacy and money management practices. While online financial education programs have become popular, relevant research and theoretical frameworks have rarely been considered in the development of such programs. This article synthesizes lessons from literature and theories for the development of an effective online financial education program. Drawing from literature on financial literacy education and online education, implications and recommendations for integrating technology into online financial education programs for adults are discussed

Connecting with Computer Science: Electronic Textile Portfolios as Ideational Identity Resources for High School Students

The development of student identities—their interests in computer science, perceptions of the discipline, and sense of belonging in the field—is critical for broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computing. This paper reports on the design of portfolios in which two classes of high school students reflected on the process of making electronic textile projects. We examine how students expressed self-authorship in relation to computer science and how the use of reflective portfolios shaped students’ perceptions of computer science. In the discussion we consider how reflective portfolios can serve as ideational resources for computer science identity construction

COVID-19, MSMEs, AND THE INFORMAL SECTOR

Reden is the owner of a small online vegetable delivery service in Marikina. The lockdown saw the increase in the daily transactions that his small enterprise usually receives in a day – from 60 to 300. Reden counts himself lucky. However, he did experience difficulty in sourcing and transporting his vegetables due to the tighter government restrictions. Reden is lucky compared to the 90,000 micro-, small-, and medium- sized enterprises (MSMEs) that had closed down by September 2020 (Romero & Romero, 2020), six months after the first community lockdown. Among those MSMEs that had to close down was the private kindergarten school located a few meters away from Reden’s vegetable warehouse. Owned by Ellen, the school had been educating kids living in the community for the last two decades. Already plagued by declining enrolees due to the increased competition, Ellen\u27s cash reserves had been continuously decreasing. Like other MSME owners (Macaraeg, 2020), Ellen continued paying her employees a month after the lockdown, but the school\u27s continuing expenses were already eating into her personal savings. Ellen has plans to reopen the school, but as to when, she has yet to decide

Integrating Emotional Intelligence Principles into Extension Programming

Emotional intelligence is a learned ability that can bridge emotions and decision making to help improve Extension program participant outcomes. Because decision making is not based on information and facts alone, emotional intelligence has the power to transform the way individuals think about, plan, and execute behavior changes as well as make informed decisions. We introduce and discuss the applicability of a five-step emotional intelligence framework for Extension programming as a means for integrating emotional intelligence into programs to enhance program participant decision making