One of the Guys: The Experiences of Three Women Conductors in Collegiate Band Programs

For years women have fought for gender equality. Today women still struggle to be taken seriously in many fields dominated by men, including the music world. This qualitative study looks at the experiences of three women conductors in the collegiate band world. Throughout history women have had to make their own way in this world dominated and ruled by men. They have struggled to receive positions of authority in politics and corporations, and administrative and collegiate positions in education. In the music world women are seriously underrepresented due to previous assumptions that only men could be proficient in musical positions. The purpose of this study is to explore the lived worlds of women in the collegiate band world, to learn what their experiences have been, and implications for women wanting to work in that field and to determine how to better even the odds. This study looks at three women conductors of collegiate bands and their experiences with gender bias. Themes were identified from interviews with each of the participants including their foundational experiences and their experiences with gender bias. The participants also gave their own personal advice for how to continue to close the gender gap in the future

The Effect of Goal Setting, Motivation, and Fitness Trackers on Daily Step Counts

Purpose: Wearable devices for tracking health and fitness-related activities are thought to motivate individuals to participate in regular exercise. It has been suggested that personal activity trackers can empower individuals to create and keep fitness goals. Therefore, this research was conducted to examine whether using a fitness tracking device in combination with working towards a given goal, self-reporting daily steps, and receiving motivational emails would increase physical activity. Methods: 44 participants (13 males, 31 females) were recruited and randomized into either an experimental (goal setting) or control group (n=22 per group). Participants reported step counts every day for four weeks using an online form. After the first week of data collection, daily step count averages were calculated and goals were given to participants in the experimental group, by adding 500 steps to their daily average. Participants were notified of this goal and sent motivational emails each week, while participants in the control group were not given a specific goal or motivation. Results: Week one step count averages were similar between groups (8460.9 ± 3329.8 steps for the control group and 8783.6 ± 4317.6 steps for the experimental group). Step counts declined in both groups across the three-week period. The week three average was 7731.8 ± 4231.5 steps for the control group and 7642.1 ± 4208.9 steps for the experimental group. Despite email encouragement in the experimental group, only 40.9 percent met their given goal in week one. By the third week, only 27.3 percent of participants in the experimental group met their goal, missing this goal by an average of 1595.88 ± 3294 steps. Participants reported that the use of these devices encouraged them to participate in physical activity (44.8 percent of the control group and 63.7 percent of the experimental group) despite the declining step count trend observed. 69.6 percent of the control group and 72.7 percent of the experimental group reported that they would continue to wear a fitness tracking device outside of the study. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between experimental and control groups with their adherence to the program and step count levels throughout each week. Both groups on average did not reach the widely accepted recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. Interestingly, the majority of participants reported that they still plan to use a fitness tracking device in the future and consider them to be a piece of motivational technology

Prevalence and Use of Fitness Tracking Devices within a College Community

Purpose: Wearable devices for tracking health and fitness related activities are thought to motivate individuals to participate in regular exercise. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of these wearable fitness tracking devices in a college setting. Methods: Students, faculty, administration, and staff of Linfield College were asked to complete a survey that examined the types of fitness tracking devices owned, frequency of use, and application of the device. Results: Of 217 participants surveyed (67 males, 150 females), 29.49% own a fitness tracker, with the most common types being a phone app (46.2% of faculty, staff, and administration) and a specific wearable wrist device (44.7% of students). Step count tracking was the most popularly used feature among all participants (86.8% of students and 96.2% of faculty, staff, and administration). 84% of all participants reported that the device encouraged their participation in physical activity. For those not owning a device (70.51% of participants), lack of interest was the most prevalent reason reported against purchasing a device, followed by expense. Conclusion: Our results suggest that a small percentage of individuals across a college community own fitness tracking devices, despite the fact that they are perceived to encourage physical activity

Housing Patterns, Academic Performance and School Choice: An Inquiry into the Relocation Experiences of African-American Families

This qualitative inquiry explored the educational relocation experiences of AfricanAmerican families residing in predominately-White and northern Gwinnett County, Georgia, who relocated to pursue improved educational opportunities for their children. For poor families or African- American families with limited resources, school choice is determined largely by where one lives. Historical oppression at the local, state and federal level has encouraged the concentration of African-American families into segregated communities and segregated housing patterns (Massey & Denton, 1998; Rice, 2009; Squires & Kim, 1995), which are often associated with educational inequality (Royce, 2009). The historical oppression and racial injustices in society challenges us to think more critically about education, curriculum and the role segregated housing patterns plays in perpetuating systematic educational inequality. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework, this inquiry explored the subjectivities and realities associated with the sociopolitical, economic, cultural, linguistic, ethical, and historical context of African-American families and the pursuit of educational equity. Despite many advancements and achievements of African-Americans during the past decades, findings of this inquiry revealed that there is more work to be done. Key findings indicate that African-American students are still underserved in educational settings and continue to experience systemic racism. Research findings also indicated that despite moving to more affluent all White suburban neighborhoods with the expectation of excellent educational opportunities, African-American families desperately need social support networks to survive and thrive in these settings. Findings from this study are significant in that they shed light on relationships between race, space, and educational equity. In so doing, this study provides new information and knowledge for policymakers, administrators, teachers and society interested in improving the education of African-American learners

The use of habit reversal training in the treatment of trichotillomania: a single subject design

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of self-monitoring and a multicomponent behavioral intervention on the treatment of Trichotillomania (TTM). The subject in this study was a 12-year-old African American female who has demonstrated hair-pulling behavior for several years. The interventions that were implemented were journaling and Habit Reversal Training (HRT). The types of measurements that were used were direct observation, daily logs, and standardized questionnaires. The standardized assessments were the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC, March, 1998) and the Trichotillomania Severity and Impairment Scales (Swedo et al., 1989). In the study, the introduction of journaling decreased the targeted behavior by 5.79% and HRT decreased the targeted behavior by 34.84%. The standardized assessments showed very little change or worsening of symptoms. Overall, results of this study were consistent with research on habit reversal training which suggests that this technique is successful in decreasing or eliminating hair pulling (Azrin & Nunn, 1973; Rosenbaum & Ayllon, 1981)

Analysis of the Geosocial Landscape in the City of Toronto

Microblogging on geosocial platforms is a popular form of online communication where users post information about their daily lives and challenges. Since the launch of Twitter in 2006, information sharing through social media has become a largely unused data repository. Tweets often convey content about the users sentiment as it is happening. As such, Tweets can be viewed as a proxy of public mood. In this thesis, I performed a sentiment analysis of all public geo-located Tweets posted by a variety of Twitter users between September 2013 and October 2014. Each Tweet was processed through a custom algorithm to extract 8 different emotions: Anger, Confusion, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, Shame, and Surprise. I then created an emotional landscape to display variance in emotion across the city of Toronto. The emotional landscape presented interesting emotional polarity change between the core and the periphery of the city. Neighbourhood profiles were then used to compare the emotional differences resource access could individual’s ability to cope and mediate stress. I found that individuals living within close proximity to greenspace expressed increased levels of positivity though they have decreased access to built resources. I also found that individuals within Neighbourhood Improvement Areas experienced an increased risk of negativity. I believe large-scale analyses of public sentiment can provide valuable information for further analysis of resource use in an effort to reduce negative health effects long term

Therapist\u27s views of how hope influences the setting and attainment of treatment goals among clients with posttraumatic stress disorder : a qualitative study : a project based upon an independent investigation

The purpose of the current study was to determine the way that therapists view the role that hope plays in the treatment of clients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, specifically in regard to the treatment planning process and attainment of treatment goals. This exploratory qualitative study aims to contribute to previously existing literature about hope and its influence on treatment processes and focused on the areas of: (a) the role of hope in the therapeutic process, (b) hope and PTSD, (c) the assessment of hope, (d) fostering hope, (e) PTSD and treatment goals, and (f) hope, PTSD, and treatment goals. Ten therapists from two agencies in Connecticut participated in audio taped interviews in which they answered questions regarding the topics above. A major finding of this research is that clients with PTSD generally have lower hope and often times this hope must be fostered by the therapist. Further, many clients with PTSD have a foreshortened sense of future which can inhibit goal setting abilities. Suggestions for further research included focusing more closely on the role of avoidance in these clients and how the targeting of this symptom might increase hope early in treatment

Microaggression in the College Environment: Narratives of African American Students at a Predominantly White Institution

The study examined narrative experiences of microaggression from African American college students attending a Predominately White institution (PWI). Participants consisted of a combination of undergraduate and graduate students from a mid-size Midwestern institution of higher education. A qualitative approach was taken through a two-step series, first an email was sent to participants to obtain experiences of microaggression. After, a semi-formal follow-up interview was conducted to collect data for the research. The findings reported all six participants\u27 experienced intentional and unintentional microaggression on various places of the college campus such as, the classroom, campus offices, campus police department, and campus-events. Microaggression was broken into three forms that all participants experienced: microassault, microaggression, and microinsult. The study concluded that African American college students have experienced microaggression at a PWI, especially in the classroom

Using model systems to investigate the effects of captivity on phenotypic variation: implications for captive breeding programmes

Captive breeding programmes (CBPs) offer a method for preventing the extinction of threatened species by assisting with species recovery, primarily by generating animals for reintroduction and supplementing wild populations. However, CBPs often have difficulty establishing self-sustaining populations, unable to maintain consistent reproduction and survivorship in captivity for reintroducing animals back into the wild. A contributing factor leading to this issue may be captive conditions producing phenotypes that differ from wild phenotypes. These phenotypic changes may lead to captive individuals having reduced survivorship, as well as reduced reproductive success, both in captivity and following reintroduction. Ultimately, a range of factors will determine the success of reintroductions; however, the phenotypic changes occurring in captivity, and how this may impact reintroduction success remains largely unknown. In this thesis, I outline how an animal’s phenotype may contribute to the success or failure of CBPs, and in turn, reintroduction success. I used a mammalian and an amphibian species as models to examine phenotypic changes in captivity and specifically looked at developmental, morphological and behavioural phenotypes

Realizing the Promise of Early Educator Apprenticeships

In response to the introduction of the Early Educator Apprenticeship Act in both houses of Congress, this positioning statement outlines recommendations for rebuilding the workforce at this critical moment with quality and equity at the center through apprenticeships, which have been effective in improving K-12 school systems. A national system of robust apprenticeship programs would support rebuilding our supply of care while also ensuring educators receive the high-quality clinical practice and coaching required for the complex task of supporting early brain development.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/bsec/1004/thumbnail.jp