Review of \u3ci\u3eFighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas\u3c/i\u3e by Brian D. Behnken

If you are an African American, a Mexican American, or a progressive Anglo who grew up in Texas in the past century, reading Brian Behnken\u27s book, filled as it is with examples of the state\u27s racism, is sure to tear off a few old scabs. Behnken\u27s main objective, however, is to explain the factors that kept black civil rights activists from working with their Hispanic counterparts to reduce racial segregation and discrimination. One factor, Behnken argues convincingly, was geography: the battleground for the black struggle was in the eastern part of the state, the Mexican American battleground hundreds of miles away, in the Rio Grande Valley. A more insidious factor was binary racialism. In Texas, a person was either black or white. For much of the twentieth century-until the 1960s-Mexican American leaders chose to pursue a whiteness strategy. Making common cause with blacks would have compromised Mexican Americans\u27 preferred identity. Let the Negro fight his own battles, said League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) president Felix Tijerina, whose politics reflected his segregationist attitudes. Blacks responded in kind, buying into the negative stereotypes that white racists had devised to justify their oppression of Mexican Americans

The Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System: An Assessment of Design, Implementation, and Impact

The FY 1997 National Defense Authorization Act gave the Secretary of Defense authority to establish common personnel policies for DoD intelligence components. Under this authority, DoD began designing the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) in 2007. This personnel system was intended to unify the civilian human resources management systems among ten DoD intelligence components. Beyond mere structural and process changes, DCIPS represents an effort to transform the cultures among component agencies. Such transformation requires a thorough and well-executed implementation strategy, as well as a sound system design.Through a multi-method data collection effort, including interviews, colloquia of experts, focus groups, online dialogue, open forums, and secondary research, the National Academy addressed three aspects of DCIPS: (1) The overall soundness of the design; (2) Success of implementation efforts; and (3) Potential impact of DCIPS on career progression and diversity.Key FindingsThe panel recognized the soundness of DCIPS' design, and the urgency of the effort, as well as the need to make certain changes in its planned implementation prior to moving forward. This report provides key recommendations aimed at encouraging greater collaboration among the intelligence components, restoring and building employee trust in DCIPS and, most importantly, strengthening personal accountability in the performance of agency missions

Academic Stress and Parental Pressure as Predictors of Psychological Health in Covid-19 Emergency Times among School Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria: The Implication for Counseling

Background: Academic stress and parental pressure have been shown to be important factors associated with psychological health. However, the internal mechanism between them is still not clear. Aim: This study assessed the joint significant influence of the predictor variables (academic stress and parental pressure) as predictors of psychological health in COVID-19 emergency times among school children with disabilities in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria: The implication for counseling. One study objective was stated, and one statement of hypothesis was posed. A literature review was carried out based on the variable under study. Method: The research design that was adopted in this study is correlational research design. A simple random sampling technique was adopted to select the 234 respondents sampled for the study from a population of 2,344. A validated 35-item four-point modified Likert scale questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The face and content validity of the instrument was established by experts in Test and Measurement. The reliability estimates 0.89 of the instruments were established using the Cronbach Alpha method. A multiple Linear regression statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. The hypothesis was tested at a 0.05 level of significance. Results: The results obtained from the data analysis revealed that there is a joint significant influence of the predictor variables (academic stress and parental pressure) on psychological health in COVID-19 emergency times among school children with learning disabilities. Conclusion: Sometimes, stress and pressure can be motivating at the mild stage. However, at the severe stage, it could lead to frustration, social pressure, family workload, and cognitive overload, which in turn influences an individual to use and abuse substances in order to escape from unpleasant feelings of life situations. It was recommended that Parents should advise students on how to perform well academically rather than setting standards that may put so much pressure on students, which may have a negative impact on the psychological health of the students

Determinants of Social Studies Curriculum Implementation by Teachers with Intellectual Disabilities in Selected Schools of Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria: Implication for Psychology

Teachers with intellectual disabilities frequently have cognitive processing or perceptual problems. Visual processing problems interfere with understanding text, illustrations, and written work associated with a social studies lesson. Most social studies textbooks include many maps and graphs. For most teachers, these maps clarify the topics covered and those that should be covered as well; however, teachers with visual-spatial and visual-processing disorders may have difficulty interpreting such information. Hence, this study evaluated the factors that affected how the social studies curriculum was implemented by teachers with intellectual disabilities in a sample of schools in the Cross River State, Nigeria, Calabar South Local Government Area; implications for psychology. Two survey factors have been developed to guide the study. The variables under review were used to guide the literature review. The survey study's template was employed. Purposeful selection approaches were used to choose the 60 respondents that made up the study's sample. A structured questionnaire with 10 items and a four-point Likert scale was used to collect the results. Using the Cronbach Alpha reliability method, the instrument's approximate correlation was 0.78. The data was examined using a descriptive methodology. The findings of the study indicated that a teacher's teaching style and level of training among teachers with intellectual disabilities had an impact on how they instruct students in social studies. It was suggested that secondary school teachers with disabilities be given the opportunity to participate in curriculum development and implementation so that they can use student-centered methods in teaching

Prediction of Self-Concept and Anxiety on the Tendency of Postgraduate Students with Learning Disabilities (LD) to Acquire Research Skills in Two Public Universities of Cross River State, Nigeria: Implications for Counseling

Background: Acquisition of research skills provide the forum for incorporating Nigerian graduate students with disabilities and university lecturers into the international scientific culture and the developing knowledge economy. Aim: This study investigated the prediction of self-concept and anxiety on the tendency of postgraduate students with Learning Disabilities (LD) to acquire research skills in two Public Universities of Cross River State, Nigeria: Implications for counseling. Two objectives of the study were stated to guide the study and to achieve the purpose of the study. Two research questions were formulated, which were converted to two statements of hypotheses. A literature review was carried out based on the variables under study. Method: The survey research design was considered most suitable for the study. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the 49 respondents sampled for the study. A validated 20 items four-point modified Likert scale questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The face and content validity of the instrument was established by experts in Test and Measurement. The reliability estimates of 0.81 of the instruments were established using the Cronbach Alpha method. A simple Linear regression statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. The hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. Results: The results obtained from the data analysis revealed a significant prediction of self-concept and anxiety on the tendency of postgraduate students with Learning Disabilities (LD) to acquire research skills in the study area. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, it was therefore recommended, among others, that internal seminars and workshops should be organized by Graduate schools every quarter of the year, where each postgraduate student delivers a standard paper, and this should be made compulsory. This will encourage sharing knowledge and increase skills and zeal for using knowledge and more research publications