The Limits to Change in East Europe

What does every European need today? Provided peace and security are guaranteed, every European seeks to live in an open and prosperous society, in a society striving to put an end to injustice and capable of offering every individual the opportunity of making the most of his or her abilities while serving universal human ideals

The Impact of Positive Behavior Interventions and Support, Counseling, and Mentoring on the Behavior and Achievement of African American Males

The extensive gap in educational achievement between African American males and their peers is one of the most detrimental problems facing American society (Burchinal, McCartney, Steinberg, Crosnoe, Friedman, McLoyd, & Picanta, 2011). The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), counseling, and mentoring on disruptive classroom behavior resulting in office referrals. The study also examined the impact of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), counseling, and mentoring on student achievement in reading of African-American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Previous literature discussed Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), counseling, and mentoring. Findings indicated that participation in PBIS was not a significant predictor of the number of disruptive behaviors that resulted in office referrals received by African American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. The results of this study suggested that participation in counseling was the only significant predictor of the number of disruptive behaviors that resulted in office referrals received by African American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Results indicated that participation in mentoring was not a significant predictor of the number of disruptive behaviors that resulted in office referrals received by African American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Findings from the study indicated that participation in PBIS was not a significant predictor of reading scores received by African American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Also, the results of the study indicated that in participation in counseling was not a significant predictor of reading scores received by African American male students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Lastly, the findings from this study indicated that mentoring was the only significant predictor of reading scores. However, the test revealed a negative relationship between mentoring and reading scores. Recommendations for further research, policy, and practice were made

Teamsters are Beautiful in the Twenty-first Century: The \u27Sisterly\u27 Organizing Rhetoric of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

In line with Tim Kuhn\u27s work on organizational communication genres, this project seeks a generic understanding of Teamsters organizing rhetoric through analysis of the unique rhetorical situation at hand: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) organizing female members by using rhetoric that invites women to identify themselves as Teamsters. This approach reveals how Teamsters organizing rhetoric relies on reinforcing a particular organizational identity that reflects the union\u27s ideologically conservative roots as a bread-and-butter labor organization dependent on the organizing principle of brotherhood while permitting newer sisterly understandings of what it means to be a Teamster. Thus, the organizational genre of Teamsters organizing rhetoric is a hybrid of conventional union rhetoric that organizes the traditional union population, men, and organizational change rhetoric that enables the union\u27s gender order to transform to invite women. Teamsters organizing rhetoric both embraces and extends beyond traditional approaches to union organizing by constructively interweaving streams of rhetoric that represent historical revision of common union values as well as paradoxical understandings of what it means to be identified as a Teamster. While being a Teamster still represents affiliation with a strong union with a macho brotherhood that offers access to the middle class, being a Teamster can also have liberal feminist or women\u27s liberation connotations of being a nontraditional female worker with blue-collar (or pink-collar) pride. Particular genre rules explain how Teamsters union organizing rhetoric maintains this convergence of gendered realities into the twenty-first century

If it bleeds, it leads? Changing death coverage in The New Zealand Herald

Death has become more prominent in the news in the past four decades. Articles about a murder or accident, which in the past may have featured on page five or seven of daily newspapers, now often take up all of the front page of The New Zealand Herald. New categories have also emerged, including the threat of death or near death. This is evident from the increase in human interest stories which not only report the details of the incident but also capture emotion. This article follows the increased visibility of death stories on the front page of New Zealand’s largest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, and investigates how that coverage has changed over time. International scholars have examined the visibility of death in the media closely. However, research is sparse about exactly how this large body of work correlates with New Zealand print media. Therefore, this study aims to close this gap by using content analysis to discuss the prominence of death in The New Zealand Herald over four decades from the 1970s, and the reasons for increased coverage of threats of death or near death

Is this Black enough? Provocations and contemplations

Through my Master of Education studies at Lakehead University, I have aimed to conceptualize intersectional experiences within education while theorizing the outcomes of race in education. As a racialized person who grew up in a neighbourhood that is considered “at risk”, I consider my educational experiences to be uniquely situated in a paradox of sorts. Despite the limit-situations presented in my environment, I was able to set myself apart from some of my peers who experienced less academic success, less student achievement, and less life readiness. The ability of some to overcome certain conditions despite their environment, particularly in education, is curious to me. Within this portfolio, I am seeking to explore the relationship between race and education within the Greater Toronto Area. It is my hope that readers will travel with me through this multilayered voyage. Much like a multi-city trip, this portfolio will have a few destinations as a part of our itinerary. We will begin with a literature review that focuses on the identity, power, class and experiences of racialized individuals. It is my belief that this review will lay the foundation for anyone who explores race in education as it introduces readers to the subject matter and engages a critical lens towards social constructs. Next, is a presentation that was shared at an Arts Conference held at the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. This presentation shows the work of the community arts sector, and the ways that this sector addresses educational gaps amongst racialized and marginalized students that formal schooling often misses. Finally, the last item on the itinerary is a series of both academic and op-ed articles. One of the articles in that series was written after on a round table discussion that shared and analyzed the perspectives of Black adults who were former Ontario high school students who experienced the streaming process. These experiences showed the unique perspectives of streaming as racial discrimination, and underscored the lasting impacts of the streaming process in the lives of young Black adults in the GTA. Through these pieces, I have curated a variety of sources that aim to paint a clearer picture of the relationship that exists between race and education. As I unpack the educational achievements and under achievements of many racialized youth in the school system, please view the proceeding with the understanding that the experiences shared are not representative of all racialized peoples. Rather, these are only a few poignant and intimate findings that exist amongst a plethora of diverse racialized experiences in education

Preliminary study on the antioxidant effect of Kigelia africana fruit extract (Bignoniacieae) in male Sprague- Dawley rats

Testicular germ cells as well as epididymal maturing spermatozoa are endowed with enzymatic and non-enzymatic scavenger systems to protect lipid peroxidation damage. A number of pathologies and systemic challenges can lead to an antioxidant/pro-oxidant disequilibrium. With increasing interest in herbal therapies for management of some fertility-related and inflammatory conditions, we investigated the antioxidant effect of Kigelia africana fruit extract (KAFE) on normal rats. KAFE showed a non-dose dependent elevation in testicular catalase (p < 0.05), significant decline in malondialdehyde (p < 0.001) and an up-regulation of glutathione (p < 0.001) levels. Seminal parameters were also enhanced by KAFE with the lower dose producing better effects. Male infertility is frequently accompanied by increased testicular or seminal fluid oxidative stress. This result provides further scientific basis for the use of KAFE in the treatment of male infertility

From Pre-K to the Workplace: How PBIS Impacts At-Risk Students Achieving Success Beyond Graduation

Sugai and Simonsen (2012) described PBIS as a Response to Intervention model (RtI) consisting of three-tiers of support and a process to solve problems that hinder schools from effectively educating all students. The first level intervention tier, Tier 1, includes supports for all students through teaching, modeling, and positively reinforcing expectations (Cressey, et al., 2014). Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, and Lathrop (2007) stated that more interventions are used at the secondary intervention level, Tier 2, to produce positive outcomes for a small group of students when those students do not respond to the Tier 1 interventions. Fairbanks, et al. (2007) explained that the tertiary intervention level, Tier 3, emphasizes individualized and specialized interventions for students who are nonresponsive to Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions. Tier 3 intervention efforts include planning for function-based behavior interventions, implementing social skills lessons, monitoring intensive individualized behavior plans, constant data-driven decision-making, planning team, and school-community based mental health support services (Cressey, et al., 2014). Banks and Obiakor (2015) concluded that PBIS improves school safety and climate by enhancing positive behavior for students through the implementation of the three-tiered process. To close the gaps in achievement and discipline of at-risk students and their peers, educational interventions are necessary (Davis, 2003). According to Cook, Duong, McIntosh, Fiat, Larson, Pullmann, and McGinnis (2018), longstanding discipline disparities for some groups of students are related to unfortunate outcomes and require practical and effective school-based solutions. Noguera (2012) suggested implementing educational interventions early when warning signs, such as failure to meet academic expectations and grade retention, are present. Bell (2010) agreed that intervening at younger ages is associated with more positive outcomes for students. Bradshaw (2013) reported that Positive Behavior Intervention Support programs have been shown to reduce behavior problems. Johnson and Hannon (2014) asserted that services provided by school counselors are instrumental in students overcoming behavior and academic challenges. Grant and Dieker (2011) recommended mentoring as an effective intervention. Dyce (2013) concluded that providing educational interventions would increase their chances of obtaining academic success

The Emergence of Judith as a Subject in Renaissance Art

The Apocryphal heroine Judith emerged into a full-fledged subject in Renaissance art. My presentation will trace her journey from a symbol of virtue in medieval art to an ambiguous figure of female power in the late Renaissance. Focusing on Donatello\u27s sculpture Judith and Holofernes, a piece that straddles these times and manners of expression, will allow me to discuss the how and why of the symbols traditionally used to express this story and the ones that would come into use by analyzing their presence and meaning in Donatello\u27s work