Psychosocial Factors and Early Career College Faculty: Teacher Identity, Teaching Self-efficacy, and Sense of Belonging

The purpose of this integrated article dissertation is to present my investigation into the roles played by teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, and organizational sense of belonging in the early careers of Ontario college faculty. The first study presents a mixed methods investigation of the effects of employment status on these psychosocial factors. Using a quantitative survey developed from a series of instruments in the literature, I collected quantitative data from 424 college faculty who were in their first three years of teaching. I also conducted focus group interviews with 27 participants in eight focus groups. My thematic analysis revealed four themes. The three themes of teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, sense of belonging were predetermined from the variables of interest in the study. The fourth theme, support for new faculty and all its subthemes were determined through inductive coding. The quantitative data analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, and MANOVA. The mixed methods results showed that employment status had an effect on teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, and belonging. The second study presents the development and analysis of a conceptual model of the effect of teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, and sense of belonging on teacher engagement and approaches to teaching. This quantitative analysis of the same data set included MANOVA, ANOVA, and path analysis. The path analysis showed differences between the full-time and part-time faculty on the predictors of teacher engagement but not for student-focused approaches to teaching. Teacher engagement was predicted by all three variables for full-time faculty. For part-time faculty, teacher identity and teaching self-efficacy predicted teacher engagement, but belonging did not. For both full-time and part-time faculty groups, a student-focused approach to teaching was predicted only by teaching self-efficacy, and not by teacher identity or teaching self-efficacy. Furthermore, employment status did not have an effect on approaches to teaching, but it did have an effect on overall teacher engagement and the domains of engagement. Taken together these studies establish the importance of the psychosocial factors of teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, and sense of belonging to the teaching practices of faculty in their early careers, and it highlight some differences based on employment status. The implications are that onboarding and orientation programs for both part-time and full-time new college faculty should deliberately include opportunities for developing and enhancing these psychosocial factors

College instructors’ preparedness to teach students with learning disabilities

An increasing number of students with learning disabilities (LD) are attending community colleges in Ontario. Accessible education depends on educators having the knowledge and attitudes needed to reduce barriers and provide an inclusive learning environment. This study investigated the perceptions of community college instructors regarding their preparedness to teach students with learning disabilities. A mixed-methods approach used an on-line questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to collect data from instructors at a large community college in southwestern Ontario. The “Instructor Preparedness Questionnaire” was developed to measure instructors’ knowledge about and attitudes towards students with LD. Follow-up interviews with twelve participants provided qualitative data to further explore instructors’ perceptions of teaching students with learning disabilities. The results showed that overall instructors’ had moderately positive scores on both the attitude and knowledge scales. However, qualitative data revealed that instructors generally felt unprepared for the task of teaching students with learning disabilities. In addition, they had many misconceptions of what constitutes a learning disability and the needs of students with LD. Instructors expressed the desire and need for professional development on the topics of learning disabilities and inclusive classroom strategies. The importance of preparing college instructors with the knowledge and attitudes for teaching in an inclusive education setting is evident. The relevance of this research is indicated in the recent implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standard which calls for training for all educators regarding accessibility awareness in course design and delivery. Implications for college administrators, instructors and students are discussed

Faculty Preparedness to Teach Students with Learning Disabilities: Developing an Instrument to Assess Faculty Perceptions

Despite increasing rates of entry, students with learning disabilities (LD) continue to face barriers to completing post-secondary education. Faculty attitudes and knowledge are important factors in supporting students with LD, yet little is known about faculty preparation. No valid, reliable, easy-to-administer inventory exists to assess the perceptions of faculty about their preparedness for the task of teaching students with LD. The Faculty Preparedness Questionnaire (FPQ) was developed to measure faculty perceptions of preparedness for teaching students with LD based on two factors: knowledge and attitude. For this study, 101 community college instructors completed the original questionnaire consisting of 22 items. After factor analysis, the 17-item FPQ was determined to be a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of instructor attitudes and knowledge as components of their perceptions of preparedness. This research contributes to the current dialogue regarding best practice for inclusive post-secondary education

Cool Companions to White Dwarfs from the 2MASS Second Incremental Data Release

We present near-infrared magnitudes for all white dwarfs (selected from the catalog of McCook & Sion) contained in the 2 Micron All Sky Survey Second Incremental Data Release(2MASS 2IDR). We show that the near-IR color-color diagram is an effective means of identifying candidate binary stars containing a WD and a low mass main sequence star. The loci of single WDs and WD + red dwarf binaries occupy distinct regions of the near-IR color-color diagram. We recovered all known unresolved WD + red dwarf binaries located in the 2IDR sky coverage, and also identified as many new candidate binaries (47 new candidates out of 95 total). Using observational near-IR data for WDs and M-L dwarfs, we have compared a sample of simulated WD + red dwarf binaries with our 2MASS data. The colors of the simulated binaries are dominated by the low mass companion through the late-M to early-L spectral types. As the spectral type of the companion becomes progressively later, however, the colors of unresolved binaries become progressively bluer. Binaries containing the lowest mass companions will be difficult to distinguish from single WDs solely on the basis of their near-IR colors.Comment: 18 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Progressive resistance training and stretching following surgery for breast cancer: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Currently 1 in 11 women over the age of 60 in Australia are diagnosed with breast cancer. Following treatment, most breast cancer patients are left with shoulder and arm impairments which can impact significantly on quality of life and interfere substantially with activities of daily living. The primary aim of the proposed study is to determine whether upper limb impairments can be prevented by undertaking an exercise program of prolonged stretching and resistance training, commencing soon after surgery. METHODS/DESIGN: We will recruit 180 women who have had surgery for early stage breast cancer to a multicenter single-blind randomized controlled trial. At 4 weeks post surgery, women will be randomly assigned to either an exercise group or a usual care (control) group. Women allocated to the exercise group will perform exercises daily, and will be supervised once a week for 8 weeks. At the end of the 8 weeks, women will be given a home-based training program to continue indefinitely. Women in the usual care group will receive the same care as is now typically provided, i.e. a visit by the physiotherapist and occupational therapist while an inpatient, and receipt of pamphlets. All subjects will be assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 6 months later. The primary measure is arm symptoms, derived from a breast cancer specific questionnaire (BR23). In addition, range of motion, strength, swelling, pain and quality of life will be assessed. DISCUSSION: This study will determine whether exercise commencing soon after surgery can prevent secondary problems associated with treatment of breast cancer, and will thus provide the basis for successful rehabilitation and reduction in ongoing problems and health care use. Additionally, it will identify whether strengthening exercises reduce the incidence of arm swelling. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this study is registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN012606000050550)

Low-Temperature Plasticity in Olivine: Grain Size, Strain Hardening, and the Strength of the Lithosphere

Plastic deformation of olivine at relatively low temperatures (i.e., low-temperature plasticity) likely controls the strength of the lithospheric mantle in a variety of geodynamic contexts. Unfortunately, laboratory estimates of the strength of olivine deforming by low-temperature plasticity vary considerably from study to study, limiting confidence in extrapolation to geological conditions. Here we present the results of deformation experiments on olivine single crystals and aggregates conducted in a deformation-DIA at confining pressures of 5 to 9 GPa and temperatures of 298 to 1473 K. These results demonstrate that, under conditions in which low-temperature plasticity is the dominant deformation mechanism, fine-grained samples are stronger at yield than coarse-grained samples, and the yield stress decreases with increasing temperature. All samples exhibited significant strain hardening until an approximately constant flow stress was reached. The magnitude of the increase in stress from the yield stress to the flow stress was independent of grain size and temperature. Cyclical loading experiments revealed a Bauschinger effect, wherein the initial yield strength is higher than the yield strength during subsequent cycles. Both strain hardening and the Bauschinger effect are interpreted to result from the development of back stresses associated with long-range dislocation interactions. We calibrated a constitutive model based on these observations, and extrapolation of the model to geological conditions predicts that the strength of the lithosphere at yield is low compared to previous experimental predictions but increases significantly with increasing strain. Our results resolve apparent discrepancies in recent observational estimates of the strength of the oceanic lithosphere.Support for this research was provided by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/M000966/1 and NSF Division of Earth Sciences grants 1255620, 1464714, and 1550112. D.E.J.A. acknowledges funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering through a research fellowship

Ten Years of Experience Training Non-Physician Anesthesia Providers in Haiti.

Surgery is increasingly recognized as an effective means of treating a proportion of the global burden of disease, especially in resource-limited countries. Often non-physicians, such as nurses, provide the majority of anesthesia; however, their training and formal supervision is often of low priority or even non-existent. To increase the number of safe anesthesia providers in Haiti, Médecins Sans Frontières has trained nurse anesthetists (NAs) for over 10 years. This article describes the challenges, outcomes, and future directions of this training program. From 1998 to 2008, 24 students graduated. Nineteen (79%) continue to work as NAs in Haiti and 5 (21%) have emigrated. In 2008, NAs were critical in providing anesthesia during a post-hurricane emergency where they performed 330 procedures. Mortality was 0.3% and not associated with lack of anesthesiologist supervision. The completion rate of this training program was high and the majority of graduates continue to work as nurse anesthetists in Haiti. Successful training requires a setting with a sufficient volume and diversity of operations, appropriate anesthesia equipment, a structured and comprehensive training program, and recognition of the training program by the national ministry of health and relevant professional bodies. Preliminary outcomes support findings elsewhere that NAs can be a safe and effective alternative where anesthesiologists are scarce. Training non-physician anesthetists is a feasible and important way to scale up surgical services resource limited settings

The impact of water on slip system activity in olivine and the formation of bimodal crystallographic preferred orientations

Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) in olivine are widely used to infer the mechanisms, conditions, and kinematics of deformation of mantle rocks. Recent experiments on water-saturated olivine were the first to produce a complex CPO characterised by bimodal orientation distributions of both [100] and [001] axes and inferred to form by combined activity of (001)[100], (100)[001], and (010)[100] slip. This result potentially provides a new microstructural indicator of deformation in the presence of elevated concentrations of intracrystalline hydrous point defects and has implications for the interpretation of seismic anisotropy. Here, we document a previously unexplained natural example of this CPO type in a xenolith from Lesotho and demonstrate that it too may be explained by elevated concentrations of hydrous point defects. We test and confirm the hypothesis that combined (001)[100], (100)[001], and (010)[100] slip were responsible for formation of this CPO by (1) using high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction to precisely characterise the dislocation types present in both the experimental and natural samples and (2) employing visco-plastic self-consistent simulations of CPO evolution to assess the ability of these slip systems to generate the observed CPO. Finally, we utilise calculations based on effective-medium theory to predict the anisotropy of seismic wave velocities arising from the CPO of the xenolith. Maxima in S-wave velocities and anisotropy are parallel to both the shear direction and shear plane normal, whereas maxima in P-wave velocities are oblique to both, adding complexity to interpretation of deformation kinematics from seismic anisotropy.D. Wallis, L.N. Hansen, and A.J. Wilkinson acknowledge support from the Natural Environment Research Council Grant NE/M000966/1. M. Tasaka acknowledges support through a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (26-4879) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (16K17832). D.L. Kohlstedt acknowledges support through NASA Grant NNX15AL53G. K.M. Kumamoto acknowledges support through NSF Division of Earth Science grants 1255620 and 1625032

Dislocation interactions during low-temperature plasticity of olivine and their impact on the evolution of lithospheric strength

The strength of the lithosphere is typically modelled based on constitutive equations for steady-state flow. However, strain hardening may cause significant evolution of strength in the colder load-bearing portion of the lithosphere. Recent rheological data from low-temperature deformation experiments on olivine suggest that strain hardening occurs due to the presence of temperature-independent back stresses generated by long-range elastic interactions among dislocations. These interpretations provided the basis for a flow law that incorporates hardening by the development of back stress. Here, we test this dislocation-interaction hypothesis by examining the microstructures of olivine samples deformed plastically at room temperature either in a deformation-DIA apparatus at differential stresses of ≤4.3GPa or in a nanoindenter at applied contact stresses of ≥10.2GPa. High-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction maps reveal the presence of geometrically necessary dislocations with densities commonly above 1014m−2 and intragranular heterogeneities in residual stress on the order of 1 GPa in both sets of samples. Scanning transmission electron micrographs reveal straight dislocations aligned in slip bands and interacting with dislocations of other types that act as obstacles. The resulting accumulations of dislocations in their slip planes, and associated stress heterogeneities, are consistent with strain hardening resulting from long-range back-stresses acting among dislocations and thereby support the form of the flow law for low-temperature plasticity. Based on these observations, we predict that back stresses among dislocations will impart significant mechanical anisotropy to deformed lithosphere by enhancing or reducing the effective stress. Therefore, strain history, with associated microstructural and micromechanical evolution, is an important consideration for models of lithospheric strength. The microstructural observations also provide new criteria for identifying the operation of back-stress induced strain hardening in natural samples and therefore provide a means to test the applicability of the flow law for low-temperature plasticity.This research was supported by Natural Environment Research Council grants NE/M000966/1 to LNH, AJW, and DW and 1710DG008/JC4 to LNH and AJW; European Plate Observing System Transnational Access grant EPOS-TNA-MSL 2018-022 to LNH; Advanced Photon Source General User Proposal 55176 to LNH, DLG, and WBD; and National Science Foundation Awards EAR-1361319 to WBD, EAR-1625032 to JMW, and EAR-1806791 to KMK