The Fragile Balance of Power and Leadership

The aim of this article is to first define effective leadership and power, highlighting the differences between the two. The focal point is that power and effective leadership are not interchangeable and should not be treated as such. Power is a tool while effective leadership is a skill. Simply because a person wields power does not necessarily mean that he or she is an effective leader. Conversely, we will discuss how a leader is unquestionably endowed with a certain degree of power in order to maintain that particular position. Finally, because leaders have power at their disposal, we will explore ways in which power can negatively affect a leader, rendering that individual largely ineffective and exposing the extremely fragile relationship between these two terms

Genetic basis of human circadian rhythm disorders.

Circadian rhythm disorders constitute a group of phenotypes that usually present as altered sleep-wake schedules. Until a human genetics approach was applied to investigate these traits, the genetic components regulating human circadian rhythm and sleep behaviors remained mysterious. Steady advances in the last decade have dramatically improved our understanding of the genes involved in circadian rhythmicity and sleep regulation. Finding these genes presents new opportunities to use a wide range of approaches, including in vitro molecular studies and in vivo animal modeling, to elevate our understanding of how sleep and circadian rhythms are regulated and maintained. Ultimately, this knowledge will reveal how circadian and sleep disruption contribute to various ailments and shed light on how best to maintain and recover good health

The Development of an Undergraduate Data Curriculum: A Model for Maximizing Curricular Partnerships and Opportunities

The article provides the motivations and foundations for creating an interdisciplinary program between a Library and Information Science department and a Human-Centered Computing department. The program focuses on data studies and data science concepts, issues, and skill sets. In the paper, we analyze trends in Library and Information Science curricula, the emergence of data-related Library and Information Science curricula, and interdisciplinary data-related curricula. Then, we describe the development of the undergraduate data curriculum and provide the institutional context; discuss collaboration and resource optimization; provide justifications and workforce alignment; and detail the minor, major, and graduate opportunities. Finally, we argue that the proposed program holds the potential to model interdisciplinary, holistic data-centered curriculum development by complimenting Library and Information Science traditions (e.g., information organization, access, and ethics) with scholarly work in data science, specifically data visualization and analytics. There is a significant opportunity for Library and Information Science to add value to data science and analytics curricula, and vice versa

UNDERSTANDING THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE SPOUSES OF BLACK DOCTORAL STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of spouses of Black doctoral students during the completion of their program, and to understand how being in a marriage with a doctoral student influences future relational decisions. After an indepth review of literature, this study assisted in gathering the experiences of the participants by utilizing a transcendental phenomenological qualitative method. This method was implemented by utilizing interviews, focus groups, and photographic documentation. Using Moustakas’s (1994) method for conducting a qualitative transcendental phenomenological study, interview data was prepared for analyzing data and reporting results. Four meta-themes were derived after carefully coding transcriptions, and chunking common themes to describe the phenomenon: (a) marital roles, (b) the potential of more money, (c) support/coping strategies, and (d) time spent together. The first meta-theme represents the marital roles that were identified by spouses and include the subthemes of (a) lack of time and (b) financial difficulties. The second theme described how the participants’ spouse’s education might help by making more money for the household. The third meta-theme described how the participants supported their spouses in school and coped with the changes in their marriages. Finally, the last meta-theme included categorized how the participants experienced the changes in time spent with their spouse now that was enrolled in a doctoral program, and included the subthemes of: (a) intimacy issues and (b) more quality time

A “just-in-time” pragmatic approach to creating Quality Matters-informed online courses

Purpose Quality Matters is one of the most widely regarded standards for online course design. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors have needed to quickly convert face-to-face classes into an online environment. However, many instructors do not have online education expertise. Standards such as Quality Matters can help guide the creation of quality online course environments. This paper aims to provide a research-based and pragmatic approach for creating QM-informed online courses. Design/methodology/approach The Quality Matters Standards Rubric consists of eight General and 42 Specific Review Standards. Each standard was analyzed to determine the ease of implementation and implementation approach for a Quality Matters-informed online course template. Findings Of the 42 specific review standards, 16 (38%) are easily achievable, 20 (48%) are achievable, but required some intervention, and six (14%) are difficult to achieve through a course template. Practical implications This study provides guidance for implementing Quality Matters-informed online course design. As many instructors without an instructional design or online education background now need to conduct online classes, Quality Matters provides structure and guidance to assist with creating high-quality learning environments. As receiving formal Quality Matters certification is time-consuming and requires peer-review, this research provides guidance to create Quality Matters-informed online courses in a timely manner. Originality/value This study is particularly timely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will help prepare instructors for any second-wave scenarios. Furthermore, through providing guidance on the creation of Quality Matters-informed online course design, this paper will help instructors have a greater chance of instructional success for online course delivery

The Human Metapneumovirus Small Hydrophobic Protein has Properties Consistent with Those of a Viroporin and Can Modulate Viral Fusogenic Activity

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) encodes three glycoproteins: the glycoprotein, which plays a role in glycosaminoglycan binding, the fusion (F) protein, which is necessary and sufficient for both viral binding to the target cell and fusion between the cellular plasma membrane and the viral membrane, and the small hydrophobic (SH) protein, whose function is unclear. The SH protein of the closely related respiratory syncytial virus has been suggested to function as a viroporin, as it forms oligomeric structures consistent with a pore and alters membrane permeability. Our analysis indicates that both the full-length HMPV SH protein and the isolated SH protein transmembrane domain can associate into higher-order oligomers. In addition, HMPV SH expression resulted in increases in permeability to hygromycin B and alteration of subcellular localization of a fluorescent dye, indicating that SH affects membrane permeability. These results suggest that the HMPV SH protein has several characteristics consistent with a putative viroporin. Interestingly, we also report that expression of the HMPV SH protein can significantly decrease HMPV F protein-promoted membrane fusion activity, with the SH extracellular domain and transmembrane domain playing a key role in this inhibition. These results suggest that the HMPV SH protein could regulate both membrane permeability and fusion protein function during viral infection. IMPORTANCE: Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), first identified in 2001, is a causative agent of severe respiratory tract disease worldwide. The small hydrophobic (SH) protein is one of three glycoproteins encoded by all strains of HMPV, but the function of the HMPV SH protein is unknown. We have determined that the HMPV SH protein can alter the permeability of cellular membranes, suggesting that HMPV SH is a member of a class of proteins termed viroporins, which modulate membrane permeability to facilitate critical steps in a viral life cycle. We also demonstrated that HMPV SH can inhibit the membrane fusion function of the HMPV fusion protein. This work suggests that the HMPV SH protein has several functions, though the steps in the HMPV life cycle impacted by these functions remain to be clarified

Conceptual and Measurement Challenges in Research on Cognitive Reserve

Cognitive reserve, broadly conceived, encompasses aspects of brain structure and function that optimize individual performance in the presence of injury or pathology. Reserve is defined as a feature of brain structure and/or function that modifies the relationship between injury or pathology and performance on neuropsychological tasks or clinical outcomes. Reserve is challenging to study for two reasons. The first is: reserve is a hypothetical construct, and direct measures of reserve are not available. Proxy variables and latent variable models are used to attempt to operationalize reserve. The second is: in vivo measures of neuronal pathology are not widely available. It is challenging to develop and test models involving a risk factor (injury or pathology), a moderator (reserve) and an outcome (performance or clinical status) when neither the risk factor nor the moderator are measured directly. We discuss approaches for quantifying reserve with latent variable models, with emphasis on their application in the analysis of data from observational studies. Increasingly latent variable models are used to generate composites of cognitive reserve based on multiple proxies. We review the theoretical and ontological status of latent variable modeling approaches to cognitive reserve, and suggest research strategies for advancing the field

The Impact of Active Learning in a Speech-Language Pathology Swallowing and Dysphagia Course

The signature pedagogy in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) higher education programs has been criticized for its instructor-centric lecture format and emphasis on the lower tiers of Bloom’s taxonomy (simply memorizing knowledge) at the expense of helping students develop the clinical problem-solving skills required for a lifetime of practice and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of a cohort of graduate speech-language pathology students to an active learning-oriented swallowing and dysphagia course design. A potential relationship between student perceptions of the active learning pedagogy and academic performance was also explored. The results suggest that active learning positively impacted both student perceptions and performance in the redesigned swallowing and dysphagia course