Succeeding Through Collaborative Conflict: The Paradoxical Lessons of Shared Leadership

Facing serious challenges that may dictate the complete overhaul of business mindset and industry must be directed by sound leadership. But is it possible to lead alone or is collaboration necessary to confront these challenges? These authors tackle the well-known idiom “two heads are better than one” and extract from its meaning the inherent dichotomy in shared leadership, mediating differences of direction, and preserving the integrity of individual perspective in this new age

Integrated Development: Best Practices for Girls’ Education

Integrated development takes into consideration the multidimensional nature of every issue. This thesis focuses on the issue of girls’ education and examines the many interconnected barriers which prevent girls from attending school specifically in the context of Niger, but also on a broader level. There must exist a supportive environment which enables girls to be able to access, attend and succeed in school, and this supportive environment must be created across sectors by addressing the many issues which prevent girls’ schooling: cost, health, physical access, culture and tradition etc. Multi-level and multisectoral partnerships of local and international NGOs and the government are necessary in order to carry out such a large scale package of interventions. These kinds of partnerships can be very challenging, but bringing agencies and organizations together across sectors with a common goal can effectively address the multiple interconnected issues surrounding a development problem like girl’s education. It takes these kinds of partnerships to develop a package of interventions which are fitted to the needs of the community and which integrate development across sectors thus creating a supportive environment for girls’ education to thrive

University of Nevada, Las Vegas Transmutation Research Program Annual Progress Report Academic Year 2007-2008

It is my pleasure to present the UNLV Transmutation Research Program’s seventh annual report that highlights the academic year 2007-2008. Supporting this document are the many technical reports and theses that have been generated over the past seven years. In the seventh year of our program, we continued to see growth in the Radiochemistry Ph.D. program with a total of 20 students in the fourth year of the program (we anticipated twelve in the program proposal). Since our inception, the program has sponsored to their conclusion 48 M.S. and 6 Ph.D. degrees. The program supported 53 graduate students, 11 undergraduates, and eight post-doctoral scholars in eight academic departments across the UNLV scientific and engineering communities in the academic year 2007-2008. Our research tasks span the range of technology areas for transmutation, including separation of actinides from spent nuclear fuel, methods of fuel fabrication, reactoraccelerator coupled experiments, corrosion of materials exposed to lead-bismuth eutectic, and special nuclear materials protection and accountability. We continued our emphasis on molten metal technology and actinide chemistry in our enhancements to UNLV this year to build a foundation in areas that are in line with UNLV’s strategic growth and our ability to address student-appropriate research in the transmutation program

A Professional Development Program for the Mother Tongue-Based Teacher: Addressing Teacher Perceptions and Attitudes Towards MTBMLE

This study investigates teacher attitudes about language and education. The purpose of the study is to help program designers develop professional development efforts that successfully address some of the major identified challenges teachers face when transitioning into Mother Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTBMLE), including negative attitudes. It also suggests protocols and issues that trainers should consider when designing professional development for MTBMLE teachers. The research question guiding this study is: 1. Do teachers\u27 attitudes towards and knowledge about mother tongue-based instruction change after they participate in professional development that is consistent with good professional development practice? a. What were teachers\u27 knowledge and attitudes about MTBMLE before the professional development program? b. Did teachers\u27 knowledge and attitudes change after participating in the professional development program? c. Why did teachers hold particular attitudes towards MTBMLE prior to professional development and what factors influenced their change? I conducted this research during a three-month MTBMLE professional development program with a group of indigenous first grade teachers and their school principals in Save the Children\u27s outreach areas in rural Mindanao in the Philippines. I used a Q sort methodology for initial interviews conducted with a subset of five first grade teachers followed by a second interview after the professional development program. The interview data showed that teachers came into the trainings with two distinct viewpoints; mother tongue supporters and one mother tongue resister. After the professional development program, however, teachers were all more positive about using the mother tongue as the language of instruction. Interviews revealed that teachers were more positive and confident in teaching the mother tongue when they had the opportunity to: 1) spend time learning about their own language, 2) create mother tongue teaching and learning materials, and 3) reflect on their early learning experiences and experience what it is like to learn in a language that is not familiar. This paper will discuss the research findings in depth and will provide a clearer picture of how to train and support teachers who are transitioning into MTBMLE

Incorporating Environmental Health into Pediatric Medical and Nursing Education

Pediatric medical and nursing education currently lacks the environmental health content necessary to appropriately prepare pediatric health care professionals to prevent, recognize, manage, and treat environmental-exposure–related disease. Leading health institutions have recognized the need for improvements in health professionals’ environmental health education. Parents are seeking answers about the impact of environmental toxicants on their children. Given the biologic, psychological, and social differences between children and adults, there is a need for environmental health education specific to children. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, in partnership with the Children’s Environmental Health Network, created two working groups, one with expertise in medical education and one with expertise in nursing education. The working groups reviewed the transition from undergraduate student to professional to assess where in those processes pediatric environmental health could be emphasized. The medical education working group recommended increasing education about children’s environmental health in the medical school curricula, in residency training, and in continuing medical education. The group also recommended the expansion of fellowship training in children’s environmental health. Similarly, the nursing working group recommended increasing children’s environmental health content at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing nursing education levels. Working groups also identified the key medical and nursing organizations that would be important in leveraging these changes. A concerted effort to prioritize pediatric environmental health by governmental organizations and foundations is essential in providing the resources and expertise to set policy and provide the tools for teaching pediatric environmental health to health care providers

The use of a bespoke website developed for people with dementia and carers: Users’ experiences, perceptions and support needs

Background: Current policy emphasises the role of digital technologies in facilitating the management of long-term conditions. While digital resources have been developed for carers, there has been little attention to their development for people with dementia. The Caregiverspro-MMD website was developed as a joint resource for people with dementia and carers, delivering access to information, informal content, games and peer support. Research Design and Methods: This study explored the experiences of dyads consisting of people with dementia and carers of using the website. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 43 participants. Findings: Thematic analysis identified 10 subthemes grouped under three superordinate themes which highlight participants’ experiences of and responses to the website functions; important aspects of the website design and delivery; and barriers to use. Discussion: Findings highlight the value of a credible information source which negated the need for arduous online searches, the pleasure associated with playing games and interacting with others online. However, participants were reluctant to share personal information online, preferring to create ‘informal content’ which celebrated everyday life, and were reluctant to ‘friend’ people online who they had not met in person. The importance of training and support to use the website was highlighted. Health problems, lack of interest or difficulties using technology, and time were all identified as barriers to use

Training people with dementia/cognitive impairment and their carers in the use of web-based supportive technologies (Innovative practice)

Little is known about the training and support people with dementia and their carers need to use digital solutions. This paper shares learning from a bespoke programme that successfully trained people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and their informal carers to use a social networking website. This work was undertaken as part of the European Horizon 2020 Caregiverspro-mmd trial (ISRCTN15654731). The training methods described offer an improved understanding of how best to deliver digital skills training that meets the needs of a diverse client group. The effectiveness of the programme is evidenced with qualitative and quantitative data

Cardiovascular, hemodynamic, neuroendocrine, and inflammatory markers in women with and without vasomotor symptoms

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One candidate mechanism may involve alterations in physiological responses to stress. The current study therefore examined the relationship between self-reported VMS bother and cardiovascular, hemodynamic, neuroendocrine and inflammatory responses to an acute psychosocial stress protocol

The CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD Platform as an Online Informational and Social Support Tool for People Living With Memory Problems and Their Carers: An Evaluation of User Engagement, Usability and Usefulness

People living with dementia or cognitive impairment (PwD) and their carers often have unmet needs for informational and social support postdiagnosis. Web-based platforms have the potential to address these needs, although few have been developed for use by both PwD and carers. The CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD platform was developed to provide both user groups with informational and peer-to-peer social support. Platform logging data were analyzed to assess the extent to which PwD (n = 37) and carers (n = 37) engaged with the platform and its social/informational features in their daily lives. Participants also provided feedback on the usefulness and usability of the platform. The majority of PwD and carers found the platform and its social/informational features useful and usable, and significant subsets of both groups utilized the platform regularly. However, carers engaged with the informational and social features to a greater extent than PwD, and users highlighted that PwD typically required regular support to use the platform

The Forum: Summer 2000

Summer 2000 journal of the Honors Program at the University of North Dakota. The issue includes stories, poems, essays and art by undergraduate students.https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1043/thumbnail.jp