A Phenomenological Investigation of Doctoral Students’ Gatekeeping Experiences

Counselor education doctoral students serve as gatekeepers simultaneous to their own training and evaluation. We used transcendental phenomenology to examine the gatekeeping experiences of 15 doctoral students at three programmatic levels. Findings and implications related to two primary themes, (a) precarious positions and power and (b) developing a gatekeeper identity, are discussed

Responses to the 2014 Police Shooting of Michael Brown: Cosmology Episodes and Enacted Environments

This is a consensual multi-dyadic exploration of the diverse perspectives of seven community subgroups’ perceptions of events before, during, and after the 2014 police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown, Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri. Recognizing an enacted environment in the complex history that preceded the uprising, findings were contextualized and framed through the cosmology episode trauma model. A multicultural and visibly diverse research team conducted 34 interviews with involved citizens (protesters), law enforcement, clergy, politicians, business owners, media personnel, and educators. A culturally diverse cross-analysis team triangulated social perspective through consensus coding and audit. Consensual multi-dyadic method preserved the unique characteristics of each subgroup’s phenomenology, to ensure culturally sensitive and decolonized research methods, enabling an in depth look at the factors necessary for conciliation. Insight into motivational factors, narrative meaning-making, and implications for intervention and treatment are discussed. View Full-Tex

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Altruism From The Perspective Of Counsellors In Scotland

Aim/Purpose: This phenomenological investigation sought to describe how counsellors (n = 9), residing in Scotland, experience altruistic caring in their personal and professional lives. This study is an extension of a research line of qualitative studies focused on a model of altruism development. The purpose is to focus on practising counsellors’ common experiences as they relate to altruistic caring and to describe the phenomenon that occurs within the context of the Altruism Development Model (ADM) (Curry, Smith & Robinson, 2009). Methodology: This study is a phenomenological research design. The research team obtained permission from the institutional review board (IRB) to conduct in-depth interviews and record observations. A diverse group of practising counsellors, living in Scotland, were interviewed. Moustaka\u27s (1994) transcendental approach was used to analyse the data, to provide a new perspective from previous studies. More specifically, the research team conducted horizontalisation and developed structural and textural descriptions to describe the phenomenon. Findings: The findings provide support for the ADM. The textural description of participants’ experiences of altruism is that their experiences are complex, and sometimes conflicting. The structural description of participants’ experiences of altruism is that it is a part of themselves. Counsellors in Scotland experience altruism as part of everyday life and view it as an expectation, and counsellors in Scotland recognise that altruism can include wellness and self-care and that these are important to be an effective counsellor. Research Limitations: All the participants were members of a professional organisation and self-selected to be a part of the study. Additionally, the researchers’ culture may have influenced the way they analysed the findings. Implications: Altruism is a socially learned attribute, and it is highly regarded in Scottish culture. Therefore, counsellors may want to explore the influence of culture within a client\u27s life, in relation to altruism. Additionally, exploring the constructs of altruism and self-care for clients may be an important step in a holistic assessment

Exploring Millennial Activism and Racial Equity Interventions in Ferguson, Missouri

The Black Lives Matter movement flipped the script on civil rights activism. In an age of social media, millennial activism, and civil uprising, counselors must update ideals of professional advocacy in practice and understand the specific counseling needs of citizens effected by racism trauma and civil uprising. Exploring stakeholder experiences in Ferguson, MO revealed insights into cultivating racial equity in and out of the counseling room and classroom

Buried asparagines determine the dimerization specificities of leucine zipper mutants

Regulation of gene expression by many transcription factors is controlled by specific combinations of homo- and heterodimers through a short α-helical coiled-coil known as a leucine zipper. The dimer interface of a leucine zipper involves side chains of the residues at the a, d, e, and g positions of the (abcdefg)(n) heptad repeat. To understand the basis for the specificity of dimer formation, we characterized GCN4 leucine zipper mutants with all 16 possible permutations and combinations of isoleucines and asparagines at four a positions in the dimer interface, using a genetic test for the specificity of dimer formation by λ repressor-leucine zipper fusions. Heterodimers were detected by loss of repressor activity in the presence of a fusion to a dominant-negative mutant form of the DNA-binding domain of repressor. Reconstruction experiments using leucine zippers from GCN4, Jun, Fos, and C/EBP showed that this assay distinguishes pairs that form heterodimers from those that do not. We found that the mutants have novel dimerization specificities determined by the positioning of buried asparagine residues at the a positions. The pattern of buried polar residues could also explain the dimerization specificities of some naturally occurring leucine zippers. The altered specificity mutants described here should be useful for the construction of artificial regulatory circuitry