The Leadership Experience of Female Chief Admissions Officers: A Phenomenological Research Study

College admissions is a highly-competitive, business-oriented, and collaborative profession where women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions. A study is needed of the barriers that have the potential to hinder the advancement of women in this unique and challenging field, as well as the opportunities and approaches to leadership that may lead to their success. The southeast region of the U.S. was chosen for this study because it is an area where women have been successful in advancing into leadership roles in admissions. The primary research question was: How do female chief admissions officers describe their lived leadership experiences? The secondary research questions delved into the leadership journeys of the women and their current leadership experiences. A review of the literature identified a number of relevant studies concerning the career development and obstacles to advancement of female leaders as well as issues related to the current roles/responsibilities and challenges of chief admissions officers. The researcher conducted this review and the overall investigation with a critical and feminist theoretical orientation. Using the methodical structure outlined by van Manen (1990), the researcher conducted a phenomenological study. Six participants from public master\u27s and research institutions in the southeast U.S. were selected for the study through purposive sampling and then interviewed at their institutions. The data that was collected from the interviews was analyzed and coded according to a holistic and line-by-line approach (van Manen, 1990). The following eight themes emerged that described the essence of the leadership experience of the participants: (1) Entering the Profession, (2) Sucked In, (3) Mentors, (4) Chipping Away at the Big Issues, (5) Balancing, (6) Like a Roller Coaster, (7) Leadership as a Social Process, and (8) Creating Positive Outcomes. The findings reveal that the leadership experience of female chief admissions officers is characterized by their adaptation to elements of the traditional bureaucratic organization as well as their development of a relational style of leadership that is built upon social interaction and positive outcomes. Their experience is also impacted by relationships with mentors and the complex world of admissions in which they function. A data display was developed to illustrate the interplay between these components of the phenomenon. The researcher offered a critical and feminist interpretation of the results and presented recommendations for practice and further study that may help other women attain a presence and succeed in the male-dominated world of leadership

Local and global stereopsis in the horse.

Although horses have laterally-placed eyes, there is substantial binocular overlap, allowing for the possibility that these animals have stereopsis. In the first experiment of the present study we measured local stereopsis by obtaining monocular and binocular depth thresholds for renal depth stimuli. On all measures, the horses\u27 binocular performance was superior to their monocular. When depth thresholds were obtained, binocular thresholds were several times superior to those obtained monocularly, suggesting that the animals could use stereoscopic information when it was available. The binocular thresholds averaged about 15 min arc. In the second experiment we obtained evidence for the presence of global stereopsis by testing the animals\u27 ability to discriminate between random-dot stereograms with and without consistent disparity information. When presented with such stimuli they showed a strong preference for the cyclopean equivalent of the positive stimulus with the real depth. These results provide the first behavioral demonstration of a full range of stereoscopic skills in a lateral-eyed mammal

Alcohol slows interhemispheric transmission, increases the flash-lag effect, and prolongs masking: evidence for a slowing of neural processing and transmission.

While the alcohol literature is extensive, relatively little addresses the relationship between physiological effects and behavioural changes. Using the visual system as a model, we examined alcohol\u27s influence on neural temporal processing as a potential means for alcohol\u27s effects. We did this by using tasks that provided a measure of processing speed: Poffenberger paradigm, flash-lag, and backward masking. After moderate alcohol, participants showed longer interhemispheric transmission times, larger flash-lags, and prolonged masking. Our data are consistent with the view that alcohol slows neural processing, and provide support for a reduction in processing efficiency underlying alcohol-induced changes in temporal visual processing

Visual Acceleration Perception for Simple and Complex Motion Patterns.

Humans are able to judge whether a target is accelerating in many viewing contexts, but it is an open question how the motion pattern per se affects visual acceleration perception. We measured acceleration and deceleration detection using patterns of random dots with horizontal (simpler) or radial motion (more visually complex). The results suggest that we detect acceleration better when viewing radial optic flow than horizontal translation. However, the direction within each type of pattern has no effect on performance and observers detect acceleration and deceleration similarly within each condition. We conclude that sensitivity to the presence of acceleration is generally higher for more complex patterns, regardless of the direction within each type of pattern or the sign of acceleration

Effects of acute ethyl alcohol consumption on a psychophysical measure of lateral inhibition in human vision.

Acute consumption of ethyl alcohol affects a variety of visual functions. However, there have been few systematic attempts to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying these effects. Here, we employed the Westheimer paradigm to investigate the hypothesis that alcohol reduces lateral inhibition within human perceptive fields , the psychophysical analogue of physiological receptive fields. Westheimer functions obtained under alcohol and no-alcohol conditions at photopic, mesopic, and scotopic levels of adaptation showed changes consistent with an alcohol-induced decrease in lateral inhibition. We conclude that this decrease in lateral inhibition may be responsible for some of the changes in visual perception that result from alcohol consumption

Acute alcohol consumption impairs controlled but not automatic processes in a psychophysical pointing paradigm.

Numerous studies have investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on controlled and automatic cognitive processes. Such studies have shown that alcohol impairs performance on tasks requiring conscious, intentional control, while leaving automatic performance relatively intact. Here, we sought to extend these findings to aspects of visuomotor control by investigating the effects of alcohol in a visuomotor pointing paradigm that allowed us to separate the influence of controlled and automatic processes. Six male participants were assigned to an experimental correction condition in which they were instructed to point at a visual target as quickly and accurately as possible. On a small percentage of trials, the target jumped to a new location. On these trials, the participants\u27 task was to amend their movement such that they pointed to the new target location. A second group of 6 participants were assigned to a countermanding condition, in which they were instructed to terminate their movements upon detection of target jumps . In both the correction and countermanding conditions, participants served as their own controls, taking part in alcohol and no-alcohol conditions on separate days. Alcohol had no effect on participants\u27 ability to correct movements in flight , but impaired the ability to withhold such automatic corrections. Our data support the notion that alcohol selectively impairs controlled processes in the visuomotor domain

Stigma, fear of compassion and chronic pain

Section one details a thematic synthesis that sought to understand men’s experiences of chronic pain. Systematic searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed and PsycINFO identified 14 qualitative studies. Five domains were identified: ‘The effort and unpredictability of being in pain’, ‘Becoming a burden’, ‘Being judged as less of a man’, ‘Trying to hold on to a ‘masculine’ identity’ and ‘Rebuilding and rehabilitating’. Domains were interconnected and represented a process following pain onset. Men initially described a wish to control both the pain and its impact on their daily lives. Reductions in daily functioning and the effect of social judgements led men to feel burdensome and the prevailing Western masculine hegemony shaped men’s responses to these stigmatising experiences. Over time, men built a new understanding of the self, renegotiating their masculinity and sought to rebuild and rehabilitate. Section two describes correlation analyses, hierarchical linear regressions and moderation analyses that sought to understand if: (1) stigma, fear of compassion from others (FOCO) and fear of compassion from self (FOCS) independently predict outcomes of painrelated anxiety, depression or pain interference, and (2) FOCO or FOCS moderate the relationship between pain intensity or stigma and outcomes of psychological distress. FOCO and FOCS significantly correlated with depression, anxiety and pain interference. Pain intensity and stigma were independent predictors of depression, anxiety and pain interference. FOCO significantly predicted depression and anxiety but not pain interference. FOCS predicted depression but not anxiety or pain interference. For the first time in chronic pain, FOCO was demonstrated to moderate the relationship between stigma and depression. This study demonstrates that FOC is an important psychological factor in the experiences of individuals with chronic pain. Section three provides a critical appraisal of the work presented in this thesis, including an exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the process

The light harvesting 2 antenna complex of Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

This thesis presents an analysis of the contribution that the polypeptide Puc2B makes to the binding of BChl(s) within the purified LH2 complexes. Mass spectroscopy established for the first time that Puc2B is incorperated within the LH2 in native complexes. The effect the second puc operon has on the ability of the cell to adapt to high light conditions was measured; it was shown that the puc2BA gene pair is crucial in modulating levels of LH2 complex assembly under these conditions. Using AFM, initial attempts were made to analyse the effects of the second puc operon upon the membrane architecture. Images of Rba. sphaeroides 2.4.1. ,12BA membranes were obtained, with large scale hexagonally packed arrays of LH2 observed for the first time. The development of a purification protocol for a LH2 complex possessing only PuclB as its ~-polypeptide (LH2-l B lA) is described. The crystallisation of LH2 complexes purified using this protocol is detailed, along with the unsuccessful attempts to obtain structural data from the resulting crystals by X-ray crystallography. A previously undescribed protein, RSP6l24, was identified during the purification of LH2-lB 1 A. A bio-informatic analysis of this protein is presented. Although its role within the organism is still unclear, there is evidence which suggests that strong electrostatic interactions between RSP6l24 and the extrinsic regions of the LH2 complex may exist. Contamination of the purified LH2-l B 1 A sample with RSP6124 provides an alternative explanation for current failures to obtain crystals of sufficient quality to yield high resolution diffraction data. Two new deletion strains of Rba. sphaeroides 2.4.1. that lack the ability to assemble any LH2, LH 1 or RC complex have been created. Assembly levels of the LH2 complex in the deletion strains lacking both puc operons were shown to be markedly lower than in a deletion strain which carries puc2BA on its genome. The spectroscopic characteristics of LH2 complexes comprising exclusively Puc 1 B, Puc2B or a mixture of both were analysed while bound within the native membrane. Puc2B is shown to be integral to B800 BChl binding within the LH2 complex of Rba. sphaeroides 2.4.1. A hypothesis to account for the reduction of B800 BChl binding in the absence of Puc2B is proposed. The final chapter describes the specific attachment of purified LH2 complexes from Rba. sphaeroides to patterned self assembled monolayers on the micron scale. Surface plasmon resonance studies were used to select SAMs possessing tail groups with specific chemical properties. Two surfaces that have contrasting attractive and repUlsive responses to membrane protein adsorption have been identified. Confocal microscopy was used to demonstrate the functionality of the purified LH2 complexes whilst they are covalently attached to the surface

Effects of ethanol on anti-saccade task performance.

It has been shown that saccade-related neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) display an increased level of prestimulus activity and a higher stimulus-related burst in action potentials preceding direction errors in the anti-saccade task compared with correct anti-saccades. From this, it has been hypothesized that errors occur when the incoming visual signal in the SC passes a threshold and triggers a reflexive saccade. This hypothesis predicts that an attenuated visual signal will reduce the number of direction errors. Since ethanol has been shown to have a suppressive effect on cortical visual event-related potentials (ERPs), the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of moderate ethanol consumption on anti-saccade performance. Under both placebo and ethanol conditions, we recorded ERPs and measured eye movements in male subjects during the performance of an anti-saccade task in which the fixation point disappeared 200 ms prior to stimulus presentation. Compared with the placebo condition, we found in the ethanol condition: (1). a decrease in ERP amplitudes during the gap period and after stimulus presentation, (2). an increase in the latencies of anti-saccades, and (3). a decrease in the percentage of direction errors. These data demonstrate the effects of ethanol on anti-saccade task performance and provide further support for the hypothesis that errors in the anti-saccade task are triggered by the incoming visual signal

A retinoscopic survey of 333 horses and ponies in the UK

Introduction: Ophthalmic examination in the horse is generally limited to crude assessment of vision and screening for ocular lesions. The refractive state of equine eyes and the potential impact on vision and performance requires further investigation. Objective: To assess the refractive state of a large, mixed breed sample of horses and ponies in the United Kingdom (UK). Procedure: The refractive state of both eyes of 333 horses and ponies was determined by streak retinoscopy and the effect of age, height, gender, breed and management regime on the refractive state assessed. Results: The majority of eyes tested were emmetropic (83.63%), with 68.5% of horses having refractive errors of ≤ -0.50D or ≥ +0.50D. Refractive errors of greater than 1.50D (in either direction) were found in 2.7% of the eyes tested. Ametropic eyes included hyperopia (54%) and myopia (46%). Anisometropia was found in 30.3% of horses and ponies. Breed of horse/pony was the only factor that affected refractive state (in the left eye only, p<0.05) with 2 Thoroughbred crosses having a tendency towards myopia and Warmbloods / Shires towards hyperopia. Discussion / Conclusion: The retinoscopic survey found emmetropia to be the predominant refractive state of the equine eye with no evidence of an overall trend towards myopia or hyperopia. However, individual and breed related differences were found. Such factors should be considered in the selection of horses for sport and leisure, and when evaluating their performance potential. More comprehensive visual testing would be valuable in identifying underlying causes of behavioural problems