A Cross-Disciplinary Examination of Institutional Diversity: How University Programs Advance a Diverse Workforce

Diversity in higher education is encouraged and celebrated throughout many predominant universities across the United States. Institutions of higher learning benefit from diversity in all aspects of campus life; from classes, organizations, or extracurricular activities. Institutional theory is applied to this study to examine how diversity programs are implemented in various university types (national research, private, and state) as well as different settings (educational opportunities, leadership, and accessibility) to develop a qualified and diverse workforce. To achieve this objective, we suggest universities implement a multifaceted approach focusing on initiatives at the university, faculty, and student level

Gender Imbalance Improvements in Academia, Business, and Physical Education

Traditionally, men have disproportionally held leadership positions in academia, business, and physical education. Fortunately, graduate programs in each field are providing women opportunities that were not apparent a few decades ago. We examine Business and Physical Education for transgressions of discrimination and provide evidence from personal interviews which indicate progress has been made for women in these fields. We provide several cross-disciplinary themes that transcend gender barriers to promote an equitable workforce in addition to field specific recommendations

A Study of Failures in the US Banking Industry

This dissertation studies failures in the U.S. banking industry following the 2008 financial crisis. The dissertation offers an exhaustive review of the organizational failure literature, and changes in the banking industry environment over the past century. It takes three theoretical perspectives - institutional, industrial organization and resource-based view- to analyze failures in the banking industry. The review and analysis allows me to trace the roots of recent bank failures to external (institutional, competitive) and internal (resource structure, strategy, risk) factors, and propose several hypotheses linking such factors with failures. The hypotheses are tested using a data-set that included all bank failures in the US from June 30th, 2009 to June 29 th, 2010. A second data-set that includes all recent bank failures prior to the crisis (2000-2007) is analyzed to compare the antecedents of bank failure prior to-and during- a financial crisis. The results show that both internal and external factors contributed to recent bank failures. This study provides evidence that neither deterministic nor voluntaristic perspective alone explains corporate failures. The combination of multiple theoretical lenses from different perspectives provides the best understanding of failures. The dissertation also discusses theoretical and managerial implications of the study

Importance of Cultural Intelligence: cross-cultural examination and analysis

Globalization requires collaboration, partnerships, alliances, trade agreements, and business conduct across both borders and cultures. Growth in international business necessitates corporations and employees to be culturally intelligent. Cultural intelligence has proved to be an instrumental skill that will be a major determinant in the success of cross-cultural collaborations. We examine cross-cultural situations of financial and social problems caused by a lack of cultural intelligence and compare them to situations of effective collaborations. We conclude with practical suggestions and five recommendations that can help improve cultural intelligence levels

The Promise of Sonodynamic Therapy: Using Ultrasonic Irradiation and Chemotherapeutic Agents as a Treatment Modality

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a potential cancer treatment modality that has been gaining support due to its effectiveness in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The therapeutic method combines ultrasonic irradiation with drugs known as sonosensitizers that amplify its ability to inflict preferential damage on malignant cells. This is based on the idea that ultrasonic waves have the ability to exhibit profound physical and chemical changes on cellular structure. The mechanisms by which ultrasound disrupts cellular functioning can be further amplified when sonosensitizers are applied. Combining multiple sonosensitizers with ultrasound to create a substantial synergistic effect could be an effective method for destroying tumorigenic growths, while decreasing the likelihood of drug resistance. Perhaps one of the most intriguing capabilities of ultrasound is its ability to preferentially lyse cells based on size. This known fact invariably gives rise to the idea of grossly enlarging tumor cells to increase their already noticeable size difference with normal cells. Cytochalasin B is a known pharmacological agent that disrupts the actin cytoskeleton and inhibits cytokinesis by interfering with formation of the contractile ring as well as the development of the cleavage furrow. Consequently, the cell does not divide and an immature actin cytoskeleton remains. However, the cell continues to form nuclei and eventually becomes grossly enlarged and multinucleated. Such cells invariably have more DNA targets, increasing the likelihood of apoptosis. Furthermore, the multinucleated cells have a large cell volume, making them more susceptible for direct cell destruction. Preferential damage of malignant cells is actually easily attainable as normal cells exposed to cytochalasin B exit the cell cycle and enter a resting state until sufficient actin levels are restored. Therefore, only malignant cells that have lost the ability to enter the rest phase will become grossly enlarged and multinucleated, providing an ideal target for ultrasonic irradiation. Work from our lab has indicated that cytochalasin B does indeed only damage leukemia cells, leaving normal blood cells, unaffected. The designated cell line has been promyleocytic leukemia U937 cells as they are a frequent choice for in vitro studies. The U937 cells have routinely become grossly enlarged and multinucleated, providing an ideal target based on size. The typical erythrocyte is 6-8µm, while leukocytes fair slightly better with a range of 10-15µm and an average of 12µm. By contrast, work from our lab has shown that cytochalasin B treated leukemia cells easily grow in excess of 20µm with some reaching 40µm in diameter after enough exposure. Such cells have reduced cytoskeletal integrity and are easy targets for ultrasonic irradiation. Furthermore, cytochalasin B treated leukemia cells are substantially multinucleated as cytokinesis is inhibited. This provides plenty of targets for a nucleic acid directed agent such as cisplatin or doxorubicin to attack. To investigate the extent of preferential damage inflicted by cytochalasin B on U937 leukemia/human blood populations, cell mixtures were treated with cytochalasin B and then sonicated under a relatively low intensity (3W/cm2). Results indicated that cytochalasin B preferentially damages U937 cells both before and after sonications. The agent also demonstrates the capability to eliminate rapid proliferation as U937 cells have a marked decrease in clonogenicity. Such findings suggest that cytochalasin B may have profound therapeutic applications when combined with SDT. Key Words Sonodynamic Therapy, Ultrasound, Sonosensitizers, Inertial Cavitation, Reactive Oxygen Species, Tumor Vasculature, Preferential Damag

The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, by Edith T. Penrose. Oxford: Blackwell, 1959 (Book Review)

[First paragraph] A review (in the pages of this journal) of a book published nearly fifty years ago may appear unusual; not unless the book has become a “classic”. Indeed, many organizational scholars (e.g, Pitelis, 2002) view it as a seminal text for the resource-based view of the firm - arguably one of the dominant theoretical perspectives in strategic management research today

Genetic and Modifiable Risk Factors Contributing to Cisplatin-Induced Toxicities

Effective administration of traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy is often limited by off-target toxicities. This clinical dilemma is epitomized by cisplatin, a platinating agent that has potent antineoplastic activity due to its affinity for DNA and other intracellular nucleophiles. Despite its efficacy against many adult-onset and pediatric malignancies, cisplatin elicits multiple off-target toxicities that can not only severely impact a patient’s quality of life, but also lead to dose reductions or the selection of alternative therapies that can ultimately affect outcomes. Without an effective therapeutic measure by which to successfully mitigate many of these symptoms, there have been attempts to identify a priori those individuals who are more susceptible to developing these sequelae through studies of genetic and nongenetic risk factors. Older age is associated with cisplatin induced ototoxicity, neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Traditional genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms in ACYP2 and WFS1 associated with cisplatin-induced hearing loss. However, validating associations between specific genotypes and cisplatin-induced toxicities with enough stringency to warrant clinical application remains challenging. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge with regard to specific adverse sequelae following cisplatin-based therapy with a focus on ototoxicity, neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, myelosuppression and nausea/emesis. We discuss variables (genetic and nongenetic) contributing to these detrimental toxicities, and currently available means to prevent or treat their occurrence

Socialization of full professors in physical education teacher education

Professors in a tenure track position are promoted from assistant to associate and then full professor. Being promoted is significant as it means a significant contribution to teaching, research and service. Research has suggested that becoming a full professor has substantial organization meaning and comes with increased salary, status, influence, and prestige. Despite the benefits not all professors achieve the rank. The purpose of this investigation was to understand how professors at masters and doctoral institutions in physical education teacher education achieved the rank. A total of 25 participants were interviewed for an hour to hour and a half through a semi structured interview guide via Skype, over the phone, or in person. Prior to interviews the participant’s curriculum vitae were emailed to the primary researcher. Methodological rigor applied in this study included (a) peer-debriefing, (b) constant comparison, (c) triangulation of qualitative data through interviews and vitaes, and (d) an audit trail. Data analysis of transcripts utilized a four-stage process of data generation, data reduction, data display, and data and theme analysis. Results indicated scholarship was the most salient role of participants at doctoral institutions and differences in organizational supports between doctoral and master level institutions