CULTURAL COMPETENCE TRAINING FROM A MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

The Masters in Social Work (MSW) program at California State University of San Bernardino utilizes a substantial portion of lecture hours bringing attention to areas in which racial disparities exist, as well as the negative impact that these racial disparities have on certain cultures and communities. This project focuses on the disparities involving African-American families in the public child welfare system and how cultural competence trainings may impact this overrepresentation. This research project consists of the exploration of past research relevant to this project, which pertains to cultural competence, the overrepresentation of African-American, and trainings on cultural competence. In addition, a 5-point Likert-scale survey focused on the need and effectiveness of cultural competency trainings from a student’s perspective, was completed by CSUSB MSW students. The data was then analyzed using SPSS statistics software employing tests that included frequencies, ANOVA, and a t-test. This project hypothesized that perspectives on cultural competence and cultural competence trainings differed along racial lines, and that there was no significant difference in response based on year in MSW program. Only the latter was support according to the data. This could also be interpreted to mean that students are not receiving much curriculum on cultural competence, which the curriculum is not meaningful enough to change their perceptions, or that students enter the program with fairly favorable perceptions of the importance of cultural competency

Numerical simulations of water surfaces for improved evaporation prediction

Water is normally stored in open reservoirs such as dams. A key consideration and challenge that water resource managers are currently facing for improved water management is the evaporation rate in such storage facilities. The impacts that the changing climate has on communities currently and into the future will prove a considerable task for water resource managers to meet the demands for a national population which is growing at a fast pace. Being able to satisfactorily quantify the rate of evaporation from open water storage reservoirs within Australia will enable the correct implementation of measures to mitigate losses that are expected in the coming decades due to a rising climate, estimated changes in precipitation rates and currently experienced changes in wind patterns. Not only is the increased pressure on the distribution of water to maintain public health but agricultural practices and a large number of other varied industries are also suffering. The consequential effects of evaporation losses are numerous and may prove to be linked to decreased productivity and efficiencies within many sectors of industry. This brings the value of maintaining important and valuable water supplies to the top of the list for many industrial sectors. This has increased the need for further understanding to be gained via research into the effects and prevention of losing so much of a precious resource every year. Currently, research is being undertaken at the National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture (NCEA) at the University of Southern Queensland that investigates methods of reducing the evaporation rate in a cost-effective fashion. Recent findings suggest that the aqueous thermal boundary layer is a key component contributing to the evaporation rate. This is the small region close to the surface of the water where temperature gradients are important. It the intended purpose of this dissertation to provide insight into current research whilst also adding new research that provides results by performing simulations of the thermal boundary layer. This is in order to characterise the conditions under which the temperature gradient promotes or retards evaporation

The effect of industrial demands on the training of office workers in business schools

Thesis (M.B.A.)—Boston Universit

1989 Tort Reform in Mississippi: Modification of Joint and Several Liability and the Adoption of Comparative Contribution

Comment

A Proposal to Elucidate the Net Benefits of Digital Twins in Electrical Generation Facilities: An IS Success Perspective

The rapid integration of industrial Internet of things (IoT) technology has enabled widespread adoption of digital twin (DT) technologies. The work herein proposes to understand the net benefits of the DT technologies using the IS Success model. We propose to conduct interviews and surveys of DT users at industrial gas turbine electrical generation facilities to gain a better understanding of the costs and benefits of DTs in electricity generation. In doing so we will revise and the IS success model with the latest research on technology use and extend it to DT technologies

Pilot Study of a Computer Program to Promote Social Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Social skills in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been targeted in a number of ways including the use of various software programs. This pilot study compared one simulation-based program to traditional therapy as a means to teach social skills to children with ASD. Participants included 8 males, ages 6 years to 13 years old with a diagnosis of ASD. Participants engaged in the simulation-based program (intervention group) or traditional speech therapy (control group) for a six-week period. The Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (PLSI) was administered before and at the conclusion of the program to measure changes in social skills for both groups. Results indicated a significant group by time interaction. For Classroom Interaction and Personal Interaction items, those in the intervention group performed significantly higher post-test than those in the control group. The findings from this pilot study indicate that a computer-based program may prove beneficial for targeting social skills in the ASD population. Future research could include further examination of social skills programming by comparing traditional speech therapy methods and computer-based social skills programs with a larger participant pool

Protein Modification by Dicarbonyl Molecular Species in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegeneration results from abnormalities in cerebral metabolism and energy balance within neurons, astrocytes, microglia, or microvascular endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier. In Alzheimer's disease, β-amyloid is considered the primary contributor to neuropathology and neurodegeneration. It now is believed that certain systemic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, can contribute to neurodegeneration through the effects of chronic hyperglycemia/insulin resistance resulting in protein glycation, oxidative stress and inflammation within susceptible brain regions. Here, we present an overview of research focusing on the role of protein glycation, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the neurodegenerative process. Of special interest in this paper is the effect of methylglyoxal (MGO), a cytotoxic byproduct of glucose metabolism, elevated in neurodegenerative disease, and diabetes mellitus, on cerebral protein function and oxidative stress. How MGO interacts with amino acid residues within β-amyloid, and small peptides within the brain, is also discussed in terms of the affect on protein function

Marine Gastrobot Final Design Report

The Marine Gastrobot sponsored by Dr. Christopher Kitts of the Cal Poly Center for Applications in Biotechnology was a research and development effort intended to explore the use of microbial fuel cell technology as a power source for underwater robots. Our team Ocean Locomotion succeeded in developing a first iteration of an underwater robotic platform suitable for microbial fuel cell integration. The primary feature of the design is its sinusoidal fin propulsion intended for benthic exploration with limited risk of entanglement. During the course of development, Ocean Locomotion explored the use of low power actuation methods and determined their limited use for underwater locomotion, tested low power boost converter compatibility with microbial fuel cells, and built hardware capable of integration with microbial fuel cells