Impact of Two Courses on Intercultural Competence of Undergraduate Students

Increasing migrations across the world mean leaders at all levels need to become more competent in working across cultures. During the past 30 years, program designers, researchers, and others have investigated intercultural competence (ICC), often described as the capability to accurately understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. Tertiary education programs (TEP) are accepting these challenges by offering experiences (such as coursework, study away, study abroad, cultural events, etc.) that are intended to produce culturally competent graduates. The teaching and learning experiences described in this study at a midwestern American university may inform others. This study examined archived data from two courses designed to enhance undergraduates’ ICC. Researchers expected that students who completed a course, called Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT), would show statistically larger gains during a second course, called Human Relations in a Multicultural Society (HRMS). At the beginning and conclusion of HRMS, students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Researchers used the two-sample t-test to compare the pre-HRMS scores of students who had completed CRT and students who had not completed CRT. Analysis showed students who took CRT before HRMS had statistically significantly higher beginning scores than students who had not completed CRT before they enrolled in HRMS (p = .042). Although students who completed CRT started HRMS with the higher IDI mean score, those individuals did not make statistically significant gains in their ICC during the HRMS course (p = .130). However, the students who had not completed CRT before HRMS did make statistically significant gains in their ICC during the HRMS course (p \u3c .001). These results, with additional research, could be used to redesign the courses or to design other curricula approaches

A role of central alpha-1 adrenergic mechanism in shaking stress-induced ACTH and noradrenaline secretion.

The role of alpha-1 adrenergic mechanism in the shaking stress-induced adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and plasma noradrenaline secretion and pressor response were investigated using conscious rats. We also studied whether or not central corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is involved in the shaking stress-induced ACTH secretion. The shaking stress caused significant elevations of plasma ACTH, noradrenaline, and systolic blood pressure. Intra-third ventricular administration of alpha-1 adrenergic blocker, bunazosin, inhibited the shaking stress-induced ACTH secretion, but did not alter stress-induced noradrenaline secretion and pressor response. Furthermore, intra-third ventricular administration of CRH antagonist, alpha-helical CRH, significantly attenuated stress-induced ACTH secretion. These results indicate that alpha-1 adrenergic pathway and CRH at least partly mediate the shaking stress-induced ACTH secretion.&#60;/P&#62;</p

Comparison of the Effects of Intra-Third Ventricular Administration of Interleukin-1 or Platelet Activating Factor on ACTH Secretion and the Sympathetic-AdrenomeduIIary System in Conscious Rats

The effects of centrally administered interleukin-1 beta (IL-1) or platelet activating factor (PAF) on adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and catecholamine secretion, blood pressure and heart rate were examined to determine if these agents stimulate similarly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis or the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system. Intra-third ventricular administration of IL-1 (50, 200 ng) evoked significant ACTH secretion. Centrally administered IL-1 (50 ng) elevated plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline levels, systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Plasma ACTH, noradrenaline and adrenaline levels were also increased by the higher dose (200 ng) of IL-1 while systolic blood pressure and heart rate were not affected. Intra-third ventricular administration of 9 micrograms of PAF elevated the plasma ACTH level while 3 micrograms of PAF did not stimulate ACTH secretion. Neither dose of centrally administered PAF affected any plasma catecholamine level or systolic blood pressure. These results suggest that central IL-1 stimulates both the HPA axis and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system, that a higher dose of IL-1 stimulates a mechanism to antagonize the elevation of blood pressure and heart rate and that central PAF is not involved in the control of the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system. Thus, IL-1 and PAF do not interact in the brain, although they interact peripherally.</p

Combined anterior pituitary function test using CRH, GRH, LH-RH, TRH and vasopressin in patients with non-functioning pituitary tumors.

We examined 8 normal subjects and 16 patients with non-functioning pituitary tumors with a combined anterior pituitary test to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the test. Diagnoses included 9 of chromophobe adenoma, 3 of craniopharyngioma, 2 of Rathke's cleft cyst, and 1 each of intrasellar cyst and tuberculum sella meningioma. All subjects received hypothalamic releasing hormones: 1 micrograms/kg corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), 1 micrograms/kg growth hormone releasing hormone (GRH), 500 micrograms thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), 100 micrograms luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH), and a relatively small dose (5 mU/kg) of lysine vasopressin (LVP). In the normal subjects, the addition of LVP potentiated the secretion of adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) induced by CRH, but had no significant effect on the secretion of other anterior pituitary hormones. In the combined test with 5 releasing hormones, the plasma ACTH and cortisol responses were not impaired in the majority of the patients before pituitary surgery. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), prolactin (PRL) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) responses were not impaired in 82%, 70% and 67% of the patients, respectively, while the serum LH and GH responses were impaired in 67% and 73% of the patients, respectively. Following pituitary surgery, responses of these hormones to combined testing were similarly impaired in more than 75% of the patients. These results indicate that plasma ACTH, cortisol and serum TSH responses are fairly good before pituitary surgery but are impaired significantly after surgery. No subjects experienced any serious adverse effects related to the testing. These results suggest that combined testing with hypothalamic hormones is a convenient and useful method for evaluating pituitary function.</p

Damage Situation of Stone Walls in Kumamoto Castle Caused by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake

The authors investigated the damage situation of masonry structures caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. In this paper, the damage situation of stone walls in Kumamoto castle is reported and the mechanisms of failure and collapse of stones are discussed. The 3-D laser scanner was also applied to obtain the 3D geometry and the displacement/deformation of the stone walls was analyzed by comparing with the previous measurement results before the earthquake. The 3D laser scanning results clearly show the unnatural shape of the stone walls caused by the movement of the backfill. This unnatural shape of the stone walls can be observed even in the stone walls which avoid the collapse. In the future, the evaluation of the safety/stability of the masonry walls is important for the restoration and 3D digital data obtained by 3D laser scanning technique will be useful.研究ノー

14Be(p,n)14B reaction at 69 MeV in inverse kinematics

A Gamow-Teller (GT) transition from the drip-line nucleus 14Be to 14B was studied via the (p,n) reaction in inverse kinematics using a secondary 14Be beam at 69 MeV/nucleon. The invariant mass method is employed to reconstruct the energy spectrum. A peak is observed at an excitation energy of 1.27(2) MeV in 14B, together with bumps at 2.08 and 4.06(5) MeV. The observed forward peaking of the state at 1.27 MeV and a good description for the differential cross section, obtained with a DWBA calculation provide support for the 1+ assignment to this state. By extrapolating the cross section to zero momentum transfer the GT-transition strength is deduced. The value is found to compare well with that reported in a beta-delayed neutron emission study.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Fostering Intercultural Competence Among Undergraduate Students: Course Design for Growth

Tertiary education can provide students with experience with and understanding about other cultures, toward the goal of intercultural competence (ICC). This investigation examined the impact of two undergraduate courses on students’ ability to understand and adapt their behavior to cultural differences. The two courses were: (1) Introduction to Critical Race Theory (CRT) and (2) Human Relations in a Multicultural Society (HRMS). Researchers reviewed archived data of students’ scores on the Intercultural Development Inventory during the Fall 2021 semester. The hypotheses included: (1) students who completed the CRT course (called CRT group) will begin the HRMS course at a higher developmental stage of ICC compared to students who did not complete the CRT course (called non-CRT group) and (2) students who completed the CRT course will make larger gains in their ICC during the HRMS course compared to the non-CRT group. Data analysis found statistically a significant difference between groups at the beginning of the HRMS course (Hypothesis 1). In other words, the CRT course may have had a statistically significant impact on students. Analysis also found that there was no statistically significant difference between groups by the conclusion of the HRMS course (Hypothesis 2). The initial difference between groups seems to have dissipated; the non-CRT group caught up with the CRT group. The investigators report course instructional strategies that may have led to this development. Universities may use this information to consider the effectiveness of course design for growth in ICC among undergraduate students