Broadening the lens: a pilot study of student cognitive flexibility and intercultural sensitivity in short-term study abroad experiences

2014 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Study abroad has emerged as an essential element in many U.S. students' college careers, as many degree programs have implemented study abroad as a degree requirement and globalization has fostered a flourishing globalized economy and society. Over half of these students are choosing to go abroad for short-term programs of six weeks or less, and thus this pilot study considered the effects short programs can have on participants. The study included a study abroad participant group who went abroad for one month or less and a control group of students who did not go abroad. The study utilized a pre-posttest design, and participants in both groups were sent online surveys before and after the one month study period. The study utilized Martin and Rubin's (1995) Cognitive Flexibility Scale and Chen and Starosta's (2000) Intercultural Sensitivity Scale to measure changes in participant intercultural personhood, to which both cognitive flexibility and intercultural sensitivity contribute. The study also used open-ended questions in the posttest to gather study abroad participant narratives and add qualitative depth to the findings. The data analysis found the study abroad students did exhibit an increase in cognitive flexibility after their trips abroad (M = 5.00, SD = 0.65) when compared with the longitudinal data for control group participants who stayed in country (M = 4.72, SD = 0.32); however, due to the size of the small pilot study, these findings were not statistically significant: F (1, 1) = 0.867, p > .05. The study encountered an unexpected trend when study abroad students exhibited lower intercultural sensitivity after their trips (M = 3.55, SD = 0.54) than control group students who stayed in country (M = 4.00, SD = 0.45), though also not a statistically significant finding: F (1, 1) = 1.14, p > .05. Interestingly, a data analysis considering changes in cognitive flexibility when controlling for second language fluency did approach significance: F (1, 1) = 13.262, p = .068. The difference in level of cognitive flexibility in study abroad participants (M = 4.92, SD = 0.65) and control group participants (M = 4.80, SD = 0.32) when controlling for second language fluency also continued to trend in the expected direction. While I provide insight into potential explanations for the three trends, the findings and conclusions from this pilot study are used to posit questions and ideas for future research. The findings of this pilot study not only contribute holistically to the field of study abroad research, but can also be applied to future short-term study abroad research and even to the actual design of study abroad program support structures

Religious Exemptions And Same-sex Marriage Discrimination Post Trump

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodgesmany on the religious right worried about the impact of the decision on their religious freedom. Shortly thereafter, there was a growth in state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) legislative bills. Some believe the legislation was designed to protect religious freedom while others believe it was designed to discriminate against the LGBTQ community. This paper examines the debate between religious freedom and discrimination against same-sex marriage including state RFRA proposals and the ensuing protests to those proposals. It next reviews some of the cases involving challenges to providing services for same sex marriages such as Elane Photography v. Willockand Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm. As well, the paper looks at the impact of Trump administration policies ¾like the 2017 Religious Freedom Executive Order and amicus briefs filed in some of the same-sex marriage cases¾on the debate

Ephesians Six

Assistant Edito

The Effect Of Combat Exercises On Cardiovascular Response: An Exploratory Study

PURPOSE: Hypertension (HTN) affects one in every three adults in the United States. Often associated with the older population, this silent killer has emerged in an unsuspecting group, young military soldiers. With the rapid succession of multiple deployments, long intervals between blood pressure (BP) assessments, and the absence of cardiovascular (CV) measures during the pre and post deployment health screenings; soldiers may be at higher risk for HTN than their civilian counterparts of the same age. The purpose of this study was to explore real-time continuous CV measures of soldiers before, during, and after exposure to a simulated combat stressor as well as to assess which personal characteristics played a significant role. METHODS: Applying the Allostasis/Allostatic Load theoretical framework, a repeated measure quasi-experimental design was used to compare the CV measures of two groups: one exposed to a physical combat stressor (experimental) and the other exposed to a psychological combat stressor (control). A convenience sample of 60 college Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets were fitted with Tiba Medical Ambulo 2400 ambulatory BP monitors for 48 continuous hours. Several CV indices were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), paired t-test, and independent sample t-test. Four instruments (Participant Information Sheet, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Paintball Perceived Stress Questionnaire, and Army Physical Fitness Test) were used to assess which characteristics played the most significant role in the CV response. RESULTS: Demographic characteristics between the two 30-cadet groups were not statistically different, with the exception of deployment history (experimental = 4, control= 0). Hours after the stress exposure, subjects in the experimental group had a higher mean awake systolic blood pressure (SBP) when compared to the control group (113.76 mm Hg vs 102.98 mm Hg, p= 009). When assessing pre and post stressor morning BP surge and evening BP decline, the control group showed the biggest change. Significant bivariate correlations (p \u3e .05) found that: Females consistently had higher pulse rates (PR) throughout each of the phases. Age positively correlated with elevated BP during the stressor, and increased morning BP surge post stressor. African Americans had higher sleep BPs pre stressor, and decreased SBP recovery post stressor; Hispanics had higher PRs during and after the stressor. Waist circumference positively correlated with elevated BP morning surge pre stressor but, body mass index (BMI) positively correlated with elevated BP morning surge post stressor as well as elevated BP during the stressor. Family history of HTN played no significant role; however, deployment history correlated with mean awake SBP post stressor. Trait anxiety scores negatively correlated with SBP recovery while state anxiety scores positively correlated with post stressor awake mean arterial pressure and evening SPB decline. Perceived stress during the stressor negatively correlated with post stressor SBP morning surge with females reporting higher anxiety and stress. Finally, Army Physical Fitness (APFT) total scores as well as APFT run scores negatively correlated with pre and post stressor sleep PRs. DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS: Age, female gender, African American descent, Hispanic ethnicity, waist circumference, BMI, previous deployment history, level of fitness and the psychological stress state during and after a stressor played significant roles in soldiers\u27 CV response. SBP was the most dynamic and informative of the CV indices and a psychological stressor was comparable to a physical stressor when observing the residual effect of stress. If a combat exercise was enough of a stressor to produce residual CV effects that lasted well into following morning, the residual effect of a lengthy strenuous deployment may be alarming. This study not only provided a snapshot of the CV health of incoming young soldiers, but also provided evidence to support policy change regarding the implementation of regular CV health assessments before and after deployment

Hacking Health Care: Authentication Security in the Age of Meaningful Use

The rapid adoption of EHRs (Electronic Health Records), to store and communicate highly personal data, raises serious concerns in terms of privacy, security, and civil and criminal liability. This note will examine the current statutory framework for addressing electronic breaches in the health care context, examine the vulnerabilities of EHRs, and look to the established world of online banking for possible legislative and practical solutions to the challenge of keeping private health information private. Finally, this note will propose key amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations to enhance authentication security

Hacking Health Care: Authentication Security in the Age of Meaningful Use

The rapid adoption of EHRs (Electronic Health Records), to store and communicate highly personal data, raises serious concerns in terms of privacy, security, and civil and criminal liability. This note will examine the current statutory framework for addressing electronic breaches in the health care context, examine the vulnerabilities of EHRs, and look to the established world of online banking for possible legislative and practical solutions to the challenge of keeping private health information private. Finally, this note will propose key amendments to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations to enhance authentication security