bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Bromelain-Cisplatin Combination Afford In-Vitro Synergistic Anticancer Effects on Human Prostatic Carcinoma Cell Line, PC3?
Authors: Amini Chermahini Fatemeh , Raeisi Elham , Aazami Mathias Hossain , Mirzaei Abbas , Heidarian Esfandiar , Lemoigne Yves
Published: September 2020

Background: Bromelain enhances anticancer impacts to chemotherapeutic agents. The question as to whether bromelain does promote in-vitro cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects of cisplatin on human prostatic carcinoma PC3 cell line was investigated. Materials and Methods: PC3 (human prostatic carcinoma) cells were treated either single or in combination with bromelain and/or cisplatin. MTT, clonogenic assay, flow cytometry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to investigate cell viability, colony formation, proapoptotic potential and p53 gene expression, respectively. Results: Cisplatin (IC10) combined with bromelain (IC40) significantly affected PC3 cell viability, inhibited colony formation, as well increased p53 proapoptotic gene expression compared to cisplatin single treatment. Nevertheless, bromelain-cisplatin chemoherbal combination did not display any additive proapoptotic effect compared to single treatments. Conclusion: Bromelain-cisplatin chemoherbal combination demonstrated synergistic in-vitro anticancer effect on human prostatic carcinoma cell line, PC3, that drastically reduced required cisplatin dose. [GMJ.2020;9:e1749]
Teacher Education: An Adaptive Response to the Movement to Online Instruction
Authors: Ceglie Robert
Published: September 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted teacher training programs, as the shift to online instruction sent waves through the K-12 public education system in the United States. Teacher education programs were found in situations where their current student teachers needed significant additional support to navigate the rapid changes in the means that instruction was provided in their schools. This essay provides some insight on how one university navigated this process and provides suggestions for training future teachers. Covid-19, online instruction, pre-service teachers, teacher education
The Importance of Decisive Leadership and Clear Direction During Crisis
Authors: Wright Michael
Published: September 2020

This essay considers the importance of strong leadership during critical incidents and crisis, including a decisive approach that seeks to understand problems through exploring data and stakeholder feedback, but ultimately leadership's willingness to take ownership, and finally action. This work also sets forth organizational benefits of establishing clear direction, as well as the downfall of failing to provide support.
ECHO Education: A Multisectoral Effort Ensuring Educational Success During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Harris Edward
Published: September 2020

Unforeseen challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have taken asignificant toll on people across the world. This essay deals with a holistic,multisectoral effort that one US higher education institution took to collaboratewith national, state, and local entities in order to serve their State’s constituentsduring the pandemic. The goal of this essay is to describe this endeavor as amodel that can serve other sectors, agencies and institutions worldwide.
The Need for Increasing Black Entrepreneurship as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Singh Robert
Published: September 2020

COVID-19 and recent high-profile police killings are putting focus on the inequities and societal hurdles facing blacks in the U.S.  There is no quick fix or singular solution; however, increasing black entrepreneurship may be a key piece of the solution. The reasons for, and potential benefits of, new public policies and private investment to spur black entrepreneurship are discussed.
Monetary Policy Peri- Post Covid-19 and rise of enterprises in Nepal.
Authors: Mainali Kiran
Published: September 2020

The paper analyzes the way distressed enterprises of Nepal can be kept afloat or conserved against upheaval through major amendments in the monetary policy. The narrowed business groups can be revitalized if the government would immediately impose certain leverages on monetary policies and increase the inflow of capital to make it accessible to the needy entrepreneurs. There prevail high chances for re-emergence of companies post Covid accommodating repatriated people for employment with an effective draft of the monetary plans.
A A New Era of Social Enterprise? A Global Viewpoint
Authors: Hasall Jamie , Oberoi Roopinder , Snowden Michael
Published: September 2020

The outbreak of Coronavirus across the world has fundamentally changed the way society functions. The pandemic has shifted the way a capitalist economy works for the state. Drastic measures have had to be put in place; for example, many countries have put extra investment into the health sector and generated support for people who cannot work due to the lockdown rules that have been implemented. More than ever before, the state is playing a vital role. Therefore, various institutions, from charities and non-government organisations, to the public/private sectors, are the driving forces in tackling this pandemic. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the ways forward and the ways in which social enterprise will be imperative in this global pandemic.
Sri Lanka’s Economic Woes amidst COVID-19 and the Way Forward
Authors: Herath Nuwan
Published: September 2020

Whereas the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is yet another tragic event that has added a further blow to Sri Lanka’s already reeling economy, it also presents an opportunity to rethink about the country’s economic future. This essay argues that the way forward for Sri Lanka after the crisis is to practice traditional economics by putting in place a state sponsored manufacturing sector, instead of relying heavily on activities like tourism and supplying migrant labor to other countries. The pandemic provides further proof that depending on such service oriented sectors to lead the economy can have bad consequences in times of global emergencies.
How to Overcome Stress during COVID19 Pandemic
Authors: PRIYA PUSHPA
Published: September 2020

Abstract

The epidemic COVID-19 is a global public health emergency causing an adverse impact on people’s lives from different perspectives. The misconception about COVID19 has contributed to physical and psychological diseases among people that sometimes even leads to the higher risk of suicide. Stress endurance varies from person to person; some person can manage it and some cannot. Some therapies can address this problem with solution. The aim of this write up is to discuss stress response and how to manage stress response. In addition to this, it also discusses some causing factors behind suicidal acts; and the ways to overcome suicidal thoughts during pandemic.
2020: COVID-19 & International Higher Education
Authors: Gillett-Karam Rosemary
Published: September 2020

In this study, international students are portrayed as they present themselves now and as they have been affected and effected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities and colleges are featured as they react and explain their reactions, dicta, and information concerning the status of international students at their institutions. Critical to the study is that it tells the story of international students studying abroad both directly from their impressions and according to the university and college policy provided to them. Of particular interest to both reactors is the focus on offering online courses to students, which generally has received acceptance but with negative reactions. Of concern is the impact of using technologies when poor countries may not even have broadband or are mired in political decisions about technology use. No permanent solutions to the introduced issues are offered as the pandemic is a continuing with little agreed upon understanding about its permanence.
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security in Nepal
Authors: Subedi Daya Raj
Published: September 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought Nepal into the standstill and most of the economic activities have been suspended with the imposition of lockdown. There are significant impacts visible in the food security of Nepal. Question remains- how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the food security in Nepal? The secondary data were used to find the answer to the question. Because of lockdown, the food security has been threatened by the reduction of purchasing power of the household as well as disruption of national and international food supply chains.
The Rebirth of Eagle and Learning in COVID 19 Pandemic: An International Student’s Perspective
Authors: Uddin Muhammad Sharif
Published: September 2020

COVID 19 has brought a new struggle in our lives throughout the world. Thousands of people are affecting every day with the coronavirus, and this virus is carrying out thousands of lives. It has brought a new order of life for us with many changes. This current pandemic is also a message for everyone to look for an alternative for the sake of survival. This paper portraits the experiences of an international student how the epidemic has affected and changed his study.
Power Needed for Good Not Evil
Authors: Hollis Leah
Published: September 2020

Psychologists and sociologists have considered the types of leadership and organizational power used to manage and even control employees, communities, and institutions (Raven, 1958). When such dynamics emerge in the comics read across the globe, even those authors caution their protagonists and superheroes to “use power for good not evil…;” yet after reading the articles for this edition, I recognize that the Covid-19 pandemic has re-exposed global power structures and differentials. These power structures have either been used for the good of the people, or for evil to exacerbate the harmful experiences felt by disenfranchised populations.
Environment-Based Supplementary Reading Materials for Junior High School Students
Authors: Azizah Dinar Martia , Sugirin Sugirin
Published: September 2020

One such effort toward this is the development of environment-based supplementary reading materials for students. In accordance with this, the objectives of this research are: 1) to investigate the need of junior high school students for environment-based supplementary reading materials; and 2) to develop environment-based supplementary reading materials suitable for these students. The subjects of this research and development were eighth grade students of a junior high school. The procedure utilized is a modified version of the research and development steps proposed by Borg & Gall and included four development procedures. The stages of this modified procedure were: 1) the exploration stage, including need analysis; 2) the prototype development stage, including planning and developing the format/draft; 3) the revision stage, using expert evaluation; and 4) the finalization stage. The resulting supplementary reading material has been developed into 3 units, with the texts being recount, descriptive, and narrative. Each unit consists of a list of new vocabulary, a comic, a main text, and exercises. The exercises at the end of each unit have the purpose of confirmation.The texts aim to convey an ideal relationship between humans and environment.
Integration as the New (General Education)
Authors: Brandenburg Cynthia , Kelly Michael
Published: September 2020

The story of American higher education in the 21st century is told in many ways.  Some versions offer up a transcendental beacon of hope for our collective future prosperity, while other more widely circulated ones read like a faltering tale of desperation and despair.  Of course, the truth likely falls somewhere in the middle, which makes sustained efforts to intentionally explore—and reshape—the nature of current and future educational efforts all the more relevant.
Communication and Media Education in an Era of Big Data
Authors: Venkatasawmy Rama
Published: September 2020

Fundamental aspects of work carried out in the communication, media and creative industries are growingly being impacted upon by intense data-centric occurrences or Big data – which is constituted by vast amounts of information generated about and by social media users, instagrammers, tweeters, online retailers and service providers, shoppers, subscribers and netizens in general. Such information is categorized, scrutinized and processed so that substantial indications, extrapolations and inferences can be derived: and those subsequently influence investment decisions, production processes and output generation in the media, communication and creative industries (such as television, journalism, advertising and public relations). The quantifying and computing data-driven procedures associated with the collection, examination and depiction of Big Data bear explicit resonance in comprehending the intersection of communication, media and creative industries with technology and society. This resonance inevitably needs to be assimilated into the contemporary teaching of communication and media programs in higher education contexts. It has become vital for educators to ensure that contemporary communication and media students fully understand why and how large-scale datasets are collected, analyzed and interpreted so as to make sense of and to create value out of digital information. Big Data has now to be not simply addressed but fully incorporated into communication and media education, essentially to enable future generations of communication and media professionals to understand and apply Big Data in decision-making and when generating creative output. It is necessary to include Big Data in the teaching curriculum of communication and media programs because Big Data developments are already impacting strongly on the ways of knowing and of doing, as well as on the negotiation of value and on ethical considerations within the communication, media and creative industries.
Exploring Faculty and Student Reflections on Collaborative Teaching in the Honors Seminar Classroom
Authors: Looft Ruxandra , Myers Megan Jeanette
Published: September 2020

University Honors programming in the United States is interdisciplinary and collaborative; from First Year Honors Seminars to capstone research projects for upperclassmen, Honors students embrace multidisciplinary learning and research. This approach, however, does not always translate into the Honors classroom in regards to an incorporation of diverse perspectives of multiple faculty members in a given course. This article utilizes a mixed-methods approach to explore the impact and results of a collaboratively taught Honors Seminar. “Exploring Faculty and Student Reflections on Collaborative Teaching in the Honors Seminar Classroom” departs from the authors’ model of a co-taught Honors Seminar and then moves to an exploration of the student responses, comparing both a pre- and post-course survey, that considers student perceptions of multi-instructor formats. The essay ends with a brief conclusion that addresses some possible challenges to team-taught courses, from scheduling to institutional issues, in the context of Honors programming in an effort to encourage continued discussion about collaborative teaching of Honors Seminars.
Maker’s Mind
Authors: Novotny Kristin
Published: September 2020

This article considers the epistemological consequences of interdisciplinary, collaborative pedagogy through the lens of a practitioner whose goal is to theorize and contextualize her practice. The author traces connections between interdisciplinary pedagogy and the idea of Making or makerspaces. Giving in-depth examples of interdisciplinary, integrative, project-based collaborative activities that have an affinity to the concept of Making, the author concludes by suggesting some important epistemological consequences of a “Maker Pedagogy.”
Let All Voices Be Heard!: Exploring International Students’ Communication Challenges in the Internationalized Classroom
Authors: Yu Xi , Peters Bethany
Published: September 2020

In many cases, faculty and staff are unaware of the unique challenges that international students experience in classrooms, and teaching priorities may not be aligned with the learning needs.  To address the gap in perspectives between students and faculty/staff, this focus group study involved international students, staff, faculty and instructors.  The purpose is to identify barriers that international students face in cross-cultural interaction, and develop strategies that faculty and staff can use to provide effective support.  The study reveals multi-layered challenges that cross-cultural transition and language barriers can create for international students, and roles of domestic students in cross-cultural interactions.  The resulting discussion highlights teaching and advising strategies that faculty/staff can employ to enhance the learning experience for international students.
Pedagogy for Interdisciplinary Habits of Mind
Authors: Luckie Douglas , Newell William
Published: September 2020

Over the years, there has been little attempt made to collect, organize, and codify either the interdisciplinary habits of mind or the pedagogies used to promote them. Teaching interdisciplinary courses requires instilling interdisciplinary habits of mind by using strategies for active learning and reflective liberal thinking. This publication emerged from discussions and surveys used to evaluate interdisciplinary habits of mind and pedagogies which focused on four categories: drawing, modifying, integrating, and evaluating insights drawn from different disciplines. Prior to face-to-face discussions, surveys were sent to 75 expert faculty who had great experience teaching IDS courses. The survey and follow-up discussion examined the four categories of habits of mind one by one, identifying pedagogies useful in promoting any or all of the habits of mind within each category, and how each pedagogy works to clarify how it produces such habits of mind. The breakout discussions were observed, transcribed, and analyzed throughout the meetings. After analysis, the authors came to three conclusive inferences: (1) Course organization and structure have an important albeit indirect effect on pedagogy, (2) traditional pedagogies have an important role to play in teaching interdisciplinary courses, and (3) active learning is especially important in interdisciplinary pedagogy, not just a supplement.
(Un)Disciplining Interdisciplinarity
Authors: Dennis Jeremy
Published: September 2020

In interdisciplinary education, metaphors often provide the epistemological clarity that is lacking in our definitions and theories of interdisciplinarity. The problem is that ineffective and unsubstantiated metaphors proliferate. We lack a root metaphor or shared world view of interdisciplinarity. Is it time that we move away from thinking in terms of metaphors? Some instrumentalists in interdisciplinary studies argue yes and propose a pragmatic constructionist approach for interdisciplinary education. This theoretical study determines that this proposal is incomplete. It reveals that an intertextual view of interdisciplinarity is not only more appropriate, but it integrates the competing theoretical and pedagogical approaches in the field. This article also identifies “the matrix” as the metaphor best positioned to sustain this integration and to bridge the widening gap between disciplines.
Participation of International African Students at the University of Arkansas in Extracurricular Activities and Their Academic Outcomes
Authors: Manuel Paulo Hadi E.
Published: September 2020

This paper examines whether there is an association between participation of the international African students at the University of Arkansas in extracurricular activities (ECAs) and their grade point average (GPA). With the increase of study abroad programs, numerous Africans at college age travel to the US to pursue their degrees. A considerable number of them get involved in extra-scholastic activities, whereas others are more concentrated on their academic programs. The researcher wanted to find whether there was a difference in GPA between those African students who were more involved in extracurricular activities and their counterparts who were least involved. Although the t-test’s results were insignificant, the qualitative results of this study may be insightful for educators and advisors who deal with international students from Africa.
Mississippi’s 2011 Concealed Carry Law:
Authors: Doss Daniel Adrian , McElreath David Hughes , Gokaraju Balakrishna , Mallory Stephen L. , Tesiero Raymond , Taylor Linda , Hong Qiuqi , Jones Don , McElreath Leisa Stuart , Parker McKenzie
Published: September 2020

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi’s 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study was a public-funded community college in Mississippi.  Using a significance level of 0.05 and an analysis of variance approach, the hypothesis testing showed five statistically significant findings reflecting the cases of Copiah-Lincoln, East Central, Jones County, Mississippi Delta, and Northeast Mississippi Community Colleges. Regarding these outcomes, an analysis of the means showed overall lowered crime reports.
Enhancing International Partnership in the Egyptian Pre-university Education
Authors: Rizk Ayman
Published: September 2020

The purpose of this article is to present the perspectives of international officials regarding partnerships between the Egyptian Ministry of Education and international organizations. Data of this article were gathered mainly from semi-structured interviews with twelve international organizations’ officials in Egypt. The article suggests that international organizations working on the pre-university education face serious challenges that undermine their efforts and affects the efficiency of their contributions and initiatives in a very negative way. It concludes with a set of recommendations that can be considered by the Egyptian Government for enhancing its international partnerships in education.
Value-Creating Perspectives and an Intercultural Approach to Curriculum for Global Citizenship
Authors: Sharma Namrata
Published: September 2020

Several recent scholarly works have challenged the Western dominated paradigm underlying the UNESCO led agenda of global citizenship education. This includes the heavy influence of Enlightenment liberalism. Further discussions must also be centered on integrating non-Western perspectives so that the practice of global citizenship has a more critical and intercultural focus. This paper offers suggestions to develop curriculum for global citizenship based on a study of leaders and their movements, including Wangari Maathai and Daisaku Ikeda who have inspired people to act within their local communities based on their personal values that are rooted in their experiences with being engaged in both Western and non-Western modes of thinking.
Inequality in the Promised Land
Authors: Uddin Muhammad Sharif
Published: September 2020

Inequality in the promised land: Race, resources, and suburban schooling is a well-written book by L’ Heureux Lewis-McCoy. The book is based on Lewis-McCoy’s doctoral dissertation, that included an ethnographic study in a suburban area named Rolling Acres in the Midwestern United States. Lewis-McCoy studied the relationship between families and those families’ relationships with schools. Through this study, the author explored how invisible inequality and racism in an affluent suburban area became the barrier for racial and economically minority students to grow up academically. Lewis-McCoy also discovered the hope of the minority community for raising their children for a better future.
Physical Self-Schema Acceptance and Perceived Severity of Online Aggressiveness in Cyberbullying Incidents
Authors: Roman Alina , Rad Dana , Egerau Anca , Dixon Daniel , Dughi Tiberiu , Kelemen Gabriela , Balas Evelina , Rad Gavril
Published: September 2020

In this study, physical self-schema referred to the perceived body image youths have over their physical appearance. There is a pool of research that links the perceived physical self-schema to perceived severity of online aggressiveness. This research suggests that the better the physical self-schema perception is, the least youth consider the severity of online aggressiveness towards peers. The project KYSFC was developed to provide an in-depth understanding of the interactions between different psychological aspects of cyberbullying in adolescents. Using a two item online questionnaire, the study analyzed the effect of physical self-schema acceptance on perceived severity of online aggressiveness in cyberbullying.  Five hundred and seven students from Belgium, Spain, Romania, and Turkey participated in the survey. When mapping effects of physical self-schema acceptance on perceived negative effect of online aggressiveness, the curvilinear interaction model (2%) is more robust that the linear interaction model (0.8%), when both models are statistically significant.
Elementary School Size and Differences in Student Progress by Gender: A Texas, Multiyear Statewide Analysis
Authors: Busby Amy C. , Martinez-Garcia Cynthia , Slate John R.
Published: September 2020

In this investigation, the degree to which student enrollment (i.e., school size) at elementary schools was related to student progress on the State of Texas reading and mathematics state-mandated assessments was examined for boys and for girls.  Archival data available on the Texas Academic Performance Report were analyzed for the 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 school years.  Inferential analyses revealed the presence of statistically significant differences, with below small to small effect sizes.  Large-size schools had statistically significantly higher progress rates in reading than Small-size schools for boys and for girls.  Large-size schools also had statistically significantly higher progress rates in mathematics for boys than Small-size schools.  Results for progress rates in mathematics for girls was varied.  Implications for policy and practice, as well as recommendations for future research, are provided.
How to Improve the Validity and Reliability of a Case Study Approach?
Authors: Quintão Cátia , Andrade Pedro , Almeida Fernando
Published: September 2020

The case study is a widely used method in qualitative research. Although defining the case study can be simple, it is complex to develop its strategy. Furthermore, it is still often not considered to be a sufficiently robust research strategy in the education field because it does not offer well-defined and use well-structured protocols. One of the most frequent criticisms associated with the case study approach is its low validity and reliability. In this sense, this study aims to concisely explore the main difficulties inherent to the process of developing a case study, also attempting to suggest some practices that can increase its reliability, construct validity, internal and external validity.
What Makes Teachers Well?
Authors: Fox Harriet B. , Tuckwiller Elizabeth D. , Kutscher Elisabeth L. , Walter Heather L.
Published: September 2020

Using a longitudinal convergent-mixed-methods approach, researchers explored how secondary special education teachers understand and experience well-being in their work as educators. Researchers were interested in how teachers’ reported levels of well-being, as well as interpretations of well-being, shifted over the course of the school year. Evidence from this study suggests that teachers’ subjective experiences matter, but the contexts in which they teach can shift their experiences, which may be connected to overall well-being. Simply reducing stressors and/or burnout will not necessarily result in improved well-being for teachers. School-wide efforts to improve relationships within the school building, providing space for teacher leadership, explicitly naming shared values, and recognizing the emotional calendar of the school year may facilitate teachers’ well-being.
Transcultural Practices of International Students as Identity Performances in Digital Settings
Authors: Solmaz Osman
Published: September 2020

Guided by an interdisciplinary approach, this study seeks to illustrate the digital practices of international speakers on social media. The practices of international users are especially valuable due to the presence of various audiences in their networks, some rarely researched. For this purpose, the study examines the social media practices of 16 international graduate students (IGSs), who experience a transnational mobility in the United States. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews with participants and their social media data. The analysis includes quantitative assessment of participants’ social media activities and qualitative analyses of interviews and digital practices. The findings of the study illustrate how individuals with transborder experiences engage in identity work by sharing transcultural content with a multitude of audiences in their networks. The study concludes that digital practices involving the transcultural flow of content present opportunities for IGSs to work and realign various facets of their identities.
Challenges Faced by Indian International Students in the US
Authors: Chennamsetti Prashanti
Published: September 2020

Transiting to an unfamiliar academic culture poses several challenges for students. These challenges are more profound for international students who leave their home country to come to the host country in pursuit of higher studies. The purpose of the present study is to explore such challenges that hindered the adjustment of six Indian international students studying in a US university, using the phenomenological methodology. The data analysis generated five themes related to the challenges encountered: (1) living away from family and friends, (2) difficulty in expressing, (3) multitasking, (4) difficulty in fitting in, and (5) lack of positive attitude. Findings have implications for US universities. Higher educational institutions can play an essential role in addressing the challenges to facilitate a positive academic experience for international students.
Remote Learning and Foregoing the Dream
Authors: Kotok Stephen
Published: September 2020

NA
Higher Education’s Emergence from the COVID-19 Global Pandemic
Authors: Archer Eric , Zhang Yuqian
Published: September 2020

The current coronavirus pandemic is frightening, as we see both our darker and brighter selves. Our darker selves are tempted to attack the great “other” – divisiveness, xenophobia, and blaming. But our brighter selves have a chance to construct a world that is more scientific, more rational, more humane, and more international. In this essay, we remain hopeful by exploring how a better society can emerge from the global pandemic and the role of higher education in that effort.
What We Choose to Remember
Authors: Hewitt Kimberly Kappler , Carlone Heidi , Faircloth Beverly , Gonzalez Laura , He Ye , Vetter Amy
Published: September 2020

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational policies and practices are unprecedented. With the majority of educational institutions forced to limit face-to-face interactions, teaching and learning have rapidly taken on vastly new meanings. Even in the midst of the uncertainties of this pandemic, predictions for the post COVID-19 world have begun to emerge (e.g., Karlgaard, 2020; Kim, 2020). Yet as we move forward, we collectively create the past. That is, historical implications are never objective descriptions of what occurred, but rather collective decisions about how we choose to remember the past (Anderson, 1991; Breuilly, 2016). In this spirit, we ask: As educators imagining education in 2030, through the lens of our COVID-19 experience, what will we choose to remember and what generative impact do we want to take pride in claiming?
Canonizing the Drapaudis in Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi”
Authors: Basak Suresh Ranjan
Published: September 2020

Draupadi, the classical heroine of the Mahabharata, in an unavoidable way, forms the praxis of reference, comparison, and contrast with Mahasweta Devi’s tribal heroine Draupadi. As part of the collective mytho-cultural memory, the ancient lady invokes a process of analogy, and “deconstruction,” to use Spivak’s phrase, as does Mahasweta Devi’s  Santal  Draupadi against the backdrop of the West Bengal government’s anti-Naxalite campaigns and military operations in the late 1960s and early 1970s (383).  This article will initially examine the comparative and contrastive aspects of the two Drapaudis, then attend to Spivak’s notion of complementariness of the latter Draupadi—her being “at once a palimpsest and a contradiction” (388). Finally, it will reach the conclusion that Veda Vaysa’s Draupadi remains a canon like the epic itself while Mahasweta Devi’s unorthodox Draupadi, despite growing under the overpowering shadow of the earlier, canonizes herself in a prototypal way simultaneously recognizing her classical namesake.
Educating Humans
Authors: Mino Takako , Heto Prince Paa-Kwesi
Published: September 2020

African traditional education and soka approaches to education share a common vision of human education, which is key to transforming the education crisis facing Africa. We make this case in four steps. First, we explore the history of education in Africa to illustrate the roots of the crisis. Second, we introduce soka approaches to education, its history, and fundamental principles. Third, we analyze the convergence of African traditional education and soka approaches to education in terms of their underlying philosophies. Fourth, we investigate possible applications of both philosophies to improve schooling in Africa. The last section outlines how harnessing the insights of both philosophies will engender an African renaissance based on young people striving to live creative and contributive lives.
Kenya’s 2017 Basic Education Curriculum Framework
Authors: Heto Prince Paa-Kwesi , Odari Masumi H. , Sunu Wyse
Published: September 2020

Kenya’s 2017 competency-based curriculum, the Basic Education Curriculum Framework (BECF), seeks to address the skills gap in the education system and make the curriculum relevant to learners. Using Soka education as the philosophical framework, we provide a comprehensive review of BECF. The analysis in this essay covers the noteworthy provisions, double-edge policies, inconsistencies, issues of concern, and potential hurdles to implementation. It argues that the curriculum is not likely to produce the intended outcome due to inherent contradictions in the framework and the lack of an effective implementation plan. While BECF provides a broad and ambitious roadmap for the transformation of the Kenyan education system, actualizing the bold vision of BECF will require an extensive overhaul of the education system, a herculean task
Critical Thinking Skill Gap in the Kenyan Education Curriculum
Authors: Ongesa Cosmas Masega
Published: September 2020

Across the globe, the learning goals of elementary, secondary, and higher education curricula emphasize the development of the critical thinking approach. In Kenya, the curriculum mentions developing critical thinking as one of its objectives, but a critical review reveals that the education system prioritizes competitive exams and rote memorization over critical thinking and other vital 21st-century skills. In this paper, I argue that educational authorities can achieve this objective if they critically evaluate the purpose of education regularly to ensure that there is an alignment between the stated goals and practice. They also need to make sure that the education they provide leaves no learner behind.
Care and Value-Creating Education Put Into Action in Brazil: A Narrative Inquiry
Authors: Mokuria Vicki , Wandix-White Diana
Published: September 2020

This narrative inquiry highlights the experiences of self-identified Soka educators in a PreK-12th grade school in São Paulo, Brazil, as well as volunteers through a program called “Soka Education in Action.” Through their narratives, the role of care in value-creating education is explored as a critical aspect of education that supports students’ academic and personal growth and development, as well as educators’ professional identity and self-actualization. This study clarifies the essential qualities of Soka educators as understood and articulated by practitioners in the field.  The narratives shared by study participants illuminate Soka education as a catalyst that fosters global citizenship by encouraging students to recognize their roles as agents of societal change and instruments of social justice.
Value Creating Education Philosophy and the Womanist Discourses of African American Women Educators
Authors: Estrada Jones Paula
Published: September 2020

The paper documents the initiative of two African American women educators who have utilized these theoretical approaches to solve the educational challenges in their respective communities. Marva Collins and Corla Hawkins decided to build schools in their own communities after realizing that the public schools were not equipped to educate minorities. The story of these two women demonstrates that individuals can address systemic injustices in their communities. Collins and Hawkins were not wealthy. What they possessed was a passion for helping others. Their example can inspire more individuals to take steps using liberating philosophies, like value-creating education and womanist approaches in education, to transform the state of education in their communities.
The Intersection of Values and Social Reproduction: Lessons from Cuba
Authors: Bridges Jessica
Published: September 2020

This article will examine how various socialist values are promoted through the Cuban educational system. The voices represented vary generationally, racially, and gender. This research is not meant to generalize about all educational experiences in Cuba; rather, it represents a variety of experiences in the educational system. The research represented in this article was gathered in June 2015 in Havana, Cuba. This article begins with a brief historical background on education in Cuba after the triumph of the revolution in 1959, followed by data collection methods, representation of the data through vignettes and poetry, and finally an analysis of the diverse experiences through the framework of intersectionality. The primary finding was that Cuban society taught socialist values overtly within the educational system through school-based activities, such as the Junior Pioneers from the primary level, and through its emphasis on values formation as part of teacher training. The inculcation of these revolutionary values through the education system kept the revolutionary ideology alive across generations.
Daisaku Ikeda’s Philosophy of Value Creating Global Citizenship Education and Africana Humanism
Authors: Williams Joy
Published: September 2020

Daisaku Ikeda proclaimed that Africa would be the beacon of hope for the world in the twenty-first century. Contemporaneously, Kwame Nkrumah was excited about the potentially galvanizing role a united Africa might play on the world scene. Nkrumah envisioned the reawakening of an African personality, which would provide the foundational essence for the United States of Africa and accelerate African psychological, political, and economic decolonization. Nkrumah’s conceptualizations of unity mesh with Ikeda’s paradigms of global citizenship. This paper shows how Ikeda’s philosophy of value-creating education for global citizenship could amalgamate Africana educational models toward global citizenship as a unifying factor in Africa and the diaspora and as an instrument for making Africana Humanism the spirit of the 21st century.
Creating Common Ground
Authors: Goedereis Eric A. , MacCartney Danielle
Published: September 2020

Growing from an invited workshop on interdisciplinary learning the authors led at their institution’s annual faculty retreat, this manuscript offers a framework for encouraging faculty from diverse disciplines to consider and evaluate their teaching, scholarship, and service in interdisciplinary ways. In this paper, we present an application of a process that integrates Repko’s (2008) suggested criteria for interdisciplinarians, Doran, Miller, and Cunningham’s (1981) conceptualization of S.M.A.R.T. goals, and McCoy and Gardner’s (2012) five key social structural components, in order to further cultivate faculty members' identities as interdisciplinarians. We conclude by summarizing participants’ comments in order to offer concrete examples of how the workshop yielded specific action plans for faculty members’ own interdisciplinarity within their teaching, research, and service activities. Taken together, this process challenges the traditional “silos” of academic work to help faculty reach across disciplinary boundaries. As such, this framework provides a roadmap for faculty and institutions interested in purposefully and meaningfully facilitating interdisciplinarity across a variety of academic settings.
Volunteerism is Associated with Improved Student Soft Skills
Authors: Llenares Ian I. , Deocaris Custer
Published: September 2020

In this study, we assessed student soft-skills after a 36-month long community service program in a Philippine private higher education institution. The Soft Skills-Graduate Attribute Scale was developed to measure professional competence, critical thinking skills, communication skills, lifelong learning, social and ethical responsibility, productivity, and interpersonal skills. Sixty (60) marine engineering students were purposively selected based on their participation in the various community service activities. The result shows that students who regularly volunteered have significantly higher measures of graduate attributes relating to professional competence, communication skills, and social and ethical responsibility as compared to non-regular and first-time volunteers. This study underscores the value of service learning programs in higher education in improving soft skills as well as the cross-cultural competencies of students in highly technical fields.
Looking for Pura Vida
Authors: Porter Lisa Lynn
Published: September 2020

Using a transnational theoretical framework, this study explores U.S. families expatriating to Guanacaste, Costa Rica in search of educational alternatives to U.S. schooling. In order to meet the needs of this influx of U.S. families to the region, schools such as La Paz Community School in Flamingo, Guanacaste have emerged. This qualitative inquiry explores emergent themes from 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with US parents whose children attend La Paz. Findings reveal participants’ desire for a progressive educational alternative for their children that embraces a more collective vision of learning. For interviewees, frustrations with U.S. K-12 schools became symbolic of cultural criticism of US social norms and the desire to recreate a lifestyle removed from daily pressures in the United States.
Cambodian Youth Perspectives on Social and Educational Barriers
Authors: Tost Jeremy , Spires Bob , In Sokleng
Published: September 2020

This case study examines these barriers using a questionnaire assessing the youth’s attitudes toward education (n = 50). Results indicated that poverty and the pressure to migrate for work remain significant barriers to educational attainment, despite the perceived benefits of education by youth and encouragement by families. Results revealed that inter-educational issues occur despite unclear prevalence, including negative pressures, physical and verbal abuse of students by teachers, teachers charging students fees, and government schools being comparatively less safe and encouraging than home and a local NGO school. These findings can be used to better tailor development aid targeting educational measures, particularly encouraging a shift from convincing rural Cambodians to value education to targeting the contextual barriers that exist.
Holocaust lessons for the criminal justice classroom
Authors: Sporer Celia
Published: September 2020

The rise of antisemitic acts across the United States and worldwide and the general lack of Holocaust knowledge highlights the need to better integrate Holocaust education across disciplines, especially criminal justice. An undergraduate criminology class at Queensborough Community College (QCC) at the City University of New York (CUNY) was aligned with the goals and objectives of an on-campus exhibit, Conspiracy of Goodness, at the Kupferberg Holocaust Center. The exhibit focused on the rescuing behaviors of the village of Le Chambon during the Holocaust. Survey information suggested that prior to the class, students only had a rudimentary understanding of the Holocaust. During the semester students engaged with the exhibit, attended associated events and completed a paper comparing and contrasting the behaviors of Le Chambon with those of Jedwabne, Poland. Students selected and critically applied a criminological theory to explain the differences in behavior. Upon completion of the course, the majority of students showed an increased mastery not only of the facts of the Holocaust, but of their ability to think critically and make connections between historical events, criminological theories, and current events evidenced by their final papers, suggesting the benefit of aligning the studies of the Holocaust and criminal justice.
The Dissertation Journey
Authors: Metcalfe Laura Schaffer
Published: September 2020

This book is practical, guided, and forthright on what is needed to get started with the dissertation process. Its format is simple to and easy to read as it is broken down into chapters with information in each chapter outlined on its own page. This simple and uncomplicated format is a pleasure to read and it will not overwhelm doctoral students who are looking to move into this process of their academic careers. I strongly believe that authors Roberts and Hyatt have successfully accomplished their stated purpose for this text.
Management by labor competencies in the District Municipality of Santa Lucía, Lucanas - Ayacucho, 2019 [Gestión por competencias laborales en la Municipalidad Distrital de Santa Lucía, Lucanas - Ayacucho, 2019]
Authors: Quispe Mayuri Alejandro Alfredo
Published: September 2020

This article presents the necessary arguments that allow the visualization of labor competencies as a requirement for the achievement of personal and professional development. With this, to be able to improve the management of the organization that requires employees to face the demands of their environment and achieve established objectives. It is concluded that there is an important challenge to adapt to the demands of the context and to the changes in the environment, to the growing needs of users, being necessary to adapt a management system by competencies in order to achieve organizational growth and development to improve the performance of the employees. And also this development has its starting point in the continuous improvement of the attitudes and aptitudes of the employees, specifically in the competences.