In this discussion we will explore cultural variations in the birth experience. For instance, kangaroo care, which is described in the text, was first initiated by two South American neonatologists to involve parents in the care of their preterm children and to decrease some of the stress associated with an infant needing neonatal intensive care.\

Parents who have experienced kangaroo care express excitement and joy with the practice.

• In Guatemala, traditional midwives provide the majority of maternity care and are responsible for 60 to 75 percent of all births. Government-run midwifery training programs are grounded in a holistic model, which views childbirth as a normal process having powerful emotional, physical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions.
• As a third example, many cultures have dances that have roots in childbirth preparation. These dances often center around pelvic movements and exercises that help women’s bodies to relax, stretch, and open naturally during birth. These include cultures in Hawaii, Seneca (Native American), Tunisia, and several other areas throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia. In certain parts of Asia, for instance, the practice of “dancing baby down” includes the techniques of “belly roll” and “flutter.” These movements are virtually identical to two of the exercises commonly taught in Lamaze classes to help prepare women for the stresses of labor: “pelvic rocking” and “deep breathing.”

First, please watch the 2 videos linked below – one is a birth occurring in Kenya, the other is a birth occurring in Vietnam.

The traditional midwives of Isiolo

Birthrights – The Mountain Midwives of Vietnam

(For this one – Vietnam – you are welcome to skip forward to 17:00 when the woman is in labor though the entire video is very interesting to watch)

DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT

1. Reflect on the birth experiences of the 2 women in the videos as compared to normative birth experiences in the US. (If you are unsure about birth in the US, there are plenty of videos on YouTube you can watch). Specifically, what stood out to you in each of the videos as positive? What stood out to you in each of the videos as troubling/negative?

2. Go online and look up birth experiences from another culture. Post the culture you researched and a very brief summary of the information you found.

3. Based on the information you saw in the videos, read in the text and in the beginning of this assignment, and what you found through your research, are there things you feel are especially important for childbirth REGARDLESS  of cultural norms? What are they?

Servant leadership has been studied in multiple contexts since it was introduced as a leadership theory by Greenleaf (1970, 1977). This study sought to contextualize the servant leadership of a college president and the diffusion of that leadership style to other levels of the college administration by career administrators in higher education.

The primary research question in this study was: To what extent does servant leadership by a college president diffuse to other leaders at the institution? Based on the literature (Liden et al., 2014; Newman et al., 2018) one would expect to see some sort of conveyance of servant leadership to lower echelons of the institutional administration given that servant leaders attempt to empower their followers as leaders (Jeyaraj & Gandolfi, 2019).

Research Paradigm

Using Liu’s (2019) methodology as a loose guide, this study used a qualitative research paradigm. Qualitative research attempts to understand how individuals or a group perceive, experience, and engage with a phenomenon or problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Specifically, this study took a phenomenological approach which allowed the participants to expound upon their lived experiences of the phenomenon of servant leadership and its diffusion through the administration of an institution of higher education.

Phenomenological research seeks to explore the lived experiences of humans and how they make sense of those experiences (Moustakas, 1994).

Research Design

In her study of servant leadership by one leader in a large information technology company, Liu (2019) designed a research project focused on the leader with additional interviews of the members of his team. This study adopted a similar approach with modifications given the difference in studies and what is being studied. Liu (2019) was concerned with the intersection of race, gender, and servant leadership whereas this study focused on the conveyance of the principles of servant leadership throughout an organization.

Phenomenological research considers the primary source of information to be the perceptions and disclosures of the participants (Moustakas, 1994). Two methods of data collection were used: semi-structured interviews and observations.

Over the course of a month, four approximately two-hour interviews were conducted with the president of Connelly College (the principal subject). The initial interview was semi-structured and sought to collect background information on and thoughts about the subject’s background and his development as a servant leader.

Subsequent interviews were casual and unstructured focusing on thoughts from previous interviews, themes arising in other interviews (see below), and comments on current events relevant to leadership in higher education. Because of the informal nature of these interviews it was impossible to present a formal interview protocol, however, please refer to Appendix C for an informal protocol and guiding thoughts.

In addition to interviews with the college president, approximately 90-minute interviews were conducted with five members of the president’s cabinet including administrators responsible for finance, human resources, academics, ministry and mission, and student affairs.

These interviews were semi-structured and focused on the administrator’s thoughts of the president as a servant leader and if and how they in turn enact servant leadership in their own areas. Please refer to Appendix D for an informal interview protocol for these interviews.

A third and final category of interviews were conducted with one administrator each of whom reports to one of the five administrators identified above. These interviews were approximately 90-minutes in length and followed a semi-structured approach. The same informal interview protocol found in Appendix D was used in these interviews. In addition to interviews, field observations were gathered from attendance at two president’s cabinet meetings.

Research Site and Data Collection Sources

The research and primary data collection site for this study was Connelly College. Several interviews occurred at nearby restaurants or cafes as needed to accommodate participant schedules. Connelly College is a very small, coeducational, and faith-based college classified as a masters two institution by the Carnegie Classification (need citation). Located in a suburban area of a Mid-Atlantic state, Connelly serves a diverse population with a significant population of first-generation college students.

This site was selected because of its proximity to the researcher’s place of employment and his familiarity with both the institution and many of its administrators. Both Connelly College and the researcher’s institution are members of a consortium of institutions in the geographic region.

The primary subject in this study was Brian, who has served as the president of Connelly for approximately one year. Prior to arriving at Connelly, Brian was the president of a medium sized, private, nonsectarian university in the Midwest. A career administrator in higher education, Brian received his doctorate in education only three years prior to becoming the president of Connelly. Brian has spoken and written about his orientation as a servant leader.

In addition to Brian, the following people were identified for this study based on recommendations from Brian:

· Bruce – Executive-level administrator who holds a doctorate

· Betty – Mid-level administrator who holds a master’s degree and reports to Bruce

· Debbie – Senior administrator who holds a master’s degree

· Anna – Mid-level administrator who holds a master’s degree and reports to Debbie

· Madeline – Executive-level administrator who holds a doctorate

· Cathy – Senior administrator who holds a master’s degree and reports to Madeline

· Grace – Executive-level administrator who holds a master’s degree and is a member of the founding religious order of the college

· Evelyn – Mid-level administrator who holds a doctorate and reports to Grace

· Wade – Senior administrator who holds a master’s degree

· Bridget – Mid-level administrator who holds a master’s degree and reports to Wade

The names of all participants have been changed and limited information is provided here in order to maintain their privacy. All participants were provided with information regarding the process of the study and what was involved. Each participant completed an informed consent document before their interview began. A copy of the informed consent document is available in Appendix B.

Prior to the beginning of this study, all materials and plans were submitted for review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of the Cumberlands and the IRB of Connelly College. Both IRBs have approved this project and copies of their approval can be found in Appendix A.

Each interview was recorded with both a digital recorder and a cell phone-based recording application and transcribed using Amazon Transcribe. Transcriptions of each interview was sent to the respective participant and each participant was offered an audio file of their interview.

Analysis

Phenomenological research generates a large amount of raw data which must be analyzed. However, before any analysis was conducted, the researcher reviewed his own notes and bracketed his own assumptions and judgements. This step is recommended by Moustakas (1994) in order to eliminate as much research bias as possible before data is analyzed. Though it is impossible to completely eliminate research bias in a qualitative and phenomenological study, this step is very helpful in reducing that bias.

Moustakas (1994) identified four steps in analyzing phenomenological data: reduction, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and essence. The first step, reduction, is achieved by reducing the data into common themes and experiences as discussed by the participants.

The second step, horizontalization, requires the researcher to obtain a “30,000 foot” view of the data in hopes of viewing it equally. The third step, imaginative variation, asks the researcher to view the data from counter and congruent perspectives. The fourth and final step, essence, draws the data and the other steps together to form an essence of the phenomenon and the experiences of the participants.

The researcher proceeded through the analysis process outlined above. He opted for structural coding with a set of a priori themes and references derived from the literature including listening, imagination, acceptance, accountability, persuasion, and conceptualization (Heyler & Martin, 2018); and empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, and behaving ethically (Liden et al., 2014).

Emergent themes not suggested by the literature were also noted and coded as part of the process. The coding process and analysis was primarily conducted manually, but NVivo qualitative research software was used for data storage and assistance in identifying emergent themes.

Other Considerations

While all studies admit of some limitations, this study was potentially limited in the following ways. First, the sample consisted of individuals, including the president and three executive-level administrators, at a very small college. \

Though every assurance was given and step taken to reasonably guarantee the confidentiality of the data, some lower ranking administrators may have felt less inclined to share their full perspective. Second, Brian, the primary participant and president of Connelly College has only served in this role for one year. Once Brian has been in his position for more years there may be further diffusion of servant leadership throughout the administration.

References

Creswell, J. W. & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (5th ed.). Sage.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. The Robert K. Greenleaf Center.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leader: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press.

Heyler, S. G. & Martin, J. A. (2018). Servant leadership theory: Opportunities for additional theoretical integration. Journal of Managerial Issues, 30(2), 230-243.

Jeyaraj, J. J. & Gandolfi, F. (2019). Exploring trust, dialogue, and empowerment in servant leadership: Insights from critical pedagogy. Journal of Management Research, 19(4), 285-290.

Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Liao, C., & Meuser, J. D. (2014). Servant leadership and serving culture: Influence on individual and unit performance. Academy of Management Journal, 57(5), 1434- 1452.

Liu, H. (2019). Just the servant: An intersectional critique of servant leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 156(4), 1099-1112.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage.

Newman, A., Neesham, C., Manville, G., & Tse, H. H. M. (2018). Examining the influence of servant and entrepreneurial leadership on the work outcomes of employees in social enterprises. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(20), 2905-2926.

Write an essay about how the sciences of physics and/or chemistry (e.g. thermodynamics, heat, energy, molecular bonds, radiation) underlie climate and earth science. As an example select a climate science phenomenon or theory and explain the physics and or chemistry behind it and vice versa, how physics and/or chemistry explain climate phenomenon or theory. Alternative or supplemental essay approach: explain how climate science extends or deepens your understanding of the physics and chemistry you learned in previous courses in college or high school.

Laudato Si. Provide an example where Pope Francis has demonstrated interpersonal and ethical literacy and system thinking in his discussion of water and climate change in the Laudato Si. Explain how the writing was effective by directly referring to and citing the Psychology of Climate Change Communication Guide and/or Chapter 14 AMS Textbook. Explain and/or cite an aspect of the science of water and climate change in your essay.

Part c – is a reflective section about 500 words

Demonstrate the breadth and depth of what you have learned in this class including the development of your sustainability competencies (esp. System thinking, interpersonal literacy (e.g., science [e.g. communications]). Evaluation according to Reflection Rubric. Recommend reviewing before and after finishing your first draft to improve your essay for grading.
a. Demonstrate what you have learned in the course so far (and connected with what you know from outside the class). Include the most valuable insights and takeaways.
b. Identify one or more scientific uncertainties or unknowns in climate science and explain how you understand it and can explain to others.
c. What unanswered questions do you have on Climate and Climate Change at this time?

On page three of James Rachel’s the Challenge of Cultural Relativism, he lists six claims made by cultural relativists to support the concept of cultural relativism. Choose the claim you think is the strongest and explain why you think it is the strongest claim AND chose the one you think is the weakest claim. So, to be extra clear, you will be unpacking two different claims in this discussion board. You cannot choose #1 for either because it is simply a fact.

Case Study: Tuberculosis

APA format

Cite all references

Answer all questions… Late assignments will not be accepted

You are a public health nurse working at a county immunization and tuberculosis (TB) clinic. B.A. is a 51-year-old woman who wishes to obtain a food handler’s license and is required to show proof of a negative Monteux (purified protein derivative [PPD]) test result before being hired. She came to your clinic 2 days ago to undergo a PPD test for TB. She has returned to have you evaluate her reaction.

What is TB, and what microorganism causes it?

What is the route of transmission for TB?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends screening people at high risk for TB. List five populations at high risk for developing active disease.

Describe the two methods of TB screening.

How do you determine whether a Monteux test result is positive or negative?

What additional information do you need to obtain from B.A.?

You inform B.A. of the test result. She asks you what the result means. How will you respond?

Case Study Progress:

B.A. is a natural-born American and has no risk factors for TB infection according to the CDC guidelines. She has a 6-year history of type II diabetes mellitus that is well controlled with metformin (Glucophage). She admits that her mother had TB when she was a child but says she herself has never tested positive before. She is angry at the proposition that she might have TB and says, “I feel just fine and I don’t think anything else is necessary.”

What steps need to be done to determine whether B.A. has an active TB infection?

What instructions would you give this patient upon discharge from the hospital?