Negotiating Academic Learning and Research: The Spiritual Praxis of Graduate Students of Color

Drawing on data collected in a qualitative study of racially minoritized faculty members, this article examines the challenges these faculty members faced in bringing different aspects of their spirituality into their scholarly work as graduate students. This article explores the questions: How do racially minoritized graduate students negotiate their spiritual identities and integrate their spiritual epistemologies and cultural knowledge into academic practices, and what challenges do they face in doing both? This article presents three salient themes: sacred subjectivity in student-focused research, spiritual praxis in the classroom, and new visions for inclusive spiritual expression in the academy. By focusing our analysis on study participants' strategies for resisting pressures to closet their beliefs, this article affirms the importance of legitimizing the spiritual epistemological perspectives of racially minoritized graduate students in creating a more equitable and diverse higher education culture.     

Lag projective synchronization of fractional-order delayed chaotic systems

This paper considers the lag projective synchronization of fractional-order delayed chaotic systems. The lag projective synchronization is achieved through the use of comparison principle of linear fractional equation at the presence of time delay. Some sufficient conditions are obtained via a suitable controller. The results show that the slave system can synchronize the past state of the driver up to a scaling factor. Finally, two different structural fractional order delayed chaotic systems are considered in order to examine the effectiveness of the lag projective synchronization. Feasibility of the proposed method is validated through numerical simulations.     

Stabilization of artificial gas-lift process using nonlinear predictive generalized minimum variance control

Artificial gas-lift (AGL) is one of the most widely used methods in oil production to maintain acceptable oil flow to the processing equipment and sales when the reservoir pressure is not high enough. In spite of its popularity, the AGL process is prone to casing-heading instability, which is revealed as significant flow oscillation. This is undesirable as it results in production losses and unstable behavior that has negative impact on the downstream equipment. Controller design for such a process is very challenging as it exhibits highly nonlinear dynamics. In this work, the predictive generalized minimum variance control (NPGMV) is employed to derive a robust controller based on the state estimation to stabilize AGL process when casing-heading phenomenon occurs. A closed-form optimal control law is obtained based on the Taylor series approximation. Further, a nonlinear state observer is produced and combined with the controller to ensure closed-loop control through variables that are most beneficial to the system performance, which are unmeasurable and can be obtained only via estimation. Through simulation studies, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated.     

New modeling approach of secondary control layer for autonomous single-phase microgrids

In a microgrid (MG) topology, the secondary control is introduced to compensate for the voltage amplitude and frequency deviations, mainly caused by the inherent characteristics of the droop control strategy. This paper proposes an accurate approach to derive small signal models of the frequency and amplitude voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) of a single-phase MG by analyzing the dynamics of the second-order generalized integrator-based frequency-locked loop (SOGI-FLL). The frequency estimate model is then introduced in the frequency restoration control loop, while the derived model of the amplitude estimate is introduced for the voltage restoration loop. Based on the obtained models, the MG stability analysis and proposed controllers’ parameters tuning are carried out. Also, this study includes the modeling and design of the synchronization control loop that enables a seamless transition from island mode to grid-connected mode operation. Simulation and practical experiments of a hierarchical control scheme, including traditional droop control and the proposed secondary control for two single-phase parallel inverters, are implemented to confirm the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposal under different operating conditions. The obtained results validate the proposed modeling approach to provide the expected transient response and disturbance rejection in the MG.     

Dynamics of a stochastic multigroup SIQR epidemic model with standard incidence rates

In this paper, we consider a stochastic multigroup SIQR epidemic model with standard incidence rates. By using the stochastic Lyapunov function method, we establish sufficient conditions for the existence of a stationary distribution of the positive solutions to the model. Then we establish sufficient conditions for extinction of the diseases. A stationary distribution means that all the individuals can be coexistent and persistent in the long term. Finally, some examples and numerical simulations are introduced to illustrate our theoretical results.     

Integrating design science research and design based research frameworks for developing education support systems

Education and Information Technologies - This paper proposes an integrated research framework that takes advantage of the similarities of design science research (DSR) and Design-based research...     

Computer self-efficacy of university faculty in Lebanon

Faculty use of technology is a critical issue in higher education; administrators and students are expecting faculty instruction to incorporate technology in classroom and distance education. Competition is demanding technologically proficient graduates for schools and colleges. Research indicates that computer self-efficacy (CSE) may be one determinant of who uses technology and who does not. A survey of education faculty at the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon, conducted in 2006, revealed varying degrees of CSE; of 127 respondents, 14 had low levels of CSE; 68 were at a moderate level, and 45 self-evaluated themselves to have high CSE. Although other barriers may deter the implementation of technology in teaching, strategies and techniques for increasing CSE should be developed. For those with low CSE, special attention must be given to enhancing their levels of CSE.

Assessing the Emotional Intelligence of Gifted and Talented Adolescent Students in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This study assessed the differences in the emotional intelligence of gifted adolescent students and talented adolescent students in Bahrain. The sample consisted of 80 gifted adolescent students and 80 talented adolescent students in Grades 9 through 12. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicates that there were significant differences in emotional intelligence levels, as measured by the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, between gifted students and talented students in Bahrain in the direction of gifted students. There were differences between the gifted and the talented students in intrapersonal, adaptability, general mood subtest, and total emotional intelligence scores. Finally, gifted males had higher total emotional intelligence scores than gifted females; talented females had higher interpersonal scores than talented males.