A Post/Decolonial View of Race and Identity Through the Narratives of U.S. International Students from the Global South

Using postcolonial and decolonial theory as a framework, this study focuses on the lived experiences of international students of color entering the United States for the first time in their lives from the global South. Our goal was to understand how they communicate/perform their dis/located identities in relation to “race” when immersed for the first time in a White settler society context. Findings from this qualitative study underscore discomfort with U.S.-centric race logics, production of ambiguity in relation to identity and race, and the growth of compassion for cultural Others as a result of becoming racial Other. The decolonial implications of such dis-identification with U.S. colonial race categories are discussed.     

Aspirations of Indian inventors moderated by patenting experience,age and sector

In this hyper-competitive era, patents are an essential input to realizing sustainable competitive advantage. However, individual differences exist in patenting filing behavior and behaviors related to commercialization of patents. This study explores these behaviors in the context of three demographic variables. The demographic variables are patenting and commercialization experiences of inventors, age and sector. Further, aspirations of these inventors are assessed using external motivators of wealth, fame, and concern for societal welfare, and internal motivators such as pragmatism. The findings of this empirical study (n = 116) suggest that sector and age determine differences in personal internal motivators more than patent commercialization experience. Implications of the study are discussed.     

How Einstein discovered the Special Theory of Relativity

Contrary to what we learn in textbooks on the Special Theory of Relativity, Michelson-Morley experiment had no direct influence on Einstein’s discovery although he undoubtedly knew about it. At the age of only 16, Einstein imagined himself standing in front of a plane mirror while he himself together with the mirror was being carried forward with the velocity of light. He asked himself the question whether he would be able to see his image in the mirror in such a situation. In trying to solve this problem he thought over the whole foundation of physics with no assistance from any physicist. He, however, profited from some discussions with a few of his colleagues (the main person being Besso) who were unknown to the world of physics. Here we try to reconstruct in our own way the arguments that perhaps led Einstein to his goal. In our effort, we are guided by some of his utterances and interviews given to different people in his later life.     

The role of acoustofluidics in targeted drug delivery

With the fast development of acoustic systems in clinical and therapeutic applications, acoustically driven microbubbles have gained a prominent role as powerful tools to carry, transfer, direct, and target drug molecules in cells, tissues, and tumors in the expanding fields of targeted drug delivery and gene therapy. The aim of the present study is to establish a biocompatible acoustic microfluidic system and to demonstrate the generation of an acoustic field and its effects on microbubbles and biological cells in the microfluidic system. The acoustic field creates non-linear oscillations of the microbubble-clusters, which results in generation of shear stress on cells in such microsystems. This effectively helps in delivering extracellular probes in living cells by sonoporation. The sonoporation is investigated under the combined effects of acoustic stress and hydrodynamic stress during targeted drug and gene delivery.     

Improving literacy and math instruction at scale in India’s primary schools: The case of Pratham’s Read India program

Pratham’s “Read India” initiative is a large-scale intervention to improve basic learning and arithmetic among children in primary school. It was started almost 10 years ago and has evolved considerably over time. Currently, this initiative uses two strategies. The first strategy is to work directly with village communities and local schools to improve children’s learning. “Learning camps” are organized in the local school or community for a period of 6–10 days at a time. Local village volunteers help to teach children who are organized in groups by their level of learning. These camps—intensive bursts of focused instruction—are repeated several times during the year. This model which has been rigourously evaluated shows that children’s learning levels improve significantly. The second strategy is to work with the government. This approach is used when school systems want to partner or collaborate with Pratham for improving basic learning. The key element here too is grouping children and teaching them from their level rather than by their grade. This approach also shows promising results. Independent evaluations and randomized control trials conducted on both models have indicated significant impact. Moving between the present set of conditions in India and past lessons, this case describes a decade-long journey of efforts to change teaching and learning at the ground level as well the efforts to bring about significant shifts in priority at the system level. The “Read India” case presented here contributes knowledge on strategies under which effective pedagogy can be brought to scale. It also discusses challenges of transforming instructional change in a context of low initial capacity at the school and system levels, where attention to rapid expansion of access to school had kept aside for a long time critical questions about teaching quality and learning outcomes. A second contribution of “Read India” to current knowledge on large-scale educational change relates to the role non-government actors such as Pratham can play in bringing effective pedagogy to scale to improve student learning.     

Learning to read

This paper traces the philosophical and programmatic evolution of Pratham's accelerated reading programme ‘Read India’. It outlines the experiences that led to the development of the accelerated reading technique and the organizational contexts in which this approach has been played out.     

Boys Write About Boys: Androcentrism in Children’s Reading Experience and Its Emergence in Children’s Own Writing

Gender bias exists in our language environment. We investigated personal name usage in two large corpora of language written for and by U.K. children aged 5–13. Study 1 found an overrepresentation of male names in children’s books, largely attributable to male authors. In stories written by over 100,000 children, Study 2 found an overall male bias that interacted with age. Younger children wrote more about their own gender. With age, girls became more balanced yet boys continued to show a strong male bias. Our findings demonstrate a male-centered bias in both children’s books and their own writing. We consider the power of written language to both shape and be shaped by cultural stereotypes via systematic biases in gender associations.     

Raising awareness of campus diversity and inclusion: Transformationally teaching diversity through narratives of campus experiences and simulated problem solving

ABSTRACT

Courses: Organizational Communication, Intercultural Communication

Objectives: This activity encourages students to learn collaboratively about diversity through the sharing of student experiences; deepen and complicate their understanding of organizational diversity; and enhance their ability to apply course material to increasingly complex organizational environments.