Common Struggle Research Articles

Towards co-creating the praxis of teaching design from decolonial, intersectional and pluriversal approaches1

Across Oceania, design courses within the tertiary education sector remain entrenched in Eurocentric narratives and pedagogical approaches, which omit place-specific contexts, cultural histories, knowledges and diverse ways of designing, including those of First Nations. This concern drove the four authors to create the InterDesigning Network, a supra-institutional network that aims at connecting like-minded educators, practitioners and students. This article reflects on the results of the InterDesigning Network’s first symposium, titled Co-Creating the Praxis of Teaching Decolonial, Intersectional and Pluriversal Design and Histories. As the core team behind the network, we listened and learned from a panel formed by First Nations people that discussed Indigenous design practice, local protocols, connection to place and land, common struggles and ways of integrating Indigenous knowledges into contemporary design education. We also listened and were inspired by the insights shared by another panel made of diverse design educators who discussed how their positionalities and experiences inform their teaching practices. By reflecting on these insights as well as on the rationale behind the formation of a design educators’ network, this article offers actionable suggestions on how to disrupt the status quo for a more diverse and inclusive design education future.

Black, Low-Income Undergraduates’ Perceptions of Course-Related Factors Associated With Reduced Academic Stress at a Predominantly White Institution

Academic stress is a common struggle for learners of all ages. High levels of academic stress can sometimes relate to lower academic outcomes and higher attrition rates. Black college students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) face unique stressors such as discrimination and imposter syndrome. Being low-income can carry added stressors associated with a lack of access to resources. Prior literature indicates that support and stronger relationships with faculty are associated with lower stress levels and higher academic success. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of course-related factors that reduce academic stress among Black, low-income undergraduates at a PWI. Interviews with 19 Black undergraduates recruited from a department that servees low-income, first-generation students revealed a set of interrelated factors that produce greater feelings of support, relatedness, and competence, which aligns with a reduction in stressful experiences. A thematic analysis was used to create descriptive categories and produce a visual representation of these factors. Implications for university staff and faculty are discussed.

Time varying M with starvation mortality in a state-space stock assessment model: Part 2: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) on the southern Grand Bank of Newfoundland

State-space models are now a common tool for modeling time-varying ecological phenomena. This extends to state-space stock assessment models (SSAMs), recognized as pivotal components within the evolving landscape of next-generation stock assessment methodologies. Though methods are rapidly evolving, the estimation of time-varying rates of natural mortality (M) remains a challenge, and the sensitivity of stock assessments and management advice to assumed M values underscores the pressing need for improved estimation methods. Using southern Grand Bank (SGB) Atlantic cod as a case study, we introduce a novel approach to estimate time-varying M. We first convert a length-based starvation M index into an age-based index, which we then include in an age-based SSAM to estimate two components of M: starvation M and a remainder component. This produces a new SGB cod SSAM with time-varying total stock M. This model produces a large decrease (68 %) in the size of the model process errors (i.e., their standard deviation) and better fit compared to a model that did not account for time-varying M, indicating that the starvation M index improves our model of stock productivity. By leveraging readily available information on fish body condition and the proportion of fish in really poor condition, the proposed methods offer a valuable solution to the challenges associated with estimating time-varying M. The proposed methods offer a tractable solution to the common struggles associated with quantifying changes in fish productivity, which is crucial for the management of dynamic systems.

A World of Many Walks? Zapatista World Ordering between Center and Margins

Abstract At the current moment of multiple global crises, including of the International Liberal Order, a search for new practices of world ordering seems to coexist with a deep skepticism regarding the possibilities of global solidarity and common struggles between centers and margins. Against this background, this paper focuses on the world ordering practices of the Mexican Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, a group that occupies a position between center(s) and margin(s). While they clearly self-identify as being on the political and economic margins—geographically remote, economically weak and under constant threat of military repression—their ideas occupied center stage in the search for alternative visions of world order at least for a certain moment. The paper will explore the potential pathologies that a recourse to Zapatism may entail, namely romanticization, hollowing-out and epistemic extractivism/opportunism. It then asks if and how these pathologies can be overcome in a search for common ground for both social movements and International Political Theory when trying to think differently about world ordering from the margins. In this exploration, special emphasis will be given to the pathways toward a desirable order that the Zapatistas conceptualize and practice, namely creating, narrating and walking.

T cells in obesity-associated inflammation: The devil is in the details.

Obesity presents a significant health challenge, affecting 41% of adults and 19.7% of children in the United States. One of the associated health challenges of obesity is chronic low-grade inflammation. In both mice and humans, T cells in circulation and in the adipose tissue play a pivotal role in obesity-associated inflammation. Changes in the numbers and frequency of specific CD4+ Th subsets and their contribution to inflammation through cytokine production indicate declining metabolic health, that is, insulin resistance and T2D. While some Th subset alterations are consistent between mice and humans with obesity, some changes mainly characterize male mice, whereas female mice often resist obesity and inflammation. However, protection from obesity and inflammation is not observed in human females, who can develop obesity-related T-cell inflammation akin to males. The decline in female sex hormones after menopause is also implicated in promoting obesity and inflammation. Age is a second underappreciated factor for defining and regulating obesity-associated inflammation toward translating basic science findings to the clinic. Weight loss in mice and humans, in parallel with these other factors, does not resolve obesity-associated inflammation. Instead, inflammation persists amid modest changes in CD4+ T cell frequencies, highlighting the need for further research into resolving changes in T-cell function after weight loss. How lingering inflammation after weight loss affecting the common struggle to maintain lower weight is unknown. Semaglutide, a newly popular pharmaceutical used for treating T2D and reversing obesity, holds promise for alleviating obesity-associated health complications, yet its impact on T-cell-mediated inflammation remains unexplored. Further work in this area could significantly contribute to the scientific understanding of the impacts of weight loss and sex/hormones in obesity and obesity-associated metabolic decline.

Students' skills in mathematical word problems and their reading comprehension level: Basis for intervention program (June 2023)

This study aims to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and solving mathematical word problems. Mathematics can be enjoyable yet challenging for many students. Solving word problems is a common struggle. To solve these problems, students must have strong reading comprehension skills to fully understand the mathematical information presented in text form. The researchers were motivated to conduct the study to ascertain the level of the students' reading comprehension and its impact on their performance in problem-solving. The researchers used a quantitative method in the study. The respondents were Grade 11 Senior High School students in Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National School, Pila, Laguna. The researchers calculated the sample size using Slovin's Formula which has a 5% margin of error. As a result, the researchers obtained a sample size of 118 Grade 11 students from HUMSS and STEM strand. The researchers used an adapted test questionnaire from the Project Reach Program of DepEd to measure the reading comprehension level of the respondents. On the other hand, the researchers created test questions to measure the skills of the students in solving mathematical word problems. After the data was collected, tallied, and analyzed, results revealed a significant correlation between students' reading comprehension and problem-solving skills at Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National High School. The majority of the respondents were categorized as "instructional" and "beginner," with a mean of 18.88 and 10.48. Pearson r correlation analysis revealed that pupils’ reading comprehension level is significantly correlated with their problem-solving skills. It means that students who belong to the independent level tend to have higher proficiency in solving mathematical word problems. The researchers created an intervention program in order to improve students' reading comprehension level and problem-solving skills. The researchers came up with the "CompreMath" intervention program. The "CompreMath" intervention program provides a rationale for integrating reading comprehension strategies into mathematics instruction, enabling students to develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts, enhance their problem-solving abilities, and make meaningful connections between mathematics and the real world.

Childhood disabilities and the cost of developmental therapies: the service provider perspective

ABSTRACT Purpose For children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (CWNDs), early diagnosis that leads to early intervention with regular targeted therapies is critical. In Qatar, private therapy centres that address this demand often have highly exclusive prices restricting families from availing them. This paper examines the challenges faced by families with CWNDs, as well as various financial and systemic obstacles, from the vantage point of these centres, all of which culminate in an extraordinarily high disability price tag for disability families in Qatar. Methods This study is based on qualitative, semi-structured, and in-depth interviews with private therapy centres and developmental paediatricians. Results Therapy centre representatives expressed common struggles in lengthy and cumbersome administration and licencing procedures, difficulty in hiring and retaining high quality staff, and expenses that need to be paid to the state. From their experience, families largely struggle with delayed diagnoses that significantly slow down intervention plans and therapies as well as staggeringly high financial costs with a dearth of funding options. Conclusions We recommend sincere engagement, dialogue, and cooperation between multiple stakeholders; a supportive ecosystem to balance and distribute the demand that includes schools and parents; as well more efficient administrative procedures and recruitment strategies.

Teaching physical education during the time of pandemic

This research study aimed to identify the modalities used in teaching Physical Education in the district of San Rafael, Bulacan during the time of pandemic. Further, the study investigated the challenges experienced by the Physical Education (PE) teachers and the solutions they made to address these challenges. The end goal of the study was a school action plan for physical education to address the issues in teaching PE during the pandemic. Qualitative research design through thematic analysis was employed and a semi structured virtual interview was conducted to further substantiate the findings of the study. Results revealed that modular learning is the most common modality used by Physical Education teachers in this time of pandemic. Other modalities such as synchronous and asynchronous online learning and physical activity mobile applications were used by the teachers. It was also revealed that their main reason for using the modalities was for the welfare of their students. Further, the lack of resources of students in terms of internet connectivity and gadgets was the common struggle experienced by the Physical Education teachers and the most common solution done by the Physical Education teachers was doing follow-up with the students through social media. This study recommended the implementation of the proposed action plan to improve the modalities of teachers in teaching Physical Education and to help them avoid problems they may encounter.

РАБОТА ПАРТИЙНЫХ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЙ АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНА ВРЕМЕН ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ ВОЙНЫ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ РУКОВОДСТВА БАКИНСКОГО КОМИТЕТА КПА(Б) НЕФТЯНОЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТЬЮ ГОРОДА)

The article deals with the activity of the Baku Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and its role in the development and rationalization of the oil industry in the pre-war period and during the Great Patriotic War. The author aims to determine the place of the Baku Committee in the organization of the management of the oil industry of Soviet Azerbaijan in those years. Noting that earlier in the historiography there were no attempts to holistically consider the line of the Baku Committee in the oil sphere in the war period, the author pays special attention to the study of general measures of the party bodies, which were to mobilize oil production and refining, orient them to the work in the extreme conditions. The article analyzes the plan of the State Defense Committee (SDC) to dismantle and export valuable industry equipment, as well as the destruction of oil wells and oil refineries, agreed with the Central and Baku Committees of the CP(b), determines the leading role of the Baku Committee and the priority of the implementation of its decisions even before the Regional Committee of the CP(b) of Azerbaijan. In conclusion, the author states that Azerbaijan played a special role in the common struggle of the peoples of the USSR. Possessing significant oil reserves and developed oil industry, the republic was of key importance for the supply of fuel to the army and defense industry, which was one of the most important factors in achieving victory in the war conditions of the 20th century.

Intersections and Collective Consciousness in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: Understanding Micropolitics of Arundhati Roy

Interconnected experiences reveal ongoing marginalization and injustice in the contemporary globalized society. The accounts provided in this study connect the experiences of marginalized people, exposing common struggles and collective consciousness. Based on the concepts of Durkheim, the study examines how common challenges cultivate collective identity. Micropolitical dynamics, which take place in an unusual guest house, emphasize power relationships and resistance to systemic oppression. The narrative demonstrates persistent prejudices that widen societal divisions while critically evaluating the unfulfilled promises of globalization. Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness presents a transformative vision that questions established norms. Roy's characters demonstrate how neoliberal intersections may spark a collective consciousness and provide insights and inspiration for an alternative model to prevailing neoliberal globalization. This research emphasizes the literature's effectiveness in addressing today's critical concerns and paving the road for diversity and inclusivity.

Queers and Right-wing Ideology: Case Study of Serbia

The systematic exclusion of trans people from society vividly demonstrates the oppression faced by marginalised groups. These patterns of discrimination are also seen in instances of hatred towards women or non-heterosexual individuals. Within the queer community, trans people are particularly vulnerable and are often the target of conservative and right-wing movements. It is crucial to acknowledge that the oppression of one group can have a domino effect on the entire LGBTIQ+ community. It is noteworthy that patterns of oppression cannot be observed in isolation, since neoliberal policies tend to fragment solidarity and our common struggles. Despite not being immediately apparent, the entire queer community suffers the consequences of the exclusion of trans people. Similarly, policies of segregation and exclusion based on sexual orientation and gender identity have broader consequences, which may also impact the rights and freedoms of heterosexual cisgender individuals. Right-wing policies and ideology tend to spread, and this can be seen in the example of Serbia, where institutional and non-institutional levels witness increased activity of right-wing groups.

Old Aesthetics, New Ethics

The depiction of the class struggle features prominently in the American canon of the first half of the 20th century. However, the emphasis has been almost exclusively on prose fiction to the exclusion of the works of poets such as Claude McKay, one of the central figures of the early Harlem Renaissance and the leading figure among socially engaged English-speaking poets at the time. The article redresses this imbalance by drawing attention to McKay’s socially engaged sonnets, which helped to expand the horizons and culturally empower the exploited poor in America (and by extension the proletariat in England) to resist and overcome racist ideology in their common struggle for universal social justice. McKay makes use of a traditional, highly aestheticized sonnet form, while giving it a new ethical premise and fresh impetus.

GIS learning and college students’ acquisition and understanding of spatial concepts

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence is insufficient on the specific roles GIS learning plays in developing students’ understanding various spatial concepts. The present study aims to draw attention to common struggles of learning some spatial concepts in geography and offer directions for future research on GIS learning and the development of student spatial concept lexicon. Three types of technical terms – neutral, helpful associations, and hindering associations – by Glessmer and Brose (2014) provided an excellent framework to explain why some concepts are more or less difficult for students to grasp. Our findings suggest that learning map scale and map projection are relatively easy because they are neutral and introduced as a new vocabulary. Overlay and density are terms provoking helpful associations because they carry a similar meaning in everyday language, so most students had no problems understanding the meaning of these concepts. Spatial association seemed to elicit unhelpful association because everyday use of the term, association, is not precise enough to define spatial association, resulting in students confused with other terms. Future research must be done in the context of GIS requiring students to be able to not only know spatial concepts but clearly articulate these concepts regarding various GIS applications.

A novel face-name mnemonic discrimination task with naturalistic stimuli

Difficulty remembering faces and names is a common struggle for many people and gets more difficult as we age. Subtle changes in appearance from day to day, common facial characteristics across individuals, and overlap of names may contribute to the difficulty of learning face-name associations. Computational models suggest the hippocampus plays a key role in reducing interference across experiences with overlapping information by performing pattern separation, which enables us to encode similar experiences as distinct from one another. Thus, given the nature of overlapping features within face-name associative memory, hippocampal pattern separation may be an important underlying mechanism supporting this type of memory. Furthermore, cross-species approaches find that aging is associated with deficits in hippocampal pattern separation. Mnemonic discrimination tasks have been designed to tax hippocampal pattern separation and provide a more sensitive measure of age-related cognitive decline compared to traditional memory tasks. However, traditional face-name associative memory tasks do not parametrically vary overlapping features of faces and names to tax hippocampal pattern separation and often lack naturalistic facial features (e.g., hair, accessories, similarity of features, emotional expressions). Here, we developed a face-name mnemonic discrimination task where we varied face stimuli by similarity, race, sex, and emotional expression as well as the similarity of name stimuli. We tested a sample of healthy young and older adults on this task and found that both age groups showed worsening performance as face-name interference increased. Overall, older adults struggled to remember faces and face-name pairs more than young adults. However, while young adults remembered emotional faces better than neutral faces, older adults selectively remembered positive faces. Thus, the use of a face-name association memory task designed with varying levels of face-name interference as well as the inclusion of naturalistic face stimuli across race, sex, and emotional expressions provides a more nuanced approach relative to traditional face-name association tasks toward understanding age-related changes in memory.

“Did I Say Too Much? Did I Say enough?”: Balancing the Competing Struggles Parents Experience in Talking to Their Children About Sex-Related Topics

ABSTRACT Parents are often the first-line resource for their children regarding relationships and sex-related topics. Although there has been increasing research on difficulties parents perceive surrounding these conversations, less research has been done to assess the complex personal experiences and perceptions parents navigate surrounding open, honest, and comprehensive sex-related talks with their children. The qualitative study included 78 U.S. parents/guardians across 12 focus groups discussing their experiences and communication surrounding sex-related topics with their children. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach we found that parents are trying to navigate a balance between four competing struggles in conversations about sex-related topics with their children, including: (a) sexual education and overexposure, (b) family values and breaking the cycle, (c) accurate information and influencing sources, and (d) parent control and child autonomy. Our findings offer insights into parents’ common struggles, inform future research, and promote more meaningful parent-child communication about sex.

Call for reflection on the feminist Left: why care, solidarity and abolitionism cannot sufficiently underwrite a radical programme of social change – Fraserian critical theory and an extended review of Cannibal Capitalism

This article first introduces and reviews Nancy Fraser's latest book Cannibal Capitalism. Next, it discusses the book's its programme for critical theory in the framework of Fraser's previous scholarship. It focuses on two ingredients of ‘Fraserian' critical theory: the role of difference in social justice-driven research and the separation of ontological and normative parts of such research. It then applies these specifically to feminist radical theories and explains why current, ostensibly non-economic, care-, solidarity- and abolitionist resistance programmes cannot underwrite sufficiently radical political programmes for social change. While these programmes' alternative ontologies are resourceful for informing and fomenting resistance, their potential to radically change social structures hinges upon their ability to relate their programme to other socially dominated and economically oppressed groups on the Left. Because capitalism codes both social domination and economic oppression, radical programmes would integrate their ostensibly non-economic ontological resources with a critique of capitalism to illuminate the common struggles of socially dominated and economically oppressed. ‘System crises critique' articulated by Fraser in Cannibal Capitalism is an example of one such ‘radical’ programme, which mobilises the working class as well as other marginalised groups, which are simultaneously economically oppressed and socially dominated.

Underestimated Ally: Ukraine during the Polish–Soviet War of 1920 in Polish Underground Publications (1976–1989)

This article examines Polish underground publications (samizdat) interpreting Ukraine’s role in the Polish–Soviet war of 1920. The research analyzes a large number of underground journals, newspapers, and books. It shows the relationship between the political thought of Polish émigrés and the opposition within the Polish People’s Republic. The article argues that the Polish oppositionists considered rethinking the history of relations with Poland’s eastern neighbors an essential precondition for gaining its sovereignty. They regarded the Polish–Soviet war of 1920 as one of the most critical episodes in Polish–Ukrainian–Russian relations in recent history. A common feature of most opposition publications on the Polish–Soviet war was emphasizing the joint struggle of Ukrainians and Poles against the Bolsheviks. The authors often emphasized the combat value of Ukrainian units and stressed that Poland did not correctly appreciate their contribution to the common struggle. They also believe that the conditions of Polish aid were too painful for Ukraine. The defeat of the project for an independent Ukraine laid the foundations for the Soviet attack on Poland in 1939. The main conclusion from this historical episode, for most Polish oppositionists, was that supporting Ukraine’s independence was of strategic interest for Poland. In turn, Poland must abandon competition with Russia for Ukraine as a sphere of influence in the future. Only equal relations with its eastern neighbors will give Poland lasting security.

Experiences of Teachers in Upland Schools: A Phenomenological Study

This research study used a descriptive qualitative phenomenological research design which provides a narrative context based on personal experiences. The participants of the study were four teachers, teaching in highland elementary campuses for more than a year. The data were contextualized from participants in depth statement according to the open-ended questionnaire that has been provided during the evaluation. Learners were intellectually challenged, needed to be guided by parents or siblings using supplementary activities given in the modules. With a lack of technological intervention professional teachers in upland areas are having difficulty to monitor the improvement of their learners. Most of the learners cannot fully comply on their academic activities. Learners don’t understand the module, they rely on their elder siblings. Moreover, the common struggles of the teachers is the risk in travelling due to the topographical settings. Common disadvantage teaching in upland and remote campuses was the unsuited learning curriculum for the learners. Provided learning guide were not culture based, which means, learners are having difficulty in understanding which translate to haphazard learning development. Participants stated that their students are struggling in self-learning method, considering that most of the parents of these learners are illiterate. Therefore, it suggests developing a mode of learning delivery based on the learner’s capacity to learn and improve. In spite of all the struggles, there was enjoyment. Most of them perceived that the common advantage in upland schools is having a small class size. Thus, teachers can focus in teaching.

User experiences of an online therapist-guided psychotherapy platform, OPTT: A cross-sectional study

IntroductionIn the last few years, online psychotherapy programs have burgeoned since they are a more accessible and scalable treatment option compared to in-person therapies. While these online programs are promising, understanding the user experience and perceptions of care is essential for program optimization. MethodsThis study investigated the experiences of end-users who had previously received online psychotherapy through a web-based platform. A 35-item multiple-choice survey was developed by the research team and distributed to past users to capture their perceptions of the program. ResultsThe survey yielded 163 responses, with a 90 % completion rate. Participants were predominantly white and female, with an average age of 42 years. While most participants preferred in-person therapy, they also reported the benefits of the online psychotherapy program. Participants had positive perceptions of the platform, the quality and interaction of their therapist, and the homework assignments and skills covered. Lack of motivation to complete weekly homework assignments was cited as a common struggle. DiscussionThe findings support online psychotherapy as a beneficial digital mental health tool and highlight some areas for improvement. Scalability and accessibility are key benefits of the platform. At the same time, improvements in participant engagement, including those from equity-seeking and equity-deserving groups, may enhance the efficacy of the programs offered.

“Asia as method” as a quest of the spirit and finding we-togetherness: a collaborative autoethnography

This paper responds to the special issue’s call for educators to examine the epistemological and ontological changes that happen to themselves after long-term working abroad and how this experience helps challenge theoretical and pedagogical norms in education. Employing collaborative autoethnography as our research method, we use our life stories of growing up in Asia and studying and working in the West to reflect on our journey of becoming scholars comfortable in engaging Chinese wisdom traditions—Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism—in Western academia. We share how our experiences of encouraging Asian spiritual traditions and engaging in contemplative practices led us to embrace the ontology and epistemology of Eastern wisdom traditions, and come to understand Eastern philosophies as living wisdom, as a way of being and knowing. We further detail how comprehending Eastern philosophies at a heart-mind level has transformed our views on humanity, allowing us to see the common struggles of peoples in the East and West, Asia and North America. Our ontological and epistemological transformations brought about by Eastern contemplative practices have enabled us to see that there is not such a thing as “Asia” or “North America. ” Rather, we interare and we are Earth citizens. We end our inquiry by advocating for the need to engage spirit as method and conduct research and teaching with a heightened sense of we-togetherness, from a heart and mind that is open and boundless, for the benefits of all our relations—visible and invisible, human and more than human.