North American Universities Research Articles

Evaluation of a Pediatric High-Flow Nasal Cannula Training Program for Providers at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya

Background: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a relatively safe, effective, and well-tolerated form of non-invasive ventilation for children with respiratory distress and is regularly used in resource-rich settings. Pediatric HFNC has been successfully implemented in resource-limited settings; however, little is known about the training process required to integrate HFNC into care. The present study evaluates a pediatric HFNC training program conducted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya prior to HFNC implementation at Shoe4Africa Children’s Hospital.
 Methods: This study took place within the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) program, a partnership among MTRH, Moi University, and a consortium of North American universities led by Indiana University. The training program curriculum included information about HFNC; clinical signs of respiratory distress; a demonstration and hands-on practice with HFNC machines; a locally adapted protocol for pediatric HFNC implementation; and a sample patient case. Fifty-nine acute care providers (nurses, clinical officers, medical officers, and registrars) participated in training. Participants completed pre-tests and post-tests (immediate and 3-month follow-up) containing open-ended questions to assess HFNC knowledge and five-point Likert scale questions to assess HFNC comfort and attitudes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-proportion Z-tests (α=0.05).
 Results: Average knowledge assessment scores significantly increased from pre-test (2.19/6) to post-test (5.59/6; p<0.001). While scores decreased slightly at the 3-month follow-up, they remained increased from pre-test levels (4.53/6; p<0.001). The percentage of respondents who answered each knowledge assessment question correctly on the post-test and 3-month followup were significantly increased from the pre-test. Participant comfort using HFNC was increased on both the post-test (p<0.001) and 3-month follow-up (p=0.038).
 Conclusions: This program successfully trained providers in pediatric HFNC use at MTRH and could inform future HFNC training in resource-limited settings. Future studies should evaluate pediatric outcomes at Shoe4Africa after HFNC implementation.

Data‐Driven Learning for Pronunciation: Perception and Production of Lexical Stress and Prominence in Academic English

AbstractIssues of intelligibility may arise amongst English learners when acquiring new words and phrases in North American academic settings, perhaps in part due to limited linguistic data available to the learner for understanding language use patterns. To this end, this paper examines the effects of Data‐Driven Learning for Pronunciation (DDLfP) on lexical stress and prominence in the US academic context. 65 L2 English learners in North American universities completed a diagnostic and pretest with listening and speaking items before completing four online lessons and a posttest on academic words and formulas (i.e., multi‐word sequences). Experimental group participants (n = 40) practiced using an audio corpus of highly proficient L2 speakers while comparison group participants (n = 25) were given teacher‐created pronunciation materials. Logistic regression results indicated that the group who used the corpus significantly increased their recognition of prominence in academic formulas. In the spoken tasks, both groups improved in their lexical stress pronunciation, but only the DDLfP learners improved their production of prominence in academic formulas. Learners reported that they valued DDLfP efforts for pronunciation learning across contexts and speakers. Findings have implications for teachers of L2 pronunciation and support the use of corpora for language teaching and learning.

A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach for Predicting Student Performance Using Multi-class Educational Datasets

Prediction of students’ academic performance has garnered considerable interest, with many institutions seek to enhance students’ performance and their quality of education. The integration of both unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques has demonstrated significant efficacy in predicting student performance. This paper explores the application of different machine learning methods in predicting student academic performance. Initially, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilised to reduce the dataset’s dimensionality, thereby improving its visualisation. Subsequently, K-Means clustering was employed to segregate students into distinct groups, reflective of their learning behaviors. Afterwards, the observed clusters were utilised for training classification models to address each student cluster individually. This approach was implemented in a case study involving an undergraduate science course at a North American University (NAU) and the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD). Empirical findings indicate that the combined use of Feedforward Dense Network (FDN), Random Forest (RF), and Decision Tree (DT), specifically in their clustered forms, outperforms other classifiers in predicting student academic performance effectively.

A School for Humanity: Confronting Division and Trauma Through Lived Values in Burundi

The Burundi American International Academy is an independent school in central Africa. It was established eight years ago expressly to generate potential leaders motivated to build peace, humanity and economic development in an impoverished country beset by political, ethnic, environmental and development challenges. The purpose of this research is to evaluate progress toward achieving the school’s aims to create such leaders through instilling and modelling the values of integrity, excellence, responsibility, passion, compassion and respect .The study used qualitative approaches including semi-structured conversations, observations, video, questionnaires and follow-up interviews to provide data. Data was analysed using Grounded Theory to identify the characteristics of a model intended to deliver sustainable positive change in social processes through education.Significant findings were that the school had developed a strong, united, persuasive and perhaps self-fulfilling narrative about its successes. This narrative shared between teachers, students, governors and parents, included convincing evidence of deep understanding of the relationship between values and action at macro and micro levels. The strong motivation among teachers and other adult participants towards sustaining its aims was reinforced by evidence of frequent values discussions and values-focussed in-service training.Theory arising from grounded research led to discussion on staff training and curriculum coverage. This included suggestions on involving connections to the school’s humanitarian values and philosophy, cross-curricular approaches to Sustainable Development Goals and closer relations between the subject disciplines. Establishing inclusive values within a privileged minority in a divided and impoverished society and balancing charitable attitudes with aspirations to high status, were revealed as significant challenges for the school. While student admission to North American universities may result in losing of some promising future leaders, the school offers a globally transferrable example of how to establish and sustain a values-creating school.

Reflecting on Academic Freedom Through Fiction: A Theatrical Exploration of the Blurry Contours of the Freedom to Teach

This article aims at exploring the contribution that creative forms of research can make to the study of a little-known aspect of academic freedom in the Canadian context – academic freedom in curriculum development. It seeks to address the methodological challenge posed by research on academic freedom, that is, the fact that any academic writing on this topic necessarily draws initially, though not exclusively, from the researchers’ own experiences and perspectives. The article brings to life a fictional faculty meeting, during which questions about academic freedom in teaching are discussed. Although this meeting is the product of our imagination, its starting point is based on real-life events, that is, the implementation in some North American universities of a course developed and initially offered outside of academia by people closely related to a well-known personal development organization.

“The 62 Members of the Mickey Mouse Club”: Yearbook Impressions

This essay redirects attention to questions of reception in German-speaking contexts, instead of a limited stress on what is “produced” there. This not only affords us, German studies scholars at North American universities, an opportunity to take into account our own reception of imported European goods within our specific institutional and local cultural contexts. It also confirms what we so often claim in our teaching statements, namely, that our students play a key role in the meaning of these objects, not as mere “receivers” but as fellow interlocuters, since the questions asked about these objects structure them in the first place. The messiness of these transcultural European trade routes needs to be taken seriously so that the noise, mixed messages, and missed signals might become part of our objects of interpretation, instead of being relegated to the footnotes of standard histories.

Diversity dilemmas: uncovering gender and nationality biases in graduate admissions across top North American computer science programs

Although different organizations have defined policies towards diversity in academia, many argue that minorities are still disadvantaged in university admissions due to biases. Extensive research has been conducted on detecting partiality patterns in the academic community. However, in the last few decades, limited research has focused on assessing gender and nationality biases in graduate admission results of universities. In this study, we collected a novel and comprehensive dataset containing information on approximately 14,000 graduate students majoring in computer science (CS) at the top 25 North American universities. We used statistical hypothesis tests to determine whether there is a preference for students’ gender and nationality in the admission processes. In addition to partiality patterns, we discuss the relationship between gender/nationality diversity and the scientific achievements of research teams. Consistent with previous studies, our findings show that there is no gender bias in the admission of graduate students to research groups, but we observed bias based on students’ nationality.

How do embarrassing service disruptions impact bystanders' word‐of‐mouth, complaining, and avoidance? The moderating role of self‐construal

AbstractIn public settings such as retail, an embarrassed consumer may be witnessed by others. Thus, vicarious embarrassment may be even more ubiquitous than embarrassment itself. However, the impact of observers' individual characteristics on reactions to embarrassing service disruptions is not clear. To close this gap, the current research examines how observers' self‐construal, or their perception of the self in relation to others, systematically alters observers' responses to embarrassing service disruptions. The data for this research was collected from 674 US respondents recruited amongst undergraduate students at a large North American university (study 1, n = 193) and from an online subject panel (study 2, n = 281 and study 3, n = 200). Across all three experiments, the authors demonstrate that vicarious embarrassment is conditional on observers' self‐construal. Specifically, the results demonstrate that observers with a predominantly interdependent self‐construal experience stronger vicarious embarrassment than consumers with a predominantly independent self‐construal. This occurs because they are more likely to take the actor's perspective. These differences manifest whether we operationalize self‐construal as a measured individual difference or use a prime to induce self‐construal situationally. Furthermore, observers with a predominantly interdependent self‐construal alter their word‐of‐mouth, complaining, and avoidance intentions, effects mediated by perspective‐taking and vicarious embarrassment. The current research contributes to theory and practice by introducing self‐construal as a boundary condition to the vicarious embarrassment literature.

An Instructional Binary: Analyzing How Accessibility Is Taught in Graduate‐Level Library and Information Science Programs

ABSTRACTWhile accessibility is a core value of the American Library Association (ALA) and represents an important factor in striving for diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and social justice (DEIASJ), coverage of accessibility varies widely in programs intended to equip future LIS professionals to serve patrons with disabilities. This poster presents preliminary findings from a larger research project examining library and information science curricula at 77 North American colleges and universities. Through thematic analysis of course descriptions and syllabi, the researchers found that digital topics in accessibility are addressed more frequently than physical ones. Further, LIS curricula largely overlook the needs of disabled patrons when covering accessibility. These factors present challenges for future LIS professionals serving patrons with disabilities.

Italian Outside of Italy: Power or Resilience? The Role of Italian Emigration in Toronto: A Case Study

Abstract This article presents a case study of the relationship between the Italian community and the Italian language in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) conducted through a qualitative and quantitative analysis. It examines reasons for a serious crisis in enrollment in Italian at the college and university level in a major North American university through an analysis of attitudes of Italian immigrants in the GTA by exploring generational layers. The enrollment situation in Italian is due to pragmatic considerations by students, who seek a curriculum that offers employment opportunities after graduation. A suggestion to increase the marketability of Italian as a language of study is the implementation of a more business- and economics-centered curriculum. The qualitative component consists of interviews with seven members of the Italian community who offered their perspectives on the role of the community and on the possible solutions to the ongoing enrollment crisis.

“The Grind Never Stops” Mental Health and Expectations of Productivity in the North American University

Using a critical phenomenology approach, I explore how the neoliberal social context of the North American university produces normative expectations which both interact with and pattern student experiences and understandings of mental health struggles in this environment. The data I analyze comes from semi-structured interviews with 24 university students between 18 and 24 years of age who self-identify as experiencing mental health struggles, as well as participant observation at university wellness events. In this context, both students and the university understand wellness as the ability to maintain constant academic productivity. While university wellness programming promotes goal-oriented individualized “self”-care as the gold standard for attaining and maintaining wellness, students often view self-care activities as unproductive, instead prioritizing academic productivity over subjective well-being in striving to maintain an image as the “good” student. I argue that understanding mental health in this way both causes and exacerbates harm, introducing the conceptual contrast between “Student Wellness”—academic success—and “Human Wellness”—subjective well- being—as a means of understanding how university attempts to increase wellness often support neoliberal agendas to the detriment of their students’ well-being.

Impact of PHDs Trained in Europe and North America on the Productivity of Scientific Research: Evidence from Latin America

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to analyze the differences in research productivity between doctoral degree holders from European and North American universities, and doctoral degree holders from Peru. Theoretical framework: Internationalization of higher education has become a phenomenon of great relevance in recent years (Romani et al., 2021), allowing an increasing number of doctoral researchers to study in foreign countries. However, little evidence has been generated in Latin America. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses an explanatory approach based on data mining that analyze data from 863 researchers from 24 public and private universities in Perú, according to the two categories of productivity (high and low) defined by the National Scientific Research Agency. Findings: The results show that of all the factors analyzed, the country of doctoral study is the most important variable in predicting the scientific productivity of researchers. This situation is confirmed when analyzing the number of publications made by researchers according to their category, where a clear tendency in favor of researchers who studied abroad can be seen. Research, Practical & Social implications: The results suggest that international academics are more likely to publish in top-tier journals. Also, the results may be applicable to other countries, but more studies are going to be necessary. Originality/Value: The results of this investigation are relevant, because studies about the academic internationalization effects on scientific productivity are scarce and no previous studies about this topic have been conducted in Latin America.

A text messaging intervention to support the mental health of young adults: User engagement and feedback from a field trial of an intervention prototype

BackgroundYoung adults have high rates of mental health conditions, but most do not want or cannot access treatment. By leveraging a medium that young adults routinely use, text messaging programs have potential to keep young adults engaged with content supporting self-management of mental health issues and can be delivered inexpensively at scale. We designed an intervention that imparts strategies for self-managing mental health symptoms through interactive text messaging dialogues and engages users through novelty and variety in strategies (from cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and positive psychology) and styles of interaction (e.g., prompts, peer stories, writing tasks). MethodsThe aim of this mixed-methods study was to pilot 1- and 2-week versions of an interactive text messaging intervention among young adults (ages 18–25), and to obtain feedback to guide intervention refinements. Young adults were recruited via a mental health advocacy website and snowball sampling at a North American University. We used Wizard-of-Oz methods in which study staff sent messages based on a detailed script. Transcripts of interviews were subject to qualitative analysis to identify aspects of the program that need improvements, and to gather participant perspectives on possible solutions. ResultsForty-eight individuals ages 18–25 participated in the study (mean age: 22.0). 85 % responded to the program at least once. Among those who ever responded, they replied to messages on 85 % of days, and with engagement sustained over the study period. Participants endorsed the convenience of text messaging, the types of interactive dialogues, and the variety of content. They also identified needed improvements to message volume, scheduling, and content. ConclusionsYoung adults showed high levels of engagement and satisfaction with a texting program supporting mental health self-management. The program may be improved through refining personalization, timing, and message volume, and extending content to support use over a longer timeframe. If shown to be effective in randomized trials, this program has potential to help address a substantial treatment gap in young adults' mental health.

Swine Medicine Education: A Survey of North American and Caribbean Veterinary Colleges Curricula.

Numerous demands on the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine training program have the potential to reduce the amount of time allocated to food animal species in general, including swine medicine, despite it being a key component of veterinary education. The objective of this study was to describe swine medicine training opportunities at North American and Caribbean veterinary education institutions. A 21-question survey was developed and distributed to veterinary colleges across North America and the Caribbean. The survey was available from October 2021 to March 2022, and one response was accepted per institution. Seventy-four percent of contacted institutions completed the survey, representing 29 veterinary colleges located in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean. Responses were aggregated, analyzed, and grouped by topic: institution opportunities, curriculum opportunities, clinical opportunities, and faculty involvement in the swine medicine curricula. There was substantial variation among institutions in the delivery and resources allocated to swine medicine specific curricula. Swine veterinarians help ensure the health and well-being of animals and food safety. More research is required to evaluate the outcomes of the currently available opportunities. Concurrently, veterinary education institutions should prevent the attrition of swine educational programs by investing in the support and development of swine opportunities for students.

Fitting work? Students speak about campus employment

Balancing part-time work and studies has become commonplace for university students in Canada and other countries where the costs of education have risen over time. While there is a substantial literature on the impacts of term-time work on studies, little has been written about campus employment programs, which are becoming more commonplace in North American universities. This paper addresses this gap by considering students’ experiences in such a program at a western Canadian university. Focusing primarily on qualitative data from a longitudinal study, we examine the various reasons for the attractiveness of this program, which go beyond the promise of professional, career-related work experience. Our analysis draws on the academic literature on work-study roles, which examines whether term-time work has a more positive or negative effect on student outcomes as well as sociocultural literature that is more attentive to different contextual features of the work-study relationship. We find that university-sponsored jobs are highly valued by students for their workplace relationships, regulation, and flexibility. Positive relationships at work are facilitated by supervisors’ recognition of students’ academic priorities and opportunities to develop peer-support networks on campus. Other important features for students include the convenience of working where one studies, and the ability to build work schedules around academic schedules. However, the limited access to ‘good’ campus jobs raises concerns about equity.

Cannabis Use Associations with Adverse Psychosocial Functioning among North American College Students

Introduction: Adolescent-onset cannabis use (CU) (before age 18) is associated with multiple adverse psychosocial outcomes, but rates of CU peak between the ages of 18 and 22, coinciding with college matriculation. Whether CU among college-enrolled young adults is associated with similar psychosocial outcomes is poorly understood. In the present study, we examined relationships between CU and multiple psychosocial outcomes in North American college students. Methods: Data for this report come from N = 40,250 North American college students ages 18-to-25 years (mean age = 20.7 years, 69% female, 66% Caucasian) who participated in the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) 2016-17. HMS is a web-based annual survey querying multiple mental health, substance use, and psychosocial variables in representative student populations from 53 universities across North America. Student respondents were stratified in two groups based upon their self-report of past 30-day CU and compared on psychosocial variables. Results: Approximately 20% (n = 8,327) of student respondents reported past 30-day CU. After adjusting for socio-demographics, knowledge of campus services, and use of other drugs, the odds of depression (aOR = 1.3), suicidal thoughts and behaviors (aORs ∼1.4–1.7), anxiety (aOR = 1.2), eating disorders (aOR = 1.2), and violence victimization (aOR = 1.4) were all higher for CU students. Additionally, CU students had higher rates of other drug use and lower rates of perceived supportive relationships. Conclusion: Our results indicated that CU is common among North American college students and associated with adverse psychosocial consequences across multiple domains. Based upon these findings, colleges should consider expanding educational, prevention, and early-intervention programs for students who use cannabis.

Explicit pronunciation instruction in the second language classroom

Abstract The present study uses an acoustic analysis to examine the effects of implicit and explicit pronunciation instruction on the acquisition of German final devoicing in the L2 classroom. Twenty-nine English-speaking L2 learners of German at a North American university were assigned to an implicit or explicit condition. Learner speech samples were recorded, following a pre/post/delayed-post-test design. Four acoustic correlates of final and medial obstruent voicing were analyzed to establish the degree to which underlyingly voiced word-final stops were phonetically devoiced. Results indicate that learners in the explicit condition significantly outperformed learners in the implicit condition, with all four acoustic measures signaling significantly greater word-final devoicing by the post-test in the explicit condition. Orthography, declarative knowledge, and level of awareness are hypothesized as factors that influenced the acquisition process. The study calls for additional acoustic work on the effects of different instructional practices on German L2 pronunciation.

Brand strategies of US universities as the element of image formation

Marketing terminology has actively spread to the field of education as a result of consumerism. That is why a brand strategy building has become vital not only for new but also for old and world-top universities, since “education consumers” often choose an educational institution under the influence of its image, prestige, or public perception. The brand image of an educational institution is a sum of people's views, opinions, and impressions about it, which is decisive for the educational institution's positioning in the market of educational services and its identification among other educational institutions. The brand image of an educational institution, as a multi-component concept, is formed based on numerous internal and external factors. For all that, the publicly broadcasting value judgments about the educational institution, the level, and nature of its social interactions in the community, and its perception by public consciousness are among the main components of the educational institution's brand image. The formation of the brand strategy of the educational institution is part of its brand image strategy aimed at increasing its competitiveness.
 The implementation of some aspects of the brand image strategy of North American universities is illustrated by the examples of the California State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Investigating environmental values and psychological barriers to sustainable behaviors among college students

Sustainable and pro-environmental actions at the individual level are influenced by a myriad of external and internal factors. The “value-action gap” describes the disconnect between one’s environmental values and attitudes, and their actual behaviors. While many acknowledge that climate change is a major threat in today’s world, a multitude of structural and psychological barriers exist which prevent individuals from engaging in eco-friendly practices. This study investigated environmental values and psychological barriers to pro environmental behavior among college students in a North American University. Data was collected through a survey that received 765 responses and used the New Ecological Paradigm - NEP and the Dragons of Inaction Psychological Barriers - DIPB measurement scales. Students widely expressed environmental values and concern about climate change. Agreement or strong agreement with statements reflecting the New Ecological Paradigm ranged from 67% to 92%. Respondents agreed that action should be taken to promote sustainability, but they might need help to translate beliefs into action. The most influential psychological barriers showed: resistance to transforming habits and lifestyles, need for more information on how to change, and a feeling of unfairness in face of industry-caused environmental degradation. Most students would be willing to engage in a sustainability campaign. Identifying what prevents students from changing their habits and behaviors will help guide institutional efforts to promote a culture of sustainability on our campus. By understanding how students view and practice sustainability on an individual level, measures can be implemented that effectively address and overcome psychological barriers to pro-environmental behaviors.

Cambridge Economics in the Post-Keynesian Era: How Mainstream Economics Replaced Cambridge Economics

Abstract The book Cambridge Economics in the Post-Keynesian Era: The Eclipse of Heterodox Traditions, by Ashwani Saith, explains how various approaches to the study of economics at Cambridge, UK, were replaced by mainstream economics, as practiced in leading North American universities. This article reviews the book, while also connecting the narrative provided in the book to central questions regarding the Cambridge economic tradition, and the various approaches that constitute it. The differences between the type of applied economics developed at Cambridge and in contemporary mainstream economics are also discussed. To do so, a distinction between Marshallian realism and Walrasian formalism is made here. Albeit this distinction is not emphasised in Saith’s book, it helps to supplement and understand the persuasive and important narrative provided by Saith.