Filtering the international gender paradigm: Perspectives of gender in Barbados

My work presents a place-specific analysis of how gender paradigms interact across and within spatial scales: the global, the regional, the national and the personal. It briefly outlines the concepts and measures defining the international gender paradigm, and explores the filtration of this paradigm into assessments and understandings of gender and gender dynamics by and within Barbados. It does this by analyzing the contents of reports of the Barbados government to international bodies assessing the country’s performance in the area of gender equality, and by analyzing gender-comparative content of local print news media over the decade of the 1990s, and the first decade of the 2000s. It contextualizes the discussion within the realm of social and economic development. The work shows how the almost singular focus on “women” in the international gender paradigm may depreciate valid gender concerns of men and thus hinder the overall goal of achieving gender equality, that is, achieving just, inclusive societies.

An Historical Look at Gender in the ESL Classroom

The role that gender plays with respect to language learning in the classroom is ripe for investigation. Some educators and researchers maintain that females possess superior language skills. This author argues that ideas regarding female language superiority are suspect and may encourage discriminatory pedagogy for women as well as men.

Rater's personality as a moderator of context effects in performance appraisals

Undergraduates rated scripts describing the performance of different instructors in the following order: two positive or negative scripts followed by an average script; or two average scripts followed by a positive or a negative script. Context effects were assessed by comparing ratings of the target stimulus in the context and in the context-free control conditions. Several individual difference variables were measured as possible moderators of this phenomenon. Results indicated robust contrast effects mediated by beliefs in the variability of human nature in the extreme context conditions. In the positive context condition, high scorers in Variability were not affected by context, whereas medium or low scorers in Variability exhibited contrast effects. In the negative context condition, high scorers in Variability exhibited a more extreme contrast effect than medium or low scorers in Variability. In the average context conditions, contrast was observed only when the target was positive.

The impact of bandwidth in structured interviewing and criterion stability in predicting and assessing manager performance across transition and maintenance stages

The current study examined the role of three important components in the use of structured employment interviewing in performance prediction: construct bandwidth, observed communication skill, and the stability/dynamicity of performance criteria over time. A matched sample of 242 hospitality managers was derived from a field data set provided by a large hospitality management organization. Interview data and two years of performance appraisal data were provided. Bandwidth analysis demonstrated only minimal differences in prediction between matched predictor-criterion pairs compared with predictor to overall aggregate ratings (unmatched). The communication skill analysis revealed that this interviewer rated observation significantly predicted a number of the individual performance dimensions as well as overall performance over time. Of the five interview items, the strongest overall predictor of performance was interviewer rated communication skill. The stability/dynamicity analyses demonstrated the performance criteria to be generally stable over the two year period examined, which provides support for the long held notion that performance criteria is stabile over time. However, there were two exceptions. The interview dimension customer service orientation had shifting relationships over time with four of the criteria over the two year period. The performance criteria employee development also demonstrated some instability in its relationships with predictors. Thus, some evidence of dynamicity in performance criteria was revealed. Interestingly, both of the most noteworthy findings in the study involved items that were rated differently than the others in the study. The rated interview item communication skill and the rated performance criteria client satisfaction were ratings that involved a more direct level of observation. Additional analyses also revealed evidence of a general factor of performance. These two themes are more fully covered in the discussion.

Betting Against the Glass Ceiling: Supervisor Gender & Employee Job Satisfaction in the Casino-Entertainment Industry

This exploratory study expands on hospitality management literature, specifically on the influence of a supervisor’s gender in regards to employee job satisfaction within the casino-entertainment sector. Employee job satisfaction was analyzed using company, department, and supervisor variables based on 961 surveys. The study’s results suggest that employees with male supervisors have a higher employee satisfaction level than employees with supervisors that are female. Hospitality organizations are therefore encouraged to create leadership programs to ensure women are a part of corporate leadership’s success formula for the future.

Gnosticism, Transformation, and the Role of the Feminine in the Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.)

The Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) suggests a heterosexual gender binary in which the female Priestess seated on the altar as the sexual and fertile image of the divine feminine is directed by the male Priest’s activity, desire and speech. The apparent contradiction between the empowered individual and the polarized gender role was examined by comparing the ritual symbolism of the feminine with the interpretations of four Priestesses and three Priests (three pairs plus one). Findings suggest that the Priestess’ role in the Gnostic Mass is associated with channeling, receptivity, womb, cup, and fertility, while the Priest’s role is associated with enthusiasm, activity, phallus, lance, and virility. Despite this strong gender duality, the Priestesses asserted that their role was personally and spiritually empowering, and they maintained heterosexual and polarized gendered roles are necessary in a transformative ritual which ultimately reveals the godlike unified individual.

The effects of using an alternative method for teaching badminton to post secondary level students in Taiwan

The effect of teaching method in physical education is an important issue and has been a concern of the expert teacher. Teachers are expected to create a model of teaching in their field; therefore, it is reasonable to question what is the effect of an alternative teaching method on student performance in physical education. This study explores whether teaching methods with advanced planning, behavior and belief in high enthusiasm, use of instructional strategies and evaluation, together termed a systematic teaching approach, used in a physical education activity would provide an effective environment for learning which supports student achievement in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. This study also investigated whether there was a difference in performance between students who were taught with a systematic teaching approach and students who were taught with the traditional teaching model. Information was collected using two performance skills, a written test, and one questionnaire. The 68 participants were randomly assigned into either an experimental group or a control group. Two teachers were assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The teaching experiment took place at Tamsui Oxford University College in Taiwan and lasted eight weeks. ^ Research questions were analyzed using the t-test. Results indicated that a significant difference in students' performance was found between the experimental group and the control group on both the skill tests and the paper test. Analysis of student attitude toward their teacher and their course on the questionnaire indicated a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group. ^ The findings of this study imply that students who were taught with a systematic teaching style were significantly superior to students who were taught with the traditional model on these measures. This finding supports the contention that effective teaching in physical education is related to advanced planning, high enthusiasm, instructional strategy and evaluation and that all physical education teachers should implement these planning elements in the development of the teaching strategies. ^

The effects of the use of technology in mathematics instruction on student achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students’ mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of these schools were randomly selected for this study. Each school sent a teacher to a summer in-service training program on how to use GSP to teach geometry. In each school, the GSP class and a traditional geometry class taught by the same teacher were the study participants. Students’ mathematics FCAT results were examined to determine if the GSP produced any effects. Students’ scores were compared based on assignment to the control or experimental group as well as gender and SES. SES measurements were based on whether students qualified for free lunch. The findings of the study revealed a significant difference in the FCAT mathematics scores of students who were taught geometry using GSP compared to those who used the traditional method. No significant differences existed between the FCAT mathematics scores of the students based on SES. Similarly, no significant differences existed between the FCAT scores based on gender. In conclusion, the use of technology (particularly GSP) is likely to boost students’ FCAT mathematics test scores. The findings also show that the use of GSP may be able to close known gender and SES related achievement gaps. The results of this study promote policy changes in the way geometry is taught to 10th grade students in Florida’s public schools.

Serum Adiponectin and Ghrelin, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Status in Cuban Americans

Purpose: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes. Decreases in circulating adiponectin and ghrelin have been associated with MetS. Our primary aim was to evaluate the relationship of MetS with adiponectin and ghrelin for Cuban Americans with and without type 2 diabetes. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 367 adults, self identified as Cuban extraction and randomly recruited from a mailing list of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Fasted whole blood for adiponectin (ADPN) was collected using K3EDTA tubes and measured by ELISA. Ghrelin was assayed with fasted blood plasma by Enzyme Immunometric Assay. MetS and 10-year risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) were determined using the ATP III criteria. Results: Adiponectin (F=51.8, R2 =0.21 p<0.001) and ghrelin (F=12.77, R 2 =0.06, p<0.001) differed by diabetes status (ANOVA) not age and gender. In stepwise linear regression models triglyceride levels ≥ 150 mg/dL negatively corresponded (coefficient = -0.23) with ghrelin levels for persons without diabetes (F=7.45, R2 =0.053, p=0.007); abdominal obesity and fasting plasma glucose predicted high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) for persons with and without diabetes (F=16.3, R2 = 0.144, p <0.001). Conclusion: Low ghrelin levels were associated with MetS regardless of diabetes status. High adiponectin levels were related to a low probability for those without diabetes only. There was a positive association of hs-CRP with BMI, MetS and number of MetS components.

Work Creativity as a Dimension of Job Performance

To stay competitive, many employers are looking for creative and innovative employees to add value to their organization. However, current models of job performance overlook creative performance as an important criterion to measure in the workplace. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct two separate but related studies on creative performance that aim to provide support that creative performance should be included in models of job performance, and ultimately included in performance evaluations in organizations. Study 1 is a meta-analysis on the relationship between creative performance and task performance, and the relationship between creative performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Overall, I found support for a medium to large corrected correlation for both the creative performance-task performance (ρ = .51) and creative performance-OCB (ρ = .49) relationships. Further, I also found that both rating-source and study location were significant moderators. Study 2 is a process model that includes creative performance alongside task performance and OCB as the outcome variables. I test a model in which both individual differences (specifically: conscientiousness, extraversion, proactive personality, and self-efficacy) and job characteristics (autonomy, feedback, and supervisor support) predict creative performance, task performance, and OCB through engagement as a mediator. In a sample of 299 employed individuals, I found that all the individual differences and job characteristics were positively correlated with all three performance criteria. I also looked at these relationships in a multiple regression framework and most of the individual differences and job characteristics still predicted the performance criteria. In the mediation analyses, I found support for engagement as a significant mediator of the individual differences-performance and job characteristics-performance relationships. Taken together, Study 1 and Study 2 support the notion that creative performance should be included in models of job performance. Implications for both researchers and practitioners alike are discussed.

The Effects of the Use of Technology In Mathematics Instruction on Student Achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students’ mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of these schools were randomly selected for this study. Each school sent a teacher to a summer in-service training program on how to use GSP to teach geometry. In each school, the GSP class and a traditional geometry class taught by the same teacher were the study participants. Students’ mathematics FCAT results were examined to determine if the GSP produced any effects. Students’ scores were compared based on assignment to the control or experimental group as well as gender and SES. SES measurements were based on whether students qualified for free lunch. The findings of the study revealed a significant difference in the FCAT mathematics scores of students who were taught geometry using GSP compared to those who used the traditional method. No significant differences existed between the FCAT mathematics scores of the students based on SES. Similarly, no significant differences existed between the FCAT scores based on gender. In conclusion, the use of technology (particularly GSP) is likely to boost students’ FCAT mathematics test scores. The findings also show that the use of GSP may be able to close known gender and SES related achievement gaps. The results of this study promote policy changes in the way geometry is taught to 10th grade students in Florida’s public schools.

Work creativity as a dimension of job performance

To stay competitive, many employers are looking for creative and innovative employees to add value to their organization. However, current models of job performance overlook creative performance as an important criterion to measure in the workplace. The purpose of this dissertation is to conduct two separate but related studies on creative performance that aim to provide support that creative performance should be included in models of job performance, and ultimately included in performance evaluations in organizations. Study 1 is a meta-analysis on the relationship between creative performance and task performance, and the relationship between creative performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Overall, I found support for a medium to large corrected correlation for both the creative performance-task performance (ρ = .51) and creative performance-OCB (ρ = .49) relationships. Further, I also found that both rating-source and study location were significant moderators. Study 2 is a process model that includes creative performance alongside task performance and OCB as the outcome variables. I test a model in which both individual differences (specifically: conscientiousness, extraversion, proactive personality, and self-efficacy) and job characteristics (autonomy, feedback, and supervisor support) predict creative performance, task performance, and OCB through engagement as a mediator. In a sample of 299 employed individuals, I found that all the individual differences and job characteristics were positively correlated with all three performance criteria. I also looked at these relationships in a multiple regression framework and most of the individual differences and job characteristics still predicted the performance criteria. In the mediation analyses, I found support for engagement as a significant mediator of the individual differences-performance and job characteristics-performance relationships. Taken together, Study 1 and Study 2 support the notion that creative performance should be included in models of job performance. Implications for both researchers and practitioners alike are discussed.^