Category: Expanding the Canon

Posted on

Draft of Expanding the Canon

Providing equal representation for minorities has always been a growing concern the world has faced much discriminiction and hesitancy over providing opportunities to all races. However, a different form of racial exclusion comes to the surface when we read an article titled “Gifted Ethnic Minority Students and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis”. This article boils down the prejudice encountered in day to day life and centers on discrimination encountereed in the classroom. A study was conducted in order to investigate racial bias against minorities being chosen for gifted education programs. It has been a constant theme of teachers overlooking educated minority students and not being able to depict them from other students. With a general disregard for these students and a lack of representation in these programs, once they reach college, they find themselves falling behind tremendously and taking extra classes to keep up. This article’s main purpose is to highlight the academic differences between minority and regular students and explore the rates of academic success for those involved in the programs. With a school as big and diverse as Syracuse University it is important to allow minorities to take rigorous classes and to be encouraged to join leadership programs. The authors of this article attempted to convey how classroom and educational program diversity can help students with less opportunities excel and be allowed to flourish in these restricting environments. It is important to bring conversations like these to light and help spread awareness on making classrooms more welcoming spaces.

https://journals-sagepub-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0016986216674556

Posted on

Unit 1 Assignment Draft

Throughout this unit, we have dived into the specifics of diversity and inclusion in the workplace using numerous readings. While it really opened my eyes, I have still yet to really see how the LGBT community faces these challenges, particularly in sports where not many individuals within that community fit the norm. The article I picked is titled “Between Homohysteria and Inclusivity: Tolerance Towards Sexual Diversity in Sport,” which does a great job at explaining what is currently happening in the industry of sports with this community as well as giving evidence from the study they did. The researchers are Joaquin Piedra, Rafael Garcia-Parez and Alexander G. Channon and the article was published in April of 2017. These researchers are experts in the field and have done numerous studies about homophobia and Homohysteria in all facets. The goal of this particular article is to broaden the knowledge of Individuals who might not know much about it and create a new way of thinking for ones who often neglect people just because of their sexual orientation.

The article begins by stating how there are a small number of openly gay and lesbian people in top flight sports which raises the question about wether sporting or social context makes it easy or difficult for these people to come out. There have been studied about tolerance to towards sexual diversity in sport which is why the researches wanted to write this article in which h they analyze metacognitive profiles of two different cultures, relative to the concept of homohysteria. Ever since sports were created, it has always been very male dominant, but even more specifically a site of hegemonic masculinity. Gender and sexual diversity has always been ignored and the sexual minorities have been stigmatized for quite some time now. In order to understand the complexity of changes in the sport, you must know the broader theory of inclusive masculinity the authors state. This can be defined. as “the fear of being socially perceived as gay.” The fact that in todays society people are still not accepting of this is an issue. From this statement alone, we learn a lot and why this is a great example of diversity and inclsuion. Not only in sports, but in a lot of areas in America, the LGBT community is discriminated against and while it has gotten much better over the years, there are still areas of improvements. One of them is in sports which is why I found an article in the are and I think it would be a great addition to expand the canon. Furthermore, In this article, the authors go on to state a bunch of statics showing how these individuals have been discriminated against and then actually proving how openness on a team is actually very beneficial for not only the individual, but the team as a whole. The authors do a really great job at defining terms that may be new to a lot of people which makes this a really informative article for any type of affiance to read. Whether you know a lot about the topic or know nothing at all and just want to learn about it, it will be very beneficial to everyone.  Attached I have a video that explains even in further detail about LGBT inclusion in sports.

Posted on

Draft of Expanding the Cannon

The article titled “Employee Assistance Program Services for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: Implications for Increased Identification and Engagement in Treatment” written by Jodi M Jacobson and Paul Sacco follows the study they conducted regarding the use of Employee Assistance Programs, or EAP’s, in the workplace and the further effects that it had on the company and individual. The central argument the researchers focused on was to determine whether or not EAP services were significantly beneficial for those with AOD, also known as Alcohol and Other Drug addiction. Furthermore, their study was directed to show employers how individuals with AOD can benefit in an environment where their needs can be met in a judgment free workplace. In order to gather data, the researchers drew from the pool of individuals associated with NESARC from different backgrounds in all 50 states. To narrow the data, the researchers then separated participants into those who had access to EAP’s in their workplace and those who looked elsewhere for help. The researchers concluded that those who had used EAP’s in their workplace were less likely to foster feelings of negativity in the workplace for fear of being stigmatized compared to those who did not have access to an EAP. Jacobson and Sacco elaborate on individuals in their study who had previously had experience with EAP’s and the demographics of those individuals. The conclusions of their work suggests that individuals who had used EAP’s before were those who had never been married, who were older, and of a higher income household. The study emphasizes how the use of EAP’s has varied across co occurring disorders and those who struggle with addiction, but they reported that the EAP gave them an outlet to receive help while simultaneously being able to live a normal life. The influence of EAP’s on the vulnerable portion of the workforce reflected individuals who felt more comfortable reaching out for help, and did not feel they were outcasts. Individuals who suffer from an AOD addiction struggle to reach out and receive the help they need. However with the help of Employee Assistance Programs, those who are struggling have improved performance in the workplace. The article originally published on The American Journal on Addictions can be found on the website EBSCOhost, which provides scholarly articles and similar published works. The site can be accessed through the Syracuse Library Summons, which provides Syracuse Students and Faculty with access to a wide range of studies and published articles by scholars. The linked article below is published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , or SAMSHA, which elaborates on the use of EAP’s and how to use them within a company. SAMSHA is an agency that promotes receiving help for addiction while simultaneously educating the public of addiction and its many forms in hopes of reducing substance abuse. In hopes of encompassing diversity and promoting a work environment that is suitable for peoples of all abilities and disabilities, Employee Assistance Programs target the needs of the individual in order to provide them a way of healing while continuing a healthy lifestyle. Those who struggle with substance abuse often find the process of healing difficult, especially in the work force where they often feel like an outcast and carry a specific stigma. EAP’s work to break down the barriers to promote a work environment where individuals of all race, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds can receive the help that they need.

Posted on

Unit 1 Summary, Aaron

In the book “What Universities Can be”, Robert Sternberg (a psychologist and psychometrician at Cornell University)  devotes a chapter to diversity in higher education. He begins this chapter by saying rather frankly that people learn better and learn more if they are mixed in with people who don’t look and think like them. He says “You cannot be an active concerned citizen if your only concerns are for people you view as like yourself” (Sternberg, 73).

This is an anecdotal claim at this point, and he uses it to identify with the readers because it is sort of a no brainer concept if you think about it. Our social and educational experience can only benefit if we have variety in our peers. Sternberg than uses a few study examples, one being done in rural Kenya. This study pooled Kenyans and asked them to identify herbs that would help heal with different ailments. They all did a great job with this, but when the objective changed and they tested these same people in more academic tests, the results weren’t as good. This study is used to illustrate his point that there are different types of knowledge and intelligence. One group of people (mostly western, white people in this case) can be better at testing and doing well in standardized settings, while the other group of people might not do so well in that area but excels in the area of experiential knowledge, of being able to identify and do things in the real world outside of the classroom.  Another example is using Alaskan Yup’ik peoples, who are able to do things like ride a dog sled over vast areas and hunt animals and identify that storms may be on the way by examining their kill. These sorts of things are unimaginable for most students or people who aren’t part of that culture.

This goes further into what Sternberg calls implicit theories of intelligence- folks ideas of what they consider to be smart. The same idea is very prevalent in high school and college testing, where white people who tend to be more affluent do better on these exams and end up in a better situation for college and life afterwards, and minorities who may not do as well on these exams are slighted, yet they excel in other areas of intelligence such as in the social realm.

This chapter from the book has an academic style to it, yet the messaging to the audience could be more broad than someone who is in one of his psychology courses. He uses studies to back up his arguments about diversity and also brings personal experience to identify with the readers easier. What we can take from this chapter is that diversity and inclusion are important to the whole picture of academic life, and we benefit as a whole from participating in it. There is more than one cog in the wheel when it comes to intelligence so it serves us better to include as many of them as we can.

 

I have included a link for further reading from Forbes that addresses the new changes in college admission testing since the pandemic, and how the lack of using these exams may be helping expand diversity in colleges:http:// https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2020/04/27/sat-act-policies-may-improve-diversity-at-colleges-and-universities/#4eb2b3f83bd5

j.ctt20d890h.8       This is the link to the pdf file of my article I summarized

Posted on

Unit 1 Assignment Draft – Dominique

Although we have read about diversity in abilities, we have not read an article specifically targeted at schools. This topic is important to me because my major is inclusive elementary and special education teaching, so it is important for me to understand diversity in the classroom. I believe that this topic is essential for everyone to understand because differences should be accepted and valued in society. In order to expand the canon, I decided to include an article about neurodiversity in the classroom called “Valuing Differences: Neurodiversity in the Classroom” which was published by Phi Delta Kappa International, an organization for educators. This article was written by Barb Rentenbach, Lois Prislovsky and Rachael Gabriel who wrote about their experiences as students and educators. This article is different from the others that we have read because the authors have disabilities, so they are writing using their experiences as people in the neurodiverse community. In this article, the authors list different ways that teachers can help students who have disabilities to succeed. The purpose of this article is to inform educators, and other people who work with those who have disabilities, and also to show them that there are things you can do to help your student or coworker succeed. Some people may believe that the best way to help people who have disabilities is to “fix” or “cure” them. However, people who are neurodiverse need to know that they are valued, accepted. They also may need accommodations that will allow them to succeed. All students should feel welcome and respected in the classroom, and this article explains exactly how to do that. In order to support what I have said, and learn more about neurodiversity, I have decided to include a YouTube video in my post. This video is by a woman named Amythest Schaber who has autism, and her thoughts on neurodiversity. Schaber says, “To put it simply, neurodiversity states that everybody on the planet has a different brain and that’s ok”. I like this video because Schaber has autism, so she has experienced some of the hardships that people with disabilities go through when others do not accept them. This video relates to the article that I chose because it gives a little background by explaining neurodiversity, and the movement that goes along with it.

Posted on

Draft of Expanding the Canon blog post-Michaela

To expand the canon and add to the discussion of organizational culture and diversity, I choose the article “Disability and employment – overview and highlights” from the “European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology”. This article includes a wealth of knowledge from the authors Katharina Vornholt, Patrizia Villotti, Beate Muschalla, Jana Bauer, Adrienne Colella, Fred Zijlstra, Gemma Van Ruitenbeek, Sjir Uitdewilligen, and Marc Corbière. These authors each add value in their own way, specializing in Social Psychology, neuroscience, psychosomatic rehabilitation, and more. This article, coming from a journal, is intended for a small audience of fellow scholars and people who focus specifically on the topics discussed. The purpose of this article is to outline how things stand in the existing research on disability and employment. It discusses one section of disabled people, those who have mental disabilities. Exploring topics such as the definition of disability, the legality of legislation regarding disability at work that is already in place in Europe and North America, things that enable employees and act as a barrier to employ the disabled. When discussing each topic they use existing facts from other resources and expand on where the research needs to go in the future. In conclusion, they present a solid plan for how research should continue in the field of disability and employment and the authors give suggestions on how things should be put into action. This article adds to the existing knowledge of the class because of its relation to diversity and inclusion. People with disabilities are a group of diversity that we have not discussed yet so this would open people’s eyes to another group that needs to be included. Similar to many of the readings we looked at in the past this text speaks about the inclusion of disabled people in the workplace, how there are low percentages of disabled people that are employed and extremely high levels of unemployment. Bringing awareness to how programs and legislations can be put in place to help incorporate these people, and keep them working mirrors what we have looked at with the inclusion of neurodiverse people and adds other strategies and data regarding organizational culture. It also opens the question of how we can bring the different sections of diversity into the conversation and not forget about certain groups. Another thought is how can each organization cater differently to each diverse group, because as you can see from the article I have chosen, and the past readings that each diverse group has specific accommodations. The existing legislation in “Disability and employment – overview and highlights” can lead as an example of how to implement systematic changes so that all companies must adhere to a set of rules that promote diversity and inclusion. To support my claim and enhance knowledge about disabled people I am using media. The media I have chosen is a ted talk from Elise Roy “When we design for disability, we all benefit”. Elise Roy is deaf and since she is disabled herself she adds a unique perspective. It is connected to the article I choose because as the article outlines research on disability and employment it leaves the question of how do we progress. Elise Roy gives insight on how design thinking and more specifically designed with disability in mind creates inclusion and a better culture for not only those that are disabled but everyone.

Posted on

Drafting your Unit 1 blog post

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working with a shared body of readings that have given us some insights into workplace cultures and, in particular, the challenges, complexities, and value of diverse workplace cultures. Now that we’ve got a foundation of knowledge, it’s time to build on that by expanding our reach into some of the questions and issues these readings have raised for us.

Each of you is contributing to that expanding body of knowledge by suggesting an article to the rest of us. Your Unit 1 blog post will provide a summary of this text in addition to your commentary about what we can learn from this text and why it should be part of our shared canon of work on organizational culture and diversity. Read on for some pointers.

Let’s think first about the summary piece.

Unlike the other summaries that you’ve been writing, your readers (us) have not read the piece that you are summarizing, so that really raises the stakes for the work that you do in your summary. We’ll be totally reliant on your explanation of what this source is, what it does, and what it says, so please be sure to read through the comments that you’ve gotten from me on your prior summaries, to review the Handout on summary  here or on Blackboard, and to consider what we’ve learned from the TSIS and Harris readings.

A few reminders: 

We need to know precisely WHAT you’re summarizing—what kind of text is this? Can you tell us a little something about the author and/or publication that would help us understand something about this piece?

We need to know what the authors are DOING in this text—are they reporting a list of facts? Are they making an argument? Have they conducted their own research? Reporting someone else’s findings? Responding to some other argument they disagree with? Diving into a public controversy? The authors might have several purposes in their text—help us to understand what their purposes are (to use Harris’s term, their project) so that we can really get what this text is. Verbs can really help you here–select action verbs that really help to pinpoint the work the author is doing (arguing, advocating, explaining, addressing, debating, contesting, etc.)

We need to see the BIG PICTURE of what the author is saying—as a rule, we don’t need the sequential play-by-play, but we do want to have some clarity on the overall point of the piece, as well as the major sub-points that add to our body of knowledge.

Make sure you name the author and article you’re discussing—there should be no ambiguity here. And if there are multiple authors, credit them all the first time, and thereafter, you can use the first author’s last name and “et al” if there are 3 or more authors. (Technically, APA style requires that you only use “et al” if there are 6 or more authors, but come on….. If you’re submitting for publication in a professional or scholarly journal, follow that rule, of course; elsewhere use your judgment.) Please include a full bibliographic citation at the end of your blog post, detailing all the publication information for this particular article. (Again, remember to consult the assignment sheet for the criteria that your source must meet.)

Let us see what you’re working with–use the “Add Media” button to provide us with direct access to the article you’re contributing. If it’s a web-based source (on the open web), insert the link using that button. If the article is from a subscription database, please link it as a PDF. See my post from earlier this week, linked below, for instructions on how to do that.

Overview of Week of 6/8

Now, let’s think about the commentary piece. Think about your audience and your purpose.

Remember that you know what we know–that shared body of knowledge built from the texts we’ve read together. Feel free to draw connections/contrasts with other pieces we’ve read and discussions we’ve had.

Write in your own voice–you don’t have to adopt the scholarly tone of the articles that you’re working with. Write as if you’re speaking to us. Be direct.

Remember that your task here is expand our knowledge, to complicate the discussion we’ve been having by injecting something new and explaining its significance. Tell us what you think this article means, what you think is important about it, why you think it matters, what you want us to learn from it.

Please categorize your draft post as Expanding the Canon, and tag it with “draft,” “week of 6/8,” [your name], and “canon.” This will help me and others to easily identify what’s what.

One final request–please double-check all of your recent posts to ensure that they are properly categorized and tagged, and edit them as needed. When I’m grading posts, I sometimes have to go hunting to find your work, and that’s not especially helpful. You’ll find the instructions for tagging and categorizing in each of the prompts, which you can easily access by clicking “prompts” on the tag cloud. Contact me with any questions.

Posted on

What makes a source “scholarly”?

Note that the Unit 1 assignment calls for you to choose a source from a scholarly or professional journal. As I’m reviewing your summaries, it’s clear that not all of you have done this. Read on if you’re not sure what I mean by “scholarly,” or if you’d just like a little refresher, and then see my next post (linked below) for some more pointers about crafting your draft.

Scholarly journals are different in some important respects from popular magazines, the kind that you see at the checkout line at the grocery store or on the display in a bookstore. You can see some of those differences just at a glance–

  • non-flashy covers (really the opposite of flashy–like this: )Image result for journal of management
  • few to no advertisements (and those that are present are typically announcements about various professional conferences and publications)

Those visual differences are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some other critical differences between scholarly publications and popular magazines:

  • authors published in scholarly journals are credentialed experts in their respective fields who typically specialize in certain topics–as opposed to professional journalists who might write about a range of topics that they haven’t spent years studying, maybe a different topic every week or every month
  • articles in scholarly journals are aimed at a fairly narrow audience of other scholars/professionals in that field who will understand the often highly-specialized jargon they employ (and who can make sense of their various graphs, charts, formulae, etc.)–as opposed to popular magazines that aim for a broad readership to increase circulation/sales
  • authors of scholarly articles must demonstrate the legitimacy and solidity of their research to their readers, and so you’ll see in-text citations for their detailed data and analysis–as opposed to popular publications that are not so focused on clarifying their research methods and giving readers access to all of their sources
  • articles in scholarly journals have been peer-reviewed, read by a panel of other experts in the field who have endorsed their methodology as sound and their findings as important contributions to the field of study before agreeing that it should be published–as opposed to popular magazines where there is not such a rigorous process of critical review

Professional journals are a bit less stodgy in terms of their visual appearance and a bit less rigid in their review process, but are nonetheless going to feature work by practitioners who are experts in their field, as opposed to journalists who may be more free-range in their topics. And they will typically utilize a pretty research-heavy approach to share information with their readers, other practitioners in the field, who are intent on staying on top of the latest news and research. They may be a bit flashier in appearance than scholarly journals (more images, more reader-friendly formatting), but are still going to have very visible research in the form of footnotes or in-text citations/links and a references list.

You’ll find easy access (and some research assistance) on the SU library website. 

Your focus for this Unit 1 canon addition needs to be on scholarly or professional literature. If that’s not what you had in your first draft, it’s not too late–please keep searching, contact Karen with questions, and re-submit a new summary by the end of the day on Wednesday. You can then take an extra day to assemble your draft, and submit that by the end of the day on Thursday. That way you can make a truly valuable contribution to our growing body of knowledge.

Please see this post for some more guidance on assembling your draft:

Drafting your Unit 1 blog post

Posted on

Dan Summary of article

The title of the article that I chose was “Bridging the gap in the workplace: How I learned to stop worrying and love working with the millennial generation.” This was written by Dr. Thanakorn Jiresevijinda at Weill medical College through Cornell University. The purpose of the article was to explain to the reader how to create a more connected work environment through acceptance of the millennial generation.

Dr. Thanakorn uses examples from his own personal experience to elucidate the frustrations that many folks of Generation X have with the millennial group on-the-job. Some of the frustrations included their use of technology and different preferences of communication. Another topic he discusses is the craving for the feedback that Gen Y desires. He poses the problem of how their desire for feedback may be misconstrued as the students caring more about their grade than their education and ability to help the patients in need. Dr. Thanakorn then explains how even though he could relate with the frustrations, he was able to identify a multitude of positive traits that this new generation possesses. He was then able to leverage these positive characteristics to create a workplace of synergy between multiple generations.

Articles like these are important as they strive to improve the interpersonal relationships between generations in our organizations. This will inevitably become more important as a new generation enters the workplace. Generation Z, Millennials, and Gen X will have to continue to find ways to accept the abilities and differences of each other to succeed in a rapidly changing world

 

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=3f573b22-f813-4df1-92b5-75c0702fe802%40pdc-v-sessmgr06

Posted on

Expanding the Canon, Week of 6/1 [Toni]

In this article, Janice Gassam reports in Forbes magazine on Ben & Jerry’s and how they created a new flavor last September to highlight racism and criminal justice reform called Justice ReMix’d. Gassam efficiently displays action Ben & Jerry’s takes to demonstrate commitment to diversity and inclusion and provides examples your company can learn from. A quick peruse of Ben & Jerry’s website will reveal several different social issues they’ve been vocal about over the years, and a large part of their three-part mission is aiming to create linked prosperity for everyone that’s connected to their business: suppliers, employees, farmers, franchisees, customers, and neighbors alike. For Justice ReMix’d they partnered with Advancement Project National Office, which uses innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. Gassam illuminates how Ben & Jerry’s encourages companies to consider being outspoken about their corporate stances on social justice issues; to be mindful of alliances and partnerships, acknowledging relationships based on profitability alone may not be the wisest, and looks into Ben & Jerry’s proven and long history of partnerships with social advocacy groups, all while making ice cream just for the sake of ice cream!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2019/09/04/ben-jerrys-creates-new-flavor-to-highlight-racism-and-criminal-justice-reform/#798be21e44b4