Aspiration and resilience - challenging deficit theories/models of black students in universities - an auto/biographical narrative research study

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. Maya Angelou (1928 - 2014) Deficit theory can still haunt the academy, and nowhere is this more prolific than in rhetoric used to explain the position and overall experience of Black Students in universities, in comparison to their White counterparts. The adoption of a Critical Race Theory (CRT) approach is helpful in illuminating how and why this happens, especially if combined with auto/biographical narrative enquiry. And how, in thought and practice, the academy can be made more inclusive. The study illuminates something more complex and human than theory alone in that the lives of three women (Zara, Gail and Mary, the researcher), are redolent with the imprints of family, gender, generational change, migration and cultural richness attesting “community cultural wealth” and a challenge to “cultural capital”, narrowly defined. To understand us and our narratives, requires an auto/biographical imagination or what Wright Mills (1959) coined the ‘sociological imagination’ where there is an inquisitiveness to find out the individual’s historical and social as well as intimate experiences in society and to give meaning to these. To examine Black women’s role in education and in diversity issues. Rather than a deficit model, the argument is that Black students demonstrate forms of resilience, and that the academy needs to learn, in theory and practice, from what we have to offer. There is, as part of the above, an interrogation of what being a university is and might be. There can be emptiness in policy statements, as well as avoidance, on the one hand; on the other, moments of courage, and struggle, of which the thesis is a part, to remind us of what a university can be; a place where difficult issues are addressed, in passionate, reflexive, intellectual yet also humane ways. It identifies our responsibilities and roles as champions of social justice as the very essence of being an academic. The thesis is written for a lecturer who did not see, and colleagues who did not understand, and the institution that needs to listen and act. It paints a picture of what the more inclusive university might be like, alongside an understanding of how difficult it is for humans to engage with difficulty and complexity, of race, stereotyping and discrimination as it pertains to the academy. Most importantly the thesis is written for the countless Black students “who still rise” through their resistance, resilience and aspiration in the face of an ideological discourse, however disguised, of deficit

Entrepreneurs Are Not Utilizing Online Equity Crowdfunding

This is a policy paper discussing online equity crowdfunding for small business entrepreneurs, and analyzes the low success rate of this relatively new financing technique. Created by the JOBS Act, the online equity crowdfunding program was designed to improve access to capital markets for small businesses, and first became available in 2016. The five year success rate is rather limited. Data collected by the SEC on online equity crowdfunding for small business owners shows disappointing rates of utilization. In essence, the concept has not delivered on the promise of increasing capital access for small business owners

Attitudes towards microbicide use for bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy

Background Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common reproductive tract infection (RTI) and is a significant risk factor for preterm birth. Microbicides could be an option for the prevention and treatment of BV in pregnancy, and understanding use of the product will be crucial. The present study explored attitudes of women in the third trimester of pregnancy regarding topical microbicide use for the prevention and treatment of BV. METHODS: Twenty-six women in their third trimester were interviewed regarding their knowledge and beliefs about RTIs during pregnancy and attitudes concerning the use of topical microbicides for prevention and treatment of BV. RESULTS: Participants had a mean age of 24.9 years, were largely under-represented minorities and the majority had had past pregnancies. Participants had knowledge and experience with RTIs but not BV. They were open to the use of microbicides for prevention or treatment of BV, but believed that women requiring treatment would be more motivated. Rationales for acceptability were most commonly related to the baby's health. Practical issues that may interfere with use were often, but not always, related to pregnancy. There was a range of attitudes about partner involvement in decision-making and the practicalities of product use. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women are knowledgeable about RTIs but not necessarily BV. The women in this study found microbicide use acceptable, particularly for treatment. To improve acceptability and use, education would be needed about BV and possible complications, how to overcome practical problems and the value of involving partners in the decision

A New Tool in the Battle against Global Bribery

This is a policy paper that analyzes a significant new development in U.S. regulatory policy designed to enhance the effort to fight global corruption. In a bold attempt to protect and promote fair competition in the global economy, the U.S. has provided government regulators with a powerful new tool. In a reversal of previous policy, the U.S. now allows prosecutors to go after foreign officials who demand bribes, even if the act of bribery occurred outside the United States. The use of this new anti-bribery tool is considered a major political and ethical development in the field of international business

Cryptocurrency’s Clash with Bankruptcy: Insolvent Crypto Exchange Companies Create Difficulties for Courts & Customers

This comment explores the novelty of cryptocurrency, its legal ambiguity in the realms of securities, property, and tax law, and the difficulties arising from insolvent crypto-exchange company’s estates within the context of the United States Bankruptcy Code. For the purposes of this comment, individuals who invested in crypto-exchange platforms will be referred to as “customers” rather than “investors” to avoid potential confusion in the context of 11 U.S.C. § 507 of the Bankruptcy Code. Customers who invested with insolvent crypto-exchange companies are concerned about being last in line for repayment of their investments based on traditional bankruptcy creditor priority. These concerns, combined with the alleged mismanagement and undercapitalization of many insolvent crypto-exchange companies, have introduced new issues of legal interpretation and the weighing of various policy concerns both within and outside of the bankruptcy process. By examining the bankruptcy process, the history of cryptocurrency, and analyzing several current cases of insolvent crypto-exchange companies, this comment explores the multi-faceted issues surrounding cryptocurrency as well as the need for guidance and clarity of cryptocurrency’s classification for the purposes of bankruptcy law