abstract: First year college students have been identified as a vulnerable population for weight gain and the onset of overweight and obesity. Research regarding the gut microbiome has identified differences in the microbial composition of overweight and obese individuals compared to normal weight individuals. Dietary components like dietary fibers, act as prebiotics, or fermentable substrate, that the gut microbiota use for metabolic functions including the production of short-chain fatty acids. The objective of this longitudinal, observational study was to assess changes in the gut microbiota over time in relation to changes in fiber consumption in healthy college students at a large a southwestern university (n=137). Anthropometric and fecal samples were collected at the beginning and end of the fall and spring semesters between August 2015 and May 2016. Both alpha, within sample, diversity and beta, between sample, diversity of participant gut microbes were assessed longitudinally using non-parametric pairwise (pre-post) comparisons and linear mixed effect (LME) models which also adjusted for covariates and accounted for time as a random effect. Alpha and beta diversity were also explored using LME first difference metrics and LME first distance metrics, respectively, to understand rates of change over time in microbial richness/phylogeny and community structure. Pre-post comparisons of Shannon Diversity and Faith’s PD were not significantly different within participant groups of fiber change (Shannon diversity, p=0.96 and Faith’s PD, p=0.66). Beta diversity pairwise comparisons also did not differ by fiber consumption groups (Unweighted UniFrac p=0.182 and Bray Curtis p=0.657). Similarly, none of the LME models suggested significant associations between dietary fiber consumption and metrics of alpha and beta diversity. Overall, data from this study indicates that small changes in fiber consumption among a free-living population did not have an impact on gut microbial richness, phylogeny or community structure. This may have been due to the low intake (~15 g/d) of fiber. Further study is needed to fully elucidate the role that fiber plays in the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota, especially when delivered from a variety of food sources rather than fiber supplements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2020

This is a study about teacher education for diversity at the University of Namibia (UNAM), the only government university in the country that trains teachers. It is a response to changing classroom demographics in Namibia, as classroom composition has become more diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic class. These changes require teachers with knowledge on teaching for diversity. Namibia’s post-apartheid policy on diversity reflects international practices aimed at achieving Education for All. It advocates teacher education that is responsive to the country’s needs. However, little is known about how UNAM implements these government diversity goals. This research comprised an interpretivist case study of the way in which UNAM incorporates diversity issues into its Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme. I argue that teacher education for diversity should go beyond traditional teacher education programmes, thus requiring a special set of policies, curricula, and practices. The study draws on various academic readings and debates on diversity policies, curricula and teacher preparation practices and is grounded in social justice and constructivist principles. Twenty-three final-year Social Science student teachers were purposefully sampled for the study which entailed the perusal of pertinent documents, classroom observations, and interviews. Content analysis was used which involved coding, categorising and the development of themes. The findings revealed that the BEd programme lacks dedication in regard to diversity teaching due to Namibia’s absence of a national policy on diversity in relation to teacher education. Secondly, the BEd programme only partially equips student teachers with the competencies required to teach diverse learners. Lastly, it was found that the majority of student teachers’ classroom practices were not suited to diverse classrooms. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for improving the BEd programme. This study makes a contribution to knowledge on diversity policies. It argues that an educational institution cannot operate without national policies, and that institutions should respond to such policies through policies and curricula. It explains what a socio-cultural curriculum means in Namibian teacher education and demonstrates the way courses, teaching practice and teacher educators can contribute to holistic development for diversity. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

Thesis advisor: Richard R. Gaillardetz / For the Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council serves as a compass regarding its purpose and direction for the third millennium. Lumen Gentium defines the Church as “a sacrament – a sign and instrument” of “communion with God and the unity of the entire human race.” As a sacrament of unity, the Church calls all “to this catholic unity of the people of God, which prefigures and promotes universal peace” (LG,1). Such catholic unity or catholicity is neither a given nor an abstraction. Catholicity requires the cooperation of human effort with divine grace for the reconciliation of all peoples. To remain faithful to this mission, the Church must first recognize how its own damaged sense of catholicity has resulted in turning brother against brother in the name of Christ. Every time Catholics participated in the homogenizing logics of domination, such as the latinization of Eastern Christians, the colonization of the global South, and current expressions of Eurocentric white supremacy, they have contributed to the woundedness that harms the Body of Christ. In each of these broken relationships, the Church has wandered from its original purpose to the extent that it has allowed itself to become corrupted by forms of power that are not shaped by the foolishness of the Cross (1 Cor 1:18). To transform our wandering back into journeying, the Church must rediscover the meaning and purpose of its catholicity for the third millennium. It must allow the cries of the wounded to reveal the lack of concrete human communion that first exists among the faithful. Only by working towards the healing of these relationships within the Church can it have integrity in preaching unity to the rest of the world. To cultivate this culture of encounter within, I argue that we must reimagine catholicity from an interstitial perspective. This perspective locates catholicity not only between the cultural differences of the Roman Catholic church, but also the ecclesial differences between the Western and Eastern churches of the Catholic communion. The “third space” that emerges at the interstices between faith communities becomes a space of encounter, not only forcing the enunciation of difference, but also the question and the nature of catholic unity amidst difference. Resisting both the centripetal temptation to assimilate difference into the whole and the centrifugal temptation to maintain difference at the peripheries, a reimagination of catholicity from an interstitial perspective emphasizes how the Church itself is a liminal figure, encouraging the faithful to respond more authentically to the call to exist spatially as leaven – transforming society from within - and temporally as pilgrim between the promise and the fulfillment. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

The concept of social loafing is important with regard to organizational effectiveness particularly as organizations are relying on teams as a means to drive productivity. The composition of those teams is likely to reflect the current movement of racial and ethnic minorities in the work place. The primary purpose of this research was to determine the role cultural diversity plays in enhancing performance and thereby eliminating social loafing. The research study is significant because 1) it is among the first to use culturally diverse work groups while examining the social loafing phenomenon, and 2) the groups were intact project teams, rather than ad-hoc groups commonly found in social loafing experiments. It was anticipated that the members of culturally homogeneous groups would engage in social loafing when their individual efforts were "buried." However, subjects in both culturally diverse and culturally homogeneous groups resisted social loafing behaviors. Additional statistical analysis revealed that as group orientation increased, performance levels increased as well. Group orientation, then, appears to be a more powerful determinant of performance than group composition. It is expected that the time these groups had together and the performance feedback opportunities provided them, prior to the experiment, contributed significantly to these results. Future research suggestions were made that could help establish a causal relationship.

The main aim of this study is to explore and determine the effect of an organisation team sport intervention on a number of diversity constraints in two financial organisations. The diversity constraints relevant in this study are race, ethnicity, generation gaps, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, parental status, education and income. The main aim is to determine whether organisation team sport interventions impacted on the participating employees’ relationships, trust and respect towards one another, despite their differences in culture, age, gender and religion. The study was conducted among 26 employees of the two financial organisations that participate in organisation team sport. The data were collected by means of focus group interviews and individual interviews. The results indicated that a strong bond is established between employees in the organisation during organisation team sport. Employees are encouraged to share information, which leads to increased productivity. Business relationships can be created whilst talking sport, attending sport events or playing sport. The conclusions was made that organisation team sport is therefore a vehicle for creating opportunities to share goals and visions, improving individual commitment, improving cohesion, increasing trust and respect in a workforce, improving communication between employees and enhancing employees’ knowledge of other employees. The contributions that organisation team sport makes to an organisation are all requirements for effective diversity management in the workplace. Copyright 2010, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Joubert, YT 2010, Organisation team sport interventions to minimise diversity constraints in the workplace, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02222012-111732 / > C12/4/194/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

A mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / This study was influenced by multiplicity of policy documents such as national Constitution (Act 108 of 1996), White Paper 6 of 2001 and the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996), which provides for an inclusive educational system in which diverse racial groups and genders of different ability can co-exist and enjoy educational opportunity unimpeded. Such a system of education calls for diversity management within the school, where differences are to be found among teachers and learners, even though they share a common history. The inclusion of learners and teachers from vastly different milieus may indeed be a noble endeavour, but accommodation of these differences within the same school becomes a complex task for school managers. The diversity that must be catered for include a wide range o religious and cultural mores and standards, varying levels of physical an mental ability, a wide array and talents and different sexual orientations, lifestyles, family norms and languages in individual educational institutional. This study investigated the role of primary school principals in managing diversity in Umbumbulu Circuit in the Mafa, Amanzimtoti and Umbumbulu Central Wards. In carrying out this project, the researcher also reviewed relevant literature on policies that provide for the implementation and management of diversity and strategies for optimising the use of learning opportunities in schools. The role of the principals in managing diversity in this regard was highlighted. The following are some of the key findings that emanated from the empirical study: ■ There is a lack of institutional policies that mandate the principals and staff in the management and implementation of diversity. ■ There is a lack of stakeholder involvement in managing diversity. On the basis of the above findings referred to above, the researcher recommends, among others, that every primary school principal and teacher should be trained adequately to manage diversity effectively. Furthermore, the School Governing Body, parents, teachers and learners should be actively involved in managing diversity. The Department of Education should provide meaningful and adequate support services to principals and schools to ensure that diversity is managed efficiently and effectively. This study may prove to be valuable in assisting schools to make the process of diversity management really inclusive, because it encourages open discussion and negotiation between schools and their stakeholders.

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