The underrepresentation of female executives is a well studied phenomenon, despite this awareness, the Swedish labor market continues to be characterized by segregation on its hierarchical positions, where females who aspire for executive roles, do not reach the same career advancement as males. When trying to find answers to female underrepresentation in executive roles, evidence points to a shortage of networks that are deemed appropriate for such career advancement. Using qualitative research, this study explores the perceived value of formal networks among female leaders in the tech industry and their influence on the career advancement of women, considering the challenges posed by male-dominated cultures and gender biases. The conclusion of this study acknowledges that the underrepresentation of women in executive positions may be attributed to a scarcity of informal networks, where homosocial behavior restricts female participation within such networks. The findings demonstrate that due to exclusion from the informal sphere, women actively engage in formal networks. Womens formal networks offer various psychosocial and instrumental advantages, and these benefits are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, ultimately promoting women's professional growth. The findings underscore the significance of comprehending the interplay between organizational culture, gender, and network dynamics to cultivate diverse and inclusive networks that enhance female representation and facilitate knowledge sharing.

Instructional processes comprise three basic components: planning, delivery of instruction, and assessment. Educators frequently reflect on the relationships among those components to choose the most effective approaches to increase student learning. Teachers’ continual assessment of student knowledge and understanding through reliable, valid measures critically propels teachers’ effective instruction forward. Constraints on funding for public education have resulted in larger class sizes and smaller budgets for the arts, as well as a heightened focus on standardized testing, less instructional time, and fewer resources (Slaton, 2012). How, then, are music teachers effectively assessing student achievement while grappling with those challenges? To fill a gap in the research literature, the purpose of this research was to explore singing voice development assessment practices that public-school elementary-general-music teachers use with their students. The following overall question guided this research: What can we learn from three kindergarten through fifth grade general music teachers about their approaches to singing with their students? I sought to document three teachers’ singing voice development processes and assessment techniques. Recognizing that this study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, I also sought to document participants’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of the techniques they shared, especially as they grappled with teaching singing in new learning models that were emerging; and adaptations they were using to safely and effectively guide students’ singing voice development—whether they were teaching their students virtually and/or in person. For this study, I chose symbolic interactionism as a theoretical lens and an interview-only design. Upon approval from Temple University Institutional Review Board, I invited the three participants who consented to engage in three semi-structured individual interview conversations to explore singing voice development assessment techniques, and benefits, challenges, and adaptations of those techniques, especially as they grappled with teaching singing in new instructional models that emerged as a result of COVID-19. After participants completed member checking of each of their transcripts, I used a content analysis approach to the data to identify emerging codes. Four themes summarized participants’ approaches to singing voice development assessment: teachers rely on their (a) personal philosophy formed from influences and values, (b) planning processes and objectives, (c) interactions with their students through selected techniques and tools, and (d) having time to make necessary adaptations in their singing voice development assessments. The key idea emerging from the study: the three teachers prioritized providing worthwhile musical experiences for their students. They situated singing voice development and assessment as one piece of their broader general music curriculum. A symbolic interactionist lens informed my themes and key idea by placing the context of teachers’ interactions in the forefront, and my understanding of how their experiences have shaped their views. While findings from this study are not generalizable, readers may find them transferable. Potential applications for other music teachers’ assessment practices include the following six examples: using a variety of tools to model appropriate use of singing voice, implementing pattern instruction to develop and assess singing voice, incorporating opportunities for individual singing, providing students with performance experiences, maintaining consistency in changing instructional models, and focusing on informal assessment through observation and questioning techniques. Future researchers can continue to shed light on how teachers approach singing with their elementary general music students by learning about factors outside of teachers’ instructional processes that impact singing voice development assessment, and how music teachers adapt their processes for singing voice development assessment in emerging instructional models. / Music Education

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The alternative seismic design provisions for diaphragms provided in ASCE 7-22 Minimum design loads and associated criteria for buildings and other structures Section 12.10.3 account for both diaphragm ductility and displacement capacity, producing more accurate design forces and decreased detailing when compared to conventional seismic design methods. However, the diaphragm design force reduction factor has not yet been determined for tension-only roof truss diaphragms, a common system used in metal buildings. In this study, experimental tests of two cantilevered diaphragm subassembly specimens with tension-only rod bracing were conducted to determine the load-deformation behavior of the system. The first specimen used 7/8-in. rods, two types of hillside washers, two types of compression members, and two configurations of lateral bracing. The second specimen used 3/4-in. rods, one type of hillside washer, one type of compression member, and one configuration of lateral bracing. Four tests were conducted. One additional test was conducted on each specimen to determine the friction in the test setup. The system developed significant ductility during testing and the yield mechanism was primarily tensile yielding of the rods. The results indicate that a diaphragm design force reduction factor of 2.0 for structures with periods greater than 1.0 second and 1.7 for structures with periods between 0.12 and 0.5 seconds may be appropriate for metal building systems if the lateral bracing of the compression member is prevented from buckling.

This project investigates the benefits and practicality of applying Zimmerman's (1994) dimensions of self-regulated learning to co-curricular activities so as to increase students' willingness and opportunities to communicate in English in the hallways of intensive English programs. Three of these dimensions (social environment, motivation, and physical environment) work together to create a semi-structured liaison between in and out of class communicative environments and give students an occasion, location, and motivation to speak English with one another. To evaluate the effectiveness of such activities and conceptualize a means in which to assist intensive English programs effectively incorporate co-curricular activities in their curricula, the principal researcher designed and conducted a co-curricular activity based self-regulated learning. She obtained student feedback using surveys and interviews and found that the majority of students spoke mostly English, made new friends, practiced listening and speaking skills, and enjoyed themselves at this activity. As a result of this data, the principal researcher created a booklet to assist in the planning of future co-curricular activities. While only a preliminary study, this data and resulting booklet have great potential to fill the hallways of intensive English programs with English and thus create a holistic learning environment.

Denna kvalitativa studie har syfte att belysa hur kreatörer på Only Fans resonerar kring plattformen och kreatörsrollen kopplat till normer kring femininitet och stigma. För att besvara syftet har tre frågeställningar ställts om hur dels roller och framträdandet skapas på Only Fans, hur kreatörerna resonerar och förhåller sig till normativ femininitet samt hur kreatörerna upplever stigma och hur det hanteras. Frågeställningarna besvarades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju kvinnor. Studiens teoretiska ramverk grundar sig i Goffman’s teorier kring dramaturgi och stigma samt Fanny Ambjörnssons perspektiv om normativ femininitet. Intervjumaterialet analyserades genom en tematisk analys och sattes sedan i kontext till studiens teorier och tidigare forskning. Resultatet kan sammanfattas med att studiens empiri visar att kreatörsrollen på Only Fans är kommodifierad, konkurrenspräglad, anonymiserad, stigmatiserad och präglad av normer om femininitet. Flera av kreatörerna berättar att de inte nödvändigtvis är någon annan på plattformen, men de ändrar sitt beteende lite ut efter vad som är önskvärd från kundens sida. Dessa roller motiveras av både av vad som säljer, men det är också ett sätt för dem att hantera stigma från samhället och öka deras personliga säkerhet. Den andra frågeställningen om normativ femininitet visade att kvinnorna är medvetna om de förväntningar som finns på kvinnor i samhället. Många av de har direkt erfarenhet av konsekvenserna som sker ifall man som kvinna inte följer samhällets normer om exempelvis sexuell passivitet. Det berättas om motreaktioner som riktats som menar att Only Fans är skadligt eller farligt. Angående frågeställningen om stigma så framkom det att intervjupersonerna upplevde stigmatisering i viss mån. Genom att ha nära kontakt med andra kreatörer på Only Fans med liknande erfarenheter samt vänner de litar på ansågs detta som en strategi för att minska stigmat och göra det mer lätthanterligt. Materialet visade att kreatörerna finner stöd och förståelse genom att vara i nära kontakt med andra personer, vilket gjorde att de kan bearbeta samt hantera stigmat enklare. Slutsatsen av denna studie är att de analysteman som studien grundas i samverkar med varandra. Det tycks finnas en rollsättning på Only Fans som formas efter olika aspekter, bland annat stigma och normativ femininitet. Studiens material påvisar att det finns ett stigma kring kreatörsrollen på grund av normer om femininitet.

Interaction skills are developed with other people and enable the ability to take in the perspectives of others as well as the ability to develop oneself. This should therefore mean that an individual who grows up with fewer people around them may find that it takes practice and effort to develop their social skills. In other words, growing up as an only child can lead to special circumstances that can affect an individual's behavior in social interactions. The purpose of the paper is to study whether growing up without siblings has an impact on adult only children's experiences of and actions in social interactions and the creation and maintenance of relationships. The empirical data consists of semi-structured interviews that are analyzed through previous research and the concepts: internalization, primary and secondary socialization, significant others, role assumption and significant symbols. The study's previous research is divided into three themes that relate to the study in different ways. The study's results show that growing up without siblings can have an impact on adult only children's experiences of and actions in social interactions, such as conflict management. Furthermore, the results of the study highlight that an upbringing without siblings does not have a significant impact on adult only children in the creation and maintenance of relationships, as there is no clear pattern of what role the only children take in friendship relationships. / Interaktionförmågan utvecklas tillsammans med andra människor och möjliggör förmågan att ta in andras perspektiv samt förmågan att utveckla sig själv. Detta borde således innebära att en individ som växer upp med färre människor omkring sig kan uppleva att det krävs övning och ansträngning för att utveckla sin interaktionsförmåga. Att växa upp som ensambarn kan med andra ord medföra särskilda omständigheter som kan sätta sin prägel på en individs handlande i sociala interaktioner. Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera om en uppväxt utan syskon har betydelse för vuxna ensambarns upplevelser av och agerande i sociala interaktioner samt skapandet och upprätthållande av relationer. Uppsatsens empiri består av semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyseras genom tidigare forskning och begreppen: internalisering, primär och sekundär socialisation, signifikanta andra, rollövertagande samt signifikanta symboler. Studiens tidigare forskning är indelad i tre teman som anknyter till studien på olika sätt. Studiens resultat visar att en uppväxt utan syskon kan ha en betydelse för vuxna ensambarns upplevelser av och agerande i sociala interaktioner, såsom konflikthantering. Vidare belyser studiens resultat att en uppväxt utan syskon inte har en påtaglig betydelse för vuxna ensambarn i skapandet och upprätthållandet av relationer, då det inte finns ett tydligt mönster vilken roll ensambarnen tar i vänskapsrelationer.

Chess is a deep and intricate game, the master of which depends on learning tens of thousands of the patterns that may occur on the board. At Noctie, their mission is to aid this learning process through humanlike chess AI. A prominent challenge lies in curating instructive chess positions for students. Usually these are either manually found by going through large numbers of real games, or handcrafted – a time-consuming process. For effective learning, it is often useful to collect many positions following the same theme, or exhibiting the same type of pattern. Curating such collections from real games is a challenging task. This thesis investigates the transformer decoder-only architecture and its capability of generating realistic, game-like chess-positions. This investigation involved the development and training of a decoder model using Pytorch, and a simple web-based Turing test gaining larger understanding of testers experience. The developed chess model successfully generates chess positions, with constraining possibilities of fixed pieces, score intervals, and fixed empty positions. Controlled re-generation ensures satisfaction of score intervals, while empty positions are handled by iterating over the model's probabilities. Based on the limited data provided by the Turing test, the model seems to fool players below 2000 rank-points on chess.com, where guess percentages land near the 50 percent mark, providing no clear indication that it deviates from randomness.

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