There is a significant body of literature showing improved student outcomes in higher education STEM courses when evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) are used. Despite this, traditional, lecture-style instruction remains the primary means of instruction in these courses. However, given the situation of the sudden shift to online teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty were participating in training programs with greater frequency, and thus learning more about the use of EBIPs than ever before. Through the lens of Kurt Lewin’s theory of organizational change in the three stages of unfreezing, change, and refreezing, this explanatory mixed methods study sought to explore through a survey and interviews whether this shift to online teaching and the resulting increase in training participation did, in fact, result in changes in instructional practices, implementation, and perceptions of EBIPs, and whether any changes were sustained upon the return to in-person instruction.The survey tool used in this study was a subset of the Teaching Practices Inventory, developed by the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative from the University of British Columbia. This generated a modified “extent of use of research-based teaching practices” (METP) score, as well as METP sub-scores in five subcategories of the survey. These results, as well as data obtained from demographic questions and questions about teaching responsibilities and training participation, informed the selection of twelve participants for semi-structured interviews. Through one-way ANOVA testing, the quantitative analysis showed a statistically significant increase in METP (p < .001) from Pre-Covid to Post-Covid scores. Statistical significance was also found in the subcategories of In Class Features (p = .003) and Collaboration (p = .005). Two-way ANOVA testing was also done to explore statistical significance for demographic subcategories, which was found to exist for gender, tenure status, and various categories relating to participation in training and professional development. Interview data supported the quantitative data analysis, and offered further insight and context for the changes that have been made and sustained, including changes regarding the use of educational technology tools, introduction of authentic learning experiences, streamlining of content, and intentional alignment of activities and assessments with course goals. Additional analysis showed faculty relied on virtual collaboration to develop community with other instructors, and realized the importance of student feedback to inform their instruction and of fostering a classroom community. Most significantly, the ability to see first-hand the effect of the pandemic on students and to have a window into their personal lives caused faculty to make sweeping changes with respect to their beliefs in the affective domains of learning, emphasizing the need for empathy, flexibility, and equity-mindedness in their classrooms. This study showed that faculty became convinced of the need for change, consistent with Lewin’s unfreezing stage, not solely through training and professional development, but largely through the realizations about the individuality of students that faculty experienced during the pandemic. This occurred simultaneously with an increase in virtual collaboration as well as the influence of changes peers had made and suggested upon the return to in-person instruction. The recognition of the need to center students in learning combined with these outside influences resulted in the increased use of EBIPs upon the return to in-person instruction, therefore creating the desired change. Lastly, these practices have been maintained as of two years after the return to in-person, thus indicating refreezing, and further data showed that faculty continue to adapt their practices to create more inclusive and student-centered learning environments. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Successful transition to civilian employment is a challenge for veterans. The purpose of this single case study was to explore critical aspects of hiring managers' decision-making process and to understand how these strategies and techniques affect the hiring of veterans. Tajfel and Turner's social identity theory and Lewin's organizational change model formed the conceptual framework for the study. The participants for this study were 8 hiring managers from a midsized company in the Upper Hudson Valley Region, New York. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed and coded and 4 themes emerged: strategies used to fill open positions, specific recruitment and interview protocols, veterans' skills from military training, and lack of experience with hiring veterans. The study results may contribute to veteran's awareness of the skills that employers are seeking that veterans may be able to fulfill. The results of the study could create an opportunity for hiring managers to recognize that veterans represent a trained, ready-made talent pool. The social impact of the study could help hiring managers identify and design the required job description criteria to include the transferable skills of veterans.

Municipal urban management and the democratic flexible guardian – a study concerning the officials’ changing work in the urban management process in the municipality of Norrköping. The purpose of this study is partly to analyse how implement measures in a change project (in the municipality of Norrköping) may impact the officials, linked to the urban management process, in their work practices. The study also aims to problematize a political science theory by Professor Lennart Lundquist (from 1998) that states how officials should relate to their office. The reason behind this problematizing stems from a shift in the municipalities’ responsibilities over the last 20 years. They have gone from having a more exclusively administrative responsibility to focus more on societal investment. The analysis of this study shows that a lot of the implement measures have a positive impact on the officials’ work practices, although some risks were found. The study also indicates that the imbalance between economical and democratic values (that is addressed in Lundquist’s theory) tend to even themselves out in order for a more sustainable development to be achieved.

Civil unrest in the1960s pitted Black citizens and police officers against each other (Kerner Commission, 1968). The Kerner Commission examined race relations and recommended the hiring of more Black officers to patrol Black neighborhoods. Recent shooting deaths of unarmed Black males primarily by White officers has led to renewed calls for police reform (Scholsser, Cha-Jua, Valgoi & Neville, 2015). This quantitative secondary analysis study utilizes data from the 2013 LEMAS survey to compare local police departments from three states (N=184) to examine whether police departments with a Black chief and/or a higher rate of Black officers reported more participation in community oriented policing activities than police departments led by Whites. The study’s hypothesis is that local police departments led by a Black chief and departments with a high rate of Black officers will report greater participation in community oriented policing activities. Descriptive data along with results from Pearson’s correlation, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis indicate there are some benefits to appointing Blacks as police chief along with hiring more Black officers. In this study, the race of the chief had a positive but not significant impact on the number of reported COP activities. The presence of more Black officers was positively correlated at a significant level with reports of higher rates of COP activities.