Category Archives: Authors R-Z

ADR authors listed by last name R-Z

Authors R-Z, Inclusion

Is it just a Box? – by Michele Wages

Complexity of Diversity

As I rode the elevator, I overheard a conversation between two African American adults.  They were talking about one of their bosses and one said, “People who are not Black do not understand the prejudices and oppression we have gone through.”

As I left the elevator and walked into the doctor’s office, I was handed a clipboard with some required forms I needed to fill out.  One section caught my attention: Race.  It asked me to check a box.  I immediately thought about the conversation I just heard, and looked over my choices, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander.  I then thought about prejudices and oppression for each choice.

Continue reading Is it just a Box? – by Michele Wages →

Authors R-Z, Education, Trends 2021

The Changing IT Arena – by Sridhar Rangaswamy

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2021 Cyberspace Trends

Many thanks to Deborah Levine, editor of the American Diversity Report, for assisting in sharing my work with the ADR. I’ve been part of IT field for a long time and have presented on Big Data, technology in education. I have also been part of Takelessons.com in teaching SQL.

  I used to teach RDBMS for new employees in 1998, then taught in Oracle University on RDBMS, SQL in 1999-2003. I have taught also PeopleSoft University on the Workflow. And have taught as a Mentor for Cyber Patriot in the year 2019 locally in Summerville, SC. Let’s take a look at how IT has evolved and what’s coming up in the future.

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Authors R-Z, Education, Social Issues, Trends 2021

Let’s Deconstruct the Stereotype – Dr. Julia Wai-Yin So

In the 1960s, sociologist Harold Garfinkel founded a new field of inquiry called ethnomethodology. As such, Garfinkel uses the term indexing to describe how we depend on whatever information and experience we have to make sense of every social context. We call this social cues. For example, when a man in the US meets a person who is wearing a dress and a pair of high heels while carrying a lady’s purse, the man instantly concludes that this is a woman and therefore will instantaneously interact with this person according to the social etiquette between a man and a woman.

Garfinkel calls such mental exercise indexing. When we are unaware of social cues because we have not had interaction with members of a particular social group, we would depend on the common information available, whether true or not. This is when stereotyping comes into play.

Continue reading Let’s Deconstruct the Stereotype – Dr. Julia Wai-Yin So →

Authors R-Z, Race & Ethnicity

Changing how we talk about racial divide – by Lynne Winfield

CURB218 years of enslavement and 137 years of segregation have left Bermudians struggling with the legacies of intergenerational trauma and economic inequities across our society. A culture of silence and fear arose ensuring that past was suppressed and not talked about. People speak of the need to work together and the need for unity, however, the racial divide is widening, economic disparity between the races continues to grow, and social media is both educating and inflaming passions.

With direct descendants of enslaved people and slaveowners still living on the island, and sharing in many cases the same last name, we needed to find a way to speak to the divide and bring light and truth to our understanding of that past.

Continue reading Changing how we talk about racial divide – by Lynne Winfield →

Authors R-Z, Healthcare

The Surrender of the Medical Superhero – by Vishnu Unnithan

It was the first day of the new academic term and our batch was bubbling with excitement. Our surgery posting had finally dawned. Now was our chance to step into the operation theatre and watch first hand as surgeons washed up and dutifully, saved lives. When most medical students envision medicine as a career, prior to entering medical school, they more often than not dream about wearing scrubs and operating to the rhythmic beats of all the life support and monitoring machines. Without doubt, the first visit to the operation theatre is one of the most cherished memories of any medical student.

We were assigned to our units and were very warmly received by our senior consultants. Cases were allotted for observation and by rotation, we were even allowed to wash up and assist in the procedures. It was a thrilling experience as we got to take incisions and operate laparoscopic instruments under expert supervision and this led to the birth of an unextinguishable spark that caused many of my colleagues to decide upon surgery as a future career choice.

Continue reading The Surrender of the Medical Superhero – by Vishnu Unnithan →

Authors R-Z, Race & Ethnicity, Social Issues

RIP John Lewis – By Elwood Watson

A Tribute to the ‘Conscience of Congress’

John LewisAs he’s laid to rest, there are no shortage of salutes to Congressman John Lewis, the formidable civil rights activist and legislator from Georgia who departed this earth on July 17, 2020, at the age of 80.

Mr. Lewis was a larger than life figure, a fierce, fiery presence packaged in a medium-sized man’s body. He was a person who lived an extraordinary life.

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Authors R-Z, Race & Ethnicity

Juneteenth Message – by Elwood Watson

Remember Rashard Brooks and Other
Black Victims of Police Brutality

In 1964, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to sweep the country, the arc of justice needs to bend more quickly in the case of Rayshard Brooks and other African Americans who have been killed by police. This is especially important as the country commemorates Juneteenth.

The justice system must send a clear message that overzealous police cannot get away with targeting and treating Black men and women as second class citizens. Every American must fully comprehend that all Black lives matter.
 Continue reading Juneteenth Message – by Elwood Watson →

Authors R-Z, Race & Ethnicity, Social Issues

Eyes and Ears Wide Shut – by Mauricio Velásquez

THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING

I have always specialized in hostile or militant audiences but from time to time even I have to step back and pause for a second.  Current events are always “fair game” in my workshops; it is what makes my sessions current, electric and never boring.  Recent moments of truth in my sessions lead me to pen and update to the original article I wrote many years ago.  The recent rash of horrible racial injustices (some say pattern) of Ahmaud Arbery to Breonna Taylor to George Floyd to Amy Cooper has erupted into a national conversation about racial injustice, white privilege, inequity, diversity, inclusion, and more.

Comments like – “I don’t care about BLM – Black Lives Matter, I am trying to run a business” or “White Lives Matter” or worse “White Lives Matter More (WLMM)” when people mention “Black Lives Matter” has led many to the politicization and polarization of these horrible atrocities and we these acts continue a horrible pattern of racial injustice.  You have to go back to “Rodney King had it coming!” and “Tayvon Martin, who cares.”  Today, you must be a “liberal” or a “conservative” – ouch! 

Continue reading Eyes and Ears Wide Shut – by Mauricio Velásquez →

Authors R-Z, Of Women

Mother’s Day for a True Diversity Futurist – by Sridhar Rangaswamy

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Happy Mother’s Day! Celebrated across the world for this year on May 10, 2020.  During the COVID-19 period, it is a time when people are doing social distancing and this is the time through online, to facilitate, help, support, be fair and objective for mothers across the world.

I should state in this time, I had come across a Great Person, Mrs. Deborah Levine, whom I wanted to share and support as a true mother having all the above qualities.

She is a giver and she takes time to do so always promptly, in spite of her busiest schedule on earth-managing multiple things at this time period. It’s not easy, and I respect her fully, support her as a generous, compassionate, humanitarian. She is true being human compared to being born as a human…there is a difference in practice in action and deeds as a true/fellow brotherly/sisterly hood.  Continue reading Mother’s Day for a True Diversity Futurist – by Sridhar Rangaswamy →

Authors R-Z, Education, Pandemic

Education in the Pandemic – by Katie Schwartz

One School’s Experience

Imagine  that literally overnight, everyone in your profession all over the world was told that your work would have to be done very differently, totally online, starting the next day. No-one had preparation, many of the recipients of your work did not have devices, and many were traumatized by the change.  In addition, many of the professionals, who were to be working from home, also were trying to deal with their family’s needs.

Welcome to the world of education today, where teachers, support personnel and administrators are creatively trying in new ways to meet the needs of so many.

Continue reading Education in the Pandemic – by Katie Schwartz →