Modern Scientific Press

ABSTRACT: The present quantitative experimental study examined the amenability of attitudes toward lesbian and gay (LG) individuals by heterosexual licensed professional counselors (LPCs) after exposure to a brief intervention raising social issues awareness. The sample consisted of 142 LPCs recruited from professional organizations, listservs, and social media from across the nation, evenly divided between an experimental and a control group. Participants from the experimental group were primed using the Social Issues Advocacy Scale. The data collection source consisted of an online survey which distributed the Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Men scale. Findings showed no statistically significant difference in scores on the survey, as the means of the experimental (M=38.5) and the control (M=37.94) groups differed by less than one point. The findings suggested that a brief intervention for raising social issues awareness may not be adequate in changing the attitudes of LPCs about LG individuals. However, a strong baseline level of positive attitudes toward LG individuals among heterosexual LPCs suggested that interventions for changing their attitudes may not be necessary.

ABSTRACT: Despite the literature exploring the impact of veterans’ unanticipated medical retirement on transition to civilian life, there was a lack of systematic review of this literature among veterans. The present systematic review of literature examined the impact of veterans’ UMR on transition to civilian life. Based on the implementation of a search strategy developed on the basis of six criteria for inclusion in alignment with the research phenomenon, the researcher selected 15 studies for the systematic review. Synthesis of the included studies reveled three major themes on the impact of veterans’ UMR on transition to civilian life, namely transition challenges (with two sub-themes of female veterans and identity), employment experience, and sources of support. The findings of the review expand the current body of literature in the field of veterans’ rehabilitation through a synthesis of the findings from recent literature. Additionally, implications for practice were provided, including included the need to address the discrimination experienced by veterans during their search for work after UMR and the alienation experienced by female veterans due to sexual trauma. Recommendations for future researchers included narrowing the scope of systematic reviews on the transition experiences of veterans after UMR to enable meta-analysis and conducting a systematic review on the transition experiences of only female veterans following UMR to highlight further their unique requirements.

ABSTRACT: The objectives of this study included identifying the socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder farmers; determining the effect of these socioeconomic factors on the profitability of sheep and goats production; and making recommendations based on the results. Survey questionnaire was developed and pre-tested to collect quantitative data during the period from January 2019 to January 2020. A total of 180 farmers were randomly selected from the Delta regions and the New Valleys regions in Egypt, which represent different production systems. Respondents were farm households engaged in agricultural production. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive such as frequency and percentages. More so gross margin and regression models were also used. The results of the study showed that the average age of the respondents ranged between 40 ± 15.5 - 44.2 ± 13.3 years. The present results suggested higher rate of illiteracy in the Delta 50.9% than in the New Valley district 31.6%. The gross margin estimate showed that the enterprise was profitable. The livestock herds differed in size and composition between the different areas. Farmer age, family size, education level, herd size and feeding system significantly affected the profitability of small ruminant production for smallholders in Egypt. The study therefore recommends that younger people should be encouraged into small ruminant production because small ruminant animal production is laborious. Recommended policy actions should be directed towards establishment of breeding centers for dairy animals; and knowledge transfer through provision of extension services to educate the farmers on dairy management. The farmers should also form cooperative societies to increase their access to credit facilities.