The new entrepreneurship program between Defy and the Drucker School will enhance Defy’s existing educational efforts in California’s prison system.

We see our partnership with the Drucker School as a powerful validation of Defy’s program and mission. (Andrew Glazier, Defy’s President and CEO)

LOS ANGELES (PRWEB)
March 18, 2021

Defy Ventures and the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) announce a new partnership to provide current and formerly incarcerated students with a certificate in entrepreneurship to help them successfully transition back into their communities.

High prison recidivism rates in the state and nationwide are exacerbated by a lack of job skills and educational training. Without training, many formerly incarcerated people struggle to find employment in their communities and often return to the criminal justice system. The Defy-Drucker partnership builds on Defy’s previous efforts to address this challenge and Drucker’s long-standing humanistic approach to management education.

“This partnership will open the door to future collaboration that will make Defy’s curriculum even more impactful for the currently and formerly incarcerated people in our program,” said Andrew Glazier, Defy’s President and CEO. “We are excited to be working with the Drucker community.”

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AN ENHANCED EFFORT

For several years, Defy Ventures has offered a curriculum in business skills to train incarcerated people nationwide and show them how to start a business and improve their employment outlook. This training has been designed to provide a pathway to economic independence, and Defy has a track record of successful outcomes for graduates of their program. That includes a recidivism rate under eight percent for program participants and the launch of 140 businesses since 2012. Defy Ventures also recently received a federal grant to expand its entrepreneurship programs.

Now, in collaboration with the Drucker School of Management, Defy will be leveraging the deep experience of the Drucker community to enhance the entrepreneurship curriculum and programming.

“We are thrilled to work with Defy on such an important issue,” says Drucker Dean David Sprott. “Our school is named for Peter Drucker, who believed in the power of businesses to support their communities and contribute to a functioning society. This new partnership with Defy is an ideal example of that vision, and we are looking forward to supporting them in this very important work.”

The certificate of entrepreneurship is one of the first results of this new partnership. It will be provided to any currently and formerly incarcerated individual who complete Defy Ventures’ in-prison or community-based entrepreneurship programs.

Also as part of the partnership, Defy will host a “Field Impact Fellowship,” a paid position for a Drucker School or CGU student to work with Defy’s team on various initiatives. Drucker students, faculty, and alumni also will have other opportunities to volunteer and engage with Defy’s programs.

“What Defy does is transformational, for its program participants and volunteers alike,” says Jonathan T. D. Neil, director of CGU’s Center for Business and Management of the Arts, which spearheaded the partnership. “We are excited for our students to learn not only from Defy’s programs but also about Defy as an organization.”

Associate Professor and Interim Drucker Dean Katharina Pick adds that the school’s faculty are excited to partner with Defy because the school’s Drucker philosophy maintains that “we have a responsibility to help people thrive in ways that give them dignity and status and that connect them to society and community.”

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MEETING A CRITICAL NEED

This new effort comes at a critical time for the criminal justice system, especially in states like California. Defy currently has programs in nine prisons in the state, but more needs to be done to provide educational assistance to incarcerated people. Only one public bachelor’s program exists in the state that addresses their situation, and another has just been approved to fully roll out in 2022.

With nearly 90,000 people incarcerated in California’s state prisons, a greater number of educational programs are needed to increase the chances of success after release. With its rigorous six- to nine-month curriculum and university-backed certificate upon graduation, Defy offers this kind of educational support at a time when opportunities are few.

“We see our partnership with the Drucker School as a powerful validation of Defy’s program and mission,” Defy’s Glazier adds. “Their vision of what’s possible aligns with ours. We share a common recognition that when incarcerated individuals and returning citizens are equipped to build new lives and contribute to society after serving their time, we are making a more just and inclusive society for all.”

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For more information about Defy Ventures: http://www.defyventures.org.

For individuals interested in enrolling in the Entrepreneurship Pathway in one of Defy’s locations (Northern and Southern California, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, or New Jersey), contact info@defyventures.org.

For more about the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University: cgu.edu/school/drucker-school-of-management/

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I wanted my book to be honest, highlighting all of the struggles and questions families have, but celebrating those milestones when achieved big and loud.

DEXTER, Mo. (PRWEB)
March 18, 2021

Author Belinda Worley offers practical wisdom gained from personal experience in An Autism Journey of Hope ($19.49, paperback, 9781662810640; $9.99, e-book, 9781662810657).

When Worley’s daughter was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 ½, she turned to every possible resource for guidance. Unfortunately, she found most of the advice available to impractical and not all that helpful. Now, with many years of experience under her belt, she hopes to encourage others with her hands-on tips and tricks.

“I wanted my book to be honest, highlighting all of the struggles and questions families have, but celebrating those milestones when achieved big and loud. If a child with autism is in your world, it is my prayer that my autism journey of HOPE is a book that inspires parents and educators for years to come,” said Worley.

Belinda Worley is a mother, speech language pathologist, and business owner of Bootheel Pediatric Therapy LLC in southeastern Missouri. She has been in practice since 2000 providing speech and language therapy to children with communication delays. She travels all across the United States as an autism awareness public speaker training educators, teachers, therapists and parents on strategies for working with children with an autism diagnosis.

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Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the world’s largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. An Autism Journey of Hope is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

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Free eBook Released: To Be Happier: a practical and science-based guide

Decades of research show us that happy people share key characteristics. They participate more in community organizations. They’re more liked by others. They’re less likely to divorce, they perform better at work and typically earn higher incomes. And yes, they even tend to live slightly longer.

SEATTLE (PRWEB)
March 13, 2021

If ever there was a time for some authentic happiness, the year 2021 is it. Dr. Lawrence K. Jones has made publicly available a genuinely altruistic gift for people of all ages and all walks of life – just in time for the International Day of Happiness, March 20, 2021. His new eBook, To Be Happier: a practical and science-based guide, brings together in an actionable way what scientists know about well-being and what we can do to increase our happiness.

What makes this eBook unique? In one easy-to-understand guide, readers will learn about findings from several streams of scientific research on happiness. Most important, they will find activities they can do, regardless of their situation, to increase their own happiness and the happiness of the people around them. They’ll learn what happiness is and how their thinking and actions are critical to well-being.

Dr. Jones or Dr. Larry as he prefers to be called, is quick to point out that increasing happiness by paying attention to one’s thoughts and taking action is a process; improvements take a little work and determination. But the benefits are worth it! He says, “We know, after decades of research, that happy people share key characteristics. They participate more in community organizations. They’re more liked by others. They’re less likely to divorce, they perform better at work and typically earn higher incomes. And yes, they even tend to live slightly longer.”

To help readers realize these benefits, To Be Happier stays away from the myths and quick fixes that make authentic happiness elusive and instead focuses on straightforward techniques and mindsets that science has shown to work. Readers will discover insights, activities and self-assessments that support well-being in all aspects – career, social, financial, physical, community, spiritual, and the mind.

To Be Happier is available in an interactive eBook format online at careerkey.org/happiness-key/to-be-happier-eBook. It is also available in downloadable PDF and ePub formats. For a limited time, the publisher, Career Key, is offering the eBook free of charge without registration.

About the Author

Dr. Lawrence K. Jones is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. He specializes in the areas of school counseling and career counseling and development. He received his Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and earned his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri.

In addition to Career Key Discovery and the Career Decision Profile, he has developed other career guidance instruments used by career counselors such as Occ-U-Sort, and is the author of the Encyclopedia of Career Change and Work Issues, selected as one of the “Outstanding 1993 Reference Sources” by the American Library Association. He is also the author of Job Skills for the 21st Century, A Guide for Students.

He is a member of the National Career Development Association, the American School Counselors Association, and the American Counseling Association. He has written extensively for professional journals, served on the editorial boards of the Career Development Quarterly and the Journal of Counseling and Development, and has been a vocational expert for the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration.

Jones received the annual Professional Development award of the American Counseling Association, and he is a National Certified Counselor.

In 1997, Dr. Larry and his wife Jeanine Wehr Jones founded Career Key to help people and their families, worldwide, lead happy and more satisfying lives. By providing accurate, practical career and education advice to everyone, their goal was to empower people to make informed decisions and act in their best self-interest and, ultimately, the best interests of their country. Adding “eBook author” to his professional vitae is part of his encore career as a writer, philanthropist, and humanitarian.

About Career Key, Inc.

Based in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle and Hood River, Oregon), Career Key (http://www.careerkey.org) is a nationally certified woman-owned technology company that helps secondary and college-level students and adults in career transitions achieve career well-being through better career and education decisions.

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nQ Medical’s results, Alzheimer’s Disease study at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

nQ’s novel technology uses machine learning to capture and analyze an individual’s typing performance on keyboard or smartphone. Data is captured continuously, non-invasively, in a natural everyday environment, making it a very promising screening tool for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (PRWEB)
March 11, 2021

nQ Medical is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the AD/PD 2021, the 15th​ International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and related neurological disorders, held this week. During the three events at AD/PD, nQ will be revealing the latest data from its “Validation of passive typing monitoring as an indicator of cognitive impairment in the AD spectrum” study, conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that begins with subtle cognitive symptoms (typically short-term memory loss) invariably progressing over the course of years to decades to dementia, functional impairment, and death. Affecting more than 5 million people in the United States, it is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Advancing age is the strongest risk factor for developing the disease. This means that every living person over the age of 65 is at risk.

The economic and societal burden that Alzheimer’s disease imposes represents an emerging public health crisis for the United States, and more broadly, the developing world (where the majority of new cases are expected to occur). There is an urgent need to identify individuals manifesting the initial symptoms of the disease. Identification of these individuals will allow for testing of new agents in clinical trials, permit modification of lifestyle factors that may impact disease course, and, perhaps, most importantly, represent a crucial time point to initiate treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (if and when new medications are discovered).

Although several diagnostic tests are available that can identify patients in the earliest stages of the disease, these tests are prohibitively expensive (amyloid PET) or invasive (spinal tap) and are not feasible for screening millions of at-risk individuals. New screening tools that are inexpensive, scalable, and minimally invasive are urgently needed in order to combat the looming Alzheimer’s disease epidemic.

Decades of research has confirmed that subtle errors on cognitive tasks can predict those who will progress from mild symptoms to Alzheimer’s dementia. At this time, these tests are expensive to analyze, time-consuming, and not widely available. Additionally, data is typically collected at discrete time points at a testing center, making it susceptible to the influences of extraneous factors (i.e. a poor night’s sleep, anxiety, a “bad day”, etc.). The ability to sample cognitive performance continuously and in the individual’s natural environment would represent a major achievement for the field.

Typing is a complex motor activity that has been linked to an individual’s cognitive, psychological, and emotional state. Univariate analysis of mechanical keyboard dynamics (in a small sample) has recently been shown to differentiate individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease from a normal control group. nQ Medical’s typing tool is a novel technology that utilizes machine learning to capture and analyze an individual’s typing performance on either a keyboard and/or a smartphone. Importantly, the nQ technology can capture data continuously, non-invasively, and in a person’s “natural” or everyday environment, thus, making it a very promising screening tool for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

About nQ Medical

nQ Medical, Inc. is a Digital Biomarker Discovery Platform of data modeling that can be adapted cross-disorder and readied for rapid scaling. nQ Medical’s AI-powered computational biomarker yields powerful insights. We believe that the way our fingers interact with smart phones and computers can reveal the presence of certain neuromotor and neurocognition diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Multiple Sclerosis. The potential of our technology has been shown in clinical research at MIT, backed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital. The fine control of typing and touch screen kinematics, as well as the frequent use of personal devices like smartphones brings Real World Data to patients, caregivers, and clinicians. For more information, please contact us: https://www.nq-medical.com/adpd/

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Mental health challenges do not discriminate by borders, and we must protect LGBTQ youth from violence, discrimination, and conversion therapy wherever it occurs.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
March 10, 2021

Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people, was named today by the World Economic Forum as one of it Young Global Leaders.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders identifies the world’s most promising leaders under the age of 40 – people driving innovation for positive change across civil society, arts, culture, government, and business. The 2021 YGL class includes 112 leaders from across industries and around the globe selected from thousands of candidates who were publicly nominated.

“I am honored to be named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and to be given the opportunity to promote LGBTQ youth mental health and suicide prevention around the globe,” said Paley. “Mental health challenges do not discriminate by borders, and we must protect LGBTQ youth from violence, discrimination, and conversion therapy wherever it occurs. I look forward to partnering with this group of diverse and dynamic leaders to advance social justice and equality, raise understanding, and save more young LGBTQ lives.”

The Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million LGBTQ young people seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S. alone. To scale The Trevor Project’s operations and grow its impact, the organization under Paley’s leadership is continuing to innovate its crisis services and make strategic investments in its staff, technology, and infrastructure. According to The Trevor Project’s strategic plan, the organization is also exploring how it can expand its crisis services internationally and/or in new languages.

About The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, our trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386 via chat http://www.TheTrevorProject.org/Help, or by texting START to 678-678.

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SEATTLE (PRWEB)
March 09, 2021

Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Master’s in Organizational Psychology Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 167 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment.

The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 167 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school.

Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Master’s in Organizational Psychology Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-organizational-psychology-degree-programs/

2021 Master’s in Organizational Psychology Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Adler University

Albizu University

Angelo State University

Anna Maria College

Auburn University

Austin Peay State University

Baker College

Bellevue University

California Southern University

California State University, San Bernardino

Capella University

Chicago School Of Professional Psychology

Colorado State University

Colorado Technical University

Eastern Kentucky University

Elmhurst University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Franklin University

Golden Gate University

Grand Canyon University

Johnson & Wales University

Kansas State University

Kean University

Liberty University

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Missouri University of Science and Technology

National Louis University

Northcentral University

Northern Kentucky University

Purdue University Global

Sacred Heart University

Saint Cloud State University

San Jose State University

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Southern New Hampshire University

State University of New York, Albany

Texas A & M University, College Station

Thomas Edison State University

Touro University Worldwide

University of Central Florida

University of Hartford

University of New Haven

University Of Phoenix

University of South Florida

University of the Incarnate Word

Valdosta State University

Vanguard University

Walden University

Western Michigan University

William James College

About Intelligent.com

Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/.

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California Mental Health & Criminal Defense Attorney Ken Rosenfeld

According to the terms of the plea bargain, the court was supposed to decide based on the experts at Alpine, who are in favor of him going to the step-down facility, said Rosenfeld. The notion of time served in relation to the severity of the offense is simply outside of the terms.

SALINAS, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 09, 2021

According to appellate court documents (case #H048206), in May of 2020 the Monterey County Superior Court denied Kirkendall’s request to be moved out of Alpine Special Treatment Center, the secure mental health facility in San Diego where he’d spent a year and two months, declaring the time spent in the facility was not sufficiently in proportion with the seriousness of Kirkendall’s offense. Kirkendall initially had faced charges of attempted murder of a peace officer and assault with a deadly weapon, potentially facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, but as the result of a plea agreement, had been instead sentenced to “at least” a year in a lockdown mental health facility with the ability to move to a step-down facility based on the recommendation of Alpine’s medical experts. Kirkendall’s lawyer, California mental health criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld, filed an appeal in response to the court’s decision, stating that its basis for refusal violated both the terms of the plea agreement and his client’s due process rights.

“According to the terms of the plea bargain, the court was supposed to decide based on the experts at Alpine, who are in favor of him going to the step-down facility,” said Rosenfeld. “The notion of time served in relation to the severity of the offense is simply outside of the terms.”

Since Kirkendall suffers from a lung condition, Rosenfeld furthermore claimed that, in light of the crisis presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the denial of his release constituted cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violated his Eighth Amendment rights. Concurring that the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction in denying Kirkendall’s release, the appellate court issued an alternative writ of mandate commanding the trial court to revisit the request.

On October 21, 2020, after the hearing following the alternative writ of mandate, the trial court denied Kirkendall’s request a second time, this time suggesting that allowing Kirkendall to move to a step-down facility would present a safety issue to the public. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the Sixth Appellate Court considered this decision to reflect a continued belief on the trial court’s behalf that Kirkendall served an insufficient amount of time The Sixth Appellate Court considered this decision as reflecting the continued belief by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the trial court that Kirkendall served an insufficient amount of time. The appellate court thereby decided to remand the case, instructing the court to vacate its October order denying Kirkendall’s sentence modification and to again revisit the request, keeping in mind the advice of medical experts and Kirkendall’s Eighth Amendment rights and not including any terms outside of the plea agreement.

“I’m pleased,” said Rosenfeld. “I look forward to the motion being revisited on terms germane to the plea agreement.”

Rosenfeld was responsible for negotiating the plea bargain for Kirkendall in February of 2019 that ensured his client, who sustained brain injuries following an electrocution accident nearly a decade ago, received treatment in lieu of life in prison following the manic episode during which Kirkendall opened fire with a shotgun on a Big Sur firefighter in 2017.

About The Rosenfeld Law Firm

Located in Sacramento, Stockton, and San Jose, the Rosenfeld Law Firm provides aggressive defense of a wide range of high-profile criminal defense cases. California criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld defends such cases as first-degree murder and sex offense cases, and also provides DUI defense. In addition to mental health criminal defense, the Rosenfeld law firm also practices federal criminal defense and juvenile defense, as well as appellate law and prison law. As an expert criminal law commentator Rosenfeld makes regular appearances on KTXL TV and FOX40’s Ask An Attorney. Rosenfeld was named 2020 Litigator of the Year by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers. For more information, please contact Ken Rosenfeld directly at (916) 447-2070, or visit http://www.therosenfeldlawfirm.com.

Press release writing by WebSiteText and Proofreading Services by The Proofreaders.

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“We recognized a huge need for a student-centered, research-based approach to teaching and learning social emotional skills – one that addressed individual student needs, which complemented rather than competed with academic instruction,” commented Yovhane Metcalfe, Chief Academic Officer, StrongMin

CHANDLER, Ariz. (PRWEB)
March 07, 2021

StrongMinded, a comprehensive digital solution for social-emotional learning, has been certified for its Research-Based Design by one of the nation’s leading education technology organizations, Digital Promise. This product certification confirms a link between research on how students learn and serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school administrators, educators, and families looking for evidence of research-based educational technology products.

Specifically developed for virtual and hybrid learning environments, StrongMinded creates a safe space where every 6-12th grade student can explore, learn, and develop lifelong SEL skills now and into the future of college, career, and life.

“Those supporting learning with technology are looking for high-quality products,” said Christina Luke Luna, senior director of lifelong learning pathways at Digital Promise. “Digital Promise’s Product Certifications offer verification that edtech products meet specific criteria. We applaud the products that have pursued and earned these certifications.”

StrongMinded leverages technology to provide an experience wherein students are supported, not stigmatized; resources are pre-emptive, not punitive; and activities are relevant, not rote.

An extensive library of research-based, bite-sized lessons – each just about five minutes long and targeted to a specific SEL skill – creates a personalized learning environment in which students thrive.

Because lessons are digitally-delivered and mobile-enabled, StrongMinded is compatible with any instructional model – remote, hybrid, or school-based – ensuring continuity of learning as models change, particularly over this school year.

“We recognized a huge need for a student-centered, research-based approach to teaching and learning social emotional skills – one that addressed individual student needs, which complemented rather than competed with academic instruction,” commented Yovhane Metcalfe, Chief Academic Officer, StrongMind.

StrongMinded requires minimal training, can be quickly implemented, and is user-friendly for both teachers and students now and into the future. To learn more about how StrongMinded builds core social emotional learning competencies, visit our website!

About StrongMind

StrongMind partners with schools to build innovative digital solutions and provide educational services that address unique school challenges. With a consultative approach, engaging digital curriculum, clear insights, and a mobile engagement engine, we maximize student achievement. A recent recipient of the Emmy® and Edtech awards, and a previous winner of more than 60 awards, StrongMind provides an optimal digital learning experience. To learn more, visit http://www.StrongMind.com.

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