Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: January-March 2020

This quarterly report includes: New Look for the Jefferson Digital Commons Articles COVID-19 Working Papers Educational Materials From the Archives Grand Rounds and Lectures JeffMD Scholarly Inquiry Abstracts Journals and Newsletters Master of Public Health Capstones Oral Histories Posters and Conference Presentations What People are Saying About the Jefferson the Digital Common

Become a Lifesaver - How to Design Conversational Agents to Increase Users’ Intention to Donate Blood

Donating blood is a selfless act that impacts public welfare, potentially saving human lives. However, blood shortage is a rising worldwide issue due to increased demand. Thus, finding ways to animate and motivate potential donors to donate blood is para-mount. In this context, conversational agents (CAs) offer a promising approach to edu-cating, promoting, and achieving desired behaviors. In this paper, we conducted an online experimental study (N=303) and investigated the effect of a human-like designed CA and fear-inducing communication on users’ intention to donate. Our results show that users’ intention is driven by perceived persuasiveness rather than perceived human-ness and that fear-inducing communication does not significantly affect the intention to donate. Against this background, we provide numerous theoretical and practical impli-cations, contributing to information system literature by enhancing our understanding of how fear-inducing communication is used in CA interactions

Investigating How School Counselors Using #scchat on Twitter Advocate for Marginalized Student Populations: A Social Network Analysis

Advocacy work for marginalized student populations can help eliminate systemic barriers in schools. School counselors interact with millions of P-12 students daily and have the unique skills to advocate for marginalized students (U.S. Department of Education, 2019; Edirmanasinghe et al., 2022). Social media platforms such as Twitter allow school counselors to advocate outside of the school setting. It also allows them to obtain professional development and connect to other professionals (Schultz, 2022). In this study, the researcher seeks to learn how school counseling professionals\u27 use of Twitter changed over ten years when using the #scchat hashtag and how their advocacy for marginalized student populations on Twitter has changed over time. Twitter Application Programming Interface (API) data was collected via NodeXL over a ten-year period, allowing the researcher to identify sample years of network data to answer the research questions. The researcher used Social Network Analysis (SNA) to identify relationships and influencers within the networks and quantitative content analysis to analyze the frequency of hashtags, specific words, and sentiment. The results show significant growth in using #scchat regarding the number of tweets and users. The density of the graphs decreased as the networks became more extensive, and the number of group clusters increased. The results also show increased advocacy over the ten years using words such as advocacy, advocate, equity, race, ethnicity, racism, transgender, LGBTQIA+, Black, Latinx, Asian, and Native American

Isolation in Older Adults During COVID-19

Human beings need to have social interaction to be able to survive. Social and emotional isolation affects not only mental health but physical health as well (Coyle & Dugan, 2012). Recent research reported that “the prevalence of severe loneliness among older people living in care homes is at least double that of community-dwelling populations: 22-42% for the care population compared with 10% for the community population” (Victor, 2012, p. 637). The Centers for Disease Control [CDC] (2020a) reported that “80% of deaths associated with COVID-19 were among adults aged ≥65 years” (para. 1). This paper examines what older adults are experiencing in long-term facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is affecting them. Additionally, it discusses how seniors of color are affected differently by the pandemic and how racism and anxiety are correlated in this situation. This paper offers possible solutions for long-term care facilities in order to improve the quality of life for all residents and staff

COVID-19 Impact on Lifestyle and Psychosocial Issues

COVID-19 is a pandemic that hit the United States recently in early 2020 affecting individuals with regards to behavior, healthcare, education, recreation and social interaction, and employment and economic impact. The purpose of this study was to survey San Bernardino residents to identify, describe, and evaluate the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on their lives to understand their needs and to plan for future pandemics. This exploratory study used a qualitative method to collect data from 12 respondents in video interviews. A major finding was that, regarding behavior, most if not all participants had behavior changes to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. A second major finding, in the area of healthcare, was that eight participants reported a negative change in mental health, three reported a positive change, and one participant reported no change. It was found that all interviewees and/or their family members were impacted with educational changes, a transition from in-person classes to virtual learning. A major implication of this study is that social workers can become more aware of the ways in which individuals were affected by the pandemic, which will allow socials workers to better assist individuals. The findings of this research will guide systems, such as schools and employment agencies, to be prepared, such as better management of funding, providing adequate personnel training, and ensuring everyone’s health, mental health, and safety in a pandemic

Find Your Voice: A Signature Honors Project on Sexual Assault Education and Advocacy

Find Your Voice is a student led organization that has been active since the fall of 2019. The group focuses on educating the community about sexual assault and its ramifications, advocating for survivors, and empowering everyone to stand up against sexual assault. Every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, while only 0.005% of perpetrators are sent to prison.1 This is why we fight against sexual assault. Find Your Voice tackles this mission by educating and advocating for the public through our social media outlets and website, and empowering survivors to find their voice through our Many Voices Gallery

The Role of School Counselors in Advocating for Social Justice For All Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The field of K–12 school counseling has evolved to embrace social–emotional and mental wellness aspects of students in addition to academic and career/college readiness. Social justice advocacy has been added to the role of school counselor by professional and educational entities. What is less clear is how well-versed school counselors are in social justice advocacy competencies, whether they are equipped to lead and advocate for social justice, barriers and accomplishments in doing so, and ways in which this role may be further developed and integrated into the field of school counseling, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the research questions for this study sought perspectives of school counselors, teachers, administrators, and counselor educators to better understand the role of school counselors as social justice advocates in K–12 public schools. Utilizing the qualitative method of documentary film, 26 participants were interviewed. The result is presented in a documentary film called Counseling for Social Justice. Although this is an exploratory study, a number of themes have emerged suggesting that social justice advocacy is an ideal that remains to be integrated fully into practice, that school counselors interpret social justice in varied ways, and that despite best efforts of some counselors, there are impediments that must be addressed. Recommendations are suggested for ways in which school counseling may be further oriented toward social justice advocacy

COVID-19 is more than a pandemic

Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is a good rehearsal for tackling the global challenges the world will have to face in the 21st century. If we are smart, we can learn a lot from it

Asynchronous Online Photovoice: Practical Steps and Challenges to Amplify Voice for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice

Die Photovoice-Methode, ursprünglich als Mittel entwickelt, um die Stimmen vulnerabler Bevölkerungsgruppen und marginalisierte Erfahrungen hörbar zu machen, wurde kürzlich für die Online-Anwendung während der COVID-19-Pandemie angepasst. In diesem Artikel erörtere ich die Umsetzung von Online-Photovoice in einem asynchronen Modus. Ich untersuche das Potenzial der Methodik für Gleichberechtigung, Inklusion und soziale Gerechtigkeit anhand einer internationalen Studie, die mit "motherscholars" (Müttern in der Wissenschaft) durchgeführt wurde, die während der ersten Welle der COVID-19-Pandemie begannen, ihre Kinder durch Online-Lernen zu begleiten. Ich beschreibe die Schritte der Online-Photovoice-Studie, die dazu dienen sollte, die Stimme der Teilnehmerinnen zu stärken, und die Herausforderungen, mit denen sie konfrontiert wurden. In diesem Sinne biete ich neue Einsichten u.a. in zu vermeidende Hindernisse, praktische Tipps sowie kritische Fragen zur Selbstreflexion für andere Forscher*innen, die ihr Instrumentarium für die qualitative Forschung zur sozialen Gerechtigkeit erweitern möchten.While researchers initially developed photovoice methodology as a means to hear voices of vulnerable populations and of marginalized experiences, using it in an online format has recently been adapted for application during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, I discuss implementing online photovoice in an asynchronous mode. I explore the potential of the methodology for equity, inclusion and social justice through an international study conducted with motherscholars (mothers in academia) who suddenly began guiding their children through online learning during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. I describe the steps in the online photovoice study that was intended to amplify participant voice and the challenges faced. As such, I propose novel insights, practical tips, obstacles to avoid, and critical self-reflective questions for researchers interested in expanding their toolkit for qualitative social justice research