Narrative Study: The Impact of Food Insecurity on Student Health and Persistence

The current study collected and evaluated students’ firsthand stories to learn whether their stress from nutritional intake or lack thereof impacts students’ health, well-being, coursework, sense of belonging and mattering, and persistence. Additionally, this narrative study investigated students’ experiences with a college pantry on their campus. The students were invited to share personal narratives about their engagement with the campus food pantry and their feelings about any perceived effects of this institutional support in such areas as health, self-esteem, community support, academics, motivation, and future plans. The research question presented in this study utilizing a qualitative narrative-inquiry approach was the following: What are the experiences of food-insecure students at a two-year college in Minnesota? The study explored Baumeister and Leary’s theory of the Sense of Belonging (previously described in the third tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, “love and belonging”); Morris Rosenberg’s theory of Mattering; Schlossberg’s theory of Mattering and Marginality; and Tinto’s Framework of Student Departure. It was through these frameworks that the current study connected a student’s basic need of food, a sense of belonging along with a sense of mattering. With the sense of belonging and a sense of mattering, the current study explored the degree to which regularly accessible student-support services such as a food pantry could foster health, and greater percentages of student persistence, completion, and graduation from students’ programs. The results of this study show that food-insecure students are suffering from physical- and mental-health issues, lack of energy, lack of focus needed for class work, stress, anxiety, poor self-care, and undesirable behaviors such as stealing or other non-ideal methods of obtaining food for survival. Additionally, findings from the students suggest that if a college campus offers a food pantry to its students, it may inspire food-insecure students to have a greater sense of belonging and mattering to their institution, with a variety of benefits to the student, the college, and the community. INDEX WORDS: food insecurity, sense of belonging, mattering, student persistence, student success, academic performance, and food pantry

Young people and illicit drug use: A health promotion model to differentiate abstinence or recreational drug use from misuse

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 27/04/2004.The thesis is a study of illicit drug use and attitudes to drugs education amongst young people from different socio-economic backgrounds. The thesis reviews the existing literature and finds that there may be a link between poverty and drug use that hasn't been fully explored and that there has been a lack of attention to young people's perspectives and views on drug use. The findings are reported of an empirical research project that consisted of quantitative and qualitative research with 206 young people in five different settings: at university, in a youth club, in schools, in a pupil referral unit, and service for young offenders. The data from these different sources are analysed and a conceptual model has been developed, setting out some factors that are indicative of problematic or non-problematic drug use. The model was circulated amongst a small group of professionals in relevant fields for comment. The thesis concludes that young people in university settings reported using illicit drugs recreationally and apparently without problems, while the 'vulnerable' young people reported using more drugs, at an earlier age, and more frequently, and for reasons to do with boredom, depression and anxiety. The author suggests that 'vulnerable' young people are disadvantaged by their circumstances at home, including social deprivation and parental separation, and their lack of engagement with education. It is argued that health promotion models need to recognise the importance of contextual and broader structural factors influencing drug use among young people, and that health promotion efforts need to play a role in tackling inequalities and reducing deprivation, as well as making health promotion messages relevant to their target audience

E-Learning Modules Addressing Factors Critical to Improving Student Retention

E-Learning modules addressing factors critical to improving student retentio

Desire Denied: A Bibliographic Overview of Sexual Inequality and Blind Women

This literature review examines social science research on blind women’s experiences with sexual relationships. The findings suggest that socially constructed barriers marginalize blind women, often resulting in blind women being labeled as asexual. The intersection of able-ism and sexism positions many blind women as outsiders who do not possess sexual attractiveness. After discussing perspectives that examine socially constructed barriers rather than biological barriers to blind women’s sexuality, the paper reviews some consequences of denied sexuality, such as exclusion from heterosexual and homosexual relationships and increased risk of violence. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to challenge socially constructed barriers and a call for further on blind women’s experiences with sexual relationships

Letting Go of the Harness for the Last Time: A Descriptive Realism Approach to Exploring the Ending of Working Relationships with Guide Dogs

In this research, I use a combination of feminist methodology and descriptive realism to explore my experiences and the experiences of other totally blind individuals who have ended working relationships with guide dogs. Little research has been done on the approximately eight thousand blind people who are partnered with guide dogs in the United States (Eames & Eames, 2004). A primary goal of this qualitative study is to give voice to the unique narratives of people whose experiences are rarely explored in academic literature (Contreras, 2003; Schneider, 2005). I blend information I gathered during interviews with five blind authors and ten blind participants with my autoethnography to illustrate how concepts can be applied to broader social issues, such as policies at agencies that provide guide dogs to blind individuals (Denzin, 2001; Ellis, 2002)

Blood-nervous Tissue Barriers In The Peripheral Nervous System

After years of investigation into blood-nervous tissue barriers controversies remain regarding the permeability of blood vessels to macromolecules in the enteric nervous system, the endoneurium of peripheral nerve, and the spaces between satellite cells and neurons in sensory and sympathetic ganglia.;The permeability of the above areas of the peripheral nervous system was investigated in rats using the following intravenously administered tracers: rhodamine-labelled bovine albumin; horseradish peroxidase; acriflavine and ethidium. The last two, which are fluorescent cationic dyes were shown to bind to serum proteins. In addition immunohistochemical staining for endogenous albumin was performed. One long-term study was done in which rhodamine-labelled bovine albumin was injected subcutaneously, once daily, for one week. With all these methods, it was possible to show that blood vessels in the brain were impermeable, whereas those in circumventricular organs were permeable, thus validating their application to regions in which the existence of permeable vessels was questionable.;Rhodamine-labelled bovine albumin was seen in all the extracellular spaces in sympathetic and sensory ganglia, even after short times in the circulation. The endoneurium of peripheral nerve contained this tracer only in rats in which it had been injected daily for one week. At no time did this fluorescent albumin enter the enteric ganglia. Positive immunohistochemical staining for endogenous albumin was present in the enteric nervous system, in the endoneurium of peripheral nerve, in the spaces between satellite cells and neurons in sensory ganglia, and around neurons in sympathetic ganglia. Horseradish peroxidase, which is present in the blood for about 5 minutes following intravenous injection, penetrated the enteric nervous system, and the extracellular spaces between satellite cells and neurons in sensory ganglia, but it did not enter the endoneurium of peripheral nerve. The fluorochromes acriflavine and ethidium entered enteric, sympathetic and sensory ganglia, but not the endoneurium of peripheral nerve.;In conclusion, the enteric nervous system, sympathetic and sensory ganglia are permeable to most circulating macromolecules. The endoneurium of peripheral nerve is permeable only to macromolecules that are present in the circulation for at least one week, so the transudation or diffusion in this tissue must occur more slowly than elsewhere. These permeabilities may explain how some pathogens enter the nervous system

Spatial and seasonal relationships between Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) and their prey, at multiple scales

Knowing where pinnipeds forage is vital to managing and protecting their populations, and for assessing potential interactions with fisheries. We assessed the spatial relationship between the seasonal distribution of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) outfitted with satellite transmitters and the seasonal distributions of potential harbor seal prey species in San Francisco Bay, California. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated between the number of harbor seal locations in an area of the San Francisco Bay and the abundance of specific prey species in the same area. The influence of scale on the analyses was assessed by varying the scale of analysis from 1 to 10 km. There was consistency in the prey species targeted by harbor seals year-round, although there were seasonal differences between the most important prey species. The highest correlations between harbor seals and their prey were found for seasonally abundant benthic species, located within about 10 km of the primary haul-out site. Probable foraging habitat for harbor seals was identified, based on areas with high abundances of prey species that were strongly correlated with harbor seal distribution. With comparable local data inputs, this approach has potential application to pinniped management in other areas, and to decisions about the location of marine reserves designed to protect these species