Conceptualizing College-Going Volition: Investigating Relationships with Barriers and Self-Efficacy in Rural Appalachia

High school students in rural Appalachia typically face a high degree of obstacles to college going and, because a large number of adults in this region have no postsecondary education, many high school students are prospective first-generation college students (PFGCSs). Using the tenets of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and psychology of working, I investigated college-going volition among a sample of 453 high school students in rural Appalachia. As predicted, PFGCSs reported significantly lower college-going volition than non-PFGCSs. I also investigated this construct in relation to other key SCCT variables. College-going volition was moderately negatively correlated with perceived educational barriers and it provided unique prediction of college-going self-efficacy when controlling for barriers. Contrary to my hypothesis, these two predictors did not interact in the prediction of college-going self-efficacy. Implications for an inclusive understanding of college-going are discussed

Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Candidate Turkey Dermatitis/Cellulitis Oil Emulsion Vaccine on Immune Response, Morbidity, and Mortality under Laboratory and Commercial Conditions

Alpha-toxigenic Clostridium septicum (CS), the cause of turkey cellulitis, results in devastating mortality with high costs for the industry. Various vaccinations have been evaluated to prevent this disease with moderate success. Ability of a CS bacterin-toxoid, in conjunction with adjuvants such as aluminum hydroxide, mannoslyated chitosan, or a water-in-oil Seppic Montanide 71 R VG adjuvant (OE) to induce immunity was evaluated in a 7-week study (Experiment 1). Poults (20/group) were vaccinated day-of-hatch, boosted at 5 weeks-of-age and compared to unvaccinated controls. Antibody titers were determined by ELISA for all experiments. In experiment 1, initial vaccination with OE resulted in significantly (P\u3c0.05) higher antibody titers at 5 weeks-of-age, and at 7 weeks-of-age OE resulted in numerically increased antibody titers compared to all vaccinated groups. Efficacy of the OE vaccine was then evaluated in two field trials (Experiment 2 and 3) with treatments including a non-vaccinated control group and a vaccinated group. Non-vaccinates were marked by removal of the dewclaw at the hatchery and comingled during growout (Experiment 2 and 3). Experiment 2 consisted of 3 houses: House 1 (HS1), House 2 (HS2), and House 3 (HS3). Mortality associated with cellulitis was recorded once the first case was observed. Blood samples were obtained at 8, 12, and 16 weeks-of-age. Antibody titers (S/P ratio) in vaccinated groups for weeks 12 and 16 were significantly higher (P\u3c0.05) than the control group for all 3 houses. In HS1 and HS2, low CS-associated mortality was observed and there was no significant difference in mortality/total (%) between control and vaccinated group. In HS3, unvaccinated mortality/total (%) was significantly (P\u3c0.001) higher than mortality in vaccinated turkeys. Experiment 3 consisted of 6 farms with 1-4 houses/farm. Vaccination significantly (P\u3c0.05) reduced CS-related mortalities as compared to controls in 5 of 6 farms in experiment 3 and antibody titers were significantly (P\u3c0.05) higher in vaccinated turkeys at 12 and 16 weeks for all 6 farms. Based on these results, W/O emulsion vaccines, such as this alpha-toxin bacterin-toxiod with Montanide 71 R VG adjuvant, can be used to increase antibody titers and may reduce related mortalities in the field

Internet as Digital Practice: Examining Differences in African American Internet Usage

This study assesses differences within the African American population with respect to internet activity. Using survey data, we find wide variations within the population. While some segments of African Americans are indeed less likely to perform certain activities on the internet, we note that certain segments of the African American population are reporting more internet activity than other racial groups. These ‘haves’ score high not just in comparison to their African American peers, but to the US American population as a whole. We suggest a move away from the digital divide/digital inequality models and a move towards thinking of greater or lesser Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage as conditioned by the instrumental needs of population groups. We term this a digital practice model

Evaluation of individual cognitive behaviour therapy for older people who are fearful of falling: A pilot study and clinical research portfolio

Objective: It has been found that 50% of older adults who fall will develop fear of falling. Group delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has been found to be effective in reducing fear of falling however, research has found that individually delivered CBT may be more effective and acceptable than group delivered CBT. This research is a preliminary study evaluating the effectiveness of an individually delivered CBT intervention for fear of falling in older adults compared to a control group receiving physiotherapy. The study also reports data on indicators of the acceptability and feasibility of CBT in this sample. Method: Eighteen participants were recruited from the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Falls Prevention Service and were allocated to either the CBT or control group according to the treatment site that they attended for the Falls Prevention Service. Measures of fear of falling, anxiety, and quality of life were compared within subjects and between groups at pre and post treatment. Results: On the measure of fear of falling, significant within subject differences for those who received the CBT and between subject differences compared to a group receiving standard physiotherapy were found. No differences were found within subjects or between groups on measures of anxiety or quality or life. The intervention was found to be acceptable to older adults and practical in terms of delivery. Discussion: Individually delivered CBT is an effective and feasible intervention for older adults who are fearful of falling and is more effective than standard physiotherapy. Future studies should aim to investigate if this beneficial effect is replicable

Sealing the Bond : A Qualitative Study of African American Funeral Rituals

Death is a universal phenomenon; yet, reactions to death are uniquely diverse. Handling the loss of a loved one has the potential to completely change how an individual sees their world, and their response to death can vary by race, religion, gender, and culture. The bereavement process in many ways is culturally guided, and understanding how culture guides the bereavement process through rituals is imperative. Despite cultural difference, responses to death within the academic community are only representative of one group of people. This study looks at funeral rituals seen within the African American community, and addresses possible meanings behind the rituals discussed. Through the use of focus groups participants were asked about their experiences while attending African American funerals the meaning behind specific rituals. It was found that within African American funerals there are certain acts that hold special significance for the community and work to strengthen the community. Funerals have a larger symbolic meaning to the African American community and those symbols and meanings are discussed within this study

Tegument Assembly and Secondary Envelopment of Alphaherpesviruses.

Alphaherpesviruses like herpes simplex virus are large DNA viruses characterized by their ability to establish lifelong latent infection in neurons. As for all herpesviruses, alphaherpesvirus virions contain a protein-rich layer called "tegument" that links the DNA-containing capsid to the glycoprotein-studded membrane envelope. Tegument proteins mediate a diverse range of functions during the virus lifecycle, including modulation of the host-cell environment immediately after entry, transport of virus capsids to the nucleus during infection, and wrapping of cytoplasmic capsids with membranes (secondary envelopment) during virion assembly. Eleven tegument proteins that are conserved across alphaherpesviruses have been implicated in the formation of the tegument layer or in secondary envelopment. Tegument is assembled via a dense network of interactions between tegument proteins, with the redundancy of these interactions making it challenging to determine the precise function of any specific tegument protein. However, recent studies have made great headway in defining the interactions between tegument proteins, conserved across alphaherpesviruses, which facilitate tegument assembly and secondary envelopment. We summarize these recent advances and review what remains to be learned about the molecular interactions required to assemble mature alphaherpesvirus virions following the release of capsids from infected cell nuclei.HSV-1 research in the laboratory of CMC is supported by the Leverhulme Trust (Grant RPG-2012-793) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant BB/M021424/1). SCG is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (Grant Number 098406/Z/12/Z)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from MDPI via http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v709286

Interventional Systems Ethnography and Intersecting Injustices: A New Approach for Fostering Reciprocal Community Engagement

Effectively addressing wicked problems requires collaborative, embedded action. But, in many cases, scholarly commitments, social justice, privilege, and precarity collide in ways that make it difficult for community-engaged scholars to ethically navigate competing duties. This article presents our efforts to support reciprocal community engagement in addressing cancer- obesity comorbidity and risk coincidence in underserved communities. Partnering with community healthcare professionals, we conducted an adapted Systems Ethnography/Qualitative Modeling (SEQM) study. SEQM offers an alternative ethical framework for community-engaged research, one that supports reciprocity through enabling participant-centered community self-definition, goal setting, and solution identification

Impact of alcohol on memory:a systematic review

This chapter reviews the literature in psychology on acute alcohol intoxication and memory. Special emphasis is placed on empirical studies that have systematically examined alcohol’s effects on memory performance in forensic contexts. Three aspects of memory performance are considered, including memory accuracy (i.e. the ability of the complainant to accurately distinguish between correct and incorrect information about the crime), memory reliability (i.e. the probability that information recalled by the complainant at a given level of certainty is correct), and completeness (i.e. the quantity of information reported by the complainant). The review also documents the major theoretical perspectives on memory and acute alcohol intoxication. A total of 19 studies are reviewed. The results show that different memory performance measures are relevant depending on whether we are policy makers formulating interview guidance or decision makers evaluating the strength of memory evidence in a given case. Overall, the research to date indicates that acute alcohol intoxication during rape affects the completeness, but not the accuracy and reliability of what is remembered