Dance/Movement Therapy and Nonverbal Communication Among Older Adults With Dementia: Development of a Method

Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder that affects many older adults. As it progresses, people slowly lose their verbal communication abilities. There is no known cure for dementia, and current treatments often fail to address the emotional and relational needs of the individual. This study builds on existing research by looking at how dance/movement therapy (DMT) may be an effective method for increasing nonverbal communication among the population living with dementia. DMT is a psychotherapy that prioritizes nonverbal modes of communication. DMT harnesses the power of movement and dance in relationship with clients. Two DMT sessions were conducted at an assisted living facility in the Boston metro area with 13 individuals diagnosed with various forms of dementia. A phenomenological analysis was conducted to analyze results from the researcher’s reflection journaling. Three key themes emerged from the data as being the most effective techniques employed by dance/movement therapists with this population: spatial proximity, verbal validation, and physical validation

A Medication Management Intervention Across Care Transitions

Accurate medication reconciliation with every transition of care is necessary to prevent and eliminate medication discrepancies and errors that may lead to increased hospital readmissions and potential adverse events related to medication errors. For the older population, this is especially important when considering the increasing rates of polypharmacy in this age group. This capstone project evaluated a nurse-led medication reconciliation program, including teaching after patient discharge from a hospital or facility to home, and coordination and communication with patient’s primary care provider. The project measured issues with medication reconciliation across care transitions at the individual, provider, system, and community levels, and the impact of nursing interventions through process and outcomes measures. The goals of the program are to support patient safety, improve patient ability to self-manage medication therapy independently or with family support, increase health care quality and perception of quality of life, and decrease health care costs. From a public health perspective, expansion of this nurse-led program model has potential for significant positive effect on health care management and outcomesacross a larger population

City, Nation, Network: Shifting Territorialities of Sovereignty and Urban Violence in Latin America

Cities across the global south are seeing unprecedented levels of violence that generate intense risks and vulnerability. Such problems are often experienced most viscerally among poorer residents, thus reinforcing longstanding socio-spatial conditions of exclusion, inequality, and reduced quality of life for those most exposed to urban violence. Frequently, these problems are understood through the lens of poverty, informality, and limited employment opportunities. Yet an undertheorized and equally significant factor in the rise of urban violence derives from the shifting territorialities of governance and power, which are both cause and consequence of ongoing struggles within and between citizens and state authorities over the planning and control of urban space. This article suggests that a relatively underexplored but revealing way to understand these dynamics, and how they drive violence, is through the lens of sovereignty. Drawing on examples primarily from Mexico, and other parts of urban Latin America, I suggest that problems of urban violence derive from fragmented sovereignty, a condition built upon the emergence of alternative, competing, and at times overlapping networks of territorial authority at the scale of the city, nation, and globe. In addition to theorizing the shifting spatial correlates of sovereignty among state and non-state armed actors, and showing how these dynamics interact with urbanization patterns to produce violence, I argue that the spatial form of the city both produces and is produced by changing political and economic relations embedded in urban planning principles. That is, urban planning practices must be seen as the cause, and not merely the solution, to problems of urban violence and its deleterious effects. Using these claims to dialogue with urban planners, this essay calls for new efforts to redesign cities and urban spaces with a focus on territorial connectivities and socio-spatial integration, so as to push back against the limits of fragmented sovereignty arrangements, minimize violence, and foster inclusion and justice

Job Titles, Tasks, and Experiences of Information Systems and Technologies Graduates from a Midwestern University

This study identified the job titles, tasks, and experiences of recent graduates of an Information Systems Technologies (IST) program of a four-year university in the Midwest. The job title and major job focus of the largest number of respondents fell in the technical/end user support area. The six tasks performed the most by the graduates were (1) providing technical/end user support, (2) installing software, (3) installing/maintaining computer devices, (4) managing information, (5) analyzing systems, and (6) maintaining/troubleshooting networks. The respondents indicated that Microsoft Windows NT was the operating system used the most and SQL was the programming language used by the majority of the companies. The top skills required for a position in the IS or IT field, according to the graduates, were: thinking skills, desire to learn, and personal characteristics

The literacy event horizon: Examining orality and literacy in Leslie Marmon Silko\u27s Ceremony

Applies James Gee\u27s concept of Discourses to illustrate how literacy and orality thematically constitute hybrid identity in Silko\u27s novel Ceremony. Then, applies Wallace Chafe\u27s linguistic framework of integration and involvement showing that the novel is a linguistic hybrid, not just a text that thematically elevates hybridity. Unlike other Native American authors who create half-breed characters merely as bridges between two cultures, Silko creates her character Tayo as an embodiment of an emergent hybrid culture

The self care experience among medical social workers

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-care experience among social workers in a medical setting. The findings from this study indicate that self-care strategies among social workers enable these workers to improve their well-being and increase their service effectiveness as professionals

A river runs between them: An instructional case in professional services provided by a CPA firm

This instructional case presents a realistic situation in which there is a request for professional services by a CPA firm. Two towns, Weston and Easton, are involved in a dispute over the costs of a shared wastewater treatment facility. The mayor of Easton believes his town has paid more than its agreed-upon share of the facility’s operating costs over the years. The mayor of Easton has approached a local CPA firm to “audit” the amount Easton has paid towards operation of the plant and determine the amount of the overpayment. Students are asked (1) to determine whether an audit can be performed, (2) if an audit cannot be performed, to decide what type of service is appropriate, (3) to research the applicable professional standards, (4) to assess whether the applicable standard

AN EXAMINATION OF ETHICS INSTRUCTION IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AN EXAMINATION OF ETHICS INSTRUCTION IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND ACCOUNTING DISCIPLINES

In light of several recent highly publicized unethical acts (e.g., unauthorized access of data, identity theft, and various other cybercrimes) in the field of information technology, there is a renewed sense of urgency for ethics education. The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) the ethics requirements established for undergraduate students in information systems and accounting, (2) the instructional methods used to teach ethics in these two disciplines, and (3) the content areas to be covered. An online survey was sent to a random sample of 213 Information Systems and Accounting instructors across the United States. There were 40 instructors who completed the survey for a response rate of 19%; 36 usable surveys from at least 28 different colleges were analyzed. Twenty-two percent of the respondents indicated they had a required ethics course taught within their department and 22% said they had an ethics requirement outside the department (some of these may have been the same respondents). The top two instructional methods used by the respondents were discussion (92%) and lecture (77%). The method they felt provided students with the best understanding of ethical issues was discussion (46%), then case studies (35%). The top two content areas the respondents felt should be included in ethics courses were (1) general ethical issues relating to fairness, honesty, respect, and integrity and (2) privacy and security of information