HIV in the Heartland: Experiences of Living with HIV in Urban and Rural Areas of the Midwest

Scholarly research on HIV/AIDS and stigma has largely demonstrated a different experience for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) who inhabit urban and rural areas. Largely missing from this scholarship are experiences in low prevalence areas. Low prevalence areas typically have fewer resources, social networks, and HIV infection and prevalence is less common. In this paper, we examine the challenges PLWHAs in rural and urban areas of the Midwest face and how these individuals manage, respond, and combat HIV/AIDS related stigmas in their communities. This paper utilizes interview data to understand the lived experiences of 18 persons living with HIV and AIDS. This paper reveals that respondents in rural areas are likely to be geographically dispersed, struggle with accessing healthcare services, believe their communities are less tolerant, and are less likely to disclose their positive status or seek out social support. Respondents who lived in urban areas were more likely to disclose their positive status, have access to AIDS service organizations and social support, and to participate in advocacy in the “HIV Community.” Our study demonstrates how social and community context are agentic players in shaping life chances, decisions, and behavior of the PLWHAs we interviewed

Atom--Molecule Coherence in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Coherent coupling between atoms and molecules in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) has been observed. Oscillations between atomic and molecular states were excited by sudden changes in the magnetic field near a Feshbach resonance and persisted for many periods of the oscillation. The oscillation frequency was measured over a large range of magnetic fields and is in excellent quantitative agreement with the energy difference between the colliding atom threshold energy and the energy of the bound molecular state. This agreement indicates that we have created a quantum superposition of atoms and diatomic molecules, which are chemically different species.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Comment Re: Non-Compete Clause Rulemaking, Matter No. P201200

Within signed law professors and law students submitted this letter to the Federal Trade Commission, writing in their individual capacities, not as agents of their affiliated institutions, in support of the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule to ban most non-compete clauses (the “Proposal”) as an unfair method of competition. This letter offers comments in response to areas where the FTC has requested public comment. To make our views clear, this letter contains the following sections: I. Summary of the Proposal; II. The Commission Should Consider Expanding Its Definition of Non-Compete Clauses to Prevent Employers from Requiring Workers to Quit Before Seeking Alternative Employment; III. Non-Compete Clauses Are Unfair Methods of Competition; IV. Non-Compete Clauses Negatively Impact Workers and Their Families; V. The Proposed Rule Protects Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs; and VI. The Commission Should Consider a Factor Test for Its Unfairness Analysis for Senior Executive

GAMA/G10-COSMOS/3D-HST: The 0<z<5 cosmic star-formation history, stellar- and dust-mass densities

We use the energy-balance code MAGPHYS to determine stellar and dust masses, and dust corrected star-formation rates for over 200,000 GAMA galaxies, 170,000 G10-COSMOS galaxies and 200,000 3D-HST galaxies. Our values agree well with previously reported measurements and constitute a representative and homogeneous dataset spanning a broad range in stellar mass (10^8---10^12 Msol), dust mass (10^6---10^9 Msol), and star-formation rates (0.01---100 Msol per yr), and over a broad redshift range (0.0 < z < 5.0). We combine these data to measure the cosmic star-formation history (CSFH), the stellar-mass density (SMD), and the dust-mass density (DMD) over a 12 Gyr timeline. The data mostly agree with previous estimates, where they exist, and provide a quasi-homogeneous dataset using consistent mass and star-formation estimators with consistent underlying assumptions over the full time range. As a consequence our formal errors are significantly reduced when compared to the historic literature. Integrating our cosmic star-formation history we precisely reproduce the stellar-mass density with an ISM replenishment factor of 0.50 +/- 0.07, consistent with our choice of Chabrier IMF plus some modest amount of stripped stellar mass. Exploring the cosmic dust density evolution, we find a gradual increase in dust density with lookback time. We build a simple phenomenological model from the CSFH to account for the dust mass evolution, and infer two key conclusions: (1) For every unit of stellar mass which is formed 0.0065---0.004 units of dust mass is also formed; (2) Over the history of the Universe approximately 90 to 95 per cent of all dust formed has been destroyed and/or ejected

Short-term inhibition of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 reversibly improves spatial memory but persistently impairs contextual fear memory in aged mice

AbstractHigh glucocorticoid levels induced by stress enhance the memory of fearful events and may contribute to the development of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. In contrast, elevated glucocorticoids associated with ageing impair spatial memory. We have previously shown that pharmacological inhibition of the intracellular glucocorticoid-amplifying enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) improves spatial memory in aged mice. However, it is not known whether inhibition of 11β-HSD1 will have any beneficial effects on contextual fear memories in aged mice. Here, we examined the effects of UE2316, a selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor which accesses the brain, on both spatial and contextual fear memories in aged mice using a vehicle-controlled crossover study design.Short-term UE2316 treatment improved spatial memory in aged mice, an effect which was reversed when UE2316 was substituted with vehicle. In contrast, contextual fear memory induced by foot-shock conditioning was significantly reduced by UE2316 in a non-reversible manner. When the order of treatment was reversed following extinction of the original fear memory, and a second foot-shock conditioning was given in a novel context, UE2316 treated aged mice (previously on vehicle) now showed increased fear memory compared to vehicle-treated aged mice (previously on UE2316). Renewal of the original extinguished fear memory triggered by exposure to a new environmental context may explain these effects. Thus 11β-HSD1 inhibition reverses spatial memory impairments with ageing while reducing the strength and persistence of new contextual fear memories. Potentially this could help prevent anxiety-related disorders in vulnerable elderly individuals

The overtaking of undertaking: feminization and the changing gender type of funeral directing

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social WorkChardie L. BairdDespite the predictions that the influence of women into male-dominated fields would eventually eliminate women’s disadvantaged positions in paid work, most research finds that feminization results in the reconfiguration of gender inequality. These studies tended to investigate the material consequences and conditions of feminization and how the “gendering” of the occupation develops to justify the reconfiguration of inequality. Scholarship has begun to examine how individuals in occupations negotiate the existing occupational gender-type and how this shapes gender inequality in feminizing occupations. My dissertation takes up this call by looking at the relationship between gender-typing (i.e., how occupations or jobs come to be understood as appropriate for men or women) and feminization (i.e., women in a formerly male-dominated occupation) in the funeral industry. The funeral industry has traditionally been a male-dominated and gender-typed masculine occupation; however, since the 1970s funeral directing has been experiencing feminization. In recent history, women were not seen as appropriate for funeral directing. They were considered too physically and emotionally “unfit;” however, the movement of women into the occupation complicates how funeral directing was traditionally gender-typed. Using text excerpts about gender (n=101) from 35 funerary trade journal articles ranging from 1995-2013, my dissertation explores competing cultural beliefs about gender at the occupational-level (“old boy,” gender essential, gender blind, and gender-progressive) accompanying women’s movement into funeral directing. Through semi-structured interviews with twenty (11 women, 9 men) mortuary science students who are studying to become funeral directors and twenty-two (13 women, 9 men) licensed funeral directors, I explore how these occupational scripts about gender affect workplaces in terms of the workplace experiences (practices and hiring, the division of labor, relations between employees and supervisors) and educational experiences (occupational entry, structure and training); and how current and future funeral directors negotiate cultural gender beliefs about funeral directing to challenge existing explanations and create new explanations about women’s suitability for funeral directing. My findings indicate that occupational cultural beliefs about gender are both reproduced and challenged in workplace and educational settings and in how students and funeral directors negotiate cultural gender beliefs

HIV in the heartland: negotiating disclosure, stigma, & the HIV community

Master of ArtsDepartment of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social WorkDana M. BrittonEven after 28 years the AIDS epidemic continues to affect the American population and HIV/AIDS remains a social problem. Living with HIV affects every aspect of an individual’s life. It involves a personal negotiation at the onset of diagnosis, a social negotiation when one decides to disclose to others, and finally, a communal negotiation when individuals seek formal support via ASOs (AIDS service organizations), and/or informal support through family members and friends. The purpose of this research is to investigate these negotiations over the course of HIV infection, how these processes inform decisions to disclose, how stigma influences lived experiences, and the importance of the HIV community. The data come from eighteen HIV+ individuals, ten men and eight women, living in various locations throughout the Midwest. Drawing on the experiences of these men and women, I explore reactions after diagnosis, disclosure patterns, experiences of stigma, and the importance of the HIV community

Cultural Consciousness

This presentation explores how identity shapes our life chances, everyday choices, behaviors, belief systems, and interaction with others in American society. This information will help us create more inclusive classrooms, better connect to students, and be better teachers.https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/fclectures_2022/1009/thumbnail.jp