Fabula Mea

Through digital illustration, I intertwine my personal traumatic experiences with stories from both Greco-Roman and Norse mythology as a means to process and heal. My exhibition, titled Fabula Mea (which is Latin for “my myth”) aims to highlight the effects of abuse, and how I have taken steps to overcome my past experiences. Myths and folklore have been a special interest of mine for as long as I can remember, specifically of those I have a cultural connection to. These mythologies are laden with tales of struggle with a paternal figure, which is another reason I resonated with these stories. I use these retellings of history as a means of reclaiming my history, to make my own mythology of sorts. The illustrations featured within my exhibition combine both mythology and my past, in somewhat abstract ways. It may not be inherently clear on what sort of myth the work is based on or how certain works and imagery relate to my past experiences. This abstraction of the concepts and ideas within my work pushes the viewer in my story, making them dig deeper into the narrative in order to piece together the meaning. Considering the topics I focus on are quite intimate and emotional, I find that having my work be more obscure adds to the viewer’s connection, allowing their own emotions and experiences to be brought up and entwined to the work. Though I work in digital illustration, I draw a lot of my inspiration from painters, such as Hugh Steers. In his works, he uses subject matter and composition in a way I find quite interesting. Though not overly grotesque, the vulnerability and emotion he conveys is something that I do within my own work. His paintings feature heavy subjects such as sorrow and loss, which may or may not be perceived upon first glance. This level of intrigue and interaction is something that I embody within my own works, like in my Narcissus illustration. Though it is more gorey than Steers’s work, the piece is about self-sacrifice, and often having to give myself up in order to maintain perfection. I wanted this piece to have more intense imagery, but still represent the loss of one’s identity in a way that is not blatantly obvious. I also look at the work of Meredith Marsone. Though her work is very figure-heavy, I find that her use of texture and color are used in a way that compliments her work in a very unique way. She uses it in a way that marries the foreground and background, and sometimes even makes it look as if the figure and background are conjoined in a way. Marsone’s works also tend to lean into more melancholic and pensive imagery, but does it in a way that seems more intimate than Steers’s work. Marsone makes the viewer focus on the subject and its abstract surroundings, and doesn’t give us as much information to base our interpretation on. I find this emphasis on the subject really interesting, and is something I do within my own works to keep the viewer engaged. While each illustration has its own story behind it, this exhibition is meant to serve as a form of healing and processing. This show has been nearly a lifetime in the making, and has had its moments full of grief, anger, confusion, and sadness. Though these emotions feel all-consuming at some points, I strive to not let its roots take hold. This exhibition is proof of that; proof that I can overcome that which aims to control me.https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/1134/thumbnail.jp

The History and Promise of Formal Survey Analysis for Social Work

Since its inception social work has struggled with determining the function and status of research in the professional enterprise. The emergence of professional social work was concurrent with the major developments in the methodology of empirical social research and statistical analysis. To understand the current position of research in social work requires tracing back the origins of empirical research with special attention to its connection with the emergence of the social work profession. The efforts of the survey movement represent the first major attempt to introduce research methodology into the field of social work (Zimbalist, 1977; Young, 1949). In the following discussion I present a brief history of empirical social research, with an emphasis on survey analysis. The discussion examines research in the context of its linkage with social work. Interestingly enough, the separate histories of the social work profession and survey research have several common threads. In addition, I would like to draw out the utility of formal survey analysis to the task of social work

The Operation of Professional Journals in Social Work

The concern of this paper is a systematic examination of one of the major social structures developed to foster the growth and regulation of the knowledge construction enterprise in social work-the professional journal. The foci of the analyses are: 1) the normative criteria of editorial board members, 2) the characteristics of the editorial judges, and 3) the factors which influence editorial decision making

Improving the management and care of refugees in Australian hospitals: A descriptive study

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate healthcare provider perceptions of the impact of refugee patients at two public hospitals, one rural and one urban, in designated refugee resettlement areas. Healthcare professionals’ views regarding improvements that could be made in this area were also sought. Methods: Two page anonymous questionnaires containing demographic, quantitative and open-ended questions were distributed to 150 healthcare providers at each research site. Results: Response rates were 50% and 49% at the rural and urban sites respectively. Refugees were seen at least monthly by 40% of the respondents. Additional support was requested by 70% of respondents. Confidence was associated with being born overseas (p=0.029) and increased time working with refugees (rs=0.418, p\u3c0.001). Only 47% of respondents felt confident managing social and psychological needs of refugees. Midwives saw refugees more than nursing and allied healthcare staff combined and this was significant at the rural hospital (p\u3c0.001). Rural respondents reported that working with refugees enhanced their practice (p=0.025), although felt significantly less confident (p\u3c0.001) than urban respondents. Themes that arose regarding barriers to care included: language and cultural barriers, paucity of knowledge and issues accessing available services including appropriate interpreters, Medicare eligibility and patient factors including lack of patient trust in government systems. Desire for support was more pronounced in the rural setting (p=0.001). Conclusions: Refugees were seen frequently in both settings and most respondents requested additional support highlighting that caring for refugees in Australian hospitals is a significant challenge. Additional support and education should be targeted to those helping refugees most frequently, particularly midwifery services, to reduce barriers to care

Negative Arousal and its Influence on Memory Recall

Research suggests that “positive” stressors, such as energy from exercising or excitement, arouse the body and improves memory (Winter et. al, 2007). Although exercise is physically arousing and enhances retention, less is known about more “negative” stressors such as frustration. Past research has shown that acute stress enhances memory, despite elevated cortisol levels and heart rate (Henckens et. al, 2009). Frustration is described as an emotional reaction to stress (Fillauler et al, 2019), but is unknown how it affects memory processing. Since frustration often accompanies stressful experiences, it is important to further understand the effects of frustration, independently, in affecting memory responses. We used a character searching task known as “Where’s Waldo” that varied in difficulty level to elicit frustration in participants, and a list of twenty words that the participant had to attempt to recall. We predicted that frustration will increase heart rate and therefore, increase memory recall ability. We found that as participants got more frustrated through each character searching task, their ability to memorize and recall the list of words in the allotted time got better. The frustration they experienced influenced their heart to beat faster which made their memory recall ability better. Our intention was to invoke a feeling of frustration which can be a strong emotion. That strong emotion can be what is needed to help reach a physically arousing threshold that allows the brain to retain the information and be able to recall it

What Hillary Rodham Clinton really said about children's rights and child policy

As editors of a professional, scientific and scholarly journal in the children's field our interest is to promote fair, careful and objective discussion of children's issues. In this regard, we have been disturbed by recent efforts to misrepresent the views and contribution of Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of our colleagues in the children's field. In this paper we systematically analyze Hillary Rodham Clinton's writings and review her contribution. Her legal approach can best be described as conservative, arguing for judicial restraint with respect to state involvement in family life. Taking into account her work on behalf of children through the Children's Defense Fund we conclude that Hillary Rodham Clinton has been an important voice for the cause of children.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30351/1/0000753.pd

Supporting transplant athletes:perspectives on delivery of a sports performance and well-being service at the British Transplant Games

Evidence suggests that engaging in physical activity improves the mental and physical health of transplant recipients. An opportunity to be more active could be participating in the national and international network of Transplant Games. Although the literature on motivations for and the experience of taking part in the Games is available, little is known about what role applied practitioners, specifically sport and exercise psychologists could play as transplant recipients prepare and compete. This paper offers perspectives on the provision of a sports performance well-being service delivered at the British Transplant Games. The paper consists of several sections. The first offers background and how the service came into being. The second provides details of the model and philosophy that underpinned the service delivery. The third includes the trainee and exercise practitioner's casework and the challenges therein. Informed by the team's reflections and post-games survey the final section proposes recommendations for future applied sport and exercise services at this unique event

Effect of cytochrome P450 inhibition on toxicity of diclofenac in chickens : unravelling toxicity in Gyps vultures

DATA AVAILABILITY : (1) The original thesis with associated raw data is available on the University of Pretoria Repository, using the following handle; https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/75858. (2) The following figures have associated raw data: Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 2. (3) There are no restrictions on data availability and it can be requested from the corresponding author (S.L.).Diclofenac was responsible for the decimation of Gyps vulture species on the Indian subcontinent during the 1980s and 1990s. Gyps vultures are extremely sensitive (the lethal dose 50 [LD50] ~ 0.1 mg/kg – 0.2 mg/kg), with toxicity appearing to be linked to metabolic deficiency, demonstrated by the long T1/2 (~12 h – 17 h). This is in striking comparison to the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), in which the LD50 is ~10 mg/kg and the T1/2 is ~1 h. The phase 1 cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C subfamily has been cited as a possible reason for metabolic deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine if CYP2C9 homolog pharmacogenomic differences amongst avian species is driving diclofenac toxicity in Gyps vultures. We exposed each of 10 CYP-inhibited test group chickens to a unique dose of diclofenac (as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] toxicity testing guidelines) and compared the toxicity and pharmacokinetic results to control group birds that received no CYP inhibitor. Although no differences were noted in the LD50 values for each group (11.92 mg/kg in the CYP-inhibited test group and 11.58 mg/kg in the control group), the pharmacokinetic profile of the test group was suggestive of partial inhibition of CYP metabolism. Evaluation of the metabolite peaks produced also suggested partial metabolic inhibition in test group birds, as they produced lower amounts of metabolites for one of the three peaks demonstrated and had higher diclofenac exposure. This pilot study supports the hypothesis that CYP metabolism is varied amongst bird species and may explain the higher resilience to diclofenac in the chicken versus vultures.The University of Pretoria, Department of Paraclinical Studies.http://www.ojvr.orgam2023Paraclinical Science

A protocol for a scoping review of equity measurement in mental health care for children and youth

Background: Mental health (MH) problems are among the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for children and youth. Problems of lack of equity in child and youth MH services (CYMHS)-including, but not limited to, problems in inaccessibility and quality of services-are widespread. Characterizing the nature of equity in CYMHS is an ongoing challenge because the field lacks a consistent approach to conceptualizing equity. We will conduct a scoping review of how equity in MH services for children and youth has been defined, operationalized, and measured. Our objectives are to discover: (1) What conceptual definitions of equity are used by observational studies of CYMHS?; (2) What service characteristics of CYMHS care do indices of equity cover?; (3) What population dimensions have been used to operationalize equity?; (4) What statistical constructs have been used in indices that measure CYMHS equity?; and (5) What were the numerical values of those indices? Methods: The following databases will be searched: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, CINAHL, EconLit, and Sociological Abstracts. Searches will be conducted from the date of inception to the end of the last full calendar year (December 2019). Studies will be included if they include an evaluation of a mental health service for children or youth (defined as those under 19 years of age) and which quantify variation in some aspect of child or youth mental health services (e.g., accessibility, volume, duration, or quality) as a function of socio-demographic and/or geographic variables. Study selection will occur over two stages. Stage one will select articles based on title and abstract using the liberal-accelerated method. Stage two will review the full texts of selected titles. Two reviewers will work independently on full-text reviewing, with each study screened twice using pre-specified eligibility criteria. One reviewer will chart study characteristics and indices to be verified by a second reviewer. Reviewers will resolve full-text screening and data extraction disagreements through discussion. Synthesis of the collected data will focus on compiling and mapping the types and characteristics of the indices used to evaluate MH services equity. Discussion: The planned, systematic scoping review will survey the literature regarding how equity in MH services for children and youth has been operationalized and help inform future studies of equity in CYMHS. Systematic review registration: Open Science Foundation ID SYSR-D-19-00371, https://osf.io/58srv/