Indigeneity In Space Governance Discussions: Centering Indigenous Knowledges Beyond Earth

Space policy and space law are expanding fields given the recent boom of commercial space flight, yet we hear less about space governance. These conversations are happening, but the discussions generally replicate western democratic practice with little input from other knowledge traditions, despite recent socio-political strain seen in senior democracies.This work focusses the discussion on missing voices. Those of the many Indigenous cultures that have routinely been silenced from terrestrial governance discussions. These voices, however, reflect thousands of years of collective knowledge of managing societies in a holistic manner. Some of these societies have developed in areas considered extreme environments and established practices that may prove more conducive to fostering sustainable communities off-Earth. A comparison between IK-informed governance and western governance methods facing complex problem-sets such as climate change, is used as a broad proxy assessment of each modality’s resiliency, sustainability, and adaptability to change in complex environments such as space

Backward Walking: A Novel Marker Of Fall Risk, Cognitive Dysfunction, And Myelin Damage In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, neurologic disease of the central nervous system that causes debilitating motor, sensory and cognitive impairments. As a result, persons with MS are at an increased risk for falls and falls represent a serious public health concern for the MS population. The current clinical measures used to assess fall risk in MS patients lack sensitivity and predictive validity for falls and are limited in their ability to capture to multiple functional domains (i.e., motor, sensory, cognitive and pathological domains) that are impaired by MS. Backward walking sensitively detects falls in the elderly and other neurologic diseases. However, backward walking and falls has never been explored in the MS population and the underlying reasons as to why backward walking sensitively detects falls remains unknown. Identification of a quick, simply and clinically feasible fall risk measures related to multiple functions impacted by MS and related to fall risk, which can detect falls before they occur is critical for fall prevention and timely and targeted intervention. Therefore, this dissertation examines backward walking as a novel marker of fall risk and its cognitive and pathological underpinnings to support its clinical utility. Our results indicate that backward walking is a sensitive marker of fall risk in the MS population, regardless of co-morbid cognitive deficits, and that examining underlying brain regions likely to contribute to backward walking performance including the corticospinal tract, corpus callosum and cerebellum, with neuroimaging tools sensitive to myelin (i.e., Myelin Water Imaging) demonstrate potential to identify underlying mechanisms of backward walking performance in the MS population. This work is the critical first step in establishing backward walking as a sensitive marker of fall risk for the MS population and leads the way to more personalized fall prevention therapies and interventions to improve clinical outcomes and decrease fall rates in the MS population

Employment Law

Virginia has historically been regarded as an employer-friendly jurisdiction. However, in recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an increasing number of opinions that tend to favor employees. With a state legislature largely reluctant to interfere in the employer-employee relationship, developments in employment law generally occur via Fourth Circuit jurisprudence. Given the predominance of federal employment law in Virginia, the following discussion regarding developments in this practice area focuses less on state statutes and courts, and more on decisions handed down from the federal bench. This Article provides an update on recent developments in employment law in Virginia.1 It does not attempt to capture every change in the law, but instead focuses on significant developments in this arena. Part I of the Article discusses noteworthy shifts in Fourth Circuit jurisprudence regarding: the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Part II of the Article contains a brief update on state-specific statutory and case law developments regarding military leave, data privacy, employee access to personnel records, and Virginia’s unique flavor of wrongful termination— Bowman claims

Improving Syphilis Follow-up Rates: A Quality Improvement Project

San Diego County has seen a rise in the number of syphilis cases over the past decade. Syphilis is relatively simple to treat, but requires close serological monitoring to ensure the patient received adequate treatment. Repeat serological testing should be completed at 3 months for patients diagnosed with primary and secondary syphilis. The patient population at a public health clinic in San Diego County has a poor rate of compliance with follow-up appointments (7%). Patient reminders are known to improve patient adherence with follow-up visits. The goal of this project was to incorporate patient reminder cards and patient education to improve follow-up rates among those diagnosed with primary and secondary syphilis

Communicating in Complex Situations: A Normative Approach to HIV-Related Talk Among Parents Who Are HIV+

Parents with HIV/AIDS are confronted with unique challenges when discussing HIV-related information with their children. Strategies for navigating these challenges effectively have not been systematically examined. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 76 parents with HIV/AIDS who had children ages 10–18 years. Guided by O\u27Keefe and Delia\u27s definition of a complex communication situation and Goldsmith\u27s normative approach to interpersonal communication, we examined parents’ goals for discussing HIV-related information, factors that made conversations challenging, and instances where these conversational purposes conflicted with one another. Our data reveal the following parent–adolescent communication predicaments: relaying safety information about HIV while minimizing child anxiety, modeling open family communication without damaging one\u27s parental identity, and balancing parent–child relational needs amid living with an unpredictable health condition. Parents also described a variety of strategies for mitigating challenges when discussing HIV-related topics. Strategies parents perceived as effective included reframing HIV as a chronic, manageable illness; keeping talk educational; and embedding HIV-related topics within more general conversations. The theoretical and practical applications of these findings are discussed with regard to their relevance to health communication scholars and HIV care professionals

The Role of Behavioral and Cognitive Cultural Orientation on Mexican American College Students’ Life Satisfaction

We examined the role of behavioral (acculturation and enculturation) and cognitive cultural orientation (independent and interdependent self-construal) on Mexican American college students’ life satisfaction. Analyses explained 28% of the variance in life satisfaction, with social class, grade point average, and independent self-construal being unique predictors. Furthermore, enculturation was associated with increasing life satisfaction among those low in interdependent self-construal, whereas acculturation was associated with decreasing life satisfaction among those high in independent self-construal. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Recital Program

Utah State University\u27s Youth Conservatory students perform. Featuring the students of Erin Astill, Dennis Hirst, and Kevin Olson.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1142/thumbnail.jp