Nicole Fox, Assistant Professor of Sociology, travels to the United Nations Headquarters, NYC

It is with deep gratitude that I wish to thank the Center for International Education for supporting my recent travel to the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York, to present at the 59thCommission for the Status of Women (CSW59). This was a particularly exciting meeting as it was the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Conference, where UN delegates prepared a Platform for Action that worked to achieve greater equality and opportunity for women globally

How to Frame a Picture: A Digital Humanities Toolbox for Enhancing Visual Literacy Instruction

Teaching visual literacy isn’t always part of the bigger information literacy ‘picture’. “How to Frame a Picture” is a poster presentation that endeavors to help instruction librarians integrate more visual literacy instruction into their information literacy curriculum through the use of digital humanities tools. Each ACRL Visual Literacy standard is mapped to a curated selection of digital tools and sample projects, and attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the ‘toolbox’

Restoring Female Agency: Wicked as a Feminist Fairy-Tale Revision

One method of promoting gender equality that has gained popularity in recent years involves revising the fairy tales, primarily the ones compiled and revised by Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Anderson, and the Grimm brothers, to create versions in which the female characters have agency and purpose outside of furthering patriarchal gender ideals. The primary goal of the feminist fairy-tale revision is to give the female characters agency, not because they are women, but because they are functioning characters within the story. While there are many authors who attempt to create fairy-tale revisions that embody a feminist perspective, not all are successful, and some do even more harm than good in their attempts. This thesis argues that Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West stands as an effective feminist fairy-tale revision because its female protagonist possesses the agency to explore her gender identity, to pursue education, and to influence the world around her with violent actions. By presenting Elphaba’s life and choices without judgment or apology, Maguire creates a fairy-tale revision that encapsulates the message that so many feminist revisionists have failed to convey: the female protagonist deserves agency not merely because she is female, but because she is a fully-developed person

Observational Play Assessment in Recreational Therapy (OPART): Applications for the Validation of Assessment in Recreational Therapy

The need for standardized assessments in healthcare is rapidly growing as new discoveries are made. In the field of Recreational Therapy (RT), there are primarily agency specific developed assessments that have not yet been analyzed and proven reliable or valid1. As a growing occupation, it is critical that RT assessments are evaluated to provide evidence of the effectiveness of treatment. This study analyzed the reliability and validity of a new RT Assessment, the Observational Play Assessment in Recreational Therapy (OPART). The assessment was designed to provide recreational therapists the opportunity to assess levels of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills of children with disabilities while observed in play settings. Reliability and validity evidence was generated through the comparison of the OPART to another psychometrically sound assessment used in RT, the Comprehensive Evaluation in Recreation Therapy (CERT). Results suggested that the OPART had some evidence of interrater reliability (overall % agreement = .73; section agreement ranging from .60-.87%) with higher agreements when measuring functional skills with physical attributes (e.g., gross motor skills, fine motor skills, endurance/weakness). The OPART had some evidence of convergent validity with overall (rs= .611; p=.016) and adjusted (rs = .738; p=.002) scores when compared with the CERT. Further analysis of individual sub-sections of the OPART with the CERT suggested limited evidence of convergent validity as only one of the four sections approached statistical significance. The OPART also demonstrated some evidence of predictive validity in its’ ability to accurately classify the functional level of the participants when compared to those assigned by staff familiar with individuals observed. The OPART was accurate in 8/15 (53.3%) cases while the standardized CERT was slightly more accurate at classifying participants in 9/15 (60.0%) cases. Overall, the OPART had some evidence of convergent validity with the CERT in terms of adjusted scores (rs=.738; p= .002) and total scores (rs=.611; p= .016) with total scores. While this initial step to validate a new instrument was promising, it is clear that significant development and validation is indicated. Recommendations and future considerations are provided for the validation of agency specific RT assessments

The Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Syndecan Is an In Vivo Ligand for the Drosophila LAR Receptor Tyrosine Phosphatase

Background: Receptor tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs) are essential for axon guidance and synaptogenesis in Drosophila. Each guidance decision made by embryonic motor axons during outgrowth to their muscle targets requires a specific subset of the five neural RPTPs. The logic underlying these requirements, however, is still unclear, partially because the ligands recognized by RPTPs at growth cone choice points have not been identified. RPTPs in general are still “orphan receptors” because, while they have been found to interact in vitro with many different proteins, their in vivo ligands are unknown. Results: Here we use a new type of deficiency screen to identify the transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan Syndecan (Sdc) as a ligand for the neuronal RPTP LAR. LAR interacts with the glycosaminoglycan chains of Syndecan in vitro with nanomolar affinity. Genetic interaction studies using Sdc and Lar LOF mutations demonstrate that Sdc contributes to LAR’s function in motor axon guidance. We also show that overexpression of Sdc on muscles generates the same phenotype as overexpression of LAR in neurons and that genetic removal of LAR suppresses the phenotype produced by ectopic muscle Sdc. Finally, we show that there is at least one additional, nonproteoglycan, ligand for LAR encoded in the genome. Conclusions: Taken together, our results demonstrate that Sdc on muscles can interact with neuronal LAR in vivo and that binding to Sdc increases LAR’s signaling efficacy. Thus, Sdc is a ligand that can act in trans to positively regulate signal transduction through LAR within neuronal growth cones

Narratives of Mass Violence: The Role of Memory and Memorialization in Addressing Human Rights Violations in Post-Conflict Rwanda and Uganda

This paper explores the question of what do Rwandans and Ugandans working on memorialization initiatives deem important when discussing the role of individual and collective memory in the aftermath of mass violence and human rights violations. Social scientists and human rights scholars have asserted the importance of memory in both reconciliation and healing after mass violence. However, it is difficult to determine the most appropriate way to facilitate reconciliation between groups who previously raped, stole from or killed one another, as there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. While policies cannot remedy the murder of one’s family, scholars, activists and practitioners argue that some action must be taken post-violence in order to address the trauma of these human rights violations (Caruth 1995; Gobodo-Madikizela 2009; Shaw 2010; VillaVicencio 2009). One type of reconciliation policy that has been generated in the wake of mass atrocity has been the formation of “memory committees” or individuals and organizations that work to support and promote memorialization efforts that aid both in remembering and providing redress for human rights violations. This project draws on interviews conducted by the authors with memory committee and organization members who actively engage in memory work in the Great Lakes region in Africa, specifically in Rwanda and Uganda. By understanding and analyzing the narratives of stakeholders in post-violence memory work, international and local actors can work to support effective processes on the ground in order to facilitate reconciliation