Electronic delivery of information: the changing face of legal structures [keynote]

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The Classes And The Masses: Exploring Britain’s Evolving Notion Of Class During The Great War

The First World War—or, the Great War, as it is commonly referred to in Britain— was a turning point of the twentieth century. Those who lived through the war saw their world transformed. National borders were redrawn; political ideals were shaken; and future certainties became less certain. The horrors of the fighting left many traumatized, as antiquated battlefield tactics and modern warfare technology clashed with catastrophic results. Traditional notions of heroic, single combat were replaced with an impersonal, mechanized destruction, the result of which was the killing of approximately fifteen million people (Puchner 1682). To many, the changes heralded by the war were unbelievable: literary giant Henry James could not believe that the years of prosperity leading up to the war ended in such a disastrous climax (713). The war’s vastness, brutality, and mechanization also helped destroy many nineteenth century social ideals. Looking back at her war experience, Vera Brittain remarked that the war “will make a big division of ‘before’ and ‘after’ in the history of the world, almost if not quite as big as the ‘B.C.’ and ‘A.D.’ division made by the birth of Christ” (Brittain 317). Noted World War One historian Paul Fussell feels the war left “a deep diving line” across the twentieth century, with the post-war world appearing “recognizably ‘modern,’ its institutions precarious, its faith feeble, its choices risky, its very landscapes perverted into Waste Land” (Introduction vii). The literary world reflected many of these changes. In fact, a strong argument could be made that the war era fueled the modernist literary movement. Many works of modernism confront the war and its aftereffects: the horrors of war in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms (1929), the hypocrisy of nationalism in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), the social and moral complexities of wartime Britain in Ford’s Parade’s End tetralogy (1924-28), the plight of a shell-shocked veteran in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway (1925), the alienation of modernity in Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” (1922), and so on. Many more works draw inspiration from the war and its unsettling nature, and it is clear that the war roused the literary imagination. Study of this literary period underscores how the war helped create a modern and fragmented world. Even though there is much analysis of the modern period, and though much has been gleaned about how the works of modernism reflect a war-changed world, there is one area that merits further investigation: the evolving notion of class in wartime Britain

History of Concussion Research in American Football

Concussions have been the topic of discussion in the news and media in recent years for their profound impact on today’s sport industry. Athletes have become bigger, faster, and stronger then in the past, increasing the chance of injury. This can been seen in all sports. Contact sports specifically have seen a rise in mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs) over the years. Extensive research has been done to determine the causes of concussion, the short and long term effects of brain injury, and better ways to reduce the risk in sports. Concussion research in athletics has mainly focused on American football. The nature of the sport causes an increased occurrence of concussion then other sports. In the NFL, between 2000 and 2004, concussions were the fifth most commonly occurring injury. Even with the research performed, concussion rates are still increasing, showing the need for more research

THE PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGERS REGARDING STRENGTHS AND GAPS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF GENERATION Z EMPLOYEES

The purpose of the qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of organizational managers in the north central Florida area regarding the strengths and gaps in knowledge and skills of Generation Z employees. Generation Z is defined in the study as individuals born between the years 1997-2012. Managers of seven occupations, including a state prison facility, first responder, retail, restaurant, transport refrigeration, and grocery industries were asked open-ended questions and personally interviewed to determine any perceived strengths or gaps in the knowledge and skills of the employees falling into the Generation Z cohort. Strengths reported by the managers concerning Generation Z employees were that some employees were technologically savvy, can multi-task, and will take on a challenge that has a clear personal benefit. The gaps noted by the managers included that some Generation Z employees demonstrated poor work ethic, an inability to solve problems quickly, and minimal respect for others. The data were analyzed, and four themes emerged: technology, communication, life skills, and work ethic. Further research could investigate workforce dynamics as the Generation Z employees establish mutually beneficial relationships with their managers in the workplace environment. Additional research may include determining if training programs should be developed to narrow any gaps of knowledge and skills of Generation Z employees perceived by the managers prior to the employees entering the workforce

Anorexia Nervosa: Benefits of Recovery-Oriented Websites

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a mental illness with serious physical, psychological, interpersonal, social, and economic consequences. AN is difficult to treat, with affected individuals experiencing symptoms after treatment completion. Recovery-oriented AN discussion boards are online forums on which individuals with AN can communicate with the goal of promoting their recovery. Using inclusion criteria, the author selected Mirasol, Something Fishy, Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), and PsychForums. The research questions asked were: (a) What are the themes of recovery-oriented AN Internet discussion boards? (b) What types of support can be found on the boards? (c) How frequently are potentially \u27triggering\u27 materials posted on websites? and (d) What are the responses of site moderators to potentially triggering materials posted on the websites? Through the qualitative method of thematic analysis, themes and subthemes emerged from the exchanges among website users. The 10 themes were: Symptom Severity and Eating Disorder Thoughts; Advice and Suggestions; Forum Support; Unpleasant Emotions; Recovery, Improvement, and Motivation; Treatment; Requests; Interpersonal Issues; Insights; and Benefits of the Website and Gratitude. Other themes of support included Challenges/Confrontations and Information. Something Fishy and ANAD contained high levels of support and relatively few potentially triggering statements. Mirasol and PsychForums indicated high frequencies of potentially triggering posts. The presence of forum moderators did not substantially influence the frequency with which triggering material was posted. The interpretation of the themes and subthemes indicated that clients in treatment for AN may benefit from participating in select websites by becoming more motivated in treatment and maintaining treatment gains between sessions. Careful selection of websites, with the guidance of therapists, could help AN individuals reduce their reliance on defense mechanisms, provide a facilitative environment of peers, generate some of the therapeutic factors of group therapy, and challenge the distorted thinking of availability heuristics. Limitations included absence of diagnostic homogeneity among participants; a small time-limited sample of comments; and lack of representation of individuals who do not have Internet access, such as, those who are rural, poor, uneducated, and some racial and ethnic minorities. Future research could address client utilization of recovery-oriented websites as an adjunct to effective psychotherapy treatment