Examining PTSD Symptoms and the Effectiveness of Group Therapy Among African American and Caucasian Veterans

Millions of Americans have served in the military, and improved survival rates in wars have increased the percentage of those who return home. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for veterans. Although few studies have examined the link, previous research as well as the minority stress model and transgenerational trauma theories, suggest that race may be associated with PTSD, particularly in military samples. The current study examined whether there were differences in PTSD symptomology (global and symptom cluster-specific) based on veterans’ race and whether group therapy effectively reduced symptoms of PTSD. Data were collected from male veterans who identified as non-Hispanic Caucasian or non-Hispanic African American (N = 450) and participated in a 10-week, combat-related, group therapy PTSD Recovery Program between 2010 and 2014. Participants completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist- Military version (PCL-M) measure at three time points (intake, pre-treatment, and post-treatment). Global PTSD symptoms and three of the four symptom clusters did not differ between African American and Caucasian participants at intake. However, the symptom cluster of re-experiencing was higher for African Americans compared to Caucasians at intake. Additionally, the Recovery Program led to a reduction in PCL-M scores. This symptom reduction occurred regardless of race, with neither racial group improving more than the other. Moreover, dropout rates for the Recovery Program were on par or better than those for other trauma-focused therapies. Although the overall racial and ethnic composition of groups was not related to most outcomes, the percentage of racial/ethnic minority members in groups was negatively associated with the number of sessions attended for Caucasians. Findings also indicated that the PCL-M demonstrated good psychometric properties in an African American sample. One implication from this study is that the current conceptualization and measurement of PTSD may be insufficient. It may be more helpful to examine specific PTSD symptom clusters, especially when assessing differences by race. The effectiveness of the PTSD Recovery Program supports alternative options to treating veterans with PTSD in the VA system. Last, it is important for therapists to consider the composition of groups when conducting group therapy

AvaSure: Remote Patient Video Monitoring to Enhance Safety

AvaSure is a 24/7 live video monitoring software used for hospitalized patients to ensure their safety while alone in the room. A TeleSitter watches the footage and can speak to the patients directly, reminding them to stay in bed, aiming to reduce safety incidences such as falls. The TeleSitter can alarm the nurse when a patient begins to get up or pull at their IV site. This project was our Nursing Capstone topic that we presented at Danbury Hospital on a medical unit that utilizes AvaSure

Between Philosophy and Art

Similarity and difference, patterns of variation, consistency and coherence: these are the reference points of the philosopher. Understanding experience, exploring ideas through particular instantiations, novel and innovative thinking: these are the reference points of the artist. However, at certain points in the proceedings of our Symposium titled, Next to Nothing: Art as Performance, this characterisation of philosopher and artist respectively might have been construed the other way around. The commentator/philosophers referenced their philosophical interests through the particular examples/instantiations created by the artist and in virtue of which they were then able to engage with novel and innovative thinking. From the artists’ presentations, on the other hand, emerged a series of contrasts within which philosophical and artistic ideas resonated. This interface of philosopher-artist bore witness to the fact that just as art approaches philosophy in providing its own analysis, philosophy approaches art in being a co-creator of art’s meaning. In what follows, we discuss the conception of philosophy-art that emerged from the Symposium, and the methodological minimalism which we employed in order to achieve it. We conclude by drawing out an implication of the Symposium’s achievement which is that a counterpoint to Institutional theories of art may well be the point from which future directions will take hold, if philosophy-art gains traction

What We Don\u27t Know Can Help Us: Eliciting Out-of-Discipline Knowledge for Work with Intractable Conflicts

In this article, the authors present the results of a study in which a diverse variety of experts in fields outside the traditional conflict domain were interviewed about their ideas regarding intractable conflicts. The purpose of this study was to gather frame-breaking insights and practical approaches that could shed new light on complex, persistent conflict that has been particularly resistant to resolution. The authors argue that outsiders to the field are more likely to provide fresh perspective and radical approaches to the conflict field’s most intransigent problems because they are not constrained by the field’s pre-existing normative frames. This article examines some of their findings—from ideas on how globalization has exacerbated intractable conflicts, to ways that Biblical metaphors can be used to promote reconciliation, to an analysis of how philosophical concepts such as morality and impartiality can be used to produce fair outcomes, to ideas on the creation of an independent, international regional facilitation corps. In addition to a summary of content findings, methodological recommendations for future similar studies are offered

Inhalant Use by Canadian Aboriginal Youth

While inhalant abuse is a significant problem among Canada’s Aboriginal (indigenous) people, it is poorly understood. This study was conducted in response to these issues. The authors followed 78 Aboriginal young people who received treatment for inhalant abuse in a program established by the federal government. Data were based on a secondary analysis of case files as well as follow-up information from community workers. Seventy-four percent of the 78 young people tracked during follow- up relapsed after discharge from treatment. Many of the young people came from backgrounds marked by isolation, poverty, family violence and substance abuse. The average age these young people started using solvents was 9.72 years. Gasoline was the most common inhalant used. Inhalant use was often accompanied by alcohol and drug abuse. A logistic regression model predicting who would relapse indicated that young people who abused inhalants immediately before admission, those who were described as unmotivated in treatment and those who were hospitalized during treatment had the greatest risk of relapsing during follow-up. Implications are discussed

A pre-evaluation of British public opinion on the London 2012 Olympics based on sport participation types

As recalled by Girginov and Hills (2008), one ambitious aim in staging the London 2010 Olympics concerns sports development and participation legacy. According to them, this objective comes from both the IOC‟s will to create positive legacies from the Games and the promotion of sports-for-all in the host country, and the bid committee and the UK government‟s will to “use the games to inspire the country‟s people to become more physically active” (p.2092). However, as observed by Coalter (2004), the positive impact of major events on sports participation is not automatic and moreover Olympic “legacies are constructed and not given” (Girginov & Hills, 2008, p.2092). The aim of this study is to provide a pre-evaluation of the London Olympics in relation to sport participation patterns in order to first identify the critical issues influencing British people‟s engagement into the Games and second to create the basis for a longitudinal analysis of their impact. In order to evaluate people‟s perceptions of London 2012, we used Social Representation Theory (Moscovici, 1984), as social representations characterise a form of socially elaborated and shared knowledge, with practical consequences which contribute to the construction of a common reality among social groups

Supporting Older Workers and Caregivers Who Volunteer: Examples from The Field

In the spring of 2018 a multi-phase study, funded by the AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors (formerly Corporation for National and Community Service and Senior Corps), was launched to examine: 1. the relationship between holding multiple roles (such as caregiving, working for pay, and informal volunteering) and older adult volunteering outcomes; 2. the benefits that older adults gain from volunteering; and 3. the strategies used by both volunteers and volunteer programs to help older adults juggle increasingly “full plates” of activities. Using a national sample drawn from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the study yielded valuable information about how older adults and their volunteer programs are able to avoid and address role conflict. This report details strategies that volunteer program sites are currently implementing that better support volunteers who are also workers and/or caregivers in order for other volunteer programs to consider implementing similar best practices. Eleven volunteer programs were recruited from sites that participated in the core role conflict study in addition to those who were recruited by word of mouth through RSVP networks. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with interested sites. This report describes the categories of strategies identified from interviewees. Relevant themes include: 1) On-boarding processes that are sensitive to the needs of caregivers and workers including the subthemes of intake procedures and volunteer training; 2) The provision of breaks and flexible scheduling for volunteers; 3) Time-limited and intermittent volunteer opportunities; 4) The use of substitute volunteer positions; 5) Remote and home-based volunteer opportunities; and 6) Supports, resources and wellness resources, with a subtheme that touches on collaborative practices

Chabauty-Coleman experiments for genus 3 hyperelliptic curves

We describe a computation of rational points on genus 3 hyperelliptic curves $C$ defined over $\mathbb{Q}$ whose Jacobians have Mordell-Weil rank 1. Using the method of Chabauty and Coleman, we present and implement an algorithm in Sage to compute the zero locus of two Coleman integrals and analyze the finite set of points cut out by the vanishing of these integrals. We run the algorithm on approximately 17,000 curves from a forthcoming database of genus 3 hyperelliptic curves and discuss some interesting examples where the zero set includes global points not found in $C(\mathbb{Q})$.Comment: 18 page