Blindfolded for Science: An Integration of Dance as Therapy for Visually Impaired or Blind Individuals

Sight is used by our brain as a connecting bridge between other sensory input and stimuli from the world. Since humans are visual creatures, we heavily rely on vision to interact with our environments. Because of this role, impaired vision can diminish a person\u27s confidence in movement, introducing an increased fear of falling ultimately impacting posture. Previous research suggests that these limitations can be overcome through the use of Dance/Movement Therapy, a current form of psychological therapy. Although beneficial to the mental health of participants in the American Dance Therapy Association, the physical effects..

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in an Early Education Center

With so many uncertainties in childcare centers all across America (especially in a world of COVID-19), it is crucial to have Positive Behavioral Systems and Supports (PBIS) in place to ensure success in learning environments for all children. Typically speaking, the center that I work in has four classrooms, with each teacher directly in charge of their own students. In a normal school year, teachers also are given the opportunity to interact and work with students from other age groups, giving all children a chance to form relationships with each adult. However, in a COVID-19 world, these interactions are non-existent, as teachers are only allowed to interact within their classroom “bubble.” This makes the already challenging routine of transitioning to new rooms and routines each year so much more difficult on both the students and teachers. To ease this transition, the center would benefit from having a universal set of rules and expectations for students and staff to follow- our own form of PBIS. In order for PBIS to be successful within the Early Education center, rules and expectations must be decided on by all teachers, showing a school-wide commitment. These rules and expectations must be created with attention to both the needs of the students and the needs of the learning environment. There must also be a form of data collection to suggest that the system is successful or to show developers where changes can be made. Finally, to help the other staff at the center understand each expectation or rule, there must be documentation detailing what the expectation might look like or how they can help the children to be successful. This project focused on creating a positive, universal set of rules and expectations within my preschool setting, in which children could grow social-emotionally while positively learning from and upholding these expectations. After a set of expectations were established, a handbook thoroughly defining and providing examples of each expectation was required in order to properly train all staff members on how to teach the new set of rules. This handbook will be used each year during staff training and serve as a steppingstone into the development of a larger PBIS system within the childcare center itself

Dramaturgy for Sweat

In February 2021, the Northwestern College Theatre Department produced Lynn Nottage\u27s Sweat, directed by Robert Hubbard and in association with NWC\u27s Office of Intercultural Development. Dr. Hubbard chose this production to better reflect and represent the global body of Christ in response to the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and to be performed during Black History Month. Location, place, and time are essential components of Sweat, and the setting almost serves as a character itself due to its level of importance to the narrative. With this in mind, understanding the historical context of Lynn Nottage\u27s story is vital to understanding its characters, the conflicts they encounter, and how they respond to them. The years 2000 and 2008, when Sweat takes place, were important years for the United States--not only were they election years, but an economic and political roller coaster swept over the nation. And while many NWC students were alive at the time, we were children, so we likely do not actually remember what was happening in the country or what our own parents may have been struggling with. My goal with this project was to make the economic ups and downs of the early 2000s accessible to a college-aged audience and to help the audience at large better contextualize and more deeply understand the action that took place on stage

Charlotte\u27s Web: World-Building in Scenic Design

Scene design is more than providing actors the pieces with which they interact. It is part of creating the story’s whole world. In the Northwestern College Theatre Department’s 2021 children’s show, Charlotte’s Web, based on E.B. White’s classic novel and adapted by Joseph Robinette, all aspects of the show sought to draw in the eyes and imaginations of the thousands of children that graced our seats. From the arena seating arrangement to giant sparkling spiderwebs in each vomitorium, I wanted to create an immersive experience that enveloped the audience in the whimsy of talking animals and the realism of a quaint, but messy little farm. An abstract, architectural barn without right angles embraced eccentricity in its shape while an earthy painted floor grounded the environment. This balance of fantasy and realism in design harmonized with the story’s wisdom and the playfulness of its characters to represent the little universe into which we invited the audience

An Exploration of the Relationship between College Women's Self-Reported Religiosity and Sexuality

This study explored how female college students' religiosity varied according to their sexual behavior and attitudes. However, research is limited to showing that never-married female college students who have a high degree of religious commitment are less likely to engage in sexual intercourse without being in a committed relationship (Beckwith & Morrow, 2005; Earle et al., 2007; Jessor & Jessor, 1975; Mahoney, 1980; Meier, 2003; Robinson & Calhoun, 1983; Thornton & Camburn, 1989). Four hundred fifty-one emerging adult female college students from a Midwestern university participated in this study, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old. Participants for the larger study completed an online survey which asked for demographic information, sexual activity, sexual attitudes, body image, and religiosity. An independent sample t-test was used to test whether there was a statistical difference in religiosity between ( 1) participants who are or have been sexually active, and (2) those who have not engaged in sexual activity. An independent samples t-test was also used to test for statistical difference in religiosity between the types of sexual activity ( e.g., anal sex, oral sex, and mutual masturbation) participants considered to be "sex." It was found that women who did not engage in sexual activity were more religious than those who engaged in sexual activity. Participants who believed oral sex or mutual masturbation were sex did not differ significantly in religion; however, women who did not consider anal sex to be sex were more religious while those who did consider it to be sex were less religious. Religiosity and sexuality issues should be addressed in therapy with this population in order to better understand the roles they play in regards to self views and developing relationships

Understanding father involvement in the education of learners with intellectual disabilities in a special school in Kenya: a case study

There are known benefits of father involvement in a child's life, such as positively affecting the child's life prospects, academic achievement, physical and emotional health as well as linguistic, literary and cognitive development. In African settings, fathers are traditionally the heads of families and the main decision makers in matters like the education of their children. However, a limited body of scientific knowledge exists on fathers' roles and involvement in the education of their disabled children in the African context. To address this knowledge gap, a qualitative case study to understand the nature of father involvement in the education of learners with intellectual disabilities in a special school in Kenya was conducted. The research question was: what is the nature of father involvement in the education of disabled learners at Sir Ali Special School, Kenya? The study was guided by theoretical perspectives from disability studies in education, masculinity and postcolonial theory. The field of disability studies in education focuses on the application of the social model of disability in an education context. The theories of masculinity look at the social construction of the male identity, and the postcolonial theory explores the colonial legacy of the study context. The data were collected from eight fathers, six mothers, nine teachers and six disabled learners using individual interviews, key informant interviews, draw-and-tell interviews, focus group discussions, document review and field notes. The data were analysed thematically. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: influence of cultural norms and values on father involvement, fathers' concerns in educating disabled children, and impact of understanding disability on father involvement. It was established that the intersection between patriarchy and masculinity affects normative gender roles that influence father involvement in the education of disabled children in a dynamic context. It was also evident that the cost of disability is greater than that of nondisability and this influences how fathers are involved in the education of their disabled children. Additionally, fathers wanted the best for their disabled children but different views about the purpose of the special school affected their involvement in the education of their disabled children. Furthermore, the meaning of disability influenced father involvement in the education of disabled children. It was concluded that father involvement in the education of disabled children in this African setting was complex and presented itself in ways that were different from what formal western education expected. This study provides critical new knowledge on how father involvement in the formal education of disabled children is constructed within the context of a specific school in an African setting. The new knowledge not only adds to the current limited evidence in the literature on father involvement, but also might assist education stakeholders like ministries of education and development workers in advancing best practice regarding implementation of family support structures for disabled children's education in Africa

Exploring resilience with neuroimaging: Moderators of the impacts of childhood traumatic stress on fear processing.

Childhood trauma is an alarming public health crisis, and the field of trauma research is relatively underdeveloped given population rates of childhood trauma and post-trauma pathology. Even less studied than the impacts of trauma are the impacts of resilience, and the protective factors that foster it. It is widely acknowledged that an investigation of trauma is incomplete without an investigation of its impacts on fear processing. Understanding the neural underpinnings of resilience to childhood trauma during fear conditioning is vital to the development of therapeutic interventions able to moderate its devastating impacts. The present study investigated the complex neurobiological interplay between childhood traumatic stress and resilience using a fear acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement fMRI paradigm. 30 participants participated in this experiment and provided data on traumatic and benevolent childhood experiences and their self-perceived ability to cope with stressors. These questionnaires were analyzed alongside neural data and task performance metrics (accuracy and fear ratings), with behavioral results largely validating the efficacy and expected outcomes of the task design, notably highlighting the neutralization of fear responses during the extinction phase and suggesting that fear extinction may expedite future fear judgments. Neuroimaging results revealed anticipated functional connectivity patterns during fear acquisition between frontal, limbic, and sensory regions, which diminished during extinction and reemerged during reinstatement. Increases and decreases in connectivity were observed corresponding with trauma and protective factor scores, though interestingly, not with resilience scores, underscoring the poorly-defined nature of resilience. Neurobehavioral analyses revealed significant predictive power of childhood trauma levels on frontal-hippocampal and visual-hippocampal connectivity. The findings from this study may have implications for the development of targeted interventions to enhance resilience in individuals who have experienced childhood traumatic stress. This research highlights the importance of exploring the relationship between the detrimental impacts of childhood trauma and the protective role of resilience in studying the neural correlates of fear processing, and emphasizes the need for further research incorporating larger, more diverse samples and more nuanced measurement tools

Analyzing Tactics and Strategies in PR Campaigns to Identify Best Practices for Targeting the USA-based Hispanic Population

This study analyzed tactics and strategies in public relations campaigns targeting Hispanic-Americans in the United States for its effectiveness in order to identify the best practices to guarantee a successful campaign. This study included a case study examining three public relations campaigns targeting Hispanic-Americans. The case studies uncovered common themes and trends throughout the three campaigns, as well as analyzed the tactics and strategies that were implemented. This then resulted in the recommendations of the best practices for effectively targeting Hispanic-Americans throughout public relations campaigns which were, conduct extensive research, determine the theme, determine the language, and be culturally relevant