Three Square: The Fight Against Hunger

Three Square is a food bank for Southern Nevada, whose aim is to “provide wholesome food to hungry people, while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community.”https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/educ_fys_103/1050/thumbnail.jp

More than Just Collateral Damage: Pet Shootings by Police

The Department of Justice estimates that American police officers shoot 10,000 pet dogs in the line of duty each year. It is impossible to ascertain a reliable number, however, because most law enforcement agencies do not maintain accurate records of animal killings. The tally may be substantially higher, and some suggest it could reach six figures. Deferring to officers’ judgment when they reasonably fear for human safety is sound policy because they regularly must make split-second, life-or-death decisions in highly stressful situations; but many pet shootings occur when officers mistake the behavior of a friendly, curious dog for aggression. Further, some animals have been deliberately shot and killed under questionable circumstances, including through doors or while tied, running away, or hiding. Studies show that some officers shoot pets unnecessarily, recklessly, or in retaliation, and that subsequent civilian complaints are investigated inadequately. Moreover, not every animal that police officers shoot is a large dog that may be more likely to pose a genuine risk to human safety—or even a dog at all. Police claiming a threat to human safety have shot puppies, Chihuahuas, Miniature Dachshunds, and domestic cats, among other pets. In some tragic cases, bullets missed their nonhuman targets and injured or even killed human bystanders instead. Pet shootings can seriously damage public relations for law enforcement agencies, especially during an era when the news seems to be saturated with stories concerning police using excessive force against unarmed civilians. The American Civil Liberties Union even classifies pet shootings as one symptom of the increased militarization of American police forces. Additionally, lawsuits brought by bereaved owners can cost agencies and taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. This Article explores these and other related issues, and presents simple solutions to help reduce the number of companion animal shootings by police in the United States

BEST PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPORT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF INTENSIVE CARE UNIT NURSES

This paper will identify best-practice recommendations to help nurses better cope with demands of the field, an implementation plan, and an evaluation of the implementation process. This paper explores whether or not nurses working in the intensive care unit (ICU) experience reduced psychological well-being due to aspects of their job such as high mortality rates, ethical dilemmas, and stress. In the world of healthcare, the demand for nurses is at an all time high. However, retention rates of bedside nurses are a direct threat to this demand. The low retention rate of newly licensed registered nurses remains an ongoing challenge not only for the institution but for the quality of care provided to the patients. In 2017, the turnover rate for bedside registered nurses ranged from 6.6% to 28.7%, with a turnover rate for critical care nurses in 2017 of 16.4% (Colosi, 2018). The articles presented in this paper examine the psychological well being of ICU nurses regarding levels of compassion fatigue and burnout and further discuss the effect that high incidences of stress, high mortality rates, ethical dilemmas, and pressure on the nurses to provide their best care have on the nurse’s well-being

Bmp induces osteoblast differentiation through both Smad4 and mTORC1 signaling

The bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) family of secreted molecules has been extensively studied in the context of osteoblast differentiation. However, the intracellular signaling cascades that mediate the osteoblastogenic function of Bmp have not been fully elucidated. By profiling mRNA expression in the bone marrow mesenchymal progenitor cell line ST2, we discover that BMP2 induces not only genes commonly associated with ossification and mineralization but also genes important for general protein synthesis. We define the two groups of genes as mineralization related versus protein anabolism signatures of osteoblasts. Although it induces the expression of several Wnt genes, BMP2 activates the osteogenic program largely independently of de novo Wnt secretion. Remarkably, although Smad4 is necessary for the activation of the mineralization-related genes, it is dispensable for BMP2 to induce the protein anabolism signature, which instead critically depends on the transcription factor Atf4. Upstream of Atf4, BMP2 activates mTORC1 to stimulate protein synthesis, resulting in an endoplasmic reticulum stress response mediated by Perk. Thus, Bmp signaling induces osteoblast differentiation through both Smad4- and mTORC1-dependent mechanisms

Feminist Zines: (Pre)Occupations of Gender, Politics, and D.I.Y. in a Digital Age

This article examines the potential of recent feminist zines as frameworks of grassroots D.I.Y. and direct democracy in physical and digital communities. While the height of zine creations as works on paper may be traced to the 1990s, this form of feminist counterculture has evolved and persisted in cyberspace, predating, accompanying, and arguably outlasting the physical reality of protests, revolutions, and political expressions such as the Occupy Movement(s). Contemporary zines contain not only email addresses alongside ‘snail mail’ addresses, but also links to digital sites accompanying real-world resources. Zinesters today utilize the handmade craftsmanship and hand drawn and written techniques of zines in combination with the grassroots connectivity enabled by digital networks relating to zines. These physical and digital communities form interesting protest spaces. This paper explores the persistence and potential of zines as various expressions of personal and political feminist identities via maker culture and of explorations of the dimensionality of the screen and the page. The educational contexts considered in this paper include university zine collections, zine-making in K-12 teaching, as well as zine communities outside of schools and academia

From Mario to Manhunt: The Effects ofViolent Video Game Content and Competition on Hostility and Aggressive Cognitions

Research has shown that playing violent video games can lead to increases in aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This study further examined this effect using a specially designed video game that allowed for precise manipulation ofviolent game play. Competition was independently manipulated and the interactive effects of competition and violence were studied. It was hypothesized that violence combined with competition would lead to greater aggressive thought and feelings. Consistent with this hypothesis, results show that male participants in the high violence, high competition condition report significantly greater hostility than participants in other conditions. Female participants show significantly greater hostility in response to competition but no evidence ofgreater hostility in response to violence

Gender, Aesthetics, and Sexuality in Play: Uneasy Lessons from Girls’ Dolls, Action Figures, and Television Programs

How does children\u27s play with dolls and action figures engender exploration of gendered identities: from aesthetics and appearances, to social standards, and various rituals and performances? This paper examines recent research in art education and gender studies concerning dolls and figural toys marketed to girls. As an artist and teacher educator, I will draw upon my teaching experiences and examine artifacts of pedagogy from popular material culture. I will address issues of consumption while taking into consideration taboos of gender and sexuality within public and private play. While children\u27s toys as symbolic bodies may pose narrowly gendered and heteronormative models of adulthood, this article argues children may also begin to counter paradigms of gender and sexuality within unintended, subversive play at home and school. I will also propose coalitions of art and material culture, through which teachers can facilitate inquiries and projects around thoughtful juxtapositions of play, performance, and art-making

Do We Know What We Know? Self- Assessment Across the Lifespan

Self-knowledge can play a critical role in navigating physical, cognitive, and social changes in late life. To protect and preserve one\u27s sense of self against these changes, individuals may engage in self-enhancing and self-serving biases in areas important to self-esteem. The importance attached to these areas may change with age, and self-knowledge of these psychological processes may vary with age. We investigated self-enhancing biases and metacognitive awareness of abilities in adulthood. Participants ranging in age from 20 to 80 completed a series of tests assessing the better than average effect across a variety of age-relevant domains as well as objective memory and intelligence tests. Results yielded an overall better-than-average effect as well as higher positive biases in young, middle-aged, and older adults on age-congruent domains. Younger and older adults were accurate in their assessments of recall ability and processing speed, respectively. Differences between performance predictions and actual performance scores on four cognitive tasks were generally smaller after test than before, suggesting a preservation of monitoring accuracy in late life. Implications for task feedback and training programs for the elderly are discussed as well as the ability for individuals, even in late adulthood, to continue to self-make and grow in self-knowledge

A Profile Comparison of Perceptions Regarding What Constitutes Effective Worship Team Leadership Held by Adventist Church Stakeholders: Similarities, Contrasts, and Suggestions for a Direction for More Effective Development of the Role

As church programs have become more complex and varied, the variety of roles and number of people involved in church management and leadership has also increased. The worship team leader is one of these emerging roles. As a result of these changes it has become essential that more attention be given to the design and implementation of educational programs aimed at raising the incumbent’s understanding of, and personal competence for, conducting these roles in an effective and co-ordinated fashion. As a first step in designing educational programs for worship team leaders it is expedient to develop a holistic view of the present situation. This research project, then, is firstly aimed at generating a profile of the perspectives held by various stakeholders (Local Church and System Administration Pastors, Worship Team Members, Local Church Leaders and Congregational Members) within the North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Churches, relating to the practice of and education programs for worship team leaders. Along with this the research explored the stakeholders’ understandings of the characteristics of an effective worship team leader. Finally, the respective stakeholders’ perspectives of effective worship team leadership were compared with that presented in the literature. The results of this research investigation indicated that (i) across the various stakeholder groups there is an inconsistent and quite limited understanding of the theological foundations for such a function as a worship team leader; (ii) there are very few commonly held beliefs by the various stakeholder groups regarding what qualities and characteristics are considered to be important to the effective 4 functioning of a worship team leader; and, (iii) significant differences exist between ‘highly valued characteristics’ espoused by prominent and reputable authors and those advocated by the respective stakeholders. Indeed, what emerged from the literature was that an effective worship team leader is, firstly, a person that grows, both spiritually and professionally, and encourages others to grow. In contrast, the stakeholder groups highlighted the need for containing and managing problematic aspects of worship ministry. Finally, it is recommended that education programs that facilitate a process where stakeholders become reflective and self-directed life-long learners in both spiritual and practical matters pertaining to the worship life of the local church. This program of education should be designed and implemented in response to the varying needs of the different stakeholder groups