Self-Rated Health Status Comparing Pacific Islanders to Asians

Disease reporting for Asians/Pacific Islanders often conflicts and is, many cases, inaccurate because of the aggregation of Asians and Pacific Islanders. An analysis of 2005 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System data was performed to examine health status of Asians compared to Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders. Findings show a significant difference between Asians and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, with a greater likelihood for Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders to rate their health as poor. Conclusion: Asians and Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders do not have the same health status. By aggregating these two distinctly different populations, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders are silenced. The aggregate disease reporting, which is limited and inaccurate, precludes advocacy efforts and the political power to intervene, and stifles the ability to create change and improvement for these populations

Computational Music Biofeedback for Stress Relief

The purpose of our project is to use EEG technology to combat stress in our daily lives. One of the most accessible EEG technologies that targets this challenge is the Muse headband, a wearable device that pairs with a phone application to help users train their brains to relax. The applications main goal is to help users train their brain to be more relaxed by monitoring and reporting their levels of stress. However, one of the shortcomings we noticed is that the constant notifications of how stressed we are actually adds to the level of stress as opposed to helping train our brains towards a more relaxed state. In order to improve this solution, our program uses the live brain waves transmitted by the Muse headband and feedforward techniques to not only track brain users activity, but also help the user move towards a more relaxed state using music and binaural beats. While we werent able to test the system on an unbiased population due to time constraints, preliminary exploration on ourselves on both short term and longer term sessions shows that longer uses of our system led to more a relaxed state

Quantum phase transition with dissipative frustration

We study the quantum phase transition of the one-dimensional phase model in the presence of dissipative frustration, provided by an interaction of the system with the environment through two non-commuting operators. Such a model can be realized in Josephson junction chains with shunt resistances and resistances between the chain and the ground. Using a self-consistent harmonic approximation, we determine the phase diagram at zero temperature which exhibits a quantum phase transition between an ordered phase, corresponding to the superconducting state, and a disordered phase, corresponding to the insulating state with localized superconducting charge. Interestingly, we find that the critical line separating the two phases has a non monotonic behavior as a function of the dissipative coupling strength. This result is a consequence of the frustration between (i) one dissipative coupling that quenches the quantum phase fluctuations favoring the ordered phase and (ii) one that quenches the quantum momentum (charge) fluctuations leading to a vanishing phase coherence. Moreover, within the self-consistent harmonic approximation, we analyze the dissipation induced crossover between a first and second order phase transition, showing that quantum frustration increases the range in which the phase transition is second order. The non monotonic behavior is reflected also in the purity of the system that quantifies the degree of correlation between the system and the environment, and in the logarithmic negativity as entanglement measure that encodes the internal quantum correlations in the chain

“Hay Muchísimo Poder en la Oscuridad” : Black Cuir Cinema Clubs in Contemporary Havana

Cineclub Cuir and Cine Alternativo are itinerant cinematic events aimed at showing cuir, feminist,avant-garde, Afro-diasporic, and experimental media content in Havana. El paquete semanal is a widespreaddigital information product that Cubans use to access global media. I argue that Cineclub Cuir and CineAlternativo’s curatorial frameworks produce exploratory spaces of moving theory that rupture the revolutionarystate’s nationalist discourse of colorblindness and racial democracy and the normative and white-washeddepictions of queerness that circulate in el paquete. The cinema clubs, which elude state-sponsorship and are freeof charge, create collective discursive spaces where participants interrogate the figure of the cuir racializado insites that are not fully regulated by the state or Cuba’s commodified media markets. The emergence of such spacesin the past three years marks a break with the Cuban state’s post-revolutionary monopoly on cultural spaces butalso a resistance to newer, more capitalist forms of media circulation such as el paquete. By projecting movingimages of Black queer intimacy in alleyways, rooftops, and a multitude of other public and private spacesthroughout Havana, Cineclub Cuir and Cine Alternativo comprise a media infrastructure that is ephemeral,difficult to police, and that contravenes the colonial racial and spatial logics that organize the city.Cineclub Cuir and Cine Alternativo are itinerant cinematic events aimed at showing cuir, feminist, avant-garde, Afro-diasporic, and experimental media content in Havana. El paquete semanal is a widespread digital information product that Cubans use to access global media. I argue that Cineclub Cuir and Cine Alternativo’s curatorial frameworks produce exploratory spaces of moving theory that rupture the revolutionary state’s nationalist discourse of colorblindness and racial democracy and the normative and white-washed depictions of queerness that circulate in el paquete. The cinema clubs, which elude state-sponsorship and are free of charge, create collective discursive spaces where participants interrogate the figure of the cuir racializado in sites that are not fully regulated by the state or Cuba’s commodified media markets. The emergence of such spaces in the past three years marks a break with the Cuban state’s post-revolutionary monopoly on cultural spaces but also a resistance to newer, more capitalist forms of media circulation such as el paquete. By projecting moving images of Black queer intimacy in alleyways, rooftops, and a multitude of other public and private spaces throughout Havana, Cineclub Cuir and Cine Alternativo comprise a media infrastructure that is ephemeral, difficult to police, and that contravenes the colonial racial and spatial logics that organize the city

Retention practices in education human resources management

The public education system in South Africa, particularly in public schools, faces serious problems. The review of retention practices for teachers is premised on the principles of quality management which aim at continual increase of the accountability in education human resources management. This research revealed that the tenure process applied to teachers in public schools is weak and plunges the education system to an all-time low. The use of the suggested model is a combination of business principles and public service management principles based on legal and statutory provision. An increase in customer satisfaction is necessary. The strength of the argument is the reference to law education management theories and the involvement of unions. However, it is acknowledged that review of the retention practices alone cannot be a panacea to the crisis in education. Aspects of professionalism are alluded to and the essential role of the South African Council for Educators is also considered as well as that of the Committee for Teacher Education Policy. The notion of quality requires a rigorous effort and cautious and calculated initiatives to interrogate problems and issues in education human resources management. In conclusion, recommendations and reasons are suggested why a review of retention practices is necessary. (South African Journal of Education: 2002 22(4): 332-337

Reflections on Here: A Choreographic Thesis

This choreographic thesis describes the conceptual foundations underlying the development of the dance, Here. Here uses text and movement to explore the challenge of locating of locating oneself in this particular institution. It asks the questions: what happens when our personal needs conflict with the structure of this institution? How do we use our limited capacities to exist / resist / care for each other in this place? Reflections on Here describes the choreographic inquiries and discoveries that contributed to the development of Here. It includes research on desire and mourning, as well as reflections on the power of autobiographical dance. Reflections on Here analyzes the work of Bill T. Jones and Cynthia Oliver as a way of understanding how autobiographical dance and text may be used to support one another in performance. It examines how work in the studio as well as in performance can build a feeling of “compassionate power” onstage. This idea of “compassionate power” is used in this project to describe the somatic principles that may embody the loving action that takes place during collective organizing. These somatic principles include sensing and working with the weight of the body on the floor and working with momentum rather than forcing movements to take place. Reflections on Here analyzes how the idea of compassionate power infused the development of Here, and connects the work of choreographers who are concerned with showing personhood and their sociopolitical landscape onstage. Finally, Reflections on Here acknowledges the necessity for this choreographic project to be contextualized within – and connected to – the ongoing brave and compassionate organizing happening at Scripps College

Effectiveness of Psychological Techniques in Increasing Deviant Sexual Fantasy Self-Disclosures

The assessment of deviant sexual fantasy and interests is an important component in sex offender risk assessment and subsequent treatment planning. However, clinicians and researchers have long acknowledged that sex offenders often distort or underreport details related to their sex offenses, particularly details relating to offense-related deviant sexual fantasy and interests. Some of the common methods used to minimize underreporting of deviant sexual fantasy and interests include the use of phallometry (or plethysmography) and polygraphy; however, not all assessment/treatment facilities or private practitioners providing services to sex offenders have access to such resources. Thus, the development of more efficient, cost-effective and less invasive methods for the assessment of deviant sexual fantasy and interests would be valuable. As a first step in a program of research attempting to address this issue, the current research project sought to determine if techniques derived from clinical, social, and marketing psychology--Foot-in-the-Door (FITD), Door-in-the-Face (DITF), Normalization (Norm), and Bogus Pipeline (BPL)--could be adapted for use with a self-report questionnaire to increase disclosure rates of deviant sexual fantasy among non-offenders. It was hypothesized that participants exposed to these adapted techniques would endorse greater rates of deviant sexual fantasy than participants in the control condition. Six hundred seventy eight undergraduate participants were recruited and randomly assigned to one of five conditions (control, FITD, DITF, Norm, or BPL). Each participant completed a battery of questionnaires online, including sexual fantasy and detailed demographic questionnaires. A between-groups design was utilized to assess the effectiveness of these techniques. Overall, no significant differences between groups were found and results indicated equivalent disclosure rates across all experimental conditions. Potential reasons for the obtained results are offered and future directions for this line of research are proposed