Reflections of Rondo

Reflections of Rondo is a temporal, visual exploration of the I-94 freeway’s relationship with and implications on the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a prominent center of Black community and culture since the 1900s, Rondo had a thriving, working-class population that built families, businesses, and markers of place and identity in a socially segregated city. They had built “a city within a city” that welcomed people of all backgrounds and classes. However, with the passing of the Federal Interstate Highway Act in 1956, the state was able to move forward with their plan of building a highway that would tear through the Rondo community, demolishing over 700 family homes and closing over 300 businesses. The Rondo neighborhood was fragmented–disrupting and destroying the social and economic culture that the community spent years and decades fostering. The story of I-94 and Rondo are one of many across the U.S. where less affluent neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color were subject to “urban revitalization” efforts at their expense. Cities like Milwaukee, Detroit, Boston, and New Orleans are among many that continue to wrestle with the deeply-ridden inequities caused by racist policies and systems. Drawing on historical records, oral histories, and conversations with community members from Rondo, Reflections of Rondo considers the past, present, and potential futures of the neighborhood. Each artwork is inspired by conversations with community members who spoke of their fondest memories, their vividest experiences, and their most hopeful dreams of what they see Rondo to be. In highlighting the histories of neighborhoods of color like Rondo, I hope that these artworks create spaces for reflection and conversation about conscious and equitable urban design

Natural Disaster Preparedness In College Students: Implications For Institutions Of Higher Learning

There is a growing interest in conducting research at the university level as a means of evaluating the effectiveness of disaster preparedness programs and/or procedures. Additional studies have examined student preparedness, although further research is needed to develop a better understanding of factors related to preparedness. It was hypothesized that students who are older will be more prepared, that students who perceive a natural disaster as more of a threat will be more prepared, and that those who have experienced a natural disaster will be more prepared. The current study also examined whether a student’s confidence in university preparedness is related to how concerned they are about a natural disaster occurring and, in turn, if students’ concern is related to how prepared they are. Finally, the study aimed to determine whether there are group differences in disaster preparedness considering various student demographic variables, as well as to further explore the relationships between potential disaster preparedness factors. The final sample size was comprised of 806 student participants who were administered an online survey that included questions regarding disaster preparedness and their experiences with disasters. The majority of the sample was female, White/non-Hispanic, freshman, lived off campus, and was an average of 23 years old. Differences in disaster preparedness-related variables were found in gender and the residential status of students. Age was not found to be a significant predictor of preparedness while Total Experience was found to be a significant predictor of both Actual and Perceived Preparedness. Mixed results were found regarding the relationship between perceived threat and preparedness. Post-hoc exploratory analyses suggest that student confidence in UM’s ability to prepare for disasters was a significant predictor of Total Concern, that variables measured in the current study were more related to perceived preparedness versus actual preparedness, and that Total Experience remained a significant predictor of both. Primary limitations of the current investigation include the exploratory and cross-sectional nature of the study design. In addition to utilizing alternative methodologies, suggested future research includes incorporating existing theoretical frameworks and elaboration of the assessment of demographic and population characteristics. At a more global level, the findings highlight the necessity for a critical phase of developing a research program to increase disaster preparedness at an academic institution that involves a more broad assessment and evaluation of the proximal environment in relation to natural disaster preparedness. Locally, moving forward, the institution and researchers can use the foundation of knowledge resulting from the current findings to continue to work together to incorporate a strong evidenced-based framework for further research. Specific recommendations for future research and practical applications are provided

The Effect of Distance to Formal Health Facility on Childhood Mortality in Rural Tanzania, 2005-2007.

Major improvements are required in the coverage and quality of essential childhood interventions to achieve Millennium Development Goal Four (MDG 4). Long distance to health facilities is one of the known barriers to access. We investigated the effect of networked and Euclidean distances from home to formal health facilities on childhood mortality in rural Tanzania between 2005 and 2007. A secondary analysis of data from a cohort of 28,823 children younger than age 5 between 2005 and 2007 from Ifakara Health and Demographic Surveillance System was carried out. Both Euclidean and networked distances from the household to the nearest health facility were calculated using geographical information system methods. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to investigate the effect of distance from home to the nearest health facility on child mortality. Children who lived in homes with networked distance>5 km experienced approximately 17% increased mortality risk (HR=1.17; 95% CI 1.02-1.38) compared to those who lived <5 km networked distance to the nearest health facility. Death of a mother (HR=5.87; 95% CI 4.11-8.40), death of preceding sibling (HR=1.9; 95% CI 1.37-2.65), and twin birth (HR=2.9; 95% CI 2.27-3.74) were the strongest independent predictors of child mortality. Physical access to health facilities is a determinant of child mortality in rural Tanzania. Innovations to improve access to health facilities coupled with birth spacing and care at birth are needed to reduce child deaths in rural Tanzania

Individual differences in gratitude and their relationship with well-being

Ten studies are presented which show how and why individual differences in gratitude are related to well-being, with six key conclusions. Grateful people view the help they receive in everyday life as more costly, valuable, and altruistically intended. Cross-sectional (n=253), multi-level process (n=113), and experimental (n=200) studies showed these attributional biases explain why trait and state levels of gratitude are linked. Trait gratitude involves the habitual focusing on the positive in the world, suggesting why gratitude is linked to well-being. Two studies (n=206 and n=389) presented exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showing that each of the existing measure of gratitude and appreciation (the GQ-6, GRAT, and Appreciation Scale) assess the same latent construct. Two studies (n=389) and (n=201) show gratitude is uniquely linked to subjective well-being (satisfaction with life) and psychological well-being (personal growth, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance), after controlling for the 30 facets of the Five Factor Model. Two longitudinal studies (n=156 and n=87) showed that during a life transition, gratitude led to lower stress and depression, and higher perceived social support. Structural equation modelling disproved other models of causality. Grateful people were shown to use more adaptive coping strategies, characterised by seeking help from others and actively coping rather than avoiding the problem. Across two samples (n=236) these adaptive coping strategies were shown to partially explain why grateful people feel lower level of stress in life. In a large community sample (n=401, 40% with clinically impaired sleep) grateful people had a better quality of sleep. Together, the ten studies show that individual differences in gratitude (1) are related to specific information processing biases, (2) involved a habitual orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive in life, (3) uniquely predict well-being, (4) lead to well-being over time, (5) are related to positive coping, and (6) predict better sleeping quality

A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude.

Three studies tested a new model of gratitude, which specified the generative mechanisms linking individual differences (trait gratitude) and objective situations with the amount of gratitude people experience after receiving aid (state gratitude). In Study 1, all participants (N = 253) read identical vignettes describing a situation in which they received help. People higher in trait gratitude made more positive beneficial appraisals (seeing the help as more valuable, more costly to provide, and more altruistically intended), which fully mediated the relationship between trait and state levels of gratitude. Study 2 (N = 113) replicated the findings using a daily process study in which participants reported on real events each day for up to14 days. In Study 3, participants (N = 200) read vignettes experimentally manipulating objective situations to be either high or low in benefit. Benefit appraisals were shown to have a causal effect on state gratitude and to mediate the relationship between different prosocial situations and state gratitude. The 3 studies demonstrate the critical role of benefit appraisals in linking state gratitude with trait gratitude and the objective situation

Research-based assessment affordances and constraints: Perceptions of physics faculty

To help faculty use research-based materials in a more significant way, we learn about their perceived needs and desires and use this information to suggest ways for the Physics Education Research community to address these needs. When research-based resources are well aligned with the perceived needs of faculty, faculty members will more readily take them up. We used phenomenographic interviews of ordinary physics faculty and department chairs to identify four families of issues that faculty have around research-based assessments (RBA). First, many faculty are interested in using RBAs but have practical needs around how to do so: how to find them, which ones there are, and how to administer them. They want help addressing these needs. Second, at the same time, many faculty think that RBAs are limited and don't measure many of the things they care about, or aren't applicable in their classes. They want assessments to measure skills, perceptions, and specific concepts. Third, many faculty want to turn to communities of other faculty and experts to help them interpret their assessment results and suggest other ways to do assessment. They want to norm their assessment results by comparing to others and interacting with faculty from other schools to learn about how they do assessment. Fourth, many faculty consider their courses in the broader contexts of accountability and their departments. They want help with assessment in these broader contexts. We also discuss how faculty members role in their department and type of institution influence their perceived wants and needs around assessment.Comment: submitted to Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Researc

Engineering Bioluminescent Sensors of Cyclic AMP to Study Opioid Signaling

Opioids are small signaling molecules which bind to opioid receptors on the surface of cells. The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) is one of three major types of opioid receptors found in human neurons. When an opioid binds to a KOR, a variety of biochemical signaling pathways are activated inside the cell. Each of these pathways are associated with different physiological effects of KOR activation. The production of a small signaling molecule, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), is known to be inhibited during KOR activation of the analgesic (pain-killing) signaling pathway. The ability to interrogate the individual responses of KOR signaling pathways in a living mammal would greatly improve our understanding of how opioids work in the brain. To this end, we have developed a biosensor functioning via bioluminescent resonance energy transfer (BRET) as a tool for both fluorescent and luminescent ratiometric quantification of cAMP. We couple two fluorescent proteins, emitting at different wavelengths, to a luciferase which provides chemiluminescent excitation energy for the complex. The intensity of the two emitted wavelengths vary inversely to each other in response to the presence of cAMP. Calculating the ratio of the two emission intensities creates a metric for cAMP concentration that is normalized to the concentration of our sensor, allowing quantitative comparison across trials. The application of our sensor for dual-color live-cell microscopy was demonstrated in mammalian cells using fluorescence and bioluminescence microscopy. Further proof-of-principle studies in KOR-expressing mammalian cells demonstrates the viability of our sensor for live-cell KOR signaling