Making band class rock!: Incorporating modern band into a traditional band class

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the use of informal music and Modern Band practices in the contexts of secondary music ensemble classrooms. Primary data collection was comprised of semi-structured interviews with teachers who used informal music learning practices and/or Modern Band programs at the secondary level. Results indicated that the inclusion of informal learning practices and/or Modern Band within the traditional music ensemble promotes the development of music individualism among students. Students and teachers together create environments that promote creativity, composition, and peer collaboration. Popular music and/or socially and culturally relevant genres are incorporated

Outcomes of Peer Mentoring at an Associate Degree Nursing Program

Nursing students have described clinical experiences as being stressful, yet the application of classroom knowledge to the clinical health care setting is a requirement. The purpose of this mixed-method study is to compare students’ perceptions of the peer mentoring leadership experience (PMLE) and the student charge nurse experience (SCNE). The PMLE was piloted at a southeastern community college’s associate degree nursing (ADN) program. Hand-selected PMLE second-year nursing students (n=5) were paired with hand-selected PMLE first-year nursing students (n=5) for medical/surgical clinical rotations. The ADN program’s purpose for these clinical rotations was to provide a mutually beneficial mentoring experience. The remaining second-year nursing students (n=25) registered in the health system concepts course participated in the SCNE in which one-on-one time was spent with an on-duty designated floor charge nurse during medical/surgical clinical rotations. These second-year student participants spent additional time in a student charge nurse role meeting course management and leadership objectives while overseeing first-year students’ (n=37) patient care with clinical faculty as resources. Students voluntarily completed a survey indicating their perceptions of how learning objectives for the clinical experience were met for client advocate, educator, and caregiver, prioritization of client care, time management, communicator, leader, multi-disciplinary team relationship builder and self-confidence. Descriptive analysis was completed for the quantitative data and qualitative data was reviewed with grouping of themes. Results from the study indicated that the PMLE respondents perceived their experience met the individual course objectives more than the compared SCNE respondents

The Plains of Mars, European War Prints, 1500-1825

Over fifty original prints by renowned artists from the sixteenth through the early nineteenth century, including Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Théodore Géricault, and Francisco de Goya, among many others, are featured inThe Plains of Mars: European War Prints, 1500-1825. On loan from the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the works of art included in this exhibition examine the topics of war and peace, propaganda, heroism, brutal conflicts, and the harrowing aftermath of battle. Spanning from the Renaissance to the Romantic periods and encompassing a wide geographic scope including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the Low Countries, England, and North America, the prints depict triumphant Renaissance soldiers, devastating scenes of violence, and satirical caricatures of political figures. Also on display is Goya’s compelling “Disasters of War” series, completed in response to the brutality of the Spanish War of Independence. Goya’s prints serve as a powerful testament to the horrors faced by both soldiers and civilians. Under the direction of Professor Felicia Else and Shannon Egan, Melissa Casale ‘19 and Bailey Harper ‘19 have researched and written didactic labels, catalogue essays, and created an interactive digital interface to complement the exhibition. Together, Melissa and Bailey will lead public tours of the exhibition. A Gallery Talk by Prof. Peter Carmichael will draw connections between the depictions of warfare on view in the Gallery with representations of the American Civil War. James Clifton, Director of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will be delivering a lecture in conjunction with the exhibition. Dr. Clifton, who also serves as curator of Renaissance and Baroque painting at MFAH, curated the exhibition in its first iteration and wrote the exhibition catalogue (published by Yale University Press). Dr. Clifton’s lecture not only will provide an overview of the exhibition, but also will focus on the concept of “mediated war.” A full-color catalogue with images and essays by Bailey Harper ’19 and Melissa Casale ’19, under the supervision of Profs. Felicia Else and Shannon Egan, is planned to accompany the exhibition.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1028/thumbnail.jp

Member Checking: Can Benefits Be Gained Similar to Group Therapy?

Member checking continues to be an important quality control process in qualitative research as during the course of conducting a study, participants receive the opportunity to review their statements for accuracy and, in so doing; they may acquire a therapeutic benefit. The authors of this article suggest that this benefit is similar to some of the components of group therapy, especially in normalizing the phenomenon being experienced. Even if the participants never meet, they can feel a sense of relief that their feelings are validated and that they are not alone

Understanding patients' adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a mixed-methods study in Arusha, Tanzania

Background: Over one million HIV-positive people in Africa are taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), and this number is increasing. Essential to the expansion of ART is ensuring patients' optimal adherence to therapy. This study combined qualitative and quantitative methods to understand ART adherence at one site in Tanzania where patients received free medication. The study measured ART adherence, identified factors associated with poor adherence, and explored how the social environment of patients' lives supported adherence. A theoretical framework using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and social support guided the study. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Kiswahili with 36 adult ART patients and 6 health care providers. Patients described their experiences taking ART and managing adherence and providers described their experiences caring for patients. A structured survey was conducted with 340 patients. Adherence was measured by self report, and patients were identified as having poor adherence if they took less than 95% of their pills during either the previous four days or one month. The survey measured correlates of adherence informed by the SCT, along with demographic and treatment variables. Factors associated with adherence were considered in a logistic regression model. Results: Only 5.9% (20/340) of patients reported poor adherence. Poor adherence was associated with: being young (19-30 years, vs. 31-40 years; OR=4.26, 95% CI 1.33-13.60); being old (over 50 years, vs. 31-40 years; OR=7.59, 95% CI 2.10-27.43); having lower perceived quality of patient-provider interaction (for each one-point decrease, OR=3.18, 95%CI 1.29-7.83); and ever missing a clinic appointment (OR=3.75, 95% CI 1.29-10.89). Semi-structured interviews identified five factors to explain optimal adherence. First, respondents experienced improved health on ART, which motivated adherence. Second, they linked pill-taking with routine activities. Third, they were motivated to stay healthy to meet family responsibilities. Fourth, material and emotional support from others facilitated adherence. Finally, respondents trusted health care providers' instructions to adhere. Conclusions: Adherence was high in this sample. Interventions to improve and sustain adherence should focus within the clinic to improve interactions between patients and providers and outside the clinic to bolster patients' social support. Different strategies may be necessary according to patients' ages

Race and Ethnicity in Classification Systems: Teaching Knowledge Organization from a Social Justice Perspective

Classification and the organization of information are directly connected to issues surrounding social justice, diversity, and inclusion. This paper is written from the standpoint that political and epistemological aspects of knowledge organization are fundamental to research and practice and suggests ways to integrate social justice and diversity issues into courses on the organization of information

Induction of HO-1 in tissue macrophages and monocytes in fatal falciparum malaria and sepsis

BACKGROUND: As well as being inducible by haem, haemoxygenase -1 (HO-1) is also induced by interleukin-10 and an anti-inflammatory prostaglandin, 15d PGJ(2), the carbon monoxide thus produced mediating the anti-inflammatory effects of these molecules. The cellular distribution of HO-1, by immunohistochemistry, in brain, lung and liver in fatal falciparum malaria, and in sepsis, is reported. METHODS: Wax sections were stained, at a 1:1000 dilution of primary antibody, for HO-1 in tissues collected during paediatric autopsies in Blantyre, Malawi. These comprised 37 acutely ill comatose patients, 32 of whom were diagnosed clinically as cerebral malaria and the other 5 as bacterial diseases with coma. Another 3 died unexpectedly from an alert state. Other control tissues were from Australian adults. RESULTS: Apart from its presence in splenic red pulp macrophages and microhaemorrhages, staining for HO-1 was confined to intravascular monocytes and certain tissue macrophages. Of the 32 clinically diagnosed cerebral malaria cases, 11 (category A) cases had negligible histological change in the brain and absence of or scanty intravascular sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes. Of these 11 cases, eight proved at autopsy to have other pathological changes as well, and none of these eight showed HO-1 staining within the brain apart from isolated moderate staining in one case. Two of the three without another pathological diagnosis showed moderate staining of scattered monocytes in brain vessels. Six of these 11 (category A) cases exhibited strong lung staining, and the Kupffer cells of nine of them were intensely stained. Of the seven (category B) cases with no histological changes in the brain, but appreciable sequestered parasitised erythrocytes present, one was without staining, and the other six showed strongly staining, rare or scattered monocytes in cerebral vessels. All six lung sections not obscured by neutrophils showed strong staining of monocytes and alveolar macrophages, and all six available liver sections showed moderate or strong staining of Kupffer cells. Of the 14 (category C) cases, in which brains showed micro-haemorrhages and intravascular mononuclear cell accumulations, plus sequestered parasitised erythrocytes, all exhibited strong monocyte HO-1 staining in cells forming accumulations and scattered singly within cerebral blood vessels. Eleven of the available and readable 13 lung sections showed strongly staining monocytes and alveolar macrophages, and one stained moderately. All of the 14 livers had strongly stained Kupffer cells. Of five cases of comatose culture-defined bacterial infection, three showed a scattering of stained monocytes in vessels within the brain parenchyma, three had stained cells in lung sections, and all five demonstrated moderately or strongly staining Kupffer cells. Brain sections from all three African controls, lung sections from two of them, and liver from one, showed no staining for HO-1, and other control lung and liver sections showed few, palely stained cells only. Australian-origin adult brains exhibited no staining, whether the patients had died from coronary artery disease or from non-infectious, non-cerebral conditions CONCLUSIONS: Clinically diagnosed 'cerebral malaria' in children includes some cases in whom malaria is not the only diagnosis with the hindsight afforded by autopsy. In these patients there is widespread systemic inflammation, judged by HO-1 induction, at the time of death, but minimal intracerebral inflammation. In other cases with no pathological diagnosis except malaria, there is evidence of widespread inflammatory responses both in the brain and in other major organs. The relative contributions of intracerebral and systemic host inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of coma and death in malaria deserve further investigation

Tissue distribution of migration inhibitory factor and inducible nitric oxide synthase in falciparum malaria and sepsis in African children

BACKGROUND: The inflammatory nature of falciparum malaria has been acknowledged since increased circulating levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) were first measured, but precisely where the mediators downstream from this prototype inflammatory mediator are generated has not been investigated. Here we report on the cellular distribution, by immunohistochemistry, of migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in this disease, and in sepsis. METHODS: We stained for MIF and iNOS in tissues collected during 44 paediatric autopsies in Blantyre, Malawi. These comprised 42 acutely ill comatose patients, 32 of whom were diagnosed clinically as cerebral malaria and the other 10 as non-malarial diseases. Another 2 were non-malarial, non-comatose deaths. Other control tissues were from Australian adults. RESULTS: Of the 32 clinically diagnosed cerebral malaria cases, 11 had negligible histological change in the brain, and no or scanty intravascular sequestration of parasitised erythrocytes, another 7 had no histological changes in the brain, but sequestered parasitised erythrocytes were present (usually dense), and the remaining 14 brains showed micro-haemorrhages and intravascular mononuclear cell accumulations, plus sequestered parasitised erythrocytes. The vascular walls of the latter group stained most strongly for iNOS. Vascular wall iNOS staining was usually of low intensity in the second group (7 brains) and was virtually absent from the cerebral vascular walls of 8 of the 10 comatose patients without malaria, and also from control brains. The chest wall was chosen as a typical non-cerebral site encompassing a range of tissues of interest. Here pronounced iNOS staining in vascular wall and skeletal muscle was present in some 50% of the children in all groups, including septic meningitis, irrespective of the degree of staining in cerebral vascular walls. Parasites or malarial pigment were rare to absent in all chest wall sections. While MIF was common in chest wall vessels, usually in association with iNOS, it was absent in brain vessels. CONCLUSIONS: These results agree with the view that clinically diagnosed cerebral malaria in African children is a collection of overlapping syndromes acting through different organ systems, with several mechanisms, not necessarily associated with cerebral vascular inflammation and damage, combining to cause death

Teaching Ethnographic Methods for Cultural Anthropology: Current Practices and Needed Innovation

Historically, ethnographic methods were learned by cultural anthropology students in individual research projects. This approach creates challenges for teaching in ways that respond to the next generation’s calls to decenter anthropology’s White, heteropatriarchal voices and engage in collaborative community-based research. Analyzing syllabi from 107 ethnographic methods training courses from the United States, we find the tradition of the “lone researcher” persists and is the basis of ethnographic training for the next generation. There is little evidence of either active reflection or team-based pedagogy, both identified as necessary to meet career opportunities and diversification goals for the wider field of cultural anthropology. However, we also find that, by centering the completion of largely individual research projects, most ethnographic methods courses otherwise adhere to best practices in regard to experiential and active learning. Based on the analysis of syllabi in combination with current pedagogical literature, we suggest how cultural anthropologists can revise their ethnographic methods courses to incorporate pedagogy that promotes methodologies and skills to align with the needs of today’s students and communities

Retrospective Analysis of Monkeypox Infection

Tests have been developed and optimized for serologic differentiation between monkeypox- and vaccinia-induced immunity