C.A.P.S.

This project focuses on representing three generations of Caribbean women through the lens of beauty and hair care. Together, we collaborate to document our hair stories, a vessel to reclaim our identity, nationhood, and culture. Through this lens, we authentically re-envision ourselves as we move towards becoming the faces of a new generation while simultaneously honoring the past through how memory is in the fabric of our clothes, the recipes we consume, and the hair that we care for, style, and protect within the Caribbean Archive

C.A.P.S.

This project focuses on representing three generations of Caribbean women through the lens of beauty and hair care. Together, we collaborate to document our hair stories, a vessel to reclaim our identity, nationhood, and culture. Through this lens, we authentically re-envision ourselves as we move towards becoming the faces of a new generation while simultaneously honoring the past through how memory is in the fabric of our clothes, the recipes we consume, and the hair that we care for, style, and protect within the Caribbean Archive

Defining “Violence” Where Prostitution is Decriminalized

In 2003, New Zealand passed the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) to increase safety and regulate labor laws for the sex industry (Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC) Report, 2008). New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC), who were instrumental in passing this legislation, educates and empowers sex workers, allowing more control over their work. In 2018, Dr. Jill McCracken and NZPC conducted a three-month community-based project that aimed to better understand the impact decriminalization has had on violence, focusing on how sex workers talk about violence through their experiences. Our primary goal was to engage sex workers as peer educators and researchers to determine research questions, interview guides, and data collection methods. Dr. McCracken interviewed 34 current and former sex workers and 33 individuals who work closely with sex workers. Rather than asking questions that assumed how participants defined violence, interview questions were focused on challenges they experienced. If “violence” was not mentioned, the participants were asked how they understand the word, to define it within the sex industry. We found that, in general, definitions of violence were categorized into three forms; physical, verbal, and psychological, through three primary perpetrators; clients, managers, and social discrimination. Through these interviews we discovered different experiences of impact of the PRA on sex worker’s health, safety and well-being. This study not only explores violent experiences that individuals within the sex industry face, but it validates the increased safety and quality of life that manifests as a result of decriminalization on those directly effected by such legislation

Commutativity-Based Locking for Nested Transactions

We introduce a new algorithm for concurrency control in nested transaction systems. The algorithm uses semantic information about an object (commutativity of operations) to obtain more concurrency than is available with Moss' locking algorithm which is currently used as the default in systems like Argus and Camelot. We define "dynamic atomicity", a local property of an object, and prove that dynamic atomicity of each object guarantees the correctness of the whole system. Objects implemented using the commutativity-based locking algorithm are dynamic atomic

A Successful National and Multipartner Approach to Increase Immunization Coverage: The Democratic Republic of Congo Mashako Plan 2018-2020.

BackgroundThe immunization system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces many challenges, including persistent large-scale outbreaks of polio, measles, and yellow fever; a large number of unvaccinated children for all antigens; minimal and delayed funding; and poor use of immunization data at all levels. In response, the Expanded Programme on Immunization within the Ministry of Health (MOH) collaborated with global partners to develop a revitalization strategy for the routine immunization (RI) system called the Mashako Plan.Mashako plan design and developmentThe Mashako Plan aimed to increase full immunization coverage in children aged 12-23 months by 15 percentage points overall in 9 of 26 provinces within 18 months of implementation. In 2018, we conducted a diagnostic review and identified gaps in coordination, service delivery, vaccine availability, real-time monitoring, and evaluation as key areas for intervention to improve the RI system. Five interventions were then implemented in the 9 identified provinces.DiscussionAccording to the 2020 vaccine coverage survey, full immunization coverage increased to 56.4%, and Penta3/DTP3 increased to 71.1% across the Mashako Plan provinces; the initial objective of the plan was reached and additional improvements in key service delivery indicators had been achieved. Increases in immunization sessions held per month, national stock of pentavalent vaccine, and supervision visits conducted demonstrate that simple, measurable changes at all levels can quickly improve immunization systems. Despite short-term improvements in all indicators tracked, challenges remain in vaccine availability, regular funding of immunization activities, systematic provision of immunization services, and ensuring long-term sustainability.ConclusionsStrong commitment of MOH staff combined with partner involvement enabled the improvement of the entire system. A simple set of interventions and indicators focused the energy of managers on discrete actions to improve outcomes. Further exploration of the results is necessary to determine the long-term impact and generate all-level engagement for sustainable success in all provinces

Omnino: VSU Undergraduate Research Journal, 2014-2015

2014-15 proved the most productive year to date for undergraduate research at VSU and for the Omnino journal. The editors received a record number of submissions and we are pleased with the outstanding quality of research found in the pages of this year’s volume 5. We are also proud of the wide array of academic disciplines represented in the journal. In this volume, we showcase research from numerous departments, including Biology, Communication Arts, English, History, Math and Computer Science, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Political Science. To be sure, such a range of contributions is a multidisciplinary feat of which VSU can be proudDoes the Bible Prohibit Homosexuality? An Exegetical Approach to Genesis 19:4-9 and Leviticus 18:22; 20:13 by Sandra Y. G. Jones; Additional Evidence for Reciprocal Monophyly of Hagfish Subfamilies Myxininae and Eptatretinae: a Class Exercise in Phylogenetics by Charles B. Cortez, Chelsea M. Desbiens, Ryndell E. Langford, Malcolm M. McCray, Wellington D. Palmer, Codie R. Picariello, Jennifer Rivera, Michael K. Simmons, and Bradley D. Owens; Review of Possible Causes, Effects, and Remedies for Metal Pollution in the Environment by Rachel Thomason; The Paxton Political Motive by Tyler Hembree; Technologies and Advances in Self-Driving Cars by David R. Gully; Experiencing Comedy: How Synthetic Judgment and Experience Dictate What is Funny by Jonathan Lollar; Tunisia and the Arab Spring: Democracy on the Horizon? by Chase Kelly The Historical Oppression of Native Culture and Its Effect on the Issue of Healthcare Between Western and Native Societies by Sydney Beckmann Masculine Empire in Haggard's She by Marlana Hufstetler An Introduction of Knapp's Relational Stage Model & Walker's Cycle of Violence in Intimate Partner Violence Relationships by Elizabeth J. MerrittFACULTY ADVISOR: Dr. Anne Greenfield; MANAGING EDITOR: Erica Even; STUDENT EDITORS: Daniel Miller, Kailyn Middleton; GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Michael LaGon; COVER IMAGE: "Before Our Burdens We Were Stars"by Brandon Moultrie

Strengthening immunization programs through innovative sub-national public-private partnerships in selected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

BACKGROUND: Low immunization coverage rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been reflective of challenges with vaccine access, support and delivery in the country. Motivated by measles and vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV) outbreaks in 2016-17 and low vaccination rates, the provinces of Haut Lomami and Tanganyika were identified as pilot locations for an innovative approach focused on establishing a consortium of partners supporting local government. This approach was formalized through Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Provincial governments in 2018. A third province, Lualaba, established an MoU in 2021. MOU IMPLEMENTATION: These MoUs were 5-year partnerships designed to aid provinces in meeting four key objectives: 80 % immunization coverage, management/elimination of polio/cVDPV outbreaks, improvement of vaccine accessibility, and transfer of immunization service management to provincial leadership. OUTCOMES: During the MoU period, Haut-Lomami saw an increase in full immunization coverage, from 35.7 % (MICS 2018) to 88.9 % (VCS 2021-22), the highest in country. A sharp drop in percentage of zero-dose children was observed in the 3 provinces, confirming improved access to immunization services. Tanganyika saw initial improvement in full immunization coverage, followed by a drop in the VCS 2021-22 due to COVID-19 and healthcare worker strikes. Coverage improved in Tanganyika in the 2023 VCS. The 3 provinces increased their financial contributions to routine immunization and are now the top contributing provinces. While no cVDPV cases were recorded in 2020 and 2021, cVDPV1 and cVDPV2 outbreaks are afflicting the 3 provinces since 2022. CONCLUSIONS: Ultimately, the provincial MoUs were successful in bolstering provincial autonomy and capacity building with the biggest success being a drop in zero-dose children. While not all objectives have been met, the MoU approach served as an innovative program for key aspects of strengthening routine immunization in the DRC

Co-Circulating Monkeypox and Swinepox Viruses, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2022.

In September 2022, deaths of pigs manifesting pox-like lesions caused by swinepox virus were reported in Tshuapa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two human mpox cases were found concurrently in the surrounding community. Specific diagnostics and robust sequencing are needed to characterize multiple poxviruses and prevent potential poxvirus transmission