Social Media: How is it Affecting College Students?

Research shows how participation in social media creates issues with self image, instant gratification, low self-esteem, affects relationships and exasperates symptoms of anxiety and depression. Social media has participants in nearly every age group, race, class, ethnicity, culture and socioeconomic background. Social networking sites (i.e.: Facebook), microblogging apps (i.e.: Twitter) and content sharing apps (i.e.: YouTube, Snap Chat, Tumblr) have become such an ingrained part of society that people check their phones constantly throughout the day, at work, even while driving. More than 98 percent of college-aged students use social media, says consumer insight service Experian Simmons (Gerlich, 2011) . In addition, an annual nationwide survey of college students by UCLA found that 27.2 percent of college students spent more than six hours on social media a week (Kalpidou, 185).https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/research_posters/1034/thumbnail.jp

Optimization of the Conditions Necessary to Show Binding of the Plasmodium Yoelii Rhop-3 Rhoptry Protein to Mouse Erythrocytes

The Plasmodium Rhop-3 rhoptry protein is an erythrocyte binding protein that is secreted into the RBC membrane during merozoite invasion. Anti-Rhop-3 antibodies inhibit merozoite RBC invasion. The C-terminus of the Rhop-3 protein is highly conserved among Plasmodium species and antisera from endemic areas reacts with recombinant C-terminus of Rhop-3. The binding domain of the Rhop-3 protein is hypothesized to be within the C-terminal region of the protein. In the present study I investigated the conditions necessary for binding of the Rhop-3 protein to RBC by expressing recombinant proteins made from partial fragments of the Rhop-3 gene using the vector pDisplayTM. Recombinants were constructed, purified and used to transfect mammalian COS-7 cells. Surface expression of the proteins was detected by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using Rhop-3 specific antibodies. A rosetting assay was used to determine whether uninfected mouse red blood cells would bind to COS-7 cells expressing Rhop-3 recombinant proteins on the surface. The pDisplayTM vector was used to express three Plasmodium falciparum Rhop-3 recombinants pDIS-PF17, pDIS-PF13, pDIS-PF7 and one P. yoelii Rhop-3 recombinant pDIS-PY1412 in COS-7 cells. Surface expression of recombinant Rhop-3 on COS-7 cells was identified using three mouse antibodies (MAb) F1, MAb FL1+FL2, MAb T1 and rabbit antibody # 686. Expression of the recombinant Rhop-3 recombinant pDIS-PY1412 remained consistent. Binding of the recombinant Rhop-3 recombinant pDIS-PY1412 to mouse RBC was obtained once but this binding was not consistent. The conditions used for the transfection and binding assays were modified to see if consistent binding with pDIS-PY1412 could be maintained. This is the first time the pDisplayTM vector has been used to study Plasmodium yoelii erythrocyte binding proteins. Expression of the PvDBPII control remained consistent and binding to human duffy positive RBC was also consistent. Optimizing the conditions for binding of pDIS-PY1412 to mouse RBC would be an essenti

An Exploration of Factors that Contribute to Drug Use among Dropout Girls in Inner City Communities in Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica

There is a dearth of research on increased drug use among adolescent girls in Jamaica over the last two decades, with lack of specific attention to girls who dropped out of school, and who reside in inner city communities. Theory of planned behaviour, social control and social learning theories have been used to analyse adolescent drug use in general. However, these theories might not fully address the unique situations of urban dropout girls in Jamaica. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 15 dropout girls, this study aims to explore the factors that contribute to drug use—primarily marijuana and tobacco use—among dropout girls in inner city communities in Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Three questions are posed: 1). What are the attitudes and beliefs of dropout girls in inner city communities in Kingston and St. Andrew about drug use? 2). What is the impact of social contexts on the drug use attitudes, beliefs, and practices of dropout girls in inner city communities in Kingston and St. Andrew? and 3). What is the impact of gender norms and roles on the drug use attitudes, beliefs, and practices of dropout girls in inner city communities in Kingston and St. Andrew? A postcolonial feminist standpoint research approach is used to collect, analyse, and interpret the data. An interpretation of the girls’ dialogues and experiences is carried out to develop relevant programming recommendations. The findings reveal that girls believe that smoking—mainly marijuana and tobacco—helps them to cope with stress and several psychosocial challenges; their social experiences with family neglect and abuse, peer influence, schooling experiences, community violence, and poverty also contribute to their stress and subsequent smoking practices. The findings generally support existing theoretical frameworks, including theory of planned behavior, social control and social learning theories. However, this study finds that Jamaican urban dropout girls’ attitudes and beliefs are shaped by their socially assigned feminine traits and roles, and by interactions with and experiences in their social contexts which are moulded by colonial legacies as well as gender norms and class disparities. Accordingly, I suggest that postcolonial feminism can be used along with existing models to explain the factors that contribute to drug use among dropout girls in inner city communities in Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Finally, I recommend the development of programs that target the unique factors that influence Jamaican girls to use drugs, in order to reduce drug use and promote the healthy development of girls

Effects of World Financial Crisis on Food Consumption Spending Among Households in Jamaica

The world financial crisis of 2008/2009 derailed macro-economic stability in most countries, triggering a global recession and wide spread food crises. Using data from the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions, this study examines how the recession, as a macro condition, accounts for differences in Jamaican household food consumption before (2007) and during the recession (2009), and compares the impact of micro characteristics such as households’ income, sex of household head, household size and area of residence on food consumption between both periods. The results indicate that income level and area of residence are consistently significant determinants of food consumption in Jamaica. In addition, the findings indicate that food consumption expenditure in all income categories remained basically unchanged between 2007 and 2009. Surprisingly however, female-headed households were found to spend significantly more on food consumption than male-headed households during the recession, which might be attributable to a combination of factors including the possibility that female-headed households accessed more social welfare and remittances than male headed households during the recession. Keywords: Recession, Household food consumption, Jamaic

The Experience of Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Black Men

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can result in consequences that are devastating and long lasting. Differences in the nature of CSA for males and females potentially influence recovery and the role of moderating factors, such as spirituality. Studies of recovery from CSA, especially men\u27s experiences of recovery, are relatively few indicating that this is an under researched area. This lack of studies is particularly evident for ethnic minority groups. While addressing the gap in the literature, the purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of recovery from CSA among African, Caribbean, Black identified male survivors of CSA living in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the role of spirituality in that recovery. The transactional model of stress and coping and the four domains model of spiritual health and well-being were used as frameworks for this examination. The study was qualitative in design, using an interpretive phenomenological approach, involving purposeful sampling, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and interpretive phenomenological analysis of the data. The most salient feature of the study was that Black male survivors are situated in unique historical/sociocultural interrelationships that complicate recovery from CSA, including institutional racism and discrimination, family migration, restrictive narratives of masculinity, sexualized music media, and other cultural norms. In this study, spirituality played a prominent role in helping survivors navigate such influences in order to recover. These findings can be used to influence policy makers, service providers and communities, to more effectively support and address the needs of CSA survivors and their affected families