What Do They Dream About?: The Long-lasting Effects of War and Trauma on Child Soldiers

A child soldier’s life is ghastly and heartbreaking. Not only are these young boys and girls exposed to high levels of trauma due to the inherent atrocities of war, they are also subjected to devastating levels of abuse amounting to human enslavement. The purpose of our research was to explore this modern form of slavery and its manifestation in our world today. We focused on the adverse effects of trauma on child soldiers and how different organizations around the globe are trying to heal and improve the conditions of these children as they attempt to reintegrate back into society. Our preliminary findings prompted further research regarding the long-lasting effects the lifestyle of a child soldier has on its victims. We found a positive correlation between the number of traumatic events experienced and the severity of PTSD, psychological problems (such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation), physical complaints, and functional impairments. Our results also corroborate the effectiveness of proper reintegration programs. Most of our research was based on case studies done in the early 21st century in several African countries that use child soldiers

Comparing the health and welfare of refugees and non-refugees at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic: the results of a community needs assessment.

Refugees are a vulnerable population who experience significant health disparities. They may also be at disproportionately high risk of adverse outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the results of a community needs assessment to investigate the impact of the pandemic on health and welfare in a refugee relocation community in the United States. A multilingual data collection team made up of refugees surveyed 179 participants (128 refugees vs. 51 non-refugees). Only 55.9% of refugee respondents said they would be able to provide enough food for their family this week, compared with 84.0% of non-refugees (p \u3c 0.01), and this difference was even greater for food next week (29.4% vs. 76.0%, p \u3c 0.01). A non-significantly smaller proportion of refugees reported knowing where to go if they were sick (69.1% vs. 81.6%, χ2 = 2.8, p = 0.10), and being able to get the medicine they need (75.0% vs. 87.8%, p = 0.07), while significantly fewer refugees reported feeling safe at home (72.8 vs. 87.8%, χ2 = 4.5, p = 0.04). Overall, refugees fared worse on nearly every measure. These findings should motivate further observational research and inform clinicians about the significant disparities in social determinants of health that refugees may experience during the pandemic

Eclipse-Ballooning 2017: The U of MN – Twin Cities Experience

The stratospheric ballooning team at the U of MN – Twin Cities started working on eclipse-ballooning in the fall of 2013, even before the Montana Space Grant announced their plan to organize a national Eclipse Ballooning Project. Our team promptly signed up to assist their effort, and have been heavily involved ever since. This presentation will discuss our eclipse-ballooning efforts and progress over the past 4 years. Our experiences include experimenting with a GoPro-based video-telemetry system (which ultimately was not as successful as Montana’s Raspberry-Pi-based system), adopting (then helping test, modify, and teach other teams to learn to use) the Montana telemetry system, practicing with up-range and down-range ground station placement, developing and testing passive anti-rotation devices and active camera-pointing devices to improve video quality, landing two eclipse-telemetry systems in Minnesota lakes one week before the eclipse (ouch!), flying five balloon stacks during the eclipse from near Grand Island, NE, and organizing/hosting AHAC 2017. We will also discuss ways in which we have already begun to use the telemetry equipment for non-eclipse balloon missions. The eclipse project has greatly expanded our HAB network and ballooning capabilities in multiple different directions, and will continue to strongly influence our stratospheric ballooning program for years to come

International work group on death, dying and bereavement checklist for international consultation in hospice care

The International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG) was founded in 1974 and consists of an international group of clinicians, scholars, and researchers in this field. At a recent meeting in Monterey, California, the group developed the following working document

Eclipse-Ballooning 2017: The U of MN – Twin Cities Experience

The stratospheric ballooning team at the U of MN – Twin Cities started working on eclipse-ballooning in the fall of 2013, even before the Montana Space Grant announced their plan to organize a national Eclipse Ballooning Project. Our team promptly signed up to assist their effort, and have been heavily involved ever since. This presentation will discuss our eclipse-ballooning efforts and progress over the past 4 years. Our experiences include experimenting with a GoPro-based video-telemetry system (which ultimately was not as successful as Montana’s Raspberry-Pi-based system), adopting (then helping test, modify, and teach other teams to learn to use) the Montana telemetry system, practicing with up-range and down-range ground station placement, developing and testing passive anti-rotation devices and active camera-pointing devices to improve video quality, landing two eclipse-telemetry systems in Minnesota lakes one week before the eclipse (ouch!), flying five balloon stacks during the eclipse from near Grand Island, NE, and organizing/hosting AHAC 2017. We will also discuss ways in which we have already begun to use the telemetry equipment for non-eclipse balloon missions. The eclipse project has greatly expanded our HAB network and ballooning capabilities in multiple different directions, and will continue to strongly influence our stratospheric ballooning program for years to come