A Program for Prevention and Intervention of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Among Pastors in the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Problem The membership of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist has surged to over 50,000 over the ten year period, 1997-2006; however, the professional Adventist clergy group has experienced a decrease over the same time period—from thirty-three to twenty-seven ministers (Guyana Conference of SDA Statistics). The ratio of clergy to laity is, thus, 1:1853, where it was previously 1:1039. Consequently, ministers in the Guyana Conference of SDA are likely to become victims of burnout—and its compassion fatigue form—as they encounter the demands of ministry. Methods and Procedures Following the case study method of qualitative research, the researcher utilized Eisner’s (1998) self as an instrument theory. He suggested that there is valuable information to be gleaned when self is utilized, since each person’s life experiences are unique. Thus, self as an instrument is not a disadvantage but an asset to research. In addition, Eisner (1998, p. 34) states that “the self is the instrument that engages in the situation and makes sense of it.” This project is designed to be utilized as a seminar consisting of six presentations for ministers. The researcher’s personal experience-validated by collegial conversations was coupled with information gleaned from significant literature for the development of this seminar. The presentations, as they seek to educate ministers about these phenomena are accompanied by activities for participants to become involved in a practical way. Anticipated Outcomes The discussion and investigation of this phenomenon----burnout, defined by Freudenberger and Richelson (1980) as “a debilitating psychological condition brought about by unrelieved work stress,, and its compassion fatigue form-which is associated with the physical, emotional/psychological, and mental price caregivers pay when attending to others who have experienced trauma or emotional aches (Figley, 1995a)— revealed that ministers fall prey as a result of the simple fact that most people turn to their faith or religious beliefs when they are confronted with crisis or traumatic circumstances. Thus, clergy are called upon in these times of personal, familial, and community stress. Also, ministers are faced with job stress as a result of the demands of the work defined by such factors as one minister pastoring numerous churches/members owing to the migration of many ministers. i After interaction with the information shared in each seminar, ministers will be more aware of the reality and dangers of these phenomena, and will be better equipped to prevent the same. Conclusion On the whole, the call to ministry is neither fleeting nor temporary; instead, it is permanent. It is the service of a lifetime. Health—both physical and spiritual—is needed for a minister to endure in this lifetime of service. S/he therefore cannot afford to work without pacing her/himself to finish the race. For this reason, the ministry calls for wise use of resources, not only those available in the form of human personnel who may be utilized through team ministry, but also the minister’s energy. As was noted earlier, this project contains tools that will equip the minister to be effective in ministry, while maintaining longevity; thus, burnout and compassion fatigue can be readily recognized and addressed so that ministers can continue to serve God’s children effectively

Activity of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus M Protein Mutants in Cell Rounding Is Correlated with the Ability to Inhibit Host Gene Expression and Is Not Correlated with Virus Assembly Function

AbstractIn addition to its role in virus assembly, the matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is involved in virus-induced cell rounding and inhibition of host-directed gene expression. Previous experiments have shown that two M protein mutants genetically dissociate the ability of M protein to inhibit host-directed gene expression from its function in virus assembly: M protein from tsO82 virus is fully functional in virus assembly but defective in the inhibition of host-directed gene expression, while the MN1 deletion mutant, which lacks amino acids 4–21, inhibits host-directed gene expression but cannot function in virus assembly. Experiments presented here compared cell rounding induced by these two mutant M proteins to that of wt M protein. BHK cells were transfected with M protein mRNA transcribedin vitro,and the extent of cell rounding was evaluated at 24 hr posttransfection. The MN1 protein was nearly as effective as wt M protein in the induction of cell rounding, while tsO82 M protein expressed from transfected RNA was not able to induce cell rounding above that observed in negative controls without M protein, although it did cause BHK cells to have a less elongated shape. These results indicate that the ability of MN1 and tsO82 M proteins to induce cell rounding is not correlated with their virus assembly function. Instead the cell rounding activity of these mutants is correlated with their ability to inhibit host-directed gene expression. Previous data suggesting that these two cytopathic activities could be dissociated can be readily accounted for by quantitative differences in M protein expression required. Infection of either BHK cells or L cells with tsO82 virus induced cell rounding, although cell rounding was delayed relative to that following infection with wt VSV, suggesting that tsO82 M protein retains some cytopathic activity. The distribution of actin, vimentin, and tubulin in transfected cells was determined by fluorescence microscopy. In cells transfected with tsO82 M mRNA, these cytoskeletal elements were indistinguishable from those of negative control transfected cells. In cells rounded as a result of transfection with wt M or MN1 mRNA, actin-containing filaments were reorganized into a thick perinuclear ring but were not depolymerized. In contrast, tubulin and vimentin appeared to be diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm of rounded cells. These results support the idea that cell rounding induced by M protein results from the depolymerization of microtubules and/or intermediate filaments

Anomalous Excitation Spectra of Frustrated Quantum Antiferromagnets

We use series expansions to study the excitation spectra of spin-1/2 antiferromagnets on anisotropic triangular lattices. For the isotropic triangular lattice model (TLM) the high-energy spectra show several anomalous features that differ strongly from linear spin-wave theory (LSWT). Even in the Neel phase, the deviations from LSWT increase sharply with frustration, leading to roton-like minima at special wavevectors. We argue that these results can be interpreted naturally in a spinon language, and provide an explanation for the previously observed anomalous finite-temperature properties of the TLM. In the coupled-chains limit, quantum renormalizations strongly enhance the one-dimensionality of the spectra, in agreement with experiments on Cs_2CuCl_4.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. New Fig. 3 with higher-order series data, paper shortened, references updated, one added (Ref. 28), minor changes otherwise. Published versio

Electronic structure of two interacting phosphorus δ-doped layers in silicon

Density functional theory is used to quantify the interaction of a pair of 1/4-monolayer phosphorus δ-doped layers in silicon. We investigate changes in the electronic structure as the distance between the two δ-doped layers is altered and identify the onset of interactions between the transverse and longitudinal bands. The calculations show that the valley splitting is insensitive to the separation distance, while the interlayer band splittings are insensitive to the representation used to describe the dopant disorder. These observations are exploited in a hybrid model which enables the calculation of accurate splittings of realistically disordered systems at tractable computational cost

Electronic structure models of phosphorus 0-doped silicon

We report a density-functional theory treatment of phosphorus 0-doped silicon. Using large asymmetric unit cells with up to 800 atoms, we obtain first-principles doping potentials, band energies, and donor-electron distributions. The explicit and nonempirical description of both valence and donor electrons improves upon previous models of this system. The effects of overlapping 0-doping potentials in smaller systems are adequately captured using a uniform band alignment shift

Editorial

Intellectual disability in the Esidimeni tragedy: Silent death

Excitation spectra and ground state properties of the layered spin-1/2 frustrated antiferromagnets Cs_2CuCl_4 and Cs_2CuBr_4

We use series expansion methods to study ground- and excited-state properties in the helically ordered phase of spin-1/2 frustrated antiferromagnets on an anisotropic triangular lattice. We calculate the ground state energy, ordering wavevector, sublattice magnetization and one-magnon excitation spectrum for parameters relevant to Cs_2CuCl_4 and Cs_2CuBr_4. Both materials are modeled in terms of a Heisenberg model with spatially anisotropic exchange constants; for Cs_2CuCl_4 we also take into account the additional Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction. We compare our results for Cs_2CuCl_4 with unpolarized neutron scattering experiments and find good agreement. In particular, the large quantum renormalizations of the one-magnon dispersion are well accounted for in our analysis, and inclusion of the DM interaction brings the theoretical predictions for the ordering wavevector and the magnon dispersion closer to the experimental results.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Anisotropy effects in a mixed quantum-classical Heisenberg model in two dimensions

We analyse a specific two dimensional mixed spin Heisenberg model with exchange anisotropy, by means of high temperature expansions and Monte Carlo simulations. The goal is to describe the magnetic properties of the compound (NBu_{4})_{2}Mn_{2}[Cu(opba)]_{3}\cdot 6DMSO\cdot H_{2}O which exhibits a ferromagnetic transition at $T_{c}=15K$. Extrapolating our analysis on the basis of renormalisation group arguments, we find that this transition may result from a very weak anisotropy effect.Comment: 8 pages, 10 Postscript figure

Digital Dexterity: A Sustainable Model for Building Essential Skills for the Future Workforce

The importance of digital dexterity in achieving institutional and business missions led the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) to establish a Digital Dexterity Program in 2018. The aim of the CAUL Program was to ascertain the current state of play of digital literacies at member institutions and to establish best practice principles for developing the skills and understandings necessary for staff and students to become effective global citizens and lifelong learners. The Program consisted of three project teams tasked with developing resources that would provide: a framework for the development of digital dexterity skills, tools to assist CAUL members to improve their capability in digital dexterity, and a strategy and means to engage with stakeholders and advocate on digital dexterity. CAUL’s approach with the Digital Dexterity Program is unique in that it was practitioner-led, and involved industry engagement, particularly around the sustainability of the model. Each team consisted of CAUL member library staff with a passion for enabling and empowering staff and students through the development of digital dexterity skills. Team members were drawn from 14 institutions across six Australian states and territories and this collaborative work has enabled the development of a truly national approach. The grass-roots engagement included consultation with industry stakeholders outside of CAUL, including the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet), CAVAL and the Australian Research Data Commons. The Digital Dexterity Program, (launched in February 2019) included a Digital Dexterity Framework, and the establishment of a Community of Practice, which will ensure the continued development and sustainability of the program