Giving Voice to the Voiceless: The Use of Digital Technologies by Marginalized Groups

This paper reports on a workshop hosted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in September, 2018. The workshop, called “Giving Voice to the Voiceless: The Use of Digital Technologies by Marginalized Groups”, focused on discussing how marginalized groups use digital technologies to raise their voices. At the workshop, a diverse group of scholars and doctoral students presented research projects and perspectives on the role that digital technologies have in activist projects that represent marginalized groups that have gained momentum in the last few years. The studies and viewpoints presented shed light on four areas in which IS research can expand our understanding about how marginalized groups use digital technologies to address societal challenges: 1) the rise of cyberactivism, 2) resource mobilization for cyberactivism, 3) cyberactivism by and with marginalized groups, and 4) research methods for examining how marginalized groups use digital technologies

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

A. Palotie on työryhmän Schizophrenia Working Grp Psychiat jäsen.We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P = 1 x 10(-4)) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P = 8.4 x 10(-7)). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.Peer reviewe

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

Evaluating behavior change among participants of the Hawaiʻi Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-105).xii, 105 leaves, bound 29 cmPoor diet has been shown to be associated with the major causes of morbidity and mortality among people in the United States. Lifelong consumption patterns of various nutrients have been linked to the development and progression of certain chronic conditions and diseases (1). Thus, developing and maintaining good dietary habits is essential for long-term health and well-being. In 1980, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services developed a set of national recommendations known as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines were developed to assist Americans in relating scientific nutrition information to practical food choices and related behaviors. The sixth and most recent edition of the Dietary Guidelines, published in 2005, consists of nutrition recommendations that promote health and reduce the risk for chronic disease (1). Currently, many Americans, especially those of lower income and socioeconomic status (SES), do not meet the recommendations specified in the Dietary Guidelines (1-5). In response, efforts are made through nutrition education and outreach to inform individuals about the relationship between diet and health. The assumption is that individuals can and will make better nutrition- and food-related choices through the implementation of these programs. Established in 1969, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) provides nutrition education to low-income individuals. EFNEP's goal is to improve the well-being and health of participants and their families through 1 improved dietary practices and behaviors (6). Using a hands-on, learn by doing approach, local paraprofessionals teach homemakers about the fundamentals and importance of basic nutrition, food safety and preparation, and family resource management In 2006, EFNEP reached 150,270 adults and 409,389 youths directly, while impacting more than half a million family members indirectly nationwide (7). Nationally, more than 70% of EFNEP participants are minorities, with the majority being Hispanic American or African American (7). Hawai'i EFNEP differs from the National level with regard to the breakdown of its ethnic minority groups, in that 70% of EFNEP participants are of Native Hawaiian, , Pacific Islander, and Asian ethnicities. Nutrition education programs such as EFNEP utilize millions of U.S. tax dollars every year. Therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of these programs at improving the nutrition-related behavior of participants is essential for justifying continued federal funding. Such evaluations can be challenging because the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions depends on many factors, and few gold standards exist for evaluating nutrition-related behaviors (8,9). While there is a large amount of information available regarding the effectiveness of nutrition education programs among the larger minority groups in the U.S. (e.g., African and Hispanic Americans), only a very small amount of data pertaining to Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander Americans is currently presented. Additionally, a lack of data sets large enough to make interethnic distinctions possible in multivariate analyses has resulted in these populations being analyzed as either one (Asian Americans and Pacific 2 Islanders) or two (Asian Americans or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islanders) large aggregated groups. This may have masked the high degree of diversity in socioeconomic, immigrant, and health status that exists between ethnic and cultural subgroups of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Americans. Hawai'i is an ideal location for investigating these ethnic groups in epidemiological research, because they constitute a large proportion of the State's population. Furthermore, Hawaii EFNEP provides an opportunity to examine the effectiveness of nutrition education among less aggregated ethnic groups within these broader categories. Research Goal and Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the ability of the Hawaii EFNEP and the EFNEP paraprofessionals to facilitate behavior change among program participants. The objectives of this research were to: (1) learn which ethnic groups, if any, differed significantly in behavior change after completing the Hawai'i EFNEP series, and (2) determine if paraprofessional instruction had any significant effect on participant behavior change, based on the pre- and post- EFNEP behavior checklist questions

Impairment in Functional Capacity as an Endophenotype Candidate in Severe Mental Illness

Impairment in everyday functioning (also referred to as “disability”) is a central feature of schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder, as well as other neuropsychiatric conditions. There is a genetic contribution to both SZ and bipolar illness (BPI), and the primary putative determinant of impairments in everyday functioning across these 2 conditions, cognitive impairments, also show substantial heritability and in fact have been proposed to be endophenotypes for these disorders. In this article, we review data and make our case that impairments in functional capacity, the functional abilities that result in functional disability, may also be a heritable trait that is common across neuropsychiatric illnesses such BPI and SZ. While there has been little previous research on the heritability of these abilities, it is an area receiving substantial research attention. We consider advances in the measurement of cognitive functioning in SZ that may facilitate the discovery of genetic influences on functional capacity. Functional capacity measures are proximal to real-world impairments, measured with suitable psychometric precision to be used in heritability analyses, and appear to be minimally influenced by environmental factors that may cause disability such as environmental factors, symptoms, and disability compensation. Our conclusion is that these functional capacity measures have potential to be the target of genetic analyses and that these measures should be considered across neuropsychiatric conditions where impairments in everyday functioning are present

Improving access to geodetic imaging crustal deformation data using GeoGateway.

GeoGateway (http://geo-gateway.org) is a web-based interface for analysis and modeling of geodetic imaging data and to support response to related disasters. Geodetic imaging data product currently supported by GeoGateway include Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) daily position time series and derived velocities and displacements and airborne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) from NASA's UAVSAR platform. GeoGateway allows users to layer data products in a web map interface and extract information from various tools. Extracted products can be downloaded for further analysis. GeoGateway includes overlays of California fault traces, seismicity from user selected search parameters, and user supplied map files. GeoGateway also provides earthquake nowcasts and hazard maps as well as products created for related response to natural disasters. A user guide is present in the GeoGateway interface. The GeoGateway development team is also growing the user base through workshops, webinars, and video tutorials. GeoGateway is used in the classroom and for research by experts and non-experts including by students

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P=1 × 10) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P=8.4 × 10). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies