Baclofen as a helpful alternative in treatment of painful paroxysmal attacks from trigeminal neuralgia

A clinical decision report using: Fromm GH, Terrance CF, Chattha AS. Baclofen in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: double-blind study and long-term follow-up. Ann Neurol. 1984;15(3):240. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.410150306 for a patient with paroxysmal attacks from trigeminal neuralgia who is unable to take carbamazepine

Morning meeting and closing circles: a sense of community, positive learning environment, and increased social interactions in an elementary classroom

This action research study was implemented over a three-week period in a first-grade classroom, collecting qualitative and quantitative data. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of Morning Meetings and Closing Circles on a sense of community in an elementary classroom. Preliminary findings show an increase in student social interactions, positive learning environment, and a climate of belonging. This presentation will also provide information on Morning Meetings and Closing Circles as an intervention to combat social and emotional competencies lost during the COVID-19 pandemic

Althea Hunt: Behind the Curtain

Althea Hunt is not a name well known outside of Phi Beta Kappa Hall. Yet, she pioneered the establishment of William and Mary Theatre as a single, female professor in 1926. Hunt never married, nor did she have children during an era in which this was an expectation of upper-middle class women. Hunt provides an insight to nontraditional womanhood and first-wave feminism on our campus. As a woman in the professional world, Hunt was a minority; however, her educational experiences with other women created a comfortable environment in which Hunt was able to thrive and perform confidently. Hunt defied gender expectations and maximized her professional opportunities despite being relegated to limited career paths

Exploring women’s experiences of premenstrual embodiment utilising a material-discursive-intrapsychic framework

Body image concerns are a prominent issue among women, with detrimental consequences for mental health and well-being. Women’s body shame and body dissatisfaction is heightened during the premenstrual phase of the cycle, associated with premenstrual distress. Body management behaviours also fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, manifested by premenstrual food cravings and reduced exercise. However, the meaning and consequences of premenstrual body dissatisfaction and changes to body management remains underexplored. How women construct and negotiate negative premenstrual embodiment in relation to cultural discourse, and factors contributing to premenstrual body shame and dissatisfaction, require further examination. The purpose of the research presented in this thesis was to explore how women who report premenstrual body dissatisfaction construct and experience their premenstrual bodies. A mixed method design was employed, utilising a survey and the arts-based method body-mapping, followed by an interview. In the statistical analysis of standardised survey scales, body shame was associated with higher premenstrual distress and self-objectification. Self-objectification was associated with higher premenstrual emotional/reactivity. Women who reported disordered eating attitudes reported lower premenstrual distress, body shame and self-objectification. Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified that negative physical and emotional premenstrual changes were interrelated, associated with construction of the premenstrual body as abject, out of control, separate to the self, and to blame for women’s distress. Drawing on cultural discourse associated with feminine embodiment, constructions of the abject body as fat and leaking were associated with increased self-policing and body scrutiny. Premenstrual changes disrupted women’s usual strict management of their bodies, associated with negative feelings towards the premenstrual body and the self. Many women demonstrated agency and resistance of negative cultural discourses around premenstrual embodiment. Participants critiqued and challenged cultural discourses that negatively construct the premenstrual body, dressed for comfort rather than fashion premenstrually and took a break from restrictive eating and rigorous exercise practices during this phase. Findings of this thesis provide insight into women’s subjective experiences of negative premenstrual embodiment. These findings emphasize the need to acknowledge changes in body dissatisfaction and body management across the menstrual cycle, and the consequences for women’s feelings about the body and the self. The broader implications of these findings suggest that premenstrual body dissatisfaction is complex and multi-layered and plays a role in women’s premenstrual distress

Teaching with Data in the Social Sciences at the University of Richmond

From Spring 2020 through Fall 2021, a team from UR participated in a multi-site study called “Teaching with Data in the Social Sciences” led by Ithaka S+R, a research and strategy organization that focuses on scholarly communication and libraries in higher education. Samantha Guss (Boatwright Library) and Ryan Brazell (Faculty Hub) interviewed 14 UR faculty, all of whom teach in social sciences disciplines or use social data, to learn more about faculty needs as they help their students build data literacy skills. The primary objective for participating in this study was to better understand UR faculty needs so that the Library and Faculty Hub can better support faculty who teach with data across the curriculum. Findings are presented in four themes

Gun Related Youth Violence: Fear of Victimization versus the Influence of Significant Others

Differential association/social learning theories have received considerable empirical support as an explanation of participation in delinquent acts, including violent delinquency (Heimer 1997). More recently, and primarily as a result of highly publicized school shootings in suburban high schools, fear of crime and victimization have received attention as motivators of gun-carrying and gun violence. These phenomena are generally not examined in unison, however, leaving open the question of their relative role as a cause of gun carrying and violence amongst youth. The current research project addresses this question. A major strength of the current research is the adoption of multiple measures of each perspective. We examine the impact of the attitudes and behaviors of family members and friends on the gun-related behaviors of a sample of male high school age youth. Moreover, we adopt a variety of measures of fear of victimization and actual victimization in schools, on school grounds, and in neighborhoods. The primary goal of this research is to enhance our understanding of the multiplicity of factors that contribute to youthful involvement with firearms and violent delinquency

Gun Related Youth Violence: Fear of Victimization versus the Influence of Significant Others

Differential association/social learning theories have received considerable empirical support as an explanation of participation in delinquent acts, including violent delinquency (Heimer 1997). More recently, and primarily as a result of highly publicized school shootings in suburban high schools, fear of crime and victimization have received attention as motivators of gun-carrying and gun violence. These phenomena are generally not examined in unison, however, leaving open the question of their relative role as a cause of gun carrying and violence amongst youth. The current research project addresses this question. A major strength of the current research is the adoption of multiple measures of each perspective. We examine the impact of the attitudes and behaviors of family members and friends on the gun-related behaviors of a sample of male high school age youth. Moreover, we adopt a variety of measures of fear of victimization and actual victimization in schools, on school grounds, and in neighborhoods. The primary goal of this research is to enhance our understanding of the multiplicity of factors that contribute to youthful involvement with firearms and violent delinquency