Understanding How Undergraduate Students Experience and Manage Stress: Implications for Teaching and Learning Anthropology

Research has shown that negative effects of stress on undergraduate students can have a significant impact on their college experience. Most of what we know about this topic is quantitative, based on surveys that provide self-reported information for large numbers of college students. The present study provides an in-depth qualitative perspective on college students and stress that foregrounds the voices of these emerging adults. Specifically, in this article we (a) share findings from a study using qualitative methods to examine how college students experience and manage stress and (b) provide strategies to help anthropology instructors design and manage their classes to improve learning for students under chronic stress

Associations between sensory issues, mealtime behaviours, and food and nutrient intakes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Appendix 2, BPFAS scoring sheet, redacted for copyright reasonsBackground: Sensory issues are defined as dysfunction within the integration of the seven senses within the brain. Dysfunction can lead to issues within higher-level integrative functions such as social participation and planning and praxis, and lead to atypical responses to one’s environment. Sensory issues are highly prevalent in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and have been associated with difficult mealtime behaviours. It is not known if sensory issues are associated with food or nutrient intake in ASD children living in New Zealand (NZ). Nutritional deficits during development could have compounding effects on cognition and behaviour in ASD. Methods: Analysis of baseline data from an ongoing randomised-controlled trial was undertaken. Using a cross-sectional observational study design we investigated associations of sensory issue severity with frequency of difficult mealtime behaviour and food and nutrient intakes of children aged 2.5–8 years with ASD in NZ. The Sensory Processing Measure (SPM), Behavioural Paediatric Feeding Assessment Scale, Dietary Intake for Child’s Eating (DICE), and four-day food diaries were used to measure sensory issues, difficult mealtime behaviours, food intake, and nutrient intake, respectively. Results: Of 113 participants, 90.2% of children had sensory issues, and 41.5% of children had clinical difficult mealtime behaviours. An increase in sensory issue severity corresponded to an increase in frequency of difficult mealtime behaviours (r=.265, p=.007). Social participation issue severity was inversely associated with the total DICE score (r=-.305, p=.003). More than 50% of the children did not meet Ministry of Health recommendations for servings of fruit, vegetables, breads and cereals, milk and milk products, or nutrient intakes for calcium. Neither sensory issue severity nor frequency of difficult mealtime behaviours appeared to be associated with food and nutrient intakes. Conclusion: Sensory issues are highly prevalent in ASD children and sensory issue severity is positively associated with frequency of difficult mealtime behaviours. Intervention is required in a number of children with ASD to ensure food and nutrient intake recommendations are met

Nontraditional Students: Understanding and Meeting their Needs in the Anthropology Classroom

In light of the fact that nontraditional students (those age 25 years or older) outnumber traditional students on many US college campuses, it is important to understand their needs and experiences in higher education. A key characteristic distinguishing nontraditional students from traditional-aged college students is the high likelihood that they are juggling multiple competing demands and stressors, including parenthood, work, marriage, and financial responsibility. The findings presented here are part of a larger study that included in-depth interviews with 25 nontraditional undergraduate students at New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU or Highlands). This article highlights the narratives of five of these nontraditional students to illustrate the range of experiences that emerged across the sample. The authors reflect on how learning these narratives has influenced their personal approaches to teaching and engaging with nontraditional students and provide strategies for supporting nontraditional students in the anthropology classroom

Diverse Student Experiences in Higher Education: Implications for the Anthropology Classroom

The articles in this special collection were presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology meeting in 2018 on a panel affiliated with the organization’s Issues in Higher Education Topical Interest Group. This topical interest group focuses on examining how ongoing shifts in student demographics, financial challenges, and national policy impact decision-making and practice at all levels of the institution in complex ways. The articles in this collection explore educational experiences and needs of college students from their perspectives within the broader context of a rapidly changing higher education landscape and with a focus on applying this knowledge to teaching practices in the anthropology classroom. The authors present ethnographic research on students’ experiences, discuss implications of findings for the anthropology classroom, and provide concrete strategies that instructors can implement to address students’ needs. In doing so, they bring together two fields of study that often appear in the literature as separate areas of focus – the anthropology of higher education and the teaching of anthropology

The role of culturally competent communication in reducing ethnic and racial healthcare disparities.

Promoting culturally competent communication at the provider, care institution, health plan, and national levels is likely to contribute to success in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of high quality care. Although some health plans recently have shown interest in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in care, very few have addressed how health plans can improve their cultural competency to reduce disparities. This commentary summarizes the importance of culturally competent communication across several levels of the healthcare system and details concrete steps that managed care organizations can take to maximize their ability to provide culturally competent communication and care

Mental Health Awareness Among Parents in an Urban High School

Mental health literacy has been positively correlated with levels of service utilization and negatively correlated with levels of stigmatizing attitudes. The research is sparse in measuring parents’ levels of mental health knowledge and even less research exists measuring parents’ ability to locate resources in their community. The current study focused on parents in an urban high school in Western, New York. In this study, six participants completed a survey assessing their ability to identify the symptoms of mental illness and locate resources in the community. The results showed that participants were able to correctly identify four common mental illnesses. The results also suggested that parents would encourage their children to seek professional help and that most knew of resources in the community that can provide that help. Participants felt less confident in their ability to access community agencies for information and support

The Impact of Increased Ethanol Production on Corn Basis in South Dakota

A basis model is used to empirically estimate the impact of ethanol production on the South Dakota corn basis on the district and State levels. Monthly data is used to estimate basis as a function of futures price, supply, demand, storage, and transportation costs. The independent variables used are corn futures prices, corn production, corn usage for ethanol production, corn usage by cattle, Midwest No. 2 Diesel retail sales prices, storage availability, and unit train transportation The regression results show the impact on corn basis varies by district from $0.04 to$0.27 per bushel, with a State impact of $0.24 in 2005. The impact from an additional 40 million gallon per year (MGY) ethanol plant ranges from$0.06 to $0.16 per bushel, with a State impact of$0.03. The impact from an additional 100 MGY ethanol plant ranges from $0.16 to$0.40 per bushel, with a State impact of $0.08.Crop Production/Industries,

Using Photographic Activity Schedules to Facilitate Independent Completion of Academic Tasks for Young Children with Autism

Some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to perform a series of academic tasks, like academic worksheets, independently. Photographic activity schedules are one technique that has been demonstrated to promote independent behavior in individuals with ASD. This study used a multiple baseline design across participants to examine how activity schedules impacted the accurate and independent completion of a series of academic tasks (i.e., worksheets) for young children with ASD. Participants included three young children with ASD 6 and 7 years old who performed a series of academic tasks in the presence of an adult, but struggled to display those concepts accurately in the absence of an adult. Procedures involved training participants to use activity schedules through graduated guidance until participants used activity schedules to accurately complete three academic tasks without additional assistance. Completing these worksheets using schedules not only improved student accuracy but also provided more opportunities for students to learn in an environment with their typically developing peers

The Fantasy of Embodiment: Afrofuturism, Cosplay and the Afrodiaspora

Cosplay, or costume play, refers to the act of dressing up as characters from Japanese manga and anime, television, film, comics, cartoons and video games. Costumes are infused with the imaginative power capable of transporting cosplayers into different realms of existence. Cosplayers step into the narratives of the characters that they dress up as. For people of colour (POC), most especially those who belong to the Afrodiasporic community, cosplay can be understood as a social experiment that creates a discursive space to play with preconceived racial stereotypes. Commonly, cosplay is described as being an expressive realm to show passion for a fandom, but by melding cosplay subculture with Afrofuturist theories on play, the power of the imagination, and the creation of alternative systems of being and belonging, it can be conceptualized as a tool that possesses the capability to (re)signify and (re)present blackness by encouraging cosplayers to take control of self-visualization. Along with building from the theoretical framings of Afrofuturism, this project makes use of interviews with Afrofuturist scholars and artists, as well as cosplay participants to interrogate the relationship between cosplay and authentic visual representation. This work culminates in a research-creation project that depicts a visual and interactive guide that expounds on how conceiving cosplay, as an Afrofuturist tool, can encourage a desire to play with embodiment to create new narratives that allow for greater expression from and for racialized cosplayers