A Case Study of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center

The purpose of the study was to identify the impact that the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (SWVHEC), located in Abingdon, has had on area residents in the past twenty years. The case study presented here is different from others that have been written in that it measures the number of courses offered, student registrations, and professional developments available to local residents. The data was collected and triangulated using different methods, such as structured interviews, archival records, newspaper articles, University websites, and participant-observations. The study included colleges and universities with either main campuses or satellite locations in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, specifically Bluefield College, East Tennessee State University, Emory & Henry College, King University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, University of Virginia, University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Highlands Community College, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. (SWVHEC, 2017) The former participating colleges are George Mason University, Norfolk State, and Virginia Intermont College. The outcomes of the study identified almost 40,000 registrations from all of the colleges combined from area residents over the past twenty years. The average number of individuals served per year is 1,024. During the year 2000 the SWVHEC served the largest number of individuals (1,568), while during the year 2015 experienced the lowest number of individuals served (286). Currently, the trends in enrollments from most of the partner colleges show a decline. Declining student enrollment is a major cause of concern for the colleges, and by extension the Center. To address this problem, the Executive Director who took control in 2015, David Matlock, has revitalized the partnership with King University and its Nursing Program. Mr. Matlock also secured a grant for Mt. Rogers Regional Adult Education (MRRAE) Program to offer General Educational Development (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in the Center. Also, MRRAE recently signed a contract to lease an office, two classrooms and a computer lab. Another new collaboration Mr. Matlock established is with Goodwill Education Center. These and other new partnerships and programs are beginning to fill the empty classrooms and offices in the SWVHEC. Opportunities for growth are a high priority for the Center and its staff

Uncovering identities through performance poetry

Research in the area of performance poetry is still relatively new to the field of communication. Using Hecht’s Communication Theory of Identity, this study explores performance poetry as a communicative tool for identity management. By observing the performances of five poets from six seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, a thematic analysis of the communication practices that occurred during the performances was used to code the processes of identity management. Additionally, this study explores how validation of enacted identity occurs between the poets and their audiences. Findings suggest that performance poetry could effectively be utilized as a tool in identity management that would offer both a macro and a micro evaluation of multiple identities on multiple levels; and validation occurred as either a natural or prompted response. Overall, this study demonstrates the usefulness of performance poetry in not only self-expression by also as valuable instrument in managing identity

Comeback of Appalachian Female Stroke Survivors: The Interrelationships of Cognition, Function, Self-Concept, Interpersonal, and Social Relationships.

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the comeback phase of the Trajectory of Chronic Illness Management for Appalachian women stroke survivors. This study predicted comeback as a relationship between physical healing, biographical reengagement, and psychological coming to terms that was mediated by rehabilitation. The concepts were evaluated through investigation of function and cognitive abilities, self-assessment of recovery, health rating, ability to control life, relationship changes, physical and mental health, and limitations of activities due to poor physical or mental health. Data were collected using, the Stroke Impact Scale (3.0) (Duncan, Bode, Lia, & Perera, 2003), the Relationship Change Scale (Guerney, 1971), and the Health-Related-Quality-of-Life-4 Scale (Morarity, Zack, & Kobau, 2003). Descriptive statistics summarized patient characteristics. Continuous variables were analyzed using bivariate relationships expressed as Pearson correlation coefficients. The difference between groups (stroke severity and stroke type) and measurement variables were analyzed using independent ttest and ANOVA. Multiple linear regressions were completed to evaluate simultaneous effects of the independent variables. Forty-six English-speaking, Caucasian women ages 40-78 who had experienced stroke at least 1 year prior to enrollment and were independently living in their home environment participated. The mean age was 57 years with survivorship ranging from 1 to 36 years. Function and cognition scores were similar to the established test range for the SIS V 3.0. Women with moderate ischemic stroke scored statistically higher for recovery score (p Study findings suggest comeback can be predicted by the theoretical propositions of the Trajectory Theory of Chronic Illness Management: physical healing, biographical reengagement, and psychologically coming to terms (Corbin & Strauss, 1991). A strong relationship exists among the phases representative of comeback, while rehabilitation procedures and interpersonal relationships demonstrated only modest significance

Cocoa and Chocolate: Deconstructing the Development Paradigm in Cameroon

This project focuses specifically on the neo-liberal economic iteration of international development. Neo-liberalism is the idea that the deregulation of the private sector and expansion of free trade will lead to growth in undeveloped countries, which will effectively end poverty and increase the standard of living. My ethnography in Southwest Cameroon, however, shows that the experience and embodiment of development takes on a new understanding at the local, daily level. Exploring the paradox of cocoa and chocolate in Cameroon, I find that while the average Cameroonian is able to grow cocoa, he/she is unable to afford chocolate. This context calls for a critiquing of the assumptions which undergird the development paradigm in order to understand how and why it so often fails, as well to reconcile development with the local understandings and needs in the Global South, generally, and Southwest Cameroon, specifically

Racial Disparity in the Diagnosis of Conduct Disorder

African American youth are exposed to considerably more risk factors than their Caucasian counterparts, yet they are being diagnosed at comparably lower rates for Conduct Disorder (CD) in epidemiological studies. Empirical data supports the claim that African Americans are at greater risk of developing CD. However, the internal dysfunction benchmark of the Diagnostic Statistic Manual (DSM) discourages clinicians from diagnosing youth who display environmentally caused CD. The racial disparity in the diagnosis of CD is problematic for two reasons. First, African American youth who display antisocial personality are more likely to be referred to the justice system than to therapeutic intervention. Second, both untreated CD and incarceration elevate antisocial behavior and extend it into adulthood. Factors exist at the societal, cultural and clinical levels that cause this disparity

Science signaling podcast: 21 July 2015

© 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights Reserved. This Podcast features an interview with Cristina Murga and Rocio Vila-Bedmar, authors of a Research Article that appears in the 21 July 2015 issue of Science Signaling, about how deleting the kinase GRK2 can counteract some of the metabolic effects of a bad diet. Obesity affects many of the body's normal functions, most notably metabolism. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. It also promotes hepatic steatosis, the accumulation of fat in the liver. Vila-Bedmar et al. show that deleting GRK2 can prevent further weight gain and hepatic steatosis and improve glucose sensitivity in obese mice. Deleting GRK2 improved these metabolic consequences of high-fat diet-induced obesity even if the kinase was deleted after the mice had already become obese and resistant to insulin.Peer Reviewe

Nurses Forming Legal Partnerships to Meet the Needs of the Underserved in Rural America

The impetus for the recognition of the need for legal partners in healthcare came from Boston City Hospital in 1993. The hospital provided care to the largest uninsured and underinsured population in the New England states. The pediatric patients were noted by Dr. Barry Zuckerman to have difficulty in recovering from medical illnesses. He linked their inability to improve their health to poor housing, food insecurity, and basic social determinants of health. His hiring of a part-time lawyer led to a national movement for the development of medical-legal partnerships. The American Bar Association, the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnerships at George Washington University in Washington, DC and the American Academy of Pediatrics formed the first national medical-legal partnership in 2007. Joint resolutions were passed for members to become partners with the other professional colleagues to “address the legal and social issues affecting patient health and well-being.” The American Bar Association resolution led to the creation of the Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Project. In 2015, the East Tennessee State University College of Nursing nurse-led community health center was awarded a small grant from the National Nurse Centers Consortium to participate in the development of a medical-legal partnership. The health center is staffed by Nurse Practitioners who provide health care for the underserved in northeast Tennessee. The patients are diverse and include homeless, migrants, residents of public housing, uninsured, and underinsured. Partnering with the Tennessee Justice Center in Nashville, Tennessee, the nurse-led medical legal partnership improved lives of pediatric patients, adults, pregnant women across the state, and advocacy rights for those who cannot speak for themselves