Anxiety: An Epidemic Through the Lens of Social Media

Anxiety: An Epidemic was originally inspired by the mental health crisis in my hometown, Palo Alto, California, and evolved to specifically focus on social media-related anxiety. I examined the question: How has social media evolved over the last decade and what effect does the proliferation of social media have on the young adult population? I hypothesized that social media would have a predominately negative effect, especially on young women, and set out to create a theatrical piece inspired by my research. In my meta-analysis of studies conducted, I found that more data needs to be collected on the relatively new phenomena surrounding social media usage both as positive and negative forces. The research I conducted inspired two new artistic works: a physical theatre piece entitled MASKS: An Ode to Young Women, and a children’s story entitled “The King Who Lost His Smile” (both artistic works can be found in full in appendix A). I discovered that while more research needs to be conducted to definitively find if social media usage has a predominantly positive or negative effect, the artistic works I created can serve as a forum to start important conversations between young adults and their communities at large about their experiences with anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms

Stephen Austin: Empresario of Texas. By Gregg Cantrell. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. Pp. xiv, 493. $29.95.)

Gregg Cantrell, professor of history at Hardin-Simmoms University, has written an intriguing and intelligent biography of the "'Father of Texas", Stephen Fuller Austin. This is the first major retelling of Austin's life in over seventy years, and it departs significantly from these earlier works. While previous biographies centered on Austin's career and accomplishments, this book concentrates on his personal life, personality, and character

Post-occupancy evaluation of wayfinding in a pediatric hospital: research findings and implications for instruction

Journal ArticleA post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of way finding in a new pediatric hospital pointed to a wide range of areas where wayfinding aids could be improved. After initial walk-through evaluation tours and meetings with administrators, five more systematic methods were used to assess problems: staff and visitor interviews, staff-maintained logs to record visitor requests for wayfinding, photographed traces in problem areas, behavior observation and tracking of visitors, and cognitive maps drawn by patients and parents. From the larger report of findings and recommendations, a few results are highlighted: a general assessment of wayfinding processes and problems, the importance of distinguishing inpatient and outpatient areas, the problems of radial floor layouts, and general problems with signs, colors, and other wayfinding cues. Results underscore the importance of triangulation - relying on multiple research methods to assess wayfinding. Issues relating to conducting post-occupancy analyses as class projects are also addressed

Cyberbullying and Suicide Among LGBTQ Youth: Is There a Connection?

The suicide rate among children and teens has been rising over the last decade, and members of the LGBTQ youth population are at considerably greater risk for suicide than their heterosexual peers. LGBTQ youth are also at heightened risk of being bullied due to sexual orientation. Recent technological advancements have created a new platform for bullying, that of cyberbullying, which can contribute to feelings of depression and low self-esteem. The detrimental impact that cyberbullying can have on mental health suggests the possibility of a potential connection between cyberbullying and LGBTQ youth suicide. This qualitative study examines the possible link between cyberbullying and LGBTQ youth suicide by conducting a content analysis of newspaper articles about LGBTQ youth suicide over the last ten years. A random sample of 47 national newspaper articles that fit the inclusion criteria of LGBTQ youth, suicide, and cyberbullying was compiled utilizing academic databases available via the researchers’ university library system and via a public search engine. Articles were coded by both researchers and, as categories and subcategories were identified, broader themes emerged that support the researchers’ question of whether there is a connection between cyberbullying and suicide among the LGBTQ youth population. These findings highlight the need for further examination, prevention, and intervention for this vulnerable population at both the policy and practice levels

NAVIGATING A NEW DIGITAL INTERFACE: USING AUTOMATED IMAGE RECOGNITION TO IDENTIFY POTTERY IN THE ARCHAIDE PROJECT

Archaeological Automatic Interpretation and Documentation of cEramic (ArchAIDE) is a H2020 funded project (2016-2019) developing digital tools to support archaeologists in recognising and classifying pottery. ArchAIDE is not designed to replace the knowledge of pottery specialists, but seeks to complement by speeding time consuming tasks, provide support for non-specialists, help students learn more about pottery recognition, and aid in the collection of metadata needed to describe the pottery. ArchAIDE is developing a tablet-based mobile app which relies upon image recognition and uses deep learning to narrow and suggest possible matches. While ArchAIDE has been careful to design a tool that allows classification decisions to be made by users at key points in the recording workflow, the app uses digital tools and methods for a significant tasks that were previously carried out using analogue methods. This paper will explore how users are engaging differently with the archaeology when using a digital workflow for identifying, classifying and recording pottery, as observed by the ArchAIDE project partners in early testing. This will include issues around using digitised comparative collections rather than paper catalogues, using the app to identify pottery while still in the field-rather than during post-excavation, how users might ‘see’ pottery differently through a digital rather than analogue analysis, and whether pottery identification using a digital interface changes knowledge transmission and learning processes. While the purpose of the ArchAIDE project is to make pottery identification faster and easier, this paper will pause to reflect and critically engage with moving to a digital workflow, and how this may influence how archaeological knowledge is produced and understood

Prevalence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii in Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis Collected From Southeastern Virginia, 2010-2011

Amblyomma americanum is the most commonly-encountered tick species in southeastern Virginia, representing approximately 95% of the human-biting tick population in this area. Here we investigated the prevalence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii in questing Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis ticks collected from multiple sites in southeastern Virginia from 2010–2011. Although both Ehrlichia species were detected in Amblyomma americanum, no evidence of either pathogen was found in Dermacentor variabilis. Prevalence of E. chaffeensis varied by location, ranging from 0 – 5.08% among Amblyomma americanum populations. Ehrlichia ewingii prevalence was slightly higher, ranging from 0 – 8.20% among A. americanum populations. We conclude that both pathogens are established in southeastern Virginia A. americanum populations, and that although there are no apparent temporal trends in Ehrlichia prevalence, there is variation among locations, suggesting the potential for disease hotspots

Mechanisms of Genetic Dwarfism in Dwarf Millet Genotypes

The goal of this project was to study and determine the different forms of genetic dwarfism in millet plants. This was done by creating three different types of millet samples using two different forms of mutant seeds and also normal seeds. 6 plants of each of the three varieties were sectioned into separate pots, and then given different treatment levels of gibberellin. Two plants in each group were given no gibberellin, two were given gibberellin once a week and two were given gibberellin daily Monday-Friday. The height of each plant was then recorded once a week throughout the trial period. Using these heights the genotypes of the two mutant types were identified

It’s Like I Have an Advantage in All This: Experiences of Advocacy by Parents of Children with Disabilities from Professional Backgrounds

Supports and services for children with disabilities are not distributed equitably. There are disparities in access to and quality of services for children with disabilities from low-income and ethnic minority groups. There are likely many contributors to these disparities, but one factor may be barriers to access that require parents to advocate to obtain services for their children. This qualitative study explores advocacy experiences of parents of children with disabilities (n=40) who have a high level of education and/or professional achievement. Parents described relying heavily on their professional and educational backgrounds in advocacy, and some commented upon the “advantage” they had in accessing services. In the context of an international shift in developmental services policy towards self-determination and privatization, parents and guardians will play an even larger role in decision-making about services with their dependents with disabilities. The findings of this study suggest that support and training for parents and guardians as they navigate this new policy environment is especially critical given the role of parental knowledge and skills in advocacy activities

Isolation and functional characterisation of lamina propria leukocytes from helminth-infected, murine small intestine

The use of helminth infections as tools to understand the type 2 immune response is a well-established technique and important to many areas of immunological research. The phenotype and function of immune cell populations at the site of infection is a key determinant of pathogen clearance. However, infections with helminths such as the murine nematode Heligomosmoides polygryrus cause increased mucus production and thickening of the intestinal wall, which can result in extensive cell death when isolating and analysing cells from the lamina propria (LP). Populations of larger immune cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells are often trapped within mucus or dying tissues. Here we describe an optimised protocol for isolating LP leukocytes from the small intestine of H.polygyrus -infected mice, and we demonstrate phenotypic and functional identification of myeloid and CD4+ T cell subsets using cytokine staining and flow cytometry. Our protocol may provide a useful experimental method for the immunological analysis of the affected tissue site during helminth infections