Dancing together: environment, development, aid and faith organisations in climate politics in the United Kingdom

This paper investigates the politics of climate change in the United Kingdom, and in particular, the role of environment non-governmental organisations (ENGOs), aid, faith and development non-government organisations (NGOs). I argue that the drawing together of environment and development concerns is a natural progression in climate politics, given the interdependent nature of development and environmental issues, particularly in developing regions. In addition, this is not surprising given the social justice dimensions to climate change impacts and climate change adaptation, and the pre-existing social justice focus of aid and development organisations. Where other NGO alliances are rare, the combination of a strong civil society, a shared social justice perspective, and a number of important personal connections within the movement laid the groundwork for a strategic joint NGO on climate change. The political result of an alliance between environment groups and aid organisations in the UK context is a strengthened political impact given the wide community support for development and aid organisations and their established voice in politics in that country

Juvenile substance use and effects of substance use disorder on incarceration and grade retention in a sample referred for court clinic mental health evaluation

A significant amount of adolescents are involved in the drug court system. Within a few of the systems are mental health clinics providing more specific services to youth introduced into the courts. At the Rhode Island Family Court, juveniles are referred for full mental health evaluations in the court mental health clinic. They are then referred for other services depending on the outcome of the evaluation. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of the drug use of these youth referred to the mental health clinic. Because little is known about the about the affects of a substance use disorder diagnosis on incarceration and grade repetition, an analysis was done to determine if any associations were present. After accounting for mental health diagnosis and demographic variables, an association between substance use disorder and incarceration within 3 months of the mental health evaluation was found. There was no significant association between a substance use disorder diagnosis and grade repetition in school

Different Methods of Embodied Cognition in Pedagogy and its Effectiveness in Student Learning

The Mathematical Ideas Analysis hypothesizes that abstract mathematical reasoning is unconsciously organized and integrated with sensory-motor experience. Basic research testing movement, language, and perception during math problem solving supports this hypothesis. Applied research primarily measures students’ performance on math tests after they engage in analogous sensory-motor tasks, but findings show mixed results. Sensory-motor tasks are dependent on several moderators (e.g., instructional guidance, developmental stage) known to help students learn, and studies vary in how each moderator is implemented. There is little research on the effectiveness of sensory-motor tasks without these moderators. This study compares different approaches to working with an interactive application designed to emulate how people intrinsically solve algebraic equations. A total of 130 participants (84 females, 54 males) were drawn from a pool of Introductory Psychology students attending San Jose State University. Participants were placed in three different learning environments, and their performance was measured by comparing improvement between a pre-test and a post-test. We found no difference between participants who worked alone with the application, were instructed by the experimenter while using the application, or who instructed the experimenter on how to solve equations using the application. Further research is needed to examine how and whether analogous sensory-motor interfaces are a useful learning tool, and if so, what circumstances are ideal for sensory-motor interfaces to be used

Notions of Community at Illinois State University

Using qualitative research methods, the researcher uses unstructured in-depth interviews in order to understand notions of community at a Midwest university. The researcher interviews students, resident advisors, resident hall coordinators, members of registered student organizations, and students who live both on and off campus in order to find out how people at the university view ???community??? and how it is or is not incorporated into their lives as members of the university. Findings suggest that a person???s notion of community is related to what stakes he or she has in the university. Students find and build community through personal and common interests, geographical location, and through the use of networking websites. The author also finds that there are disjunctions in community building on campus due to the physical landscape of the university and due to students competing commitments to work or live off-campus.unpublishe

Suicide Education to Support Caregivers in their Abilities to Care for Suicidal Individuals

Purpose: Suicide is a preventable act of lethality yet still remains a public health concern. Suicide can affect individuals from a variety of backgrounds and does not discriminate against age, gender, ethnicity, income, or occupation. Efforts to prevent suicide often focus on supporting the suicidal individual however there is a lack of available resources that focus on supporting those closest such as caregivers. Caregivers can play a pivotal role in their loved one’s trajectory towards recovery. The purpose of this project was to provide caregivers with a suicide toolkit that encompasses basic education, approaches to supporting a loved one who is suicidal, and community resources on prevention. Methods: This quality improvement project included information on evidenced based approaches, and local resources on suicide prevention. A total of twenty caregivers were included in this project that were divided into two separate groups: group A and group B. Ten caregivers were assigned to group A and asked to provide input as to what they felt a toolkit should encompass based on identified needs, this feedback was then used in part to develop a suicide toolkit. Group B consisted of a second set of ten caregivers who were asked to complete a pre and post questionnaire following the review of the suicide toolkit that was developed by the DNP student to see whether or not scores improved. Results: Eight out of ten caregivers from group A provided input for toolkit development. Four common themes emerged from this feedback that were included in the development of the toolkit. Ten caregivers in group B completed the pre and post questionnaire following the review of the toolkit and the means between these groups were compared and showed a slight improvement but not to the proposed 25% goal set forth. Conclusion: Post questionnaire scores showed improvement in comparison to pre questionnaire scores however several questions reflected no improvement in scores. This data may suggest that providing a toolkit alone does not elicit specific improvements in knowledge, confidence, competence, and perceived caring abilities, rather it can be a component of treatment. Several limitations are discussed including a small sample size used and little to no additional participant identifiers. Future recommendations include increasing the sample size and changing the phrasing of the questionnaire to better reflect caregiver experiences

Discovering Resilience in Children who Witnessed their Caregivers with Cancer: A Retrospective Study

Cancer is a powerful disease and has been shown to affect both the individual battling the disease as well as the friends and families. Research has shown that children and/or adolescents who have witnessed their caregivers with cancer have emerged as resilient from this experience. Through interviews, this study investigated college students at a small liberal arts school in Southern New England, who have or have had primary caregivers with cancer to see if they have gained resilience. This study revealed the effects that cancer can have not only on the individual who is battling the disease, but also on the children and/or adolescents who have witnessed their struggle. It identified possible support systems that were used by the college students to cope with their caregiver’s cancer. Information from this study can be used to understand if children and/or adolescents that grow up with a parent with cancer may develop resiliency as they mature and grow older

Synthesis of an Unnatural Fluorescent Amino Acid

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The Implications of Viral Media & Advocacy: Kony 2012

This research paper analyzes the video “Kony 2012” as an example of advocacy film making and viral media. By analyzing critical sources, I draw conclusions as to why this video became the most viral video of all time and how other advocacy groups can use this phenomenon to learn about viral advocacy media. Using data from LexisNexis Academic, I track the popularity of “Kony 2012” via different forms of media (blogs, news articles, etc.) and compare my data to prior research conducted on social media sites. Ultimately, I will find that several key characteristics can be pinpointed as the primary cause for the film’s viral ability; including a pre-existing network of followers and the film’s ability to spread through social and traditional media. Additionally, I will conclude that the film’s inconsistent facts and the organizations behaviors played a role in the film’s demise

Superoxide Dismutase Activity within Caribou Serum as an Indicator of Copper Status

Copper concentrations measured in liver are the gold standard for evaluating the copper status of ruminants. For live ruminants, measuring copper status is problematic because serum copper concentrations fluctuate and are not consistently correlated to liver copper values. In an attempt to establish an accurate evaluation of copper status from serum in caribou, we examined the correlation between liver copper concentrations and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which uses the oxidation and reduction reactions of a bound copper ion in order to catalyze superoxide radicals. Our study focuses on SOD activity in the serum of 16 individual adult female caribou and compares that to known copper levels within the liver. Determining copper levels in ruminants has proven difficult and currently a true proxy to determine liver copper levels in a live animal is unknown