Genocide

Overview: Before the 1940s the word genocide did not exist. There was no name for unique mass killings involving thousands to millions of targeted people. A man named Raphael Lemkin coined and popularized the word genocide and took on the responsibility to get the Genocide Convention passed. In the 1980s the United States finally joined The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Genocide Convention), however this came with many clauses and restrictions, causing the terms to be less effective. The convention defined genocide as any criminal acts harming or destroying national, ethnic, racial, or religious groups, but left the terms very vague and confusing. It gave no specifics on a number of crimes or deaths which must be reached to qualify as genocide. Even with the passing of the Genocide Convention, there still was no judiciary system to enforce the international law and give repercussions. Many nations, including the U.S., remain resistant to intervene on genocide, and the United Nations has little authority due to limited funding and no military power. The Genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda are strong examples of the lack of willingness of the United States and international community to acknowledge genocide, intervene on the crimes, and hold war criminals responsible for their action

Behavioural outcomes and psychopathology during adolescence

Preterm birth is associated with a high risk of residual neurodevelopmental disability and cognitive impairment. These problems are closely associated with psychiatric disorders and thus it is unsurprising that preterm birth also confers high risk for poor long term mental health. The risk associated with preterm birth is not a general one, but appears to be specific to symptoms and disorders associated with anxiety, inattention and social and communication problems, and manifest in a significantly higher prevalence of emotional disorders, ADHD and Autism. Adolescence is a key period for mental health and studies have shown that problems evident in childhood persist over this time and are more stable amongst preterm individuals than term-born peers. There is also modest evidence for an increased prevalence of psychotic symptoms in preterm adolescents. The high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, present in around 25% of preterm adolescents, requires long term screening and intervention

Civic Life in McMinnville - Wortman Family

Our project is centered on civic life in McMinnville, Oregon 100 years ago. Our focus was to uncover the media’s representation of this topic. We had the option to choose to cover the local McMinnville government, Linfield College itself, public schools, leading businesses, and/or important civic leaders. We decided to narrow our attention to a particularly prominent family in the McMinnville community at the time. The Wortman family is known for opening the first bank in McMinnville more than 100 years ago and was also influential in local politics and community development. After selling farm and boat interests in 1865, Mr. Wortman bought a small grocery and merchandise store in Oregon City that he ran for ten years. In 1875 he sold this interest and started a similar business in Benton County. With these years of practical experience and the knowledge of local demand, he came to McMinnville in 1883 and established the Bank of McMinnville. When it was incorporated in 1885 it became the first bank in Yamhill County. Today the Wortman’s bank is known as Key Bank and stands in the same location as it did 100 years ago. A large number of photographs and newspaper clippings exist that define the Wortman family and where they stood in the community then and now, which were used in this project

Life without the Beach: Projected Sea Level Rise and its Impact on Barrier Islands Along the East Coast, USA

As climate change is becoming a global issue, the impact of sea level rise is increasingly becoming a threat to humans, wildlife, infrastructure, and ecosystems. To evaluate the effects of sea level rise on barrier islands and coastal regions, we studied future projections of sea level rise at Ocean City and Assateague Island, Maryland. We hypothesize that the sea levels at Assateague and Ocean City will have different beach profiles, and will show different levels of flooding through the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) simulations. We measured beach profiles at four locations, two at Ocean City and two at Assateague Island, to view the current beach profiles and found that Ocean City reveals a smaller average change in elevation compared to Assateague. We also used a LiDAR Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Ocean City and Assateague Island to run RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5 simulations using GIS to represent the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected sea level rise for the year 2100. We found that Ocean City has higher predicted percentages of flooded land but smaller areas of flooded land compared to Assateague. These results indicate that significant areas of both Ocean City and Assateague Island will be flooded by 2100 regardless of which RCP simulation might be true. However, it is projected that the RCP 2.6 simulation is an underestimation of potential flooding and the future will more closely resemble the RCP 8.5 simulation if drastic precautions are not taken now. This will severely impact ecosystems, economies, and human life

Data Visualization: Samantha Johnson

This data visualization project draws from Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec’s book Dear Data: A Friendship in 52 Weeks of Postcards. After thorough research and note-taking from given and discovered resources, students were asked to respond to the novel coronavirus and the outbreak of its affiliated illness, COVID-19. As designers, students were given the responsibility to deliver information about the current culture while also acting as a participant to history — a primary” source. The object was to document history while also allowing for moments of positivity in the midst of such anxiety and uncertainty. Students gathered data about every time they heard or read the words “coronavirus” or “COVID-19.” They were told to keep a sketchbook handy at all times. Each time they heard or read one of the phrases, they noted when it happened; what they were doing; whom they were with; and other details. From this, they created data visualizations inspired by the examples in Dear Data. ”You are actually creating a primary source of history for others to rely on in the future,” said Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. “Try to enjoy this.”https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stu_vad_covid19/1010/thumbnail.jp

Significant Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Early Childhood

Significant emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood are a growing concern for social workers, mental health professionals, teachers, day care providers and others involved in the care of children ranging in age from 18 months to six years old. The purpose of this research study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the professional experience and perspective of mental health professionals in meeting the mental health needs of children with significant emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood. A semi-structured interview was used with the six mental health professionals that participated in the study. Three major themes from the data: the therapeutic process, the importance of family, and collaboration between systems. Additionally, the following subthemes were apparent in the data: the impact of negative developmental experiences, the need for early identification and intervention, lack of emotional regulation and a regulating partner, corrective emotional experiences, client-centered care, psychoeducation, and barriers. Several of the findings from this study were consistent with the current literature on the topic. Finally, this study suggests several implications for social work practice, policy, and research

Significant Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Early Childhood

Significant emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood are a growing concern for social workers, mental health professionals, teachers, day care providers and others involved in the care of children ranging in age from 18 months to six years old. The purpose of this research study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the professional experience and perspective of mental health professionals in meeting the mental health needs of children with significant emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood. A semi-structured interview was used with the six mental health professionals that participated in the study. Three major themes from the data: the therapeutic process, the importance of family, and collaboration between systems. Additionally, the following subthemes were apparent in the data: the impact of negative developmental experiences, the need for early identification and intervention, lack of emotional regulation and a regulating partner, corrective emotional experiences, client-centered care, psychoeducation, and barriers. Several of the findings from this study were consistent with the current literature on the topic. Finally, this study suggests several implications for social work practice, policy, and research

International Rights Affecting the COVID–19 Vaccine Race

The impact of the COVID–19 pandemic has been felt world-wide, and despite having several vaccines in the market at this point, there are still issues of accessibility for certain countries. International intellectual property law has been a breeding ground for the exploration of intellectual curiosity and creation as it provides strong protections to creators. These strong protections have allowed for the monopolization of certain goods, such as vaccines, under the concept of patents. While patents are important to incentivize pharmaceutical companies to create life–saving medicines, these protections have also become a barrier for access to medicines, especially in less–developed countries. This Note seeks to address the interplay between international intellectual property rights and the right to health under the inter-national human rights framework. Specifically, it will dis-cuss the two differing rights through the United States and Canada’s efforts to promote creation of COVID–19 vaccine candidates. In order to highlight the financial driver behind patent protections, this note will compare the production and patenting process of the COVID–19 vaccines, a virus that also heavily impacted developed countries, versus the under–funded Ebola virus, which predominantly effected less–developed countries. Finally, this Note will offer recommendations on how countries, and pharmaceutical companies, can take a human rights approach by utilizing patent protection exceptions in order to make COVID–19 vaccines accessible to all countries

Reducing Racial Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

The United States has one of the highest maternal morbidity and mortality rates among developed nations. Data shows significant disparities in the rates among women of different races. Black women have a much greater maternal morbidity and mortality rate than White women, and this can be largely attributed to differences in quality of care in hospitals that serve primarily Black women. To decrease the racial disparity in maternal morbidity and mortality rates, and in turn reduce overall maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States, we must leverage the tools available to us. One of the most promising options is using health information informatics tools (HIIT) to more accurately assess each woman’s social determinants of health, to launch quality of care initiatives through HIIT platforms, and to provide greater access to care through the use of telemedicine

Final Project: Samantha Johnson

This poster was the final project in the spring 2020 semester of Graphic Design I (VAD 411), taught by Misty Thomas-Trout, assistant professor of art and design. Following the transition to all-remote learning on March 23, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the class drew from data, health information, news coverage, personal reflections and other sources to create this work.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stu_vad_covid19/1024/thumbnail.jp