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Advancing Methods for Studying the Neuroscience of Sex Variability and Diversity
Get PDFSex variability and diversity are pervasive across taxa and genera. Society is heavily structured around sex/gender conceptualizations, and neuroscience research actively shapes these constructs. This dissertation adopts frameworks that challenge ideologies perpetuating sex/gender injustices and developed neuroscience-related methodologies that could advance the conceptualisations of sex. First, I studied B6D2F1 mice which exhibit sexual behaviour months after castration. This challenged the dogma that sexual behaviour is dependent on gonadal steroid hormones. I enhanced the behavioural analysis of these mice using deep learning techniques. Second, applying similar deep learning methods, I refined the behavioural analysis of Astatotilapia burtoni cichlids, which exhibit sexual behaviour in groups. Traditionally, neuroscience studies on sexual behaviour involve animal dyads singly isolated until experimentation. Third, recognising that laboratory cultivation alters cichlid behaviour and brain compared to the wild, I developed a framework utilising camera trap datasets to facilitate future neuroscience studies in wildlife settings. Lastly, in addition to sex at the behavioural level, numerous variables at cellular, molecular, and genetic levels are related to sex. Neuroscience currently lacks models to adequately construct human sex at these levels. To address this gap, I engineered a cell type relevant to human sex from stem cells. These efforts encompass various aspects of sex variability and diversity, emphasizing rigorous, precise, and transparent science to promote sex/gender justice and advance our construction of sex
Finding the Blind Sports: An Exploration of the Complexity and Diffusion of Police Body Camera Policies
No full textThis three-paper dissertation examines the creation of police-worn body camera policies to explain the complexities of the new technology and the impact nonprofit organization (NPO) stakeholders have had on policy development. Making their first appearance in US cities starting in 2013, body cameras are still in their infancy, and “best practices” have not been universally defined or accepted. Without guidance from a federal agency, policies vary between states and cities, resulting in some restrictive policies and others that diminish potential body camera benefits. This research begins by presenting a theoretical model integrating a behavioral economics concept into activity theory to describe the rationale for the expectation that body cameras can decrease police use of force. The second paper is a content analysis of national NPO statements about body cameras to test the proposed “Stakeholder Stance Model.” The model depicts the types of information that appear in NPO statements and may influence NPO policy recommendations. The final paper of this dissertation is a multi-case comparative policy analysis of three New England states, their capital cities, and NPO model policies. Focusing on four critical policy components, this paper evaluates mechanisms of policy diffusion to determine how body camera policy decisions are made in the absence of federal guidelines. The findings of these three papers demonstrate that (1) body cameras can introduce new complexities that may decrease body camera effectiveness at preventing police violence; (2) NPOs reflect a critical community voice that can help shape the future use of body cameras and contribute to the formation of more equitable policies by linking community preferences and academic research to police officials; and (3) NPOs have been more impactful in the creation of body camera policies than has been documented in the research to date
Unsettling Teacher Education: Cultivating Teaching as Resistance, Epistemic Disobedience, and Counterhegemonic Practices
No full textThe K-12 teacher demographic is over 80% white, female, mono-lingual, and middle class, and many reported being under-prepared to work with and serve marginalized students. In response, teacher education programs added one or two semester-long multicultural education classes to their curriculum that present marginalized communities as problems and encourage diversifying posters on the wall and books in the library. The isolated courses, however, evade discussions of whiteness and ideology as social, political, and economic structures that perpetuate inequities. This research employed an appreciative inquiry informed critical ethnographic case study methodology to examine a single teacher education program in the northeastern U.S. that committed its curriculum to tackling whiteness and ideology. The participants included 13 faculty members, 8 students, 6 alumni, and 27 alumni survey respondents. Grounded theory method was used to analyze interviews, seminar transcripts, survey responses, artifacts, and documents. The main findings of this study revealed that the faculty used “investigative pedagogy” and “a praxis of ‘bringing the world into the classroom” to probe ideas and ideologies that students brought to the seminars. Analyzing the data through the theoretical framework of dialectical materialism and anti-coloniality, the implications point to pedagogies for teacher education and social movements
Implementing Universal Adult Depression Screening in a Rural Maine Free Medical Clinic
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BACKGROUND: Depression in adults is a leading cause of disability, morbidity and mortality worldwide with an estimated prevalence of 20% in the US population. Despite estimates that one out of every five Americans suffers from depression, less than 50% of adult primary care patients with depression are identified, and less than 5% of all adult primary care patients are screened. To increase early detection and management of depression, the United States Protective Service Task Force (USPSTF) recommends routine depression screening for adults older than 18 years in primary care settings.
LOCAL PROBLEM: This project site was a rural, free, primary care clinic in New England serving uninsured and under-insured adults. Research indicates there is an increased incidence of depression in at risk populations, including this disadvantaged population. The clinic provides medical care delivered by licensed volunteer clinicians and limited counseling services through a community grant. However, there was no routine adult depression screening in place at the clinic.
METHODS: This quality improvement (QI) project implemented universal depression screening in a two-tiered approach using the validated PHQ2 and PHQ-9 depression screening tools. Quantitative methods were utilized to organize and describe the data. Qualitative methods including a post-implementation survey and interviews were used to evaluate the staffs’ improvement in knowledge and satisfaction with the intervention.
RESULTS: Participants (n-119) comprised a group of adult primary care patients in rural Maine that reflected the regional demographics. A total of 101 participants were screened for a total of 85% over a 9-week period utilizing a universal depression screening tool administered by clinic staff. There was a positivity rate of 3% on the PHQ-2 and a completion rate of 100% on the PHQ-9. 100% of patients with a PHQ-9 positive score of 10 or greater were referred for follow-up mental health services.
CONCLUSIONS: This QI project demonstrated that it is possible to introduce universal adult depression screening in a “free” rural primary care medical clinic with existing resources that was not time prohibitive. The successful project implementation by staff during patient rooming while obtaining vital signs revealed it was both efficient and effective to provide routine screening. This intervention did not pose an extra burden to clinic staff and reinforced the importance of a more integrated clinical approach to mental health screening during primary care medical visits. Utilizing a depression screening protocol demonstrated an increase in depression screening documentation, staff satisfaction, and patient referrals to mental health specialists
Aging in Brewster: A Community Needs Assessment
Get PDFThis report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Brewster. The goals of this project were to investigate the interests, preferences, and opinions of Brewster’s residents aged 50 or older by engaging the community regarding their experiences and needs relevant to the Council on Aging’s (COA’s) objective to identify and serve the needs of all Brewster citizens 50 and older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Town of Brewster, the Brewster COA, Senior Center, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Brewster for the purposes of COA mission fulfillment alongside planning and coordination of services for current and future needs of residents. The report will also help to build awareness about issues facing Brewster among community members at large.
A broad range of findings are reported in this document, highlighting the many positive features of Brewster as well as concerns expressed by older residents. While many of our findings, and the recommendations that follow, intersect with the scope of responsibility of the Brewster Council on Aging, it is understood that responding to many needs and concerns expressed in the community will require the involvement of other municipa
Writing For Your Profession: L2 English Students\u27 Acquisition of Academic English
No full textAcademic writing can be a challenge for even the most experienced writers, and more so for L2 English learners. In this study, an analysis of common syntactic complexity forms in L2 English students’ writing and peer-reviewed journal articles was conducted to determine what differences might be present. Of particular interest were the potential differences in syntactic complexity between first, second, third, and fourth year university students, and whether the fourth year university students’ syntactic complexity was similar to that of particular academic disciplines. Using one-way ANOVA analyses on eight different syntactic complexity measures, it was determined that L2 English university students’ writing was still syntactically different from discipline writings at the end of four years of university, although some disciplines did show similarities. Additionally, certain syntactic complexity measures were more indicative of differences in syntactic complexity than others, prompting further investigation into which syntactic complexity measures are more useful for analysis
Visual, Hearing, and Dual Sensory Difficulty in Later Life
No full textSensory (vision and hearing) loss is a contributor to poor mental health, a variety of physical health outcomes, and a lower quality of life for older adults. As the population ages, the number of older adults with sensory loss and the number of caregivers needed to provide care are expected to increase accordingly, which will have substantial public health implications. Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, and its sister-study, the National Study of Caregiving, this dissertation investigated how sensory difficulty is related to incident dementia and mortality risk among older adults and how care recipients’ sensory difficulty is related to caregiving experiences. This dissertation consists of three separate studies. Study 1 explored the relationship between sensory difficulty, incident dementia, and social and physical activities among older adults. Results from the structural equation modeling-based discrete-time survival mediation model showed that compared to older adults without sensory difficulty, those with visual difficulty or dual sensory difficulty had a higher risk of dementia. Social activity significantly mediated the visual difficulty-dementia link and the dual sensory difficulty-dementia link. Study 2 investigated the relationship between visual difficulty, recurrent falls, and mortality risk among older adults. Results from the discrete-time survival models showed that having visual difficulty at baseline was associated with a higher risk of recurrent falls in the following wave and a higher mortality risk in the subsequent waves. Visual difficulty was related to increased mortality risk via recurrent falls among older adults. Study 3 examined the relationship between older care recipients’ sensory difficulty and caregiver burden experienced by their informal caregivers. Results from linear regression models showed that caregivers of older adults with dual sensory difficulty report more care burden than caregivers of older adults with no sensory difficulty. Moreover, caregivers of older adults with co-occurring dual sensory difficulty and dementia experienced a higher caregiver burden than those of older adults without dual sensory difficulty or dementia. Focusing on a rising public concern among older adults, this dissertation contributes to the research on aging and sensory health. Findings from three studies provided important insights for promoting interventions for older adults with sensory loss and their caregivers
Unheard Voices: Lady Health Workers in Lahore\u27s Peripheral Communities
No full textThis study investigates the challenges faced by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) and the strategies they have employed to overcome gender-related barriers in delivering healthcare services within low-income communities of Lahore, Pakistan. Additionally, it explores the challenges encountered by the LHWs during the COVID-19 pandemic and their adaptive responses. Through a critical interpretivist approach, this study employs qualitative methods to capture the lived experiences of LHWs. Focus group discussions and one-on-one qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 LHWs from six neighborhoods in the district of Lahore; namely Chuburji, Chung, Jia Musa, Maraqa Village, Mazang and Muhammad Nagar Secondly, five one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a mixture of government officials and policy experts from Integrated Reproductive Maternal and Newborn Child Health & Nutrition Program (IRMNCH & NP), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Rahnuma Family Planning Association of Pakistan. The findings reveal challenges at various levels: institutional, community, household and individual. At the institutional level, they grapple with issues such as overwork, inadequate compensation, resource scarcity, and workplace disrespect. In their community roles, challenges arise from interactions, mobility constraints, and the complexities of relationship building. At the household level, LHWs navigate the balance between managing household responsibilities and childcare, familial influences on their work, and the financial imperative to continue working. At the individual level, the results show the multidimensional nature of factors influencing the identity of LHWs, such as their professional development through this job and the financial independence and respect they gained as a result. Finally, the study sheds light on the multiple ways the LHWs overcome the challenges they encounter, by proactively engaging with the community, leveraging personal connections to build new relationships, and involving local religious leaders to motivate the residents to rely on their services. Attaining financial independence and trainings in their jobs serve as crucial factors in empowering the LHWs. This dissertation contributes to the scholarly literature on the vital contributions of community health workers in South Asia, especially in light of a global health crisis. The study provides key policy recommendations aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery to marginalized groups in Pakistan, and other developing nations
Brothers and Sisters from Another Mother–Promoting Inter-cultural Understanding, Conflict Reduction, and Solidarity Among Partner Forces in the Sahel
Get PDFThe dynamics of war have changed markedly from conventional battlefield kinetic encounters to unconventional sub-threshold or asymmetric warfare, with combatants using new tactics and emergent technologies to gain a comparative advantage over their adversaries. In the face of such developments and mindful of globalized extremist challenges, we propose that fresh innovations should be encouraged with respect to the conventional training of international and African partner forces tasked with teaming up to engage security threats in the Sahel region. Accordingly, this article promotes a contemporary peacebuilding approach using a transformative, dialogical methodology that focuses on the promotion of greater inter-cultural understanding between local security forces and their external allies. We suggest that such an intervention is cost-effective, sustainable, adaptable, and replicable, insofar as it builds unity and shared understanding, and reduces direct and indirect violence (e.g., green-on-blue casualties and resentment toward different troops). It increases motivation and strengthens solidarity in the field to help partners work toward shared goals and enhanced operational effectiveness, which in turn results in conflict reduction and a more sustainable peace