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The Positive Impact of African Drumming on Elderly Participants’ Mood and Demeanour
No full textThis article reports on a study that examined the effects of African drumming on the mood and demeanour of older individuals, both those with and those without dementia, in Hong Kong. Previous research indicated that music-making has a positive effect on older adults’ overall health and well-being. The study participants’ mood and demeanour were measured through observer and self-rating before and after taking part in one of three African drumming sessions. There was a significant improvement in all aspects of all the participants’ mood and demeanour after participating in the drumming sessions. A positive impact of the drumming session was also found on the caregivers. The drumming sessions involved physical activity, skill acquisition, reminiscence, joint music making and social interaction that all could have led to the large positive changes in mood and demeanour found in the study participants
Social Work Is a Human Rights Profession
No full textAs defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profession. This is explicitly stated in the professional codes of ethics in many nations. However, the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers continues to exclude any mention of human rights, fitting in with the history of U.S. exceptionalism on this subject. Social workers around the world have a long history of working for the achievement of human rights, including an explicit grounding of practice in human rights principles: Human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability. Utilizing these principles, U.S. social workers can move from the deficit model of the needs-based approach to competently contextualizing individual issues in their larger human rights framework. In this way, social work can address larger social problems and make way for the concurrent achievement of human rights. This article explains these principles and provides a case example of how to apply them in practice
Educating Students on International Social Work Issues in U.S. Social Work Programs: How Is It Done?
No full textAlthough social work education standards call for graduates to be able to practice in a global environment, it is unknown how schools are working to accomplish that as well as what supports they have and what the aims of this education are. A survey of all U.S. BSW and MSW program directors found they have multiple goals for introducing international perspectives in social work education and are using a number of methods in the implicit and explicit curriculum, including speakers, study abroad, international internships, and infusion of material in courses and stand-alone courses. Respondents indicated more supports are available at the institutional level than in their program alone. These results have a variety of implications for social work education including how to further integrate this material into courses and increase the number of students who learn this critical material
Synthetic, Structural, and RNA Binding Studies on 2-Aminopyridine-Modified Triplex-Forming Peptide Nucleic Acids
No full textThe development of new RNA-binding ligands is attracting increasing interest in fundamental science and the pharmaceutical industry. The goal of this study was to improve the RNA binding properties of triplex-forming peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) by further increasing the pK a of 2-aminopyridine (M). Protonation of M was the key for enabling triplex formation at physiological pH in earlier studies. Substitution on M by an electron-donating 4-methoxy substituent resulted in slight destabilization of the PNA–dsRNA triplex, contrary to the expected stabilization due to more favorable protonation. To explain this unexpected result, the first NMR structural studies were performed on an M-modified PNA–dsRNA triplex which, combined with computational modeling identified unfavorable steric and electrostatic repulsion between the 4-methoxy group of M and the oxygen of the carbonyl group connecting the adjacent nucleobase to PNA backbone. The structural studies also provided insights into hydrogen-bonding interactions that might be responsible for the high affinity and unusual RNA-binding preference of PNAs
A Curriculum for Culturally Diverse Pre-Kindergarten Students to Develop Self-Regulation, Empathy, and Problem Solving Skills
Get PDFLeading the Pack: How the Politics of Colin Kaepernick is Changing the Ethical Landscape of the NFL
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Development of an Immunoassay to Detect Leptin, a Hormone Associated to Fat Metabolism, in American black bears
Get PDFDetermining body condition in the American black bear (Ursus americanus) is challenging due to their physiological strategies such as hibernation. Interestingly, the hormone leptin, which is highly associated to fat metabolism, is indicative of body condition and adiposity (body fat stores) in black bears. An immunoassay technique measuring leptin in serum samples was previously employed in black bears. Individuals with higher body fat content exhibit greater concentrations of serum leptin. However, the commercial form of this technique, referenced by previous work, is no longer available for bears (i.e. the manufacturer no longer produces it), and other commercially available leptin assays designed for humans, dogs, pigs, or multispecies have produced subpar results for black bears. Therefore, we aim to develop and validate a double-antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure serum leptin in black bears. We have identified an antibody with characteristics that increases our changes to bind bear leptin. Checkerboard titration tests to optimize immunoassay dynamics are underway, and lastly, we will perform immunoassay validation (parallelism tests and accuracy recovery checks) for bear serum. Our ultimate goal is to use this ELISA to assess how changes in the environment influence maternal and litter aspects related to age, body condition, date of parturition, litter size, and cub growth rates, as possible factors influencing black bear reproductive parameters in the Eastern United States
Surrealism and Feminism from France to Mexico, 1914-1972
Get PDFExamining the ways in which female artists adapted the Surrealist concept of liberty to the twentieth-century women’s movements, this essay focuses on the political and creative productions of photographer Claude Cahun (1894-1954, née Lucy Schwob), painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), and writer Leonora Carrington (1917-2011). Living in France and on the island of Jersey, Cahun worked more closely with the founding Surrealists than did Kahlo or Carrington, who spent most of their careers in Mexico. From their unique vantage points—yet within the Surrealist framework—all three artists advanced equality. Though only Carrington aligned directly with the Women’s Liberation Movement, Kahlo and Cahun challenged social norms in their own ways. Both painters articulated female individuality as possible and necessary in heterosexual relationships whereas Cahun lived androgynously with her partner and wanted to erase gender distinctions
Promoting Access to Health Care: The Role and Effectiveness of Obamacare Navigators
Get PDFEnacted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to increase access of health care for individuals in the United States. Because the ACA established marketplaces in each state for the purchase of health care plans, it increased the level of difficulty for individuals to navigate the health care system. This is where the role of the health care navigator becomes a vital aspect of the ACA. Health care navigators are individuals, who are often part of a larger organization, that guide consumers through the process of acquiring health care. Recent actions by the Trump administration have attempted to reduce or even eliminate the navigator program. The goal of this research is to understand the effectiveness of the ACA navigator network in Lancaster County by looking at the ability for those living in the surrounding area to access, comprehend, and make good decisions in the health insurance marketplace. The research seeks to understand the legal framework in place, analyze the role of the health insurance marketplace navigator, and take into account changes in administrative policy from Obama to Trump. Ultimately, this research will show how much of an impact the health insurance marketplace navigator has on ensuring ACA coverage for those living in Lancaster County