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The women of Caltongo who opened the government's doors: social accountability at the edge of Mexico City
No full textAccountability Note. December 2019, Number 7. 28 pages
How do donor-led empowerment and accountability activities take scale into account?: evidence from DFID programmes in contexts of fragility, conflict and violence
No full textIDS Working Paper, Volume 2020, No.536.Development donors invest significantly in governance reform, including in contexts
characterised by conflict and fragility. However, there is relatively little comparative study of
their change strategies, and little understanding of what works and why. This paper explores
the strategies of six recent DFID-funded programmes in Mozambique, Myanmar, and
Pakistan with empowerment and accountability aims. Document review and field interviews
are used to analyse the application of multi-scalar or multi-level change strategies, since
such approaches are hypothesised to potentially generate more leverage for public
accountability reforms. Analysis suggests that these strategies can strengthen citizen ability
to navigate governance systems to resolve problems and claim accountability, and can
bolster pro-accountability coalitions’ internal solidarity and external legitimacy. Multi-level
strategies also appear associated with establishing more significant pressure for reform than
exclusively local or national approaches. Yet conventional project reporting focuses on
counting activities and outputs rather than analysing the dynamic, interactive processes at
work in these strategies, and few evaluations are publicly accessible. To fully understand
what kinds of action strengthen citizen demands for accountability requires a more
transparent and rigorous approach to learning from donor-led governance interventions
The Role of Institutional Betrayal in Predicting Retention Intention Among Active Duty Service Members Who Have Experienced Sexual Assault
No full textDepartment of Defense estimates indicate that approximately 13,000 female and 7,500 male service members experienced sexual assault in 2018. Post-assault sequelae are often chronic and include psychological disorders, physical health problems, interpersonal difficulties, occupational and financial instability, homelessness, and suicidal behaviors. These long-term consequences can impact a service member’s work performance and often contribute to the decision to end one’s military service. A factor that may influence this decision is the sense of institutional betrayal often experienced by survivors. Institutional betrayal refers to experiences in which trusted and powerful institutions, such as the military, act in ways that bring harm to those dependent on them for safety and wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of experiences of institutional betrayal following a military sexual assault on military retention intention among active duty service members, and to examine whether gender moderates these effects. This study conceptualizes institutional betrayal using six variables that are either forms of institutional betrayal or consequences of institutional betrayal: (1) leader actions related to sexual assault, (2) frequency of workplace hostility, (3) experiences of sexual harassment, (4) likelihood of reporting a sexual assault, (5) likelihood of encouraging others to report a sexual assault, and (6) trust in the military system’s response to sexual assault. To investigate these variables as predictors of retention intention, the study used the DoD Workplace and Gender Relations Study of Active Duty Members (WGRA) (2016) dataset to conduct a logistic regression analysis of the six independent variables representing institutional betrayal on the dependent variable, retention intention. The results of the study found that leader actions (p < .01), workplace hostility (p < .05), likelihood of encouraging others to report a sexual assault (p < .05), and trust in the military system (p < .001) significantly predicted retention intention, but that gender did not significantly moderate these effects. However, separate logistic regression analyses by gender found differences in the factors that significantly predicted retention intention. These findings have implications for military policy and leadership as well as social work clinical practice, education, advocacy, and research.Social workPsychologyMilitary studiesinstitutional betrayal, military rape, military retention, military sexual assault, military sexual trauma, military turnoverSocial WorkDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Social Work. The Catholic University of Americ
Experiences of Registered Nurses Caring for Patients on Inpatient Psychiatric Units
No full textExperiences of Registered Nurses Caring for Patients on Inpatient Psychiatric UnitsAlexander Davis, PhDDirector: Janet Merritt, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, APRNIncreasing pressures exist within inpatient psychiatric care in the United States due to an increase in patients seeking mental health treatment and changes in treatment modalities. Challenges associated with caring for patients on inpatient psychiatric units significantly impact the recruitment and retention of registered nurses to work in these settings. A review of literature on the relationship between psychiatric-mental health (PMH) nurses’ quality of work life (QoWL), recruitment and retention has received little research. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of registered nurses who work on PMH units in the United States to gain insight into their QoWL; which includes stressors, professional benefits and challenges. A qualitative descriptive method using content analysis was the approach selected to guide this study. A participant sample of 22 registered nurses who self-identified as having worked as a PMH nurse on an inpatient psychiatric unit in the United States was interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Data analysis revealed a complex web of factors impacting PMH nurses’ QoWL. Implications of the research findings showed the increased demand for mental health services as a continuing phenomenon. Keywords: qualitative descriptive study, psychiatric-mental health nurses, quality of work life, quality of patient careNursingpsychiatric-mental health nurses, qualitative descriptive study, quality of patient care, quality of work lifeNursingDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Nursing. The Catholic University of Americ
Eltrombopag Improves Erythroid Differentiation in a Human iPSC Model of Diamond Blackfan Anemia
No full textDiamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a congenital bone marrow (BM) failure syndrome characterized by defective erythropoiesis. In most patients, heterozygous mutations have been identified in genes encoding ribosomal proteins (RP). The resulting RP haploinsufficiency delays globin translation in erythroid cells, whereas synthesis of heme, the iron-containing component of hemoglobin, proceeds normally. As a result, free heme is in excess of globin in these cells and induces proerythroblast cell death, and erythroid differentiation halts at an earlier progenitor stage. In this study, we investigated whether eltrombopag (Epag), an FDA-approved mimetic of thrombopoietin (TPO), could rescue erythropoiesis in DBA. We hypothesized that Epag might slow down heme synthesis by limiting iron availability due to its intracellular iron chelating properties, leading to increased proerythroblast survival and maturation. To test this possibility, we established an iPSC model of DBA by reprogramming mononuclear cells (MNCs) from a patient with inactivating mutations in RPS19. We also generated a control isogenic iPSC line by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction of RPS19 point mutations in the established DBA iPSC line. Both DBA and isogenic corrected iPSCs were subjected to hematopoietic differentiation for 21 days. Isogenic iPSCs efficiently gave rise to erythroid cells at various stages of maturation. In contrast, the majority of erythroid cells detected after differentiation of DBA iPSCs were blocked at early erythroid progenitor stages. Furthermore, in colony forming unit (CFU) assays, DBA iPSCs generated myeloid colonies comparable to isogenic iPSCs, but erythroid colonies were undetectable, consistent with DBA progenitor’s inability to differentiate. In support of our hypothesis, DBA iPSCs differentiated in the presence of Epag improved late erythroid maturation, as indicated by reduced percentages of early progenitors and a concomitant increase in more mature erythroblastic populations. To confirm that Epag-mediated iron restriction was the primary molecular mechanism underlying the improved erythroid maturation observed in DBA iPSC lines, we subjected DBA iPSCs to hematopoietic differentiation for 21 days in the presence or absence of either intracellular deferasirox (DFX) or extracellular deferoxamine (DFO) iron chelators. We observed a partial rescue of erythropoiesis in DFX-treated DBA cells comparable to Epag, but not in DFO-treated cells. Overall, our observations indicate that directed differentiation of DBA iPSCs recapitulates early erythroid maturation defects, and erythropoiesis can be rescued in part by addition of Epag or DFX during culture. These results suggest that Epag or DFX may improve red blood cell production in patients with DBA.MedicineImmunologyPathologyDiamond blackfan anemia, Eltrombopag and iron chelators, Hematology and regenerative medicine, Heme and globin synthesis, Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), Inherited bone marrow failureBiologyDegree Awarded: Ph.D. Biology. The Catholic University of Americ
The proletarianization of the professoriate and the threat to free expression, creativity, and economic dynamism
No full textAmerican University Working Paper Series
2020-02 April 202
Charisma, Community, and Authority: Dominican Epistolary Practice in Italy, 1300 - 1500
No full textScholars have long characterized fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy as plagued by a crisis of authority. One point of conflict involved the expanding Observant reform movement within the religious orders of the church. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the growing conversation about the development of an Observant reform culture, specifically within the Dominican Order, by analyzing the letters of spiritual direction of male and female charismatic Dominicans associated with the reform. Taking a material as well as a textual approach, the thesis traces the history of the letters from their initial composition and circulation to the process of selection and binding into manuscripts and annotation by scribes and readers. It argues that in using these letters, Dominican Observants, and those within their orbit of influence, were able to create, demonstrate, and reinforce a discourse of spiritual authority without requiring its authorization from external ecclesiastical authorities. Further, it illustrates the extensive participation of women in this process throughout the period. The dissertation demonstrates how epistolary practices contributed to constructing, preserving, and institutionalizing charismatic religious authority while advancing the Observant reform.Medieval historyReligious historyEuropean historyCatherine of Siena, Dominican Order, Italy, Letter Collections, Manuscripts, Observant MovementHistoryDegree Awarded: Ph.D. History. The Catholic University of Americ
Eric Sheptock Interview, May 2, 2020
No full textEric Jonathan Sheptock, a working homeless person addresses how Covid-19 has impacted him. He works for a company that provides porta-potties and hand washing stations for events and has had his hours dramatically cut. His company contracts with the city to now provide these services to homeless encampments, and he has gained a greater sense of the large numbers of people living outside. He is currently in a hotel under quarantine after discovering the person who sleeps near him at his shelter contracted Covid-19, but he does not have symptoms. He hopes we do not forget about the homeless when things go back to normal, that we work together to end homelessness and increase access to affordable housing and living wage jobs. This video is part of the Humanities Truck's From Me To You: A Covid-19 Oral History Project. https://humanitiestruck.com/frommetoyou
Night Watch for chamber orchestra
No full textNight Watch is a composition for chamber orchestra in three movements. The piece investigates the relationships between sonorities acting outside of a tonal system. Each movement is based on the manipulation of a limited number of pitch collections. These pitch collections are intertwined with additional non-functional triadic material.Musical compositionchamber orchestra, night watch, RussellCompositionDegree Awarded: M.M.--Composition. The Catholic University of Americ
THE THEATRICS OF PERFORMANCE ART: YOKO ONO’S CUT PIECE AT CARNEGIE HALL
No full textIn 1965, Yoko Ono, a Japanese performance artist, performed Cut Piece at Carnegie Hall in New York City. During the performance, Ono sat on stage and invited the audience to come up, cut off, and take a piece of her clothing. With the audience cutting a piece one by one, the behaviors from the previous participants impacted the later people's actions and the reflections from the auditorium. This study was undertaken in an effort to understand better Ono's artistic invention for Cut Piece: inspiring her audience to critically consider the outside world, including the interrelationships with other people and the existence of the established art institutions, with the support of the concert hall. By performing the piece at Carnegie Recital Hall instead of an art museum or art gallery, Ono promoted audience members to play two roles: observer and performer in her constructing artistic situation. According to the theatrical ideas of alienation and empathy, the two roles could guarantee the audience to both obtain critical thinking and emotional experience. Due to the revolution of Carnegie Hall from the private organization to non-profit one, Ono also waged an act of institutional critique, which criticized the functions and services of art institutions, especially the education for the public and the display of artworks. Therefore, through exploring new possibilities of a conventional musical hall, Ono specifically achieved her artistic and political goal of evoking audience members' critical rethink.Art historyCarnegie Hall, Cut Piece, performance art, Yoko OnoArtDegree Awarded: M.A. Art. American Universit