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The Intersection of Consensual Non-Monogamy, Black Identity, and Power Dynamics: A Review and Proposal for Therapeutic Models
No full textConsensual non-monogamy (CNM) and polyamory are types of relationship structures that differ in many ways from monogamy. CNM is becoming more prevalent (Moors, 2023; Scoats & Campbell, 2022). In the United States and Canada, 1 in 5 people have engaged in some form of CNM (Moors, 2023). As more individuals engage in CNM relationships and potentially seek out couples therapy, therapists will be tasked with assisting individuals navigating relationship distress occurring within these unique relationship structures. There is limited research, or empirically validated, treatment models for working with couples with intersecting identities. To date, there has yet to be an empirically supported relationship therapy model for working with CNM or polyamorous relationships. Nor is there a method of couples therapy for Black couples. The social and contextual implications of American history on the lived experiences of Black individuals necessitates awareness of the impact systemic racism and oppression have on relationship distress (Corbitt, 2023; Guillory, 2021). In the United States, as the third largest racial group, Black individuals are more than 12% of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). However, there is a disparity in the research conducted with Black couples and Black individuals that practice polyamory. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a model of couples therapy with foundations in systems and attachment theory. EFT empirically supports couples therapy with heterosexual white couples (Johnson et al., 1999; Johnson, 2004; Cooper, 2023). Nonetheless, EFT incorporates experiential interventions that provide space for intersectionality and diversity of relationship structures. With that being said, this paper will discuss the intricacies of CNM, Black polyamory, and the impact of systemic racism on relationship distress. Then this paper will dissect polyamory and intersectionality as it pertains to Black individuals. Additionally, this paper will theorize EFT as a therapeutic model for working with Black polyamorous relationships including the clinical implications. Finally, this paper will offer future directions for research with intersectionality and CNM
Paradoxes and Potential of Tourism Development in Nicaragua
Get PDFThis dissertation research evaluates the successes and challenges of tourism integration and expansion as both a broad human development strategy and a catalyst for local populations to achieve greater economic and social opportunities. The country of Nicaragua serves as the primary case study for such an evaluation due to its relatively recent promotion and expansion of tourism through government led incentives and oversight. As a case study, Nicaragua is a country whose tourism industry remains nascent, yet commands great economic potential and influence, which can serve as an example for future tourism development initiatives for developing countries in the region and elsewhere. Unlike its neighbors, tourism emerged here in the 1990’s alongside structural adjustment policies implemented by the International Monetary Fund and administered by the United States Agency for International Development, which favored privatization and severely reduced state control over businesses and citizen welfare (Babb 2004, Reyes 2011). This dissertation argues that while successful policies have taken place to encourage tourism development in the country, overt authoritarian control has resulted in narrow marketing initiatives and a failure to expand tourism beyond the Pacific coast. Furthermore, international isolation, negative publicity, and shortcomings within the actual building of tourism infrastructure further complicates Nicaragua’s potential success in becoming a tourism destination. Therefore, development through a tourism lens remains at best haphazard and erratic while both national and foreign developers suffer from poorly executed and articulated tourism planning. By examining Nicaragua’s tourism sector and investigating the realities of those with direct and indirect stakes in the tourism industry across all Nicaraguan society, we can understand the challenges and potential which tourism poses as an economic and social strategy to uplift poorer countries around the world
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Brain Following Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Get PDFTraumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a common form of head injury, with mild TBIs (mTBIs) making up 75-90% of the TBI severity scale. It’s been suggested that repetitive mild TBIs (rmTBIs) may enhance effects of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). With dementia linking TBI and AD together, we investigated the memory hub of the brain - the hippocampus. Astrocytes and microglia are two glial cells that respond to neuroinflammation and therefore imaged in hippocampal regions of the 3xTg-AD mouse brain. We hypothesized that AD brain pathology (i.e., neuroinflammation) would be accelerated in 3xTg-AD mice following rmTBIs early in life. Analyses revealed that rmTBIs didn’t enhance the extent of gliosis in AD mice. We conclude that an increased risk of neurodegeneration is not a predetermined outcome from rmTBIs early in life. A future investigation of the expression of specific receptors (e.g., TREM2) and neuronal loss can better illustrate the role of glial cells
Effect of Oxidation of Graphene on Agglomeration and the Mechanical Properties of Thermosetting Resins
Get PDFThermosetting resins are used extensively worldwide in applications ranging from adhesives to structural components. However, these resins generally fail in a brittle fracture mode which is undesirable in most situations. Graphene (G) and its derivatives have been considered as additives to epoxy for material property enhancement and varied results have been reported in the literature. In this work, the effects of the oxidation of G to graphene oxide (GO) on polymer interactions and plate agglomeration were studied by classical molecular dynamics (MD). Results from those simulations concluded that agglomerates were likely present in all G-based nanocomposites. The effect of these agglomerates on epoxy was investigated by manufacturing G or GO-doped epoxy nanocomposites with no pre-exfoliation method and conducting mechanical property testing in tension, bending, and compression.
The response of GO/epoxy was different from that of neat and G-doped resin in all 3 tests, and under compression was dramatically different than under tension and bending. Under compression, the failure mode of the epoxy changed from brittle to slow tearing by adding 0.1 weight percent or greater of GO nanoplates. Computed tomography revealed the presence of previously unreported fissures in the GO samples, which were not seen in the neat or G-doped epoxy samples. These fissures appeared to inhibit crack propagation resulting in the slow, tearing failure mode in compression. Further MD simulations qualitatively supported agglomerations of GO in epoxy could nucleate void formation. Finally, the fracture toughness of these nanocomposites was estimated, showing that doping by agglomerated GO could increase the compressive fracture toughness of epoxy by approximately 1 to 2 orders of magnitude.
Although other means of altering the failure mechanism in epoxy exist, doping with GO resulted in a PMPC that showed no reduction in stiffness or coefficient of thermal expansion and should not suffer from thermal degradation as elastomer-doped resins are prone to. The compilation of studies presented in this dissertation lays the foundation for understanding a new energy-absorbing failure mechanism in thermosetting resins
Technology and Homelessness: How Website Design and Blockchain Technology Could Impact the Unhoused
Get PDFAlthough technology could be used to combat inequality, it is instead increasing it. This paper discusses how the unhoused population suffers at the hand of technological inequality despite being relatively offline. It presents theories on how this would change if we reapproached how technology is used to assist the unhoused. It suggests implementing blockchain as a resource as well as modifying the websites built to assist in accessing benefits. Employees at shelters are interviewed for this paper about their experiences with using digital resources to rehouse and restabilize the vulnerable. They are asked how the sites can be improved for more optimized use. The sites are also tested against current UX standards for accessibility. Currently, they are extremely outdated and difficult to navigate. It also suggests that blockchain would assist the unhoused population in their ability to get the government assistance that they are entitled to in the U.S. Blockchain is, put simply, a network of distributed and encrypted pieces of data, which is already frequently used by the government to store sensitive data. It has been suggested in prior research papers about the unhoused population that blockchain could be used to store identification data, such as a copy of a birth certificate, driver’s license, or other vital documents, which can be easily lost when one is living transiently. This impacts someone’s ability to get food stamps, get a job, remain a legal citizen, and receive healthcare, among other things. Blockchain could assist this population, but there are barriers that might make that difficult to implement, specifically when it comes to potential concerns from participants about personal security
Conducting Culturally Responsive, Strengths-Based Assessment in Schools
Get PDFSpecial education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on “labeling” students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as strengths-based assessment (SBA) and culturally responsive assessment (CRA), have potential to addresses these critiques and be more appropriate for the growingly diverse school population. Despite this, these models of assessment are under studied and there is a lack of clear guidance for how practitioners should implement them.
In these manuscripts, CRA and SBA are understood and studied in tandem as CR/SBA due to their significant overlap, similar challenges, and alignment with the National Association of School Psychology’s (NASP) practice model. In the first manuscript, the Partnerships as the Path to Implementing Culturally Responsive, Strengths-based Assessment (PATP-CRSBA) implementation guide is presented. The guide is intentionally created to be used in the team-based context of special education evaluation and aligns with the model of school psychological practice that is presented by the National Association of School Psychology (NASP, 2020). A school psychologist (or special education team) can use the PATP-CRSBA to identify ways they can foster family, school, community partnerships (FSCP) to conduct CR/SBA.
The second manuscript presents a multiple-case study exploring the perspectives of practicing school psychologists who conduct CR/SBA. Each case presents how participant’s conceptualizes and uses CR/SBA in the context of their “real life” practice. Cross-case analysis reveals several themes including finding that CR/SBA is difficult to define and under development; defining features of CR/SBA; CR/SBA practices; barriers, facilitators, and the context of practice; and how CR/SBA is conducted. An initial diagram is presented that illustrates the process school psychologists use to conduct CR/SBA.
The contributions of these manuscripts suggest that CR/SBA should be further developed with a focus on refining a model that addresses the critiques of traditional assessment models and can realistically be implemented in practice. Recommendations moving forward include adjustments to training, applying findings to FSCP, studying how training informs assessment, studying assessment in the context of special education teams
The Power of Procedure: Uncovering the Gap in U.S. Privacy Rights
No full textAs Congress faces increasing pressure to adopt comprehensive privacy legislation, this article seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussions by exploring critical procedural deficiencies in U.S. privacy laws and their implications for both domestic privacy rights and international data flows. The article makes several key contributions to the field. First, it uses a comparative law perspective to highlight the lack of robust procedural rights and remedies in U.S. privacy law. Second, while many have questioned whether the Court of Justice for the European Union will strike down the latest US-EU Data Privacy Framework (the primary mechanism for allowing the transatlantic flow of personal data) over U.S. national security conduct, we highlight another problem. This article is the first to show why the agreement may fail due to insufficient procedural safeguards. Ultimately, we join others in calling for U.S. privacy laws to include a private right of action with the ability to pursue class action lawsuits. However, the article also offers an original set of remedies compromises, such as relying on unjust enrichment and introducing judicial safeguards to prevent disproportionate damages awards. These reforms aim to strike a balance and gain broad support among policymakers for new federal and state privacy legislation. If adopted, these reforms should enhance privacy rights in the U.S. while also ensuring the continued transatlantic flow of personal data
Confusion Over Trademark Extraterritoriality…and Beyond
No full textThe Supreme Court had afforded the Lanham Act extraterritorial reach over seventy years ago in Steele v. Bulova, but its recent extraterritoriality jurisprudence called that decision into question.
This Article explains the history of trademark extraterritoriality and the splits that emerged among the circuit courts of appeals. It then canvases all of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on the presumption against extraterritoriality and their effort to reinvigorate and standardize the law in that regard.
We then provide a detailed exploration of the Abitron decision. Next, we critique the decision and explore its implications not only for trademark law but also beyond. The article demonstrates that Steele is effectively overruled, even if the Supreme Court failed to state as such. That means that circuit court case law developed over decades has been sent to the dustbin with nary a consideration of stare decisis. As a result, the previous tests that included considerations of the effects on U.S commerce and the citizenship of the accused infringer are gone, left with a hopefully ambiguous “use in commerce” test.
Additionally, under Steele, courts formally considered potential conflicts with foreign law when deciding whether to apply the Lanham Act extraterritorially. The role of comity is now uncertain, which is unfortunate in the context of intellectual property law. Consideration of foreign law would be useful in creating soft harmonization with foreign law while also surfacing potential disagreements among countries that could become the source of future negotiations.
The Supreme Court also missed an opportunity to elaborate on the availability of damages for activities outside of the United States in the case of domestic intellectual property infringement, although the case should nudge courts to a narrow perspective on the availability of those damages.
Finally, the review of the Supreme Court’s decisions on extraterritoriality demonstrates that its effort to formalize the test has been mixed at best. At times, the Court uses the presumption as it had done before its recent engagement: as a soft, secondary statutory canon. Additionally, the justices disagree sharply on step two if its extraterritoriality methodology, leaving lower courts in a state of uncertainty moving forward
Misgivings in Measuring Happiness
Get PDFAccording to a resolution of the UN General Assembly (Resolution 66/281), March 20th is observed annually as International Day of Happiness. A nation’s overall success is measured by people’s happiness, the litmus test. The World Happiness Report (WHR) states there is consensus about measuring happiness, whereas, happiness is idiosyncratic and its connotation differs from culture to culture, language to language, and even person to person. Personal ‘space’ in all spheres matters, and so do democracy or dictatorship, all factors leading to mismeasures of happiness scores. And so, there are paradoxes in happiness rankings in WHR. Economists have yet to take cognizance of ‘happiness’: there is as yet no word like ‘happiness’ in JEL Classification. The WHR algorithm for computing country-wise happiness scores is passable, but the results are credulous. This is on account of inherent drawbacks of opinion polling about ‘happiness in life so far’, cognitive dissonance about civilizational ethos, bias in information regarding eudemonia, generosity, freedoms, human rights, corruption, and government effectiveness. Let us set up Bharat’s own Happiness Commission to estimate an operational Happiness score analogous with that of the WHR. There is a rationale for happiness scores: they help discard ‘growth for growth’s sake’ constructs especially after life’s basics, including health and education, are reached to people. Lesson: Maximize Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than press on with increasingly unsustainable levels of GDP
