Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Poem: Adrienne Rich's (1955) "Ideal Landscape"

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.

Dirt, Ground And Groundedness: Material Semiotics And Social Anchors Of The Real And Truth In The Modernist Imaginary

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

What makes the ground (earth, dirt, soil) the axial point of reference for modern subjectivity? In this paper, I explore the semiotics of the ground and the complex ways modern subjectivity sets a performative frame around association/disassociation with dirt. From the hygiene hypothesis and the problematic of modern existence and the lack of understanding of the good of dirt for the immune system to the ontology of being real in grounded theory, how we posit our connection to the ground can inform us of the way that we seek to anchor our place in the world. In this anchoring to …

Psychenatur: Selfing And Naturing

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Insofar as our sense of and appreciation of “nature aesthetics” is both culturally biased and subjectively determined (given our agentic proclivities and/or actual degrees of freedom), and while taking the more inclusive perspective that, objectively so, ‘nature’ are all the processes seen and unseen that existed, now exist, and will exist, from the infinitesimally small to those of cosmic proportions, and, that whatever we mean by a singular “self” stands, in reality, for a multiplicity of self-other and self-otherness references (i.e., intersectionality during the entire life of a given individual—see Fig. 3), then all characterizations easily or convolutely described …

Artist's Corner: Isabel Cidoncha

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.

Migratory Material: Epigenetics & Weaving At The Us-Mexico Border, Valerie Navarrete

Masters Theses

Discourse often sutures the body shut, disallowing representations of identity to outgrow sociopolitical interests. This issue may originate from borders, but also from the unnamable pathology that generational colonial trauma transmits to the mind, body, and environment. Without a direct form of translatability, this thesis proposes a new materialism that deviates from any object-oriented ontology. Untethered and intra-active, epigenetics and weaving represent objects that transform typical ways of knowing and seeing. Their sensitivity to the environment, in addition to their mobility across generations of time, broaden the spatiotemporal loci of the body and its embodiment. Proposing new materials that expand …

Intersections In Clowning And Drama Therapy’S Core Processes, Brett Alters

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores potential intersections of drama therapy and an embodied clowning exercise known as leading centers. The aim is to further establish relations and a common lexicon between therapeutic circus arts and drama therapy. To guide this coupling, drama therapy’s newly revised core processes per Frydman et al. (2022) were utilized as a framework when coding the leading center exercise. Three out of seven drama therapy core processes were investigated: embodiment, dramatic projection, and distancing. These were determined to be most salient for the purposes of this thesis as they were recently the most emergent core processes coded in …

Emerging As A Scholar-Advocate Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Isabelle Hoagland

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Hierarchy Of Life: Whose Lives Do We Value?, Jessica Wiggins

International Journal on Responsibility

COVID-19 has heightened already existing health disparities amongst marginalized communities within the United States. In crisis, whose lives do healthcare systems value most and how are these decisions rooted in ableism and racism? Who is responsible for these inequities and in what ways? This multimedia presentation and companion paper explore these important questions.

Balance & Juggle, Ellen Zhang

Journal of Wellness

This poem is a work of fiction inspired by experiences, observations, and conversations I have had with female physicians, colleagues, and mentors. They shared their stories of balancing their personal and professional life as they navigated titles ranging from trainee to mother. This piece aims to shed light on recent research highlighting that female surgeons face higher rates of infertility and are more likely to miscarry during pregnancy than the overall US female population. This piece is a reminder to all that being a physician is a choice, but also a sacrifice.

Algorithmic Bias: Causes And Effects On Marginalized Communities, Katrina M. Baha

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals from marginalized backgrounds face different healthcare outcomes due to algorithmic bias in the technological healthcare industry. Algorithmic biases, which are the biases that arise from the set of steps used to solve or analyze a problem, are evident when people from marginalized communities use healthcare technology. For example, many pulse oximeters, which are the medical devices used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood, are not able to accurately read people who have darker skin tones. Thus, people with darker skin tones are not able to receive proper health care due to their pulse oximetry data being inaccurate. This …

The Impact Of The Tobacco-Free Policy On The Auc New Cairo Campus, Fatimah Badawy

Theses and Dissertations

In 2019, the American University in Cairo (AUC) conducted a research study on campus attitudes towards tobacco use and smoking behaviors within their community, in light of the then newly enforced tobacco-free policy. They found most campus members in support of the policy, with higher rates of disapproval from the smoking community. In 2021, this research aimed to follow-up on changes in attitudes towards the policy as well was smoking behaviors. It hypothesized that over time, levels of support to the policy would increase, smoking habits would be positively impacted and that positive health behaviors would correlate with policy support. …

The Benefits Of Art Therapy On Stress And Anxiety Of Oncology Patients During Treatment, Helen Shiepe

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Within the last ten years research on art therapy and its positive impact on oncology patients’ stress and anxiety during treatment has been minimal. Oncology patients whether they are children or adults when diagnosed experience similar reactions due to their diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases end of life care. The current question is whether or not art therapy does have a positive impact on decreasing the stress and anxiety with oncology patients while undergoing treatment. Deane, Fitch & Carmen (2000), discussed art therapy as a healing art that is “intended to integrate physical, emotional, and spiritual care by facilitating …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Exploring The Hinterland: The Development Of A Person-Centered Music Therapy Method For A Hospice Patient With Lewy Body Dementia, Paige Chaplin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the development and implementation of a music therapy method with an individual diagnosed with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) receiving home hospice services. There is very little known about the effect of music therapy on patients diagnosed with DLB. Informed by Tom Kitwood’s Person-Centered Care (PCC) philosophy for dementia care, Yumiko Sato’s Musical Life Review (MLR) model, and Lisa Kelly and Bill Ahessy’s Reminiscence-Focused Music Therapy (RFMT) model, a clinical method was developed to explore the effects of person-centered music therapy on reminiscence, caregiver connection, and identity. I drew inspiration from music therapy concepts by Tony Wigram …

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

Using Drama Therapy To Foster Peer Support Among Nurse Leaders, Chyela Rowe

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study explored the use of drama therapy to support the social-emotional experiences of nurse leaders at a mid-sized regional hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Nurse leaders have experienced profound changes to their work environments in recent years and burnout has been at an all-time high among healthcare workers globally. Organizational supports for nurses and nurse leaders are both inadequate to meet the needs and under-resourced. The research questions explored 1) whether the drama therapy peer support initiative improved outcomes and 2) whether there was a significant relationship between measures, and 3) what nurse leaders described as facilitators …

Social Creatures: The Impact Of Solitary Confinement On Psychophysiological Health And How Inmates Percieve Their Humanity And Social Well-Being, Julia Austin

Honors Projects

This paper will define and examine the use of solitary confinement within the United States prison system and review its mental, physical, and social impacts. As social creatures, human mental and physical well-being depends on meaningful social interactions absent in segregation units. As it currently stands, vulnerable populations, including racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and those with developmental disabilities or psychological disorders, are at risk of irrevocable harm and abuse within these facilities from staff as well as other inmates. With a rotating 80,000 inmates held in solitary confinement every day, the current structure of the prison system deemphasizes rehabilitation and …

Innovator - Spring 2023

Innovator

03 - The President’s Column

06 - Time Machine: Fabric of the Heart

10 - The Nexus: News at Jefferson

20 - Student to #Philebrity: Influenced by Jefferson

24 - The Light Fantastic

30 - We Are One Jefferson

34 - Question & Innovate

36 - Reimagine

40 - Ram Roundup

44 - Class Notes

56 - In Memory

58 - Trivia

Innovator - Summer 2022

Innovator

05 - The Provost’s Column

08 - Time Machine: John K. Mitchell’s Automaton Chess Player

12 - The Nexus: News at Jefferson

22 - Empowering Amputees to Conquer the Seas

26 - The Legend: Coach Herb Magee ’63, HOF ’11

34 - Common Threads

38 - Pitch Please

44 - Question & Innovate: Natasha A. Trice ’14

48 - The Future is Now Farewell to Dr. Stephen K. Klasko

52 - A Father’s Life Inspires a Son’s Giving

54 - Reimagine

60 - Ram Roundup

64 - Class Notes

72 - In Memory

Disrupting Cisheteronormativity In Stem Through Humanism, Meg C. Jones, Desiree Forsythe, Rachel Friedensen, Annemarie Vaccaro, Ryan A. Miller, Ezekiel Kimball, Rachael Forester

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Cisheteronormativity is prevalent throughout college STEM discourses and classrooms. In this paper, we present findings from a U.S. based study focused on the experiences of collegiate STEM students with minoritized identities of sexuality and gender (MIoSG) as the backdrop for discussing how current harmful ideologies in STEM perpetuate cisheteronormativity through discursive practice. We propose that humanistic classrooms and pedagogy can work to dismantle cisheteronormative D/discourses in STEM and create MIoSG inclusive STEM classrooms and programs. Our findings highlight the ways participants experienced cisheteronormative D/discourses in their collegiate STEM contexts. We discuss how these experiences might be mitigated through humanistic educational …

College Professors As Servant Leaders: Promoting Student Dignity In The Classroom, Garfield R. Benjamin

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The COVID-19 pandemic brought great disparities to society as a whole. In the education sector, teachers were forced to deliver content while exploring new ways to do so through new or unfamiliar technologies, working in various modalities, while keeping students engaged. This change called for instructors to be flexible, be aware, have empathy, have foresight, build community, communicate, and care for students in this new, mostly virtual, environment. This research explores the idea of college educators as servant leaders by examining definitions of servant leadership, exploring how a servant leader empowers those they lead in times of crisis, examining implications …

Servant Leadership: A Powerful Paradigm For Effective Leadership In Africa, Franklin Ezeorah

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Lack of good leadership is the greatest undoing of African progress. Unfortunately, good leadership for Africans is not just mirroring the western leadership system but adapting to a style of leadership that is attractive to African people’s way of life and effective for African people’s development and wellbeing. Because leadership is a crucial determining factor for the success of all economic, political, and organizational structures, determining an essential leadership style for a nation-state largely depends on how suitable the style can fit into the complex challenges facing such a nation-state. Considering the viability and profitability of the servant leadership style …

To Protect And To Serve: Community Policing And Servant Leadership Through The Lens Of A Lieutenant Of 25 Years In A Nj Police Precinct, Tara Deworsop

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Police play a vital role in protecting communities and holding accountable those who have committed violent and property offenses. At the heart of this are the acts of protecting and serving the individuals that make up those communities.

This paper looks at how police officers interact, protect and serve the communities within which they work today. The history of policing and the way police officers are prepared to interact with the public are important. Servant leadership combined with community policing has the potential to create a positive impact that will have a ripple effect.

Using the example of a police …

Servant Leadership And Student-Worker Satisfaction, Shweta Sinha

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

There are several studies that show that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to immense physical and mental health distress. Not only did it impact people’s health but it posed a threat to their financial and professional security. The pandemic, in addition to the several socio-economic challenges, resulted in the restructuring of the corporate work environment. It gave rise to work-from-home culture which eventually became the preferred mode of work for many people. However, companies eventually started calling people back into work reducing the flexibility in schedule that was previously available to employees working from home. As a result, the post-pandemic …

Spirituality Of The Servant Leader, Sally Duffy

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Reflecting on the words and lived actions of philosophers, theologians and others in the Catholic tradition can inform the Spirituality of a Servant Leader. Thoughtful considerations of the crucified today and personal examination of reader towards systems and structures of oppression should inform those in leadership. Members and alumni of a Vincentian university must recall and embody the leadership styles of Jesus Christ and St. Vincent De Paul in their own places of influence to make for a more just and righteous global society. A Vincentian education calls leaders to holistic care of those they lead coupled with radical principles …

Servant Leadership In Catholic Institutions Of Higher Education, Margaret M. Fitzpatrick

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Catholic institutions of higher learning are charged with the formation of a significant number of privileged students, who received an advanced degree worldwide. All colleges and universities of Catholic identity, especially its presidents and leadership, would gain to reflect on servant leadership from a Vincentian perspective, What must be done? How must it be done? A Catholic college creates a faith-filled climate where the presence of the Spirit deepens the communion with the entire community, city, state, and beyond. A growing leadership philosophy is based on Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership, where the behaviors and practices emphasize the well-being of those being …

Servant Leadership In The Workplace, Joseph D'Mello

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Starting from the definition of leadership in general, this work traces servant leadership in particular from its ancient roots to today’s business organizations and argues that the lacuna in organizational servant leadership is likely to be addressed by the growing existential and competitive imperative for organizations to undertake agile transformations.

Centering Those On The Periphery: Mother Teresa As Exemplar Of Catholic Social Thought (Cst) And Social Work Core Commitments To Dignity, Service, And Justice, Anthony Nicotera, Dawn Apgar, Ines Murzaku

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The literature is void of scholarship on the integration of Catholic Social Thought (CST) and social work. While social work has been historically devoted to helping those who are marginalized and oppressed and recognizes the impact of religion/spirituality on those served, there are almost no articles published that link CST and social work pedagogy and practice. This article identifies why there is a natural fit between CST and social work values. Mother Teresa is presented as an exemplar of CST in action and an inspiration for further integration of CST into social work education. This integration is needed to help …

Robert Greenleaf: Changing Management To Change Society, Riccardo Colasanti

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

This paper is a critique of the thought provoking, if not problematic, ideas presented in Robert Greenleaf’s pamphlet, The Servant as Leader (Greenleaf, 2008) which appeared in print in the 1970’s. This text constituted the seminal work upon which a progressive, transformational movement was created in the training of management cadres in North American companies, with the transition of the concept of a “leader boss” to that of “leader as a servant”. The limits of Greenleaf’s servant leadership model are tested against the capitalist society within which we live and found contradictory, but no less inspiring in its attempt to …

Servant Leadership And Ten Supporting Attitudes, Larry W. Boone

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The popular concept of servant leadership is discussed as are the characteristics of servant leaders and the relationships between the servant leader approach and power usage and service. Servant leadership is compared and contrasted to several other common leadership styles. Ten attitudes that support and facilitate servant leadership behaviors are identified from the leadership literature. Leadership practices that flow from these attitudes are examined. Emphasis is placed on the supportive, enabling work environment created by servant leaders.