Working Partnerships, Partnerships Working

Involvement in community partnerships at Virginia Commonwealth University has its roots in the institution\u27s history. The Medical College of Virginia, founded in1838, and the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, both sought to extend knowledge into the community to change peoples\u27 lives for the better. Today, the VCU campuses are even more entwined with the City of Richmond -- physically, and increasingly so as a partner in the economic and social challenges and opportunities facing the City

Enneagram Collaborative Observations

The way we interact is important so that we can have successful and efficient lifestyles. The way we treat people is important. We create different environments with the interactions we choose to make, and sometimes those interactions are often confusing to understand. Human connection boils down to open communication and honesty. Does knowing somebody’s personality type make it easier to collaborate with them? This project looks at the interactions between creatives based on their Enneagram Personality type. The Enneagram is broken down into 9 interconnecting personalities. These numbers represent more apparent personality traits as well as common-ground and compatibility factors between the numbers. When it comes to collaboration, especially in a creative field, working with others is inevitable, and empathy for others is crucial. This attitude engenders a healthy relationship between people, and it allows us to think more objectively with a basic understanding of the other person’s needs. By using my peers as a foundation for my artistic expression, I had the opportunity to learn more about each number in depth, and create displays that show interactivity between enneagram numbers to support the methods in creative collaborative learning

The impact of adverse childhood experiences on suicidal ideation and attempts in African American adolescents: examining the moderation effect of religious activity on the progression of suicide

Trauma from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which include neglect, abuse, and household dysfunction increase the risk of depressive symptoms 2.5- to 3.6-fold and suicidal attempts 2- to 5-fold. The most recent theoretical model of suicidal progression, Three-Step Theory, postulates psychological distress (such as trauma from ACEs), leads to hopelessness (a depressive symptom), and subsequently to suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. However, no person-centered model of ACEs and their link to hopelessness and later suicidal behavior has been conducted amongst African American or adolescent populations. Therefore, the first goal of this study was to test the validity of the Three-Step Theory of Suicide by creating the first person-centered model of the ACEs to suicidal behavior association in an African American adolescent sample using a latent class analysis. The second goal was to explore the potential moderating effect of a protective factor (religious participation) on the Three-Step Model for this demographic which was unknown. Religious participation, a common practice within the African American community, was predicted to provide an alternative method for coping with traumatic experiences like ACEs by mitigating the use of the maladaptive coping following hopelessness. African American adolescents (N=705) aged 14 to 18 years were extracted from the 2015 Dane County Youth Assessment. A latent class analysis revealed three typologies, a Low ACES class, a Neglect ACES class, and a High ACES class. Results validated the use of the Three-Step Model for the sample demographic.Trauma from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which include neglect, abuse, and household dysfunction increase the risk of depressive symptoms 2.5- to 3.6-fold and suicidal attempts 2- to 5-fold. The most recent theoretical model of suicidal progression, Three-Step Theory, postulates psychological distress (such as trauma from ACEs), leads to hopelessness (a depressive symptom), and subsequently to suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. However, no person-centered model of ACEs and their link to hopelessness and later suicidal behavior has been conducted amongst African American or adolescent populations. Therefore, the first goal of this study was to test the validity of the Three-Step Theory of Suicide by creating the first person-centered model of the ACEs to suicidal behavior association in an African American adolescent sample using a latent class analysis. The second goal was to explore the potential moderating effect of a protective factor (religious participation) on the Three-Step Model for this demographic which was unknown. Religious participation, a common practice within the African American community, was predicted to provide an alternative method for coping with traumatic experiences like ACEs by mitigating the use of the maladaptive coping following hopelessness. African American adolescents (N=705) aged 14 to 18 years were extracted from the 2015 Dane County Youth Assessment. A latent class analysis revealed three typologies, a Low ACES class, a Neglect ACES class, and a High ACES class. Results validated the use of the Three-Step Model for the sample demographic. Hopelessness fully mediated the Neglect ACES class associations with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. However, hopelessness partially mediated the High ACES class associations with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The second hypothesis was not supported such that the Three-Step Model was not moderated by religious participation. Mediation results suggested Neglect may be a less severe form of ACEs for African American youth such that its relationship to suicidal behavior is fully mediated by hopelessness. However, experiences of multiple ACEs especially physical abuse or family chaos may place African American youth at higher risk for suicidal behavior, above and beyond hopelessness. These findings suggest that the Three-Step model explains the association between moderate- and/or low- intensity ACEs and suicidal behavior. However, hopelessness and other factors contribute to the association between abuse- and family chaos- related ACEs, and suicidal behavior. These results suggest that African American youth may benefit from trauma and suicidal behavior screeners that reflect severity categories for types of ACEs in addition to number of ACEs. Finally, African American youth who are at risk for neglect may need to be routinely screened for hopelessness

Facilitating Racial Equity in Schools: A Social Work Perspective

This presentation is designed to introduce the concept of racial equity in relation to social work practice in school settings. Through the use of state school systems data, research literature, and a professional code of ethics, a five-module training was developed. These modules taught school social workers how to confront inequities at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of the school system

Finger placement correction for static gesture recognition in American Sign Language

Within the past few years, research involving gesture recognition has flourished and has led to new and improved programs assisting people who communicate with sign language [1–8]. Although numerous approaches have been developed for recognizing gestures [5, 6, 9], very little attention has been focused on American Sign Language (ASL) training for correcting the placement of individual fingers. Although, it is easy to mimic gestures, it is difficult to know whether or not you are signing them correctly. This is important in that most gestures, if made slightly incorrect, convey a completely different word, letter, or meaning [10]. This research involved developing a computer program to assist in teaching the correct placement of the fingers when performing ASL. Considering sign language has a wide range of gestures, the focus of the study is on static gestures which include a few letters of the alphabet. In order for the program to recognize finger placement, the user must wear colored latex over the fingertips. Then by using image processing techniques along with different algorithms, ASL hand gestures made by the user will be compared to standard images in a database. The program will provide feedback concerning how close the user is to the reference gesture as well as specific instructions concerning how to correct the gesture. This is the first step in developing a training/teaching program to help teach sign language accurately and precisely without the need of face-to-face instruction. Future studies could lead to more accurate training techniques for a wider range of ASL gestures

"Perinatal Depression in Minority and Underserved Rural Women"

Perinatal depression is defined as major and minor depressive episodes that occur either during pregnancy or within the first 12 months following delivery. As the number of individuals with depressions rises globally, the number of new mothers with perinatal depression is predicted to rise from five percent to twenty-five percent depending upon the assessment method, the timing of the assessment and population characteristics. Studies of this form of depression include Caucasian and African American populations, however, do not include Native American and Hispanic populations. The goals of this project were to estimate the prevalence of postpartum depression in Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Native American women, determine any racial or ethnic differences and develop more effective treatment plans

Colibrí de Severo Sarduy: La caída perpetua en el espacio cerrado, infernal de la escritura

La novela Colibrí (1984) del escritor cubano Severo Sarduy es una inscripción fragmentaria que se erige sobre un espacio vacío, nivela- dor: la página en blanco. Las palabras se convierten en huecas superficies, en máscaras sin trasfondo ni consistencia. En Colibrí la dificultad lezamianal se materializa en obstáculo infecunda. La impenetrabilidad de las palabras, del texto, vuelve irrelevante toda labor de desciframiento. Mientras que en la novela Paradíso (1966) de José Lezama Lima la proliferación verbal apunta hacia el centro lumffioso, origina dor de la imagen (como dinámica representación, teatralización o sus- titución del ausente Logos trascendente) en Colibrí esta inscripción flo- tante, indescifrable pierde dirección y sentido. La simulación, el disfraz que es la metáfora no representa o teatraliza la gravedad, la autoridad de una verdad "sobrenatural" paradisiaca: la liberación verbal y ontológica2 por medio de la imagen en Paradiso se contrapone al enclaus- tramiento mortal de la escritura en Colibrí

De la fiesta pública al claustro silencioso: alegorías de conocimiento en Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Al analizar las diferentes tradiciones alegóricas que confluyen en tres obras clave de la monja novohispana Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695)—la Explicación del Arco =Neptuno Alegórico‘ (1680; Inundación castálida, 1689; Obras I, 1691), el auto sacramental El Divino Narciso (ed. suelta, 1690; Obras I, 1691; Segundo volumen, 1692) y el Primero Sueño (Segundo volumen, 1692)—podemos apreciar una hábil, subrepticia reformulación de los códigos retóricos e ideológicos establecidos para así desentrañar una serie de mensajes insospechados, sorpresivos, que apuntan hacia la valoración de la búsqueda de conocimiento y poder femeninos a través de la palabra poética. La alegoría, un lenguaje densamente simbólico, de difícil lectura, =secreto‘, dirigido a una minoría de iniciados o entendidos, recorre la obra de la monja como recurso retórico y político que cifra, o esconde de la mirada vigilante del poder, circunspectos sentidos bajo la superficie oscura, polisémica del lenguaje poético. De esta manera, las diferentes estrategias alegóricas que su obra escenifica llevan a cabo una apropiación, problematización y subversión de los códigos de la alegoría de poder imperial que estructuran las manifestaciones artísticas y literarias de la época, situadas en el contexto ideológico y propagandístico de la Contrarreforma. La lectura alegórica e intertextual de estas tres obras nos permite trazar una red de conceptos o preocupaciones teóricas recurrentes que definen el proyecto intelectual y literario de la monja: la relación entre la retórica, el conocimiento y el poder político; la naturaleza múltiple, cambiante y relativa del conocimiento humano que controvierte los asertos categóricos, autoritarios, pretendidamente absolutos, del dogma oficial; la relación crítica, contestataria entre los conocimientos femeninos, producto del ingenio, de la fantasía interior, y la verdad institucional, pública, masculina; y finalmente, el valor positivo, ejemplar, de la audacia epistemológica que establece nuevas fronteras, nuevas perspectivas epistemológicas que corrigen y superan los cánones establecidos. En nuestra lectura comparativa podemos también detectar una trayectoria semántica implícita en la que el entendimiento femenino, identificado con la fantasía creadora de la escritora, con su ingenio poético, cobra cada vez mayor prominencia hasta llegar a abarcar, a comprender, el espacio público del poder político. El ruido de la Inquisición y del poder político mundano es amordazado por los elocuentes silencios, voces mudas, pletóricas, triunfantes, de la alegoría poética que la monja novohispana edifica desde los márgenes del claustro

LA LOA PARA EL AUTO SACRAMENTAL EL DIVINO NARCISO DE SOR JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ FRENTE AL CANON DEL AUTO OFICIAL

Si bien la crítica ha estudiado la producción sacramental de la monja novohispana Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz en sus múltiples dimensio- nes teológicas, filosóficas, políticas, feministas, entre otras, todavía no ha situado tal producción en el contexto mayor del auto colonial hispanoamericano ni ha problematizado el acto de imitación de los mo- delos teatrales metropolitanos desde el espacio doblemente marginal de la escritura femenina y colonial.1 En general, se han analizado las piezas sacramentales de Sor Juana en un vacío retórico/cultural—sin tomar en cuenta las prácticas culturales y convenciones retóricas que formaban parte del teatro hispanoamericano—o se les ha interpretado como imitación secundaria del canon calderoniarto. El auto colonial, como se verá más adelante, no es degradada reproducción del auto es- pañol sino extensión de una retórica establecida cuya función es la transmisión de propaganda religiosa y política. Desde sus inicios esta retórica busca identificar alegoría, sacramento y representación teatral para autorizar la verdad absoluta, incuestionable del proyecto imperial español. De esta manera, tanto el auto colonial como el peninsular participan del modelo del auto oficial metropolitano. Las loas y autos sacramentales sorjuanianos, como otras piezas dramáticas de la época, establecen un diálogo crítico con la retórica teatral institucional. Este diálogo abarca los aspectos retórico-alegóricos, sernióticos e ideológicos tanto de los textos dramáticos como de la festividad del Corpus Christi y de su octava en que son representadas las piezas. En particular, la Loa para El Divino Narciso, que incorpora a su temática y estructura alegórica el discurso sacramental institucional, pone en entredicho el proyecto imperial de apropriación de la otredad. El texto novohispano ofrece un espacio de resistencia a la colonización ideológica por parte del poder logocéntrico metropolitano

Figuras políticas y epistemológicas en el Neptuno alegórico de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

¿Cuál es la naturaleza de la alegoría que sustenta la imponente arquitectura verbal del Neptuno alegórico? ¿Qué relación tiene este modo de representación analógico-simbólica con otros textos alegóricos sorjuanianos como son sus autos sacramentales y el poema metafísico Primero Sueño? ¿Qué redes de significación trazan entre sí estos textos y a qué tipos de públicos estaban dirigidos? Pocos críticos han intentado descifrar el hermético, altamente denso y erudito entramado simbólico del Neptuno alegórico, océano de colores, simulacro político [. . .], descripción y guía interpretativa del arco triunfal concebido por Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz y erigido por la iglesia metropolitana para recibir al 28avo. virrey novohispano don Tomás Antonio de la Cerda y Aragón, Conde de Paredes y Marqués de la Laguna, el 30 de noviembre de 1680.1 Entre los estudiosos de la obra se encuentran Electa Arenal, Agustín Boyer, Dolores Bravo Arriaga, Fernando Checa, José M. González García, Joseph R. Jones, Helga von Kügelgen, Heinrich Merkl, José Pascual Buxó, Octavio Paz y Georgina Sabat de Rivers. El reducido número de estudios sobre el Neptuno contrasta con la considerable atención que han recibido otros escritos en prosa y en verso de la monja. Estamos todavía a la espera de un análisis más global y extenso de este texto multidimensional.