The basis of social power which has expanded in the most dangerous way over the last few decades has been that of information control, and how that control is used. Misinformation and the intentional spread of misinformation referred to as disinformation, has become commonplace among various bodies of power to either expand their own influence or diminish opposing influence. The methods of disinformation utilized in the various spheres of politics, the commercial marketplace, and the media today are explored in depth to better contextualize and describe the problems that disinformation and its use pose in the world today.

As technological advancement increases and becomes more accessible to everyone around the world, many communities and support groups have begun to offer online options for their programs, whether it be a fitness program, online therapy group, or doctor’s appointment. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting every country around the world, online and virtual communities have become more necessary than ever. Using personal experience from an online fitness community formed as a response to social isolation called“Barrett Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies,” research was conducted to determine if online communities had the same effectiveness as in-person communities in reaching and maintaining individual health goals. Peer-reviewed scientific articles and research papers from many countries around the world were analyzed for demonstration and quantification of the efficacy of other online communities compared to in- person groups. In addition, the benefits and limitations of online communities were identified. Using all of the research and data collected, a novel fitness program was designed for implementation with an online synchronous group (OSG) and an online asynchronous option serving as a control to observe any differential adherence of participants to fitness goals. The proposed OSG consists of meetings and workouts through Zoom and is more interactive, even virtually. The control group had no interaction with others and completed the workouts alone. While this program was not distributed to the public and tested as part of this project, it was designed to be an optimized pilot program to test the impact of remote community engagement on goal attainment. It is predicted that the OSG would demonstrate improvement over control in better reaching goals and increased satisfaction with results. Scientific literature from a variety of disciplines discussed here informs this prediction.

The purpose of this project is to explore the historical context and current state of prison hospice programs in the US. This objective was accomplished through an extensive review and synthesis of the relevant literature pertaining to prison hospice programs in the US. The historical increase of the incarceration rate beginning in America during the 1980’s has led to the development of more elderly prisoners than ever before in the US. As prisoners age in the US correctional system, they experience faster-than-average health decline. Mass incarceration has placed incredible strain on the correctional system to provide healthcare to the medically complex elderly inmate population. This project proposes that some of this systematic strain may be alleviated through the action of prison hospice programs. Prison hospices replace unnecessary industrial medical interventions with personalized comfort care measures and the unique service of inmate volunteers. This approach to medical care at the end of life has become the standard of care for the free population but is slower to emerge in the prison context. This project asserts that the dying US inmate population should be offered the right to a dignified death through equitable access to hospice services.

American discomfort with death has hindered important end of life conversations within families. The groundwork for this discomfort can be attributed to a variety of influences common in American life. This thesis investigates the influence of religion, media portrayal, and healthcare on the perception of death in the United States and offers death mindfulness as a means for the average American to become more comfortable with death.

The media often portrays and the public often percieves white women and women of color politicians experience feminist obstacles, such as the masculine-feminine double bind and being dehumanized in the same way. Many of these representations of women of color politicians in society do not incorporate the impact of intersectionality and confining gender schemas; therefore, women of color politician’s experiences are often lumped together with that of their white women counterparts. This phenomenon ultimately contributes to the persistence of color-blind racism in the United States, which negatively effects the life outcomes of women of color politicians and women of color in general. In effort to help lessen the effects of color-blind racism locally and in government, some tools on how to reflect on one’s own biases are provided and avenues for change are proposed.

Communication skills are vital for the world we inhabit. Both oral and written communication are some of the most sought-after skills in the job market today; this holds true in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Despite the high demand for communication skills, communication classes are not required for some STEM majors (Missingham, 2006). STEM major maps are often so packed with core classes that they nearly exclude the possibility of taking communication courses. Students and job seekers are told they need to be able to communicate to succeed but are not given any information or support in developing their skills. Scientific inquiry and discovery cannot be limited to only those that understand high-level jargon and have a Ph.D. in a subject. STEM majors and graduates must be able to translate information to communities beyond other experts. If they cannot communicate the impact of their research and discoveries, who is going to listen to them?<br/>Overall, the literature around communication in STEM fields demonstrate the need for and value of specific, teachable communication skills. This paper will examine the impact of a communication training module that teaches specific communication skills to BIO 182: General Biology II students. The communication training module is an online module that teaches students the basics of oral communication. The impact of the module will be examined through the observation of students’ presentations.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the health system in the United States is now being further challenged. There is bipartisan debate on how it can be reconstructed: one party states that the government plays too big of a role, while the other believes it plays too little. Regardless, Americans want change. Reconstruction is not a new topic by any means, and other countries have been forced to do so due to political violence. This paper explores the history and current healthcare organizations of Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These countries have all encountered major political turmoil, which has led to the rebuilding of their respective healthcare systems. Though the United States is not facing political violence that will necessitate reorganization, the examination of nations that have been forced to do so offers lessons applicable to the healthcare system in the US.

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the health system in the United States is now being further challenged. There is bipartisan debate on how it can be reconstructed: one party states that the government plays too big of a role, while the other believes it plays too little. Regardless, Americans want change. Reconstruction is not a new topic by any means, and other countries have been forced to do so due to political violence. This paper explores the history and current healthcare organizations of Japan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These countries have all encountered major political turmoil, which has led to the rebuilding of their respective healthcare systems. Though the United States is not facing political violence that will necessitate reorganization, the examination of nations that have been forced to do so offers lessons applicable to the healthcare system in the US.

Veterans are approximately 30% more likely than non-veterans to suffer from severe hearing impairment. Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, which is increasingly common among military service men and women, has been linked to significant cognitive and psychological impairment and can be worsened by the same sounds that trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In fact, tinnitus and PTSD often present as comorbidities, and recent studies suggest these two disorders may share a common neurological pathway. Additional studies are required to better understand the connection between hearing loss and impaired cognitive function such as that observed in with PTSD. Here, we use the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to explore the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive function. Negative geotaxis climbing assays and courtship behavior analysis were used to examine neurobehavioral changes induced by prolonged, intense auditory stimulation. Preliminary results suggest that exposure to loud noise for an extended period of time significantly affected Drosophila behavior, with males being more sensitive than females. Based on our results, there appears to be a potential connection between noise exposure and behavior, further suggesting that Drosophila could be an effective model to study the link between hearing loss and PTSD.

Socioeconomic differences have driven society and laid the foundation for the types of opportunities and resources one is eligible to receive. Higher socioeconomic status provides individuals the chance of obtaining an overall better education, occupation, and income. We see this with particular clarity when we examine healthcare. The World Health Organization has regarded healthcare as a fundamental human right, except socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals not only do not have equal access to healthcare, but they also often receive a lower quality of care. These socioeconomic differences are often paired with racial differences, resulting in one group, or set of groups, having social advantage over the others. Although this problem has been discussed throughout the past century, it has not been properly addressed materially and practically. Unequal access to quality healthcare is especially highlighted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where there has been evidence that minorities, in particular Black communities, have received inadequate care. Quality healthcare has become unaffordable and a luxury that only certain groups get the privilege of receiving. Not only that, but the ongoing inequalities in the healthcare system have gone so far that they have instilled hostility and mistrust towards the healthcare system.