<p> This thesis is an exploration of the transformation of body and mind through Haitian dance from depth and liberation psychological perspectives. More personally, it focuses on the author&rsquo;s transformational experience while being part of a Haitian dance community in Brooklyn, New York. Haitian dance is ingrained in Haitian culture, which embodies the history of Haitian people, mythology, gods, music, rituals, and ceremonies. This hermeneutic research examines Haitian dance as a way to access the somatic unconscious and support psychological healing and individuation. The research describes the somatic experience of archetypal energies, embodied consciousness, and myths through Haitian dance and how this enhances healing. In addition, this thesis explains how the author&rsquo;s Haitian dance class provides healing for both individuals and a community from a liberation psychology perspective. Through dance, dialogue, and activism, participants gain deeper understandings of themselves and each other&rsquo;s history and experiences. </p>

<p> Viral latency remains the most significant obstacle to HIV eradication. Current clinical strategies aim to purge the latent CD4+ T cell reservoir by activating viral expression, but are undercut by the inability to clear the latent reservoir. We first evaluated co-drugging criteria in a quantitative manner to optimize viral expression. However, this approach faces many challenges; and thus, we proposed to identify and target dysregulated signaling pathways in latent HIV-infected cells to promote cell death as a novel approach for eradication. To identify how HIV latency and reactivation alter signal transduction pathways regulating cell death, we explored the acute signaling response of latent HIV-infected CD4+ T cells across <i>in vitro</i> human latency models using systems-level analyses. We measured phosphorylation of five signaling proteins (AKT, IKBa, ERK, p38, and JNK) after stimulation with T-cell activating agents or latency reversing agents in infected cells and uninfected cells. Using these phosphorylation signatures, we built data-driven statistical models that successfully classified infected and uninfected cells, demonstrating that latent infection alters signaling at a systems level. We further identified that the stress kinase pathways p38 and JNK exhibited elevated signaling in latently infected cells and could be targeted to specifically increase cell death, independent of HIV reactivation.</p><p> To work out the mechanisms by which latent and reactivating HIV alters cell death regulation, we further examined signaling of 31 proteins in single cells over 48 hours using mass cytometry. Mass cytometry provides measurements at single-cell resolution, enabling us to separate responses in cells with latent versus reactivating HIV based on viral expression. We used conditional density-based analysis of the single-cell data to quantify the strength of signaling activity along different pathways. We discovered that latent and HIV-expressing cells are sensitized to apoptotic cell death via activation of p38-p53 signaling and inhibition of AKT/mTOR signaling. We identified a novel interaction in infected cells, in which increased p38 signaling activates the pro-death activity of the protein BAD, leading to increased apoptosis. Finally, we show <i>in vitro</i> that p38 and AKT/mTOR pathways can be simultaneously targeted to deplete the latent reservoir by preferentially killing latently infected cells without viral activation. Overall, we demonstrate that targeting altered phosphorylation signatures of latent HIV-infected cells provides a novel and effective strategy for latent HIV eradication.</p><p>

<p> The author presents conflict resolution as a problem in ministry for the 10 churches within the G. R.A.C.E. INC. organization that are scattered in various parts of the country. He created an intervention, which consists of pre and post evaluation after Leadership Building Blocks Seminar has been taught and implemented. The author recruited 20 participants from the churches. He used qualitative method to measure the pre and post interviews. He interviewed the 20 participants and searched for indicators of effective conflict resolution based on the Leadership Building Blocks Seminar criteria of Quality A, B, and C. The author discovered that after the training, the participants were more equipped to resolve conflict peacefully.</p><p>

<p> This study explored the parallels between psychological healing practice in the Cave of San Francisco and contemporary psychotherapy. Interviews were conducted in the Dominican Republic with seven individuals who had experienced healing effects as a result of participation in this healing system. A psychological phenomenological methodology was utilized to analyze the interviews resulting in a general structural account of the experience. Seven primary psychological themes operative in a tri-part sequence define the healing experience within this system. These themes include presenting problem, belief system, healing relationships, ritual actions, pivotal moment, setting, and outcome. The first part of the healing sequence appears to set up the healing response. The second part involves the pivotal moment and acts as a demarcation point between the experience of illness and first steps toward health. The third part of the healing sequence acts to cement already obtained healing gains. </p><p> The results of this research reveal (a) a psychological healing system which represents a form of psychotherapy, (b) a cultural healing system which stands as a portrait of healing for a certain segment of the Dominican population, (c) a healing practice related to a cave shrine which illuminates the potential healing effects of cave shrines worldwide. A significant finding relates healing response to setting, suggesting that the specific space of the cave is implicated in stimulating the innate, total healing response in the person. The holistic, cohesive nature of this system, highlighting the interaction between universal psychological healing ingredients, strongly suggests that psychological healing is a broader and more comprehensive operation than it is characterized by many current psychotherapies. Finally, through exploring the roots of psychological healing in the naturalistic setting of a cave, this research reminds psychotherapy of the archetypal healing power that is at its basis.</p><p>

<p> Voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counselling (VHTC) is one of the preventive measures used in many countries to decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS. Archived data from National HIV/AIDS Response Program&rsquo;s (NHARP) raw 2016 dataset were used to identify relationships and to assess significant differences between sociodemographic factors and selected sexual risk behaviours versus VHTC practices among adults 18 years and older who resided in Dominica. The health belief model was used as the framework for this cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 982 participants (40% [394] men and 60% [588] women). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations between sociodemographic and sexual risk exposure factors versus VHTC. Findings revealed that, as compared to age group > 65 years, participants in age groups 25&ndash;44 years were 5 times more likely&mdash;and 45-64 years were 2 times more likely&mdash;to have engaged in VHTC (<i>OR</i> = 5.11, 95% <i>CI</i> = 2.03, 12.8 and <i>OR</i> = 2.63, 95% <i>CI</i> = 1.07, 6.49, respectively). The odds not to engage in VHTC were 48% higher for participants from Grand Bay district (rural area) compared to Roseau health district (capital) (<i>OR</i> = .52, 95% <i>CI</i> = .29, .94). The odds of nonengagement in VHTC were 51% higher for participants not having vaginal sex, compared to those who reported having vaginal sex (<i> OR</i> = .49, 95% <i>CI</i> = .26, .92). The implications for positive social change include providing public health practitioners with data to plan and implement educational programs specific to the demographic characteristics in Dominica. This will enhance current efforts to raise awareness regarding HIV/AIDS and may increase VHTC practice among the population that may reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS.</p><p>

<p> In 2016, over 277,000 pilgrims walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Of that number, 53,704 walked the Camino in August of that year. Very few of those pilgrims &ndash; 400 &ndash; came from Caribbean countries. Two of them were from Jamaica. I was one of them. This first-person Gadamerian hermeneutic phenomenological study interprets a Jamaican man&rsquo;s meaning-making before, during, and after walking the Camino pilgrimage. In the study, I explored meaning-making through a constructive-developmental lens. I explained how I made meaning, as a border-dweller, or as someone who lives in-between worlds and in the borderlands. I described and interpreted my spiritual-awakening experiences and transition. I conducted this study, partly, to add the voice of an Afro-Caribbean person to the bodies of literature on development of meaning-making and spiritual-awakening experiences. Data for the study consisted of journal entries, blog posts, and photographs that I wrote, published, and took before, during, and after my Camino pilgrimage. The results from the study revealed what I made meaning of, the meanings I made, and how I expressed those meanings. Findings from the study &ndash; Camino as metaphor, Being In-Limbo-land, Self in transition, and Trans-Afro spiritualization &ndash; could help Afro-Caribbean people validate their spiritual experiences. They could also inform professionals, such as educators, leaders, and developmental coaches, and parents about efficacious ways of supporting and serving Afro-Caribbean people.</p><p>

<p> The disruptive effects of social media are placing pressure on organizations to adopt or be left behind. There is little empirical research, however, regarding how social networking is used and experienced by adopting organizations. This dissertation is the outcome of an investigation of social media adoption and impact on businesses, and on traditional mass media, in a small and medium enterprise (SME) context. The character of social media adoption was examined, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework. Thematic analysis of the data provided insights on the approach to technology integration and led to the conclusion that social media adoption is influenced by multiple factors including the ease of use, usefulness of the technology, critical mass, and the need to simply keep up with new technology. Facebook, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn emerged as the tools of choice. The potential positive effect of social networking on SME marketing opportunities, brand profile, and customer relationship management makes social media integration imperative for organizational leaders seeking to promote their businesses, grow their customer base, and reduce costs. To reap the full benefits, businesses must develop a collaborative, all-encompassing social media strategy, engaging their community of staff, suppliers, and customers in social networks. As social media force the movement of marketing and other content to open channels, the demand for traditional mass media services will continue to fall. The implications for traditional media organizations cluster around issues of new technology integration and the development of dynamic capabilities that facilitate the identification of new revenue streams and innovative business models to deal with the disruptive challenges presented by social networks. revenue streams and innovative business models to deal with the disruptive challenges presented by social networks.</p><p>

In discussions about education in Aruba and Curaçao, questions about the use of the mother tongue in schools have become a critical topic. It is part of a larger discussion on the language rights of multilingual students in a colonial educational system that prefers Dutch. In this presentation, I demonstrate how the language ideologies, language use, and the construction of identity occurs through formal education in Aruba and Curaçao. Specifically, how by translanguaging, students and teachers can navigate a system that still holds on to part of its colonial history, by subverting antiquated norms of school language. By investigating how ideas about Papiamentu/o, the mother tongue, and other languages on the islands are used in teacher-to-student and peer-to-peer interactions inside and outside of the classroom, I analyze whether this influences how students perform in class and, most crucially, how they see themselves within education. Finally, this dissertation shows how discussions about mother tongue and multilingual education have implications for how language policies in education are created and maintained. Overall, I assess how ideology, language rights, education, and identity intersect through a postcolonial Caribbean society in an era of shifting educational models. / Anthropology

<p> This qualitative research study addresses the gap in literature about the lived experience of counselors working with English-speaking immigrant parents who use physical discipline with their children. A phenomenological design was used to guide this project as a way of capturing the unique meanings of each participant. Relational cultural theory was the framework utilized to present explanations of counselors&rsquo; work with the clients/parents they serve. The researcher interviewed 10 social workers: five were licensed master social workers and the other, licensed clinical social workers who volunteered for the study. The interviews were individually conducted and audio-recorded. Four semi-structured interview questions guided the interview. Each interview was transcribed verbatim, read multiple times, and coded and analyzed by using the computer software, MAXQDA. The three themes emerged from the data analysis were: (a) Counselors&rsquo; Knowledge of Physical Discipline; (b) Counselors&rsquo; Perspectives of Physical Discipline; and (c) Counselors&rsquo; Use of Self. The identified themes were supported by selections of the participants&rsquo; responses. The findings of this study reveal the need for counselors&rsquo; initial and ongoing education and trainings in cultural sensitivity and cultural competence to better serve English-speaking Caribbean immigrant parents who use physical discipline with their children. This study&rsquo;s results were compared and contrasted to existing literature on counselors&rsquo; work and on physical discipline. Implications, limitations, and future recommendations were also discussed.</p>

<p> Esta tesis doctoral gira en torno a las medidas disciplinarias que se establecieron antes, durante y despu&eacute;s del embate de la epidemia de c&oacute;lera en la ciudad amurallada de San Juan, Puerto Rico, entre los a&ntilde;os 1854 y 1856, con miras a resaltar las nociones del poder, biopol&iacute;tica, sanidad, higiene, marginaci&oacute;n y desarrollo urbano. El an&aacute;lisis exhaustivo de las Actas del Cabildo de la ciudad de San Juan fue fundamental para determinar cu&aacute;n preparadas estaban las autoridades civiles, militares y sanitarias durante el periodo de estudio. A trav&eacute;s de su revisi&oacute;n, se observa c&oacute;mo los cabilderos, atend&iacute;an el problema de la presencia de los boh&iacute;os en la Capital, considerados como focos de contagio y propagaci&oacute;n de enfermedades. Desde antes que llegara la epidemia de c&oacute;lera a San Juan, las autoridades buscaban la manera de eliminar los boh&iacute;os existentes dentro de la ciudad amurallada. El uso de una biopol&iacute;tica por las autoridades, enti&eacute;ndase como &ldquo;la pol&iacute;tica de la salud del pueblo&rdquo;, justificaron y se&ntilde;alaron que estas viviendas representaban ser un peligro para la poblaci&oacute;n sanjuanera. Algunos historiadores afirman que fallecieron aproximadamente 500 personas de diferentes &ldquo;castas&rdquo; en la ciudad de San Juan por el c&oacute;lera. Seg&uacute;n los datos obtenidos del Libro de Defunciones de la Catedral de San Juan los resultados son distintos. Toda persona fallecida por la epidemia de c&oacute;lera fue enterrada en fosas comunes llamadas cementerios colerientos. La hip&oacute;tesis planteada durante esta investigaci&oacute;n establece que la epidemia de c&oacute;lera fue el agente catal&iacute;tico para crear p&aacute;nico en la ciudad de San Juan y as&iacute; ejercer la presi&oacute;n necesaria para eliminar los boh&iacute;os y a los habitantes considerados como focos de enfermedades contagiosas.</p>