Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

Research has shown that adolescents who have experienced the death of a sibling often have higher rates of Depression, Anxiety and PTSD. Although a large portion of past research has focused on bereavement after the death of a sibling through suicide, there has been little done on sibling bereavement after death from a terminal illness. Linear regression analyses were conducted investigating the relationship between age and depression symptoms in a sample of bereaved siblings ages 7-22 recruited from a Palliative Care Center at a medical center. Depression symptoms were assessed with a self-report measure, the Child Depression Inventory (CDI). Results showed that the sibling age predicted depression symptoms where older siblings experienced more depressive symptoms (B=.66, p<.03). Results indicate that children who are older when their sibling passes may be at an increased risk of developing depression symptoms. The bond between siblings is one of the most in depth relationships and as children get older the relationships strengthen and, in turn, the older the sibling is the more at risk they are for developing depressive symptoms after the death of their sibling.

This design studio project focused on the ideas of abstract concepts and thematic research to develop a design for an upscale restaurant. After identifying an abstract concept – perplex – different elements of thematic development were researched as potential design directions. Research became a major component of the project, utilizing online, library and journal sources to gather data for the thematic background for the restaurant. In addition, other areas of research focused on the technical issues of restaurant design and accessibility requirements.

The word perplex means to make unable to grasp something clearly. The decision to use this concept came from much research, specifically looking at the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The concept was used as the basis for the thematic development of the restaurant, which focused on the town of Brittany, in Northern France. This town was influenced by a movement known as The Matter of Britain, which included music, arts, architecture and literature. The movement began in Britain and had an impact on this region of France. The Matter of Britain emphasized the dark, mysterious and romantic elements that are often found in Poe’s writings.

The results of the research were used to develop the thematic design of the restaurant. The functional layout of the restaurant, selection of materials and finishes, and the ambience experienced by guests were a direct result of the research component of this project. As shown in the project, the development of interior spaces is a direct result of the various avenues of research undertaken.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often develops following trauma. Nightmares may contribute to the development of PTSD. According to the neurocognitive model, cognitive and neural factors together form an emotion network and produce dreaming. Normal dreaming plays a role in fear extinction. However, when disruptions occur in this neurocognitive network, disordered dreaming such as nightmares occur. Among vulnerable individuals who are fear conditioned or primed for select emotional reactivity (i.e., a traumatic event), nightmares can activate previously encoded structures containing specific fear memories. This can lead to elevated waking distress and more intense/frequent nightmares. Based on this model, nightmares containing content related to the trauma should play a role in fear conditioning and reduce the chance for fear extinction. Although an association between nightmares and PTSD has been established, several sleep disturbances often co-occur among individuals displaying PTSD symptomology, and few studies are statistically powered enough to examine a number of PTSD-related sleep disturbances simultaneously to examine each disturbance’s unique contribution to PTSD. The current study examined the relationship between seven PTSD-related sleep disturbances and PTSD symptoms, in a sample of 983 college students. Further, we hypothesized that trauma-related nightmares would be associated with greater PTSD symptom severity after controlling for other PTSD-related sleep disturbances, including non-trauma-related nightmares. Results indicated that PTSD-related sleep disturbances predicted PTSD symptom severity. Moreover, trauma-related nightmares were most strongly associated with PTSD symptom severity. Moreover, nightmares and bad dreams not related to a specific traumatic event were not related to PTSD symptoms.

1. Problem (research question): How important is friendship for ESL students?
2. Method: I did semester-long teacher action research. I gathered observations and artifacts about an ESL student in my preschool student teaching classroom. At the beginning of the school year, (August 2015) this student was 3. She was able to understand and write English beautifully. She wrote so well that I compared it to a first grader and the results were almost identical. This student however, would not speak. Not to the teachers, not to me, not the other students, no one. Over the course of the semester I watched the friendship between her and another student blossom. I observed how this friendship helped the ESL student become more comfortable in the classroom and more importantly how it helped her language development.
3. Results: I found that friendship is very powerful for children learning a new language. At just the age of 4 and in just 4 months, this student was able to accomplish the first 4 stages of language development and is now working towards stage 5. This was all made possible by the beautiful friendship she has created with another student.

In American culture, traditional gender roles are socially constructed around binaries of male and female and femininity and masculinity. This categorization forces women and men to conform to socially constructed views of gender (Aker, 2006, p. 444; Wood, 2014). Accordingly, men must be masculine, or “dominant, independent, assertive and strong” (Weisgram, Dinella, & Fulcher, 2011, p. 244). On the other hand, women should be feminine, that is “warm, sympathetic, sensitive and soft-spoken” (Weisgram, Dinella, & Fulcher, 2011, p. 245). These stereotypes infiltrate the minds of men and women and can even subconsciously affect occupational choices (Buzannell, 1994). Indeed, in the workplace, men are “described as achievement-oriented” and value independence, competitiveness, courage, and autonomy (Ciolac, 2013, p. 2). Women, on the other hand, are expected to be submissive, supporting the social and emotional health of the organization (Wood, 2012, p. 235).

However, Millennials (also known as Generation Y), born between 1980 and 2000, seem to be pushing back on these traditional constructions of gender (Farrel & Hurt, 2014). For example, Millennials are more likely to “believe that men and women should contribute equally to childcare and home maintenance” (Reference Shelf, 2014, p. 182). Moreover, Cotter, Hermsen, and Vanneman (2011) explain that contemporary gender roles and norms do not necessarily represent a reversal of tradition but instead a new set of gender norms that highlight gender equality and choice. One arena that offers the opportunity to further explore how gender is socially constructed in terms of generation is popular culture.

Popular culture has the power to both subvert and reinforce dominant gender regimes and constructions (Reference Shelf, 2014). For example, D’Enbeau and Buzzanell (2014) explore how the hit TV show Mad Men depicts female characters that allow viewers to consider how much has changed in terms of gender and how much remains the same. In another example, D’Enbeau (2011) highlights how feminist media can encourage young women to reclaim their sexuality while also maintaining their femininity. These analyses demonstrate that how gender is constructed in popular culture is often wrought with contradiction, tension, and complexity.

In this spirit, this study examines how the ideal Millennial woman is discursively constructed online. Specifically, I conducted a thematic analysis of the Top 10 websites for Millennial women as outlined by Forbes magazine. My analysis demonstrates how the ideal Millennial woman is defined by her relationships. She sees the importance of cultivating and maintaining a personal brand. She sees her career as something important to navigate and seeks outside sources to reassure her. She could be perceived as naïve in some fields, and turns to her personal brand and relationships for affirmations. However, her brand is devoid of race and religion.

The contributions of this paper will allow a reference for millennial women to view a summary of content surrounding their professional experience. This research could help define problematic stereotypes and encourage women to find creative ways to redefine them in their own lives. Finally, this research begins to close the gap on defining the characteristics or perceived characteristics of Millennial women.