Adjusting to the pandemic: Remote support for professionals working with asylum seekers

Three expressive arts therapists from the volunteer group, Voces Arts and Healing, review and reflect on virtual mentorship and supervision provided to mentees working on the ground in Juarez, Mexico, as the immigration crisis at the border persisted and the COVID-19 pandemic was declared around the globe. The Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) programme is briefly explained along with implications it posed on the duelling crises. Compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, burnout and aspects of supervision and art-based supervision are examined within the contexts of these international concerns.

A HISTORY OF THE MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY “MEDIATING CAMERA”

The Ninth International FestivalBiennale “Mediating Camera” was held in Moscow in May 2021. This is the first Russian festival organized on the principles of visual anthropology and still adhering to that vision. The present article reports on the festival, the history of its establishment and development, and the changes it endured in the first twenty years since the turn of the millennium. The introduction briefly discusses visual anthropology and its situation in the USSR on the eve of Perestroika. The next section describes the first Russian documentary film festivals with similar angles. Further in the article, the authors discuss the approaches and principles adopted by the festival’s creators, a volunteer group of Moscow State University’s Center for Visual Anthropology. The main focus of attention is the initial period of the festival’s formation, when the organizers’ approaches to organizing the festival first took shape.

Community-Level Participation in Volunteer Groups and Individual Depressive Symptoms in Japanese Older People: A Three-Year Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis Using JAGES Data

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the contextual effect of volunteer group participation on subsequent depressive symptoms in older people. Methods: We analyzed the longitudinal data of 37,552 people aged 65 years and older in 24 municipalities surveyed in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Volunteer group participation of older people was assessed in 2013 by one question and depressive symptoms were assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale 15 in 2016. To investigate a contextual effect, we aggregated individual-level volunteer group participation by each residence area as a community-level independent variable. We conducted a two-level multilevel Poisson regression analysis using the Random Intercepts and Fixed Slopes Model. Results: The average proportion of community-level volunteer group participation was 10.6%. The results of the Poisson regression analysis showed that community-level volunteer group participation reduced the risk for the onset of depressive symptoms by 13% with a 10 percentage point increase in participation, after adjusting for sex, age, population density, total annual sunshine hours and annual rainfall (incident rate ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.78–0.98). Conclusions: Older people living in areas with higher volunteer group participation had a lower risk of developing depressive symptoms regardless of whether or not they participated in a volunteer group.

Combination of high-frequency ultrasound and virtual touch tissue imaging and quantification improve the diagnostic efficiency for mild carpal tunnel syndrome

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment symptom in the peripheral nerves. High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) is widely used in the diagnosis of CTS. Virtual Touch Tissue Imaging and Quantification (VTIQ), which provides more information about the hardness of organization, is used to diagnose CTS. However, the data of diagnostic value of them in various degrees of CTS are limited. Whether the combination of HFUS and VTIQ can improve the diagnostic efficiency also remains unknown. The study aimed to explore the diagnostic value of HFUS and VTIQ in various degrees of CTS and whether combination of HFUS and VTIQ could improve the diagnostic efficiency of CTS. Methods A collection and analysis of 133 CTS patients and 35 volunteers from January 2016 to January 2019 were performed. We compared the clinical characteristics, cross-sectional area (CSA) value and shear wave velocity SWVmean value of CTS group with volunteer group. Results The CSA value and SWVmean value of CTS cohort were significantly higher than volunteer group (10.79 ± 2.88 vs. 8.06 ± 1.39, p < 0.001, 4.36 ± 0.95 vs. 3.38 ± 1.09, p < 0.001, respectively). The area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of CSA value and SWVmean value were 0.794 and 0.757, respectively. Hierarchical analysis of CSA value and SWVmean value showed that the AUC in the moderate and severe CTS group were higher than in mild CTS group. Furthermore, the CSA value combined with SWVmean value used to diagnose mild CTS was 0.758, which was higher than that of single CSA value or single SWVmean value. Conclusions Both HFUS and VTIQ technology were feasible to evaluate CTS. HFUS was suitable for use in diagnosis of moderate and severe CTS. For mild CTS, combination of HFUS and VTIQ was relevant to improve the diagnostic efficiency of CTS.

Experiences of University Student Volunteer Activities to Revitalize the Area Affected by the Kumamoto Earthquake

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the situation and issues of volunteer activities through the example of the students’ voluntary activities after the Kumamoto earthquake. In the case study, we described the volunteer activities of Tokai University students starting from the time immediately after the Kumamoto Earthquake, and the revitalization activities they conducted in the disaster area. We focused on how the motivations and actions of university students are changing over time. The students of the Faculty of Agriculture of Tokai University established a student volunteer group called Aso Fukkoheno Michi which means “Path for Revitalization of Aso”. The group is currently working on the revitalization of Minami-aso Village, with a particular focus on developing the sustainability of the Kurokawa area. With this intention, members of Aso Fukkoheno Michi started to tell the story of Minami-aso Village to visitors. Through this storytelling activity, the students are able to convey their own experiences of the disaster to visitors. From the survey conducted among student volunteers, we learned about the effective ways in which the students undertook such activities. However, we identified problems faced by the volunteers regarding the continuation of their efforts in the future, and regarding maintaining their involvement with the local community.

Faith Community and Campus Engagement in Immigrant Integration

Immigration is one of the most contentious topics in contemporary American politics. This study presents the planning, implementation and evaluation of a program of faith community dialogues on immigration developed in partnership between a public university, a faith-based group of volunteers, and Catholic congregations. Based on data from dialogue transcriptions, exit questionnaires completed by participants, observation notes, and reflections shared by students and faith community leaders, the study shows the outcomes of the program for the congregations, the volunteer group, the students, and the faculty leader. The volunteer group was able to launch a new program that helped immigrant and US-born members of faith communities develop feelings of mutual understanding and collaboration. Students had the opportunity to learn research skills and better understand people’s perspectives on immigration and race. The faculty leader produced community-based scholarship that otherwise would not have been possible. The study concludes that cumulative collaborative learning, the inclusion of a religious dimension, and support from faith leaders are key for the success of partnerships between university and faith-based actors.

Wartime Storytelling and Mythmaking: Interpreting and Remembering the Flying Tigers in the United States, 1941–1945

This article investigates the storytelling and mythmaking about the American Volunteer Group (avg), popularly known as the Flying Tigers, in the United States during World War ii. The avg was an aircrew of discharged U.S. military pilots and mechanics that China hired to assist in its war against Japan. Although this group was in combat for only seven months, its exploits became legendary in the United States. Based on examination of newspaper reports, magazine articles, Hollywood movies, popular biographies, and declassified documents, this article shows that Americans interpreted the avg’s service as proof of U.S. benevolence and superiority. It demonstrates that wartime stories about the avg helped many Americans regain confidence and assure their identities as racially and technologically superior people after enduring the shock of Pearl Harbor and Japan’s advance in Asia and Pacific. In this mythmaking process, Americans marginalized both the harmful impact of the avg personnel’s misconduct and the important contributions Chinese made to the avg. This article not only challenges the “Good War” image of World War ii in U.S. popular memories, but also seeks to contribute to the broader scholarly understanding of how popular memories of a nation’s overseas interventions affect its identity.

Identifying mood disorders and health-related quality of life of individuals submitted to mandatory military service

Objective: To assess the prevalence of mood disorders in Brazilian soldiers. Methods: A total of 353 soldiers answered the following questionnaires: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the medical outcomes study SF-36 questionnaire, the Baecke questionnaire to assess the level of habitual physical activity (HPA) and the socioeconomic (SE) status questionnaire. Participants were classified according to their desire to pursue a military career. Results: Accordingly, 246 participants were allocated to a volunteer group (VG) and 107 to a non-volunteer group (NVG). According to the BDI data for both groups, 66.5% of the soldiers showed at least mild depressive symptoms. Additionally, the STAI data revealed that 27.8% and 8.4% of the soldiers showed high scores on state anxiety and trait anxiety, respectively. The POMS scores were higher in the NVG compared to the VG (Δ%=+263%, p<0.0001). Of the eight subscales, the SF-36 questionnaire showed statistical differences between the groups in the following five dimensions: functioning capacity (p = 0.0046), pain (p = 0.0011), vitality (p < 0.0001), role limitations due to emotional problems (p < 0.0001) and mental health (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Mood disorder levels were higher and health status and related quality of life levels were lower in the NVG as compared to the VG.