Moravian University

Abstract Historically, disability has not been conceptualized within the context of strengths and positive attributes. This chapter briefly recalls the history of how disability has been understood and the consequences of such understandings in the lives of disabled people. The chapter discusses the complexity inherent in the notion of disability and the perceived lack of heterogeneity among and between people with disabilities, noting that the universal experiences of people with disabilities have been discrimination and marginalization. We then trace the emergence of the application of positive psychology to disability across several disciplines.

ABSTRACT This research extends established visual literacy strategies by developing a think-aloud intervention targeting four key strategies to enhance multilingual learners’ (MLs) comprehension of science multimodal texts. Employing a mixed-methods approach, we implemented an exploratory single-subject AB design to investigate the intervention’s impact on the comprehension of three 6th grade MLs with intermediate language proficiency. Additionally, think-aloud transcripts from baseline and intervention sessions were analyzed to understand students’ reading processes. Our findings indicate a low to moderate improvement in reading comprehension among two MLs. Moreover, we identified challenges faced by students, such as limited interpretations of multimodal texts, difficulties with discipline-specific vocabulary, and struggles with reading sequences. This study underscores the effectiveness of integrating think-aloud interventions with visual literacy strategies, providing practical implications for classroom instruction and suggesting areas for future research to support diverse literacy skills among MLs. Ultimately, it emphasizes the necessity of tailored instructional approaches to address the unique challenges faced by MLs in comprehending complex science multimodal texts.

More than 80% of US maternal deaths are preventable yet maternity care in the United States (US) is becoming increasingly difficult to access. Recent years have seen the rise of maternity care deserts, defined as an area with no hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric care and without any obstetric providers. The number of counties without a birthing facility continues to grow, and 1/3 of US counties lack an obstetric clinician. The US has a maternal mortality rate that is 2-3 times greater than similar high-income countries, a steady rise in severe maternal morbidity, and markedly high infant mortality rates compared to similar countries. Traveling long distances to obtain obstetric care can impact whether a woman and infant survive an obstetric emergency such as hemorrhage. Nearly 2/3 of maternity care deserts are in rural areas, with the greatest need for maternity care located in the southern US. Maternity care deserts disproportionately impact rural, low-income, and Black women. The reasons for maternity closures are multifactorial, but are driven by hospital financial pressures and staff shortages. Government interventions are necessary to expand access to care and to keep critical obstetric units open. These interventions include increasing Medicaid reimbursements, expanding Medicaid access, expanding the perinatal workforce, setting standards for what constitutes safe distances between maternity units, and exploring mechanisms to leverage/reimagine existing programs to keep units open in critical areas. We call for urgent action given the serious public health threat to women and infants. We draw from diverse sources not commonly cited to comprehensively summarize the issues related to obstetric closures, outline the drawbacks of many previously proposed solutions, and propose some novel solutions.

Abstract This issue showcases how the global breadth of feminist anthropology is reshaping both the foci and methodological toolkits for anthropology. With articles ethnographically located in Colombia, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, feminist anthropologists in this issue focus on agency and activism, kinship, gender expression, reproductive justice, and the ways we need to rethink the work of Anthropology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly drives critical decisions in healthcare. Yet, many single-cell AI models, including scGPT and Geneformer, are trained on datasets that do not fully represent all ethnic groups, age ranges, or sexes. This imbalance can lead models to learn hidden biases that distort gene expression analysis and contribute to diagnostic errors that disproportionately impact underrepresented populations. These risks are particularly concerning as single-cell technologies become increasingly adopted in research and clinical practice.

Parents of autistic daughters may be able to provide insight into how to address menstruation and menstrual hygiene management from their lived experiences. Menstrual hygiene management is considered an activity of daily living that is within the scope of occupational therapy practice. To investigate the perspectives of parents of autistic daughters and their firsthand experiences of menstruation and menstrual hygiene management. This was a qualitative, phenomenological study that used convenience and snowball sampling and an inductive thematic analysis of transcripts of virtual semistructured interviews. Trustworthiness was established through audit trails, member checking, and the use of an interview guide. Interviews were conducted through Zoom at the participants' preferred time and location. Parents of autistic daughters (N = 8): seven biological mothers and one adoptive father. Seven themes emerged from the interviews: (1) inadequate expertise in women's health for autistic individuals among medical professionals, (2) parental dependency, (3) intensified sensory experiences before and during menstruation, (4) limited menstrual awareness and understanding in individuals with ASD, (5) menstrual product preferences, (6) parental feelings about managing menstruation, and (7) strategies that worked for managing menstruation. The findings suggest that parents face significant challenges when caring for autistic daughters during their menstrual cycles. Occupational therapy practitioners may support autistic individuals as well as their parents and caregivers in this process by having a deeper understanding of their experiences. Plain-Language Summary: This study sheds light on the perspectives of parents of autistic daughters on the topic of menstruation and menstrual hygiene management, which are considered activities of daily living. Occupational therapy practitioners may gain knowledge from these firsthand perspectives to inform future occupational therapy practice. Menstruation and menstrual hygiene management are important activities of daily living that are not addressed well for individuals living with autism. Occupational therapy practitioners can support autistic individuals and their caregivers in improving the participation and performance in menstruation and menstrual hygiene management.

Populist-fueled global tensions have continued to grow over the past year, and we now see regular civil protest as well as educational institutions, public care agencies, and goodwill institutions strain under the weight of culture wars.As these tensions have grown, we have struggled-as individuals and collectives-with how to respond.Between reinvigorated calls to resist, rest, care, and get activated in response to rapid-fire, scatter-focused proclamations, declarations, and unprecedented legislative tests, we are becoming keenly aware of the dangers threatening our social foundations.The edges of fear-fueled self-silencing, and precaution are razor sharp, invoking an impulse toward preemptive compliance and anticipatory obedience in the name of survival and self-preservation.We curated this issue amidst these ever-present tensions.As feminist Indigenous, Black, Latine, Asian, Muslim, Arabic, Jewish, Queer, Trans, Disability, and multicoalitional socioculturally minded scholars have long warned us, obedience without strategy does more than constrain one group; it signals a decline toward the worst of possibilities: those devoid of human dignity, with little concern for the common good.In the face of these conditions, the anthropology from these multiple vantage points outline clear collective tasks before us.First, we must document the moment, interrogate the meanings, and interpret the signs.Second, we need to fully engage the idea of collective resilience.We must draw on the legacy of feminist thought-makers, living and past, who remind us that resilience is not a brand, but a state of material, intellectual, mental, and spiritual discomfort through which we collectively push forward beyond this moment.We build upon a rich network of scholars invested in understanding how those with power and access have used gender, race/ethnicity/political status and sexuality to categorize, exclude, include, and conscript life.They have taught us that life has always thrived even as the politics of the sociocultural moment shake us.