JOHNSON CITY (Nov. 17, 2020) – “Cameras On versus Cameras Off: Virtual Resilience in the Appalachian Highlands” is the focus of the inaugural Town Hall sponsored by the ETSU Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute (SBI).
The SBI facilitates the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices that prevent, reduce and mitigate the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health and health disparities. It also strives to inform the citizens and workforce of the Appalachian Highlands region on the importance of being resilience-informed.
This free public discussion will be held Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 11 a.m. via Zoom. Those wishing to participate may visit https://bit.ly/3f5cTVz to register and obtain the Zoom link.
“Our Town Hall is meant to provide a safe, resilience-informed venue for folks to talk about the strangeness of working in an unfamiliar virtual workplace. It’s not meant to be a training or webinar, but more of a discussion,” said Dr. Wallace Dixon, chair of the East Tennessee State University Department of Psychology and founding director of the Strong BRAIN (Building Resilience through ACES-Informed Networking) Institute.
“For many of us, Zoom commuting is unfamiliar and uncomfortable,” he continued. “We ask ourselves questions like, ‘Is it okay for others to see that my house is old or that I’m holding my child because I can’t find child care?’ ‘Will others think I am rude if I keep my camera off or if I don’t have a camera?’ ‘How can I take a bathroom break when Zoom meetings start and stop on the hour?’ We will address these and other questions to develop resilience-informed strategies for navigating the virtual workplace.”
The SBI is the first institute of its kind to promote the awareness and empirical study of ACEs, which are traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect and family dysfunction, that can disrupt the safe, stable and nurturing environments that children need to succeed and thrive. The effects of ACEs can last into adulthood, resulting in such difficulties as disease, disability, and social and economic problems.
For more information on the Strong BRAIN Institute, visit https://www.etsu.edu/institute/strong-brain/default.php or contact Dixon at dixonw@etsu.edu.