Children as Artists: The Preschool as a Community of Creative Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutcher, Alexandra; Boyd, Wendy

2016-01-01

Picasso once famously said "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." This visual inquiry is engaged through a community of creative practice in two rural children's centers where the researchers along with 4- and 5-year-old children collaborated to create a large-scale canvas and several smaller…

The Role of a Changing University in a Changing Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deutsch, John J.

1969-01-01

Social changes such as growing numbers of young people, increasing technology, rising demand for research on social problems, and new aspirations of youth call for rapid, but rational response from the entire campus community. (NS)

Behavior Problems Among Adolescents Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Chile.

PubMed

Ma, Julie; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Delva, Jorge

2016-07-01

Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community violence with youth outcomes is limited in the previous research literature, particularly in Latin America. This study examined the relationship of youth exposure to family and community violence-parental use of corporal punishment, violence in the community, intimate partner physical aggression-with eight subscales of the Youth Self Report among a Chilean sample of 593 youth-mother pairs. Results from multilevel models indicated a positive association between youth exposure to violence in the family and community, and a wide range of behavior problem outcomes, in particular, aggression. With growing evidence concerning the detrimental effect of violence on youth's well-being, these findings highlight the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the various kinds of violence youth are exposed to within the family and community and the concomitant need to reduce multiple forms of violence.

Behavior Problems Among Adolescents Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Chile

PubMed Central

Ma, Julie; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Delva, Jorge

2016-01-01

Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community violence with youth outcomes is limited in the previous research literature, particularly in Latin America. This study examined the relationship of youth exposure to family and community violence—parental use of corporal punishment, violence in the community, intimate partner physical aggression—with eight subscales of the Youth Self Report among a Chilean sample of 593 youth-mother pairs. Results from multilevel models indicated a positive association between youth exposure to violence in the family and community, and a wide range of behavior problem outcomes, in particular, aggression. With growing evidence concerning the detrimental effect of violence on youth’s well-being, these findings highlight the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the various kinds of violence youth are exposed to within the family and community and the concomitant need to reduce multiple forms of violence. PMID:27761057

Project-Based Learning about Nutrition with Technology in an African-American Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banks, Sibyl

2010-01-01

In the last few years, there has been a growing problem with the prevalence of being overweight. This is becoming an accepted lifestyle in the African American community, and has begun to impact not just adults, but also adolescents and young children. There are problems associated with being overweight or obese that could have lifetime…

Preventing Alcohol Problems among Young People: Californians Support Key Public Policies. Growing Up Well. Focus on Prevention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosher, James F.

This report, fourth in a series of eight, highlights the views of Californians about policies local communities and the state can establish to reduce the potential for alcohol problems among young people. In the California Center for Health Improvement (CCHI) "Children and Youth Survey," 51% of the adults surveyed said that they were…

Cohort study of smoke-free homes in economically disadvantaged communities in the Dominican Republic

PubMed Central

Dozier, Ann M.; Diaz, Sergio; Guido, Joseph; de Monegro, Zahira Quiñones; McIntosh, Scott; Fisher, Susan G.; Ossip, Deborah J.

2015-01-01

Objective To analyze household smoking bans over time and predictors of bans among communities in the Dominican Republic, historically a significant tobacco-growing country with few tobacco control regulations. Methods Baseline (2004) and follow-up surveillance surveys (2006, 2007) (each n > 1 000 randomly selected households) conducted in six economically disadvantaged communities (three tobacco-growing and two each urban, peri-urban, and rural) assessed household members’ demographics, health status, and household characteristics, including smoking restrictions. Results Between 2004 and 2007, household smoking-ban prevalence increased in all communities (24%–45%). Households with smokers (versus those without) adopted bans at lower rates (6%–17%; 35%–58%). Logistic regression models demonstrated that allowing smoking in nonsmoking households was more likely in tobacco-growing communities, Catholic households, and those with a member with a cardiovascular problem. Having a child under age 5 or a member with a respiratory condition was not significantly related to establishing smoking bans. Conclusions Prevalence of households banning smoking increased in all communities but remained well below rates in industrialized countries. For low- and middle-income countries or those early in tobacco control, small awareness-raising measures (including surveillance activities) may lead to significant increases in household-ban adoption, particularly among nonsmoking households. Increasing household-ban prevalence may affect community norms that can lead to greater adoption. Having household members who smoke and being in a tobacco-growing community may mitigate the establishment of household bans. Increasing individuals’ knowledge about the far-reaching health effects of secondhand smoke exposure on children and nonsmoking adults (healthy or unhealthy) may help overcome these obstacles. PMID:24626445

Conflict Resolution through Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graves, Marilyn; Nordling, George; Roberts, Deanna; Taylor, Carol

This report describes a program for decreasing student aggressive behavior when confronted with conflict. The targeted population consisted of four fourth grade classrooms in a growing middle class community. The problems of aggressive behavior were documented with classroom surveys, discipline and peer mediation referrals, records of parent…

A Community for All Generations -- Teens and Adults Working Together. A Guide for Public Dialogue and Problem Solving. Version 1.0.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Sarah vL.

This document is intended to create an opportunity for teens and adults to talk together and find ways to make their community a place where young people can grow up successfully. The discussion guide begins with a brief statement of purpose and a brief explanation of study circles and their objectives. The remainder of the guide consists of…

Banana Gold: Problem or Solution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Garnet

1992-01-01

Since 1955, the British banana industry has dominated the lives of the Caribs and other peoples in Dominica. Banana growing supplants other economic activities, including local food production; toxic chemicals and fertilizers pollute the land; community is dwindling; suicide is common; and child labor diminishes school attendance. (SV)

MINE WASTE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM: A SUCCESS STORY

EPA Science Inventory

Mining Waste generated by active and inactive mining operations is a growing problem for the mining industry, local governments, and Native American communities because of its impact on human health and the environment. In the US, the reported volume of mine waste is immense: 2 b...

Married Women's Justification of Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh: Examining Community Norm and Individual-Level Risk Factors.

PubMed

Jesmin, Syeda S

2015-01-01

One-third of the women worldwide experience intimate partner violence (IPV) that increases their vulnerability to both short- and long-term physical, sexual, reproductive, and mental health problems. Surprisingly, IPV is justified by many women globally. Although the IPV literature to date is mostly focused on risk factors associated with actual occurrences, little is known on attitudinal acceptance of such violence. Also, despite the growing scholarship of community influence and health link, IPV research has relatively overlooked the effects of norms at the community level. Using a representative national sample of 13,611 married women in Bangladesh, this study examined the association of community attitudes and women's individual attitudes toward wife beating. The results revealed that women living in communities with permissive attitudes toward wife beating were more likely to justify husbands' beating (OR=4.5). Women married at a younger age, who had less than primary-level education, lived in households categorized as poor or middle class, and did not consume media appeared to be at higher risk for justifying wife beating. This research adds to a growing research body on community influences on health by examining IPV attitudes and community norms link.

Law, Pirates, and Piracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Middleton, Tiffany Willey

2010-01-01

Maritime piracy has increasingly been in the news, and in the courtroom, in recent years. This article presents an interview with international legal and overseas piracy expert Douglas Guilfoyle. In this interview, Guilfoyle discusses why piracy is a growing problem and some of the challenges it creates for the international community. He also…

Service Industries. Trends and Prospects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Domestic Business Development (DOC), Washington, DC.

This publication is designed to provide the business community with information on growing markets for many business and consumer services. Divided into two parts, the document overview in part I identifies two service area problems: lagging productivity gains and rapidly rising prices of services. The overview states, however, that service sector…

Improving Reading Skills through Parental Involvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Kathryn; Pillion, Jennifer

This report describes a project for increasing parental involvement through the existing reading program. The targeted first and second grade students lived in growing rural, Midwestern, low to middle class communities located in north central Illinois. The problem was noted in literature by researchers who found that parents had a very limited…

Native American Indians and the Counseling Process: Culture, Adaptation, and Style.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skouras, Thomas J.

Native Americans constitute a significant population that is growing and has great need for mental health and counseling services. Social problems in Native communities include high rates of alcoholism, alcohol-related deaths, drug use, youth suicide, and sexually transmitted diseases. Despite their mental health needs, Native Americans are…

Managing a Multi-ethnic and Multicultural City in Europe: Leicester.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winstone, Paul

1996-01-01

Profiles the English Midlands city of Leicester, an industrial center with a growing immigrant and minority population. Discusses the city government's response to problems concerning jobs, housing, and a racist backlash. The outlook is optimistic as the minority citizens assume new roles in the social and economic community. (MJP)

Establishing and Sustaining Networked Improvement Communities: Lessons from Michigan and Minnesota. REL 2017-264

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proger, Amy R.; Bhatt, Monica P.; Cirks, Victoria; Gurke, Deb

2017-01-01

There is growing interest in the ability of improvement science--the systematic study of improvement strategies to identify promising practices for addressing issues in complex systems (Improvement Science Research Network, 2016)--to spur innovation and address complex problems. In education this methodology is often implemented through…

Public Confidence in Public Education: A Growing Concern in the 80's.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achilles, C. M.; Lintz, M. N.

This literature review and analysis of the problem of building community confidence focuses on the work of the Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) Commission on Developing Public Confidence in Schools. Approaches to confidence building are categorized as: communications, concentrating on expanding communications one-way between school and the home; public…

The Salience of Alcohol-Related Issues across the Adult Lifespan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pettigrew, Simone; Pescud, Melanie

2016-01-01

Objective: The growing costs to the community of excessive alcohol consumption have resulted in pressure for governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop strategies to address this problem, but they do so in a highly constrained resource environment. To provide evidence of health education approaches that may be effective…

La Pedagogia en el Barrio. (The Pedagogy in the Barrio)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diaz, Roberto Perez

1977-01-01

The article, written in Spanish, gives examples of the Barrio Education Project's work in San Antonio and poses some serious questions about the importance of Spanish for the Hispanic community. Illiteracy, or "functional illiteracy" is a growing problem in the U.S. among all sectors of the population--English- and Spanish-speaking.…

Improving Reading Achievement through the Implementation of a Balanced Literacy Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arkebauer, Cynthia; MacDonald, Christine; Palmer, Crystal

This report describes a program for increasing students' reading fluency and comprehension by giving them a variety of skills and strategies. The targeted population consisted of two elementary schools in a growing, lower to middle class community, located in central Illinois. The problems of lack of reading strategies were documented through data…

Improving Students' Reading Fluency through the Use of Phonics and Word Recognition Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballard, Christine; Jacocks, Kathleen

This study describes a program designed to improve student reading fluency. The targeted population consisted of first and third grade students in a growing urban community in the Midwest. Evidence for the existence of the problem included standardized test scores and independent computer reports that measured academic achievement, phonic…

Improving Elementary Students' Spelling Achievement Using High-Frequency Words.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durnil, Christina; And Others

An action research study detailed a program for improving spelling achievement across the curriculum. The targeted population is composed of second and third grade students from a growing, middle class community located in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of misspelled words in the students' writing was documented through students'…

Taxes: Who Should Pay and Why? 1985 National Issues Forum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drumtra, Jeff; Melville, Keith

Appropriate for secondary school social studies or community programs, this publication considers the issue of taxation in America. The first of five sections, "Taxing Matters," considers the growing perception that the present tax code is unfair and in need of drastic reform. Alternative solutions to the problem are considered. "The Loophole…

Discourses of illegality and exclusion: when water access matters.

PubMed

Mudege, Netsayi Noris; Zulu, Eliya M

2011-01-01

This paper examines the politics and the underlying discourses of water provisioning and how residents of Korogocho and Viwandani slum settlements in Nairobi city cope with challenges relating to water access. We use qualitative data from 36 focus group discussions conducted in the two slums to unravel discourses regarding water provisioning in the rapidly growing slum settlements in African cities. Results show that the problems concerning water provisioning within Nairobi slums are less about water scarcity and more about unequal distribution and the marginalisation of slum areas in development plans. Poor water management, lack of equity-based policies and programmes, and other slum-specific features such as land-tenure systems and insecurity exacerbate water-supply problems within slum areas. It is hard to see how water supply in these communities can improve without the direct and active involvement of the government in infrastructural development and oversight of the water-supply actors. Innovative public-private partnerships in water provision and the harnessing of existing community efforts to improve the water supply would go a long way towards improving the water supply to the rapidly growing urban poor population in Africa.

Development of project wings home visits, a mental health intervention for Latino families using community-based participatory research.

PubMed

Garcia, Carolyn; Hermann, Denise; Bartels, Anna; Matamoros, Pablo; Dick-Olson, Linda; Guerra de Patino, Janeth

2012-11-01

As the Latino population in the United States experiences rapid growth, the well-being of Latino adolescents is a growing concern because of their high rates of mental health problems. Latino adolescents have higher rates of mental health problems than their peers, including depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, and violence. Sophisticated, realistic health promotion efforts are needed to reduce these risk behaviors and enhance protective factors. Parents and schools can be key protective factors, or assets, in adolescents' lives. This article details the steps undertaken to develop Project Wings Home Visits, a collaborative school-based, community-linked mental health promotion intervention for Latino adolescents and their families. Core to the intervention is the use of a community health worker model to provide home-based outreach and education to parents of Latino adolescents. The intervention was developed using a community-based participatory research approach that involved the cooperation of a community health care system, a public high school, and a university. Our process demonstrates the benefits, strengths, and challenges of using community-based participatory research in creating and implementing health promotion interventions.

Cultural Competence in Counseling the Muslim Patient: Implications for Mental Health.

PubMed

Rassool, G Hussein

2015-10-01

Given the rapidly growing population of Muslims in Western societies, it is imperative to develop a better understanding of the mental health needs and concerns of this community. Muslim religious beliefs have an impact on the mental health of individuals, families and communities. The lack of understanding of the interplay between religious influences on health or sickness behaviors can have a significant effect upon the delivery of nursing practice. The Muslim community is experiencing social exclusion (social exclusion correlates with mental health problems) related to their cultural and religious identity. In addition, the emergence of radical extremism and the resulting media coverage have magnified this problem. Misunderstanding the worldview of the patient can lead to ethical dilemmas, practice problems, and problems in communication. Often, Muslim individuals are stigmatized and families are rejected and isolated for their association with mental health problems, addiction and suicide. There are indicators that Muslims experience mental ill health, but that they either are unidentified by mainstream mental health services or present late to the services. The aims of the paper are to examine the religious and cultural influences on mental health beliefs of Muslims, and provide an understanding of mental health problems, and its implications in counseling and spiritual interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of Children's Mental Health Problems and the Effectiveness of Population-Level Family Interventions.

PubMed

Kato, Noriko; Yanagawa, Toshihiko; Fujiwara, Takeo; Morawska, Alina

2015-01-01

The prevalence of mental health problems among children and adolescents is of growing importance. Intervening in children's mental health early in life has been shown to be more effective than trying to resolve these problems when children are older. With respect to prevention activities in community settings, the prevalence of problems should be estimated, and the required level of services should be delivered. The prevalence of children's mental health disorders has been reported for many countries. Preventive intervention has emphasized optimizing the environment. Because parents are the primary influence on their children's development, considerable attention has been placed on the development of parent training to strengthen parenting skills. However, a public-health approach is necessary to confirm that the benefits of parent-training interventions lead to an impact at the societal level. This literature review clarifies that the prevalence of mental health problems is measured at the national level in many countries and that population-level parenting interventions can lower the prevalence of mental health problems among children in the community.

Prevalence of Children’s Mental Health Problems and the Effectiveness of Population-Level Family Interventions

PubMed Central

Kato, Noriko; Yanagawa, Toshihiko; Fujiwara, Takeo; Morawska, Alina

2015-01-01

The prevalence of mental health problems among children and adolescents is of growing importance. Intervening in children’s mental health early in life has been shown to be more effective than trying to resolve these problems when children are older. With respect to prevention activities in community settings, the prevalence of problems should be estimated, and the required level of services should be delivered. The prevalence of children’s mental health disorders has been reported for many countries. Preventive intervention has emphasized optimizing the environment. Because parents are the primary influence on their children’s development, considerable attention has been placed on the development of parent training to strengthen parenting skills. However, a public-health approach is necessary to confirm that the benefits of parent-training interventions lead to an impact at the societal level. This literature review clarifies that the prevalence of mental health problems is measured at the national level in many countries and that population-level parenting interventions can lower the prevalence of mental health problems among children in the community. PMID:26250791

Improving Reading through the Use of Multiple Intelligences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albero, Paula; Brown, Ann; Eliason, Susan; Wind, Jeanne

This report describes a program for increasing reading test scores. The targeted population consisted of one second-grade, one third-grade, and two fourth-grade classrooms in a growing middle class community located in a far western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of low reading test scores was documented though the 1995 IGAP scores on…

Collaboration between Schools and Social Services. ERIC Digest Series, Number EA 48.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liontos, Lynn Balster

The growing chasm between society's complex problems and what the systems can do to help is driving reform in all sectors. Just as schools alone cannot compensate for the disadvantage created by troubled homes and communities, welfare and social agencies cannot hold out a hopeful future to clients lacking employment abilities. Comprehensive…

Pedagogy Matters: Engaging Diverse Students as Community Researchers in Three Computer Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryoo, Jean Jinsun

2013-01-01

Computing occupations are among the fastest growing in the U.S. and technological innovations are central to solving world problems. Yet only our most privileged students are learning to use technology for creative purposes through rigorous computer science education opportunities. In order to increase access for diverse students and females who…

A watershed decision support tool for managing invasive species on Hawai‘i Island, USA

Treesearch

Nicholas A. Povak; Paul F. Hessburg; Christian P. Giardina; Keith M. Reynolds; Chris Heider; Ed Salminen; R. Brion Salter; Richard A. MacKenzie

2017-01-01

Non-native species invasions, growing human populations, and climate change are central ecological concerns in tropical island communities. The combination of these threats have led to losses of native biota, altered hydrological and ecosystem processes, and reduced ecosystem services. These threats pose complex problems to often underfunded management entities. We...

Improving Student Knowledge of the Graphing Calculator's Capabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Donna

This paper describes an intervention in two Algebra II classes in which the graphing calculator was incorporated into the curriculum as often as possible. The targeted population consisted of high school students in a growing middle to upper class community located in a suburb of a large city. The problem of a lack of understanding of the…

Garbage Pollution Has a Solution: The Sanitary Landfill.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andresen, Ruth

The principle ways in which communities solve the growing problems of solid waste disposal are studied in this set of audio-visual materials prepared for grades 6-12. A 58-frame colored filmstrip, cassette tape narration, and teacher's guide focus upon the Monterey Bay area of California. Topics examined range from types of disposal sites, the…

Exploring the Relationship between Doctoral Students' Experiences and Research Community Positioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sala-Bubaré, Anna; Castelló, Montserrat

2017-01-01

Despite the growing number of studies exploring PhD students' experiences and their social relationships with other researchers, there is a lack of research on the interaction between the type of experiences and the social agents involved, especially in relation to not only problems and challenges, but also to positive emotions and experiences. In…

Understanding and Acting on the Growing Childhood and Adolescent Weight Crisis: A Role for Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Shawn; Hazlett, Rebekah; Hightower, Peggy

2010-01-01

The childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity rates are rising at an alarming rate. Numerous individual, family, community, and social factors contribute to overweight and obesity in children and are explored. If left unaddressed, the epidemic of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity may lead to amplified problems for individual…

"La unión hace la fuerza": Community Organizing in Adult Education for Immigrants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlock, Russell H., Jr.

2016-01-01

Adult English as a second language (ESL) educators have struggled to move beyond skills-based instruction to implement more student-centered, contextualized pedagogy that prepares students to become active citizens and to solve real-world problems, even as the growing number of immigrants make adult education increasingly important for determining…

Building a Science Community of Effective Advocates: The Case of the Union of Concerned Scientists Science Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varga, M.; Worcester, J.

2017-12-01

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Science Network is a community of over 20,000 scientists, engineers, economists, public health specialists, and technical experts that inform and advocate for science-based solutions to some of our nation's most pressing problems. The role of the community manager here is to train and prepare Science Network members to be effective advocates for science-based decision making, and also to identify opportunities for them to put their skills and expertise into action on science and public health issues. As an organizational asset, but also an important resource to its members, it is crucial that the Science Network demonstrate its impact. But measuring impact when it comes to engagement and advocacy can be difficult. Here we will define a glossary of terms relating to community management and scientist engagement, delve into tracking and measurement of actions taken within a community, and connect the dots between tracking metrics and measuring impact. Measuring impact in community management is a growing field, and here we will also suggest future research that will help standardize impact measurement, as well as bring attention to the growing and unique role that scientist communities can have on policy and public engagement goals. This work has been informed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science's inaugural cohort of the Community Engagement Fellows Program.

Labor Migration, Drug Trafficking Organizations, and Drug Use: Major Challenges for Transnational Communities in Mexico.

PubMed

García, Víctor; González, Laura

2009-06-01

In our article, we present the recent findings of our ethnographic field study on drug use and the emergence of a drug use culture in transnational communities in Mexico. Transnational communities are part of a larger migratory labor circuit that transcends political borders and are not restricted to a single locality. Transnational migrants and returning immigrants link the multiple localities through their social networks. In southern Guanajuato, Mexico, using a transnational migration paradigm, we examined the manner in which transnational migration and drug trafficking organizations are contributing to a growing drug problem in these communities. We found that transnational migrants and returning immigrants, including deported workers, introduce drugs and drug use practices, and contribute to the creation of a drug use culture within the communities. The social conditions in the community that foster and proliferate drug use are many: the erosion of the traditional family, truncated kinship bases, and new social formations. These conditions are all consequences of migration and emigration. Recent drug cartel activities are also contributing to this growing drug problem. The cartels have aggressively targeted these communities because of availability of money, existing drug use, a drug use culture, and the breakdown of traditional deterrents to substance abuse. Although a number of communities in three municipalities were part of our study, we focus on two: Lindavista, a rancho, Progreso, a municipal seat. Our field study in Mexico, one of four sequential ethnographic field studies conducted in Guanajuato and Pennsylvania, was completed over a six month period, from September, 2008, through February, 2009, using traditional ethnography. The four field studies are part of a larger, ongoing, three-year bi-national study on drug use among transnational migrants working in southeastern Pennsylvania. This larger study, near its third and final year, is funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Labor Migration, Drug Trafficking Organizations, and Drug Use: Major Challenges for Transnational Communities in Mexico

PubMed Central

González, Laura

2009-01-01

In our article, we present the recent findings of our ethnographic field study on drug use and the emergence of a drug use culture in transnational communities in Mexico. Transnational communities are part of a larger migratory labor circuit that transcends political borders and are not restricted to a single locality. Transnational migrants and returning immigrants link the multiple localities through their social networks. In southern Guanajuato, Mexico, using a transnational migration paradigm, we examined the manner in which transnational migration and drug trafficking organizations are contributing to a growing drug problem in these communities. We found that transnational migrants and returning immigrants, including deported workers, introduce drugs and drug use practices, and contribute to the creation of a drug use culture within the communities. The social conditions in the community that foster and proliferate drug use are many: the erosion of the traditional family, truncated kinship bases, and new social formations. These conditions are all consequences of migration and emigration. Recent drug cartel activities are also contributing to this growing drug problem. The cartels have aggressively targeted these communities because of availability of money, existing drug use, a drug use culture, and the breakdown of traditional deterrents to substance abuse. Although a number of communities in three municipalities were part of our study, we focus on two: Lindavista, a rancho, Progreso, a municipal seat. Our field study in Mexico, one of four sequential ethnographic field studies conducted in Guanajuato and Pennsylvania, was completed over a six month period, from September, 2008, through February, 2009, using traditional ethnography. The four field studies are part of a larger, ongoing, three-year bi-national study on drug use among transnational migrants working in southeastern Pennsylvania. This larger study, near its third and final year, is funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. PMID:20927201

Reimagining community health psychology: maps, journeys and new terrains.

PubMed

Campbell, Catherine; Cornish, Flora

2014-01-01

This special issue celebrates and maps out the 'coming of age' of community health psychology, demonstrating its confident and productive expansion beyond its roots in the theory and practice of small-scale collective action in local settings. Articles demonstrate the field's engagement with the growing complexity of local and global inequalities, contemporary forms of collective social protest and developments in critical social science. These open up novel problem spaces for the application and extension of its theories and methods, deepening our understandings of power, identity, community, knowledge and social change - in the context of evolving understandings of the spatial, embodied, relational, collaborative and historical dimensions of health.

Exploring the Benefits of Respite Services to Family Caregivers: Methodological Issues and Current Findings

PubMed Central

Zarit, Steven H.; Liu, Yin; Bangerter, Lauren R.; Rovine, Michael J.

2017-01-01

Objectives There is growing emphasis on empirical validation of the efficacy of community-based services for older people and their families, but research on services such as respite care faces methodological challenges that have limited the growth of outcome studies. We identify problems associated with the usual research approaches for studying respite care, with the goal of stimulating use of novel and more appropriate research designs that can lead to improved studies of community-based services. Method Using the concept of research validity, we evaluate the methodological approaches in the current literature on respite services, including adult day services, in-home respite and overnight respite. Results Although randomized control trials (RCTs) are possible in community settings, validity is compromised by practical limitations of randomization and other problems. Quasi-experimental and interrupted time series designs offer comparable validity to RCTs and can be implemented effectively in community settings. Conclusion An emphasis on RCTs by funders and researchers is not supported by scientific evidence. Alternative designs can lead to development of a valid body of research on community services such as respite. PMID:26729467

Exploring the benefits of respite services to family caregivers: methodological issues and current findings.

PubMed

Zarit, Steven H; Bangerter, Lauren R; Liu, Yin; Rovine, Michael J

2017-03-01

There is growing emphasis on empirical validation of the efficacy of community-based services for older people and their families, but research on services such as respite care faces methodological challenges that have limited the growth of outcome studies. We identify problems associated with the usual research approaches for studying respite care, with the goal of stimulating use of novel and more appropriate research designs that can lead to improved studies of community-based services. Using the concept of research validity, we evaluate the methodological approaches in the current literature on respite services, including adult day services, in-home respite and overnight respite. Although randomized control trials (RCTs) are possible in community settings, validity is compromised by practical limitations of randomization and other problems. Quasi-experimental and interrupted time series designs offer comparable validity to RCTs and can be implemented effectively in community settings. An emphasis on RCTs by funders and researchers is not supported by scientific evidence. Alternative designs can lead to development of a valid body of research on community services such as respite.

Country watch: Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Laver, S

1999-01-01

Tsungirirai is a counseling and information service developed during 1994 in response to the growing problem of HIV/AIDS in the small town of Norton, southwest of Harare, Zimbabwe. The objectives of the project include identification of key leaders in the area, determination of the setting in which HIV was spreading, and community consultation in program design and implementation. Tsungirirai's initial activities included a series of workshops on participatory techniques particularly the LADA (Listening-Appraisal-Dialogue-Action) method for key leaders, community men, women, and adolescents. Workshop participants demonstrated different views concerning HIV/AIDS problems. Key leaders viewed the HIV/AIDS problem within the context of existing laws that contradict traditional mores, while the youth linked the problem of HIV to the issue of unemployment and lack of recreation. Lessons learned include the following: 1) stop talking and listen; 2) start where people are at instead of telling them what they already know; 3) let the people decide; 4) turn a dream into reality; and 5) facilitate awareness process instead of leading it.

A 21st century perspective on postfire seeding

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.; Allen, Craig D.; Betancourt, J.; Chong, G.W.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Safford, H.D.

2006-01-01

Wildfires elicit a perceived need for emergency action to stabilize denuded landscapes. Aerial seeding of rapidly growing nonnative grasses is used routinely in an attempt to control postfire erosion, despite limited scientific basis for its effectiveness and with little consideration for its unintended ecological impacts. As fire size and magnitude have increased in recent decades, so has the prevalence and cost of postfire seeding and the potential footprint of its unintended impacts. We see a growing consensus in the research community on two important points: this management practice often is not cost-effective and it appears to create more problems than it solves.

Vector control in developed countries

PubMed Central

Peters, Richard F.

1963-01-01

The recent rapid growth of California's population, leading to competition for space between residential, industrial and agricultural interests, the development of its water resources and increasing water pollution provide the basic ingredients of its present vector problems. Within the past half-century, the original mosquito habitats provided by nature have gradually given place to even more numerous and productive habitats of man-made character. At the same time, emphasis in mosquito control has shifted from physical to chemical, with the more recent extension to biological approaches as well. The growing domestic fly problem, continuing despite the virtual disappearance of the horse, is attributable to an increasing amount of organic by-products, stemming from growing communities, expanding industries and changing agriculture. The programme for the control of disease vectors and pest insects and animals directs its major effort to the following broad areas: (1) water management (including land preparation), (2) solid organic wastes management (emphasizing utilization), (3) community management (including design, layout, and storage practices of buildings and grounds), and (4) recreational area management (related to wildlife management). It is apparent that vector control can often employ economics as an ally in securing its objectives. Effective organization of the environment to produce maximum economic benefits to industry, agriculture, and the community results generally in conditions unfavourable to the survival of vector and noxious animal species. Hence, vector prevention or suppression is preferable to control as a programme objective. PMID:20604166

Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons Learned from the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research

PubMed Central

Israel, Barbara A.; Parker, Edith A.; Rowe, Zachary; Salvatore, Alicia; Minkler, Meredith; López, Jesús; Butz, Arlene; Mosley, Adrian; Coates, Lucretia; Lambert, George; Potito, Paul A.; Brenner, Barbara; Rivera, Maribel; Romero, Harry; Thompson, Beti; Coronado, Gloria; Halstead, Sandy

2005-01-01

Over the past several decades there has been growing evidence of the increase in incidence rates, morbidity, and mortality for a number of health problems experienced by children. The causation and aggravation of these problems are complex and multifactorial. The burden of these health problems and environmental exposures is borne disproportionately by children from low-income communities and communities of color. Researchers and funding institutions have called for increased attention to the complex issues that affect the health of children living in marginalized communities—and communities more broadly—and have suggested greater community involvement in processes that shape research and intervention approaches, for example, through community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships among academic, health services, public health, and community-based organizations. Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (Children’s Centers) funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were required to include a CBPR project. The purpose of this article is to provide a definition and set of CBPR principles, to describe the rationale for and major benefits of using this approach, to draw on the experiences of six of the Children’s Centers in using CBPR, and to provide lessons learned and recommendations for how to successfully establish and maintain CBPR partnerships aimed at enhancing our understanding and addressing the multiple determinants of children’s health. PMID:16203263

In Search of a Better Understanding of Social Presence: An Investigation into How Researchers Define Social Presence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowenthal, Patrick R.; Snelson, Chareen

2017-01-01

Research on social presence and online learning continues to grow. But to date, researchers continue to define and conceptualize social presence very differently. For instance, at a basic level, some conceptualize social presence as one of three presences within a Community of Inquiry, while others do not. Given this problem, we analyzed how…

Beyond Bachelor's: The Case for Charter Colleges of Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mead, Sara; Carey, Kevin

2011-01-01

There is a growing movement in the early childhood advocacy community to address the dual problems of quality and compensation by turning to a credential with a much different track record: the bachelor's degree. The B.A. is already the foundational degree for K-12 educators, after all, and people who have bachelor's degrees earn much more than…

The Role of Public Universities in Workforce Development: Assessing Public-Private Partnerships in the California State University System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Adrian Paul

2010-01-01

Problem Statement. There is a growing need and demand for the "knowledge worker" within the business community. The limited amount of research on the role and impact of public universities suggests the need for addressing the training and workforce development needs of private industry. Purpose. The purpose of this study was fourfold:…

The Politics of Quality Teacher Discourses: Implications for Pre-Service Teachers in High Poverty Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholes, Laura; Lampert, Jo; Burnett, Bruce; Comber, Barbara M.; Hoff, Lutz; Ferguson, Angela

2017-01-01

Improving the quality of education for young people growing up in high poverty and culturally diverse communities is an escalating problem in affluent nations with increasing gaps between the wealthy and the poor. Improving the quality of teachers and improving the quality of teaching are amongst the prominent solutions offered to redress the…

Black, White, Green, Red. The Politics of Education in Ethnic America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresnick, David; And Others

The upheaval in large city school systems during the late 1960s and early 1970s is examined in this book. Most of the specific examples are drawn from school districts in New York City, such as Ocean Hill-Brownsville and Canarsie. The problems of growing demands for community control, ethnic and racial conflicts, and school decentralization are…

Geography of intergenerational mobility and child development

PubMed Central

Donnelly, Louis; Garfinkel, Irwin; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Wagner, Brandon G.; James, Sarah; McLanahan, Sara

2017-01-01

Recent research by Chetty and colleagues finds that children’s chances of upward mobility are affected by the communities in which they grow up [Chetty R, Hendren N (2016) Working paper 23002]. However, the developmental pathways through which communities of origin translate into future economic gain are not well understood. In this paper we examine the association between Chetty and Hendren’s county-level measure of intergenerational mobility and children’s cognitive and behavioral development. Focusing on children from low-income families, we find that growing up in a county with high upward mobility is associated with fewer externalizing behavioral problems by age 3 years and with substantial gains in cognitive test scores between ages 3 and 9 years. Growing up in a county with 1 SD better intergenerational mobility accounts for ∼20% of the gap in developmental outcomes between children from low- and high-income families. Collectively, our findings suggest that the developmental processes through which residential contexts promote upward mobility begin early in childhood and involve the enrichment of both cognitive and social-emotional development. PMID:28811379

Anxiety Disorders and Sleep in Children and Adolescents.

PubMed

Willis, Thomas A; Gregory, Alice M

2015-06-01

Sleep problems are common in children and adolescents. A growing body of research has explored the relationship between sleep problems and anxiety in youth. When reviewing the literature, methodologic inconsistencies need to be considered, such as variation in conceptualization of sleep problems, measurement of sleep, and the classification of anxiety. Despite this, there seems to be good evidence of concurrent and longitudinal associations between sleep difficulties and anxiety in community and clinical samples of young people. Potential mechanisms are proposed. There is a need for further exploration of these relationships, with the hope of aiding preventive capability and developing useful treatments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community-Partnered Research Conference Model: The Experience of Community Partners in Care Study

PubMed Central

Khodyakov, Dmitry; Pulido, Esmeralda; Ramos, Ana; Dixon, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

The Problem Conducting community-partnered research conferences is a powerful yet underutilized approach to translating research into practice and improving result dissemination and intervention sustainability strategies. Nonetheless, detailed descriptions of conference features and ways to use them in empirical research are rare. Purpose of Article We describe how community-partnered conferences may be integrated into research projects by using an example of Community Partners in Care, a large cluster-randomized controlled trial that uses Community Partnered Participatory Research principles. Key Points Our conceptual model illustrates the role community-partnered research conferences may play in three study phases and describes how different conference features may increase community engagement, build two-way capacity, and ensure equal project ownership. Conclusion(s) As the number of community-partnered studies grows, so too does the need for practical tools to support this work. Community-partnered research conferences may be effectively employed in translational research to increase two-way capacity-building and promote long-term intervention success. PMID:24859106

School Violence Prevention: Climate and Moral Perspectives of Sixth through Eighth Grade Students Attending a Southern California Catholic School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Diane Diaz

2010-01-01

The need for U.S. teachers to better understand School Violence Prevention is growing. Evidence suggests however, that 10 years and 10 billion dollars after the Columbine High School massacre, our public schools are not safer (www.community-matters.org). There has been an "after the fact" approach to the problem of school violence. After…

Growing Embedded Librarians Like Kudzu: How the Embedded Extension Service Creates More Embedded Librarians without Creating New Positions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coltrain, Mark

2014-01-01

In an era of exploding online enrollment and tight budgets, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) struggles to meet the needs of online students. CPCC librarians went one step towards solving that problem in 2009-2010 by launching an embedded librarian program. CPCC's program became so successful that it struggled to meet demand. In 2013, CPCC…

Communication Avoiding and Overlapping for Numerical Linear Algebra

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-08

future exascale systems, communication cost must be avoided or overlapped. Communication-avoiding 2.5D algorithms improve scalability by reducing...linear algebra problems to future exascale systems, communication cost must be avoided or overlapped. Communication-avoiding 2.5D algorithms improve...will continue to grow relative to the cost of computation. With exascale computing as the long-term goal, the community needs to develop techniques

Psychiatric In-Patients Away from Home: Accounts by People with Intellectual Disabilities in Specialist Hospitals outside Their Home Localities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chinn, Deborah; Hall, Ian; Ali, Afia; Hassell, Holly; Patkas, Iannis

2011-01-01

Background: This study reflects a growing concern with the placement of people with intellectual disabilities and complex mental health problems in out of area placements at a distance from their families and communities. Materials and methods: We interviewed service users (n = 17) living in out of area in-patient psychiatric units using a…

The Austrialian National Chinese Japanese Korean Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groom, Linda

1994-01-01

Providing access to Asian-language materials has always been a problem for libraries. There are particular difficulties in acquiring Asian materials, in cataloguing them and providing access, and in incorporating them in library systems. There is, however, an urgent and growing need for access to Asian materials. Part of the response of the Australian library community to the difficulties and to the increasing need has been the Australian National CJK (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) Project. The CJK Project is a co-operative project involving seven Australian universities and the National Library of Australia. Membership is expected to grow to include other Australian research libraries, some public research libraries and some overseas libraries.

Primary and community care workforce planning and development.

PubMed

Hurst, Keith

2006-09-01

This article reports a study that provided primary and community care managers with information, allowing them to: (a) evaluate the size and mix of their workforce; and (b) develop knowledgeable and skilled teams to meet the demands of growing and changing services. Primary and community care services are growing in the United Kingdom, but workforce planning and development, despite their wide-ranging cost and quality implications, have not received the same attention. Indeed, most primary and community care workforce planning and development issues are universal. Demand 1-1 side workforce planning is concerned not only with the number, but also with staff mix; but how these autonomous and isolated practitioners spend their time is unique. The other side of the equation, workforce supply, raises many recruitment and retention challenges for managers in many countries. Any country's main workforce planning methods apply equally well to primary care, but each is flawed. A second, main problem is that the methods lead to fragmented services, whereas modern workforce planning methods should be multidisciplinary. Consequently, it has never been more important for managers to have data and algorithms to develop appropriate care teams. A large and versatile workforce database, profiling 304 English primary care trusts using demographic, socio-economic, mortality, morbidity, staffing and performance workforce-related variables, compiled in 2002 and updated yearly, is described. Data were supplemented with a systematic literature review leading to a 340-item annotated bibliography; and qualitative interviews with managers. Workforce size and mix are historical and irrational at best. Moreover, the number of variables that influence staffing is growing, thereby complicating workforce planning. Evaluating and adjusting the size and mix of teams using empirically determined community demand and performance variables based on the area's socio-economic characteristics is feasible.

An Annual Report of the Urban Internship Program-Urban Extension Service Conducted by Florida State University's Urban Research Center During the 1966-67 Fiscal Year.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florida State Univ., Tallahassee. Inst. for Social Research.

Florida State University's Urban Research Center serves a rapidly growing seven county area in east central Florida; under Title I of the Higher Education Act, the Center increased its service through a uniquely designed research-education program for public administrators, the purpose being to identify and alleviate community problems. The 2,000…

Hazardous waste in the Asian Pacific region.

PubMed

Prasad, Rajendra; Khwaja, Mahmood A

2011-01-01

The production and disposal of hazardous waste remains a substantial problem in the Asian Pacific region. Remediation of waste disposal sites, including landfill sites, is attracting considerable research attention within the region. A recognition of the need for community engagement in this process is also growing. This article reviews the work presented in the Hazardous Waste sessions at the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health held in November 2009 in Perth.

Mineral and organic growing media have distinct community structure, stability and functionality in soilless culture systems.

PubMed

Grunert, Oliver; Hernandez-Sanabria, Emma; Vilchez-Vargas, Ramiro; Jauregui, Ruy; Pieper, Dietmar H; Perneel, Maaike; Van Labeke, Marie-Christine; Reheul, Dirk; Boon, Nico

2016-01-05

The choice of soilless growing medium for plant nutrition, growth and support is crucial for improving the eco-sustainability of the production in horticultural systems. As our current understanding of the functional microbial communities inhabiting this ecosystem is still limited, we examined the microbial community development of the two most important growing media (organic and mineral) used in open soilless horticultural systems. We aimed to identify factors that influence community composition over time, and to compare the distribution of individual taxa across growing media, and their potential functionality. High throughput sequencing analysis revealed a distinctive and stable microbial community in the organic growing medium. Humidity, pH, nitrate-N, ammonium-N and conductivity were uncovered as the main factors associated with the resident bacterial communities. Ammonium-N was correlated with Rhizobiaceae abundance, while potential competitive interactions among both Methylophilaceae and Actinobacteridae with Rhizobiaceae were suggested. Our results revealed that soilless growing media are unique niches for diverse bacterial communities with temporal functional stability, which may possibly impact the resistance to external forces. These differences in communities can be used to develop strategies to move towards a sustainable horticulture with increased productivity and quality.

Medication Adherence: A Call for Action

PubMed Central

Bosworth, Hayden B.; Granger, Bradi B.; Mendys, Phil; Brindis, Ralph; Burkholder, Rebecca; Czajkowski, Susan M.; Daniel, Jodi G.; Ekman, Inger; Ho, Michael; Johnson, Mimi; Kimmel, Stephen E.; Liu, Larry Z; Musaus, John; Shrank, William H.; Buono, Elizabeth Whalley; Weiss, Karen; Granger, Christopher B.

2013-01-01

Poor adherence to efficacious cardiovascular related medications has led to considerable morbidity, mortality, and avoidable health care costs. This paper provides results of a recent think tank meeting in which various stakeholder groups representing key experts from consumers, community health providers, the academic community, decision-making government officials (FDA, NIH, etc), and industry scientists met to evaluate the current status of medication adherence and provide recommendations for improving outcomes. Below, we review the magnitude of the problem of medication adherence, prevalence, impact, and cost. We then summarize proven effective approaches and conclude with a discussion of recommendations to address this growing and significant public health issue of medication non adherence. PMID:21884856

Perspectives on community gardens, community kitchens and the Good Food Box program in a community-based sample of low-income families.

PubMed

Loopstra, Rachel; Tarasuk, Valerie

2013-01-08

Growing recognition of the problem of household food insecurity in Canada has meant public health practitioners are looking for effective ways to ameliorate this problem in their communities. Community gardens, community kitchens, and food box programs can offer nutritious foods for comparably lower costs, however, the uptake and perceptions of these programs in populations at risk of food insecurity have not been evaluated. Building on a previous finding of low program participation among 485 families living in high-poverty neighbourhoods in Toronto, the objective of this study was to understand reasons for non-participation. One year after the baseline study, 371 families were interviewed a second time and were asked to provide their reasons for not participating in community gardens, community kitchens, or the Good Food Box program. Responses were analyzed by inductive content analysis. At follow-up, only 12 families had participated in a community garden, 16 in a community kitchen, and 4 in the Good Food Box program. Reasons for non-participation grouped under two themes. First, families expressed that programs were not accessible because they lacked the knowledge of how or where to participate or because programs were not in their neighbourhoods. Second, programs lacked fit for families, as they were not suited to busy schedules, interests, or needs. This study provides unique perspective on participation in community food programs among food-insecure families and suggests that these programs may not be effective options for these families to improve their food access.

What China's experiment in community building can tell us about tackling health disparities: community building and mental health in mid-life and older life: evidence from China.

PubMed

Muennig, Peter

2014-04-01

Disparities in physical and mental health between advantaged and disadvantaged communities are among the largest threats to population health worldwide. These disparities appear to be growing, probably in part because we do not understand how to address their underlying causes. Many believe the underlying causes are thought to arise directly or indirectly from the psychosocial problems underlying poverty, such as hunger, poor housing, drug use, or crime. One logical solution is therefore to provide more community services targeted at addressing these problems within the most disadvantaged communities. However, to date, data on the efficacy of this approach is lacking. China serves as a possible laboratory for studying the efficacy of community-based programs. This is because the extensive community-based programs present prior to economic reforms in 1978 were removed, and then later re-instated in a quasi-experimental manner. In this issue, Yuying Shen uses multi-level models to explore the impact of this experiment on community mental health in a multi-level associational study. She finds that the quantity (but not their length of time in the community) of such services is positively associated with mental health. This study opens the door to more rigorous analyses that might motivate formal social experiments at the community level worldwide. If successful, such experiments might not only transform what we currently know not just about improving health in disadvantaged communities, but also prove transformative for health policy as a discipline. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community for Data Integration 2013 Annual Report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chang, Michelle Y.; Carlino, Jennifer; Barnes, Christopher; Blodgett, David L.; Bock, Andrew R.; Everette, Anthony L.; Fernette, Gregory L.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Gordon, Janice M.; Govoni, David L.; Hay, Lauren E.; Henkel, Heather S.; Hines, Megan K.; Holl, Sally L.; Homer, Collin G.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Ignizio, Drew A.; Kern, Tim J.; Lightsom, Frances L.; Markstrom, Steven L.; O'Donnell, Michael S.; Schei, Jacquelyn L.; Schmid, Lorna A.; Schoephoester, Kathryn M.; Schweitzer, Peter N.; Skagen, Susan K.; Sullivan, Daniel J.; Talbert, Colin; Warren, Meredith Pavlick

2015-01-01

grow overall USGS capabilities with data and information by increasing visibility of the work of many people throughout the USGS and the CDI community. To achieve these goals, the CDI operates within four applied areas: monthly forums, annual workshop/webinar series, working groups, and projects. The monthly forums, also known as the Opportunity/Challenge of the Month, provide an open dialogue to share and learn about data integration efforts or to present problems that invite the Community to offer solutions, advice, and support. Since 2010, the CDI has also sponsored annual workshops/webinar series to encourage the exchange of ideas, sharing of activities, presentations of current projects, and networking among members. Stemming from common interests, the working groups are focused on efforts to address data management and technical 2 challenges, including the development of standards and tools, improving interoperability and information infrastructure, and data preservation within USGS and its partners. The growing support for the activities of the working groups led to the CDI’s first formal request for proposals (RFP) process in 2013 to fund projects that produced tangible products. Today the CDI continues to hold an annual RFP that create data management tools and practices, collaboration tools, and training in support of data integration and delivery.

Vocational Rehabilitation in Juvenile Delinquency: A Planning Grant to Determine the Role of Vocational Rehabilitation in Juvenile Delinquency. Final Report. Research and Demonstration Project (July 1, 1963--June 30, 1964).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Board for Vocational Education, Stillwater. Rehabilitation Service Div.

This project developed from a need for knowledge and information concerning a problem of growing concern to most American communities and particularly those comprising metropolitan areas. Increasing evidence of disregard for law and order on the part of individuals of all ages, and especially teen-age children, points up the need for intelligent…

Terrorism Information Management Within the New York City Fire Department: Past, Present and Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

is the discovery of a massive hydroponic marijuana growing facility in an apartment in Brooklyn, discovered as a result of an otherwise typical...was characterized by an absence of information that led to significant confusion on the part of firefighting forces: • The building was “missing...form of several initiatives: • The planned adaptation of Problem Oriented Policing (POP), Community Oriented Policing (COP) and Intelligence Led

Sustainable Eco Coastal Development Through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakhmanissazly, Arsi; Mursito Ardy, Yong; Abdullah

2017-02-01

Besides technical problems the company’s operational constraints that may effect high deficiency for the company is the company - community conflicts. Company - community conflict can also arise depends on the geographic conditions and characteristics of the community itself. Some studies has show that coastal community have higher level of social risk when compared to non-coastal community. Also, the coastal community ussually only rely on what sea provides as their main livelihood. Because of the level of education still contemtible the community couldn’t optimized the potential of their own area. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) har emerged as an important approach for addressing the social and environmental impact of company activities. Through CSR program, PT Pertamina EP Asset 3 Tambun Field (PEP) try to form value integration by utilizing resources from the community and the company by making sustainable eco - coastal living in Desa Tambaksari, Karawang, one of PEP working area. Using sustainable livelihood approach begin with compiling data by doing social mapping PEP has initiate the area to becoming Fish Processing Industry Centre. By implementing PDCA in every steps of the program, PEP has multiplied some other programs such as Organic Fish Feed Processing, Seaweed Farming and Waste Bank for Green Coastal Village. These program is PEP’s effort to create a sustainability environment by enhancing the community’s potentials as well as resolving social problems around Tambaksari. The most important result besides getting our license to operate from the community, is the community itself can grow into an eco coastal sustainable system.

Benchmark problems for numerical implementations of phase field models

DOE PAGES

Jokisaari, A. M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, J. E.; ...

2016-10-01

Here, we present the first set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While many scientific research areas use a limited set of well-established software, the growing phase field community continues to develop a wide variety of codes and lacks benchmark problems to consistently evaluate the numerical performance of new implementations. Phase field modeling has become significantly more popular as computational power has increased and is now becoming mainstream, driving the need for benchmark problems to validate and verifymore » new implementations. We follow the example set by the micromagnetics community to develop an evolving set of benchmark problems that test the usability, computational resources, numerical capabilities and physical scope of phase field simulation codes. In this paper, we propose two benchmark problems that cover the physics of solute diffusion and growth and coarsening of a second phase via a simple spinodal decomposition model and a more complex Ostwald ripening model. We demonstrate the utility of benchmark problems by comparing the results of simulations performed with two different adaptive time stepping techniques, and we discuss the needs of future benchmark problems. The development of benchmark problems will enable the results of quantitative phase field models to be confidently incorporated into integrated computational materials science and engineering (ICME), an important goal of the Materials Genome Initiative.« less

Elder Abuse; Joint Hearing Before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate and the Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives, Ninety-Sixth Congress, Second Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

This report of a joint hearing before the Senate and House Committees on Aging examines elder abuse as a growing problem in America. The testimony considers the benefits of community-based services for the elderly living with relatives, explores other forms of long-term care, and investigates ways to aid victims of elder abuse. An overview of the…

Draft framework for watershed-based trading

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-05-30

Effluent trading is an innovative way for water quality agencies and community stakeholders to develop common-sense, cost-effective solutions for water quality problems in their watersheds. Trading can allow communities to grow and prosper while retaining their commitment to water quality. The bulk of this framework discusses effluent trading in watersheds. Remaining sections discuss transactions that, while not technically fulfilling the definition of `effluent` trade, do involve the exchange of valued water quality or other ecological improvements between partners responding to market initiatives. This document therefore includes activities such as trades within a facility (intra-plant trading) and wetland mitigation banking, effluentmore » trading/watersheds/watershed management/water quality protection/water quality management.« less

Nerves in northern Norway: the communication of emotions, illness experiences, and health-seeking behaviors.

PubMed

Foss, Nina

2002-02-01

The nature of nerves is the subject of a growing and dynamic body of anthropological research. The term nerves is often conceptualized as hard to define. Its meaning carries ambiguities, inconsistencies, and variation, although it is connected to reactions to the hardships of life. In the West, it is often associated with psychiatric problems. In this study, the researcher unveiled peoples' pragmatic use of the term nerves through diverse social settings in a coastal community in Northern Norway. The term was connected to psychological or psychiatric problems, privacy, and stigma, but had the capacity to communicate a continuum from normal emotional problems to severe mental illness. This study also showed the effect of the term in encounters between patients and professional health workers.

Abuse and Misuse of Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs from Community Pharmacies in Aden City-Yemen.

PubMed

Abood, Ebtesam A; Wazaify, Mayyada

2016-06-06

The abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription or the so-called Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs is a serious and growing public health problem worldwide. The increased availability of these drugs has contributed to a dramatic rise of inappropriate use. The aim of this study was to investigate abuse/misuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs in community pharmacies in Aden city-Yemen and to gather information about suspected drug abusers in the community. A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire randomly distributed to 200 community pharmacies (June-September 2013). Data were coded and analyzed using SPSS Results: A total of 170 pharmacists completed the questionnaire (85.0% response rate), more than half of which (57.7%) suspected drug abuse/misuse in their pharmacies. The top four suspected medications of abuse were Alprazolam, Ketoprofen, Tramadol, and antibiotics. Most participating pharmacists in this study (83.3%) noticed an increasing pattern of abuse/misuse. The majority of suspects of prescription and non-prescription drug abuse (64.1%) were either chewing Khat or carrying it while buying the drug from the pharmacists. Abuse/misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs is present in community pharmacies in Aden and it is linked to the recreational use of Khat. Current methods for controlling the problem are ineffective, and better methods should be developed.

The changing role and legitimate boundaries of epidemiology: community-based prevention programmes.

PubMed

Tuomilehto, J; Puska, P

1987-01-01

Epidemiology is the basic science of public health. It combines medical and social sciences, both of which are developing with new inventions. Therefore, the role of epidemiology and its boundaries are also changing over time. An important role of epidemiology is to develop and implement community-based control programmes for major diseases in the community. Such programmes are essential for large scale public health policy. It is necessary that epidemiological research can as freely as possible test new methods of disease prevention and health promotion. The first community-based control programme for cardiovascular diseases, the North Karelia Project is reviewed against this background. At present, it is still possible to define the boundaries of epidemiology geographically and culturally, but in the future, however, it will become more difficult. There is no doubt that epidemiology will remain as the basic science of public health but the scope of public health problems are growing much wider. These include the prevention of the final epidemic--the destruction of our planet by nuclear bombs. In the control of the existing epidemics and in the prevention of new ones the boundaries of epidemiology cannot stay rigid but they must be changing as new facts about the emerging public health problems are identified.

Maternal-child health fellowship: maintaining the rigor of family medicine obstetrics.

PubMed

Magee, Susanna R; Radlinski, Heidi; Nothnagle, Melissa

2015-01-01

The United States has a growing shortage of maternity care providers. Family medicine maternity care fellowships can address this growing problem by training family physicians to manage high-risk pregnancies and perform cesarean deliveries. This paper describes the impact of one such program-the Maternal Child Health (MCH) Fellowship through the Department of Family Medicine at Brown University and the careers of its graduates over 20 years (1991--2011). Fellowship graduates were mailed a survey regarding their training, current practice and teaching roles, and career satisfaction. Seventeen of 23 fellows (74%) responded to the survey. The majority of our fellowship graduates provide maternity care. Half of our respondents are primary surgeons in cesarean sections, and the majority of these work in community hospitals. Nearly all of our graduates maintain academic appointments and teach actively in their respective departments of family medicine. Our maternal child health fellowship provides family physicians with the opportunity to develop advanced skills needed to provide maternity care for underserved communities and teaching skills to train the next generation of maternal child health care providers.

Using social marketing to create communities for our children and adolescents that do not model and encourage drinking.

PubMed

Jones, Sandra C

2014-11-01

Our children and adolescents are growing up in environments that support, and even, encourage (excessive) drinking. Thus, if we are to address the problem of underage drinking our focus needs to move beyond eliciting behavior change among children and adolescents to changing underlying community attitudes, social norms, and the environment itself. This review sought to examine the evidence base surrounding 'community-based' interventions designed to address underage drinking; to determine the extent to which 'community' interventions have thus far targeted the broader community and gone beyond behavior-focused strategies and endeavored to change social and physical environments. The review found surprisingly few interventions that sought to comprehensively address social norms at a community level. We need to move (research and interventions) beyond narrowly-focused efforts targeting teens and their parents; it is only when we address alcohol consumption at a population level that we will be able to provide an environment for children and adolescents which does not model (excessive) drinking as a normative social behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strategic partnerships between academic dental institutions and communities: addressing disparities in oral health care.

PubMed

Johnson, Bradford R; Loomer, Peter M; Siegel, Sharon C; Pilcher, Elizabeth S; Leigh, Janet E; Gillespie, M Jane; Simmons, Raymond K; Turner, Sharon P

2007-10-01

A landmark report from the U.S. surgeon general identified disparities in oral health care as an urgent and high-priority problem. A parallel development in the dental education community is the growing consensus that significant curriculum reform is long overdue. The authors performed a literature review and conducted a series of structured interviews with key institutional and community stakeholders from seven geographical regions of the United States. They investigated a wide range of partnerships between community-based dental clinics and academic dental institutions. On the basis of their interviews and literature review, the authors identified common themes and made recommendations to the dental community to improve access to care while enhancing the dental curriculum. Reducing disparities in access to oral health care and the need for reform of the dental curriculum may be addressed, in part, by a common solution: strategic partnerships between academic dental institutions and communities. Practice Implications. Organized dentistry and individual practitioners, along with other major stakeholders, can play a significant role in supporting reform of the dental curriculum and improving access to care.

The Development of Ontology from Multiple Databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasim, Shahreen; Aswa Omar, Nurul; Fudzee, Mohd Farhan Md; Azhar Ramli, Azizul; Aizi Salamat, Mohamad; Mahdin, Hairulnizam

2017-08-01

The area of halal industry is the fastest growing global business across the world. The halal food industry is thus crucial for Muslims all over the world as it serves to ensure them that the food items they consume daily are syariah compliant. Currently, ontology has been widely used in computer sciences area such as web on the heterogeneous information processing, semantic web, and information retrieval. However, ontology has still not been used widely in the halal industry. Today, Muslim community still have problem to verify halal status for products in the market especially foods consisting of E number. This research tried to solve problem in validating the halal status from various halal sources. There are various chemical ontology from multilple databases found to help this ontology development. The E numbers in this chemical ontology are codes for chemicals that can be used as food additives. With this E numbers ontology, Muslim community could identify and verify the halal status effectively for halal products in the market.

Dengue Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Past and Recent Viral Transmission in Venezuela: A Comprehensive Community-Based Study

PubMed Central

Velasco-Salas, Zoraida I.; Sierra, Gloria M.; Guzmán, Diamelis M.; Zambrano, Julio; Vivas, Daniel; Comach, Guillermo; Wilschut, Jan C.; Tami, Adriana

2014-01-01

Dengue transmission in Venezuela has become perennial and a major public health problem. The increase in frequency and magnitude of recent epidemics prompted a comprehensive community-based cross-sectional study of 2,014 individuals in high-incidence neighborhoods of Maracay, Venezuela. We found a high seroprevalence (77.4%), with 10% of people experiencing recent infections. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that poverty-related socioeconomic factors (place and duration of residence, crowding, household size, and living in a shack) and factors/constraints related to intradomiciliary potential mosquito breeding sites (storing water and used tires) were linked with a greater risk of acquiring a dengue infection. Our results also suggest that transmission occurs mainly at home. The combination of increasingly crowded living conditions, growing population density, precarious homes, and water storage issues caused by enduring problems in public services in Maracay are the most likely factors that determine the permanent dengue transmission and the failure of vector control programs. PMID:25223944

Communities that thrive in extreme conditions captured from a freshwater lake.

PubMed

Low-Décarie, Etienne; Fussmann, Gregor F; Dumbrell, Alex J; Bell, Graham

2016-09-01

Organisms that can grow in extreme conditions would be expected to be confined to extreme environments. However, we were able to capture highly productive communities of algae and bacteria capable of growing in acidic (pH 2), basic (pH 12) and saline (40 ppt) conditions from an ordinary freshwater lake. Microbial communities may thus include taxa that are highly productive in conditions that are far outside the range of conditions experienced in their host ecosystem. The organisms we captured were not obligate extremophiles, but were capable of growing in both extreme and benign conditions. The ability to grow in extreme conditions may thus be a common functional attribute in microbial communities. © 2016 The Author(s).

An algorithm for designing minimal microbial communities with desired metabolic capacities

PubMed Central

Eng, Alexander; Borenstein, Elhanan

2016-01-01

Motivation: Recent efforts to manipulate various microbial communities, such as fecal microbiota transplant and bioreactor systems’ optimization, suggest a promising route for microbial community engineering with numerous medical, environmental and industrial applications. However, such applications are currently restricted in scale and often rely on mimicking or enhancing natural communities, calling for the development of tools for designing synthetic communities with specific, tailored, desired metabolic capacities. Results: Here, we present a first step toward this goal, introducing a novel algorithm for identifying minimal sets of microbial species that collectively provide the enzymatic capacity required to synthesize a set of desired target product metabolites from a predefined set of available substrates. Our method integrates a graph theoretic representation of network flow with the set cover problem in an integer linear programming (ILP) framework to simultaneously identify possible metabolic paths from substrates to products while minimizing the number of species required to catalyze these metabolic reactions. We apply our algorithm to successfully identify minimal communities both in a set of simple toy problems and in more complex, realistic settings, and to investigate metabolic capacities in the gut microbiome. Our framework adds to the growing toolset for supporting informed microbial community engineering and for ultimately realizing the full potential of such engineering efforts. Availability and implementation: The algorithm source code, compilation, usage instructions and examples are available under a non-commercial research use only license at https://github.com/borenstein-lab/CoMiDA. Contact: elbo@uw.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:27153571

Healing traditions and men's sexual health in Mumbai, India: the realities of practiced medicine in urban poor communities.

PubMed

Schensul, Stephen L; Mekki-Berrada, Abdelwahed; Nastasi, Bonnie; Saggurti, Niranjan; Verma, Ravi K

2006-06-01

Men's pre- and extra-marital sexual behavior has been identified as the primary factor in the growing HIV/STI epidemic among both males and females in India. One major barrier to reaching men has been their underutilization of public health services, which has severely limited programs geared to prevention and early case identification. A significant number of men in India have strong culturally-based sexual health concerns, much of which are derived from "semen-loss" and deficiencies in sexual performance. This paper reports on an ongoing Indo-US project that has focused on men's concerns about sexual health problems and assesses the services provided by non-allopaths in three low-income communities in Mumbai. Findings indicate that the primary health resources for these men are private, community-based non-allopaths, who identify themselves as ayurvedic, unani and homeopathic providers. The paper suggests that the combination of strong culturally-based sexual health concerns and the presence of private non-allopaths who manage these problems present a window of opportunity for intervention programs to address the challenge of HIV/STI prevention and early case identification in India.

Assertive community treatment for elderly people with severe mental illness

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Adults aged 65 and older with severe mental illnesses are a growing segment of the Dutch population. Some of them have a range of serious problems and are also difficult to engage. While assertive community treatment is a common model for treating difficult to engage severe mental illnesses patients, no special form of it is available for the elderly. A special assertive community treatment team for the elderly is developed in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and tested for its effectiveness. Methods We will use a randomized controlled trial design to compare the effects of assertive community treatment for the elderly with those of care as usual. Primary outcome measures will be the number of dropouts, the number of patients engaged in care and patient's psychiatric symptoms, somatic symptoms, and social functioning. Secondary outcome measures are the number of unmet needs, the subjective quality of life and patients' satisfaction. Other secondary outcomes include the number of crisis contacts, rates of voluntary and involuntary admission, and length of stay. Inclusion criteria are aged 65 plus, the presence of a mental disorder, a lack of motivation for treatment and at least four suspected problems with functioning (addiction, somatic problems, daily living activities, housing etc.). If patients meet the inclusion criteria, they will be randomly allocated to either assertive community treatment for the elderly or care as usual. Trained assessors will use mainly observational instruments at the following time points: at baseline, after 9 and 18 months. Discussion This study will help establish whether assertive community treatment for the elderly produces better results than care as usual in elderly people with severe mental illnesses who are difficult to engage. When assertive community treatment for the elderly proves valuable in these respects, it can be tested and implemented more widely, and mechanisms for its effects investigated. Trial Registration The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR1620 PMID:20958958

Assertive community treatment for elderly people with severe mental illness.

PubMed

Stobbe, Jolanda; Mulder, Niels C L; Roosenschoon, Bert-Jan; Depla, Marja; Kroon, Hans

2010-10-19

Adults aged 65 and older with severe mental illnesses are a growing segment of the Dutch population. Some of them have a range of serious problems and are also difficult to engage. While assertive community treatment is a common model for treating difficult to engage severe mental illnesses patients, no special form of it is available for the elderly. A special assertive community treatment team for the elderly is developed in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and tested for its effectiveness. We will use a randomized controlled trial design to compare the effects of assertive community treatment for the elderly with those of care as usual. Primary outcome measures will be the number of dropouts, the number of patients engaged in care and patient's psychiatric symptoms, somatic symptoms, and social functioning. Secondary outcome measures are the number of unmet needs, the subjective quality of life and patients' satisfaction. Other secondary outcomes include the number of crisis contacts, rates of voluntary and involuntary admission, and length of stay. Inclusion criteria are aged 65 plus, the presence of a mental disorder, a lack of motivation for treatment and at least four suspected problems with functioning (addiction, somatic problems, daily living activities, housing etc.). If patients meet the inclusion criteria, they will be randomly allocated to either assertive community treatment for the elderly or care as usual. Trained assessors will use mainly observational instruments at the following time points: at baseline, after 9 and 18 months. This study will help establish whether assertive community treatment for the elderly produces better results than care as usual in elderly people with severe mental illnesses who are difficult to engage. When assertive community treatment for the elderly proves valuable in these respects, it can be tested and implemented more widely, and mechanisms for its effects investigated. The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR1620.

Parent Refusal of Topical Fluoride for Their Children: Clinical Strategies and Future Research Priorities to Improve Evidence-Based Pediatric Dental Practice.

PubMed

Chi, Donald L

2017-07-01

A growing number of parents are refusing topical fluoride for their children during preventive dental and medical visits. This nascent clinical and public health problem warrants attention from dental professionals and the scientific community. Clinical and community-based strategies are available to improve fluoride-related communications with parents and the public. In terms of future research priorities, there is a need to develop screening tools to identify parents who are likely to refuse topical fluoride and diagnostic instruments to uncover the reasons for topical fluoride refusal. This knowledge will lead to evidence-based strategies that can be widely disseminated into clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The practice of skin-bleaching for a cosmetic purpose in immigrant communities.

PubMed

Mahé, Antoine

2014-01-01

Using skin-lightening compounds for a cosmetic purpose that are normally restricted to medical use or forbidden has become a world-wide practice. Complications are numerous. Immigrant communities often import their practice from their original country. A review of the literature on the subject of complications of cosmetic skin-bleaching, with special focus on data concerning immigrants originating from highly endemic countries, was conducted. Complications of cosmetic skin-bleaching are common, involving mainly the skin although some general complications are also reported with a growing incidence. The high frequency of this practice, added to the frequency of various complications, suggests it might be considered as a genuine public health problem currently. © 2014 International Society of Travel Medicine.

The role of community nursing in providing integrated care for older people with alcohol misuse.

PubMed

Rao, Tony

2014-02-01

Alcohol misuse in older people is a growing problem for health and social care providers, but remains largely hidden from public view and therefore largely overlooked by commissioners. Many older people with alcohol misuse have a 'dual diagnosis' (alcohol misuse accompanying other mental disorders) rather than alcohol misuse alone, which requires specialist nursing expertise. Over the past 10 years, assessment of and interventions for the detection of alcohol misuse in older people have been developed within one London borough. This article details the background, strategy and outcomes of this service, which provides integrated care in a multi-disciplinary community mental health team covering an inner-city area with a high prevalence of alcohol misuse and dual diagnosis in older people.

Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls

PubMed Central

Deshpande, Neha A; Nour, Nawal M

2013-01-01

Sex trafficking involves some form of forced or coerced sexual exploitation that is not limited to prostitution, and has become a significant and growing problem in both the United States and the larger global community. The costs to society include the degradation of human and women’s rights, poor public health, disrupted communities, and diminished social development. Victims of sex trafficking acquire adverse physical and psychological health conditions and social disadvantages. Thus, sex trafficking is a critical health issue with broader social implications that requires both medical and legal attention. Healthcare professionals can work to improve the screening, identification, and assistance of victims of sex trafficking in a clinical setting and help these women and girls access legal and social services. PMID:23687554

Recall Performance for Content-Addressable Memory Using Adiabatic Quantum Optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Imam, Neena; Humble, Travis S.; McCaskey, Alex

A content-addressable memory (CAM) stores key-value associations such that the key is recalled by providing its associated value. While CAM recall is traditionally performed using recurrent neural network models, we show how to solve this problem using adiabatic quantum optimization. Our approach maps the recurrent neural network to a commercially available quantum processing unit by taking advantage of the common underlying Ising spin model. We then assess the accuracy of the quantum processor to store key-value associations by quantifying recall performance against an ensemble of problem sets. We observe that different learning rules from the neural network community influence recallmore » accuracy but performance appears to be limited by potential noise in the processor. The strong connection established between quantum processors and neural network problems supports the growing intersection of these two ideas.« less

Reentry challenges facing women with mental health problems.

PubMed

Visher, Christy A; Bakken, Nicholas W

2014-01-01

Women entering the correctional system represent a population at high risk for mental health and the body of research on the mental health needs of women offenders is growing. These mental health problems pose challenges for women at every stage of the criminal justice process, from arrest to incarceration to community reentry and reintegration. In this article, we examined mental health status among a sample of 142 women leaving confinement and the role that mental health problems played in shaping their reentry outcomes using data collected between 2002 and 2005 in Houston, Texas. In the year after leaving prison, women with mental health problems reported poorer health, more hospitalizations, more suicidal thoughts, greater difficulties securing housing and employment, more involvement in criminal behavior, and less financial support from family than women with no indication of mental health problems. However, mental health status did not increase the likelihood of substance use relapse or reincarceration. The article concludes with a discussion of recommendations for improved policy and practice.

Mental health issues of muslim americans.

PubMed

Basit, Abdul; Hamid, Mohammad

2010-11-01

The underpinning of all research leading to various schools of thought in the field of psychiatry and psychology is without doubt a product of Western professionals who represent the religio-cultural traditions, historical symbols, and narratives of Western society. Also, the major schools of psychotherapy emerged during an era of individualism and logical positivism reflecting the religious, ethical, and cultural heritage that has shaped the modern Western society. Consequently, the methods and techniques developed in the West may not be always suitable and effective for Muslim Americans. To respond to the growing needs of psychiatric problems encountered by Muslim Americans, many community social service centers have been established in the United States during the past two decades. We now have a growing body of research data suggesting how to tailor our field to the specific needs of this population. We will discuss what kind of emotional and psychiatric problems are most prevalent in Muslim Americans and explain the therapeutic approaches mental health professionals have used and the treatment strategies which have been found effective in the psychosocial rehabilitation of Muslim Americans.

Mental Health Issues of Muslim Americans

PubMed Central

Basit, Abdul; Hamid, Mohammad

2010-01-01

The underpinning of all research leading to various schools of thought in the field of psychiatry and psychology is without doubt a product of Western professionals who represent the religio-cultural traditions, historical symbols, and narratives of Western society. Also, the major schools of psychotherapy emerged during an era of individualism and logical positivism reflecting the religious, ethical, and cultural heritage that has shaped the modern Western society. Consequently, the methods and techniques developed in the West may not be always suitable and effective for Muslim Americans. To respond to the growing needs of psychiatric problems encountered by Muslim Americans, many community social service centers have been established in the United States during the past two decades. We now have a growing body of research data suggesting how to tailor our field to the specific needs of this population. We will discuss what kind of emotional and psychiatric problems are most prevalent in Muslim Americans and explain the therapeutic approaches mental health professionals have used and the treatment strategies which have been found effective in the psychosocial rehabilitation of Muslim Americans. PMID:23864761

A model for improving the health and quality of life of single mothers in the developing world.

PubMed

Mainthia, Rajshri; Reppart, Laura; Reppart, Jim; Pearce, Elizabeth C; Cohen, Jordan J; Netterville, James L

2013-12-01

Among the impoverished population of coastal Kenya, there is a rapidly growing group of young single mothers who suffer from adverse health outcomes, incomplete schooling, social ostracism by their communities, and economic hardship. To address this problem, in 2008 the Single Mothers Program (SMP) selected a group of vulnerable single mothers, provided them with basic relief and education, equipped them with training and start-up capital to run their own businesses, and assessed the impact of the program via a pre- and post-implementation survey. After two years in the program, a majority of the single mothers increased their contraceptive use, increased their degree of literacy, increased their individual incomes, and were more positively perceived by their communities. This study demonstrates a program model that can be used to improve the health and quality of life of single mothers and their children in similar communities throughout the world.

Under-nutrition in older people: a serious and growing global problem!

PubMed

Visvanathan, R

2003-01-01

Everyone agrees that adequate nutrient intake is important to all living things. Without food or water, life on earth would cease to exist. In the field of medical health, some gains have been made in meeting maternal and child nutritional needs. There is great community awareness regarding the importance of meeting the nutritional needs of the developing foetus and child. Malnutrition secondary to decreased intake in older people and weight loss is also a serious problem with unfortunately, very little notice from the community at large. As one ages, several physiological processes may contribute towards the development of protein energy malnutrition. Under-nutrition in older people is sadly far too common, even in developed countries. It is very likely that the same concerted effort used to address child malnutrition is required to combat under-nutrition in our elders. Protein energy malnutrition in older people comes at a significant cost to the individual, families, communities and the healthcare system. Failure to address this syndrome is not only unethical and unhealthy, but also costly. Vigilance and community awareness is important in ensuring that this important syndrome is detected and managed appropriately. This review mainly attempts to describe the pathophysiology, prevalence and consequences of under-nutrition and aims to highlight the importance of this clinical syndrome and the recent growth in our understanding of the processes behind its development. Some management strategies are also briefly described.

The effects of social capital and neighborhood characteristics on intimate partner violence: a consideration of social resources and risks.

PubMed

Kirst, Maritt; Lazgare, Luis Palma; Zhang, Yu Janice; O'Campo, Patricia

2015-06-01

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a growing public health problem, and gaps exist in knowledge with respect to appropriate prevention and treatment strategies. A growing body of research evidence suggests that beyond individual factors (e.g., socio-economic status, psychological processes, substance abuse problems), neighborhood characteristics, such as neighborhood economic disadvantage, high crime rates, high unemployment and social disorder, are associated with increased risk for IPV. However, existing research in this area has focused primarily on risk factors inherent in neighborhoods, and has failed to adequately examine resources within social networks and neighborhoods that may buffer or prevent the occurrence of IPV. This study examines the effects of neighborhood characteristics, such as economic disadvantage and disorder, and individual and neighborhood resources, such as social capital, on IPV among a representative sample of 2412 residents of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Using a population based sample of 2412 randomly selected Toronto adults with comprehensive neighborhood level data on a broad set of characteristics, we conducted multi-level modeling to examine the effects of individual- and neighborhood-level effects on IPV outcomes. We also examined protective factors through a comprehensive operationalization of the concept of social capital, involving neighborhood collective efficacy, community group participation, social network structure and social support. Findings show that residents who were involved in one or more community groups in the last 12 months and had high perceived neighborhood problems were more likely to have experienced physical IPV. Residents who had high perceived social support and low perceived neighborhood problems were less likely to experience non-physical IPV. These relationships did not differ by neighborhood income or gender. Findings suggest interesting contextual effects of social capital on IPV. Consistent with previous research, higher levels of perceived neighborhood problems can reflect disadvantaged environments that are more challenged in promoting health and regulating disorder, and can create stressors in which IPV is more likely to occur. Such analyses will be helpful to further understanding of the complex, multi-level pathways related to IPV and to inform the development of effective programs and policies with which to address and prevent this serious public health issue.

The Terra Data Fusion Project: An Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Girolamo, L.; Bansal, S.; Butler, M.; Fu, D.; Gao, Y.; Lee, H. J.; Liu, Y.; Lo, Y. L.; Raila, D.; Turner, K.; Towns, J.; Wang, S. W.; Yang, K.; Zhao, G.

2017-12-01

Terra is the flagship of NASA's Earth Observing System. Launched in 1999, Terra's five instruments continue to gather data that enable scientists to address fundamental Earth science questions. By design, the strength of the Terra mission has always been rooted in its five instruments and the ability to fuse the instrument data together for obtaining greater quality of information for Earth Science compared to individual instruments alone. As the data volume grows and the central Earth Science questions move towards problems requiring decadal-scale data records, the need for data fusion and the ability for scientists to perform large-scale analytics with long records have never been greater. The challenge is particularly acute for Terra, given its growing volume of data (> 1 petabyte), the storage of different instrument data at different archive centers, the different file formats and projection systems employed for different instrument data, and the inadequate cyberinfrastructure for scientists to access and process whole-mission fusion data (including Level 1 data). Sharing newly derived Terra products with the rest of the world also poses challenges. As such, the Terra Data Fusion Project aims to resolve two long-standing problems: 1) How do we efficiently generate and deliver Terra data fusion products? 2) How do we facilitate the use of Terra data fusion products by the community in generating new products and knowledge through national computing facilities, and disseminate these new products and knowledge through national data sharing services? Here, we will provide an update on significant progress made in addressing these problems by working with NASA and leveraging national facilities managed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The problems that we faced in deriving and delivering Terra L1B2 basic, reprojected and cloud-element fusion products, such as data transfer, data fusion, processing on different computer architectures, science, and sharing, will be presented with quantitative specifics. Results from several science-specific drivers for Terra fusion products will also be presented. We demonstrate that the Terra Data Fusion Project itself provides an excellent use-case for the community addressing Big Data and cyberinfrastructure problems.

Celebration of Growing Older: A Community-Wide Program on Elder Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roche, B. J.

To address some of the social, health, economic and cultural issues of growing older in America, Greenfield Community College (GCC) in Massachusetts sponsored a Celebration of Growing Older program. The 2-month long series of events was designed to educate the public, both young and old, about the myths of aging and to challenge some assumptions…

Rethinking Global Water Governance for the 21st Century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajami, N. K.; Cooley, H.

2012-12-01

Growing pressure on the world's water resources is having major impacts on our social and economic well-being. According to the United Nations, today, at least 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Pressures on water resources are likely to continue to worsen in response to decaying and crumbling infrastructure, continued population growth, climate change, degradation of water quality, and other challenges. If these challenges are not addressed, they pose future risks for many countries around the world, making it urgent that efforts are made to understand both the nature of the problems and the possible solutions that can effectively reduce the associated risks. There is growing understanding of the need to rethink governance to meet the 21st century water challenges. More and more water problems extend over traditional national boundaries and to the global community and the types and numbers of organizations addressing water issues are large and growing. Economic globalization and transnational organizations and activities point to the need for improving coordination and integration on addressing water issues, which are increasingly tied to food and energy security, trade, global climate change, and other international policies. We will present some of the key limitations of global water governance institutions and provide recommendations for improving these institutions to address 21st century global water challenges more effectively.

Methods to Implement Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arion, Douglas

2015-03-01

The physics community is beginning to become aware of the benefits of entrepreneurship and innovation education: greater enrollments, improved students satisfaction, a wider range of interesting research problems, and the potential for greater return from more successful alumni. This talk will suggest a variety of mechanisms by which physics departments can include entrepreneurship and innovation content within their programs - without necessarily requiring earth-shattering changes to the curriculum. These approaches will thus make it possible for departments to get involved with entrepreneurship and innovation, and grow those components into vibrant activities for students and faculty.

Community Based Educational Model on Water Conservation Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudiajeng, L.; Parwita, I. G. L.; Wiraga, I. W.; Mudhina, M.

2018-01-01

The previous research showed that there were indicators of water crisis in the northern and eastern part of Denpasar city and most of coastal area experienced on seawater intrusion. The recommended water conservation programs were rainwater harvesting and educate the community to develop a water saving and environmentally conscious culture. This research was conducted to built the community based educational model on water conservation program through ergonomics SHIP approach which placed the human aspect as the first consideration, besides the economic and technically aspects. The stakeholders involved in the program started from the problem analyses to the implementation and the maintenance as well. The model was built through three main steps, included determination of accepted design; building the recharge wells by involving local communities; guidance and assistance in developing a water saving and environmentally conscious culture for early childhood, elementary and junior high school students, community and industry. The program was implemented based on the “TRIHITA KARANA” concept, which means the relationship between human to God, human-to-human, and human to environment. Through the development of the model, it is expected to grow a sense of belonging and awareness from the community to maintain the sustainability of the program.

Engineering Antifragile Systems: A Change In Design Philosophy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Kennie H.

2014-01-01

While technology has made astounding advances in the last century, problems are confronting the engineering community that must be solved. Cost and schedule of producing large systems are increasing at an unsustainable rate and these systems often do not perform as intended. New systems are required that may not be achieved by current methods. To solve these problems, NASA is working to infuse concepts from Complexity Science into the engineering process. Some of these problems may be solved by a change in design philosophy. Instead of designing systems to meet known requirements that will always lead to fragile systems at some degree, systems should be designed wherever possible to be antifragile: designing cognitive cyberphysical systems that can learn from their experience, adapt to unforeseen events they face in their environment, and grow stronger in the face of adversity. Several examples are presented of on ongoing research efforts to employ this philosophy.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moore, Thomas W.; Quach, Tu-Thach; Detry, Richard Joseph

Complex Adaptive Systems of Systems, or CASoS, are vastly complex ecological, sociological, economic and/or technical systems which we must understand to design a secure future for the nation and the world. Perturbations/disruptions in CASoS have the potential for far-reaching effects due to pervasive interdependencies and attendant vulnerabilities to cascades in associated systems. Phoenix was initiated to address this high-impact problem space as engineers. Our overarching goals are maximizing security, maximizing health, and minimizing risk. We design interventions, or problem solutions, that influence CASoS to achieve specific aspirations. Through application to real-world problems, Phoenix is evolving the principles and discipline ofmore » CASoS Engineering while growing a community of practice and the CASoS engineers to populate it. Both grounded in reality and working to extend our understanding and control of that reality, Phoenix is at the same time a solution within a CASoS and a CASoS itself.« less

Fostering successful scientific software communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bangerth, W.; Heister, T.; Hwang, L.; Kellogg, L. H.

2016-12-01

Developing sustainable open source software packages for the sciences appears at first to be primarily a technical challenge: How can one create stable and robust algorithms, appropriate software designs, sufficient documentation, quality assurance strategies such as continuous integration and test suites, or backward compatibility approaches that yield high-quality software usable not only by the authors, but also the broader community of scientists? However, our experience from almost two decades of leading the development of the deal.II software library (http://www.dealii.org, a widely-used finite element package) and the ASPECT code (http://aspect.dealii.org, used to simulate convection in the Earth's mantle) has taught us that technical aspects are not the most difficult ones in scientific open source software. Rather, it is the social challenge of building and maintaining a community of users and developers interested in answering questions on user forums, contributing code, and jointly finding solutions to common technical and non-technical challenges. These problems are posed in an environment where project leaders typically have no resources to reward the majority of contributors, where very few people are specifically paid for the work they do on the project, and with frequent turnover of contributors as project members rotate into and out of jobs. In particular, much software work is done by graduate students who may become fluent enough in a software only a year or two before they leave academia. We will discuss strategies we have found do and do not work in maintaining and growing communities around the scientific software projects we lead. Specifically, we will discuss the management style necessary to keep contributors engaged, ways to give credit where credit is due, and structuring documentation to decrease reliance on forums and thereby allow user communities to grow without straining those who answer questions.

[Medical care and support in school and community life to very severe neurologically-impaired children--advance and problems in medical, educational and social management for improvement of QOL].

PubMed

Kitazumi, Eiji

2003-05-01

With an increasing number of children with severe neurological impairment living in their houses, there is growing demand for medical care and support in school and community life. In such cases, respiratory disorder, gastro-esophageal reflux and dysphagia are closely related. To improve these disorders, appropriate rehabilitation and daily managements, such as posture control, are important as well as medical and surgical treatment. Social and educational support is also necessary for improvement of the QOL of these children and their family. For example, daily medical care such as tube feeding and sputum suctioning should be provided by school staffs. Pediatric neurologists should actively participate in such educational and social activities.

Antagonistic interactions between garden yeasts and microfungal garden pathogens of leaf-cutting ants.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Andre; Cable, Rachel N; Mueller, Ulrich G; Bacci, Maurício; Pagnocca, Fernando C

2009-10-01

We investigate the diversity of yeasts isolated in gardens of the leafcutter ant Atta texana. Repeated sampling of gardens from four nests over a 1-year time period showed that gardens contain a diverse assemblage of yeasts. The yeast community in gardens consisted mostly of yeasts associated with plants or soil, but community composition changed between sampling periods. In order to understand the potential disease-suppressing roles of the garden yeasts, we screened isolates for antagonistic effects against known microfungal garden contaminants. In vitro assays revealed that yeasts inhibited the mycelial growth of two strains of Escovopsis (a specialized attine garden parasite), Syncephalastrum racemosum (a fungus often growing in gardens of leafcutter lab nests), and the insect pathogen Beauveria bassiana. These garden yeasts add to the growing list of disease-suppressing microbes in attine nests that may contribute synergistically, together with actinomycetes and Burkholderia bacteria, to protect the gardens and the ants against diseases. Additionally, we suggest that garden immunity against problem fungi may therefore derive not only from the presence of disease-suppressing Pseudonocardia actinomycetes, but from an enrichment of multiple disease-suppressing microorganisms in the garden matrix.

Free To Grow: Head Start Partnerships to Promote Substance-Free Communities. Program Results Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Milto, Lori

2012-01-01

"Free To Grow"--a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)--supported efforts by Head Start agencies and their community partners to strengthen the families and neighborhood environments of high-risk preschool children living in low-income communities. The goal was to reduce the children's vulnerability to substance…

Growing and Sustaining Communities with Bioenergy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Havill, Alice; Schultz, Donny; Falcon, Nigel

From Vero Beach, Florida, to Hugoton, Kansas, to Emmetsburg, Iowa, cellulosic ethanol biorefineries have had major impacts on communities and their residents. In other areas, bioenergy has significant potential to transform current and establish new industry. This short video illustrates how biorefineries and other bioenergy developments can benefit citizens, businesses, and whole communities, helping America’s rural economies grow and thrive.

Communicating Climate Change: the Problem of Knowing and Doing.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildcat, D.

2008-12-01

The challenge of global warming and climate change may illustrate better than any recent phenomenon that quite independent of the science associated with our assessment, modeling, mitigation strategies and adaptation to the multiple complex processes that characterize this phenomenon, our greatest challenge resides in creating systems where knowledge can be usefully communicated to the general public. Knowledge transfer will pose significant challenges when addressing a topic that often leaves the ill-informed and non-scientist overwhelmed with pieces of information and paralyzed with a sense that there is nothing to be done to address this global problem. This communication problem is very acute in North American indigenous communities where a first-hand, on-the-ground, experience of climate change is indisputable, but where the charts, graphs and sophisticated models presented by scientists are treated with suspicion and often not explained very well. This presentation will discuss the efforts of the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group to prepare future generations of AI/AN geoscience professionals, educators, and a geoscience literate AI/AN workforce, while insuring that our Indigenous tribal knowledges of land- and sea-scapes, and climates are valued, used and incorporated into our tribal exercise of geoscience education and research. The Working Group's efforts are already suggesting the communication problem for Indigenous communities will best be solved by 'growing' our own culturally competent Indigenous geoscience professionals.

Androgen abuse in the community.

PubMed

Melnik, Bodo C

2009-06-01

To provide information of the current prevalence of illicit use of androgens by individuals of the community. Prevalence of abuse of androgens in individuals of the general population has reached alarming dimensions. Use of androgens is no longer limited to competitive sports, but has spread to leisure and fitness sports, bodybuilding, and nonathletes motivated to increase muscular mass and physical attractiveness. Alarming studies from Germany demonstrated that members of the healthcare systems provide illegal androgens to 48.1% of abusers visiting fitness centers. The new trend to combine androgens with growth hormone, insulin, and insulinotropic milk protein-fortified drinks may potentiate health risks of androgen abuse. The use of androgens has changed from being a problem restricted to sports to one of public health concern. The potential health hazards of androgen abuse are underestimated in the medical community, which unfortunately contributes to illegal distribution of androgens. Both the adverse effects of current androgen abuse especially in young men as well as the chronic toxicity from past long-term abuse of now middle-aged men has to be considered as a growing public health problem. In the future, an increasing prevalence of androgen misuse in combination with other growth-promoting hormones and insulinotropic milk protein products has to be expected, which may have further promoting effects on the prevalence of chronic western diseases.

Dengue seroprevalence and risk factors for past and recent viral transmission in Venezuela: a comprehensive community-based study.

PubMed

Velasco-Salas, Zoraida I; Sierra, Gloria M; Guzmán, Diamelis M; Zambrano, Julio; Vivas, Daniel; Comach, Guillermo; Wilschut, Jan C; Tami, Adriana

2014-11-01

Dengue transmission in Venezuela has become perennial and a major public health problem. The increase in frequency and magnitude of recent epidemics prompted a comprehensive community-based cross-sectional study of 2,014 individuals in high-incidence neighborhoods of Maracay, Venezuela. We found a high seroprevalence (77.4%), with 10% of people experiencing recent infections. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that poverty-related socioeconomic factors (place and duration of residence, crowding, household size, and living in a shack) and factors/constraints related to intradomiciliary potential mosquito breeding sites (storing water and used tires) were linked with a greater risk of acquiring a dengue infection. Our results also suggest that transmission occurs mainly at home. The combination of increasingly crowded living conditions, growing population density, precarious homes, and water storage issues caused by enduring problems in public services in Maracay are the most likely factors that determine the permanent dengue transmission and the failure of vector control programs. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Rates, patterns, causes, and costs of hospitalization of nursing home residents: a population-based study.

PubMed Central

Barker, W H; Zimmer, J G; Hall, W J; Ruff, B C; Freundlich, C B; Eggert, G M

1994-01-01

OBJECTIVES. Hospitalization of nursing home residents is a growing, poorly defined problem. The purposes of this study were to define rates, patterns, costs, and outcomes of hospitalizations from nursing homes and to consider implications for reducing this problem as part of health care reform. METHODS. Communitywide nursing home utilization review and hospital discharge data were used to define retrospectively a cohort of 2120 patients newly admitted to nursing homes; these patients were followed for 2 years to identify all hospitalizations. Resident characteristics were analyzed for predictors of hospitalization. Charges and outcomes were compared with hospitalization of community-dwelling elders. RESULTS. Hospitalization rates were strikingly higher for intermediate vs skilled levels of care (566 and 346 per 1000 resident years, respectively). Approximately 40% of all hospitalizations occurred within 3 months of admission. No strong predictors were identified. Length of stay, charges, and mortality rates were higher than for hospitalizations from the community. CONCLUSIONS. Hospitalizations from nursing homes are not easily predicted but may in large part be prevented through health care reforms that integrate acute and longterm care. PMID:7943480

DrosAfrica: Building an African biomedical research community using Drosophila.

PubMed

Martín-Bermudo, María D; Gebel, Luka; Palacios, Isabel M

2017-10-01

The impact that research has on shaping the future of societies is perhaps as significant as never before. One of the problems for most regions in Africa is poor quality and quantity of research-based education, as well as low level of funding. Hence, African researchers produce only around one percent of the world's research. We believe that research with Drosophila melanogaster can contribute to changing that. As seen before in other places, Drosophila can be used as a powerful and cost-effective model system to scale-up and improve both academia and research output. The DrosAfrica project was founded to train and establish a connected community of researchers using Drosophila as a model system to investigate biomedical problems in Africa. Since founding, the project has trained eighty scientists from numerous African countries, and continues to grow. Here, we describe the DrosAfrica project, its conception and its mission. We also give detailed insights into DrosAfrica's approaches to achieve its aims, as well as future perspectives, and opportunities beyond Africa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding and preventing violence directed against teachers: recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda.

PubMed

Espelage, Dorothy; Anderman, Eric M; Brown, Veda Evanell; Jones, Abraham; Lane, Kathleen Lynne; McMahon, Susan D; Reddy, Linda A; Reynolds, Cecil R

2013-01-01

Violence directed against K-12 teachers is a serious problem that demands the immediate attention of researchers, providers of teacher pre-service and in-service training, school administrators, community leaders, and policymakers. Surprisingly, little research has been conducted on this growing problem despite the broad impact teacher victimization can have on schooling, recruitment, and retention of highly effective teachers and on student academic and behavioral outcomes. Psychologists should play a leadership role in mitigating school violence, including violence directed toward teachers. There is a need for psychologists to conduct research accurately assessing the types and scope of violence that teachers experience; to comprehensively evaluate the individual, classroom, school, community, institutional, and cultural contextual factors that might predict and/or explain types of teacher violence; and to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of classroom, school, and district-wide prevention and intervention strategies that target teacher violence in school systems. Collectively, the work of psychologists in this area could have a substantial impact on schooling, teacher experience and retention, and overall student performance. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Chronic oedema: a prevalent health care problem for UK health services.

PubMed

Moffatt, Christine J; Keeley, Vaughan; Franks, Peter J; Rich, Anna; Pinnington, Lorraine L

2017-10-01

Chronic oedema (CO) is a major clinical problem worldwide, which has many important secondary consequences for health, activity and participation. Effective treatment planning and organisation of services is dependent on an understanding of the condition and its epidemiology. This cross-sectional study was designed to estimate the point prevalence of CO within the health services of one UK urban population and to determine the proportions that have concurrent leg ulceration. Patients with CO in all anatomic sites were ascertained by health care professionals in one acute and one community hospital, all relevant outpatient and community nursing services, general practices and all nursing/residential homes in one urban catchment area (Derby City). The presence and distribution of oedema was confirmed through a brief clinical examination. A battery of demographic and clinical details was recorded for each case. Within the study population of Derby City residents, 971 patients were identified with CO [estimated crude prevalence 3·93 per 1000, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3·69-4·19]. The prevalence was the highest among those aged 85 or above (28·75 per 1000) and was higher among women (5·37 per 1000) than men (2·48 per 1000). The prevalence among hospital inpatients was 28·5%. Only five (3%) patients in the community population had oedema related to cancer or cancer treatment. Of the 304 patients identified with oedema from the Derby hospitals or community health services, 121 (40%) had a concurrent leg ulcer. Prevalence statistics and current demographic trends indicate that CO is a major and growing health care problem. © 2016 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Growing and Sustaining Communities with Bioenergy

ScienceCinema

Havill, Alice; Schultz, Donny; Falcon, Nigel; Reetz, Harold; Rowden, Jack; Van Horn, Ruth; Nordling, Debbie; Naig, Mike

2018-06-12

From Vero Beach, Florida, to Hugoton, Kansas, to Emmetsburg, Iowa, cellulosic ethanol biorefineries have had major impacts on communities and their residents. In other areas, bioenergy has significant potential to transform current and establish new industry. This short video illustrates how biorefineries and other bioenergy developments can benefit citizens, businesses, and whole communities, helping America’s rural economies grow and thrive.

Prevalence and associated factors of problem behaviours among older adults with intellectual disabilities in Ireland.

PubMed

O'Dwyer, Claire; McCallion, Philip; Burke, Éilish; Carroll, Rachael; O'Dwyer, Máire; McCarron, Mary

2018-06-05

A growing number of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are reaching old age, however, little is known about epidemiology of problem behaviours (PBs) in this population. The aim was to identify the prevalence and associated factors of PBs among older adults with ID in Ireland. Data was generated from Wave 2 of the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA), a nationally representative sample of adults with ID aged ≥40. Data on PBs was available for 683 (98.3%) of individuals. Over half (53%; n = 362) reported displaying any PB (verbal aggression, physical aggression, destruction, self-injury, or "other" PB). Multivariate analyses indicated PBs were independently associated with moderate or severe/profound ID, living in a community group home or residential centre, experiencing a greater number of life events in the last year, taking psychotropic medication, and reporting a doctor's diagnosis of a psychiatric problem. A considerable number of older adults with ID in Ireland display PBs, which may hinder their opportunities to engage in community based activities and form meaningful social connections. High rates of psychotropic medication and doctor's diagnosis of psychiatric conditions and their associations with PBs were highlighted. Future research should examine mechanisms underlying these linkages. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A community effort towards a knowledge-base and mathematical model of the human pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium LT2.

PubMed

Thiele, Ines; Hyduke, Daniel R; Steeb, Benjamin; Fankam, Guy; Allen, Douglas K; Bazzani, Susanna; Charusanti, Pep; Chen, Feng-Chi; Fleming, Ronan M T; Hsiung, Chao A; De Keersmaecker, Sigrid C J; Liao, Yu-Chieh; Marchal, Kathleen; Mo, Monica L; Özdemir, Emre; Raghunathan, Anu; Reed, Jennifer L; Shin, Sook-il; Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Sara; Steinmann, Jonas; Sudarsan, Suresh; Swainston, Neil; Thijs, Inge M; Zengler, Karsten; Palsson, Bernhard O; Adkins, Joshua N; Bumann, Dirk

2011-01-18

Metabolic reconstructions (MRs) are common denominators in systems biology and represent biochemical, genetic, and genomic (BiGG) knowledge-bases for target organisms by capturing currently available information in a consistent, structured manner. Salmonella enterica subspecies I serovar Typhimurium is a human pathogen, causes various diseases and its increasing antibiotic resistance poses a public health problem. Here, we describe a community-driven effort, in which more than 20 experts in S. Typhimurium biology and systems biology collaborated to reconcile and expand the S. Typhimurium BiGG knowledge-base. The consensus MR was obtained starting from two independently developed MRs for S. Typhimurium. Key results of this reconstruction jamboree include i) development and implementation of a community-based workflow for MR annotation and reconciliation; ii) incorporation of thermodynamic information; and iii) use of the consensus MR to identify potential multi-target drug therapy approaches. Taken together, with the growing number of parallel MRs a structured, community-driven approach will be necessary to maximize quality while increasing adoption of MRs in experimental design and interpretation.

A community effort towards a knowledge-base and mathematical model of the human pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium LT2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thiele, Ines; Hyduke, Daniel R.; Steeb, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Metabolic reconstructions (MRs) are common denominators in systems biology and represent biochemical, genetic, and genomic (BiGG) knowledge-bases for target organisms by capturing currently available information in a consistent, structured manner. Salmonella enterica subspecies I serovar Typhimurium is a human pathogen, causes various diseases and its increasing antibiotic resistance poses a public health problem. Here, we describe a community-driven effort, in which more than 20 experts in S. Typhimurium biology and systems biology collaborated to reconcile and expand the S. Typhimurium BiGG knowledge-base. The consensus MR was obtained starting from two independently developed MRs for S. Typhimurium. Key results of thismore » reconstruction jamboree include i) development and implementation of a community-based workflow for MR annotation and reconciliation; ii) incorporation of thermodynamic information; and iii) use of the consensus MR to identify potential multi-target drug therapy approaches. Finally, taken together, with the growing number of parallel MRs a structured, community-driven approach will be necessary to maximize quality while increasing adoption of MRs in experimental design and interpretation.« less

Outpatient management of community-acquired pneumonia.

PubMed

Froes, Filipe; Pereira, João Gonçalves; Póvoa, Pedro

2018-04-01

The first guidelines on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were published in 1993, but since then many of the challenges regarding the outpatient management of CAP persist. These include the difficulty in establishing the initial clinical diagnosis, its risk stratification, which will dictate the place of treatment, the empirical choice of antibiotics, the relative scarcity of novel antibiotics and the importance of knowing local microbiological susceptibility patterns. New molecular biology methods have changed the etiologic perspective of CAP, especially the contribution of virus. Lung ultrasound and biomarkers might aid diagnosis and severity stratification in the outpatient setting. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem that reinforces the importance of novel antibiotics. And finally, prevention and the use of anti-pneumococcal vaccine are instrumental in reducing the burden of disease. Most of CAP cases are managed in the community; however, most research comes from hospitalized severe patients. New and awaited advances might contribute to aid diagnosis, cause and assessment of patients with CAP in the community. This knowledge might prove decisive in the execution of stewardship programmes that maintain current antibiotics, safeguard future ones and reinforce prevention.

Environmental Awareness to Realizing Green Islamic Boarding School (Eco-Pesantren) In Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herdiansyah, Herdis; Jokopitoyo, Trisasono; Munir, Ahmad

2016-02-01

This paper is based on Community Engagement Grants program which developed through stakeholder cooperation method. It means the involvement and participation of Pesantren community and the peoples around it as well as the institutions whose have aim related with the program try to realizegood environmental health for communities around it. Through empowerment approach which positioning Pesantren community, local people, and related institutionas a subject, the moral and religion values in Pesantren into moral value of environmental sensein form of value and knowledge that should be improved for the better environment health. Environmental development engagement could be done through two kinds of approaches. First is by project approach and the second is motivation approach or it could be both of them in integrated way. The second approach (motivation), although relatively spend longer time, it will effected more positive because the target will gradually change their attitude and behavior in persuasive manner. The behavior of ignoring environmental problem will turn into dynamically attitudes that will always grow and culminate in stability of environmental engagement

Latin America's supercity--the metropolitan area of Mexico City.

PubMed

1987-02-01

Big and still growing, Mexico City and its environs is soon to be the world's largest metropolitan area. The lure of city amenties--jobs, health care, schooling, and cheap food--and the hope of a better life bring 1000 rural migrants to Mexico City every day. Between 1950 and 1980, Mexico City grew at an annual average rate of 5.4%. Mexico City is typical of Latin American supercities, holding an impressive portion of the nation's population and commanding the lion's share of the country's economic activities. It is primarily due to the rapid growth in the northern periphery of the municipalities that Mexico City is expected to grow into the world's largest metropolitan area by the year 2000. Given the high proportion of youth relative to the total population, it is not suprising that average household sizes in Mexico City are large. About 60% to 70% of all families have no access to the formal housing market; much of the urban expansion has occurred through the emergence of squatter communities. Water may indeed be the most serious of all of Mexico City's infrastructural problems. Other problems include: 1) the government cannot meet the demands for educational buildings and personnel; 2) in 1982, 10.3% of the metropolitan population lived in extreme poverty and an additional 22.6% were unable to satisfy their basic needs; and 3) transport is a central problem. Demographic sources for Mexico are discussed.

The Integrity of Science: Identifying Logical Fallacies, Deceitful Tactics, and Abuse of the Public Trust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gleick, P. H.

2006-12-01

Science, government, and society interact in diverse and complex ways, but good scientific information and advice are vital for making sound policy decisions. Recent efforts to discredit or distort science for political agendas raise difficult questions for the scientific community. As a result, there is growing distrust of scientists long held in esteem by the public and a growing misuse of science critical for public policy. This paper will categorize and define more than 20 different kinds of problems that challenge the integrity of science, including logical fallacies, such as Arguments from Ideology, Personal Incredulity, or Ignorance; and deceitful tactics, such as ad hominem attacks, "straw man" mischaracterizations, scientific misconduct, and misuse of facts. Examples from the geophysical sciences and its intersection with the public policy arena will be presented, together with suggestions for strengthening the public trust.

Land Use Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

Computer technology, aerial photography and space imagery are being combined in a NASA community services program designed to help solve land use and natural resource planning problems. As urban areas grow, so grows the need for comprehensive, up-to-date information on which to base intelligent decisions regarding land use. State and local planners need information such as the nature of urban change, where the changes are occurring, how they affect public safety, transportation, the economy, tax assessment, sewer systems, water quality, flood hazard, noise impact and a great variety of other considerations. Most importantly they need continually updated maps. Preparing timely maps, gathering the essential data and maintaining it in orderly fashion are becoming matters of increasing difficulty. The NASA project, which has nationwide potential for improving efficiency in the planning process, is a pilot program focused on Tacoma, Washington and surrounding Pierce County. Its key element, developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is a computerized Land Use Management Information System (LUMIS).

2002 SMALL SYSTEM RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

As research on smaller treatment devices grows, interest is also growing on how POU/POE can fit into a utility's overall strategy of providing safe and affordable water to customers in community and non-community transient and non-transient systems of all sizes. The EPA has been ...

Community food environments and healthy food access among older adults: A review of the evidence for the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP).

PubMed

O'Dare Wilson, Kellie

2017-04-01

Although an array of federal, state, and local programs exist that target food insecurity and the specific nutritional needs of seniors, food insecurity among older adults in the United States remains a persistent problem, particularly in minority and rural populations. Food insecurity is highly predictive of inadequate fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) consumption in particular. The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a community-based program to help seniors purchase FFVs at farmer's markets in their neighborhoods. The SFMNP continues to grow; however, little is known about the effectiveness of the program. The purposes of this article are to (1) highlight the importance of community and neighborhood based food insecurity programs, specifically emphasizing the importance of FFV access for seniors, (2) review the current state of the evidence on the SFMNP, and (3) provide recommendations for researchers and policy-makers wishing to continue to advance the knowledge base in neighborhood-based food security among older adults.

Communities as cliques

PubMed Central

Fried, Yael; Kessler, David A.; Shnerb, Nadav M.

2016-01-01

High-diversity species assemblages are very common in nature, and yet the factors allowing for the maintenance of biodiversity remain obscure. The competitive exclusion principle and May’s complexity-diversity puzzle both suggest that a community can support only a small number of species, turning the spotlight on the dynamics of local patches or islands, where stable and uninvadable (SU) subsets of species play a crucial role. Here we map the question of the number of different possible SUs a community can support to the geometric problem of finding maximal cliques of the corresponding graph. This enables us to solve for the number of SUs as a function of the species richness in the regional pool, N, showing that the growth of this number is subexponential in N, contrary to long-standing wisdom. To understand the dynamics under noise we examine the relaxation time to an SU. Symmetric systems relax rapidly, whereas in asymmetric systems the relaxation time grows much faster with N, suggesting an excitable dynamics under noise. PMID:27759102

Keeping our charm: residents, growth, and quality of life issues in a small but growing Texas coastal community

Treesearch

Jiaying Lu; Michael A. Schuett

2009-01-01

This study assessed residents' perceptions of quality of life, conservation, and growth in a small, fast-growing coastal community. Data were collected from an on-site survey in Aransas County, TX, from 2006 to 2007. Results show that the residents are concerned about preserving their natural resources, maintaining a small-town atmosphere in their community, and...

Climate and Human Pressures on Fresh Groundwater in Coral Atoll Island Nations in the Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, I.; Falkland, T.; Perez, P.; Dray, A.; Overmars, M.; Metai, E.

2004-12-01

Population centres in low, coral atolls have water supply problems that are amongst the most acute in the world. Limited land areas and highly permeable soils severely restrict surface water storage, forcing heavy reliance on groundwater. Fresh groundwater is extremely vulnerable to contamination through both natural processes, such as seawater intrusion following storm surges, sea-level rise and droughts, and human activities, such as overpumping, sewerage and waste disposal. Restricted land areas and seawater intrusion also limit fresh groundwater quantities, particularly in frequent ENSO-related droughts. Demand for water is increasing due to natural population growth, inward migration and to growing urbanisation. There are few water professionals in many small island nations. Assessment of groundwater resources is inadequate and application of conventional hydrology often gives erroneous information, such as the assumption of potential evaporation from coconut trees. Water use for traditional and introduced crops competes with community water supplies. Limited resources and isolation restrict the potential for exports so that reliance on aid is systemic. The agendas of developed world aid institutions sometimes conflict with traditions and cultures of small island communities. At the core of water management problems are lack of resource assessment and demand and land tenure and conflicts between the requirements of urbanised societies and the traditional values and rights of subsistence communities. Reforms of governance and provision of water resource knowledge to communities are critical. Long-term, regional partnerships and tools for reducing conflicts over water resources are needed to promote self-reliance.

Identifying the core microbial community in the gut of fungus-growing termites.

PubMed

Otani, Saria; Mikaelyan, Aram; Nobre, Tânia; Hansen, Lars H; Koné, N'Golo A; Sørensen, Søren J; Aanen, Duur K; Boomsma, Jacobus J; Brune, Andreas; Poulsen, Michael

2014-09-01

Gut microbes play a crucial role in decomposing lignocellulose to fuel termite societies, with protists in the lower termites and prokaryotes in the higher termites providing these services. However, a single basal subfamily of the higher termites, the Macrotermitinae, also domesticated a plant biomass-degrading fungus (Termitomyces), and how this symbiont acquisition has affected the fungus-growing termite gut microbiota has remained unclear. The objective of our study was to compare the intestinal bacterial communities of five genera (nine species) of fungus-growing termites to establish whether or not an ancestral core microbiota has been maintained and characterizes extant lineages. Using 454-pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, we show that gut communities have representatives of 26 bacterial phyla and are dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Spirochaetes, Proteobacteria and Synergistetes. A set of 42 genus-level taxa was present in all termite species and accounted for 56-68% of the species-specific reads. Gut communities of termites from the same genus were more similar than distantly related species, suggesting that phylogenetic ancestry matters, possibly in connection with specific termite genus-level ecological niches. Finally, we show that gut communities of fungus-growing termites are similar to cockroaches, both at the bacterial phylum level and in a comparison of the core Macrotermitinae taxa abundances with representative cockroach, lower termite and higher nonfungus-growing termites. These results suggest that the obligate association with Termitomyces has forced the bacterial gut communities of the fungus-growing termites towards a relatively uniform composition with higher similarity to their omnivorous relatives than to more closely related termites. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

EPA Leadership on Science, Innovation, and Decision Support Tools for Addressing Current and Future Challenges.

PubMed

Hecht, Alan D; Ferster, Aaron; Summers, Kevin

2017-10-16

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established nearly 50 years ago, the nation faced serious threats to its air, land, and water, which in turn impacted human health. These threats were effectively addressed by the creation of EPA (in 1970) and many subsequent landmark environmental legislations which in turn significantly reduced threats to the Nation's environment and public health. A key element of historic legislation is research aimed at dealing with current and future problems. Today we face national and global challenges that go beyond classic media-specific (air, land, water) environmental legislation and require an integrated paradigm of action and engagement based on (1) innovation based on science and technology, (2) stakeholder engagement and collaboration, and (3) public education and support. This three-pronged approach recognizes that current environmental problems, include social as well as physical and environmental factors, are best addressed through collaborative problem solving, the application of innovation in science and technology, and multiple stakeholder engagement. To achieve that goal, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) is working directly with states and local communities to develop and apply a suite of accessible decision support tools (DST) that aim to improve environmental conditions, protect human health, enhance economic opportunity, and advance a resilient and sustainability society. This paper showcases joint EPA and state actions to develop tools and approaches that not only meet current environmental and public health challenges, but do so in a way that advances sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities well into the future. EPA's future plans should build on current work but aim to effectively respond to growing external pressures. Growing pressures from megatrends are a major challenge for the new Administration and for cities and states across the country. The recent hurricanes hitting Texas and the Gulf Coast, part of the increase in extreme weather events, make it clear that building resilient infrastructure is a crucial step to sustainability.

Severe loneliness in community-dwelling aging adults with mental illness.

PubMed

Loboprabhu, Sheila; Molinari, Victor

2012-01-01

Successful aging involves adapting to changing needs. The 2009 U.S. Census noted that 43% of adult Americans are single and that the oldest-old population is the most rapidly growing aging segment. Geriatric, lonely, hopeless individuals are at high risk for depression and suicide. Lonely individuals fail to adapt to their circumstances; and physical and mental illness place them at risk for neglect, morbidity, and mortality. The authors discuss the role of attachment in the individual's subjective experience of loneliness and suggest how attachment theory can be used to guide interventions to improve the individual's self-esteem, coping, and problem-solving abilities. This article also discusses the use of multimodal therapy, including psychodynamic, interpersonal, and cognitive-behavior therapy and coping skills training, to improve the individual's ability to adapt to the surrounding environment and to reintegrate into the community.

Discovering Network Structure Beyond Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, Takashi; Motter, Adilson E.

2011-11-01

To understand the formation, evolution, and function of complex systems, it is crucial to understand the internal organization of their interaction networks. Partly due to the impossibility of visualizing large complex networks, resolving network structure remains a challenging problem. Here we overcome this difficulty by combining the visual pattern recognition ability of humans with the high processing speed of computers to develop an exploratory method for discovering groups of nodes characterized by common network properties, including but not limited to communities of densely connected nodes. Without any prior information about the nature of the groups, the method simultaneously identifies the number of groups, the group assignment, and the properties that define these groups. The results of applying our method to real networks suggest the possibility that most group structures lurk undiscovered in the fast-growing inventory of social, biological, and technological networks of scientific interest.

Successional trajectories of rhizosphere bacterial communities over consecutive seasons

DOE PAGES

Shi, Shengjing; Nuccio, Erin; Herman, Donald J.; ...

2015-08-04

It is well known that rhizosphere microbiomes differ from those of surrounding soil, and yet we know little about how these root-associated microbial communities change through the growing season and between seasons. We analyzed the response of soil bacteria to roots of the common annual grass Avena fatua over two growing seasons using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Over the two periods of growth, the rhizosphere bacterial communities followed consistent successional patterns as plants grew, although the starting communities were distinct. Succession in the rhizosphere was characterized by a significant decrease in both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity relative tomore » background soil communities, driven by reductions in both richness and evenness of the bacterial communities. Plant roots selectively stimulated the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes but reduced the abundance of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Taxa that increased in relative abundance in the rhizosphere soil displayed phylogenetic clustering, suggesting some conservation and an evolutionary basis for the response of complex soil bacterial communities to the presence of plant roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence. We document the successional patterns of rhizosphere bacterial communities associated with a “wild” annual grass, Avena fatua, which is commonly a dominant plant in Mediterranean-type annual grasslands around the world; the plant was grown in its grassland soil. Most studies documenting rhizosphere microbiomes address “domesticated” plants growing in soils to which they are introduced. Rhizosphere bacterial communities exhibited a pattern of temporal succession that was consistent and repeatable over two growing seasons. There are few studies assessing the reproducibility over multiple seasons. Through the growing season, the rhizosphere community became progressively less diverse, likely reflecting root homogenization of soil microniches. Phylogenetic clustering of the rhizosphere dynamic taxa suggests evolutionary adaptation to Avena roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence.« less

Successional trajectories of rhizosphere bacterial communities over consecutive seasons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, Shengjing; Nuccio, Erin; Herman, Donald J.

It is well known that rhizosphere microbiomes differ from those of surrounding soil, and yet we know little about how these root-associated microbial communities change through the growing season and between seasons. We analyzed the response of soil bacteria to roots of the common annual grass Avena fatua over two growing seasons using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Over the two periods of growth, the rhizosphere bacterial communities followed consistent successional patterns as plants grew, although the starting communities were distinct. Succession in the rhizosphere was characterized by a significant decrease in both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity relative tomore » background soil communities, driven by reductions in both richness and evenness of the bacterial communities. Plant roots selectively stimulated the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes but reduced the abundance of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Taxa that increased in relative abundance in the rhizosphere soil displayed phylogenetic clustering, suggesting some conservation and an evolutionary basis for the response of complex soil bacterial communities to the presence of plant roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence. We document the successional patterns of rhizosphere bacterial communities associated with a “wild” annual grass, Avena fatua, which is commonly a dominant plant in Mediterranean-type annual grasslands around the world; the plant was grown in its grassland soil. Most studies documenting rhizosphere microbiomes address “domesticated” plants growing in soils to which they are introduced. Rhizosphere bacterial communities exhibited a pattern of temporal succession that was consistent and repeatable over two growing seasons. There are few studies assessing the reproducibility over multiple seasons. Through the growing season, the rhizosphere community became progressively less diverse, likely reflecting root homogenization of soil microniches. Phylogenetic clustering of the rhizosphere dynamic taxa suggests evolutionary adaptation to Avena roots. The reproducibility of rhizosphere succession and the apparent phylogenetic conservation of rhizosphere competence traits suggest adaptation of the indigenous bacterial community to this common grass over the many decades of its presence.« less

Utility and Value of Satellite-Based Frost Forecasting for Kenya's Tea Farming Sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, I.

2016-12-01

Frost damage regularly inflicts millions of dollars of crop losses in the tea-growing highlands of western Kenya, a problem that the USAID/NASA Regional Visualization and Monitoring System (SERVIR) program is working to mitigate through a frost monitoring and forecasting product that uses satellite-based temperature and soil moisture data to generate up to three days of advanced warning before frost events. This paper presents the findings of a value of information (VOI) study assessing the value of this product based on Kenyan tea farmers' experiences with frost and frost-damage mitigation. Value was calculated based on historic trends of frost frequency, severity, and extent; likelihood of warning receipt and response; and subsequent frost-related crop-loss aversion. Quantification of these factors was derived through inferential analysis of survey data from 400 tea-farming households across the tea-growing regions of Kericho and Nandi, supplemented with key informant interviews with decision-makers at large estate tea plantations, historical frost incident and crop-loss data from estate tea plantations and agricultural insurance companies, and publicly available demographic and economic data. At this time, the product provides a forecasting window of up to three days, and no other frost-prediction methods are used by the large or small-scale farmers of Kenya's tea sector. This represents a significant opportunity for preemptive loss-reduction via Earth observation data. However, the tea-growing community has only two realistic options for frost-damage mitigation: preemptive harvest of available tea leaves to minimize losses, or skiving (light pruning) to facilitate fast recovery from frost damage. Both options are labor-intensive and require a minimum of three days of warning to be viable. As a result, the frost forecasting system has a very narrow margin of usefulness, making its value highly dependent on rapid access to the warning messages and flexible access to harvesting labor for mitigation activities. These findings show that the Frost monitoring product has the potential for real monetary benefit to members of the frost-vulnerable tea growing community but realization of that value needs direct collaboration with the tea-farming community to ensure effective product utilization.

A Vision for the Future of Community Psychology Education and Training.

PubMed

Jimenez, Tiffeny R; Sánchez, Bernadette; McMahon, Susan D; Viola, Judah

2016-12-01

As we reflect on the founding vision of the field of community psychology in the United States, we assess our progress toward achieving, building upon, and refining this vision. We review early literature regarding the US vision of the field, provide a historical overview of education and training within the field, and provide recommendations to guide and strengthen our approach to education. Our recommendations include the following: 1) serve as a resource to communities, 2) promote a sense of community within our field, 3) diversify students, faculty, and leadership, 4) evaluate our efforts, 5) be current and relevant, 6) enhance the visibility and growth of our field, and 7) create globally minded and innovative CPists. We provide strategies for programs, faculty, linkages between researchers and practitioners, and the Society for Community Research and Action. We conclude that community psychology education and training continues to reflect the early vision; however, we believe we must make more intentional efforts to align with the mission and values of the field, and to engage in a critical analysis of our pedagogy. Enhancing and growing undergraduate and graduate education can facilitate the achievement of our goals to promote social justice, prevent and address social problems, and build community connections to become more effective, impactful, and global social change agents. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Long Term Effect of Community Based Treatment: Evidence from the Adolescent Outcomes Project*

PubMed Central

Edelen, Maria Orlando; Slaughter, Mary Ellen; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Becker, Kirsten; Morral, Andrew R.

2009-01-01

A growing literature on adolescent drug treatment interventions demonstrates the efficacy of “research therapies,” but few rigorous studies examine the effectiveness of community-based treatments that are more commonly available to and utilized by youths and their families, the criminal justice system and other referring agencies. Even less is known about the long term effects of these community based treatments. This study evaluates the effects 72 to 102 months after intake to a widely disseminated community based treatment model, residential therapeutic community treatment, using data from RAND's Adolescent Outcomes Project. Weighting is used to control for pre-existing differences between adolescent probationers disposed to Phoenix Academy and those assigned to one of six alternative group homes serving as the comparison conditions. Although Phoenix Academy therapeutic community treatment had positive effects on substance use and psychological functioning during the first 12 months following intake, we find no evidence of positive long term effects on 16 outcomes measuring substance use and problems, criminal activity, institutionalization, psychological functioning and general functioning; but there is a significant negative effect for property crimes. We discuss the implications of these findings and the failure to maintain the effects observed in during the first year follow-up. PMID:19819085

Growing up with adversity: From juvenile justice involvement to criminal persistence and psychosocial problems in young adulthood.

PubMed

Basto-Pereira, Miguel; Miranda, Ana; Ribeiro, Sofia; Maia, Ângela

2016-12-01

Several studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of child maltreatment on juvenile justice involvement and future criminal life. However, little is known about the impact of other forms of adversity, beyond abuse and neglect, on juvenile delinquency and criminal persistence. The effect of early adversity on psychosocial problems is underexplored, particularly in juvenile delinquents. This study, using the Childhood Adverse Experiences (ACE) questionnaire, a tool accessing the exposure to different types of abuse, neglect and serious household dysfunction, explored the role of each adverse experience on juvenile justice involvement, persistence in crime and psychosocial problems during young adulthood. A Portuguese sample of 75 young adults with official records of juvenile delinquency in 2010/2011, and 240 young adults from a community sample completed ACE questionnaire and measures of psychosocial adjustment. Seven out of ten adverse experiences were significantly more prevalent in young adults with juvenile justice involvement than in the community sample, after matching the main demographic variables. The strongest predictor of juvenile justice involvement and criminal persistence during early adulthood was sexual abuse. Dimensions of child/adolescent emotional maltreatment and a mental illness in the household predicted a set of psychosocial problems in young adulthood. This study indicates that early adversity is significantly related to juvenile justice involvement, criminal persistence and psychosocial problems. This study also suggests that each experience has a different role in this process. There is an urgent need to screen, prevent and stop serious adversity. Future scientific directions and recommendations for policies are provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Student Success and Institutional Accountability through the Components of Voluntary Framework Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mentzer, Stacy

2015-01-01

Demands on higher education institutions are growing. Stakeholders are demanding proof of quality to ensure students are receiving the education they are paying for. Institutional accountability is a growing concern for higher education institutions, more specifically community colleges. The diverse characteristics of community colleges have made…

A Technical College Grow-Your-Own Leadership Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Ken; Sanders-McBryde, Tennie

2012-01-01

With the retirement of baby boomers (born 1946-1964) looming, considerable discussion and research has been conducted into succession planning and the educational impact from the loss of these leadership skills and experiences in community colleges. To prepare for this eventuality, many community colleges have begun Grow-Your-Own (GYO) leadership…

Problems in merging Earth sensing satellite data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Paul H.; Goldberg, Michael J.

1987-01-01

Satellite remote sensing systems provide a tremendous source of data flow to the Earth science community. These systems provide scientists with data of types and on a scale previously unattainable. Looking forward to the capabilities of Space Station and the Earth Observing System (EOS), the full realization of the potential of satellite remote sensing will be handicapped by inadequate information systems. There is a growing emphasis in Earth science research to ask questions which are multidisciplinary in nature and global in scale. Many of these research projects emphasize the interactions of the land surface, the atmosphere, and the oceans through various physical mechanisms. Conducting this research requires large and complex data sets and teams of multidisciplinary scientists, often working at remote locations. A review of the problems of merging these large volumes of data into spatially referenced and manageable data sets is presented.

Knowledge Discovery from Massive Healthcare Claims Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chandola, Varun; Sukumar, Sreenivas R; Schryver, Jack C

The role of big data in addressing the needs of the present healthcare system in US and rest of the world has been echoed by government, private, and academic sectors. There has been a growing emphasis to explore the promise of big data analytics in tapping the potential of the massive healthcare data emanating from private and government health insurance providers. While the domain implications of such collaboration are well known, this type of data has been explored to a limited extent in the data mining community. The objective of this paper is two fold: first, we introduce the emergingmore » domain of big"healthcare claims data to the KDD community, and second, we describe the success and challenges that we encountered in analyzing this data using state of art analytics for massive data. Specically, we translate the problem of analyzing healthcare data into some of the most well-known analysis problems in the data mining community, social network analysis, text mining, and temporal analysis and higher order feature construction, and describe how advances within each of these areas can be leveraged to understand the domain of healthcare. Each case study illustrates a unique intersection of data mining and healthcare with a common objective of improving the cost-care ratio by mining for opportunities to improve healthcare operations and reducing hat seems to fall under fraud, waste,and abuse.« less

Foliar fungal communities strongly differ between habitat patches in a landscape mosaic

PubMed Central

Robin, Cécile; Capdevielle, Xavier; Delière, Laurent; Vacher, Corinne

2016-01-01

Background Dispersal events between habitat patches in a landscape mosaic can structure ecological communities and influence the functioning of agrosystems. Here we investigated whether short-distance dispersal events between vineyard and forest patches shape foliar fungal communities. We hypothesized that these communities homogenize between habitats over the course of the growing season, particularly along habitat edges, because of aerial dispersal of spores. Methods We monitored the richness and composition of foliar and airborne fungal communities over the season, along transects perpendicular to edges between vineyard and forest patches, using Illumina sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Results In contrast to our expectation, foliar fungal communities in vineyards and forest patches increasingly differentiate over the growing season, even along habitat edges. Moreover, the richness of foliar fungal communities in grapevine drastically decreased over the growing season, in contrast to that of forest trees. The composition of airborne communities did not differ between habitats. The composition of oak foliar fungal communities change between forest edge and centre. Discussion These results suggest that dispersal events between habitat patches are not major drivers of foliar fungal communities at the landscape scale. Selective pressures exerted in each habitat by the host plant, the microclimate and the agricultural practices play a greater role, and might account for the differentiation of foliar fugal communities between habitats. PMID:27833817

Sustaining life in frontier land. Country report 2: Costa Rica.

PubMed

Prescott-allen, R

1993-01-01

The Community Development Association of the fishing village of Barra del Colorado populated by Blacks embraced the Conservation Strategy for the Sustainable Development of the Plains Tortuguero covering 419,000 hectares of lowland rain forest and wetlands along the Caribbean cost of northern Costa Rica. In 1985 the government established the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) team visited families and identified community problems. This resulted in the establishment of a communal bank; a community fisherman's association to help obtain a boat and fishing gear; assistance to help villagers obtain title to their land; a feasibility study of a public transport link to the rest of the country; new chairs for the school; and weekly instead of monthly visits by a doctor. The Tortuguero Strategy endeavors to establish 147,000 hectares of conservation area including the Tortuguero National Park. 5000 people live in the buffer zone and 132,000 live in the neighboring western area. The strategy strives to reverse deforestation in the buffer zone by restoring forest cover to 80% of the area by 2000. The Strategy has funded the Union of Small Agricultural Producers of the Atlantic to train people in ecotourism, forestry management, and growing and selling medicinal plants. The IUCN evaluated the environmental impact of expanding banana plantations and recommended ameliorative steps which have not been implemented. The preparation of the Tortuguero Strategy started in 1990 in concert with the Natural Resources Ministry, IUCN, and the European Community. A 1992 draft document based on biophysical, socioeconomic, and legal studies is waiting for official approval. Community strategies have been launched in 2 communities, self-sustaining financing is delayed, and a draft law setting up the conservation area awaits Costa Rican legislative authorization. The strategy is for the long term, but the experience of Barra del Colorado has shown that participatory problem-solving for local initiatives can help gain community support.

Plant epiphytism in semiarid conditions revealed the influence of habitat and climate variables on AM fungi communities distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torrecillas, Emma; Torres, Pilar; Díaz, Gisela; del Mar Alguacil, Maria; Querejeta, Jose Ignacio; García, Fuensanta; Roldán, Antonio

2014-05-01

In semiarid Mediterranean ecosystems epiphytic plant species are practically absent and only some species of palm-trees can support epiphytes growing in their lower crown area, such as Phoenix dactylifera L. (date palm). In this study we focused in Sonchus tenerrimus L. plants growing as facultative epiphytes in P. dactylifera and its terrestrial forms growing in adjacent soils, Our aim was to determine the possible presence of AMF in these peculiar habitats and to relate AMF communities with climatic variations. We investigated the AMF community composition of epiphytic and terrestrial S. tenerrimus plants along a temperature and precipitation gradient across 12 localities. Epiphytic roots were colonized by AM fungi as determined by microscopic observation, all epiphytic and terrestrial samples analysed showed AMF sequences from taxa belonging to the phylum Glomeromycota, which were grouped in 30 AMF OTUs. The AMF community composition was clearly different between epiphytic and terrestrial root samples and this could be attributable to dispersal constraints and/or the contrasting environmental and ecophysiological conditions prevailing in each habitat. Across sites, the richness and diversity of terrestrial AMF communities was positively correlated with rainfall amount during the most recent growing season. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between climate variables and AMF richness and diversity for epiphytic AMF communities, which suggests that the composition of AMF communities in epiphytic habitats appears to be largely determined by the availability and dispersion of fungal propagules from adjacent terrestrial habitats.

The growing problems of dental caries and obesity: an Australian perspective.

PubMed

Hopcraft, M S; Beaumont, S

2016-10-07

Preventable diet-related diseases such as dental caries and obesity are a growing global problem, causing a significant burden on public health systems. Although there has been good evidence for the links between sugar consumption and dental caries for many decades, we are now seeing stronger links implicating sugar in obesity. There is a growing worldwide movement to tackle these problems by targeting the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages through a range of public policy measures.

Community-Based ECG Monitoring System for Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases.

PubMed

Lin, Bor-Shyh; Wong, Alice M; Tseng, Kevin C

2016-04-01

This study aims to develop a community-based electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring system for cardiac outpatients to wirelessly detect heart rate, provide personalized healthcare, and enhance interactive social contact because of the prevalence of deaths from cardiovascular disease and the growing problem of aging in the world. The system not only strengthens the performance of the ECG monitoring system but also emphasizes the ergonomic design of wearable devices and user interfaces. In addition, it enables medical professionals to diagnose cardiac symptoms remotely and electronically manage medical reports and suggestions. The experimental result shows high performance of the dry electrode, even in dynamic conditions. The comparison result with different ECG healthcare systems shows the essential factors that the system should possess and the capability of the proposed system. Finally, a user survey was conducted based on the unified theory of acceptance and users of technology (UTAUT) model.

Workshop targets development of geodetic transient detection methods: 2009 SCEC Annual Meeting: Workshop on transient anomalous strain detection; Palm Springs, California, 12-13 September 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Murray-Moraleda, Jessica R.; Lohman, Rowena

2010-01-01

The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) is a community of researchers at institutions worldwide working to improve understanding of earthquakes and mitigate earthquake risk. One of SCEC's priority objectives is to “develop a geodetic network processing system that will detect anomalous strain transients.” Given the growing number of continuously recording geodetic networks consisting of hundreds of stations, an automated means for systematically searching data for transient signals, especially in near real time, is critical for network operations, hazard monitoring, and event response. The SCEC Transient Detection Test Exercise began in 2008 to foster an active community of researchers working on this problem, explore promising methods, and combine effective approaches in novel ways. A workshop was held in California to assess what has been learned thus far and discuss areas of focus as the project moves forward.

[Haiti, new immigrant community in Chile].

PubMed

Sánchez P, Katherin; Valderas J, Jaime; Messenger C, Karen; Sánchez G, Carolina; Barrera Q, Francisco

2018-04-01

Migration is a growing phenomenon in Latin America influenced by several factors such as economic stability, employment, social welfare, education and health system. Currently Chile has a positive migration flow rate. Particularly, a significant number of Haitian immigrants has been observed du ring the last years, especially after earthquake of 2010. These immigrants present a different cultural background expressed in relevant aspects of living including parenting and healthcare. Knowing the Haitian culture and its health situation is relevant for a better understanding of their health needs. Haitian people come to Chile looking for a cordial reception and willing to find a place with better perspectives of wellbeing in every sense. Immigration represents a major challenge for Chilean health system that must be embraced. Integration efforts in jobs, health, education system and community living should be enhanced to ensure a prosper settlement in our country. A new immigration law is crucial to solving major problems derived from current law created in 1975.

Medicine shortages in Australia: causes, impact and management strategies in the community setting.

PubMed

Tan, Yee Xi; Moles, Rebekah J; Chaar, Betty B

2016-10-01

Background Medicine shortages are an ongoing global problem. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) dedicated a website for monitoring of medicine shortages in Australia in May 2014, as part of the Medicine Shortage Information Initiative. This study aimed to explore the views of pharmacists regarding medicine shortages in the community setting and the impact of the TGA website in Australia. Setting Community pharmacies in New South Wales, Australia. Method Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists. Data collected were analysed thematically utilising the framework analysis method. Main outcome measure Qualitative analysis conducted using the framework approach. Results Findings clearly indicated that medicine shortages were experienced on a regular basis, but most participants were unaware of the TGA website. Medicine shortages reportedly impacted both pharmacists and consumers; and various workarounds were undertaken to manage the issue. The "price disclosure policy" was found to be a prominent contributing factor in emerging shortages. Suggestions were made for ways to improve the growing occurrence of shortages. Conclusion Overall, the study found that there was a lack of familiarity with the TGA website, despite experiencing regular shortages of medicines in practice. Also highlighted, was the importance of pharmacists prioritising patient care over business decisions. To reduce prescribing of out-of-stock medicines notifying doctors about shortages was also considered important, to allow for early action to be taken at higher levels of the supply chain. Findings of this study may help direct future policy-making around the world, as medicine shortages is a problem shared by healthcare providers in most countries around the world.

Using Pill Identification Calls to Poison Centers as a Marker of Drug Abuse at Three Texas Military Bases.

PubMed

Ng, Patrick C; Maddry, Joseph K; Sessions, Daniel; Borys, Douglas J; Bebarta, Vikhyat S

2017-11-01

Opioid abuse is a growing problem in civilian communities, and it has developed in the military as well. Telephone calls to poison centers requesting pill identification (ID) is a marker of drug abuse. This study identifies the number of pill ID calls made to the poison centers from areas containing and surrounding three Texas military bases during an 8-year period. We performed a retrospective observational study identifying calls to certified poison centers in Texas from 2002 to 2009 that identified hydrocodone tablets and other pain medications. We noted the calls made from ZIP codes containing and surrounding the three largest military bases in Texas. We reviewed 75,537 drug ID calls for any drug from the ZIP codes of interest. Total drug ID calls increased 105% and the number of calls for hydrocodone increased 463%. In our study most of the drug ID calls from military communities in Texas were for hydrocodone. The rate of calls for hydrocodone increased more than the rate of calls for other analgesics from 2002 to 2009. Using drug ID calls as a surrogate of drug abuse, our results suggest that hydrocodone abuse has increased within military communities and that poison center data can be a reliable surrogate for prescription drug abuse near military bases. Future studies are needed to further understand the extent of this problem in military and civilian communities. We can use this information to heighten awareness, influence prescription practices, establish practice guidelines, and develop educational programs to mitigate the increasing rate of prescription analgesic abuse in the United States.

Extinction of a fast-growing oyster and changing ocean circulation in Pliocene tropical America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirby, Michael X.; Jackson, Jeremy B. C.

2004-12-01

Ocean circulation changed profoundly in the late Cenozoic around tropical America as a result of constriction and final closure of the Central American seaway. In response, regional planktonic productivity is thought to have decreased in the Caribbean Sea. Previous studies have shown that shallow-marine communities reflect these changes by reorganizing from a suspension-feeder dominated community to a more carbonate-rich, phototrophic-based community. Although changes in diversity, abundance, and body size of various shallow-marine invertebrates have previously been examined, no study has specifically used growth rate in suspension feeders to examine the effect that changes in ocean circulation may have had on shallow-marine communities. Here we show that a fast-growing oyster went extinct concurrently with changes in ocean circulation and planktonic productivity in the Pliocene. Faster-growing Crassostrea cahobasensis went extinct, whereas slower-growing Crassostrea virginica and columbiensis survived to the Holocene. Miocene Pliocene C. cahobasensis grew 522% faster in shell carbonate and 251% faster in biomass relative to Quaternary C. virginica and C. columbiensis. Although differences in growth are due to proximate differences in environment, the disappearance of faster-growing C. cahobasensis from shallow-marine environments and the continued survival of slower-growing C. virginica and C. columbiensis in marginal-marine environments (e.g., estuaries, lagoons) is consistent with the view that concurrent changes in ocean circulation and declining primary production resulted in the restriction of Crassostrea to marginal-marine environments.

Randomizing growing networks with a time-respecting null model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Zhuo-Ming; Mariani, Manuel Sebastian; Zhang, Yi-Cheng; Medo, Matúš

2018-05-01

Complex networks are often used to represent systems that are not static but grow with time: People make new friendships, new papers are published and refer to the existing ones, and so forth. To assess the statistical significance of measurements made on such networks, we propose a randomization methodology—a time-respecting null model—that preserves both the network's degree sequence and the time evolution of individual nodes' degree values. By preserving the temporal linking patterns of the analyzed system, the proposed model is able to factor out the effect of the system's temporal patterns on its structure. We apply the model to the citation network of Physical Review scholarly papers and the citation network of US movies. The model reveals that the two data sets are strikingly different with respect to their degree-degree correlations, and we discuss the important implications of this finding on the information provided by paradigmatic node centrality metrics such as indegree and Google's PageRank. The randomization methodology proposed here can be used to assess the significance of any structural property in growing networks, which could bring new insights into the problems where null models play a critical role, such as the detection of communities and network motifs.

Increase Economic Valuation of Marine Ecotourism Spots In Small Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahakbauw, Siska D.; Teniwut, Wellem A.; Renjaan, Meiskyana R.; Hungan, Marselus

2017-10-01

Ecotourism is one of the fast-growing sectors especially in the developing country as a source of revenue. To get a sustainable development of ecotourism, it needs broad and comprehensive effort from central government and local government, perfect example in that regards in Indonesia is Bali and Lombok. For another area in Indonesia like Kei Islands which located in two administrative governments have a major problem to build a sustainable nature-based tourism because of the location of this area to the major cities in the country makes the travel cost is high. This situation makes the role of local community as the backbone of the growth and development of nature-based tourism is critical. By using structural equation modeling (SEM), we constructed a model to enhance local community perception on economic valuation of ecotourism spots in the area. Results showed that perceived quality as the mediation driven by the intensity of appearance on national television and the internet could increase community attachment to increase willingness to pay from the local community on ecotourism in Kei islands. Also, the result also indicated that WTP value for the local community on ecotourism in Kei Islands was 10.81 per trip, with average trip per month was 1 to 4 times.

Variations in bacterial communities during foliar litter decomposition in the winter and growing seasons in an alpine forest of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

PubMed

Zhao, Yeyi; Wu, Fuzhong; Yang, Wanqin; Tan, Bo; He, Wei

2016-01-01

Bacterial communities are the primary engineers during litter decomposition and related material cycling, and they can be strongly controlled by seasonal changes in temperature and other environmental factors. However, limited information is available on changes in the bacterial community from winter to the growing season as litter decomposition proceeds in cold climates. Here, we investigated the abundance and structure of bacterial communities using real-time quantitative PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) during a 2-year field study of the decomposition of litter of 4 species in the winter and growing seasons of an alpine forest of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The abundance of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was relatively high during decomposition of cypress and birch litter in the first winter, but for the other litters 16S rRNA abundance during both winters was significantly lower than during the following growing season. A large number of bands were observed on the DGGE gels, and their intensities and number from the winter samples were lower than those from the growing season during the 2-year decomposition experiment. Eighty-nine sequences from the bands of bacteria that had been cut from the DGGE gels were affiliated with 10 distinct classes of bacteria and an unknown group. A redundancy analysis indicated that the moisture, mass loss, and elemental content (e.g., C, N, and P) of the litter significantly affected the bacterial communities. Collectively, the results suggest that uneven seasonal changes in climate regulate bacterial communities and other decomposers, thus affecting their contribution to litter decomposition processes in the alpine forest.

Autism Disorder (AD): An Updated Review for Paediatric Dentists.

PubMed

J, Udhya; M M, Varadharaja; J, Parthiban; Srinivasan, Ila

2014-02-01

Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion of interest in Autism Disorder (AD). Knowledge and awareness on the condition has grown exponentially at all levels among the general public, parents, health professionals, the research community and more recently, at parliamentary level. The world has begun to recognize the scope of this problem and act internationally and locally to improve the lives of the growing number of individuals and families affected by this devastating disorder. This article reviews the dental literature since 1969 and it summarizes characteristics of patients with AD, oral health status and dental management of patients with AD.

Cyberbullying: implications for the psychiatric nurse practitioner.

PubMed

Carpenter, Lindsey M; Hubbard, Grace B

2014-08-01

The purpose of this article is to inform and educate psychiatric nurse practitioners about the pervasiveness of the rapidly increasing problem of cyberbullying. As more children and adolescents obtain access to the Internet, mobile devices, and social networking sites, the exposure to bullying in the virtual format increases. Cyberbullying is a growing public health concern and can affect mental health and school performance. Cyberbullying often results in a range of psychiatric symptoms and has been linked to suicide attempts and completions. The psychiatric nurse practitioner is uniquely prepared to provide a range of interventions for patients, families, and communities who have experienced cyberbullying. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Autism Disorder (AD): An Updated Review for Paediatric Dentists

PubMed Central

J., Udhya; M.M, Varadharaja; J., Parthiban; Srinivasan, Ila

2014-01-01

Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion of interest in Autism Disorder (AD). Knowledge and awareness on the condition has grown exponentially at all levels among the general public, parents, health professionals, the research community and more recently, at parliamentary level. The world has begun to recognize the scope of this problem and act internationally and locally to improve the lives of the growing number of individuals and families affected by this devastating disorder. This article reviews the dental literature since 1969 and it summarizes characteristics of patients with AD, oral health status and dental management of patients with AD. PMID:24701555

"Grow Your Own Community College Leaders": How One College Did It. HCCS Leadership Training Institute.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Connie

The Leadership Training Institute (LTI) at the College without Walls, in Houston, Texas, was created to provide information and training for individuals interested in growing professionally and to establish a structured program for preparing college employees to assume leadership roles in the Houston Community College System. Participants in the…

Iranian Critical ELT: A Belated but Growing Intellectual Shift in Iranian ELT Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aghagolzadeh, Ferdows; Davari, Hossein

2014-01-01

Reviewing and discussing the development of critical studies in the field of applied linguistics in general and English language teaching (ELT) in particular in Iran, this paper attempts to highlight the main contributions in this field. Introducing a new growing critical-oriented shift in Iranian ELT community as the one which has been mostly…

Employment, Salary and Placement Information Related to Career Programs at Johnson County Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conklin, Karen A.

Johnson County Community College (JCCC), in Kansas, offers formal career programs for 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations requiring postsecondary training, and for 13 of the 30 occupations projected to be the fastest growing between 1990 and 2005. Following an introduction to general trends and data sources, this guide presents profiles of…

Growing Data User Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiggin, B.

2017-12-01

Preserving data is not only a technical challenge. Perhaps the best way to protect data is to use it. Grassroots efforts to make research-quality copies of federal data continue to energize communities of data users who often did not previously recognize themselves as open earth data users. Beyond "data rescue" events, the Data Refuge project researches how federal climate and environmental data are used downstream in a variety of local communities and municipal governments to address everyday issues: public health, municipal safety, and even the preservation of cultural heritage assets. Documenting the diverse uses made of open earth data beyond the earth sciences research community grows the community who, in making use of data, also helps to preserve it.

Global antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

PubMed

Adam, Dieter

2002-07-01

The last two decades of the 20th century were marked by an increasing resistance rate among several bacteria. Threat of resistance is present in Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae, which are the major pathogens in nosocomial infections. In the community, too, increasing resistance can be observed and is attributed mainly (but not exclusively) to Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. To scrutinize this trend, resistance surveillance in the community was established about 10 years ago. One of the multinational, longitudinal surveillance programmes in place is the Alexander Project, which was established in 1992 to monitor the susceptibility of the major community-acquired lower respiratory tract pathogens to a range of antibacterial drugs. The Alexander Project has revealed a tendency towards increasing resistance of S. pneumoniae to penicillin and macrolide therapy. Within Europe, the prevalence of penicillin resistance among S. pneumoniae isolates is particularly high in France and Spain. Macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae is also a growing problem in European countries such as France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, where the extent of macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae now exceeds that of penicillin resistance.

The iatrogenic epidemic of prescription drug abuse: county-level determinants of opioid availability and abuse.

PubMed

Wright, Eric R; Kooreman, Harold E; Greene, Marion S; Chambers, R Andrew; Banerjee, Aniruddha; Wilson, Jeffrey

2014-05-01

Opioid use and abuse in the United States continues to expand at an alarming rate. In this study, we examine the county-level determinants of the availability and abuse of prescription opioids to better understand the socio-ecological context, and in particular the role of the healthcare delivery system, on the prescription drug abuse epidemic. We use community-level information, data from Indiana's prescription drug monitoring program in 2011, and geospatial regression methods to identify county-level correlates of the availability and abuse of prescription opioids among Indiana's 92 counties. The findings suggest that access to healthcare generally, and to dentists and pharmacists in particular, increases the availability of prescription opioids in communities, which, in turn, is associated with higher rates of opioid abuse. The results suggest that the structure of the local healthcare system is a major determinant of community-level access to opioids adding to a growing body of evidence that the problem of prescription opioid abuse is, at least in part, an "iatrogenic epidemic." Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Connecting Hispanic Women in Baltimore to the Mercy Medical Center Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners/Forensic Nurse Examiners Program: A Preliminary Assessment of Service Utilization and Community Awareness.

PubMed

Adams, Margaret; Fitzgerald, Sheila; Holbrook, Debra

2016-01-01

Sexual violence and gender-based violence represent a major public health problem causing significant negative mental, physical, and social outcomes for victims. The rapidly growing population of Hispanic women in Baltimore are both more vulnerable to sexual assault and less able to access postassault services. In an effort to assess service utilization and community awareness of the Mercy Medical Center Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners/Forensic Nurse Examiners Program, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 2,322 women who were seen by the program between 2010 and 2013 and found that only 2.5% of the women were identified as Hispanic, about half of what Baltimore City demographic data would predict. This exploratory pilot project, augmented by key informant interviews, reveals that Hispanic women are underutilizing sexual assault services. Multiple barriers exist for Hispanic women in obtaining victim services, including lack of awareness within the community that the services exist, cultural factors, language barriers, lack of awareness of legal rights, and a fear of deportation.

Preventing trafficking in women and children in Asia: issues and options.

PubMed

Bennett, T

1999-09-01

This article discusses the issues and options in the prevention of trafficking of women and children in Asia. Studies revealed a higher prevalence of trafficking in Asian countries such as Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand. This is due to a huge population, growing urbanization, and poverty. Several programs by the government and nongovernmental organizations have been developed to address the trafficking problem. In Nepal, the Maiti program was organized to help trafficking victims return to their home country, while occupational alternatives and awareness campaigns were organized for young women vulnerable to trafficking. In Thailand, greater penalties were imposed to customers as compared to the sellers so as to discourage the continuance and decrease the prevalence of trafficking. Other strategies have also been identified, such as prosecution of procurers, community awareness through campaigns, poverty alleviation, and gender equalization to address the trafficking problem.

Ten Years in the Making: AUSM-Family

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, Meng-Sing

2001-01-01

We begin by describing the motivations that gave birth to the original AUSM scheme and then focus on the ingredients that has spurred its growth and acceptance by the world of computational fluid dynamics. As it has played out more in the field, weaknesses have also surfaced. Hence, nutrients and supplements are prescribed to help it grow and stay strong and robust. In this paper, we will describe the saga of efforts owing to researchers who have contributed to building up the AUSM-family for the CFD community. It is hoped that a healthy scheme will contribute to the accurate and robust solution of problems encountered in a wide range of disciplines. We analyze numerical mass fluxes with an emphasis on their capability for accurately capturing shock and contact discontinuities. We will present a new scheme for the pressure flux, along with results for a host of test problems.

Plants regulate the effects of experimental warming on the soil microbial community in an alpine scrub ecosystem.

PubMed

Ma, Zhiliang; Zhao, Wenqiang; Zhao, Chunzhang; Wang, Dong; Liu, Mei; Li, Dandan; Liu, Qing

2018-01-01

Information on how soil microbial communities respond to warming is still scarce for alpine scrub ecosystems. We conducted a field experiment with two plant treatments (plant removal or undisturbed) subjected to warmed or unwarmed conditions to examine the effects of warming and plant removal on soil microbial community structures during the growing season in a Sibiraea angustata scrubland of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that experimental warming significantly influenced soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), but the warming effects were dependent on the plant treatments and sampling seasons. In the plant-removal plots, warming did not affect most of the microbial variables, while in the undisturbed plots, warming significantly increased the abundances of actinomycete and Gram-positive bacterial groups during the mid-growing season (July), but it did not affect the fungi groups. Plant removal significantly reduced fungal abundance throughout the growing season and significantly altered the soil microbial community structure in July. The interaction between warming and plant removal significantly influenced the soil MBC and MBN and the abundances of total microbes, bacteria and actinomycete throughout the growing season. Experimental warming significantly reduced the abundance of rare taxa, while the interaction between warming and plant removal tended to have strong effects on the abundant taxa. These findings suggest that the responses of soil microbial communities to warming are regulated by plant communities. These results provide new insights into how soil microbial community structure responds to climatic warming in alpine scrub ecosystems.

Plants regulate the effects of experimental warming on the soil microbial community in an alpine scrub ecosystem

PubMed Central

Ma, Zhiliang; Zhao, Wenqiang; Zhao, Chunzhang; Wang, Dong; Liu, Mei; Li, Dandan

2018-01-01

Information on how soil microbial communities respond to warming is still scarce for alpine scrub ecosystems. We conducted a field experiment with two plant treatments (plant removal or undisturbed) subjected to warmed or unwarmed conditions to examine the effects of warming and plant removal on soil microbial community structures during the growing season in a Sibiraea angustata scrubland of the eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that experimental warming significantly influenced soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), but the warming effects were dependent on the plant treatments and sampling seasons. In the plant-removal plots, warming did not affect most of the microbial variables, while in the undisturbed plots, warming significantly increased the abundances of actinomycete and Gram-positive bacterial groups during the mid-growing season (July), but it did not affect the fungi groups. Plant removal significantly reduced fungal abundance throughout the growing season and significantly altered the soil microbial community structure in July. The interaction between warming and plant removal significantly influenced the soil MBC and MBN and the abundances of total microbes, bacteria and actinomycete throughout the growing season. Experimental warming significantly reduced the abundance of rare taxa, while the interaction between warming and plant removal tended to have strong effects on the abundant taxa. These findings suggest that the responses of soil microbial communities to warming are regulated by plant communities. These results provide new insights into how soil microbial community structure responds to climatic warming in alpine scrub ecosystems. PMID:29668711

Harnessing the power of the grassroots to conduct public health research in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study from western Kenya in the adaptation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches.

PubMed

Kamanda, Allan; Embleton, Lonnie; Ayuku, David; Atwoli, Lukoye; Gisore, Peter; Ayaya, Samuel; Vreeman, Rachel; Braitstein, Paula

2013-01-31

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves the equitable participation of those affected by an issue. As the field of global public health grows, the potential of CBPR to build capacity and to engage communities in identification of problems and development and implementation of solutions in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to be fully tapped. The Orphaned and Separated Children's Assessments Related to their Health and Well-Being (OSCAR) project is a longitudinal cohort of orphaned and non-orphaned children in Kenya. This paper will describe how CBPR approaches and principles can be incorporated and adapted into the study design and methods of a longitudinal epidemiological study in sub-Saharan Africa using this project as an example. The CBPR framework we used involves problem identification, feasibility and planning; implementation; and evaluation and dissemination. This case study will describe how we have engaged the community and adapted CBPR methods to OSCAR's Health and Well-being Project's corresponding to this framework in four phases: 1) community engagement, 2) sampling and recruitment, 3) retention, validation, and follow-up, and 4) analysis, interpretation and dissemination. To date the study has enrolled 3130 orphaned and separated children, including children living in institutional environments, those living in extended family or other households in the community, and street-involved children and youth. Community engagement and participation was integral in refining the study design and identifying research questions that were impacting the community. Through the participation of village Chiefs and elders we were able to successfully identify eligible households and randomize the selection of participants. The on-going contribution of the community in the research process has been vital to participant retention and data validation while ensuring cultural and community relevance and equity in the research agenda. CBPR methods have the ability to enable and strengthen epidemiological and public health research in sub-Saharan Africa within the social, political, economic and cultural contexts of the diverse communities on the continent. This project demonstrates that adaptation of these methods is crucial to the successful implementation of a community-based project involving a highly vulnerable population.

Harnessing the power of the grassroots to conduct public health research in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study from western Kenya in the adaptation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves the equitable participation of those affected by an issue. As the field of global public health grows, the potential of CBPR to build capacity and to engage communities in identification of problems and development and implementation of solutions in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to be fully tapped. The Orphaned and Separated Children’s Assessments Related to their Health and Well-Being (OSCAR) project is a longitudinal cohort of orphaned and non-orphaned children in Kenya. This paper will describe how CBPR approaches and principles can be incorporated and adapted into the study design and methods of a longitudinal epidemiological study in sub-Saharan Africa using this project as an example. Methods The CBPR framework we used involves problem identification, feasibility and planning; implementation; and evaluation and dissemination. This case study will describe how we have engaged the community and adapted CBPR methods to OSCAR’s Health and Well-being Project’s corresponding to this framework in four phases: 1) community engagement, 2) sampling and recruitment, 3) retention, validation, and follow-up, and 4) analysis, interpretation and dissemination. Results To date the study has enrolled 3130 orphaned and separated children, including children living in institutional environments, those living in extended family or other households in the community, and street-involved children and youth. Community engagement and participation was integral in refining the study design and identifying research questions that were impacting the community. Through the participation of village Chiefs and elders we were able to successfully identify eligible households and randomize the selection of participants. The on-going contribution of the community in the research process has been vital to participant retention and data validation while ensuring cultural and community relevance and equity in the research agenda. Conclusion CBPR methods have the ability to enable and strengthen epidemiological and public health research in sub-Saharan Africa within the social, political, economic and cultural contexts of the diverse communities on the continent. This project demonstrates that adaptation of these methods is crucial to the successful implementation of a community-based project involving a highly vulnerable population. PMID:23368931

Empowering marginalized communities in water resources management: addressing inequitable practices in Participatory Model Building.

PubMed

Butler, Cameron; Adamowski, Jan

2015-04-15

Within the field of water resource management, Group Model Building (GMB) is a growing method used to engage stakeholders in the development of models that describe environmental and socioeconomic systems to create and test policy alternatives. While there is significant focus on improving stakeholder engagement, there is a lack of studies specifically looking at the experiences of marginalized communities and the barriers that prevent their fuller participation in the decision-making process. This paper explores the common issues and presents recommended improved practices, based on anti-oppression, related to the stages of problem framing, stakeholder identification and selection, workshop preparation, and workshop facilitation. For problem defining and stakeholder selection, the major recommendations are to engage diverse stakeholder communities from the earliest stages and give them control over framing the project scope. With regards to planning the model building workshops, it is recommended that the facilitation team work closely with marginalized stakeholders to highlight and address barriers that would prevent their inclusion. With the actual facilitation of the workshops, it is best to employ activities that allow stakeholders to provide knowledge and input in mediums that are most comfortable to them; additionally, the facilitation team needs to be able to challenge problematic interpersonal interactions as they manifest within conversations. This article focuses on building comfortability with political language so that the systemic oppression in which existing participatory processes occur can be understood, thus allowing GMB practitioners to engage in social justice efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

National estimates of exposure to prescription drugs with addiction potential in community-dwelling elders.

PubMed

Simoni-Wastila, Linda; Zuckerman, Ilene H; Singhal, Puneet K; Briesacher, Becky; Hsu, Van Doren

2005-03-01

The use of prescription drugs with addiction potential is an overlooked and growing problem among today's elderly. This paper provides national prevalence estimates of exposure to prescription drugs with addiction potential among community-dwelling elders and explores risk factors for such exposure. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, a nationally-representative database of Medicare eligibles, we calculated the prevalence of abusable prescription drug use, overall, by therapeutic class, and by drug. Nearly 22% (7.22 million) of all community-dwelling Medicare elders used at least one prescription medication with addiction potential. Opioid analgesics were used most frequently (14.9%; 95% CI 14.0, 15.8%); central nervous system (CNS) depressants were used by 10.4% of the nation's elders (95% CI 9.5, 10.8%). Using logistic regression analysis, we examined the association of explanatory variables with three outcome variables: any controlled substances use, any opioid analgesic use, and any CNS depressant use. We found that females, whites, those aged 65-79, and those with non-spousal others, were significantly more likely to use one or more prescription drugs with addiction potential, controlling for health status and severity-of-illness. The significance and magnitude of several explanatory variables, including age, race, ethnicity, living arrangement, and health status, varied by therapeutic category. This paper provides an important first step in acknowledging the widespread use of abusable prescription drugs in elders, and provides a foundation for future research and practical solutions to preventing subsequent problem use of prescription drugs.

Incorporating water resources in integrated urban and regional planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldwin, Claudia; Jeffrey, Paul

2014-11-01

Understanding the relationships between water and the landscapes, communities, and jurisdictions through which it flows has become an increasingly urgent task for science over recent years. The vital role played by water in both urban and rural economies, its function in supporting ecosystem services, the consequences of excess or deficit, and our increasing awareness of the aquatic environment's influence on quality of life all evidence the importance of refining our knowledge of the inter-dependencies between hydrological processes and social systems. At this resolution (catchments, regions, etc.), the importance of integrating land and water planning and the need for collaboration of multiple stakeholders are a genuinely holistic and interdisciplinary undertaking; providing opportunities for researchers from the natural and social sciences to generate insights which utilise understandings of fundamental processes and phenomena to inform and shape policy, planning, design and interventions. This is a relatively young but fast-growing area of science with theory and normative prescription in areas such as catchment management and water sensitive urban design driving a burgeoning science agenda. This Special Issue of the Journal of Hydrology showcases a suite of contributions from primarily developed countries around the globe which revel in this agenda. Our authors report work which tackles head-on the complexity and multi-dimensional nature of the problems and witnesses a growing confidence amongst the research community in crossing disciplinary and professional boundaries.

Bacterial invasion potential in water is determined by nutrient availability and the indigenous community.

PubMed

Van Nevel, Sam; De Roy, Karen; Boon, Nico

2013-09-01

In drinking water (DW) and the distribution systems, bacterial growth and biofilm formation have to be controlled both for limiting taste or odour development and preventing clogging or biocorrosion problems. After a contamination with undesired bacteria, factors like nutrient availability and temperature will influence the survival of these invaders. Understanding the conditions enabling invaders to proliferate is essential for a holistic approach towards microbial risk assessment in DW. Pseudomonas putida was used as a model invader because this easy-growing bacterium can use a wide range of substrates. Invasion experiments in oligo- to eutrophic waters showed the requirement of both a carbon and phosphate source for survival of P. putida in DW. Addition of C, N and P enabled P. putida to grow in DW from 5.80 × 10(4) to 1.84 × 10(8) cells mL(-1) and survive for at least 12 days. However, in surface water with similar nutrient concentrations, P. putida did not survive, indicating the concomitant importance of the present indigenous microbial community of the specific water sample. Either extensive carbon or phosphate limitation can be used in water treatment design in order to obtain a DW which is not susceptible for unwanted bacterial growth. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shanghai: Front-Runner of Community-Based Eldercare in China.

PubMed

Chen, Lin; Han, Wen-Jui

2016-01-01

Facing dramatic growth in its elderly population, Shanghai, China's economic center, has strategically exercised decentralized policy-making power to develop community-based service centers for the elderly. A growing number of elders have been using such services, particular dining services, since 2007. We discuss the evolution in community-based eldercare services in Shanghai, using dining services as an example. We also compare these service centers in Shanghai to multipurpose senior centers in the United States to offer policy recommendations for Shanghai and China's growing eldercare industry. Tailored policy recommendations are discussed.

Community Garden Information Systems: Analyzing and Strengthening Community-Based Resource Sharing Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loria, Kristen

2013-01-01

Extension professionals play an increasingly central role in supporting community garden and other community-based agriculture projects. With growing interest in community gardens as tools to improve community health and vitality, the best strategies for supporting these projects should be explored. Due to the importance of inter-personal networks…

"Something good can grow here": chicago urban agriculture food projects.

PubMed

Hatchett, Lena; Brown, Loretta; Hopkins, Joan; Larsen, Kelly; Fournier, Eliza

2015-01-01

Food security is a challenge facing many African-American low-income communities nationally. Community and university partners have established urban agriculture programs to improve access to high quality affordable fruits and vegetables by growing, distributing, and selling food in urban neighborhoods. While the challenge of food security is within communities of color, few studies have described these urban agriculture programs and documented their impact on the crew members who work in the programs and live in the low-income communities. More information is needed on the program impact for crew and community health promotion. Using a survey and focus group discussion from the crew and staff we describe the program and activities of four Chicago Urban Agriculture programs. We summarized the impact these programs have on crew members' perception of urban agriculture, health habits, community engagement, and community health promotion in low-income African-American neighborhoods.

A Natural Experiment Opportunity in Two Low-Income Urban Food Desert Communities: Research Design, Community Engagement Methods, and Baseline Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dubowitz, Tamara; Ncube, Collette; Leuschner, Kristin; Tharp-Gilliam, Shannah

2015-01-01

A growing body of evidence has highlighted an association between a lack of access to nutritious, affordable food (e.g., through full-service grocery stores [FSGs]), poor diet, and increased risk for obesity. In response, there has been growing interest among policy makers in encouraging the siting of supermarkets in "food deserts," that…

Dietary and Built Environment Assessment in a Latino Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Sarah; Calloway, Stephanie A.; Maida, I. Tatiana; Rakel, David P.

2012-01-01

Background: Assessment of basic dietary intake and community nutrition environment is lacking and needed to improve health outcomes for the growing U.S. Latino community. Purpose: The dietary intake and community nutrition environment of a Latino population in the Midwest was evaluated. Methods: In a community clinic, Block Food Frequency…

A Novel Partnership Disrupts the Norm in Early Childhood Education and Pediatric Health Care.

PubMed

Dowd, M Denise; Lantos, John D

2017-09-01

Children living in poverty in the United States in 2016 face a devastating combination of psychological problems. Their neighborhoods are often violent. They have no place to get healthy food. It is not safe to play outside, even on playgrounds. The children who grow up in this environment, not surprisingly, have many adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs cause toxic stress. Toxic stress leads to long-term physical and psychological problems. For many pediatricians, children's hospitals, civic leaders, and public health officials, it is difficult to know how to intervene. While the science on causation is indisputable, there are fewer data about treatment. We know that intervention should start early, but the types of interventions that are being proposed require extensive collaboration between social services, health care, and education. Such collaborations require a new sort of cooperation among professionals in disciplines that have not traditionally worked closely together. But they need to start. No one group will be able to solve this problem. This issue of Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care essentially provides a case study of one community's attempt to develop such a collaboration. Copyright © 2017 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Teens and the Misuse of Prescription Drugs: Evidence-Based Recommendations to Curb a Growing Societal Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twombly, Eric C.; Holtz, Kristen D.

2008-01-01

The misuse of prescription drugs by teens in the United States is a growing public health problem. This article provides a systematic synthesis of multiple strands of literature to recommend effective prevention methods. Using a social-ecological framework, we review the scope of the problem of prescription drug use among teens. Then, we analyze…

Clinical behavior of Japanese community pharmacists for preventing prescription drug overdose.

PubMed

Shimane, Takuya; Matsumoto, Toshihiko; Wada, Kiyoshi

2015-04-01

Prescription drug abuse, including benzodiazepines, is a growing health problem in Japan. This study examined the community pharmacist's clinical behavior regarding patients who overdose on prescribed drugs, and explored the possibility of overdose prevention by community pharmacists. We surveyed all registered community pharmacies with dispensing functions (n = 1867) in the Saitama Pharmaceutical Association. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was mailed to each pharmacy. Respondents were asked about clinical behavior such as medication counseling and referral to the prescriber if prescription drug overdose was identified. Among respondents, 26% of community pharmacists reported clinical experience of working with patients who overdosed on prescribed drugs in the previous year. Half of respondents evaluated their practice such as medication counseling and referral to the prescriber as 'good'. On multivariate analysis, a 'poor' self-evaluation of referral to the prescriber was significantly associated with the following perceptions: 'insufficient confidence in communication with prescribers' (odds ratio [OR], 2.7; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.4-5.3), and 'to avoid trouble with prescribers' (OR, 1.7; 95%CI: 1.0-2.7). Japanese community pharmacists could prevent prescription drug abuse in their practice, but the pharmacists who have insufficient confidence in communication with prescribers and who are afraid of trouble with a prescriber, reported poor self-evaluation for referral to the prescribers. All prescribers should understand the importance of referral by community pharmacists, to assist community pharmacists in playing a critical role in prevention of prescription drug abuse. © 2014 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2014 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

The Ocean: Our Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Independent World Commission On The Oceans; Soares, Mario

1998-09-01

The Ocean, Our Future is the official report of the Independent World Commission on the Oceans, chaired by Mário Soares, former President of Portugal. Its aim is to summarize the very real problems affecting the ocean and its future management, and to provide imaginative solutions to these various and interlocking problems. The oceans have traditionally been taken for granted as a source of wealth, opportunity and abundance. Our growing understanding of the oceans has fundamentally changed this perception. We now know that in some areas, abundance is giving way to real scarcity, resulting in severe conflicts. Territorial disputes that threaten peace and security, disruptions to global climate, overfishing, habitat destruction, species extinction, indiscriminate trawling, pollution, the dumping of hazardous and toxic wastes, piracy, terrorism, illegal trafficking and the destruction of coastal communities are among the problems that today form an integral part of the unfolding drama of the oceans. Based on the deliberations, experience and input of more than 100 specialists from around the world, this timely volume provides a powerful overview of the state of our water world.

Geographical variation in Ascaris lumbricoides fecundity and its implications for helminth control.

PubMed

Hall, A; Holland, C

2000-12-01

The observation by microscopy of nematode eggs in human faeces is used to diagnose a helminthic infection, while the concentration of those eggs is used to estimate the number of worms in the host. Within a community, the prevalence of infection and the mean egg count provide useful information about the extent of a public health problem, and are being used to guide the growing efforts to control disease caused by helminths. Here, Andrew Hall and Celia Holland examine data on the relationship between the worm burdens of Ascaris lumbricoides and the concentration of eggs in faeces, and discuss the implications of the variation found for using such data to plan helminth control programmes.

Content management systems and E-commerce: a comparative case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Rasheed, Amal A.; El-Masri, Samir D.

2011-12-01

The need for CMS's to create and edit e-commerce websites has increased with the growing importance of e-commerce. In this paper, the various features essential for e-commerce CMS's are explored. The aim of the paper was to find the best CMS solution for e-commerce which includes the best of both CMS and store management. Accordingly, we conducted a study on three popular open source CMS's for e-commerce: VirtueMart from Joomla!, Ubercart from Drupal, and Magento. We took into account features like hosting and installation, performance, support/community, content management, add on modules and functional features. We concluded with improvements that could be made in order to alleviate problems.

The Preventing Suicide Network: Delivering online tailored resources to those who help others.

PubMed

Elfrink, Victoria; Schlachta-Fairchild, Loretta; Szczur, Martha; Chang, Hua Florence; Young-Weeden, Elizabeth; Rocca, Mitra

2006-01-01

Concerned over the growing epidemic of death by suicide in the United States, the National Institute of Mental Health of the U.S. National Institutes of Health funded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects using innovative web-based approaches to provide resources to professionals and the general public about suicide prevention. The Preventing Suicide Network (PSN) was funded (SBIR Contract #N44MH22044) and developed over a three and a half year period (2001-2005) as part of this initiative. The PSN provides intermediaries (those who participate in activities to prevent suicide) with an online community dedicated to timely access to authoritative and problem-specific tailored information.

Dissemination and Implementation Science in Primary Care Research and Practice: Contributions and Opportunities.

PubMed

Holtrop, Jodi Summers; Rabin, Borsika A; Glasgow, Russell E

2018-01-01

Dissemination and Implementation Science (DIS) is a growing research field that seeks to inform how evidence-based interventions can be successfully adopted, implemented, and maintained in health care delivery and community settings. In this article, an overview of DIS and how it has contributed to primary care delivery improvement, future opportunities for its use, and DIS resources for learning are described. Case examples are provided to illustrate how DIS can be used to solve the complex implementation and dissemination problems that emerge in primary care. Finally, recommendations are made to guide the use of DIS to inform and drive improvements in primary care delivery. © Copyright 2018 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Relationships Between Sport Participation, Problem Alcohol Use, and Violence: A Longitudinal Study of Young Adults in Australia.

PubMed

Scholes-Balog, Kirsty E; Hemphill, Sheryl A; Kremer, Peter J; Toumbourou, John W

2016-05-01

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between sport participation and violent behavior outside of the sporting context. However, there have been few studies that have investigated the basis of this relationship. The current study examined longitudinal relationships between sport participation, problem alcohol use, and various violent behaviors, and whether sport participation moderates relationships between problem alcohol use and violence. The sample comprised 2,262 young adults (55% female, age range at Time 1 = 17-24 years) from Victoria, Australia, surveyed in 2010 and 2012. When controlling for common risk factors, substance use, and past violence, sport participation was not associated with any violent behaviors 2 years later. However, sport participation moderated the relationship between problem alcohol use and fighting, whereby problem alcohol use was associated with engaging in fights 2 years later for sport participants, but not for nonparticipants. These findings suggest that it is not sport participation per se that influences later violence but the drinking norms or culture embedded within certain sporting contexts. Prevention approaches that address the drinking culture and social approval of excessive alcohol consumption within sporting contexts may reduce the incidence of violent behavior in the community. © The Author(s) 2015.

Role of Universities in Leadership Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duvall, Betty

2003-01-01

Discusses the important impact of university doctoral programs for community college leadership training. Emphasizes the growing need for new community college leaders and the lack of specialized doctoral programs that focus on community colleges. Describes successful community college leadership programs as innovative, desirous of change, and…

Succession in the petroleum reservoir microbiome through an oil field production lifecycle.

PubMed

Vigneron, Adrien; Alsop, Eric B; Lomans, Bartholomeus P; Kyrpides, Nikos C; Head, Ian M; Tsesmetzis, Nicolas

2017-09-01

Subsurface petroleum reservoirs are an important component of the deep biosphere where indigenous microorganisms live under extreme conditions and in isolation from the Earth's surface for millions of years. However, unlike the bulk of the deep biosphere, the petroleum reservoir deep biosphere is subject to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, with the introduction of new electron acceptors, donors and exogenous microbes during oil exploration and production. Despite the fundamental and practical significance of this perturbation, there has never been a systematic evaluation of the ecological changes that occur over the production lifetime of an active offshore petroleum production system. Analysis of the entire Halfdan oil field in the North Sea (32 producing wells in production for 1-15 years) using quantitative PCR, multigenic sequencing, comparative metagenomic and genomic bins reconstruction revealed systematic shifts in microbial community composition and metabolic potential, as well as changing ecological strategies in response to anthropogenic perturbation of the oil field ecosystem, related to length of time in production. The microbial communities were initially dominated by slow growing anaerobes such as members of the Thermotogales and Clostridiales adapted to living on hydrocarbons and complex refractory organic matter. However, as seawater and nitrate injection (used for secondary oil production) delivered oxidants, the microbial community composition progressively changed to fast growing opportunists such as members of the Deferribacteres, Delta-, Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, with energetically more favorable metabolism (for example, nitrate reduction, H 2 S, sulfide and sulfur oxidation). This perturbation has profound consequences for understanding the microbial ecology of the system and is of considerable practical importance as it promotes detrimental processes such as reservoir souring and metal corrosion. These findings provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the petroleum reservoir biosphere and have consequences for developing strategies to manage microbiological problems in the oil industry.

Family income and youths' symptoms of depression and anxiety: a longitudinal study of the French GAZEL Youth cohort.

PubMed

Melchior, Maria; Chastang, Jean-François; Walburg, Vera; Arseneault, Louise; Galéra, Cédric; Fombonne, Eric

2010-12-01

It is not clear whether socioeconomic inequalities with regard to depression and anxiety are present in adolescence and young adulthood. We tested the hypothesis that in the community, youths growing up in families with low income have elevated rates of such psychological difficulties. We used data from participants of the GAZEL Youth study, a French community-based cohort assessed in 1991 and 1999 (n = 941 youths, 4-18 years of age at baseline). Measures of family income and youths' symptoms of depression and anxiety (assessed using the ASEBA family of instruments) were obtained from parents and youths at study baseline and follow-up. Covariates included family characteristics (parental divorce, parental unemployment or labor force exit, parental health difficulties including psychopathology and the quality of family relations) and youths' characteristics (sex, age, stressful life events, history of internalizing and externalizing problems). Youths from families with low income during the study period had elevated odds of symptoms of depression and anxiety at follow-up (compared to youths from families with intermediate/high income, age-adjusted OR: 1.74, 95% CI 1.17-2.57; fully adjusted OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.27-2.97). In particular, the likelihood of psychological difficulties was elevated among youths from families that experienced decreasing and persistently low income over time (fully adjusted ORs, respectively: 2.44, 95% CI 1.24-4.81 and 1. 83, 95% 1.10-3.06). Clinicians need to be aware that youths growing up in low-income families in the community may be at risk of depression and anxiety during the period of transition to adulthood. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Political violence, ethnic conflict, and contemporary wars: broad implications for health and social well-being.

PubMed

Pedersen, Duncan

2002-07-01

Ethnic conflict, political violence and wars that presently shape many parts of world have deep-seated structural causes. In poor and highly indebted countries, economic and environmental decline, asset depletion, and erosion of the subsistence base lead to further impoverishment and food insecurity for vast sectors of the population. Growing ethnic and religious tensions over a shrinking resource base often escort the emergence of predatory practices, rivalry, political violence, and internal wars. The nature of armed conflict has changed substantially over time and most strategic analysts agree that in the second half of the 20th century, contemporary wars are less of a problem of relations between states than a problem within states. Despite the growing number of armed conflicts and wars throughout the world, not enough attention has been paid to the local patterns of distress being experienced and the long-term health impact and psychosocial consequences of the various forms of political violence against individuals, communities, or specific ethnic groups. The short or long-term impact assessment on civilian populations of poor countries affected by war have been scarce, and studies focussing on experiences of collective suffering and trauma-related disorders among survivors are beginning to emerge in the scientific literature. The medicalization of collective suffering and trauma reflects a poor understanding of the relationships among critically important social determinants and the range of possible health outcomes of political violence.

Childhood antecedents of adult sense of belonging.

PubMed

Hagerty, Bonnie M; Williams, Reg Arthur; Oe, Hiroaki

2002-07-01

Sense of belonging has been proposed to be a basic human need, and deficits in sense of belonging have been linked to problems in social and psychological functioning. Yet, there is little evidence about what early life experiences contribute to sense of belonging. The purpose of this study was to examine potential childhood antecedents of adult sense of belonging. The sample consisted of 362 community college students ranging in age from 18 to 72 years, with a mean age of 26 years. Measures included the Sense of Belonging Instrument, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Deviance Instrument. Multiple regression analysis was used to correlate childhood antecedents with adult sense of belonging. The final reduced model included 12 variables, which accounted for 25% of the variance in sense of belonging. Significant positive antecedents with a relationship with sense of belonging were perceived caring by both mother and father while growing up, participation in high school athletic activity, and parental divorce. Significant negative variables with a relationship with sense of belonging included perceived overprotection of father, high school pregnancy, family financial problems while growing up, incest, and homosexuality. Knowledge of these factors should influence interventions with families regarding child-rearing and parenting practices, mediating the effects of crises during childhood such as divorce and teen pregnancy, and the interpersonal growth needs of teenagers. Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Optimization of lamp spectrum for vegetable growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prikupets, L. B.; Tikhomirov, A. A.

1994-01-01

An increase in the demand for and production of vegetables in the winter, mainly in northern and Siberian regions, inevitably leads to mass building of structures for growing plants under completely artificial conditions. An industrial lighting technology is required whose main parameters (spectrum, irradiance, photoperiod) should be assigned carefully and should uniquely determine, along with other important characteristics of the artificial climate, the productivity of the plant-production facility. The most widespread crops grown in our country under indoor conditions are cucumber and tomato plants, which account for more than 98% of the area in greenhouses. These plants are good prospects for growing completely under intense artificial lighting conditions (photocultures). Optimization of the main parameters of optical radiation when growing these plants is the most important task of achieving their profitable production. At present, considerable experience has been gained in studying the dependence of productivity of cucumber and tomato communities on irradiation conditions. Fundamental studies of the Agrophysical Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, and other institutes create a good basis for a detailed study of the given problem. Commercial sources of radiation substantially differing in spectral characteristics in the region of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were used in the studies.

UCLA Community College Bibliography: Women Community College Presidents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Amy

2007-01-01

This bibliography provides an overview of recent scholarship on female community college presidents. A significant and growing number of women are serving as community college presidents. Specifically, there has been an increase in women community college presidents from 11% in 1991 to nearly 28% in 2001. With more women holding presidencies at…

Enrollment Management in the Comprehensive Community College: A Case Study of Bronx Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritze, Nancy

2006-01-01

Faced with growing pressure to demonstrate student success and achieve financial stability, community colleges have increasingly turned to enrollment management. Using Bronx Community College as an example, this chapter examines the role institutional research can play in the enrollment management process.

Engaging TBR Faculty in Online Research Communities and Emerging Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renner, Jasmine

2017-01-01

The growing impact of online research communities and emerging technologies is creating a significant paradigm shift and consequently changing the current research landscape of higher education. The rise of online research communities exemplifies a shift from traditional research engagements, to online research communities using "Web…

The Trojan Horse Phenomenon Reconsidered.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnett, Collins W.

1982-01-01

Questions the desirability of hiring faculty with doctoral degrees in community colleges. Cites the growing percentage of Ph.D.'s entering community college instruction and sources of tension for these instructors, e.g., the community college's open-door philosophy and the nature of community college students, faculty, and programs. (DMM)

BioPAX – A community standard for pathway data sharing

PubMed Central

Demir, Emek; Cary, Michael P.; Paley, Suzanne; Fukuda, Ken; Lemer, Christian; Vastrik, Imre; Wu, Guanming; D’Eustachio, Peter; Schaefer, Carl; Luciano, Joanne; Schacherer, Frank; Martinez-Flores, Irma; Hu, Zhenjun; Jimenez-Jacinto, Veronica; Joshi-Tope, Geeta; Kandasamy, Kumaran; Lopez-Fuentes, Alejandra C.; Mi, Huaiyu; Pichler, Elgar; Rodchenkov, Igor; Splendiani, Andrea; Tkachev, Sasha; Zucker, Jeremy; Gopinath, Gopal; Rajasimha, Harsha; Ramakrishnan, Ranjani; Shah, Imran; Syed, Mustafa; Anwar, Nadia; Babur, Ozgun; Blinov, Michael; Brauner, Erik; Corwin, Dan; Donaldson, Sylva; Gibbons, Frank; Goldberg, Robert; Hornbeck, Peter; Luna, Augustin; Murray-Rust, Peter; Neumann, Eric; Reubenacker, Oliver; Samwald, Matthias; van Iersel, Martijn; Wimalaratne, Sarala; Allen, Keith; Braun, Burk; Whirl-Carrillo, Michelle; Dahlquist, Kam; Finney, Andrew; Gillespie, Marc; Glass, Elizabeth; Gong, Li; Haw, Robin; Honig, Michael; Hubaut, Olivier; Kane, David; Krupa, Shiva; Kutmon, Martina; Leonard, Julie; Marks, Debbie; Merberg, David; Petri, Victoria; Pico, Alex; Ravenscroft, Dean; Ren, Liya; Shah, Nigam; Sunshine, Margot; Tang, Rebecca; Whaley, Ryan; Letovksy, Stan; Buetow, Kenneth H.; Rzhetsky, Andrey; Schachter, Vincent; Sobral, Bruno S.; Dogrusoz, Ugur; McWeeney, Shannon; Aladjem, Mirit; Birney, Ewan; Collado-Vides, Julio; Goto, Susumu; Hucka, Michael; Le Novère, Nicolas; Maltsev, Natalia; Pandey, Akhilesh; Thomas, Paul; Wingender, Edgar; Karp, Peter D.; Sander, Chris; Bader, Gary D.

2010-01-01

BioPAX (Biological Pathway Exchange) is a standard language to represent biological pathways at the molecular and cellular level. Its major use is to facilitate the exchange of pathway data (http://www.biopax.org). Pathway data captures our understanding of biological processes, but its rapid growth necessitates development of databases and computational tools to aid interpretation. However, the current fragmentation of pathway information across many databases with incompatible formats presents barriers to its effective use. BioPAX solves this problem by making pathway data substantially easier to collect, index, interpret and share. BioPAX can represent metabolic and signaling pathways, molecular and genetic interactions and gene regulation networks. BioPAX was created through a community process. Through BioPAX, millions of interactions organized into thousands of pathways across many organisms, from a growing number of sources, are available. Thus, large amounts of pathway data are available in a computable form to support visualization, analysis and biological discovery. PMID:20829833

Field Science--the Nature and Utility of Scientific Fields.

PubMed

Casadevall, Arturo; Fang, Ferric C

2015-09-08

Fields are the fundamental sociological units of science. Despite their importance, relatively little has been written about their emergence, composition, structure, and function in the scientific enterprise. This essay considers the nature of fields and their important role in maintaining information and providing normative standards for scientific work. We suggest that fields arise naturally as a consequence of increasing information and scientific specialization. New fields tend to emerge as research communities grow, which may reflect biologically determined optima for the size of human groups. The benefits of fields include the organization of scientists with similar interests into communities that collectively define the next important problems to pursue. In the discipline of microbiology, fields are often organized on the basis of phylogenetic differences between microorganisms being studied. Although fields are essential to the proper functioning of science, their emergence can restrict access by outsiders and sustain dogmas that hinder progress. We suggest mechanisms to improve the functioning of scientific fields and to promote interdisciplinary interaction between fields. Copyright © 2015 Casadevall and Fang.

Microbial community in a precursory scenario of growing Tagetes patula in a lunar greenhouse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozyrovska, N. O.; Korniichuk, O. S.; Voznyuk, T. M.; Kovalchuk, M. V.; Lytvynenko, T. L.; Rogutskyy, I. S.; Mytrokhyn, O. V.; Estrella-Liopis, V. R.; Borodinova, T. I.; Mashkovska, S. P.; Foing, B. H.; Kordyum, V. A.

A confined prototype plant-microbial system is elaborated for demonstration of growing pioneer plants in a lunar greenhouse. A precursory scenario of growing Tagetes patula L. in a substrate anorthosite which is similar mineralogically and chemically to lunar silicate rocks includes the use of a microbial community. Microorganisms served for preventive substrate colonization to avoid infection by deleterious microorganisms as well as for bioleaching and delivering of nutritional elements from anorthosite to plants. A model consortium of a siliceous bacterium, biocontrol agents, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi provided an acceptable growth and blossoming of Tagetes patula L. under growth limiting factors in terrestrial conditions.

Anticipating the needs of the U.S. aged in the 21st century: dilemmas in epidemiology, gerontology, and public policy.

PubMed

Lusky, R A

1986-01-01

Reductions in the prevalence of chronic disease, functional dependence, and associated social problems among aged Americans have been predicted on the basis of improving environmental and social conditions, more effective public health measures, and advances in medical care. Public policy makers have found such predictions attractive since improved health status in old age could significantly offset the increase in health care resources which would otherwise be required to meet the needs of the country's growing number of elderly. This paper reviews the epidemiologic model underlying such predictions. Key assumptions of the model are evaluated by examining the health and social well-being of elderly residing in a socioeconomically advantaged community with an age structure similar to that projected for the United States in the 21st century. Despite their long-standing advantages in education, employment, income, housing, health care, and community services, these elderly experienced age adjusted rates of health and social problems comparable to those found in nationwide samples of elderly. No evidence of a compression of health problems into the final years of life could be found. Considerable diversity in problem constellations suggested a need for sophisticated packages of health and support services. These findings suggest that any significant improvements in the health status of the aged due to general improvements in living conditions or health behavior are unlikely to emerge before the proportion of aged Americans doubles in the first quarter of the 21st century. If this is so, public policy in the U.S. must be directed to expanding and improving health and social services for the elderly in the foreseeable future. Attempts to hold expenditures on the aged constant, or to reduce such expenditures, would seriously compromise the health of the nation's elderly.

Does Social Capital Explain Community-Level Differences in Organ Donor Designation?

PubMed

Ladin, Keren; Wang, Rui; Fleishman, Aaron; Boger, Matthew; Rodrigue, James R

2015-09-01

The growing shortage of life-saving organs has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 120,000 Americans waiting for them. Despite national attempts to increase organ donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, geographic disparities remain. A better understanding of the contextual determinants of organ donor designation, including social capital, may enhance efforts to increase organ donation by raising the probability of collective action and fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. Because community-level factors, including social capital, predict more than half the variation in donor designation, future interventions should tailor strategies to specific communities as the unit of intervention. The growing shortage of organs has reached unprecedented levels. Despite national attempts to increase donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, their availability and waiting times vary significantly nationwide. Organ donor designation is a collective action problem in public health, in which the regional organ supply and average waiting times are determined by the willingness of individuals to be listed as organ donors. Social capital increases the probability of collective action by fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. We examine whether social capital and other community-level factors explain geographic variation in organ donor designation rates in Massachusetts. We obtained a sample of 3,281,532 registered drivers in 2010 from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT RMV). We then geocoded the registry data, matched them to 4,466 census blocks, and linked them to the 2010 US Census, the American Community Survey (ACS), and other sources to obtain community-level sociodemographic, social capital (residential segregation, voter registration and participation, residential mobility, violent-death rate), and religious characteristics. We used spatial modeling, including lagged variables to account for the effect of adjacent block groups, and multivariate regression analysis to examine the relationship of social capital and community-level characteristics with organ donor designation rates. Block groups with higher levels of social capital, racial homogeneity, income, workforce participation, owner-occupied housing, native-born residents, and white residents had higher rates of organ donor designation (p < 0.001). These factors remained significant in the multivariate model, which explained more than half the geographic variance in organ donor designation (R(2) = 0.52). The findings suggest that community-level factors, including social capital, predict more than half the variation in donor designation. Future interventions should target the community as the unit of intervention and should tailor messaging for areas with low social capital. © 2015 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Listening to the community: a first step in adapting Diabetes Today to the Pacific.

PubMed

Braun, Kathryn L; Kuhaulua, Rie L; Ichiho, Henry M; Aitaoto, Nia T

2002-09-01

Diabetes is a growing problem among Pacific Islanders, but few community-based groups in the Pacific are actively working on diabetes prevention and control. The Pacific Diabetes Today Resource Center (PDTRC) was established in 1998 to adapt the Diabetes Today (DT) curriculum for Pacific Island communities in Hawai'i, American Samoa, and Micronesia. To gather data to guide the development of the Pacific Diabetes Today (PDT) curriculum, a year was spent listening to Pacific communities. First, data were gathered from health professionals on how the DT curriculum should be modified. Second, health and community leaders in 11 sites were trained and supported to conduct discussion groups with people affected by diabetes. Third, site coordinators evaluated the discussion group process. A Pacific-wide Advisory Council (AC) was established to guide the project, and the AC used findings from the first year to generate guidelines for staff to follow in adapting the DT curriculum to the Pacific. These guidelines directed staff to: a) realize that Pacific communities need to build awareness about diabetes; b) train and support local community leaders as co-facilitators in the PDT curriculum, using a learn-by-doing approach, with the goal of developing them as independent trainers; c) encourage the involvement of a broad range of community members in PDT training, including the involvement of local physicians to counter medical misconceptions about diabetes; d) give the PDT curriculum a Pacific "look" and "feel;" and e) keep the training logistically flexible to accommodate differences in communities across the region. Other programs and agencies that want to develop training programs in the Pacific may find these listening strategies and guidelines helpful.

Time development in the early history of social networks: link stabilization, group dynamics, and segregation.

PubMed

Bruun, Jesper; Bearden, Ian G

2014-01-01

Studies of the time development of empirical networks usually investigate late stages where lasting connections have already stabilized. Empirical data on early network history are rare but needed for a better understanding of how social network topology develops in real life. Studying students who are beginning their studies at a university with no or few prior connections to each other offers a unique opportunity to investigate the formation and early development of link patterns and community structure in social networks. During a nine week introductory physics course, first year physics students were asked to identify those with whom they communicated about problem solving in physics during the preceding week. We use these students' self reports to produce time dependent student interaction networks. We investigate these networks to elucidate possible effects of different student attributes in early network formation. Changes in the weekly number of links show that while roughly half of all links change from week to week, students also reestablish a growing number of links as they progress through their first weeks of study. Using the Infomap community detection algorithm, we show that the networks exhibit community structure, and we use non-network student attributes, such as gender and end-of-course grade to characterize communities during their formation. Specifically, we develop a segregation measure and show that students structure themselves according to gender and pre-organized sections (in which students engage in problem solving and laboratory work), but not according to end-of-coure grade. Alluvial diagrams of consecutive weeks' communities show that while student movement between groups are erratic in the beginning of their studies, they stabilize somewhat towards the end of the course. Taken together, the analyses imply that student interaction networks stabilize quickly and that students establish collaborations based on who is immediately available to them and on observable personal characteristics.

Paul Goodman, 30 Years Later: "Growing Up Absurd"; "Compulsory Mis-Education, and The Community of Scholars"; and "The New Reformation"--A Retrospective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaminsky, James S.

2006-01-01

This article is a retrospective account of the legacy of Paul Goodman's major educational works: "Growing Up Absurd"; "Compulsory Mis-education, and The Community of Scholars"; and "The New Reformation." It is argued here that what remains of interest in Goodman's work is to be found in the tropes and the anarchic Zeitgeist of his work. The legacy…

Coast Community College: The Learning Society, California Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Real, James

1978-01-01

Community colleges in the California Coast Community College district have capitalized on a burgeoning adult education clientele and the public television boom to acquire one of the fasting growing and most venturesome education systems in the world. (Author/LBH)

Characterization of Growing Soil Bacterial Communities across a pH gradient Using H218O DNA-Stable Isotope Probing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welty-Bernard, A. T.; Schwartz, E.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have established consistent relationships between pH and bacterial diversity and community structure in soils from site-specific to landscape scales. However, these studies rely on DNA or PLFA extraction techniques from bulk soils that encompass metabolically active and inactive, or dormant, communities, and loose DNA. Dormant cells may comprise up to 80% of total live cells. If dormant cells dominate a particular environment, it is possible that previous interpretations of the soil variables assumed to drive communities could be profoundly affected. We used H218O stable isotope probing and bar-coded illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to monitor the response of actively growing communities to changes in soil pH in a soil microcosm over 14 days. This substrate-independent approach has several advantages over 13C or 15N-labelled molecules in that all growing bacteria should be able to make use of water, allowing characterization of whole communities. We hypothesized that Acidobacteria would increasingly dominate the growing community and that Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes would decline, given previously established responses by these taxa to soil pH. Instead, we observed the reverse. Actinobacteria abundance increased three-fold from 26 to 76% of the overall community as soil pH fell from pH 5.6 to pH 4.6. Shifts in community structure and decreases in diversity with declining soil pH were essentially driven by two families, Streptomyceaca and Microbacteracea, which collectively increased from 2 to 40% of the entire community. In contrast, Acidobacteria as a whole declined although numbers of subdivision 1 remained stable across all soil pH levels. We suggest that the brief incubation period in this SIP study selected for growth of acid-tolerant Actinobacteria over Acidobacteria. Taxa within Actinomycetales have been readily cultured over short time frames, suggesting rapid growth patterns. Conversely, taxa within Acidobacteria have been characterized as slow growers with low cell turnover and may represent a relatively quiescent portion of the bacterial community over the short-term. These results suggest that the short-term responses by individual taxa to pH may differ significantly from long-term responses reflecting variable life strategies within the community itself.

Motivations for Parent Involvement within a Community School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercanti-Anthony, Michael-Joseph

2012-01-01

Increasingly, education reform advocates have pointed to the growing community school movement as a partial answer to the myriad challenges facing urban public education. Rooted in the ideas of John Dewey, community schools are generally defined as localized community hubs of partnerships--often serving as sources of service distribution and…

The Hidden Costs of Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Mark.; Yin, Lu

2011-01-01

Community colleges are an essential component of America's higher education system. Last year, they enrolled well over 6 million students, a number that continues to grow. Community colleges have multiple missions, and their performance ultimately needs to be evaluated on multiple metrics. However, one key mission of community colleges is the…

Impacting Home Health Care Services--A Community-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Hans A.; And Others

1978-01-01

Describes a community-based alternative to institutionalization of the elderly. Calhoun County, Michigan's home health care services depend on community college resources and a growing model program training health care aides in a 150-clock-hour certificate program. Trained aides are readily absorbed into the community employment market. (TR)

University-Based Community College Leadership Programs: Where Future Community College Leaders Are Prepared

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedel, Janice Nahra

2010-01-01

Community college leadership programs may take a variety of forms, among them university-based programs, leadership institutes, community college-based "grow your own" programs, professional organization-based institutes, or a combination of these. University-based doctorate leadership programs are the principal providers of these…

The twenty-first century challenges to sexuality and religion.

PubMed

Turner, Yolanda; Stayton, William

2014-04-01

Clergy and religious leaders are facing a wide variety of sexual needs and concerns within their faith communities. Conflicts over sexual issues are growing across the entire spectrum of religious denominations, and clerics remain ill prepared to deal with them. As religious communities work to remain influential in public policy debates, clergy and the institutions that train them need to be properly prepared for twenty-first century challenges that impact sexuality and religion. Clergy are often the first point of contact for sexual problems and concerns of their faith community members-complex issues centered on morals, spirituality, and ethics. Yet, there still exists a significant lack of sexual curricula in the programs that are educating our future religious leaders. The resulting paucity of knowledge leaves these leaders unprepared to address the needs and concerns of their congregants. However, with accurate, relevant human sexuality curricula integrated into theological formation programs, future leaders will be equipped to competently serve their constituencies. This paper provides a rationale for the need for such training, an overview of the faith- and theology-based history of a pilot training project, and a description of how the Christian faith and the social sciences intersect in a training pilot project's impetus and process.

The Vitality of Latino Communities in Rural Minnesota = La vitalidad de las comunidades latinas en Minnesota rural.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bushway, Deborah, Comp.

In response to the growing Latino population, a project examined barriers and supports for community development for Latinos in seven rural Minnesota communities. In each community, bilingual facilitators conducted two Latino and one non-Latino focus groups. Findings revealed much strength in these communities. Residents appreciated the economic…

The Impact of Formal versus Informal Sport: Mapping the Differences in Sense of Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Stacy; Dixon, Marlene A.; Chalip, Laurence

2012-01-01

As the popularity of sport continues to grow, more community developers, planners, and leaders are recognizing the ability for sport to foster community. Similar to other community contexts, understanding the structure and management of sport remains central to community building. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explain how sport system…

Editorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maret, Georg; Reiter, Günter

2005-01-01

The European Physical Journal E Soft Matter (EPJE Soft Matter), launched on January 1, 2000, is now entering into its sixth year of existence. Despite the problems any new journal has to deal with, we see that EPJE Soft Matter is a success journal which achieved the goal to generate and strengthen links between physicists, chemists, engineers and also biologists interested in “Soft Matter". Why is EPJE Soft Matter needed and what is special with EPJE Soft Matter? Right from the start, EPJE Soft Matter aimed at providing a meeting place for the various communities involved in the rapidly growing field of “Soft Condensed Matter" science; a “melting pot" for ideas coming from physics, chemistry, materials science and also from biology. Besides regular publications the journal provides also a forum for discussion of controversial ideas (Perspectives, Commentaries, Focus Points, ...). The basic idea of publishing discussions is to draw the attention of all communities involved in “Soft Matter" science to fundamental current problems of common interest. The central philosophy of EPJE Soft Matter is thus to stimulate discussion amongst the community and to become a key tool for advancing soft matter science. EPJE Soft Matter is a journal made by scientists for scientists. Along these lines, the Editors-in-Chief welcome suggestions from colleagues for new concepts and novel ways of publishing scientific information and original results. How is EPJE Soft Matter performing? Being aware of the risk of addressing, in parallel, separate communities without sufficient mutual interaction, particular attention is paid to attracting contributions from traditionally linked fields like chemistry and physics in the case of polymers at interfaces. It appears that such a mix is well appreciated by the community as the impact factor of the journal is steadily growing (from 1.61 in 2001 to 2.45 in 2003). While publications from physics-related areas of Soft Matter are well represented in the journal, contributions from chemistry and biology are still rather sparse. Thus, one of our goal is to make the journal also more attractive for chemists and biologist interested in soft matter concepts. The future of EPJE Soft Matter In 2005, EPJE Soft Matter will see several organisational changes. First of all, the number of Editors-in-Chief will be reduced from four to two. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Athene Donald, Jean-François Joanny and Martin Möller for their enthusiastic efforts and personal engagements in setting up and raising EPJE Soft Matter to the place it takes up now. We believe that only because of their intense and excellent work EPJE Soft Matter has become a leading multidisciplinary journal. In the future, EPJE Soft Matter will continue to stimulate discussions and to publish also controversial ideas and views as long as they are based on the well-established scientific rules. EPJE Soft Matter will evolve towards a journal which is willing and capable to adapt to the needs of the involved communities. The Editors-in-Chief, together with their editorial board members, will always have an open ear for the problems colleagues may encounter in publishing their work. We will assure that requests and suggestions are treated in the most appropriate way and to the full satisfaction of authors and readers. We wish you a happy and productive New Year 2005!

Grow Your Own Teachers: Grassroots Change for Teacher Education. Teaching for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Elizabeth A., Ed.; Garreton, Maria Teresa, Ed.; Schultz, Brian D., Ed.

2011-01-01

"Grow Your Own Teachers" describes the evolution of a local school reform movement in Chicago that now serves as a model for change in schools and teacher preparation programs across the country. Grounded in the grassroots organizing tradition, the Grow Your Own (GYO) teacher initiative involves collaboration between community-based…

SHEPHERD CREEK, CINCINNATI, OH: USING TRADABLE CREDITS TO CONTROL EXCESS STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

The problem of managing stormwater runoff grows apace with continued urbanization, yet the management tools for this growing non-point source problem have not fully kept up. The rapid growth of stormwater utilities around the nation is an important step toward providing an ef...

Integrated Vegetation Management Fact Sheet

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

IVM is generally defined as the practice of promoting desirable, stable, low-growing plant communities that will resist invasion by tall growing tree species through the use of appropriate, environmentally-sound, and cost-effective control methods.

Africa assessment.

PubMed

Ojiambo, J

1984-06-01

The population problem in Africa is compounded by attitudes and traditions that favor large families. Children give status, and male children are desired to carry on the ancestral line because, dedpite women's dominance in agriculture, traditional education has inculcated male supremacy in African society. Traditional African attitudes equate having many children with male pride, social status, and security. For women, bearing children is in most instances the best and often the only way to achieve some status in their community. Education and modernization have begun to change these attitudes for a few people, particularly in urban settings, yet the desire for large families is deep rooted and remains widespread among African society. Declining infant mortality has had very little impact on fertility. Crude birthrates have changed little in the past 30 years, dropping only from 48 to 46/1000 population. The momentum of population growth is likely to continue as those under the age of 15, now almost half of Africa's population, grow into adults and start to have their own children. Despite the traditional influences on childbearing, powerful forces for change have been at work during the past decade. More and more governments are becoming acutely aware that many national problems are prompted or exacerbated by a rapidly growing population. The interaction between population and development is now well understood, and policy planners in Africa no longer take for granted the notion that development will help check population growth. Many African governments have initiated programs to ensure that more and better trained health personnel are bringing family planning information and services to rural areas, where pronatalist traditions are especially pervasive. 1 model for this approach is in Kenya where family planning services are now offered within the concept of "district focus." National family planning activities will be planned and implemented at the district level, providing a better opportunity for community understanding. Rural health centers will become key delivery points for family planning services. A successful pilot project is found at Ageng'a in Kenya's Busia district, where the community level family planning and primary health care program emphasizes integrated family services, shorter distances to service delivery points, and health and family planning education aimed at both the father and the mother. The key element of the project is the use of community-based health workers. As in other African nations, Kenya's National Family Planning Program requires more strengthening if it is to curb the population growth rate.

Capturing dynamic processes of change in GROW mutual help groups for mental health.

PubMed

Finn, Lizzie D; Bishop, Brian J; Sparrow, Neville

2009-12-01

The need for a model that can portray dynamic processes of change in mutual help groups for mental health (MHGMHs) is emphasized. A dynamic process model has the potential to capture a more comprehensive understanding of how MHGMHs may assist their members. An investigation into GROW, a mutual help organization for mental health, employed ethnographic, phenomenological and collaborative research methods. The study examined how GROW impacts on psychological well being. Study outcomes aligned with the social ecological paradigm (Maton in Understanding the self-help organization: frameworks and findings. Sage, Thousand Oaks 1994) indicating multifactorial processes of change at and across three levels of analysis: group level, GROW program/community level and individual level. Outcome themes related to life skills acquisition and a change in self-perception in terms of belonging within community and an increased sense of personal value. The GROW findings are used to assist development of a dynamic multi-dimensional process model to explain how MHGMHs may promote positive change.

Time Investment in Drug Supply Problems by Flemish Community Pharmacies.

PubMed

De Weerdt, Elfi; Simoens, Steven; Casteels, Minne; Huys, Isabelle

2017-01-01

Introduction: Drug supply problems are a known problem for pharmacies. Community and hospital pharmacies do everything they can to minimize impact on patients. This study aims to quantify the time spent by Flemish community pharmacies on drug supply problems. Materials and Methods: During 18 weeks, employees of 25 community pharmacies filled in a template with the total time spent on drug supply problems. The template stated all the steps community pharmacies could undertake to manage drug supply problems. Results: Considering the median over the study period, the median time spent on drug supply problems was 25 min per week, with a minimum of 14 min per week and a maximum of 38 min per week. After calculating the median of each pharmacy, large differences were observed between pharmacies: about 25% spent less than 15 min per week and one-fifth spent more than 1 h per week. The steps on which community pharmacists spent most time are: (i) "check missing products from orders," (ii) "contact wholesaler/manufacturers regarding potential drug shortages," and (iii) "communicating to patients." These three steps account for about 50% of the total time spent on drug supply problems during the study period. Conclusion: Community pharmacies spend about half an hour per week on drug supply problems. Although 25 min per week does not seem that much, the time spent is not delineated and community pharmacists are constantly confronted with drug supply problems.

“Where I Have to Learn the Ways How to Live:” Youth Resilience in a Yup’ik Village in Alaska

PubMed Central

Rasmus, Stacy M.; Allen, James; Ford, Tara

2014-01-01

What is it like to grow-up Yup’ik and come-of-age today in a traditional hunting-gathering community setting located in a remote region of Alaska? Current research describes a contemporary experience often laden with trauma and crisis. Youth in Yup’ik communities today face threats to their very survival as they encounter, early on, things that their ancestors never faced – including alcohol-related deaths, violence in many forms, and high rates of suicide among their young peers. Yet all is not despair for the youth growing up in these remote indigenous communities. Many youth grow-up to become skilled hunters, strong leaders, and able parents. This paper reports findings from the Alaskan Yup’ik site of the Circumpolar Indigenous Pathways to Adulthood (CIPA) study. The goal of this study is to identify strengths and resilience in youth living in a Yup’ik community in southwest Alaska. Interviews were conducted with 25 youth age 11–18, currently residing in a southwest Alaska community. Qualitative analysis revealed important connections between local stressors, community-level protective resources, and youth-driven, solution-focused strategies for overcoming hardship and learning the ‘ways how to live.’ Findings from this study contribute critical information on indigenous youth protection and resilience, including community and cultural resilience processes beyond the individual level, and enhance our understanding of the types of resources that can lead to improved outcomes for Alaska Native youth. PMID:24823691

Rigged or rigorous? Partnerships for research and evaluation of complex social problems: Lessons from the field of violence against women and girls.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Cathy; Michau, Lori; Hossain, Mazeda; Kiss, Ligia; Borland, Rosilyne; Watts, Charlotte

2016-09-01

There is growing demand for robust evidence to address complex social phenomena such as violence against women and girls (VAWG). Research partnerships between scientists and non-governmental or international organizations (NGO/IO) are increasingly popular, but can pose challenges, including concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Drawing on our experience collaborating on VAWG research, we describe challenges and contributions that NGO/IO and academic partners can make at different stages of the research process and the effects that collaborations can have on scientific inquiry. Partners may struggle with differing priorities and misunderstandings about roles, limitations, and intentions. Benefits of partnerships include a shared vision of study goals, differing and complementary expertise, mutual respect, and a history of constructive collaboration. Our experience suggests that when investigating multi-faceted social problems, instead of 'rigging' study results, research collaborations can strengthen scientific rigor and offer the greatest potential for impact in the communities we seek to serve.

Evolving MCDM Applications Using Hybrid Expert-Based ISM and DEMATEL Models: An Example of Sustainable Ecotourism

PubMed Central

Chuang, Huan-Ming

2013-01-01

Ecological degradation is an escalating global threat. Increasingly, people are expressing awareness and priority for concerns about environmental problems surrounding them. Environmental protection issues are highlighted. An appropriate information technology tool, the growing popular social network system (virtual community, VC), facilitates public education and engagement with applications for existent problems effectively. Particularly, the exploration of related involvement behavior of VC member engagement is an interesting topic. Nevertheless, member engagement processes comprise interrelated sub-processes that reflect an interactive experience within VCs as well as the value co-creation model. To address the top-focused ecotourism VCs, this study presents an application of a hybrid expert-based ISM model and DEMATEL model based on multi-criteria decision making tools to investigate the complex multidimensional and dynamic nature of member engagement. Our research findings provide insightful managerial implications and suggest that the viral marketing of ecotourism protection is concerned with practitioners and academicians alike. PMID:24453902

High power phased array prototype for clinical high intensity focused ultrasound : applications to transcostal and transcranial therapy.

PubMed

Pernot, M; Aubry, J -F; Tanter, M; Marquet, F; Montaldo, G; Boch, A -L; Kujas, M; Seilhean, D; Fink, M

2007-01-01

Bursts of focused ultrasound energy three orders of magnitude more intense than diagnostic ultrasound became during the last decade a noninvasive option for treating cancer from breast to prostate or uterine fibroid. However, many challenges remain to be addressed. First, the corrections of distortions induced on the ultrasonic therapy beam during its propagation through defocusing obstacles like skull bone or ribs remain today a technological performance that still need to be validated clinically. Secondly, the problem of motion artifacts particularly important for the treatment of abdominal parts becomes today an important research topic. Finally, the problem of the treatment monitoring is a wide subject of interest in the growing HIFU community. For all these issues, the potential of new ultrasonic therapy devices able to work both in Transmit and Receive modes will be emphasized. A review of the work under achievement at L.O.A. using this new generation of HIFU prototypes on the monitoring, motion correction and aberrations corrections will be presented.

Evolving MCDM applications using hybrid expert-based ISM and DEMATEL models: an example of sustainable ecotourism.

PubMed

Chuang, Huan-Ming; Lin, Chien-Ku; Chen, Da-Ren; Chen, You-Shyang

2013-01-01

Ecological degradation is an escalating global threat. Increasingly, people are expressing awareness and priority for concerns about environmental problems surrounding them. Environmental protection issues are highlighted. An appropriate information technology tool, the growing popular social network system (virtual community, VC), facilitates public education and engagement with applications for existent problems effectively. Particularly, the exploration of related involvement behavior of VC member engagement is an interesting topic. Nevertheless, member engagement processes comprise interrelated sub-processes that reflect an interactive experience within VCs as well as the value co-creation model. To address the top-focused ecotourism VCs, this study presents an application of a hybrid expert-based ISM model and DEMATEL model based on multi-criteria decision making tools to investigate the complex multidimensional and dynamic nature of member engagement. Our research findings provide insightful managerial implications and suggest that the viral marketing of ecotourism protection is concerned with practitioners and academicians alike.

Child-to-Child programme in the Philippine setting.

PubMed

Rabor, I F; Santos Ocampo, P D

1982-09-01

The Philippines is an archipelago with a growing population, largely rural, 50% of which is in the 0-14 years old age group. As noted by WHO (1978), the leading health problems are communicable diseases, malnutrition, poor environmental sanitation, malaria and schistosomiasis, rapid population growth, drug abuse and dependence. Health care delivery is hampered by insufficient number and maldistribution of personnel, health clinics and hospitals. The predominant attitude of curative rather than preventive approach to health problems shared by consumers and care givers alike, passive and meager participation if at all on the part of recipients also contribute to deficient health care delivery. Child-to-Child health programmes would be most useful in depressed areas of the country, especially in the rural setting and should be widely implemented if feasible. Data concerning the community involved will include resources, strengths and weaknesses, and degree of commitment from its members. We hope to have in the Philippines more experience in Child-to-Child programmes-health care delivery in the future.

Infertility in resource-constrained settings: moving towards amelioration.

PubMed

Hammarberg, Karin; Kirkman, Maggie

2013-02-01

It is often presumed that infertility is not a problem in resource-poor areas where fertility rates are high. This is challenged by consistent evidence that the consequences of childlessness are very severe in low-income countries, particularly for women. In these settings, childless women are frequently stigmatized, isolated, ostracized, disinherited and neglected by the family and local community. This may result in physical and psychological abuse, polygamy and even suicide. Attitudes among people in high-income countries towards provision of infertility care in low-income countries have mostly been either dismissive or indifferent as it is argued that scarce healthcare resources should be directed towards reducing fertility and restricting population growth. However, recognition of the plight of infertile couples in low-income settings is growing. One of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals was for universal access to reproductive health care by 2015, and WHO has recommended that infertility be considered a global health problem and stated the need for adaptation of assisted reproductive technology in low-resource countries. This paper challenges the construct that infertility is not a serious problem in resource-constrained settings and argues that there is a need for infertility care, including affordable assisted reproduction treatment, in these settings. It is often presumed that infertility is not a problem in densely populated, resource-poor areas where fertility rates are high. This presumption is challenged by consistent evidence that the consequences of childlessness are very severe in low-income countries, particularly for women. In these settings, childless women are frequently stigmatized, isolated, ostracized, disinherited and neglected by the family and local community. This may result in physical and psychological abuse, polygamy and even suicide. Because many families in low-income countries depend on children for economic survival, childlessness and having fewer children than the number identified as appropriate are social and public health matters, not only medical problems. Attitudes among people in high-income countries towards provision of infertility care in low-income countries have mostly been either dismissive or indifferent as it is argued that scarce healthcare resources and family planning activities should be directed towards reducing fertility and restricting population growth. However, recognition of the plight of infertile couples in low-income settings is growing. One of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals was for universal access to reproductive health care by 2015, and WHO has recommended that infertility be considered a global health problem and stated the need for adaptation of assisted reproduction technology in low-resource countries. In this paper, we challenge the construct that infertility is not a serious problem in resource-constrained settings and argue that there is a need for infertility care, including affordable assisted reproduction treatment, in these settings. Copyright © 2012 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil Bacterial Community Structure Responses to Precipitation Reduction and Forest Management in Forest Ecosystems across Germany

PubMed Central

Felsmann, Katja; Baudis, Mathias; Gimbel, Katharina; Kayler, Zachary E.; Ellerbrock, Ruth; Bruehlheide, Helge; Bruckhoff, Johannes; Welk, Erik; Puhlmann, Heike; Weiler, Markus; Gessler, Arthur; Ulrich, Andreas

2015-01-01

Soil microbial communities play an important role in forest ecosystem functioning, but how climate change will affect the community composition and consequently bacterial functions is poorly understood. We assessed the effects of reduced precipitation with the aim of simulating realistic future drought conditions for one growing season on the bacterial community and its relation to soil properties and forest management. We manipulated precipitation in beech and conifer forest plots managed at different levels of intensity in three different regions across Germany. The precipitation reduction decreased soil water content across the growing season by between 2 to 8% depending on plot and region. T-RFLP analysis and pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene were used to study the total soil bacterial community and its active members after six months of precipitation reduction. The effect of reduced precipitation on the total bacterial community structure was negligible while significant effects could be observed for the active bacteria. However, the effect was secondary to the stronger influence of specific soil characteristics across the three regions and management selection of overstorey tree species and their respective understorey vegetation. The impact of reduced precipitation differed between the studied plots; however, we could not determine the particular parameters being able to modify the response of the active bacterial community among plots. We conclude that the moderate drought induced by the precipitation manipulation treatment started to affect the active but not the total bacterial community, which points to an adequate resistance of the soil microbial system over one growing season. PMID:25875835

Soil bacterial community structure responses to precipitation reduction and forest management in forest ecosystems across Germany.

PubMed

Felsmann, Katja; Baudis, Mathias; Gimbel, Katharina; Kayler, Zachary E; Ellerbrock, Ruth; Bruelheide, Helge; Bruehlheide, Helge; Bruckhoff, Johannes; Welk, Erik; Puhlmann, Heike; Weiler, Markus; Gessler, Arthur; Ulrich, Andreas

2015-01-01

Soil microbial communities play an important role in forest ecosystem functioning, but how climate change will affect the community composition and consequently bacterial functions is poorly understood. We assessed the effects of reduced precipitation with the aim of simulating realistic future drought conditions for one growing season on the bacterial community and its relation to soil properties and forest management. We manipulated precipitation in beech and conifer forest plots managed at different levels of intensity in three different regions across Germany. The precipitation reduction decreased soil water content across the growing season by between 2 to 8% depending on plot and region. T-RFLP analysis and pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene were used to study the total soil bacterial community and its active members after six months of precipitation reduction. The effect of reduced precipitation on the total bacterial community structure was negligible while significant effects could be observed for the active bacteria. However, the effect was secondary to the stronger influence of specific soil characteristics across the three regions and management selection of overstorey tree species and their respective understorey vegetation. The impact of reduced precipitation differed between the studied plots; however, we could not determine the particular parameters being able to modify the response of the active bacterial community among plots. We conclude that the moderate drought induced by the precipitation manipulation treatment started to affect the active but not the total bacterial community, which points to an adequate resistance of the soil microbial system over one growing season.

Shifting public health practice to advance health equity: recommendations from experts and community leaders.

PubMed

Knight, Erin K

2014-01-01

While the evidence base regarding the social determinants of health and their relationship to health inequities grows, the field of public health is challenged to translate this knowledge into practice changes that advance health equity. Drawing on the knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of public health experts and community leaders working to advance health equity, our objective was to develop and disseminate recommendations for changing public health practice to better address this problem. We conducted semistructured, qualitative telephone interviews (n = 25) with key informants. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and data were coded and analyzed using both inductive and deductive methods. Member checks were used to enhance quality. A purposeful sample of key informants was selected from content experts and community leaders involved with the development of the Unnatural Causes public impact campaign. Participants represented state and local health departments, community-based organizations, national research/advocacy organizations, and academic institutions across the country. Participants distinguished between social determinants of health and their structural precursors in social and political institutions. They believed that the field of public health has an obligation to address health inequities and shifts in practice are needed that focus more attention on societal factors that underlie such inequities. According to participants, specific practice changes are difficult to identify because actions should be community specific and community driven. Recommended approaches that may be adapted to community-based needs and assets include building nontraditional partnerships, engaging in political advocacy, promoting community leadership, collecting better data on social conditions and institutional factors, and enhancing communication for health equity. Recommended shifts in practice may be facilitated by revisiting our understanding of the 3 core functions of public health-assessment, assurance, and policy development.

SteadyCom: Predicting microbial abundances while ensuring community stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chan, Siu Hung Joshua; Simons, Margaret N.; Maranas, Costas D.

Genome-scale metabolic modeling has become widespread for analyzing microbial metabolism. Extending this established paradigm to more complex microbial communities is emerging as a promising way to unravel the interactions and biochemical repertoire of these omnipresent systems. While several modeling techniques have been developed for microbial communities, little emphasis has been placed on the need to impose a time-averaged constant growth rate across all members for a community to ensure co-existence and stability. In the absence of this constraint, the faster growing organism will ultimately displace all other microbes in the community. This is particularly important for predicting steady-state microbiota compositionmore » as it imposes significant restrictions on the allowable community membership, composition and phenotypes. In this study, we introduce the SteadyCom optimization framework for predicting metabolic flux distributions consistent with the steady-state requirement. SteadyCom can be rapidly converged by iteratively solving linear programming (LP) problem and the number of iterations is independent of the number of organisms. A significant advantage of SteadyCom is compatibility with flux variability analysis. SteadyCom is first demonstrated for a community of four E. coli double auxotrophic mutants and is then applied to a gut microbiota model consisting of nine species, with representatives from the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. In contrast to the direct use of FBA, SteadyCom is able to predict the change in species abundance in response to changes in diets with minimal additional imposed constraints on the model. Furthermore, by randomizing the uptake rates of microbes, an abundance profile with a good agreement to experimental gut microbiota is inferred. SteadyCom provides an important step towards the cross-cutting task of predicting the composition of a microbial community in a given environment.« less

SteadyCom: Predicting microbial abundances while ensuring community stability

DOE PAGES

Chan, Siu Hung Joshua; Simons, Margaret N.; Maranas, Costas D.; ...

2017-05-15

Genome-scale metabolic modeling has become widespread for analyzing microbial metabolism. Extending this established paradigm to more complex microbial communities is emerging as a promising way to unravel the interactions and biochemical repertoire of these omnipresent systems. While several modeling techniques have been developed for microbial communities, little emphasis has been placed on the need to impose a time-averaged constant growth rate across all members for a community to ensure co-existence and stability. In the absence of this constraint, the faster growing organism will ultimately displace all other microbes in the community. This is particularly important for predicting steady-state microbiota compositionmore » as it imposes significant restrictions on the allowable community membership, composition and phenotypes. In this study, we introduce the SteadyCom optimization framework for predicting metabolic flux distributions consistent with the steady-state requirement. SteadyCom can be rapidly converged by iteratively solving linear programming (LP) problem and the number of iterations is independent of the number of organisms. A significant advantage of SteadyCom is compatibility with flux variability analysis. SteadyCom is first demonstrated for a community of four E. coli double auxotrophic mutants and is then applied to a gut microbiota model consisting of nine species, with representatives from the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. In contrast to the direct use of FBA, SteadyCom is able to predict the change in species abundance in response to changes in diets with minimal additional imposed constraints on the model. Furthermore, by randomizing the uptake rates of microbes, an abundance profile with a good agreement to experimental gut microbiota is inferred. SteadyCom provides an important step towards the cross-cutting task of predicting the composition of a microbial community in a given environment.« less

A national survey exploring oral healthcare service provision across Australian community pharmacies

PubMed Central

Freeman, Christopher R; Abdullah, Nabilah; Ford, Pauline J; Taing, Meng-Wong

2017-01-01

Objectives This study investigated pharmacists’ and pharmacy assistants’ current practices and perspectives with regard to oral healthcare provision across Australian community pharmacies. Design Cross-sectional study. A questionnaire for each pharmacist and pharmacy assistant cohort was developed and administered by online or postal means. Pearson’s χ2 test was used to examine relationships between categorical variables. Participants Pharmacists and pharmacy assistants working within 2100 randomly selected Australian community pharmacies. Results The overall response rate was 58.5% (644/1100) for the pharmacist cohort and 28% (280/1000) for the pharmacy assistant cohort. This represents pharmacy staff responses from 803 community pharmacies across Australia (approximately 14.6%, 803/5500 of community pharmacies nationally). Overall, the majority of pharmacists (80.2%; 516/644) and pharmacy assistants (83.6%; 234/280) reported providing oral health advice/consultations to health consumers up to five times each week. More than half of community pharmacists and pharmacy assistants were involved in identifying signs and symptoms for oral health problems; and the majority believed health consumers were receptive to receiving oral health advice. Additionally, more than 80% of pharmacists and 60% of pharmacy assistants viewed extended oral healthcare roles positively and supported integrating them within their workplace; extended roles include provision of prevention, early intervention and referral to oral healthcare services. The most commonly reported barriers to enhance pharmacy staff involvement in oral healthcare within Australian community pharmacies include lack of knowledge, ongoing training and resources to assist practice. Conclusion This study highlights that Australian pharmacists have an important role in oral health and provides evidence supporting the need for growing partnerships/collaborations between pharmacy and dental healthcare professionals and organisations to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based resources, interventions and services to deliver improved and responsive oral healthcare within Australian communities. PMID:28963314

Native Americans and the Geosciences: Problems With Societally Driven Research, Cultural and Racial Divisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redsteer, M. H.; James, K.

2004-12-01

Why are Native Americans absent from the geosciences? It doesn't seem to make sense when one view common to most traditional Native communities is earth and ecosystem stewardship, i.e. respect for Mother Earth. In addition, Native American communities could benefit from contributions made through earth science research. Land, and the natural resources that accompany it, are most tribes' greatest assets. Natural resource and land-use plans require information on geologic hazards, water quality and availability, soils, and environmentally sensitive areas: all data that are sorely lacking in Native communities. Native communities, with rapidly growing populations, desperately need geologic information for planning urban development. Even so, there are several reasons for a lack of interest in the geosciences: Mainstream science has historically served non-Native society to the detriment of Native communities, leaving few positive examples of earth science research for communities to draw from. Native North American communities have suffered greater harm from resource exploitation and have gained less from natural resource development than non-Native communities. Moreover, the earth scientist is usually the one who begins the assessing what is available for corporate exploitation, making the role of earth scientist adversarial. Racism, that begins at the elementary school level or earlier, leaves students feeling inadequate to pursue any degree, let alone those that are considered more challenging. Western science has a long history of denigrating indigenous knowledge and beliefs, producing a social stigma that Native American scientists must overcome. In addition, research tends to be narrowly focused, and based on the desire for individual academic achievement. This attitude counters cultural values of most Native groups, who seek to serve the collective group, rather than seeking self promotion.

The soil microbial community composition and soil microbial carbon uptake are more affected by soil type than by different vegetation types (C3 and C4 plants) and seasonal changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griselle Mellado Vazquez, Perla; Lange, Markus; Gleixner, Gerd

2016-04-01

This study investigates the influence of different vegetation types (C3 and C4 plants), soil type and seasonal changes on the soil microbial biomass, soil microbial community composition and soil microbial carbon (C) uptake. We collected soil samples in winter (non-growing season) and summer (growing season) in 2012 from an experimental site cropping C3 and C4 plants for 6 years on two different soil types (sandy and clayey). The amount of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and their compound-specific δ13C values were used to determined microbial biomass and the flow of C from plants to soil microorganisms, respectively. Higher microbial biomass was found in the growing season. The microbial community composition was mainly explained by soil type. Higher amounts of SOC were driving the predominance of G+ bacteria, actinobacteria and cyclic G- bacteria in sandy soils, whereas root biomass was significantly related to the increased proportions of G- bacteria in clayey soils. Plant-derived C in G- bacteria increased significantly in clayey soils in the growing season. This increase was positively and significantly driven by root biomass. Moreover, changes in plant-derived C among microbial groups pointed to specific capabilities of different microbial groups to decompose distinct sources of C. We concluded that soil texture and favorable growth conditions driven by rhizosphere interactions are the most important factors controlling the soil microbial community. Our results demonstrate that a change of C3 plants vs. C4 plants has only a minor effect on the soil microbial community. Thus, such experiments are well suited to investigate soil organic matter dynamics as they allow to trace the C flow from plants into the soil microbial community without changing the community abundance and composition.

Online Education in the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Steven G.; Berge, Zane

2012-01-01

This paper looks at three areas impacting online education at the community college level. Community colleges account for more than half of all online students in the United States as of 2006. This makes the success of online learning at the community college level a critical part of the growing online learning movement. Using data for…

Student Multicultural Awareness in Online Community College Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Warren J.

2010-01-01

Purpose: US community colleges are based on an open-door mission and serve to provide access to students of diverse backgrounds. Online learning is one of the fastest growing segments of community college offerings--serving both local and geographical dispersed students. If the community college system embraces its open-door mission, it must…

Costs and Benefits of Policy-Oriented Community Research: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brand, Stephen; Moore, Thom

Recent developments in the social policy literature suggest a growing overlap in community and social policy interests and methods. This combination of community and policy interests is illustrated by tracing successive steps of the Illinois Residential Life Survey in order to support programming decisions about community mental health in a…

Helping or Hindering? The Effects of Loans on Community College Student Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinney, Lyle; Burridge, Andrea Backscheider

2015-01-01

More community college students are taking out loans than ever before and their median debt levels are increasing. This trend is disconcerting because community college borrowers are overrepresented among loan defaulters and those who dropout without having earned a degree. While not without criticism, a growing number of community colleges are…

Growing PreK-12 Educators through a Partnership of School Districts and a Regional University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Brenda A.; Kirk, Jeffrey L.; Eddings, Bobbie J.; Farris, L. Ann

2013-01-01

In central Texas and regions across the country, community leaders are calling for university-community engagement, including development of structures for community-based research and service learning. Including the community in decision making regarding continuing professional education serves as a link between universities such as Texas A&M…

CCRC Currents. April 2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slater, Doug, Ed.

2010-01-01

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "The Growing Prominence of Community Colleges," by Thomas Bailey, discusses how today's community colleges are increasingly…

Crafting Legitimacy in District-Community Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lechasseur, Kimberly

2017-01-01

Background/Context: Partnering across districts, schools, and other community organizations has become ubiquitous as a policy for promoting change. Despite growing attention to and scholarship on district-community partnerships, there is little examination of the organizational mechanisms involved in sustaining them. Purpose/Objectives: This study…

Communities of Practice: Creating the Bilingual School Mental Health Network in Colorado

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Bryn; Steensen, Becky; Klotz, Mary Beth; Skalski, Anastasia Kalamaros; Bieber, Barb

2012-01-01

A growing strategy in the world of educational reform is the use of "communities of practice" (CoP) as a tool for promoting sustainable systems change. There are three basic characteristics of a CoP that distinguish it from other types of communities: (1) the domain; (2) the community; and (3) the practice. A community of practice model…

The existing therapeutic interventions for orgasmic disorders: recommendations for culturally competent services, narrative review.

PubMed

Salmani, Zahra; Zargham-Boroujeni, Ali; Salehi, Mehrdad; K Killeen, Therese; Merghati-Khoei, Effat

2015-07-01

In recent years, a growing number of interventions for treatment of female orgasmic problems (FODs) have emerged. Whereas orgasm is a extra biologically and learnable experience, there is a need for practitioners that to be able to select which therapy is the most appropriate to their context. In this critical literature review, we aimed to assess areas of controversy in the existing therapeutic interventions in FOD with taking into accounted the Iranian cultural models. For the present study, we conducted an extensive search of electronic databases using a comprehensive search strategy from 1970 till 2014. This strategy was using Google Scholar search, "pearl-growing" techniques and by hand-searching key guidelines, to identify distinct interventions to women's orgasmic problem therapy. We utilized various key combinations of words such as:" orgasm" OR "orgasmic "," female orgasmic dysfunction" OR Female anorgasmia OR Female Orgasmic Disorder ", orgasmic dysfunction AND treatment, "orgasm AND intervention". Selection criteria in order to be included in this review, studies were required to: 1 employ clinical-based interventions, 2 focus on FOD. The majority of interventions (90%) related to non-pharmacological and other were about pharmacological interventions. Self-direct masturbation is suggested as the most privilege treatment in FOD. Reviewing all therapies indicates couple therapy, sexual skill training and sex therapy seem to be more appropriate to be applied in Iranian clinical settings. Since many therapeutic interventions are introduced to inform sexually-related practices, it is important to select an intervention that will be culturally appropriate and sensitive to norms and values. Professionals working in the fields of health and sexuality need to be sensitive and apply culturally appropriate therapies for Iranian population. We further suggest community well defined protocols to screen, assessment and management of women' sexual problems such as FOD in the Iranian settings.

Ethics and allocation of health resources--the influence of poverty on health.

PubMed

Taipale, V

1999-01-01

Poverty and health are examined from the global and Nordic perspectives. The data from global social policy research, Nordic comparisons and equity in health research provide a basis for the discussion. At the global level the consequences of poverty are growing and the resultant problems posed are becoming increasingly evident. Poverty and sickness are interwoven; poverty aggravates mental problems, a situation regarding which we have seen steady deterioration. Research suggests that social cohesion, the factor that creates social capital and empowerment in societies, is a major factor that promotes health and the economy. Structural measures to combat poverty would require a global social policy: global redistribution, global regulation and global provision. However, the international community is not yet fully prepared for this discussion. At the Nordic level, Finland is a laboratory in which the viability of the welfare state has been tested in the worst recession ever to hit an OECD country. On the whole, it seems that income disparity has not grown during the recession and that services have functioned moderately well despite budget cuts. However, during that period the correlation between unemployment and sickness became apparent, and the challenges to healthcare more evident. We must make headway in untangling these relationships, because the tendency towards greater income disparity is growing in the post-recession boom. At the social welfare and health service level even the Nordic welfare states are not in full command of the means to alleviate poverty and its related health problems. Has the time come to dispel our Nordic arrogance and look at how the present services may in fact be generating inequity?

“Life Grows Between the Rocks” Latino adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives on mental health stressors

PubMed Central

Garcia, Carolyn; Lindgren, Sandi

2010-01-01

Latino adolescents, an increasingly larger proportion of youth in the US, are at special risk for mental health problems, including depression and suicidal ideation. Little is known about the meaning of mental health stressors for Latino adolescents and their parents. We conducted a descriptive study to elicit Latino adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives regarding mental health stressors as a basis for future preventive interventions. Eight focus groups were conducted with 53 Latino participants, two per sub-group (boys, girls, mothers, fathers). Three categories of mental health stressors included discrimination, immigration, and familial disconnection. Findings support the need for collaborative interventions and multi-level strategies (individual, family, and community) to address stressors in Latino adolescents’ experiences. PMID:19170104

Moving and handling education in the community: technological innovations to improve practice.

PubMed

Wanless, Stephen; Page, Andrea

2009-12-01

Efforts to reduce injuries associated with patient handling are often based on tradition and personal experience rather than sound educational theory. The purpose of this article is to summarize current evidence for educational interventions designed to reduce primary care staff injuries: a significant problem for decades. Evidence suggests that the current 'classroom' teaching of moving and handling is ineffective. There is a growing body of evidence to support newer interventions that are effective or show promise in reducing musculoskeletal injuries in health professionals (Freitag et al, 2007). The authors discuss potential solutions through moving and handling-related motion capture simulation and the use of e-learning to promote an understanding of the principles associated with patient handling tasks.

Research Foundations and Problems Regarding Counseling in the Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Robert E.

Research foundations and problems for counseling in the community are discussed. Research implications are outlined around Sarason's three challenges to community health; (1) extending therapeutic outreach, (2) studying those situations, settings, or forces in the community that set the stage for problems; and (3) efforts toward prevention.…

Depression, sleep problems, and perceived stress among informal caregivers in 58 low-, middle-, and high-income countries: A cross-sectional analysis of community-based surveys.

PubMed

Koyanagi, Ai; DeVylder, Jordan E; Stubbs, Brendon; Carvalho, André F; Veronese, Nicola; Haro, Josep M; Santini, Ziggi I

2018-01-01

Caregiving has been associated with adverse health outcomes. However, there is a paucity of multi-country, population-based studies on mental health outcomes of caregivers especially from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, we assessed the association of caregiving with depression, sleep problems, and perceived stress in 10 high-, 27 middle-, and 21 low-income countries. Cross-sectional community-based data of the World Health Survey including 258,793 adults aged ≥18 years were analyzed. Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the association of past 12-month caregiving with past 12-month DSM-IV depression, and past 30-day perceived stress [range 0 (low)-100 (high)] and severe/extreme sleep problems. Nearly 20% of the individuals were engaged in caregiving with particularly high rates observed in high-income countries (HICs) (e.g., Finland 43.3%). Across the entire sample, after adjustment for potential confounders, caregivers had a significantly higher likelihood of having depression (OR = 1.54; 95%CI = 1.37-1.73), sleep problems (OR = 1.37; 95%CI = 1.25-1.50), while their mean perceived stress score was 3.15 (95%CI = 2.46-3.84) points higher. These associations tended to be stronger in HICs. A greater number of caregiving activities was associated with a greater likelihood of depression, sleep problems, and perceived stress regardless of country income levels. In conclusion, caregiving has a negative impact on mental health worldwide with possibly greater effects in HICs. Given the growing contribution of caregivers in long-term care, interventions and policies to alleviate the mental health burden of caregivers are urgently needed to maintain sustainable and effective care practices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feral biofuel crop effects in constructed wet prairie and oak savannah communities

EPA Science Inventory

We examined the potential effects of feral biofuel crop escapes on constructed plant communities growing in outdoor mesocosms. Mesocosms containing wet prairie or oak savannah communities were exposed to two temperature levels (ambient and elevated) and two moisture levels (cont...

Building for the Future: Community College Leadership Development Program Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresso, Michele

2012-01-01

This qualitative descriptive study examines and evaluates an internal, grow-your-own, community college leadership development program. Participants in a community college leadership development program self-reported their leadership knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) before, during, and after participation in the program. Study…

Internationalizing the Community College: Examples of Success. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quimbita, Grace

With the growing technological, economic and political interdependence between nations, the word "community" has come to have international implications. In order to alleviate American ignorance about other nations and global issues, community colleges must institutionalize international perspectives into their curricula. More than 50%…

Bridging the Gap: research informing practice and policy for healthy youth behavior.

PubMed

Chaloupka, Frank J; Johnston, Lloyd D

2007-10-01

Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a collaborative research initiative supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Ten years ago, BTG was created to assess the impact of policies, programs, and other environmental influences on adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use and related outcomes. This multidisciplinary, multisite initiative examines these factors at multiple levels of social organization, including schools, communities, and states. More recently, the significant increases in obesity among children, adolescents, and adults led BTG to expand its efforts to include research on the role of policies, programs, and other factors on adolescent obesity and the physical inactivity and dietary habits that contribute to this growing problem. Eleven papers resulting from BTG's obesity-related research are contained in this supplement, along with two papers describing the National Cancer Institute-supported efforts to track relevant state policies. Bridging the Gap involves a variety of data-collection efforts built largely around the Monitoring the Future (MTF) surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students. These include: surveys of administrators in the MTF schools that gather extensive information on the school food environment, physical education in schools, and other relevant information; collection of contextual information from the communities in which the MTF schools are located; tracking of relevant state policies; and gathering of a wide variety of data from archival and commercial databases. These databases are analyzed individually and in various combinations. Bridging the Gap's extensive research has shown the importance of a range of school, community, state, and other influences in affecting adolescent substance use and related outcomes. BTG's early research on adolescent diet, physical activity, and obesity--much of which is contained in this supplement--similarly demonstrates the role of environmental factors in influencing these outcomes and in explaining observed racial/ethnic and socioeconomic-related disparities in them. The growing recognition of the public health and economic consequences of childhood, adolescent, and adult obesity has led to a variety of policies, programs, and other interventions to stimulate healthy eating and physical activity, often despite the lack of evidence on their impact. BTG and others are working to build the evidence base for effective interventions to address this significant problem, but much remains to be learned.

What do you think overdiagnosis means? A qualitative analysis of responses from a national community survey of Australians

PubMed Central

Moynihan, Ray; Nickel, Brooke; Hersch, Jolyn; Doust, Jenny; Barratt, Alexandra; Beller, Elaine; McCaffery, Kirsten

2015-01-01

Objective Overdiagnosis occurs when someone is diagnosed with a disease that will not harm them. Against a backdrop of growing evidence and concern about the risk of overdiagnosis associated with certain screening activities, and recognition of the need to better inform the public about it, we aimed to ask what the Australian community understood overdiagnosis to mean. Design, setting and participants Content analysis of verbatim responses from a randomly sampled community telephone survey of 500 Australian adults, between January and February 2014. Data were analysed independently by two researchers. Main outcome measures Analysis of themes arising from community responses to open-ended questions about the meaning of overdiagnosis. Results The sample was broadly representative of the Australian population. Forty per cent of respondents thought overdiagnosis meant exaggerating a condition that was there, diagnosing something that was not there or too much diagnosis. Twenty-four per cent described overdiagnosis as overprescribing, overtesting or overtreatment. Only 3% considered overdiagnosis meant doctors gained financially. No respondents mentioned screening in conjunction with overdiagnosis, and over 10% of participants were unable to give an answer. Conclusions Around half the community surveyed had an approximate understanding of overdiagnosis, although no one identified it as a screening risk and a quarter equated it with overuse. Strategies to inform people about the risk of overdiagnosis associated with screening and diagnostic tests, in clinical and public health settings, could build on a nascent understanding of the nature of the problem. PMID:25991454

Time Investment in Drug Supply Problems by Flemish Community Pharmacies

PubMed Central

De Weerdt, Elfi; Simoens, Steven; Casteels, Minne; Huys, Isabelle

2017-01-01

Introduction: Drug supply problems are a known problem for pharmacies. Community and hospital pharmacies do everything they can to minimize impact on patients. This study aims to quantify the time spent by Flemish community pharmacies on drug supply problems. Materials and Methods: During 18 weeks, employees of 25 community pharmacies filled in a template with the total time spent on drug supply problems. The template stated all the steps community pharmacies could undertake to manage drug supply problems. Results: Considering the median over the study period, the median time spent on drug supply problems was 25 min per week, with a minimum of 14 min per week and a maximum of 38 min per week. After calculating the median of each pharmacy, large differences were observed between pharmacies: about 25% spent less than 15 min per week and one-fifth spent more than 1 h per week. The steps on which community pharmacists spent most time are: (i) “check missing products from orders,” (ii) “contact wholesaler/manufacturers regarding potential drug shortages,” and (iii) “communicating to patients.” These three steps account for about 50% of the total time spent on drug supply problems during the study period. Conclusion: Community pharmacies spend about half an hour per week on drug supply problems. Although 25 min per week does not seem that much, the time spent is not delineated and community pharmacists are constantly confronted with drug supply problems. PMID:28878679

E-Waste and Harm to Vulnerable Populations: A Growing Global Problem.

PubMed

Heacock, Michelle; Kelly, Carol Bain; Asante, Kwadwo Ansong; Birnbaum, Linda S; Bergman, Åke Lennart; Bruné, Marie-Noel; Buka, Irena; Carpenter, David O; Chen, Aimin; Huo, Xia; Kamel, Mostafa; Landrigan, Philip J; Magalini, Federico; Diaz-Barriga, Fernando; Neira, Maria; Omar, Magdy; Pascale, Antonio; Ruchirawat, Mathuros; Sly, Leith; Sly, Peter D; Van den Berg, Martin; Suk, William A

2016-05-01

Electronic waste (e-waste) is produced in staggering quantities, estimated globally to be 41.8 million tonnes in 2014. Informal e-waste recycling is a source of much-needed income in many low- to middle-income countries. However, its handling and disposal in underdeveloped countries is often unsafe and leads to contaminated environments. Rudimentary and uncontrolled processing methods often result in substantial harmful chemical exposures among vulnerable populations, including women and children. E-waste hazards have not yet received the attention they deserve in research and public health agendas. We provide an overview of the scale and health risks. We review international efforts concerned with environmental hazards, especially affecting children, as a preface to presenting next steps in addressing health issues stemming from the global e-waste problem. The e-waste problem has been building for decades. Increased observation of adverse health effects from e-waste sites calls for protecting human health and the environment from e-waste contamination. Even if e-waste exposure intervention and prevention efforts are implemented, legacy contamination will remain, necessitating increased awareness of e-waste as a major environmental health threat. Global, national, and local levels efforts must aim to create safe recycling operations that consider broad security issues for people who rely on e-waste processing for survival. Paramount to these efforts is reducing pregnant women and children's e-waste exposures to mitigate harmful health effects. With human environmental health in mind, novel dismantling methods and remediation technologies and intervention practices are needed to protect communities. Heacock M, Kelly CB, Asante KA, Birnbaum LS, Bergman AL, Bruné MN, Buka I, Carpenter DO, Chen A, Huo X, Kamel M, Landrigan PJ, Magalini F, Diaz-Barriga F, Neira M, Omar M, Pascale A, Ruchirawat M, Sly L, Sly PD, Van den Berg M, Suk WA. 2016. E-waste and harm to vulnerable populations: a growing global problem. Environ Health Perspect 124:550-555; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509699.

[Operation of government policies for the prevention and control of dengue: The cases of Arauca and Armenia].

PubMed

Velásquez, Ligia Constanza; Quintero, Juliana; García-Betancourt, Tatiana; González-Uribe, Catalina; Fuentes-Vallejo, Mauricio

2015-01-01

Dengue is a growing public health problem in urban areas, given that its transmission is associated with the environment, as well as with the behaviour of individuals and communities. The model proposed by Ecohealth to study this problem includes the operation of government policies. To describe the operation of policies to prevent and control dengue in two Colombian cities. A qualitative study was conducted. Data was collected through interviews with officials who worked in the health and education sectors. The contents were processed with the Ethnograph software, using the proposals of the bottom-up model of implementation as analytical categories. A lack of coordination was identified between department and municipal offices, with few developments of the protocol for dengue and severe dengue in terms of community participation, communication strategies and studies of inhabitants´ knowledge, attitudes and practices. The integrated management strategy was limited by the instability of human resources, limited intra-institutional and cross-sectorial coordination and little emphasis on promotion interventions, both at the individual and population levels. Coordination between the departament and the municipality needs to be strengthened in the city of Arauca. Both here and in Armenia administration of human resources and interinstitutional coordination should be improved. Promotion of preventative measures should be strengthened to impact on the determinants of dengue.

Improved Leg Tracking Considering Gait Phase and Spline-Based Interpolation during Turning Motion in Walk Tests.

PubMed

Yorozu, Ayanori; Moriguchi, Toshiki; Takahashi, Masaki

2015-09-04

Falling is a common problem in the growing elderly population, and fall-risk assessment systems are needed for community-based fall prevention programs. In particular, the timed up and go test (TUG) is the clinical test most often used to evaluate elderly individual ambulatory ability in many clinical institutions or local communities. This study presents an improved leg tracking method using a laser range sensor (LRS) for a gait measurement system to evaluate the motor function in walk tests, such as the TUG. The system tracks both legs and measures the trajectory of both legs. However, both legs might be close to each other, and one leg might be hidden from the sensor. This is especially the case during the turning motion in the TUG, where the time that a leg is hidden from the LRS is longer than that during straight walking and the moving direction rapidly changes. These situations are likely to lead to false tracking and deteriorate the measurement accuracy of the leg positions. To solve these problems, a novel data association considering gait phase and a Catmull-Rom spline-based interpolation during the occlusion are proposed. From the experimental results with young people, we confirm   that the proposed methods can reduce the chances of false tracking. In addition, we verify the measurement accuracy of the leg trajectory compared to a three-dimensional motion analysis system (VICON).

A growing opportunity: Community gardens affiliated with US hospitals and academic health centers

PubMed Central

George, Daniel R.; Rovniak, Liza S.; Kraschnewski, Jennifer L.; Hanson, Ryan; Sciamanna, Christopher N.

2014-01-01

Background Community gardens can reduce public health disparities through promoting physical activity and healthy eating, growing food for underserved populations, and accelerating healing from injury or disease. Despite their potential to contribute to comprehensive patient care, no prior studies have investigated the prevalence of community gardens affiliated with US healthcare institutions, and the demographic characteristics of communities served by these gardens. Methods In 2013, national community garden databases, scientific abstracts, and public search engines (e.g., Google Scholar) were used to identify gardens. Outcomes included the prevalence of hospital-based community gardens by US regions, and demographic characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, and obesity rates) of communities served by gardens. Results There were 110 healthcare-based gardens, with 39 in the Midwest, 25 in the South, 24 in the Northeast, and 22 in the West. Compared to US population averages, communities served by healthcare-based gardens had similar demographic characteristics, but significantly lower rates of obesity (27% versus 34%, P < .001). Conclusions Healthcare-based gardens are located in regions that are demographically representative of the US population, and are associated with lower rates of obesity in communities they serve. PMID:25599017

A Growing Opportunity: Community Gardens Affiliated with US Hospitals and Academic Health Centers.

PubMed

George, Daniel R; Rovniak, Liza S; Kraschnewski, Jennifer L; Hanson, Ryan; Sciamanna, Christopher N

Community gardens can reduce public health disparities through promoting physical activity and healthy eating, growing food for underserved populations, and accelerating healing from injury or disease. Despite their potential to contribute to comprehensive patient care, no prior studies have investigated the prevalence of community gardens affiliated with US healthcare institutions, and the demographic characteristics of communities served by these gardens. In 2013, national community garden databases, scientific abstracts, and public search engines (e.g., Google Scholar) were used to identify gardens. Outcomes included the prevalence of hospital-based community gardens by US regions, and demographic characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, and obesity rates) of communities served by gardens. There were 110 healthcare-based gardens, with 39 in the Midwest, 25 in the South, 24 in the Northeast, and 22 in the West. Compared to US population averages, communities served by healthcare-based gardens had similar demographic characteristics, but significantly lower rates of obesity (27% versus 34%, p < .001). Healthcare-based gardens are located in regions that are demographically representative of the US population, and are associated with lower rates of obesity in communities they serve.

The association between insomnia and prescription opioid use: results from a community sample in Northeast Florida.

PubMed

Serdarevic, Mirsada; Osborne, Vicki; Striley, Catherine W; Cottler, Linda B

2017-10-01

The current analysis examines whether opioid use is associated with insomnia in a community sample, as the consequences of the growing epidemic of prescription opioid use continue to cause public health concern. A cross-sectional study including 8433 members in a community outreach program, HealthStreet, in Northeast Florida. Community Health Workers (CHWs) assessed health information, including use of opioids (i.e., Vicodin®, Oxycodone, Codeine, Demerol®, Morphine, Percocet®, Darvon®, Hydrocodone) from community members during field outreach. Insomnia was determined based on self-report: "Have you ever been told you had, or have you ever had a problem with insomnia?" Summary descriptive statistics were calculated and logistic regression modeling was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals for insomnia, by opioid use status, after adjustment for demographics and other covariates. Among 8433 community members recruited (41% male; 61% Black), 2115 (25%) reported insomnia, and 4200 (50.3%) reported use of opioids. After adjusting for covariates, opioid users were significantly more likely to report insomnia than non-users (adjusted OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.25-1.61). Insomnia was 42% more likely among those who reported using prescription opioids compared to those who did not. With one half of the sample reporting prescription opioid use, and a fourth reporting insomnia, it is important to further investigate the relationship between the two. Findings provide useful preliminary information from which to conduct further analyses. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Planting Trees in Designed and Built Community Landscapes - Checklists for Success

Treesearch

Mary K. Reynolds; H. Sharon Ossenbruggen

Trees create green spaces in communities. The right trees in the right places benefit you, your home, and your community now and in the future. It is essential to select living trees to create a sense of place within communities. This publication helps citizens create community green spaces. It encourages both experts and amateurs to plant and grow trees correctly, and...

Multicultural Curriculum Development in Online Classes: Practices from Washington State Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Warren J.

2013-01-01

The community college system is based on an open-door mission and serves to provide access to students of diverse backgrounds. Online learning is one of the fastest growing segments of community college offerings. If the community college system embraces its open-door mission, it must also embrace new ways of providing multicultural experiences…

The States, Communities, and Control of the Community College: Issues and Recommendations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bender, Louis W.

The steady drift toward state control of community college education is a growing issue of concern. This movement has not come from significant changes in the authority or responsibilities of the state community college boards or agencies so much as from a variety of other national and state precursors. This document attempts to establish the…

Increasing Educational Attainment and Aspiration in an Underserved Community: The Perspective of Urban-Community Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Person, Dawn; Garcia, Yvonne; Fujimoto, Eugene; Nguyen, Kayla; Saunders, Katherine; Hoffman, John

2014-01-01

Latino students are significantly underrepresented in higher education. As the largest and fastest growing racial/ethnic population in the US, this is cause for national concern. Additionally, this rapid population growth is a call for community and school leaders from underserved communities to assess their service areas and focus on…

Growing Pains: Exploring the Transition from a Community College into a Four-Year Comprehensive College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Edna

2014-01-01

The highest degree awarded by the community college has generally been the associate in arts or the associate in science degree (Cohen & Brawer, 2008); however, an increasing number of community colleges have expanded their missions to award baccalaureate degrees (Levin, 2004; Russell, 2010; Walker, 2005). Although some community colleges have…

From Positivism to Critical Theory: School-Community Relations toward Community Equity Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Terrance L.

2017-01-01

In recent years, research on urban school-community relations has emerged with renewed vigor and a myriad of suggestions for how to best approach the topic. While most of these suggestions are anchored in positivist and interpretive epistemologies, a growing number of scholars are applying more critical approaches to school-community relations…

Implementation of the Communities That Care Prevention System by Coalitions in the Community Youth Development Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arthur, Michael W.; Hawkins, J. David; Brown, Eric C.; Briney, John S.; Oesterle, Sabrina; Abbott, Robert D.

2010-01-01

Although advances in prevention science over the past two decades have produced a growing list of tested and effective programs and policies for preventing adolescent delinquency and drug use, widespread dissemination and high-quality implementation of effective programs and policies in communities has not been achieved. The Community Youth…

Recognizing Community Voice and a Youth-Led School-Community Partnership in the School Climate Improvement Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ice, Megan; Thapa, Amrit; Cohen, Jonathan

2015-01-01

A growing body of school improvement research suggests that engaging all members of the school community, including community members and leaders, provides an essential foundation to successful school improvement efforts. School climate surveys to date tend to recognize student, parent/guardian, and school personnel voice but not the voice of…

Rapid Population Growth and Rural Community Change: A Focus on Land Use Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garkovich, Lorraine

Land use controls are often a major point of conflict between recent migrants and long-term residents of rapidly growing communities. Such conflict was noted in a case study of a rural community undergoing rapid population growth. The revision of a comprehensive land use plan for the community provided the opportunity to evaluate citizen…

Community Ecology and Capacity: Keys to Progressing the Environmental Communication of Wicked Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caron, Rosemary M.; Serrell, Nancy

2009-01-01

Wicked problems are multifactorial in nature and possess no clear resolution due to numerous community stakeholder involvement. We demonstrate childhood lead poisoning as a wicked problem and illustrate how understanding a community's ecology can build community capacity to affect local environmental management by (1) forming an academic-community…

The cultivation of wild food and medicinal plants for improving community livelihood: The case of the Buhozi site, DR Congo.

PubMed

Karhagomba, Innocent Balagizi; Mirindi T, Adhama; Mushagalusa, Timothée B; Nabino, Victor B; Koh, Kwangoh; Kim, Hee Seon

2013-12-01

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of farming technology on introducing medicinal plants (MP) and wild food plants (WFP) into a traditional agricultural system within peri-urban zones. Field investigations and semi-structured focus group interviews conducted in the Buhozi community showed that 27 health and nutrition problems dominated in the community, and could be treated with 86 domestic plant species. The selected domestic MP and WFP species were collected in the broad neighboring areas of the Buhozi site, and introduced to the experimental field of beans and maize crops in Buhozi. Among the 86 plants introduced, 37 species are confirmed as having both medicinal and nutritional properties, 47 species with medicinal, and 2 species with nutritional properties. The field is arranged in a way that living hedges made from Tithonia diversifolia provide bio-fertilizers to the plants growing along the hedges. The harvest of farming crops does not disturb the MP or WFP, and vice-versa. After harvesting the integrated plants, the community could gain about 40 times higher income, than from harvesting farming crops only. This kind of field may be used throughout the year, to provide both natural medicines and foods. It may therefore contribute to increasing small-scale crop producers' livelihood, while promoting biodiversity conservation. This model needs to be deeply documented, for further pharmaceutical and nutritional use.

The cultivation of wild food and medicinal plants for improving community livelihood: The case of the Buhozi site, DR Congo

PubMed Central

Karhagomba, Innocent Balagizi; Mirindi T, Adhama; Mushagalusa, Timothée B.; Nabino, Victor B.; Koh, Kwangoh

2013-01-01

This study aims to demonstrate the effect of farming technology on introducing medicinal plants (MP) and wild food plants (WFP) into a traditional agricultural system within peri-urban zones. Field investigations and semi-structured focus group interviews conducted in the Buhozi community showed that 27 health and nutrition problems dominated in the community, and could be treated with 86 domestic plant species. The selected domestic MP and WFP species were collected in the broad neighboring areas of the Buhozi site, and introduced to the experimental field of beans and maize crops in Buhozi. Among the 86 plants introduced, 37 species are confirmed as having both medicinal and nutritional properties, 47 species with medicinal, and 2 species with nutritional properties. The field is arranged in a way that living hedges made from Tithonia diversifolia provide bio-fertilizers to the plants growing along the hedges. The harvest of farming crops does not disturb the MP or WFP, and vice-versa. After harvesting the integrated plants, the community could gain about 40 times higher income, than from harvesting farming crops only. This kind of field may be used throughout the year, to provide both natural medicines and foods. It may therefore contribute to increasing small-scale crop producers' livelihood, while promoting biodiversity conservation. This model needs to be deeply documented, for further pharmaceutical and nutritional use. PMID:24353838

Tuberous Sclerosis

MedlinePlus

... on where the tumors grow. They could include Skin problems, such as light patches and thickened skin Seizures Behavior problems Intellectual disabilities Kidney problems Some people have signs ...

Who is Next? Identifying Communities with the Potential for Increased Implementation of Sustainability Policies and Programs

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding the system of connections between societal contexts and policy outcomes in municipal governments provides important insights into how community sustainability happens, and why it happens differently in various communities. A growing body of research in recent years ...

Comparative Evaluation of Anaerobic Bacterial Communities Associated with Roots of Submerged Macrophytes Growing in Marine or Brackish Water Sediments

EPA Science Inventory

Sediment microbial communities are important for seagrass growth and carbon cycling, however relatively few studies have addressed the composition of prokaryotic communities in seagrass bed sediments. Selective media were used enumerate culturable anaerobic bacteria associated ...

Latinos in the South.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Emily Elliott, Ed.

2002-01-01

This newsletter theme issue contains five articles about the growing Latino population in the South and its impact on communities, particularly in rural areas. "Social Capital of Mexican Communities in the South" (Ruben Hernandez-Leon, Victor Zuniga) argues that, to understand and advocate for Mexican newcomer communities in the South,…

Democratic Leadership for Community Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruffin, Verna D.; Brooks, Jeffrey S.

2010-01-01

Because educators continue to face challenges when seeking to educate all children, there is a growing recognition that schools must work with communities to maximize their collective educational potential (Murphy, Beck, Crawford, Hodges, & McGauphy, 2001). Although community schools are still in the emergent stages of development, their emphasis…

Research, empiricism and clinical practice in low-income countries.

PubMed

Isaac, Mohan; Chand, Prabhat; Murthy, Pratima

2007-10-01

Mental health problems are relevant for every country. They are particularly important for low-income countries which face a high burden of illness due to infectious disease, greater socio-economic disparities, and have limited resources for mental health care. There is a great mismatch in the areas of mental health research, practice, policy and services in comparison to developed countries. There have been a few studies that have investigated major mental health problems prevailing in these countries but missed out significant health problems. Studies have tended to be more donor driven and conducted in tertiary centres. The low priority accorded to mental health by the policy makers, scarcity of human resources, lack of culture-specific study instruments, lack of support from scientific journals have been some of the impediments to mental health research in these countries. In addition, lack of community participation and absence of sound mental health policies have deprived the vast majority of the benefit of modern psychiatric treatments. Recently, with increase in collaboration in research, availability of treatment including low-priced psychotropics, and a growing emphasis on the need for mental health policy in some low-income countries, the bleak scenario is expected to change.

Facts about Texas Children. Excerpted from Children, Choice, and Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Lorwen Connie

The environment in which Texas children grow up is crucial to their future and to the future of the state. Almost 500,000 Texas families were poor in 1985. Poverty sets the stage for numerous childhood maladies: infant mortality, health problems, child abuse, learning disabilities, malnutrition, and mental health problems. As poor children grow up…

Pet Problems at Home: Pet Problems in the Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soltow, Willow

1984-01-01

Discusses problems of pets in the community, examining the community's role related to disruptive pets and pet overpopulation. Also discusses pet problems at home, offering advice on selecting a pet, meeting a pet's needs, and disciplining pets. Includes a list of books, films/filmstrips, teaching materials, and various instructional strategies.…

Career, Personal, and Educational Problems of Community College Students: Severity and Frequency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coll, Kenneth M.

1995-01-01

Gathered information about the severity and frequency of community college student problems, through a survey of 65 public community college counselors. Most reported an increase in severity of personal problems (family, alcohol, self-worth), career (goals, job market), and educational problems (lack of skills, time management). Reports other…

Growing media constituents determine the microbial nitrogen conversions in organic growing media for horticulture.

PubMed

Grunert, Oliver; Reheul, Dirk; Van Labeke, Marie-Christine; Perneel, Maaike; Hernandez-Sanabria, Emma; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E; Boon, Nico

2016-05-01

Vegetables and fruits are an important part of a healthy food diet, however, the eco-sustainability of the production of these can still be significantly improved. European farmers and consumers spend an estimated €15.5 billion per year on inorganic fertilizers and the production of N-fertilizers results in a high carbon footprint. We investigated if fertilizer type and medium constituents determine microbial nitrogen conversions in organic growing media and can be used as a next step towards a more sustainable horticulture. We demonstrated that growing media constituents showed differences in urea hydrolysis, ammonia and nitrite oxidation and in carbon dioxide respiration rate. Interestingly, mixing of the growing media constituents resulted in a stimulation of the function of the microorganisms. The use of organic fertilizer resulted in an increase in amoA gene copy number by factor 100 compared to inorganic fertilizers. Our results support our hypothesis that the activity of the functional microbial community with respect to nitrogen turnover in an organic growing medium can be improved by selecting and mixing the appropriate growing media components with each other. These findings contribute to the understanding of the functional microbial community in growing media and its potential role towards a more responsible horticulture. © 2016 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Indirect Short- and Long-Term Effects of Aboveground Invertebrate and Vertebrate Herbivores on Soil Microarthropod Communities

PubMed Central

Vandegehuchte, Martijn L.; Raschein, Ursina; Schütz, Martin; Gwiazdowicz, Dariusz J.; Risch, Anita C.

2015-01-01

Recognition is growing that besides ungulates, small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores are important drivers of grassland functioning. Even though soil microarthropods play key roles in several soil processes, effects of herbivores—especially those of smaller body size—on their communities are not well understood. Therefore, we progressively excluded large, medium and small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores for three growing seasons using size-selective fences in two vegetation types in subalpine grasslands; short-grass and tall-grass vegetation generated by high and low historical levels of ungulate grazing. Herbivore exclusions generally had few effects on microarthropod communities, but exclusion of all herbivore groups resulted in decreased total springtail and Poduromorpha richness compared with exclusion of only ungulates and medium-sized mammals, regardless of vegetation type. The tall-grass vegetation had a higher total springtail richness and mesostigmatid mite abundance than the short-grass vegetation and a different oribatid mite community composition. Although several biotic and abiotic variables differed between the exclusion treatments and vegetation types, effects on soil microarthropods were best explained by differences in nutrient and fibre content of the previous year’s vegetation, a proxy for litter quality, and to a lesser extent soil temperature. After three growing seasons, smaller herbivores had a stronger impact on these functionally important soil microarthropod communities than large herbivores. Over longer time-scales, however, large grazers created two different vegetation types and thereby influenced microarthropod communities bottom-up, e.g. by altering resource quality. Hence, both short- and long-term consequences of herbivory affected the structure of the soil microarthropod community. PMID:25738942

OA39 Digging a hole… planting a seed… water it and watch it start to grow, grow, grow.

PubMed

Lloyd, Rebecca; McLoughlin, Kathleen; McGloughlin, Carmelia; Macken, Caroline; Richardson, Marie; Rhatigan, Jim

2015-04-01

Milford Care Centre's Compassionate Communities Project uses a seed grant scheme to engage with communities around illness, dying, death and bereavement. The scheme, now in it's 3(rd) cycle strives to inspire and support the work of local groups, organisations and individuals who wish to mark in some tangible way their response to the universal realities of death, dying, loss and care as lived and experienced by those living within their communities. A key requirement for the receipt of a grant is that the level of funding must be matched either in cash or in kind. This presentation will report on the projects supported, describing the short and medium term impact they have had on the local community. A short film will showcase the projects. Qualitative interviews were conducted with all grant recipients to determine the impact of the seed grant at a community level. Seed grants were used in a variety of ways, for example: Supporting a community group to develop a reflection space Supporting a youth project to explore what death, dying, loss and care means to service users through the creative arts. Supporting a library to develop a bereavement information 'resource'. Supporting local groups to run a community event aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge about 'healthy' ways of coping with loss and grief. Supporting those seeking practical ways of providing support to other living with illness and loss. The seed grant scheme offers a low cost, high impact approach to working with communities. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Critical Components of Community College Enrollment Management Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bucher, Karen Hart

2010-01-01

Enrollment management has become a common practice at four-year institutions, but has not been extensively explored at community colleges. As students have more educational options available to them, community colleges have begun to explore ways to grow their enrollment, improve student retention and increase graduation rates. This study explored…

Applying Cultura in the Community College Counseling Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arteaga, Blanca E.

2015-01-01

Latino students represent the fastest-growing population in the state of California, the United States, and the California Community College (CCC) system. Unfortunately, compared to other ethnic groups, Latino community college students continue to lag academically. Given the importance of counseling services and the scarce research related to…

Community-Based Research and Student Development: An Interview with Trisha Thorme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Shea, Joseph

2012-01-01

A growing number of universities have implemented community-based research pedagogy into their undergraduate education. Integrating academic training with community engagement has the potential to engage students in a way volunteering may not. This interview with Trisha Thorme, an anthropologist and assistant director of Princeton University's…

Going the Distance: Taking a Diagnostic Imaging Program to Frontier and Rural Oregon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malosh, Ann; Mallory, Stacy; Olson, Marcene

2009-01-01

The Grow Your Own diagnostic imaging program is a public/private collaborative venture involving the efforts of an array of community colleges, employers, workforce, and educational partners throughout Oregon. This statewide Community College Partnership delivers diagnostic imaging education to Oregon's rural communities via distributed learning…

The Town-Gown Relationship: Collaboration in University Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotsones, Rena K.

2013-01-01

As communities and universities confront increasingly complex social and fiscal pressures, there is a growing need to align and maximize local resources, knowledge and efforts. Historic and current tensions between town and gown can challenge the ability of universities and communities to collaborate for mutual benefit. This dissertation explores…

Community Colleges: Rethinking STD Prevention for the Nontraditional College Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Habel, Melissa A.; Becasen, Jeffrey S.; Kachur, Rachel; Eastman-Mueller, Heather; Dittus, Patricia J.

2017-01-01

As increased attention and proposed funding are being directed toward community colleges, it is important to consider the sexual and reproductive health care needs of this growing population. Existing data suggest there are significant sexual health needs among this population and often insufficient provision of services. Some community college…

As Your Community Grows...Some Economic Considerations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, John; Clayton, Kenneth

Because information on the impacts which a community may experience as a consequence of economic change is needed for informed community decision-making regarding the local economic base, this report identifies, defines, and describes many such impacts. Changes which the private sector may expect in employment, personal income, sales, and…

Community Psychology in South Africa: Origins, Developments, and Manifestations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seedat, Mohamed; Lazarus, Sandy

2011-01-01

This article represents a South African contribution to the growing international body of knowledge on histories of community psychology. We trace the early antecedents of social-community psychology interventions and describe the social forces and academic influences that provided the impetus for the emergence and development of community…

Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement (MESA). Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2014

2014-01-01

Growing Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM) talent Washington MESA--Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement--helps under-represented community college students excel in school and ultimately earn STEM bachelor's degrees. MESA has two key programs: one for K-12 students, and the other for community and technical college…

Real Estate Curriculum for Community Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Robert W.

The Oregon Department of Education has prepared this curriculum guide to assist community college personnel in developing or upgrading real estate programs. This fast-growing field has demanded that community colleges analyze the course content of such programs so that they are relevant to the actual needs of the industry. An Advisory Committee…

How Community-Based Organizations Can Start Charter Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinelli, Frank

A growing number of charter schools are being designed, launched, and operated by community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs). This resource guide is intended to target a priority technical assistance need: creating and sustaining a healthy relationship between a new charter school and a founding community organization, leading to the creation…

Successful Teaching Strategies: Instruction for Black and Hispanic Students in the California Community Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercado, Olivia; And Others

In response to the growing concern over the significant underrepresentation, underpreparation, and enrollment decline of minority students, the chancellor's office of the California Community Colleges prepared this report to identify community college instructional programs designed specifically for Blacks and Hispanics. Sections 1 through 3…

Gifts of Time and Space: Co-Educative Companionship in a Community Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Joanna

2013-01-01

Family-focused community education implies a relational pedagogy, whereby people of different ages and experiences, including children, engage interdependently in the education of selves and others. Educational projects grow out of lived experiences and relationships, evolving in dynamic conditions of community self-organisation and…

Serving Adult and Returning Students: One College's Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennamer, Michael A.; Campbell, J. David

2011-01-01

In 2009, "Community College Week" named Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) one of the fastest growing community colleges in America. In the early 2000s, the college, which is located in the rural Appalachian region of Alabama, had begun efforts to increase enrollment. These efforts included providing online registration, online…

Family, School, and Community Partnerships: Practical Strategies for Afterschool Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn-Stevenson, Matia

2014-01-01

Much attention is given today to the importance of forging family, school, and community partnerships. Growing numbers of schools, many of them with afterschool programs, are dedicating resources to support and sustain relationships with families and community-based organizations. And, among government agencies and the philanthropic sector, there…

Four-Year Itch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Dennis

2017-01-01

Ohio's decision to let community colleges award four-year degrees is part of a growing national trend. When this article went to press, more than 90 community colleges across 19 states offered active four-year degree programs. Counting New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, which technically is a community college, but offers degrees as high…

Community Colleges Expanded Role into Awarding Bachelor's Degrees. ECS Education Policy Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulton, Mary

2015-01-01

A growing number of states allow community colleges to award bachelor's degrees as one strategy to meet workforce demands, address affordability, and increase access to educational opportunities. Offering bachelor's degrees traditionally has been the domain of four-year institutions, while community colleges have been established to award…

Nutritional Risk Needs Assessment of Community-Living Seniors: Prevalence of Nutrition Problems and Priorities for Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller, Heather H.; Hedley, Margaret R.

2002-01-01

Surveyed community-dwelling older adults to examine the prevalence of nutritional risk, specific nutrition problems, and educational format preferences. Results revealed that nutrition problems and risk were prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. Common problems included significant weight change in 6 months and low intake of fruits,…

Highway safety needs of U.S. Hispanic communities : issues and strategies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-09-01

Growing diversity within the U.S. population is presenting new challenges to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies that serve the public. One of the fastest growing demographic groups is the Hispanic population. The te...

Highway Safety Needs of U.S. Hispanic Communities: Issues and Strategies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-09-01

Growing diversity within the U.S. population is presenting new challenges to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies that serve the public. One of the fastest growing demographic groups is the Hispanic population. The te...

Setting health priorities in a community: a case example

PubMed Central

Sousa, Fábio Alexandre Melo do Rego; Goulart, Maria José Garcia; Braga, Antonieta Manuela dos Santos; Medeiros, Clara Maria Oliveira; Rego, Débora Cristina Martins; Vieira, Flávio Garcia; Pereira, Helder José Alves da Rocha; Tavares, Helena Margarida Correia Vicente; Loura, Marta Maria Puim

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the methodology used in the process of setting health priorities for community intervention in a community of older adults. METHODS Based on the results of a health diagnosis related to active aging, a prioritization process was conceived to select the priority intervention problem. The process comprised four successive phases of problem analysis and classification: (1) grouping by level of similarity, (2) classification according to epidemiological criteria, (3) ordering by experts, and (4) application of the Hanlon method. These stages combined, in an integrated manner, the views of health team professionals, community nursing and gerontology experts, and the actual community. RESULTS The first stage grouped the identified problems by level of similarity, comprising a body of 19 issues for analysis. In the second stage these problems were classified by the health team members by epidemiological criteria (size, vulnerability, and transcendence). The nine most relevant problems resulting from the second stage of the process were submitted to expert analysis and the five most pertinent problems were selected. The last step identified the priority issue for intervention in this specific community with the participation of formal and informal community leaders: Low Social Interaction in Community Participation. CONCLUSIONS The prioritization process is a key step in health planning, enabling the identification of priority problems to intervene in a given community at a given time. There are no default formulas for selecting priority issues. It is up to each community intervention team to define its own process with different methods/techniques that allow the identification of and intervention in needs classified as priority by the community. PMID:28273229

Project "Nueva Generacion" and Grow Your Own Teachers: Transforming Schools and Teacher Education from the Inside Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Elizabeth A.

2010-01-01

The on-going quest to more effectively connect teacher candidates with urban communities and schools drives the examination of the role of colleges of education within the school/community context. Given that most community-based teacher education programs originate on campus and then move into communities, it is not surprising that a disconnect…

What Do We Know about Full-Service Community Schools? Integrative Research Review with NVivo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Min, Mina; Anderson, Jeffrey Alvin; Chen, Minge

2017-01-01

The full-service community school (FSCS) model is one of the most popular and growing types of community school models, which is widely implemented in under-resourced urban schools. FSCSs offer an alternative to traditional public schools in the U.S. and are designed to coordinate community assets within a school. Given increased attention to this…

We Are the Leaders We've Been Waiting for

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vargas, Arturo

2011-01-01

As the Latino community in the United States grows and matures, the inevitable question continues to be asked: who is the leader of this community of 50 million? "Leadership" in the Latino community has been hotly debated for many years. Many decry the absence of the "great Brown hope," a single leader who can unite the community of 50 million…

Beyond the Classroom: International Education and the Community College. Volume IV. Working with Local Business To Enhance Asian-Pacific Understanding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franco, Robert W., Ed.; Shimabukuro, James N., Ed.

Part of a four-volume set in which community college educators discuss their efforts to internationalize the educational experience of the students and communities they serve, volume IV in this series focuses on the growing importance of community colleges in providing short-term, intensive training in international business and intercultural…

[Community marketing of contraceptives].

PubMed

Urrutia, J M

1987-09-01

The 5-year-old community contraceptive distribution program developed by PROFAMILIA, Colombia's private family planning organization, has given excellent results, but several cost-effectiveness comparisons with social marketing programs have suggested that commercial distribution programs are superior. The community contraceptive distribution program has a high content of information and education activities, which produced significant increases in knowledge and use of contraception in the communities covered. It has been a fundamental support for the social marketing program, creating much of the demand for contraceptive products that the social marketing program has filled. The social marketing program has given good results in terms of volume of sales and in cost-effectiveness since 1976, prompting calls for replacement of the community contraceptive distribution program by the social marketing program in those sectors where knowledge and use of contraception have achieved acceptable levels. An experiment in the Department of Santander in 1984 and 1985 gave very favorable results, suggesting that community contraceptive distribution programs should be replaced by social marketing programs in all more developed markets. But economic problems in 1985 and the decision of manufacturers to decrease the profit margin for PROFAMILIA jeopardized the social marketing program. The community distribution program covered about 20% of the market. Reduced profits in the social marketing program threatened its continued expansion, at the same time that potential demand was growing because of increases in the fertile aged population and increased use of contraception. To meet the need, PROFAMILIA combined the community contraceptive distribution and social marketing programs into a new entity to be called community marketing. The strategy of the community marketing program will be to maintain PROFAMILIA's participation in the market and aid the growth of demand for contraceptives through educational and informational activities. The distribution scheme must continue to cover all the established points of sale in pharmacies despite the reduced profit margins.

Traceability in healthcare: crossing boundaries.

PubMed

Lovis, C

2008-01-01

This paper is a survey on the problem of traceability in healthcare. Traceability covers many different aspects and its understanding varies among different players. In supply chains and retails, traceability usually covers aspects pertaining to logistics. The challenge is to keep trace of objects manufactured, to track their locations in a production and distribution processes. In food industry, traceability has received a lot of attention because of public health problems related to infectious diseases. For instance, in Europe, the challenge of traceability has been to build the tracking of meat, from the living animal to the shell. In the health sector, traceability has mostly been involved in patient safety around human products such as blood derivates contaminants or implanted devices and prosthesis such as mammary implants. There are growing interests involving traceability in health related to drug safety, including the problem of counterfeited drugs, and to privacy. Traceability is also increasingly seen as a mean to improve efficiency of the logistics of care and a way to better understand costs and usage of resources. This survey is reviewing the literature and proposes a discussion based on the real use and needs of traceability in a large teaching hospital. Traceability in healthcare is at the crossroads of numerous needs. It is therefore of particular complexity and raises many new challenges. Identification management and entity tracking, from serialization of consumers' good production in the supply chains, to the identification of actors, patients, care providers, locations and processes is a huge effort, tackling economical, political, ethical and technical challenges. New requirements are needed, not usually met in the supply chain, such as serialization and persistence in time. New problems arise, such as privacy and legal frameworks. There are growing needs to increase traceability for drug products, related to drug safety, counterfeited drugs, and to privacy. Technical problems around reliability, robustness and efficiency of carriers are still to be resolved. There is a lot at stakes. Traceability is a major aspect of the future in healthcare and requires the attention of the community of medical informatics.

Senior Alcohol Services Revisited: Elderly Alcoholism--Current State of the Art.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlop, Jean D.

This report notes the growing awareness of alcohol problems among the elderly during the past 5 to 10 years, and reviews the final conclusions of the federal demonstration project, Senior Alcohol Services. Five basic concepts are included: (1) there are a growing number of elderly persons with alcohol problems (10-15% of all persons over age 60);…

Towards evidence-based, GIS-driven national spatial health information infrastructure and surveillance services in the United Kingdom

PubMed Central

Boulos, Maged N Kamel

2004-01-01

The term "Geographic Information Systems" (GIS) has been added to MeSH in 2003, a step reflecting the importance and growing use of GIS in health and healthcare research and practices. GIS have much more to offer than the obvious digital cartography (map) functions. From a community health perspective, GIS could potentially act as powerful evidence-based practice tools for early problem detection and solving. When properly used, GIS can: inform and educate (professionals and the public); empower decision-making at all levels; help in planning and tweaking clinically and cost-effective actions, in predicting outcomes before making any financial commitments and ascribing priorities in a climate of finite resources; change practices; and continually monitor and analyse changes, as well as sentinel events. Yet despite all these potentials for GIS, they remain under-utilised in the UK National Health Service (NHS). This paper has the following objectives: (1) to illustrate with practical, real-world scenarios and examples from the literature the different GIS methods and uses to improve community health and healthcare practices, e.g., for improving hospital bed availability, in community health and bioterrorism surveillance services, and in the latest SARS outbreak; (2) to discuss challenges and problems currently hindering the wide-scale adoption of GIS across the NHS; and (3) to identify the most important requirements and ingredients for addressing these challenges, and realising GIS potential within the NHS, guided by related initiatives worldwide. The ultimate goal is to illuminate the road towards implementing a comprehensive national, multi-agency spatio-temporal health information infrastructure functioning proactively in real time. The concepts and principles presented in this paper can be also applied in other countries, and on regional (e.g., European Union) and global levels. PMID:14748927

Undocumented Students at the Community College: Creating Institutional Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valenzuela, Jéssica I.; Perez, William; Perez, Iliana; Montiel, Gloria Itzel; Chaparro, Gabriel

2015-01-01

This chapter introduces Institutional Undocu-Competence (IUC), an institutional capacity framework emerging from a critical analysis of cultural competence, aimed to inform community colleges' efforts to better support the growing undocumented student population.

University Satellite Consortium and Space Education in Japan Centered on Micro-Nano Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakasuka, S.; Kawashima, R.

2002-01-01

in Japan especially centered on micro or nano class satellites. Hands-on training using micro-nano satellites provide unique opportunity of space education to university level students, by giving them a chance to experience the whole space project cycle from mission creation, satellite design, fabrication, test, launch, operation through analysis of the results. Project management and team working are other important skills that can be trained in these projects. include 1) low cost, which allows one laboratory in university to carry out a project, 2) short development period such as one or two year, which enables students to obtain the results of their projects before they graduate, and 3) small size and weight, which enables fabrication and test within usually very narrow university laboratory areas. In Japan, several projects such as CanSat, CubeSat or Whale Observation Satellite have been carried out, proving that micro-nano satellites provide very unique and valuable educational opportunity. with the objective to make a university student and staff community of these micro-nano satellite related activities in Japan. This consortium aims for many activities including facilitating information and skills exchange and collaborations between member universities, helping students to use ground test facilities of national laboratories, consulting them on political or law related matters, coordinating joint development of equipments or projects, and bridging between these university activities and the needs or interests of the people in general. This kind of outreach activity is essential because how to create missions of micro-nano satellites should be pursued in order for this field to grow larger than a merely educational enterprise. The final objectives of the consortium is to make a huge community of the users, mission creators, investors and manufactures(i.e., university students) of micro-nano satellites, and provide a unique contribution to the activation of the space development. activities, including how to acquire frequency permission, how to obtain launch opportunity and financial support, how to operate the launched satellites using cheap ground stations, etc. Especially, the frequency problem should be solved as soon as possible because so many universities in the world are planning similar projects and the frequency in the amateur band are already very congested. One idea is that universities should make a world wide "university satellite community" and collaboratively ask for a kind of "Educational frequency" to ITU, and share the obtained frequency within the community under the community's own management. This kind of community will also be useful for collaborative satellite operation, because the universities which have a ground station spread over the world. I hope the IAC meeting will provide a good opportunity for discussing these problems and facilitating the construction of world wide university community to tackle with these problems.

CosmoQuest Collaborative: Galvanizing a Dynamic Professional Learning Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, Whitney; Bracey, Georgia; Buxner, Sanlyn; Gay, Pamela L.; Noel-Storr, Jacob; CosmoQuest Team

2016-10-01

The CosmoQuest Collaboration offers in-depth experiences to diverse audiences around the nation and the world through pioneering citizen science in a virtual research facility. An endeavor between universities, research institutes, and NASA centers, CosmoQuest brings together scientists, educators, researchers, programmers—and citizens of all ages—to explore and make sense of our solar system and beyond. Leveraging human networks to expand NASA science, scaffolded by an educational framework that inspires lifelong learners, CosmoQuest engages citizens in analyzing and interpreting real NASA data, inspiring questions and defining problems.The QuestionLinda Darling-Hammond calls for professional development to be: "focused on the learning and teaching of specific curriculum content [i.e. NGSS disciplinary core ideas]; organized around real problems of practice [i.e. NGSS science and engineering practices] … [and] connected to teachers' collaborative work in professional learning community...." (2012) In light of that, what is the unique role CosmoQuest's virtual research facility can offer NASA STEM education?A Few AnswersThe CosmoQuest Collaboration actively engages scientists in education, and educators (and learners) in science. CosmoQuest uses social channels to empower and expand NASA's learning community through a variety of media, including science and education-focused hangouts, virtual star parties, and social media. In addition to creating its own supportive, standards-aligned materials, CosmoQuest offers a hub for excellent resources and materials throughout NASA and the larger astronomy community.In support of CosmoQuest citizen science opportunities, CQ initiatives (Learning Space, S-ROSES, IDEASS, Educator Zone) will be leveraged and shared through the CQPLN. CosmoQuest can be present and alive in the awareness its growing learning community.Finally, to make the CosmoQuest PLN truly relevant, it aims to encourage partnerships between scientists and educators, and offer "just-in-time" opportunities to support constituents exploring emerging NASA STEM education, from diverse educators to the curious learner of any age.

CosmoQuest: Galvanizing a Dynamic, Inclusive Professional Learning Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, W. H.; Buxner, S.; Bracey, G.; Noel-Storr, J.; Gay, P.; Graff, P. V.

2016-12-01

The CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility offers experiences to audiences around the nation and globally through pioneering citizen science. An endeavor between universities, research institutes, and NASA centers, CosmoQuest brings together scientists, educators, researchers, programmers—and individuals of all ages—to explore and make sense of our solar system and beyond. Scaffolded by an educational framework that inspires 21stCentury learners, CosmoQuest engages people—you, me!—in analyzing and interpreting real NASA data, inspiring questions and defining problems. Linda Darling-Hammond calls for professional development to be: "focused on the learning and teaching of specific curriculum content [i.e. NGSS disciplinary core ideas]; organized around real problems of practice [i.e. NGSS science and engineering practices] …; [and] connected to teachers' collaborative work in professional learning community...." (2012). In light of that, what can CosmoQuest offer NASA STEM education as a virtual research facility? CosmoQuest engages scientists with learners, and learners with science. As a virual research facility, its focal point must be its online platform. CosmoQuest empowers and expands community through a variety of social channels, including science and education-focused hangouts, podcasts, virtual star parties, and social media. In addition to creating standards-aligned materials, CosmoQuest channels are a hub for excellent resources throughout NASA and the larger astronomical community. In support of CosmoQuest citizen science opportunities, the process and outcomes of CosmoQuest initiatives will be leveraged and shared. Thus, CosmoQuest will be present and alive in the awareness of its growing community. Finally, to make CosmoQuest truly relevant, partnerships between scientists and educators are encouraged and facilitated, and "just-in-time" opportunities to support constituents exploring emerging NASA STEM education and new NASA data will be offered, engaging audiences ranging from diverse educators to the curious learner of any age.

Internalized Homophobia and Drug Use in a National Cohort of Gay and Bisexual Men: Examining Depression, Sexual Anxiety, and Gay Community Attachment as Mediating Factors.

PubMed

Moody, Raymond L; Starks, Tyrel J; Grov, Christian; Parsons, Jeffrey T

2018-05-01

The minority stress process of internalized homophobia (IH) has been associated with a range of adverse health outcomes among gay and bisexual men (GBM). However, evidence is mixed regarding the effect of IH on drug use, suggesting the potential role of multiple mediated pathways. Researchers have linked depression, sexual anxiety, and gay community attachment with IH. Depression, sexual anxiety, and gay community attachment have also been linked with drug use and drug-related problems suggesting potential mediating roles. A U.S. national sample of 1071 HIV-negative GBM completed at-home surveys, including measures of sociodemographic characteristics, IH, depression, sexual anxiety, gay community attachment, and drug use and associated problems. Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, depression mediated the association between IH and recent drug use. IH was positively associated with depression, and depression was positively associated with recent drug use. Gay community attachment partially mediated drug-related problems. IH had a positive direct association with drug-related problems and a negative direct association with gay community attachment. Gay community attachment had a positive association with drug-related problems. IH was positively associated with sexual anxiety, but sexual anxiety was not associated with either drug outcome. Efforts to reduce IH among HIV-negative GBM are likely to have a positive impact on mental health problems, as well as reduce risk for drug use and drug-related problems. Gay communities could provide the social support necessary for reducing IH; however, emphasis on community level interventions that address factors that increase risk for drug-related problems remains important.

A framework for solving ill-structured community problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, William Cotesworth

A multifaceted protocol for solving ill-structured community problems has been developed. It embodies the lessons learned from the past by refining and extending features of previous models from the systems thinkers, and the fields of behavioral decision making and creative problem solving. The protocol also embraces additional features needed to address the unique aspects of community decision situations. The essential elements of the protocol are participants from the community, a problem-solving process, a systems picture, a facilitator, a modified Delphi method of communications, and technical expertise. This interdisciplinary framework has been tested by a quasi experiment with a real world community problem (the high cost of electrical power on Long Island, NY). Results indicate the protocol can enable members of the community to understand a complicated, ill-structured problem and guide them to action to solve the issue. However, the framework takes time (over one year in the test case) and will be inappropriate for crises where quick action is needed.

Improving the state of health programming by using diffusion theory.

PubMed

Dearing, James W

2004-01-01

Year by year, the gaps between what is known about behavior change and what is actually practiced in social programs grow larger, especially for community-based programs intended to help minority populations, the poor, and those living in inner-city and rural areas. Internationally, such gaps between the state of knowledge and the state of practice lead to disparities in health, education, and development among societal groups, demographic sub-populations, communities, and countries. Data about disparities are used as evidence of inequality. Here, I discuss uses of certain diffusion of innovation theory-based concepts to systematically redress problems of inequality and disparity by reducing the differences between evidence and practice in social programs that are implemented by intermediaries (practitioners) and communicated by them to needy populations. The emphasis here is on the integrated application of knowledge about innovation attributes, opinion leadership, and clustering from diffusion theory to achieve the objective of more extensive and more rapid diffusion of especially effective programs. A set of implementation steps are offered for researchers, funders of international health programs, and the intermediaries who implement health programs.

The role of biofilms as environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance

PubMed Central

Balcázar, José L.; Subirats, Jéssica; Borrego, Carles M.

2015-01-01

Antibiotic resistance has become a significant and growing threat to public and environmental health. To face this problem both at local and global scales, a better understanding of the sources and mechanisms that contribute to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance is required. Recent studies demonstrate that aquatic ecosystems are reservoirs of resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes as well as potential conduits for their transmission to human pathogens. Despite the wealth of information about antibiotic pollution and its effect on the aquatic microbial resistome, the contribution of environmental biofilms to the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance has not been fully explored in aquatic systems. Biofilms are structured multicellular communities embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix that acts as a barrier to antibiotic diffusion. High population densities and proximity of cells in biofilms also increases the chances for genetic exchange among bacterial species converting biofilms in hot spots of antibiotic resistance. This review focuses on the potential effect of antibiotic pollution on biofilm microbial communities, with special emphasis on ecological and evolutionary processes underlying acquired resistance to these compounds. PMID:26583011

Evaluation of a cross-sector community initiative partnership: delivering a local sport program.

PubMed

Kihl, Lisa A; Tainsky, Scott; Babiak, Kathy; Bang, Hyejin

2014-06-01

Corporate community initiatives (CCI) are often established via cross-sector partnerships with nonprofit agencies to address critical social problems. While there is a growing body of literature exploring the effectiveness and social impact of these partnerships, there is a limited evaluative research on the implementation and execution processes of CCIs. In this paper, we examined the implementation and operational processes in the delivery of a professional sport organization's CCI initiative using program theory evaluation. The findings showed discrepancies between the associate organization and the implementers regarding understanding and fulfilling responsibilities with performing certain aspects (maintaining accurate records and program marketing) of the service delivery protocol. Despite program stakeholders being satisfied overall with the program delivery, contradictions between program stakeholders' satisfaction in the quality of program delivery was found in critical components (marketing and communications) of the service delivery. We conclude that ongoing evaluations are necessary to pinpoint the catalyst of the discrepancies along with all partners valuing process evaluation in addition to outcome evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Network-based approaches to climate knowledge discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budich, Reinhard; Nyberg, Per; Weigel, Tobias

2011-11-01

Climate Knowledge Discovery Workshop; Hamburg, Germany, 30 March to 1 April 2011 Do complex networks combined with semantic Web technologies offer the next generation of solutions in climate science? To address this question, a first Climate Knowledge Discovery (CKD) Workshop, hosted by the German Climate Computing Center (Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ)), brought together climate and computer scientists from major American and European laboratories, data centers, and universities, as well as representatives from industry, the broader academic community, and the semantic Web communities. The participants, representing six countries, were concerned with large-scale Earth system modeling and computational data analysis. The motivation for the meeting was the growing problem that climate scientists generate data faster than it can be interpreted and the need to prepare for further exponential data increases. Current analysis approaches are focused primarily on traditional methods, which are best suited for large-scale phenomena and coarse-resolution data sets. The workshop focused on the open discussion of ideas and technologies to provide the next generation of solutions to cope with the increasing data volumes in climate science.

The role of biofilms as environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance.

PubMed

Balcázar, José L; Subirats, Jéssica; Borrego, Carles M

2015-01-01

Antibiotic resistance has become a significant and growing threat to public and environmental health. To face this problem both at local and global scales, a better understanding of the sources and mechanisms that contribute to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance is required. Recent studies demonstrate that aquatic ecosystems are reservoirs of resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes as well as potential conduits for their transmission to human pathogens. Despite the wealth of information about antibiotic pollution and its effect on the aquatic microbial resistome, the contribution of environmental biofilms to the acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance has not been fully explored in aquatic systems. Biofilms are structured multicellular communities embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix that acts as a barrier to antibiotic diffusion. High population densities and proximity of cells in biofilms also increases the chances for genetic exchange among bacterial species converting biofilms in hot spots of antibiotic resistance. This review focuses on the potential effect of antibiotic pollution on biofilm microbial communities, with special emphasis on ecological and evolutionary processes underlying acquired resistance to these compounds.

Infrastructure and the Virtual Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dowler, P.; Gaudet, S.; Schade, D.

2011-07-01

The modern data center is faced with architectural and software engineering challenges that grow along with the challenges facing observatories: massive data flow, distributed computing environments, and distributed teams collaborating on large and small projects. By using VO standards as key components of the infrastructure, projects can take advantage of a decade of intellectual investment by the IVOA community. By their nature, these standards are proven and tested designs that already exist. Adopting VO standards saves considerable design effort, allows projects to take advantage of open-source software and test suites to speed development, and enables the use of third party tools that understand the VO protocols. The evolving CADC architecture now makes heavy use of VO standards. We show examples of how these standards may be used directly, coupled with non-VO standards, or extended with custom capabilities to solve real problems and provide value to our users. In the end, we use VO services as major parts of the core infrastructure to reduce cost rather than as an extra layer with additional cost and we can deliver more general purpose and robust services to our user community.

Community for Data Integration 2014 annual report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langseth, Madison L.; Chang, Michelle Y.; Carlino, Jennifer; Birch, Daniella D.; Bradley, Joshua; Bristol, R. Sky; Conzelmann, Craig; Diehl, Robert H.; Earle, Paul S.; Ellison, Laura E.; Everette, Anthony L.; Fuller, Pamela L.; Gordon, Janice M.; Govoni, David L.; Guy, Michelle R.; Henkel, Heather S.; Hutchison, Vivian B.; Kern, Tim; Lightsom, Frances L.; Long, Joseph W.; Longhenry, Ryan; Preston, Todd M.; Smith, Stan W.; Viger, Roland J.; Wesenberg, Katherine; Wood, Eric C.

2015-10-02

To achieve these goals, the CDI operates within four applied areas: monthly forums, annual workshop/webinar series, working groups, and projects. The monthly forums, also known as the Opportunity/Challenge of the Month, provide an open dialogue to share and learn about data integration efforts or to present problems that invite the community to offer solutions, advice, and support. Since 2010, the CDI has also sponsored annual workshops/webinar series to encourage the exchange of ideas, sharing of activities, presentations of current projects, and networking among members. Stemming from common interests, the working groups are focused on efforts to address data management and technical challenges including the development of standards and tools, improving interoperability and information infrastructure, and data preservation within USGS and its partners. The growing support for the activities of the working groups led to the CDI’s first formal request for proposals (RFP) process in 2013 to fund projects that produced tangible products. As of 2014, the CDI continues to hold an annual RFP that creates data management tools and practices, collaboration tools, and training in support of data integration and delivery.

Parasites, ecosystems and sustainability: an ecological and complex systems perspective.

PubMed

Horwitz, Pierre; Wilcox, Bruce A

2005-06-01

Host-parasite relationships can be conceptualised either narrowly, where the parasite is metabolically dependent on the host, or more broadly, as suggested by an ecological-evolutionary and complex systems perspective. In this view Host-parasite relationships are part of a larger set of ecological and co-evolutionary interdependencies and a complex adaptive system. These interdependencies affect not just the hosts, vectors, parasites, the immediate agents, but also those indirectly or consequentially affected by the relationship. Host-parasite relationships also can be viewed as systems embedded within larger systems represented by ecological communities and ecosystems. So defined, it can be argued that Host-parasite relationships may often benefit their hosts and contribute significantly to the structuring of ecological communities. The broader, complex adaptive system view also contributes to understanding the phenomenon of disease emergence, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms involved, and the role of parasitology in research and management of ecosystems in light of the apparently growing problem of emerging infectious diseases in wildlife and humans. An expanded set of principles for integrated parasite management is suggested by this perspective.

Association of Socioeconomic Factors and Sedentary Lifestyle in Belgrade’s Suburb, Working Class Community

PubMed Central

KONEVIC, Slavica; MARTINOVIC, Jelena; DJONOVIC, Nela

2015-01-01

Background: Sedentary lifestyle represents a growing health problem and considering that there is already a range of unhealthy habits that are marked as health risk factors and the increasing prevalence of sedentary lifestyle worldwide, we aimed to investigate association of sedentary way of living in suburb, working class local community with socioeconomic determinants such as educational level, occupation and income status. Methods: In this community-based cross-sectional study, 1126 independently functioning adults were enrolled into the study. The study protocol included a complete clinical and biochemical investigation revealing age, gender, lipid status, height, weight and blood pressure. Trained interviewers (nurses) collected information from patients about current state of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension) smoking, medication and other socioeconomic data. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square and logistic regression were performed as statistical calculations. Results: Patients with elementary school were seven times more likely to be classified in category with sedentary lifestyle compared to patients with college or faculty degree. Being retired and reporting low income were significantly associated with higher odds of sedentary behavior when compared with students and patients with high-income status, respectively. Conclusions: The significance of this study lies in the fact that our results may help to easier identification of patients who may have a tendency towards a sedentary lifestyle. PMID:26587469

Association of Socioeconomic Factors and Sedentary Lifestyle in Belgrade's Suburb, Working Class Community.

PubMed

Konevic, Slavica; Martinovic, Jelena; Djonovic, Nela

2015-08-01

Sedentary lifestyle represents a growing health problem and considering that there is already a range of unhealthy habits that are marked as health risk factors and the increasing prevalence of sedentary lifestyle worldwide, we aimed to investigate association of sedentary way of living in suburb, working class local community with socioeconomic determinants such as educational level, occupation and income status. In this community-based cross-sectional study, 1126 independently functioning adults were enrolled into the study. The study protocol included a complete clinical and biochemical investigation revealing age, gender, lipid status, height, weight and blood pressure. Trained interviewers (nurses) collected information from patients about current state of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension) smoking, medication and other socioeconomic data. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square and logistic regression were performed as statistical calculations. Patients with elementary school were seven times more likely to be classified in category with sedentary lifestyle compared to patients with college or faculty degree. Being retired and reporting low income were significantly associated with higher odds of sedentary behavior when compared with students and patients with high-income status, respectively. The significance of this study lies in the fact that our results may help to easier identification of patients who may have a tendency towards a sedentary lifestyle.

Part-time, e-learning interprofessional pain management education for the primary and community care setting.

PubMed

Jenkins, M Sue; Bean, W Geinor; Luke, Karl

2014-02-01

Chronic pain is a long-term condition, which has a major impact on patients, carers and the health service. Despite the Chief Medical Officer setting chronic pain and its management as a national priority in 2008, the utilisation of health services by patients with long-term conditions is increasing, people with pain-related problems are not seen early enough and pain-related attendances to accident and emergency departments is increasing. Early assessment with appropriate evidence-based intervention and early recognition of when to refer to specialist and specialised services is key to addressing the growing numbers suffering with chronic pain. Pain education is recommended in many guidelines, as part of the process to address pain in these issues. Cardiff University validated an e-learning, master's level pain management module for healthcare professionals working in primary and community care. The learning outcomes revolve around robust early assessment and management of chronic pain in primary and community care and the knowledge when to refer on. The module focuses on the biopsychosocial aspects of pain and its management, using a blog as an online case study assessment for learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and application to practice. The module has resulted in learners developing evidence-based recommendations, for pain management in clinical practice.

The effect of community stress and problems on psychopathology: A structural equation modeling study.

PubMed

Lyu, Juncheng; Shi, Hong; Wang, Suzhen; Zhang, Jie

2016-02-01

This research aimed to estimate the effect of perceived social factors in the community stress and problems on the residents' psychopathology such as depression and suicidal behaviors. Subjects of this study were the informants (N=1618) in a psychological autopsy (PA) study with a case-control design. We interviewed two informants (a family member and a close friend) for 392 suicides and 416 living controls, which came from 16 rural counties randomly selected from three provinces of China. Community stress and problems were measured by the WHO SUPRE-MISS scale. Depression was measured by CES-D scale, and suicidal behavior was assessed by NCS-R scale. Multivariable liner and logistic regression models and the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were applied to probe the correlation of the depression and the suicidal behaviors with some major demographic variables as covariates. It was found that community stress and problems were directly associated with rural Chinese residents' depression (Path coefficient=0.127, P<0.001). There was no direct correlation between community stress and problem and suicidal behaviors, but community stress and problem can affect suicidal behaviors indirectly through depression. The path coefficient between depression and suicidal behaviors was 0.975. The current study predicts a new research viewpoint, that is, the depression is the intermediate between community stress and problem and suicidal behaviors. It might be an effective route to prevent depression directly and suicidal behaviors indirectly by reducing the community stress and problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic use and knowledge in the community in Kalamoon, Syrian Arab Republic: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Barah, F; Gonçalves, V

2010-05-01

Antibiotic misuse contributes to the growing problem of microbial resistance. To understand the current knowledge and practices regarding antibiotic use among Syrians, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 430 randomly selected adult residents of Kalamoon in the Syrian Arab Republic using a questionnaire. A high proportion (85%) had taken antibiotics in the past 4 weeks and 34% were not aware of the dangers of antibiotics. Of 365 participants, only 43% were prescribed the antibiotic by a physician to treat the condition, while 57% used an old prescription or took someone else's advice. Males, younger individuals, and those with low and medium income and lower educational status showed poorer practice and lower knowledge towards antibiotics. Educational efforts are needed to reduce patient demand for antibiotics.

The extent that health professionals suspect and address addiction to medicines in primary care: Findings from a survey in Northwest England.

PubMed

Bates, Geoff; Cochrane, Madeleine; Mackridge, Adam John

2017-01-01

Addiction to medicines available over the counter or via prescription is of growing international concern. The authors of the current article ran an online survey of health professionals in general medical practice and community pharmacy settings in Northwest England to explore the frequency of suspecting and responding to addiction to medicines. Health professionals reported frequently identifying addiction to medicines among patients including those with long-term pain, mental health problems, sleep disorders, and other substance use disorders, but that these addictions often go unchallenged. This adds to the evidence indicating the under-diagnosis of addiction to medicines in the United Kingdom. Strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment should recognize the diversity of individuals with addiction to medicines.

Privacy policies for health social networking sites.

PubMed

Li, Jingquan

2013-01-01

Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data.

Water reclamation, reuse and public health.

PubMed

Rose, J B

2007-01-01

The number of people who have limited access to high-quality water has increased, and while this is a growing global crisis, water issues, problems and solutions are often seen as localised. Water reuse and reclamation will play a significant role in achieving sustainability and public health protection in the future. The wastewater and reuse community should be responsible for monitoring sewage impacts and improvements as demonstrated through pathogen reduction with appropriate treatment. Viruses, Cryptosporidium and Giardia can all be reduced during treatment anywhere from 99% to 99.9999%, achieving drinking water quality, if so desired. Recommendations to achieve better access to scientific information for decision making include: 1) developing a global data base for biological contaminant loading from wastewater and 2) defining the public health protection via reuse and reclamation.

Protecting the Public From Mercury Exposure: Success Through Microexchange Events

PubMed Central

Shoemaker, Paul A.; Ghaemghami, Jalal

2003-01-01

Mercury is a growing environmental threat that can cause serious health problems and birth defects. Household thermometers are high-risk sources of mercury because most people lack the knowledge to properly dispose of one when it is broken. The Boston Public Health Commission’s Environmental Health Office, with local and national partners, created the Boston Mercury Thermometer Exchange Program to address this hazard. Large central exchanges are successful, but multiple smaller targeted “microexchanges” can be another effective way to reach the general public and specific vulnerable subpopulations such as the elderly, the homebound disabled, or recent immigrants. By conducting exchanges in community health centers and public housing developments for the elderly and disabled, and by working through home health care providers, the program collected 4477 thermometers. PMID:14652320

Privacy policies for health social networking sites

PubMed Central

Li, Jingquan

2013-01-01

Health social networking sites (HSNS), virtual communities where users connect with each other around common problems and share relevant health data, have been increasingly adopted by medical professionals and patients. The growing use of HSNS like Sermo and PatientsLikeMe has prompted public concerns about the risks that such online data-sharing platforms pose to the privacy and security of personal health data. This paper articulates a set of privacy risks introduced by social networking in health care and presents a practical example that demonstrates how the risks might be intrinsic to some HSNS. The aim of this study is to identify and sketch the policy implications of using HSNS and how policy makers and stakeholders should elaborate upon them to protect the privacy of online health data. PMID:23599228

Epidemiology of Heart Failure

PubMed Central

Roger, Véronique L.

2013-01-01

Heart failure (HF) has been singled out as an epidemic and is a staggering clinical and public health problem, associated with significant mortality, morbidity, and healthcare expenditures, particularly among those aged 65 and older. The case mix of HF is changing over time with a growing proportion of cases presenting with preserved ejection fraction for which there is no specific treatment. Despite progress in reducing HF-related mortality, hospitalizations for HF remain very frequent and rates of readmissions continuing to rise. To prevent hospitalizations, a comprehensive characterization of predictors of readmission in patients with HF is imperative and must integrate the impact of multimorbidity related to coexisting conditions. New models of patient-centered care that draw upon community-based resources to support HF patients with complex coexisting conditions are needed to decrease hospitalizations. PMID:23989710

Role of community pharmacists in patients’ self-care and self-medication

PubMed Central

Rutter, Paul

2015-01-01

This review highlights the growing prominence of self-care and explores the contribution of community pharmacy. Firstly, background to self-care is discussed, followed by placing self-care in context with regard to the general public and accessing community pharmacy. From this perspective the contribution community pharmacy currently makes is assessed, paying particular attention to the factors that negatively impact on the ability of community pharmacy to facilitate self-care. PMID:29354520

China's Top-Up Policy and the Role of Community College-Like Institutions in Educational Expansion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleishman, Shannon S.; Luo, Yuan

2013-01-01

The two-year community college model has historically been a uniquely US phenomenon. Increasingly, however, this model and adaptations of it are growing internationally, both through partnerships with community colleges in the United States and as adaptations to existing postsecondary vocational-education systems in developing countries. In this…

Five-Year Outcomes of Therapeutic Community Treatment of Drug-Involved Offenders after Release from Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inciardi, James A.; Martin, Steven S.; Butzin, Clifford A.

2004-01-01

With growing numbers of drug-involved offenders, substance abuse treatment has become a critical part of corrections. A multistage therapeutic community implemented in the Delaware correctional system has as its centerpiece a residential treatment program during work release--the transition between prison and community. An evaluation of this…

Occupy Public Education: A Community's Struggle for Educational Resources in the Era of Privatization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortez, Gabriel Alejandro

2013-01-01

This case study investigates globalization and its growing impact on public school services to disenfranchised urban communities. Using a combination of periodicals, internal documents, and observations from the author, the research provides a narrative analysis of relations between community leaders of a low-income, Mexican immigrant community…

Do Community Colleges Promote Postsecondary and Labor Market Success for First-Generation Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ampaw, Frimpomaa; Partlo, Margaret; Hullender, Tammy; Wagner, Nick

2015-01-01

Community colleges are becoming the primary access point for a growing number of underrepresented and underserved students in the higher education system. First-generation college students make up a large proportion of this population, comprising about 45% of community college attendees (Nomi, 2005). Research has explored the transfer success of…

Growing Pains and the Zen Rx: Surviving Success after the 6-Year Mark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Newland Charles; McCrimmon, Miles

2014-01-01

Subsequent to participating in the 2006 National Summer Institute on Learning Communities sponsored by the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education at The Evergreen State College, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College's Learning Communities Team spent the next several months preparing the college for a fall 2007…

Auditing and Evaluating University-Community Engagement: Lessons from a UK Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Angie; Northmore, Simon

2011-01-01

The growing importance of community and public engagement activities in universities has led to an increasing emphasis on auditing and evaluating university-community partnerships. However, the development of effective audit and evaluation tools is still at a formative stage. This article presents a case study of the University of Brighton's…

Growing Your Donor Base: Strategies and Tools for Effective Fundraising Campaigns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halligan, Tom

2008-01-01

Pressured by constricting state appropriations and ever-increasing financial demands, the nation's community colleges are ratcheting up fundraising efforts to attract new donors. Many are finding success. Honolulu Community College in Hawaii, for example, recently received an estate gift of $3.5 million. Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico…

The Role of Interaction with Faculty in Retaining Nontraditional Community College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hood, Amanda Marie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the role of student-faculty interaction in retaining nontraditional community college students. There are a large and growing number of nontraditional students, especially at the community college level. Being labeled as nontraditional typically implies that there are multiple competitors for…

A Healthy Harvest: Adolescents Grow Food and Well-Being with Policy Implications for Education, Health and Community Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pevec, Illene Susan

2011-01-01

The severe youth health crisis involving overweight and obesity requires a complex policy response involving multiple domains: education, agriculture, health services, and community planning. This research examines gardening's affective benefits for adolescents and the potential school and youth gardens have to support healthy communities.…

As Your Community Grows... Some Economic Considerations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, John; Nelson, Glenn

Economic growth and development have many implications that need to be considered so that informed decisions regarding the community can be made. Although expansion of an existing establishment or a newly located plant or business are the primary means by which communities seek economic growth, growth can also occur when the new industry is…

The Flowering of the Suburbs: Common Land and Community Farming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donahue, Brian

2000-01-01

Land's Sake, a community farm in suburban Weston (Massachusetts), cares for most of the town's conservation land, grows organic fruits and flowers, harvests forest products, employs young people, and offers various outdoor environmental education programs. The community's engagement with the land led to the passing of a bond issue to preserve the…

Community College Journeys of Hispanic ESL Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chavez, Melinda Ann

2015-01-01

The community college is the primary path that Hispanic students choose to start their college careers. Americans who speak English as their second language will continue to grow and require community colleges to offer more culturally diverse educational programs with specific resources devoted to them. This qualitative study was comprised of 11…

The Journey of a Community-Engaged Scholar: An Autoethnography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutforth, Nick

2013-01-01

Community engagement is central to the public and civic mission of a growing number of colleges and universities, and numerous faculty members are applying their expertise to issues of importance to local communities and the larger society. However, there have been few first-hand descriptions of the career paths of faculty who engage in…

Evaluation of a Community College Veteran Center and Student Veteran Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Tracy Trenell

2017-01-01

Student affairs professionals at community colleges are being confronted with a growing population of student veterans. Many college campuses are offering special academic support for veterans, while others are struggling to meet basic needs. Student veteran centers are becoming common on community college campuses as college campuses seek focused…

Community Colleges: Multiple Missions, Diverse Student Bodies, and a Range of Policy Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baime, David; Baum, Sandy

2016-01-01

The national commitment to increasing postsecondary educational attainment, combined with growing economic anxiety, has made community colleges the focus of many federal and state policy initiatives. There is good reason for this: by virtue of their nature and reach, community colleges--public institutions of higher education that predominantly…

The Effects of Institutional Factors on the Success of Community College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Thomas; Calcagno, Juan Carlos; Jenkins, Davis; Kienzl, Greg; Leinbach, Timothy

2005-01-01

The goal of this report is to measure the institutional characteristics that affect the success of community college students, particularly low-income and minority students. While there is a growing literature on this topic for baccalaureate institutions, few researchers have attempted to address the issue for community colleges. Since this line…

Community Colleges Respond to Demand for STEM Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mangan, Katherine

2013-01-01

As concerns grow over labor shortages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, the colleges ready students for jobs or more education. Educators are also looking to community colleges to fill the gap. With their high enrollments of minority and low-income students, community colleges are obvious places to recruit a diverse work…

Reconfiguring Urban Leadership: Taking a Perspective on Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riley, Kathryn A.

2009-01-01

This article maps the key features of the community contexts in which a range of challenging urban schools are located, highlighting the community-related issues facing school leaders. Whilst recognising the growing demands on school leaders and the need to reconfigure leadership, the author also identifies steps which they can take to strengthen…

Scenarios in Social-Ecological Systems: Co-Producing Futures in Arctic Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovecraft, A. L.; Eicken, H.

2016-12-01

Companies use scenarios to gain the capacity to think ahead in rapidly changing complex competitive environments and make crucial decisions in absence of complete information about the future. Currently, at many regional scales of governance there is a growing need for tools that enable the actors at local-scales to address pressing concerns in the midst of uncertainty. This is particularly true of areas experiencing rapidly changing environments (e.g., drought, floods, diminishing sea ice, erosion) and complex social problems (e.g., remote communities, resource extraction, threatened cultures). Resilience theory and deliberative democracy both promote governance by informed actors in an effort to produce decisions that avoid social-environmental collapse. The former focusing on resilient ecosystems, the latter on informed social choices. Scenario exercises produce neither forecasts of what is to come nor are they visions of what participants would like to happen. Rather, they produce pertinent and accurate information related to questions of "what would happen if…" and thus provide the possibility of strategic decision-making to reduce risk and promote community resilience. Scenarios can be forms of social learning and among local-scale experts they create a deliberative process to make decisions about proactive adaptation. This talk represents the results from two projects from Alaska's Arctic Slope region. Resident expert participants from the Northwest Arctic and North Slope Boroughs addressed the focal question "What is needed for healthy sustainable communities by 2040?" Our findings reinforce the growing evidence from studies related to Arctic community sustainability and human development that indicate tight connections between fate-control, health, and environmental change. Our work differs, however, in using a future studies approach. The participants are addressing social-ecological resilience from a proactive standpoint thinking long-term about local and regional scale concerns rather than examining global-scale forecasts for near-term decision-making. The results contribute to a multi-disciplinary cross-cultural discussion of the importance of innovative thinking at the local scale and future directions for geophysical researchers in a rapidly changing Arctic.

The Effects of Problem Drinking and Sexual Risk Among Mexican Migrant Workers on Their Community of Origin

PubMed Central

Duke, Michael R.; Gómez Carpinteiro, Francisco J.

2010-01-01

Although the financial remittances sent by male Mexican migrant workers residing in the United States can result in higher standards of living for their families and home communities, out-migration may lead to increased migrant problem drinking and sexual risk behaviors, which may in turn impact these same communities of origin. Based on semi-structured interviewing (n=60) and participant observation in a migrant sending community in central Mexico and a receiving community in the Northeastern United States, this paper explores the effects of out-migration on HIV risk and problem drinking among United States-based migrants from a small agricultural community in the Mexican state of Puebla. We argue that problem drinking and risky sexual behaviors among these migrant workers have had significant consequences for their home community in terms of diminished remittances, the introduction of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and loss of husbands or kinsmen to automobile accidents. Moreover, although rumor and gossip between the two communities serve as a form of social control, they may also contribute to increased problem drinking and sexual risk. PMID:20169008

Finding Funding: A Guide to Federal Sources for Out-of-School TIme and Community School Initiatives. Revised and Updated.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padgette, Heather Clapp

Noting the growing nation-wide demand for affordable, high-quality, out-of-school time and community school programs, this guide is intended to assist program developers, policy makers, and community leaders identify federal funding sources to support out-of-school time or broader-based community school services. The guide provides an overview of…

Back to the Future: The Resurgence of Community in American Society, and Community Journalism in the Newspaper Industry and Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauterer, Jock

America is in the midst of the age of the emergent and enlightened community. Citizens increasingly demand from their newspapers high-quality, explanatory coverage of local issues. Newspapers large and small are responding. Community newspapers are growing, and many big city media outlets are rethinking their news coverage philosophy in terms of…

Active adult (55+) community trip generation rates.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

In response to the growing number of applications for the development of age restricted : communities (55 years old and older) the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) : through the Delaware Center for Transportation sponsored this study to...

Biofuel Ethanol Transport Risk

EPA Science Inventory

Ethanol production has increased rapidly over the last 10 years and many communities lack awareness of the increased and growing extent of biofuel transportation through their jurisdictions. These communities and their emergency responders may not have the information and resour...

Limitations of Community College Benchmarking and Benchmarks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bers, Trudy H.

2006-01-01

This chapter distinguishes between benchmarks and benchmarking, describes a number of data and cultural limitations to benchmarking projects, and suggests that external demands for accountability are the dominant reason for growing interest in benchmarking among community colleges.

Community-specific biogeochemical responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition in subalpine meadow ecosystems of the Cascade Range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poinsatte, J. P.; Rochefort, R.; Evans, R. D.

2014-12-01

Elevated anthropogenic nitrogen (N) emissions result in higher rates of atmospheric N deposition (Ndep) that can saturate sensitive ecosystems. Consequences of increased Ndep include higher emissions of greenhouse gases, eutrophication of watersheds, and deterioration of vegetation communities. Most of the annual N deposition at higher elevations in the Cascades is stored in snowpack until spring snowmelt when it is released as a pulse that can be assimilated by plant and microbial communities, or lost as gaseous emissions or leachate. The relative magnitude of these fluxes is unknown, particularly with accelerated rates of snowpack loss due to climate change. We quantified storage of Ndep in winter snowpack and determined impacts of Ndep on biogeochemical processes in a lush-herbaceous community characterized by Valeriana sitchensis and Lupinus latifolius, a heath-shrub community characterized by Phyllodoce empetriformis and Cassiope mertensiana, and a wet-sedge community dominated by Carex nigricans. These communities were selected to represent early, mid, and late snowmelt vegetation regimes prevalent throughout the Cascades. Ammonium (NH4+) was the dominant form of Ndep in winter snowpack and Ndep rates were higher than anticipated based on nearby National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) measurements. Vegetation N uptake was the dominant N sink in the ecosystem, with the highest growing season uptake occurring in the lush-herbaceous community, while soil N leaching was the dominant N loss, with the lush-herbaceous also having the highest rates. Microbial biomass N fluctuated substantially across the growing season, with high biomass N immediately after snowmelt and again 30 days following snow release. Soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions peaked 30 days following snowmelt for all three communities and were greatest in the wet sedge community. These results indicate that subalpine communities have unique responses to Ndep that vary throughout the growing season. Thus, biogeochemical modeling efforts to simulate ecosystem responses to Ndep should be parameterized at a community-specific level to fully capture this variability. Ultimately, this study will provide insight to land managers on the fate of N emissions and how Ndep affects ecosystem services in high-elevation ecosystems.

Successful aging in community seniors and stroke survivors: current and future strategies.

PubMed

Kamat, Rujvi; Depp, Colin A; Jeste, Dilip V

2017-06-01

There is growing evidence to suggest that aging is accompanied by enhancement in psychosocial well-being, despite age-related declines in physical and cognitive functioning. A small but growing body of research has reported on positive trajectories of well-being, and its determinants, among community-dwelling seniors as well as in people with specific diseases such as stroke. Current strategies for promoting successful aging include physical, cognitive and social activities, healthy lifestyle, social support, and positive traits such as resilience and optimism. These strategies have typically been employed in samples without serious illnesses, but an emerging body of evidence suggests that they are as relevant in cohorts with neurologic and other diseases. Future strategies will include those that work at the community level and not just at individual level, and will focus on use of technology as well as group interventions to enhance resilience and building age-friendly communities.

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community

PubMed Central

Clarens, Andres F.; Peters, Catherine A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on “The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies,” provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others. PMID:28031695

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community.

PubMed

Clarens, Andres F; Peters, Catherine A

2016-10-01

Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on "The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies," provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others.

Air quality modeling for community-scale assessments around airports

EPA Science Inventory

Transportation infrastructure (including roadway traffic, ports, and airports) is critical to the nation’s economy. With a growing economy, aircraft activity is expected to grow across the world, and in the U.S. airport-related emissions, while generally small, are not an i...

Self-growing neural network architecture using crisp and fuzzy entropy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cios, Krzysztof J.

1992-01-01

The paper briefly describes the self-growing neural network algorithm, CID2, which makes decision trees equivalent to hidden layers of a neural network. The algorithm generates a feedforward architecture using crisp and fuzzy entropy measures. The results of a real-life recognition problem of distinguishing defects in a glass ribbon and of a benchmark problem of differentiating two spirals are shown and discussed.

Lowering Student Loan Default Rates: What One Consortium of Historically Black Institutions Did to Succeed. Education Sector Reports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillon, Erin; Smiles, Robin V.

2010-01-01

Colleges across the nation are struggling to confront a growing problem in higher education: student debt. As more students borrow more money than ever before, and recent graduates enter the worst job market in a generation, students are increasingly unable to pay back their loans. This report discusses the growing problem of students defaulting…

Enabling an Open Data Ecosystem for the Neurosciences.

PubMed

Wiener, Martin; Sommer, Friedrich T; Ives, Zachary G; Poldrack, Russell A; Litt, Brian

2016-11-02

As the pace and complexity of neuroscience data grow, an open data ecosystem must develop and grow with it to allow neuroscientists the ability to reach for new heights of discovery. However, the problems and complexities of neuroscience data sharing must first be addressed. Among the challenges facing data sharing in neuroscience, the problem of incentives, discoverability, and sustainability may be the most pressing. We here describe these problems and provide potential future solutions to help cultivate an ecosystem for data sharing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigating Community Problems with Classes of Slow-Learning and Non-Academic Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtis, Charles K.

A project is described in which slow learning high school students in British Columbia investigated community housing problems. The objective of the project was to show how investigation of contemporary community problems can help slow learning students develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes conducive to responsible citizenship. Methodology…

Communities of Practice: A New Approach to Solving Complex Educational Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cashman, J.; Linehan, P.; Rosser, M.

2007-01-01

Communities of Practice offer state agency personnel a promising approach for engaging stakeholder groups in collaboratively solving complex and, often, persistent problems in special education. Communities of Practice can help state agency personnel drive strategy, solve problems, promote the spread of best practices, develop members'…

Composition and physiological profiling of sprout-associated microbial communities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matos, Anabelle; Garland, Jay L.; Fett, William F.

2002-01-01

The native microfloras of various types of sprouts (alfalfa, clover, sunflower, mung bean, and broccoli sprouts) were examined to assess the relative effects of sprout type and inoculum factors (i.e., sprout-growing facility, seed lot, and inoculation with sprout-derived inocula) on the microbial community structure of sprouts. Sprouts were sonicated for 7 min or hand shaken with glass beads for 2 min to recover native microfloras from the surface, and the resulting suspensions were diluted and plated. The culturable fraction was characterized by the density (log CFU/g), richness (e.g., number of types of bacteria), and diversity (e.g., microbial richness and evenness) of colonies on tryptic soy agar plates incubated for 48 h at 30 degrees C. The relative similarity between sprout-associated microbial communities was assessed with the use of community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) based on patterns of utilization of 95 separate carbon sources. Aerobic plate counts of 7.96 +/- 0.91 log CFU/g of sprout tissue (fresh weight) were observed, with no statistically significant differences in microbial cell density, richness, or diversity due to sprout type, sprout-growing facility, or seed lot. CLPP analyses revealed that the microbial communities associated with alfalfa and clover sprouts are more similar than those associated with the other sprout types tested. Variability among sprout types was more extensive than any differences between microbial communities associated with alfalfa and clover sprouts from different sprout-growing facilities and seed lots. These results indicate that the subsequent testing of biocontrol agents should focus on similar organisms for alfalfa and clover, but alternative types may be most suitable for the other sprout types tested. The inoculation of alfalfa sprouts with communities derived from various sprout types had a significant, source-independent effect on microbial community structure, indicating that the process of inoculation alters the dynamics of community development regardless of the types of organisms involved.

Succession in the petroleum reservoir microbiome through an oil field production lifecycle

DOE PAGES

Vigneron, Adrien; Alsop, Eric B.; Lomans, Bartholomeus P.; ...

2017-05-19

Subsurface petroleum reservoirs are an important component of the deep biosphere where indigenous microorganisms live under extreme conditions and in isolation from the Earth's surface for millions of years. However, unlike the bulk of the deep biosphere, the petroleum reservoir deep biosphere is subject to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, with the introduction of new electron acceptors, donors and exogenous microbes during oil exploration and production. Despite the fundamental and practical significance of this perturbation, there has never been a systematic evaluation of the ecological changes that occur over the production lifetime of an active offshore petroleum production system. Analysis of themore » entire Halfdan oil field in the North Sea (32 producing wells in production for 1-15 years) using quantitative PCR, multigenic sequencing, comparative metagenomic and genomic bins reconstruction revealed systematic shifts in microbial community composition and metabolic potential, as well as changing ecological strategies in response to anthropogenic perturbation of the oil field ecosystem, related to length of time in production. The microbial communities were initially dominated by slow growing anaerobes such as members of the Thermotogales and Clostridiales adapted to living on hydrocarbons and complex refractory organic matter. However, as seawater and nitrate injection (used for secondary oil production) delivered oxidants, the microbial community composition progressively changed to fast growing opportunists such as members of the Deferribacteres, Delta-, Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, with energetically more favorable metabolism (for example, nitrate reduction, H2S, sulfide and sulfur oxidation). This perturbation has profound consequences for understanding the microbial ecology of the system and is of considerable practical importance as it promotes detrimental processes such as reservoir souring and metal corrosion. These findings provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the petroleum reservoir biosphere and have consequences for developing strategies to manage microbiological problems in the oil industry.« less

Succession in the petroleum reservoir microbiome through an oil field production lifecycle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vigneron, Adrien; Alsop, Eric B.; Lomans, Bartholomeus P.

Subsurface petroleum reservoirs are an important component of the deep biosphere where indigenous microorganisms live under extreme conditions and in isolation from the Earth's surface for millions of years. However, unlike the bulk of the deep biosphere, the petroleum reservoir deep biosphere is subject to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, with the introduction of new electron acceptors, donors and exogenous microbes during oil exploration and production. Despite the fundamental and practical significance of this perturbation, there has never been a systematic evaluation of the ecological changes that occur over the production lifetime of an active offshore petroleum production system. Analysis of themore » entire Halfdan oil field in the North Sea (32 producing wells in production for 1-15 years) using quantitative PCR, multigenic sequencing, comparative metagenomic and genomic bins reconstruction revealed systematic shifts in microbial community composition and metabolic potential, as well as changing ecological strategies in response to anthropogenic perturbation of the oil field ecosystem, related to length of time in production. The microbial communities were initially dominated by slow growing anaerobes such as members of the Thermotogales and Clostridiales adapted to living on hydrocarbons and complex refractory organic matter. However, as seawater and nitrate injection (used for secondary oil production) delivered oxidants, the microbial community composition progressively changed to fast growing opportunists such as members of the Deferribacteres, Delta-, Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, with energetically more favorable metabolism (for example, nitrate reduction, H2S, sulfide and sulfur oxidation). This perturbation has profound consequences for understanding the microbial ecology of the system and is of considerable practical importance as it promotes detrimental processes such as reservoir souring and metal corrosion. These findings provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the petroleum reservoir biosphere and have consequences for developing strategies to manage microbiological problems in the oil industry.« less

A comparison of the effectiveness of three parenting programmes in improving parenting skills, parent mental-well being and children's behaviour when implemented on a large scale in community settings in 18 English local authorities: the parenting early intervention pathfinder (PEIP).

PubMed

Lindsay, Geoff; Strand, Steve; Davis, Hilton

2011-12-30

There is growing evidence that parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and thereby the behaviour of children exhibiting or at risk of developing antisocial behaviour. Given the high prevalence of childhood behaviour problems the task is to develop large scale application of effective programmes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the UK government funded implementation of the Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder (PEIP). This involved the large scale rolling out of three programmes to parents of children 8-13 years in 18 local authorities (LAs) over a 2 year period. The UK government's Department for Education allocated each programme (Incredible Years, Triple P and Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities) to six LAs which then developed systems to intervene using parenting groups. Implementation fidelity was supported by the training of group facilitators by staff of the appropriate parenting programme supplemented by supervision. Parents completed measures of parenting style, efficacy, satisfaction, and mental well-being, and also child behaviour. A total of 1121 parents completed pre- and post-course measures. There were significant improvements on all measures for each programme; effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranged across the programmes from 0.57 to 0.93 for parenting style; 0.33 to 0.77 for parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy; and from 0.49 to 0.88 for parental mental well-being. Effectiveness varied between programmes: Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities was significantly less effective than both the other two programmes in improving parental efficacy, satisfaction and mental well-being. Improvements in child behaviour were found for all programmes: effect sizes for reduction in conduct problems ranged from -0.44 to -0.71 across programmes, with Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities again having significantly lower reductions than Incredible Years. Evidence-based parenting programmes can be implemented successfully on a large scale in community settings despite the lack of concentrated and sustained support available during a controlled trial.

A comparison of the effectiveness of three parenting programmes in improving parenting skills, parent mental-well being and children's behaviour when implemented on a large scale in community settings in 18 English local authorities: the parenting early intervention pathfinder (PEIP)

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background There is growing evidence that parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and thereby the behaviour of children exhibiting or at risk of developing antisocial behaviour. Given the high prevalence of childhood behaviour problems the task is to develop large scale application of effective programmes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the UK government funded implementation of the Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder (PEIP). This involved the large scale rolling out of three programmes to parents of children 8-13 years in 18 local authorities (LAs) over a 2 year period. Methods The UK government's Department for Education allocated each programme (Incredible Years, Triple P and Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities) to six LAs which then developed systems to intervene using parenting groups. Implementation fidelity was supported by the training of group facilitators by staff of the appropriate parenting programme supplemented by supervision. Parents completed measures of parenting style, efficacy, satisfaction, and mental well-being, and also child behaviour. Results A total of 1121 parents completed pre- and post-course measures. There were significant improvements on all measures for each programme; effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranged across the programmes from 0.57 to 0.93 for parenting style; 0.33 to 0.77 for parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy; and from 0.49 to 0.88 for parental mental well-being. Effectiveness varied between programmes: Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities was significantly less effective than both the other two programmes in improving parental efficacy, satisfaction and mental well-being. Improvements in child behaviour were found for all programmes: effect sizes for reduction in conduct problems ranged from -0.44 to -0.71 across programmes, with Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities again having significantly lower reductions than Incredible Years. Conclusions Evidence-based parenting programmes can be implemented successfully on a large scale in community settings despite the lack of concentrated and sustained support available during a controlled trial. PMID:22208676

Online health information seeking behaviors of Hispanics in New York City: a community-based cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Lee, Young Ji; Boden-Albala, Bernadette; Larson, Elaine; Wilcox, Adam; Bakken, Suzanne

2014-07-22

The emergence of the Internet has increased access to health information and can facilitate active individual engagement in health care decision making. Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and are also the most underserved in terms of access to online health information. A growing body of literature has examined correlates of online health information seeking behaviors (HISBs), but few studies have included Hispanics. The specific aim of this descriptive, correlational study was to examine factors associated with HISBs of Hispanics. The study sample (N=4070) was recruited from five postal zip codes in northern Manhattan for the Washington Heights Inwood Informatics Infrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research project. Survey data were collected via interview by bilingual community health workers in a community center, households, and other community settings. Data were analyzed using bivariate analyses and logistic regression. Among individual respondents, online HISBs were significantly associated with higher education (OR 3.03, 95% CI 2.15-4.29, P<.001), worse health status (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.31-0.57, P<.001), and having no hypertension (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.84, P=.003). Online HISBs of other household members were significantly associated with respondent factors: female gender (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.22-2.10, P=.001), being younger (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.62-0.90, P=.002), being married (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.71, P=.007), having higher education (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.404-2.316, P<.001), being in worse health (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46-0.77, P<.001), and having serious health problems increased the odds of their household members' online HISBs (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.29-2.60, P=.001). This large-scale community survey identified factors associated with online HISBs among Hispanics that merit closer examination. To enhance online HISBs among Hispanics, health care providers and policy makers need to understand the cultural context of the Hispanic population. Results of this study can provide a foundation for the development of informatics-based interventions to improve the health of Hispanics in the United States.

Value-Based Medicine and Integration of Tumor Biology.

PubMed

Brooks, Gabriel A; Bosserman, Linda D; Mambetsariev, Isa; Salgia, Ravi

2017-01-01

Clinical oncology is in the midst of a genomic revolution, as molecular insights redefine our understanding of cancer biology. Greater awareness of the distinct aberrations that drive carcinogenesis is also contributing to a growing armamentarium of genomically targeted therapies. Although much work remains to better understand how to combine and sequence these therapies, improved outcomes for patients are becoming manifest. As we welcome this genomic revolution in cancer care, oncologists also must grapple with a number of practical problems. Costs of cancer care continue to grow, with targeted therapies responsible for an increasing proportion of spending. Rising costs are bringing the concept of value into sharper focus and challenging the oncology community with implementation of value-based cancer care. This article explores the ways that the genomic revolution is transforming cancer care, describes various frameworks for considering the value of genomically targeted therapies, and outlines key challenges for delivering on the promise of personalized cancer care. It highlights practical solutions for the implementation of value-based care, including investment in biomarker development and clinical trials to improve the efficacy of targeted therapy, the use of evidence-based clinical pathways, team-based care, computerized clinical decision support, and value-based payment approaches.

EarthCube - A Community-led, Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, Cindy; Allison, Lee

2016-04-01

The US NSF EarthCube Test Enterprise Governance Project completed its initial two-year long process to engage the community and test a demonstration governing organization with the goal of facilitating a community-led process on designing and developing a geoscience cyberinfrastructure. Conclusions are that EarthCube is viable, has engaged a broad spectrum of end-users and contributors, and has begun to foster a sense of urgency around the importance of open and shared data. Levels of trust among participants are growing. At the same time, the active participants in EarthCube represent a very small sub-set of the larger population of geoscientists. Results from Stage I of this project have impacted NSF decisions on the direction of the EarthCube program. The overall tone of EarthCube events has had a constructive, problem-solving orientation. The technical and organizational elements of EarthCube are poised to support a functional infrastructure for the geosciences community. The process for establishing shared technological standards has notable progress but there is a continuing need to expand technological and cultural alignment. Increasing emphasis is being given to the interdependencies among EarthCube funded projects. The newly developed EarthCube Technology Plan highlights important progress in this area by five working groups focusing on: 1. Use cases; 2. Funded project gap analysis; 3. Testbed development; 4. Standards; and 5. Architecture. The EarthCube governance implementing processes to facilitate community convergence on a system architecture, which is expected to emerge naturally from a set of data principles, user requirements, science drivers, technology capabilities, and domain needs.

The voices of older women in a disadvantaged community: issues of health and social capital.

PubMed

Boneham, Margaret Anne; Sixsmith, Judith A

2006-01-01

The voices of older women are rarely heard in debates about the health of disadvantaged groups. Despite growing interest in health in old age, the health experiences of older women as gendered social beings have yet to be fully explored. Their potential to contribute positively to family and community health is seldom acknowledged. The aim of this article is to present findings from a qualitative British Health Development Agency funded project on the relationship between social capital, health and gender, focusing on the health and social networks of older women in a socially disadvantaged community in the north of England. Seventy-seven community members were interviewed, of these 19 were older women aged 55-78 years. Their accounts of ill health in the context of ageing were analysed to explore the intricate ways in which social capital was created, maintained and linked to health. Findings suggest that social constructions of motherhood and caring underpinned responsibility for their own and others' health. Their experiences of dealing with health matters, together with frequent health talk, gave the women confidence as lay health experts, enabling them to contest medical advice. Drawing on personal experiences of trust and reciprocity, they recognised the importance of social networking in alleviating the problems of loneliness and isolation. At stressful times in their lives they were able to draw on existing support networks and, in spite of occasional personal conflicts, some benefited from the empowering and health-enhancing role of formal and informal participation in community life. These findings indicate that older women can operate autonomously in health matters and can substantially influence the development of healthy communities, although this can sometimes be at a personal cost.

EarthCube - A Community-led, Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, M. L.; Keane, C. M.; Robinson, E.

2015-12-01

The EarthCube Test Enterprise Governance Project completed its initial two-year long process to engage the community and test a demonstration governing organization with the goal of facilitating a community-led process on designing and developing a geoscience cyberinfrastructure. Conclusions are that EarthCube is viable, has engaged a broad spectrum of end-users and contributors, and has begun to foster a sense of urgency around the importance of open and shared data. Levels of trust among participants are growing. At the same time, the active participants in EarthCube represent a very small sub-set of the larger population of geoscientists. Results from Stage I of this project have impacted NSF decisions on the direction of the EarthCube program. The overall tone of EarthCube events has had a constructive, problem-solving orientation. The technical and organizational elements of EarthCube are poised to support a functional infrastructure for the geosciences community. The process for establishing shared technological standards has notable progress but there is a continuing need to expand technological and cultural alignment. Increasing emphasis is being given to the interdependencies among EarthCube funded projects. The newly developed EarthCube Technology Plan highlights important progress in this area by five working groups focusing on: 1. Use cases; 2. Funded project gap analysis; 3. Testbed development; 4. Standards; and 5. Architecture. There is ample justification to continue running a community-led governance framework that facilitates agreement on a system architecture, guides EarthCube activities, and plays an increasing role in making the EarthCube vision of cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences operational. There is widespread community expectation for support of a multiyear EarthCube governing effort to put into practice the science, technical, and organizational plans that have and are continuing to emerge.

Final Report: Resolving and Discriminating Overlapping Anomalies from Multiple Objects in Cluttered Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-15

UXO community . NAME Total Number: PERCENT_SUPPORTEDNAME FTE Equivalent: Total Number: Irma Shamatava 0.50 0.50 1 Resolving and Discriminating...Distinguishing an object of interest from innocuous items is the main problem that the UXO community is facing currently. This inverse problem...innocuous items is the main problem that the UXO community is facing currently. This inverse problem demands fast and accurate representation of

Community based open space planning: applications of a GIS

Treesearch

Christian Mettey; Brian Demers; Nicole Halper; Robert Bristow; Stephanie Kelly

2001-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the usefulness of a GIS in community open space planning of undeveloped recreational opportunities. The study area is a small New England village in the western region of Massachusetts. Like most of the Northeast, Northampton is a rural community with a growing population. Proposals for public recreation lands compete for...

Learning to Be a Community: Schools Need Adaptable Models to Create Successful Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ermeling, Bradley A.; Gallimore, Ronald

2013-01-01

Making schools learning places for teachers as well as students is a timeless and appealing vision. The growing number of professional learning communities is a hopeful sign that profound change is on the way. This is the challenge learning communities face: Schools and districts need implementation models flexible enough to adapt to local…

Can Online Learning Communities Achieve the Goals of Traditional Professional Learning Communities? What the Literature Says. Summary. REL 2013-003

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blitz, Cynthia L.

2013-01-01

Professional learning communities (PLCs)--teams of educators who get together regularly to exchange ideas--have sprung up to meet school districts' growing interest in promoting professional development that engages teachers and administrators. PLCs meet to develop lesson plans, monitor student progress, assess instructional effectiveness, and…

Free Community College: An Approach to Increase Adult Student Success in Postsecondary Education. Special Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pingel, Sarah; Parker, Emily; Sisneros, Lauren

2016-01-01

This policy report discusses the growing interest in free community college policies across state legislatures, addresses the limited potential of current policies to help states reach their completion and attainment goals and offers a new, inclusive framework for including adult students in free community college policies. The following is…

Community-School Collaborations in Science: Towards Improved Outcomes through Better Understanding of Boundary Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tytler, Russell; Symington, David; Cripps Clark, John

2017-01-01

There is growing interest, worldwide, in collaboration between schools and community organisations in contributing to and enriching school science programs, yet such collaborations are inadequately understood. This paper reports data from an Australian study designed to probe the views of members of the community who have participated in a broad…

Systems Thinking as a Competency for Community College Leaders in an Era of Increasing Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Anne Powel

2013-01-01

The pluralistic and often competing goals of myriad constituents, the changing demographics of students, the uncertainty of funding, and the growing demands for accountability from stakeholders have increased the complexity of systems which community college leaders must manage. Emerging from the recent literature on community colleges is a call…

Challenges, Strategies, and Lessons Learned from a Participatory Community Intervention Study to Promote Female Condoms among Rural Sex Workers in Southern China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weeks, Margaret R.; Liao, Susu; Li, Fei; Li, Jianghong; Dunn, Jennifer; He, Bin; He, Qiya; Feng, Weiping; Wang, Yanhong

2010-01-01

China faces a rapidly emerging HIV epidemic and nationwide resurgence of sexually transmitted infections associated with a growing sex industry. Community empowerment and capacity building through community-based participatory research partnerships show promise for developing, testing, and refining multilevel interventions suited to the local…

Two centuries of fire in a southwestern Virginia Pinus pungens community

Treesearch

E. K. Sutherland; H. Grissino-Mayer; C. A. Woodhouse; W. W. Covington; S. Horn; L. Huckaby; R. Kerr; J. Kush; M. Moore; T. Plumb

1995-01-01

Fire exclusion in fire-dependent forest communities can alter stand structure and composition. The objective was to construct a fire history of two Pinus pungens Lamb. communities growing in southwestern Virgina. Treering analysis of fire-scarred P. pungens specimens and a tree survey were used to determine species composition and age distributions. From 1798-1944,...

Minding the Gap: Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doggart, Julia; Tedrowe, Melissa; Viera, Kate

2006-01-01

What does it mean for a community writing assistance program to bridge the gap between the university and the community? What makes for a successful alliance between these two worlds usually considered distinct? Our paper addresses these questions by reflecting on the factors that have contributed to the growing success of our CWA program at the…

The Relationship between Student Retention in Community College Courses and Faculty Employment Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutto, Pamela Noel

2017-01-01

Community colleges are under pressure to educate a growing student population while economic resources in higher education are diminishing. One measure of success for colleges is the ability to retain students. Due to the varied nature of the community college population, measuring student retention is challenging. One facet of student retention…

Tracking Culture: The Meanings of Community Engagement Data Collection in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosing, Howard

2015-01-01

The essay briefly outlines the history of community engagement at DePaul University in order to explore how and why universities and colleges are increasingly adopting data collections systems for tracking community engagement. I explore the question of why there is a growing interest in tracking engagement within the academy and suggest that…

Exploring Sense of Community and Persistence in the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bengfort, Randall R.

2012-01-01

As concern grows about the level of college completion in the U.S., higher education leaders are seeking ways to help more students attain their educational objectives. This study sought to aid that effort by determining if a theoretical framework of sense of community developed by McMillan and Chavis (1986) influences students' decisions to…

Leadership Development Institute: A California Community College Multi-College District Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leon, Bianca R.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine a community college district Grow Your Own (GYO) leadership program in the Western United States, the Multi College Leadership Development Institute (MCLDI). The MCLDI was developed in-house for a multi-campus community college district and offered to interested employees at all position levels with the…

A Utilization-Focused Evaluation of a Community College Adjunct Faculty Professional Development Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edenfield, Gordon

2010-01-01

Nationally adjunct faculty comprise almost 70% of all two-year institution faculty while in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) adjunct faculty teach 60% of the community college courses, and should past trends continue, the number of adjunct faculty members is expected to grow 10% within the next fifteen years (Caliber, 2007; Phillipe…

Progress on H5Part: A Portable High Performance Parallel DataInterface for Electromagnetics Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adelmann, Andreas; Gsell, Achim; Oswald, Benedikt

Significant problems facing all experimental andcomputationalsciences arise from growing data size and complexity. Commonto allthese problems is the need to perform efficient data I/O ondiversecomputer architectures. In our scientific application, thelargestparallel particle simulations generate vast quantitiesofsix-dimensional data. Such a simulation run produces data foranaggregate data size up to several TB per run. Motived by the needtoaddress data I/O and access challenges, we have implemented H5Part,anopen source data I/O API that simplifies the use of the HierarchicalDataFormat v5 library (HDF5). HDF5 is an industry standard forhighperformance, cross-platform data storage and retrieval that runsonall contemporary architectures from large parallel supercomputerstolaptops. H5Part, whichmore » is oriented to the needs of the particlephysicsand cosmology communities, provides support for parallelstorage andretrieval of particles, structured and in the future unstructuredmeshes.In this paper, we describe recent work focusing on I/O supportforparticles and structured meshes and provide data showing performance onmodernsupercomputer architectures like the IBM POWER 5.« less

Impact of corpus domain for sentiment classification: An evaluation study using supervised machine learning techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karsi, Redouane; Zaim, Mounia; El Alami, Jamila

2017-07-01

Thanks to the development of the internet, a large community now has the possibility to communicate and express its opinions and preferences through multiple media such as blogs, forums, social networks and e-commerce sites. Today, it becomes clearer that opinions published on the web are a very valuable source for decision-making, so a rapidly growing field of research called “sentiment analysis” is born to address the problem of automatically determining the polarity (Positive, negative, neutral,…) of textual opinions. People expressing themselves in a particular domain often use specific domain language expressions, thus, building a classifier, which performs well in different domains is a challenging problem. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of domain for sentiment classification when using machine learning techniques. In our study three popular machine learning techniques: Support Vector Machines (SVM), Naive Bayes and K nearest neighbors(KNN) were applied on datasets collected from different domains. Experimental results show that Support Vector Machines outperforms other classifiers in all domains, since it achieved at least 74.75% accuracy with a standard deviation of 4,08.

Communities of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Detected in Forest Soil Are Spatially Heterogeneous but Do Not Vary throughout the Growing Season

PubMed Central

Davison, John; Öpik, Maarja; Zobel, Martin; Vasar, Martti; Metsis, Madis; Moora, Mari

2012-01-01

Despite the important ecosystem role played by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), little is known about spatial and temporal variation in soil AMF communities. We used pyrosequencing to characterise AMF communities in soil samples (n = 44) from a natural forest ecosystem. Fungal taxa were identified by BLAST matching of reads against the MaarjAM database of AMF SSU rRNA gene diversity. Sub-sampling within our dataset and experimental shortening of a set of long reads indicated that our approaches to taxonomic identification and diversity analysis were robust to variations in pyrosequencing read length and numbers of reads per sample. Different forest plots (each 10×10 m and separated from one another by 30 m) contained significantly different soil AMF communities, and the pairwise similarity of communities decreased with distance up to 50 m. However, there were no significant changes in community composition between different time points in the growing season (May-September). Spatial structure in soil AMF communities may be related to the heterogeneous vegetation of the natural forest study system, while the temporal stability of communities suggests that AMF in soil represent a fairly constant local species pool from which mycorrhizae form and disband during the season. PMID:22879900

Harassment and Discrimination of Women in Employment. Working Paper Prepared for the Conference on Harassment in the Workplace (Washington, DC, July 7-9, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Gordon R., Ed.; And Others

The problem of harassment of women in the workplace has received increasing attention from government agencies, Congress, and the courts in recent years. This growing general awareness of the problem of harassment and sex discrimination by both employers and employees is being made more acute by women's growing demands for career opportunities…

The relation between social network site usage and loneliness and mental health in community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Aarts, S; Peek, S T M; Wouters, E J M

2015-09-01

Loneliness is expected to become an even bigger social problem in the upcoming decades, because of the growing number of older adults. It has been argued that the use of social network sites can aid in decreasing loneliness and improving mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how social network sites usage is related to loneliness and mental health in community-dwelling older adults. The study population included community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and over residing in the Netherlands (n = 626) collected through the LISS panel (www.lissdata.nl). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses, adjusted for potentially important confounders, were conducted in order to investigate the relation between social network sites usage and (emotional and social) loneliness and mental health. More than half of the individuals (56.2%) reported to use social network sites at least several times per week. Social network sites usage appeared unrelated to loneliness in general, and to emotional and social loneliness in particular. Social network sites usage also appeared unrelated to mental health. Several significant associations between related factors and the outcomes at hand were detected. In this sample, which was representative for the Dutch population, social network sites usage was unrelated to loneliness and/or mental health. The results indicate that a simple association between social network site usage and loneliness and mental health as such, cannot automatically be assumed in community-dwelling older adults. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Co-occurring Disordered Gambling Among Treatment-Seekers at a Community Outpatient Addiction Clinic.

PubMed

Elman, Igor; Borodovsky, Jacob; Howard, Margaret; Scoglio, Arielle; Steinkamp, Jackson; Sobieszczyk, Amy; Mysels, David; Albanese, Mark

2016-01-01

Parallel to the ongoing expansion of legalized gambling activities is a growing concern about rising occurrence of uncontrollable gambling. People with preexisting gambling and/or chemical addictions may be particularly vulnerable, but the extent of such co-occurring conditions and their demographic and clinical characteristics have not been sufficiently elucidated. To that end, the present study attempted to both, quantify the presence and to characterize co-occurring pathological or problem gambling (ie, respectively, at least 1- or at least 5 pathological gambling criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision) among treatment-seeking patients at a community outpatient addiction program. The patients were assessed with the South Oaks Gambling Screen and their charts were reviewed for the extraction of demographic and clinical information according to a predetermined template. Data from 183 subjects withstood quality control procedures and were included. The prevalence rates of co-occurring problem- (18.6%) and pathological (10.9%) gambling were strikingly higher than those found in the general population (2% and 0.5%, respectively). No increase in the clinical severity indices was observed across the gambling groups. Our data replicate those of prior studies reporting heightened prevalence of problematic gambling in patients with substance use disorders and extend the prior findings by including a subject population of treatment-seekers. In the era of the gambling industry growth, these results call for creation and/or adjustment of clinical addiction services to meet emerging preventive and therapeutic needs.

The enduring impact of violence against children.

PubMed

Hillis, Susan D; Mercy, James A; Saul, Janet R

2017-04-01

More than one billion children - half of all children in the world - are exposed to violence every year. The violence children are exposed to includes both direct experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as indirectly witnessing violence in their homes, schools, and communities. What these various forms of violence share, based on a review of the literature, is their enduring potential for life-long consequences. These consequences include increases in the risks of injury, HIV, sexually transmitted infections, mental health problems, reproductive health problems, and non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes. Studies addressing biologic underpinnings of such consequences demonstrate that violence-associated toxic stress may cause damage to the nervous, endocrine, circulatory, musculo-skeletal, reproductive, respiratory, and immune systems. Furthermore, rigorous economic evaluations suggest that costs associated with the consequences of violence against children exceed $120 billion in the U.S. and account for up to 3.5% of the GDP in sub-regions of East Asia. The expanding literature confirming the mechanisms of consequences and the associated costs of violence against children has been accompanied by growing evidence on effective approaches to prevention. Moreover, the expanding evidence on prevention has been accompanied by a growing determination on the part of global leaders to accelerate action. Thus, as part of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development agenda, the UN has issued a call-to-action: to eliminate violence against children. This unprecedented UN call may foster new investments, to fuel new progress for protecting children around the world from violence and its preventable consequences.

Growing food in urban areas: Food security, community benefits, any concerns?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over 80% of our nation’s population lives in urban areas, including Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the 16th most populous metropolitan area in the USA, with 3.3 million inhabitants. Trends of growing urban populations and increased desire for locally sourced food have culminated in greater public interest...

Wind energy applications for municipal water services: Opportunities, situational analyses, and case studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flowers, L.; Miner-Nordstrom, L.

2006-01-01

As communities grow, greater demands are placed on water supplies, wastewater services, and the electricity needed to power the growing water services infrastructure. Water is also a critical resource for thermoelectric power plants. Future population growth in the United States is therefore expected to heighten competition for water resources. Especially in arid U.S. regions, communities may soon face hard choices with respect to water and electric power. Many parts of the United States with increasing water stresses also have significant wind energy resources. Wind power is the fastest-growing electric generation source in the United States and is decreasing in costmore » to be competitive with thermoelectric generation. Wind energy can potentially offer communities in water-stressed areas the option of economically meeting increasing energy needs without increasing demands on valuable water resources. Wind energy can also provide targeted energy production to serve critical local water-system needs. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Program has been exploring the potential for wind power to meet growing challenges for water supply and treatment. The DOE is currently characterizing the U.S. regions that are most likely to benefit from wind-water applications and is also exploring the associated technical and policy issues associated with bringing wind energy to bear on water resource challenges.« less

Changes in Active Bacterial Communities before and after Dredging of Highly Polluted Baltic Sea Sediments▿

PubMed Central

Edlund, Anna; Jansson, Janet K.

2006-01-01

Bacteria residing in sediments have key functions in the marine food web. However, it has been difficult to correlate the identity and activity of bacteria in sediments due to lack of appropriate methods beyond cultivation-based techniques. Our aim was to use a combination of molecular approaches, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and immunocapture, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to assess the composition of growing bacteria in Baltic Sea sediments. The study site was a highly polluted area off the Swedish coast. The sediments were sampled in two consecutive years, before and after remediation, by dredging of the top sediments. Levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls were dramatically reduced as a result of the cleanup project. The compositions of growing members of the communities were significantly different at the two sampling periods. In particular, members from the class Deltaproteobacteria and genus Spirochaeta were more dominant before dredging, but members of the classes Gammaproteobacteria and the Flavobacteria represented the most dominant growing populations after dredging. We also cultivated isolates from the polluted sediments that could transform the model PAH compound, phenanthrene. Some of these isolates were confirmed as dominant growing populations by the molecular methods as well. This suite of methods enabled us to link the identity and activity of the members of the sediment communities. PMID:16950911

Changes in active bacterial communities before and after dredging of highly polluted Baltic Sea sediments.

PubMed

Edlund, Anna; Jansson, Janet K

2006-10-01

Bacteria residing in sediments have key functions in the marine food web. However, it has been difficult to correlate the identity and activity of bacteria in sediments due to lack of appropriate methods beyond cultivation-based techniques. Our aim was to use a combination of molecular approaches, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and immunocapture, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to assess the composition of growing bacteria in Baltic Sea sediments. The study site was a highly polluted area off the Swedish coast. The sediments were sampled in two consecutive years, before and after remediation, by dredging of the top sediments. Levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls were dramatically reduced as a result of the cleanup project. The compositions of growing members of the communities were significantly different at the two sampling periods. In particular, members from the class Deltaproteobacteria and genus Spirochaeta were more dominant before dredging, but members of the classes Gammaproteobacteria and the Flavobacteria represented the most dominant growing populations after dredging. We also cultivated isolates from the polluted sediments that could transform the model PAH compound, phenanthrene. Some of these isolates were confirmed as dominant growing populations by the molecular methods as well. This suite of methods enabled us to link the identity and activity of the members of the sediment communities.

The Drug Problem in Black Communities. Working Paper 87-01-01.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Ronald F.

The drug problem among blacks in the United States is analyzed, focusing on low-income communities and the involvement of children. Interviews with more than 30 community-based black professionals in Washington (District of Columbia), Cleveland (Ohio), and San Francisco (California), whose jobs place them in daily contact with the drug problem,…

A research framework for natural resource-based communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Treesearch

Harriet H. Christensen; Ellen M. Donoghue

2001-01-01

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station developed a problem analysis to direct the research on natural resource-based communities in the Pacific Northwest over the next 5 years. The problem analysis identifies four problem areas: (1) social values related to rural peoples, communities, and development, and their ties to resource management are largely unknown; (2...

Effects of a mutual recovery intervention on mental health in depressed elderly community-dwelling adults: a pilot study.

PubMed

Wang, Chao; Hua, Yujie; Fu, Hua; Cheng, Longfeng; Qian, Wen; Liu, Junyang; Crawford, Paul; Dai, Junming

2017-01-03

The prevalence of depression in the elderly is growing worldwide, and the population aging in China makes depression a major health problem for the elderly adults and a tremendous burden to the society. Effective interventions should be determined to provide an approach solving the problem and improving the situation. This study examined the effectiveness of a mutual recovery program intervention on depressive symptom, sleep quality, and well-being in community-dwelling elderly adults with depressive symptom in Shanghai. Recruitment was performed between July 2012 and August 2012. Using a cluster randomized wait-list controlled design, we randomized 6 communities (n = 237) into either the intervention group (3 communities, n = 105) or to a wait-list control group (3 communities, n = 132). All participants met the inclusion criteria for depression, which were defined by The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). From March to May of 2013, participants in the intervention group underwent a 2-month mutual recovery program intervention. The intervention included seven 90-min, weekly sessions that were based on a standardized self-designed schedule. Depression was used as primary outcome at three measurement moments: baseline (T1), before intervention at 24 weeks (T2), and immediately after intervention at 32 weeks (T3). Well-being and sleep quality were used as the secondary outcomes, and were evaluated based on the WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) and the Self-administered Sleep Questionnaire (SSQ). Finally, a total of 225 participants who completed all the sessions and the three measurements entered the final analysis. Mixed-model repeated measures ANOVAs were performed to estimate the intervention effects. There was no significant difference in gender, marriage, age structure, post-work type, and education background between the intervention and control group at baseline. Multivariate ANOVAs showed that there was no significant difference within the groups in terms of sleep, well-being, and depression at baseline and before the intervention. Mixed-model repeated measures ANOVAs detected a group × time interaction on depression, sleep, and well-being and showed a favorable intervention effect within groups immediately after the intervention. The mutual recovery program could be a creative and effective approach to improve mental health in older community-dwelling adults with depressive symptom.

Community-powered problem solving.

PubMed

Gouillart, Francis; Billings, Douglas

2013-04-01

Traditionally, companies have managed their constituencies with specific processes: marketing to customers, procuring from vendors, developing HR policies for employees, and so on. The problem is, such processes focus on repeatability and compliance, so they can lead to stagnation. Inviting your constituencies to collectively help you solve problems and exploit opportunities--"co-creation"--is a better approach. It allows you to continually tap the skills and insights of huge numbers of stakeholders and develop new ways to produce value for all. The idea is to provide stakeholders with platforms (physical and digital forums) on which they can interact, get them to start exploring new experiences and connections, and let the system grow organically. A co-creation initiative by a unit of Becton, Dickinson and Company demonstrates how this works. A global leader in syringes, BD set out to deepen its ties with hospital customers and help them reduce the incidence of infections from unsafe injection and syringe disposal practices. The effort began with a cross-functional internal team, brought in the hospital procurement and supply managers BD had relationships with, and then reached out to hospitals' infection-prevention and occupational health leaders. Eventually product designers, nurses, sustainability staffers, and even hospital CFOs were using the platform, contributing data that generated new best practices and reduced infections.

Effects of exercise and horticultural intervention on the brain and mental health in older adults with depressive symptoms and memory problems: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial [UMIN000018547].

PubMed

Makizako, Hyuma; Tsutsumimoto, Kota; Doi, Takehiko; Hotta, Ryo; Nakakubo, Sho; Liu-Ambrose, Teresa; Shimada, Hiroyuki

2015-11-04

Depressive symptoms and memory problems are significant risk factors for dementia. Exercise can reduce depressive symptoms and improve cognitive function in older people. In addition, the benefits of horticultural activity on physical and mental well-being have been demonstrated in people with dementia. Although evidence of such non-pharmacological interventions is mounting, no studies have examined whether physical exercise and horticultural activity exert a positive impact on brain and mental health (e.g., depressive symptoms) in non-demented older adults at high risk of cognitive impairment and depression. Therefore, we propose a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy and efficiency of physical exercise and horticultural activity in improving brain and mental health in community-dwelling older adults with memory problems and depressive symptoms. The 20-week randomized controlled trial will include 90 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older with memory problems and depressive symptoms. Participants will be randomized to one of three experiments: exercise, horticultural activity, or educational control group, using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio. The combined exercise program and horticultural activity program will consist of 20 weekly 90-minute sessions. Participants in the exercise group will practice aerobic exercise, muscle strength training, postural balance retraining, and dual-task training. The horticultural activity program will include crop-related activities, such as field cultivation, growing, and harvesting. Participants in the educational control group will attend two 90-minute educational classes during the 6-month trial period. Depressive symptoms and memory performance will be measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15, and the Logical Memory subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised will be used to measure depressive symptoms and memory performance as primary outcomes, at baseline (prior to randomization), immediately following intervention (6 months from baseline), and 6 months after intervention. Hippocampal volume will be measured at baseline and immediately after intervention, using magnetic resonance imaging. Secondary outcomes will comprise cognitive function, including language, attention/executive performance, and processing speed; brain-derived neurotrophic-factor serum levels; and health-related quality of life. This intervention study will determine the clinical importance and efficacy of physical exercise and horticultural activity as non-pharmacological interventions in community-dwelling older adults at high risk of poor brain and mental health. UMIN000018547 ; registered 7 August 2015.

Trade-off between early emergence and herbivore susceptibility mediates exotic success in an experimental California plant community.

PubMed

Waterton, Joseph; Cleland, Elsa E

2016-12-01

Ecological trade-offs are fundamental to theory in community ecology; critical for understanding species coexistence in diverse plant communities, as well as the evolution of diverse life-history strategies. Invasions by exotic species can provide insights into the importance of trade-offs in community assembly, because the ecological strategies of invading species often differ from those present in the native species pool. Exotic annual species have invaded many Mediterranean-climate areas around the globe, and often germinate and emerge earlier in the growing season than native species. Early-season growth can enable exotic annual species to preempt space and resources, competitively suppressing later-emerging native species; however, early-emerging individuals may also be more apparent to herbivores. This suggests a potential trade-off between seasonal phenology and susceptibility to herbivory. To evaluate this hypothesis, we monitored the emergence and growth of 12 focal species (six each native and exotic) in monoculture and polyculture, while experimentally excluding generalist herbivores both early and later in the growing season. Consistent with past studies, the exotic species emerged earlier than native species. Regardless of species origin, earlier-emerging species achieved greater biomass by the end of the experiment, but were more negatively impacted by herbivory, particularly in the early part of the growing season. This greater impact of early-season herbivory on early-active species led to a reduction in the competitive advantage of exotic species growing in polyculture, and improved the performance of later-emerging natives. Such a trade-off between early growth and susceptibility to herbivores could be an important force in community assembly in seasonal herbaceous-dominated ecosystems. These results also show how herbivore exclusion favors early-active exotic species in this system, with important implications for management in many areas invaded by early-active exotic species.

Nutrient addition shifts plant community composition towards earlier flowering species in some prairie ecoregions in the U.S. Central Plains.

PubMed

Biederman, Lori; Mortensen, Brent; Fay, Philip; Hagenah, Nicole; Knops, Johannes; La Pierre, Kimberly; Laungani, Ramesh; Lind, Eric; McCulley, Rebecca; Power, Sally; Seabloom, Eric; Tognetti, Pedro

2017-01-01

The distribution of flowering across the growing season is governed by each species' evolutionary history and climatic variability. However, global change factors, such as eutrophication and invasion, can alter plant community composition and thus change the distribution of flowering across the growing season. We examined three ecoregions (tall-, mixed, and short-grass prairie) across the U.S. Central Plains to determine how nutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium (+micronutrient)) addition alters the temporal patterns of plant flowering traits. We calculated total community flowering potential (FP) by distributing peak-season plant cover values across the growing season, allocating each species' cover to only those months in which it typically flowers. We also generated separate FP profiles for exotic and native species and functional group. We compared the ability of the added nutrients to shift the distribution of these FP profiles (total and sub-groups) across the growing season. In all ecoregions, N increased the relative cover of both exotic species and C3 graminoids that flower in May through August. The cover of C4 graminoids decreased with added N, but the response varied by ecoregion and month. However, these functional changes only aggregated to shift the entire community's FP profile in the tall-grass prairie, where the relative cover of plants expected to flower in May and June increased and those that flower in September and October decreased with added N. The relatively low native cover in May and June may leave this ecoregion vulnerable to disturbance-induced invasion by exotic species that occupy this temporal niche. There was no change in the FP profile of the mixed and short-grass prairies with N addition as increased abundance of exotic species and C3 graminoids replaced other species that flower at the same time. In these communities a disturbance other than nutrient addition may be required to disrupt phenological patterns.

Networking for High Energy and Nuclear Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, Harvey B.

2007-07-01

This report gives an overview of the status and outlook for the world's research networks and major international links used by the high energy physics and other scientific communities, network technology advances on which our community depends and in which we have an increasingly important role, and the problem of the Digital Divide, which is a primary focus of ICFA's Standing Committee on Inter-regional Connectivity (SCIC). Wide area networks of sufficient, and rapidly increasing end-to-end capability are vital for every phase of high energy physicists' work. Our bandwidth usage, and the typical capacity of the major national backbones and intercontinental links used by our field have progressed by a factor of more than 1000 over the past decade, and the outlook is for a similar increase over the next decade. This striking exponential growth trend, outstripping the growth rates in other areas of information technology, has continued in the past year, with many of the major national, continental and transoceanic networks supporting research and education progressing from a 10 Gigabits/sec (Gbps) backbone to multiple 10 Gbps links in their core. This is complemented by the use of point-to-point "light paths" to support the most demanding applications, including high energy physics, in a growing list of cases. As we approach the era of LHC physics, the growing need to access and transport Terabyte-scale and later 10 to 100 Terabyte datasets among more than 100 "Tier1" and "Tier2" centers at universities and laboratories spread throughout the world has brought the key role of networks, and the ongoing need for their development, sharply into focus. Bandwidth itself on an increasing scale is not enough. Realizing the scientific wealth of the LHC and our other major scientific programs depends crucially on our ability to use the bandwidth efficiently and reliably, with reliable high rates of data throughput, and effectively, where many parallel large-scale data transfers serving the community complete with high probability, often while coexisting with many other streams of network traffic. Responding to these needs, and to the scientific mission, physicists working with network engineers and computer scientists have made substantial progress in the development of protocols and systems that promise to meet these needs, placing our community among the world leaders in the development as well as use of large-scale networks. A great deal of work remains, and is continuing. As we advance in these areas, often (as in the past year) with great rapidity, there is a growing danger that we will leave behind our collaborators in regions with less-developed networks, or with regulatory frameworks or business models that put the required networks financially out of reach. This threatens to further open the Digital Divide that already exists among the regions of the world. In 2002, the SCIC recognized the threat that this Divide represents to our global scientific collaborations, and since that time has worked assiduously to reduce or eliminate it; both within our community, and more broadly in the world research community of which HEP is a part.

What If.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bingler, Steven

This paper addresses the growing population trends in California; the need to counteract the current model of community sprawl by designing smarter schools and community growth strategies; and the changes in planning, policies, and practices needed to achieve these goals. Recommended strategies described support the following actions: more…

Enhancing US-Japan Cooperation to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is aimed at preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats. To move toward these goals, the United States has committed to partner with at least 30 countries around the world. One of the objectives of the GHSA includes “[p]reventing the emergence and spread of antimicrobial drug resistant organisms.” Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a growing global health security problem, with inappropriate use of antimicrobial medications in humans and animals and a lack of new antimicrobial medications contributing to this problem. While AMR is a growing global concern, working on it regionally can make this multifaceted problem more manageable. The United States and Japan, both world leaders in the life sciences, are close allies that have established cooperative programs in medical research and global health that can be used to work on combating AMR and advance the GHSA. Although the United States and Japan have cooperated on health issues in the past, their cooperation on the growing problem of AMR has been limited. Their existing networks, cooperative programs, and close relationships can and should be used to work on combating this expanding problem. PMID:25470465

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strietelmeier, E. A.; Nuttall, H. Eric; Hatzinger, Paul

Nitrate and perchlorate are growing worldwide problems as mobile anionic groundwater contaminants. Biological rduction of nitrate and perchlorate in groundwater is under development as a technology to address these problems.

Examining Sense of Community among Medical Professionals in an Online Graduate Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Kadriye O.; McVay-Dyche, Jennifer; Chen, Haiqin; Seto, Teresa L.

2015-01-01

As the number of online degree programs continues to grow, one of the greatest challenges is developing a sense of community among learners who do not convene at the same time and place. This study examined the sense of community among medical professionals in an online graduate program for healthcare professionals. We took the sample from a fully…

Best Practices in Service Learning: Building a National Community College Network, 1994-1997. AACC Project Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Gail; Barnett, Lynn

As part of the Learn and Serve America Program of the Corporation for National Service, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has helped develop campus-based programs that have instigated a growing community college service learning network. Ten colleges, selected in a national competition for grants ranging from $2,000 to $12,000…

Commercial aviation : programs and options for the federal approach to providing and improving air service to small communities : testimony before the Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, U.S. Senate

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-14

The EAS program guarantees that communities that were served by air carriers before deregulation continue to receive a certain level of scheduled air service, under certain conditions. A growing number of communities are receiving subsidies under thi...

Voice from the Field: Examining the Role of Foreign Language Teaching in the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurisevic, Dallas R.

2013-01-01

There is a growing number of students enrolling in community colleges in the United States. Many of these students are looking to transfer credits earned from the community college to four-year institutions, while others are simply looking to enter into the skilled workforce. With the increase in general enrollment and the demand for more…

Globalization and Language Learning in Rural Japan: The Role of English in the Local Linguistic Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kubota, Ryuko; McKay, Sandra

2009-01-01

Drawing on a study of current language use in a rural community in Japan, we question to what extent English actually does serve today as a lingua franca in multilingual, internationally diverse communities. Specifically, we report on a critical ethnography of a small Japanese community with a growing number of non-English-speaking immigrants,…

Temps at the Top: Factors Related to the Appointment of Interim Community College Presidents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goff, Susan L.

2012-01-01

The appointment of interim community college presidents, the topic of this study, is a little understood phenomenon. A growing shortage of community college presidents coupled with a lack of replacements suggests the appointment of interims will continue well into the future. This study, with a purpose of looking at the factors related to the…

Community Reintegration for People with Psychiatric Disabilities: Challenging Systemic Barriers to Service Provision and Public Policy through Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirza, Mansha; Gossett, Andrea; Chan, Nathan Kai-Cheong; Burford, Larry; Hammel, Joy

2008-01-01

People with psychiatric disabilities represent a growing group within the population of nursing home residents in the USA. Despite a preference for living in community-based settings, the availability of supportive services for community living is hindered by barriers at both the service provision and public policy levels. Therefore, understanding…

Leading the Charge: A Multiple Case Study of Presidential Perceptions of Essential Leadership Characteristics for the 21st Century Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonner, B. Jeanne

2013-01-01

Leadership of 21st century community colleges is more demanding today than at any other time. Community colleges are faced with an array of challenges previously unimagined, generally resulting from the impact of concurrent socio-economic changes, competing demands from various college constituencies, growing complexity of the leadership role of…

"I Never Feel Alone in My Classroom": Teacher Professional Growth within a Blended Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trust, Torrey; Horrocks, Brian

2017-01-01

Well-designed face-to-face and virtual communities of practice provide opportunities for teachers to learn, grow as professionals and make changes to their practice with the support of peers. However, as more K-12 teachers become Connected Educators and act as conduits between online spaces and communities in their schools, the boundaries between…

Letting Go and Letting the Angels Grow: Using Etienne Wenger's Community of Practice Theory to Facilitate Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breen, Paul

2015-01-01

This paper describes a small-scale qualitative research study conducted within a community of English Language teachers, and explores how teacher development workshops can be used to foster or cultivate Communities of Practice. The study was situated in a Language Centre within the domain of UK Higher Education where there was an institutional…

Meditation: Rationales, Experimental Effects, and Methodological Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-01

psychotherapeutic communities . Such an expansion of the term highlights the growing Western view of meditation as a physiological, as well a a psychological...and other meditations are currently holding the attention of the Western psychiatric community . Together with Yogic techniques. Buddhist meditations...are increasingly contributing to Western psychological doctrine and therapeutic practice. This reception by the clinical community in particular is

Alpine vegetation communities and the alpine-treeline ecotone boundary in New England as biomonitors for climate change

Treesearch

Kenneth D. Kimball; Douglas M. Weihrauch

2000-01-01

This study mapped and analyzed the alpine-treeline ecotone (ATE) boundary and alpine plant communities on the Presidential Range, New Hampshire and Mount Katahdin, Maine. These are sensitive biomonitoring parameters for plant community responses to climatic change. The ATE boundary spans a considerable elevational range, suggesting that shorter growing seasons with...

Community College Baccalaureate: A Fixed Effects, Multi-Year Study of the Influence of State Policy on Nursing Degree Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daun-Barnett, Nathan

2011-01-01

For the past 10 years, a growing number of community colleges in the US have begun to offer baccalaureate degrees across a range of targeted programmes including business, education, and nursing. This study examines whether community college baccalaureate policies result in an increased production of nurses--currently a policy priority in nearly…

Rural Student Entrepreneurs: Linking Commerce and Community. (Benefits)[Squared]: The Exponential Results of Linking School Improvement and Community Development, Issue Number Three.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boethel, Martha

In many rural areas, both communities and schools are threatened by decreasing population and changing economic conditions. To boost both the local economy and student achievement, a growing number of rural schools are turning to entrepreneurial education. In school entrepreneurship programs, students create small businesses under the guidance of…

Caught between the Ethnic Sides: Children Growing up in a Divided Post-War Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ajdukovic, Dean; Biruski, Dinka Corkalo

2008-01-01

The war-related process of disintegration of a highly integrated and multi-ethnic community is described using a series of studies done in the city of Vukovar (Croatia) as a case example. After analyzing the key points of the community social breakdown, the three roots of ongoing ethnic division are explored: the feelings of being betrayed by…

Evaluation of free to grow: head start partnerships to promote substance-free communities.

PubMed

Wolfson, Mark; Champion, Heather; Rogers, Todd; Neiberg, Rebecca H; Barker, Dianne C; Talton, Jennifer W; Ip, Edward H; D'Agostino, Ralph B; Parries, Maria T; Easterling, Doug

2011-04-01

Free to Grow: Head Start Partnerships to Promote Substance-free Communities (FTG) was a national initiative in which local Head Start (HS) agencies, in partnership with other community organizations, implemented a mix of evidence-based family-strengthening and community-strengthening strategies. The evaluation of FTG used a quasi-experimental design to compare 14 communities that participated in the FTG intervention with 14 matched comparison communities. Telephone surveys were conducted with two cohorts of the primary caregivers of children in HS at baseline and then annually for 2 years. The survey was also administered to repeated cross-sectional samples of primary caregivers of young children who were not enrolled in HS. No consistent evidence was found in changes in family functioning or neighborhood conditions when the 14 FTG sites were compared to 14 matched sites. However, caregivers of young children who were not in HS in three high-implementing FTG sites showed evidence of improvements in neighborhood organization, neighborhood norms against substance abuse, and child disciplinary practices. Results provide highly limited support for the concept that family and neighborhood conditions that are likely to affect child development and well-being can be changed through organized efforts implemented by local HS programs.

Weed communities of rain-fed lowland rice vary with infestation by Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houngbédji, Tossimidé; Dessaint, Fabrice; Nicolardot, Bernard; Shykoff, Jacqui A.; Gibot-Leclerc, Stéphanie

2016-11-01

The facultative hemiparasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Orobanchaceae) thrives in seasonally wet soils in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in marginal lowland rice growing environments where weeds are already a major constraint for rice production. Because lowland rice production is increasing in tropical Africa, it is important to ascertain the influence of R. fistulosa on weed plant communities in these rice-growing habitats. We investigated weed plant community richness and composition at four different levels of R. fistulosa infestation across two years of surveys from lowland rice fields in northern Togo (West Africa). Despite a lack of significant differences in community richness among sites with different R. fistulosa infestation levels, there were significant differences in community composition, both when estimated from presence-absence data and from relative abundance data, after controlling statistically for geographic proximity among sites. Rhamphicarpa fistulosa infestation, therefore, may influence the competitive balance between rice and its weeds and shape weed community structure. However, experimental studies are required to elucidate the weed host range of R. fistulosa and the direct and indirect effects of this hemiparasite in rice fields in order to predict its net impact on rice and its weed species.

Adaptations in bacterial catabolic enzyme activity and community structure in membrane-coupled bioreactors fed simple synthetic wastewater.

PubMed

LaPara, Timothy M; Klatt, Christian G; Chen, Ruoyu

2006-02-10

Membrane-coupled bioreactors (MBRs) offer substantial benefits compared to conventional reactor designs for biological wastewater treatment. MBR treatment efficiency, however, has not been optimized because the effects of the MBR on process microbiology are poorly understood. In this study, the structure and function of the microbial communities growing in MBRs fed simple synthetic wastewater were investigated. In four starch-fed MBRs, the bacterial community substantially increased its alpha-glucosidase affinity (>1000-fold), while the leucine aminopeptidase and heptanoate esterase affinities increased slightly (<40-fold) or remained relatively constant. Concomitant to these physiological adaptations, shifts in the bacterial community structure in two of the starch-fed MBRs were detected by PCR-DGGE. Four of the bacterial populations detected by PCR-DGGE were isolated and exhibited specific growth rates in batch culture ranging from 0.009 to 0.22 h(-1). Our results suggest that bacterial communities growing under increasingly stringent nutrient limitation adapt their enzyme activities primarily for the nutrients provided, but that there is also a more subtle response not linked to the substrates included in the feed medium. Our research also demonstrates that MBRs can support relatively complex bacterial communities even on simple feed media.

Quantum Entanglement Growth under Random Unitary Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahum, Adam; Ruhman, Jonathan; Vijay, Sagar; Haah, Jeongwan

2017-07-01

Characterizing how entanglement grows with time in a many-body system, for example, after a quantum quench, is a key problem in nonequilibrium quantum physics. We study this problem for the case of random unitary dynamics, representing either Hamiltonian evolution with time-dependent noise or evolution by a random quantum circuit. Our results reveal a universal structure behind noisy entanglement growth, and also provide simple new heuristics for the "entanglement tsunami" in Hamiltonian systems without noise. In 1D, we show that noise causes the entanglement entropy across a cut to grow according to the celebrated Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation. The mean entanglement grows linearly in time, while fluctuations grow like (time )1/3 and are spatially correlated over a distance ∝(time )2/3. We derive KPZ universal behavior in three complementary ways, by mapping random entanglement growth to (i) a stochastic model of a growing surface, (ii) a "minimal cut" picture, reminiscent of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula in holography, and (iii) a hydrodynamic problem involving the dynamical spreading of operators. We demonstrate KPZ universality in 1D numerically using simulations of random unitary circuits. Importantly, the leading-order time dependence of the entropy is deterministic even in the presence of noise, allowing us to propose a simple coarse grained minimal cut picture for the entanglement growth of generic Hamiltonians, even without noise, in arbitrary dimensionality. We clarify the meaning of the "velocity" of entanglement growth in the 1D entanglement tsunami. We show that in higher dimensions, noisy entanglement evolution maps to the well-studied problem of pinning of a membrane or domain wall by disorder.

Impact of Housing and Community Conditions on Multidimensional Health among Middle- and Low-Income Groups in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Wang, Jionghua; Huang, Bo; Zhang, Ting; Wong, Hung; Huang, Yifan

2018-05-31

With decades of urbanization, housing and community problems (e.g., poor ventilation and lack of open public spaces) have become important social determinants of health that require increasing attention worldwide. Knowledge regarding the link between health and these problems can provide crucial evidence for building healthy communities. However, this link has heretofore not been identified in Hong Kong, and few studies have compared the health impact of housing and community conditions across different income groups. To overcome this gap, we hypothesize that the health impact of housing and community problems may vary across income groups and across health dimensions. We tested these hypotheses using cross-sectional survey data from Hong Kong. Several health outcomes, e.g., chronic diseases and the SF-12 v. 2 mental component summary scores, were correlated with a few types of housing and community problems, while other outcomes, such as the DASS-21⁻Stress scores, were sensitive to a broader range of problems. The middle- and low-income group was more severely affected by poor built environments. These results can be used to identify significant problems in the local built environment, especially amongst the middle- and low-income group.

Child human trafficking victims: challenges for the child welfare system.

PubMed

Fong, Rowena; Berger Cardoso, Jodi

2010-08-01

Since the passing of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000 and its reauthorization by President George Bush in 2008, federal, state and community efforts in identifying and providing services for victims of human trafficking have significantly improved. However, most of the research and resources for trafficking victims have been directed towards adults rather than children. Researchers agree that there is a growing number of sexually exploited and trafficked children in the United States yet few programs emphasize the unique experiences and special needs of this population. This article examines commercial sexual exploitation of children; differentiates the needs and problems between child prostitution and victims of human trafficking; reviews and critiques current treatment practices; and summarizes challenges and successes in working with child victims of human trafficking, offering practice and policy recommendations. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Antibacterial resistance leadership group: open for business.

PubMed

Chambers, Henry F; Bartlett, John G; Bonomo, Robert A; Chiou, Christine; Cosgrove, Sara E; Cross, Heather R; Daum, Robert S; Downing, Michele; Evans, Scott R; Knisely, Jane; Kreiswirth, Barry N; Lautenbach, Ebbing; Mickley, Brenda S; Patel, Robin; Pettigrew, Melinda M; Rodvold, Keith A; Spellberg, Brad; Fowler, Vance G

2014-06-01

Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG) is tasked with developing a clinical research agenda and conducting clinical studies to address the growing public health threat of antibacterial resistance. The ARLG has identified 4 high-priority areas of research: infections caused by gram-negative bacteria, infections caused by gram-positive bacteria, antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention, and diagnostics. The ARLG will be accepting proposals from the scientific community for clinical research that addresses 1 or more of these high-priority areas. These studies should have the potential to transform medical practice and be unlikely to occur without ARLG support. The purpose of this article is to make interested parties aware of clinical research opportunities made available by ARLG and to encourage submission of clinical research proposals that address the problem of antibacterial resistance.

Poverty and the violation of human rights: a proposed conceptual framework.

PubMed

Schuftan, Claudio

2012-01-01

The paper proposes a conceptual framework linking the causes of poverty with the causes of human rights violations. Both are presented as outcomes of a cascading chain of determinants grouped as immediate, underlying, and basic causes. The framework will make situation analyses focused on poverty and human rights better adjusted to the reality on the ground. It is also the first step in using the human rights-based approach, now an established methodology being used by a growing number of health and development practitioners and seen by the United Nations system as the way forward. The framework also provides guidance to communities in identifying, in a participatory way, causes of the problems that affect them. The framework is presented in a diagram format followed by a list of the major determinants in each causal level.

Testing the Waters: From Moringa Seeds to Fruit Peels, Researchers Are Seeking Out New Ways to Clean Up the World?s Drinking Water.

PubMed

Yan, Wudan

2017-01-01

Water on Earth-in our oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands-might seem plentiful, but water that is clean and safe enough to drink actually isn't so abundant. Nearly one in ten people still lacks access to safe water worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In some of the world's most remote and impoverished communities, people live with no taps, showers, flushing toilets, or nearby springs, making it difficult to keep water supplies safe from bacteria, chemicals, and particulates. Moreover, access to clean drinking water isn't just a problem in the developing world; groundwater in developed countries is typically used far more quickly than it is being replenished. As the world population rises, growing numbers of thirsty people could exacerbate already-scant resources.

The Ontogeny of Cultural Learning.

PubMed

Legare, Cristine H; Harris, Paul L

2016-05-01

Developmental research has the potential to address some of the critical gaps in our scientific understanding of the role played by cultural learning in ontogenetic outcomes. The goal of this special section was to gather together leading examples of research on cultural learning across a variety of social contexts and caregiving settings. Although the field of developmental psychology continues to struggle with the persistent problem of oversampling U.S. and Western European populations, we argue that the articles in this special section add to the growing evidence that children everywhere draw on a repertoire of cultural learning strategies that optimize their acquisition of the specific practices, beliefs, and values of their communities. We also identify future directions and outline best practices for the conduct of research on cultural learning. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Active bacterial community structure along vertical redox gradients in Baltic Sea sediment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jansson, Janet; Edlund, Anna; Hardeman, Fredrik

Community structures of active bacterial populations were investigated along a vertical redox profile in coastal Baltic Sea sediments by terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and clone library analysis. According to correspondence analysis of T-RFLP results and sequencing of cloned 16S rRNA genes, the microbial community structures at three redox depths (179 mV, -64 mV and -337 mV) differed significantly. The bacterial communities in the community DNA differed from those in bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeled DNA, indicating that the growing members of the community that incorporated BrdU were not necessarily the most dominant members. The structures of the actively growing bacterial communities weremore » most strongly correlated to organic carbon followed by total nitrogen and redox potentials. Bacterial identification by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes from clones of BrdU-labeled DNA and DNA from reverse transcription PCR (rt-PCR) showed that bacterial taxa involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycling were metabolically active along the redox profiles. Several sequences had low similarities to previously detected sequences indicating that novel lineages of bacteria are present in Baltic Sea sediments. Also, a high number of different 16S rRNA gene sequences representing different phyla were detected at all sampling depths.« less

Exposure to Community Violence and Sexual Behaviors Among African American Youth: Testing Multiple Pathways.

PubMed

Voisin, Dexter R; Hotton, Anna; Neilands, Torsten

2018-01-01

African American youth bear a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted infections. A growing number of studies document that youth exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors are highly correlated. Despite such growing evidence, only a few studies have empirically tested conceptually driven pathways that may account for such relationships. This study seeks to address that gap by exploring multiple pathways linking exposure to community violence and youth sexual behaviors. Using an existing sample of 563 African American youth attending high school, we examined whether possible links between exposure to community violence and sexual activity, sexual risk behaviors were mediated by aggression, low student-teacher connectedness, and negative peer norms. Major findings indicated indirect relationships between exposures to community violence and both sexual activity and risky sex, mediated by aggression and negative peer norms with no significant differences based on gender or socioeconomic status. Overall findings also indicated a significant indirect effect of aggression to risky sex via negative peer norms and from community violence to risky peer norms via aggression. By illuminating ways that community violence, aggression, peer norms, and sexual behaviors are dynamically interrelated, these findings have significant implications for future research and intervention initiatives aimed at addressing the different pathways.

Seasonally dynamic fungal communities in the Quercus macrocarpa phyllosphere differ between urban and nonurban environments.

PubMed

Jumpponen, A; Jones, K L

2010-04-01

*The fungal richness, diversity and community composition in the Quercus macrocarpa phyllosphere were compared across a growing season in trees located in six stands within and outside a small urban center using 454-sequencing and DNA tagging. The approaches did not differentiate between endophytic and epiphytic fungal communities. *Fungi accumulated in the phyllosphere rapidly and communities were temporally dynamic, with more than a third of the analyzed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and half of the BLAST-inferred genera showing distinct seasonal patterns. The seasonal patterns could be explained by fungal life cycles or environmental tolerances. *The communities were hyperdiverse and differed between the urban and nonurban stands, albeit not consistently across the growing season. Foliar macronutrients (nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and sulfur (S)), micronutrients (boron (B), manganese (Mn) and selenium (Se)) and trace elements (cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn)) were enriched in the urban trees, probably as a result of anthropogenic activities. Because of correlations with the experimental layout, these chemical elements should not be considered as community drivers without further empirical studies. *We suggest that a combination of mechanisms leads to differences between urban and nonurban communities. Among those are stand isolation and size, nutrient and pollutant accumulation plus stand management, including fertilization and litter removal.

Differential response of marine flagellate communities to prokaryotic food quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Corte, D.; Paredes, G.; Sintes, E.; Herndl, G. J.

2016-02-01

Marine prokaryotes play a major role in the biogeochemical cycles. The main predators of prokaryotes are heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF). HNF are thus a major link connecting dissolved organic material through prokaryotic grazing to the higher trophic levels. However, little is known about the grazing specificity of HNF on specific prokaryotic taxa. Bacterial and archaeal microbes may have different nutritive values for the HNF communities, thus affecting growth rates and community composition of HNFs. In this study we investigated the influence of prey food quality on Cafeteria roenbergensis and on a natural HNF community isolated in the northern Adriatic Sea. Two Nitrosopumilus maritimus-related strains isolated from the northern Adriatic Sea (Nitrosopumilus adriaticus, Nitrosopumilus piranensis), two Nitrosococcus strains and two fast growing marine Bacteria (Pseudomonas marina and Marinobacter algicola) were fed to the HNFs. The two fast growing bacterial strains resulted in high growth rates of Cafeteria roenbergensis and the mixed HNF community, while the two Nitrosococcus strains did not. Cafeteria roenbergensis fed on N. adriaticus but it did not graze N. piranensis, suggesting that the subtle metabolic and physiological differences between these two closely related thaumarchaeal strains affect the grazing pressure to which they are exposed. Our study also indicates that prokaryotic community composition influences the composition of the HNF community.

COMMUNITY VIOLENCE AND EXTERNALIZING PROBLEMS: MODERATING EFFECTS OF RACE AND RELIGIOSITY IN EMERGING ADULTHOOD

PubMed Central

Fowler, Patrick J.; Ahmed, Sawssan R.; Tompsett, Carolyn J.; Jozefowicz-Simbeni, Debra M. H.; Toro, Paul A.

2009-01-01

The present study examined racial differences in the relationship between exposure to community violence and public and private religiosity in predicting externalizing problems among at-risk emerging adults. Participants were 178 African American and 163 European American emerging adults at risk for exposure to community violence. Exposure to community violence related to more externalizing problems. Greater public religious affiliation buffered the relationship between community violence and substance abuse, for both African American and European emerging adults. In addition, more privately religious African American emerging adults engaged in less deviant behavior when exposed to higher levels of community violence. European Americans were not protected by private religiosity. PMID:20016764

Phenological dynamics of arctic tundra vegetation and its implications on satellite imagery interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juutinen, Sari; Aurela, Mika; Mikola, Juha; Räsänen, Aleksi; Virtanen, Tarmo

2016-04-01

Remote sensing is a key methodology when monitoring the responses of arctic ecosystems to climatic warming. The short growing season and rapid vegetation development, however, set demands to the timing of image acquisition in the arctic. We used multispectral very high spatial resolution satellite images to study the effect of vegetation phenology on the spectral reflectance and image interpretation in the low arctic tundra in coastal Siberia (Tiksi, 71°35'39"N, 128°53'17"E). The study site mainly consists of peatlands, tussock, dwarf shrub, and grass tundra, and stony areas with some lichen and shrub patches. We tested the hypotheses that (1) plant phenology is responsive to the interannual weather variation and (2) the phenological state of vegetation has an impact on satellite image interpretation and the ability to distinguish between the plant communities. We used an empirical transfer function with temperature sums as drivers to reconstruct daily leaf area index (LAI) for the different plant communities for years 2005, and 2010-2014 based on measured LAI development in summer 2014. Satellite images, taken during growing seasons, were acquired for two years having late and early spring, and short and long growing season, respectively. LAI dynamics showed considerable interannual variation due to weather variation, and particularly the relative contribution of graminoid dominated communities was sensitive to these phenology shifts. We have also analyzed the differences in the reflectance values between the two satellite images taking account the LAI dynamics. These results will increase our understanding of the pitfalls that may arise from the timing of image acquisition when interpreting the vegetation structure in a heterogeneous tundra landscape. Very high spatial resolution multispectral images are available at reasonable cost, but not in high temporal resolution, which may lead to compromises when matching ground truth and the imagery. On the other hand, to identify existing plant communities, high resolution images are needed due fragmented nature of tundra vegetation communities. Temporal differences in the phenology among different plant functional types may also obscure the image interpretations when using spatially low resolution images in heterogeneous landscapes. Phenological features of plant communities should be acknowledged, when plant functional or community type based classifications are used in models to estimate global greenhouse gas emissions and when monitoring changes in vegetation are monitored, for example to indicate permafrost thawing or changes in growing season lengths.

Reaching Out with Business-Related Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erbes, Bill

2000-01-01

Discusses how the Bensenville Community Public Library (Illinois) met the growing needs of the business community by subscribing to Infotrac's Web-based General BusinessFile. Topics include meeting the information needs of business; installing a computer station at the Chamber of Commerce; and grant funding. (LRW)

Always Growing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Dennis

2017-01-01

Ongoing professional development is critical even for the very top executives at community colleges. While many community college systems focus on the onboarding of new presidents, professional learning should be a never-ending process. The best institutions recognize this and devote time and resources to the continuing development of their…

Education, Development, and the Rebuilding of Urban Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keith, Novella Z.; Keith, Nelson W.

The paper asks what are appropriate policies for urban school reform in the context of global transformations affecting cities in both developed and "Third World" countries. Features of this transformation include growing population diversity, a semi-permanent underclass, and the informal economy. Comprehensive community development…

Making Better Use of School Buildings. PEB Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Programme on Educational Building.

School buildings are expensive to construct and to maintain, yet many are used for only a few hours each day. There is also a growing demand for facilities for lifelong learning, leisure, and other community activities, while financial pressures on national and local authorities continue to grow. In 1995, the OECD Programme on Educational Building…

Modeling phosphorus capture by plants growing in a multi-species riparian buffer

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The NST 3.0 mechanistic nutrient uptake model was used to explore phosphorus (P) uptake to a depth of 120 cm over a 126-d growing season in simulated buffer communities composed of mixtures of cottonwood (Populus deltoids Bartr.), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), and smooth brome (Bromis inermis L...

Introduction to forest growth and yield

Treesearch

John W., Jr. Moser

1989-01-01

Forests are dynamic communities that are constantly changing. To the casual observer, only the most obvious change, such as the death of a tree, may be discernible. However, other changes are continually occurring. Trees grow in both height and diameter. This is termed survivor growth. Ingrowth occurs when a tree's diameter grows larger than an arbitrarily...

A Study of Factors That Impact Teacher Job Satisfaction in Rural Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumgartner, Michael

2013-01-01

A growing body of research suggests that low job satisfaction among teachers may lead to undesired consequences for educators, students, and communities. The greatest impact appears to be a high rate of attrition among teachers, which is growing (NCTAF, 2007). Teacher effectiveness, teacher retention, and student achievement can be directly…

Critical Understanding of U.S. Youths' Citizenship: Community Belonging and Engagement of "Successful Citizens"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Josic, Jasmina

2011-01-01

As today's youth is growing up in societies made more complicated by globalization, the argument grows for expanding the discussion about citizenship education. In increasingly multicultural and interconnected societies, young people are developing new civic attitudes as well as "attachments and identifications" as citizens within three…

Growing up and Growing Old: Communities in Counterpoint

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St John, Patricia A.

2009-01-01

Using a socio-cultural lens, this study explores two unique populations participating in an intergenerational music experience: seven infants/caregivers (ages 3-16 months) and eight retired women religious (ages 70-94). I was curious to examine how music-making across ages might facilitate new-found meaning for old people whilst simultaneously…

Paxton Revisited: The Essence of the Lived Experiences of Urban Agricultural Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Nicholas R.; Roberts, Richie; Whiddon, Ashley S.; Goossen, Carmelita E.; Kacal, Amanda

2015-01-01

The rapidly growing world population and need for more food and agricultural knowledge has inspired city dwellers to explore urban cultivation practices such as vertical farming and community gardening. Ultra-modern approaches to growing crops and livestock in urban high-rise buildings has sparked the imagination of scientists, agriculturists, and…

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) for infrastructure elements.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-02-01

With a growing demand for new construction and the need to replace infrastructure stretched beyond its service life, society : faces the problem of an ever-growing production of construction and demolition waste. The Federal Highway Administration : ...

A Shadowing Problem in the Detection of Overlapping Communities: Lifting the Resolution Limit through a Cascading Procedure

PubMed Central

Young, Jean-Gabriel; Allard, Antoine; Hébert-Dufresne, Laurent; Dubé, Louis J.

2015-01-01

Community detection is the process of assigning nodes and links in significant communities (e.g. clusters, function modules) and its development has led to a better understanding of complex networks. When applied to sizable networks, we argue that most detection algorithms correctly identify prominent communities, but fail to do so across multiple scales. As a result, a significant fraction of the network is left uncharted. We show that this problem stems from larger or denser communities overshadowing smaller or sparser ones, and that this effect accounts for most of the undetected communities and unassigned links. We propose a generic cascading approach to community detection that circumvents the problem. Using real and artificial network datasets with three widely used community detection algorithms, we show how a simple cascading procedure allows for the detection of the missing communities. This work highlights a new detection limit of community structure, and we hope that our approach can inspire better community detection algorithms. PMID:26461919

Positioning Community Colleges via Economic Development. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeiss, Anthony

Community colleges, because of their late arrival in the development of American education, have suffered from an image and identity problem since their inception. To deal with this problem, community colleges should position themselves as unique community-based service-oriented colleges and market a specific focus to the general public. The first…

E-Waste and Harm to Vulnerable Populations: A Growing Global Problem

PubMed Central

Heacock, Michelle; Kelly, Carol Bain; Asante, Kwadwo Ansong; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Bergman, Åke Lennart; Bruné, Marie-Noel; Buka, Irena; Carpenter, David O.; Chen, Aimin; Huo, Xia; Kamel, Mostafa; Landrigan, Philip J.; Magalini, Federico; Diaz-Barriga, Fernando; Neira, Maria; Omar, Magdy; Pascale, Antonio; Ruchirawat, Mathuros; Sly, Leith; Sly, Peter D.; Van den Berg, Martin; Suk, William A.

2015-01-01

Background: Electronic waste (e-waste) is produced in staggering quantities, estimated globally to be 41.8 million tonnes in 2014. Informal e-waste recycling is a source of much-needed income in many low- to middle-income countries. However, its handling and disposal in underdeveloped countries is often unsafe and leads to contaminated environments. Rudimentary and uncontrolled processing methods often result in substantial harmful chemical exposures among vulnerable populations, including women and children. E-waste hazards have not yet received the attention they deserve in research and public health agendas. Objectives: We provide an overview of the scale and health risks. We review international efforts concerned with environmental hazards, especially affecting children, as a preface to presenting next steps in addressing health issues stemming from the global e-waste problem. Discussion: The e-waste problem has been building for decades. Increased observation of adverse health effects from e-waste sites calls for protecting human health and the environment from e-waste contamination. Even if e-waste exposure intervention and prevention efforts are implemented, legacy contamination will remain, necessitating increased awareness of e-waste as a major environmental health threat. Conclusion: Global, national, and local levels efforts must aim to create safe recycling operations that consider broad security issues for people who rely on e-waste processing for survival. Paramount to these efforts is reducing pregnant women and children’s e-waste exposures to mitigate harmful health effects. With human environmental health in mind, novel dismantling methods and remediation technologies and intervention practices are needed to protect communities. Citation: Heacock M, Kelly CB, Asante KA, Birnbaum LS, Bergman AL, Bruné MN, Buka I, Carpenter DO, Chen A, Huo X, Kamel M, Landrigan PJ, Magalini F, Diaz-Barriga F, Neira M, Omar M, Pascale A, Ruchirawat M, Sly L, Sly PD, Van den Berg M, Suk WA. 2016. E-waste and harm to vulnerable populations: a growing global problem. Environ Health Perspect 124:550–555; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509699 PMID:26418733

The Evolutionary Innovation of Nutritional Symbioses in Leaf-Cutter Ants

PubMed Central

Aylward, Frank O.; Currie, Cameron R.; Suen, Garret

2012-01-01

Fungus-growing ants gain access to nutrients stored in plant biomass through their association with a mutualistic fungus they grow for food. This 50 million-year-old obligate mutualism likely facilitated some of these species becoming dominant Neotropical herbivores that can achieve immense colony sizes. Recent culture-independent investigations have shed light on the conversion of plant biomass into nutrients within ant fungus gardens, revealing that this process involves both the fungal cultivar and a symbiotic community of bacteria including Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Pantoea species. Moreover, the genome sequences of the leaf-cutter ants Atta cephalotes and Acromyrmex echinatior have provided key insights into how this symbiosis has shaped the evolution of these ants at a genetic level. Here we summarize the findings of recent research on the microbial community dynamics within fungus-growing ant fungus gardens and discuss their implications for this ancient symbiosis. PMID:26467948

Problem Finding in Professional Learning Communities: A Learning Study Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Caleon, Imelda Santos

2016-01-01

This study marries collaborative problem solving and learning study in understanding the onset of a cycle of teacher professional development process within school-based professional learning communities (PLCs). It aimed to explore how a PLC carried out collaborative problem finding--a key process involved in collaborative problem solving--that…

Teaching community diagnosis to medical students: evaluation of a case study approach.

PubMed

Bair, C W

1980-01-01

A unique case study approach to training medical students in community diagnosis techniques was initiated at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. This paper describes the five elements of this teaching method: preliminary specification of target community and data base; group problem-solving requirement; specification of desired output; defined performance objectives; and regularly scheduled time for analysis. Experience with the case study method over two years was evaluated to identify specific strengths and weaknesses. The identified strengths include use of limited educational time to introduce community health problems, development of experience in a collegial team work setting, and specific awareness of the types of data useful to the analysis of community health service problems. Negative evaluations suggested that the method was not conducive to the development of skills in three areas: ability to establish the relative importance of health problems in communities; ability to identify an appropriate health system response to a community health problem from feasible alternatives; and ability to anticipate the community impact of health program modifications or improvements. Potential explanations for these deficiencies include: need for increased didactic support in the classroom for particular skill areas; need to establish a direct field experience in community diagnosis; inappropriateness of the data base used for evaluation of particular skills; and the probability that quantitative analysis, as used in this evaluation, may not be sufficient in and of itself to measure the outcome of a community diagnosis experience.

Bonneville Power Administration Transmission System Vegetation Management Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N /A

Bonneville is responsible for maintaining a network of 24,000 kilometers (km) or 15,000 miles (mi.) of electric transmission lines and 350 substations in a region of diverse vegetation. This vegetation can interfere with electric power flow, pose safety problems for us and the public, and interfere with our ability to maintain these facilities. We need to (1) keep vegetation away from the electric facilities; (2) increase the program efficiency and consistency; (3) review herbicide use (under increased public scrutiny); and (4) maximize the range of tools we can use while minimizing environmental impact (Integrated Vegetation Management). This DEIS establishes Planningmore » Steps for managing vegetation for specific projects (to be tiered to this EIS). In addition to No Action (current practice), alternatives are presented for Rights-of-way, Electric Yards, and Non-electric Facilities (landscaping, work yards). Four vegetation control methods are analyzed: manual, mechanical, herbicide, and biological. Also evaluated are 24 herbicide active ingredients and 4 herbicide application techniques (spot, localized, broadcast, and aerial). For rights-of-way, they consider three sets of alternatives: alternative management approaches (time-driven or establishing low-growing plant communities); alternative method packages; and, if herbicides are in a methods package, alternative vegetation selections (noxious weeds, deciduous, or any vegetation). For electric yards, one herbicide-use alternative is considered. For non-electric facilities, two method package alternatives are considered. For rights-of-way, the environmentally preferred alternative(s) would use manual, mechanical, and biological control methods, as well as spot and localized herbicide applications for noxious and deciduous plant species; the BPA-preferred alternative(s) would add broadcast and aerial herbicide applications, and would use herbicides on any vegetation. Both would factor a management approach that fosters low-growing plant communities.« less

Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream. The Report of The Century Foundation Task Force on Preventing Community Colleges from Becoming Separate and Unequal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Century Foundation, 2013

2013-01-01

American community colleges stand at the confluence of four mighty rivers that are profoundly influencing all of American life. At a time of growing economic globalization, community colleges are a critical element in the strategy to address the skills and education gap to meet the emerging needs of industries in the new knowledge economy. In…