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Evaluating Patient Readiness for Spine Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study
Get PDFSpinal conditions effect millions of Americans each year and surgery for these conditions continues to be on the rise. Historically, spine surgery was associated with negative outcomes and fear, often considered a last resort by both patients and physicians. In the last 20 years, spine surgery has become one of the most rapidly advancing surgical fields and is at the forefront of technological advances and ongoing innovation. Today, spine patients have minimally invasive options that are performed in under half the time and are associated with less muscle weakening and adjacent level irritation, as well as more reliable spinal alignment restoration. With these surgical advancements have come vast improvements in surgical outcomes, which were taken one step further by the modernization of the recovery process after surgery, known as enhanced surgical recovery (ESR) programs. Yet, there is one more phase of the surgical encounter, in addition to the surgical and postoperative phases, which has not been strategically modernized to improve outcomes even further. This is the preoperative phase. A standardized protocol of items necessary to prepare patients for surgery, both mentally and physiologically, does not exist. The result may be a lack of preparedness for spine surgery leading to unrealistic patient expectations, poor patient experiences, and compromised patient outcomes. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate patient readiness for spine surgery and to identify gaps in surgical readiness of spine patients today
Mr. Hyde and his Representation of Alcoholism
Get PDFThis essay explores The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson through the lens of addiction psychology, drawing parallels between Dr. Jekyll’s descent into madness and the stages of alcoholism as defined by the DSM-5. By interpreting Jekyll’s relationship with his transformative elixir as a metaphor for alcohol abuse, the analysis traces his progression through early experimentation, growing dependency, and eventual loss of control, aligning with the three clinical stages of alcohol use disorder. The essay further examines how intelligence and genetic predisposition—two key risk factors for addiction—contribute to Jekyll’s vulnerability, incorporating both modern scientific studies and Calvinist themes of predestination. Ultimately, Jekyll’s tragic end reflects the devastating consequences of addiction, where identity, autonomy, and life itself are sacrificed to an all-consuming compulsion
The Regulars: Joseph Russell Knowland and the Roots of Contemporary Republican Conservatism
Get PDFThe “regular” Republicans were the conservatives within the reform-dominated Republican Party at the dawn of the twentieth century. Heirs of the Republican “stalwarts” of the Gilded Age, they were the “machine,” “establishment,” and “old guard” Republicans in the Age of Theodore Roosevelt. Overall, they preferred traditional, “patron-based” and “service-oriented” party organization over the “issue-driven coalitions” of progressive reformers. Across most of the nineteenth century, American politics was rooted in simple party identity, and this traditional “politics of organization.” In the early twentieth century, however, progressives ushered in what historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., later called a “politics of ideology,” grounded not in habits and spoils, but in ideas-- specifically, “a sharp sense of alienation from the business culture and by a belief in positive government as the instrument for national improvement.” While this “new politics” did not reach maturing until the New Deal of the 1930s, its adherents—including the early progressives-- were involved in politics “not to make office, but to make policy.”
In contrast, the “regulars” favored traditional party politics, and opposed most of the progressive agenda. Key “regulars” on Capitol Hill included Senators Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, Orville H. Platt of Connecticut, John Coit Spooner of Wisconsin, and William Boyd Allison of Iowa, and Congressmen Joseph (“Uncle Joe”) Cannon of Illinois and Joseph Knowland of California. Overall, one modern historian observed, they believed that the “best policy was to ‘let well enough alone’… and to ‘stand pat.’” Cannon, who served as Speaker of the House from 1903 to 1911 (and who was derided by his detractors as “Czar Cannon”), put it more bluntly. “I am god-damned tired of listening to all this babble for reform,” Cannon declared in 1906. “America is a hell of a success. Why tinker with it?” While the “regulars” indeed opposed the “insurgents” and reform, their identity was not merely rooted in their opposition to progressivism. They did, in fact, have traditional principles which they believed and advocated
Understanding Dissonance Between Clinical Theory and Christian Principles in Counseling: Equipping Clinically Trained Professional Counselors to Counsel Through a Christian Worldview
Get PDFThis action project focuses on addressing the need for a research-based activity to understand the operational worldviews related to the counseling practices of the counselors at the Abundant Life Counseling Center. With the increasing demand for clinically and theologically informed counseling, the study explored how a counselor\u27s worldview affects faith integration into a clinically based, therapeutic approach. The goal is to equip counselors to provide wisdom through theologically grounded and clinically informed training within a Christian philosophical framework, improve their Christian counseling skills, and reduce dissonance caused by the lack of integration skills in Christian-principled counseling (Prov 29:18). Every Christian-principled counselor should have the opportunity to provide counsel from a faith-based perspective and receive training that enhances wisdom and knowledge of the Lord. To create an environment and culture of faith-based training, a qualitative action research project was implemented to determine the worldviews of the counselors, enabling the provision of Christian-principled and clinically informed training. An interview process, informed by counseling literature and ethical standards, was administered to twenty-two licensed and student counselors to determine the relationship between the counselors\u27 worldviews and the delivery of Christian-principled counseling. The interview process results proved to be a valuable tool that will aid in developing clinically informed, Christian-principled training, spiritually competent counseling, and further research into the integration and expression of faith-based counseling
Spiritual Fitness and Religious Commitment as Predictors of Hope in Active Duty Deployed Military
Get PDFThe purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine how spiritual fitness and religious commitment are related to hope in deployed military personnel. Furthermore, the individual components of spiritual fitness (connection to God, belief in service, and purposeful meaning) were examined alongside religious commitment to determine the strongest predictor of hope for deployed military members. The study included 111 deployed, active duty members that were recruited from three deployed sites in the military. The data was assessed in SPSS and revealed that belief in service and purposeful meaning were significantly related to hope. Purposeful meaning was the strongest predictor of hope in this sample of deployed active duty military members. Hope has been identified as an important predictor of goal achievement, well-being, and resilience in the military. Therefore, understanding the corelates of hope can help leaders as they enhance a hopeful, life-saving culture in the military
Intergenerational Trauma: A Qualitative Study Exploring The Impact Of ACE’S and Attachment Styles
Get PDFMany individuals are impacted by ACEs at some point during their childhood. Researchers claimed that ACEs can be prevented; however, there are multiple factors that increase the risk of exposure to childhood adversity, which makes prevention and treatment more difficult. Childhood trauma can cause lasting problems that impact many areas of life and multiple generations. Attachment styles are formed early in life and shape how individuals respond in relationships and situations throughout their lives, including those with their future children. This study used a qualitative method to explore ACEs, attachment styles, intergenerational trauma, and how the intensity and timing of ACEs impacted their individual experiences. Interviews were conducted with 9 parents, ages 21 and older, with childhood maltreatment history and a child aged five and up. Exploring individual ACEs in-depth provided a deeper understanding of the timing and intensity of those experiences and the variability in the outcomes, which addressed gaps in ACE research. Findings revealed that all participants were able to heal their trauma except the 3 out of 4 sexual abuse victims. Two of the sexual abuse victims had the most intense experiences reported in the study. Their experiences led to a significant difference in the outcomes of their ACEs compared to the other participants, which included their children experiencing similar abuse experiences
Exploring Sustainable Learning and Development Strategies for Federal Employees: A Case Study of Pedagogical Approaches
No full textThe purpose of this case study was to discover the sustainable pedagogies and curriculum for Federal employee educational programs that help ensure that Federal employees are consistently prepared to serve the public interest at United States Federal Government agencies. The central research question guiding this study was: How can pedagogies and curriculum for Federal employee educational programs ensure that Federal employees are consistently prepared to serve the public interest at United States Federal Government agencies? The theory of organizational development guided the study as it describes the interdependence between the success of Federal agencies in achieving their missions to provide critical services to United States citizens. The study methodology included a qualitative bounded single case study design approach for examining the experiences at least fifteen Washington D.C.-based and remote Federal employees who represent the stakeholders of various Federal Government agencies. The purpose was to identify themes and develop a detailed understanding of the central phenomena of traits that lead to sustainable pedagogical and curriculum strategies. Data collected during the study included interviews, educational program documents, website data, and other artifacts. Analysis of the data involved triangulating the data sources to uncover common themes that informed the research. Participants articulated six overarching themes related to their perceived experiences with Federal employee training programs. Subthemes permeated these major themes. The finding pointed to a matrix of opportunities to improve the quality of educational programs for Federal employees
Peaceably if We Can, Forcibly if We Must”: The Scots Irish and Early American Politics
Get PDFThe saga of the Scots Irish is a story of generational movement. They moved from a barren existence in the Scottish Lowlands to the plantations of Ulster in Northern Ireland. They moved from economic, religious, and political oppression in Northern Ireland to the American colonies seeking land and opportunity. When they arrived in the American colonies, they found land and opportunity on the frontier. Life on the frontier pushed them to the periphery of society. Living on the fringes of society isolated them from the political and economic centers of colonial life. Vulnerable and disregarded, Scots Irish settlers refused to be pigeonholed. Once again, they moved; however, their movement was remarkably different compared to previous movements. Rather than moving physically, they moved politically. They advocated for their rights, they petitioned the government for redress, they provided for their own defense, and employed violence to achieve their aims. When the use of violent upheaval failed to yield the results attained prior to the creation of the government established by the United States Constitution, they moved in a different direction to achieve political recognition. Energetic, politically ambitious, and singularly able young men from Scots Irish communities scattered along the Southern and Western frontiers were elected to Congress and infused their cultural characteristics into their work and the values of their society into their political aims. The development of a Scots Irish ethnic political identity eventually led to the transformation of the first party system with the fusion of Republican and Federalist policies after the War of 1812, thus pushing Congress toward becoming a more a responsive, proactive branch of government dedicated to the promotion of national economic development, a strong national defense, and territorial expansion
An Ever-Changing Errand into the Wilderness: The Relationship Between American Civil Religion And Exceptionalism
Get PDFThis article explores the profound religious underpinnings of American exceptionalism, positing that the nation’s identity and political culture are deeply infused with a uniquely American civil religion. This civil religion is characterized by an eschatological hope that traces back to the very origins of the United States, serving as the cornerstone for its ideology and principles. American civil religion is not static but dynamic, constantly shaped by each era\u27s major social, political, and cultural trends. It democratizes the millennial and apocalyptic visions traditionally belonging to the sacred realm, reinterpreting these religious narratives within the secular context of national destiny and policy. This has positioned the United States distinctly from other nations, fostering a sense of a “manifest destiny” and an “ever-changing errand” to create a “heavenly” society on earth. However, this merging of sacred purpose with secular governance also seeds deep polarization, as political debates are imbued with an almost theological significance that champions religious liberty while often unknowingly reflecting an evolving civil religion. By examining how these religiously charged visions influence everything from political rallies to policy decisions, this article sheds light on the pervasive yet often subtle role of civil religion throughout American history in both uniting and dividing its society
Burned: A Phenomenological Study on Educator Burnout within Self-Contained Classrooms
No full textThe purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of self-contained special education educators who have experienced burnout in Ozark County in Georgia. The social cognitive theory guided this research. The social cognitive theory can be supported by teaching new behaviors and encouraging educators to participate in behaviors that support self-efficacy. Self-efficacy can support teachers in managing their emotions and reducing educator burnout. The central research question was what are the lived experiences of self-contained special education educators who have experienced burnout? Although there was data that provided evidence on burnout, there was a lack of information about the challenges faced by self-contained special education teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 11 self-contained educators who could provide insight into their lived experience with burnout. The data collection methods consisted of semi-structured interviews, reflective journaling, and focus groups. Through the triangulation process, details of the essence of self-contained educators\u27 lived experience with burnout was depicted. There was an identification of themes that were associated with the data collected. The themes identified were lack of support, job demands, and adverse effects on personal well-being. The findings from the study revealed that educator burnout within self-contained special education teachers depicted a significant concern for future educators in the field of special education. This transcendental phenomenological study permitted the researcher to present participants’ lived experiences with burnout, which gave verbal expression to their viewpoint, while raising consciousness of the realities within the self-contained classroom