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Exploring the Experience of Embodiment of Diverse Leaders
Get PDFThe experience of embodiment is a complex phenomenon that spans a range of feelings: a sense of connection to one\u27s physical body, a sense of capability to accomplish certain physical acts, an attunement to self-care behaviors, a connection to desire, and inhabiting the body as a subjective site (Piran, 2016). This can be a complicated experience for leaders who hold multiple intersecting identities (Hill et al., 2016). As new medical therapies promise radical weight loss possibilities, the experience of embodiment has taken on a new layer of complexity (Giorgis, 2024). For fat leaders who are also women of color, sexual and gender minorities, and/or people with disabilities, navigating embodiment and leadership is even more complex (King, 2003).
Thus far, no empirical study has looked at the experience of embodiment of individuals who hold multiple, marginalized identities with fatness as the primary lens of identity. This study was informed by three research perspectives: stigma, embodiment, and critical pedagogies. Empirical studies within the fields of race, gender and embodiment in leadership developed the empirical work that grounded the research in these disciplines. Through a case study design, this qualitative study looked at the lived experience of ten executive leaders on the board of a fat advocacy organization to better understand how they experienced embodiment as they led.
Through interviews, document and artifact analysis and observation of social media, this investigation suggests that early fat body consciousness was a formative experience for future advocacy work, and critical consciousness led to a more embodied leadership experience. A researched approach to these critical issues is imperative for an inclusive future in leadership that embraces the full range of embodied identities. Policy implications of this study may include reduced stigma of marginalized groups and increased representation of the range of embodied identities in leadership positions
The Industrial Hemp Supply Chain Solution
Get PDFRealistically solving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals utilizing an Industrial Hemp supply chain with economy to scale to replace petroleum based plastics and permanently offset carbon emissions produced from other continuously produced hazardous waste
Walking the Tightropes: Tensions in High School Religious Education
Get PDFThis qualitative dissertation examined the challenges faced by high school religion teachers in Catholic education through interviews with 16 teachers from nine U.S. dioceses. The dissertation explored four key tensions the literature indicates have emerged in Catholic education since the Second Vatican Council: (1) balancing catechetical and academic approaches, (2) navigating the dual role of educator and minister, (3) reconciling prescribed curricula with diverse student needs, and (4) addressing training disparities and their impact on teacher morale.
Beyond these tensions, teachers identified additional challenges absent from the literature. First, they noted that nurturing authentic faith is difficult when students fear judgment, display apathy, or adopt a transactional view of education. Some of these factors particularly hinder faith development among non-Catholic and non-religious students, participants noted. Second, expectations for religion classes are not always consistent among teachers, students, parents, and school and Church leaders. Third, teachers stressed that the classroom environment is as crucial as the course content, and they noted that they often strive to foster open discussions of faith in classes. Finally, teachers prioritize personal development over indoctrination, aiming to form good people rather than simply produce more Catholics.
Participants indicated they employed various strategies to navigate the challenges they faced, from adapting instructional approaches to delivering engaging instructional content and supplementing training through independent study, mentorship, or concrete experiences. The findings underscore the adaptability of the 16 religion teachers who participated in the study and suggest areas for further research, including school leadership’s perceptions of religious education, a teacher-informed review of The United States Council of Catholic Bishop’s (USCCB’s) Doctrinal Elements of Curriculum Framework, and student perspectives on religion courses. Strengthening collaboration among educators, administrators, and students could enhance the role of religious education in Catholic schools
Sequence Conservation of Suppressor of IKK Epsilon Phosphorylation Sites
Get PDFSuppressor of IKK epsilon (SIKE) is a protein that is implicated in immune response signaling pathways. SIKE interaction networks suggest roles in cell motility and macromolecular complexes mediating kinase/phosphatase activity. In this project, we aim to better understand the function of SIKE by analyzing amino acid sequences across different species. In human SIKE, viral infection leads to phosphorylation of SIKE at defined serine residues. Comparing SIKE sequences, and specifically these phosphorylation sites, allows us to discover its ancestral connections to innate immune function. This has particular applications in bridging the evolutionary gap between fungi and metazoa SIKE sequences. Multiple sequence alignment and WebLogo graphical representation, web-based computational tools, will be used to analyze SIKE sequences. Five key phosphorylation sites in the Human SIKE sequence, serine residues at HsSIKE positions 185, 187, 188, 190, and 198 are the current focus. Identifying conserved and/or variable phosphorylation sites across species will provide insight into the evolution of the SIKE: innate immunity connection. Ultimately, this research may reveal how SIKE has adapted over time to a role in the viral immune response
A Woman’s World Through the Lens of Socialized Politics: How Accurate Knowledge Politically and Socially Empowers A Woman’s Autonomy
Get PDFWomen have dealt with being perceived as inferior to men, defective, and in need of control. My research draws a connection between the ways societal beliefs, judicial action and political action interact with each other to reinforce and reproduce these limiting beliefs about women. The interaction between these institutions result in underlying policies that target women\u27s rights, silencing their voices and sense of independence, all while aiming to control the female body completely. Despite the perception that modern society has moved away from the sexist beliefs that had been created and ingrained into society centuries ago, we are left with social practices and policies that reflect and reinforce women as the lesser. Now, society is responsible for grappling with the question of where these ideas about women and their bodies stem from and how they have and still are influencing policy that impacts women at all phases in their lives
The Global Clinical Trials Ecosystem: A Critical Evaluation and Future Outlook
Get PDFAs global clinical trials expand, inconsistencies in regulatory and ethical frameworks are increasingly evident, raising concerns about economic sustainability and participant protections. Existing research attributes this surge to pharmaceutical companies seeking cost efficiencies in emerging markets but acknowledges the challenges posed by fragmented oversight across international jurisdictions. To examine these limitations, a modified Delphi approach was used to gather expert insights from key stakeholders in global clinical trials. Findings highlighted systemic inefficiencies and ethical gaps, emphasizing the need for regulatory harmonization to balance scientific rigor, economic feasibility, and equitable participant treatment. By identifying critical shortcomings and proposing strategies to align global practices, the research contributed to ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity and sustainability of multinational clinical trials
The Use of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) Criteria by Nurses in the Nursing Home Setting to Identify Sepsis
No full textBackground: Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an infection. In the United States, treating sepsis costs approximately $23 billion annually, making it the most expensive condition treated in hospitals. Severe infections in nursing homes are estimated to occur in one to three million cases annually. Infections in nursing homes are on the rise, and the cost of hospitalization due to sepsis is increasing dramatically. Diagnosing sepsis is often delayed in nursing homes.
Purpose of the Project: This project aims to train nursing home nurses to use the SIRS screening tool to identify potential sepsis cases early and administer treatments. The objective is to provide safe care for select residents with sepsis within the nursing home rather than in a hospital setting.
Evidence-based Practice Model/Frameworks: This project was guided by the Johns Hopkins Nursing EBP Model, which uses three steps: a practice question, the evidence to guide the project, and the translation and application of the evidence.
Evidence-based Practice Change: This project implements evidence-based education on the signs and symptoms of early sepsis identification and use of SIRS criteria among nurses working in a nursing home setting. The training highlights the SIRS criteria as having any two of the following criteria: body temperature over 38 or under 36 degrees Celsius; heart rate greater than 90 beats/minute; respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths/minute; or leukocyte count greater than 12,000 or less than 4,000 per microliter. After identifying sepsis, the education focuses on the required evidence-based elements of the safe treatment of residents in the nursing home setting.
Project Outcome Evaluation: From October to December 2024, the facility completed 77 SIRS screening tools. Twenty-two residents met the definition of sepsis. Furthermore, sepsis-related hospitalizations dropped from 12 residents between July and September 2024 to five residents from October to December 2024. It represents a reduction of over 50% in sepsis-related hospitalizations during the implementation period.
Implications for Practice: This evidence-based project can improve the identification of sepsis diagnoses in nursing home residents by training nurses to use the SIRS criteria. Prevention and prompt intervention are pivotal in sepsis survival.
Conclusion: Future EBP projects may concentrate on improving practices for treating sepsis in nursing homes and/or transferring patients to acute hospitals. This transfer can be disruptive for residents with sepsis and is often unnecessary if an early sepsis assessment is initiated using the SIRS criteria, along with appropriate interventions for septic residents within the nursing home setting.
Keywords: Sepsis, SIRS, Nursing Home, Skilled Nursing Facility, Long-Term Care, Infection, Hospitalizatio
Why Throughput Is Group-Put
Get PDFIntroduction: University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Saint Mary’s Health, has two hundred forty licensed beds to utilize for patient care, ninety one that can be used for inpatient medical surgical patients. Throughput is a challenging issue, especially at Unit seven west which houses thirty beds. Post op surgical orthopedic patients, medical surgical patients from the emergency department (ED), intensive care unit (ICU), and telemetry downgrades are waiting for inpatient beds, which causes delays in care and increases length of stay.
Background: Unit seven west is a surgical ortho floor with a high admission census consisting of three to ten surgical admissions not including medicine admissions from the emergency department. An internal analysis completed showed that discharges are not happening when a discharge order is placed delaying discharge three to eight hours and length of stay has increased with our orthopedic surgical patients.
Problem: Based on a three month data analysis of discharge orders & actual departure, there is about 82% of patients not leaving the hospital within the expected length of stay of two days, especially orthopedic patients.
Purpose: The purpose of this evidence based practice (EBP) project was to improve hospital throughput which will lead to bed availability in inpatient units. Patients at unit seven west, an acute surgical orthopedic, medical surgical, do not discharge enough patients a day to keep up with the demand. This situation led to an imbalance of bed availability with the need to admit on average 6.5 direct admissions from the Emergency Department. Vision & Method: The goal was to utilize a streamline service named Unit Based Leadership Team (UBLT) and group, “Why throughput is group-put” to create a solid process in determining barriers to discharge through implementation of an evidence based discharge checklist, multidisciplinary rounds with care coordination, rehab, and physicians can identify early discharge barriers especially with orthopedic patients who have higher discharge rate. The plan for sustainment was to identify the barriers for patients discharging a one percent increase of total patients for each month to discharge within two hours of discharge order placed, with target goal by May 2024 will be 39%. This decreased length of stay, and increased throughput by admitting more patients. A patient’s typical cost for a length of stay was estimated to be three thousand dollars per day. A typical length of stay for an ortho patient was four days, if you decrease that by two days, you decreased the cost of hospitalization by half, or six thousand dollars total! Success Criteria & Results: The plan for sustainment to discharge orthopedic patients within two hours of discharge order to sustain at a one percent increase of total patients for each month to discharge within two hours of discharge order placed, with target goal by March was 39% and discharged at least one per noon each day.
Clinical Implications: Identifying early discharges improved outcomes for patient care by decreasing length of stay. This prevented quality metrics that would happen with increased length of stay such as hospital acquired pressure injuries (HAPI), catheter acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTI), and falls. This also enabled patients to transfer from ED and ICU within thirty minutes of transfer order.
Conclusions: Having a service line, why throughput is group-put, can provide focus on identifying barriers to throughput, discharges, and setting realistic goals for patients length of stay.
Keywords: Discharge, throughput, orthopedic, medical-surgical, length of sta
Under the Bay: Analysis of Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Dive Behavior in the Urban San Diego Bay
Get PDFSea turtles are air-breathing marine reptiles that spend their lives performing dives to travel, forage, and rest. Several dive types have been previously recorded for sea turtles, each type being associated with a different set of behaviors. U-dives, or Type 1 dives are widely characterized by extensive benthic periods preceded by and concluding with abrupt descent and ascent phases respectively (Minamikawa et al. 1997; Houghton et al. 2002; Seminoff et al. 2006). These dives are widely affiliated with turtle resting behavior though can be indicative of additional activities including benthic travel and foraging. Previous research of green turtle dive behavior has exhibited turtles opting to perform extended duration resting U dives in deeper water offshore; however this behavior cannot necessarily extend to turtles inhabiting areas with significant depth restrictions. San Diego Bay is a uniquely shallow, urban habitat that supports human recreational activities as well as multiple plant and animal species. Members of the resident green sea turtle population prefer the South Bay which comprises some of the shallowest areas of San Diego Bay. Telemetry packages including a Time Depth Recorder (TDR) were placed on five bay resident turtles (n = 5) to further determine baseline dive behavior and further establish the effects of San Diego Bay depth restrictions on turtle diel dive behavior. Deployments lasted between nearly four hours and 10 days collecting a total of 1,020 U-dives for the five turtles. The pattern of turtles exhibiting longer dive durations at night, and resting dive depths and durations 1 being restricted by shallow bay bathymetry was repeatedly observed in this study. Understanding resident turtle baseline dive behavior enables informed determinations of altered behavior due to increasing direct and indirect anthropogenic disturbance and ambient temperature shifts due to the effects of climate change
