14 research outputs found
Contemporary art and the non-expert viewer : a study of pre-conceived ideas about art and René Derouin's educational strategies to address them
Get PDFModernist strategies for art appreciation are insufficient to help non-expert viewers to understand most contemporary art. A postmodern pedagogical approach to viewing art appears better suited to this undertaking. The artistic practice and pedagogical approach of contemporary artists may help support that path to understanding. This study examines whether or not the pedagogical approach used by artist René Derouin provides valuable assistance to non-expert viewers of contemporary art. In this study the author conducted a series of interviews with non-expert participants about their beliefs concerning art. A second series of interviews was conducted after they experienced contemporary art at the Derouin Foundation where the in-situ installations Les jardins du précambrien were displayed. Results of this study show that the non-experts of this research have many recurrent ideas that they associate with art and that these concepts prevent them from appreciating or understanding some aspects of contemporary art. Results of this study also show that the art practice of Derouin significantly helped the non-experts studied overcome some of their pre-conceived ideas, understand and appreciate some aspects of contemporary art. The shift in focus of the participants from an emphasis on the formal qualities of the artworks in favour of the context(s), content and concepts of works of contemporary art was significant. Given their initial difficulties dealing with notions of contemporary art and their subsequent openness to them, this study supports the idea that non-experts can be helped to understand and appreciate works of contemporary ar
A Systematic Review of Reported Outcomes in Randomized Controlled Trials Targeting Early Interventions in Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
No full textInternational audienceTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the cornerstone to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention. To assess the methodology of clinical research, we performed a systematic review that evaluated the different outcomes used in RCTs targeting the early phase of moderate-to-severe adult TBI from 1983 to October 31, 2023. We extracted each outcome and organized them according to the COMET and OMERACT framework (core area, broad domains, target domains, and finally outcomes). A total of 190 RCTs were included, including 52,010 participants. A total of 557 outcomes were reported and classified between the following core areas: pathophysiological manifestations [169 RCTs (88.9%)], life impact [117 RCTs (61.6%)], death [94 RCTs (49.5%)], resource use [72 RCTs (37.9%)], and adverse events [41 RCTs (21.6%)]. We identified 29 broad domains and 89 target domains. Among target domains, physical functioning [111 (58.4%)], mortality [94 (49.5%)], intracranial pressure target domain [68 (35.8%)], and hemodynamics [53 (27.9%)] were the most frequent. Outcomes were mostly clinician-reported [177 (93.2%)], while patient-reported outcomes were rarely reported [11 (5.8%)]. In our review, there was significant heterogeneity in the choice of end-points in TBI clinical research. There is an urgent need for consensus and homogeneity to improve the quality of clinical research in this area
Geographic mobility and employment: An investigation of tied migration issues among employed military spouses
No full textThe Army is a geographically mobile workforce, which leads to tied migration for the trailing spouse Tied migration 1) negatively impacts the trailing spouse’s career and earning potential 2) leads to a mismatch of jobs and skills, and work schedules 3) which leads to increased work‐family role conflictGEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT: AN
INVESTIGATION OF TIED MIGRATION ISSUES AMONG
EMPLOYED
MILITARY SPOUSES
Marcia M. Bouchard
Doctor of Management
Dissertation chairs:
Degree Awarded: Dr. Claudine SchWeber
December 30, 2009 Dr. Ann Herd
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Contact Information
Marcia Bouchard
1315 Staff Row
Atlanta, GA 30310
[email protected]
706.726.9095
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Background and Context of the Management Problem
The Army is a geographically mobile workforce, which
leads to tied migration for the trailing spouse
Tied migration
1) negatively impacts the trailing spouse’s career and
earning potential
2) leads to a mismatch of jobs and skills, and work schedules
3) which leads to increased work‐family role conflict
Prior studies suggest a relationship between
1) spouses being employed and their satisfaction with
Army life
2) high job satisfaction and the trailing spouse’s
support of the military career—impacting the Army’s
return on investment in human capital
3
Significance of the Problem
Tied migration was recognized by the government.
As required by law, the Army instituted the Army Spouse
Employment Partnership (ASEP) program
1) public/private partnership with Fortune 500 companies
2) goal to increase employment and training opportunities
3) job portability
4
Research Questions
General research question:
Is an employer initiative designed to mitigate the problems
associated with tied migration accomplishing what it intended
from the trailing spouse’s perspective?
Specific Research Question:
To what extent is tied migration of employed military spouses
related to job‐skills match and work‐family role conflict?
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Key Literature that Influenced this Research
Concept: Tied Migration
Long ,1974; Mincer ,1978; Spitze, 1984; GAO, 2002
themes: economic loss, opportunity loss, impact on
spouse employment
Theory of Investment in Human Capital
Concept: Job‐Skills Match
Schultz ,1961; Becker, 1962, 1973, 1993; Booth,
2000; Harrell, 2000; Castaneda & Harrell, 2008
themes: underemployment, mis‐match of job and skills,
suitable employment
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Key Literature continued…
Concepts: Work‐Family Role Conflict and Job Satisfaction
Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Orthner, 1990;
Booth et al., 2007, Kalleberg, 2008
themes: job satisfaction, consequences to family, employer, society
Concept: Support of a Military Career
Manning & DeRouin, 1981; Orthner, 1990;
Castaneda & Harrell, 2008
themes: employment, job satisfaction, satisfaction with
military lifestyle
Examples of other themes that emerged…
Military control: Cooney, 2003, Jervis, 2008
Attitudes vs. Circumstances: Houppert, 2005
Missing studies on initiatives: e.g. Murray, 1987, GAO 2002
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Conceptual Model of Influential Factors
H4 (‐)
Tied
Migration
Job‐Skills
Match
Work‐Family
Role Conflict
Job Satisfaction
ASEP
Satisfaction
Support of
Military Career
H1 (‐)
H2 (+)
H6 (‐)
H3(-)
H7 (‐)
H5 (+)
H8 (+)
H9 (+)
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Mixed method (quantitative and qualitative)
emphasis placed on quantitative data
descriptive analysis
correlation analysis
ANOVA
qualitative ‐ content analysis (3 open‐ended questions)
Survey
develop and tested web based questionnaire
convenience sample of 502 employed military spouses
42 Likert scale items
20 demographic items
3 open‐ended questions
Methodology
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Findings/Results
Results of this study suggest that tied migration frequency was not
related to job‐skills match, work‐family role conflict, job satisfaction,
or support of a military career. This may be because the majority of
respondents were employed by major retail operations located on
military bases, suggesting that for these jobs, tied migration did not
appear to be an issue.
Unanticipated findings: Difficulties in identifying military spouses
employed by ASEP corporate partners suggest that the systems for
record‐keeping were not adequate for program evaluation. In
addition, the majority of military spouses in the sample population
did not (a) recognize the ASEP program, or (b) use it.
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Theory of Investment in Human Capital
Private Firms (corporations)
Employers need to recoup their recruiting and training costs
Keeping trained employees lowers the need for new hires
Goal: employers are happy with military spouses
Employees have job‐skills match, and job satisfaction
Job‐skills match relate to lower work‐family role conflict
Concept of Tied Migration
For national firms, hiring military spouses makes sense
Internal controls are needed to identify mobile employees
and follow/manage their tied migration
Management Theory Implications
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Implications for Management Practice
Military
All stakeholders need to be identified
Metrics are needed for end user outcomes
Users must be identified, tracked and their numbers accurately
reported
Until employer initiatives that deal with the negative outcomes
of tied migration are measured from the end‐user’s perspective, it
will not be possible to determine if attitudes or circumstances are
being improved. If the goal is to improve attitudes , the question
then becomes: is it the attitudes of military spouses or Army
leadership?
13
Future Research Potential
In order to better understand the outcomes of tied migration,
a longitudinal study is needed
Future research on geographic mobility and employment
should include detailed measures on what constitutes effective
supervision and job training.
Research on work‐family role conflict needs to be enhanced
by studying the move timeframe and the impact of the
unsettled period on the trailing spouse’s employment
Studies that identify career expectations of military spouses
and how these expectations relate to job satisfaction
How new programs are developed from the concept stage, to
setting metrics, to implementation and finally end‐user
outcome
The process of families creating meaning of chronic illness and the medical community
Get PDFPlan BFamilies who have to cope with chronic illness or any other medical issue are often stressed beyond normal developmental stage compared to other families within that same developmental stage. Families who face medical issues may also be forced to accommodate other people and professions outside of their family (such as doctors, specialists, nurses and social services). Whether families acknowledge it or not, they incorporate their interactions with these “outside” people and assigns meaning to these interactions about how they view these “outside” people. There have been many models that address how families can build more positive relationships with the medical community (McDaniel, Hepworth, and Doherty, 1992; Roland, 1994). Other theoretical models address how to create a collaborative relationship between the medical community and other specialists (Seaburn, Lorenz, Gunn, Gawinski, and Mauksch, 1994; Barnard and Alfuth, in press; Jacobs, 1993; McDaniel, Hepworth, and Doherty, 1992). However, these models have not yet demonstrated the impact of the medical community has in shaping families’ meanings of their medical condition and their interactions with professional services and community supports. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how families process the meaning of the presenting medical issues as well as their interactions with the medical community. Joan Patterson and Ann Garwick (1994) published a theoretical model that demonstrated how families make meaning on multiple levels. This study will focus on the adult caregivers within a defined family, such as the parents. The family must have at least one adult caregiver and one child that has a chronic illness. There will only be two families studied using a qualitative format of study. These families were selected based on the availability to the researcher and willingness to share their story with the researcher. The researcher has developed a questionnaire that contains questions of how the family makes their meaning of the chronic illness, medical community and other aspects of their life that contributes to their overall definition of their family
Tax treaty interpretation
No full textPhDThis thesis analyses which principles should govern the interpretation of tax treaties.
This field is complex - because tax treaties have a dual status.
Tax treaties are treaties between States - which are governed by public international
law, the principles of which have been codified in the 1980 Vienna Convention on the
Law of Treaties.
Tax treaties are also laws which can affect the domestic rights of taxpayers (and
States).
Different, and possibly conflicting, principles of interpretation may apply in public
international, and in (different) domestic, contexts.
This thesis seeks to reconcile these different principles, recognising that tax treaties
should be interpreted uniformly. Only if this is done can double taxation (and double
non-taxation) be avoided - and reciprocity achieved.
This thesis analyses why, and when, the Vienna Convention is relevant in interpreting
a tax treaty in a domestic context. It seeks to describe a uniform approach to tax treaty
interpretation - which could be applied by domestic courts worldwide.
It reaches four main conclusions.
Firstly, a textual approach (endorsed as the starting point of interpretation at a public
international level by Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention) should (also) be the
starting point of interpretation in a domestic context.
Secondly, the proper approach in a domestic context cannot be the mirror image of
the Vienna Convention approach.
Thirdly, a uniform domestic approach cannot be identical to any one particular
State's approach to the interpretation of its domestic tax statutes.
Fourthly, a uniform domestic approach should be autonomous - and neutral as
between all States. It should recognise a tax treaty's dual status - yet be independent of
any interpretative principles which are appropriate only in a purely public international,
or a purely domestic, context
Improving diabetes control in an under-resourced community: a quality improvement pilot project to introduce the Chronic Care Passport
No full textThe objective of this quality improvement pilot project is to implement the use of the Chronic Care Passport in a community based healthcare setting. It is an innovative tool to improve diabetes management and self-care behaviour. This tool is a patient education checklist designed to assist patients to better understand and manage their condition. The quality improvement project was conducted on a convenient sample of 10 men and 15 women from a population of 79 patients who attend a health centre for diabetes management, and whose blood glucose levels were 200mg/dl and above during the previous 12 months.
A pre/post intervention design utilizing a modified version of the Diabetes Project Participation Questionnaire (2009) was the tool used. Questions using a Likert-type scale ranked 1-4 sought to determine the knowledge, health behaviour, and health status of persons with type 2 diabetes with one being poor and four scored as excellent. For questions assessing the ability to self-care, the rank ranged from 1-5, with one being not at all confident and five completely confident. One open-ended question asked what the participants found to be the hardest part of living with diabetes.
Following a four month intervention period of patient education and glucose monitoring reading (GMR), the post test was administered. Statistical analysis was conducted using paired t-tests for normally distributed variables and chi-square test to determine differences of means, and Wilcoxon signed-ranks for binomial outcome measures. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Narrative data from open-ended items were examined for patterns, trends, and differences. There was a significant difference in the increase in knowledge after the implementation of the Chronic Care Passport, p = .040. There was also a significant difference in the GMR, z = .042. There was no difference between the means for health status and self-care management. Introducing the Chronic Care Passport as the tool to assist persons with type 2 diabetes has the potential to increase the knowledge base of the patients (as it relates to diabetes self-management and reducing blood glucose level).
The aim of this quality improvement pilot project is to obtain baseline data on the effectiveness of patient education and the introduction of the Chronic Care Passport as tools to empower clients with type 2 diabetes
Characterization of a unique sulfoxide synthase found in pathogenic trypanosomes
No full textIncludes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references
Recommended from our members
Studies on immunology of Leishmania mexicana
No full textLeishmaniasis is a worldwide disease prevalent in many tropical and sub tropical countries. Treatment of Leishmaniasis by chemotherapy is not wholly effective and is usually accompanied by unpleasant side effects. The development of an effective and inexpensive vaccine represents a practical way to control the disease, however at present no safe and effective vaccine is available. In the first part of the present study, the immunity induced by four different L. mexicana potential vaccines, including killed leishmania vaccine, Soluble L. mexicana Antigen (SLA), L. mexicana gp63 cDNA and CT26 tumour cells transfected with L. mexicana gp63, were compared. It was shown that DNA immunisation using L. mexicana gp63 generated the highest immunity to the parasite among the four tested vaccines where the killed leishmania vaccine and L. mexicana gp63 transfected CT26 tumour cells did not generate significant immunity. The efficacy of DNA immunisation by intramuscular injection or using gene gun, in generating immunity to leishmania was compared. Gene gun immunisation induced more immunity to the parasite and high levels of Th1 immune response, which were detected, one week after immunisation through determination of the IgG2a levels in blood serum. Gene gun immunisation also induced long-lasting CTL activity, which was detectable before and during the course of infection for up to 6 months
Bioaerosol emissions from open windrow composting facilities : emission characterisation and dispersion modelling improvements
Get PDFBioaerosol emissions from open windrow composting facilities are becoming of increasing concern due to the negative health effects associated with bioaerosols, and the fact that emissions from open windrow facilities are not contained. Current bioaerosol monitoring techniques provide only a snapshot of bioaerosol concentrations spatially and temporally, whereas dispersion models have the potential to offer a more continual overview of bioaerosol levels, alongside existing sampling methods. However, dispersion models have not been successful at accurately predicting bioaerosol concentrations from open windrow composting facilities, generally under predicting concentrations by at least one order of magnitude. This is predominantly due to a lack of knowledge and data surrounding the complex nature of bioaerosol release and transportation, particularly when the compost is agitated. This study aimed to improve the reliability in the outputs of the ADMS dispersion model, specifically in the open windrow composting scenario, by performing several model tests alongside selected input parameter quantification improvements. This involved completing a sensitivity analysis, and a model calibration and validation specific to this scenario for the first time. Results from the sensitivity analysis showed that the use of wet and dry deposition modules is significant, and the majority of model inputs associated with the representation of the source of the emission are sensitive. These findings helped select the model input parameters for quantification improvements. Novel preliminary measurements of bioaerosol temperature, velocity and concentration at the source of composting agitation activities were completed. These values provided more accurate model inputs. Collectively, these results allowed the model to be successfully calibrated, and consequently, validated for the first time for this specific scenario, resulting in model outputs corresponding to within one order of magnitude to measured data. This has helped to generate an initial set of modelling recommendations, allowing modellers to use the ADMS dispersion model in a reliable manner, when applied to the open windrow composting scenario. Eventually, these improved model outputs may be used to predict bioaerosol exposure levels at sensitive receptors, particularly in conditions where current monitoring methods are not feasible
Prevalence and management factors contributing to Cryptosporidium and Giardia infection in pre-weaned and post-weaned calves in Johor, Malaysia
Get PDFThe present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in pre-weaned and post-weaned dairy calves and to identify management factors contributing to infection with these parasites. The role of dairy calves as a source of environmental contamination and identification of the potential risk factors contributing to the prevalence of the organism in farms was also investigated. A total of 240 animal faecal samples were collected from 16 farms in Johor, which is in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The selected farms were situated in two districts within the state with high dairy cattle populations. Faecal samples were screened using PCR amplification and sequence analysis of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) locus for both parasites. Cryptosporidium isolates were further analysed at a diagnostic qPCR locus and the hypervariable glycoprotein (GP60). Giardia isolates were also analysed at the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) locus.
PCR amplification detected 65 Cryptosporidium positives giving a total prevalence of 27.1% (95% CI: 21.5%, 32.7). Twelve of the 16 farms were positive for Cryptosporidium with an overall farm prevalence of 75% (95% CI: 53.8%, 96.2%). The pre-weaned calf prevalence at 30.8% (95% CI: 22.6%, 39.1%), was similar to post-weaned calf prevalence at 23.3% (95% CI: 15.8, 30.9%) (χ2=1.92, df=1,1, P=0.17). Phylogenetic analysis of 53 of the 65 positives, identified nine samples as C. parvum, fourteen samples as C. andersoni, sixteen samples as C. bovis, ten samples as C. ryanae and four isolates as mixed infections. Subtyping analysis of eight of the 12 C. parvum isolates at the GP60 locus identified five isolates as IIdA15G1, one was IIa18A3R1 and two isolates as IIa17G2R1.
PCR amplification detected 30 Giardia positives giving a total prevalence of 12.5% (95% CI: 8.3%, 16.7%). Eleven out of the 16 farms were positive for Giardia with an overall farm prevalence of 68.8% (95% CI: 46%, 91.5%). The prevalence in pre-weaned calves was 16.8% (95% CI: 10.1, 23.5%) and the prevalence in post-weaned calves was 8.3% (95% CI: 3.4, 13.2%) (χ2=4, df=1,1, P=0.04). Sequence analysis of 25 isolates identified all of them as G. duodenalis Assemblage E (Livestock genotype). The present study identified mixed infections in 3.8%, (95% CI: 1.3, 6.3%) of dairy calves.
There was no association between farming systems (intensive or semi intensive) and Cryptosporidium prevalence. Intensive farms had an overall prevalence of 31.7% (95% CI: 23.3, 40%), similar to semi intensive farms; 22.5%, (95% CI: 15, 30%) (χ2=2.55, df=1,1, P=0.11). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in pre-weaned calves was 28% for C. parvum and C. bovis respectively, followed by C. andersoni (22%); C. ryanae (13%) and mixed sp. (9%). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in post-weaned calves was 35% for C. bovis followed by C. andersoni and C. ryanae (30% each) and mixed sp. (5%). Cryptosporidium parvum was only detected in pre-weaned calves. It was only isolated from calves less than one and four-months old, with the highest peak at 33.3%, (95% CI: 14.5, 52.2%) detected in calves aged less than one-month old (χ2=66.1, df=1,9, P=0.0001).
The prevalence of Giardia sp. in semi intensive farms was 14.2% (95% CI: 7.9, 20.4%) and was similar to intensive farms; 10.8% (95% CI: 5.3,16.4%) (χ2=2.55, df=1,1, P=0.11). The prevalence of Giardia infection was twice as high in pre-weaned calves at 16.8% (95% CI: 10.1, 23.5%) compared to weaned calves at 8.3% (95% CI: 3.4, 13.2%) (χ2=4.0, df=1,1, P=0.04).
Management factors that increased the risk of Cryptosporidium infection were keeping pre-weaned calves in pens with slatted floors, having other cattle farms close by, keeping post-weaned calves in pens with a sand floor and feeding calves with saleable milk. Management factors that decreased the risk of Cryptosporidium infection included frequent treatment with antibiotics and anti-diarrheal drugs such as kaolin pectin, frequent deworming and washing the feeding utensils with disinfectant.
Management factors which increased the risk of Giardia infection included keeping weaned calves in pens with sand floors, calf age (i.e. calves younger than 5 months old were at a higher risk of infection) and more frequent use of anthelmintics. Management factors which decreased the risk of Giardia infection were keeping pre-weaned calves in pens with concrete floors and calving in single cow calving areas.
Manipulating these factors should help control the level of infection and may control the disease. This is the first epidemiological study done in Malaysia to identify management factors which contribute to infection and is the first study done to identify the subtype of zoonotic C. parvum in dairy calves
