Digital Commons Network^™

Free To Be Obese In A " Super Nanny State " ?, Nadine Henley

School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure Publications

Should individuals be free to make lifestyle decisions (such as what, when and how much to eat and how much physical activity to take), without undue interference from the state, even when their decisions may lead to negative consequences (obesity, heart disease, diabetes)?

The Impact Of Immunization On The Association Between Poverty And Child Survival: Evidence From Kassena-Nankana District Of Northern Ghana, Ayaga A. Bawah, James F. Phillips, Martin Adjuik, Maya Vaughan-Smith, Bruce Macleod, Fred N. Binka

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Research conducted in Africa has demonstrated consistently that parental poverty and low educational attainment adversely affect child survival. Relative poverty has a pronounced effect on the survival of children, even in a setting where nearly all families are poor. Results from the research presented in the working paper lend strong support to the United Nations’ goal of reducing excess childhood mortality among the poor by directing a particular focus on immunization. Findings in this working paper show that the adverse effects of poverty disappear and that the effects of educational attainment are reduced in survival models that control for immunization …

Late Marriage And The Hiv Epidemic In Sub-Saharan Africa, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper assesses the potential roles of late age at marriage and a long period of premarital sexual activity as population risk factors for HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. The relationship between marital status and the prevalence and incidence of HIV is examined with ecological data from 33 countries in the region and with individual-level data from nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys in Kenya and Ghana in 2003. The ecological analysis finds a significant positive correlation between HIV prevalence and the median age at first marriage, and between HIV prevalence and the interval between first sex …

Assessment Of The Technology Of Genetic Modification In Light Of Its Socio-Economic Implications, Valentina Lootens

Masters Culminating Experiences (1993-2011)

Since Watson and Crick discovered the “double helix” in 1953, the arguments about the benefits and danger of genetic modification remain largely unanswered, particularly in the relation to food supply. Today, genetic modification or genetic engineering are global issues. Governments, scientific organizations, corporations, research institutions, and scholars hotly dispute the advantages and disadvantages of GM technology. However, unfortunately, the population at large is left in darkness about this new technology and its consequences for human health, environment and society. Moreover, genetic engineering creates a special problem: unlike many new technologies it is irreversible. Once introduced into the food chain, GM …

Books And Letters Vol. 20, No. 1, University Libraries, Molly Boyd, Anne Marie Candido, Tom W. Dillard, Juana R. Young, Beth Juhl, Tim Nutt, Russell Cothren, Don Batson

Books and Letters

Alice Walker Biographer Speaks at Mullins; Special Collections Laboratory Dedicated to Goldsby Family; From Lightning Bug to Pitcher Shower: 30 Years of Stay More; The Stay Moron's Oath; Reference Librarian Publishes Book; Folklorist Mary C. Parler’s Life and Work Remembered; Library Receives Valuable Thomas Merton Collection; Interview with the Collector; Artists Picture History in Recent Exhibits; Calder Mobiles Displayed; New Online Resources; Margaret Smith Ross Papers Opened to Researchers; Event Honors Arkansas Photographer; Library Personnel Key to New Arkansas Encyclopedia

How Long Will We Live?, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

After a brief review of the controversy about future trends, this Population Council working paper examines past trends in the components of life expectancy at birth in high-income countries with low levels of mortality. The projection of these components provides the basis for assessing plausible future trends in longevity. Large increases in conventional life expectancy before 1950 are found to be primarily attributable to reductions in juvenile and background mortality. After 1950 the rate of improvement in life expectancy slowed, but senescent mortality fell more rapidly than before, thus becoming the main cause of rising life expectancy at birth. The …

Priority Setting For Reproductive Health At The District Level In The Context Of Health Sector Reforms In Ghana, Harriet Birungi, Philomena Nyarko, Ian Askew, Ayorinde Ajayi, Gifty Addico, Edward Addai, Caroline Jehu-Appiah

Reproductive Health

This report outlines results of an in-depth assessment carried out in Ghana in order to provide a better understanding of key factors affecting reproductive health (RH) prioritization at the district level; and to make recommendations for policy dialogue, advocacy, resource allocation, and RH program implementation. In particular, the study examined whether or not districts are connecting to the central process of priority setting and reasons for not doing so. The report includes recommendations for bridging the policy implementation gap, including: ensuring that RH advocates participate in national policy dialogue; investing in systems development for procurement and delivery of drugs and …

Free To Be Obese In A 'Super Nanny State'?, Nadine Henley

Research outputs pre 2011

Should individuals be free to make lifestyle decisions (such as what, when and how much to eat and how much physical activity to take), without undue interference from the state, even when their decisions may lead to negative consequences (obesity, heart disease, diabetes)?

The Body Politic: Splitting Gender Medically In Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia, Sarah Sally Carraher

LSU Master's Theses

Before the rise of clinical medicine, Western medicine was undergoing several prerequisite shifts in epistemology and methodology - moving from an eighteenth-century practice of spaces and classes, wherein the symptom is synonymous with the disease, toward a nineteenth-century science of signs and cases, in which symptoms are symbols, or products, of a deeper disease (Foucault 1973). During the former age of classes, about mid-century, a particular shift in the medical perception of sex differences appears in the literature, without any great advances or revisions in human anatomical knowledge or treatment methods. This thesis looks at hospitalization of in-patients at Pennsylvania …

Rehabilitation After Brain Injury : Identifying Predictors Throughout Post Acute Rehabilitation, Elisabeth L. Bond

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional outcomes of clients who received post-acute rehabilitation services following a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in an effort to identify predictors affecting outcome. An archival database was used to study three different outcome measure ratings over two and or three consecutive time periods. There were 105 participants, 82 male, 23 female, 87 residential and 18 outpatient, who were 19-78 years of age. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted within subjects to identify changes across time. No significant changes were found. A between subjects MANOVA was conducted to study relationships …

Sl1 Rna Gene Recovery From Enterobius Vermicularis Ancient Dna In Pre-Columbian Human Coprolites, Alena M. Iñiguez, Karl Reinhard, Marcelo Luiz Carvalho Gonçalves, Luiz Fernando Ferreira, Adauto Araújo, Ana Carolina Paulo Vincente

Karl Reinhard Publications

Enterobius vermicularis, pinworm, is one of the most common helminths worldwide, infecting nearly a billion people at all socio-economic levels. In prehistoric populations the paleoparasitological findings show a pinworm homogeneous distribution among hunter-gatherers in North America, intensified with the advent of agriculture. This same increase also occurred in the transition from nomad hunter-gatherers to sedentary farmers in South America, although E. vermicularis infection encompasses only the ancient Andean peoples, with no record among the pre-Colombian populations in the South American lowlands. However, the outline of pinworm paleo epidemiology has been supported by microscopic finding of eggs recovered from coprolites. …

Evaluating The Spatial Ecology Of Anthrax In North America: Examining Epidemiological Components Across Multiple Geographic Scales Using A Gis-Based Approach, Jason Kenna Blackburn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the spatial ecology and potential pathways of infection of anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, in North America. A multi-scale approach was used to evaluate the components required for disease agent survival in the environment, interactions with wildlife, and the potential role that vectors play in anthrax transmission. First, ecological niche modeling with the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP) was used to predict the geographic distribution of anthrax in the continental U.S. using case data from outbreaks between 1957 and 2005. These results were then used to produce the first quantitative, continental scale predictions of anthrax in Mexico. At …

Socioeconomic Characteristics Of Cancer Mortality In The United States Of America: A Spatial Data Mining Approach, Srinivas Kumar Vinnakota

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States of America. Though it is generally known that cancer is influenced by environment, its relation to socioeconomic conditions is still widely debated. This research analyzed the spatial distribution of cancer mortalities of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate, and their associated socioeconomic characteristics using association rule mining technique. The mortality patterns were analyzed at the county and health service area levels that corresponded to the years between 1999 – 2002 and 1988 – 1992, respectively. Distinct socioeconomic characteristics of cancer mortality were revealed by the association rule mining technique. …

Semi-Parametric Inference In A Bivariate (Multivariate) Mixture Model, Denis H. Y. Leung, Jing Qin

Research Collection School Of Economics

We consider estimation in a bivariate mixture model in which the component distributions can be decomposed into identical distributions. Previous approaches to estimation involve parametrizing the distributions. In this paper, we use a semi-parametric approach. The method is based on the exponential tilt model of Anderson (1979), where the log ratio of probability (density) functions from the bivariate components is linear in the observations. The proposed model does not require training samples, i.e., data with confirmed component membership. We show that in bivariate mixture models, parameters are identifiable. This is in contrast to previous works, where parameters are identifiable if …

Social Capital, Health And Mental Health In African American Women, Cheryl Lynn Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural and social influences on mental and physical health are increasingly recognized by social science researchers. Researchers have found that specific, Afrocultural factors are related to the functioning of African Americans. The current research considered whether interdependence is especially salient for African American women since women and African Americans tend to define themselves within the context of social relationships. The study outlines processes affecting the mental and physical health of African American women including communalism, collective efficacy, and social capital. The also study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and both mental and physical health among African American women in …

Principles Of Fairness For International Economic Treaties: Constructivism And Contractualism, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

No legal system deserving of continued support can exist without an adequate theory of justice. A world trade constitution cannot credibly exist without a clear notion of justice upon which to base a consensus. This paper examines two accounts of fairness found in moral philosophy, those of John Rawls and Tim Scanlon. The Rawlsian theory of justice is well-known to legal scholars. Scanlon's contractualist account may be less well-known. The aim of the paper is to start the discussion as to how fairness theories can be used to develop the tools for examining international economic policies and institutions. After elaborating …

The Social Ecology Of Hurricane Katrina Re-Writing The Discourse Of “Natural” Disasters, Yoosun Park, Joshua Miller

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

It is increasingly difficult to distinguish natural events from those influenced by human actions. Furthermore, researchers in various fields have established that the level of devastation and the predicted likelihood of recovery of neighborhoods and communities correspond with the amount of political and socioeconomic capital held by neighborhoods and communities prior to disasters such as the Hurricane Katrina. In this paper we analyze the significance of the discourse of “natural disasters” through the framework of social ecology. We contest the neutralist discourse of “natural disasters” by underscoring the numerous interdependent sociopolitical forces, which shape the context in which disasters occur.

Rrh Library Newsletter, January 2006, Libraries At Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

Newsletter sections include: Pandemic

Citizen Voices On Pandemic Flu Choices: A Report Of The Public Engagement Pilot Project On Pandemic Influenza

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

In the spring of 2005, gaps existed in the first Health and Human Services (HHS) Influenza Pandemic Plan and more guidance was considered desirable on how best to allocate the relatively meager supplies of vaccine likely to be available in the first months of a pandemic. To whom should it be given? To achieve what objectives?

This report describes the convening of a representative group of stakeholders and citizens-at-large, the structure and process of stakeholder and citizen dialogues and deliberations, and the decisions made and recommendations that were developed.

This Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI) was initiated …

A Model Of The Natural Spread Of The Invasive Insect Species Emerald Ash Borer In The Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Jennifer L. Weller

Masters Theses

More than 8 million ash trees in southeast Michigan have been killed by an infestation of the invasive insect species emerald ash borer (EAB). Since its identification in July 2002, EAB has been found in Ontario (Canada), Ohio, Indiana, and across Michigan. To date, EAB research has concentrated on the entomological classification and no systematic prediction of the pest's diffusion has been made.

This research presents a predictive model for the spread of EAB across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Limited data on ash tree population distribution, ·. infestation distribution, and the dispersal rate of the emerald ash borer required …

Weather And The Salem Witch Trials, Franklin G. Mixon

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

E-Government Capabilities And Crisis Management: Lessons From Combating Sars In Singapore, Shan Ling Pan, Gary Pan, Paul R. Devadoss

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The city-state of Singapore has been highly ranked for its e-government services. Over the past two decades, it has leveraged its IT infrastructure for economic development and transformed its public services. The SARS outbreak in 2004 turned into a national health crisis because it spread rapidly and the medical community had little knowledge of how to treat the new mutation of the corona virus. Yet, several Singaporean government agencies utilized the e-Government infrastructure and related resources to quickly bring the outbreak under control. In particular, the government?s IT infrastructure streamlined communications, information exchange, and data flow, and significantly eased collaboration …

Public Administration And Shared Power: Understanding Governance, Networks, And Partnerships, H. George Frederickson, David Matkin

Working Group on Interlocal Services Cooperation

Starting with the “consolationist” and “fragmentationist” arguments in American local government and contemporary patterns of increasing jurisdictional cooperation and regionalization, this paper examines patterns of jurisdictional cooperation and power sharing in metropolitan regions, and analyses the influence of extrajurisdictional benefits on local government decisions to engage in regional agreements. Our findings are based on a survey of local government officials in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. Cooperation is examined using an Axelrod-type prisoner’s dilemma scenario. Participants include elected officials, chief administrative officers, and department-level administrators—Police Chiefs, Parks and Recreation Directors, Fire Chiefs, and Public Works Directors. Results point to differences …

Vaccination With Recombinant Aspartic Hemoglobinase Reduces Parasitic Load And Blood Loss After Hookworm Infection In Dogs, Alex Loukas, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Susana Mendez, Ricardo T. Fujiwara, Gaddam Narsa Goud, Najju Ranjit, Bin Zhan, Karen Jones, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J. Hotez

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background

Hookworms infect 730 million people in developing countries where they are a leading cause of intestinal blood loss and iron-deficiency anemia. At the site of attachment to the host, adult hookworms ingest blood and lyse the erythrocytes to release hemoglobin. The parasites subsequently digest hemoglobin in their intestines using a cascade of proteolysis that begins with the Ancylostoma caninum aspartic protease 1, APR-1.

Methods and Findings

We show that vaccination of dogs with recombinant Ac-APR-1 induced antibody and cellular responses and resulted in significantly reduced hookworm burdens (p = 0.056) and fecal egg counts (p = …

The Vital Development System, J. Brian Atwood

Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations

No abstract provided.

University Of South Florida College Of Public Health: Reflections On Doctoral Education 1987 - 2005

Florida Public Health Review

No abstract provided.

A Modular Approach To Document Indexing And Semantic Search, Dhanya Ravishankar, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Trivikram Immaneni

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper develops a modular approach to improving effectiveness of searching documents for information by reusing and integrating mature software components such as Lucene APIs, WORDNET, LSA techniques, and domain-specific controlled vocabulary. To evaluate the practical benefits, the prototype was used to query MEDLINE database, and to locate domain-specific controlled vocabulary terms in Materials and Process Specifications. Its extensibility has been demonstrated by incorporating a spell-checker for the input query, and by structuring the retrieved output into hierarchical collections for quicker assimilation. It is also being used to experimentally explore the relationship between LSA and document clustering using 20-mini-newsgroups and …

You've Gotta Read This: Summer Reading At Musselman Library (2005), Musselman Library

You’ve Gotta Read This: Summer Reading at Musselman Library

Each year Musselman Library asks Gettysburg College faculty, staff, and administrators to help create a suggested summer reading list to inspire students and the rest of our campus community to take time in the summer to sit back, relax, and read. These summer reading picks are guaranteed to offer much adventure, drama, and fun!

Micro-Level Estimation Of Child Malnutrition Indicators And Its Application In Cambodia, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

One of the major limitations in addressing child malnutrition is lack of information that could be used to target resources. By combining demographic and health survey (DHS) and population census data, the author disaggregates the estimates of the prevalence of child malnutrition in Cambodia from currently available 17 DHS strata into 1,594 communes. The methodology is built on the small-area estimation technique developed by Elbers, Lanjouw, and Lanjouw. The author extends it to jointly estimate multiple indicators and to allow for a richer structure of error terms. Average standard errors for the commune-level estimates in this study were about 4 …

Our Public Health History In Florida: Interviews With The Department Chairs

Florida Public Health Review

No abstract provided.