Digital Commons Network^™

Leveraging Grant-Making—Part 2: Aligning Programmatic Approaches With Complex System Dynamics, David Peter Stroh, Kathleen A. Zurcher

The Foundation Review

· The purpose of this two-part article is to enable foundations to increase the leverage of their grantmaking resources by working effectively with the dynamics of complex social systems.

· This article examines how foundations can align planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts with the behavior of the social systems they seek to improve.

· Asking powerful questions of staff, board, grantees, and other stakeholders helps to transform how they think about their goals and strategies.

· In addition to using the power of questioning, foundations function more systemically by suspending their assumptions about their effectiveness and what is possible, creating …

African Americans Can't Win, Break Even, Or Get Out Of The System: The Persistence Of “Unequal Treatment ” In Nursing Home Care, Ruqaiijah A. Yearby

All Faculty Scholarship

Empirical data show that racial disparities in the quality of care provided by nursing homes are a common occurrence, not isolated to Illinois. Nine years after the publication of the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine Study (“IOM study”) Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, which acknowledged continued racial disparities in health care and provided suggestions for the elimination of these disparities, racial disparities still remain. One chief example of the continuation of racial disparities in health care is in the provision of nursing home care.

Decades of empirical research studies have shown that racial disparities in accessing quality …

Litigation, Integration, And Transformation: Using Medcaid To Address Racial Inequities In Health Care, Ruqaiijah A. Yearby

All Faculty Scholarship

Instances of racial discrimination in health care continue despite the enactment of civil rights laws, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 *329 (Title VI). Title VI prohibited racial discrimination by health care entities receiving government funding such as Medicaid payments. The federal government focused its initial efforts on hospitals. Because hospitals relied on federal funding, the federal government was able to force hospitals to integrate without much resistance from the hospital industry. However, since this accomplishment the government has relied too heavily on assurances of compliance from other health care entities, such as nursing homes, …

The Effects Of Fungal Pigments On Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectral Peak Formation, Amanda Dawn Buskirk

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fungi are ubiquitous microorganisms that commonly cause diseases with high mortality rates in immunocompromised hosts. In order to successfully treat the infection and subsequently decrease mortality rates, it is necessary to rapidly identify the causal organism(s) and promptly begin the proper treatment. Common identification methods, such as viable culture characterization, are often time consuming or not species-specific, as is the case with many molecular or immunodiagnostic assays. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been used to discriminate between many clinically relevant microorganisms. Recently, MALDI-TOF MS has been used to discriminate between monilaceous fungal species, however, darkly pigmented …

Selenium Removal By Nano-Magnetite Impregnated Diatomaceous Earth, Isabel Cardona

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to remove selenium from aqueous solution using nano-magnetite impregnated diatomaceous earth (DE) as an adsorbent. The adsorbent was prepared at the laboratory with a ratio of magnetite/DE of 10%. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of pH, temperature, adsorbent concentration, selenium speciation, contact time and presence of competing anions on selenium removal efficiency in conjunction with studies on adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and adsorptive thermodynamics. Rapid adsorption occurred within 30 min and selenium uptake decreased with increase in temperature. Low pH values (i.e. 2--4) favored selenium adsorption as expected for anion adsorption …

Sleep And Sleepiness Among First-Time Postpartum Parents, Salvatore Insana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Objectives. Postpartum maternal sleep disturbance is common. However, little research has examined postpartum fathers' sleep. Additionally, the magnitude of postpartum mothers' and fathers' daytime sleepiness has not been objectively indexed. The aims of this dissertation study were to: (1) objectively examine the difference in sleep and sleepiness levels among first-time mothers and fathers during their early postpartum period; (2) examine parents' perceptions of their own and their partner's mood, sleep, and sleepiness.;Method. Twenty one first-time postpartum mother-father dyads (N = 42; 27.38 +/- 4.92 years; 91.67% white; 15.40 +/- 3.53 years of education; annual household income {dollar}56,091 +/- {dollar}34,320), completed …

Synthesis Of Novel Glycosylidene-Based Quinolines, Peter H. Dobbelaar

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Discernment Process Of The Sisters Of Saint Dominic Regarding The Continued Sponsorship Of Its Secondary Schools, Sr. Patricia Tavis

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

The Influence Of Small Class Size, Duration, Intensity, And Heterogeneity On Head Start Fade, Christopher D. Huss

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

An Examination Of The Effectiveness Of A Professional Development Program On Teacher Knowledge And Practice To Address Adolescent Health Issues, Narima Aliya Shahabudeen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

Stress Among Prospective Teachers: A Review Of The Literature , Sallie Gardner

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Student-teacher distress has the potential to impact on the individuals who are to become teachers, the profession and the education system. This review examines what is known of psychological distress among university students, teachers and student-teachers, the demands associated with their practical experiences and the known impact of psychological distress. A brief overview of contemporary stress management approaches is also presented. The reviewer contends that the potential problem for prospective teachers requires a holistic approach, beginning through understanding contemporary strategies available to individual university students, and preventative stress management programs provided within tertiary education, which may be made available to …

Sodexo Leading Environmental Change At Lehigh Valley Health Network, Andrew Barsky Cdm, Cfpp

Clinical Nutrition Service

No abstract provided.

Clinical Knowledge Management Systems: Literature Review And Research Issues For Information Systems, Matthew J. Wills, Surendra Sarnikar, Omar F. El-Gayar, Amit Deokar

Research & Publications

Knowledge Management (KM) has emerged as a possible solution to many of the challenges facing U.S. and international healthcare systems. These challenges include concerns regarding the safety and quality of patient care, critical inefficiency, disparate technologies and information standards, rapidly rising costs and clinical information overload. In this paper, we focus on clinical knowledge management systems (CKMS) research. The objectives of the paper are to evaluate the current state of knowledge management systems diffusion in the clinical setting, assess the present status and focus of CKMS research efforts, and identify research gaps and opportunities for future work across the medical …

Workplace Nutrition And Exercise Climate: Scale Development And Preliminary Model, Joseph J. Mazzola

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a major concern in the United States and has a multitude of negative physical and mental health consequences. Proper nutrition and exercise are important elements to initiating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Since most people spend a large amount of their time working, it is important that organizations create an atmosphere that is conducive to employees being able to eat healthy diets and exercise regularly. The social and environmental climate in terms of health was examined through the construct of a Workplace Nutrition and Exercise Climate (WNEC), defined here as the situational, social, and environmental factors within an …

Editorial: Nutrition Research Reviews, Katherine Younger

Articles

This is the time of year when pumpkins are in season, and are incorporated into traditional festivals in Europe and North America (Harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving). If you have previously considered pumpkins as good only for carving into grinning Jack O’Lanterns then the short review from Yadev et al. (1) might shed a little light on some of its potential medicinal properties, including antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetic. However, the active compounds, possibly various alkaloids and flavonoids, have yet to be isolated and characterised, and much of the work cited has been done in animal or in vitro models, so the …

Balancing Consumer Privacy With Behavioral Targeting, Dustin D. Berger

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Photovoice As Authentic Civic Engagement: Lessons Learned In One Immigrant Community, Meg Merrick, Angie Mejia

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

It is widely acknowledged that equitable and sustainable public policy can only be achieved when it is informed by the concerns, hopes, and experiences of those who are affected. Public agencies wishing to engage recent immigrants can find this to be challenging, however. Effective public participation and civic engagement can be difficult when community members cannot speak English and/or come from very different cultural and political environments. The Chronic Disease Prevention Program (CDPP) of the Multnomah County Health Department and Metro, two public agencies serving the Portland, Oregon region, have actively sought to learn from the experiences of immigrant community …

Virulence Gene Regulation By Cvfa, A Putative Rnase: The Cvfa-Enolase Complex In Streptococcus Pyogenes Links Nutritional Stress, Growth-Phase Control, And Virulence Gene Expression, Song Ok Kang, Michael G. Caparon, Kyu Hong Cho

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Dna Barcoding And Morphometrics Of Stingless Bees (Apidae: Meliponinae) In Three Selected Forests In Kenya, Nelly Njeri Ndungu

All Master’s Theses

Stingless honeybee keeping is an income generating enterprise with an indirect potential of achieving the goal of forest and biodiversity conservation in Kenya. However, little information is available on species diversity and spatial distribution of stingless bees in Kenya. This study describes variations of stingless bee samples collected from Arabuko Sokoke, Mwingi and Kakamega forests, ranging from low, middle to high altitude, respectively using morphometrics and DNA barcoding. Fourteen morphometric characters were measured to determine the extent of morphological variation of stingless bees in Kenya.In addition, mitochondrial DNA sequences data were generated using Cytochrome c Oxidase I (COI) in accordance …

Relative Attractiveness Of Anopheles Gambiae Mosquitoes To Synthetic Oduor Blends And Human Emanations, Evelyn Adhiambo Olanga

All Master’s Theses

Mosquito host seeking behaviour is mediated by chemical, physical and visual cues. Identification of chemical and physical cues utilized by mosquitoes in host location can lead to the development of novel vector management strategies. This research set out to identify synthetic odour blends that simulate human body emanations that can be used to develop mass trapping devices for vector management. The relative attractiveness of human body emanations and synthetic odour blends as attractants of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes was investigated under semi-field conditions at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) Mbita Point, western Kenya. The effect of heat …

Entomopathogenicity Of Hyphomycete Fungi To Fruit Fly Bactrocera Invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae) And Their Potential For Biological Control On Mango, Elizabeth Awuor Ouna

All Master’s Theses

Sustainable mango production will rely increasingly on alternatives to conventional chemical insecticides that are environmentally friendly for the management of fruit flies. The use of microbial control agents such as fungi in pest suppression is considered suitable since micro-organisms usually exert low environmental impact and are target specific. Application methods of bio-pesticides in the environment, which use minimal amount of inoculum is currently under improvement from inundative to auto-inoculative methods. Such devices are usually designed to attract insects into focus of the entomopathogen and use the insect as a vector for transmission of pathogen to other members of its population. …

Aku-Nama : Winter 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2, Aga Khan University Alumni Association

The Aga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni (AKU-NAMA)

No abstract provided.

Ischemic Stroke Care - Official Guidelines From The Pakistan Society Of Neurology, Ayeesha Kamran Kamal, Ahmed Itrat, Imama Naqvi, Maria Khan, Roomasa Channa, Ismail Khatri, Mohammad Wasay

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

It’S Not A Small World After All: Regulating Obesity Globally, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

The rate of obesity and overweight among the world population has increased dramatically over the past several years in both adults and children. Childhood obesity is a critical health care concern. There have been well-publicized efforts to regulate children‘s obesity both in the U.S. and abroad through such measures as mandated nutritional school lunch programs.

This article focuses, however, on a less examined area of regulation—the recent worldwide efforts to curb obesity among adults. The regulations discussed in this article include measures proposed or adopted by either administrative agencies or legislative bodies, whether on a local or national level. The …

C.S.I. Bulls#!T: The National Academy Of Sciences, Melendedez-Diaz V. Massachusetts, And Future Challenges To Forensic Science And Forensic Evidence,, Joelle A. Moreno

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Private Schools: Baseline Policy Assessment, Center For Public Health Systems Science, Sarah Moreland-Russell, Bobbi Carothers, Laura Brossart

Center for Public Health Systems Science

This report presents the findings from a baseline assessment of tobacco policies in private schools in St. Louis County Districts 1 through 4. These findings were provided to the St. Louis County Department of Health and other CPPW stakeholders, including the Leadership Team and initiative grantees, to help inform intervention efforts for strengthening school tobacco policies.

A Laboratory-Based Study Of Mood And Eating Behavior In Overweight Children, Andrea Goldschmidt

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Loss of control over eating refers to the sense that one cannot control what or how much one is eating. Loss of control eating is prevalent among overweight children and is associated with psychosocial impairment. Self-report data suggest that pediatric loss of control eating may be related to the experience of aversive emotions, with investigators theorizing that loss of control eating is a maladaptive means of alleviating negative mood. However, these data need to be substantiated using more objective methodology. The current study utilized a feeding laboratory paradigm to further explore the relation between mood and eating in 46 overweight …

Proteomics Assisted Discovery Of Novel Proteins In Assembly And Regulation Of Photosystem Ii, Kimberly Wegener

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Cyanobacteria, the only prokaryotes capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, are present in diverse ecological niches and play crucial roles in global carbon and nitrogen cycles. To proliferate in nature, cyanobacteria utilize a host of stress responses to maintain photosynthesis under periodic changes in environmental conditions. Recent advances in proteomic study have enabled a systems-level analysis of cellular functions in many systems. Because proteins are directly responsible for cellular functions, measurements of protein abundances provide significant clues to the modulation of cellular functions during different environmental perturbations. A detailed knowledge of the composition of, as well as the dynamic changes in, the …

Expanding Leader Capability: An Exploratory Study Of The Effect Of Daily Practices For Leader Development, Simon Rakoff

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Leadership is, at its essence, an influence relationship between people. Leaders are often thought of as those who are able to influence people to take actions oriented toward achieving specific goals and objectives. While many books have been written, and myriad scholarly research studies conducted enumerating countless personal characteristics, qualities, and skills of the exemplary leader, little has been done to understand and convey the ways in which an individual might go about cultivating these virtues; which are often said to include charisma, empathy, communication skills, and others. Through a multiple single-subject design, this research examines the individual-level effect of …

Quality And Safety Assessment During The Ozonation Of Cloudy Apple Juice, Sonal Patil, B. Torres, Brijesh Tiwari, Hilda Wingaard, Paula Bourke, Patrick J. Cullen, C. O'Donnell, Vasilis Valdramidis

Articles

Traditionally, ozone processing within the food industry has focused on solid foods by either gaseous treatment or washing with ozonated water. However, with the FDA’s approval of ozone as a direct additive to food, the potential for liquid applications has emerged. This study investigates the effect of ozone processing on microbial inactivation (E. coli ATCC 25922 and NCTC 12900), and quality parameters (colour, phenolic content) of apple juice. Apple juice samples were ozonated at room temperature (20±1.5^oC) with an ozone concentration of 0.048 mg O₃ min^-1 ml^-1 and treatment time of 0 to 10 …