Clark State Community College

The potential contribution of co-curricular to develop engaged citizens is relatively unexplored. Much of the available research on college-level has studied the effect of in single courses on a variety of student outcome measures and there are at least two large, multi-campus studies of curricular (Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, & Yee, 2000; Eyler & Giles, 1999). This article reports on analysis of longitudinal surveys completed at 23 liberal arts colleges by participants in four-year, co-curricular service-programs, collectively called the Bonner Scholar Program, sponsored by the Bonner Foundation. The terms service-learning and merit definition. The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2005) defined as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. A frequent tendency in the field is to use the phrase and assume the reference is to academic based in coursework. Giles and Eyler's (1999) seminal study of programs that linked academic study with service acknowledged the value of co-curricular learning and, in defining service-learning, also mentioned non-course-based programs that include a reflective component and learning goals (p. 5). The terms and civic engagement have recently been used interchangeably in the field. The Bonner Scholar Program (BSP) studied here defines civic engagement as intentional participation in direct service, democratic process, and public policy (Hoy, 2006). Multi-campus studies have demonstrated that college-based, curricular contributes to academic, civic, and personal outcomes. Eyler and Giles (1999) demonstrated that one-semester classes had significant, consistent, and modest effects on student personal, civic, cognitive and academic outcomes in multicampus pre-and post-tests (p. xvii). In another large, longitudinal study, Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, and Yee (2000) compared the effects of classroom-based and other forms of community service. Students who participated in one or more classes and community service experiences which were enhanced by opportunities for reflective dialogue were more likely to evidence personal and academic growth that lasted through the end of the senior year than were students who participated only in academic (p. 41-42). Little research exists on sustained co-curricular service-learning. This study explored two research questions to address that gap. Does co-curricular have an impact on desired outcomes of the college experience, particularly an appreciation of diversity and of dialogue across boundaries of perceived difference? A second question is reported separately. Do characteristics of liberal arts colleges (specifically, more or less internationally-focused, faith-oriented, diverse, urban or elite) increase the effects of participation in co-curricular on college outcomes? The Study Study Context Yearly, the BSP funds approximately 1,500 Bonner Scholars across 23-25 campuses, almost all traditionally-aged college students, and engages them in a four-year program that requires service while offering extensive training and support. Many participating colleges are located in Appalachia. (1) Ten to twenty students are selected yearly on each campus and are required to complete a minimum of ten hours of service, training, and reflection each week. In addition, the program provides financial support for two to three full-time service experiences for at least seven weeks in the summer or during co-op terms, including international service. By graduation, each Bonner Scholar has served at least 1,680 hours. …

Skill-selected global climate models were used to explore the effect of future climate change on regional bushfire weather in eastern Australia. Daily Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) was calculated in four regions of differing rainfall seasonality for the 20th century, 2050 and 2100 using the A2 scenario from the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. Projected changes in FFDI vary along a latitudinal gradient. In summer rainfall-dominated tropical north-east Australia, mean and extreme FFDI are projected to decrease or remain close to 20th century levels. In the uniform and winter rainfall regions, which occupy south-east continental Australia, FFDI is projected to increase strongly by 2100. Projections fall between these two extremes for the summer rainfall region, which lies between the uniform and summer tropical rainfall zones. Based on these changes in fire weather, the fire season is projected to start earlier in the uniform and winter rainfall regions, potentially leading to a longer overall fire season.

The current study tests the underlying structure of a multidimensional construct of helicopter parenting (HP), assesses reliability of the construct, replicates past relations of HP to poor emotional functioning, and expands the literature to investigate links of HP to emerging adults' decision-making and academic functioning. A sample of 377 emerging adults (66% female; ages 17-30; 88% European American) were administered several items assessing HP as well as measures of other parenting behaviors, depression, anxiety, decision-making style, grade point average, and academic functioning. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested a four-factor, 23-item measure that encompassed varying levels of parental involvement in the personal and professional lives of their children. A bifactor model was also fit to the data and suggested the presence of a reliable overarching HP factor in addition to three reliable subfactors. The fourth subfactor was not reliable and item variances were subsumed by the general HP factor. HP was found to be distinct from, but correlated in expected ways with, other reports of parenting behavior. HP was also associated with poorer functioning in emotional functioning, decision making, and academic functioning. Parents' information-seeking behaviors, when done in absences of other HP behaviors, were associated with better decision making and academic functioning.

Objective. To evaluate the extent to which Western Australian (WA) represents the broader Australian population in terms of key socio-demographic and health economic indicators. Methods. We compared key demographic, social and health economic indicators across all Australian States and Territories from Australian government publications in the census years 1991–2006. Jurisdictional averages (JAs) were calculated as the mean (±s.d.) or median (±range). Observed jurisdiction indicators were compared with the JA and ranked according its representativeness of the JA. Results. WA was among the three closest jurisdictions to the national JA for all socio-demographic and health economic indicators examined, with the exception of uptake of private health insurance (ranked 6th) and per-capita health expenditure (ranked 5th). The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were least representative for the majority of indicators. Excluding the proportions of people living in rural or remote areas (0–100%) and of indigenous origin (0.4–28.8%), variations in the indicators across the jurisdictions were relatively small. Conclusions. Population differences between Australia’s States were small, whereas Australia’s Territories were least representative of the JA. WA was the most representative population of Australia’s eight jurisdictions and continues to be in a strong position to contribute to knowledge of the Australian health system that is applicable Australia-wide. What is known about the topic? The Western Australian Data Linkage system (WADLS) is a highly successful and productive research tool that facilitates population-based health research. A potential criticism and concern of this research surrounds the representativeness of the WA population to other Australian States and Territories. Anecdotally, there is a perception that WA’s isolation from other Australian populations may lead to systematic socio-demographic and socioeconomic differences; thus limiting the generalisability of research findings. What does this paper add? This paper compares Australia’s State and Territory population profiles and allows researchers to determine the extent to which contextual issues concerning key socio-demographic and health economic indicators may affect the external validity of population-based research arising from any one jurisdiction. What are the implications to practitioners? In the absence of previous evaluations in this area and with the continued emergence of new data linkage systems around the country, this information is important for health researchers and policy makers who may wish to draw conclusions and make policy decisions that rely upon extrapolating findings from population-based studies.

One of the most odious tasks of teaching is testing. A great deal of time and energy goes into the writing and grading of exams. Most teachers will go to any extreme to avoid such tasks. They will adopt only text books that have an accompanying test bank or assign the chore of grading to graduate students. Disappointment in the results of test ing causes much of this disdain. Teach ers often wander the halls of academic institutions proclaiming their inno cence. do not know how they got this from what I taught. know I emphasized this point repeatedly, yet most of them missed it. These and other familiar refrains have their ori gins in confusion over the purpose and goal of testing. Although few would consciously ac knowledge it, most of us act as if test ing were an aspect of submarine war fare, that is, it should torpedo the stu dent. Most professors teach and test the way they were taught and tested. We rarely have the time, inclination, or awareness to explore alternative testing techniques. When one of us does have a revelation, he or she might share it with a few colleagues or write a short notice for a teaching newsletter. How

PURPOSE: We evaluated 2 methods for patient positioning on the development of pressure ulcers; specifically, standard of care (SOC) using pillows versus a patient positioning system (PPS). The study also compared turning effectiveness as well as nursing resources related to patient positioning and nursing injuries. DESIGN: A nonrandomized comparison design was used for the study. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Sixty patients from a trauma/neurointensive care unit were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 teams per standard bed placement practices at the institution. Patients were identified for enrollment in the study if they were immobile and mechanically ventilated with anticipation of 3 days or more on mechanical ventilation. Patients were excluded if they had a preexisting pressure ulcer. METHODS: Patients were evaluated daily for the presence of pressure ulcers. Data were collected on the number of personnel required to turn patients. Once completed, the angle of the turn was measured. The occupational health database was reviewed to determine nurse injuries. RESULTS: The final sample size was 59 (SOC = 29; PPS = 30); there were no statistical differences between groups for age (P = .10), body mass index (P = .65), gender (P = .43), Braden Scale score (P = .46), or mobility score (P = .10). There was a statistically significant difference in the number of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers between turning methods (6 in the SOC group vs 1 in the PPS group; P = .042). The number of nurses needed for the SOC method was significantly higher than the PPS (P ≤ 0.001). The average turn angle achieved using the PPS was 31.03°, while the average turn angle achieved using SOC was 22.39°. The difference in turn angle from initial turn to 1 hour after turning in the SOC group was statistically significant (P < .0001). No nurse injuries were reported for either group during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that assistive devices such as a PPS can be effective in achieving proper positioning of patients to prevent development of pressure ulcers.

This paper approaches the use of a Virtual Assistant using neural networks for recognition of commonly used words. The main purpose is to facilitate the users’ daily lives by sensing the voice and interpreting it into action. Alice, which is the name of the assistant, is implemented based on four main techniques: Hot word detection, Voice to Text conversion, Intent recognition, and Text to Voice conversion. Linux is the operating system of choice, for developing and running the assistant because it is in the public domain, also, Linux has been implemented on most Single-board computers. Python is chosen as a development language due to its capabilities and compatibility with various APIs and libraries, which are deemed necessary for the project. The virtual assistant will be required to communicate with IoT devices. In addition, a speech recognition system is created in order to recognize the significant technical words. An artificial neural network (ANN) with different structure networks and training algorithms is utilized in conjunction with the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) feature extraction technique to increase the identification rate effectively and find the optimal performance. For training purposes, the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) and BGFS Quasi-Newton Resilient Backpropagation are compared using 10 MFCC, utilizing from 10 to 50 neurons increasing in increments of 10 similarly for 13MFCC the training is done utilizing from between 10 to 50 neurons.

SUMMARY Glaucosphaera vacuolata was recently rediscovered, and isolated by Dr. Richard Starr of Indiana University Physiological and ultrastructural studies have been conducted on this cyanome and are reported for the first time. Glaucosphaera has been found to have low rates of photosynthesis, respiration, and Hill activity. Unusual features noted include the presence of R‐phycocyanin as the major accessory pigment, phycobilisomes, and eyeshot‐like structures in the cyanelles.

In this article we provide an example of some ways in which research can be used in the policy change process, using the issue of custody relinquishment ("the custody problem") as an example. Our view is that research findings alone rarely cause needed policy change; however, research can be used to inform policy in a number of ways: (a) identifying and describing the nature and extent of an issue or social problem, (b) revealing the negative consequences of the identified problem, (c) estimating the consequences of various strategies, and (d) studying the process and outcomes of policy implementation. In the case studies profiled here, research was most effective when combined with family stories.The stories gave the problem life, and the research helped find families with stories to tell, established that the problem was more than anecdotal, and suggested ways that the problem could be addressed. Research was also used to identify problems in the implementation of policy change and outcomes.

Automobiles of today must constantly change their speeds in reaction to changing road and traffic circumstances as the pace and density of road traffic increases. In sophisticated automobiles, the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is a vehicle safety system that enhances the vehicle's stability and steering capabilities by varying the torque to maintain the slip ratio at a safe level. This paper analyzes the performance of classical control, model reference adaptive control (MRAC), and intelligent control for controlling the (ABS). The ABS controller's goal is to keep the wheel slip ratio, which includes nonlinearities, parametric uncertainties, and disturbances as close to an optimal slip value as possible. This will decrease the stopping distance and guarantee safe vehicle operation during braking. A Bang-bang controller, PID, PID based Model Reference Adaptive Control (PID-MRAD), Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC), and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) controller are used to control the vehicle model. The car was tested on a dry asphalt and ice road with only straight-line braking. Based on slip ratio, vehicle speed, angular velocity, and stopping time, comparisons are performed between all control strategies. To analyze braking characteristics, the simulation changes the road surface condition, vehicle weight, and control methods. The simulation results revealed that our objectives were met. The simulation results clearly show that the ANFIS provides more flexibility and improves system-tracking precision in control action compared to the Bang-bang, PID, PID-MRAC, and FLC.

Although it is the object of vile denouncements when faculty members discuss teaching tech niques, the lecture remains the most common mode of instruction in higher education. The resilience of the lecture may have little to do with its education al soundness and more to do with the perceived ease of preparation and/or faculty members' unfamiliarity with al ternatives. Nonetheless, lecturing can be a vibrant teaching method, if you are well prepared. We would like to de scribe a systematic approach to lecture preparation that we have found useful.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of thoracic high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in evaluating the severity and outcome of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in non-AIDS immunocompromised patients.We measured mean lung attenuation (MLA) and extent of increased attenuation (EIA) of PJP lesions on thoracic HRCT in 40 non-AIDS immunocompromised patients with PJP diagnosed by demonstration of the pathogens in cytological smears of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The MLA and EIA of PJP lesions on thoracic HRCT were used to investigate the severity of PJP. Clinically, the severity of PJP was determined by arterial oxygen tension/fraction of inspired oxygen concentration (PaO2/FiO2) ratio, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II scores, the need of mechanical ventilation, and death.MLA highly correlated with EIA of PJP lesions (ρ = 0.906, P < 0.001). MLA and EIA of PJP lesions significantly correlated with PaO2/FiO2 (ρ = -0.481 and -0.370, respectively and P = 0.007 and 0.044, respectively). When intensive care unit (ICU) admission and HRCT performed were within 2 days, MLA and EIA of PJP lesions were significantly correlated with APACHE II score (ρ = 0.791 and 0.670, respectively and P = 0.001 and 0.009, respectively). There were significant differences in the values of MLA and EIA of PJP lesions between patients with and without assisted mechanical ventilator (MLA, median and [interquartile range, IQR, 25%, 75%] -516.44 [-572.10, -375.34] vs -649.27 [-715.62, -594.01], P < 0.001 and EIA, median and [IQR 25%, 75%] 0.75 [0.66, 0.82] vs 0.53 [0.45, 0.68], P = 0.003, respectively). The data of MLA and EIA of PJP lesions had limited value in identifying survivors and non-survivors.The MLA and EIA values of PJP lesions measured on thoracic HRCT might be valuable in assessing the severity of PJP in non-AIDS immunocompromised patients, but might have limited value in predicting the mortality of the patients.

As the sport coaching profession continues to grow, there is a need to reflect upon and revise the knowledge and competencies coaches should possess to support quality sport experiences. The purpose of this paper is to document the revision process of the National Standards for Sport Coaches (NSSC) which were established to outline professional sport coaching standards in the United States of America (USA). The 3-year revision process involved two separate task forces organized by SHAPE America and several public reviews. The final revision aligns the NSSC with quality coaching frameworks and documents seven core responsibilities of sport coaches. Additionally, the NSSC includes standards meant to provide guidance on what a coach should know (e.g., professional knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, and intrapersonal knowledge), what a coach should be able to do (e.g., expectations of performance and developed competencies), and what common practices occur among coaches (e.g., shared values) to meet each core responsibility. It is hoped that the revised version of the NSSC continues to provide direction for all stakeholders to improve coaching practices within the USA.

The goal of this study was to determine whether students would be more successful in a traditional 15-week introductory college chemistry course or an intensive three-week version of the same course. In addition to course format, we also analyzed whether the students’ academic experience (measured as the number of college credit hours taken by these students), life experience (measured as the number of years since the student graduated from high school), academic major (categorized as physical science, life science, or nonscience), and gender had an effect on their success in the class. The results of this study showed that, once corrected for student academic ability, students in the intensive course were more successful in this course than the students in the equivalent traditional course. However, we were unable to show that academic experience, life experience, academic major, or gender had any significant effect on student success in these courses.

Previous research suggests that laypersons differ as a function of gender and ethnicity in their views about the meaning of “mental health.” The current study examined agreement among psychotherapists about the nature of healthy psychological functioning. National samples of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and psychoanalysts completed the Mental Health Values Questionnaire, a measure of value dimensions used in appraising emotional adjustment. Results indicated a relatively high degree of consensus among the four professional disciplines surveyed. Individual differences were associated with gender and with the geographic area in which the therapist was raised.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which stroke-induced posterior parietal cortex (PPC) lesions affect reactive postural responses and whether providing auditory cues modulates these responses. DESIGN: Seventeen hemiparetic patients after stroke, nine with PPC lesions (PPCLesion) and eight with intact PPCs (PPCSpared), and nine age-matched healthy adults completed a lateral-pull perturbation experiment under noncued and cued conditions. The activation rates of the gluteus medius muscle ipsilateral (GMi) and contralateral to the pull direction, the rates of occurrence of three types of GM activation patterns, and the GMi contraction latency were investigated. RESULTS: In noncued pulls toward the paretic side, of the three groups, the PPCLesion group exhibited the lowest activation rate (56%) of the GMi (P < 0.05), which is the primary postural muscle involved in this task, and the highest rate of occurrence (33%) of the gluteus medius muscle contralateral-activation-only pattern (P < 0.05), which is a compensatory activation pattern. In contrast, in cued pulls toward the paretic side, the PPCLesion group was able to increase the activation rate of the GMi to a level (81%) such that there became no significant differences in activation rate of the GMi among the three groups (P > 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the GM activation patterns and GMi contraction latency between the noncued and cued conditions for the PPCLesion group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The PPCLesion patients had greater deficits in recruiting paretic muscles and were more likely to use the compensatory muscle activation pattern for postural reactions than the PPCSpared patients, suggesting that PPC is part of the neural circuitry involved in reactive postural control in response to lateral perturbations. The auditory cueing used in this study, however, did not significantly modify the muscle activation patterns in the PPCLesion patients. More research is needed to explore the type and structure of cueing that could effectively improve patterns and speed of postural responses in these patients.

By virtue of medical advances and an aging society, people have increased opportunities for healthcare exposure. Little is known about the impact of healthcare exposure on the clinical features and molecular typing of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia. We classified the onset of MSSA bacteremia into 3 mutually exclusive categories according to the Centers for Disease Control definition, and conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the differences among patients with community-associated (CA), healthcare-associated community onset (HACO), and hospital onset (HO) MSSA bacteremia at a medical center from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2011. Antibiotic susceptibilities and multilocus sequence typing of MSSA isolates were also determined. A total of 290 patients with MSSA bacteremia, including of 165 (56.9%), 91 (31.4%), and 34 (11.7%) of HACO, HO, and CA, respectively, were studied. ST188 (29.3%) was the most common sequence type regardless of classification. Patients with HACO bacteremia were significantly older, had more solid tumors, higher Charlson scores, and more catheter-related bloodstream infections than those with CA bacteremia. The proportions of osteoarticular infections among patients with both HACO and CA bacteremia were higher than that of patients with HO bacteremia. By univariate analysis, patients with HO bacteremia had significantly higher in-hospital mortality compared to those with CA or HACO bacteremia (31.9% vs 18.8% and 20.4%). Multivariate analysis showed that Charlson score (odds ratio [OR], 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.52), septic shock (OR, 5.28; 95% CI, 2.37-11.78), liver cirrhosis (OR, 3.57; 95% CI, 1.14-11.24), receipt of β-lactams other than oxacillin and cefazolin as definitive therapy (OR, 9.27; 95% CI, 4.25-20.23), and higher oxacillin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (≥0.5 mg/L) (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.05-5.25) of the causative pathogen were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. In conclusion, patients with HACO bacteremia had different host factors compared with those with CA bacteremia. Infection foci varied with different onset settings. Overall, ST188 was the most predominant sequence type. Onset settings were not independently associated with outcomes.

Two indigenous hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria strains, designated as TKZ and QGR were isolated in oil rich Niger Delta of Nigeria. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding 16S rRNA allowed TKZ and QGR to be identified as Proteus vulgaris and Serratia marcescens. Hydrocarbon degradation potential of the strains was confirmed on hydrocarbon mineral salts medium (1 %, v/v) at 37 °C. Assessment of oil degradation capability of the isolates was monitored using gas chromatographic analysis (GC). The ability of the strains to utilize benzene, diesel, kerosene, and naphthalene was also studied. The results show maximal increase in optical densities at 540 nm and total viable counts was proportional with decrease in pH of the culture media. Percentage degradation in the culture medium showed that the two isolates exhibited biodegradation efficiency above 90 % for kerosene. The two bacterial strains also possess a plasmid of about 9.1 kb size which is suspected to influence the bacterium’s hydrocarbon degradation potential.

The GAISE report emphasizes the importance of students having experience with statistical thinking throughout the pre-K-12 curriculum. Students' encounters with statistics in the middle grades should build on their foundational experiences from the elementary grades and provide a link to the inferential types of statistical thinking developed at the high school level. Middle-grades students should be actively involved in the statistical problem-solving process described in the GAISE report. That process involves (1) formulating a question that can be addressed with data, (2) collecting data to address the question, (3) analyzing the data, and (4) interpreting the results.

In summary, the common themes for therapists working in these three areas are very evident. The content of each paper seemed relevant to all of the client populations. The current trends toward integration and increased consumer control are impacting on occupational therapy practice with all three groups. These trends have significant implications for service delivery and all health care professionals. Occupational therapy has already begun to recognize and value these trends (Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 1991; Law et al., 1991). Occupational therapists need to work together and align their efforts to promote the establishment of a comprehensive community service system that enables people to receive the support that they require in their home communities. Service approaches must be designed for empowerment and the full participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of community living. Treatments that focus solely on minimizing an individual's disabilities will not be successful in achieving this stated goal. There is a need for approaches that creatively adapt environments and reallocate resources so as to enhance the formation of relationships and participation in typical community activities. Service providers must be prepared to respond with the assistance that individuals need to achieve their goals. This is only made possible by the participation of persons with disabilities in the decision making process and in the development of services to meet their needs. Such efforts are supported by government initiatives and strategic plans. The realization of full community participation of persons with disabilities is dependent on the quality of the partnerships that are formed between the community, the service providers, and (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)