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Exporting Spanishness: The Role of Netflix in Shaping How the World Imagines Spain
Novia Pagone
The worldwide leader in streaming television, Netflix exercises significant influence over what viewers watch through algorithms and the shaping of communities based on a set of culturally determined preferences, or ‘taste communities’. Furthermore, its reputation for producing noteworthy and boundary-pushing original television content creates the expectation that Netflix will follow a similar path in Spain, where viewers represent diverse backgrounds. This essay argues that as a company based in the US creating original shows for broadcast to a global audience, Netflix sidesteps many of the thorny issues surrounding contemporary Spanish national identity and the country’s multicultural ‘ethnoscape’ to focus on genres and storylines that have proved successful on the platform. In this way, the streaming company offers locally produced content that appeals to existing global taste communities. Their made-in-Spain original dramas – Las chicas del cable, La casa de papel and Élite – present common themes such as socio-economic inequality, social mobility and female friendship, and settings that resonate with a local audience while remaining accessible and relevant globally. In this way, Netflix influences how Spain is portrayed to a global audience while maintaining a local presence.
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COVID-19’s Effect on Students: How School Counselors Rise to the Rescue
Robert Pincus, TeShaunda Hannor-Walker, Leonis Wright, and Judith Justice
The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought about many changes to our society, which will have long-term effects for our youth and adolescents. Due to social isolation and adverse childhood experiences, there are concerns of suicidality, technology addiction, and school safety as schools attempt to transition to a state of normalcy in the months to come. This crisis will require coordinated efforts to assist students in not only getting back on track academically but also in helping students cope with the trauma they have and are continuing to experience. As a result, insights from school counselors can be used to obtain a better understanding of the social and emotional effects of COVID-19 by collaborating with administrators to emphasize using school counselors as a mental health provider in schools. The authors highlight school counselors’ mental health training and their role in combating this issue and provide practical applications that can employed to create a systemic approach for social and emotional prevention and intervention during and after the pandemic.
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Using Social Network Sites in Healthcare Management: Challenges and Opportunities
Natalia Rekhter and T. Anopchenko
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Russian Students' Use of Social Network Sites for Selecting University Abroad
Natalia Rekhter and Donald Hossler
This qualitative case study explores how undergraduate students from the Russian State University for Humanities used social network sites (SNSs) for their decision to transfer to higher education institutions (HEIs) abroad. Participants reported using specific SNS features, such as likes and shares, for measuring HEI rating and indicated that ability to use native language was among motivating factors for membership in a specific SNS. The reported benefits of SNSs included instantaneous connections with likeminded individuals, realistic visualization of campuses, and unbiased and multidimensional views presented by SNS members. One of the emerging findings was that participants with no connections abroad relied exclusively on SNSs for their college choice. Participants with connections abroad relied on the advice of international contacts, and SNSs played a complementary role. HEI professionals may consider hiring and training international students to maintain consistent and meaningful content on different SNS platforms, particularly in their countries’ specific SNSs.
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The Journey from External Control to Leader Management and Quality Education: An Interview with Robert G. Hoglund
Patricia A. Robey
Robert (Bob) Hoglund has been applying William Glasser's ideas in his work as an educator, counselor, and trainer since 1981. He has delivered training for The William Glasser Institute from the beginning Basic Intensive training to all levels of faculty training and served eight terms on the International Board of Directors, including 10 years as Board Chair. Bob has been a member of the National Quality in Education Conference Committee and as a program proposal evaluator for the National Quality in Education Conference. He has developed programs and workshops based on Choice Theory® and Reality Therapy, and through his business, Bob Hoglund, Inc., he combined The Glasser Quality School and Malcolm Baldrige Quality Program to successfully help teachers close the achievement gap. In this interview, Bob shares how applying Glasser's ideas into his work as a teacher and counselor and integrating these ideas with the work of Deming and other models resulted in a new way of looking at management and a measurable positive change in the systems that put these ideas into action.
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Utilizing Choice Theory as an Administrator in a School System: An Interview with Lois DaSilva-Knapton
Patricia A. Robey
Dr. Lois DaSilva-Knapton has been applying the Glasser concepts in her life since 1998 and became a faculty member in 2015. Dr. DaSilva-Knapton started as a para-educator in a high school setting and continued her career in special education as a teacher and an administrator for the next 16 years. She also taught at the University level for 5 years concurrently. For the last 6 years, she has been a school Superintendent. In this interview, Dr. Lois DaSilva-Knapton shares her experience of applying Choice Theory in her personal life as well as in her work as an educator for the last 22 years.
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Fluctuations in Environmental Pollutants and Air Quality During the Lockdown in the USA and China: Two Sides of COVID-19
Awais Shakoor, Xiaoyong Chen, Taimoor Hassan Farooq, Umer Shahzad, Fatima Ashraf, Abdul Rehmen, Najam e. Sahar, and Wende Yan
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Due to the global threat, many countries impose immediate lockdown. The impact of lockdown on the environmental pollutants and climate indicators gained considerable attention in the literature. This study aims to describe the variations in the environmental pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10) with and without the lockdown period in the majorly hit states and provinces of the USA and China, respectively. Data during the first quarter year of 2019 and 2020 (lockdown period) was used in this study. Moreover, the effect of these pollutants on the pandemic spread was also studied. The results illustrated that the overall concentrations of CO, NO2 and PM2.5 were decreased by 19.28%, 36.7% and 1.10%, respectively, while PM10 and SO2 were increased by 27.81% and 3.81% respectively in five selected states of the USA during the lockdown period. However, in the case of chosen provinces of China, overall, the concentrations of all selected pollutants, i.e., CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10, were reduced by 26.53%, 38.98%, 18.36%, 17.78% and 37.85%, respectively. The COVID-19 reported cases and deaths were significantly correlated with NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 in both China and the USA. The findings of this study concluded that the limited anthropogenic activities in the lockdown situation due to this novel pandemic disease result in a significant improvement of air quality by reducing the concentrations of environmental pollutants. As the trend goes on, the reduction of most pollutant concentrations is expected as long as partial or complete lockdown goes on.
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Locating the Map of Meaningful Work Within Choice Theory
Amy Vujaklija and Patricia A. Robey
When educational settings turned upside down by pandemic-induced remote teaching and learning in Spring 2020, how were students and professors able to find meaning and redefine our quality worlds? Lips-Wiersma's Map of Meaningful Work made up of four pathways-integrity with self, unity with others, expressing full potential, and service to others-provides a means for exploring the applications of Glasser's Choice Theory and Quality Schools in a post-secondary classroom. This article is one professor's narrative of the process and progress within an undergraduate literature course by mapping the Quality School's conditions of building relationships, doing relevant and meaningful work, and engaging in self-evaluation. Locating the Map of Meaningful Work within Choice Theory Choice Theory, as Glasser stated in Quality School (1990), proposes that "all human beings are born with five basic needs built into their genetic structure: survival, love, power, fun, and freedom" (p. 43). Quality work depends on humans being able to choose situations, projects, and pathways that satisfy these basic needs. Choice Theory psychology states the following: • All we do is behave • Almost all behavior is chosen, and • We are driven by our genes to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun. • We can only satisfy our needs by matching the pictures in our Quality World. These pictures motivate our behavior.
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Both Artificial Root Exudates and Natural Koelreuteria paniculata Exudates Modify Bacterial Community Structure and Enhance Phenanthrene Biodegradation in Contaminated Soils
Jiaolong Wang, Xiaoyong Chen, Wende Yan, Chen Ning, and Timothy Gsell
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants that represent a serious threat to the health of humans and ecosystems. The effects of plant root and artificial root exudates (ARE) on the biodegradation of phenanthrene (PHE) and their impact on soil bacterial community structure was the focus of this work using four treatments for 180 days. Treatments included; control treatment (CK), low concentration of ARE (AREL), high concentration of ARE (AREH), and planting Koelreuteria paniculata saplings (KOE). The diversity and composition of soil bacterial community were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that KOE treatments had the most significant effect on the biodegradation of PHE compared to controls. ARE treatments had the similar effects on the biodegradation of PHE in soil with high efficiency in AREH than AREL. Both KOE and ARE treatments reduced diversity of bacterial community but increased the abundance of PAHs degrading bacterial populations within representative phyla, including Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. During the study, the total bacterial OTUs showed the number of unique genus types initially increased, then lowered in the later stages of the incubation process. Specific bacterial populations enriched by the treatments and supported by the exudates seemed to determine the biodegradation of PHE and not the overall bacterial diversity.
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Narrative Crisis and Renewal in the Age of Information: David Foster Wallace’s “Mister Squishy”
Christopher White
David Foster Wallace’s late fiction powerfully dramatizes twenty-first-century information saturation and its dehumanizing effects. In “Mister Squishy,” the lead story in Oblivion (2004), the threat of information overload and the attendant crisis of narrative are thematized through the story’s staging of a central tension between statistical (quantitative) and narrative (qualitative) significance. Despite its numerous “anti-narrative” features, “Mister Squishy” is rather ingeniously designed to compel the reader’s narrative interest and participation by exploiting natural readerly “needs” – for narrative relevance, coherence, and closure. Wallace activates these readerly needs through his careful manipulation of how and when key information is revealed. The story’s dramatic shifts in pacing and perspective, and its oscillations between narration and description, combine to create extraordinary moments of suspense and surprise which drive both plot and reader forward. In this way “Mister Squishy” plays with the cognitive-affective dynamics of storytelling throughout, foregrounding them for our reflection. Ultimately, the story’s thematic concerns and the reader’s enactive performance of the text work together to reinforce the story’s ultimate affirmation of narrative as an essential meaning-making act and a central aspect of what it means to be human.
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Understanding the Call of Social Justice Advocacy: A Phenomenological Study of High School Counselors
Leonis Wright
Due to a growing diversified society, and the specific needs of students who are considered marginalized, school counselors are identified as crucial personnel to serve as social justice advocates to promote educational equity for all students. Despite this calling, there is limited research on school counselors’ understanding of social justice advocacy and their expected role. Thus, this article highlights research that provided practicing high school counselors the opportunity to share their views on this phenomenon.
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Response of Soil Respiration to Nitrogen Addition in Two Subtropical Forest Types
Wende Yan, Xiaoyong Chen, Yuanying Peng, Fan Zhu, Wei Zhen, and Xuyuan Zhang
Anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems, which directly and indirectly affects soil biogeochemical processes, including soil respiration. However, the effects of the increases in N availability on soil respiration are not fully understood. In this study, soil respiration was measured using an infrared gas analyzer system with soil chambers under four N treatments (0, 5, 15, and 30 g N m–2 year–1 as control, low N (LN), moderate N (MN), and high N (HN), respectively) in camphor tree and slash pine forests in subtropical China. Results showed that soil respiration rates decreased by 37% in the camphor tree forest and 27% in the slash pine forest on average on an annual base, respectively, in the N-fertilized treatments when compared with the control. No significant differences were found in the soil respiration rate among the LN, MN, and HN treatments in both forest types as these fertilized plots reached an adequate N content zone. In addition, soil microbial biomass carbon (C) content and fine root biomass declined in N-treated plots compared to the control. Our results indicated that elevated N deposition might alter the tree growth pattern, C partitioning, and microbial activity, which further affect soil C sequestration by reducing soil respiration in subtropical forests of China.
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Evaluation of Biomass and Carbon Stocks in Three Pine Forest Types in Karst Area of Southwestern China
Wende Yan, Wangcai Wang, Yuanying Peng, and Xiaoyong Chen
Afforestation has been considered as a possible solution to mitigate climate change because forests sequestrate atmospheric CO2 and convert it into their woody biomass and soils. In the present study, stand biomass and carbon (C) stock were investigated in three pine forest types: Masson pine natural forests (MPNF), Masson pine plantation forests (MPPF), and Slash pine plantation forests (SPPF) in the karst area of southwestern China. The results showed the total forest ecosystem C, total stand C, and total overstory C storage was significantly higher in SPPF stands than in MPNF and MPPF stands. The overall total C stocks in SPPF stands (165.14 Mg C ha−1) was higher than that of MPNF (115.54 Mg C ha−1) and MPPF (141.77 Mg C ha−1). The majority of C storage was in soil pool of three types of forest stands, accounting for 54.2%, 49.6% and 46.7% in MPNF, MPPF, and SPPF stands, respectively. The variation in C stock in the different forest types was due to differences in tree species feature and stand densities. The results suggest the plantation forests had higher C stocks than native forests at the early growth stage in this specific karst area of northwestern China.
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Beyond Science Wars Redux: Feminist Philosophy of Science as Trustworthy Science Criticism
Ben Almassi
Bruno Latour is not the only scholar to reflect on his earlier contributions to science studies with some regret and resolve over climate skepticism and science denialism. Given the ascendency of merchants of doubt, should those who share Latour's concerns join the scientists they study in circling the wagons, or is there a productive role still for science studies to question and critique scientists and scientific institutions? I argue for the latter, looking to postpositivist feminist philosophy as exemplified by Alison Wylie and Lynn Nelson, among others, as a guide. Feminist philosophers of science who ground their analysis in a detailed understanding of scientific practice are not science's champions nor its antagonists, but they do stand in a distinct relationship to science. If not merchants of doubt, are they scientific gadflies or perhaps in scientific loyal opposition? Though these notions can underwrite useful approaches to science studies, neither captures the distinctive interdependency and interestedness of feminist philosophers and science. I suggest that we would be better served by the notion of trustworthy science criticism, building on the analyses of trust and trustworthiness by Annette Baier, among others, attendant to the dynamics of interdependency in trust relationships.
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Skepticism and Pluralism on Ethics Expertise
Ben Almassi
Does expertise have a place in ethics? As this question has been raised in moral philosophy and bioethics literatures over the past twenty years, skepticism has been a common theme, whether metaphysical (there is no such thing as ethics expertise), epistemological (we cannot know who has ethics expertise) or social-political (we should not treat anyone as having ethics expertise). Here I identify three common, contestable assumptions about ethics expertise which underwrite skepticism of one form or another: (1) a singular conception of ethics expertise constituted by a core property or unity among multiple properties, (2) equivocation of ethics expertise and ethicists’ expertise, and (3) priority of moral deference as an unavoidable implication of ethics expertise. Taken separately, each assumption can have unpalatable implications for ethics expertise that make skepticism seem more attractive; taken together, the resulting picture of ethics expertise is that much worse. Each of these assumptions is vulnerable to criticism, however, and jettisoning them enables a pluralist approach to ethics expertise less prone to skepticism and better suited for the ranging functions of ethics expertise in healthcare and other contexts.
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''The Girls of Akure are Now too Costly'': Gender, Bridewealth and Legal Debates over Marriage in Colonial Southwestern Nigeria
Morenikenji Asaaju
This study demonstrates how the junior men created an important status for themselves as they negotiated the authority of the senior men (chiefs and fathers) who facilitated marriage relations and served as cultural guardians. I then link this struggle to the larger legal debates on marriage. As young men stated their perspectives on marriage payments, they continuously unveiled a number of sociocultural and economic matters that connect intensely to the broader social change under British colonialism.
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Forgiveness as an Effective Total Behavior
Sofie Azmy and Patricia A. Robey
Choice theory emphasizes that all individuals have control over their own behavior and that empowerment comes from placing the responsibility for choice on the individual. Individuals lead healthy and productive lifestyles when they engage in effective behaviors which are characterized by positive choices. In this article the authors illustrate how the choice to forgive is an example of an effective behavior. The authors discuss the total behavior of forgiveness with its four components of action, thinking, feeling, and physiology. Finally, the authors describe how viewing forgiveness as an effective behavior and integrating forgiveness interventions in therapy adds to clients' overall well-being as they strive to meet the need for love and belonging and live healthy and productive lifestyles.
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Grazing Affects the Ecological Stoichiometry of the Plant-soil-microbe System on the Hulunber Steppe, China
Jun Cao, Ruirui Yan, Xiaoyong Chen, Xu Wang, Qiang Yu, Yunlong Zhang, Chen Ning, Lulu Hou, Yongjuan Zhang, and Xiaoping Xin
Grazing affects nutrient cycling processes in grasslands, but little is known by researchers about effects on the nutrient stoichiometry of plant-soil-microbe systems. In this study, the influence of grazing intensity (0, 0.23, 0.34, 0.46, 0.69, and 0.92 AU ha-1) on carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their stoichiometric ratios in plants, soil, and microbes was investigated in a Hulunber meadow steppe, Northeastern China. The C:N and C:P ratios of shoots decreased with grazing increased. Leaf N:P ratios <10 suggested that the plant communities under grazing were N-limited. Heavy grazing intensities increased the C:N and C:P ratios of microbial>biomass, but grazing intensity had no significant effects on the stoichiometry of soil nutrients. The coupling relationship of C:N ratio in plant-soil-microbial systems was tightly significant compared to C:P ratio and N:P ratio according to the correlation results. The finding suggested grazing exacerbated the competition between plants and microorganisms for N and P nutrition by the stoichiometric changes (%) in each grazing level relative to the no grazing treatment. Therefore, for the sustainability of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, N inputs need to be increased and high grazing intensities reduced in meadow steppe ecosystems, and the grazing load should be controlled within G0.46.
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Comeback Workout: QM Practices and the Health and Fitness Industry
Wonsuk Cha
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical model for the relationship between quality management (QM) practices and the health and fitness industry through two competencies, including relational competence (RC) and technical competence (TC).
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from the resource-based view and the relational competence theory, this paper seeks a further understanding of the conceptual link between QM practices and the health and fitness industry.
Findings
This paper proposes that RC and TC will positively mediate the relationship between QM practices and customers’ behavioral intentions to use the health and fitness service. -
COREMatters: A Bullying Intervention Pilot Study
Alli Cipra and LaTreese Hall
While bullying is a serious concern for students and educators alike, empirically tested interventions are needed. This study examined the impact of a bullying intervention curriculum at a public middle school in the Midwest. This intervention, COREMatters, was designed to reduce bullying behaviors, foster a greater sense of community cohesion and trust in the school, improve school climate, and increase student self-esteem. As such, the intervention required participation of teachers, administrators, students, and outside experts. COREMatters was modeled after theoretical frameworks of socioemotional learning and Bloom’s taxonomy. Additionally, components of This We Believe outlining successful schools were considered. Uniquely contributing to this intervention is the inclusion of martial arts instruction. The intervention was taught as a whole, integrated model. The t-tests indicated significant differences between the control and intervention groups on measures of school climate, student self-esteem, and school cohesion and trust. Students in the intervention group scored higher in measures of self-esteem and rated their schools more positively on measures of cohesion and trust and climate.
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Replicable Strategies for Advancing Proposal Development Capacity in Teaching-focused Institutions
Ben Cipra and Alli Cipra
A common grievance heard from higher-education grant professionals is that faculty do not prepare a sufficient number of grant proposals to meet institutional goals. Likewise, faculty who are concerned about their teaching and publication goals often do not prioritize grant proposal writing. Furthermore, the structure of faculty duties in most universities does not provide free time or adequate support for them to research and craft grant proposals. This scenario is especially problematic at community, liberal arts, and teaching colleges where the faculty may not be required to produce successful grant proposals for tenure status. Grant professionals must address this and many other challenges when looking to increase grant submissions from faculty. Federal grant projects may span several years and require a substantial amount of effort while affording applicants only a few weeks to complete a proposal. Time pressure is especially problematic for teaching faculty, who have substantially more classes than ever, but are asked to develop proposals. Ultimately, if university administrators expect revenue streams from faculty grants, grant professionals must have an action plan to support and motivate faculty. By analyzing the experience of one teaching-focused university, this article presents such strategies for the grant professional, particularly those at teaching and community colleges where previous literature has not addressed their unique needs and challenges.
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Quantitative Urbanism: How Illinois City Characteristics Change as They Grow
Heather Conte and J. Christopher Tweddle
The global trend of population shifts toward increased urbanization has led to interest in understanding the dynamics of city growth. In the mid-twentieth century, the Chicago School of Sociology began expressing urbanization in terms of human ecology. This led to the development of ideas of urban metabolism and the use of mathematical models to describe the growth. These quantitative approaches have shown that many aspects of cities, such as crime rates, energy usage, and wealth, change exponentially in relation to city size. Multiple urban indicators for cities in Illinois are explored as functions of population size and results are discussed compared to current research worldwide. The paper discusses briefly how this developing data could be used in the future as our world becomes more and more urban. Possibly, what we know about successful urban regions could help us build strong new communities in developing countries
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The Impact of ICT Training on Income Generation Opportunities for Vulnerable Young Adults in Lebanon
Rasha Elhage and Chantal Lakkis
The aim of this study was to identify if acquiring ICT skills through DOT Lebanon’s ICT training program (a local NGO) improved income generation opportunities after 3-months of completing the training. The target population was the NGO’s vulnerable young beneficiaries. This study was completed in an effort to find creative and digital solutions to the high rate of youth unemployment in Lebanon (37%), one of the highest rates in the world. Results showed that 48% of beneficiaries who were unemployed at baseline, were exposed to at least one income generation opportunity 3 months after completing the DOT Lebanon training. Also, 49% of beneficiaries who were already employed at baseline were exposed to at least one income generation opportunity. Gender, English proficiency and governorate were variables that were found to be statistically significant. Males were more likely than females to be exposed to income generation opportunities. Those who knew little English had better chances than those who had no English proficiency. Beneficiaries living in the capital Beirut were more likely than others to be exposed to income generation opportunities.
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The Effect of Education and Formal Training on Ethical Behavior Among Russian Public Sector Employees
Natalia Ermasova, Dina Clark, Lam Nguyen, and Sergey Ermasov
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how education and formal training predict personal administrative ethics perceptions of Russian public sector employees while controlling for age. Using ANCOVA analyses and adopting the widely used Clark and Clark’s Personal Business Ethics Scores measure, this study analyzed the ethical perception of 199 Russian public sector employees. Significant correlations were observed between personal administrative ethics perceptions of Russian public sector employees and level of education. The respondents with doctorate degrees scored significantly higher PBES, followed by respondents with bachelor degrees, compared to respondents with two years of college and high school diploma. We did not find significant differences in ethical behavior and formal training. Researchers and scholars in cross-cultural management and business ethics fields can benefit from this study as it provides more empirical results in understanding the impact of educational and cultural factors on the ethical maturity of public sector employees in different countries. Leaders, managers, and practitioners can benefit from this study as it provides managerial implications in managing public sector employees in the most effective and efficient manner. The results from this research suggest that academic ethics education plays a critical role in creating an ethical workplace climate in Russia. This study fills the gap in the literature and offers a unique analysis of the administrative ethics perceptions of Russian public sector employees. Determining the types of administrative ethics education and training that are most effective in Russia would be beneficial to researchers and practitioners.
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Public Capital Budgeting and Management: The Concept and Its Application in Three Important Federations
Natalia Ermasova and John L. Mikesell
This paper reviews the literature on national government capital budgeting approaches, identifies the standard features expected to be found in such processes, and compares how the procedures are applied in three large and significant federations, the German Federal Republic, the Russian Federation, and the United States. the study uses a comparative case study approach to uncover contrasts, similarities, and patterns of capital budgeting in these countries. This paper examines infrastructure status and gaps and how capital budgeting procedures identified here can help resolve problems. the main finding is that effectively managing and budgeting capital expenditures are among the most pressing challenges to contemporary governments and the effort requires comprehensive and systematic planning, centralized execution and project management, and infrastructure maintenance.
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The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of an Atlantic Ocean Shortfin Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus
Jonathan Gorman, Nicholas Marra, Mahmood S. Shivji, and Michael J. Stanhope
We report the first complete mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako shark from the Atlantic Ocean. The genome had 16,700 base pairs and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a non-coding D-loop. There were 81 individual differences compared to the published mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako from the Pacific Ocean, with most variability found in protein coding genes, especially ND5, ND3, and ND1. These highly variable genes may be useful population markers in future studies, and availability of a second mitogenome will assist with future, genome-scale studies of this IUCN Endangered species. Keywords: Isurus oxyrinchusmitochondrial genomeshortfin mako
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Effects of Pb and Zn Toxicity on Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Biomass Production of Koelreuteria Paniculata and Zelkova Schneideriana Young Plants
Xinhao Huang, Fnu Fan, Xiaoyong Chen, W.D. Yan, R.J. Wang, and G.J. Wang
The influence of Pb and Zn on chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence and plant growth of one-year-old Koelreuteria paniculata and Zelkova schneideriana young plants was investigated. Pb and Zn contents in plant organs were measured. The results showed Pb and Zn stress decreased photochemical quenching and quantum efficiency of PSII, but increased energy dissipation in the tested plants. At the same time, maximum net photosynthetic rate, maximum quantum use efficiency, and organ biomass were reduced. Under the same concentration of heavy metals, the damage induced by Zn toxicity was more serious than that of Pb. Pb was less accumulated in leaves, with a mild effect on photosynthesis. Zn was mostly accumulated in leaves and strongly disturbed chloroplast functioning and affected photosynthesis. Pb and Zn had different pathway to influence biomass production, and both tested plants might use different mechanisms of action for heavy metal stress resistance.
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Characteristics of Horizontal Precipitation in Semi-humid Forestland in Northern China
Jianbo Jia, Wende Yan, Xiaoyong Chen, and Wenna Liu
Little information is available on horizontal precipitation in forest land in semi-humid climate regions. In this study, the quantity and duration of horizontal precipitation were investigated using the high precision weighing lysimeter system in the mountainous areas of northern China during the experiment year 2011 and 2012. The purpose of this study was to better understand the formation mechanisms of horizontal precipitation in the semi-humid climate region. The results showed that hourly values of horizontal precipitation distributed between 0 and 0.1 mm, and that the one-night values distributed between 0.2 and 0.4 mm. The number of days with horizontal precipitation accounted for about 45% of the whole year. The average monthly amount of horizontal precipitation was 4.5 mm in the non-growing season, while it was a mere 1.6 mm in the growing season. The total amount of horizontal precipitation in the year was about 33 mm. Horizontal precipitation represented about 4.61% and 4.23% of the annual precipitation in 2011 and 2012. During the non-growing season, water vapor absorbed by the soil was greater than canopy and soil condensation, not only in terms of frequency, but also in the cumulated quantity. On a typical day, the canopy and soil condensation was 0.07 mm, accounting for 31.81% of total quantity of horizontal precipitation (0.22 mm). Air temperature, soil temperature and wind speed were negatively correlated with the quantity and duration of horizontal precipitation. This research could provide information for a better understanding of the ecological significance of horizontal precipitation in the semi-humid climate region in northern China.
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Simulation‐based Learning Modules for Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics
Ernur Karadoğan and Figen Karadoğan
In this paper, we describe software modules that provide both visual and haptic feedback to the student, and evaluate their effectiveness. The system integrates software modules with a haptic interface that can augment teaching and learning in a required undergraduate engineering Dynamics course. Students can change parameters, predict answers, compare outcomes, interact with animations, and feel the results using a haptic interface. Three software modules were evaluated in two separate studies. The first study focused on subjective ratings based on student opinions. The second study assessed the effect of the modules on students' conceptual understanding for force and motion using a pretest/posttest design. The results revealed that the practice with the modules significantly improved the conceptual understanding of the targeted concepts. In addition, students showed a significant preference by stating that the modules would increase their interest in Dynamics as a subject and their engagement in the Dynamics course.
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The Cost of Doing (Cannabis) Business: An Analysis of Four Federal Tax Cases on the Disallowance of Deductions and Credits under Section 280E
Alice E. Keane
In recent years, as state legalization of growing and selling cannabis has become more common, the federal government has generally taken a hand’s off approach. As of June 2019, 39 states and Washington DC have legalized growing and selling cannabis for either medical or recreational purposes. In 2017, legal cannabis sales grew to $8.5 billion in North America, and these sales are expected to continue to grow dramatically. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. However, federal prosecutors have not enforced criminal laws against those involved in cannabis businesses under state sanctioned programs. In contrast, though, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have enforced Section 280E under Title 26 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code against cannabis businesses. This section prohibits these businesses from taking any deductions or credits against their gross income from carrying on a trade or business that involves trafficking in controlled substances, including cannabis. This puts these otherwise lawabiding businesses in a difficult position. Four recent federal court decisions, two in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and two in the U.S. Tax Court, demonstrate the application of Section 280E to cannabis businesses. These cases reveal that, unlike other businesses, they are taxed on their gross income and cannot deduct the costs of doing business, including some portions of the cost of goods sold and employee compensation. This limitation on deductions and credits can be imposed by the IRS even in the absence of proof that the business is trafficking cannabis or a criminal conviction. Because of this, cannabis businesses pay far more taxes on a percentage basis than other businesses. This likely will have a dramatic effect on whether new businesses will be able to break into the cannabis market and survive.
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What Determines Energy Production from Renewable Sources?
Evelina Mengova
Investment in renewable energy is an investment in our future. This paper analyzes the determinants of production of energy from renewable sources in Europe, the Former Soviet Union, and the Middle East and North Africa. It explores the major challenges each of these regions faces in moving towards a more environmentally friendly generation and use of energy. We find that specific country and regional characteristics, together with the energy needs and overall energy profile of a country, have a significant effect on its electricity production from renewable sources. We do not find evidence that the overall quality of governance promotes renewables.
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Atypical Dermatophytosis in 12 North American Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) from the Northeastern United States 2010–2017
David B. Needle, Robert Gibson, Nicholas A. Hollingshead, Inga F. Sidor, Nicholas J. Marra, Derek Rothenheber, Anil J. Thachil, Bryce J. Stanhope, Brian A. Stevens, Julie C. Ellis, Shelley Spanswick, Maureen Murray, and Laura B. Goodman
Twelve wild North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) out of a total of 44 of this species examined in an 8-year period were diagnosed with dermatopathies while being cared for at two wildlife rehabilitation clinics. Biopsy and necropsy were performed on seven and five animals, respectively. Atypical dermatophytosis was diagnosed in all cases. Lesions consisted of diffuse severe epidermal hyperkeratosis and mild hyperplasia with mild lymphoplasmacytic dermatitis and no folliculitis. Dermatophytes were noted histologically as hyphae and spores in hair shafts, and follicular and epidermal keratin. Trichophyton sp. was grown in 5/6 animals where culture was performed, with a molecular diagnosis of Arthroderma benhamiae/Trichophyton mentagrophytes in these five cases. Metagenomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from three cases identified fungi from 17 orders in phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota. Alteration of therapy from ketaconazole, which was unsuccessful in four out of five early cases, to terbinafine or nitraconazole led to the resolution of disease and recovery to release in four subsequent animals. In all, six animals were euthanized or died due to dermatopathy, no cases resolved spontaneously, and six cases were resolved with therapy. The work we present demonstrates an atypical lesion and anatomical distribution due to dermatophytosis in a series of free-ranging wild porcupines and the successful development of novel techniques for extracting and sequencing nucleic acids from fungus in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded animal tissue.
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Business Ethics in a Global Economy: A Cross-Cultural Study Among Working Adults in Russia and Vietnam
Lam D. Nguyen, Loan N. T. Pham, and Natalia Ermasova
The purpose of the present study is to empirically examine the personal perception of working adults on business ethics in Russia and Vietnam. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire from 487 working adults (248 Russian and 239 Vietnamese adults). Significance of differences in Clark and Clark’s Personal Business Ethics Scores based on gender, management experience and ethics training was analysed with the help of univariate analysis of variance method (two-way analysis of variance method). Findings of the present study indicate that there is a significant difference in the level of ethical maturity among the Vietnamese and Russian working adults. Vietnamese respondents have higher business ethics perception than Russian respondents. Female adults demonstrate higher ethical maturity level than their male counterparts in the overall sample. Additionally, there is no significant difference in the business ethics perception of respondents in Russia and Vietnam on the basis of ethics training and management experience. This study provides global business leaders an opportunity to better understand business ethics perception of working adults across Russia and Vietnam.
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Undergraduate and Graduate Communication Sciences and Disorders Students׳ Views Regarding the Pursuit of a Doctorate of Philosophy Degree
Danielle Osmelak
There is a recognized shortage of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) professionals who hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in the field of CSD. The purpose of this study was to explore CSD students׳ views towards pursuing a PhD and to investigate the relationship between CSD students׳ exposure to research and their views regarding the pursuit of a PhD in order to understand and generate possible solutions to the PhD shortage. Method: The quantitative cross-sectional survey study included undergraduate (n = 49) and graduate (n = 51) CSD students from 12 Midwestern CSD institutions in the United States. The CSD PhD survey was administered via an online survey tool. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and the nonparametric Friedman׳s test with a series of post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: Participants most frequently ranked research interest, desire for knowledge, and making a contribution to the discipline as the most important reasons why one would pursue a PhD. Participants most frequently ranked lack of research interest, satisfaction with current degree and position, and cost of doctoral program as the most important reasons why one would not pursue a PhD. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between CSD students׳ interest in research and their views about pursuing a PhD. Discussion: The implications of this study support the need to further investigate the relationship between students׳ exposure and interest in research and their views about pursuing a PhD in order to optimize PhD recruitment efforts
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Place, Prestige, Price, and Promotion: How International Students Use Social Networks To Learn About Universities Abroad
Natalia Rekhter and Donald Hossler
This qualitative study aims to explore the social media component of international students’ college choice process for studying abroad. One of the emerging pieces of evidence was that participants applied social media specific criteria, such as the number of “likes,” the number of followers, and the ratio of followers to following to rank Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and measure their prestige. Another emerging finding was that participants with no connections abroad relied exclusively on social media for their college choice decisions and without social media would not even consider an option of transferring abroad. Videos and pictures offered by social network sites (SNS) provided emotional benefits by helping “to see” an unknown reality, develop sense of belonging, diminish apprehensions of moving abroad, and solidify the choice of HEI, while traditional sources of promotion, such as websites, were perceived as not trustworthy. Higher education professionals could hire individuals with proven expertise in social media to create consistent and meaningful content on different social media platforms to connect with potential international candidates.
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New York City’s Captive Work Force: Remembering the Prisoners Who Built Rikers Island
Jarrod Shanahan and Jayne Moody
This article undertakes a "history of the present" as a means of intervening in current debate around the closure of the Rikers Island jail complex and its replacement with smaller "state of the art" jails. We argue that the telling of carceral history is potentially a powerful weapon capable of shaping unfolding events, as well as, helping to preserve the memory of those who have suffered from the practice of human caging. To this effect we reconstruct the history of the Rikers Island penal colony predating its officially-recognized opening in 1935; a history defined by the forced prison labour that was used to expand the island and construct the original penitentiary. We illustrate how the labour of these prisoners, lives on in the physical structure of Rikers, as well as in its scandalous carceral existence. In defiance of current efforts at piecemeal reform or of preserving the status quo, we offer this historical intervention as a means of problematizing the present effort to solve the problems of jails with more jails, suggesting instead that the past calls for more drastic action—an escape
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Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Genetic Testing Among High Risk African American Women: A Systematic Review
Shirley Spencer, Carolyn Rodgers, and vickii coffey
African American women are disproportionately impacted by breast cancer and its associated effects. They have the highest breast cancer mortality rate of all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., yet, many high risk African American women do not follow-up with genetic testing despite, having a shorter survival rate and more likely to develop malignancies or aggressive forms of breast cancer than white women. Purpose: This review explored breast cancer genetic follow up and barriers among African American women and made recommendations for designing tailored high risk breast cancer programs. Method: The Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction framework provided the framework for the review. PubMed, PSYINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Collection Plus databases were searched for articles published from 2007 to 2017 that focused on attitude and beliefs that influenced genetic testing follow up among African American women. Three reviewers independently reviewed and appraised articles. The quality of the articles was assessed to determine the evidence level and overall recommendations using the Joanna Bridge Institute grading criteria. Results: Sixteen of the 2275 articles reviewed met the inclusion criteria of which, seven showed statistically significance changes related to family concerns, medical mistrust and cost barriers; decreases in breast cancer worry and perceived risk after genetic counseling; and higher education level and diagnosed early increased genetic testing. Conclusions: This systematic review provides greater understanding of how the social determinants of health influence decisions about genetic testing and treatment to determine why African American women who are at risk for breast cancer, do not progress to genetic testing. It provided recommendations for designing sensitive curriculum content for African American women and providers to increase genetic follow-up and reduce breast cancer disparity. The results of this review could be used to design comprehensive, tailored interventions to address the identified barriers, increase breast cancer awareness and early detection, and help minority women make informed, value decisions about genetic testing and treatment options. Recommendations: Future research is required to examine the role communities, agencies and policy makers play in improving clinical outcomes for minorities.
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A Rhetoric of Contradiction: SuicideGirls, Female Empowerment, and Sexuality
Lara Stache and Rachel D. Davidson
The intersection of female empowerment and sexuality is prevalent in contemporary public discourse. In this analysis, we critique the rhetoric of female empowerment from the SuicideGirls, a soft-core pornography website that claims to promote an alternative beauty. Existing literature on SuicideGirls provides consensus that the website promotes female empowerment. We critique SuicideGirls’ rhetoric as an example of why consistency between rhetoric and action are important to analyze in a sex-positive culture that embraces contradiction as empowerment. A rhetoric of contradiction emerges when the language of empowerment is not supported with empowering action, and ultimately we argue that this undermines the goals of a sex-positive culture for women. Our conclusions address the complexity of cultural texts that equate sexuality with power, and to ultimately illuminate the boundaries to challenging the status quo in a society that embraces a rhetoric of contradiction as female empowerment.
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Comparisons of the Risk of Medication Noncompliance and Suicidal Behavior Among Patients with Depressive Disorders Using Different Monotherapy Antidepressants in Taiwan: A Nationwide Populations-based Retrospective Cohort Study
Kuan-Pin Su, Ning Lu, Chao-Hsuin Tang, Wei-Che Chiu, Hui-Chih Chang, and Kuo-Cherh Huang
Background: The aim of this study was to assess the association between various classes of antidepressants and the risk of medication noncompliance as well as suicidal behavior among depressed patients. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing two nationwide population-based datasets in Taiwan from 2010 to 2016. The outcome measures included the risk of medication noncompliance, attempted suicide, and completed suicide. Cox proportional hazards models with stratification of the propensity score deciles were performed. Results: A total of 447,411 new antidepressant users were identified. Compared to SSRIs, patients who received SARIs [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.124, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.108–1.142], SNRIs (aHR = 1.049, 95% CI = 1.033–1.065), and other classes of antidepressants (aHR = 1.037, 95% CI = 1.024–1.051) were more likely to exhibit poor medication noncompliance. Patients who received SNRIs had a higher risk of attempted suicide (aHR = 1.294, 95% CI = 1.114–1.513), compared to SSRIs. However, patents in the TCAs group revealed the opposite result (aHR = 0.543, 95% CI = 0.387–0.762). Concerning the risk of completed suicide, this analysis detected no statistical significance across different types of antidepressants. Limitations: Although the universal coverage of Taiwan's national health insurance program tends to minimize the risk of selection and recall bias, it is difficult to rule out medical surveillance bias by using claim data. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that classes of antidepressants exe
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The Manipulation of Aboveground Litter Input Affects Soil CO2 Efflux in a Subtropical Liquidambar Forest in China
Wende Yan, Yuanying Peng, Cao Zhang, and Xiaoyong Chen
Litters on the forest floor represent an important organic carbon (C) sources from aboveground plants to the soil, which therefore have a significant influence on belowground processes such as soil respiration. In this study, dynamic property of soil respiration was investigated under aboveground litter manipulation treatments in a liquidambar forest in subtropical China. The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of changing aboveground litter inputs on soil CO2 emission in forests. The litter manipulation included litter addition (LA), litter removal (LR) and litter control (LC) treatments. Each litter treatment had six replications. Soil respiration rates were measured using an infrared gas analyzer system (LI-COR 8100) with soil chambers. The results showed that mean soil respiration rates increased significantly in LA plots (mean ± SE: 2.21 ± 0.44 μmol m-2 s-1; P<0.05) and decreased slightly in LR plots (1.17 ± 0.16 μmol m-2 s-1) when compared to control plots (1.42 ± 0.20 μmol m-2 s-1). On average, LA treatment significantly increased annual soil respiration by about 56% (837.5 ± 165 gC m-2 year-1), while LR treatment decreased soil respiration by approximately 17% (443.1 ± 61.7 gC m-2 year-1) compared with the control (535.5 ± 75.7 gC m-2 year-1). The “priming effect” was a primary contributor to the increase of soil respiration in LA treatments and the reduction of soil CO2 efflux was mainly ascribed to the elimination of organic C sources in LR treatments. Soil temperature was the main factor affecting seasonal variation in soil respiration. Up to the 90% to 95% seasonal variation in soil respiration is explained by soil temperature within each of the litter treatments. Our study indicated that changes in litter inputs due to climate change and human practices would significantly affected soil CO2 emission and would subsequently affect C balance in subtropical forests.
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Physiological responses of Scaevola Aemula Seedlings Under High Temperature Stress
B He, T Guo, H Huang, W Xi, and Xiaoyong Chen
Global climate change is expected to result in a relative high frequency of a short period of extreme high temperature (HT) on plant ecosystems and can have an adverse impact on plant growth and development, yet the response of plants to such damage is not fully understood. In this study, physiological responses of Scaevola aemula seedlings to a short-term(a 3-day period) HT stress were investigated in order to examine the adaptation of S. aemula to the thermal environment. The S. aemula seedlings were cultivated under four temperature treatments of 25/20, 35/27, 40/30, 46/35 °C (day/night). The HT stress-induced injure symptoms in leaves were recorded and several selected important physiological variables were measured. The results showed that the leave injuries were not apparent under HT (35/27 °C), but serious damages were observed at days two and three post-treatment under severe HT (40/30 and 46/35 °C). For adapting the thermic environments, S. aemula seedlings exhibited a rapid increase of photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugar contents, and superoxide dismutase activity, and simultaneously a decrease of soluble protein contents, proline contents and catalase activity. The HT tolerance of S. aemula species depends upon both the elevated temperature and the period of time under the increased temperature. Our study suggests that S. aemula could grow well under 35/27 °C. The results provide evidence for the introduction and resource assessment of S. aemula species.
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Impacts of Plant Community Changes on Soil Carbon Contents in Northeastern Illinois
Xiaoyong Chen and Karen D'Arcy
Land-cover changes not only affect regional climates through alteration in surface energy and water balance, but also affect key ecological processes, such as carbon (C) cycling and sequestration in plant ecosystems. The object of this study was to investigate the effects of land-cover changes on the distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) contents under four plant community types (deciduous forests, pine forests, mixed pine-deciduous forests, and prairies) in northeastern Illinois, USA. Soil samples were collected from incremental soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–50 cm) under the studied plant communities. The results showed that SOC concentration decreased with increases of soil depth in the studied forests and prairies. No significant differences of SOC concentrations were found at the upper soil layers (0–10 cm) among the four plant types. However, SOC concentrations were statistically higher at the lower soil depth (30–40 cm) in prairies than in other three forest types. The SOC storage (0–40 cm soil depth) was reduced in an order prairies (250.6) > mixed pine-deciduous forests (240.7) > pine forests (190.1) > deciduous forests (163.4 Mg/ha). The characteristics of relative short life cycle, restively high turnover rate of roots, and large partition of photosynthetic production allocated to belowground were likely attributed to the higher accumulation of C in soils in tallgrass prairies than in forests. Our data indicated the conversion of native tallgrass prairies to pure forest plantations resulted in a considerable decline of SOC storage. Results suggest that land-cover changes have a significant impact on SOC storage and sequestration in plant ecosystems.
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Not So Fast: Perspectives on the Role of Hospital Librarians in Writing Peer Reviewed Publications and Supporting Scholarly Communications
Paul Blobaum
Articles in the Specialty of the House column do not have abstracts. From the Introduction: The professional practice of hospital librarianship continues to evolve, and looks much different than a generation ago. The publishing world has also changed significantly in recent years, particularly in the area of scholarly communications. Open Access mandates on the national and local levels and the explosion of online Open Access journals have created confusion for authors and librarians at all levels of the scholarly communication process. Solicitations for manuscripts arrive by email and appear in social media and Web sites, preying on the unsuspecting author. The Hospital Librarian can help navigate the primordial soup of legitimate publications and low quality journals, and provide resources to help meet the needs of library users who are developing writing projects. This article will explore a model for developing and supporting a community of scholarly writers in the hospital setting, and present a theoretical framework for the hospital librarian to bring order to this fast changing, unfamiliar world of scholarly communications. Also, perspectives and reflections regarding the Hospital Librarian as author of journal articles in peer-reviewed journals will be explored.
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The Development of Hospital Library Consortia and the Legacy of the Chicago and South Consortium
Paul Blobaum
Published in the Specialty of the House column. This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an Article published in the Journal of Hospital Librarianship, July-September 2014, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15323269.2014.923804
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Evidence Based Interventions for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Systematic Review
Nancy J. MacMullen, Laura A. Dulski, and Paul Blobaum
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Mapping the Literature of Addictions Treatment
Paul Blobaum
Objectives: This study analyzes and describes the literature of addictions treatment and indexing coverage for core journals in the field. Methods: Citations from three source journals for the years 2008 through 2010 were analyzed using the 2010 Mapping the Literature of Nursing and Allied Health Professions Project Protocol. The distribution of cited journals was analyzed by applying Bradford’s Law of Scattering. Results: More than 40,000 citations were analyzed. Journals (2,655 unique titles) were the most frequently cited form of literature, with 10 journals providing one-third of the cited journal references. Drug and Alcohol Dependence was the most frequently cited journal. The frequency of cited addictions journals, formats cited, age of citations, and indexing coverage is identified. Conclusions: Addictions treatment literature is widely dispersed among multidisciplinary publications with relatively few publications providing most of the citations. Results of this study will help researchers, students, clinicians, and librarians identify the most important journals and bibliographic indexes in this field, as well as publishing opportunities.
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Resources for Supporting the APA Publication Style
Paul Blobaum
This article is an update of Blobaum, Paul M. “Resources for Supporting the APA Publication Style”, The Journal of Hospital Librarianship. 9(2), April-June 2009, 204-209. DOI: 10.1080/15323260902812849 Published in the Patchwork column. This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an Article published in the Journal of Hospital Librarianship, April-June 2010, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15323261003681570
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The Health Sciences Librarian in Medical Education: A Vital Pathways Task Force
Paul Blobaum
Objectives: The Medical Education Task Force of the Task Force on Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians reviewed current and future roles of health sciences librarians in medical education at the graduate and undergraduate levels and worked with national organizations to integrate library services, education, and staff into the requirements for training medical students and residents. Methods: Standards for medical education accreditation programs were studied, and a literature search was conducted on the topic of the role of the health sciences librarian in medical education. Results: Expectations for library and information services in current standards were documented, and a draft standard prepared. A comprehensive bibliography on the role of the health sciences librarian in medical education was completed, and an analysis of the services provided by health sciences librarians was created. Conclusion: An essential role and responsibility of the health sciences librarian will be to provide the health care professional with the skills needed to access, manage, and use library and information resources effectively. Validation and recognition of the health sciences librarian’s contributions to medical education by accrediting agencies will be critical. The opportunity lies in health sciences librarians embracing the diverse roles that can be served in this vital activity, regardless of accrediting agency mandates.
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Standard Precautions (Electronic Resource Review)
Paul M. Blobaum
This article reviews a product that is no longer available on the market in 2015. The discussion of Standard Precautions and Universal Precautions standards is still accurate. (Author note, January 3, 2015)
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An Additional Source of Data on Northeastern Illinois Woodlands around the Time of Settlement
Jon Mendelson
A new source of data on early postsettlement woodlands, witness trees in woodlot subdivision surveys, is described. Subdivision surveys of Thorn Grove, Will County, Illinois (1848-1856), using 92 witness trees, are compared to the presettlement 1834 Public Land Survey (PLS) including the same area. The woodland described in the subdivision surveys was richer in species, lower in density and composed of smaller trees than the woodland described in the PLS. Decreased density and tree size suggest beginning deforestation, but surveyor bias is a possibility.
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Age Structure of Trees in Thorn Creek Woods
Jon Mendelson
Diameter distributions and age-size regressions are presented for 11 tree species from Thorn Creek Woods, Will County, Illinois. Diameter distributions showed a good fit to the negative power model of survivorship. Nevertheless, 7 of the 11 species showed the 'gap-bulge" pattern, with fewer than expected numbers in intermediate size classes. Although age-size regressions were generally significant, the scatter diagrams for most species showed clustering into two age groups undetected by regression analysis. The juxtaposition of these results suggests the presence of two cohorts on the site; one of post-settlement origin (after 1835), the other emerging after the decline of agriculture (post-1930).
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Feeding Relationships Among Species of Notropis (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in a Wisconsin Stream
Jon Mendelson
The relationship between spatial preference and diet in four species of the genus Notropis (Pisces: Cyprinidae) was investigated in Roxbury Creek, a small stream in southern Wisconsin. Characteristic spatial distributions for each species were determined from frequency of catch in unbaited minnow traps set at varying heights and locations in the pools of the stream. The spatial distributions of aquatic invertebrates were also investigated. Data suggest a separation between the sedentary bottom fauna and the drift fauna. Data on the food habits of Notropis suggest strong overlap (69%-84%) in the invertebrate genera chosen by the four species. Differences in food habits relate principally to differences in space utilzation with mid-water species tending to feed on drifting invertebrates, wheras bottom dwellers fed principally on benthic forms. It is concluded that spatial rather than taxonomic considerations are the chief determinants of prey selection, and that this pattern of resource subdivision tends to reduce competition among these four species.
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