The Lived Experience of Older Mexcian American Adults with Type 2, Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of Mexican American older adults with type 2, non-insulin dependent diabetes. Research design and results: A phenomenological research approach was used when interviewing a sample of ten English speaking Mexican American older adults in Santa Clara County, California. Three collective themes were identified: Emotions prevalent in living with diabetes, diabetes\u27 impact on life, and cultural factors affecting diabetes self care. Discussion/conclusions/implications: A duality of thoughts and experiences in living with diabetes, and the strong influence of culture and its beliefs characterize the life-world of Mexican American non-insulin dependent diabetics. Health care practitioners can generate plans of care that address these findings to effectively provide culturally congruent care in daily practice

APPROACH TO PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN AN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION: A GROUNDED THEORY

Communicating confidently and effectively before an audience is one of the skills highly desired to be developed by professionals. Hence, there is a high demand for public speaking skills development training. The purpose of this study was to generate a theory grounded from the data that explains the approach of how members of Toastmasters International (TI) develop their public speaking skills as they immerse in such educational organization. The analysis of this study was mainly guided by the systematic design of grounded theory developed by Corbin and Strauss (2008). Theoretical sampling guided the recruitment of 21 TI members as the participants of the personal interviews. A focus group discussion and researcher’s observations were then utilized for a triangulated result of the study. Open coding categories were connected during axial coding and refined during selective coding to form a theory. “Four C’s in Public Speaking Theory” explains the approach of how TI members develop their public speaking skills in order to transform from a novice public speaker to an expert one. The generated model can serve as a guide for the members’ strategic plan in taking full advantage of the benefits that the organization offers in public speaking. This could also aid in the organization’s planning and program development.  Article visualizations

An Evaluation of the National Greening Program Implementation in Simala, Cebu Philippines Utilizing ABCD Model

This descriptive-evaluative study is an evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of the National Greening Program in Simala National High School, a secondary public school in Cebu, Philippines utilizing the ABCD model. It identified the congruences and discrepancies of the intents and actualities of the following components: A - the participants, B - programs and operations, C - effects, and D - the social impact. It was revealed that for component A, 63.83 % of the target participants cooperated in the program activities. Component B evaluation showed that most of the objectives to operate the program based on DepEd Order No. 5, s. 2014 were achieved with just minor discrepancies. For component C, the following themes encapsulate the effects of the program to the participants which are “points for the effort”, “complied as required”, “green advocates”, and “environmental champions”. While the themes “disaster mitigation” and “fighting malnutrition” as the program’s social impacts assessed in component D were attained. Thus, the school effectively implemented the program in one school year. Planning ahead the schedule of activities through proper channeling of information and strictly requiring all target participants to attend are advisable. Coordinating with the proper office in setting up the seed bank facilities and forging more partnerships with the concerned public and private agencies are recommended to further minimize the gap between the intents and actualities

A Review of the current knowledge of the crustal and lithospheric structure of the Valencia Trough Basin

In this paper, we review the current geophysical knowledge of the Valencia Trough Basin, and the surrounding areas. For this purpose, we summarize the most significant regional geophysical datasets acquired since the seventies to investigate the trough (seismic, gravity, geoid and heat flow data). We then focus on the discussion regarding the geometry and physical properties of the present day crustal and lithospheric structure derived from seismic images, as well as combined potential field modelling and their relationships with the Alpine geodynamic evolution of the Valencia Trough. Finally, we discuss the differences in the results regarding the geometry of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary obtained by different modelling approaches and the features that, in our view, require further investigation to unravel the true nature of the Valencia Trough, including what could have caused the differences between the crustal structure observed in the SW region compared to the NE region, the asymmetric style of thinning across the trough; the origin of the changes in the lower crustal reflectivity across the basin; the fabric of the uppermost mantle, characterized by anomalously low P-wave velocities; and the physical properties of the lithosphere mantle (density, Pwaves velocity, thermal conductivity, temperature distribution, mineralogical composition, etc.)

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Winter 2009

Chronology of forest structure and use in the Spring Mountains, Soil-Tech’s restoration work balancing construction with nature, species performance and treatment effectiveness for revegetation projects, and strategic research areas for Mojave conservation and managemen

Species richness and soil properties in Pinus ponderosa forests: A structural equation modeling analysis

Question: How are the effects of mineral soil properties on understory plant species richness propagated through a network of processes involving the forest overstory, soil organic matter, soil nitrogen, and understory plant abundance? Location: North-central Arizona, USA. Methods: We sampled 75 0.05-ha plots across a broad soil gradient in a Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) forest ecosystem. We evaluated multivariate models of plant species richness using structural equation modeling. Results: Richness was highest at intermediate levels of understory plant cover, suggesting that both colonization success and competitive exclusion can limit richness in this system. We did not detect a reciprocal positive effect of richness on plant cover. Richness was strongly related to soil nitrogen in the model, with evidence for both a direct negative effect and an indirect non-linear relationship mediated through understory plant cover. Soil organic matter appeared to have a positive influence on understory richness that was independent of soil nitrogen. Richness was lowest where the forest overstory was densest, which can be explained through indirect effects on soil organic matter, soil nitrogen and understory cover. Finally, model results suggest a variety of direct and indirect processes whereby mineral soil properties can influence richness. Conclusions: Understory plant species richness and plant cover in P. ponderosa forests appear to be significantly influenced by soil organic matter and nitrogen, which are, in turn, related to overstory density and composition and mineral soil properties. Thus, soil properties can impose direct and indirect constraints on local species diversity in ponderosa pine forests

Water Quality Assessment of Different Land Uses of Tugbo Watershed Forest Reserve and Downstream River

Changes in land use and management practices have been highlighted as one of the main driving forces behind risks to the quality of the water in the Tugbo watershed and downstream river in Masbate Island, Philippines. The purpose of the study is to evaluate and analyze pertinent data regarding the impact of various land uses on the tributary physicochemical properties of the river both on- and off-site using data from water quality monitoring and the DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2016-08 classification guidelines for water quality. Six (6) types of land cover predominate in the watershed: pastureland, agroforestry farms, old-growth forests, coconut-based areas, built-up/quarry sites, and built-up/estuaries were identified.   Significant differences at 0.05 level were observed based on Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc test results across different land uses are significantly different from each other between the inside and outside the watershed.  The data show that pH and nitrate are significantly different water quality outcomes in comparison to the LULC of the test site, regardless of the land cover or land use adjoining the water system. Other than two land-uses differences, the temperature and dissolved oxygen do not differ greatly from one another. Analyses of the water quality were within the norm, and a positive correlation was found between several indicators and various land uses. The outcome is generally highly beneficial for developing and implementing watershed strategies to protect land and water resources and improve the overall state of the continuum