Relationship Between Senior Leadership Style and Patient Satisfaction in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility

Patient satisfaction has a significant role in the healthcare industry, as high patient satisfaction can improve quality outcomes. Hospital leadership is responsible for the culture, outcomes, and patient experience, which can involve different leadership styles. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between leadership style of senior leaders and patient satisfaction in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). Through the theoretical framework of transformational and transactional leadership theories, the research questions were designed to determine whether a statistically significant relationship existed between leadership style (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership) and patient satisfaction. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was administered electronically to senior leaders in an IRF system and combined with secondary patient satisfaction data obtained from the IRF system. Senior leaders from 72 IRFs completed the online survey. Pearson\u27s correlation and multiple linear regression revealed mixed results. The Pearson\u27s correlation indicated small negative linear correlations between transformational leadership and laissez-faire leadership with patient satisfaction as well as a small positive linear correlation between transactional leadership and patient satisfaction. For multiple regression, none of the tests produced statistically significant results, which led to a failure to reject the null hypotheses and inconclusive findings. Through the further examination of the relationship between the leadership subscales and patient satisfaction, healthcare administrators can impact patient satisfaction through education and trainings for senior leaders

Should We Teach Data Visualization Using Data Visualization Style Guides?

Brinton (1914) wrote the first ‘Design Style Guide’ in the form of rules more than 100 years ago, yet no one really studies nor uses them. Organizations like Google and London City Intelligence recently extended their design systems to include standards specifically for data visualization. This speaks to the growing importance of using data and metrics in an organization’s decision making and the value of branding them appropriately. In 2014, Amy Cesal created one of the first actual Data Visualization Style Guides for the Sunlight Foundation. Since then, many other organizations have created style guides of their own, however, Data Visualization texts have only recently begun to cover style guides. In this paper we argue that more widespread use of data visualization style guides by organizations would bring consiste brand identity, readability and accessibility to their data visualization work, and that incorporating data visualization into university curricula will be instrumental in encouraging widespread adoption of these style guides.. We present a historical analysis of these style guides from Brinton’s 1914 edition to today’s examples from 2014 through today to contextualize data visualization style guides for instructional purposes

Structure, function and mitochondrial targeting of sideroflexin-3 (SFXN3)

Mitochondria possess a double membraned structure, consisting of a semipermeable outer membrane (OM) and an impermeable inner membrane (IM). IMlocalised mitochondrial carriers (MCs) are required to allow passage of small molecules across the IM, enabling communication of matrix and cytosol environments. Sideroflexins (SFXN) are a family of MCs comprised of five (SFXN1-5) members in mammals which are each nuclear-encoded and imported into the mitochondria via TIM22 and the carrier import pathway. Mammalian SFXN3 has been the subject of several recent studies, largely owing to the belief that SFXN3 may provide neuroprotection in Parkinson’s Disease. Despite the surge in interest, the experimental structure, range of functions and mitochondrial targeting information of SFXN3 remain unknown. The first part of this thesis aimed to predict the transmembrane domain (TM) structure and orientation of SFXN3 at the IM. Through use of topology and AlphaFold structure predictions, we found that SFXN3 is likely a largely helical protein, with 4 TMs, a short Cterminal domain, large N-terminal domain, and beta-strand region conserved across all SFXNs. Topology predictions could not reliably deduce orientation of the N- and C-termini of SFXN3 at the IM. The second part of this thesis aimed to identify the mitochondrial targeting information of SFXN3. Import of 35S-radiolabelled truncations of SFXN3 into isolated mitochondria revealed that the N-terminal domain of SFXN3 may contain mitochondrial targeting information, and three predicted TMs of the protein may enhance efficiency of import. However, reproducibility of said result was not assessed and must be confirmed in future. Further study involved purification of Tim9/10, an IMS-localised chaperone complex which interacts with carrier pathway substrates. Incubation of purified Tim9/10 with an SFXN3 peptide spot array suggests that the Nterminal domain, fourth transmembrane region and preceding loop domain can interact with Tim9/10 complex. This could imply that these regions of SFXN3 are essential for the chaperone interaction and thus mitochondrial import. The final part of this thesis initially aimed to characterise the function of SFXN3. Due to problems in obtaining an SFXN3-knockdown cell line, the aims shifted to characterising function of budding yeast SFXN homolog, fungal sideroflexin-1 (FSF1). Analysis of DFSF1 yeast growth revealed that FSF1 was not essential for mitochondrial respiration or iron transport. However, deletion of FSF1 decreased steady state levels of Fe-S cluster protein, mitochondrial aconitase. This preliminary finding may suggest that FSF1 could play a role in Fe-S cluster biogenesis. However, further study is required to confirm this. Overall, this thesis provides a detailed analysis of SFXN3 structure, narrows down the sequence regions involved in mitochondrial targeting, and provides evidence which disputes certain proposed functions of FSF1. This provides a starting point upon which further study can build to ultimately determine if SFXN3 is a feasible therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders

Canadian undergraduates' reports of co-curricular involvement across the degree

The present study investigated university student beliefs and behaviours with respect to co-curricular activities among incoming (n=983), mid-degree (n=173), and graduating (n=1006) students. When asked about their most significant learning experiences during their time at university, graduating students were more likely to report on co-curricular activities than those related to coursework. However, participation in co-curricular activities was not related to graduating students’ feelings of preparedness to undertake a job search or apply for post-graduate education. Incoming students reported clear intentions to participate in some types of co-curricular activities (e.g.,  volunteering, intramural sports, clubs) but were more uncertain about others (e.g.,  events or activities related to global awareness, or diversity and inclusion). Parallel findings were observed with respect to actual co-curricular involvement among mid-degree and graduating students. This research is discussed in the context of university efforts to promote co-curricular activities to students in order to develop career ready transferrable skills, and the relevance of particular patterns of involvement to the current job market

Comparing Systems of Forced Labor: Explanations for how the U.S. South’S Slave Economy Became Prosperous

This paper showcases negative results of two common theories surrounding United States cotton literature. It has been proposed that the amount of land available to the U.S. South allowed for lucrative expansion that other nations physically could not obtain. Others have proposed that the United States created an effective labor system that created immense productivity and, as a result, prosperity. However, our findings suggest that the United States was not more productive than Egypt and that it did not benefit from a spatial fix. These negative findings contribute to an understanding of why the South prospered using a system of labor that has economically retarded other nations by eliminating theories commonly proposed by the literature