The Right Mix: A Single Case Study into a Blended Learning Program at Tobrikay Corporation

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of learners and subject matter experts (SMEs) at Tobrikay Corporation (pseudonym) regarding software systems training in a blended learning environment. The following question was the focus of this case study: What are the learners and SMEs’ experiences with the adoption of blended learning at Tobrikay Corporation? The theory guiding this study was Knowles’ (1989) theory on andragogy. In order to connect with adults, a link must be established between the key concepts being taught and their relevance to the intended recipient. The study was further grounded in Moore’s (1993) transactional distance theory, which proposes distance occurs between the following: learner-learner, learner-instructor, and learner-subject matter. A limited amount of research on blended learning in the corporate environment exists. The design was an instrumental case study used to seek an answer to a question to understand casual connections. This case study explored 15 participants who are current users and SMEs of a blended training program at Tobrikay Corporation in the Midwest. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, focus groups, and corporate artifacts. Learners and SMEs faced transactional distance in the blended learning program. The fulcrum of this study was to identify the effective and ineffective methods of the blended program. Eliminating the ineffective methods of blended learning would save the learners resources, SME resources, and Tobrikay Corporation Resources

Impact of SystemCHANGE™ Intervention on Medication Adherence in Older Adults with Heart Failure: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Title from PDF of title page viewed August 27, 2018Dissertation advisor: Cynthia L. RussellVitaIncludes bibliographical references (pages 88-102)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Nursing and Health Studies. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2018Background: Nearly 50% of people with heart failure do not adhere to their medication regimens, leading to increased health care costs and poor patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a SystemCHANGE™ intervention in improving medication adherence in older adults with heart failure. Methods: Adults 50 or older with heart failure who self-administer diuretics were screened for two months using electronic monitoring to determine baseline adherence scores. If adherence scores were below 88%, the participant was randomized into either the SystemCHANGE™ or attention control group. The attention control group received education using American Heart Association heart failure brochures. The SystemCHANGE™ intervention consisted of changing the individual’s environment by incorporating medication taking into existing routines, using small experiments with feedback, and receiving support from people who impact routines. Demographics, medication adherence scores using a medication events monitoring system (MEMS), and acceptability and feasibility measures were collected throughout the study and analyzed. Results: Thirty participants were enrolled in the study. Sixteen participants had medication adherence rates greater than 88%, therefore exiting the study. Eleven participants did not complete the screening phase. Three participants were eligible to be randomized in the intervention or attention control group but only two agreed to continue with the study, leaving one participant in each group. The participant in the SystemCHANGE™ group did not complete the study. The screening sample was majority African American males (66.7%). The average adherence score of those who did not complete the screening phase was 65.6% versus 96% for those who did complete screening phase. Challenges were noted by participants in utilizing the MEMS caps during the screening phase. Conclusion: Future studies need to focus on understanding barriers and facilitators to participation in a research study of this nature. Lessons learned include using multiple recruitment sites, more education on MEMS use, and consideration of the Hawthorne effect. Major protocol revisions are needed to recruit and retain the proposed population.Introduction -- Literature review -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Appendix A. Design diagram -- Appendix B. SC protocol checklist -- Appendix C. Important people form -- Appendix D. Life routines form -- Appendix E. Cycles form -- Appendix F. Possible solutions form -- Appendix G. Intervention steps 3-4 -- Appendix H. Education protocol checklist -- Appendix I. 6-item mental status screen -- Appendix J. Demographic information form -- Appendix K. Systems thinking scale -- Appendix L. KCCQ Spertus & Jones 2015 -- Appendix M. Acceptability questionnaire -- Appendix N. Medication Event Monitor (MEMS) diary -- Appendix O. MEMS education -- Appendix P. ECHO study screening for eligibility form --Appendix Q. Phone scrip

The Skills to Pay the Bills: An Evaluation of an Effort to Help Nonprofits Manage Their Finances

This study examines a Wallace Foundation-sponsored initiative aimed at improving the financial management skills and practices of 25 Chicago afterschool providers through training and coaching. Two models for this professional development were provided and each produced long-lasting improvements. Moreover, organizations receiving the less-expensive group training and coaching improved almost as much as those receiving more intensive customized coaching

Extending the Holding Time for Agricultural Water Testing EPA Method 1603 for Produce Growers

Agricultural water is a known vector for the transfer of foodborne pathogens onto fresh produce. Development of pre-harvest and post-harvest microbial profiles of agricultural water used by fresh produce growers, processors, and holdings is a requirement under the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule. One of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) approved agricultural water testing methods is US EPA Method 1603, which requires no greater than a 6-h time frame between the collection of the water sample and initiation of analysis. This 6-h timeframe is unrealistic for many produce growers due to there being few laboratories certified to conduct testing and the geographic location of the farms. Agricultural water samples (n = 101) from well water and surface water were collected from 60 different farms to determine if holding samples for 24 h yielded significantly more generic Escherichia coli (E.coli) than 6 h using EPA 1603 method. A total of 32 samples were found contaminated with generic E. coli. Of these positive samples, surface water accounted for 87.5% of the samples (n = 28). There was no significant disparity between populations of generic E. coli at 6- and 24-h sample-test time interval (p \u3e 0.05). These results provide evidence that the sample-test time interval can be extended to 24-h time, which makes quantitative generic E. coli testing for agricultural water as mandated by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule more accessible to growers

Corporate Governance and Executive Perquisites

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between executive perquisite consumption and indicators of corporate governance after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expanded the disclosure requirements related to perquisites. Design/methodology/approach This study uses ordinary least squares and Tobit regressions to examine the dollar value of perquisites consumed, the number of perquisites consumed and the types of perquisites consumed. Findings The analysis shows that firms with weak corporate governance are more likely to award perquisites to executives. Firms characterized as being more prone to the presence of agency problems are associated with greater levels of perquisite consumption. Finally, there is evidence that not all perquisite consumptions can be attributed to an agency problem. Efficiently operating firms are associated with greater levels of perquisite consumption as are larger firms. Research limitations/implications The authors examine firms in the period immediately after the SEC initiated the expanded disclosures. This may limit the generalizability of the results to other exchange-listed firms that changed their perquisite policy as a result of the rule change. Originality/value The paper extends the literature on corporate governance and mandatory corporate disclosure by investigating the association between corporate governance characteristics and perquisite consumption. This paper examines this relation immediately after the SEC expanded the disclosures surrounding perquisites to provide the public with more transparent disclosures

Assessing the social competence of incarcerated offenders

Over recent years, increased emphasis has been placed on the role of social competence in human performance, where researchers have focused on the notion that some individuals behave in maladaptive ways because they lack the skills to do better. The literature in the area of assessing life skills in incarcerated offenders is scarce however, although research on social skills has indicated deficits in social skills among those incarcerated for crimes. The present study examined the social competence of male prisoners. An established and validated testing instrument, the Social and Prevocational Information Battery-Revised, was used to test the life skills of offenders. Sixty inmates of a medium security prison served as subjects. Offenders were categorised as either violent offenders, sex offenders, anti­ social and drug offenders or dishonesty offenders. The results indicate that although there were no differences in mean scores between the groups, there is evidence that many subjects in the sample show deficits in competence. Additionally, no differences in scores were found between offender groups and non-offender groups. Other factors, such as the evaluation of the Social and Prevocational Information Battery-Revised as a testing instrument, and implications for future research, are also explored

Recombinant protein production and insect cell culture and process

A process has been developed for recombinant production of selected polypeptides using transformed insect cells cultured in a horizontally rotating culture vessel modulated to create low shear conditions. A metabolically transformed insect cell line is produced using the culture procedure regardless of genetic transformation. The recombinant polypeptide can be produced by an alternative process using the cultured insect cells as host for a virus encoding the described polypeptide such as baculovirus. The insect cells can also be a host for viral production

Halcyornis toliapicus (aves: Lower Eocene, England) indicates advanced neuromorphology in Mesozoic Neornithes

Our recent X-ray micro computer-tomographic (μCT) investigations of Prophaethon shrubsolei and Odontopteryx toliapica from the Lower Eocene London Clay Formation of England revealed the avian brain to have been essentially modern in form by 55 Ma, but that an important vision-related synapomorphy of living birds, the eminentia sagittalis of the telencephalon, was poorly developed. This evidence suggested that the feature probably appeared close to the end of the Mesozoic. Here we use μCT analysis to describe the endocranium of Halcyornis toliapicus, also from the London Clay Formation. The affinities of Halcyornis have been hotly debated, with the taxon referred to the Charadriiformes (Laridae), Coraciiformes (Alcedinidae, and its own family Halcyornithidae) and most recently that Halcyornithidae may be a possible senior synonym of Pseudasturidae (Pan-Psittaciformes). Unlike Prophaethon and Odontopteryx, the eminentia sagittalis of Halcyornis is strongly developed and comparable to that of living species. Like those London Clay taxa, the eminentia sagittalis occupies a rostral position on the telencephalon. The senses of Halcyornis appear to have been well developed. The length of the cochlear duct of the inner ear indicates a hearing sensitivity within the upper range of living species, and enlarged olfactory lobes suggest a reasonable reliance on sense of smell. The optic nerves were especially well developed which, together with the strong development of the eminentia sagittalis, indicates a high degree of visual specialization in Halcyornis. The advanced development of the eminentia sagittalis further supports a Mesozoic age for the appearance of this structure and associated neural architectural complexity found in extant Aves. The eminentia sagittalis of living Psittaciformes is situated caudally on the telencephalon, making a Pan-Psittaciformes relationship unlikely for Halcyorni