MARKETING OUTLOOK INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN UNSTABLE MARKETS

Marketing,

The Professional Development of Rural School Principals: The Elements, Contexts, and Topics Desired by Principals in a Rural School District

Abstract Effective professional development for school principals is crucial to the successful administration of schools. This data from a mixed methods study to determine the elements, contexts, and topics found in the principals’ professional development in a rural school district in Louisiana. Educational leadership literature and studies have indicated professional development for principals should be ongoing and occur during all phases of the principals’ career. The participants in the study included the principals of the schools in the rural district. The data collected through the survey used and the interview provided a glimpse of the professional development found in the district. To take it a step further, the desires of the principals of the district had with regards to the elements, contexts and topics of professional development programs the principals had are delineated. The results of the study revealed the participants desired their professional development program to be ongoing, collaborative, and participative. The participants also desired for professional learning communities to be the context used in the programs. Topics should include the use of data, enhancing instruction, facilitating change, and the development of leadership skills

An Educational Intervention on Daily Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing and Central Venous Catheter Infection Rates in the Pediatric Population: A Quality Improvement Initiative

The use of Central Venous Catheters (CVCs) in the healthcare setting is essential to patient survivability. While convenient, the utilization of such devices places patients at risk for Central Line- Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI). The US spends nearly $2 billion dollars annually treating CLABSIs. The utilization of CLABSI bundles has shown to be effective in infection prevention. Daily bathing with Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is often included in CLABSI bundles. In an attempt to reduce the incidence of CLABSIs at a metropolitan pediatric hospital in the Southern US, a nurse driven quality improvement (QI) initiative is being proposed. The proposed QI initiative will target pediatric hematology/oncology nurses and will consist of a 15-minute educational session regarding CHG bathing. A pretest/posttest design combined with retrospective chart reviews will be utilized. A hopeful increase in daily bathing compliance rates with a subsequent reduction in the occurrence of CLABSIs will be a direct result of the QI initiative

Experiences of Parental Incarceration Among College Students

Incarceration is one of the single most important issues in Oklahoma. Incarceration rates of both men and women have exceeded all other states (Carson, 2017). Although research has explored the effects of parental incarceration among children, little effort has been dedicated toward understanding the impact of parental incarceration on the emerging adult child (Luther, 2015; Nesmith & Ruhland, 2008). The developmental stage of emerging adulthood includes the ages from 18-25 and is one of identity development and increased adult responsibility (Arnett, 2000). Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of emerging adults attending college with a parent(s) currently or previously incarcerated.Parental incarceration leads to the loss of a parent, temporarily or indefinitely, thus ambiguous loss theory served as a primary theoretical framework for this study (Boss, 2006). Ambiguous loss theory posits that a loss without closure is a complicated and ongoing grief process (Boss, 2006). Thus, the experiences of emerging adults, who normatively encounter increased responsibilities, commitments, and social experiences while attending college and adjusting to the ambiguous loss of an incarcerated parent are worthy of examination.Using a qualitative case study research design, seven college students with a parent currently, or previously, incarcerated were interviewed. Focus groups and individual interviews were used and all sessions were audio recorded. Data was then transcribed verbatim and member checked for accuracy. Results included unique evidence of ambiguous loss across all seven cases along with high indications of self-efficacy. Conclusions from the findings highlighted five primary themes and four sub-themes. Primary themes included: childhood adversity, post-traumatic stress, ambiguous loss, social connectedness, and personal motivation. Furthermore, four underlying sub-themes were identified: adaptive capacity, economic emancipation, parentification, and savoring. Findings are further discussed in the framework of a newly proposed model of self-efficacy. Overall, the results have implications relative to informing educational administrators, instructors, and school or clinical counselors how best to build and sustain self-efficacy among emerging adults who may be seeking a college degree, while attending to a past or current relationship with an incarcerated parent

A study of the relationship between principals\u27 extent of participation in budgeting, locus-of-control, and job satisfaction

The importance of participation in budgeting for managers and its relevance to job satisfaction has been the subject of a number of studies over the last several decades. In addition, the belief systems of such managers appear to constitute a significant influence on the attitudes they hold in various social situations. Specifically, the personality variable, locus of control, utilized in this study and first introduced by Rotter, refers to the individual\u27s perceptions of events in his/her life as the result of his/her own actions (internal control), or the consequences of such forces as fate, luck, or powerful others (external control).;The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between principals\u27 extent of participation in budgeting, locus of control, and job satisfaction. Subjects were 191 K-12 Virginia principals from a stratified random sample of 250 who responded to a 4-part mail survey consisting of a Budgeting Participation Questionnaire, Rotter\u27s I-E Scale, the short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction (MSQ) Questionnaire, and a demographics section.;The evidence garnered from factor analysis and multiple regression analysis in this investigation supported the following conclusions: (1) that there were no relationships found in the level of job satisfaction due to the interaction of locus of control and extent of budget participation; (2) decision influence was the only budget-related variable found to have a statistically significant relationship to job satisfaction; (3) locus of control was also found to have a statistically significant relationship to job satisfaction.;The practical significance of the findings is that only the two variables associated with how a person feels about his/her ability to influence outcomes (decision influence and locus of control) were the ones which related to job satisfaction. Perceptions and beliefs may account more for how satisfied a person is than job facets. In order to confirm this, it is recommended that future researchers should replicate this study by substituting other job facets (in place of budgeting participation) which may be deemed critical to the performance of school principals

The Perfect Machine: The Reason behind the Anatomical Studies of Leonardo da Vinci

The legacy of Leonardo da Vinci is most often characterized by the works of his brush — however, there is more to Leonardo than what meets the art lover’s eye. His notebooks overflow with scientific studies, the most amazing of which are his detailed drawings of human anatomy. Scholars have long assumed that Leonardo dissected corpses in order to better represent the human form in his painting. In this paper, I counter that assumption, making the following points: Leonardo’s anatomical findings did not significantly influence his painting. Leonardo was an accomplished scientist and engineer. Leonardo applied his knowledge of physics to human anatomy — in the same way that he applied it to his mechanical inventions. Leonardo was a scientist/engineer studying nature’s perfect machine, not a painter studying the human form. Leonardo da Vinci cannot be defined as having been primarily a painter, therefore, his studies of anatomy cannot be defined as mere extensions of his art. I will highlight the multi-faceted mind of Leonardo da Vinci, and demonstrate that his detailed dissections and application of the laws of physics to human physiology would have been unnecessary had he considered himself a career artist

Efficiency Determinations for a Ge(Li) Detector

Author Institution: University of DaytonThe intrinsic efficiency of a Ge(Li) detector was determined for gamma-ray energies between 150 keV and 1500 keV. Two experimental methods were used. One method made use of the known relative intensities of La140 and Eu154 gamma rays. The second method made use of the known intensities of several calibrated sources. The resulting experimental full-energy peak-efficiency curve is compared with a published semi-empirical relation given by k « = [l-e-cr+Aoe-BE], c where e is the efficiency, and r and a are the photoelectric and Compton scattering absorption coefficients, respectively. The empirical constants k, A, B, and c are parameters, and E is the gamma-ray energy. It was found that the above relation agrees with the experimental results within an accuracy of 3%

The Effect of Personal Journals on Fourth-Grade Students\u27 Attitudes Toward Reading and Writing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between belief systems and attitudes toward reading and writing and the effect of personal journal writing on those attitudes and beliefs. By combining three established areas of research (the affective component of attitude, the reading-writing relationship, and the self-defining nature of personal narrative), the use of personal journals was tested as an effective means for contributing to the development of positive attitudes. Subjects were 95 fourth graders enrolled in four intact classes which were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions Pre-/post-assessments included administration of reading and writing attitude scales and collection of student-generated statements pertaining to reading and writing beliefs. Over six weeks, experimental classes received 18 sessions of journal writing time, each lasting 15 minutes, while control classes received traditional instruction. Results indicated that journal writing caused positive reading and writing attitudes (experimental group) to decrease. Post hoc analyses of extreme attitudes within this group indicated that after journal writing, (a) students reporting extreme attitudes toward writing demonstrated an increased positive reading attitude, (b) students demonstrating negative attitudes toward reading demonstrated an increase in positive reading attitude, and (c) beliefs did not reflect cultural expectations. Control group pre-/post-treatment differences in attitude/beliefs were not significant. Conclusions include (a) journal writing should be optional in that mandating journal writing can be detrimental to the development of positive attitudes, (b) affective assessments should be incorporated into cognitive assessments, and (c) cultural influences should be addressed during instruction

Wedge Flows of Power-law Fluids

Many solutions exist for the laminar boundary-layer flow of Newtonian fluids. This is verified in literature by Schlichting. However, some fluids do not obey the Newtonian postulate that the stress tensor is directly proportional to the rate of deformation tensor. It is as likely, in fact, that non-Newtonian fluids could be pumped into an industrial complex as the more common Newtonian fluids. This is partly due to the growing use of synthetics and petroleum products in modern day living. The use of non-Newtonian fluids, however, does not have to be limited to problems of internal flow. The fluid in the boundary-layer of a ship\u27s hull could be changed to a non-Newtonian fluid by injection of a water soluble chemical. As a result, the drag force experienced by the ship could be decreased. It is evident then, that the study of non-Newtonian fluids could yield valuable information. (See more in text.

Determination of Trace Metals Pollutants in Water Resources Using X-ray Fluorescence

1 v. (various pagings) illus.This report contains two sections. These two sections represent the final report for work done between July 1, 1970 and June 30, 1972. The first section describes work done in the first year (July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1971) and the second section covers work done in the second year (July 1, 1971 to June 30, 1972). The tables of contents for each section can be found at the beginning of the corresponding sectionThe present two reports covering the period July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1972 involve the examination and determination of a number of the characteristics of the technique of X-ray fluorescence. This study is part of an overall program in our laboratory to address the general problem of the determination of trace metals in environmental samplesSection I: List of Personnel -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Abstract -- I. Introduction -- II. Health Effects of Trace Metals -- III. X-ray Fluorescence -- IV. Experimental Procedure and Results -- V. Discussion and Conclusion -- Acknowledgements -- ReferencesSection II: List of Personnel -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Abstract -- I. Introduction -- II. Computer Program for Data Analysis -- III. Calculation of the Effect of Absorption of Non Quantized Radiation -- IV. Studies of Absorption and Matrix Effects -- V. Health Effects -- VI. Sediment Study -- VII. Discussion and Conclusions -- Appendix - Computer Flow Diagram -- Acknowledgements -- Reference