The reverend, the terrorist, and a web of rumors : the image repair discourse of Barack Obama

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on September 28, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. William L. Benoit.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009.During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama faced numerous attacks on his character, and on his associations. He was attacked most prominently for his associations with Reverend Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers. Obama's faith, citizenship, and patriotism were also challenged. This study employs image repair theory to analyze Obama's image repair discourse in a variety of messages. Notably, Obama's internet-based image discourse in response to faith, citizenship, and patriotism attacks received unique analysis in this study. Through rhetorical analysis, this study found that Obama used the strategies of simple denial, shifting the blame, defeasibility, bolstering, minimization, differentiation, transcendence, attack accuser, and corrective action to respond to the Wright attacks. To respond to the Ayers attacks, Obama used simple denial, defeasibility, bolstering, differentiation, transcendence, and attack accuser. Obama used simple denial, accident, bolstering, attack accuser, differentiation, minimization, and transcendence in his various internet defenses. An important theoretical contribution of this study is the idea that kairos, or opportune timing of messages with respect to the rhetorical situation, should be an important consideration in the analysis apologia. Generally, Obama's image repair efforts were found to be kairotically effective. Assessment of overall effectiveness was confirmed using the criteria of media coverage, surveys, and internal consistency.Includes bibliographical reference

Bundling occupational safety with harm reduction information as a feasible method for improving police receptiveness to syringe access programs: evidence from three U.S. cities

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>In light of overwhelming evidence that access to sterile injection equipment reduces incidence of injection-attributable bloodborne disease without encouraging drug use, many localities have authorized sterile syringe access programs (SAPs), including syringe exchange and pharmacy-based initiatives. Even where such interventions are clearly legal, many law enforcement officers are unaware of the public health benefits and legal status of these programs and may continue to treat the possession of injection equipment as illegal and program participation as a marker of illegal behavior. Law enforcement practice can impede SAP utilization and may increase the risk of needlestick injury (NSI) among law enforcement personnel. Many SAPs conduct little or no outreach to law enforcement, in part because they perceive law enforcement actors as unreceptive to health-promotion programs targeting drug users.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>We report on a brief training intervention for law enforcement personnel designed to increase officer knowledge of and positive attitudes towards SAPs by bundling content that addresses officer concerns about infectious disease and occupational safety with information about the legality and public health benefits of these programs. Pilot trainings using this bundled curriculum were conducted with approximately 600 officers in three US cities.</p> <p>Discussion and evaluation</p> <p>Law enforcement officers were generally receptive to receiving information about SAPs through the bundled curriculum. The trainings led to better communication and collaboration between SAP and law enforcement personnel, providing a valuable platform for better harmonization of law enforcement and public health activities targeting injection drug users.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The experience in these three cities suggests that a harm reduction training curriculum that bundles strategies for increasing officer occupational safety with information about the legality and public health benefits of SAPs can be well received by law enforcement personnel and can lead to better communication and collaboration between law enforcement and harm reduction actors. Further study is indicated to assess whether such a bundled curriculum is effective in changing officer attitudes and beliefs and reducing health risks to officers and injection drug users, as well as broader benefits to the community at large.</p

Newspaper Coverage of U.S. Senate Debates

Political debates are important message forms, capable of informing and in-fluencing voters. However, news coverage of debates informs and influences both those who watch, and those who do not watch, the debates. This study compared the content (functions and topics) of 10 U.S. Senate debates from 1998-2004 with the content of newspaper articles about those particular debates. Newspaper coverage of debates was significantly more negative than the debates themselves, reporting a higher percentage of attacks and a smaller percentage of acclaims than the candidates employed. The newspaper articles also stressed character more, and policy less, than the candidates. This journalistic emphasis may facilitate the impression that the candidates are more negative than they really are and that candidates are more concerned with character – and less with policy – than their messages indicate. We also discovered that newspaper cover-age of senatorial debates stresses defenses more, policy less, and character more than news coverage of presidential debates

A Functional Analysis of 2013 Mayoral Campaign Web Pages

This study adopts The Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to content analyze political campaign web pages produced by mayoral candidates in six large American cities in 2013. Specifically, this analysis examines online campaign communication from Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, New York, and Seattle. Results of this analysis found that mayoral candidates used their websites to acclaim themselves more often than to attack their opponents or defend themselves against previous attacks. Additionally, these web pages addressed policy topics more often than they spoke about character concerns. The data also reveals important differences between the way incumbents and challengers use their websites in local elections. Differences also exist between the communication choices of winning mayoral candidates and losing mayoral candidates

Evolution and Convergence of State Laws Governing Controlled Substance Prescription Monitoring Programs, 1998-2011

Objectives. We sought to collect and characterize all laws governing the operation of prescription monitoring programs (PMPs), state-level databases that collect patient-specific prescription information, which have been suggested as a tool for reducing prescription drug overdose fatalities. Methods. We utilized a structured legal research protocol to systematically identify, review, and code all PMP statutes and regulations effective from 1998 through 2011. These laws were then abstracted along eleven domains, including reporting provisions, data sharing, and data access. Results. PMP characteristics vary greatly among states and across time. We observed an increase in the types and frequency of data required to be reported, the types of individuals permitted to access PMP data, and the percentage of PMPs authorized to proactively identify outlier prescribers and patients. As of 2011, 10 states required PMPs to report suspicious activity to law enforcement, while only 3 required reporting to the patient’s physician. None required linkage to drug treatment or required all prescribers to review PMP data before prescribing. Few explicitly address data retention. Conclusions. State PMP laws are heterogeneous and evolving. Future studies of PMP effectiveness should take these variations into account

Effectiveness of dermoscopy in skin cancer diagnosis

Clinical Inquiries question: Does dermoscopy improve the effectiveness of skin cancer diagnosis when used for skin cancer screening? Evidence-based answer: Dermoscopy added to visual inspection is more accurate than visual inspection alone in the diagnosis of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). However, there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; strength of recommendation B: based on systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials [RCTs], and prospective and retrospective observational studies).Sydney Davis, MD; Cleveland Piggott, MD, MPH; Corey Lyon, DO; Kristen DeSanto, MSLS, MS, RD, AHIPDr Davis is a resident family physician, Dr Piggott is Assistant Professor and Director of Diversity & Health Equity for Family Medicine, Dr Lyon is Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, and Ms DeSanto is Clinical Librarian in the Strauss Health Sciences Library, all at the University of Colorado in Denver.Includes bibliographical reference

Anesthesia Recordkeeping: Accuracy of Recall with Computerized and Manual Entry Recordkeeping

ANESTHESIA RECORDKEEPING: ACCURACY OF RECALL WITH COMPUTERIZED AND MANUAL ENTRY RECORDKEEPING By Thomas Corey Davis, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Health Related Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Dr. Chuck Biddle Director of Research, Department of Nurse Anesthesia And Dr. Jeffery A. Green Assistant Chief of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesia Introduction: Anesthesia information management systems are rapidly gaining widespread acceptance. Aggressively promoted as an improvement to manual-entry recordkeeping systems in the areas of accuracy, quality improvement, billing and vigilance, these systems record all patient vital signs and parameters, providing a legible hard copy and permanent electronic record. At risk is a potential loss of “connectedness” to the patient with the use of computerized recordkeeping, perhaps jeopardizing vigilance. Methods: This research analyzed differences in the accuracy of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists\u27 (CRNAs) recall of specific patient variables during the course of an actual anesthetic case. CRNAs using computerized recordkeeping systems were compared to CRNAs using manual entry recordkeeping. Accuracy of recalled values of 10 patient variables was measured - highest and lowest heart rate, systolic blood pressure, inspiratory pressure, and end-tidal carbon dioxide levels, lowest oxygen saturation and total fluid volume. In addition, a filmed educational vignette was presented to evaluate any effect on accuracy of recall following this presentation. Four tertiary care facilities participated in this research. A Solomon four-group research design was selected to control for the effect of pretesting on results of the filmed educational treatment. Results: 214 subjects participated in this study; 106 in the computerized recordkeeping group, and 108 in the manual entry recordkeeping group. Demographic covariates were analyzed to ensure homogeneity between groups and facilities. No significant statistical differences were identified between the accuracy of recall among the groups. There was no statistically significant effect of the educational film vignette on accuracy of recall. Conclusions: There was no difference in the accuracy of practitioners’ recall of patient variables when using computerized or manual entry recordkeeping systems, suggesting little impact on vigilance. The educational film presented did not have an effect on accuracy of recall following the discussion of benefits and limitations of methods of recordkeeping

Genetic Dissection of Structural and Functional Components of Synaptic Plasticity. III. CREB Is Necessary for Presynaptic Functional Plasticity

AbstractIncreased cAMP (in dunce mutants) leads to an increase in the structure and function of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. Synaptic Fasciclin II (Fas II) controls this structural plasticity, but does not alter synaptic function. Here, we show that CREB, the cAMP response element–binding protein, acts in parallel with Fas II to cause an increase in synaptic strength. Expression of the CREB repressor (dCREB2-b) in the dunce mutant blocks functional but not structural plasticity. Expression of the CREB activator (dCREB2-a) increases synaptic strength only in FasII mutants that increase bouton number. This CREB-mediated increase in synaptic strength is due to increased presynaptic transmitter release. Expression of dCREB2-a in a FasII mutant background genetically reconstitutes this cAMP-dependent plasticity. Thus, cAMP initiates parallel changes in CREB and Fas II to achieve long-term synaptic enhancement