My Systems Thinking Before and After a Year of Social Systems Sciences

The paper reflects on the following three systems thinking books: Fred E. Emery & E L Trist. Towards a Social Ecology, Plenum Press, New York, 1973: Due to many references both personal and in print made to Eric Trist, and, to a lesser degree, Fred Emery, I wanted to familiarize myself with their work. Russell L. Ackoff & Fred E. Emery. On Purposeful Systems, Intersystems, Seaside CA, 1972: I had wanted to read it since having sat in on several sessions of your course in behavioral variables last spring. Russell L. Ackoff. Creating the Corporate Future, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 1983: Assigned for the course. I went ahead to read the whole thing in order to get started on our interactive design project, and also to do my own personal idealized design

Native IYG: Improving Psychosocial Protective Factors for HIV/STI and Teen Pregnancy Prevention among Youth in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities

Background: Few HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs for youth in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have been rigorously evaluated despite sexual health disparities in this population. This study reports the evaluation of a culturally adapted Internet-based HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention program for AI/AN youth, Native It’s Your Game (Native IYG). Methods: A randomized study was conducted with 523 youth (12 to 14 years old), recruited from 25 tribal sites in Alaska, Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest. Participants were surveyed at baseline and upon completion of treatment or comparison interventions. Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess impact on short term psychosocial determinants of sexual initiation. Results: A sample of 402 intervention (n=290) and comparison (n=112) youth completed the post-intervention survey (76.9% retention) from 1 to 462 days post-baseline (mean = 114, SD = ±96.67). Participants were 55.5% female, mean age of 13.0 (± 0.97) years with 86.1% self-reporting as AI/AN. Reasons not to have sex, STI knowledge, condom knowledge, condom availability self-efficacy, and condom use self-efficacy were significantly impacted (all P ≤ .01). Limitations included variability in intervention exposure and time between data collection time points. Conclusions: Native IYG demonstrated efficacy to impact short-term psychosocial determinants of sexual behavior in a sample of predominantly AI/AN middle school youth

Visualizing Feminized International Migration Flows in the 1990s

The authors estimate migration flows of women in the 1990s at a global scale and provide a description of these migratory movements. The authors produce these data combining the 2011 World Bank Global Migrant Stock Database and state-of-the-art techniques to estimate migratory flows from stock data. The authors examine these flows in light of the global demand for care workers in the 1990s, showing that migration flows of women in that decade map onto the global care chains discussed in the qualitative literature. The data show that feminized migration flows in the period under analysis have a strong regional component. Yet the data also show that some of the largest feminized migratory corridors are in fact cross-regional

Parents’ News Consumption and COVID Sources in Their Decisions to Vaccinate

In Fall 2021, the COVID-19 Delta Variant produced yet another surge of cases and deaths. Many parents eagerly awaited the official emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for younger children. However, other parents had already planned to delay or refuse vaccination. To ascertain how news and information consumption may impact vaccination decisions, a survey questionnaire of parents was conducted in the beginning of September through online posts to social media parenting groups. Of the (n= 1004) surveys completed, 966 parents indicated their vaccination decisions or intent to vaccinate through both closed and open ended questions. Most participants were in favor of vaccinating their children and used a variety of local and national news and other types of information to make their decisions. While there was no significant relationship between news consumption and intentions to vaccinate, participants against vaccination indicated lower levels of news engagement and were more likely to dismiss news media content as a credible source. This study has implications for creating effective campaigns based on news consumption, primarily for those uncertain or against vaccinating children

Founding Chair, Meet New Chair: Collaborating Through Chair Successions

Challenges abound for new chairs, including the responsibility of [re]shaping the department’s vision. This can be doubly challenging when the founding chair moves into the dean’s office. In this session, founding chair and new chair share their story and facilitate discussion about a collaborative leadership transition

Drug Interaction Study Of Apixaban With Cyclosporine Or Tacrolimus: Results From A Phase 1, Randomized, Open-Label, Crossover Study In Healthy Volunteers

BACKGROUND Solid organ transplant recipients commonly require anticoagulation. Apixaban (APX) is principally metabolized by CYP3A4, undergoes direct intestinal excretion, and is a substrate to P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP) transporters. We examined the potential drug interaction between cyclosporine (CsA) and tacrolimus (Tac) [combined inhibitors of CYP3A4, P-gp and, BCRP] with APX.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/petposters/1005/thumbnail.jp

An Examination of the Features of Evidence-based Teacher Credentialing Systems

The first section provides background and context related to teacher preparation pathways, accountability and quality assurance at the state and national levels. This is followed by a brief description of the methods used for gathering evidence related to teacher credentials and quality teachers and teacher education. The remaining report sections provide an overview of the findings from the research literature and other published reports about the evidence base related to teacher and teacher preparation program quality. To aid in organization, the reviewed components are grouped into sections: teacher content knowledge, the clinical preparation of teachers, alternative teacher certification, and teacher candidate testing and assessment. Each section summarizes the available evidence base for the included topics, and concludes with an analysis of how the evidence relates to current practices, policies, or questions in Maine

A Longitudinal Investigation of Activity Participation at Travel Destination: A Cohort Analytical Approach

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between activity participation at a travel destination and the effects of biological age, time of travel, and generational cohort over time. Household data from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario were utilized because the data yielded longitudinal information about travel behavior across the study region. Significant relationships were found between “Shopping,” “Outdoor Recreation,” and “Entertainment” factors and the effects of biological age, time of travel, and generational cohort

Private health insurance in rural areas: Challenges and opportunities

KEY FINDINGS: Private insurance is less common in rural areas. Rural residents under age 65 are less likely than their urban counterparts to have private health insurance coverage. This difference is driven by the unique characteristics of rural places that make it challenging to create and sustain viable private insurance pools. Chief among these are the predominance of small businesses and self-employed, part time, and low wage workers. Rural workers are less likely to have an employer that offers coverage. Among those employed by a business, only 67% of rural employees work for a firm that offers coverage. Rural businesses, families and individuals pay more for the same benefits. Because of the higher premiums paid by small businesses, employees’ share of premiums is often high. Premiums for such policies tend to be high, and typically offer less generous coverage (fewer benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs). Strategies to improve access to private health insurance have particular implications for rural areas. Some of these strategies, and the rural considerations they raise, include: Employer mandate, purchasing pools/alliances/exchanges, or tax credits for individual insurance

The Underinsured in Rural America: The Root of the Problem and Possible Solutions

Presentation to National Congress on the Un- and Under-Insured Washington DC