Determining the degree of collaboration readiness for regional transportation systems: The formulation of a model

The purpose of this study was to identify factors, both governmental and universal, that indicate the degree of readiness and/or potential for success of a government collaborative project in the field of regional rapid mass transportation. The study is important because collaboration has been recognized as a tool that can help address such challenges as demonstrating the responsible use of limited resources, anticipating converging technologies, and reacting to rapidly changing technologies. There was very limited availability of tools to assist in ensuring successful collaborations. Although tools have been developed that gauge the degree of collaborative readiness of a project, such tools do not address the specific needs of a regional transportation project. A Modified Delphi approach was used to address the research questions, and included a panel of experts with extensive experience in the field of the research phenomenon. The research questions addressed the identification of the factors that impact successful collaborations for governmental entities and whether or not these factors could be incorporated into a model that when used would increase the likelihood of success of a regional mass transportation project. This research yielded a list of factors that enhance the chances of success of such projects and proposes a model designed to guide the leaders of potential regional transportation projects. The suggestions for those planning a regional transportation project include: (1) when creating regional transit authorities, consider the factors identified in this study, (2) use the factors to track the progress of the collaborative project during the preliminary work phase, and (3) institute a policy for the creation of a regional advisory board consisting of local representation, and (4) use the factors identified by this study to guide the policy development phase as supportive of a Regional Transit Authority. Future researchers using a Delphi approach should consider working with a membership-oriented organization specific to their research study rather than people with specific job titles

Value of Coaching in Building Leadership Capacity of Principals in Urban Schools: A Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how coaching support structures enabled and sustained leadership practices of urban principals. The study investigated how the intervention of coaching for academic leaders can serve as evidence based professional development for building leadership capacity. The central focus was on principals\u27 perceptions of coaching engagements over time to identify recurring themes and essential elements of the coach-to-client relationship. With a goal of meeting 21st century school accountability requirements of standards and assessments, the urban district in this study implemented coaching for academic leaders who were selected to participate in the coaching intervention as job- embedded professional development. The district assigned a cadre of trained coach leaders to building principals with the primary goal of coaching academic leaders to attain desired goals. The district\u27s director of professional development was a certified coach leader and had the responsibility of screening applications from principals and assigning coaches. The data collection process for this study included in-depth interviews, direct observations, and review of archival documents. Holistic analysis captured recurring themes and assertions. Essentials of participants\u27 perceptions of coaching were collected through semi-structured interviews, analysis of textual content, coding, and categorizing by themes. The significant themes showed the perceptions of coaching as: (1) Supportive Environment, (2) Relationship Built on Trust, (3) Confidential Conversations, (4) Leadership Support, (5) Significance of Reflection, (6) Benefits of Coaching Language in Communication, (7) Co-Constructor, (8) Thinking Partner, and (9) Trust. Executive coaches in this study offered urban leaders a unique opportunity to engage in confidential conversations, solution focused planning with a thinking partner, facilitative conversations using effective questioning, and leadership support for accomplishing predetermined organizational goals. Findings from the study indicated that leadership is a lonely place and in many cases there is no one for the leader to confide in on issues that impact the overall success of the organization. Leadership coaching helps fill this void. The executive coaches establish trusting relationships with leaders which fosters open dialogue and genuine conversations to get at the heart of the matter. Leaders are better equipped to accomplish goals and model effective strategies after participating in leadership coaching. Trusting relationships are paramount to the success of executive coaching. The principals in this study spoke their truths regarding the conditions and support necessary to lead effective schools. Principals valued leadership coaching in building leadership capacity and supporting leader practices. Leadership coaching for principals served as targeted support in a safe, trusting, and confidential environment

Development of a Hydrologic Model for an Urban Headwater Stream: The Influence of Pervious Surface Properties on Runoff Dynamics

A hydrologic model was developed for the Mullins Creek (MC) catchment located on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The MC catchment is a small, dynamic urban stream system with a range of land use/land cover (LULC), an extensive and well-developed stormwater drainage network, and extensive urbanization (over 90% developed, and almost 50% impervious surface area (ISA)). Selected datasets provided information on the stormwater drainage network, the physical attributes of the catchment and receiving waterway (i.e. drainage area, slope, etc.), infiltration potential of soil map units, LULC, and percent ISA. These datasets were analyzed to provide input parameters and develop a Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) for the MC catchment. To more accurately characterize the infiltration potential of the pervious areas of the catchment, infiltration testing was performed in the field to compare infiltration in paired highly maintained and minimally maintained sites in the same soil map unit in or near the catchment. As a component of the modeling process, a sensitivity analysis was run on two sets of parameters: percent ISA and Horton infiltration rates. The sensitivity of the model output to changes in percent ISA and changes in infiltration rates varied based on storm event size. The MC SWMM model was most sensitive to changes in percent impervious surface for small storm events (25 - 50 mm), while the model was most sensitive to changes in infiltration rates for moderate to large storm events (≥150 mm). In an effort to test the utility of developing a hydrologic model of this type for other small, urban drainage systems, the uncalibrated model was validated using selected storm events. Observed storm hydrograph data were downloaded from a USGS gaging station located at the outlet of the catchment. Overall, the MC model performed well for the selected storm events, although it performed best for the storms that occurred closest to when the LULC data were collected. The uncalibrated model outputs were most accurate when observed soil infiltration data were incorporated into the model, and when the percent ISA in the model was set equal to total impervious area

Oxygen and Hydrogen Diffusion In Minerals

This chapter provides a summary and review of experimentally determined oxygen and hydrogen volume diffusion in minerals. A very extensive and detailed review of stable isotope exchange processes including oxygen and hydrogen volume diffusion can be found in Cole and Chakraborty (2001) and a detailed review of hydrogen diffusion in minerals, especially nominally anhydrous minerals, can be found in Ingrin and Blanchard (2006). In addition, a detailed review of oxygen and hydrogen diffusion in silicate melts is provided by Zhang and Ni (2010), and oxygen and hydrogen diffusion rates can also be found in the chapters, in this volume, on specific minerals and mineral groups (e.g., Van Orman and Crispin 2010; Cherniak 2010). Interested readers are encouraged to refer to these reviews for additional information on oxygen and hydrogen diffusion in geological materials. In this chapter only volume diffusion through the crystal lattice will be considered. The majority of the experiments employed isotope tracers (e.g., 18O, 2H). The isotope diffusion of hydrogen in the nominally anhydrous minerals is regarded as an impurity tracer diffusion mechanism, and the effective diffusion coefficients obtained from the hydrogen uptake or extraction experiments correspond to chemical interdiffusion of different species. The relationship between the measured effective diffusivity and the hydrogen diffusivity is governed by the specific reaction involved (e.g., see Kohlstedt and Mackwell 1998)

Electron Transfer Reactivity of Type Zero Pseudomonas aeruginosa Azurin

Type zero copper is a hard-ligand analogue of the classical type 1 or blue site in copper proteins that function as electron transfer (ET) agents in photosynthesis and other biological processes. The EPR spectroscopic features of type zero Cu^(II) are very similar to those of blue copper, although lacking the deep blue color, due to the absence of thiolate ligation. We have measured the rates of intramolecular ET from the pulse radiolytically generated C3−C26 disulfide radical anion to the Cu^(II) in both type zero C112D/M121L and type 2 C112D Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurins in pH 7.0 aqueous solutions between 8 and 45 °C. We also have obtained rate/temperature (10−30 °C) profiles for ET reactions between these mutants and the wild-type azurin. Analysis of the rates and activation parameters for both intramolecular and intermolecular ET reactions indicates that the type zero copper reorganization energy falls in a range (0.9−1.1 eV) slightly above that for type 1 (0.7−0.8 eV), but substantially smaller than that for type 2 (>2 eV), consistent with XAS and EXAFS data that reveal minimal type zero site reorientation during redox cycling

Negotiating the Boundaries of Solarpunk Literature in Environmental Justice

Imagine a world where climate change issues are solved. Societies have begun a green reformation, and postponed other endeavors to focus solely on creating a sustainable planet. Different nations make use of green technology and alternative energies, while still allowing citizens to live a relatively similar lifestyle to people today. Global green quotas are met by major nations, and the climate catastrophe is pushed far ahead into the future. Now imagine a world where climate justice issues are also solved. Along with achieving sustainable restructuring of environmental ecosystems, societies have undertaken a serious upheaval in their social ecosystems as well. People have begun to recognize and act on the internal contradictions in creating a sustainable and equitable relationship with the environment without also creating sustainable and equitable relationships and power dynamics with each other. This is the bridge that the environmental justice movement is trying to make between the interconnected dimensions of imperialism, racial and economic exploitation, and the broader environmental movement. The opportunities for justice in a sustainable future are endless, and solarpunk, an emerging genre of literature that focuses on the relationship between human societies and the environment, seeks to explore these possibilities. Many solarpunk stories delve into matters beyond what is traditionally considered the environment, and explore the interrelationships between gender, race, class, and other alienated groups which begs for an analysis of solarpunk literature from an environmental justice lens. The intersections between these alienated groups, the umbrella environmental movement, and capitalist systems of power create tensions that sometimes are not optimistic, which is why I’m arguing that stories should not be defined on their ability to be utopic in their classification as a work of solarpunk. More importantly, these stories are cultural texts that provide blueprints to the creation of a sustainable future for social ecosystems

Individualized initiation of statin therapy determined by baseline LDL-C: Are you more likely to achieve goal LDL-C?

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world. A significant amount of clinical data are available to demonstrate the positive influence that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin) therapy has on slowing the progression of cardiovascular disease and improving clinical outcomes. Achieving the treatment goals for cholesterol in cardiovascular disease continues to present challenges. Recent clinical trial information is available assessing the use of more aggressive initial doses of statin therapy based on initial low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) measurements in an attempt to reach treatment goals sooner. Six clinical trials assessed low-, moderate- and high-risk individuals as well as those with type 2 diabetes mellitus to determine if this treatment approach is both safe and effective. The studies concluded that initial dosing of statin therapy determined by a baseline LDL-C measurement demonstrates good achievement in reaching treatment goals and does not result in a higher rate of adverse effects

Agreement between bovine respiratory disease scoring systems for pre-weaned dairy calves.

Clinical scoring systems have been proposed for respiratory disease diagnosis in calves, including the Wisconsin (WI) system (McGuirk in 2008) which uses five clinical signs, each partitioned into four levels of severity. Recently, we developed the California (CA) bovine respiratory disease (BRD) scoring system requiring less calf handling and consisting of six clinical signs, each classified as normal or abnormal. The objective of this study was to estimate the on-farm agreement between the WI and the CA scoring systems. A total of 100 calves were enrolled on a CA dairy and assessed for BRD case status using the two scoring systems simultaneously. The Kappa coefficient of agreement between these two systems was estimated to be 0.85, which indicated excellent agreement beyond chance. The simpler design and reduced calf handling required by the CA BRD scoring system may make it advantageous for on-farm use

Photoinduced electron transfer in singly labeled thiouredopyrenetrisulfonate azurin derivatives

AbstractA novel method for the initiation of intramolecular electron transfer reactions in azurin is reported. The method is based on laser photoexcitation of covalently attached thiouredopyrenetrisulfonate (TUPS), the reaction that generates the low potential triplet state of the dye with high quantum efficiency. TUPS derivatives of azurin, singly labeled at specific lysine residues, were prepared and purified to homogeneity by ion exchange HPLC. Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to directly monitor the rates of the electron transfer reaction from the photoexcited triplet state of TUPS to Cu(II) and the back reaction from Cu(I) to the oxidized dye. For all singly labeled derivatives, the rate constants of copper ion reduction were one or two orders of magnitude larger than for its reoxidation, consistent with the larger thermodynamic driving force for the former process. Using 3-D coordinates of the crystal structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin and molecular structure calculation of the TUPS modified proteins, electron transfer pathways were calculated. Analysis of the results revealed a good correlation between separation distance from donor to Cu ligating atom (His-N or Cys-S) and the observed rate constants of Cu(II) reduction