Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education in Geography

This paper describes the development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE) in Geography, a multi-year project begun in 2005 to study the process of professional development in graduate geography in the U.S and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. As a research and action project responding to the needs of graduate geography programs, EDGE seeks to provide academic geographers with an empirical perspective of disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary and generic skills that M.A./M.S. and Ph.D. students develop as a result of graduate education. Related objectives are to understand how disciplinary skills are applied by geography graduates once they enter the professional workforce in both academic and non-academic professional settings, and to gauge the extent graduate programs are sufficiently preparing geography graduates for those careers. We begin by summarizing the research goals and design of EDGE, highlighting the roles and contributions of geographers and educational researchers, and noting the interplay and synergy between disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies and practices. To date, research has focused on: 1) assessing contemporary workforce competencies in professional geography and 2) examining the role of department climate and culture on student experience and faculty development within masters and doctoral programs. Although the EDGE research efforts are still underway, we present some preliminary research findings and discuss the implications of those outcomes for professional development in geography and related social and environmental sciences. Also discussed is the complementary nature of discipline-based and interdisciplinary professional development efforts

A Three-dimensional Deformable Brain Atlas for DBS Targeting. I. Methodology for Atlas Creation and Artifact Reduction.

BackgroundTargeting in deep brain stimulation (DBS) relies heavily on the ability to accurately localize particular anatomic brain structures. Direct targeting of subcortical structures has been limited by the ability to visualize relevant DBS targets.Methods and resultsIn this work, we describe the development and implementation, of a methodology utilized to create a three dimensional deformable atlas for DBS surgery. This atlas was designed to correspond to the print version of the Schaltenbrand-Bailey atlas structural contours. We employed a smoothing technique to reduce artifacts inherent in the print version.ConclusionsWe present the methodology used to create a three dimensional patient specific DBS atlas which may in the future be tested for clinical utility

A Foundation\u27s Theory of Philanthropy: What It Is, What It Provides, How to Do It

This article argues that philanthropic endeavors should be undergirded by a theory of philanthropy. Articulating a theory of philanthropy is a way for a foundation to make explicit what is often only implicit, thereby enabling internal and external actors to pose and resolve significant questions, understand and play important roles more fully and effectively, and improve performance by enhancing alignment across complex systems. A theory of philanthropy articulates how and why a foundation will use its resources to achieve its mission and vision. The theory-of-philanthropy approach is designed to help foundations align their strategies, governance, operating and accountability procedures, and grantmaking profile and policies with their resources and mission. Some 30 elements that can feed into a comprehensive theory of philanthropy represent a customizable tool for exploring the issues foundations face. A foundation can use the tool to gather data and perspectives about specific aspects of its heritage and approach; what is learned in addressing the elements can then be synthesized into a succinct and coherent theory of philanthropy

The Theory of Philanthropy of the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative

This article presents the theory of philanthropy of the Palix Foundation, which seeks to improve health and wellness outcomes for children and families in Alberta, Canada, by mobilizing and applying knowledge about brain and early childhood development and the link to lifelong mental health and addiction outcomes. Through years of intuitive exploration and adaptation, the foundation evolved its role to include brokering access to the latest scientific knowledge, convening key players in multiple forums to explore applying that knowledge, and serving as a learning partner to public systems and communities in Alberta. Following evaluation of a major phase of the foundation’s work, its leaders asked the authors to work with them to address questions emerging from the evaluation relating to the next phase in its development. This led to a concentrated effort to synthesize the foundation’s underlying theory of philanthropy and apply it to those questions. · Articulating the theory of philanthropy helped “make the implicit explicit” and provided a useful way for the foundation to engage with its stakeholders and recalibrate its approach for a new phase of work

Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves

Rigorous analysis of diversity-dependence—the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity—requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment–water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more susceptible to predation and physical disturbance. By comparing detrended standing diversity with rates of diversification, origination, and extinction in this exceptional fossil record, we find that epifaunal bivalves experienced significant, negative diversity-dependence in origination and net diversification, whereas infaunal forms show little appreciable relationship between diversity and evolutionary rates. This macroevolutionary contrast is robust to the time span over which dynamics are analysed, whether mass-extinction rebounds are included in the analysis, the treatment of stratigraphic ranges that are not maximally resolved, and the details of detrending. We also find that diversity-dependence persists over hundreds of millions of years, even though diversity itself rises nearly exponentially, belying the notion that diversity-dependence must imply equilibrial diversity dynamics

Burnout intervention

1 online resource (vii, 83 pages) : graphs (some colour), colour chartsIncludes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (pages 58-67).A common occurrence among healthcare professionals is a condition known as burnout which significantly impairs both the mental and physical health of individuals over time. To reduce burnout this study utilized a Train the Trainer model to decrease intervention costs and support healthcare professions with six weeks of workshops and one-on-one coaching. The workshops focused on psychological flexibility, work stress recovery, and supportive leadership. The results of the study show by the end of the intervention, participants had reduced burnout, sleep impairment, relationship conflict, and improved psychological detachment. Participants’ supportive leadership was not found to change. During the intervention resting heart rate was measured as a physiological indicator of burnout. The participants’ average resting heart rates showed a downward trend suggesting burnout was reduced. Overall, the results of the intervention suggest that the Train the Trainer model was effective in reducing participant burnout along with reducing intervention costs

Protocols for calibrating multibeam sonar

Development of protocols for calibrating multibeam sonar by means of the standard-target method is documented. Particular systems used in the development work included three that provide the water-column signals, namely the SIMRAD SM2000/90- and 200-kHz sonars and RESON SeaBat 8101 sonar, with operating frequency of 240 kHz. Two facilities were instrumented specifically for the work: a sea well at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a large, indoor freshwater tank at the University of New Hampshire. Methods for measuring the transfer characteristics of each sonar, with transducers attached, are described and illustrated with measurement results. The principal results, however, are the protocols themselves. These are elaborated for positioning the target, choosing the receiver gain function, quantifying the system stability, mapping the directionality in the plane of the receiving array and in the plane normal to the central axis, measuring the directionality of individual beams, and measuring the nearfield response. General preparations for calibrating multibeam sonars and a method for measuring the receiver response electronically are outlined. Advantages of multibeam sonar calibration and outstanding problems, such as that of validation of the performance of multibeam sonars as configured for use, are mentioned

A review of outcomes and modes of presentation following liner dissociation from Harris-Galante uncemented acetabular components

Purpose Dissociation of the polyethylene liner is a known failure mechanism of the Harris Galante I and II uncemented acetabular components. The outcomes of revision surgery for this indication and the influence of time to diagnosis are not well described. Methods We report a series of 29 cases revised due to this failure mechanism. The median time from primary to revision surgery was 13 years. Results At a median of 4 years follow-up, the mean OHS was 34 (range 6-48) but results were poorer (mean 29; range 6-45) when the diagnosis and revision was delayed compared to when it was not (mean 39; range 20-48). A large proportion of our patients (n = 14) presented with sudden onset of symptoms with or without trauma. Osteolysis was common in this series but the cup was well fixed in 20/29 cases. There was macroscopic damage to the shell in all cases. Conclusions In our experience, prompt revision of liner dissociation optimises outcomes in this group of patients and radiology reporting alone is not sufficient to identify these cases. </jats:sec

Utility and lower limits of frequency detection in surface electrode stimulation for somatosensory brain-computer interface in humans

Objective: Stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) has been successful in evoking artificial somatosensation in both humans and animals, but much is unknown about the optimal stimulation parameters needed to generate robust percepts of somatosensation. In this study, the authors investigated frequency as an adjustable stimulation parameter for artificial somatosensation in a closed-loop brain-computer interface (BCI) system. Methods: Three epilepsy patients with subdural mini-electrocorticography grids over the hand area of S1 were asked to compare the percepts elicited with different stimulation frequencies. Amplitude, pulse width, and duration were held constant across all trials. In each trial, subjects experienced 2 stimuli and reported which they thought was given at a higher stimulation frequency. Two paradigms were used: first, 50 versus 100 Hz to establish the utility of comparing frequencies, and then 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 Hz were pseudorandomly compared. Results: As the magnitude of the stimulation frequency was increased, subjects described percepts that were “more intense” or “faster.” Cumulatively, the participants achieved 98.0% accuracy when comparing stimulation at 50 and 100 Hz. In the second paradigm, the corresponding overall accuracy was 73.3%. If both tested frequencies were less than or equal to 10 Hz, accuracy was 41.7% and increased to 79.4% when one frequency was greater than 10 Hz (p = 0.01). When both stimulation frequencies were 20 Hz or less, accuracy was 40.7% compared with 91.7% when one frequency was greater than 20 Hz (p < 0.001). Accuracy was 85% in trials in which 50 Hz was the higher stimulation frequency. Therefore, the lower limit of detection occurred at 20 Hz, and accuracy decreased significantly when lower frequencies were tested. In trials testing 10 Hz versus 20 Hz, accuracy was 16.7% compared with 85.7% in trials testing 20 Hz versus 50 Hz (p < 0.05). Accuracy was greater than chance at frequency differences greater than or equal to 30 Hz. Conclusions: Frequencies greater than 20 Hz may be used as an adjustable parameter to elicit distinguishable percepts. These findings may be useful in informing the settings and the degrees of freedom achievable in future BCI systems