Does Saul Alinsky Belong in Jesuit Education?

How do we help our students acquire academic knowledge as well as develop public skills to address and solve problems in the world? Additionally, how do we give students hope that their skills and talents can be used to make the world and their communities safer, more sustainable and productive? These are central questions of Jesuit education. The American community organizer Saul Alinsky and the community organizing tradition that he founded have some things to offer us in our attempts to provide academic and public skills as well as hope to our students. Through a brief examination of Alinsky’s career and an explanation of the world view of community organizing as articulated in his most famous book, Rules for Radicals, this paper demonstrates that Alinsky and his ideas can enhance our project as Jesuit educators

A Case Study of Institutional Visioning, Public Good, and the Renewal of Democracy: The Theory and Practice of Public Good Work at the University of Denver

In 2001, the University of Denver included language in its vision statement that committed the institution to becoming “a great private university dedicated to the public good.” This essay (1) explains how the development of an institutional visioning statement led to the implementation of a series of campus dialoguesand action steps designed to forward public good work at the university; (2) presents campus conversations and current literature to offer a theory of public good work within private research universities; and (3) documents challenges and lessons learned through institutional efforts to embrace a culture of engagement

Vascular Communications of the Hand in Patients Being Considered for Transradial Coronary Angiography Is the Allen’s Test Accurate?

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of the Allen’s test (AT) in predicting hand ischemia in patients undergoing transradial coronary angiography.BackgroundPatients with poor vascular communications between the radial artery (RA) and ulnar artery (UA), as indicated by an abnormal AT, are usually excluded from transradial coronary angiography to avoid ischemic hand complications.MethodsOver a four-month period, patients undergoing coronary angiography were screened for AT time. Circulation in the RA, UA, principal artery of the thumb (PAT), and thumb capillary lactate were measured before and after 30 min of RA occlusion.ResultsFifty-five patients were studied (20 normal, 15 intermediate, 20 abnormal). Three patients with an abnormal AT were excluded, owing to absence of detectible flow in the distal UA. Patients with an abnormal AT were all men, had a larger RA (3.4 vs. 2.8 mm; p <0.001), and smaller UA (1.9 vs. 2.5 mm; p <0.001), compared with patients with a normal AT. After 30 min of RA occlusion in patients with abnormal AT, blood flow to the PAT improved (3.2 to 7.7 cm/s; p <0.001) yet remained reduced relative to patients with normal AT (7.7 vs. 21.4 cm/s; p <0.001. Thumb capillary lactate was elevated in patients with an abnormal AT (2.0 vs. 1.5 mmol/l; p = 0.019).ConclusionsAfter 30 min of RA occlusion, patients with an abnormal AT showed significantly reduced blood flow to the thumb and increased thumb capillary lactate (compared with patients with a normal AT) suggestive of ischemia. Transradial cardiac catheterization should not be performed in patients with an abnormal AT

Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Guinea-Bissau: A Sexually Transmitted Genotype 2 with Parenteral Amplification?

BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa is the continent with the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Genotype 2 HCV is thought to have originated from West Africa several hundred years ago. Mechanisms of transmission remain poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To delineate mechanisms for HCV transmission in West Africa, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of individuals aged ≥50 years in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Dried blood spots were obtained for HCV serology and PCR amplification. Prevalence of HCV was 4.4% (47/1066) among women and 5.0% (27/544) among men. In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for HCV infection were age (baseline: 50–59 y; 60–69 y, adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.67, 95% CI: 0.91–3.06; ≥70 y, AOR: 3.47, 95% CI: 1.89–6.39), belonging to the Papel, Mancanha, Balanta or Mandjako ethnic groups (AOR: 2.45, 95% CI:1.32–4.53), originating from the Biombo, Cacheu or Oio regions north of Bissau (AOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 1.18–14.73) and having bought or sold sexual services (AOR: 3.60, 95% CI: 1.88–6.89). Of 57 isolates that could be genotyped, 56 were genotype 2. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that transmission of HCV genotype 2 in West Africa occurs through sexual intercourse. In specific locations and subpopulations, medical interventions may have amplified transmission parenterally

Dedication to Community Engagement: A Higher Education Conundrum?

Universities and colleges are increasingly providing internal grants to encourage faculty and staff involvement in community-based research and service-learning projects; however, little attention has been given to the impact of institutional support of these efforts. This qualitative study employed focus group interviews with 17 faculty and staff at one mid-size private research university (high activity) to explore the impact of institutional funding on their professional roles and practice of community engaged work. Findings revealed that community-based projects energized the participants, helped them make their academic work relevant in communities, created formal and informal university-community partnerships, and elevated the University’s public image. However, a conundrum was evident in the tension between the University’s public expression of the importance of community engagement and participants’ concerns that the traditional academic reward structure could jeopardize their long-term commitment to community work. A framework is offered that may assist institutions that are pondering or have already committed to using institutional dollars to support engaged scholarship

Decision-analysis to guide recovery of the Po’ouli, a critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper

We used a probabilistic decision tree to help select among alternative recovery strategies for the Po‘ouli, a critically endangered forest bird endemic to the Hawaiian island of Maui. The Po‘ouli is one of the rarest birds in the world, with only three individuals known, and no breeding pairs. The most urgent conservation need for the species is to create a breeding pair and obtain eggs for captive propagation. Seven recovery strategies had been proposed, and there was disagreement among conservation workers about which strategy to pursue. In addition to lengthy discussions, a decision tree was introduced to provide an objective way of quantifying the chance of success under each alternative. All available information was used to attempt evaluation of each node in the decision tree. The overall chance of obtaining eggs was calculated by multiplying estimates at each node under each alternative. All options produced low estimates of potential success, but two options, removal of all birds to captivity and placement of the birds in a field aviary in an accessible location, produced similar estimates of success. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife eventually agreed that removal to captivity was the preferred alternative because it could be implemented quickly, which was important considering the advanced age of the birds, and would make it easier to provide veterinary care and ensure their safety from predators, severe weather, and vandals. Decision trees and other structured models should not be relied on exclusively, but they can provide an objective method of helping to make difficult conservation decisions and provide a record of complex thought processes used in reaching a determination. The case of the Po‘ouli may serve as a template for navigation towards a decision to recover other species of extreme rarity

An attempt to recover the Po'ouli by translocation and an appraisal of recovery strategy for bird species of extreme rarity

The Po'ouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma), a Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to Maui, has a population of only three known individuals; no breeding pair currently exists, and their home ranges are too far apart for breeding to occur. Without timely intervention this monotypic genus will likely go extinct. Conservationists have faced a dilemma: facilitate breeding amongst the known individuals, manage their ecosystem to benefit uncounted Po'ouli, or a combination of both? Po'ouli biology is poorly known - but their remote home ranges are closely monitored. A State and Federal Environmental Assessment in 1999 recommended that one Po'ouli be translocated into the home range of another in an attempt to facilitate breeding. This first manipulative recovery action was achieved in April 2002, and provided valuable new information for future captive management efforts, but upon release, radio telemetry confirmed that the translocated bird returned to its own home range after one day. We describe the recent progress that has been made to recover the Po'ouli, and critically evaluate the Po'ouli case study and the lessons learned from it that can help expedite recovery of other birds of extreme rarity. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved