Applying ACRL’s Framework “Scholarship as Conversation” to teach Undergraduates Article Anatomy through Active Learning

In Fall of 2022, UGA Libraries Faculty conducted IL instruction for hundreds of undergraduate First-Year Odyssey students. As part of this required course, library faculty are faced with the challenge of conducting workshop-style instruction through a one-shot format, focusing on both integral library skills and how to interpret a research article. R&I Librarian, Jessica Varsa worked with Dr. Justin Ingels, Public Health faculty, to develop a lesson plan on reviewing and interpreting academic journal articles through the lens of the ACRL’s’ Framework that embraces active learning strategies. This presentation will provide a critical reflection about active learning techniques used in their lesson, as well as those the presenters would like to incorporate in future iterations. Future techniques include those that can be supported in a hybrid or fully online learning environment. Techniques would include engagement through Padlet or Google Jamboard, as well as options for students to show what they’ve learned through an interactive poll or exit ticket. These techniques can be used to support students where they are in their learning

Characterization of Singlet Ground and Low-Lying Electronic Excited States of Phosphaethyne and Isophosphaethyne

The singlet ground _X˜ 1_+_ and excited _1_− , 1__ states of HCP and HPC have been systematically investigated using ab initio molecular electronic structure theory. For the ground state, geometries of the two linear stationary points have been optimized and physical properties have been predicted utilizing restricted self-consistent field theory, coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations _CCSD_, CCSD with perturbative triple corrections _CCSD_T__, and CCSD with partial iterative triple excitations _CCSDT-3 and CC3_. Physical properties computed for the global minimum _X˜ 1_+HCP_ include harmonic vibrational frequencies with the cc-pV5Z CCSD_T_ method of _1=3344 cm−1, _2=689 cm−1, and _3=1298 cm−1. Linear HPC, a stationary point of Hessian index 2, is predicted to lie 75.2 kcal mol−1 above the global minimum HCP. The dissociation energy D0_HCP_X˜ 1_+_→H_2S_+CP_X 2_+__ of HCP is predicted to be 119.0 kcal mol−1, which is very close to the experimental lower limit of 119.1 kcal mol−1. Eight singlet excited states were examined and their physical properties were determined employing three equation-of-motion coupled cluster methods _EOM-CCSD, EOM-CCSDT-3, and EOM-CC3_. Four stationary points were located on the lowest-lying excited state potential energy surface, 1_− →1A_, with excitation energies Te of 101.4 kcal mol−1_1A_ HCP_, 104.6 kcal mol−1_1_− HCP_, 122.3 kcal mol−1_1A_ HPC_, and 171.6 kcal mol−1_1_− HPC_ at the cc-pVQZ EOM-CCSDT-3 level of theory. The physical properties of the 1A_ state with a predicted bond angle of 129.5° compare well with the experimentally reported first singlet state _A˜ 1A__. The excitation energy predicted for this excitation is T0=99.4 kcal mol−1_34 800 cm−1 , 4.31 eV_, in essentially perfect agreement with the experimental value of T0=99.3 kcal mol−1_34 746 cm−1 ,4.308 eV_. For the second lowest-lying excited singlet surface, 1_→1A_, four stationary points were found with Te values of 111.2 kcal mol−1 _21A_ HCP_, 112.4 kcal mol−1 _1_ HPC_, 125.6 kcal mol−1_2 1A_ HCP_, and 177.8 kcal mol−1_1_ HPC_. The predicted CP bond length and frequencies of the 2 1A_ state with a bond angle of 89.8° _1.707 Å, 666 and 979 cm−1_ compare reasonably well with those for the experimentally reported C ˜ 1A_ state _1.69 Å, 615 and 969 cm−1_. However, the excitation energy and bond angle do not agree well: theoretical values of 108.7 kcal mol−1 and 89.8° versus experimental values of 115.1 kcal mol−1 and 113°

A Comparison of Willingness to Pay to Prevent Child Maltreatment Deaths in Ecuador and the United States

Estimating the benefits of preventing child maltreatment (CM) is essential for policy makers to determine whether there are significant returns on investment from interventions to prevent CM. The aim of this study was to estimate the benefits of preventing CM deaths in an Ecuadorian population, and to compare the results to a similar study in a US population. The study used the contingent valuation method to elicit respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a 1 in 100,000 reduction in the risk of CM mortality. After adjusting for differences in purchasing power, the WTP to prevent the CM mortality risk reduction in the Ecuador population was $237 and the WTP for the same risk reduction in the US population was$175. In the pooled analysis, WTP for a reduction in CM mortality was significantly impacted by country (p = 0.03), history of CM (p = 0.007), payment mechanism (p < 0.001), confidence in response (p = 0.014), and appropriateness of the payment mechanism (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that estimating benefits from one culture may not be transferable to another, and that low- and middle-income countries, such as Ecuador, may be better served by developing their own benefits estimates for use in future benefit-cost analyses of interventions designed to prevent CM

A Comparison of Willingness to Pay to Prevent Child Maltreatment Deaths in Ecuador and the United States

Estimating the benefits of preventing child maltreatment (CM) is essential for policy makers to determine whether there are significant returns on investment from interventions to prevent CM. The aim of this study was to estimate the benefits of preventing CM deaths in an Ecuadorian population, and to compare the results to a similar study in a US population. The study used the contingent valuation method to elicit respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a 1 in 100,000 reduction in the risk of CM mortality. After adjusting for differences in purchasing power, the WTP to prevent the CM mortality risk reduction in the Ecuador population was $237 and the WTP for the same risk reduction in the US population was$175. In the pooled analysis, WTP for a reduction in CM mortality was significantly impacted by country (p = 0.03), history of CM (p = 0.007), payment mechanism (p &lt; 0.001), confidence in response (p = 0.014), and appropriateness of the payment mechanism (p &lt; 0.001). These findings suggest that estimating benefits from one culture may not be transferable to another, and that low- and middle-income countries, such as Ecuador, may be better served by developing their own benefits estimates for use in future benefit-cost analyses of interventions designed to prevent CM

Linking Costs to Health Outcomes for Allocating Scarce Public Health Resources

Introduction: Resources for public health (PH) are scarce and policymakers face tough decisions in determining their funding priorities. The difficulty of making these decisions is compounded by current PH accounting systems, which are ill-equipped to link fiscal resources to PH outcomes. This paper examines the types of revenues and expenditures, health services, and health outcomes that are being tracked at the local and state PH levels. The authors provide recommendations for strengthening the ability of local and state governments to link expenditures to PH outcomes, both within and across jurisdictions. Framework and Next Steps: The source of revenue data for most local jurisdictions is the accounting systems used for the budgeting and auditing of fiscal activities, and these are primarily linked to specific PH programs. In contrast, expenditure data are mostly generic and typically span multiple PH programs with no link to specific PH activities. Many challenges exist to then link PH activities to health outcomes data, which are often collected through separate reporting systems at the local, state, and national levels. Policy change at the state level and implementation strategies that are standardized across local health departments are required to assess the costs and health outcomes of PH activities. Conclusion: Information linking PH expenditures to health outcomes of PH services could greatly inform the decision-making process. This information will allow investments in PH to be better understood and will provide a strong foundation for the PH services and systems research community to understand variation and drive improvement. Ultimately, these data could be used to improve accountability at the local and state PH department levels

Online-Delivered Over Staff-Delivered Parenting Intervention for Young Children With Disruptive Behavior Problems: Cost-Minimization Analysis

Background: High-prevalence childhood mental health problems like early-onset disruptive behavior problems (DBPs) pose a significant public health challenge and necessitate interventions with adequate population reach. The treatment approach of choice for childhood DBPs, namely evidence-based parenting intervention, has not been sufficiently disseminated when relying solely on staff-delivered services. Online-delivered parenting intervention is a promising strategy, but the cost minimization of this delivery model for reducing child DBPs is unknown compared with the more traditional staff-delivered modality. Objective: This study aimed to examine the cost-minimization of an online parenting intervention for childhood disruptive behavior problems compared with the staff-delivered version of the same content. This objective, pursued in the context of a randomized trial, made use of cost data collected from parents and service providers. Methods: A cost-minimization analysis (CMA) was conducted comparing the online and staff-delivered parenting interventions. Families (N=334) with children 3-7 years old, who exhibited clinically elevated disruptive behavior problems, were randomly assigned to the two parenting interventions. Participants, delivery staff, and administrators provided data for the CMA concerning family participation time and expenses, program delivery time (direct and nondirect), and nonpersonnel resources (eg, space, materials, and access fee). The CMA was conducted using both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analytic approaches. Results: For the intent-to-treat analyses, the online parenting intervention reflected significantly lower program costs (t168=23.2; P\u3c.001), family costs (t185=9.2; P\u3c.001), and total costs (t171=19.1; P\u3c.001) compared to the staff-delivered intervention. The mean incremental cost difference between the interventions was $1164 total costs per case. The same pattern of significant differences was confirmed in the per-protocol analysis based on the families who completed their respective intervention, with a mean incremental cost difference of$1483 per case. All costs were valued or adjusted in 2017 US dollars. Conclusions: The online-delivered parenting intervention in this randomized study produced substantial cost minimization compared with the staff-delivered intervention providing the same content. Cost minimization was driven primarily by personnel time and, to a lesser extent, by facilities costs and family travel time. The CMA was accomplished with three critical conditions in place: (1) the two intervention delivery modalities (ie, online and staff) held intervention content constant; (2) families were randomized to the two parenting interventions; and (3) the online-delivered intervention was previously confirmed to be non-inferior to the staff-delivered intervention in significantly reducing the primary outcome, child disruptive behavior problems. Given those conditions, cost minimization for the online parenting intervention was unequivocal

There’s no such thing as a free TB diagnosis: Catastrophic TB costs in Urban Uganda

Identifying and reducing TB-related costs is necessary for achieving the End TB Strategy’s goal that no family is burdened with catastrophic costs. This study explores costs during the pre-diagnosis period and assesses the potential for using coping costs as a proxy indicator for catastrophic costs when comprehensive surveys are not feasible. Detailed interviews about TB-related costs and productivity losses were conducted with 196 pulmonary TB patients in Kampala, Uganda. The threshold for catastrophic costs was defined as 20% of household income. Multivariable regression analyses were used to assess the influence of patient characteristics on economic burden, and the positive predictive value (PPV) of coping costs was estimated. Over 40% of patients experienced catastrophic costs, with average (median) pre-diagnosis costs making up 30.6% (14.1%) of household income. Low-income status (AOR = 2.91, 95% CI = 1.29, 6.72), hospitalisation (AOR = 8.66, 95% CI = 2.60; 39.54), and coping costs (AOR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.81; 8.40) were significantly associated with the experience of catastrophic costs. The PPV of coping costs as an indicator for catastrophic costs was estimated to be 73% (95% CI = 58%, 84%). TB patients endure a substantial economic burden during the pre-diagnosis period, and identifying households that experience coping costs may be a useful proxy measure for identifying catastrophic costs