Examining The Relationship Between Diversity And Firm Performance

There is a heated debate taking place in the between those who think firms should be more diverse because it is the right thing to do and those who think firms should be more diverse because it actually enhances shareholder value. This study establishes a solid business case for managing diversity as a bottom line initiative.  I find a positive and significant relationship between firm diversity and long-term firm performance.  These findings forecast an increase in the employment opportunities for educators, students and recent graduates from diverse backgrounds

Conceptual design optimization study

The feasibility of applying multilevel functional decomposition and optimization techniques to conceptual design of advanced fighter aircraft was investigated. Applying the functional decomposition techniques to the conceptual design phase appears to be feasible. The initial implementation of the modified design process will optimize wing design variables. A hybrid approach, combining functional decomposition techniques for generation of aerodynamic and mass properties linear sensitivity derivatives with existing techniques for sizing mission performance and optimization, is proposed

The African American Experience in Cleveland: Oral History and Digital Exhibition

Our project examines themes in African American history from the 1910s to 1970s through the lens of Cleveland, drawing upon the voices of more than 60 Clevelanders interviewed by our team. After collecting more than 60 hours of digital sound using oral history best practices, we produced minute-by-minute logs to aid researchers, created a selection of short story clips for the Cleveland Voices website, and curated new sites for the Cleveland Historical mobile app. Among our interviewees are the oldest living eyewitness of the 1920 Matewan Massacre in the coalfields of West Virginia, the first African American licensed pilot, and the first black architecture firm owner in Ohio. Many of our interviewees were participants in the Great Migration or Second Great Migration. Some have firsthand experience of sharecropping in the South in the early 20th century, and their local experience covers Cedar-Central, Glenville, Mt. Pleasant, and the Heights. Topical strengths within this new oral history series—part of the 900+ interview Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection—also include black music, leisure, and recreation venues, black suburbanization, school desegregation, housing discrimination (including hate crimes), fair housing activism, and urban riots.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2013/1018/thumbnail.jp

The African American Experience in Cleveland: Oral History and Digital Exhibition

Our project examines themes in African American history from the 1910s to 1970s through the lens of Cleveland, drawing upon the voices of more than 60 Clevelanders interviewed by our team. After collecting more than 60 hours of digital sound using oral history best practices, we produced minute-by-minute logs to aid researchers, created a selection of short story clips for the Cleveland Voices website, and curated new sites for the Cleveland Historical mobile app. Among our interviewees are the oldest living eyewitness of the 1920 Matewan Massacre in the coalfields of West Virginia, the first African American licensed pilot, and the first black architecture firm owner in Ohio. Many of our interviewees were participants in the Great Migration or Second Great Migration. Some have firsthand experience of sharecropping in the South in the early 20th century, and their local experience covers Cedar-Central, Glenville, Mt. Pleasant, and the Heights. Topical strengths within this new oral history series—part of the 900+ interview Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection—also include black music, leisure, and recreation venues, black suburbanization, school desegregation, housing discrimination (including hate crimes), fair housing activism, and urban riots.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2013/1018/thumbnail.jp

Maternal and perinatal outcomes in women planning vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home in England: secondary analysis of the Birthplace national prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To compare vaginal birth rates in women planning vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home versus in an obstetric unit (OU) and explore transfer rates in women planning home VBAC. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: OUs and planned home births in England. POPULATION: 1436 women planning VBAC in the Birthplace cohort, including 209 planning home VBAC. METHODS: We used Poisson regression to calculate relative risks adjusted for maternal characteristics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: MAIN OUTCOMES: (i) vaginal birth and (ii) transfer from planned home birth to OU during labour or immediately after birth. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: (i) composite of maternal blood transfusion or admission to higher level care, (ii) stillbirth or Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes, (iii) neonatal unit admission. RESULTS: Planned VBAC at home was associated with a statistically significant increase in the chances of having a vaginal birth compared with planned VBAC in an OU (adjusted relative risk 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.06-1.24). The risk of an adverse maternal outcome was around 2-3% in both settings, with a similar risk of an adverse neonatal outcome. Transfer rates were high (37%) and varied markedly by parity (para 1, 56.7% versus para 2+, 24.6%). CONCLUSION: Women in the cohort who planned VBAC at home had an increased chance of a vaginal birth compared with those planning VBAC in an OU, but transfer rates were high, particularly for women with only one previous birth, and the risk of an adverse maternal or perinatal outcome was around 2-3%. No change in guidance can be recommended. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Higher vaginal birth rates in planned VBAC at home versus in OU but 2-3% adverse outcomes and high transfer rate

Other Oriented Perfectionism in Tennis Coaching

Other oriented perfectionism describes a pre-occupation with the expectation that others will achieve excessively high standards of performance. Projecting unrealistic expectations on to each other in a player-coach dyad may disrupt the working relationship and impact on the athlete’s experience within the sport. This study uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to explore, from the coach’s viewpoint, the effects of other oriented perfectionism in tennis coaching. After conducting semi-structured interviews with high level coaches from the United Kingdom, two superordinate themes emerged. ‘Negative effects of coaches’ other-oriented perfectionism’ and ‘Redefining perfectionism’. The findings of this study assist in highlighting areas for possible intervention as well as identifying avenues for future research

Ethnic and socioeconomic variation in cause-specific preterm infant mortality by gestational age at birth: national cohort study

Objective: To describe ethnic and socioeconomic variation in cause-specific infant mortality of preterm babies by gestational age at birth. Design: National birth cohort study. Setting: England and Wales 2006–2012. Subjects: Singleton live births at 24–36 completed weeks’ gestation (n=256 142). Outcome measures: Adjusted rate ratios for death in infancy by cause (three groups), within categories of gestational age at birth (24–27, 28–31, 32–36 weeks), by baby’s ethnicity (nine groups) or area deprivation score (Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles). Results: Among 24–27 week births (5% of subjects; 47% of those who died in infancy), all minority ethnic groups had lower risk of immaturity-related death than White British, the lowest rate ratios being 0.63 (95% CI 0.49 to 0.80) for Black Caribbean, 0.74 (0.64 to 0.85) for Black African and 0.75 (0.60 to 0.94) for Indian. Among 32–36 week births, all minority groups had higher risk of death from congenital anomalies than White British, the highest rate ratios being 4.50 (3.78 to 5.37) for Pakistani, 2.89 (2.10 to 3.97) for Bangladeshi and 2.06 (1.59 to 2.68) for Black African; risks of death from congenital anomalies and combined rarer causes (infection, intrapartum conditions, SIDS and unclassified) increased with deprivation, the rate ratios comparing the most with the least deprived quintile being, respectively, 1.54 (1.22 to 1.93) and 2.05 (1.55 to 2.72). There was no evidence of socioeconomic variation in deaths from immaturity-related conditions. Conclusions: Gestation-specific preterm infant mortality shows contrasting ethnic patterns of death from immaturity-related conditions in extremely-preterm babies, and congenital anomalies in moderate/late-preterm babies. Socioeconomic variation derives from congenital anomalies and rarer causes in moderate/late-preterm babies. Future research should examine biological origins of extremely preterm birth

Risk of myocardial infarction and stroke after acute infection or vaccination.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that chronic inflammation may promote atherosclerotic disease. We tested the hypothesis that acute infection and vaccination increase the short-term risk of vascular events. METHODS: We undertook within-person comparisons, using the case-series method, to study the risks of myocardial infarction and stroke after common vaccinations and naturally occurring infections. The study was based on the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database, which contains computerized medical records of more than 5 million patients. RESULTS: A total of 20,486 persons with a first myocardial infarction and 19,063 persons with a first stroke who received influenza vaccine were included in the analysis. There was no increase in the risk of myocardial infarction or stroke in the period after influenza, tetanus, or pneumococcal vaccination. However, the risks of both events were substantially higher after a diagnosis of systemic respiratory tract infection and were highest during the first three days (incidence ratio for myocardial infarction, 4.95; 95 percent confidence interval, 4.43 to 5.53; incidence ratio for stroke, 3.19; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.81 to 3.62). The risks then gradually fell during the following weeks. The risks were raised significantly but to a lesser degree after a diagnosis of urinary tract infection. The findings for recurrent myocardial infarctions and stroke were similar to those for first events. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide support for the concept that acute infections are associated with a transient increase in the risk of vascular events. By contrast, influenza, tetanus, and pneumococcal vaccinations do not produce a detectable increase in the risk of vascular events