Development of a Comprehensive New 4-H Extension Agents Training Program Using a Multi-Module Approach and the 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competencies (4HPRKC) Taxonomy

Following significant budget reductions in 2002, Virginia Cooperative Extension explored strategies to meet the professional development needs of new 4-H Extension faculty and staff. The Department of 4-H Youth Development created a training program to teach youth development competencies consistent with the national 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies (4HPRKC) taxonomy. Written and verbal evaluations from participants in the New 4-H Extension Agents Training Program suggested that the training was informative, interactive, and responsive to participants\u27 needs. This program is a potential model for other Extension programs that serve the professional development needs of new 4-H Extension faculty and staf

Weight perceptions and perceived risk for diabetes and heart disease among overweight and obese women, Suffolk County, New York, 2008

INTRODUCTION: Many Americans fail to accurately identify themselves as overweight and underestimate their risk for obesity-related diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between weight perceptions and perceived risk for diabetes and heart disease among overweight or obese women. METHODS: We examined survey responses from 397 overweight or obese female health center patients on disease risk perceptions and weight perceptions. We derived odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from multivariable logistic regression analyses to examine predictors of perceived risk for diabetes and heart disease. We further stratified results by health literacy. RESULTS: Perceiving oneself as overweight (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.16-6.66), believing that being overweight is a personal health problem (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.26-4.80), and family history of diabetes (OR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.53-6.78) were associated with greater perceived risk for diabetes. Perceiving oneself as overweight (OR, 4.33; 95% CI, 1.26-14.86) and family history of heart disease (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.08-4.69) were associated with greater perceived risk for heart disease. Among respondents with higher health literacy, believing that being overweight was a personal health problem was associated with greater perceived risk for diabetes (OR, 4.91; 95% CI, 1.68-14.35). Among respondents with lower health literacy, perceiving oneself as overweight was associated with greater perceived risk for heart disease (OR, 4.69; 95% CI, 1.02-21.62). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate an association between accurate weight perceptions and perceived risk for diabetes and heart disease in overweight or obese women. This study adds to research on disease risk perceptions in at-risk populations

A direct comparison between a MEMS deformable mirror and a liquid crystal spatial light modulator in signal-based wavefront sensing

Aberrations degrade the performance of optical systems in terms of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. This work explores the feasibility of a signal-based wavefront sensor, which employs a search algorithm to estimate Zernike coefficients of given aberrations. The search algorithm was supported by Gaussian interpolation. The performance of two different reflective wavefront correctors, a deformable mirror and a spatial light modulator in signal-based wavefront sensing, was compared under identical conditions. The aberrations were introduced by using another identical high resolution reflecting spatial light modulator. The performance was quantified using the Strehl ratio, which was estimated from simultaneously acquired Hartmann-Shack measurements of Zernike coefficients. We find that the spatial light modulator can be a good alternative to the deformable mirror in terms of dynamic range and sensitivity, when speed is not a limiting factor. Distinct advantages of the spatial light modulator are high number of pixels and a larger active area

Chemically assisted ion beam etching of optical microresonators

1-D, 2-D, 3-D microstructures with lateral dimensions at the scale of the wavelength of light can be used to generate high finesse microresonators. These have been fabricated in the AIMS system by combining MBE growth with micro-fabrication. Here we show the applications of anisotropicion beam etching and high resolution lithography in the fabrication of high-finesse micro-resonators and discuss their performance as lowthreshold microlasers, fast optical switches, photonic bandgap mirrors and polarizing beam-splitters

Through the Eyes of the Needles: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Filipino Fashion Designers in the State of Qatar, A Phenomenology

Background: Fashion could be dated back as to when humans had started evolving. The history of clothing began when humans had lost their fur and needed to protect themselves from the cold nights and the burning sun. Ever since clothes became in demand, the demand for quality and aesthetically pleasing clothes has never diminished. Looking around the State of Qatar, one can find numerous tailoring stores run by foreign designers or tailors, mostly Indians. The number of Filipino Fashion Designers in the country may even be less than a hundred. Different research studies regarding Filipino Fashion Designers are mostly rare as well. With much thought, the researchers have focused on the lived experiences of the Filipino Fashion Designers in the State of Qatar. Methods: This study made use of the qualitative approach focusing on phenomenology to fully understand the story of the unsung heroes of fashion designing with the central question, how Filipino fashion designers deal with challenges when it comes to providing designs. An in-depth was conducted among the participants to get what one designer has gone through in his/her day-to-day life. Findings: With the gathered data, the researchers were able to come up with three (3) main themes with three (3) sub themes; (1) Fashion Literacy: (1.1) Academics (1.2) Experience (1.3) Capabilities; (2) Stress and Mitigation: (2.1) Challenges (2.2) Adjustments (2.3) Fulfillment; (3) Fame and Association: (3.1) Collaboration (3.2) Recognition (3.3) Simulation. Recommendation: The results of this research study may be beneficial to students and other people with an interest with the topic being discussed in this paper. With the results of this phenomenology, one may continue an in depth analysis of the life of the Filipino designers, proposing new studies related to this paper.. One may also gather information that can be used in studying the life of other nationalities when it comes to fashion designing as the results may differ for other people

Validating the indicator “maternal death review coverage” to improve maternal mortality data: A retrospective analysis of district, facility, and individual medical record data

Background Understanding causes and contributors to maternal mortality is critical from a quality improvement perspective to inform decision making and monitor progress toward ending preventable maternal mortality. The indicator “maternal death review coverage” is defined as the percentage of maternal deaths occurring in a facility that are audited. Both the numerator and denominator of this indicator are subject to misclassification errors, underreporting, and bias. This study assessed the validity of the indicator by examining both its numerator—the number and quality of death reviews—and denominator—the number of facility-based maternal deaths and comparing estimates of the indicator obtained from facility- versus district-level data. Methods and findings We collected data on the number of maternal deaths and content of death reviews from all health facilities serving as birthing sites in 12 districts in three countries: Argentina, Ghana, and India. Additional data were extracted from health management information systems on the number and dates of maternal deaths and maternal death reviews reported from health facilities to the district-level. We tabulated the percentage of facility deaths with evidence of a review, the percentage of reviews that met the World Health Organization defined standard for maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response. Results were stratified by sociodemographic characteristics of women and facility location and type. We compared these estimates to that obtained using district-level data. and looked at evidence of the review at the district/provincial level. Study teams reviewed facility records at 34 facilities in Argentina, 51 facilities in Ghana, and 282 facilities in India. In total, we found 17 deaths in Argentina, 14 deaths in Ghana, and 58 deaths in India evidenced at facilities. Overall, >80% of deaths had evidence of a review at facilities. In India, a much lower percentage of deaths occurring at secondary-level facilities (61.1%) had evidence of a review compared to deaths in tertiary-level facilities (92.1%). In all three countries, only about half of deaths in each country had complete reviews: 58.8% (n = 10) in Argentina, 57.2% (n = 8) in Ghana, and 41.1% (n = 24) in India. Dramatic reductions in indicator value were seen in several subnational geographic areas, including Gonda and Meerut in India and Sunyani in Ghana. For example, in Gonda only three of the 18 reviews conducted at facilities met the definitional standard (16.7%), which caused the value of the indicator to decrease from 81.8% to 13.6%. Stratification by women’s sociodemographic factors suggested systematic differences in completeness of reviews by women’s age, place of residence, and timing of death. Conclusions Our study assessed the validity of an important indicator for ending preventable deaths: the coverage of reviews of maternal deaths occurring in facilities in three study settings. We found discrepancies in deaths recorded at facilities and those reported to districts from facilities. Further, few maternal death reviews met global quality standards for completeness. The value of the calculated indicator masked inaccuracies in counts of both deaths and reviews and gave no indication of completeness, thus undermining the ultimate utility of the measure in achieving an accurate measure of coverage

Validating midwifery professionals’ scope of practice and competency: A multi-country study comparing national data to international standards

Background There is a global shortage of midwives, whose services are essential to meet the healthcare needs of pregnant women and newborns. Evidence suggests that if enough midwives, trained and regulated to global standards, were deployed worldwide, maternal, and perinatal mortality would decline significantly. Health workforce planning estimates the number of midwives needed to achieve population coverage of midwifery interventions. However, to provide a valid measure of midwifery care coverage, an indicator must consider not only the raw number of midwives, but also their scope and competency. The tasks midwives are authorized to deliver and their competency to perform essential skills and behaviors provide crucial information for understanding the availability of safe, high-quality midwifery services. Without reliable estimates for an adequate midwifery workforce, progress toward ending preventable maternal and perinatal mortality will continue to be uneven. The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) suggest standards for midwifery scope of practice and competencies. This paper compares national midwifery regulations, scope, and competencies in three countries to the ILO and ICM standards to validate measures of midwife density. We also assess midwives’ self-reported skills/behaviors from the ICM competencies and their acquisition. Methods and findings We compared midwives’ scope of practice in Argentina, Ghana, and India to the ILO Tasks and ICM Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice. We compared midwives self-reported skills/behaviors with the ICM Competencies. Univariate and bivariate analysis was conducted to describe the association between midwives’ skills and selected characteristics. National scopes of practice matched two ILO tasks in Argentina, four in India, and all in Ghana. National standards partially reflected ICM skills in Categories 2, 3, and 4 (pre-pregnancy and antenatal care; care during labor and birth; and ongoing care of women and newborns, respectively) in Argentina (range 11% to 67%), mostly in India (range 74% to 100%) and completely in Ghana (100% match). 1,266 midwives surveyed reported considerable variation in competency for skills and behaviors across ICM Category 2, 3, and 4. Most midwives reported matching skills and behaviors around labor and childbirth (Category 2). Higher proportions of midwives reported gaining basic skills through in-service training and on-job-experience than in pre-service training. Conclusion Estimating the density of midwives needed for an adequate midwifery workforce capable of providing effective population coverage is predicated on a valid numerator. A reliable and valid count of midwives to meet population needs assumes that each midwife counted has the authority to exercise the same behaviors and reflects the ability to perform them with comparable competency. Our results demonstrate variation in midwifery scopes of practice and self-reported competencies in comparison to global standards that pose a threat to the reliability and validity of the numerator in measures of midwife density, and suggest the potential for expanded authorization and improved education and training to meet global reference standards for midwifery practice has not been fully realized. Although the universally recognized standard, this study demonstrates that the complex, composite descriptions of skills and behaviors in the ICM competencies make them difficult to use as benchmark measures with any precision, as they are not defined or structured to serve as valid measures for assessing workforce competency. A simplified, content-validated measurement system is needed to facilitate evaluation of the competency of the midwifery workforce

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures. Please see AfricanHoneyguides.com/abstract-translations for Kiswahili and Portuguese translations of the abstract

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures