Processing and Transmission of Information

Contains a report on a research project.Lincoln Laboratory (Purchase Order DDL BB-107)United States ArmyUnited States NavyUnited States Air Force (Contract AF19(604)-7400)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496

Digital communication over fixed time-contin- uous channels with memory- with special application to telephone channels

Digital communication over fixed time- continuous channels with memor

The Significance of Comforting Touch to Children with Autism: Sensory Processing Implications for Occupational Therapy

Background: Children with autism have unusual sensory processing issues. The aim of this study was to examine how mothers comforted their children. Clinical observation has shown that mothers of children with autism often have difficulty calming their children. This study describes the differences in the response to comforting touch among children diagnosed with autism and normally developing children. Method: The study was a self-report survey using a questionnaire to compare the responses of mothers of children with autism (N = 25) to mothers of typically developing children (N = 26). Results: The results showed that the methods used to comfort children with autism and normally developing children was different. Conclusion: Mothers of typically developing children reported more success by using comforting touch, whereas mothers of children with autism reported more success by comforting their children with visual and auditory stimuli

Some Useful Coding Techniques for Binary Communication Systems

An introduction to coding theory and a discussion of specific coding techniques are given as applied to digital communication systems. The place of coding in a communication system is illustrated and the various approaches to coding are discussed. The information theory concepts required are presented along with the First and Second Fundamental Theorems of Shannon, The relation between Shannon’s theorems and coding for the noisy and noiseless channel is discussed. For the noiseless channel the techniques of Shannon, Fano, Huffman, Gilbert-More, Karp and others are discussed. For the noisy channel, the techniques of Hamming, Slepian, Elias, Cowell, Bose-Chaudhuri, Reed-Muller, Fire, and Wozencraft are presented. The relationships between the various codes are given and the advantages and disadvantages of each indicated. Numerous examples illustrating the use of the codes are given and areas of further research outlined

Undergraduate Public Health Education: Does it Meet Public Health Workforce Needs?

The professional bachelor’s degree [Bachelor of Public Health (BPH) or Bachelor of Science (BS) in Public Health] provides a cadre of trained individuals to fill entry-level positions in American public health agencies. The traditional Bachelors of Arts or Science degrees with majors in public health produce an informed citizenry, but may not provide sufficient public health course content to enable graduates of such programs to effectively enter the public health workforce

Undergraduate Public Health Education: Does it Meet Public Health Workforce Needs?

The professional bachelor’s degree [Bachelor of Public Health (BPH) or Bachelor of Science (BS) in Public Health] provides a cadre of trained individuals to fill entry-level positions in American public health agencies. The traditional Bachelors of Arts or Science degrees with majors in public health produce an informed citizenry, but may not provide sufficient public health course content to enable graduates of such programs to effectively enter the public health workforce

Genetic consequences of tropical second-growth forest regeneration

Secondary forests are more extensive than old-growth forests in many tropical regions, yet the genetic composition of colonizing populations is poorly understood. We analyzed the parentage of a founder population of 130 individuals of the canopy palm Iriartea deltoidea in a 24-year-old second-growth forest in lowland Costa Rica. Among 66 trees in adjacent old-growth forest, only two individuals contributed 56% of the genes in founders. Second-growth trees had lower genetic diversity and larger patches of similar genotypes than old-growth trees. Recovery of genetic diversity of populations in tropical second-growth forests may take many generations and will require continued dispersal from genetically diverse source populations

Processing and Transmission of Information

Contains reports on four research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496)Lincoln Laboratory (Purchase Order DDL BB-107)United States Air Force (Contract AF19(628)-500

Editorial: Leading People - Managing Organizations: Contemporary Public Health Leadership

Effectively leading people engaged in the practice of public health has never been more critical than in the early years of the twenty-first century. Likewise, effectively managing the organizations in which these individuals practice the various professional disciplines of public health has become increasing important and difficult. Taken together, leading the people and managing public health organizations requires well educated and appropriately trained public health leaders and managers. Although leadership is often viewed as one of the key attributes of management, not every great manager will be a great leader and vice versa. While some leaders may be born with the inherent skills to lead, most effective leaders develop the requisite skills through education, additional training, and practice. Our aim is to focus the attention of public health practitioners on the importance of effectively leading public health organizations. Public health managers should recognize that their most valuable resource is the people they lead. The articles comprising the eBook on Leading People – Managing Organizations is composed of articles expressing the opinion of their authors of the need for effective public health leaders; perspective articles establishing their authors’ understanding of how leadership may be applied in various situations; methods articles that demonstrate how public health leadership may be applied, and original research articles that establish the role of public health leadership research studies

Full-Range Public Health Leadership, Part 2: Qualitative Analysis and Synthesis

Public health leadership is an important topic in the era of U.S. health reform, population health innovation, and health system transformation. This study utilized the full-range leadership model in order to examine the public health leadership. We sought to understand local public health leadership from the perspective of local health department leaders and those who work with and for them. Public health leadership was explored through interviews and focus groups with directors (n = 4) and staff (n = 33) from local health departments. Qualitative analytic methods included reflexive journals, code-recode procedures, and member checking, with analysis facilitated by Atlas.ti v.6.0. Qualitative results supported and expanded upon previously reported quantitative findings. Leading by example and providing individual consideration to followers were found to be more important than other leader factors, such as intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, or idealized attributes of leaders. Having a clear and competent vision of public health, being able to work collaboratively with other community agencies, and addressing the current challenges to public health with creativity and innovation were also important findings. Idealized leadership behaviors and individual consideration should be the focus of student and professional development. Models that incorporate contextual considerations, such as the situational leadership model, could be utilized to ensure that optimal individual consideration is given to followers