A Cultural Shift in Education: Raising the Standards and Value of Public School Teachers in the US

The U.S. consistently falls behind the rest of the world in PISA scoring and other international exams. For the past several decades, education policy has centered around improving education at the student level, while overlooking the quality of the most important actor — teachers. As the shortage of teachers continues to increase across the United States, political leaders attempt to remedy this situation by emergency credentialing teachers, waiving important testing requirements, and increasing teacher salaries without the improvement of measured performance. This paper analyzes case studies both internationally and at the state level to offer an alternative that will seek to legitimize teachers among other highly professional careers. The policy suggested will be to raise the standards of teachers, while also giving them the pay they deserve. By learning from and mimicking countries like Finland, which have inspired a cultural shift in the teaching profession, the U.S. will have a better chance at credentialing highly qualified teachers and, in turn, increase student performance to compete with the rest of the world and improve the education system

Mindfulness and Expressive Arts Therapies in Cancer Care

This paper considers the efficacy of utilizing Expressive Arts Therapies as a primary intervention in addressing the psychosocial needs of patients in cancer treatment and recovery. Significant evidence shows that a cancer diagnosis, current treatment protocols and the recovery process incur wide-ranging symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. At the same time, research is also beginning to demonstrate a remarkable potential for cancer patients to develop post-traumatic growth, if given the opportunity to integrate their experience. Particularly in the post treatment phase, cancer patients report feelings of hopelessness and emotional despair, but are able to process and account for their experiences when using Expressive Arts Therapies. Expressive arts based interventions enables patients to verbally and nonverbally determine where and how physical and emotional trauma has occurred and move forward toward wellness, recovery, and post-traumatic growth. Expressive Arts Therapies that address mental health in addition to physical wellness are defined and explored, with a distinct focus on mindfulness practices as a key element in fostering awareness, strengths and coping strategies. This paper provides discussion of how Expressive Arts Therapies can be used in hospitals or in a post treatment capacity as an integral part of their treatment and recovery plan

Utilizing the Private Sector to Address California’s Shortage of Qualified Public School Teachers

Over the past decade, the State of California has been running a deficit of well-qualified teachers in its public education system. School districts consistently report the need to hire substandard teachers who differ from well-qualified teachers in that they generally have far less schooling and experience and usually receive emergency credentials so that each school can achieve its minimum number of necessary educators to conduct operations. The main reason for this shortage is that California’s public schools are almost exclusively funded by the state budget and they do not receive significant funding from local property taxes. This has contributed to a public good that cannot innovate, which fails to attract and retain well-qualified teachers. To address this shortage and government failure, the California Department of Education and state legislators must work to engage the private sector by providing tax incentives to private firms that sponsor prospective and current teachers. Along with this, they should provide grants to non- profits that deliver programs that train and retain well-qualified teachers. This government failure requires market solutions and the state government must leverage tax dollars into contracting private entities into finding solutions rather than finding those remedies themselves

Promoting Value-Based Healthcare Decisions: A Case Study of Shared Savings Programs in New Hampshire and Maine

State lawmakers nationwide are looking for solutions to the high healthcare prices faced by patients and employers. One of the emerging policies to combat rising costs is a shared savings program. These programs allow patients to compare prices and receive incentives for saving money on elective services. Maine and New Hampshire both passed legislation to enact shared savings programs implemented between 2019 and 2022. New Hampshire’s program established for a large, self-insured employer outperformed programs in both states in the fully insured competitive market, saving patients 183 times more than participants in Maine’s program during that timespan. Stakeholders and policy experts interviewed for this project highlighted several themes to explain the disparity in program outcomes. They identified aligning incentives across patients, employers, providers, and insurers as the most crucial program design element for policymakers to consider when implementing similar programs in the future

Aspectos ultrassonográficos e citopatológicos das prostatopatias em 52 cães

Neste estudo foram avaliados 52 cães, machos, inteiros, de idades e raças diferentes, além de cães sem raça definida, apresentando sinais clínicos sugestivos de doença prostática. Todos os animais foram submetidos a exames ultrassonográfico e punção aspirativa da glândula prostática para avaliação citológica. A hiperplasia prostática benigna (HPB) foi a prostatopatia mais frequente, seguida pela hiperplasia prostática benigna cística, prostatite bacteriana, abscesso, cisto, adenocarcinoma, prostatite não bacteriana e cisto paraprostático. Depois dos cães sem raça definida, os da raça Poodle e Pastor alemão foram os que apresentaram maior frequência das afecções prostáticas. O exame ultrassonográfico permitiu a determinação das dimensões prostáticas, bem como a visibilização dos aspectos das enfermidades que acometem a glândula e foi efetivo na orientação da punção aspirativa. A avaliação citológica da glândula, principalmente quando associada às alterações das imagens ultrassonográficas, permitiu determinar o diagnóstico presuntivo da afecção

Echologic park Monsenhor Emílio José Salim, Campinas (SP): contradictions in establishing a contemporary urban park

O presente artigo é resultado de uma pesquisa que buscou compreender os propósitos da administração pública, nas instâncias estadual e municipal, ao implantar, no final da década de 1980, o Parque Ecológico Monsenhor Emílio José Salim, na cidade de Campinas (SP). Projetado pelo escritório Burle Marx, sua implantação tinha por objetivo a revitalização de uma antiga fazenda, a recomposição da mata nativa em áreas ocupadas pelos cafezais e a restauração do casarão, exemplar relevante da arquitetura do período do café. Quadras esportivas, lanchonetes, mirante, restaurante, campos de futebol e áreas de passeio também estavam no escopo do projeto. Embora o parque já tenha passado por dois processos de tombamento – no nível estadual, pelo valor do seu conjunto arquitetônico, representativo da arquitetura cafeeira e, no nível municipal, por seu valor como parque urbano de concepção inovadora –, encontra-se atualmente sendo utilizado muito aquém do seu potencial como espaço público. Esta pesquisa também teve por objetivo traçar um diagnóstico que apresentasse os potenciais e as fragilidades desse equipamento urbano e diretrizes que pudessem auxiliar num possível processo de recuperação do parque. This article is the result of a study that sought to understand the purposes of public administration on the state and municipal levels to deploy implant in the late 1980s, the Ecological Park Monsignor Emilio José Salim in the city of Campinas (SP). Designed by Burle Marx office, the implementation of the Ecological Park aimed to revitalize an old farm, restore native forests in areas occupied by coffee plantations and restore the main house, relevant example of the Coffee period architecture. Sports courts, coffee shops, gazebo, restaurant, soccer fields and walking areas were also in the project scope. Although the park is considered a heritage to be preserved – at the state level due to its architectural value (representative set of coffee architecture) and at the municipal level for its value as an innovative urban park design - its currentuse does not match its potential as a public space. The survey also aimed to outline a diagnosis that could show the potential and the weaknesses of this urban space, and could provide guidelines that can help in a possible recovery process of the park

Bone Radiographic Changes in Slaughter Buffalos with Low Body Condition Index

Background: The largest buffalo herd in Brazil is located on the Island of Marajó, in the State of Pará, northern Brazil. The pastures of the Island of Marajó consist of low quality graminaceous plants, which are generally poor in protein and mineral content. Unbalanced diets associated with low quality pastures are responsible for latent, sub-clinical diseases and metabolic disorders in bovines which affect bone health, especially in periods such as pregnancy and lactation. The purpose of this study was to point out and to describe the radiographic bone changes of buffalos with low body index bred in extensive system and intended for slaughter on the Island of Marajó, Brazil.Materials, Methods & Results: Radiographic examinations of anatomical pieces were obtained from 34 animals of buffalo species, with no distinction of gender, age, or breed. The animals were selected among those that were in the stockyard waiting for slaughtering for the obtainment of the anatomical pieces. For this selection, low physical condition was considered, which mainly included individuals with body condition indexes (ICC) of 1 and 2, on a scale of 1 to 5. From this selection, 98 anatomical pieces were obtained, which included: 28 sets of ribs, 20 femurs, 26 metacarpus, 7 mandibles, 3 radius and ulnas, 4 sets of vertebrae, 4 sets of metacarpus and phalanges, 1 tarsus and 1 set of tarsus and metatarsus. All the pieces were separated, identified, packed in plastic bag and forwarded to the radiographic study. At least one radiographic projection was obtained of each anatomical piece. These were identified, manually processed and stored for subsequent assessment. A single observer, in order to identify and to describe the bone radiographic changes, subjectively performed the radiographic assessment.Discussion: Bone changes were remarkable and in animals of this study, reinforcing the nutritional aspect as being of great importance for the perfect mineral homeostasis and for the osteoarticular system maintenance. Consistent radiographic findings with osteopenia are most often related to nutritional disorders that affect bone metabolism, mainly involving the homeostasis of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P). The nutritional hyperparathyroidism, more commonly reported in dogs, cats and exotic animals is a common example of these affections, in which the bone radiopacity reduction is the most evident radiographic aspect. Copper (Cu) deficiency has been correlated with osteochondrosis, epiphyseal fracture of the femoral head and degenerative arthropathy of the hip joint, and erosion of the articular cartilage in a deer (Cervu selaphus). Degenerative arthropathy through radiographs was also found in this study. From the bone radiographic analysis, it is concluded that the osteodystrophic diseases of buffalos raised in pasture system on the Island of Marajó, Pará, Brazil, present a variety of pathological conditions and the most commonly found were: osteoporosis characterized at the radiographic examination for the bone decreased radiopacity, change in bone trabeculae (medullary expansion) and cortical thinning, followed by pathological fractures with high incidence in the ribs. The low body condition, the underdevelopment and cachexia states of the animals in this study indicate the lack of an appropriate prophylactic conduct and a proper feed management. Therefore, the low reserves of P and Cu in the organism may have contributed to the osteoporotic process and, possibly, also to the protein-energy deficit, leading to secondary bone changes and causing a lack of productivity in the herd

Ultrasonography of the stomach and small intestine in healthy Mangalarga Marchador horses from birth to 5 years of age

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to describe location, sonographic characteristics and measures of the stomach and small intestine of equines at different ages. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed on 88 healthy equines of either sex, aged 1, 7 and 15 days, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 months and 1, 3 and 5 years, with 20 animals per group. Location, characteristics and measurements of stomach, duodenum and jejunum were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were performed for each measurement and the percentile for each age was analyzed. The work showed the growth and characteristics of the organs evaluated over time. Adult animals showed a minimum of 4 duodenal movements per minute. It was possible to locate the organs evaluated in all animals. The detailed ultrasound examination of these organs allowed gathering information that could be used to assist in the care of future patients