Community Based Efforts that Promote Healthier Diets for Low-Income Minnesotans

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges and successes community-based Minnesotan Programs have had in promoting low-income adults to eat healthier to avoid obesity and complications from obesity. This research highlighted factors associated with community based programs from the perspective of the professionals working with these programs. This study outlined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of healthy diet and weight along with the current measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI). The conceptual framework utilizing the concepts developed by National Geographic researcher Dan Buettner through his book The Blue Zones showing it is possible to live a long healthy lifestyle. Using a qualitative research design, the researcher interviewed twelve professionals from various backgrounds invested in working with community-based programs that work with people living with limited incomes. Semi-structured interviews with open ended questions were chosen to better understand the successes and challenges the professionals face in their work and suggestions for future study. Six major themes emerged from the interviews: Generational Lack of Knowledge of How to Cook Competing Demands Sedentary & Convenience Lifestyles Lack of Available and Safe Streets and Neighborhoods to Move Freely Successes Challenges This research suggests the need for individualized one-on-one education when working with populations of low income although current research states it does not work. This research suggests that offering people healthy options and changing their environments may work but telling people what to do does not. This study offers implications for social workers working with people with low income, as well as suggestions for future research

Community Based Efforts that Promote Healthier Diets for Low-Income Minnesotans

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges and successes community-based Minnesotan Programs have had in promoting low-income adults to eat healthier to avoid obesity and complications from obesity. This research highlighted factors associated with community based programs from the perspective of the professionals working with these programs. This study outlined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of healthy diet and weight along with the current measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI). The conceptual framework utilizing the concepts developed by National Geographic researcher Dan Buettner through his book The Blue Zones showing it is possible to live a long healthy lifestyle. Using a qualitative research design, the researcher interviewed twelve professionals from various backgrounds invested in working with community-based programs that work with people living with limited incomes. Semi-structured interviews with open ended questions were chosen to better understand the successes and challenges the professionals face in their work and suggestions for future study. Six major themes emerged from the interviews: Generational Lack of Knowledge of How to Cook Competing Demands Sedentary & Convenience Lifestyles Lack of Available and Safe Streets and Neighborhoods to Move Freely Successes Challenges This research suggests the need for individualized one-on-one education when working with populations of low income although current research states it does not work. This research suggests that offering people healthy options and changing their environments may work but telling people what to do does not. This study offers implications for social workers working with people with low income, as well as suggestions for future research

Phenotypic Analysis of the Regulatory Role of the Leucine-Responsive Regulatory Protein (LrpPA) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Nutrient acquisition is critical to survival and infection by the opportunistic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This pathogen expresses a number of virulence factors that are a part of the starvation response and are important in host-pathogen interactions. Additionally, P. aeruginosa is resistant to a large number of antibiotics and has become difficult to treat once it has colonized a tissue. New pharmaceutical treatments are sought while the metabolism of this organism must be fully understood to select new targets for therapy. The leucine- responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) could be a promising target for treatment. The ortholog in Escherichia coli is a global regulator of metabolism and regulates many genes related to amino acid degradation, transport and synthesis. There are structural and functional similarities that indicate that Lrp in both species plays a similar role. In this study, the role of Lrp in P. aeruginosa was investigated using a microbial and molecular approach to determine if Lrp regulates more genes than the published single operon, dadRAX. The results of this study suggest that Lrp plays a role in regulating important virulence factors and growth patterns in both nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor media, and thus may act as a global regulator in the metabolism of P. aeruginosa

P. Berol. 21243 : textual criticism, interpretation and cultural context

Papyrus P. Berol. 21243 stands as a landmark in the written record of the mysterious Greek magical papyri. The Berlin text is one of the oldest extant magical papyri, dating to the Augustan period, and was found in mummy cartonnage at Abusir-el-Melek; it is also one of the earliest surviving fragments from a magical handbook. Undoubtedly the spells recorded reflect magical charms from an earlier date, and thus throughout this paper I shall refer to P. Berol. 21243 as a late Hellenistic magical text. Two columns containing three spells, two erotic love-charms and one headache spell, are visible on the papyrus. The language of the charms is often formal and classical with a few epic forms thrown in here and there for metrical purposes; traces of dactylic hexameter and iambic trimeter appear in both columns. The entire text is written in a poetic and often literary style, including the headache charm at the end of the papyrus. The absence of magical words which are so frequent in later Greek magical texts is also striking. Column 1 offers us a glimpse of language common in later magical texts as well as motifs familiar from Greek literature. The overall effect of such composition is unique and may reflect the early date of the papyrus, a period in the written record of magical texts when the Greek and Egyptian elements had been syncretized but still remained distinct within the spells. The Greek tone of lines 5-14 may also suggest that at the time the potential audience for the magical spells in Greek Egypt was not as assimilated as in later centuries. Moreover, the spells may reflect a period in ancient magical tradition when magical charms resembled earlier metrical incantations. The love-charm of Column 1 concludes with a dramaturgic recitation in a distinctly Egyptian narrative pattern. Column 2 is more Egyptian in tone throughout. This section highlights the syncretistic nature of P. Berol. 21243; the spells exhibit ethnic influences from both the Egyptian and Greek magical traditions. Specific Egyptian myths are called to mind by objects mentioned and the various gods involved in the recitation, yet Hellenic qualities, albeit of a more subdued and syncretized nature than those in Column 1, are still present. The first spell, a love-charm, employs Egyptian myths and also a hymn to Helios that includes threats against a divinity. The second spell against headache is Egyptian throughout. These distinct Egyptian qualities of Column 2 serve to place the papyrus as a whole in a late Hellenistic magical context, an early and transitional time in the production of the surviving Greek magical papyriClassic

Steph vs. APA

In this comic, the student reflects on the process of doing research for Dean Scheibel\u27s Communication Studies course. Students were instructed to create comics using photographs, drawings, or a computer program called Comic Life 3. The idea of reflection is important in education. These comics could be viewed as a response to reflective learning (or metacognition) about the idea of the literature review, or “research as inquiry.” Through reflection on what we do, we learn more deeply about our everyday experiences of life, death, love, God, and even literature reviews. Although “comix” have been the objects of critique by academics, these comics subject the work of the academy—the faculty member as teacher—to critique. Research is a process, and by having students reflect on the fears, errors, or mistakes made during that process they will experience new insights and discoveries

The Role of GIS to Enable Public-Sector Decision Making Under Conditions of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is inherent in environmental planning and decision making. For example, water managers in arid regions are attuned to the uncertainty of water supply due to prolonged periods of drought. To contend with multiple sources and forms of uncertainty, resource managers implement strategies and tools to aid in the exploration and interpretation of data and scenarios. Various GIS capabilities, such as statistical analysis, modeling and visualization are available to decision makers who face the challenge of making decisions under conditions of deep uncertainty. While significant research has lead to the inclusion and representation of uncertainty in GIS, existing GIS literature does not address how decision makers implement and utilize GIS as an assistive technology to contend with deep uncertainty. We address this gap through a case study of water managers in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, examining how they engage with GIS in making decisions and coping with uncertainty. Findings of a qualitative analysis of water mangers reveal the need to distinguish between implicit and explicit uncertainty. Implicit uncertainty is linked to the decision-making process, and while understood, it is not displayed or revealed separately from the data. In contrast, explicit uncertainty is conceived as separate from the process and is something that can be described or displayed. Developed from twelve interviews with Phoenix-area water managers in 2005, these distinctions of uncertainty clarify the use of GIS in decision making. Findings show that managers use the products of GIS for exploring uncertainty (e.g., cartographic products). Uncertainty visualization emerged as a current practice, but definitions of what constitutes such visualizations were not consistent across decision makers. Additionally, uncertainty was a common and even sometimes helpful element of decision making; rather than being a hindrance, it is seen as an essential component of the process. These findings contradict prior research relating to uncertainty visualization where decision makers often express discomfort with the presence of uncertainty.

The Marin County Livestock Protection Program: 15 Years in Review

Predation by wild carnivores challenges livestock producers worldwide. To reduce or offset losses due to predation, a variety of predator control methods and compensation schemes have been developed. In 2001, Marin County, California, USA replaced its U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services (WS) cooperative predator damage management program with a county-run program that emphasized nonlethal methods for preventing and controlling coyote (Canis latrans) predation on domestic sheep (Ovis aries). This new Livestock Protection Program (LPP) cost-shared with livestock producers’ efforts to improve fencing, obtain and maintain guard animals, and other such nonlethal methods, and initially it compensated producers for documented losses to predators. In 2006, 5 years into the program, 17 sheep producers were surveyed to compare the former WS program to the LPP with regard to rancher satisfaction and preferences, lethality to predators, livestock losses, uses of nonlethal predator deterrent techniques, and costs. In 2016, 15 years after the program was replaced by a county-administered nonlethal program, we surveyed sheep producers to determine if their perceptions of the program had changed. Although the lack of standardized data collection complicated our evaluation, the number of sheep and lambs produced in Marin County has continued to decline; 5 producers left the sheep business and others who remain graze less acreage with smaller flocks, predation by coyotes remains a high concern to producers, and producers are generally dissatisfied with the Livestock Protection Program. Recommendations include increased programmatic funding for management practices, payments for losses, and seasonal hiring of wildlife specialists during critical times, especially during lambing seasons

Becoming Librarian OER Advocates & Leaders: Spotlight on the SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellows

Presentation given at the 15th Annual Open Education Conference in Niagara Falls, New York

GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATIONS ON AND NEAR THE ISMENION HILL, THEBES, GREECE, 2011

Το άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζει τις πρώτες κοινές έρευνες στη Θήβα, στην περιοχή του ναού του Απόλλωνος Ισμηνίου, που κρίθηκαν επιβεβλημένες, πριν από την υποβολή μιας ολοκληρωμένης και τεκμηριωμένης πρότασης Συνεργασίας, για τη διενέργεια εργασιών πεδίου και πιό συγκεκριμένα ανασκαφών. Οι έρευνες αυτές έλαβαν χώρα το καλοκαίρι του 2011, μετά από ευγενική πρόσκληση του Διευθυντή τότε ένατης Εφορείας, Καθηγητή κυρίου Βασίλειου Αραβαντινού, που χρονολογείται το 2010. Σκοπός μας ήταν ωα αναλάβουμε μαζί την προσπάυεια διερεύνησης τοπογραφικών και αρχαιολογικών ζητημάτων, σχετικών με την παλαιά ανασκαφή του Ισμηνίου και τη νεώτερη του Ηρακλείου των Θηβών

Modeling animal movement to manage landscapes

Managing rangelands with livestock grazing is a tool that can be applied to obtain vegetation management objectives. Animals utilize available resources, which vary in quantity and quality, across the landscape. Their movements are adjusted to the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of resource distribution. Controlling livestock distribution is fundamental to economically and ecologically sustainable livestock production systems on range and pasturelands. Having an understanding of animal movements in relations to scale will help develop strategies to better management livestock over entire landscapes. The research site was the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC) in Marysville, California. The study was conducted on four annual rangeland pastures, average 25 hectares each. Two 20 cow herds grazed one pair of pastures one week and the pair the following week during January, March, April-May and August, during 2001, 2002, and 2003. Beef cow locations, turning angles, travel paths, and travel speed were determined with six cows in each of two herds of 20 cows equipped with global positioning collars. Individual measurements were recorded at five-minute intervals throughout the entire 5-7 days, recording longitude and latitude positions, date, time, elevation and a general measurement of horizontal and vertical activity. Cattle positions were analyzed to determine the fractal dimensions of movement and then modeled to determine what landscape attributes affected this movement. Domains of scale were detected whereas cattle movement at smaller ranges (< 40 meters) was less tortuous than at the larger ranges, 40 to 200 meters. Animal activities (grazing, resting and cruising) were also affected by landscape attributes. The research provided an understanding of how to apply spatial models of livestock movements that will aid in managing cattle distribution. Understanding how the ecological attributes and managerial options can affect distribution can lead to a better understanding of methods to manipulate cattle movement