Operations of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 1973

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Income and expenses of Eighth District member banks - 1973

Bank profits ; Federal Reserve District, 8th ; Banks and banking - Costs

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and Healthcare Disparities: Understanding the Impact of Implicit Bias

Introduction: Disparities in healthcare have long been a challenge for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and other interdisciplinary team members. More recently, population health-focused efforts have been implemented to manage everincreasing rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, as well as lack of transportation, limited access to care, and poverty (North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services [NCDHHS], 2019). Racism, sexism, ageism, sizeism, etc., are present in the healthcare setting and manifests in implicit bias during care delivery. This can manifest as beliefs, behaviors/practices, and emotions of the provider (Paradies et al., 2014). Research is limited related to the impact of the use of training targeted at advanced practice nurses recognizing implicit bias, its impact on clinical decision-making, and its relationship to disparities in healthcare. This Quality Improvement Project evaluates if advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students in the project setting demonstrate an increased understanding of implicit bias, its effect on healthcare disparities, and its impact on clinical decision-making after participating in targeted anti-bias education and training. Methods: The Project utilized a virtual video platform with participant access being an independent study process. The project utilized is a quantitative 10-question Likert-scale survey upon completion of the Education Module. There were 68 APRN students who received the Education Module link with a Qualtrics survey. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: Data analysis of responses indicated participants agreement/strong agreement related to gains in understanding of microaggressions, identifying areas for practice 4 improvement, recognizing a need for more APRN training related to implicit bias and healthcare disparities, and improved understanding of the impact on patient-providertrust. Conclusions: It appears targeted education about implicit bias and healthcare disparities related to clinical decision-making can improve APRNS’s understanding and potentially impact provider practice. Most participants indicated improved knowledge in these areas. Areas where there were lower scores involved questions related to personal insight and reflection. Due to the small size of the study, results are not generalizable to the APRN population. Further research is needed into the area for future knowledge and practice change

Wideband Metasurface Antenna

This effort explored design of metasurface antennas and evaluated their suitability for ultra-wideband applications (2 to 18 GHz). Six unit cell types were characterized. Eigenmode simulations produced frequency vs. phase data for the unit cells, from which impedance vs. gap size data was computed. A holographic design equation was used to generate the metasurface antenna designs. The unit cell simulations revealed that the assumption of single mode operation is a constraint for wideband designs. An 8 by 8 metasurface antenna with a Rogers 3010 dielectric and a design frequency of 10 GHz was fabricated and tested. It had a 1.5:1 SWR bandwidth of 8.06 GHz (6.47 to 14.53 GHz) and a 2:1 SWR bandwidth of 12.09 GHz (5.91 to 18 GHz). The main beam was 30° wide and had a peak gain of 1.8 dBi. The center of the main beam was ΘL = 0° (+Z direction), which resulted in weaker gain as this is the endfire direction from the driven element. Despite that challenge, this antenna demonstrated that metasurface antennas show promise for ultra-wideband applications when high gain is not a requirement

A School Community Needs Assessment of the Albia Community School District

v, 63 leaves. Advisor: Robert L. WhittThe problem. The purpose of this study was to present an assessment of the educational needs of the Albia Community School District as viewed by parents, voters, and civic leaders in the community, thereby aiding the Board of Education, administration, and faculty in planning the curriculum, facilities, budgets, in-service, etc. Procedure. The opinionnaire method of research was employed to determine the reactions by the parents, voters, and civic leaders. Two methods of administering the opinionnaire were used. One, a group interview technique was used with the civic groups. Secondly, a mailing technique was used to administer the opinionnaire to parents, voters, and the Chamber of Commerce. The results were analyzed by computing the average rating of each objective used in the study and arranging the objectives in order of importance according to the average rating. Thirdly, the objectives were grouped under a major heading and the ratings for the objectives were averaged. That average became the average rating for the major heading. There were sixty objectives used. They were grouped under eighteen major headings. The eighteen major objectives were ranked In order of importance according to their average ratings. Findings. The response to the opinionnaire was good. There were 74.5 percent of the participants that returned the completed opinionnaire. The emphasis of the participants seemed to center on fine arts, use of leisure time, health and safety, and family living. The major objectives' averages ranged from 3.8 to 2.9 on a five point scale where five was the highest possible score. Conclusions. The immediate purpose of the study was to provide a basis for the Albia Community School District to initiate long-range planning of philosophy, goals, and activities, facilities, etc. The study provided that basis by providing a summary of the ratings in order of importance as determined by the participants. The members of the school district feel that emphasis needs to be placed on the fine arts curriculum. In the opinion of the author of the study, the fine arts curriculum in this particular school district needs strengthened. Recommendations. The results of the study should be adopted by the Board of Education and the superintendent or his appointed edministrator should assume leadership for developing an executive committee of a cross-section of the community (including students) to begin a serious study of the curriculum of the Albia Community School District