United for Wellbeing: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Increase Social Cohesion and Student Wellbeing in an Ethnically Diverse Rural School District

Across the United States many rural communities rely on migrant populations for agricultural labor. Migrant families bring with them children who must be educated and made to feel part of a larger school community. Increasingly rural communities and the school districts that comprise them struggle to ensure that all students have equal opportunities for educational success and improved subjective wellbeing. Educators have expressed concern that communities themselves are dealing with increasingly divided populations wherein majority and minority populations do not appear to interact effectively or work collaboratively. This paper will look at the struggles of migrant families, the theory behind social constructivism, social cohesion, and group efficacy, and the importance of student wellbeing. This will be done through the lens of positive psychology as bedrock on which to build a more cohesive community. An Appreciative Inquiry perspective will be taken to determine methods for increasing social cohesion in order to improve the wellbeing of the region of Southern Chester County, PA. The final product will be a proposal letter initiating the development of a possible 2-3 day Appreciative Inquiry summit, combined with proposed educator-only trainings, to be implemented as a kick-off to the creation of a united Southern Chester County

Hydrogen safety Progress report no. 7 1 Jul. - 30 Sep. 1965

Performance characteristics of two console-type hydrogen gas detectors sampling by diffusion and convectio

Hydrogen safety Progress report no. 6, 1 Apr. - 30 Jun. 1965

Hydrogen safety hazards, storage, and handling - Hydrogen plume studies to determine quantity-distance criteria and guidelines for optimum placement of hydrogen detector

Staying over-optimistic about the future : uncovering attentional biases to climate change messages

There is considerable concern that the public are not getting the message about climate change. One possible explanation is ‘optimism bias’, where individuals overestimate the likelihood of positive events happening to them and underestimate the likelihood of negative events. Evidence from behavioural neuroscience suggest that this bias is underpinned by selective information processing, specifically through a reduced level of neural coding of undesirable information, and an unconscious tendency for optimists to avoid fixating negative information. Here we test how this bias in attention could relate to the processing of climate change messages. Using eye tracking, we found that level of dispositional optimism affected visual fixations on climate change messages. Optimists spent less time (overall dwell time) attending to any arguments about climate changes (either ‘for’ or ‘against’) with substantially shorter individual fixations on aspects of arguments for climate change, i.e. those that reflect the scientific consensus but are bad news. We also found that when asked to summarise what they had read, non-optimists were more likely to frame their recall in terms of the arguments ‘for’ climate change; optimists were significantly more likely to frame it in terms of a debate between two opposing positions. Those highest in dispositional optimism seemeed to have the strongest and most pronounced level of optimism bias when it came to estimating the probability of being personally affected by climate change. We discuss the importance of overcoming this cognitive bias to develop more effective strategies for communicating about climate change

Assessing and Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic Nutrition and Wellness Impacts on Iowans

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for indirect Extension programming. To ensure a consumer-focused response, we gathered data from 452 survey respondents regarding how the pandemic was affecting their food-related and health behaviors. The majority reported obtaining their food from a grocery store as they had prior to the pandemic, albeit less frequently, and having increased their home food preparation. Due to the pandemic, respondents were less physically active and more stressed and were seeking reliable nutrition and wellness information. We describe how we were able to facilitate an immediate response by repackaging and adapting existing programming to meet pressing client needs, and we identify broader implications of our work

Food Retailers’ Perspectives on Pilot Program Strategies to Promote Healthy Eating in SNAP Participants

Food retailers are key stakeholders in the development, implementation, and effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nutrition pilot programs. Qualitative interviews were conducted to gather insight from food retailers regarding the feasibility of proposed strategies to improve food choices among SNAP participants. Two corporate and six local-level food retailer managers were identified for interviews based on SNAP participation, rural- urban code, and type of food retail settings in the selected counties. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed by four research team members, and themes were identified via consensus. Marketing, incentive, and disincentive program models were well-received, while restriction and stocking standards models were less well-received. Food retailers viewed simple programs with easy implementation and educational components positively. Driving sales and programs that align with corporate and social responsibility goals were important factors related to willingness to participate in pilot programs. Insights from this present study can inform future pilot programs and promote food retailer buy-in

Trends in opioid utilisation in Australia, 2006-2015: Insights from multiple metrics

Purpose: Population-based observational studies have documented global increases in opioid analgesic use. Many studies have used a single population-adjusted metric (number of dispensings, defined daily doses [DDDs], or oral morphine equivalents [OMEs]). We combine these volume-based metrics with a measure of the number of persons dispensed opioids to gain insights into Australian trends in prescribed opioid use. Methods: We obtained records of prescribed opioid dispensings (2006-2015) subsidised under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We used dispensing claims to quantify annual changes in use according to 3 volume-based metrics: DDD/1000 pop/day, OME/1000 pop/day, and dispensings/1000 pop. We estimated the number of persons dispensed at least one opioid in a given year (persons)/1000 pop using data from a 10% random sample of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme-eligible Australians. Results: Total opioid use increased according to all metrics, especially OME/1000 pop/day (51% increase) and dispensings/1000 pop (44%). Weaker opioid use remained stable or declined; strong opioid use increased. The rate of persons accessing weaker opioids only decreased 31%, and there was a 238% increase in persons dispensed only strong opioids. Strong opioid use also increased according to dispensings/1000 pop (140%), OME/1000 pop/day (80%), and DDD/1000 pop/day (71% increase). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the increases in total opioid use between 2006 and 2015 were predominantly driven by a growing number of people treated with strong opioids at lower medicine strengths/doses. This method can be used with or without person-level data to provide insights into factors driving changes in medicine use over time

Type I Diabetes in Children and Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with multiple childhood diseases including type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). T1DM in children is becoming more prevalent, with a 23% increase nationally from 2001 to 2009. Similarly, West Virginia has had an 8.1% increase in children with type 1Diabetes from 2008/2009 to 2010/2011. This article highlights the association between vitamin D and type 1 diabetes and discusses vitamin D’s potential role in the reduction and management of T1DM in children

Ethics roundtable: choice and autonomy in obstetrics

Decisions about how and where they deliver their baby are extremely important to pregnant women. There are very strong ethical norms that women’s autonomy should be respected, and that plans around birth should be personalized. However, there appear to be profound challenges in practice to respecting women’s choices in pregnancy and in labour. Choices carry risks and consequences – to the woman and her child; also potentially to her caregivers and to other women. What does it mean for women’s autonomy be respected in obstetrics? How should health professionals respond to refusals of treatment or to requests for care outside normal guidelines? What are the ethical limits to autonomy? In this clinical ethics roundtable, service users, midwives, obstetricians, philosophers and ethicists respond to two hypothetical cases drawn from real-life scenarios