Product Assurance Targeted to Meet Mission Objectives

Topics concerning the Common Lunar Lander for the Space Exploration Initiative are covered and include the following: product assurance tools and supports; project goals; and product assurance structured for optimal payback

Rural youth are more likely to be idle

Rural young adults, ages 18-24, are more likely to be idle, not in school, the labor force, or the Armed Forces than their urban counterparts. Among rural high school dropouts and racial-ethnic minorities, rates of idleness are even more pronounced

The Challenges of Rural Poverty

In rural America today, more than one in seven residents lives in poverty. Poverty's causes are a complex interplay of individual characteristics and decisions, on the one hand, and the nature of the communities and economies in which people work and live, on the other. Leif Jensen, Diane McLaughlin, and Tim Slack, in their chapter in "Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century", show how poverty emerges in rural areas and offer suggestions about what can be done to bolster the incomes and well-being of rural residents.This issue brief is a joint product of the Rural Sociological Society and the National Coalition for Rural Entrepreneurship, a collaboration of four Regional Rural Development Centers: The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, the Southern Rural Development Center, the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, and the Western Rural Development Center. Funding was also made available from the Ford Foundation.This brief is part of a policy brief series by the Rural Sociological Society and the Regional Rural Development Centers that stresses the importance of community collective action and developing the capacity of people and organizations to meet the community's needsThe Rural Sociological Society and the Regional Rural Development Centers creates new Public Policy Issue Brief series based on its recent book, "Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century".The briefs synthesize the context and substance of important issues raised in the book and address alternative policy options, with the goal of bringing important research to the policy community

The new, longer road to adulthood: schooling, work, and idleness among rural youth

This report focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20 to 24), as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It documents how rural emerging adults combine work and school and experience idleness, closely examines their educational attainment, and compares their experiences with those in central city and suburban areas

Achieving Glycemic Control in Rural Clinics

Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States and is the main cause of chronic kidney failure, nontraumatic limb amputations, blindness, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Many patients with diabetes do not meet goals for at least 1 control measure of blood sugar, blood pressure, or cholesterol. The purpose of the project was to implement a template for documentation--a toolkit for patient care management-to improve blood glucose and blood pressure levels in a rural health clinic in central Texas for 33 patients with diabetes during a 6- to 8-week timeframe. The practice-focused question asked whether management of patients with diabetes would be improved if documentation on a standard template were used by all providers at the site. Models used in this doctoral project included the chronic care model and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement breakthrough series collaborative model. Sources of evidence included published outcomes and research from a systematic review of the literature, archival and operational data collected from the rural health clinic, and evidence from the project. Glycosalated hemoglobin levels improved from a mean of 8.9 mg to 7.6 mg in 31 of 33 participants (t = 2.684, 30 df, p = .012). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced slightly, but changes were not statistically significant. Potential implications for positive change in nursing practice include improvements in clinical management, implementation of evidence-based practice, and improved outcomes for patients with diabetes. Incorporating evidence-based practice provides scientific justification for actions that will improve clinical outcomes for patients, which leads to healthier patients, families, and communities and contributes to positive social change

Synopsis of the morphology and taxonomy of Carex section Glaucescentes in North America

Field studies were used to characterize habitat and evaluate morphological characters of Carex glaucescens, C. joorii and C. verrucosa. Morphometric analysis of herbarium specimens along with field studies, Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM), pollen viability and phenology show C. glaucescens, C. joorii and C. verrucosa to be taxonomically distinguishable at the species level. The taxonomy of Carex section Glaucescentes is presented in an artificial dichotomous key to the taxa and in species descriptions

Natural Gas Development: Views of New York and Pennsylvania Residents in the Marcellus Shale Region

CaRDI Research & Policy Brief Issue 39; Community & Energy: Nonrenewable Energy Production and Developmen

TANF/Welfare Client Decline and Community Context in the Rural South, 1997-2000

This article examines the extent to which declines in welfare rolls relate to five major dimensions of community: (1) local demographic composition, (2) local labor market conditions, (3) local civic capacity, (4) local spatial characteristics, and (5) changes in local economic opportunities. Results based on data from the Mississippi Department of Human Services indicate that demographically, economically, and socially advantaged communities were more likely to experience high declines in welfare rolls. Rurality was associated with lower likelihood of high declines in welfare rolls across Mississippi counties. Clearly, a combination of a stronger local economy and social support in a local area increases the likelihood of larger decline in welfare rolls. The analysis presented in this article suggests that there is substantial local variation in the decline in welfare rolls that is associated with local economic and social conditions. The success of welfare reform policies clearly hinge on local conditions. What this analysis cannot reveal is the extent to which decline in welfare rolls is the result of recipients marrying, finding good jobs, or simply running up against time limits imposed by the welfare reform legislation

A Medical/Legal Teaching and Assessment Collaboration on Domestic Violence: Assessment Using Standardized Patients/Standardized Clients

Assessment of skills is an important, emerging topic in law school education. Two recent and influential books, Educating Lawyers published by the Carnegie Foundation and Best Practices in Legal Education, published by the Clinical Legal Education Association have both suggested dramatic reform of legal education. Among other reforms, these studies urge law schools to use “outcome-based” assessments, i.e., using learning objectives  and assessing knowledge and skills in standardized situations based on specific criteria, rather than simply comparing students’ performances to each other.

Residents\u27 Perceptions of Community and Environmental Impacts From Development of Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale: A Comparison of Pennsylvania and New York Cases

Communities experiencing rapid growth due to energy development (‘boomtowns’) have reported positive and negative impacts on community and individual well-being. The perceptions of impacts vary according to stage of energy development as well as experience with extractive industries. Development of the Marcellus Shale provides an opportunity to examine these impacts over time and across geographic and historical contexts. This paper describes case study research in Pennsylvania and New York to document preliminary impacts of development occurring there. Cases vary by level of development and previous extractive history. The study finds that, in areas with low population density, higher levels of development lead to a broader awareness of natural gas impacts, both positive and negative. Participants draw from the regional history of extraction to express environmental concern despite direct, local experience. Our findings suggest the need to track these perceptions during development, and as individuals and communities react and adapt to the impacts