AFS Position Paper and Policy on Mining and Fossil Fuel Extraction

Following a four-year period of writing, member comment, and multiple revisions, the AFS Position Paper and Policy on Mining and Fossil Fuel Extraction was approved unanimously by the membership at the Society's annual business meeting August 19, 2015, in Portland, Oregon. The entire document can be read at fisheries.org/policy_statements; a brief summary follows

Norms of Presentational Force

This is the author's accepted manuscript, made available with permission of the American Forensic Association.Can style or presentational devices reasonably compel us to believe, agree, act? I submit that they can, and that the normative pragmatic project explains how. After describing a normative pragmatic approach to presentational force, I analyze and evaluate presentational force in Susan B. Anthony's "Is it a Crime for a U. S. Citizen to Vote" as it apparently proceeds from logic, emotion, and style. I conclude with reflections on the compatibility of the normative pragmatic approach with the recently-developed pragma-dialectical treatment of presentational devices

Older People’s Adherence to Community-Based Group Exercise Programmes: A Multiple-Case Study

Physical inactivity is a global phenomenon, with estimates of one in four adults not being active enough to achieve health benefits, thus heightening the risk of developing non-communicable diseases. In order to realise the health and wellbeing gains associated with physical activity the behaviour must be sustained. Community-based group exercise programmes (CBGEP) utilising social support have been shown to be one means of not only increasing activity levels for older people, but sustaining physical activity. A mixed-methods systematic review revealed a gap in the literature around older people’s long-term adherence to real-life CBGEP within a UK context. This study therefore sought to address this gap by understanding older people’s ongoing adherence to CBGEP with a view to gaining further insight about which factors contribute to enabling people to sustain their physical activity levels. A multiple case study research design was employed to understand older people’s (≥ 60 years, n=27) adherence (≥ 69%, for ≥ 1 year) to three current CBGEP in the South- West of England. Qualitative data (participant observation, focus groups, documents, and interviews) were collected and analysed using inductive thematic analysis followed by the analytic technique of explanation building. In order to gain deeper insights into adherence, the humanisation framework was utilised in an a priori manner to further understand adherence from a humanising perspective. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and used to set the context of the study. This study found that older people’s adherence to CBGEP was mediated through six factors: factors relating to the individual, the instructor, programme design, social features, participant perceived benefits, and a humanised exercise environment. These all served to explain older people’s adherence to CBGEP. The humanising qualities of these CBGEP must be considered if we wish to support older people in sustaining a physically active lifestyle as they age. These findings are of interest to practitioners and policy makers in how CBGEP serve to aid older people in maintaining a physically active lifestyle with a view to preventing non-communicable diseases and in maintaining social connectivity

Direct Demonstration of Self-Similarity in a Hydrodynamic Treatment of Polymer Self-Diffusion

The self-diffusion coefficient of a polymer in solution may be expanded in the concentration of the polymer, as seen in equation 1. The linear term would represent a perturbation due to the presence of another polymer; the c^{2} term would represent a perturbation due to interactions of trios of polymers. Phillies determined the c^{2} term of a virial expansion of the self-diffusion coefficient for trios of polymers interacting via a ring. Here I determine a correction to the c^{2} term due to trios of polymers interacting via a figure-eight scattering diagram: the equivalent of four polymers interacting in a ring where the second polymer and the fourth polymer are the same. D_{s}(c) = D_{0}(1+ alpha D_{0} c + beta D_{0}^{2}c^{2}+...) 1 or, D_{s}(c) = D_{0}(1+ alpha D_{s}(c)c). 2 A D_{0} may be replaced by D_{s}(c) in equation 1 to arrive at equation 2. The left-hand-side of equation 2 is the final self-diffusion coefficient, and the D_{s}(c) on the right-hand-side of this equation is that due to the question of self-similarity. If the D_{s}(c) on the right-hand-side is given by equation 1, resulting in beta=alpha^{2}, it may be said that the system exhibits self-similarity. I demonstrate self-similarity quantitatively for a polymer solution using a generalized Kirkwood-Riseman model of polymer dynamics. The major physical assumption of the model I utilize to derive equation 2 is that, in solution, polymer motions are dominantly governed by hydrodynamic interactions between the chains. First, I review the Kirkwood-Riseman model for intrachain hydrodynamic interactions. I then discuss Phillies' extension of this model to interchain interactions for duos or trios of polymers in a ring. I analytically calculate the hydrodynamic interaction tensor from a multiple scattering picture T_{54321}, for five polymers in solution and verify this tensor by numerical differentiation. Finally, I perform the ensemble average of the self-interaction tensor b_{1232} appropriate to the figure-eight scattering diagram both analytically and with a Monte Carlo routine, thereby verifying equation 2 to second order in concentration

Concept Analysis of Systems Thinking in the Context of Interprofessional Practice and Improved Patient Outcomes

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the definition and application of systems thinking (ST) in interprofessional practice and improved patient outcomes. Background: Nurse educators need a universal definition of ST to implement in curricula to foster quality and safety while enhancing outcomes for nursing students. Method: The QSEN RN-BSN Task Force used the hybrid model of concept analysis to identify the process of fostering ST in clinical and didactic learning experiences and how ST changed over time from the perspective of educators. Results: The definition of ST in the context of interprofessional practice and outcomes was a dynamic, analytical process that looks at complex patterns, relationships, and connections within elements and structures, resulting in the ability to recognize the whole picture. Conclusion: The concept of ST in the context of interprofessional practice and improved patient outcomes may be integrated within nursing curricula

Systems Thinking for Transitions of Care: Reliability Testing for a Standardized Rubric

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized rubric for systems thinking across transitions of care for clinical nurse specialists. Design: The design was a mixed-methods study using the Systems Awareness Model as a framework for bridging theory to practice. Methods: Content validity was determined using a content validity index. Reliability was established using statistical analysis with Cronbach’s α and intraclass correlation coefficient. Usability of the rubric was established using content analysis from focus group discussions about their experiences in using the rubric. Results: Content validity was established with a content validity ratio of 1.0. Statistical analysis showed a high interrater reliability (α = 0.99), and sections of the rubric showed a strong degree of reliability with α’s ranging from 0.88 to 1.00. Content analysis revealed several overall themes for usability of the rubric: clarity, objectivity, and detail. The area for improvement included adding more detail in the scholarly writing section. Conclusion: The research team recommends using the rubric to reflect application of systems thinking across transitions of care

La lutte contre la tique du bétail en Nouvelle Calédonie : quelle stratégie pour l'an 2000 ? Rapport de mission en Nouvelle Calédonie du 15 au 22 janvier 1996

La tique Boophilus microplus est un des obstacles au développement de l'élevage bovin en Nouvelle Calédonie. L'apparition de résistances à la deltaméthrine dans quelques élevages est l'occasion de réfléchir à une meilleure stratégie à mettre en place. Un suivi du développement de la résistance dans des élevages représentatifs selon les protocoles standards doit être instauré, et la deltaméthrine remplacée par l'amitraze là où cette résistance est confirmée. Un effort de communication et d'information doit être fait auprès des éleveurs pour restreindre l'usage des acaricides, les initier à la biologie des tiques et aux principes de lutte, éviter les erreurs dans l'utilisation des systèmes de détiquage. Des méthodes de lutte complémentaire (vaccin, lutte génétique et agronomique) devront être vulgarisées. L'éradication ne semble pas réalisable dans la situation actuell