Resources for Marine Shoreline Design

Shoreline armoring and reducing the use of hard, structural approaches to protecting property is a hot topic across marine communities of North America. As we learn more about the importance of the marine and terrestrial interface (the nearshore zone), we also understand more about how our past practices of hard armoring shorelines can be problematic to the nearshore zone and the ecosystem goods and services it provides. Shifting property owners away from using common hard approaches to erosion protection is difficult to achieve without easy access to information on effective environmentally-friendly alternatives. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and partners are helping to fill that void with products that provide information to a variety of audiences which will allow them to better understand alternatives to hard armor, how to design a project, and why these approaches are better for the long-term health of the nearshore zone. This poster will: Highlight the Marine Shorelines Design Guidelines (MSDG) released in 2014 that provides technical detail on how to assess a site, identify a suitable technique, and guidance for effective project design. Introduce the newly released “Your Marine Waterfront: A guide to protecting your property while promoting healthy shorelines” which is an easy to follow booklet based on the concepts in the MSDG and is geared towards residential waterfront property owners. Introduce the “Shore Friendly” website that provides a web-based resource for shoreline landowners to learn more about shoreline armoring, soft shore alternatives, beach processes, incentive options, and more

Intimate Partner Violence and Pregnancy Intentions: A Qualitative Study

Aim and Objective In this qualitative study we explored women’s pregnancy intentions and experiences of intimate partner violence before, during and after pregnancy. Background Unintended pregnancies in the context of intimate partner violence can have serious health, social and economic consequences for women and their children. Design Feminist and phenomenological philosophies underpinned the study to gain a richer understanding of women’s experiences. Methods Eleven women who had been pregnant in the previous two years were recruited from community-based women’s refuges in one region of the United Kingdom. Of the eleven women, eight had unplanned pregnancies, two reported being coerced into early motherhood, and only one woman had purposively planned her pregnancy. Multiple in-depth interviews focused on participants’ accounts of living with intimate partner violence. Experiential data analysis was used to identify, analyse and highlight themes. Results Three major themes were identified: men’s control of contraception, partner’s indiscriminate response to the pregnancy, and women’s mixed feelings about the pregnancy. Participants reported limited influence over their sexual relationship and Accepted Article This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. birth control. Feelings of vulnerability about themselves and fear for their unborn babies’ safety were intensified by their partners’ continued violence during pregnancy. Conclusion Women experiencing intimate partner violence were more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. This could be attributed to male dominance and fear, which impacts on a woman’s ability to manage her birth control options. The women’s initial excitement about their pregnancy diminished in the face of uncertainty and ongoing violence within their relationship. Relevance to clinical practice Women experiencing violence lack choice in relation to birth control options leading to unintended pregnancies. Interpreting the findings from the victim-perpetrator interactive spin theory of intimate partner violence provides a possible framework for midwives and nurses to better understand and respond to women’s experiences of violence during pregnancy

Life’s hard and then you die: the end-of-life priorities of people experiencing homelessness in the UK

Background: People experiencing homelessness often die young and without adequate support. In the UK, they fail to access palliative care services and their end-of-life priorities remain poorly understood. Aims: To explore the end-of-life concerns, fears, preferences and priorities of a sample of people experiencing homelessness in the UK. Methods: This is an interpretive phenomenology. Data collected through semi-structured, audio-recorded, face-to-face interviews with 21 homeless participants in the UK were analysed iteratively using thematic analysis. Findings have been interpreted through the lens of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy. Results: Eight themes are reported: spiritual concerns; practical concerns; fear of needing care; fear of being forgotten; preference for dying suddenly; preference for being somewhere comfortable where people know me; prioritising autonomy and self-determination; and prioritising authenticity. Conclusion: A strengths-based, trauma-informed, person-centred, collaborative ‘compassionate community’ approach to care is recommended for people experiencing homelessness at end of life

Prospectus, April 26, 2000

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2000/1014/thumbnail.jp

Estimating the number of contributors to two-, three-, and four-person mixtures containing DNA in high template and low template amounts

Aim To develop guidelines to estimate the number of contributors to two-, three-, and four-person mixtures containing either high template DNA (HT-DNA) or low template DNA (LT-DNA) amounts. Methods Seven hundred and twenty-eight purposeful two-, three-, and four-person mixtures composed of 85 individuals of various ethnicities with template amounts ranging from 10 to 500 pg were examined. The number of alleles labeled at each locus and the number of labeled different and repeating alleles at each locus as well over all loci for 2 HT-DNA or 3 LT-DNA replicates were determined. Guidelines based on these data were then evaluated with 117 mixtures generated from items handled by known individuals. Results The number of different alleles over all loci and replicates was used to initially categorize mixtures. Ranges were established based on the averages plus and minus 2 standard deviations, and to encompass all observations, the maximum and the minimum values. To differentiate samples that could be classified in more than one grouping, the number of loci with 4 or more repeating or different alleles, which were specific to three- and four-person mixtures, were verified. Misclassified samples showed an extraordinary amount of allele sharing or stutter. Conclusions These guidelines proved to be useful tools to distinguish low template and high template two-, three-, and four-person mixtures. Due to the inherent higher probability of allele sharing, four-person mixtures were more challenging. Because of allelic drop-out, this was also the case for samples with very low amounts of template DNA or extreme mixture ratios

Involving Engineering with In-Service K-4 Teachers

A strong workforce in science and engineering and literate citizens in a technology-based society depends on an educational system that prepares students in science, mathematics, and engineering. Unfortunately, many K-12 students lose interest in such topics early in their school years. Engineering applications can capture the imagination of students and illustrate the concepts in science and mathematics. Level-appropriate resources are as necessary for primary teachers and our young scholars as for teachers and students in higher grades. A model for interaction between engineers and K-4 teachers is proposed. The State of Missouri defines curriculum standards in each subject area and assesses student performance three times during a student\u27s education. The first assessment for science is in the third grade and for mathematics is in the fourth grade. These standards were examined from an engineering perspective. In addition, in-service primary teachers were surveyed to determine their background, needs, and attitudes regarding science, mathematics, and engineering. Early years of an effective technical curriculum must introduce the basic concepts and begin layering this understanding with detail and connectivity. Our model shows how engineering applications can provide hearing, seeing, and doing components, i.e. auditory, visual, and kinesthetic educational activities, within the recommended pedagogy. The approach involves in-service teachers throughout the development process, addresses state standards and testing criteria, and partners specialists in engineering content and teacher training

‘Lost time’. Patients with Early Inflammatory/Rheumatoid Arthritis and their experiences of delays in Primary Care.

Background Early referral forms a crucial part in early inflammatory/rheumatoid arthritis (EI/RA) recovery. Delayed decisions to refer can lead to severe incapacity and emotional distress for individuals and family and feelings of lost time. How patients with EI/RA experience early referral decisions in Primary Care is an under explored area and warrants further investigation. Aim: To explore how patients newly diagnosed with EI/RA experienced their early contacts with Primary Care as they negotiated their journey through the referral process into secondary care. Design and setting Qualitative face to face interviews with newly diagnosed EI/RA patients Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore patients’ experiences of referral from first symptoms to GP referral All participants were interviewed within two weeks of being diagnosed in Secondary Care. Data analysis was conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings: All participants in this study described having experienced struggles with their navigation through Primary Care towards diagnosis and specialist EI/RA services. This struggle comprised 5 key elements: ‘Family persuasion, ‘Lack of continuity in care’, ‘Pushing for referral’, ‘Straining relationships’, ‘Lost time’. Conclusion: The delays experienced by patients when attempting to reach an early referral decision in Primary Care cause frustration for those presenting with EI/RA, partly because they do not feel heard. There is a significant impact on patients and their families when referral to specialist care is delayed

Prospectus, February 23, 2000

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2000/1006/thumbnail.jp