An Analysis of Non-Traditional Intervention Programs for At-Risk Youth

ABSTRACT Through content analysis, this thesis analyzes relevant wilderness therapy programs and residential treatment centers specifically designed for at-risk youth. More specifically, this study is an applied analysis. The results provide primary care-givers with a guide for assessing programs before their adolescent continues down the path to juvenile incarceration. The study analyzed 20 wilderness therapy programs and 19 residential treatment centers through a series of exploratory questions derived from empirical research concerning the effective and ethically sound treatment of at-risk youth. The five research questions are as follows: 1) What aspects of the program promote and include family involvement? 2) Does the program stress staff competency by providing relevant training and an on-site licensed therapist? 3) What steps are taken to ensure that an aftercare/transitional program is employed after graduation from the program? 4) Is the program accredited under a nationally recognized accrediting body? 5) Does the program engage in outcome studies or track continued progress of former clients after the program is completed? The study found that wilderness therapy programs demonstrated positive results in the areas of family involvement, staff competency, and accreditation. Additionally, the study found that residential facilities had the highest percentage of positive results in the area of staff competency and highest percentage of negative results in the area of outcome studies. Both types of programs had a high percentage of positive results in the area of family involvement

Understanding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks in Western Cape Ostrich industry: did network dynamics enhance vulnerability? Christine Moore.

Includes bibliographical references.Disease outbreaks in both domestic and wild systems in recent years indicate the increasing potential for disease spill-over of generalist pathogens between domestic and wild species. Events of this nature are of considerable threat to rare or endangered species, while also being of significant economic concern for the farming industry. Understanding how disease moves within and between these contrasting systems is vital to prevent large-scale, multi-system epidemics in the future. This study utilized network analysis to understand how the movement of ostrich stock between farm locations in the Western Cape, South Africa may have contributed an epidemic outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) within the ostrich industry in 2011

The PDA Fails to Deliver: Why Nalco and Wallace Cannot Coexist, and a New Standard for Defining “Related Medical Condition”

this Comment argues courts must look to the intent of the Pregnacy Discrimination Act and adopt a more comprehensive standard in defining a “related medical condition.

The Solid-Phase Extraction of Drugs From Biological Fluids

Solid-phase extraction has become an increasingly important technique over the last decade. In this study, the properties of bonded silica sorbents for use in the solid-phase extraction of drugs from various biological fluids are investigated. Sorbents exhibiting predominantly non-polar, polar or ion-exchange interactions are all considered. Initially, the extraction of some common benzodiazepines (diazepam, triazolam, flunitrazepam and their metabolites), from the urine of racing greyhounds is studied. Further method development is described involving the extraction of xylazine (a veterinary tranquilliser), from greyhound urine, mazindol (a central nervous system stimulant), from racehorse urine, and basic drugs from human post-mortem urine samples. Comparison of these solid-phase methods with existing solvent extraction procedures, from an efficiency point of view, is carried out for racing greyhound and human post-mortem samples. Such comparisons are based on a number of criteria: the total time spent on extraction; solvent cost; glassware requirements; sample requirements; possible simultaneous extraction of a number of samples; potential automation of extraction; cleanliness of extracts, and necessity for evaporation and/or derivatisation steps prior to analysis. The extraction methods presented are all reproducible and highly efficient as well as being economically viable for routine use in a toxicological laboratory. Further applications of solid-phase extractions are investigated. A novel high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis method for benzodiazepines is described, which is compatible with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). New HPLC methods for xylazine and mazindol analysis are developed. Finally, a potentially fully automated basic drug screening solid-phase extraction method and analysis by HPLC with diode array detection for the determination of drugs from human post-mortem urine samples is described. The results of this method were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

Comments on “Is Biological Death Final? Recomputing the Drake-S Equation for Postmortem Survival of Consciousness”

The application of the Drake-S equation to the aggregated data suggestive of survival found 30.3% of unexplained variance in the data when other factors were applied to the dataset (including living agent psi, LAP). A number of points are raised in this commentary. These include 1. the aggregated estimate for LAP should factor in implicit psi studies (among others); 2. it is difficult to ascertain the source of psi if psi is not a signal that is caused, but rather an emergent property of a connected system; 3. there may be shared variance between sources that are attributed differently in the equation 4. different sources of evidence for survival are heterogeneous and 5. The attribution of unexplained variance to survival of consciousness is critiqued. Even if it cannot resolve the debate concerning postmortem survival of consciousness, this approach redirects serious academic attention to the study of death and dying

Assessment of The Seismic Vulnerability of West Tennessee School Buildings

West Tennessee is a seismically active area. However, West Tennessee has been building structures long before strides in earthquake engineering. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed a procedure, Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) Method, to quickly determine if a structure is likely to suffer major damage from earthquake or not by documenting aspects of the structure and its site and then calculating a score for the building that indicates the seismic vulnerability of the structure. A more sophisticated government software called Hazus-MH was developed to produce results with five damage categories: None, Slight, Moderate, Extensive, and Complete. It costs more to run Hazus-MH as opposed to the RVS Method. The West Tennessee Seismic Safety Commission has funded a project for The University of Memphis to assess the seismic resistance of West Tennessee school buildings

A Critical Examination of Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of Liberatory PD

This study sought to develop an understanding of secondary teachers’ perceptions of liberatory (justice-oriented) professional development at three school sites in a single school district. As participants shared their perceptions, three significant themes emerged; they described 1) facing contextual constraints that limited their agency 2) desiring to be reframed as knowledge producers, yet 3) struggling to envision how their agency could support their liberation. These key findings led to an emergent theory of the Cycle of Professional Development Stagnation, a cycle involving barriers that perpetuate the framing of teachers as passive recipients of knowledge. As evidenced in this qualitative inquiry, this cycle serves as a system that can oppress secondary educators as it relates to their agency and their means for developing greater criticality. The findings from this study indicate the need for further research in the field as they highlight approaches to PD that work to discourage a more justice-oriented teacher workforce and therefore may prevent cultivation of more equitable learning environments for students