Honor the Precariat

Honor the Precariat is an art installation conceived and executed to acknowledge and honor the significant contributions of non-tenure track faculty, particularly those colleagues teaching at Colorado State University. The exhibition and accompanying article recognize faculty who work in anonymity and often without security, teaching, advising, and mentoring hundreds of students and representing millions of dollars in tuition revenue. The essence of the artwork captures the 20+ year struggle of the artist to come to terms with the value of a career in which she has been viewed as a second-class faculty member – and this dichotomy facing all members of what has become new faculty majority. This artwork intends to recognize the value of the artist’s own work and that of other highly treasured colleagues. Elements of the installation were constructed from published employment and anecdotal data envisioned in a graphic, visual format

Self-employment among the Armed Forces Community

The Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, QinetiQ and X-Forces Enterprise were commissioned by Forces in Mind Trust to understand what more could be done to support the Armed Forces Community in pursuing self-employment and thereby help to maximise their chances of a successful and sustainable transition. This research seeks to fill the current gap in knowledge and contribute to policy-making and service delivery

How Various Exercise Modalities Impact Quality of Life, Physical Activity, and Program Adherence in Patients with COPD

How Various Exercise Modalities Impact Quality of Life, Physical Activity, and Program Adherence in Patients with COPD Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of diseases that causes breathing difficulty due to airway obstruction. Adherence to physical activity recommendations for those with COPD is often problematic and leads to worsening dyspnea and quality of life. Due to the prevalence of COPD, it is important to understand how different exercise modalities impact quality of life and adherence to physical activity. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine if patients with COPD have a better quality of life and adherence to physical activity recommendations if they follow exercise modalities. Method: Research was conducted using the databases PubMed and CINAHL. Search terms included “exercise interventions”, “COPD”, “quality of life”, and “physical activity”. 169 studies were systematically retrieved and reviewed. After full analysis and appraisal, eight studies were included in the final review. Results: Several different exercise modalities were used in the studies and results were collected using different research instruments. St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, 6-Minute Walk Test, CAT scores, daily step counts, and other pulmonary function tests were used to collect data before, during, and after the exercise programs were conducted. The results demonstrated that different exercise modalities improve quality of life and adherence to physical activity recommendations in patients with COPD. Conclusion: The systematic review demonstrates that patients with COPD who are physically active and regularly adhere to exercise regimens have a healthier and improved life. Research supports that exercise has a direct effect on quality of life for patients with COPD. Keywords: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Quality of Life; Physical Activit

Design and Activation of Frequency Tunable 200GHz Gyrotron

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) when combined with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) yields high sensitivity spectra while decreasing sample acquisition time. DNP transfers polarization from electron to nuclear spins, giving a strong enhancement of NMR signal. DNP is rapidly developing area of research due in part to application of cyclotron resonance masers (gyrotron) as high power microwave sources. Gyrotrons provide a high-power, high-frequency microwave source that can be used in close proximity to high field NMR magnets. Gyrotrons are operated under strong vacuum and within a cryogenic superconducting magnetic. Gyrotron microwave power is generated by a magnetron injection gun (MIG) composed of a molybdenum emitter coating a barium impregnated tungsten matrix cathode. In this 200 GHz gyrotron, a low capacitance between cathode and anode on the MIG and a variable potential field allow electrons to be accelerated into the magnetic field at variable frequencies. In previous DNP experiments, strong hyperfine couplings lead to short spin relaxation times and broad NMR line shapes. Voltage tunable gyrotrons are required for fast frequency sweeps of the irradiation bandwidth used for electron decoupling experiments. Using this tunable, fast frequency sweeping gyrotron, electron decoupling experiments will be possible, leading to higher resolution NMR spectra than previously possible. In this project, the assembly and use of a 200GHz gyrotron for DNP NMR is discussed

An Examination of Student and Faculty Perceptions Regarding Music Education Transfer Student Preparedness and Experiences

Transfer students account for growing numbers in four-year music education programs. To better understand this increasing population of students, researchers employed parallel method design. One strand investigated music education faculty members’ (n = 83) perceptions of transfer student preparedness, procedures, and expectations to understand admissions processes (e.g., curricula, assessments) employed to evaluate incoming transfer students. The other strand examined music education transfer students’ (n = 12) academic, social, and personal preparedness to study music education in a comprehensive four-year music education program. The following research questions served as a guide for data collection and analysis: (a) What themes emerged for students throughout the investigation of the transfer process? (b) What are transfer students’ perceptions of academic and musical preparedness once making the transition to four-year institutions? and (c) What are college professors’ perceptions of transfer students’ academic and musical preparedness upon arrival at four-year institutions? Findings from both student and faculty perspectives suggest that transfer students exhibit three common concerns throughout the transfer process. These concerns were academic, social, and personal. Further, transfer students’ preparedness also emerged as a theme mentioned by music faculty as an obstacle for incoming students. Themes also included performance on departmental diagnostic assessments, various modes of communication among music faculty (i.e., applied, classroom), students, and university/college administrative personnel. Researchers provide an analysis and suggestions for addressing these concerns from multiple perspectives as well as suggestions for future research

Victim-Offender Overlap in Violent Crime: Targeting Crime Harm in a Canadian Suburb

Funder: University of CambridgeAbstract Research Question To what extent are victims of violent crime also offenders, and vice versa, with what concentrations of total crime harm across each person who has ever been reported as both a victim and an offender within the study period? Data We analyse 27,233 unique individuals who were the subject of violent crime reports to the Peel Regional Police Service in Canada, either as offenders, victims, or both, for crimes reported between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016. Each individual linked to a violent crime in this period was tracked for the 730 days subsequent to the first crime report naming them. Methods We coded each crime with the Canadian Crime Severity Index (CCSI) to calculate victimization and offending harm totals across all incidents for each individual. We then computed each individual’s ratio of total CCSI from victimization to total CCSI from victimization. Based on the distribution of these ratios of CCSI from all offending to all victimization, we show how police can distinguish three categories of victim-offenders (VOs): predominant victims (PVs), predominant offenders (POs), and balanced victim-offenders (BVOs), as well as the single-category absolute offenders (AOs) and absolute victims (AVs). Findings Across all 27,233 individuals tracked, 17,138 (64%) appeared first as victims, and 10,095 (36%) appeared first as suspects. Of those appearing first as victims, 997 (6%) are linked to a violent crime as an offender within 730 days. Among those appearing first as offenders, 1019 (10%) are subsequently reported as victimized within 730 days. The total of this combined group (VOs) = 1665 individuals (6% of the entire population). Using a 3.5:1 ratio of victim to offender harm, we subdivide the 1665 VOs further into 322 predominant victims, 280 predominant offenders, and 1063 balanced victim-offenders. The 20% of individuals (n = 5455) with highest harm are linked to 71% of overall harm. On average, predominant offenders (who have also been victimized) are associated with 2.7 times as much harm as absolute offenders, and predominant victims (who have also been offenders) have three times as much harm as absolute victims. Conclusions This research shows how combining records of victimization and offending to target higher harm levels with greater potential benefits for police investments in harm reduction and prevention. </jats:sec

Physician and patient use of and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of infertility

ObjectiveTo determine use of and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among infertility patients and subspecialty physicians.MethodsInfertility patients were asked to complete anonymous written surveys at an academic infertility practice; members of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility were electronically surveyed. Both groups were assessed regarding their use of and attitudes toward CAM.ResultsThe response rate was 32.1% (115/358) among patients and 22.6% (225/995) among physicians (P < 0.05). In total, 105 (91.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 85.8–96.2) patients used CAM, and 84 (73.0%; 95% CI, 64.9–81.1) regarded it as beneficial to their fertility treatment. However, only 30 (26.1%; 95% CI, 18.0–34.0) patients reported CAM use to physicians, with the most common reason being that they were “never asked.” Overall, 202 (89.8%; 95% CI, 85.9–93.8) physicians reported inquiring about CAM.ConclusionSignificant discrepancies exist between subfertile patients and physicians in attitudes toward the use of CAM. The current prevalence of CAM use among infertility patients requires greater physician attention and justifies further study on the risks and benefits of integrating CAM into the biomedical treatment of infertility.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135333/1/ijgo253.pd