2,286 research outputs found
Control of static electricity in 35mm film transports under vacuum conditions
Control of static electricity in transporting 35mm film in vacuu
What's the Difference? How Foundation Trustees View Evaluation
Trustee Evaluation ToolkitTrustees care deeply about impact. Understanding results is part of their fiduciary duty. As foundations strive to improve performance, advance accountability and share knowledge, their desire for evaluation -- reliable data on organizational effectiveness -- grows. Based on discussions with trustees, we've heard that current evaluation approaches don't always generate useful information. In too many cases, foundation evaluation practices don't align with trustee needs. Trustees across the United States believe there are ways to improve how we determine the effectiveness of social investments. FSG Social Impact Advisors, with funding from the James Irvine Foundation, interviewed dozens of foundation trustees, CEOs and evaluation experts to uncover critical issues and exciting ideas related to evaluation. This "toolkit" shares highlights from these interviews, and explores innovative new approaches
Are Intervention-Design Characteristics More Predictive than Baseline Participant Characteristics on Participant Attendance to a Paediatric, Community Weight Management Programme?
BACKGROUND: Approximately 50% of participants complete a paediatric weight management programme, yet the predictors of attendance and dropout are inconsistent. This study investigates subject and intervention-design characteristics associated with attendance at a group based, family weight management programme.
SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Secondary data analysis of 2948 subjects (Age 10.4±2.8 years, BMI 26.0±5.7kg/m2, Standardised BMI (BMI SDS) 2.48±0.87, White 70.3%) from 244 MoreLife (UK) programmes. Subjects attend weekly for 10-12 weeks, sessions last 2-3 hours. Sessions include lifestyle guidance and physical activity.
METHOD: Subject characteristics (demographics, psychological (body satisfaction & self-esteem) and sedentary behaviour) were gathered at first contact and BMI SDS was noted weekly. Intervention-design characteristics were recorded (year, length (weeks), group size, age segregation and day of session). Attendance was calculated as total number of sessions attended (%). Multivariate linear regression examined predictors of attendance and multiple imputation countered missing data. RESULTS: Average attendance was 59.4%±29.3%. Baseline subject characteristics were ‘poor’ predictors of attendance. Intervention year, group size and day of session significantly predicted attendance (Tables 1 & 2). Yet, the most predictive marker of attendance was a change in BMI SDS during the programme (B = -0.38, 95% CI = -0.43 - -0.33).
CONCLUSION: A reduction in BMI was seen to predict greater attendance. However, baseline subject characteristics were weakly associated with attendance, refuting past findings. Dominant intervention characteristics (large groups, weekend sessions and recent delivery) predicted lower attendance. Future programmes may be better informed
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Impact of Exercise During Pregnancy on Maternal Outcomes Among a High-Risk Population
Prior observational research has suggested an association between increased physical activity during pregnancy and improved maternal outcomes including a reduced risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Despite this, randomized controlled trials of prenatal exercise are sparse and only one had been conducted in a high-risk population. Therefore, we examined the association between physical activity during pregnancy and risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the Behaviors Affecting Baby and You (B.A.B.Y.) Study, a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week exercise intervention among a diverse group of inactive pregnant women at high-risk for GDM.
The first project examined the effect of participation in the B.A.B.Y. exercise intervention on reducing the risk of GDM. Among the 251 pregnant women at high-risk for GDM included in the analysis, those who participated in the exercise intervention had a lower odds of GDM as compared to those who participated in the health and wellness intervention, although results were not statistically significant.
The second project examined the effect of participation in the B.A.B.Y. exercise intervention on gestational weight gain (GWG) were assessed. Of the 241 participants included in the analysis, there was no statistically significant impact of the exercise intervention on total GWG, rate of GWG, and compliance with the Institute of Medicine recommendations for GWG versus the health and wellness intervention.
The third paper investigated the correlates of three health risk behaviors in early pregnancy: smoking, low levels of exercise, and high levels of sedentary behavior. Data on health risk behaviors were collected through self-report prior to randomization (n=383). Lower education, lower income, not being married or living with a partner, not living with any other adults, drinking alcohol pre-pregnancy and being sedentary were associated with smoking. Younger age and not having children in the household were associated with low levels of activity. Lower income, being unmarried or not living with a partner, not having children in the household and smoking were associated with higher levels of sedentary behavior.
To summarize, this dissertation adds to current research by assessing the effectiveness of an individually-tailored exercise intervention in reducing risk of pregnancy complications in a diverse population
It Can\u27t Leave You The Way It Finds You
There’s a beautiful innocence in childhood where, although the world is large and new, it feels as though your place in it and the roles that you play are stable and unchanging. In our youth, outside of extraordinary circumstances, we are unburdened by the awareness that everything and everyone is subject to radical change—including our own sense of self. As we grow older though, looking back it becomes clear that this was never the case. In a matter of years, you can change so dramatically that you did not even notice as you became an entirely new person. For me, this realization was incredibly destabilizing. I began to feel that I no longer knew who I was, and longed for the security of the identity I had previously known. This moment of discovery and the ensuing self-reflection is the driving force behind my work. I set out to find the relationship between my past and present selves, and to acquaint myself with the person I had become. The revelation that I had changed so drastically from my prior self left me feeling fragmented and no longer comfortable in my identity. I was rootless, felt alone, and longed for the comfort of nostalgia. My drawings pull from images and memories of my childhood, and juxtapose them with images of myself in my present state. They present the struggle of integrating identities that are at odds with one another, the discomfort of confronting change from the past, and the uncertainty of the future.
In its early stages, it became clear that this work needed to be made as drawings rather than in another medium. Unlike other mediums, drawing is immediate and there is a very direct relationship between the artist and the artwork. Drawing is itself an act of discovery, one which parallels my own discovery of self. By its very nature, both technically and conceptually, this work requires time and labor which is a large part of my process. Countless hours are spent working with a piece from it conception to the final execution, and these focused tasks begin to take on meditative qualities. Through the intimate and lengthy process of recreating my image, I am symbolically pulling myself out of the ether and into being, birthing myself for a second time. As I am doing this, I am forced to pay attention to myself both as a physical subject and as a larger concept. I take into consideration each freckle, mole, fold, and crease depicting my body in as close to a non-idealized way as possible. I am not trying to flatter or denigrate myself, choosing instead to depict my form honestly and sincerely. This acknowledgement of physical imperfection echoes the acceptance of myself as a multifaceted and flawed individual. I not only have to consider my external being, but the internal as well contending with all the intricacies that build up an individual. These drawings also take into consideration the relationship that the present, in-flux self has with the more abstract and solidified past identities with which it still so longs to return to or absorb.
The work lives in a liminal space, neither fully here nor there, neither truly child or truly adult, neither completely the same or completely different. This lack of a stable identity contributes to that sense that of insecurity. This is reflected in the depiction of the figure’s attempt to rest in various containers, but never being able to fully be concealed or return to the comfort and safety of being out of sight. My body is often folded and contorted in various uncomfortable positions, seeking to fit once again into the comfort and familiarity of the past but finding that there is no going backwards. Beyond references to moments and objects from my youth, the images are pulled out of their specific time and place and meet in the vast non-descript space of the paper. The act of removing them from their context reflects the self-investigation occurring internally and allows the various signifiers of past and present selves to exist on equal footing, and receive equal consideration.
I am constructing a new identity, and placing it within the context of my past in an attempt to reconcile the perceived disparity between the two. Creating this work has been a process of self-realization, allowing me to take a serious look at who I am in the moment and find acceptance. I have come to realize that the self is not constant, and that the discomfort I have with change won’t go away. This endeavor extends beyond my personal investigation of self, operating as a case study of the effects of change on the individual as a larger construct. Like many others, I will never be done with the work of re-evaluating and recreating my self-identity. This is innately a part of the larger human condition. But, for me, finding this mindfulness is just one step on the journey to accepting that change and by extension myself.
Advisor: Francisco Sout
Strength of Weak Ties Theory and College-University Marketing: A Case Study of ETSU\u27s Clemmer College
As scholarly institutions enter a new era of hyper-competition, seeking innovative ways to engage with student populations has become central to social media marketing efforts. Developing strategies and tactics to interact with existing student populations presents new challenges for marketing departments, as well as the stakeholders who are often asked to provide user-generated content. Strong ties among stakeholder relationships can enhance communication with effective outcomes; however, it is the weak ties that may have the most impact. This study draws on existing literature regarding Strength of Weak Ties Theory and faculty and student surveys in East Tennessee State University’s Clemmer College were conducted, to explore how ethos, pathos, logos, and Kairos can be leveraged in earned, owned, and shared media. This data is then used to inform future marketing campaigns that use professor-student engagement
Establishing Human Factors Programs to Mitigate Blind Spots in Cybersecurity
Most business organizations lack a human factors program and remain inattentive to human-centric issues and human-related problems that are leading to cybersecurity incidents, significant financial losses, reputational damage, and lost production. Other industries such as aviation, nuclear power, healthcare, and industrial safety leverage human factors problems as platforms to reduce human errors. The underappreciation and under-exploration of human factors in cybersecurity threatens the existence of every business. Cybersecurity operations are becoming increasingly abstruse and technologically sophisticated resulting in heightened opportunities for human errors. A human factors program can provide the foundation to address and mitigate human-centric issues, properly train the workforce, and integrate psychology-based professionals as stakeholders to remediate human factors-based problems
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