A Framework for Analyzing, Developing, and Applying Community Practice Interventions

Due to multiple factors, the community practice field struggles with incongruent community practice language and activities. In this article, authors unpack various challenges associated with community practice and explore implications for analysis, development, and application of effective interventions. Grounded in applied social science paradigms, authors offer a framework incorporating multi-paradigmatic approaches to inform intervention development and application. Principally centered in praxis—that is, reflection and action—this article builds on the work of foundational scholars to cultivate contextual interventions in planned change work. The authors aim to further develop the community practice knowledge base, expand what constitutes relevant evidence, and aid practitioners in making sense of complexity and contradiction in practice

Applying Critical Grounded Theory to Community Intervention Development Methodology: Designing the Critical Difference Engagement Approach

Multiple factors contribute to community practice’s ongoing challenge of developing effective, evidence-informed, and socially just practice interventions. Currently, rationally driven systematic reviews dominate intervention design and development in various interprofessional applied health and human service fields, including community practice. As a result, community interventions often undergo significant development outside complex community contexts in which social problems manifest. Drawing from a case example of one author’s participation in a community engaged intervention development study based on mobilizing across differences, this piece advances an inclusive approach to community-based participatory intervention development driven by critical grounded theory. Undergirded by critical research perspectives, the article offers an early-stage intervention development methodology derived from the field in collaboration with community practitioners and resident leaders. Built upon existing interdisciplinary scholarship, it blends prominent intervention development frameworks, participatory research approaches, and critical grounded theory methods. Authors aim to aid scholars, practitioners, and community leaders in developing socially just, inclusive, and contextually relevant intervention approaches that originate from within communities directly impacted by social problems

Strengths Perspective in Critical Macro Practice: Tentative Guidance for Transformative Strengths-Based Policy, Organizational, and Community Practice

This chapter aims to expand both theorizing and application of strengths perspec- tive in policy, organizational, and community contexts across inter-professional settings in human services. It begins with a brief overview of the history of strengths perspective and its pivotal influence on social work, human services, community psychology, community development, and other disciples. It goes on to bring to light traditionally dominant policy, organization, and community practice foundations within interdisciplinary human service practice. By highlighting these historically situated and presently reinforced rational, bureaucratic, and linear approaches; it argues for intentional integration of strengths perspective into macro practice en- vironments. Aligned with early scholars and practitioners that use critical perspec- tives as a foundation for the development of strengths perspective, and who assert its practical efficacy in numerous direct practice settings, it affirms broadening strengths perspective to policy, organizational, and community settings. In the interest of clarity, throughout the chapter, we use the term macro practice to describe human service activities within policy, organizational, and community set- tings (Reisch, 2017). Additionally, following the lead of other scholars in establishing critical community practice (Butcher, Banks, Henderson, & Robertson, 2007; Evans, 2015), many terms we conceive, such as critical strengths-based practice, critical macro practice, critical policy practice, and critical organizational practice. These terms, defined in further sections, differentiate these approaches from their more traditional, rational, and incremental counterparts. Beginning with a brief historical overview of strengths perspective, authors define critical strengths perspective, detail essential elements of critical macro practice, and provide examples of these distinct approaches in practice. The piece offers a critical lens to frame strengths perspective in macro contexts and demonstrates ways in which it can be applied in multiple policies, community, and organizational settings. Concluding with a set of tentative guides and considerations for critical strengths-based practice, such as prefigurative practices, humanization, intersec- tionality, democratic practice, and critical consciousness; we hope it offers tools, opens dialogue among practitioners and scholars, encourages active scholarship in this area, and spurs the necessary flourishing of truly transformative critical strengths-based practice

A Human-Systems Approach to Proactively Managing Risk through Training in an Evolving Aviation Industry

The Aviation industry is rapidly evolving through increased automation on the flight deck, new air traffic control tools and procedures, and expanded applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The majority of these enhancements will rely on human operators (pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, etc.) in order to be safely integrated into the National Airspace System. The staggered development cycle of these technological changes, coupled with independent development teams and relatively limited operational testing opportunities, can create significant challenges. These technological enhancements must be met with similarly rapid advancements in risk mitigation and training. In this presentation we describe a standardized approach to proactively identify and assess the potential human error modes and conditions for new or proposed technological or procedural changes in the context of NAS operations. The Human-Organization and Safety Technique (HOST) is designed to examine a system or tool with the goal of improving human performance during the design stages by mitigating opportunities for human error. Human error in complex systems is rarely the result of a single error but stems from the complex interactions of multiple factors and natural performance variability. Results of a HOST analysis outline critical human-human and human-system interactions and describe and prioritize potential human performance hazards associated with each interaction. The resulting models and human performance hazards provide a comprehensive roadmap for the development of new human factors-focused training programs to ensure that pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance personnel are prepared for the changes and have the best opportunity to avoid error and mitigate risk in the future

Rider energy expenditure during high intensity horse activity and the potential for health benefits

Obesity and disease associated with sedentary lifestyles have become major concerns in the United States. Exercise has been described as a crucial part of disease prevention and overall health, with activities such as biking or running cited as examples. Horseback riding is a popular activity; however, little information on the exercise value of horseback riding exists. The objective of this experiment was to define the energy expenditure of participants in several common riding events. All procedures were approved by the Texas A&M Institutional Review Board and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; subjects gave written consent prior to participation. Twenty subjects completed each of three riding tests: a 45min walk-trot-canter ride (WTC), a reining pattern, and a cutting pattern while wearing a telemetric gas analyzer. Anthropometric data were obtained for each subject through DEXA scans. Total energy expenditure (tEE), as well as mean and peak energy expenditure per minute (EE/min), metabolic equivalents of task (MET), heart rate (HR), respiratory frequency (RF), pulmonary ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2), relative oxygen consumption (relVO2) and carbon dioxide production (­VCO2)were measured. Mean energy expenditure per minute, and HR responses were greater (P \u3c 0.05) for reining (6.96±0.23Kcal/min, 163.28±4.2bpm) and cutting (4.98±0.23Kcal/min, 146.9±4.2bpm) than for WTC (4.27±0.23Kcal/min, 131.5±4.2bpm). When WTC test was evaluated by gait component, mean EE/min and MET increased as gait speed increased. Mean EE/min and MET were higher (P \u3c 0.05) for riders at long trot (6.9±0.21Kcal/min, 6.19±0.21MET) and canter (6.93±0.21Kcal/min, 5.95±0.21MET) gaits than during the walk (2.34±0.21Kcal.min, 2.01±0.21MET) or trot (3.5±0.21Kcal/min, 3.2±0.21MET) gaits. Similar patterns were observed for RF, VE, VO2, VCO2 and RelVO2 across disciplines and by gait component. The tEE (194.7±3.84kcal/min) and mean MET (4.27±0.23MET) observed during the 45-min WTC ride were within current national recommendations of intensity (3-6MET), time (\u3e30min) and calories burned (~1000Kcal/wk). The results of this study provide novel information about exercise intensity values for horseback activities and differences among riding disciplines measured in real time using a portable system. Riders engaged in cutting and reining experienced more intense exercise in short durations, while WTC provided a greater total energy expenditure. These data suggest that it is possible, if riding at the more intense gaits such as long trot and canter, for health benefits to be achieved through accumulated weekly horseback riding exercise

Performance of a non-invasive test for detecting mycobacterium bovis shedding in European badger (meles meles) populations

The incidence of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, in cattle herds in the United Kingdom is increasing, resulting in substantial economic losses. The European badger (Meles meles) is implicated as a wildlife reservoir and is the subject of control measures aimed at reducing incidence in cattle populations. Understanding the epidemiology of M. bovis in badger populations is essential to direct control interventions and understand disease spread; however, accurate diagnosis in live animals is challenging and currently uses invasive methods. Here we present a non-invasive diagnostic procedure and sampling regime using field sampling of latrines and detection of M. bovis with qPCR, the results of which strongly correlate with the results of immunoassay testing in the field at the social group level. This method allows M. bovis infection in badger populations to be monitored without trapping and provides additional information on the quantity of bacterial DNA shed. Our approach may therefore provide valuable insights into the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in badger populations and inform disease control interventions

National Geotechnical Experimentation Sites: Central Data Repository (User Manual)

DTFH61-90-R-00081The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently set up a system of National Geotechnical Experimentation Sites (NGES) available to the geotechnical community at-large for the purpose of advancing the state of the art in such areas as in situ testing, field instrumentation, and prediction of soil behavior. As part of this program, the FHWA also funded the creation of a data base to document the activities and results at each test site. This report describes a data base system, the National Geotechnical Experimentation Sites Data Base (NGESDB) which stores site information and geotechnical data from the experimentation sites. NGESDB allows the user to select a site by soil type, State, or geotechnical activity. Once a site is selected, the NGESDB can be used to display site information such as the site description, representative soil properties, boring locations, owner and contact information, and references with abstracts. Geotechnical data is available for several laboratory and in situ tests as well, including test information details and complete results for each test. Descriptions of prototype and model foundations, permanent field instrumentation, and site improvement activities at each site are also included

The variability and seasonality of the environmental reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis shed by wild European badgers

The incidence of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, has been increasing in UK cattle herds resulting in substantial economic losses. The European badger (Meles meles) is implicated as a wildlife reservoir of infection. One likely route of transmission to cattle is through exposure to infected badger urine and faeces. The relative importance of the environment in transmission remains unknown, in part due to the lack of information on the distribution and magnitude of environmental reservoirs. Here we identify potential infection hotspots in the badger population and quantify the heterogeneity in bacterial load; with infected badgers shedding between 1 × 103 − 4 × 105 M. bovis cells g−1 of faeces, creating a substantial and seasonally variable environmental reservoir. Our findings highlight the potential importance of monitoring environmental reservoirs of M. bovis which may constitute a component of disease spread that is currently overlooked and yet may be responsible for a proportion of transmission amongst badgers and onwards to cattle

Toward System Change to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance: Improving the Voluntary Stewardship of Antimicrobials in US Agriculture

From Executive Summary:This report presents the details of a research study looking at the potential for improving voluntary stewardship of antimicrobials in US agriculture, in the interests of tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Failure to address AMR could lead to significant impacts on both human and animal health. Voluntary stewardship is an approach that relies on the willingness of food-animal producers and supportive industries (e.g., veterinary services and pharmaceutical companies), as well as broader stakeholders (e.g., public health policymakers and consumer advocates), to ensure the judicious use of antimicrobials without the need for regulation, legislation, mandatory compliance or statutory enforcement

Soil sample timing, nitrogen fertilization, and incubation length influence anaerobic potentially mineralizable nitrogen

Understanding the variables that affect the anaerobic potentially mineralizable N (PMNan) test should lead to a standard procedure of sample collection and incubation length, improving PMNan as a tool in corn (Zea mays L.) N management. We evaluated the effect of soil sample timing (preplant and V5 corn development stage [V5]), N fertilization (0 and 180 kg ha−1) and incubation length (7, 14, and 28 d) on PMNan (0–30 cm) across a range of soil properties and weather conditions. Soil sample timing, N fertilization, and incubation length affected PMNan differently based on soil and weather conditions. Preplant vs. V5 PMNan tended to be greater at sites that received \u3c 183 mm of precipitation or \u3c 359 growing degree-days (GDD) between preplant and V5, or had soil C/N ratios \u3e 9.7:1; otherwise, V5 PMNan tended to be greater than preplant PMNan. The PMNan tended to be greater in unfertilized vs. fertilized soil in sites with clay content \u3e 9.5%, total C \u3c 24.2 g kg−1, soil organic matter (SOM) \u3c 3.9 g kg−1, or C to N ratios \u3c 11.0:1; otherwise, PMNan tended to be greater in fertilized vs. unfertilized soil. Longer incubation lengths increased PMNan at all sites regardless of sampling methods. Since PMNan is sensitive to many factors (sample timing, N fertilization, incubation length, soil properties, and weather conditions), it is important to follow a consistent protocol to compare PMNan among sites and potentially use PMNan to improve corn N management