A Longitudinal Study of Juvenile Facility Directors' Job Satisfaction Levels in the United States

This national study, focusing on job satisfaction within juvenile facility directors, was conducted by the means of a survey. The study is longitudinal in nature; the survey was conducted in 1995 and 2000. Other past studies have focused on line level employees, guards, and the juveniles, but few have concentrated on juvenile facility directors. Literature on directors is currently lacking, this continuous study will give a better ongoing perspective of their attitudes and beliefs. Findings from this particular study will help to address current concerns inside of the system, starting at the apex. The survey's goal is to correlate factors that have a direct impact on their job satisfaction. Results indicate that staff issues have a dramatic impact on a director's job satisfaction

ACTION AND INFORMATION NETWORKS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Disasters require quick, decisive action by disaster managers under intense conditions of uncertainty. The response organizations that form to meet the challenge are a collection of actors with a variety of experience, training, priorities and communications abilities, and form a unique, emergent social network. The size, scope and dynamics of the event make it difficult to gather clear, timely, pertinent data, assign and share meaning to inform critical decisions. This study describes the planned, reported, perceived and desired (PRPD) networks in emergency management mass care response operations and the information needs of the disaster manager during the threat and immediate response phases of the disaster to build an effective common operating picture (COP). Utilizing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Emergency Support Function (ESF) organizing concept of the National Response Plan as a framework, the networks of actors and information are identified and compared to actual data and networks that were demonstrated in federal and state disaster response operations through the historic Gulf Coast hurricane season of 2005

Evidence-based Funding Implementation

The Evidence-Based Funding Implementation Study, provides a look into the factors impacting public school funding after the adoption of the Evidence-Based Funding legislation and examines the challenges and opportunities legislators and education leaders must take to ensure the Evidence-Based Funding Formula is fully funded overtime and the changes public schools and legislators need to implement in order to meet the needs the academic and social emotional needs individual students

Jean Cocteau and myth : intrusions into darkness

Includes bibliographical references (pages [51]-53)Jean Cocteau's film, La belle et la bete, is an enchanting and complex film. Its themes, those of love, the psychological motivations of the characters, child-like acceptance and symbolism are intertwined and are related to the audience through the lens of the camera. The viewer responds to the pattern of visual and audio stimulation on a psychological level. This level is accessed due to patterns that relay the myths of our society with which the viewers are already familiar. Because there are no off-screen voices, which often represent the mind of the narrator, the field of vision as restrained by the camera's lens becomes the medium through which the action and meaning of the film is presented. Other senses are aroused in the film, as well. The soundtrack, for instance appeals strongly, sometimes overwhelmingly, to the audience's sense of hearing. The aspects of the film form a complex masterpiece that functions on the level of myth.M.A. (Master of Arts

Coordination in complex systems: increasing efficiency in disaster mitigation and response

Abstract: Coordination in multi-organisational settings is extraordinarily difficult to achieve. This article examines the problem of inter-organisational coordination in the context of public administration theory and practice. The authors present the concept of complex adaptive systems as a theoretical framework that explains the dynamic processes involved in achieving coordinated action among multiple organisations to manage complex technical operations in environments vulnerable to risk. They argue that coordination may be achieved more easily with the appropriate design of a socio-technical system, that is, a system that supports the exchange of critical information among technical and organisational entities to improve performance in both. The goal is to design a decision support system that uses information technology to enhance the capacity of multiple organisations to adapt their actions reciprocally to changing conditions of risk, enabling the set of organisations to manage risk more effectively and efficiently for the community as a whole. The authors present the design and initial findings from a trial demonstration to implement a prototype interactive, intelligent, spatial information system in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Region

Expression of Immunomodulatory Checkpoint Molecules in Drug-Resistant Neuroblastoma: An Exploratory Study

Neuroblastoma is a common childhood cancer with poor prognosis when at its advanced stage. Checkpoint molecule inhibition is successful in treating multiple advanced adult cancers. We investigated PD-L1 and other checkpoint molecule expression to determine their roles in drug resistance and usefulness as targets for drug therapy. We developed three doxorubicin-resistant (DoxR) cell lines from parental cell lines. Matrigel in vitro invasion assays were used to compare invasiveness. Western blot assays were used to compare PD-L1 expression. Immuno-oncology checkpoint protein panels were used to compare concentrations of 17 checkpoint molecules both cellular and soluble. PD-L1 and 12 other checkpoint molecules were present in all cell lysates of each cell line without significantly different levels. Three were solubilized in the media of each cell line. PD-L1 is expressed in all DoxR and parental neuroblastoma cells and may be a potential target for drug therapy although its role in drug resistance remains unclear. Benchmarking checkpoint molecules provides the basis for future studies identifying targets for directed therapy and biomarkers for cancer detection or prognosis