Race in the Other America: Reflections on My Semester in Brazil

Latin American Studie

Testing Conditional Independence of Discrete Distributions

We study the problem of testing \emph{conditional independence} for discrete distributions. Specifically, given samples from a discrete random variable $(X, Y, Z)$ on domain $[\ell_1]\times[\ell_2] \times [n]$, we want to distinguish, with probability at least $2/3$, between the case that $X$ and $Y$ are conditionally independent given $Z$ from the case that $(X, Y, Z)$ is $\epsilon$-far, in $\ell_1$-distance, from every distribution that has this property. Conditional independence is a concept of central importance in probability and statistics with a range of applications in various scientific domains. As such, the statistical task of testing conditional independence has been extensively studied in various forms within the statistics and econometrics communities for nearly a century. Perhaps surprisingly, this problem has not been previously considered in the framework of distribution property testing and in particular no tester with sublinear sample complexity is known, even for the important special case that the domains of $X$ and $Y$ are binary. The main algorithmic result of this work is the first conditional independence tester with {\em sublinear} sample complexity for discrete distributions over $[\ell_1]\times[\ell_2] \times [n]$. To complement our upper bounds, we prove information-theoretic lower bounds establishing that the sample complexity of our algorithm is optimal, up to constant factors, for a number of settings. Specifically, for the prototypical setting when $\ell_1, \ell_2 = O(1)$, we show that the sample complexity of testing conditional independence (upper bound and matching lower bound) is \[ \Theta\left({\max\left(n^{1/2}/\epsilon^2,\min\left(n^{7/8}/\epsilon,n^{6/7}/\epsilon^{8/7}\right)\right)}\right)\,. \

Giving Miss Marple a makeover : graduate recruitment, systems failure and the Scottish voluntary sector

The voluntary sector in Scotland, as across the globe, is becoming increasingly business like. Resultantly, there is an increasing demand for graduates to work in business and support functions. In Scotland, however, despite an oversupply of graduates in the labor market, the voluntary sector reports skills shortages for graduate-level positions; a leadership deficit was also reported in countries such as the United States. Through exploratory, mainly qualitative, case study and stakeholder research, this article proposes that one reason for this mismatch between the supply of and demand for graduates is a systems failure within the sector. Many graduates and university students remain unaware of potentially suitable paid job opportunities, in part because of the sector's voluntary label. To rectify this systems failure, thought needs to be given to the sector's nomenclature and the manner in which voluntary sector organizations attract graduate recruits, for example, through levering value congruence in potential recruits

Da Outra América: Gilberto Freyre's Racial Formation in the United States

Latin American Studie

Nursing Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of Teamwork and Collaboration on Patient Care

Teamwork and communication are two topics that a vast majority of nursing students are introduced to in their first semester of nursing school. Many nursing students have a desire to improve their communication skills and have a better understanding of the inner workings of interdisciplinary collaboration. A study across multiple cohorts of Georgia Southern Nursing students was conducted to explore their perceptions of the correlation between teamwork and patient care outcomes. This study also explores nursing students’ readiness to communicate with other healthcare professionals and the effectiveness of the means to practice these communication skills while in nursing school. It was hypothesized that nursing students would acknowledge that improving teamwork and communication would improve the quality and holistic effectiveness of patient care

High-fidelity simulation in nursing practice: the impact on nurses\u27 knowledge retention, satisfaction, and self-confidence

Nurses require ongoing opportunities to expand knowledge and skills; this expansion of knowledge and skills is one aspect of continued competence. One method that may be used to maintain and refine knowledge and skills is participation in continuing education activities. However, there has been little inquiry into creative strategies used in conjunction with continuing education activities for practicing nurses in the clinical arena. One such method is simulation&mdash it represents an approach to learning that allows participants to integrate theory and practice and experience complex problems without jeopardizing patient safety. Experiences related to high-risk patients cannot be created on demand and the prevalence of these experiences is unpredictable. Thus, it is important to find the most effective way to assist practicing nurses to maintain and enhance knowledge and skills for high-risk populations such as those found in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A quasi&ndashexperimental, pre&ndashtest, post&ndashtest mixed design with a control group of 48 NICU nurses was utilized to examine the effects of high&ndashfidelity simulation on the knowledge acquisition, satisfaction, and self-confidence of practicing neonatal intensive care nurses. This program was centered on six critical components of neonatal care: Sugar and Safe Care, Temperature, Airway, Blood Pressure, Lab, and Emotional Support (S.T.A.B.L.E.). All participants completed the S.T.A.B.L.E. program, which made up the instructional content and a pre&ndashtest. Post&ndashtesting occurred four weeks after the course and included completion of the NLN Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning scale to measure attitudes on self&ndashconfidence and satisfaction. Results from post&ndashtesting revealed that the mean post&ndashtest score for participants who completed the simulation exercise was higher (3.71%) than for participants who did not. Analysis indicated that the difference in mean change scores from pre&ndash to post&ndashtest for the two groups was not statistically significant (1.71, p=0.489). Results also revealed that participants with less experience had greater gains in mean post&ndashtest scores (11.40) than participants with three years of more experience (9.58). In addition, results indicated that nurses were satisfied with and confident in learning from the simulation activity. Additional analyses revealed that nursing experience and previous experience with high&ndashfidelity simulation did not have a statistically significant effect on self&ndashconfidence in and satisfaction with learning of practicing NICU nurses. Participants were given the opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences from the course and how it was utilized in their practice. Data revealed that of the 48 study participants, over 90% made changes in bedside nursing care as a result of the material learned in the S.T.A.B.L.E. program. Overall, participants enjoyed the simulation and reported it clarified current knowledge, reinforced learning, and fostered teamwork