Job satisfaction for campus recreation professionals within NIRSA institutions

An international investigation was conducted to determine the overall job satisfaction of college campus recreation employees who are members of the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA). Demographic information was gathered to provide statistical analysis based on (a) region; (b) size of school; (c) private versus public; (d) four-year versus two-year schools; (e) rural, suburban, and urban location; (f) years in the profession; and (g) reporting structure. The following work related areas were examined to determine if NIRSA members were satisfied with their job environment: (a) personal/individual satisfaction, (b) staffing and organizational structure, (c) financial support, (d) salary and professional development, (e) department and individual expectations, (f) campus recreation facilities, and (g) campus collaboration and communication. The study found that overall the respondents indicated they were satisfied with their job situation/ environment with greater satisfaction being shown by those with loftier job titles when compared with those with lesser job titles. Differences in job satisfaction were noted in terms of (a) supervisor’s expectations of them, salary, and hours worked (based on amount of experience); (b) salary (based on title held); (c) budget allocation (based on reporting structure); and (d) a desire to leave their present position/ job (in terms of job title held, experience/length of service and reporting structure)

Club Sport Legal Liability Practices at NIRSA Institutions

Current legal practices in collegiate club sport programs were studied. A 23-item questionnaire consisting primarily of close-ended questions was mailed to 563 campus recreation directors representing all six National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) regions. Data obtained showed that mean club sport budgets ranged from $51,657 in Region 4 to$135,657 in Region 6, with an overall mean of $69,138 across all regions. Signing a waiver before participating was required by 91 % of the directors. Lack of consistency in waiver language and font size was reported. Only 9% of campus recreation directors always require that an institutional employee travel with a club sport team. The most frequent modes of approved travel for club sport participants were students driving personal cars (94%), renting vans from outside vendors (95%), and the use of private transportation such as a chartered bus (70%). Paid coaches were used by 15% of the directors

Selected Risk Management Policies, Practices, and Procedures for Intramural Activities at NIRSA Institutions

A survey of all National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) campus recreation directors was conducted to determine the risk management policies, practices, and procedures relating to intramural activities and recreational sports at colleges and universities throughout North America. The survey instrument, in its final form, addressed practices, policies, and procedures of campus recreation directors through 44 questions relating to the following areas: (a) documentation, (b) medical factors, (c) rules and regulations, (d) physical supervision, (e) sportsmanship rating systems, (f) restrictive policies, (g) safety devices, (h) officials-tests-qualifications, and (i) background experiences and training of the respondents. Selected data are presented in terms of (a) the size of institutions (small, medium, and large), (b) location of the institution (rural, urban, and suburban), and (c) whether public or privately supported

Factors Affecting Risk Management of Indoor Campus Recreation Facilities

Factors affecting risk management of indoor campus recreation facilities were studied. Campus recreation directors of 4-year colleges/universities in North America who held memberships in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) responded to a paper survey consisting of 32 dichotomous yes/no and closeended multiple-choice questions. Questions addressed staff certification requirements, use of waivers, number of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in the facility, communication and security devices, health screening of participants, and in-person supervision of the facility. Results showed that facilities are open to participants extensively throughout the 7-day week, thus requiring directors to ensure their risk management procedures are up to date—most notably staff members’ CPR and first aid certification, as well as AED training

A first comparison of search methods for gravitational wave bursts using LIGO and Virgo simulated data

We present a comparative study of 6 search methods for gravitational wave bursts using simulated LIGO and Virgo noise data. The data's spectra were chosen to follow the design sensitivity of the two 4km LIGO interferometers and the 3km Virgo interferometer. The searches were applied on replicas of the data sets to which 8 different signals were injected. Three figures of merit were employed in this analysis: (a) Receiver Operator Characteristic curves, (b) necessary signal to noise ratios for the searches to achieve 50 percent and 90 percent efficiencies, and (c) variance and bias for the estimation of the arrival time of a gravitational wave burst.Comment: GWDAW9 proceeding

Triangulation of gravitational wave sources with a network of detectors

There is significant benefit to be gained by pursuing multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations. In order to undertake electromagnetic follow-ups of gravitational wave signals, it will be necessary to accurately localize them in the sky. Since gravitational wave detectors are not inherently pointing instruments, localization will occur primarily through triangulation with a network of detectors. We investigate the expected timing accuracy for observed signals and the consequences for localization. In addition, we discuss the effect of systematic uncertainties in the waveform and calibration of the instruments on the localization of sources. We provide illustrative results of timing and localization accuracy as well as systematic effects for coalescing binary waveforms.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

The GstLAL Search Analysis Methods for Compact Binary Mergers in Advanced LIGO's Second and Advanced Virgo's First Observing Runs

After their successful first observing run (September 12, 2015 - January 12, 2016), the Advanced LIGO detectors were upgraded to increase their sensitivity for the second observing run (November 30, 2016 - August 26, 2017). The Advanced Virgo detector joined the second observing run on August 1, 2017. We discuss the updates that happened during this period in the GstLAL-based inspiral pipeline, which is used to detect gravitational waves from the coalescence of compact binaries both in low latency and an offline configuration. These updates include deployment of a zero-latency whitening filter to reduce the over-all latency of the pipeline by up to 32 seconds, incorporation of the Virgo data stream in the analysis, introduction of a single-detector search to analyze data from the periods when only one of the detectors is running, addition of new parameters to the likelihood ratio ranking statistic, increase in the parameter space of the search, and introduction of a template mass-dependent glitch-excision thresholding method.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D, comments welcom

Plans for the LIGO-TAMA Joint Search for Gravitational Wave Bursts

We describe the plans for a joint search for unmodelled gravitational wave bursts being carried out by the LIGO and TAMA collaborations using data collected during February-April 2003. We take a conservative approach to detection, requiring candidate gravitational wave bursts to be seen in coincidence by all four interferometers. We focus on some of the complications of performing this coincidence analysis, in particular the effects of the different alignments and noise spectra of the interferometers.Comment: Proceedings of the 8th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop, Milwaukee, WI, USA. 10 pages, 3 figures, documentclass ``iopart'

Weekly vs. Every-3-Week Paclitaxel and Carboplatin for Ovarian Cancer

BACKGROUND A dose-dense weekly schedule of paclitaxel (resulting in a greater frequency of drug delivery) plus carboplatin every 3 weeks or the addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel and carboplatin administered every 3 weeks has shown efficacy in ovarian cancer. We proposed to determine whether dose-dense weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin would prolong progression-free survival as compared with paclitaxel and carboplatin administered every 3 weeks among patients receiving and those not receiving bevacizumab. METHODS We prospectively stratified patients according to whether they elected to receive bevacizumab and then randomly assigned them to receive either paclitaxel, administered intravenously at a dose of 175 mg per square meter of body-surface area every 3 weeks, plus carboplatin (dose equivalent to an area under the curve [AUC] of 6) for six cycles or paclitaxel, administered weekly at a dose of 80 mg per square meter, plus carboplatin (AUC, 6) for six cycles. The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS A total of 692 patients were enrolled, 84% of whom opted to receive bevacizumab. In the intention-to-treat analysis, weekly paclitaxel was not associated with longer progression-free survival than paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks (14.7 months and 14.0 months, respectively; hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74 to 1.06; P=0.18). Among patients who did not receive bevacizumab, weekly paclitaxel was associated with progression-free survival that was 3.9 months longer than that observed with paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks (14.2 vs. 10.3 months; hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.95; P=0.03). However, among patients who received bevacizumab, weekly paclitaxel did not significantly prolong progression-free survival, as compared with paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks (14.9 months and 14.7 months, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.20; P=0.60). A test for interaction that assessed homogeneity of the treatment effect showed a significant difference between treatment with bevacizumab and without bevacizumab (P=0.047). Patients who received weekly paclitaxel had a higher rate of grade 3 or 4 anemia than did those who received paclitaxel every 3 weeks (36% vs. 16%), as well as a higher rate of grade 2 to 4 sensory neuropathy (26% vs. 18%); however, they had a lower rate of grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (72% vs. 83%). CONCLUSIONS Overall, weekly paclitaxel, as compared with paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks, did not prolong progression-free survival among patients with ovarian cancer