Steps taken and Resources Used to Write a Grant Proposal for the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities' Parent Resource Center

The Individuals with Disabilities Act recognizes the importance of helping parents of children with special needs access information which will assist them to better understand the nature of their children's disabilities, communicate effectively with service providers, and learn about resources available to assist their children. In accordance with this Act, the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities (TLCDD) made a decision in 1999 to convert its library into a special resource center to meet the information needs of this important population. The purpose of this Master’s project was twofold: first, to learn from first hand experience how to write a successful grant proposal; and second, to help TLCDD secure the funds needed to set up its parent resource center. This paper documents the steps taken and resources used to write the grant proposal. Additionally, it includes two versions of the final proposal, which were written as a result of the project

What to do when your clients' data is breached: the case of Sony Playstation

Firms should meet, not exceed, customers' expectations; overcompensation can seem insincere, write Sigi Goode, Hartmut Hoehle, Viswanath Venkatesh and Susan A. Brow

Simulation in Nursing: Historical Analysis and Theoretical Modeling in Support of a Targeted Clinical Training Intervention

The use of simulation is widespread in healthcare education, and the potential impact of its use large. This is especially true for nursing education as we look to address problems with obtaining clinical experiences, develop critical thinking skills and create methods to measure the impact of simulation interventions. There is substantial empirical evidence in support of predictive relationships between simulation training interventions and knowledge acquisition. This has been extensively demonstrated with the use of a variety of simulation training modalities from standardized patients to human patient simulators. However, data to support changes in clinical practice and improved patient outcomes are quite limited, including attempts to measure the impact of simulation education on retention and transference of knowledge and skill for more complex healthcare process. Additionally, literature searches reveal that only a handful of authors have engaged in the types of foundational work that any emerging science needs. For example, while pieces of the simulation process have been examined in detail, few have attempted to describe what the process of simulation entails at a macro level. Within the past few years some researchers have begun to ask whether there is a causal or predictive relationship present, but few have explored what these associations may look like structurally and what the evidence for them is. The overall objectives of this current research were to: 1) perform an historical review of simulation in healthcare; 2) use this review to outline a new theoretical model of healthcare simulation; and, 3) conduct a small-scale study aimed at pilot-testing and describing part of that model. Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) was used to derive an optimum task set for the standard induction of general anesthesia (OTS-SIGA). New Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (SRNAs) were trained to this task set, and their adherence to the process steps in the clinical setting was then assessed. We also attempted to measure whether repeating the HTA-derived OTS-SIGA simulation training would have an impact on knowledge and transference of simulation-developed skills to the clinical environment. These measures necessitated the development of associated data collection tools and processes for rater training

General properties of cosmological models with an Isotropic Singularity

Much of the published work regarding the Isotropic Singularity is performed under the assumption that the matter source for the cosmological model is a barotropic perfect fluid, or even a perfect fluid with a $\gamma$-law equation of state. There are, however, some general properties of cosmological models which admit an Isotropic Singularity, irrespective of the matter source. In particular, we show that the Isotropic Singularity is a point-like singularity and that vacuum space-times cannot admit an Isotropic Singularity. The relationships between the Isotropic Singularity, and the energy conditions, and the Hubble parameter is explored. A review of work by the authors, regarding the Isotropic Singularity, is presented.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

Decades of Delay: EPA Leadership Still Lacking in Protecting America's Great River

This report demonstrates the continuing failure of EPA's voluntary approach and the continuing and growing threats of unregulated nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. EPA has the power and the duty to act to require reasonable, common-sense regulations to address the growing scourge of nutrient pollution, and it should do so. Once again, MRC calls upon EPA to remedy this state of affairs, specifically recommending that EPA:Develop numeric phosphorus criteria for each of the eight states that have yet to adopt them, and numeric nitrogen criteria for all 10 states.Require states to assess their waters for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and to prioritize TMDL development and implementation planning accordingly.Increase oversight of the state NPDES programs to ensure that both narrative and numeric nutrient criteria are implemented through limits in permits, including the use of Water Quality Based Effluent Limits (WQBELs) where appropriate.Disapprove TMDLs that lacking reasonable assurance that nonpoint source reductions are likely to occur and lack monitoring and timelines to ensure that planned reductions actually take place. Further, EPA needs to provide oversight to ensure consistency among EPA Regions in TMDL review and approval (especially in Regions 4 and 6.)Ensure that states' Nutrient Reduction Strategies contain implementation plans detailing point and nonpoint source reductions needed, responsible parties, funding mechanisms, milestones, measurement metrics, and reasonable timelines.Require states under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act to identify programs and practices for controlling nonpoint sources of pollution to the maximum extent possible

User Compensation as a Data Breach Recovery Action: An Investigation of the Sony PlayStation Network Breach

Drawing on expectation confirmation research, we develop hypotheses regarding the effect of compensation on key customer outcomes following a major data breach and consequent service recovery effort. Data were collected in a longitudinal field study of Sony customers during their data breach in 2011. A total of 144 customers participated in the two-phase data collection that began when the breach was announced and concluded after reparations were made. Using polynomial modeling and response surface analysis, we demonstrate that a modified assimilation–contrast model explained perceptions of service quality and continuance intention and a generalized negativity model explained repurchase intention. The results of our work contribute to research on data breaches and service failure by demonstrating the impacts of compensation on customer outcomes. We discuss theoretical and practical implication

Comparison of tagging single-nucleotide polymorphism methods in association analyses

Several methods to identify tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are in common use for genetic epidemiologic studies; however, there may be loss of information when using only a subset of SNPs. We sought to compare the ability of commonly used pairwise, multimarker, and haplotype-based tagging SNP selection methods to detect known associations with quantitative expression phenotypes. Using data from HapMap release 21 on unrelated Utah residents with ancestors from northern and western Europe (CEPH-Utah, CEU), we selected tagging SNPs in five chromosomal regions using ldSelect, Tagger, and TagSNPs. We found that SNP subsets did not substantially overlap, and that the use of trio data did not greatly impact SNP selection. We then tested associations between HapMap genotypes and expression phenotypes on 28 CEU individuals as part of Genetic Analysis Workshop 15. Relative to the use of all SNPs (n = 210 SNPs across all regions), most subset methods were able to detect single-SNP and haplotype associations. Generally, pairwise selection approaches worked extremely well, relative to use of all SNPs, with marked reductions in the number of SNPs required. Haplotype-based approaches, which had identified smaller SNP subsets, missed associations in some regions. We conclude that the optimal tagging SNP method depends on the true model of the genetic association (i.e., whether a SNP or haplotype is responsible); unfortunately, this is often unknown at the time of SNP selection. Additional evaluations using empirical and simulated data are needed