A Guide to Quantitative Research Proposals: Aligning Questions, Goals, Research Design, and Analysis

In this essay, noted scholar Elizabeth Tipton elaborates on how to best articulate quantitative research design in grant proposals. This essay is a companion piece to our "A Guide to Writing Successful Field Initiated Research Grant Proposals," which provides general information about the elements of grant writing

Growing Up Deaf in Appalachia: An Oral History of My Mother

This study focuses on the life experiences of a rural, Deaf Appalachian woman, Jane Ann Shelton, a second generation Deaf child born to Deaf parents from the communities of Devil’s Fork (Flag Pond, Tennessee) and Shelton Laurel (Madison County, North Carolina). Over two hours of videotaped interviews were interpreted and transcribed, followed by various other communications to describe the life of a rural, Deaf Appalachian woman without a formal high school degree. As an advocate and a political lobbyist in Tennessee during the 1980s and 90s, she was unparalleled by her peers (deaf or hearing) in her efforts to “enhance the lives of ALL Deaf Tennesseans.” From these interactions and my firsthand knowledge, I crafted stories of her life experiences for the purpose of performing them for both Deaf and hearing audiences. Further studies should be done on rural Deaf Appalachia as precious little oral history has been collected

Nutritional Interventions During Late Gestation and at Weaning to Improve Beef Cattle Performance and Carcass Quality

Late gestation and post-weaning are two critical periods a calf needs to receive proper nutrition to insure adequate growth for the rest of the animal’s lifespan. Supplementation at these critical time points may be necessary in order to meet nutritional requirements. The objectives of this research were to 1) assess the performance and endocrine regulation of 15 mo old heifers born to dams who were nutrient restricted with or without protein supplementation during the last 100 d of gestation (NRS and NR, respectively) and 2) determine the effects of weaning age, lipid supplementation, and days on lipid supplement on growth, circulating metabolites, and marbling in young steers. In the first study, dams producing heifer calves were either fed to meet requirements (CON), fed to reduced BCS by 1.2 (NR) or fed to reduce BCS by 1.2 and supplemented with protein 3 d/wk (NRS). At 15 mo of age, heifer offspring were subjected to a 10 wk feeding trial in which blood samples and BW were collected bi-weekly. At the end of feeding, 21 randomly subsampled heifers were subjected to an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). Heifers born to NR dams experienced altered appetite and endocrine regulation compared with heifers born to CON dams. This study indicated that protein supplementation in dams experiencing NR during the last 100 d of gestation may abate the negative effects associated with DMI and glucose regulation because NR heifers experienced increased DMI and signs of insulin resistance whereas NRS heifers exhibited DMI and glucose regulation similar to that of CON heifers. In the second study, steers were either early-weaned 150 ± 11 d of age (EW) or traditionally weaned at 210 ± 11 d of age (TW) and assigned to either a rumen-bypass lipid treatment (RBL) or an isocaloric, isonitrogenous corn gluten feed treatment ration (CGF). Within each treatment, steers were fed for a duration of either 45 or 90 d. Body weight and blood samples were collected on d 0, 22, 45, 66, and 90. Following the end of treatment steers were harvested at a commercial processing plant where carcass measurements were obtained. Steaks from each animal were used for proximate analysis. Circulating metabolites, marbling content, and specific as well as total fatty acid concentrations were increased in RBL steers compared to CGF steers. Overall, our results indicate that supplementation during late gestation and at weaning improves animal performance and could improve the efficiency of production

Designing Randomized Experiments to Predict Unit-Specific Treatment Effects

Typically, a randomized experiment is designed to test a hypothesis about the average treatment effect and sometimes hypotheses about treatment effect variation. The results of such a study may then be used to inform policy and practice for units not in the study. In this paper, we argue that given this use, randomized experiments should instead be designed to predict unit-specific treatment effects in a well-defined population. We then consider how different sampling processes and models affect the bias, variance, and mean squared prediction error of these predictions. The results indicate, for example, that problems of generalizability (differences between samples and populations) can greatly affect bias both in predictive models and in measures of error in these models. We also examine when the average treatment effect estimate outperforms unit-specific treatment effect predictive models and implications of this for planning studies.Comment: 46 pages, 3 figure

The Case of Minority Small Business Owners: Empirical Evidence of Problems in Loan Financing

This academic research explores the availability of loan financing to minority-owned businesses and examines a potential relationship between the size of a loan and the characteristics of a business in the USA. It also investigates the possible impact of different characteristics and quantifiable criteria on credit loan denial across different demographic groups. Probit models are used to evaluate the potential existence of racial or ethnic discrimination in the availability and approval of credit. Regression analysis is used to assess the impact that the race of a small business owner has on the relative size of a denied loan, the size of portioned credit, or the size of the company. When other variables suspected of influencing credit approval and rationing are controlled, black-owned and Asian-owned businesses appear to be less likely to be approved for loans and more likely to experience significantly greater credit rationing than their white counterparts

Adding Fish Oil to Whey Protein, Leucine and Carbohydrate Over a 6 Week Supplementation Period Attenuates Muscle Soreness Following Eccentric Exercise in Competitive Soccer Players

Soccer players often experience eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage given the physical demands of soccer match-play. Since long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA) enhance muscle sensitivity to protein supplementation, dietary supplementation with a combination of fish oil-derived n-3PUFA, protein, and carbohydrate may promote exercise recovery. This study examined the influence of adding n-3PUFA to a whey protein, leucine, and carbohydrate containing beverage over a six-week supplementation period on physiological markers of recovery measured over three days following eccentric exercise. Competitive soccer players were assigned to one of three conditions (2 × 200 mL): a fish oil supplement beverage (FO; n = 10) that contained n-3PUFA (1100 mg DHA/EPA - approximately 550 mg DHA, 550 mg EPA), whey protein (15 g), leucine (1.8 g), and carbohydrate (20 g); a protein supplement beverage (PRO; n = 10) that contained whey protein (15 g), leucine (1.8 g), and carbohydrate (20 g); and a carbohydrate supplement beverage (CHO; n = 10) that contained carbohydrate (24 g). Eccentric exercise consisted of unilateral knee extension/flexion contractions on both legs separately. Maximal force production was impaired by 22% during the 72-hour recovery period following eccentric exercise (p < 0.05). Muscle soreness, expressed as area under the curve (AUC) during 72-hour recovery, was less in FO (1948 ± 1091 mm × 72 h) than PRO (4640 ± 2654 mm × 72 h, p < 4 0.05) and CHO (4495 ± 1853 mm × 72 h, p = 0.10). Blood concentrations of creatine kinase, expressed as AUC, were ~60% lower in FO compared to CHO (p < 0.05) and tended to be lower (~39%, p = 0.07) than PRO. No differences in muscle function, soccer performance, or blood c-reactive protein concentrations were observed between groups. In conclusion, the addition of n-3PUFA to a beverage containing whey protein, leucine, and carbohydrate ameliorates the increase in muscle soreness and blood concentrations of creatine kinase following eccentric exercise in competitive soccer players

The Erotic and the Vulgar: Visual Culture and Organized Labor's Critique of U.S. Hegemony in Occupied Japan

This essay engages the colonial legacy of postwar Japan by arguing that the political cartoons produced as part of the postwar Japanese labor movement’s critique of U.S. cultural hegemony illustrate how gendered discourses underpinned, and sometimes undermined, the ideologies formally represented by visual artists and the organizations that funded them. A significant component of organized labor’s propaganda rested on a corpus of visual media that depicted women as icons of Japanese national culture. Japan’s most militant labor unions were propagating anti-imperialist discourses that invoked an engendered/endangered nation that accentuated the importance of union roles for men by subordinating, then eliminating, union roles for women

Postexposure prophylaxis with rVSV-ZEBOV following exposure to a patient with Ebola virus disease relapse in the United Kingdom: an operational, safety, and immunogenicity report

Background: In October 2015, 65 people came into direct contact with a healthcare worker presenting with a late reactivation of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the UK. Vaccination was offered to 45 individuals with an initial assessment of high exposure risk. Methods: Approval for rapid expanded access to the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–Zaire Ebola virus vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) as an unlicensed emergency medicine was obtained from the relevant authorities. An observational follow-up study was carried out for 1 year following vaccination. Results: 26/45 individuals elected to receive vaccination between October 10th and 11th 2015 following written informed consent. By day 14, 39% had seroconverted, rising to 87% by day 28 and 100% by 3 months, although these responses were not always sustained. Neutralising antibody responses were detectable in 36% by day 14 and 73% at 12 months. Common side effects included fatigue, myalgia, headache, arthralgia and fever. These were positively associated with glycoprotein (GP)-specific T-cell but not IgM or IgG antibody responses. No severe vaccine-related adverse events were reported. No-one exposed to the virus became infected. Conclusions: This paper reports the use of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine given as an emergency intervention to individuals exposed to a patient presenting with a late reactivation of EVD. The vaccine was relatively well tolerated but a high percentage developed a fever ≥37.5oC necessitating urgent screening for Ebola virus and a small number developed persistent arthralgia