Richland Library Main

Tracy Allen, Director of Library Experience at Richland Library\u27s Main branch gives an overview of the branch\u27s services, spaces, and changes that have recently taken place

Exploring the Lived Religious Experiences of Gay and Lesbian Ordained Clergy in the United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church (UMC) as an institution has strict language against lesbian and gay people and against the ordination of the lesbian and gay people. Prior research has focused on how denominations and congregations discuss issues around sexuality, how attitudes have shifted around issues of sexuality, and how to provide spiritual care for the LGBTQ+ community. This qualitative study interviewed lesbian and gay ordained elders in the UMC to learn about their experiences of serving as clergy people in the UMC even though there are prohibitive statements in church documents. Firstly, the interviews revealed that the participants feel loved and called by God and are attempting to live into their vocation. Secondly, they have ways of negotiating in the church, which include strategically deciding to whom they reveal their sexuality, the language they use in communicating their truth, serving in extension ministries, and feeling the pressure to do good work. Finally, cultural shifts have helped with the negotiating power of the participants. A final theme discusses why the participants stay in the church. The participants stay in the UMC because of relationships they have formed and it is their theological home, they see themselves as prophetic witnesses and they have hope in progress. This study reveals that lesbian and gay clergy are not incompatible with Christian teaching, but genuinely living into their vocation and serving God. This research provides the space for lesbian and gay clergy to tell their stories in hopes that LGBTQ+ might gain more credibility as religious leaders in the church

The Phenomenological Self in the Works of Jerzy Kosinski

A scholar who wishes to examine the works of Jerzy Kosinski faces a problem not found in the study of many other authors: Kosinski\u27s personal history, critical to many approaches to the study of literature, is filled with fictions, contradictions, and unverifiable events. For years Kosinski\u27s first novel, The Painted Bird, was taken to be autobiographical. However, as interest in Kosinski\u27s work grew, inconsistencies and obvious falsehoods contradicted this accepted autobiographical reading. The Painted Bird describes the wanderings of a young boy in Eastern Europe during WWII, yet Kosinski was not separated fiom his parents as had been previously believed. However, within Kosinski\u27s texts there are many events that can be related to his personal life: the loss of nearly his entire family to the Nazis, his first marriage, and many other elements are verifiable. Because fact and fiction blend into one another in Kosinski\u27s personal history, it is difficult to know how to address his work. This thesis posits that Kosinski\u27s personal life constitutes a tenth text, a text available for study, which can inform Kosinski\u27s novels. By drawing parallels between his life as reported and his written work, Kosinskian scholars can examine emergent patterns of behavior and the philosophical foundations of his project. These foundations provide a tool for examining Kosinski\u27s novels, allowing a greater understanding of those texts typically considered problematic, especially Being There and The Hermit of 6Pth Street. This examination focuses on Kosinski\u27s concept of the Self, dividing the Self into two parts: the interior subjective Self\u27 and the Self available for examination, the phenomenological Self. The subjective Self is defined as that which it typically known as the true Self, that which is unavailable to the Other. However, the phenomenological Self is often constructed by the Other, through the use of labels, prejudice, and habit. Kosinski\u27s philosophy of the Self emerges as a willful attempt at Self-authorship, a determination to willfully create a phenomenological Self, that set of behaviors, appearance, and affiliations that can provide advantage in dealing with the Other. This thesis contends that Kosinski\u27s project was to influence the Other\u27s perception of the Self to protect the subjective Self. Kosinski\u27s metaphor of the painted bird becomes important in this reading. Within this framework, the bird is always painted by perceptions; for Kosinski the choice was whether the painting of the bird was to be done by the Other or the Self. This theory is then applied to Kosinski\u27s texts, showing how Being There and The Hermit of 6gh Street are, in fact, consistent with this philosophy. Both show an emphasis on the perceptions of the Other and the Self s struggle with those perceptions. The thesis does not attempt an in-depth study of Kosinski\u27s canon, but the creation of a critical tool that may be useful in Kosinskian studies

The determining factors of high school dropouts

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that cause high school students to drop out. The method for this project was a review of literature collected through journal articles, the internet and books. The factors found to play the biggest role were race, academic age/grade, and gender

The Influence of Smoking, Gender, and Family History on Colorectal Adenomas

Evidence independently links smoking, family history, and gender with increased risk of adenomatous polyps. Using data from the New Hampshire Colonoscopy Registry (2004–2006), we examined the relation of combined risk factors with adenoma occurrence in 5,395 individuals undergoing screening colonoscopy. Self-reported data on smoking, family history and other factors were linked to pathology reports identifying adenomatous polyps and modeled with multiple logistic regression. In adjusted models a >15 pack-year smoking history increased the likelihood of an adenoma (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.28–1.86), although ≤15 pack-years did not (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.87–1.32). Gender-stratified models showed a significantly increased risk of adenoma at lower smoking exposure even for men (OR = 1.32; 95% CI:1.00–1.76), but not for women (OR = 0.85; 95% CI:0.61–1.14). An ordered logistic regression model of adenoma occurrence showed a smoking history of ≥15 pack-years associated with 61% higher odds of adenoma at successively larger size categories (95% CI 1.34–1.93). For individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer, smoking does not further increase the risk of adenomas. Smoking duration is linked to occurrence and size of adenoma, especially for men

The Signal Provision of Emotion: Using Emotions to Enhance Reliability Via Sensemaking

High reliability organization (HRO) theory suggests that early detection of and swift responses to potentially hazardous and situation changing events in organizational environments is central to the sustainability of reliable operations. Limited research on HRO’s (e.g. military groups and firefighters) considers how normative demands on feeling and emotion help to explain why some events are recognized and responded to while others not. In this article, we propose a model of enactment of anomalous events (i.e., situation changing events) that considers the manner in which emotions are regulated in high reliability contexts and how this influences the extent to which early indicators of anomalous events are heeded or dismissed. In this article, we seek to provide a theoretical framework for explaining both the enabling mechanisms by which emotions may function as a signaling resource in the detection of anomalous events and the constraining mechanisms through when emotion regulation processes may inhibit reliability. We discuss implications of the model for researchers and practitioners in high reliability organizations

Areal distribution, change, and restoration potential of wetlands within the lower Columbia River riparian zone, 1948-1991

The lower Columbia River (LCR) riparian zone is rich in habitat diversity. However, the natural beauty and species diversity along the river have increasingly become affected by human activity. This study quantifies the areal extent and degree of wetlands change and associated causes along the LCR over the past 44 years. This research examines the distribution of wetland types and their patterns of change, developing regional models which rank areas most conducive to potential wetland recovery or restoration efforts. The length of the study area totals 234 river kilometers, from the mouth of the Columbia River to Bonneville Dam. The width includes the active channel and an approximately three-kilometer swath on either side of the river. Aerial photography was the primary means for interpreting historical extent of wetlands, using five photo dates (1948, 1961, 1973, 1983, and 1991), based upon their time interval, coverage, and photo quality. For each photo throughout the entire study site, land uses and wetland habitats greater than one hectare were identified and classified. Each classified polygon was digitized and spatially analyzed using a Geographic Information System. This study indicates that wetland habitats which were once contiguously draped upon the linear features of the river are decreasing in size and becoming fragmented. There have been both increases and decreases in specific wetland habitat areas which vary by river reach, even though wetlands have diminished overall. The estuarine section of the LCR experienced a 25% net decrease in wetland area between 1948 and 1991, while the riverine tidal section fostered a 1% increase. The riverine lower perennial section sustained the greatest loss of wetlands, which decreased by 37%. Causes for wetland losses in the estuarine section were largely related to in-water activities, such as channelization, while the causes for declines in the riverine lower perennial section were correlated with rapid urbanization. Wetland increases in the riverine tidal section were generally influenced by significant growth in palustrine and forested wetlands associated with the establishment of wildlife refuges and the incremental increase of upstream flood storage capacity. This research provides a template for identifying degraded or displaced wetlands. Through the use of a GIS, each historical wetland was ranked in either low, moderate, or high categories for restoration potential. GIS technology permits focused, sequentially-refined queries to identify potential restoration or recovery sites. In the estuarine section, 74 historical wetland sites were ranked high for restoration potential, while in the riverine tidal and riverine lower perennial sections, there were 178 and 105, respectively. Overall, these sites represent only 25% of the area occupied by wetlands in 1948. While this study advocates restoration potential, restoration is not a surrogate for responsible ecosystem-wide stewardship of the riparian zone. Restoration will not succeed unless degrading factors are mitigated or eliminated

Library Toolkit : pathophysiology--dentistry

A case study describing the creation of a library toolkit for a pathophysiology course for Columbia dental students