A Tripartite Framework for Leadership Evaluation

The Tripartite Framework for Leadership Evaluation provides a comprehensive examination of the leadership evaluation landscape and makes key recommendations about how the field of leadership evaluation should proceed. The chief concern addressed by this working paper is the use of student outcome data as a measurement of leadership effectiveness. A second concern in our work with urban leaders is the absence or surface treatment of race and equity in nearly all evaluation instruments or processes. Finally, we call for an overhaul of the conventional cycle of inquiry, which is based largely on needs analysis and leader deficits, and incomplete use of evidence to support recurring short cycles within the larger yearly cycle of inquiry

Operative Management of a Sacral Gunshot Injury via Minimally Invasive Techniques and Instrumentation

Gunshot wounds to the spine account for 13% to 17% of all gunshot injuries and occur predominantly in the thoracic region. Minimally invasive spine surgery procedures implementing serial muscle dilation and the use of a tubular retracting system with a working channel minimize soft tissue trauma, facilitate less bony and soft tissue resection, decrease blood loss, minimize scarring and improve cosmesis, decrease hospitalization, and reduce postoperative pain and narcotic usage in comparison to more open, traditional approaches. Although minimally invasive spine surgery techniques and instrumentation have gained considerable attention, their application in the management of gunshot injuries to the sacrum has not been reported. The following is a brief case report of a 21-year-old male who sustained a gunshot injury to the sacrum who was managed operatively via minimally invasive spine surgery techniques and instrumentation.published_or_final_versio

Design and Implementation of a Nursing Peer Practice Case Review Program in an Academic Surgical/Trauma ICU

Background: Peer review has been in use in healthcare for many years, primary by physicians. Recently, however, nursing has adopted a framework for peer review within the profession. According to the American Nurses Association (admin, 2011), organizations are required to maintain a systematic peer review process aimed at evaluating nursing care and nursing care providers to obtain/maintain Magnet designation. According to Foster (2015) nursing peer review (NPR) is “process by which practicing registered nurses systematically assess, monitor, and make judgments about the quality of nursing care provided by peers as measured against professional standards of practice”. The focus is on nursing practice with the goal of reducing medical errors, and improving outcomes related to practice standards, protocols and policies. Purpose: The project’s objective was to determine if a nursing peer review program would provide an evidence-based platform for nurses to assess professional practice, comparing care provided to established patient care protocols and policies, provide for decisional involvement in nursing practice and recommendations to improve practice, while feeling empowered to shape change? Methods: In this descriptive quality improvement project, the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II and the Decisional Involvement Scale were used pre- and post-implementation to assess the effect of nursing peer case review on nurses’ perceptions of autonomy and empowerment. Interventions: NPR began with a two-hour training session where concepts of NPR were addressed, and simulated case review occurred. The committee reviewed cases that were referred via the quality department, patient safety department, and SICU staff. All cases identified were preliminarily screened and cases deemed appropriate for review were assigned to a member of the committee for workup and presentation. During monthly meetings, committee members presented reviews and findings to the committee. Members then discussed cases, determined if standard of care was met, and made recommendations for improvement to current systems, policies or procedures to benefit future patient outcomes. Results: The Decisional Involvement Scale revealed nurses desire for increased decision-making with a focus on shared decision making between administration/management and nurses. The Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II results showed increased empowerment after participating in nursing peer case review. There were improvements noted in the categories of empowerment, opportunities, resources, and support. Conclusions: Incorporating nursing peer case review into the quality improvement model of the SICU provided opportunities for improved perceptions of nursing autonomy and empowerment while providing a method for frontline nursing to make recommendations for improvements to care. There was a clear desire from nurses to increase autonomy, with the result of improvements in overall sense of collaboration both within the unit and with professionals outside the unit

Oral History Interview: Elsie Tredway

This interview is one of a series conducted concerning West Virginia communities, focusing on Ceredo. Mrs. Elsie Tredway discusses: her family and her personal history; pastors and church officials (such as Reverend Phil Kessee, Alan Harrod, Hubert Six, Dr. Wade Armstrong, & Dr. Laken); other members of the church; the process of getting a new church building; the methods of the church; and influences she has had on other church members and children.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1295/thumbnail.jp

Cognitive Aspects of Stuttering

Along with difficulties to produce fluent speech, individuals who stutter have been found to display differences in other areas of communication, such as language, articulation, reading, and cognitive abilities, as well as working memory. Working memory is a higher cognitive function underlying thinking and learning; therefore, reduced working memory skills may contribute to the variety of difficulties experienced by individuals who stutter. The purpose of this study was to investigate the working memory abilities of children who stutter. A relationship has been found between working memory skills and producing efficient discourse. The present study explored the relationship between working memory capabilities and performance on picture elicited discourse tasks in two children who stuttered, ages 5 and 9 and age-matched controls. Discourse was evaluated for productivity, efficiency, and local coherence. Results showed that the children who stuttered scored lower on the Recognition Memory Test and the Nonword Memory Test than their age-matched peers. The children who stuttered also provided fewer ideas and produced fewer words per idea than the children who did not stutter. Third, disfluencies of the stuttering group increased with each successive picture stimulus during the discourse task. The results of this study can contribute to the current knowledge of the profile of a child who stutters and lead to more efficient treatment strategies

Using the GPS to Collect Trajectory Data for Ejection Seat Design, Validation, and Testing

The dynamic characteristics of an aircraft ejection seat are a crucial concern when evaluating aircraft ejection systems and their ability to separate aircrew members safely from disabled aircraft. Every ejection seat model undergoes real-time dynamic tests to determine potential injury to aircrew members during ejection. Ejection seat tests are conducted at high-speed test tracks. The test track facilities provide the required telemetry and high-speed photography to monitor and validate the aircraft escape system performance. Ejection seat test and evaluation requires very accurate position and velocity determination during each test run to determine the relative positions between the aircraft, ejection seat, manikin, and the ground. Current test and evaluation systems rely on expensive video camera systems to determine the position and velocity profiles. This research presents the design and test results from a new GPS-based system capable of monitoring all major ejection-test components. Small, low-power, lightweight GPS receivers, capable of handling high accelerations, are mounted on the manikin and/or ejection seat to obtain the position and velocity during the ejection sequence. The research goal is to augment the camera system with a differential GPS-based measurement system capable of providing accuracy that meets or exceeds the current video systems accuracy

Letter from the Pastor - 1902 - Rawley F. Tredway

A letter from Rawley F. Tredway to First Baptist Church Shelby about a foreign missions offering.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/first-baptist-shelby-rawley-tredway/1001/thumbnail.jp