Print Sources for Historical Constitutions

This paper examines general, regional, and country-specific print sources for historical national and sub-national constitutions. It also discusses sources that index those constitutions. The print sources for English translations of historical constitutions and other constitutional laws and documents remain widely scattered. This paper seeks to offer some guidance to those who need to find and use these scattered sources

Print Sources for Historical Constitutions

This paper examines general, regional, and country-specific print sources for historical national and sub-national constitutions. It also discusses sources that index those constitutions. The print sources for English translations of historical constitutions and other constitutional laws and documents remain widely scattered. This paper seeks to offer some guidance to those who need to find and use these scattered sources

Improving Nurses\u27 Knowledge of Stroke

Stroke is a devastating disease. Stroke care has advanced greatly in the past 20 years with innovations in radiologic imaging, development of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), organized systems of care, telestroke, and best practice guidelines via Get with the Guidelines Stroke (GWTGS). However, stroke remains the 5th leading cause of death in the United States. To provide current and quality care for stroke patients, nurses need ongoing stroke education. Additionally, stroke centers must provide a sustainable stoke education program to their nurses to keep their knowledge current. Guided by Rosswurm and Larrabee\u27s model, this quality improvement project addressed whether an educational program based on evidence in GWTGS could increase nursing knowledge of stroke. A convenience sample of 50 medical-surgical nurses from a stroke telemetry unit participated in this program. Nursing knowledge was assessed by using a student-developed tool based on the GWTGS best practice evidence to evaluate for increased knowledge regarding stroke and stroke management. Using simple descriptive statistics, the percent difference from pretest to posttest was calculated. The results revealed a 16.79% increase in nurses\u27 knowledge. The practicum organization therefore adopted the program. Implications for nursing practice and social change include organizations adopting the educational program as a sustainable learning opportunity for nurses in regards to stroke care

Swimming with captive dolphins: current debates and post-experience dissonance

Dolphins have widespread contemporary appeal and anthropomorphic social representations of dolphins have fuelled a growing desire in tourist populations to seek interaction with them. This paper is concerned with the staged performance of swim-with-dolphin interaction programmes in aquaria. Qualitative interviews with tourists who have swum with captive dolphins identified their immediate recollections and stressed the grace, size and power of dolphins, but also a belief that the experience was too staged, too short and too expensive. Post-purchase dissonance focused on concerns with the size of enclosures and about captivity, too many tricks, limited interpretation and unfulfilled expectations of a quality interaction

MapUtopia: An Improvement over Existing Census Mapping Applications

The United States Census public data portal and other existing demographic mapping applications do a suboptimal job of serving two prime data user groups; the casual data user, and the GIS data user. The Census Bureau in particular has produced a user-unfriendly product with a steep learning curve. In response to the lack of an existing platform which could efficiently handle common user requests, the author has created MapUtopia.com. MapUtopia is an interactive census data mapping application which allows for quick user access to commonly requested demographic data, and allows for user download of that data in the commonly utilized KML format. MapUtopia is built on the principle of usability, and leverages the Google Maps API and open source software

The use of an iPad as a classroom tool

The Apple i line has been steadily increasing in popularity and many educators believe these devices offer great potential as instructional adjuncts. Many schools (including colleges) have begun issuing iPads to students with the assumption that they would enhance the students\u27 educational experience. Little experimental evidence has been produced supporting this claim. This study was an attempt to experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of iPads on learning educational material. Participant\u27s interest and enjoyment while using the iPad versus traditional material presentation (paper images or physical models) were also examined. Participants were randomly assigned to learn 24 anatomical brain structures using one of three conditions; 1) control color paper images, 2) plastic anatomical model, and 3) iPad application 3-D Brain , produced by Dolan DNA Learning Center. Participants were given 10-minutes with their assigned material and were then immediately tested on the material. The results demonstrated that learning & memory performance using the iPad was significantly better than the plastic model, and no different from paper pictures. Compared to the plastic model, participants also reported that they enjoyed the task more, felt more prepared, felt their performance was better, and would be more likely to take a class using the iPad. A gender difference was also discovered, suggesting that females might benefit more from the use of the iPad than males. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed

A Policy Analysis of New Residential Development's Responsibility to Fund the Improvement Costs of Local Parks

Soon after the passage of Proposition 13, the city of Bakersfield chose to use its regulatory authority as a charter city to adopt ordinances designed to continue the acquisition, improvement and maintenance of local parks. To continue to provide local parks, the city collects a $647 impact fee, at the building permit stage of development, structured to collect$86,000 per acre for park improvement. Several sources estimate local park development at about $200,000 per acre. There are no other earmarked or reliable funds to make up the remaining$114,000 per acre. Some basic reasons to consider a policy shift begin with the city of Bakersfield Recreation and Parks Department's capabilities shifting away from the production of park improvements to the provision of those improvements since the adoption of the improvement fee in 1990. Another issue is with Building Industry Association of Kern County officials that have been able to intimidate city staff and stonewall efforts to bring information forward for Council consideration on an annual basis, as controlling documents require. Finally, some controlling documents are antiquated and have been misinterpreted by city staff and misapplied by City Council. This study will attempt to determine the current typical cost of construction and level of improvement of a local park and consider the financial and quality of life impacts of alternative policy recommendation. Policy alternatives include keeping with the status quo of collecting $647 per dwelling unit, shifting government responsibility to the development community, restructuring the fee and implementing change in an incremental fashion, and considering other types of zonings to contribute to the improvement of local parks. Equity, legality, politics, efficiency, effectiveness, adequacy, and cost will all influence the selection of a recommended policy. Three types of outcomes can be expected from policy alternatives. One is likely to increase the burden on government to provide local parks. Another is a shift of the burden from government to private responsibility and the last has an affect on the ultimate cost of new construction. An important limiting factor to this research is the bias that may be present from the researcher. In addition, a preponderance of the documents researched to gain an understanding and make recommendations for change were, although public in nature, prepared in large part by government officials. Some of the unintentional results of policy alternatives include future park maintenance costs and inappropriate staffing levels. Long-term externalities may include housing affordability for all buyers and barriers to entry for lower income individuals. Recommendations to consider include the adherence to written policy that requires city staff to compile specific information about the improvement fee and report to Council on an annual basis, the further exploration of the BIA's claim that new development does not explain all new population, completion of a comparative analysis and finally, simply ask the public what they want

A Buddhist Perspective on the Global Environmental Crisis: Poetics of the Wild

My thesis is about a Buddhist perspective on the global environmental crisis, including an exploration of how both ancient and modern poetry express a compassionate response to nature, a social science survey, and a creative project of my own poetry. The exploration in the rationale paper suggests that looking inward may be an important way to begin to understand individual responsibility for the global environmental crisis. In consideration of this is a discussion of ancient Buddhist wisdom and teachings about, and the relevance of, mindfulness, compassion, interdependence, and impermanence. In a creative extension of this discussion, an exploration of Buddhist- inspired nature poetry follows. Both ancient and modern poetics address the human condition and interconnection with the planet in deep, heartfelt and insightful ways. I call this Poetics of the Wild, to describe the vast, passionate art of language that captures the wildness of nature, as well as the wildness of the creative mind in expressing our connection to it. In my emergent and multidimensional vision for this project, I include my research survey on how mindfulness may be a factor in individuals’ actions with regard to global warming; the findings are presented to illustrate the importance of mindful behavior within the context of creating solutions to the environmental crisis. Finally, my own poetry is presented in a creative project, with deep compassion and love for the earth. Awareness and respect of nature sustains my own mindfulness of how to live within the context of the devastating global environmental crisis, and I hope that it inspires others to pay close attention to the world around them, as well as to each other