Corruption The Achilles' Heel of Afghanistan

This article was published in Culture and Conflict Review (January 2008), v.2 no.1"Recently, in Afghanistan's deep south, a senior Taliban commander has yet again eluded the Afghan government, U.S. and coalition forces. This was done not through force of arms, superior knowledge of the terrain, or foreign assistance, but through corruption. For a measly US $15,000, an Afghan National Security Directorate official gave the commander his freedom and the ability to strike at Afghan government and coalition forces yet again. Sadly, this marked the third occasion this commander had bribed his way around justice.1 Despite the successful removal of the Taliban in 2001, followed by democratic elections in 2004, the government of Afghanistan continues to fight for legitimacy. Since 2003 the Taliban and other anti-government groups have managed to stage an effective insurgency against both the Afghan government and their international partners.2 As the security situation has deteriorated across the southern and eastern portions of the country, the legitimacy of the government has become increasingly dubious. Counterinsurgent operations conducted jointly by Afghan and ISAF/US [International Security Assistance Force/United States] forces have struggled to restore security and shore up popular support for the government. These important legitimizing efforts, however, are rendered near useless in the face of rampant corruption throughout the body politic of Afghanistan.

The Effect of Video Narratives on Creating Realistic Expectations of Hearing Aids in Adults

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not being exposed to multiple perspectives regarding hearing aids (HAs) influences HA use in adults with hearing loss (HL). The majority of adults with HL do not use HAs, even if they are prescribed to them. This is a problem because hearing loss has a large impact on individuals\u27 quality of life and overall health. In the field of audiology, we are continually looking for ways to increase HA uptake. There are not currently any viable solutions in the field of audiology, so we have turned to the field of technology and human interaction for alternative solutions. We hypothesize that people often have unrealistic expectations about HAs, thus once they are prescribed the listening devices, they are reluctant to use them as prescribed. We propose that we may be able to shape individuals’ expectations of HAs into more realistic ones by exposing them to a variety of other people’s experiences with HL and HAs, thus potentially increasing their HA uptake. As this project is ongoing, we will present all data collected to date. We will relate this preliminary data to HA expectations among adults with HL. Presentation Time: Thursday, 9-10 a.m. Zoom link: https://usu-edu.zoom.us/j/83802262211?pwd=QU5icUo4WW03NWZwNXVPNjlXYXQvUT0

College Student Perceptions of Secondary Teacher Influence on the Development of Mathematical Identity

This phenomenological study explored how college students’ perceptions of experiences with their secondary mathematics teachers affected their mathematical identities. The study was rooted in Wenger’s notion that learning is an experience of identity and Dewey’s theory that all experiences are inextricably linked to past and future experiences. Constructed narratives of eight college developmental mathematics students with high and low levels of mathematics anxiety were created from autobiographical essays and semistructured interviews. Analysis of the constructed narratives employed a deductive coding process using a priori themes related to experiences with secondary teachers and dimensions of mathematical identity. The study answered three research questions: What kind of experiences did students recall having with their secondary mathematics teachers? How did students perceive that those experiences influenced their mathematical identities? What common student experiences positively or negatively affecting mathematical identity emerged from the data? Two general factors that affect student mathematical identity emerged from the research: student-teacher interactions and student-mathematics interactions. Interconnectivity existed between positive student-teacher relationships, meaningful student-mathematics interactions, and strong mathematical identities. Positive student-teacher relationships were foundational to the overall connection

Characters and Dogs: Relationships Between Dogs and Humans in Fictional Literature

Works of fiction provide a new outlook on life without the constraints of society\u27s expectations. Fiction provides the opportunity to explore relationship boundaries in a safe way that society might deem as improper or wrong. One way that fiction shows us this is the symbolism between the relation of humans and dogs, especially the similarities and how they can reflect one another. Using this as a basis, reflection upon real-life relationships can happen as well as viewing how they are discussed through fictional means. Relationships are not simply how two beings interact with one another, rather it is also about how they represent and reflect on another. In this research, there will be a focus on several works of fiction that explore the relationship between humans and dogs. In particular, focusing on books where the dog is not the main character. Some of these works include Seeking Persephone, Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, and Percy Jackson: Battle of the Labyrinth and Last Olympian. These works of literature will show how relationships in fiction reflect relationships in society along with the development of a deeper understanding of the general human-dog relationship.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2020/1094/thumbnail.jp

Research on Repertoire Used in Vocal Recital

The selections in the recital given by the candidate can be divided into four sections. The first four songs can claim as their origin in time the early Italian school of the Baroque period. The two selections following these represent the oratorio. The aria by Haydn properly comes from the Class-ical era. The aria from Mendelssohn\u27s oratorio is from the Romantic period, but it is referred to as Classicist-Romanticist, due to different elements of style and technique used by the composer.1 The third part of the recital is composed of art songs, taken from the German Lieder group, the first two by Schubert, the remaining two by Richard Strauss. The songs by Duparc and Lalo represent the French school. The last two songs in the candidate\u27s recital are by contemporary composers, Jean Berger and Cyril Scott

Therapist Characteristics Influencing Physical Therapy Non-Treatment in the Acute Care Setting

Background and Purpose: Research has found that participation in physical therapy (PT) services in the acute care setting increases functional outcomes and decreases patient length of stay. Certain physical therapist characteristics could be a potential source of influence on patient non-participation in physical therapy in the acute care setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific characteristics of therapists and patients are predictive of physical therapy non-treatment. Subjects: Subjects included 16 physical therapists or physical therapist assistants and 1225 patients at a community acute care hospital. Methods: Characteristics of each therapist and their corresponding patient data were collected from the 16 therapists at a community acute care hospital. Logistic regression was used to identify any therapist or patient factors predictive of patient non-participation in physical therapy services during their second scheduled visit. Results: Odds ratios were found to be significant for the following variables: Wednesday, the “Other diagnosis” grouping, and 2 out of the 14 therapists. Odds ratios for these variables were 0.455, 2.146, 8.804, and 10.359 respectively. Discussion and conclusion: No surveyed therapist characteristics were predictive of non-participation of physical therapy treatment in the acute care setting. Though measured attributes were not predictive, being a specific therapist, patients fitting into the “other” diagnosis category and being treated on Wednesday were predictive of non-treatment. Future research should focus on evaluating further therapist characteristics not included in this study, such as personality traits

Electrophysiological and arrhythmogenic effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine on human atrial cells are reduced in atrial fibrillation

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is proarrhythmic in atrial cells from patients in sinus rhythm (SR) via activation of 5-HT<sub>4</sub> receptors, but its effects in atrial cells from patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are unknown. The whole-cell perforated patch-clamp technique was used to record L-type Ca<sup>2+</sup> current (<i>I</i><sub>CaL</sub>), action potential duration (APD) and arrhythmic activity at 37 °C in enzymatically isolated atrial cells obtained from patients undergoing cardiac surgery, in SR or with chronic AF. In the AF group, 5-HT (10 μM) produced an increase in <i>I</i><sub>CaL</sub> of 115 ± 21% above control (<i>n</i> = 10 cells, 6 patients) that was significantly smaller than that in the SR group (232 ± 33%; <i>p</i> 0.05; <i>n</i> = 27 cells, 12 patients). Subsequent co-application of isoproterenol (1 μM) caused a further increase in <i>I</i><sub>CaL</sub> in the AF group (by 256 ± 94%) that was greater than that in the SR group (22 ± 6%; p < 0.05). The APD at 50% repolarisation (APD<sub>50</sub>) was prolonged by 14 ± 3 ms by 5-HT in the AF group (<i>n</i> = 37 cells, 14 patients). This was less than that in the SR group (27 ± 4 ms; <i>p</i> < 0.05; <i>n</i> = 58 cells, 24 patients). Arrhythmic activity in response to 5-HT was observed in 22% of cells in the SR group, but none was observed in the AF group (p < 0.05). Atrial fibrillation was associated with reduced effects of 5-HT, but not of isoproterenol, on <i>I</i><sub>CaL</sub> in human atrial cells. This reduced effect on <i>I</i><sub>CaL</sub> was associated with a reduced APD<sub>50</sub> and arrhythmic activity with 5-HT. Thus, the potentially arrhythmogenic influence of 5-HT may be suppressed in AF-remodelled human atrium

Bond Repurchases: A Teaching Case

Companies can buy back and retire their own bonds before maturity, resulting in a possible gain or loss on the extinguishment of debt. What would happen if a company repurchased its own bonds before maturity but did not retire them, potentially holding them for resale later before the bonds mature? This case gives students an opportunity to explore how the repurchase of bonds held for resale should be accounted for, including the repurchase transaction, the disposition of any gain or loss, and the possible transaction to resell the bonds later

Margaret Van Wagoner: Collections/Recollections Show Card

Show art for alumni Margaret Van Wagoner.https://digitalcommons.udallas.edu/alumni_87-88/1005/thumbnail.jp

An Affective Events Theory Perspective on Mental Health in the Workplace

Unlike their counterparts in public health, management scientists have devoted relatively little attention to understanding clinical emotions at work, particularly anxiety and depression. Based upon affective events theory, this dissertation argues that negative workplace events can trigger these clinical states, but this is most likely among individuals with a strong predisposition toward anxiety and depression. In two essays, I report the results of four experience sampling studies supporting these theoretical contentions. In Essay 1, I first validate a method to capture the &ldquo;in situ&rdquo; experiences of anxious and depressive states across two experience sampling methodology samples of college undergraduates. Stressful events created clinical state-levels of anxiety and depression, though mostly among those with high trait anxiety and depression. Next, I replicate and extend these findings among a sample of workers, observing also that negative events indirectly affect work goal progress, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction through anxiety and depression. In Essay 2, I extend the findings of the studies in Essay 1 to include a tragic event experienced vicariously at work. I report a natural experiment in which we found that a murder-suicide between colleagues increased anxious and depressive states among coworkers, even though participants did not witness the event firsthand. This relationship was strongest among employees with high trait anxiety. Increased state anxiety and state depression, in turn, were associated with reduced work goal progress. Results are discussed in terms of the challenges facing organizations, as well as the need for more research to determine effective interventions.</p