Stress Reduction: A neighborhood introduction

Responding to reported health concerns a stress reduction program was developed for residents of an urban Latino neighborhood struggling with poverty, crime, and limited access to healthcare. The revised Health Promotion Model (HPM) was used as a framework (Pender, 1996). A qualitative study testing a 5-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention was imbedded into the program 18 months after its implementation. Utilizing a pre/post test design participants were predicted to demonstrate significant reductions in post-intervention mean scores for 3 self-report measures, the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, General Sleep Disturbance Scale, and a modified Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. A 91% drop in participation compared to prior attendance levels precluded measuring the dependent variables. Comparing the MBSR intervention with prior instruction attempts to explicate this unexpected outcome, supporting the potential explanatory possibilities of the HPM and informing the need for further studies ofMBSR in cultural contexts

Medical Book Publishing

published or submitted for publicatio

Teaching Excellence: What Great Teachers Teach Us

Given the shortage of nurse educators, we sought to better understand teaching excellence because it is crucial for developing the next generation of nurses. A grounded theory approach was used. The sample included 17 respondents, thought to be excellent teachers, from universities across the United States. Consenting respondents were asked, “What do you do to bring nursing to life with your students?” Using line-by-line coding and the constant comparative method, five major themes emerged: (a) engagement, (b) relevance, (c) student centeredness, (d) facilitation of learning, and (e) dynamic process of becoming an excellent nursing educator. We found that the core category, engagement, included the faculty being (a) current and knowledgeable, (b) being clear in communication of objectives/outcomes, (c) being student centered, (d) being able to draw all students into active questioning and learning so that the process of discovery is enjoyable, and (e) using multiple strategies in teaching the content. The process of becoming an excellent teacher involved “change from ‘instiller’ to ‘facilitator’ and laid the foundation for continued development of my teaching self.” Those beginning to teach or seeking to improve their teaching may find the results enlightening

Age Disparities in Unemployment and Reemployment During the Great Recession and Recovery

Analyzes patterns in the percentage of workers unemployed at any point between May 2008 and March 2011, number of months they were unemployed, wage losses at reemployment, and likelihood of workers leaving the labor force by age group

How Much Might Automatic IRAs Improve Retirement Security for Low- and Moderate-Wage Workers?

Estimates the extent to which requiring employers with no retirement plan to set up individual retirement accounts and automatically deposit a portion of pay would improve low- and moderate-wage workers' retirement security. Outlines policy implications

Rescattering of Vector Meson Daughters in High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions

We consider the role of hadronic rescattering of daughter kaons on the observed mass spectra from $\phi$ meson decays in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. A hadronic cascade code (RQMD v2.4) shows that $\sim$26% of all $\phi$'s decaying to $K^+K^-$ in central Pb+Pb collisions at SPS energies ($E_{beam} = 158 GeV/A$) have a rescattered or absorbed daughter. This significantly affects the reconstructed invariant mass of the pair and shifts $\phi$ mesons out of the mass peak. Kaon rescattering depletes the low velocity region, hardening and broadening the observed phi $m_t$ and rapidity distributions respectively, relative to the dilepton channel. This effect produces an apparent change in the experimentally determined branching ratio not necessarily related to chiral symmetry restoration. Comparisons to recent experimental measures at CERN energies reveal a possible mechanism to account for the shape of the observed spectra, though not their absolute relative magnitude.Comment: submitted to Eur Jour Phys

Handbook for Implementing a Comprehensive Work-Based Learning Program According to the Fair Labor Standards Act

This Handbook for Implementing a Comprehensive Work-Based Learning Program According to the Fair Labor Standards Act provides guidance to schools operating WBL programs and encourages the adoption of WBL programs by schools not presently using this approach. By following the information and examples in this handbook, schools can proceed with confidence to operate effective WBL programs consistent with the FLSA

Retaining Older Volunteers Is Key to Meeting Future Volunteer Needs

The boomers' impending retirement has spurred interest in tapping their productive energies to benefit society. This study examines older adults' decisions to stop or start formal volunteer work. The findings show that older adults usually stick with their original decisions, but more often stop than start volunteering. Volunteers who contribute a lot of hours over many years and who are married to volunteers are less likely to quit. And nonvolunteers are more likely to start volunteering if they have been uninvolved for few years and their spouses volunteer. The results highlight the importance of volunteer retention strategies for nonprofit agencies

The Potential Impact of the Great Recession on Future Retirement Incomes

Estimates the effects of job loss, slower wage growth, and withdrawals from retirement savings during the 2007-09 recession on retirement incomes at age 70, including decline in income by age group and number of those likely to live in poverty at 70

Landscapes in gum

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