Improving safeguarding practice : study of serious case reviews 2001-2003

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Rulemaking in the Shade: An Empirical Study of EPA’s Air Toxic Emissions

In this article, the authors trace the engagement and the influence of interest groups over the entire life cycle of a complete set of complex EPA rules that set emissions standards for the industrial release of air toxins. In particular they focus on three of the most worrisome phases of the administrative process where imbalances in interest group engagement and influence may be occurring. The thesis of this study is that imbalances in interest group engagement are occurring at critical albeit somewhat obscure stages of the rulemaking life cycle and that these imbalances are impacting the substance of the rulemaking project. This article proceeds in five parts. Part I explores three stages in the rulemaking life cycle that may be afflicted with imbalanced interest group engagement that in turn might distort the outcome of the rulemaking project. Part II describes the methods of the article, which examine the nature of interest group engagement and activity at these problem stages in a complete set of rules promulgated by the EPA governing the industrial emissions of air toxics. Part III describes the findings and Part IV collects information from disparate sources in detective like fashion to explain some of the surprises and new questions that emerge from this research. In the conclusion, the authors retell the store that emerges from their data and consider whether it suggests more pervasive problems in administrative law that will benefit from further study.The Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law, and Busines

Parental Choice of a Charter School: Parental Decision-Making in Kansas City, Missouri

Abstract The purpose of this research was to create a qualitative and descriptive study by investigating the perceptions and reasoning that led parents to send their children to a public charter school in Kansas City, Missouri. This study seeks to understand the parental decision making regarding school choice in their community. This research was designed to identify and investigate the influential factors, variables, and other program characteristics such as the instruction, curriculum, teacher quality that lead parents to make the decision to enroll their children. It also examined what parents value in schools and the way in which most parents obtain information about the school in order to make their decision. Data were collected from school staff and parents through open-ended interview

Water Wise: Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes

This comprehensive volume provides specific information about shrubs, trees, grasses, forbs, and cacti that are native to most states in the Intermountain West, and that can be used in landscaping to conserve water, reflect and preserve the region\u27s landscape character, and help protect its ecological integrity. The book is an invaluable guide for the professional landscaper, horticulturist, and others in the Intermountain nursery industry, as well as for the student, general reader, gardener, and homeowner. Water Wise is both convenient and comprehensive. The heart of the book presents hundreds of species, devoting a full page to each, with a description of appearance, habitat, landscape use, and other comments. Color photographs illustrate each plant described. A reader-friendly introduction provides important background on the ecology of the Intermountain West, along with full descriptions of native plant habitats and associations.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1142/thumbnail.jp

A whole-team approach to optimising general dental practice teamwork: development of the Skills-optimisation Self-evaluation Toolkit (SOSET)

Introduction Studies across the health service reveal benefits of teamwork and barriers to its optimal use. Drawing upon the established Maturity Matrix Dentistry method, the Skills Optimisation Self-Evaluation Toolkit (SOSET) was developed to enable the whole dental team to critically review how they address skill-mix in delivery of patient-centred oral healthcare in their practice. This paper outlines the development of the SOSET and explores its usefulness to general dental practice teams. Methods Research literature and interview data from general dental practice teams were coded for high-level factors (positive and negative) influencing teamwork. We used this coding to identify skill-mix domains, and within each, define criteria. The SOSET process was refined following consultations with dental professionals and piloting. Results Eighty-four papers were coded and 38 dental team members were interviewed across six sites. The SOSET matrix was developed containing nine domains reflecting the use of skill-mix, each containing six development-level criteria. The domains addressed factors such as team beliefs on skill-mix and knowledge of team members' scope of practice, patient demand, the business case, staffing and training, and the practice premises. The process was piloted in 11 practices across South Wales, and feedback was received from 92 staff members. Results showed that the SOSET process was straightforward, that the whole team could contribute to discussion and that it would be used to improve practice. Following piloting, four domains were merged into two new domains, and the number of criteria within all domains was reduced and the wording simplified (seven domains, with four criteria each). Conclusion We used a systematic and rigorous process to develop the SOSET to support dental teams to progress their teamwork practices. Its usefulness was demonstrated in the pilot. The SOSET is now being offered to general dental practices across Wales

The Ursinus Weekly, May 30, 1974

Cindy Cole named valedictorian • Four to receive honorary degrees at commencement • Summer use planned for college facilities • New member added to Phys. Ed. faculty • New Assistant Dean of Women is appointed • New instructor of philosophy named • Two professors receive quarter century awards • Dr. Visser writes history text manual • Dr. Cope elected to Phi Beta Kappa office • Editorial: Money talks?; Farewell • Alumni Corner: The extra-curricular teacher • To the editor: The cracked shell • Goal is near • Change in Lancaster • Focus: The head on that guy! • Deferred degrees received • Faculty focus: Ursinus past and presenthttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1018/thumbnail.jp

Identity work and the `unemployed' worker: age, disability and the lived experience of the older unemployed

This article seeks to explore how older individuals negotiate and manage their self-identity in relation to work while situated without paid employment. After reviewing the current positions of the older unemployed in the UK, noting the substantial overlap between age and disability, we turn our attention to conceptualizing the lived experiences of individuals through exploring `identity work' as a means of understanding a non-working work identity. Based upon focus group interviews, our empirical analysis focuses on key dimensions of participants' identity practice and how they sought to manage the following social processes: imposed identities; crafting working identities; and contesting unfavourable working identities.The conclusion contextualizes the findings against a backdrop of increasing individualistic discourses underpinning approaches to employability, closes with the policy implications arising from this study, and makes suggestions for future research agendas. </jats:p

Organic Growers of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing the Community and Growing Together

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional or formal cooperative, how relationship building and partnering has been integral to their individual and collective success, and what their aspirations are

The 14q32 maternally imprinted locus is a major source of longitudinally stable circulating microRNAs as measured by small RNA sequencing.

Understanding the normal temporal variation of serum molecules is a critical factor for identifying useful candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of chronic disease. Using small RNA sequencing in a longitudinal study of 66 women with no history of cancer, we determined the distribution and dynamics (via intraclass correlation coefficients, ICCs) of the miRNA profile over 3 time points sampled across 2-5 years in the course of the screening trial, UKCTOCS. We were able to define a subset of longitudinally stable miRNAs (ICC >0.75) that were individually discriminating of women who had no cancer over the study period. These miRNAs were dominated by those originating from the C14MC cluster that is subject to maternal imprinting. This assessment was not significantly affected by common confounders such as age, BMI or time to centrifugation nor alternative methods to data normalisation. Our analysis provides important benchmark data supporting the development of miRNA biomarkers for the impact of life-course exposure as well as diagnosis and prognostication of chronic disease