Volunteer Management Analysis for the City of Las Vegas

The City of Las Vegas current volunteer management program is unable to provide effective administration of its volunteers. We will discuss what type of volunteer management program would work best for the City of Las Vegas? Volunteer management models were examined to determine what best practices can be adopted by the City of Las Vegas. Research shows a correlation between citizen engagement, volunteerism in the community, and a better quality of life for citizens in communities that have active volunteer programs. Thirty-six jurisdictions were surveyed, most of which are in the Western United States, with four jurisdictions being highlighted. The two predominate models that were discovered were centralized and decentralized volunteer management models. A decentralized model allows jurisdictions the flexibility to allow individual departments to oversee their volunteer activities. A centralized model establishes a citywide volunteer coordinator which oversees most volunteer activities for a jurisdiction. Findings indicate that having a centralized program with a citywide volunteer coordinator can be beneficial to overall management of volunteer efforts and reporting those activities to the governing body

Perspectives and Post-release Experiences of Convicted African American Women Drug Offenders

Prisons in the United States are full to capacity because of the revolving doors created by recidivism. African American women comprise a significant proportion of those who return to prison, yet most studies about women and recidivism focus on the experiences of white women. The communities into which formerly incarcerated African American women are released do not make things easier in terms of the potential for reoffending because of the difficult access to good jobs, safe housing, good health care services, and assistance with child cares services. Using Cullen\u27s social support theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore the perspectives and post-release experiences of participants while living in their community. Fourteen African American ex-convicted women, ages 18 to 55 who reside in a large mid-Atlantic city participated in open-ended interviews to further explore the social factors related to recidivism. These data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Key findings include that success is tied to a sense of self, most participants expressed a sense of gratitude for their success, and that family, friends, government support, and the effects of rehabilitation programs contribute to success in living in communities after release from prison. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to correctional officials to focus on strengthening opportunities for pro-social interactions with appropriate support systems including working with other government agencies to reach out to formerly incarcerated African American women for services that are unique to their needs and circumstances. These efforts may improve public safety through reductions in future crimes

Thermopower peak in phase transition region of (1-x)La2/3_{2/3}Ca1/3_{1/3}MnO3_{3}/xYSZ

The thermoelectric power (TEP) and the electrical resistivity of the intergranular magnetoresistance (IGMR) composite, (1-x)La$_{2/3}$Ca$_{1/3}$MnO$_{3}$/xYSZ (LCMO/YSZ) with x = 0, 0.75%, 1.25%, 4.5%, 13% 15% and 80% of the yttria-stabalized zirconia (YSZ), have been measured from 300 K down to 77 K. Pronounced TEP peak appears during the phase transition for the samples of x $>$ 0, while not observed for x = 0. We suggest that this is due to the magnetic structure variation induced by the lattice strain which is resulting from the LCMO/YSZ boundary layers. The transition width in temperature derived from $d\chi/dT$, with $\chi$ being the AC magnetic susceptibility, supports this interpretation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, Latex, J. Appl. Phys 94, 7206 (2003

Conflicts Over Extractivist Policy and the Forest Frontier in Central America

Central America is characterized by an asymmetric forest transition in which net deforestation is a product of both forest loss and patches of forest resurgence. Forest loss is also associated with rights violations. We explore the extent to which extractive industry and infrastructure investments create pressure on forest resources, community rights and livelihoods. Drivers of this investment are identified, in particular: constitutional, legislative and regulatory reforms; energy policies; new financial flows; and ideas of development emphasizing the centrality of infrastructure in combining geographical integration and economic growth. We discuss forms of contentious action that have emerged in response to these pressures, asking how far and in what ways this contention has elicited changes in the policies that govern investment and extractive industry, and how far such changes might reduce pressure on Central America\u27s remaining forest cover. The paper develops a conceptual framework for analysing relationships among contention, policy change and the resilience of policy changes

Conflicts over extractivist policy and the forest frontier in Central America

Central America is characterized by an asymmetric forest transition in which net deforestation is a product of both forest loss and patches of forest resurgence. Forest loss is also associated with rights violations. We explore the extent to which extractive industry and infrastructure investments create pressure on forest resources, community rights and livelihoods. Drivers of this investment are identified, in particular: constitutional, legislative and regulatory reforms; energy policies; new financial flows; and ideas of development emphasizing the centrality of infrastructure in combining geographical integration and economic growth. We discuss forms of contentious action that have emerged in response to these pressures, asking how far and in what ways this contention has elicited changes in the policies that govern investment and extractive industry, and how far such changes might reduce pressure on Central America's remaining forest cover. The paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing relationships among contention, policy change and the resilience of policy changes

Collaborative and competitive strategies in the variability and resiliency of large-scale societies in Mesoamerica

Examinations of the variation and duration of past large-scale societies have long involved a conceptual struggle between efforts at generalization and the unraveling of specific trajectories. Although historical particulars are critical to understanding individual cases, there exist both scientific and policy rationales for drawing broader implications regarding the growing corpus of cross-cultural data germane to understanding variability in the constitution of human societies, past and present. Archaeologists have recently paid increased attention to successes and failures in communal-resource management over the long term, as articulated by the transdisciplinary theory on cooperation and collective action. In this article, we consider frameworks that have been traditionally employed in studies of the rise, diversity, and fall of large-scale preindustrial aggregations. We suggest that a comparative theoretical perspective that foregrounds collective-action problems, unaligned individual and group interests, and the social mechanisms that promote or hamper cooperation advances our understanding of variability in these early cooperative arrangements. We apply such a perspective to an examination of cities from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to demonstrate tendencies for more collective systems to be larger and longer lasting than less collective ones, likely reflecting greater resiliency in the face of the ecological and cultural perturbations specific to the region and era

Ideología y Poder en el Arte del Manejo Antiguo del Agua

The temples and monuments of Copan are replete with symbols of water and sustenance, both important forces in the development of social complexity throughout the region and prevalent in Mesoamerica. Our work reveals that the water systems managed in Copan and neighboring regions of Honduras have a long history and they manifest in diverse forms. Besides their functional utilization, from irrigation to water storage, water sources and systems had numerous religious uses. We will discuss how water was conceived, used and represented in ancient times as well as we believe its sacred character was utilized in art to elevate political authority. From our research we know that communal organization was important to the successful management of ancient water systems. It might be that some of those methods are relevant to improve life conditions in current landscapes, to assure potable water and improve harvests.Los templos y monumentos de Copán están repletos de símbolos del agua y de sustento, ambas fuerzas importantes en el desarrollo de complejidad social a través de la región y prevalente en toda Mesoamérica. Nuestro trabajo revela que los sistemas de agua manejados en Copán y áreas circundantes de Honduras tienen una historia larga y se manifiestan en diversas formas. Además de funciones prácticas, desde irrigación hasta el almacenamiento de agua, las fuentes y sistemas de agua tenían numerosos usos religiosos. Discutiremos cómo se concebía, usaba y se representaba el agua en tiempos antiguos y las formas que en que creemos se utilizaba su carácter sagrado en el arte para elevar la autoridad política. Por medio de nuestras investigaciones sabemos que la organización comunitaria era importante para la operación exitosa del manejo de los sistemas antiguos de agua. Puede que algunos de estos métodos sean relevantes en los paisajes actuales para mejorar las condiciones de vida, asegurar la potabilidad del agua y mejorar las cosechas

Mathematical Model of Easter Island Society Collapse

In this paper we consider a mathematical model for the evolution and collapse of the Easter Island society, starting from the fifth century until the last period of the society collapse (fifteen century). Based on historical reports, the available primary sources consisted almost exclusively on the trees. We describe the inhabitants and the resources as an isolated system and both considered as dynamic variables. A mathematical analysis about why the structure of the Easter Island community collapse is performed. In particular, we analyze the critical values of the fundamental parameters driving the interaction humans-environment and consequently leading to the collapse. The technological parameter, quantifying the exploitation of the resources, is calculated and applied to the case of other extinguished civilization (Cop\'an Maya) confirming, with a sufficiently precise estimation, the consistency of the adopted model.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, final version published on EuroPhysics Letter

Hubungan Kebiasaan Merokok dengan Tekanan Darah pada Siswa SMK N 1 Padang

Hipertensi dapat mengganggu fungsi organ lain terutama organ vital seperti jantung dan ginjal. Hipertensi tidak hanya menyerang di usia tua saja, tetapi juga remaja. Merokok merupakan salah satu faktor pencetus hipertensi. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kebiasaan merokok dan tekanan darah pada siswa SMK N 1 Padang. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian analitik dengan desain cross-sectional. Sampel penelitian ini adalah 111 orang siswa kelas XI SMK N 1 Padang. Penilaian status merokok dengan menggunakan kuesioner Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) yang telah disadur dan digabungkan dengan indeks Brinkman dan penilaian tekanan darah dengan sphygmomanometer air raksa serta stetoskop. Hasil penelitian didapatkan siswa bukan perokok sebanyak 68 orang (61,3%) dan perokok ringan sebanyak 43 orang (38,7%). Rata- rata tekanan darah sistolik siswa sebesar 112,57 mmHg dan tekanan darah diastolik siswa sebesar 70,05 mmHg. Didapatkan tekanan darah sistolik perokok ringan lebih rendah 2,1 mmHg dibandingkan bukan perokok dan tekanan diastolik perokok ringan lebih rendah 2,92 mmHg dibandingkan bukan perokok. Hasil analisis data statistik kebiasaan merokok dengan tekanan darah sistolik didapatkan p = 0,15. Hasil analisis data statistik kebiasaan merokok dengan tekanan darah disatolik didapatkan p = 0,078. Sedangkan hasil analisis data statistik kebiasaan merokok dengan mean arterial pressure (MAP) didapatkan p = 0,094, Simpulan penelitian ini menunjukan tidak terdapat hubungan kebiasaan merokok dengan tekanan darah sistolik, tekanan darah diastolik dan MAP