Peer mediation for conflict management: a Singaporean case study

The burgeoning interest in conflict and its management has recently begun to impact on schools and school systems worldwide. Motivated by a concern for increasing levels of violence in schools and student�student conflict, many school administrators are looking at conflict management programs as a means of dealing with the problem. Most of the more widely used programs have their origins in the United States; their appropriateness and effectiveness in other countries and cultures is, at best, unknown, and in some respects open to conjecture. In this paper the cultural appropriateness of a peer mediation program in a primary school in Singapore is the subject of investigation. The study also addresses, in an exploratory manner, the effectiveness of peer mediation as a mechanism for student�student conflict management

Interpersonal conflict in schools: how teachers manage conflict in the workplace

A significant change has taken place over the past two decades in the nature of teachers' work. Where once teachers operated in relative social and professional isolation and with considerable autonomy, today teachers are expected to engage in collaborative decision making on just about every facet of the school's curriculum and operations. In addition, teachers are open to much more public scrutiny and accountability than before as the education enterprise is aligned increasingly to market-based principles and practices. As teachers engage in collaborative decisionmaking with school administrators, colleagues, and parents they are confronted with and must respond to a wide range of often conflicting perspectives, needs and interests. More and more, in their day to day work, teachers are exposed to interpersonal conflict. Many find themselves ill-prepared to deal with these new demands. How teachers manage conflict in the workplace is of considerable importance, not only to the personal professional efficacy and satisfaction of teachers, but also to the overall effectiveness of the school and its curriculum. And yet, very little is known about this aspect of the work of teachers. In this paper, two exploratory studies of teacher conflict management behaviour are reported. Implications for teacher development and training are discussed

Sociocultural Influences on Diabetes Self-Management Behaviors in Older African Americans

Objective. The purpose of this observational study was to describe the associations between cultural beliefs that are prevalent in older African Americans and adherence to diabetes self-management (DSM) behaviors. Methods. In a community population of 110 older African Americans with type 2 diabetes, the investigators administered surveys that assess present time orientation (PTO), future time orientation (FTO), and religiosity, as well as exercising habits, reading food labels, and checking blood glucose. Results. Participants who reported regularly exercising had significantly lower PTO scores and higher FTO and religiosity scores than participants who did not regularly exercise. Similarly, participants who reported reading food labels had lower PTO scores and higher FTO scores but did not differ in religiosity. Participants who reported checking blood glucose levels tended to have higher FTO scores but did not differ in PTO or religiosity. Participants who engaged in all three diabetes self-management behaviors had significantly lower PTO scores and higher FTO and religiosity scores. Conclusion. These data indicate that cultural diversity within older African Americans may influence DSM behaviors and contribute to disparities in diabetes outcomes in this high-risk population. Efforts to prevent complications of diabetes might benefit from consideration of these cultural factors

The Residency Application Abyss: Insights and Advice

Most medical students apply for residency training upon completion of medical school. The choice of specialty is one of a student’s first major career decisions, and the application process often results in considerable anxiety, as it is competitive, unpredictable, and requires a significant investment of time and money. This article, which addresses several important facets of the residency application using both experiential and evidence-based data, is organized chronologically into sections that describe a logical approach to applying for residency: choice of a specialty, the personal statement, the interview day, and developing a rank list. A list of relevant websites is also included. This paper is a resource that provides timely and tangible guidance to medical students applying for residency training

Examining the safety of menstrual cups among rural primary school girls in western Kenya: observational studies nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study.

Examine the safety of menstrual cups against sanitary pads and usual practice in Kenyan schoolgirls. Observational studies nested in a cluster randomised controlled feasibility study. 30 primary schools in a health and demographic surveillance system in rural western Kenya. Menstruating primary schoolgirls aged 14-16 years participating in a menstrual feasibility study. Insertable menstrual cup, monthly sanitary pads or 'usual practice' (controls). Staphylococcus aureus vaginal colonization, Escherichia coli growth on sampled used cups, toxic shock syndrome or other adverse health outcomes. Among 604 eligible girls tested, no adverse event or TSS was detected over a median 10.9 months follow-up. S. aureusprevalence was 10.8%, with no significant difference over intervention time or between groups. Of 65 S.aureus positives at first test, 49 girls were retested and 10 (20.4%) remained positive. Of these, two (20%) sample isolates tested positive for toxic shock syndrome toxin-1; both girls were provided pads and were clinically healthy. Seven per cent of cups required replacements for loss, damage, dropping in a latrine or a poor fit. Of 30 used cups processed for E. coli growth, 13 (37.1%, 95% CI 21.1% to 53.1%) had growth. E. coli growth was greatest in newer compared with established users (53%vs22.2%, p=0.12). Among this feasibility sample, no evidence emerged to indicate menstrual cups are hazardous or cause health harms among rural Kenyan schoolgirls, but large-scale trials and post-marketing surveillance should continue to evaluate cup safety

Reducing Legionella Colonization of Water Systems with Monochloramine

Monochloramine reduced colonization in building hot water systems

Restaurant outbreak of Legionnaires' disease associated with a decorative fountain: an environmental and case-control study

BACKGROUND: From June to November 2005, 18 cases of community-acquired Legionnaires' disease (LD) were reported in Rapid City South Dakota. We conducted epidemiologic and environmental investigations to identify the source of the outbreak. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study that included the first 13 cases and 52 controls randomly selected from emergency department records and matched on underlying illness. We collected information about activities of case-patients and controls during the 14 days before symptom onset. Environmental samples (n = 291) were cultured for Legionella. Clinical and environmental isolates were compared using monoclonal antibody subtyping and sequence based typing (SBT). RESULTS: Case-patients were significantly more likely than controls to have passed through several city areas that contained or were adjacent to areas with cooling towers positive for Legionella. Six of 11 case-patients (matched odds ratio (mOR) 32.7, 95% CI 4.7-infinity) reported eating in Restaurant A versus 0 controls. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was isolated from four clinical specimens: 3 were Benidorm type strains and 1 was a Denver type strain. Legionella were identified from several environmental sites including 24 (56%) of 43 cooling towers tested, but only one site, a small decorative fountain in Restaurant A, contained Benidorm, the outbreak strain. Clinical and environmental Benidorm isolates had identical SBT patterns. CONCLUSION: This is the first time that small fountain without obvious aerosol-generating capability has been implicated as the source of a LD outbreak. Removal of the fountain halted transmission

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Survey of Legionella

Members of the Gram-negative genus Legionella are typically found in freshwater environments, with the exception of L. longbeachae, which is present in composts and potting mixes. When contaminated aerosols are inhaled, legionellosis may result, typically as either the more serious pneumonia Legionnaires’ disease or the less severe flu-like illness Pontiac fever. It is presumed that all species of the genus Legionella are capable of causing disease in humans. As a followup to a prior clinical study of legionellosis in rural Thailand, indigenous soil samples were collected proximal to cases’ homes and workplaces and tested for the presence of legionellae by culture. We obtained 115 isolates from 22/39 soil samples and used sequence-based methods to identify 12 known species of Legionella represented by 87 isolates

Comparison of Replication-Competent, First Generation, and Helper-Dependent Adenoviral Vaccines

All studies using human serotype 5 Adenovirus (Ad) vectors must address two major obstacles: safety and the presence of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies. Helper-Dependent (HD) Ads have been proposed as alternative vectors for gene therapy and vaccine development because they have an improved safety profile. To evaluate the potential of HD-Ad vaccines, we compared replication-competent (RC), first-generation (FG) and HD vectors for their ability to induce immune responses in mice. We show that RC-Ad5 and HD-Ad5 vectors generate stronger immune responses than FG-Ad5 vectors. HD-Ad5 vectors gave lower side effects than RC or FG-Ad, producing lower levels of tissue damage and anti-Ad T cell responses. Also, HD vectors have the benefit of being packaged by all subgroup C serotype helper viruses. We found that HD serotypes 1, 2, 5, and 6 induce anti-HIV responses equivalently. By using these HD serotypes in heterologous succession we showed that HD vectors can be used to significantly boost anti-HIV immune responses in mice and in FG-Ad5-immune macaques. Since HD vectors have been show to have an increased safety profile, do not possess any Ad genes, can be packaged by multiple serotype helper viruses, and elicit strong anti-HIV immune responses, they warrant further investigation as alternatives to FG vectors as gene-based vaccines