A Culture of Conflict

While some conflict in organisations may be a healthy incentive for action and competition, conflict that becomes the dominant feature of the organisation's culture is damaging. In non-profits it cripples the organisation's ability to function because the organisation is unable to set goals or to present a coherent, united front when applying for government grants. Research theory in management and non-profits discusses the need for consonance, but our research demonstrates that some community organisations do not fit the model presented in the literature. The paper presents the results of a consultancy engaged in by the authors between December 1994 and August 1995 with a small, church-based, non-profit organisation. The organisation works in an environment where there is a need for unity, but our research found conflict between the volunteers and the paid workers, and among the volunteers themselves. Conflict, which had become the over-riding consideration in all decisions, was paralysing the organisation. The paper gives some background to the organisation and the context in which it operates, describes the nature of the consultancy and the findings, and explains the recommendations we made to the organisation

Spectroscopic Studies of Cyanine Dyes and Serum Albumins for Bioanalytical Applications

The use of cyanine dyes in bioanalytical applications has become a widely explored topic of interest in chemistry. Their ability to absorb and fluoresce in the UV-visible and near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum benefits their use as imaging probes and fluorescent labels due to the reduced auto-fluorescence from biological molecules. The behavior of these dyes lies in their structure which consists of two nitrogen containing heterocycles joined by an electron deficient polymethine bridge that allows specific energy transitions to occur. The first portion of this work aims to explore dye functionality for analytical applications regarding the non-covalent labeling of bovine serum albumin. The second portion of the work explores dye interactions with human serum albumin in biological membrane mimetic environments using the ternary system of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (AOT) in water and n-heptane

Direct Materials Data Quality at Conagra Brands

Data quality is driven by businesses processes and controlled through data management and data governance. It describes the reliability of data for making decisions. At Conagra Brands, the Data Management Organization (DMO) is the data governance body and continuously oversees data quality. The goal of this project is to build data quality measures for direct materials. Direct materials are materials used to make a food product, including ingredients, packaging, and semi-finished materials. Data quality measures were built for Product Lifecyle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Procurement (EP). Data validations determined the usage of fields owned by these departments. Analysis of transportation data found an error rate of 6.05% while material hierarchy data had errors in only 0.146% of data. Terms in Metapedia serve as a data dictionary, a key point for employees to access information. Each data term describes data fields that often have specific functions. In Metapedia, 1238 terms were identified for direct materials, with 758 of these terms reaching approval for completion. These data fields are monitored through rules in Information Steward based on the Metapedia terms to check for accuracy and completeness. Rules and scorecards allow employees to easily monitor data and take corrective action when needed. Two scorecards were built and tied to three rules. Data terms and rules are connected in Information Steward through the remediation process. The DMO should continue building upon data quality measures and educate employees on the importance of data

It\u27s all fun and—: a rhetorical analysis of space in the pandemic.

This exhibition and document explore spatial rhetoric during the pandemic, utilizing materiality and relational aesthetics to reflect on the different ways in which the public and private are made distinct from one another. In doing so, Lewis addresses new cultural navigations of shared spaces, both digital and corporeal, public and private. In addition, the artist also examines the faulty social and institutional systems that the pandemic brought to light, such as socioeconomic dynamics and voter suppression, while utilizing Kenneth Burke’s concept of the terministic screen. Games are a central theme throughout the exhibition, as they are often coded as “home” objects that require a close proximity for participation. They also function as micro-systems in which players agree to an arbitrary set of rules that they did not themselves construct. Lewis expands these ideas into what it means to “gamify” space

Genome sequences of 15 Gardnerella vaginalis strains isolated from the vaginas of women with and without bacterial vaginosis

Gardnerella vaginalis is a predominant species in bacterial vaginosis, a dysbiosis of the vagina that is associated with adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth. Here, we present the draft genome sequences of 15 Gardnerella vaginalis strains (now available through BEI Resources) isolated from women with and without bacterial vaginosis

Experience with the once-yearly histrelin (GnRHa) subcutaneous implant in the treatment of central precocious puberty

In 2007, a hydrogel histrelin implant was approved for the treatment of children with central precocious puberty (CPP). Children with CPP commonly have reduced height potential due to premature closure of the epiphyseal growth plates from exposure to sex steroids. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) treatment halts puberty and allows for improvement of adult height. A hydrogel implant delivery system utilizing the potent GnRHa, histrelin, was first developed for use in men with prostate cancer. A once yearly histrelin subcutaneous implant was subsequently developed for the treatment of children with CPP. Studies to date have demonstrated safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of this treatment option in patients treated up to 2 years. The most common adverse effects of the implant relate to implant site pain or bruising. Cost of this treatment seems comparable to somewhat higher than the commonly used GnRHa treatment option, depot leuprolide. While long term studies are needed to establish continued efficacy and safety beyond 2 years of treatment, the histrelin implant appears to be an attractive option for GnRHa treatment in patients with CPP

Examining Opioid Risk Mitigation Practices in a Rural Pain Management Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project

Opioid misuse and opioid use disorder rates have led to record opioid-related deaths nationally. Virginia public health officials declared a public health emergency due to the opioid crisis. Provider prescribing practices are part of this complex local and national public health problem. Evidence indicates that prescribers should assess for risks related to substance misuse and abuse in high-risk populations, such as patients on long-term opioid therapy. By evaluating risk level, the provider has additional information to guide treatment decisions and a baseline for assessing future changes in risk status. This project used quality improvement methods to study the implementation of an opioid risk screening tool in a rural pain management clinic. Addiction screening was implemented in two iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, aiming to screen 80% of eligible patients by Cycle 2. Participants completed an anonymous paper version of the Opioid Risk Tool-Opioid Use Disorder (ORT-OUD) as part of their intake assessment paperwork. The number of patients seen, the number and percent of eligible patients, screened patients, and the risk level for each screened patient was calculated. The project implemented the ORT-OUD screening with 78 patients, three of which completed the screening with nurse assistance. Thus, 100% of eligible patients were screened, meeting the screening goal. The screening identified 16 patients (21%) as high-risk. Opioid risk screening can provide valuable information when assessing and treating patients receiving long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-malignant pain. This project successfully implemented an opioid risk screening protocol using an interdisciplinary team approach

Encouraging leaders to be followers too:strengthening young women's leadership in a global, intergenerational, women's organisation

This thesis starts by exploring an under-researched area, young women’s leaders and returns a potentially unexpected answer – to strengthen young/er women’s leadership we need old/er women to be willing to follow them. Or more broadly, to see more non-traditional leaders emerge and be recognised, we need more people to realise a practice of emancipatory and critical followership that can influence who is recognised as a leader in their groups. Rather than considering youth as a time of preparation for a future practice of leadership, this thesis argues there is a need to recognise young people, and particularly young women, as leaders now and that building this recognition may not be about doing more indiviudal leader development work, but about collective leadership development which includes work with followers. Building on the frameworks that have been used explain and promote work within organisations to increase the numbers of women leaders, this research draws particularly from work on followership, which has questioned both the lack of focus on followers within leadership research and the lack of recognition of the agency that followers possess. Doing so allows the argument to be built that to ensure non-traditional leaders emerge and are recognised in organisations, we need to develop a practice of critical and emancipatory followership which would purposively seek to support the emergence and recognition of non-stereotypical leaders

Nursing Innovation: Step to Full Practice Licensure

Background/local problem With the inception of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 the healthcare system was challenged to be efficient, effective, and patient centered. This transformation has challenged the nursing profession to work to the highest level of the nursing licensure. Nurses hold the distinction of being the largest profession working in healthcare, providing not only much of the direct patient care but also leadership. The Institute of Medicine 2010 The Future of Nursing Report called for nurses to reach for higher education and to become collaborative leaders in implementing change in the healthcare arena. Diabetes is a complex and expensive clinical problem, that requires nursing leadership to create innovations to efficiently and effectively meet patient needs. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an exemplar project that illustrates an advanced practice nurse utilizing research, theory and practice to create a quality improvement project and thus practice to the fullest extent of the nursing licensure to solve a local problem of ineffective diabetic education. Lessons learned and evidence that supports an innovative video diabetic educational program will be discussed to enable others to peruse similar work and/or similar process. Methods After observing and validating a clinical problem, related theories and research were evaluated to create an intervention aimed at improving healthcare quality. Garrand’s Matrix Method was used to guide a search of the literature. A database search resulted in 1219 articles for a preliminary review with 12 articles found to be specific to video education and diabetes. Within these articles themes were identified and a quality improvement project using the plan, do, study, act process was planned. Interventions This presentation will discuss 1) the research process including: formation of clinical questioning, PICO formulation, searching for the best evidence, and translating evidence into practice using theory and 2) evidence guiding a quality improvement project for individuals with Type II diabetes in a primary care setting. The broad focus is on utilization of technology to improve the knowledge of individuals with Type II diabetes. Conclusion/Implications This presentation will help nurses formulate clinical questions and proceed to quality improvement projects. It will highlight the leadership that is available in nursing profession and serve as an example of how nursing knowledge is generating practice improvements and thus provide an example of working at the fullest extent of the nursing license to create solutions to local problem

Lessons Learned: COVID-19 in Post-Corrections Secured Behavioral Rehabilitation

Background: The COVID-19 case rate on June 5, 2020, for prisoners in the United States (US) was 5.5 times higher than the US population case rate (Saloner et al., 2020). Secure facilities were challenged to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. One secure behavioral rehabilitation facility made many changes to facility and program protocols to meet this challenge. Methods: The purpose of this program evaluation was to assess newly implemented infection control measures at a secure behavioral rehabilitation facility and to inform policy and procedure recommendations for the mitigation of COVID-19 transmission in congregate living facilities in the future. Case rates, percent positivity, and case fatality rates were used as surrogate measures to evaluate this facility\u27s COVID-19 program. A PRECEDE/PROCEED logic model was used to guide the program evaluation. Results: Attack rates varied significantly by unit, from 1 resident case (3.94%) to 31 cases (92.26%). The 7-day rolling average ranged from 0.0% to 4.34% positivity during the study period, and 205/355.6 residents (57.56%) were infected during the 3-month study period. Conclusions: COVID-19 places significant logistical and human strain on residents, employees, and administrators of secured congregate settings. Despite extensive infection control measures the study facility experienced a significant number of cases, special hospitalizations, and deaths. Further research is recommended to define adequate infection control measures to vulnerable populations in such settings