A Correlational Study: Understanding the Relationship Between Leadership and Morale Within Law Enforcement Agencies

Law enforcement agencies employ officers who are driven to serving and protecting their communities. However, officers are not only tasked with serving and protecting, but also with dealing with issues of low morale within their law enforcement agencies. The issue of low morale resulting in high turnover rates, and issues with law enforcement agencies struggling with retention rates, is not new, nor is the issue of low morale within law enforcement agencies. This study emphasizes the relationship between leadership and morale, rather than the common factors of stress, pay, benefits, and hours. The study explored 3 factors among law enforcement agencies: (a) leadership and morale, (b) retention rates, and (c) turnover rates. The researcher surveyed 259 law enforcement officers in South Carolina utilizing a Likert-type survey. The officers who participated in the survey came from 4 various law enforcement agencies in 4 varying geographical locations. These agencies ranged in size from small, medium, and large. The data gathered from the survey population were analyzed using a Spearman rho correlation to measure relationships, as well descriptive statistics to further analyze data. Based on the Spearman rho correlations, a strong relationship existed between leadership and morale (p \u3c 0.01), and morale and retention rates (p \u3c 0.01). No relationship existed between morale and turnover rates within law enforcement agencies. Based on the results of the study, some implications from the study could include introducing and requiring annual leadership courses, offering surveys to measure agency morale, and acknowledging possible issues regarding low morale

A Correlational Study: Understanding the Relationship Between Leadership and Morale Within Law Enforcement Agencies

Law enforcement agencies employ officers who are driven to serving and protecting their communities. However, officers are not only tasked with serving and protecting, but also with dealing with issues of low morale within their law enforcement agencies. The issue of low morale resulting in high turnover rates, and issues with law enforcement agencies struggling with retention rates, is not new, nor is the issue of low morale within law enforcement agencies. This study emphasizes the relationship between leadership and morale, rather than the common factors of stress, pay, benefits, and hours. The study explored 3 factors among law enforcement agencies: (a) leadership and morale, (b) retention rates, and (c) turnover rates. The researcher surveyed 259 law enforcement officers in South Carolina utilizing a Likert-type survey. The officers who participated in the survey came from 4 various law enforcement agencies in 4 varying geographical locations. These agencies ranged in size from small, medium, and large. The data gathered from the survey population were analyzed using a Spearman rho correlation to measure relationships, as well descriptive statistics to further analyze data. Based on the Spearman rho correlations, a strong relationship existed between leadership and morale (p \u3c 0.01), and morale and retention rates (p \u3c 0.01). No relationship existed between morale and turnover rates within law enforcement agencies. Based on the results of the study, some implications from the study could include introducing and requiring annual leadership courses, offering surveys to measure agency morale, and acknowledging possible issues regarding low morale

Radio frequency dielectric heating and hyperspectral imaging of common foodborne pathogens

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Food ScienceRandall K. PhebusIntervention techniques to control foodborne pathogens, and rapid identification of pathogens in food are of vital importance to ensure food safety. Therefore, the first objective of this research was to study the efficacy of radio frequency dielectric heating (RFDH) against C. sakazakii and Salmonella spp. in nonfat dry milk (NDM) at 75, 80, 85, or 90°C. Using thermal-death-time (TDT) disks, D-values of C. sakazakii in high heat (HH)- and low heat (LH)-NDM were 24.86 and 23.0 min at 75°C, 13.75 and 7.52 min at 80°C, 8.0 and 6.03 min at 85°C, and 5.57 and 5.37 min at 90°C, respectively. D-values of Salmonella spp. in HH- and LH-NDM were 23.02 and 24.94 min at 75°C, 10.45 and 12.54 min at 80°C, 8.63 and 8.68 min at 85°C, and 5.82 and 4.55 min at 90°C, respectively. The predicted (TDT) and observed (RFDH) destruction of C. sakazakii and Salmonella spp. were in agreement, indicating that the organisms' behavior was similar regardless of the heating system (conventional vs. RFDH). However, RFDH can be used as a faster and more uniform heating method for NDM to achieve the target temperatures. The second objective of this research was to study if hyperspectral imaging can be used for the rapid identification and differentiation of various foodborne pathogens. Four strains of C. sakazakii, 5 strains of Salmonella spp., 8 strains of E. coli, and 1 strain each of L. monocytogenes and S. aureus were used in the study. Principal component analysis and kNN (k-nearest neighbor) were used to develop classification models, which were then validated using a cross-validation technique. Classification accuracy of various strains within genera including C. sakazakii, Salmonella spp. and E. coli, respectively was 100%; except within C. sakazakii, strain BAA-894, and within E. coli, strains O26, O45 and O121 had 66.67% accuracy. When all strains were studied together (irrespective of their genera) for the classification, only C. sakazakii P1, E. coli O104, O111 and O145, S. Montevideo, and L. monocytogenes had 100% classification accuracy; whereas, E. coli O45 and S. Tennessee were not classified (classification accuracy of 0%)

In Defense of Evil Stories: A Study in the Ethics of Audition

Thesis advisor: Jorge L.A. GarciaWhen Odysseus sets sail from Circe’s island, she advises him to stop up his ears and eyes when he passes the Sirens or he will suffer terrible consequences. He makes his crew do it, but keeps his own senses clear, asking only to be tied to the mast so he cannot act on any bewitchments. This story could almost be an allegory about the moral danger of art. In this dissertation, I defend a small part of what I take to be the Odyssean thesis: that art is worth the danger it represents, and, specifically, that what I call "evil stories" are worth the danger they represent. The phrase "evil stories" is a shorthand, for me, for the longer phrase "stories which require us, in order to understand them, to imaginatively simulate the point of view of characters who commit acts of great harm for sadistic, malicious, or defiant reasons." I argue that auditing “evil stories” is not, for most people, and as part of a balanced imaginative diet, so morally dangerous that they ought to be avoided; moreover, I argue that it can be morally opportune to audit them and, in some special cases, morally obligatory. My strategy to defend this thesis is two part. First, I formulate and respond to what I take to be the most serious reasons to suspect that auditing evil stories is too morally dangerous. Those reasons include: the idea that auditing evil stories is itself an immoral action (chapter 3); the idea that it is a virtue to be unable to perform the mental operations involved in adequately auditing evil stories (chapter 4); the idea that understanding evil actions or characters is tantamount to condoning them (chapter 5); and the idea that being fascinated by evil undercuts one's standing to condemn it (chapter 6). Second, I venture several tentative arguments in support of the idea that evil stories can actually provide opportunities for moral growth and education: the idea that evil stories provoke unique and valuable kinds of moral reflection and that we can sometimes be obligated to audit them (chapter 7); and the idea that auditing evil stories is uniquely revelatory of some kind of moral truth (chapter 8). In the course of all this rebutting and reason giving, I propose a way of thinking about the ethics of audition in general which I call "role-centered response moralism," which develops obliquely across the subsections of various chapters.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Philosophy

Predator decline leads to decreased stability in a coastal fish community

Fisheries exploitation has caused widespread declines in marine predators. Theory predicts that predator depletion will destabilise lower trophic levels, making natural communities more vulnerable to environmental perturbations. However, empirical evidence has been limited. Using a community matrix model, we empirically assessed trends in the stability of a multispecies coastal fish community over the course of predator depletion. Three indices of community stability (resistance, resilience and reactivity) revealed significantly decreasing stability concurrent with declining predator abundance. The trophically downgraded community exhibited weaker top-down control, leading to predator-release processes in lower trophic levels and increased susceptibility to perturbation. At the community level, our results suggest that high predator abundance acts as a stabilising force to the naturally stochastic and highly autocorrelated dynamics in low trophic species. These findings have important implications for the conservation and management of predators in marine ecosystems and provide empirical support for the theory of predatory control

Changes in the size structure of marine fish communities

Marine ecosystems have been heavily impacted by fishing pressure, which can cause major changes in the structure of communities. Fishing directly removes biomass and causes secondary effects such as changing predatory and competitive interactions and altering energy pathways, all of which affect the functional groups and size distributions of marine ecosystems. We conducted a meta-analysis of eighteen trawl surveys from around the world to identify if there have been consistent changes in size-structure and life history groups across ecosystems. Declining biomass trends for larger fish and invertebrates were present in nine systems, all in the North Atlantic, while seven ecosystems did not exhibit consistent declining trends in larger organisms. Two systems had alternative patterns. Smaller taxa, across all ecosystems, had biomass trends with time that were typically flat or slightly increasing. Changes in the ratio of pelagic taxa to demersal taxa were variable across the surveys. Pelagic species were not uniformly increasing, but did show periods of increase in certain regions. In the western Atlantic, the pelagic-to-demersal ratio increased across a number of surveys in the 1990s and declined in the mid 2000s. The trawl survey data suggest there have been considerable structural changes over time and region, but the patterns are not consistent across all ecosystems

Formation of the Acyl Chain within the Alkamides

poster abstractEchinacea, a coneflower species that is native to North America, are the most consumed medicinal plants in the United States and Europe. Their medicinal usage focuses on the treatment and prevention of colds, influenza, and other upper respiratory tract infections. In part, the traditional medicinal uses of Echinacea are attributed to their alkamide content. Structurally alkamides consist of an amine moiety acylated with a variety of fatty acids. To better describe the biosynthetic process leading to the formation of acyl chains within alkamides of Echinacea purpurea, stable isotope labeling experiments with analysis via LC/MS and NMR was undertaken. As previously reported from our lab, the acyl chains of alkamides are synthesized from fatty acid synthesis via HSQC NMR analysis of a tetraenoic isobutyl amide alkamide. As part of our continuing efforts to probe the acyl chain biosynthesis within E. purpurea, we herein report the HSQC NMR analysis of a proposed dienoic isobutyl amide alkamide that was labeled with a 70/30 [U-12C6]/[U-13C6]glucose mixture. The magnitude of 13C-13C one-bond coupling observed by NMR will allow for incorporation patterns to be determined and will help to elucidate the structure and biogenesis of this dienoic isobutyl amide alkamide

A multidisciplinary consensus on dehydration: definitions, diagnostic methods and clinical implications

Background: Dehydration appears prevalent, costly and associated with adverse outcomes. We sought to generate consensus on such key issues and elucidate need for further scientific enquiry. Materials and Methods: A modified Delphi process combined expert opinion and evidence appraisal. 12 relevant experts addressed dehydration’s definition, objective markers and impact on physiology and outcome. Results: Fifteen consensus statements and seven research recommendations were generated. Key findings, evidenced in detail, were that there is no universally-accepted definition for dehydration; hydration assessment is complex and requires combining physiological and laboratory variables; ‘dehydration’ and ‘hypovolaemia’ are incorrectly used interchangeably; abnormal hydration status includes relative and/or absolute abnormalities in body water and serum/plasma osmolality (pOsm); raised pOsm usually indicates dehydration; direct measurement of pOsm is the gold standard for determining dehydration; pOsm >300 and ≤280 mOsm/kg classifies a person as hyper or hypo-osmolar; outside extremes, signs of adult dehydration are subtle and unreliable; dehydration is common in hospitals and care homes and associated with poorer outcomes. Discussion: Dehydration poses risk to public health. Dehydration is under-recognised and poorly managed in hospital and community-based care. Further research is required to improve assessment and management of dehydration and the authors have made recommendations to focus academic endeavours

Severe leptospirosis in tropical Australia: optimising intensive care unit management to reduce mortality

BACKGROUND: Severe leptospirosis can have a case-fatality rate of over 50%, even with intensive care unit (ICU) support. Multiple strategies-including protective ventilation and early renal replacement therapy (RRT)-have been recommended to improve outcomes. However, management guidelines vary widely around the world and there is no consensus on the optimal approach. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: All cases of leptospirosis admitted to the ICU of Cairns Hospital in tropical Australia between 1998 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' demographics, presentation, management and clinical course were examined. The 55 patients' median (interquartile range (IQR)) age was 47 (32-62) years and their median (IQR) APACHE III score was 67 (48-105). All 55 received appropriate antibiotic therapy, 45 (82%) within the first 6 hours. Acute kidney injury was present in 48/55 (87%), 18/55 (33%) required RRT, although this was usually not administered until traditional criteria for initiation were met. Moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 37/55 (67%), 32/55 (58%) had pulmonary haemorrhage, and mechanical ventilation was required in 27/55 (49%). Vasopressor support was necessary in 34/55 (62%). Corticosteroids were prescribed in 20/55 (36%). The median (IQR) fluid balance in the initial three days of ICU care was +1493 (175-3567) ml. Only 2/55 (4%) died, both were elderly men with multiple comorbidities. CONCLUSION: In patients with severe leptospirosis in tropical Australia, prompt ICU support that includes early antibiotics, protective ventilation strategies, conservative fluid resuscitation, traditional thresholds for RRT initiation and corticosteroid therapy is associated with a very low case-fatality rate. Prospective studies are required to establish the relative contributions of each of these interventions to optimal patient outcomes

Global status of groundfish stocks

We review the status of groundfish stocks using published scientific assessments for 349 individual stocks constituting 90% of global groundfish catch. Overall, average stock abundance is increasing and is currently above the level that would produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Fishing pressure for cod-like fishes (Gadiformes) and flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) was, for several decades, on average well above levels associated with MSY, but is now at or below the level expected to produce MSY. In contrast, fishing pressure for rockfishes (Scorpaeniformes) decreased from near MSY-related levels in the mid-1990s, and since the mid-2000s has remained on average at only one third of MSY-related levels. Regions with the most depressed groundfish stocks are the Northwest Atlantic and the Pacific coast of South America, while stocks from the Northeast and Eastern Central Pacific, Northeast Atlantic, Southeast Atlantic and Southwest Pacific tend to have greatest average abundance relative to MSY-based reference points. In the most recent year available for each stock, the catch was only 61% of MSY. Equilibrium yield curves indicate that 76% of global potential groundfish yield could be achieved using current estimates of fishing pressure. 15% of this is lost by excess fishing pressure, 67% results from lower than optimal fishing pressure on healthy stocks and 18% is lost from stocks currently overfished but rebuilding. Thus, there is modest opportunity to increase catch of global groundfish fisheries by reducing overfishing on some stocks, but more by increasing harvest on others. However, there may be other reasons not to fully exploit these stocks.Fil: Hilborn, Ray. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Hively, Daniel J.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Baker Loke, Nicole. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: de Moor, Carryn L.. University Of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Kurota, Hiroyuki. Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency; JapónFil: Kathena, Johannes N.. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources; NamibiaFil: Mace, Pamela M.. Ministry for Primary Industries; Nueva ZelandaFil: Minto, Cóilín. Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Parma, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Quiroz, Juan-Carlos. Instituto de Fomento Pesquero; ChileFil: Melnychuk, Michael C.. University of Washington; Estados Unido