TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP OUTCOMES ON THE CITY OF OAKLAND BY DEMOGRAPHICS

This study utilized a quantitative method, using surveys of workers in the public sector in the City of Oakland to determine the barriers that make it difficult to manage performance and tackle complex issues of that organization. Further, this study delved into the possibility for these leaders to create transactional or transformational environments in this sector. The goal was to find issues that make it difficult for public-sector executives to lead effectively; that is, the goal was to discern factors that prohibit executives from delivering high-quality and efficient services to the public and developing change management. This survey is vital toward understanding the dynamics of public sector leadership theory. The survey distributed to more than 5,000 City of Oakland employees with the expectation of a 0.5% response rate. The researcher sent an email to potential participants through the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) with associated demographic questions to establish race, income, gender, age, position hierarchy, seniority, education level, and department. This method allowed City of Oakland staff to offer insights without the anxiety of retaliation and under the cover of anonymity. The survey approach allowed the researcher to gain a comprehensive understanding of a large pool of participants in a short duration of time. The results from this study showed that, in general, it is not intended to encourage the cataloging of a leader as Transformational or Transactional. Instead, it is suitable to classify a leader or a collection of leaders as (i.e.) “more transformational than the norm”or “less transactional than the norm.” Our research shows certain demographics and how certain groups lean towards transformational or transactional leadership styles

Station Explorer for X-Ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT)

The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) is a NASA funded technology- demonstration. SEXTANT will, for the first time, demonstrate real-time, on-board X-ray Pulsar-based Navigation (XNAV), a significant milestone in the quest to establish a GPS-like navigation capability available throughout our Solar System and beyond. This paper describes the basic design of the SEXTANT system with a focus on core models and algorithms, and the design and continued development of the GSFC X-ray Navigation Laboratory Testbed (GXLT) with its dynamic pulsar emulation capability. We also present early results from GXLT modeling of the combined NICER X-ray timing instrument hardware and SEXTANT flight software algorithms

HIV-Negative Partnered Men's Willingness to Use Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Associated Factors Among an Internet Sample of U.S. HIV-Negative and HIV-Discordant Male Couples

Purpose: Research on male couples' willingness to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is critically lacking. Methods: A cross-sectional 2011 Internet survey collected dyadic data from 275 HIV-negative and 58 HIV-discordant male couples to describe 631 HIV-negative partnered mens' willingness to use PrEP and associated couple-level demographic and behavioral factors with multivariate multilevel modeling. Results: Fifty-three percent were very to extremely likely to use PrEP. Willingness was positively associated with being in a mixed race and behaviorally non-monogamous relationship, and with amyl nitrate use with sex outside the relationship. Willingness was negatively associated with having a college education. Conclusion: Prevention efforts should educate male couples about the potential benefits of PrEP.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140159/1/lgbt.2014.0092.pd

Health Insurance and Disclosure of Same-Sex Sexual Behaviors Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Same-Sex Relationships

Purpose: Gay and bisexual men (GBM) have poorer health outcomes than the general population. Improved health outcomes will require that GBM have access to healthcare and that healthcare providers are aware of their sexual behaviors. This study sought to examine factors associated with having health insurance and disclosure of same-sex sexual behaviors to primary care providers (PCPs) among GBM in primary same-sex relationships. Methods: We conducted an online survey of a national sample of 722 men in same-sex couples living in the United States. Logistic regression and multinomial regression models were conducted to assess whether characteristic differences existed between men who did and did not have health insurance, and between men who did and did not report that their PCP knew about their same-sex sexual activity. Results: Our national sample of same-sex partnered men identified themselves predominantly as gay and white, and most reported having an income and health insurance. Having health insurance and disclosing sexual behavior to PCPs was associated with increasing age, higher education, and higher income levels. Insurance was less prevalent among nonwhite participants and those living in the south and midwest United States. Disclosure of sexual behavior was more common in urban respondents and in the western United States. In 25% of couples, one partner was insured, while the other was not. Conclusions: Having health insurance and disclosing one's sexual behavior to PCPs was suboptimal overall and occurred in patterns likely to exacerbate health disparities among those GBM already more heavily burdened with poorer health outcomes. These factors need to be considered by PCPs and health policymakers to improve the health of GBM. Patient- and provider-targeted interventions could also improve the health outcomes of GBM.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140156/1/lgbt.2013.0050.pd

Recent Developments in Hardware-in-the-Loop Formation Navigation and Control

The Formation Flying Test-Bed (FFTB) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) provides a hardware-in-the-loop test environment for formation navigation and control. The facility is evolving as a modular, hybrid, dynamic simulation facility for end-tc-end guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) design and analysis of formation flying spacecraft. The core capabilities of the FFTB, as a platform for testing critical hardware and software algorithms in-the-loop, are reviewed with a focus on many recent improvements. Two significant upgrades to the FFTB are a message-oriented middleware (MOM) architecture, and a software crosslink for inter-spacecraft ranging. The MOM architecture provides a common messaging bus for software agents, easing integration, arid supporting the GSFC Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) architecture via software bridge. Additionally, the FFTB s hardware capabilities are expanding. Recently, two Low-Power Transceivers (LPTs) with ranging capability have been introduced into the FFTB. The LPT crosslinks will be connected to a modified Crosslink Channel Simulator (CCS), which applies realistic space-environment effects to the Radio Frequency (RF) signals produced by the LPTs

It\u27s About Communities: the Commitment to Promoting a Culturally Competent Environmental Health Workforce.

Environmental health and public health are profoundly local. The Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP) firmly agrees and for this reason, it is important to have local environmental health experts who know the pulse of their communities. AEHAP believes in supporting the advanced scientific education of environmental health in these communities through people from these communities. Accordingly, AEHAP has sought to promote and support accredited environmental health programs among a diverse cross-section of the U.S. higher education landscape. AEHAP’s students are diverse in many ways, including socioeconomically, racially, ethnically, and culturally. The value of this approach enhances the overall education of both the students and the faculty, while better positioning students and alumni to serve their own communities where they are better equipped to aid in the development and implementation of local public health programs and responses. Summarizing the annual undergraduate and 3-year graduate program survey data provided by the National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC), racially and/or ethnically diverse students represent 37% and 48% of enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, respectively. For the 2017–2018 enrollment year, 39% of undergraduates were described as contributing to diversity. In addition, 56% of the student population from the undergraduate and graduate programs is female. Female students have been the majority since 2008. The demographics of EHAC-accredited program graduates are closely aligned with the current U.S. population; however, demographics will change as our nation becomes pluralistic. AEHAP and EHAC will continue to promote cultural competency of graduates and assist accredited environmental health programs in producing cohorts reflective of the needs of their local communities

Examining the role of relationship characteristics and dynamics on sexual risk behavior among gay male couples

Recent estimates indicate that over 50% of gay men acquire HIV from their main sexual partners while in their relationship (Sullivan et al., 2009). Despite this statistic, the majority of research has focused on individual factors as predictors of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and not on relationship factors. The few studies that have examined relationship factors indicate these dynamics are important for better understanding HIV risk among gay male couples. The present study examined how relationship factors of trust, relationship commitment, investment in sexual agreements and other characteristics were associated with risky sexual behaviors among gay male couples in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. A cross-sectional study design paired with a standard, reciprocal dyadic collection method was used. Data were collected and analyzed from a convenience sample of 142 gay male couples. Descriptive statistics, dyad-level logistic regression, and multilevel modeling to estimate actor-partner effects were used to examine the research hypotheses. Findings indicate that less than half of the couples had a sexual agreement and far fewer chose their agreement to be monogamous. In addition, couples who had a less positive attitude about using condoms with non-main partners and perceived more alternatives to their current sexual relationship were significantly more likely to be at higher risk for HIV. In contrast, couples who were employed were significantly less likely to be at higher risk for HIV. Only actor effects were detected to significantly predict HIV risk among the couples; no partner effects were significant. Using themes that emerged from the study findings, important implications for public health are discussed. More specifically, data indicate a need for future HIV prevention strategies to focus on strengthening communication skills and improving relationship characteristics among gay male couples. Both strategies are needed in order to reduce HIV incidence among gay men and their main sexual partners. Areas of future research must emphasize the importance of collecting dyadic data and incorporating theories and measures that focus on relationship dynamics in order to further our understanding of HIV risk among gay male couples

Expanding Hardware-in-the-Loop Formation Navigation and Control with Radio Frequency Crosslink Ranging

The Formation Flying Testbed (FFTB) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) provides a hardware-in-the-loop test environment for formation navigation and control. The facility continues to evolve as a modular, hybrid, dynamic simulation facility for end-to-end guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) design and analysis of formation flying spacecraft. The core capabilities of the FFTB, as a platform for testing critical hardware and software algorithms in-the-loop, are reviewed with a focus on recent improvements. With the most recent improvement, in support of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 testing of the Inter-spacecraft Ranging and Alarm System (IRAS) for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, the FFTB has significantly expanded its ability to perform realistic simulations that require Radio Frequency (RF) ranging sensors for relative navigation with the Path Emulator for RF Signals (PERFS). The PERFS, currently under development at NASA GSFC, modulates RF signals exchanged between spacecraft. The RF signals are modified to accurately reflect the dynamic environment through which they travel, including the effects of medium, moving platforms, and radiated power

Performance of Alcohol and Safer Sex Change Rulers Compared With Readiness to Change Questionnaires

As part of a larger intervention study, the authors hypothesized that change rulers created for alcohol and safer sex would be equivalent to longer questionnaires. Ninety-six male college students completed rulers and questionnaires for assessing behavior change readiness. Participants\u27 scores on the rulers significantly correlated with their scores on the questionnaires (r = .77 for alcohol; r = .77 for safer sex). In both domains, the rulers outperformed the questionnaires in predicting behavioral intentions, suggesting that the rulers had at least comparable concurrent criterion validity. This finding is the first of its kind in the safe sex literature and suggests that quick assessments of readiness to change are possible. Because the rulers are a continuous measure, the results are consistent with the idea that the change process is continuous rather than a series of discrete stages

Pathogenic Cav3.2 channel mutation in a child with primary generalized epilepsy.

Two paternally-inherited missense variants in CACNA1H were identified and characterized in a 6-year-old child with generalized epilepsy. Febrile and unprovoked seizures were present in this child. Both variants were expressed in cis or isolation using human recombinant Cav3.2 calcium channels in tsA-201 cells. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings indicated that one variant (c.3844C > T; p.R1282W) caused a significant increase in current density consistent with a pathogenic gain-of-function phenotype; while the other cis-related variant (c.5294C > T; p.A1765V) had a benign profile