Report of the Southern Nurserymen's Association

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Oil and Water: Can Integrating Humanities and Management In The Business Classroom Improve Critical Thinking Skills?

Developing critical thinkers is an objective of businesses, higher education, and accrediting institutions. Business educators are challenged with how to teach critical thinking skills and how to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design with a control group to assess critical thinking skills in undergraduate business students enrolled in Organizational Behavior classes. The hypothesis was that using the humanities to teach business concepts would improve student critical thinking as assessed by the California Critical Thinking Skills Tests (CCTST). The literature revealed many case studies and how-to articles; however, there was a gap in quantitative analysis. The results of an ANOVA analysis showed a significant effect of teaching method on CCTST scores. This study represented an initial quantitative investigation of a pedagogical intervention aimed at impacting critical thinking in business students

Amache Booklet

https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jacoby-nisei/1000/thumbnail.jp

Service Learning: Assessing Student Outcomes In A Strategic Management Class

Due to the fast-paced, unpredictable, and complicated world of business, business educators are challenged to connect theory to practice. Service learning is one method that not only enhances student learning through practical application, it also provides benefits to community organizations involved and the clients they serve. It connects theory to practice. The hypothesis proposed by this study is that service learning will result in a change in student skills as measured by the Learning Skills Profile. Senior, undergraduate business majors enrolled in a capstone Strategic Management class participated in a service learning project. Skills were accessed before and after the service learning experience. The findings suggested that service learning impacted analytical, interpersonal, informational, and behavioral skills

A profile of children with complex chronic conditions at end of life among Medicaid beneficiaries: Implications for health care reform

Background: As the United States braces for full implementation of health care reform, the eyes of the nation are on Medicaid. The large number of newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries may challenge health care resources and ultimately impact quality of care. This is a special concern among current Medicaid beneficiaries such as children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) who have significant health care needs, especially at end of life (EOL). Yet, a comprehensive profile of these children is lacking. Objective: To understand the demographic and health characteristics, health care utilization, and expenditures among Medicaid children with CCCs at EOL. Methods: Our study used a retrospective cohort design with data from the 2007 and 2008 California Medicaid data files. Descriptive statistics were used to profile children in the last year of life. Results: We found a diverse group of children who suffered with serious, multiple chronic conditions, and who accessed comprehensive, multidisciplinary care. Most children had neuromuscular conditions (54%), cardiovascular conditions (46%), and cancer (30%). A majority (56%) had multiple CCCs. Children with CCCs received comprehensive care including hospital inpatient (67%), primary (82%), ancillary (87%), and other acute care services (83%); however, few children utilized hospice and home health care services (26%). Significant age differences existed among the children. Conclusions: The current California Medicaid system appears to provide comprehensive care for children at EOL. The underutilization of hospice and home health services, however, represents an opportunity to improve the quality of EOL care while potentially reducing or remaining budget neutral

Subduction Duration and Slab Dip

The dip angles of slabs are among the clearest characteristics of subduction zones, but the factors that control them remain obscure. Here, slab dip angles and subduction parameters, including subduction duration, the nature of the overriding plate, slab age, and convergence rate, are determined for 153 transects along subduction zones for the present day. We present a comprehensive tabulation of subduction duration based on isotopic ages of arc initiation and stratigraphic, structural, plate tectonic and seismic indicators of subduction initiation. We present two ages for subduction zones, a long‐term age and a reinitiation age. Using cross correlation and multivariate regression, we find that (1) subduction duration is the primary parameter controlling slab dips with slabs tending to have shallower dips at subduction zones that have been in existence longer; (2) the long‐term age of subduction duration better explains variation of shallow dip than reinitiation age; (3) overriding plate nature could influence shallow dip angle, where slabs below continents tend to have shallower dips; (4) slab age contributes to slab dip, with younger slabs having steeper shallow dips; and (5) the relations between slab dip and subduction parameters are depth dependent, where the ability of subduction duration and overriding plate nature to explain observed variation decreases with depth. The analysis emphasizes the importance of subduction history and the long‐term regional state of a subduction zone in determining slab dip and is consistent with mechanical models of subduction

Management of Fluid Status in Haemodialysis Patients: The Roles of Technology and Dietary Advice, Technical Problems in Patients on Hemodialysis

The kidneys play a vital role in maintaining normal tissue hydration and serum sodium level. In haemodialysis patients, with impaired or absent kidney function, fluid status is managed by removing excess fluid using ultrafiltration and by restricting dietary sodium intake. Ideally, haemodialysis patients should remain close to normal hydration throughout the interdialytic period, with minimal periods of excessive dehydration or fluid overload and with no fluid–related co-morbidity. Optimal fluid management is achieved by adjusting the post-dialysis ‘target’ weight and, where necessary, limiting the fluid gained between dialysis sessions. While clinical history and examination remain the basis for prescribing the target weight, technology can provide useful objective information especially where the clinical indications are ambiguous. A simple non-invasive test can now be carried out when a patient attends for dialysis enabling staff to pick up changes in body composition so that their target weight can be adjusted to maintain optimal fluid status. In most patients, interdialytic fluid gain (IDFG) is directly related to sodium intake. Acceptable fluid gains can usually be achieved by limiting salt intake to the recommended daily allowance for the general population and avoiding unnecessary sodium loading during dialysis. Low pre-dialysis serum sodium levels can help identify patients with other causes of high IDFG, such as high blood sugar or social drinking, who need additional counselling. For the patients, lowering sodium intake may also improve blood pressure control and reduce requirements for antihypertensive medication. Staff education, and preferably participation, is vital when implementing salt restriction in a haemodialysis unit