Exploring professional orientations to community voice in professional practice settings: The IMAP process

The tension between technical experts and the populations they seek to serve is well established in the literature examining professional social problem solving. In this piece, I examine this tension as one between the distinct discursive worlds of technical expertise and community voice. I develop an analytic process, IMAP, for exploring this tension by looking at a wide variety of professional orientations around a relatively fixed concept of community voice. IMAP involves I&barbelow;dentifying social problem solvers, M&barbelow;apping social problem solvers' claims, A&barbelow;nalyzing professional orientations that arise from this mapping, and P&barbelow;redicting, diagnosing, and remediating conflicts. IMAP can be used by analysts external to social problem solving settings or by social problem solvers themselves. The use of IMAP by external experts poses questions of expert alignment with either of the discursive worlds. I examine two cases in public health practice settings: a mobile immunization service and the efforts of a foundation to improve health in an inner-city neighborhood. I develop four modal types that can be anticipated in social problem solving settings or, more specifically, in public health practice. Understanding of these “world views” can enhance mutual understanding between public health professionals and between public health professionals and the communities they seek to serve. IMAP might also address ongoing conflicts to clarify differences in unspoken normative commitments and the impact of these on social problem solving. I discuss implications of the research for public health practice and further research in the area. ^

Detecting reliable gene interactions by a hierarchy of Bayesian network classifiers

The main purpose of a gene interaction network is to map the relationships of the genes that are out of sight when a genomic study is tackled. DNA microarrays allow the measure of gene expression of thousands of genes at the same time. These data constitute the numeric seed for the induction of the gene networks. In this paper, we propose a new approach to build gene networks by means of Bayesian classifiers, variable selection and bootstrap resampling. The interactions induced by the Bayesian classifiers are based both on the expression levels and on the phenotype information of the supervised variable. Feature selection and bootstrap resampling add reliability and robustness to the overall process removing the false positive findings. The consensus among all the induced models produces a hierarchy of dependences and, thus, of variables. Biologists can define the depth level of the model hierarchy so the set of interactions and genes involved can vary from a sparse to a dense set. Experimental results show how these networks perform well on classification tasks. The biological validation matches previous biological findings and opens new hypothesis for future studies

Perfect imaging of three object points with only two analytic lens surfaces in two dimensions

In this work, a new two-dimensional analytic optics design method is presented that enables the coupling of three ray sets with two lens profiles. This method is particularly promising for optical systems designed for wide field of view and with clearly separated optical surfaces. However, this coupling can only be achieved if different ray sets will use different portions of the second lens profile. Based on a very basic example of a single thick lens, the Simultaneous Multiple Surfaces design method in two dimensions (SMS2D) will help to provide a better understanding of the practical implications on the design process by an increased lens thickness and a wider field of view. Fermat?s principle is used to deduce a set of functional differential equations fully describing the entire optical system. The transformation of these functional differential equations into an algebraic linear system of equations allows the successive calculation of the Taylor series coefficients up to an arbitrary order. The evaluation of the solution space reveals the wide range of possible lens configurations covered by this analytic design method. Ray tracing analysis for calculated 20th order Taylor polynomials demonstrate excellent performance and the versatility of this new analytical optics design concept.

A Meta-Analytic Review of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Symptom Reduction: A Critique and Guide for Future Investigation.

Over the past decade, mindfulness practices have been used with increasing frequency as therapeutic components within cognitive behavioral treatment regimens. As is standard practice, prescriptive uses of mindfulness intervention are incorporated to improve end-state functioning by ameliorating problematic symptoms and conditions. Common change-targets include the control of cognitive and emotional content for purposes of enhancing psychological self-regulation and physical well-being. The term mindfulness applies to a heterogeneous range of practices, methods, and techniques. While there is no singular agreed upon definition for mindfulness, as a process concept, the term connotes an immediate, non-thetic access to events, wherein each occasioning event is experienced in toto within the broader contextual event-field, and distinct from intervening conceptual themes being noticed. Training in mindfulness practices may be conducted using individual, group, or small class formats. The current paper provides a meta-analytic review of 44 treatment outcome studies (extracted 1982 through 2006), which examines the clinical utility of mindfulness as the primary therapeutic approach. Results indicated that average effect sizes for mindfulness based interventions fell within the medium range for construct category variables examined (d = .56). These findings suggest that mindfulness training is a cost-effective treatment for a wide array of contemporary psychological problems and diagnoses, in addition to fostering positive psychology attributes such as quality and satisfaction with life. A critique of the research and recommendations for future research, including a need to examine the role of mindfulness as a tool for cultivating increased psychological acceptance and life satisfaction, is presented.

Análisis de susceptibilidad a los movimientos de ladera en los municipios de Tipuani, Guanay y Teoponte, (Bolivia).

Los deslizamientos de ladera son un problema importante en la región de los valles interandinos de Bolivia. Este estudio analiza la susceptibilidad o predisposición al movimiento de ladera de los municipios de Guanay, Teoponte y Tipuani, situados en el departamento de La Paz, Bolivia. La metodología aplicada es la Analityc Hierarchy/Network Process, o método AHP. Tras su aplicación en un Sistema de Información Geográfica, este método, devuelve valores de susceptibilidad bastante fiables. Las conclusiones que se extraen de este análisis ponen de relieve la necesidad de realizar estudios de detalle en algunas zonas de los tres municipios al haber lugares con una Muy Alta y Alta susceptibilidad al movimiento de ladera, que, además, interfieren con zonas pobladas y con caminos y carreteras principales que son importantes para la articulación social de la región.

An analysis of ASAP impact on the judicial system. SD:ASAP analytic study no. 4 - 1976. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Driver and Pedestrian Programs, Washington, D.C.

Oklahoma City ASAP - effectiveness and efficiency. Analytic study no. 1. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

An analysis of the impact of ASAP on the traffic safety system. Fourth analytic study.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

An analysis of the impact of ASAP on the traffic safety system of Fairfax, Virginia - analytic study 4, court procedures: 1976. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

An analysis of the impact of ASAP on the traffic safety system in Columbus, Georgia from January, 1972 - December, 1974. Analytic study 4.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

San Antonio Alcohol Safety Action Project - analytic study no. 4: final analysis of the judicial system 1972 through 1974.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Post ASAP analysis of project impact on ultimate measures of performance, level III - analytic study one. 1975-1976 period. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Driver and Pedestrian Programs, Washington, D.C.

Analytic study number four: impact on judicial disposition on DUI offenders - Utah ASAP. Final report.

Utah Department of Public Safety, Salt Lake City

Analytic study no. 1. Total project impact.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Process and performance in international collaborative research

Motivated by policy goals to develop international research capability and our experiences of collaborative research, we wanted to learn more about the factors that influence success in collaborative research. This article presents a review of the academic literature on collaborative research, focusing on multinational teams doing international comparative research. We address the question ‘what accounts for variation in process and performance of collaborative research projects?’, through 11 themes: context; vision; reward and commitment; leadership; structure; contract; task capability; sociability; communication; finance; rhythm and pace. We then propose an agenda for future research with an analytic framework and, finally, our conclusions.