Adjustable Art Table Project

An adjustable art table was designed for the artists at Passion Works Studio to fulfill a need for a wheelchair-friendly art table. The client desired that the table be sturdy, not electronic and can be used by multiple users. In response, a mechanical approach was taken and various raising devices were explored. A mechanical height adjustment would make for a more stable table and would not require any electricity or motor to adjust. The table also was built with a large, smooth tabletop designed specifically for multiple users making art. The highlight feature is the height adjustment which allows the table to adjust between 29 and 42.5 inches. The table requires just one person to raise, and two people to lower. To raise the table, an individual only needs to unlock the legs and then press in a button to activate the gas springs, which raise the table. Once the table is set to the desired height, the table can lock into place securely. To lower the table, one person must activate the gas springs and push down simultaneously with another person pushing down on the other side of the table. There is enough room for three people, depending on the size of the wheelchairs. With no wheelchairs, as many as six people can use the table. Therefore, the specifications were met, since it raises and lowers within the desired range, and it provides a solid surface for multiple users to do art work.

Design and implementation of a clinical dashboard

In a large health care system, the importance of accurate information as feedback mechanisms about its performance is necessary on many levels from the senior level management to service level managers for valid decision-making purposes. The implementation of dashboards is one way to remedy the problem of data overload by providing up-to-date, accurate, and concise information. As this health care system seeks to have an organized, systematic review mechanism in place, dashboards are being created in a variety of the hospital service departments to monitor performance indicators. The Infection Control Administration of this health care system is one that does not currently utilize a dashboard but seeks to implement one. ^ The purpose of this project is to research and design a clinical dashboard for the Infection Control Administration. The intent is that the implementation and usefulness of the clinical dashboard translates into improvement in the measurement of health care quality.^

Prevalence and risk factors of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in critically-ill hospitalized patients in a tertiary care center in Houston, Texas: An active surveillance pilot project

Objective. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of MRSA colonization in adult patients admitted to intensive care units at an urban tertiary care hospital in Houston, Texas and to evaluate the risk factors associated with colonization during a three month active-screening pilot project. Design. This study used secondary data from a small cross-sectional pilot project. Methods. All patients admitted to the seven specialty ICUs were screened for MRSA by nasal culture. Results were obtained utilizing the BD GeneOhm™ IDI-MRSA assay in vitro diagnostic test, for rapid MRSA detection. Statistical analysis was performed using the STATA 10, Epi Info, and JavaStat. Results . 1283/1531 (83.4%) adult ICU admissions were screened for nasal MRSA colonization. Of those screened, demographic and risk factor data was available for 1260/1283 (98.2%). Unresolved results were obtained for 73 patients. Therefore, a total of 1187/1531 (77.5%) of all ICU admissions during the three month study period are described in this analysis. Risk factors associated with colonization included the following: hospitalization within the last six months (odds ratio 2.48 [95% CI, 1.70-3.63], p=0.000), hospitalization within the last 12 months, (odds ratio 2.27 [95% CI, 1.57-3.80], p=0.000), and having diabetes mellitus (odds ratio 1.63 [95% CI, 1.14-2.32], p=0.007). Conclusion. Based on the literature, the prevalence of MRSA for this population is typical of other prevalence studies conducted in the United States and coincides with the continual increasing trend of MRSA colonization. Significant risk factors were similar to those found in previous studies. Overall, the active surveillance screening pilot project has provided valuable information on a population not widely addressed. These findings can aid in future interventions for the education, control, prevention, and treatment of MRSA. ^

"Teens talk healthy weight": A video technology project

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a motivational weight management DVD on knowledge of obesity related diseases, readiness, motivation, and self-efficacy to lose weight, connectedness to their care provider, and patients return to clinic. Design. A randomized control trial was conducted in which 40 overweight/obese adolescents and their parents/caregivers were randomly assigned to standard care alone or standard care plus DVD. Subjects completed a set of pre- and post-questionnaire measures. A group of 22 patients was also formed as a historical control group in order to account for the potential effect of extra attention given to subjects prospectively enrolled. Methods. The adolescents and their parent/caregiver were placed into a patient room. Consent was obtained and a set of written pre-questionnaires were given to both the parent and the adolescent. Standard care was provided to all patients by the Registered Dietitian and physician; the DVD was shown in addition to standard care among the intervention group. A set of post-questionnaires were given and compensation was provided. Analysis. Groups were compared to determine equivalence at baseline. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate changes over time, while controlling for pre-test scores and race/ethnicity. Results. Parents who viewed the DVD experienced greater changes in correct knowledge as compared to parents who did not view the DVD. Conclusion. Our study found only one substantial benefit of the DVD beyond standard clinical practices. This is an important area for change as it increased awareness of obesity as a serious disease and has future clinical implications.^

Identifying characteristics of mentally ill homeless individuals who are successfully linked to health and social services post-incarceration via the jail inreach project

Healthcare for the Homeless—Houston (HHH) received a research grant from The Medallion Foundation, Inc. in March 2006 to pilot The Jail Inreach Project, an intensive “inreach” initiative to assess the impact of providing continuity of mental and primary health care services for homeless individuals who suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse being released from jail. This pilot project was initiated by HHH, in collaboration with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA). Those who are flagged as “frequent flyers” and who are diagnosed with a mental illness are referred to the Jail Inreach Project. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the discharge plan, case managers offer the option of meeting the client at the time of release and bring them to the HHH clinic located four blocks from the jail. Participation in both the program and the option for direct release to the care of a case manager are voluntary.^ The purpose of this study is to determine the outcomes of the Jail Inreach Project and addresses the following objectives: (1) to evaluate the characteristics of inmates that chose to be released from jail to the direct care of an HHH case manager versus those who opt for self release and (2) to determine the number and percent of inmates that are linked to services and relationship with type of release (direct versus indirect), (3) to determine if there is a relationship between outcomes and characteristics and (4) to determine what outcomes are a function of release, controlling for characteristics. Statistical analysis, including frequencies, cross tabulations, chi-square and logistical regression, found that those who opt for self release are six times less likely to be successfully linked to services and that gender is the most significant predictor of choosing self release. Men are far more likely to opt for self release than women engaged in this program. These findings help inform policy and program design and development that addresses the difference in service utilization and successful linkage to services post-incarceration. Successful linkage to services, thus continuity of and access to care, further impact the effects of the revolving door phenomenon of mentally ill homeless individuals cycling between the streets, jails and hospital emergency centers.^

Specialized managed care for children with cystic fibrosis: Resource use patterns and rate design for a high cost Medicaid population

Objective. This research study had two goals: (1) to describe resource consumption patterns for Medi-Cal children with cystic fibrosis, and (2) to explore the feasibility from a rate design perspective of developing specialized managed care plans for such a special needs population.^ Background. Children with special health care needs (CSHN) comprise about 2% of the California Medicaid pediatric population. CSHN have rare but serious health problems, such as cystic fibrosis. Medicaid programs, including Medi-Cal, are enrolling more and more beneficiaries in managed care to control costs. CSHN, however, do not fit the wellness model underlying most managed care plans. Child health advocates believe that both efficiency and quality will suffer if CSHN are removed from regionalized special care centers and scattered among general purpose plans. They believe that CSHN should be "carved out" from enrollment in general plans. One alternative is the Specialized Managed Care Plan, tailored for CSHN.^ Methods. The study population consisted of children under age 21 with CF who were eligible for Medi-Cal and California Children's Services program (CCS) during 1991. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Medicaid Tape-to-Tape data were analyzed as part of a California Children's Hospital Association (CCHA) project.^ Results. Mean Medi-Cal expenditures per month enrolled were $2,302 for 457 CF children, compared to about \$1,270 for all 47,000 CCS special needs children and roughly $60 for almost 2.6 million ``regular needs'' children. For CF children, inpatient care (80\%) and outpatient drugs (9\%) were the major cost drivers, with {\it all\/} outpatient visits comprising only 2\% of expenditures. About one-third of CF children were eligible due to AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). Age group explained about 17\% of all expenditure variation. Regression analysis was used to select the best capitation rate structure (rate cells by age and eligibility group). Sensitivity analysis estimated moderate financial risk for a statewide plan (360 enrollees), but severe risk for single county implementation due to small numbers of children.^ Conclusions. Study results support the carve out of CSHN due to unique expenditure patterns. The Specialized Managed Care Plan concept appears feasible from a rate design perspective given sufficient enrollees. ^

Statistical issues on studies of mixed longitudinal design

Mixed longitudinal designs are important study designs for many areas of medical research. Mixed longitudinal studies have several advantages over cross-sectional or pure longitudinal studies, including shorter study completion time and ability to separate time and age effects, thus are an attractive choice. Statistical methodology used in general longitudinal studies has been rapidly developing within the last few decades. Common approaches for statistical modeling in studies with mixed longitudinal designs have been the linear mixed-effects model incorporating an age or time effect. The general linear mixed-effects model is considered an appropriate choice to analyze repeated measurements data in longitudinal studies. However, common use of linear mixed-effects model on mixed longitudinal studies often incorporates age as the only random-effect but fails to take into consideration the cohort effect in conducting statistical inferences on age-related trajectories of outcome measurements. We believe special attention should be paid to cohort effects when analyzing data in mixed longitudinal designs with multiple overlapping cohorts. Thus, this has become an important statistical issue to address. ^ This research aims to address statistical issues related to mixed longitudinal studies. The proposed study examined the existing statistical analysis methods for the mixed longitudinal designs and developed an alternative analytic method to incorporate effects from multiple overlapping cohorts as well as from different aged subjects. The proposed study used simulation to evaluate the performance of the proposed analytic method by comparing it with the commonly-used model. Finally, the study applied the proposed analytic method to the data collected by an existing study Project HeartBeat!, which had been evaluated using traditional analytic techniques. Project HeartBeat! is a longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in childhood and adolescence using a mixed longitudinal design. The proposed model was used to evaluate four blood lipids adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and endocrine hormones. The result of this dissertation suggest the proposed analytic model could be a more flexible and reliable choice than the traditional model in terms of fitting data to provide more accurate estimates in mixed longitudinal studies. Conceptually, the proposed model described in this study has useful features, including consideration of effects from multiple overlapping cohorts, and is an attractive approach for analyzing data in mixed longitudinal design studies.^

Project development for older adults : Orientation's contribution

This paper systematizes the work developed during the first year of the initiation scholarship for the research project entitled 'Orientation within the new Active Aging Model: educational, work-related, personal and social choices (1)'. This project articulates the Active Aging Model and the Theoretical Operative Model in Orientation, in order to learn how new projects are developed by older adults who used to be part of the formal system of labor and by those who were out of it, and to design programmatic proposals for educational, work-related, personal and social Orientation choices for such population. The sample is made up by seventy people between 64 and 74 years of age, residing in La Plata. The first conclusions evidence the importance that older adults place on project development at this stage of their life cycle, giving special importance to educational, personal and social projects; as well as on the identification of economic factors, health state, family needs for care and social support, among other things, as conditioning the fulfillment of such projects. The differences found in terms of the labor system they used to belong to can be especially observed in the type of project developed.

Project development for older adults : Orientation's contribution

This paper systematizes the work developed during the first year of the initiation scholarship for the research project entitled 'Orientation within the new Active Aging Model: educational, work-related, personal and social choices (1)'. This project articulates the Active Aging Model and the Theoretical Operative Model in Orientation, in order to learn how new projects are developed by older adults who used to be part of the formal system of labor and by those who were out of it, and to design programmatic proposals for educational, work-related, personal and social Orientation choices for such population. The sample is made up by seventy people between 64 and 74 years of age, residing in La Plata. The first conclusions evidence the importance that older adults place on project development at this stage of their life cycle, giving special importance to educational, personal and social projects; as well as on the identification of economic factors, health state, family needs for care and social support, among other things, as conditioning the fulfillment of such projects. The differences found in terms of the labor system they used to belong to can be especially observed in the type of project developed.

Project development for older adults : Orientation's contribution

This paper systematizes the work developed during the first year of the initiation scholarship for the research project entitled 'Orientation within the new Active Aging Model: educational, work-related, personal and social choices (1)'. This project articulates the Active Aging Model and the Theoretical Operative Model in Orientation, in order to learn how new projects are developed by older adults who used to be part of the formal system of labor and by those who were out of it, and to design programmatic proposals for educational, work-related, personal and social Orientation choices for such population. The sample is made up by seventy people between 64 and 74 years of age, residing in La Plata. The first conclusions evidence the importance that older adults place on project development at this stage of their life cycle, giving special importance to educational, personal and social projects; as well as on the identification of economic factors, health state, family needs for care and social support, among other things, as conditioning the fulfillment of such projects. The differences found in terms of the labor system they used to belong to can be especially observed in the type of project developed.

Mobilities, Entanglements, Transformations. Outline of a Research Project on Pottery Practices in Neolithic Wetland Sites of the Swiss Plateau

A large number of later Neolithic sites (3900–3500BC) in Switzerland, Southern Germany and Eastern France offer outstandingly well preserved archaeological materials from cultural layers. Due to the wide use of dendrochronology, settlement remains and artefact assemblages can now be placed into a precise and fixed chronological framework, thus presenting a unique case within prehistoric archaeology. In earlier research, chronological and regional units were constructed on the basis of pottery. These spacial and temporal units of typical pottery sets were understood as Neolithic cultures, as culturally more or less homogenous entities connected with (ethnic) identities. Today, with a larger data corpus of excavated settlements at hand, we can begin to understand that this period of the past was in fact characterised by a multitude of cultural entanglements and transformations. This is indicated by the occurrence of local and non-local pottery styles in one and the same settlement: for example typically local Cortaillod pottery is found together with NMB-styled pottery in settlements at Lake Neuchâtel or Michelsberg pottery is regularly occurring in settlements at Lake Constance where Pfyn pottery style is the typical local one. These and many more examples show that there must have been complex entanglements of social ties expanding between Eastern France, Southern Germany and the Swiss Plateau. Given these circumstances the former notions of Neolithic culture should be critically revised. Therefore, in late 2014, the Prehistoric Archaeology Department at the Archaeological Institute of University of Berne started a four-year research project funded by Swiss National Science Foundation in late 2014: ‘Mobilities, Entanglements and Transformations in Neolithic Societies of the Swiss Plateau (3900-3500 BC)’. It’s objective is to address the topic sketched above by adopting a mixed methods research (MMR)-design combining qualitative and quantitative approaches from archaeology and archaeometry. The approach is theoretically based on Pierre Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology and his concept of habitus but includes further concepts of practice theories. By shifting the focus to the movement of people, ideas and things – to pottery production practices in contexts of mobility – a deeper understanding of the transformative capacities of encounters can be achieved. This opens the path for new insights of Neolithic societies including social, cultural and economic dynamics that were underestimated in former research.

Case Study of Applied LIP Approach/Activities in the Philippines The Training Services Enhancement Project for Rural Life Improvement (TSEP-RLI) Experience

TSEP-RLI was a technical cooperation project jointly conducted by GOP thru DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and GOJ thru JICA aimed at institutionalizing the training program for Rural Life Improvement (RLI) at the (ATI). As expected, farmers, fisherfolk, women, youth and extension agents were provided with efficient and effective training services from ATI leading to the improvement of quality of life in the rural areas through efforts of human resource development. The ATI- Bohol was chosen as the model center where participatory trials and various activities of the project were undertaken for five years. These activities were participatory surveys and data collection of on-farm and off-farm productive activities; planning workshop for RLI; feedbacking of survey results and action plans to the community and the Local Government Units (LGUs), and signing of Memorandum of Agreement between the Project and participating LGUs. The above activities were done to facilitate the planning and development of most effective and necessary rural life improvement activities, to confirm the willingness of the people to support and participate and to formalize the partnership between the Project and the LGUs. Since the concept of rural life covers a vast range of activities, a consensus had been reached that the total aspects of rural life be grasped in three spheres, namely, Production & Livelihood (P/L), Rural Living Condition (RLC) and Community Environment (C/E). The RLI for Ubi (Yam) Growers was one of the pilot activities undertaken in two pilot barangays and the target beneficiaries were members of the Rural Improvement Club (RIC- a group of organized women) with the LGU of the Municipality of Corella as the implementing partner. During the planning workshop, the barangay residents articulated their desire to promote production and processing of ubi (sphere on P/L - as the entry point), lack of nutritious food was one of the identified problem (sphere on RLC- expansion point) and environmental degradation such as deforestation, and soil erosion was another problem articulated by the community people (sphere on C/E- expansion point). Major activities that were undertaken namely, Ubi cooking contest, cooking/processing seminar, training courses on entrepreneurial development, ubi production and storage technology, packaging and product design, human resource development and simplified bookkeeping motivated the beneficiaries as well as developed and enhanced their skills & capabilities while strengthening their associations. Their participation to the 5 ubi festivals and other related activities had brought some impacts on their economic and rural life improvement activities. The seven principles of TSEP-RLI include the participatory process, holistic approach, dialogical approach, bottom -up training needs assessment, demand-driven approach, cost sharing approach and collaborative implementation with other agencies including LGUs and the community.

Project management competence analysis in rural communities through territorial representation: application to Aymara women communities in Puno (Peru)

The acquisition of technical, contextual and behavioral competences is a prerequisite for sustainable development and strengthening of rural communities. Territorial display of the status of these skills helps to design the necessary learning, so its inclusion in planning processes is useful for decision making. The article discusses the application of visual representation of competences in a rural development project with Aymara women communities in Peru. The results show an improvement of transparency and dialogue, resulting in a more successful project management and strengthening of social organization.

Methodology for the design of offshore wind farms

Although still in an early stage, offshore wind development is now characterized by a boom process. This leads to the necessity of applying an integral management model for the design of offshore wind facilities, being the purpose of the model to achieve technical, economical and environmental viability, all within a sustainable development framework. The foregoing led to the research project exposed in this paper, consisting of drawing up an offshore wind farms methodological proposal; this methodology has a global and/or general nature or point of view whilst searching for optimization of the overall process of operations leading to the design of this type of installations and establishing collated theoretical bases for the further development of management tools. This methodological proposal follows a classical engineering thought scheme: it begins with the alternatives study, and ends with the detailed design. With this in mind, the paper includes the following sections: introduction, methodology used for the research project, conditioning factors, methodological proposal for the design of offshore wind farms, checking the methodological proposal, and conclusions

Architectural design and construction costs, tools towards territorial sustainability

This paper is presented in CIB: Management and Innovation Sustainable Built Environment 2011, as the study and analysis of the residential model of a rural area from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically applied to the case of the province of Cáceres, in the autonomous region of Extremadura, in Spain. To this end, from a database made up of building projects whose real costs are known, it is intended to establish the links of the different parameters studied through the corresponding functions of statistical analysis. One of the main objectives of this process is constituted by the possibility of establishing those design variables of higher economic importance, so as to keep an economic control of these parameters, generally geometrical and typological, from the very start of the project. And, in general, a higher optimization of resources in the construction of dwellings in the rural environment from their design is intended.