Civic Meanings: Understanding the Constellations of Democratic and Civic Beliefs of Educators

There is little doubt of public school’s role in the enculturation of youth into American democracy. There are several aspects about which little is known that should be addressed prior to seeking options to understand and address civic education for the 21st century: first, the desired civic knowledge, skills, and predispositions are not clearly identified; and second, little is known about the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of the faculty, administration, staff and board of education members about democracy or the patterns of congruence among adults connected to K–12 education. In this pilot study, we investigate the patterns of beliefs through the use of an innovative Q-sort and interviews of participants among four public school districts, a statewide group of policy advisors, and some teacher union officials

Requirements for Collaboration With Schools: Public and Private Leaders Speak Out

If organizations are truly to collaborate, rather than merely cooperate, there will necessarily be a sacrifice of autonomy as they share visions, resources, decisions, and accountability

JPN Guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis: epidemiology, etiology, natural history, and outcome predictors in acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is a common disease with an annual incidence of between 5 and 80 people per 100 000 of the population. The two major etiological factors responsible for acute pancreatitis are alcohol and cholelithiasis (gallstones). The proportion of patients with pancreatitis caused by alcohol or gallstones varies markedly in different countries and regions. The incidence of acute alcoholic pancreatitis is considered to be associated with high alcohol consumption. Although the incidence of alcoholic pancreatitis is much higher in men than in women, there is no difference in sexes in the risk involved after adjusting for alcohol intake. Other risk factors include endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, surgery, therapeutic drugs, HIV infection, hyperlipidemia, and biliary tract anomalies. Idiopathic acute pancreatitis is defined as acute pancreatitis in which the etiological factor cannot be specified. However, several studies have suggested that this entity includes cases caused by other specific disorders such as microlithiasis. Acute pancreatitis is a potentially fatal disease with an overall mortality of 2.1%–7.8%. The outcome of acute pancreatitis is determined by two factors that reflect the severity of the illness: organ failure and pancreatic necrosis. About half of the deaths in patients with acute pancreatitis occur within the first 1–2 weeks and are mainly attributable to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Depending on patient selection, necrotizing pancreatitis develops in approximately 10%–20% of patients and the mortality is high, ranging from 14% to 25% of these patients. Infected pancreatic necrosis develops in 30%–40% of patients with necrotizing pancreatitis and the incidence of MODS in such patients is high. The recurrence rate of acute pancreatitis is relatively high: almost half the patients with acute alcoholic pancreatitis experience a recurrence. When the gallstones are not treated, the risk of recurrence in gallstone pancreatitis ranges from 32% to 61%. After recovering from acute pancreatitis, about one-third to one-half of acute pancreatitis patients develop functional disorders, such as diabetes mellitus and fatty stool; the incidence of chronic pancreatitis after acute pancreatitis ranges from 3% to 13%. Nevertheless, many reports have shown that most patients who recover from acute pancreatitis regain good general health and return to their usual daily routine. Some authors have emphasized that endocrine function disorders are a common complication after severe acute pancreatitis has been treated by pancreatic resection

The Policy Sciences as a Transdisciplinary Approach for Policy Studies

Abstract The policy sciences tradition is a comprehensive transdisciplinary approach to develop insight into real-world decision-making, resolve problems, and improve policy outcomes. The policy sciences draw freely from the methods of many conventional disciplines, as well as offer a framework to integrate the insights from those disciplines into a more holistic understanding of any policy process. This unique approach to policy analysis uses a set of interdisciplinary frameworks and propositions as a heuristic device or “mental model” that provides a transdisciplinary instrument for integrating the insights of policy scholarship, social research, and practical experience across disciplines and substantive specialties. This facilitates the integration of knowledge and practice to improve problem solving and policy analysis by calling attention to the potentially relevant parts of any problem, decision process, or social context. This chapter reviews the history and development of the policy sciences and provides an overview of some key frameworks and propositions.</jats:p

Water-Resources Investigations Report 81-62

From purpose and scope: The study on which this report is based began during 1975 in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of their Energy Mineral Rehabilitation Inventory and Analysis program. The study was directed toward determining hydrologic processes and their relation to other aspects of the environment in the Salt Wells Creek basin, and how this knowledge might be used in planning for the strip mining of coal