Martin Agency Freelancer Onboarding

Onboarding new employees is a necessary but often a lengthy process at any company, but it can be especially challenging for companies like The Martin Agency. An advertising firm based in Richmond, Virginia. The nature of their work channels the need for many of their employees to be freelancers or short term contractors. At the time the project began, the process to request a new freelancer would start as a paper form submitted by a department supervisor. It would then require approval from members of different departments within agency, and the data had to be converted into an electronic form to interface with systems like payroll and Active Directory. Freelancers would sometimes complete their jobs before the onboarding process was ever completed. Our solution was to design a responsive web application that provided a familiar experience to filling out the paper form, but automatically interfaced with different systems within The Martin Agency. The agencies’ developers used mostly Microsoft technologies, so to make it as easy as possible to integrate into their current environment and transfer ownership, our application used much of the same technologies. It consisted of Microsoft’s .NET 4.5 and MVC framework, Windows, IIS, and SQL Server. The application would automatically populate form dropdowns from their Media Ocean data provider. The form submissions would then create a database entry, and post a new freelancer request to WorkFront – their workflow management software. The end result was a well-documented functional application that was deployed to The Martin Agency’s development environment.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1178/thumbnail.jp

An appropriate level of risk: Balancing the need for safe livestock products with fair market access for the poor

This paper examines the role of livestock products as commodities of trade, responding to the demand and higher prices that many external markets offer, and at the same time providing important contributions to the development process in poorer countries. It highlights that this opportunity is not without its threats: much of the Western world has, over the last half century in particular, invested substantial amounts of money in controlling and eradicating many infectious diseases of livestock, and in building up healthy and highly productive animals, the products derived from which earn them very large sums of money on world markets. Such countries are not willing to take risks that could threaten their livestock industries, and their domestic and export markets that maintain high animal health and food safety standards. The study builds on a number of 'success stories', examples where developing countries have succeeded in exporting livestock or livestock products to external markets. An analysis of the factors governing their success revealed some commonalities: all were driven by strong private sector partners who contributed capital, management expertise and entrepreneurial flair; most concerned livestock products, rather than live animals, which matched the market's requirements; many had developed strong brand identities which had become synonymous with quality, safety and dependability; and many were vertically integrated systems, incorporating small and medium scale out-grower producers. Often these successes have been achieved despite the absence of effective support from the public sector, such as national veterinary authorities. One of the key findings of this study is the disparity between the push for global harmonisation of animal health standards for trade, and the lack of capacity of developing countries, particularly LDCs, to meet these standards. The study considers how this might be rectified and concludes that building capacity of regional bodies to create regional centres of excellence with regard to SPS matters may be the most practical way forward.Livestock Production/Industries,

Influence of Sleep Duration on Insulin Sensitivity

Introduction: The metabolic syndrome is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. Sleep duration has been shown to be important in glucose homeostasis. It has been reported that the specific stages of sleep (most importantly slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep) each play their part in glucose homeostasis. The aim of this thesis was to determine if partial sleep deprivation has an impact on insulin sensitivity. Specifically, we sought to determine if 3 nights of 5h sleep opportunity when compared to 3 nights of 9h sleep opportunity with food being ad libitum, would result in decreased insulin sensitivity. Methods: 13 healthy subjects (7 men, 6 women) aged 24.77 ± 4.02 (Mean ± SD), participated in the study. Subjects were admitted to the Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC) at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center for the duration of the study. Subjects lived in a hospital room for 14-15 days, depending on which sleep deprivation protocol they were randomized to. Total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE) were assessed via actigraphy daily. Plasma glucose and insulin levels were obtained from oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs), assessed in the morning following a 9h baseline night, 3 days of 9h sleep per night, and 3 days of 5h sleep per night. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using the Matsuda index and HOMA-IR. Mixed model ANOVA with subject as a random factor and day, time and/or condition as fixed factors was used to analyze data. Results: Main effects of day (p\u3c0.000001) and of subject (p\u3c0.000001) were seen for TST. Planned comparisons showed significantly less TST for each day of the 5h sleep opportunity condition, as compared to baseline and each respective 9h day sleep opportunity. Main effects of day (p\u3c0.001) and of subject (p\u3c0.000001) were also seen for SE. Planned comparisons showed significantly higher SE for each day of the 5h sleep opportunity condition versus the 9h day sleep opportunity. Significant effects were seen for subject (p\u3c0.00085), time (p\u3c0.00), and significant condition × subject (0.012173) and time × subject (p\u3c0.00) interactions for glucose levels. Significant effects were seen for condition (p\u3c0.015392), time (p\u3c0.00), and significant condition × subject (p\u3c0.050201) and time × subject (p\u3c0.000001) interactions for insulin levels. Significant main effects were also seen for condition (p\u3c0.05) and for subject (p\u3c0.05) for the Matsuda index. Planned comparisons revealed a significant reduction in the Matsuda index for the 5h condition versus baseline (p=0.01). Planned comparisons showed a significant increase in HOMA-IR for the 5h condition vs. baseline (p\u3c0.05). Discussion: A sleep opportunity of 5h for 3 nights resulted in a reduction in insulin sensitivity when compared to a baseline 9h sleep opportunity. An increase in insulin levels following the sleep restriction condition was associated with normal glucose levels. These results indicate a reduction in insulin sensitivity following sleep restriction of 5h. The study’s results on insulin sensitivity are similar to those seen in obese and aging individuals and provide important implications into the effects of sleep restriction on metabolic health. Support: NIH/NHLBI R01 HL085705, with the support of UCB and UCH CTRC: physicians, nurses, dieticians, biostasticians, research advocates, informatics core staff, administrative staff, and Chronobiology Laboratory research equipment

Poverty impacts of foot-and-mouth disease and the poverty reduction implications of its control

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) remains one of the most important livestock diseases of the world, given its highly infectious nature, its broad economic impacts on animal wellbeing and productivity, and its implications for successful access to domestic and export markets for livestock and products. The impacts of the disease vary markedly between developed and developing countries, and also within many developing countries. These differences in impact shape some markedly heterogeneous incentives for FMD control and eradication, which become of particular importance when setting priorities for poverty reduction in developing countries. Some consider that the benefits from FMD control accrue only to the better off in such societies and, as such, may not be a priority for investments targeted at poverty reduction. But is that view justified? Others see the control of FMD as a major development opportunity in a globalised environment. In this paper, Brian Perry and Karl Rich summarise the differential impacts of FMD and its control, and link these findings with the growing understanding of how the control of this globally important disease may contribute to the processes of pro-poor growth in certain countries of the developing world

Commodity-based Trade and Market Access for Developing Country Livestock Products: The Case of Beef Exports from Ethiopia

While Ethiopia is Africa’s largest livestock producer, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers and animal diseases have traditionally constrained market access. A system dynamics model examined the feasibility of a proposed SPS certification system under a number of scenarios. Model results indicate that the system may not be viable for beef exports to Middle Eastern markets. However, the binding constraint is high domestic input costs rather than the costs of SPS compliance. Sensitivity analyses reveal that while investments in feed efficiency and animal productivity would enhance Ethiopia’s export competitiveness, the competitive nature of international beef markets may still prevent market access.SPS, livestock, market access, system dynamics, Ethiopia, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Q10, Q13,