Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting

This evaluation report examines the Youth Lead the Change process in its third year, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources. The Boston University evaluation team reports their findings and summarizes the conclusions with recommendations to further develop this innovative effort to engage youth in city government.The year 2015-2016 marks the third year of Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston, a program that enables young people from across the city to suggest ideas for capital projects that will bring long-term physical improvements to city-owned property. This evaluation report examines the Youth Lead the Change process in its third year, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources. The Boston University evaluation team reports their findings and summarizes the conclusions with recommendations to further develop this innovative effort to engage youth in city government.Boston University Initiative on Citie

Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting

This evaluation report examines the Youth Lead the Change process in its third year, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources. The Boston University evaluation team reports their findings and summarizes the conclusions with recommendations to further develop this innovative effort to engage youth in city government.The year 2015-2016 marks the third year of Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston, a program that enables young people from across the city to suggest ideas for capital projects that will bring long-term physical improvements to city-owned property. This evaluation report examines the Youth Lead the Change process in its third year, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources. The Boston University evaluation team reports their findings and summarizes the conclusions with recommendations to further develop this innovative effort to engage youth in city government.Boston University Initiative on Citie

The Closing of the Rock \u27N\u27 Roll Camp for Girls in Portland

The 2023 closing of the Rock “n” Roll Camp for Girls (founded in Portland, Oregon in 2001) was due to many factors, some of which were present in its founding. Using interviews, scholarly literature, and archival materials from the camp, this paper explores elements contributing to its end, including changing categories of gender, dynamic ideas about what constitutes women’s and girls’ empowerment, an altered music industry landscape, changes in technology, and rampant gentrification

A Macroterrain Landtype Association Classification Model For The Great Basin

Three Macroterrain Landtype Association classification models were developed to stratify and categorize Utah\u27s West Desert. These models approached terrain segmentation using an energy-flow paradigm from erosional to transitional to depositional landscape. One model was developed as a slope-backed deterministic model that used slope-threshold limits to discriminate between Landtype Associations. A second model was developed as a stochastic, training-data driven supervised classification, using comparative t-values to classify the landscape to the most similar landtype class. The third model was a probabilistic algorithm, which classified the landscape to the most probable class based on multiple iterations of the stochastic model. These models were assessed for performance against Macroterrain Landtype Association classifications from three independent geographical datasets. The performance assessment involved calculating model-to-reference agreement, a piecewise assessment of errors for each Macroterrain Landtype Association class, and a measure of the modeI-to-reference performance relative to that performance expected from random chance

Utilization of AGTEK in Construction Management Classes

AGTEK Sitework 4D is a building information modeling program designed to conduct takeoff and estimating procedures for earthwork purposes. This program provides an opportunity for the construction management department to implement a building information modeling (BIM) program related to heavy civil construction. Nearly seventy percent of construction management students agree that the BIM programs that they have learned during their time at Cal Poly have been directed toward residential and commercial construction. AGTEK can provide students an opportunity to learn site planning, earthwork estimating, as well as cut and fill diagrams all through a new BIM experience geared toward heavy civil construction. This program can be implemented into either CM-239 construction surveying or CM-314 heavy civil construction management as both curricula involve topics that are included in AGTEK. Students showed a stronger interest in having the program implemented in CM-314 rather than CM-239. Interviews with the current lecturers of both classes yielded two potential learning strategies for learning AGTEK: synchronous and asynchronous. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages but after review of the AGTEK license agreement the synchronous version would be the more optimal option

Bridging healthcare disparities in Native American communities: the role of telemedicine in lung cancer screening and ophthalmic care.

Introduction Native American populations experience significant healthcare disparities, particularly in lung cancer screening and ophthalmic care. Limited access to specialized medical services, geographic isolation, and socioeconomic barriers contribute to lower screening rates and higher disease burdens. Telemedicine offers a potential solution by bridging gaps in healthcare access and improving early detection and treatment. This study examines the effectiveness of telemedicine interventions in addressing these disparities. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Indian Health Service publications. Keywords included Native American health disparities, lung cancer screening, ophthalmic care, and telemedicine. Inclusion criteria focused on studies from the past 10–15 years, prioritizing systematic reviews, clinical trials, and observational studies specific to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. Results Findings indicate that AI/AN individuals have disproportionately higher rates of lung cancer mortality and ophthalmic conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma. Lung cancer screening rates remain the lowest among all racial and ethnic groups, contributing to late-stage diagnoses and poor outcomes. Telemedicine interventions, such as the Indian Health Service-Joslin Vision Network (IHS-JVN) for ophthalmic care and store-and-forward telehealth for lung cancer screening, have shown promise in increasing screening compliance and improving early detection rates. Mobile health units and community-integrated telehealth programs have also demonstrated success in expanding healthcare access in rural AI/AN communities. Discussion The integration of telemedicine into lung cancer and ophthalmic screening programs presents an opportunity to mitigate healthcare disparities in Native American communities. However, barriers such as digital literacy, internet availability, and cultural considerations must be addressed. Future research should focus on optimizing telehealth models tailored to AI/AN populations, ensuring cultural competence, and developing sustainable telemedicine infrastructures. Strengthening partnerships with tribal health organizations and incorporating community-led education initiatives can enhance the effectiveness and adoption of telehealth services. Conclusion Telemedicine represents a viable strategy to improve lung cancer screening and ophthalmic care among Native American populations. By addressing key barriers and leveraging culturally sensitive approaches, healthcare providers can enhance early detection, reduce mortality rates, and improve overall health outcomes in AI/AN communities

Effect of Blue Light and Temperature on Leaf Expansion, Stem Elongation, and Growth

Short height and high yield per unit energy in controlled environments are essential to the success of a food production system for spaceflight. Temperature and light quality can be manipulated in controlled environments to reduce plant height and increase yield. Although the effects of temperature on height and yield are well studied at ambient CO2, temperature effects at elevated CO2 with a hydroponic root zone are not well characterized. We studied soybean yield and height under two lamp types over a broad range of temperatures. Temperature had little effect on yield or height, but lamp type had a significant effect on canopy height. This first study highlighted the importance of understanding spectral quality in controlling plant growth, especially canopy height. Numerous studies have compared lamp types and suggested that profound differences in leaf area, canopy height, yield, and total dry mass responses were due to blue light differences. Unfortunately, the most energy-efficient light sources have the least blue light. We have a poor understanding of the specific morphological and histological effects of blue light on leaves and stems. Three species, soybeans, wheat, and lettuce, were grown at five blue light fractions (0, 2, 6, 12, and 26%) and two light levels (200 and 500 μmol m-2 s-1). Phytochrome photoequilibria were constant among treatments. Blue light responses were species dependent. Wheat leaf area, dry mass, and stem length were insensitive to blue light fraction. Increasing blue light to 26% decreased soybean stem length, but leaf area was greatest at 6% blue. Lettuce leaf area, stem length, and dry mass were highly sensitive to blue light fraction between 0% and 6% under high pressure sodium lamps, but were insensitive between 6% and 26% under metal halide lamps. These results may be complicated by sensitivity to other wavelengths . The decrease in soybean stem length with increasing blue light was caused by an inhibition of cell division, while the decrease in leaf area was caused primarily by a decrease in cell expansion. Increased lettuce leaf area with increasing blue light fraction was caused by both cell division and expansion. This research indicates that lamps high in blue photons are not only energetically wasteful, but do not benefit, and in some cases reduce, plant growth. However, some blue light is necessary for controlling plant height in soybean and even required for proper growth and development in lettuce

Expanding Healthcare to Underserved Communities

According to the Bureau of Health\u27s Workforce Health Resources and Services Administration, there are almost 253 million people who do not have adequate access to healthcare in the United States. While innovations in technology, drug manufacturing, and procedures will continue to make healthcare more affordable and more accessible, policies restricting doctors\u27 and nurses\u27 abilities to practice healthcare are creating barriers that prevent them from utilizing existing technology to reduce healthcare shortages in underserved areas. The underserved populations in America include rural communities, Native Americans, and linguistic minority groups. Many of today\u27s healthcare policy suggestions aim at increasing health insurance coverage but we suggest innovative healthcare delivery options to increase access to care and decrease the cost of care: decreasing the restrictions on telehealth services, allowing nurse practitioners and physicians assistants full scope of practice, and decreasing the difficulties that international medical graduates face when seeking residencies and U.S. licensing. We explore and synthesize contemporary research that suggests the safety and effectiveness of each of these proposed solutions. The general finding of our paper is that regulatory reforms, some of which have been temporarily implemented and proven successful during the pandemic, offer a low-cost, low-risk means of improving the accessibility and affordability of healthcare services for those who need it most.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2020/1062/thumbnail.jp

Auricular squamous cell carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinoma is a common cancer to the head and neck region that is typically diagnosed when it is 2 cm in size. This case report illustrates a patient who had neglected an auricular carcinoma for over a year. At the time of presentation the entire ear was infected with pseudomonas and yeast and chronic friability and bleeding caused an anemia which required blood transfusion

Assessment of the Occurrence and Distribution of Unpermitted Wastewater Treatment Systems Along a Section of Bozeman Creek and Identification of Recommendations to Address Fecal Contamination

Introduction - Bozeman Creek is considered “impaired” because sediment, nutrients and E. coli are at levels that impair the use of water for beneficial purposes such as irrigation or recreation. These E. coli can come from wildlife, livestock, pets or leaking septic tanks. Previous monitoring points to wastewater from septic systems as a major source of contamination to this stream. The research goal is to assess the impact of unpermitted wastewater systems on Bozeman Creek and to identify recommendations to address aging septic systems. Methods - Online Health Department records are being reviewed to research the following questions: 1) What percentage of septic systems along a defined area of Bozeman Creek are unpermitted and what are their locations? 2) What percentage of permitted systems along a defined area of Bozeman Creek are >25 years old, and what are their locations? Additionally, a literature search is being conducted to identify best practices for the department and partners to address the status of onsite wastewater treatment along Bozeman Creek. GIS model is being created to assess which properties are most at risk of contaminating the creek. Results - 34 properties were identified along the portion of Bozeman creek; 47 % of these properties lack septic system permits. Of those with permits, 56% are systems 25 years or older. Development of a GIS risk assessment model is underway. Conclusions - The results of this project will be useful to health department staff to address wastewater sources contaminating Bozeman creek and serve as a model for other waterways