HUMAN CAPITAL ASSESSMENT INDICATORS AS INFLUENTIAL DETERMINANTS PERTAINING TO THE ADMISSION CRITERIA UTILIZED BY PRE-LICENSURE PROGRAMS FOR NURSING EDUCATION

The attainment of educational credentials contributes to the acquisition of human capital. Academic preparedness is a component therein that allows for the attainment of increased levels of education. Most institutions of higher education utilize measures of academic preparedness, such as grade point averages or standardized tests. Requirements for the levels of academic preparedness are based upon many factors. The requirements most relevant to this study are the selectivity of the institution and the academic preparedness of potential candidates of pre-licensure programs for nursing education. The pre-licensure education of nurses is enigmatic when compared to other professional disciplines. Pre-licensure education for registered nurses exists in three distinct and differently classified programs: a hospital-based diploma program, an associate degree program, or a baccalaureate program. (There is an additional baccalaureate program, known as accelerated second degree programs, for students possessing a baccalaureate degree in another discipline. These accelerated programs are not included in this discussion.) The National Center for Education Statistics classifies each of the three programs, making clear that the differing program levels of post-secondary education are neither equivalent nor interchangeable. According to the literature, the academic preparedness of individuals and the level of selectivity of higher education institutions vary greatly depending upon the particular classification of nursing program. What then, is the level of programmatic selectivity, given that all three pre-licensure programs produce candidates for the identical occupational certification while attracting candidates known to have varying levels of academic preparedness? This study aimed to determine the levels of selectivity of the three pre-licensure nursing education programs types so as identify trends and patterns within and across pre-licensure program types. In order to determine these trends and patterns, the author examined the admissions requirements that are transparent to the public on schools’ websites in which these programs are housed, employing the methodology of document analysis. The determination for the level of selectivity was based upon Barron’s Measure of Selectivity (Barron’s Educational Series, 2011)

Systematic review of effects on biodiversity from oil palm production

Background: During the past decade there has been a growing interest in bioenergy, driven by concerns about global climate change, growing energy demand, and depleting fossil fuel reserves. The predicted rise in biofuel demand makes it important to understand the potential consequences of expanding biofuel cultivation. A systematic review was conducted on the biodiversity impacts of three first-generation biofuel crops (oil palm, soybean, and jatropha) in the tropics. The study focused on the impacts on species richness, abundance (total number of individuals or occurrences), community composition, and ecosystem functions related to species richness and community composition. Methods: Literature was searched using an a priori protocol. Owing to a lack of available studies of biodiversity impacts from soybean and jatropha that met the inclusion criteria set out in the systematic review protocol, all analyses focused on oil palm. The impacts of oil palm cultivation on species richness, abundance, and community similarity were summarized quantitatively; other results were summarized narratively. Results: The searches returned 9143 articles after duplicate removal of which 25 met the published inclusion criteria and were therefore accepted for the final review. Twenty of them had been conducted in Malaysia and two thirds were on arthropods. Overall, oil palm plantations had reduced species richness compared with primary and secondary forests, and the composition of species assemblages changed significantly after forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Abundance showed species-specific responses and hence, the overall abundance was not significantly different between plantations and forest areas. Only one study reported how different production systems (smallholdings vs. industrial estates) affect biodiversity. No studies that examined the effects on ecosystem functions of reduced species richness or changes in community composition met the inclusion criteria. Neither were there studies that reported how areas managed under different standards (e.g. different certification systems) affect biodiversity and ecosystem function. Conclusions: Our review suggests that oil palm plantations have reduced species richness compared with primary and secondary forests, and the composition of species assemblage changes significantly after forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Effects of different production systems on biodiversity and ecosystem function are clear knowledge gaps that should be addressed in future research. (Résumé d'auteur

The effect of habitat on constitutive levels and inducibility of leaf phenolics in American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

General EcologyPlants use chemical defenses to ward off herbivory. Phenolics, a carbon-based chemical defense, are present in all woody plants. There are many biotic and abiotic factors that can affect the levels of phenolics present in plant tissue. Two factors that can affect phenolic levels are carbon and nitrogen availability. Often these factors vary with habitats. Glacial moraines often have mesic, nitrogen rich soil. Glacial outwash plains often have xeric soil with less nitrogen. To see the effects of carbon and nitrogen availability on constitutive levels and inducibility of phenolics, we tested constitutive levels and inducibility of phenolics in American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) in both habitats. Trees from the outwash plain had higher constitutive levels of phenolics. Though both sites induced phenolics in response to leaf damage, neither site produced a significantly greater amount.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57730/1/Zrust_Cardone_Yee_ Patel_2007.pd

Political transition and emergent forest-conservation issues in Myanmar.

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long-running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon-scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land-tenure insecurity, large-scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure- and energy-project planning, and reforming land-tenure and environmental-protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions

Systematic review of effects on biodiversity from oil palm production

Background: during the past decade there has been a growing interest in bioenergy, driven by concerns about global climate change, growing energy demand, and depleting fossil fuel reserves. The predicted rise in biofuel demand makes it important to understand the potential consequences of expanding biofuel cultivation.A systematic review was conducted on the biodiversity impacts of three first-generation biofuel crops (oil palm, soybean, and jatropha) in the tropics. The study focused on the impacts on species richness, abundance (total number of individuals or occurrences), community composition, and ecosystem functions related to species richness and community composition.Methods: literature was searched using an a priori protocol. Owing to a lack of available studies of biodiversity impacts from soybean and jatropha that met the inclusion criteria set out in the systematic review protocol, all analyses focused on oil palm. The impacts of oil palm cultivation on species richness, abundance, and community similarity were summarized quantitatively; other results were summarized narratively.Results: the searches returned 9143 articles after duplicate removal of which 25 met the published inclusion criteria and were therefore accepted for the final review. Twenty of them had been conducted in Malaysia and two thirds were on arthropods.Overall, oil palm plantations had reduced species richness compared with primary and secondary forests, and the composition of species assemblages changed significantly after forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Abundance showed species-specific responses and hence, the overall abundance was not significantly different between plantations and forest areas. Only one study reported how different production systems (smallholdings vs. industrial estates) affect biodiversity. No studies that examined the effects on ecosystem functions of reduced species richness or changes in community composition met the inclusion criteria. Neither were there studies that reported how areas managed under different standards (e.g. different certification systems) affect biodiversity and ecosystem function.Conclusions: our review suggests that oil palm plantations have reduced species richness compared with primary and secondary forests, and the composition of species assemblage changes significantly after forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Effects of different production systems on biodiversity and ecosystem function are clear knowledge gaps that should be addressed in future researc

A Descriptive Analysis of Concurrent Instruction in Secondary Choral Rehearsals

Although many teachers use concurrent instructional strategies, little is known about how or when they function in rehearsal, or how frequently they are employed. The purpose of the present study was to examine pitched and unpitched concurrent instructional behaviors as they occurred naturally in secondary choral rehearsals over time. Three master teachers (two male, one female) with at least 10, 20, and 30 years of teaching experience, respectively, recorded their rehearsals over the course of approximately six weeks, from the introduction of a new piece of literature, through the point in time when it is deemed “performance-ready” by the director. Data were recorded, on average, twice per week, in the form 15–20 minutes of audio footage, and sent to the researcher for analysis. Results indicate that mean concurrent instruction was present for 25.88% of a given rehearsal. The most frequently used pitched behavior was singing and the most frequently used unpitched behavior was the academic hustle. Potential implications for music education practitioners and directions for future research are discussed

Housing conditions of working girls in Lincoln: A study of 275 lodgings

Abstract not availabl

An agenda for assessing and improving conservation impacts of sustainability standards in tropical agriculture

Sustainability standards and certification serve to differentiate and provide market recognition to goods produced in accordance with social and environmental good practices, typically including practices to protect biodiversity. Such standards have seen rapid growth, including in tropical agricultural commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soybeans, and tea. Given the role of sustainability standards in influencing land use in hotspots of biodiversity, deforestation, and agricultural intensification, much could be gained from efforts to evaluate and increase the conservation payoff of these schemes. To this end, we devised a systematic approach for monitoring and evaluating the conservation impacts of agricultural sustainability standards and for using the resulting evidence to improve the effectiveness of such standards over time. The approach is oriented around a set of hypotheses and corresponding research questions about how sustainability standards are predicted to deliver conservation benefits. These questions are addressed through data from multiple sources, including basic common information from certification audits; field monitoring of environmental outcomes at a sample of certified sites; and rigorous impact assessment research based on experimental or quasi‐experimental methods. Integration of these sources can generate time‐series data that are comparable across sites and regions and provide detailed portraits of the effects of sustainability standards. To implement this approach, we propose new collaborations between the conservation research community and the sustainability standards community to develop common indicators and monitoring protocols, foster data sharing and synthesis, and link research and practice more effectively. As the role of sustainability standards in tropical land‐use governance continues to evolve, robust evidence on the factors contributing to effectiveness can help to ensure that such standards are designed and implemented to maximize benefits for biodiversity conservation.Una Agenda para Evaluar y Mejorar los Impactos de Conservación de los Estándares de Sustentabilidad sobre la Agricultura TropicalResumenLos estándares de sustentabilidad y de certificación sirven para diferenciar y proporcionar reconocimiento de mercado a los bienes producidos de acuerdo con las buenas prácticas sociales y ambientales e incluyen típicamente a las prácticas para proteger a la biodiversidad. Dichos estándares han tenido un rápido crecimiento, incluso en comodidades de la agricultura tropical como el cacao, el café, la palma de aceite, la soya y el té. Dado el papel de los estándares de sustentabilidad en influenciar el uso de suelo en zonas críticas de biodiversidad, deforestación e intensificación agrícola, mucho podría ganarse de los esfuerzos para evaluar e incrementar la indemnización de conservación de estas estrategias. Para este fin, diseñamos una estrategia sistemática para monitorear y evaluar los impactos de conservación de los estándares de sustentabilidad agrícola y para usar la evidencia resultante para mejorar la efectividad de dichos estándares con el tiempo. La estrategia está orientada a partir de un juego de hipótesis y preguntas de investigación correspondientes sobre cómo los estándares de sustentabilidad están pronosticados para entregar beneficios de conservación. Estas preguntas se abordan a partir de datos de múltiples fuentes, incluyendo información común básica de auditorías de certificación; monitoreo en campo de resultados ambientales en una muestra de sitios certificados; e investigación de evaluaciones rigurosas de impacto con base en métodos experimentales o casi experimentales. La integración de estas fuentes puede generar datos de series de tiempo que son comparables a lo largo de sitios y regiones y proporcionan retratos detallados de los efectos de los estándares de sustentabilidad. Para implementar esta estrategia, proponemos colaboraciones nuevas entre la comunidad de investigadores de la conservación y la comunidad de estándares de sustentabilidad para desarrollar indicadores comunes y protocolos de monitoreo, fomentar la síntesis y el compartir los datos y enlazar con mayor efectividad la investigación y la práctica. Conforme el papel de los estándares de sustentabilidad en la gobernación del uso de suelo continúa con su evolución, la evidencia fuerte de los factores que contribuyen a la efectividad puede ayudar a asegurar que dichos estándares son diseñados e implementados para maximizar los beneficios para la conservación de la biodiversidad.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110892/1/cobi12411.pd