University of Saint Mary

About: University of Saint Mary is a education organization based out in Leavenworth, Kansas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 2276 authors who have published 2399 publications receiving 58990 citations. The organization is also known as: University of St. Mary & University of St Mary.

Making Sense of the Walkerton Crisis

Abstract: Drawing on analysis of the Walkerton (Ontario) contaminated water crisis of 2000, this paper explores the viability of Weick’s sensemaking approach to organizational crises. The paper begins by showing how a sensemaking approach is a useful heuristic for revealing the complexity of organizational disasters that often rely on simplistic blaming of individuals. It goes on to explore the limitations of a sensemaking account that downplays the role of power and individual responsibility. The paper concludes by suggesting further theoretical developments of sensemaking to include Foucauldian notions of discourse and Sartrian notions of existential responsibility.

Pregnancy and Protection: The Ethics of Limiting a Pregnant Woman's Participation in Clinical Trials

Abstract: The call for the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials has received renewed attention recently. This interest springs from articles in various medical journals highlighting the gaps in medical knowledge and the need to improve health care for pregnant women It is not a simple decision whether to include pregnant women in studies or not. The general thought is that it's too dangerous for the baby if a pregnant woman is participating in a trial, and the absence of research on how medications work in pregnant women leave doctors guessing about how to safely and effectively treat patients through pregnancy Excluding pregnant women from clinical trials are not automatic, not unethical nor is it arbitrarily determined. The regulatory framework is based on sound ethical and legal reasoning that demonstrates when inclusion in a clinical trial is appropriate or when clear and compelling reasons for exclusion are presented. Learning objective: Readers will learn about limitations of research, history of the inclusion and exclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials, reticence for inclusions, as well as regulations designed using reasoned legal and ethical principles, such as: Principle of Autonomy, Informed Consent, and Beneficence and Nonmaleficence.

Preventable obstetrical interventions: how many caesarean sections can be prevented in Canada?

Abstract: Public health authorities have been alarmed by the progressive rise in rates of Caesarean section in Canada, approaching one birth in three in several provinces. We aimed therefore to consider what were preventable obstetrical interventions in women with a low-risk pregnancy and to propose an analytic framework for the reduction of the rate of CS. We obtained statistical variations of CS rates over time, across regions, and within professional practices from MED-ECHO, the Quebec hospitalization database, from 1969 to 2009. Data were extracted from a recent systematic review of the cascade of obstetrical interventions to calculate the population-attributable fractions for each intervention associated with an increased probability of CS. We thereby identified expectant management (as an alternative to labour induction) and planned vaginal birth after CS as the leading strategies for potentially reducing rates of CS in women at low risk. For vaginal birth after CS, an increase to its 1995 level could lower the current CS rate of 23.2% (2009 to 2010) to 21.0%. Other alternatives to obstetrical interventions with a potential for lowering CS rates included non-pharmacological pain control methods (such as continuous support during childbirth) in addition to usual care, intermittent auscultation of the fetal heart (instead of electronic fetal monitoring), and multidisciplinary internal quality assessment audits. We believe, therefore, that the concept of preventable CS is supported by empirical evidence, and we identified realistic strategies to maintain a CS rate in Quebec near 20%.

Chemical Mapping of the Milky Way with The Canada-France Imaging Survey: A Non-parametric Metallicity-Distance Decomposition of the Galaxy

Abstract: We present the chemical distribution of the Milky Way, based on 2900deg2ofu-band photometry taken as part ofthe Canada–France Imaging Survey. When complete, this survey will cover 10,000deg2of the northern sky. Bycombing the CFHTu-band photometry together with Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Pan-STARRSgr,,andi,wedemonstrate that we are able to reliably measure the metallicities of individual stars to∼0.2dex, and henceadditionally obtain good photometric distance estimates. This survey thus permits the measurement of metallicitiesand distances of the dominant main-sequence(MS)population out to approximately30 kpc, and provides a muchhigher number of stars at large extraplanar distances than have been available from previous surveys. We develop anon-parametric distance–metallicity decomposition algorithm and apply it to the sky atb3070∣∣< <and to theNorth Galactic Cap. Wefind that the metallicity–distance distribution is well-represented by three populations whose metallicity distributions do not vary significantly with vertical height above the disk. As traced in MS stars,the stellar halo component shows a vertical density profile that is close to exponential, with a scale height of around3kpc. This may indicate that the inner halo was formed partly from disk stars ejected in an ancient minor merger.