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Positive youth development programs such as those offered by Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provide sources of support and opportunities for leadership and character development. Programmatic experts from BSA collaborated with researchers to develop a visual theory of change (pathway model) for youth development in Scouts BSA and for adult volunteer leader development. The pathway model was then validated through focus groups with Scouts BSA youth and adult leaders across the country. Practice mapping was employed to assess the consistency of pathway models with core adult training curricula. The models were aligned with research literature through evidence mapping. The theory of change embedded in the Scouts BSA program was aligned with the Big Three features of positive youth development programs.

Winter cover crops represent a land cover change that may sequester carbon in the soil and improve agricultural sustainability. Their adoption may also change the Earth's radiative balance and result in biophysical feedbacks to climate through alterations in albedo and latent heat fluxes. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these alterations to the radiative balance is important for making reliable future climate projections. However, data on cover crop biophysics are limited, requiring models to rely on data from summer plants for parameterization, likely biasing predictions. To address this gap, we measured the albedo and stomatal conductance of two summer crops and three winter crops on farms in the High Plains region of Texas. We also established a winter cover crop field experiment with two cover crops and fallow fields to estimate the change in albedo and latent heat flux that results from a switch to winter cover cropping. We found that albedo was significantly higher in winter‐like conditions than in summer‐like conditions due to an increase in plant albedo and a reduction in leaf area index. The albedo of winter cover crops was higher than the soil albedo, resulting in an increase in top‐of‐atmosphere reflected radiation of 7%–14% when converting from fallow fields to winter cover cropped fields. There was an additional cooling effect through doubling of the estimated latent heat flux caused by the presence of cover crops. The combined changes in albedo and latent heat resulted in a change in the surface energy balance that is associated with an overall cooling effect of winter cover crops on surface atmospheric temperatures. While this effect is likely to be region‐specific, these results strongly indicate that winter cover crops alter the surface albedo and latent heat flux of agricultural fields and provide a direct cooling effect in the High Plains region of Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose in life is beneficial for adolescents and their communities. However, less is known about supports for purpose development during adolescence, particularly in the school setting. The study described here drew from theories about teacher beliefs and knowledge, and a multidimensional definition of purpose in life, in order to learn from practising teachers about the ways in which supporting adolescent purpose may fit within their existing beliefs about their work with students. The specific aims were to explore alignment between teachers' educational purposes and their own definitions of purpose in life with the "personal meaning" and "beyond-the-self" dimensions of purpose in life. Nine secondary school teachers from the United States who taught in a variety of academic content areas were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. Transcripts were coded according to two dimensions of purpose: personal meaning and beyond-the-self consequences. Teacher responses revealed alignment between their educational purposes and the dimensions of "personal meaning" and "beyond-the-self consequences." At the same time, teacher definitions of the unified construct of purpose in life did not reflect this same integration of the dimensions of purpose. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

With the heightened emphasis of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 on inclusion in the general curriculum and meeting the associated standards, assistive technology (AT) has become a necessary consideration to ensure a free appropriate public education and to promote education in the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. An analysis of 10 states revealed that most of the states provided a combination of information that related specifically to AT and information that related generally to the individualized education program (IEP). Recommended practice in AT supports the development of clear guidelines related to AT in the IEP to promote consistency and improved AT decisions. However, this can occur at the local level. Despite differences in how AT was addressed, the 10 states offered examples of quality AT policies that can directly impact directors of special education, IEP teams, AT teams, teachers, service providers, and, ultimately, students with disabilities. The summary includes 12 frequently overlooked topics that all states and districts should include to strengthen their AT policies. (Contains 4 tables.)

To defend this nation's chosen system of lay governance of public schools, it is necessary first to assume a direct relationship exists between what happens in the board room and what happens in the classroom. Evidence abounds that the assumption is valid. Unfortunately, much of that evidence is negative. For example, in far too many school districts, school boards are so internally conflicted, so focused on the minutiae of operational detail, so crossed up politically, that the top leadership of the district is seen more as a distraction than as a leader of change. In some cases, distraction may be understating the severity of the problem: In those instances, impediment may be a more accurate description. But there is hope. The three school districts profiled here represent a growing number of others that are effectively creating new roles and a new relationship for school boards and their superintendents, roles that for once are crystal clear in terms of the board's governance responsibility and the superintendent's responsibility for students' academic success and operational accountability. These school boards have recognized the need to change their focus from daily operations to long-term student achievement gains and have sought outside help to make that change happen. All have built success with strong, proactive relations with the communities they serve.

Increasingly, land managers have attempted to use extreme prescribed fire as a method to address woody plant encroachment in savanna ecosystems. The effect that these fires have on herbaceous vegetation is poorly understood. We experimentally examined immediate (<24 hr) bud response of two dominant graminoids, a C3 caespitose grass, Nassella leucotricha, and a C4 stoloniferous grass, Hilaria belangeri, following fires of varying energy (J/m2) in a semiarid savanna in the Edwards Plateau ecoregion of Texas. Treatments included high‐ and low‐energy fires determined by contrasting fuel loading and a no burn (control) treatment. Belowground axillary buds were counted and their activities classified to determine immediate effects of fire energy on bud activity, dormancy, and mortality. High‐energy burns resulted in immediate mortality of N. leucotricha and H. belangeri buds (p <.05). Active buds decreased following high‐energy and low‐energy burns for both species (p <.05). In contrast, bud activity, dormancy, and mortality remained constant in the control. In the high‐energy treatment, 100% (n = 24) of N. leucotricha individuals resprouted while only 25% (n = 24) of H. belangeri individuals resprouted (p <.0001) 3 weeks following treatment application. Bud depths differed between species and may account for this divergence, with average bud depths for N. leucotricha 1.3 cm deeper than H. belangeri (p <.0001). Synthesis and applications: Our results suggest that fire energy directly affects bud activity and mortality through soil heating for these two species. It is imperative to understand how fire energy impacts the bud banks of grasses to better predict grass response to increased use of extreme prescribed fire in land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is a growing concern globally, in the United States, and in Texas. As Texans plan to meet this challenge, it is important to introduce new tools to help mitigate water shortages. Market mechanisms have historically provided methods to increase the allocative efficiency of scarce resources, though applying these mechanisms to facilitate water trading is not widespread. Cash markets have successfully been implemented under the Watermaster in the Rio Grande Valley, but the use of water markets is not prevalent throughout Texas. In addition to cash transactions for water, the ability to effectively price water options would allow an additional market-based product to facilitate more flexible transactions. As people from municipalities, agricultural interests, industry, environmental interests, and other groups look for adaptable methods to offset uncertainty surrounding future water needs and supplies, water options would be useful. This paper establishes a method to price water options on agricultural water and applies that method to a cash crop in Texas. Market mechanisms will not be a panacea for water woes, but they are an important and effective tool for helping planners deal with increasing demand amid uncertain supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modification of erythrocyte membrane properties provides a new tool towards improved drug delivery and biomedical applications. The fabrication of hybrid erythrocyte liposomes is presented by doping red blood cell membranes with synthetic lipid molecules of different classes (PC, PS, PG) and different degrees of saturation (14:0, 16:0–18:1). The respective solubility limits are determined, and material properties of the hybrid liposomes are studied by a combination of X‐ray diffraction, epi‐fluorescent microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential, UV‐vis spectroscopy, and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Membrane thickness and lipid orientation can be tuned through the addition of phosphatidylcholine lipids. The hybrid membranes can be fluorescently labelled by incorporating Texas‐red DHPE, and their charge modified by incorporating phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylglycerol. By using fluorescein labeled dextran as an example, it is demonstrated that small molecules can be encapsulated into these hybrid liposomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of quality of supervision and a productive work climate on employee perceptions of self-value in the workplace. There continues to be significant concern among members of state legislatures and the public at large regarding the turnover of child protective services workforces and the resulting quality of service, in spite of years of continued dissatisfaction and generally poor morale among employees working in this field. The Survey of Employee Engagement was administered to employees of the Child Protective Services (CPS) Division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in 2014. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between and among the factors under investigation. The study generated significant positive findings between the following variables: Quality of Supervision and Employee Perceptions of Value, Quality of Supervision and Productive Climate, Employee Perceptions of Value and Productive Climate and Quality of Supervision and Employee Perceptions of Value as mediated by Productive Climate. The research addressed employee perceptions of self-value, an area which has not specifically and previously been explored in the extant literature related to CPS workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Date Presented 03/31/2022 Individuals experiencing homelessness (IEH) (N = 19) were assessed to examine the prevalence of cognitive impairment and its impact on participation and well-being through performance-based testing. Participants demonstrated decreased cognition on standardized assessments and self-reported poor well-being. Results demonstrate that cognitive supports are needed for some IEH to complete essential daily activities, participate in their communities, navigate services, and manage health. Primary Author and Speaker: Emily Jean Prins Additional Authors and Speakers: Samantha Strich, Madeline Contreras Contributing Authors: Quinn P. Tyminski, Carolyn Baum [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effectiveness of "A Matter of Balance/Voluntary Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL)," a major activity program, in Brazos Valley, Texas. The study intends to determine the capability of the program to prevent fall injuries in the rural communities. The study suggests to implement and deliver AMOB/VLL in diverse population due to its capacity to improve rural health among older adults.

During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study and Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (TexAQS-GoMACCS 2006), the optical, chemical and microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosols were measured on multiple mobile platforms and at ground based stations. In situ measurements of the aerosol light extinction coefficient (σep) were performed by two multi-wavelength cavity ring-down (CRD) instruments, one located on board the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown (RHB) and the other located at the University of Houston, Moody Tower (UHMT). An AERONET sunphotometer was also located at the UHMT to measure the columnar aerosol optical depth (AOD). The σep data were used to extract the extinction Ångström exponent (åep), a measure of the wavelength dependence of σep. There was general agreement between the åep (and to a lesser degree σep) measurements by the two spatially separated CRD instruments during multi-day periods, suggesting a regional scale consistency of the sampled aerosols. Two spectral models are applied to the σep and AOD data to extract the fine mode fraction of extinction (η) and the fine mode effective radius (Reff,f). These two parameters are robust measures of the fine mode contribution to total extinction and the fine mode size distribution, respectively. The results of the analysis are compared to Reff,f values extracted using AERONET V2 retrievals and calculated from in situ particle size measurements on the RHB and at UHMT. During a time period when fine mode aerosols dominated the extinction over a large area extending from Houston/Galveston Bay and out into the Gulf of Mexico, the various methods for obtaining Reff,f agree qualitatively (showing the same temporal trend) and quantitatively (pooled standard deviation = 28 nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (TexAQS/GoMACCS 2006) a filter-based (Particle Soot Absorption Photometer, or PSAP) and a photoacoustic-based aerosol light absorption technique were deployed and here the data are compared. The level of agreement between the two techniques with ambient aerosol depended on the abundance of organic aerosol (OA), with the ratio of OA to light absorbing carbon (LAC) mass (ROA-LAC) of particular importance. When OA mass concentration was low the agreement between the methods was within instrumental uncertainties (PSAP measuring 12% higher), however at high (ROA-LAC) (∼15-20) the difference in agreement was between 50 and 80%. This difference is similar to the bias observed in the laboratory studies of a companion paper using non-absorbing OA and LAC (Cappa et al. 2008a). It was found that most of the OA was oxidized and non-absorbing in nature. We postulate that the observed differences results from a bias in the filter-based measurements due to (a) the redistribution of liquid-like organic particulate matter (PM) around the fiber filters thereby modifying the filter surface and subsequent light scattering, and (b) the possible coating and absorption enhancement of pre-existing absorbing PM (i.e., soot) as OA deposition and redistribution occurs. We stop short or recommending a universal correction using these findings due to the magnitude of the bias showing some dependence on air mass type. Any use of this data for a correction must consider the uncertainties in measuring OA mass concentrations, LAC mass concentrations and type of OA present. The observed PSAP bias may have a significant impact on the accuracy of aerosol single scatter albedo (SSA) and LAC mass concentrations derived from filter-based aerosol absorption methods from regions impacted by large amounts of OA. Although this study was performed using the PSAP we caution users of other filter-based instrumentation to the possibility of a similar bias in those instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the story of teenage mother Charlie Rose from Austin, Texas. The University of Texas Social Work for Research tracks Rose's transition from high school to her freshman year in college. They believe that Rose is a perfect example that a teenage mother can also be a successful parent, student and community member. Rose received support services from the Adolescent Family Life Care Program, a project financed by the U.S. Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs implemented by the Austin Learning Academy. She also participated in the Gonzalo Garza Independence High School where pregnant and parenting teenagers received services such as onsite day care, professional development and self-paced learning.

The U.S. Air Force conducts basic military training (BMT) in San Antonio, TX, an area with occasionally adverse air quality. Many individuals from the BMT population are evaluated for asthma symptoms. The relationship of air quality with these symptoms has not been studied in this population. This study examines the correlation of several air quality indicators in relation to emergency department (ED) visits for asthma from the BMT population. The variables studied were basic trainee ED visits for asthma, the 8-hour air quality index (AQI) for ozone, and the 24-hour AQI for particulate matter <2.5 μm for the San Antonio metropolitan area, daily pollen and fun gal spore counts, and daily high temperature. The ED visits were obtained by retrospective review of medical records. Basic trainees reporting asthma symptoms often are referred to the allergy/immunology department for evaluation. The ED visits for only those patients who were later formally diagnosed with asthma were correlated also with the air quality indicators. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for all data pairs. There were 149 ED visits meeting inclusion criteria for the period of time studied (328 days). Forty-one percent of the basic trainees seen in the ED for asthma symptoms were later formally diagnosed with asthma in the allergy/immunology department There was no significant correlation between basic trainee ED visits for asthma and the selected air quality indicators. Air quality does not significantly correlate with the occurrence of ED visits for asthma from the BMT population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that examined the relationship between the work situation, perceived needs and traits of parole officers in Texas. Background on literature supporting the efficacy of a treatment orientation in probation and parole officers; Effect of the privatization of mental health and substance abuse services on parole or probation; Factors in predicting the prioritization of treatment resources.

This paper explores differences between the stated purpose and actual practice of electronically monitored home confinement as a prison-diversion strategy. Methods and data are triangulated to examine the difference between the stated purposes of electronic monitoring and its actual usage in two contexts: 1) the decision to imprison/probate; and 2) the actual use of electronically monitored home confinement. Sentencing information, along with data on employment, family, substance abuse, prior convictions, and type of offense, were collected on 391 felony offenders sentenced to probation in 1987-89 from three countries located in two large Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Texas. Information gathered from interviews with probation officials is also employed. This paper presents an analysis of this data and discusses its implications for future use and evaluation of electronically monitored home confinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents two reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention. Rashes among schoolchildren in 27 states, October 4, 2001 to June 3, 2002; Cutaneous anthrax in a laboratory worker in Texas, 2002; CDC editorial notes.

The article presents the case study of a person in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict. He was an intelligence officer and was assigned to a strategic bomber squadron at El Paso, Texas. On a mission to Manila, the plane on which he was riding landed first at Honolulu, Hawaii then at Wake Island before arriving in Manila, Philippines. Specifically, in regard to public relations, the accreditation report noted the heavy workloads for public relations teachers, calling the workload 'detrimental' to teaching. A minor was recommended. The need for a laboratory for public relations students was emphasized. The committee felt the definition issued by the first world assembly of public relations associations held in Mexico City in the August 1978, and entitled "The Statement of Mexico," was acceptable. In a narrower sense, the professional sector realizes that the recent graduate will require guidance and supervision. A strong placement service is essential to the public relations program.

The article presents a perspective on the application of the evidence-based falls prevention program A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader model (AMOB/VLL) in Brazos Valley, Texas. It offers information on how to effectively deliver the program. It mentions that a team of motivated individuals are essential in the dissemination of the program. The authors state that they were able to identify the challenges and issues in the dissemination of the program in senior citizen centers.

The occurrence of a large spider web at Lake Tawakoni State Park has received considerable attention by the media and the public. This study reports the identifications of a sample of the spiders found at that site. Various explanations of this case are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the effectiveness of a structured multimodal behavioral intervention to change dietary behaviors, as well as self-efficacy and social support for engaging in healthier diets. A quasi-experimental design was used to assign sites into intervention and comparison groups. Data were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The intervention group participated in Texercise Select , a 12-week lifestyle enhancement program. Multiple mixed-effects models were used to examine nutrition-related changes over time. For the intervention group, significant improvements were observed for fast food consumption (P =.011), fruit/vegetable consumption (P =.008), water consumption (P =.009), and social support (P <.001) from baseline to 3 months. The magnitude of these improvements was significantly greater than changes in the comparison group. Findings suggest the intervention's ability to improve diet-related outcomes among older adults; however, additional efforts are needed to maintain changes over longer periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]