Search

This article reports on a systematic review of literature on the experiences of substitute teachers, also known as casual or relief teachers. This occupational group are an essential part of school improvement efforts, allowing release time for other teachers to participate in professional learning, complete administrative duties, and attend to personal matters. Although a ubiquitous component of the teaching workforce, little is known about their work conditions, motivations, experiences, and support. This study involved a mixed-methods research synthesis approach. Peer-reviewed studies and dissertations that examined the experiences and needs of substitute teachers in primary/elementary, middle, and secondary/high schools were examined. The study found that, although substitute teachers are a heterogeneous group, their conditions and experiences are less than satisfactory, exacerbated by a lack of targeted support. Education systems need to consider professionalizing this occupational group further. In addition, systems need to develop policies and practices that improve substitute teachers' work.

Although many disciplines saw increases in manuscript submissions coinciding with lockdown measures, numerous studies have documented widening gender gaps in academic productivity. Chi-squared analyses of gendered trends in first author manuscript submission in three school psychology journals during the initial phase of COVID-19 compared to the same time frame in the preceding 3 years did not reveal any significant associations. There was a significant increase over time in the gender gap, with a trend of more female authors than male authors. Women school psychology researchers may not have experienced similar detriments to productivity as in other disciplines, or such detriments were not reflected in submission patterns during this time frame. Limitations of the study and implications for school psychology are provided.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, every aspect of daily life is being altered in response to the virus. The pandemic has altered secondary education. Classes online, teachers struggling to learn Zoom and make lessons meaningful and relevant to students. Students struggling to make sense of this moment, struggling with mental health issues due to the loss of routine and in many cases contact with adult role models. Unfortunately, in times of crisis such as these some of the most disenfranchized people in society are completely overlooked and forgotten, such as refugees. However, if more teachers were to leverage the social studies potential of current events such as the Coronavirus, greater empathy would be felt for marginalized people more starkly impacted by the pandemic, leading ultimately to a heightened sense of civic engagement among the next generation. The purpose of this paper is to assist teachers in guiding their students through analyzing current events, such as COVID-19's impact on refugees, toward developing civic mindedness. In addition to this, the paper will discuss some of the broader societal impacts the virus is having within the United States, as well as ways in which this event may be viewed as a historical subject in the future. The paper will begin by building the content knowledge of high school social studies teachers through addressing the following question: "What is the difference between a refugee entering the United States now versus one year ago before the COVID-19 pandemic?" Following this, the authors will present an inquiry-based learning segment designed to teach the History correlated to the COVID-19 pandemic to a classroom of secondary education students. The inquiry template follows the standard C3 format utilized by the State of Connecticut.

Libraries continue to spearhead initiatives to incentivize instructors to adopt, adapt, and create open educational resources (OER). However, these programs often do not explicitly require educators to preserve the OER they create. Drawing on an analysis of semi-structured interviews with six experts, this article presents considerations for libraries interested in preserving OER and recommendations for OER librarians who are new to digital preservation. The study makes an argument for why and how libraries could begin to preserve OER. Future areas of investigation include better understanding how OER repositories preserve such resources and how consortia models can support this work.

It has been argued that sport is a way for youth to develop psycho-social skills that lead to holistic development. However, participation itself in sport does not lead to this growth; mechanisms for growth must be intentional, often conducted by coaches. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive study was to understand the integration of positive youth development concepts of citizenship into youth sport organizations. One hundred five coaches from the United States and Canada completed an online survey created by the researchers and comprising preexisting measures and newly devised questions. The coaches most heavily emphasized a mastery climate focusing on effort and having fun and emphasized winning the least. Additionally, coaches perceived their youth athletes to learn respect for others, teamwork, and respect for self at the highest rates through participation in their program. Regarding specific techniques for developing citizenship, participants provided many concrete examples in open responses: creating leadership development opportunities for girls in their organization, having league homework programs, and running food drives. Research has identified time as a major barrier to the implementation of opportunities for the explicit transfer of citizenship skills, and the participants provided several methods of growth that are not time intensive. The practical implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

Rural education thrives on building teaching capacity and mentoring from within communities. Whilst isolated and remote areas have the potential to participate in online teacher education, strategic and effective delivery requires a targeted analysis of the characteristics of the learners, the motivations that drive them, and day-to-day environmental and community factors influencing the students' studies. This paper reports on an innovative model of teacher education recently implemented in the Republic of Nauru. In this model, the Nauruan Government has partnered with an Australian regional university to develop quality Pacific-focused teacher education programs that are delivered through a hybrid of online and classroom instruction. The Nauru Teacher Education Project (NTEP), conceptualised and administered by the University of New England, provides culturally responsive online and on-island teacher development for the community of Nauru. It is here that the lecturers come to 'know the students'.

In this paper we explore our experiences working with queer and trans youth who have taken "non-traditional pathways out of high school. Drawing on Foucauldian theories of normalisation and Halberstam's queerings of time, success, and failure, we consider how certain aspects of schooling have shaped queer and trans youths' desire to seek out GEDs or early entrance into post-secondary school as strategies to escapes their high school environments. Through our reflection on our experiences with these students, we have identified some of the barriers that these students faced with regard to high school completion. Additionally, we found the tension between success and failure often shaped the alternative paths these queer and trans youth had chosen in an effort to negotiate their schooling experience. In the end, we question the current organisation of secondary schooling and suggest that a (re)envisioning of alternative educational pathways out of secondary schooling would provide destigmatising, non-normative modes of engagement with schools and learning.

This piece is the first of a three-part forum published in this issue. Part I is the "Executive Summary" and "Introduction" of The Alliance for California Traditional Arts' Tending the Taproot: Opportunities to Support Folk & Traditional Arts in the United States report by Amy Kitchener, Shweta Saraswat-Sullivan, and Lily Kharrazi, published in December 2022. Part II is a summary of the Living Cultural Heritage and the Traditional and Folk Arts in the Nonprofit Sector report by Carole Rosenstein, Mirae Kim, and Neville Vakharia commissioned by Alliance for California Traditional Arts. Part III is a forum of essays in response to the two reports by people with diverse engagement with and perspectives on the data and findings: Tayshu Bommelyn, Martha Gonzalez, Debora Kodish, Selina Morales, Elizabeth Peterson, Langston Collin Wilkins, and Andrew Zitcer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work has shown that preschool-aged children and adults understand freedom of choice regardless of culture, but that adults across cultures differ in perceiving social obligations as constraints on action. To investigate the development of these cultural differences and universalities, we interviewed school-aged children (4-11) in Nepal and the United States regarding beliefs about people's freedom of choice and constraint to follow preferences, perform impossible acts, and break social obligations. Children across cultures and ages universally endorsed the choice to follow preferences but not to perform impossible acts. Age and culture effects also emerged: Young children in both cultures viewed social obligations as constraints on action, but American children did so less as they aged. These findings suggest that while basic notions of free choice are universal, recognitions of social obligations as constraints on action may be culturally learned.

School counselors from across the United States responded to a survey asking when they should break confidentiality and report student risk-taking behaviors to school administrators. Generally, counselors believed it to be more ethical to break confidentiality when the behaviors were directly observed (as opposed to reported by students) and when the behaviors occurred on school grounds during school hours. Results also suggest counselors were more willing to break confidentiality when their school had a written policy guiding their actions. All behaviors showed some variance among respondents, suggesting a lack of agreement regarding when it is appropriate to break confidentiality and report risk-taking behaviors to administrators. This article discusses implications and suggestions for school counselors. (Contains 2 tables.)

In this article, the authors report on an assessment project they recently conducted at their open admissions community college to assess student work at the end of the basic writing sequence. The authors' focus for this project was on the way students used essay structure. They gathered artifacts from students who were deemed "ready" by their instructors to transition from the basic writing program to mainstream college-level curriculum. The reason they conduct outcomes assessment is to improve instruction and curriculum (often on the programmatic level), and they did, indeed, find a great deal that they wanted to improve--in terms of the basic writing curriculum and also in terms of student outcomes. This article concludes with the authors' list of recommendations for improving their institution's basic writing curriculum.

The emotional responses to achievement contexts of 149 preschool children from three cultural groups were observed. The children were Japanese (N = 32), African American (N = 63) and White American of mixed European ancestry (N = 54). The results showed that Japanese children differed from American children in expressing less shame, pride, and sadness, but more of both exposure and evaluative embarrassment. African American and White American children did not differ from one another. American children however showed more evaluative as opposed to exposure embarrassment. This finding supports the idea that success and failure are interpreted differently by Japanese children during the preschool years. The low amount of sadness and shame expression, and the limited range of number of different expressions observed in the Japanese children agree with the general finding that East Asian infants and young children differ from Western infants and children primarily in the display of negative expressions. These results demonstrate that cultural differences, whether due to temperament or direct socialization of cultural values, influence how children respond to achievement situations. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote.)

The numbers of im/migrant children in schools have increased throughout the world. The principal receiving areas are North America, Western Europe, the Persian Gulf, Asia and the Pacific, and the Southern Cone of South America. In the United States, one out of every four children younger than the age of 8 lives in a family where at least one parent is an immigrant. This chapter examines research on the education of children in immigrant families, focusing on the ways the children and the families have been constructed in public arenas and conceptualized and classified in research discussions. Throughout the chapter, the authors use the term "im/migrant" to denote those who have been labeled "immigrant," "migrant," and "refugee," including the undocumented. This chapter is divided into five sections. The authors first present some of the pressing issues that inform and shape the discussion on immigration, children, and families. Next, they review the research literature by focusing on the construction of the im/migrant family and child. They then challenge images in research and popular discourses on children of im/migrant families and education. In the fourth section, they examine issues facing children of im/migrant families within expanding contexts, including issues raised across disciplines. They close the chapter with final considerations. (Contains 11 notes.)

The purpose of this study was to compare traditional classification training for a set of abstract concepts with multiple-relations training consisting of inference practice and the use of a content diagram. To examine this, 200 undergraduate and graduate psychology students completed a Web-based tutorial covering the abstract concepts of a psychological theory of language and cognition. All participants received the same core instructional content and practice activities varied by experimental condition: some participants received classification training, some received multiple-relations training, some received a combination of both, and some received neither. Performance on a posttest with three subsections was evaluated. Participants who received classification training were significantly better at identifying new instances of the concepts than participants who did not. Neither classification training nor multiple-relations training had a significant effect on ability to identify concept definitions or answer application questions. Implications for the development of instruction for abstract concepts are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This is an exploratory study to determine whether the way in which attitudes about citizenship actions were measured would predict American students' endorsement of those actions. In a split-half design, half of the student respondents completed a questionnaire in which they rated the extent to which various citizenship actions were important; the other half of the sample rated those same actions on the extent to which they constituted duties. Consistent with our predictions, all students were significantly more willing to endorse civic actions when they rated those actions as important compared to when they rated them as duties. Further, students with a higher collectivistic value orientation were more likely to endorse citizenship actions as "important" than those lower in collectivism. There was no difference, however, between the groups when those same actions were described as "duties" inherent in citizenship. This supports the notion that in the United States, a highly individualistic culture, students are more willing to endorse civic actions as actions arising from personal values than from normative social imperatives. Implications for civic education are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 3 notes.)

Pregnant people living in rural areas are at an increased risk of experiencing poor perinatal outcomes due, in part, to the need to travel long distances to see a perinatal care provider. Telehealth care has been used successfully to increase access to perinatal care but requires patients to have access to broadband Internet access and devices capable of establishing secure connections so they can participate in their care. This places an additional burden on unstably housed pregnant persons who may not have access to the required technology. The Midwifery Integrated Home Visitation Program was developed to bridge this digital divide by bringing perinatal care services to the unstably housed at their desired location of care. The included case studies outline how telehealth and portable technology were used to address the medical and nonmedical needs of unstably housed pregnant people. They also outline how bridging the digital divide by combining in-person perinatal care with mobile technology, portable technology, and telehealth care has the potential to decrease unnecessary emergency department care and ambulance use while facilitating the receipt of appropriate care and thus potentially preventing poor perinatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Population-level estimates of sexual network mixing for parameterizing prediction models of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectiveness are needed to inform prevention of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM). Estimates obtained by egocentric sampling are vulnerable to information bias due to incomplete respondent knowledge.Methods: We estimated patterns of serosorting and PrEP sorting among MSM in the United States using data from a 2017-2019 egocentric sexual network study. Respondents served as proxies to report the HIV status and PrEP use of recent sexual partners. We contrasted results from a complete-case analysis (unknown HIV and PrEP excluded) versus a bias analysis with respondent-reported data stochastically reclassified to simulate unobserved self-reported data from sexual partners.Results: We found strong evidence of preferential partnering across analytical approaches. The bias analysis showed concordance between sexual partners of HIV diagnosis and PrEP use statuses for MSM with diagnosed HIV (39%; 95% simulation interval: 31, 46), MSM who used PrEP (32%; 21, 37), and MSM who did not use PrEP (83%; 79, 87). The fraction of partners with diagnosed HIV was higher among MSM who used PrEP (11%; 9, 14) compared with MSM who did not use PrEP (4%; 3, 5). Comparatively, across all strata of respondents, the complete-case analysis overestimated the fractions of partners with diagnosed HIV or PrEP use.Conclusions: We found evidence consistent with HIV and PrEP sorting among MSM, which may decrease the population-level effectiveness of PrEP. Bias analyses can improve mixing estimates for parameterization of transmission models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional burnout can be a significant problem for the public accounting industry. Identifying the tendency to burnout can possibly help identify solutions. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to examine the relationship between gender, age, and emotional exhaustion (EE) related to burnout in a large, national public accounting firm in the United States. EE is defined as a feeling of excessive emotional stress and being drained by contact with other people. The results of the study indicated that the combination of both age and gender resulted in a statistically significant regression model. Analysis indicated that young, female professionals are more likely to experience EE. The investigation indicated that additional independent variables might more reliably predict the emotional exhaustion within the surveyed population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yoga therapy is an emerging profession with recent development of educational competencies, training program accreditation, and practitioner certification. In the United States, most yoga therapy training programs are studio-based and data on mentored clinical encounters are lacking. This study aimed to characterize the client population in a university-based mentored student clinic. As part of a larger feasibility study, data were collected at all clinic visits for 70 consenting clients. Data collected included demographic characteristics, reasons for pursuing care, use of other healthcare approaches, and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) for physical and mental health. Participants were mostly middle-aged, White, and highly educated. Common reasons for pursuing care were pain and mental health. Most used multiple healthcare approaches. Average scores for most patient-reported outcomes fell within normal range at baseline. Future studies are needed to better characterize yoga therapy users and to expand access for populations in whom the modality is underutilized despite emerging evidence of relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Racial disparities in environmental exposures and infection rates were linked. • Population-weighted analysis based on fine-grained race and landcover maps. • Among green spaces, forests outside park may be most beneficial. • Among developed spaces, low developed spaces may be most beneficial. • Environmental exposures within the 400 m buffer distance may be most beneficial. The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on the intersection of socio-economic, demographic, and environmental factors with public health, particularly in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. A gap remains in understanding how racial disparities in environmental exposure correlate with racial disparities in infection rates. This study bridges this gap by analyzing infection data for black and white populations across 1,416 counties in the contiguous United States, utilizing high-resolution land cover data and racial population maps to assess environmental exposure disparities. We found significant connections between racial disparities in environmental exposure and SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, even after accounting for population density, socio-economic status, and demographic factors. Disparities among black and white population's access to green spaces, such as non-park forests and pasture/hay areas, as well as to developed areas of varying intensities, closely mirror racial disparities in infection rates. Crucially, we found that smaller differences in environmental exposure between races are associated with smaller differences in infection rates. This relationship is most pronounced within a 400-meter radius, underscoring the critical role of proximity in the design of urban and landscape environments to promote public health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty shortage is a major concern for the field of school psychology in the United States. Graduate students are not entering the field at a rate representative of the current need (Clopton & Haselhuhn, 2009). The reasons for this are multifaceted, but some studies have pointed to perceived high levels of job stress, perceived inadequate preparation to assume an academic position, and perceived low salary as possible deterrents to entering academia (Nagle, Suldo, Christenson, & Hansen, 2004). Faculty roles, duties, and expectations can vary substantially by institution type, location, program type, and college and department culture. Students may only be relatively knowledgeable of the types of positions they see in their own graduate program, which may be extremely limited in scope relative to the types of faculty positions available in school psychology. Unfortunately, students' opportunities to learn about this career path are often limited. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide readers interested in careers in academia an overview of the various faculty roles one might enter and an understanding of why professors in the field have entered these roles. Some researchers have suggested that if graduate students were more aware of the types of faculty roles available to doctoral level school psychologists, the faculty shortage might be reduced (Clopton & Haselhuhn, 2009). In this article, the authors provide an overview of the roles available to trainers in school psychology.

Abstract This study explored BSN students' perceptions of learning with vSim for Nursing™. Using a mixed methods design with 99 students, key points of learning were medication administration and respiratory interventions. Qualitative data demonstrated learning of assessment, prioritization, and emergency management. The top student preferences of how to use virtual simulation were as a clinical makeup or to enhance lecture. The findings support the use of virtual simulation and provide data to guide nurse educators to more strategically integrate virtual simulation exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition caused pronounced changes in soil conditions and habitat suitability for many plant species over the latter half of the previous century. Such changes are expected to continue in the future with anticipated further changing air temperature and precipitation that will likely influence the effects of N deposition. To investigate the potential long-term impacts of atmospheric N deposition on hardwood forest ecosystems in the eastern United States in the context of climate change, application of the coupled biogeochemical and vegetation community model VSD+PROPS was explored at three sites in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Tennessee. This represents the first application of VSD+PROPS to forest ecosystems in the United States. Climate change and elevated (above mid-19th century) N deposition were simulated to be important factors for determining habitat suitability. Although simulation results suggested that the suitability of these forests to support the continued presence of their characteristic understory plant species might decline by the year 2100, low data availability for building vegetation response models with PROPS resulted in uncertain results at the extremes of simulated N deposition. Future PROPS model development in the United States should focus on inclusion of additional foundational data or alternate candidate predictor variables to reduce these uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of indoor environment has received considerable attention owing to the declining outdoor human activities and the associated public health issues. The prolonged exposure of children in childcare facilities or the occupational exposure of adults to indoor environmental triggers can be a culprit of the pathophysiology of several commonly observed idiopathic syndromes. In this study, concentrations of potentially toxic plasticizers (phthalates as well as non-phthalates) were investigated in 28 dust samples collected from three different indoor environments across the USA. The mean concentrations of non-phthalate plasticizers [acetyl tri- n -butyl citrate (ATBC), di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), and di-isobutyl adipate (DIBA)] were found at 0.51–880 μg/g for the first time in indoor dust samples from childcare facilities, homes, and salons across the USA. The observed concentrations of these replacement non-phthalate plasticizer were as high as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, the most frequently detected phthalate plasticizer at highest concentration worldwide, in most of indoor dust samples. The estimated daily intakes of total phthalates (n = 7) by children and toddlers through indoor dust in childcare facilities were 1.6 times higher than the non-phthalate plasticizers (n = 3), whereas estimated daily intake of total non-phthalates for all age groups at homes were 1.9 times higher than the phthalate plasticizers. This study reveals, for the first time, a more elevated (∼3 folds) occupational intake of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers through the indoor dust at salons (214 and 285 ng/kg-bw/day, respectively) than at homes in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the financial crisis in 2008 and amid growing concerns about climate change, interest in systemic alternatives to neoliberal capitalism is growing. This cultural shift helps explain the enthusiasm from political elites, media, and academics that greeted the launch of Evergreen Co-operative Corporation in 2009. Based in Cleveland Ohio, Evergreen is a network of worker-owned co-operatives with scalability and replicability woven into its design. But how warranted is the broad-based enthusiasm around Evergreen? Is this a model that can be replicated across North America as its founders suggest? Based on site visits and stakeholder interviews, we argue that there are important limits on desires to reproduce the "Cleveland Model." However, its ambitions for scalability and replicability position it to contribute to the important project of movement building that can facilitate the policy change needed to scale up the co-operative alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers need considerable understanding of humanities and social science to serve effectively and responsibly as professionals. Undergraduate engineering education faces pressures to add technical and non-technical content and decrease total credit hours, educational costs, and time to degree. This study characterizes how discipline-based engineering programs in the United States distribute required coursework between technical and non-technical areas of study in comparison to math, chemistry, and physics programs; the results could signal consensus or disparity in educational philosophy between and among institutions or disciplines. The distribution of technical versus non-technical coursework was delineated for 103 US News & World Report top-ranked and ABET EAC-accredited undergraduate programs in chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering based on 2013 catalog requirements, as well as chemistry, math, and physics programs at the same institutions. Technical was defined as coursework in engineering, math or natural science; non-technical was coursework outside of those disciplines. Findings reveal a wide range of required technical and non-technical course loads for all disciplines. For engineering, technical requirements ranged from 62% to 86% (median 75%) of total degree; non-technical requirements ranged from 12% to 35% (median 20%). The math, chemistry, and physics degrees were more balanced between technical and non-technical requirements. Differences in requirements suggest that consensus does not exist amongst engineering educators from this sampling of programs regarding the appropriate allocation of technical versus non-technical coursework for an undergraduate engineering education, and there are substantially divergent interpretations of what constitutes adequate "general education" for an engineer. Additionally, students who desire more well-rounded education might select non-engineering STEM majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical loads (CLs) and target loads (TLs) of atmospheric deposition of sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) specify the thresholds of air pollution above which damage to ecosystems is expected to occur and are used to inform environmental regulation and natural resource management. Model estimates of CL and TL can vary for a given location, and these differences can be important for characterization of ecosystem effects from elevated S and N deposition. Moreover, TLs are used to evaluate associated timeframes of ecosystem recovery. We compared published CLs and TLs based on soil acidity criteria derived from steady-state versus dynamic models for terrestrial ecosystems. We examined the magnitude of differences in the CL/TL results from the two types of models for the same regions in the Eastern U.S. Results showed that CLs/TLs from dynamic models (or from steady state modeling using soil base cation weathering estimates from dynamic models) generally produce a broader range of values of acid-sensitivity, including lower CLs/TLs, as compared with a steady-state approach. Applications of dynamic biogeochemical models capable of developing CLs/TLs are relatively data intensive and typically limited to locations where measured soil and soil solution (or nearby stream water) chemistry are available for model parameterization, calibration, and testing. We recommend that CLs/TLs derived from dynamic models be used, where data permit, as they are likely more accurate and allow for evaluation of time-dependent phenomena and period needed for recovery. However, CLs derived from steady-state models remain a useful tool for understanding broad spatial patterns in soil acid-sensitivity throughout the U.S. Future work should focus on the development of more reliable model input parameters, particularly soil base cation weathering, and the extent to which CLs and TLs at a given location may vary and be altered with anticipated future climate change. In addition, dynamic models could be further developed to estimate CLs/TLs for nutrient N. [Display omitted] • Published critical loads (CL) for soil acidity were compared with target loads (TL). • TLs showed greater sensitivity relative to CLs at locations across the study region. • CLs informed by a dynamic model also showed greater acid-sensitivity. • TLs and CLs informed by dynamic soil models are recommended when data is available. • Climate change and fertilization effects are important future considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of insulin glargine 300 U/mL (Gla-300) with its accompanying patient support program with that of other basal insulin and available patient support programs in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a real-world setting in terms of achieving HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) individualized glycemic targets without documented symptomatic hypoglycemia. Methods: Achieve Control is a US-based, multicenter, randomized, open-label, active-controlled, parallel group pragmatic Phase IV trial in insulin-naïve patients with T2D uncontrolled on ≥2 oral antidiabetes drugs (OAD) and/or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor antagonists (GLP-1 RA). Inclusion criteria include a diagnosis of T2D, age ≥18 years, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between 8.0% and 11.0%. Patients will be assigned to either the Gla-300 or other basal insulin group. The primary end point is the proportion of patients achieving HEDIS HbA1c targets (<8.0% [64 mmol/mol] in patients with comorbidities or aged ≥65 years; <7.0% [58 mmol/mol] in all other patients) without occurrence of symptomatic hypoglycemia (blood glucose ≤70 mg/dL) from baseline to 6 months. Secondary end points include rates of documented symptomatic nocturnal hypoglycemia and severe hypoglycemia; change from baseline in HbA1c, fasting glucose, and body weight; treatment persistence; patient-reported outcomes; and healthcare resource utilization. Planned enrollment is 3270 patients across approximately 400 clinical sites. Conclusion: Pragmatic clinical trials offer the potential to assess comparative effectiveness in broadly based patient populations receiving care (with or without a corresponding educational support program) in real-world clinical settings. The results of Achieve Control should elucidate the benefits of management of T2D with Gla-300 versus other basal insulins in terms of patient outcomes, experiences, and perceptions, and its impact on healthcare resource utilization and cost. Clinical Trial Registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is NCT02451137. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging aquatic insects are important vectors of contaminant transfer from aquatic to terrestrial food webs. However, the environmental factors that regulate contaminant body burdens in nearshore terrestrial consumers remain largely unexplored. We investigated the relative influences of riparian landscape composition (i.e., land use and nearshore vegetation structure) and contaminant flux via the emergent aquatic insect subsidy on selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) body burdens of riparian ants ( Formica subsericea ) and spiders of the family Tetragnathidae along 11 river reaches spanning an urban-rural land-use gradient in Ohio, USA. Model-selection results indicated that fine-scale land cover (e.g., riparian zone width, shrub cover) in the riparian zone was positively associated with reach-wide body burdens of Se and Hg in both riparian F. subsericea and tetragnathid spiders (i.e., total magnitude of Hg and Se concentrations in ant and spider populations, respectively, for each reach). River distance downstream of Columbus, Ohio – where study reaches were impounded and flow through a large urban center – was also implicated as an important factor. Although stable-isotope analysis suggested that emergent aquatic insects were likely vectors of Se and Hg to tetragnathid spiders (but not to F. subsericea ), emergent insect contaminant flux did not emerge as a significant predictor for either reach-wide body burdens of spider Hg or Se. Improved understanding of the pathways and influences that control aquatic-to-terrestrial contaminant transport will be critical for effective risk management and remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to the Obama administration's efforts to establish postsecondary performancebased funding, the authors critique the neoliberal accountability movement's misunderstandings of two-year colleges and their students, calling instead for a frame of mutual responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age is the foremost risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), and AF has a rising prevalence in older adults. How AF may contribute to decline in physical performance in older adults has had limited investigation. We examined the associations of incident AF and 4-year interval declines in physical performance at ages 70, 74, 78, and 82 years in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study.Methods and Results: Health ABC is a prospective cohort of community-dwelling older adults (n=3075). The study conducted serial assessments of physical performance with the Health ABC physical performance battery (scored 0-4), grip strength, 2-minute walk distance, and 400-m walking time. Incident AF was identified from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and related to 4-year interval decline in physical performance. After exclusions, the analysis included 2753 Health ABC participants (52% women, 41% black race). Participants with AF had a significantly greater 4-year physical performance battery decline than those without AF at age 70, 74, 78, and 82, with mean estimated decline ranging from -0.08 to -0.10 U (95% confidence interval, -0.18 to -0.01; P<0.05 for all estimates) after multivariable adjustment. Grip strength, walk distance, and walk time similarly showed significantly greater declines at each 4-year age interval in participants with AF.Conclusions: In community-based cohort older adults, incident AF was associated with increased risk of decline in physical performance. Further research is essential to identify mechanisms and preventive strategies for how AF may contribute toward declining physical performance in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses recommendations for fostering local teacher scholar communities of practice with in two-year college English departments, after findings from a national survey of Two-Year College English Association (TYCA) members about their access to published scholarship. It mentions relationship between scholarship and teaching. It adds searches conducted by teachers using library interfaces Ebscohost and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) website.

• A greater dose of total green space tied to lower SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. • A greater dose of forest was associated with a lower infection rate. • Forest outside park yielded a greater beneficial effect than forest inside park. • Open space variables yielded mixed associations with the infection rate. • Optimal buffer distances of forest inside and outside park are found. The coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global crisis that has profoundly harmed public health. Although studies found exposure to green spaces can provide multiple health benefits, the relationship between exposure to green spaces and the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate is unclear. This is a critical knowledge gap for research and practice. In this study, we examined the relationship between total green space, seven types of green space, and a year of SARS-CoV-2 infection data across 3,108 counties in the contiguous United States, after controlling for spatial autocorrelation and multiple types of covariates. First, we examined the association between total green space and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Next, we examined the association between different types of green space and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Then, we examined forest–infection rate association across five time periods and five urbanicity levels. Lastly, we examined the association between infection rate and population-weighted exposure to forest at varying buffer distances (100 m to 4 km). We found that total green space was negative associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Furthermore, two forest variables (forest outside park and forest inside park) had the strongest negative association with the infection rate, while open space variables had mixed associations with the infection rate. Forest outside park was more effective than forest inside park. The optimal buffer distances associated with lowest infection rate are within 1,200 m for forest outside park and within 600 m for forest inside park. Altogether, the findings suggest that green spaces, especially nearby forest, may significantly mitigate risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufactured home parks (MHPs), businesses that are "designed, developed, operated and maintained.for the placement and occupancy of manufactured homes on a long-term basis," are an important source of affordable housing in the United States and other countries 1 1 Law Insider, "manufactured home park" definition. https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/manufactured-home-park. The social and spatial stigma surrounding MHPs has been widely documented, and the location of these communities is a key feature of their marginalization. We examine the how land use regulations contribute to the spatial distribution and segregation of MHPs in Greater Houston, a fast-growing urban region in the southern United States. At the local-government scale, we collect land-use regulations from the 134 jurisdictions in the Houston MSA to analyze how jurisdictions shape development, expansion, or improvement of MHPs within their boundaries, and how the regulation of MHPs varies across jurisdictions. At the scale of the individual MHPs, we draw a random proportionate sample of 400 MHPs and collect data from primary and secondary sources including tax parcel records, local zoning maps, remotely sensed imagery, and a proprietary real estate dataset. We discuss four key findings. First, local governments use a variety of land-use tools, not just zoning, to exclude, limit, or condition the placement of MHPs within their respective jurisdictions. Second, we show that these land-use regulations have widely varying requirements for the (re)development of MHPs. Third, we find that a significant number of MHPs are already located in unincorporated areas and that new MHPs will be less likely to be in incorporated areas. Finally, we find that local governments often treat MHPs as something other than housing, which introduces important uncertainties about the future of MHPs. • Manufactured housing parks (MHPs) are an important source of affordable housing that are stigmatized in local planning and policy. • We study the land use regulation of manufactured housing parks in the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area. • Local governments use land-use tools to exclude, limit, or condition the placement of MHPs within their respective jurisdictions. • Land-use regulations have widely varying requirements for the (re)development of MHPs. • A significant number of MHPs are already located in unincorporated areas and new MHPs will be less likely to be in incorporated areas. • Local governments often treat MHPs as something other than housing, which introduces important uncertainties about their future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzotriazoles (BZTs) are used in a broad range of commercial and industrial products, particularly as metal corrosion inhibitors and as ultraviolet (UV) light stabilizer additives in plastics and polymers. In this study, dated sediment cores from two east coast estuaries were analyzed for commonly used BZTs. In Narragansett Bay, UV stabilizing BZTs (UV-BZTs) were present at high levels from 1961 on, reflecting their patent date, local production and long-term preservation in sediment. In Salem Sound, UV-BZTs were present at concentrations consistent with other coastal marine locations not influenced by BZT production. Anticorrosive BZTs (AC-BZTs) were found in both cores, with the highest levels reported to date present in Narragansett Bay, indicating sorption to, and preservation in, sediments. This study revealed that both classes of BZTs have remained structurally intact over time in coastal sediment cores, demonstrating their resistance to degradation and persistence in environmental compartments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on implementation of Mix and Match groups, which are groups of regional peer consultation groups under the Making Appropriate and Timely Connections for Children (MATCH) project for improving the U.S. child welfare system. Topics include engaging public and private agencies in goal of permanency for children, collaboration between the agencies, an increase in participation of group members in meetings as purpose of groups were defined and working with foster parents.

The article discusses several aspects of a decision by the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 18, 2013 to revise the government agency's policy regarding admissions of wrongdoing by parties that settle SEC enforcement proceedings without admitting or denying the allegations put forth by the America government. U.S. securities law cases involving parties such as the Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. and the Citigroup Global Markets Inc. finance firm are assessed.

The article discusses the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. Medicare health care law as of 2015, and it mentions the reasons why America's Congress and the U.S. federal government have never seriously proposed expanding Medicare. Prescription drug legislation and health care costs are mentioned, along with a universal health insurance movement in the U.S. The late American Senator Ted Kennedy's views are examined, along with medical care coverage for the elderly and disabled people in America.

In the face of global environmental change, the importance of protected areas in biological management and conservation is expected to grow. Birds have played an important role as biological indicators of the effectiveness of protected areas, but with little consideration given to where species occur outside the breeding season. We estimated weekly probability of occurrence for 308 bird species throughout the year within protected areas in the western contiguous USA using eBird occurrence data for the combined period 2004 to 2011. We classified species based on their annual patterns of occurrence on lands having intermediate conservation mandates (GAP status 2 and 3) administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS). We identified species having consistent annual association with one agency, and species whose associations across the annual cycle switched between agencies. BLM and USFS GAP status 2 and 3 lands contained low to moderate proportions of species occurrences, with proportions highest for species that occurred year-round or only during the summer. We identified two groups of species whose annual movements resulted in changes in stewardship responsibilities: (1) year round species that occurred on USFS lands during the breeding season and BLM lands during the nonbreeding season; and (2) summer species that occurred on USFS lands during the breeding season and BLM lands during spring and autumn migration. Species that switched agencies had broad distributions, bred on high-elevation USFS lands, were not more likely to be identified as species of special management concern, and migrated short (year-round species) to long distances (summer species). our findings suggest cooperative efforts that address the requirements of short-distance migratory species on GAP status 2 lands (n = 20 species) and GAP status 3 lands (n = 24) and long-distance migratory species on GAP status 2 lands (n = 9) would likely benefit their populations. Such efforts may prove especially relevant for species whose seasonal movements result in associations with different environments containing contrasting global change processes and management mandates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]