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Background: Although canakinumab has demonstrated efficacy in multiple trials in patients with periodic fever syndromes (PFS), the evidence on initiation of canakinumab among PFS patients in real world setting is not well understood. We aimed to characterize the reasons for canakinumab initiation among patients with PFS, specifically, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS), hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome/mevalonate kinase deficiency (HIDS/MKD), TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Methods: Physicians retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of PFS patients prescribed canakinumab between 2016 and 2018. Information collected included patient clinical characteristics, reasons for previous treatment discontinuation and canakinumab initiation. The results were summarized for overall patients, and by children (< 18 years) and adults and by subtype of PFS. Results: Fifty-eight physicians in the US (rheumatologists, 44.8 %; allergists/immunologists, 29.3 %; dermatologists, 25.9 %) abstracted information for 147 patients (children, 46.3 %; males, 57.1 %; CAPS, 36.7 %; TRAPS, 26.5 %; FMF, 26.5 %; HIDS/MKD, 6.8 %; Mixed, 3.4 %). Overall, most patients (90.5 %) received treatment directly preceding canakinumab (NSAIDs, 27.8 % [40.0 % in HIDS/MKD]; anakinra, 24.1 % [32.7 % in CAPS]; colchicine, 21.8 % [35.9 % in FMF]), which were discontinued due to lack of efficacy/effectiveness (39.5 %) and availability of a new treatment (36.1 %). The common reasons for canakinumab initiation were physician perceived efficacy/effectiveness (81.0 %; children, 75.0 %; adults, 86.1 %), lack of response to previous treatment (40.8 %; children, 38.2 %; adults, 43.0 %) and favorable safety profile/tolerability (40.1 %; children, 42.6 %; adults, 38.0 %). Within subtypes, efficacy/effectiveness was the most stated reason for canakinumab initiation in HIDS/MKD (90.9 %), lack of response to previous treatment in FMF (52.4 %) and convenience of administration/dosing in CAPS (27.1 %). Conclusions: This study provided insights into how canakinumab is initiated in US clinical practice among PFS patients, with physician perceived efficacy/effectiveness of canakinumab, lack of response to previous treatment and favorable safety profile/tolerability of canakinumab being the dominant reasons for canakinumab initiation in all patients and in children and adults and PFS subtypes. Notably, the favorable safety profile/tolerability of canakinumab was more often the reason for initiation among children versus adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the effort of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) to become a third major baseball league in the United States in the 1940s. It notes that the effort of PCL was influenced by its initiative to gain control of the West Coast baseball market. The article also discusses the factors which led to the failure of PCL to become a third major league and its implications on the organized expansion process of baseball.

Investigates the legacy of Boston Normal School of Gymnastics (BNSG) on the physical education teacher preparation programs in the U.S. Philosophies of the administrators and teachers at the BNSG; Advancement of women in physical education; Impact of industrialization for the promulgation of physical education and training.

An increase in induced seismicity in the central United States since 2009 led to establishment of TexNet seismic‐monitoring in Texas. Accurate, absolute seismic‐event location is critical to TexNet, allowing quantitative evaluation of possible association of seismicity with human activity. For the Delaware Basin, western Texas, relocation using different velocity models and TexNet station subsets shows absolute location error up to 4–5 km. The preferred method to reduce absolute error, ground‐truth calibration, is not available in this area. Alternatively, we used industrial well activity as proxy, ground‐truth for developing probabilistic, proxy ground‐truth (PPGT) station corrections for relocation. Assuming well activity causes seismicity, we defined a distance–time probability associating events and well activity. We used these associations and other evidence to show some seismicity in the Delaware Basin is more likely due to hydraulic‐fracturing than saltwater disposal. We then probabilistically accumulated PPGT station corrections using event hypocenters constrained to associated fracturing‐well locations. We applied this procedure within 12 km of TexNet station PB02, optimizing the procedure through comparison of rates of causal and acausal associations. Relative to the initial locations, final PPGT relocations show smaller residuals and shifts in epicenter as much as 3 km, predominantly toward the north and northwest. PPGT residuals are similar to those from relocation with standard station corrections. The initial hypocenters showed an unreasonable deepening with distance from station PB02, whereas PPGT relocations produced an overall flattening of event depths. These results are consistent with PPGT corrections giving real improvement in absolute location accuracy. Plain Language Summary: The TexNet seismic‐monitoring program in Texas was established in response to an increase in human‐induced earthquakes in the central United States since 2009. Accurate determination of the geographic location and depth in the Earth of earthquakes is critical to TexNet monitoring, allowing potential association of earthquakes with human activity. But accurately locating earthquakes is difficult due to lack of geologic knowledge and sparsity of seismic monitoring stations. For a study area in western Texas, errors in TexNet earthquake location and depth may be as much as 4–5 km. Ideally, accuracy would be improved by calibration of the seismic network using ground‐truth seismic events, such as quarry blasts, but such information is unavailable in this area. Instead, assuming that some earthquakes could be caused by hydraulic‐fracturing in the study area, we statistically associate earthquakes in space and time to fracturing activity. We then use the known locations of this associated activity as proxy ground‐truth to calibrate the seismic network. Our results suggest some earthquakes in west Texas are more likely due to hydraulic‐fracturing than saltwater disposal. Quality measures and spatial patterns of earthquakes relocated using this proxy ground‐truth calibration suggests a real improvement in absolute location accuracy. Key Points: We show that some seismicity in the Delaware Basin, western Texas is likely caused by hydraulic fracturingWe use hydraulic‐fracturing as proxy, ground‐truth information to develop station corrections to improve absolute seismic event locationSpatial patterns and statistics of west Texas seismicity relocated with these corrections show possible improvement in absolute location accuracy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Periodic fever syndrome (PFS) conditions are characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and localized inflammation. This study examined the diagnostic pathway and treatments at tertiary centers for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), and mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD)/hyperimmunoglobulinemia D syndrome (HIDS).Methods: PFS specialists at medical centers in the US, the European Union, and the eastern Mediterranean participated in a retrospective chart review, providing de-identified data in an electronic case report form. Patients were treated between 2008 and 2012, with at least 1 year of followup; all had clinical and/or genetically proven disease and were on/eligible for biologic treatment.Results: A total of 134 patients were analyzed: FMF (n = 49), TRAPS (n = 47), and MKD/HIDS (n = 38). Fever was commonly reported as severe across all indications. Other frequently reported severe symptoms were serositis for FMF patients and elevated acute-phase reactants and gastrointestinal upset for TRAPS and MKD/HIDS. A long delay from disease onset to diagnosis was seen within TRAPS and MKD/HIDS (5.8 and 7.1 years, respectively) compared to a 1.8-year delay in FMF patients. An equal proportion of TRAPS patients first received anti-interleukin-1 (anti-IL-1) and anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) biologic agents, whereas IL-1 blockade was the main choice for FMF patients resistant to colchicine and MKD/HIDS patients. For TRAPS patients, treatment with anakinra versus anti-TNF treatments as first biologic agent resulted in significantly higher clinical and biochemical responses (P = 0.03 and P < 0.01, respectively). No significant differences in responses were observed between biologic agents among other cohorts.Conclusion: Referral patterns and diagnostic delays highlight the need for greater awareness and improved diagnostics for PFS. This real-world treatment assessment supports the need for further refinement of treatment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing the evolution of arid landscapes is challenged by limited availability of appropriate environmental archives. A widespread surface feature — stone pavement — traps aeolian fines and forms a special accretionary archive. Seven stone pavement-covered sections on basalt flows in the eastern Mojave Desert are condensed into a composite section, comprising five sedimentological units supported by an OSL-based chronology. Three of the units are of accretionary nature and each is covered by a stone pavement. They were deposited > 50.9–36.6 ka, < 36.6–14.2 ka and < 14.2 ka, and they are intimately coupled with the history of nearby Lake Mojave, which advances the current understanding of regional aeolian activity. End-member modeling analysis of grain-size distributions yielded seven sediment transport regimes. The accretionary system operates in two modes: A) episodic formation of a stone pavement by lateral processes once a vesicular horizon has formed on a barren surface; and B) accretion of dust and eventual burial of the clast layer. These findings improve current concepts about stone pavement evolution and their environmental proxy function in arid landscapes. Stone pavement-covered accretionary deposits are a new key archive that allows quantifying the relative importance of dust accretion, slope processes, soil formation and vegetation cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on fluctuating workweek method of compensation and the requirements for using it. Topics discussed include issue of fluctuating workweek by U.S. Department of Labor for employers compliance with paying wage and paying overtime for hours worked in excess of forty hours in one workweek, for using workweek method, requirements include mutual understanding between employer and employee on salary and working hours, calculation of wages due under the fluctuating workweek method.

The article focuses on political participation by wealthy people, as compared to lower-income citizens in the U.S. According to resource theories, several factors including money, time, cognitive skills, knowledge, social contacts, and other abilities are positively related to political participation. It is stated that voting rates, giving campaign contributions, contacting public officials, and other political acts are much higher among wealthy people as compared to those with lesser income. Political donors receive more attention, and the most affluent people give more donations to political actors so as to pursue their own economic self-interest.

The article discusses how several companies in the Silicon Valley region of California such as Internet firm Google Inc. and social networking company Facebook Inc. are pushing the limits of Section 119 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code by providing tax-free meals to employees, focusing on the legal aspects of employee fringe benefits. Taxable income in America is mentioned, along with a convenience-of-the-employer doctrine and a de minimis fringe benefits tax exclusion in the U.S.

The earliest record of a seed with a pappus-like, parachute seed dispersal mechanism, Edenia villisperma gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Upper Triassic of the eastern United States. The seed is small and roughly triangular. Clusters of long hairs emerge from a whorl of at least five circular scars just below the proximal end. This morphology indicates that the hair clusters represent modified lateral structures similar to the pappus of several eudicot angiosperm groups, but probably representing a case of convergent evolution of a similar structure in a gymnosperm. The seeds are usually found isolated, but one specimen indicates that they were born tightly packed together on an axis. A few earlier records exist of dispersal hairs, but this is the first clearly indicating a pappus-like structure. Although the exact affinities of Edenia are uncertain, this seed demonstrates that plants with highly advanced wind dispersal mechanisms occurred at least 55 million years earlier than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affordability is a key consideration in debates about the mandate for Americans to buy health insurance as required by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Yet no universally agreed-upon standard exists for determining what constitutes affordable health insurance. The question, then, is how best to make decisions about what is affordable. The articles in this issue by Peter Muennig, Bhaven Sampat, Nicholas Tilipman, Lawrence D. Brown, and Sherry A. Glied and by Carole Roan Gresenz, Miriam J. Laugesen, Ambeshie Yesus, and José J. Escarce both present thoughtful and useful ways to make decisions about affordability standards. Using what we might call the authoritative-expert judgment approach, Muennig and colleagues asked eighteen well-recognized affordability experts to define affordability and to decide what should be included in an affordability standard. In what we might call the policy analytic measurement approach, Gresenz and colleagues examine what three states are actually using in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIPs) and then develop metrics for comparing premium costs for similar families across the three states with a final assessment of affordability. There is a third approach for thinking about affordability: listening to what the public has to say. In addition to understanding the perspective of experts and the measurement assessments of policy analysts, it is important to listen to the voice of the people. Where is the voice of the public in either article? Clearly, affordability experts care about making decisions that will help people afford health insurance and clearly the purpose of developing various metrics for comparing premium costs is to be able to establish fair and equitable measures for families and individuals. Yet both articles implied that experts and state-level policy makers relied as much on their own belief systems as on expert knowledge to arrive at conclusions about affordability levels. Especially in this policy domain, where technical knowledge provides only limited leverage for figuring out what an appropriate government subsidy should be, determining the voice of the public seems particularly important. Critics of public deliberation often argue that certain policy issues are too complex to bring to the public for discussion. That may be true for closed-ended telephone public opinion surveys; however, a growing body of knowledge suggests that when an appropriate public forum is created, the public is capable of considering complex policy issues and reaching informed judgments (Leighninger 2006; Gastil 2000; Fishkin 2009). Since the early 1990s, policy makers and scholars have increasingly recognized and promoted the importance of public deliberation - bringing the public together in forums to talk about policy issues (e.g., Jacobs, Cook, and Delli Carpini 2009; Fishkin 1991, 1995; Fung 2004; Grogan and Gusmano 2007). Here we briefly describe public deliberation and its opportunities and constraints and then ask whether it might be feasible to bring public deliberation to bear on affordable health insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can public trust in government be increased by expanding knowledge of the activities government already performs? This study takes advantage of a naturally occurring experiment—the distribution of personal statements by the Social Security Administration— to examine the impact of increased domain-specific information on the public's knowledge and confidence. Analysis of a large Gallup survey of attitudes toward Social Security finds that recipients of personal Social Security Statements gained more knowledge of, and confidence in, Social Security than nonrecipients after controlling for individual differences. These results suggest that citizens' evaluations of government institutions echo, in part, the quality and quantity of information distributed to them. The implication for future research on political trust and confidence is to confirm the importance of expanding analysis from global to specific objects of evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; J. J. Burnham, 1995, 2005) has been used to measure fears of children and adolescents. The FSSC-AM is based on the 2nd revision of a psychometrically sound and well- known fear scale (i.e., FSSC-ll; E. Gullone & N.J. King, 1992). In this study, age and gender differences, fear intensity scores, and fear prevalence scores were analyzed across race/ethnicity (i.e., White, African American, and Hispanic populations). Multivariate analyses of variance yielded significant effects for race/ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether from surgical misadventure, inherent patient factors, or iatrogenic causes, postoperative bleeding can be a consequence of any surgical procedure. There are many methods and products available to assist in managing or preventing bleeding. For each method, there may be specific benefits and indications, but they may also carry some degree of risk. Topical thrombin is used extensively in many surgical specialties, especially in the cardiovascular and neurosurgical arenas where other hemostatic modalities may not be appropriate choices. As a class, topical thrombins are generally a safe and effective method for achieving intraoperative hemostasis; however, some members of the class carry associated risks with their use. For example, the United States Food and Drug Administration required the addition of a black-box warning to the prescribing information of bovine-derived thrombin, the oldest member of the class, due to concerns of immune-mediated coagulopathies developing after use. In addition, human thrombin derived from pooled plasma has its own, if theoretical, risk of transmitting infections due to viral or prion agents. We address the topical thrombin class and review each product in the context of the current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the post-Second World War era, a variety of factors changed the sports landscape for team owners and league officials. Civic boosters in several communities lobbied to gain major-league status. While this lobbying unfolded, changing demographics and new transportation and communication technologies both complicated and provided opportunities for sports entrepreneurs. Major League Baseball executives struggled with expansion and the threat of a new rival league. Some team owners saw the willingness of community leaders to offer incentives such as land or taxpayer-funded stadium construction as an opportunity to increase profitability, but an uncertain political landscape and pressure from fellow owners presented complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, energy policy has become an increasingly salient political issue in the United States. Rising gas prices, coupled with regional energy shortages and a growing recognition of the connection between U.S. energy supplies and national security, have led to calls for legislative action. Part of developing a national energy policy lies in understanding public opinion about existing energy sources, public support for various energy strategies, and what the public might be willing to do in order to conserve energy and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil. In this review, we report trends in public opinion from 1974 through 2006 on traditional energy sources, alternative energy sources, and citizens' priorities on energy alternatives. The polls show that concern about the U.S. energy situation is as high now as it was during the nation's energy crises of the 1970s. While attitudes about traditional sources of energy are strongly influenced by current economic conditions, citizens are increasingly receptive to alternative sources of energy (e.g., nuclear energy). Citizens also support policy changes that involve the government encouraging conservation through energy efficient appliances, vehicles, and homes and offices. The public voices a growing frustration with President Bush's, and the Congress's, handling of the nation's energy problems, and they express a desire for leadership in finding long-term solutions to the nation's energy dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), engagement is not an enhancement of their curriculum but part of their birthright. Founded in the Civil War/Reconstruction era, HBCUs had as their core mission educating freed slaves and other free black people to participate in the economy. Later, during the Jim Crow era, HBCUs educated the men and women who built black communities and dismantled segregation. Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, almost every college includes cohorts of African American students, and African Americans can be found at every level of the economy and the society. But despite this progress, the black-white education attainment gap continues to widen, depriving many young African Americans of the education they need to begin productive careers, and depriving the economy of the professionals it needs to keep pace in the global economy. It is to these challenges that HBCUs' tradition of engagement now turns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparities in health status and health outcomes exist among subpopulations of women; these disparities may be related to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and country of birth. In this paper, we use surveillance data from 2003 and earlier to examine racial and ethnic differences among women in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and tuberculosis. We also describe prevention programs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed to address the disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a chronicle of the United States Navy battleship "Oregon" which was commissioned in July 1896. Service of the ship on the West Coast; Role of the ship in a pivotal battle of the Spanish American war; Service as a war memorial and museum on the Portland, Oregon waterfront; Reasons for Oregonians' fondness for the ship.

Presents a study that evaluated the state of the art in the debates over the opinion-policy link in the rapidly growing body of research on public opinion and policy making in the U.S. Information on public opinion; Sources of public opinion other than poll-based mass opinion that provide policy makers with images of citizens' preferences; Types of evidence of high degree of policy responsiveness to public opinion in U.S. politics.

Analyzes some of the principles in the article 'The Idea of a Psychiatric Education,' by John Nemiah, that can serve as guideposts for developing shared vision on psychiatric education. Distinction between training and education; Description of psychiatric education; Discussion on the Menninger Department of Psychiatry of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Investigates parenting efficacy as predicted by family socioeconomic status and neighborhood quality in the U.S. Characteristics of the respondents; Model of parenting efficacy; Effect of parental efficacy on academic and social-emotional adjustment of adolescents; Relationship between parental efficacy, parenting behaviors and adolescent outcomes.

Focuses on the Institute for Policy Research at the Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Role of the agenda of the university in the process and politics of policymaking; Objectives of the research institute regarding quality of urban life; List of foundations that supported financially the research institute; Background of the research works on poverty and social welfare.

This study examined the recreational self-selections of two classes of first graders from extensive classroom libraries that included a large percentage of informational books. The following questions guided this study: 1) What are the readability levels of the books self-selected by low-, average-, and high-ability readers during recreational reading in their first grade classrooms? 2) Are there differences in the amounts or readability levels of story and informational books selected by boys and girls of different reading abilities? The participants were students of the same teacher in two consecutive years at two different schools. Self-selected texts were recorded for six continuous weeks during the once-daily, thirty-minute recreational reading period that served as one part of the reading program. The selections were examined for the match between the children's reading level and the readability level of books selected by low-, average-, and high-ability readers. Findings indicate influences of gender and genre on the high percentage of selections that were made above children's reading levels. The relation of frustration-level texts to interest and motivation, as well as to supporting children's conceptual and genre knowledge growth, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the implementation of a microprocessor design project in an introductory very large scale integration (VLSI) design course in the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Course philosophy, content and baseline architecture from which class projects begin; Key features of the course; Coordination of lectures and project activity; Prompt and regular feedback on design work; Course schedule.

Examines the impact of mandated standardized testing on curriculum and instructions in science and mathematics by a study carried out on minority students. Evaluation of most used test batteries in the United States; Determination of their emphasis on conceptual knowledge; Where survey data was obtained from; What the sampling framework involves.

Using responses gathered from in-person interviews with 58 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, this study examines the relationship between expressed preferences for social welfare programs and votes for social welfare legislation. We use measures of representatives' attitudes, their voting, and a number of political and district characteristics to address two questions. First, to what extent are personal policy preferences influenced by political and district factors and to what extent is voting behavior influenced by these same factors? Second and more importantly, what impact do personal policy preferences have on congressional voting decisions? Within these questions, we address the potential differences in the attitude-vote relationship between representatives as a whole and those who are chairs or ranking minority leaders in committees having jurisdiction over social welfare issues. The results show that for members of Congress in general, personal attitudes toward social welfare programs are one of the determining factors in their voting decisions. However, the persuasive power of attitudes for leaders of social-welfare relevant committees is nearly all mediated through the strength of party devotion. Party affiliation is the most important variable explaining the attitudes of committee leaders, but it is far less important than other factors in explaining attitudes of members of Congress at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large urban areas present many challenges to those children and adults who reside in those settings. The social service workers in urban areas have clients with complex, multiple needs. Reliable and consistent workers are essential to successfully working with these families. In the current study, the job satisfaction of 29 social service workers in an urban child welfare agency was assessed using the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The JSS measures satisfaction in 7 areas of one's job (i.e., work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion, work environment, training, and position). Data indicated that the staff were relatively satisfied, that satisfaction did not vary by staff position (family worker vs. social worker/supervisor), and that neither demographic factors nor prior experiences were predictors of job satisfaction. Implications for agency management and the provision of social services to urban families are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the concept of the evolution of peer health education. Peer education is defined as instruction by or guidance from equals. The article provides an overview of college peer health education as practiced today in the U.S. Peer education exists in innumerable forms. The volume or quality of training that peer educators receive in preparation for entering the field is also questioned by the critics of peer education. Information on protocols is also given, with which peer educators are armed with the most modern tools for meeting the ever-changing health needs of college students. The eight Program Notes provide profiles of individual programs as they currently exist and are being implemented on campuses around the country. The effectiveness of peer education is also sometimes challenged by professionals, by citing cases as groups of white men presenting to African American sorority women, traditional-age undergraduates presenting to older, returning adults, or women presenting to male football team members.

The article presents information on bilateralism. In the public service, people have seen the unilateral development of merit systems to guard against improper influence in the filling of career positions. The word "unilateral" is italicized because this is the key feature of merit systems to which the labor-affiliated and other public employee organizations now strenuously object. Is collective negotiation theoretically consistent with merit principles? What do people mean by "merit"? Does it mean the traditional union concept of "seniority"? Since there are so many different employee organizations, it is doubtful that a generally accepted union definition could be found. Most of the unions on the federal scene have generally endorsed the merit principle, but in the specific application of this principle they have expressed views which some federal personnel administrators believe constitute a threat to civil service.

This article is a brief appraisal of a few significant characteristics of commercial vocational education during the past five years, and an indication of some of the lines, of advancement which, should characterize the program of the immediate future. At the outset it is well to bear in mind that business education in public secondary schools of the U.S. has two main phases, commercial general education, representing a major phase of a well-rounded general education from the standpoint of every citizen who must deal with the business system in the purchase of necessities of life, and commercial vocational education, representing a major phase of vocational education from the standpoint of those persons who are interested in preparing for initial employment, improvement of service, or ultimate promotion in certain commercial occupations, particularly those din clerical pursuits, financial service, retail and outdoor, selling, and other distributive or marketing positions in general. It is common knowledge that business is more and more calling for persons of greater maturity and more education as beginners in the clerical, financial, and distributive positions.

The article presents the author's views on institutional, cultural and interpersonal disconnectedness of African-American youths in the United States. He supports the opinion of sociologist Harry Edwards that black families have had a tendency to push their children toward sport career aspirations, often neglecting other important areas of personal and cultural development. The sense of being disconnected has resulted in diminishing importance of schools for black youths.