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This quantitative study is designed to help educational institutions and instructors make informed decisions regarding the use of online proctoring software. The researchers studied the impact of proctoring software in online courses by comparing the final grades of two groups of online, undergraduate students who took the same online course with the same professor who administered virtually the same content, with and without proctoring software. The overall sample included 252 students in six different undergraduate courses. When regressing all six courses together, the data did not show that the addition of proctoring software created a significantly lower course grade. The researchers then regressed the data of each individual undergraduate course, with the addition of independent variables, which had a mixed-bag of results. Interestingly, an undergraduate business course showed that the use of proctoring software reduced course grades while other courses produced interesting significant findings relative to gender and attendance status.

We explored secondary school principals' knowledge of suicide prevention programs, their perceptions of the logistical and cultural barriers associated with suicide prevention program adoption, and their justification for adopting (or not adopting) suicide prevention programs in their schools. Principals, as positional leaders of schools, can lead the adoption and support of school-based suicide prevention programs for their students. Using a phenomenology framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews of eight secondary school principals working in public schools in the south-central United States. The principals readily identified the importance of supporting students' mental health to enhance their learning as a justification for implementing suicide prevention programs for their students. They shared how limited staffing, time, perception of school responsibility for student mental health, and lack of knowledge of available suicide prevention resources were logistical, cultural, and knowledge barriers to adopting suicide prevention programs for students. Our research has profound implications for practice.

As a fundamental communication tool, media has undergone transformative changes throughout history. This has a lot to do with education. Each era has been characterized by its own unique media paradigms, from the invention of the printing press in the 15th century to the emergence of radio and television in the 20th century. These paradigms not only define how information is disseminated but also shape the social and political landscapes of their respective periods. In the modern age, the emergence of digital technology and the internet has brought about a new media paradigm that deeply influences every aspect of human interaction and the fabric of society. Today, new media, characterized by its interactivity, decentralization, and unprecedented access, dominates our daily lives. The significance of new media, which affects individual behaviors and global politics, economy, and cultures, cannot be underestimated. This process is also of great importance in terms of education. In particular, media literacy education will enable the individual to personally prepare for or otherwise intervene in the positive or negative aspects of their interaction with the media. From connecting distant communities to altering the dynamics of political campaigns, the impact of new media is ubiquitous. However, along with these advantages, new challenges have also emerged. One of the most concerning aspects of this shift in media is the potential for its exploitation by malicious groups, particularly evident in the rise of "terror agencies" utilizing new media platforms. These organizations adeptly employ new media tools for propaganda, recruitment, and operations, forming a symbiotic relationship that poses significant threats to global security. This article explores how new media paradigms enable the existence of terrorist organizations, the place of education in this regard, and what this complex relationship means for our interconnected world.

This study aims to reveal school principals' unethical behaviours based on teachers' perceptions within schools, to reveal the causes for these behaviours and recommendations to prevent them. An interpretive qualitative approach was applied. Data were gathered via face-to-face interviews conducted with 17 public school teachers in Kocaeli Province of Turkey. The data was examined through content analysis technique. The participants listed the unethical behaviours of school principals in seven different themes as discrimination, favouritism, violation of the rules of courtesy, misconduct, mobbing and pressure, neglect of duty, and other behaviours. The causes of unethical behaviours of school principals were stated as the factors related to administrative qualifications, personal factors, institutional factors, the factors related to teachers, and environmental factors. To prevent unethical behaviours of school principals, the participants suggested some training activities as post-graduate education in educational administration and psychological guidance to school principals. They also suggested some activities to increase the professional development levels and human relations competences of school principals. It was also recommended to make some legal regulations regarding the appointment, assignment issues, reward, rotation, and supervision of administrators. In addition to these suggestions, it was recommended to organize social activities for preventing unethical behaviours of school principals.

Gambling disorder is a dramatic phenomenon that is spreading, in Italy as well as around the world, among younger and younger people every year. Activities in mathematics lessons at school can help pre-vent it, but it is necessary to know with which attitudes and beliefs students approach such mathematics lessons, as well as the role of the social environment. Thus, in this study, within a sample of secondary school students who experienced gambling at various levels of addiction (from none to high), we investigate the role of: mathematics-related beliefs, emotions, social relationships, attitudes towards gambling and behaviour, through a set of calibrated self-report multiple-choice questionnaires. This represents for us an opportunity to understand the complex relations among affective variables in mathematics educational activities aimed at preventing gambling disorder. For example, we found a positive correlation between mathematics-related beliefs and gambling frequency, and a negative correlation between emotional regulation and gambling frequency. Hence, we can say that affective variables such as emotions and beliefs have an effect on gambling behavior.

This study investigates the validity and reliability of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) in the context of blended learning. In the digital age, the fusion of online components with traditional classroom instruction has become integral to modern pedagogy, giving rise to blended learning--a flexible approach accommodating diverse learning needs. In such multifaceted environments, intrinsic motivation emerges as pivotal for sustaining student engagement, bridging the gap between in-person and online learning components. Utilizing a quasi-experimental quantitative research design, the research focuses on first-year university students enrolled in a blended learning economics course. Thorough statistical analysis affirms the IMI's effectiveness in accurately measuring intrinsic motivation levels within the diverse framework of blended learning. The findings not only validate the IMI as a tool for assessing intrinsic motivation but also underscore its importance for educators. Understanding students' intrinsic motivation is essential for tailoring instructional strategies, identifying at-risk students, and proactively preventing potential dropouts in blended learning environments. The validation of the IMI enhances the accuracy of assessments, interventions, and program evaluations, ultimately contributing to the improvement of education quality for students engaged in the integrated format of traditional and online instruction.

This paper reviews cybersecurity laws and regulations in Cameroon, focusing on cybersecurity and information security audits and risk assessments. The importance of cybersecurity risk assessment and the implementation of security controls to cure deficiencies noted during risk assessments or audits is a critical step in developing cybersecurity resilience. Cameroon's cybersecurity legal framework provides for audits but does not explicitly enumerate controls. Consequently, integrating relevant controls from the NIST frameworks and ISO Standards can improve the cybersecurity posture in Cameroon while waiting for a comprehensive revision of the legal framework. NIST and ISO are internationally recognized as best practices in information security systems and cybersecurity risk management. This paper highlights the lack of specific international law provisions addressing cybersecurity audits and risk assessments. Overall, the paper highlights the importance of continuous risk assessment and monitoring, implementation of security controls, and compliance with organizational policies, relevant laws and regulations to ensure the adequate protection of information systems. Finally, the paper underscores the importance of improving Cameroon's cybersecurity regulations by integrating provisions from NIST and ISO.

Attrition and turnover among early career teachers (ECTs) have garnered the attention of policymakers and educational leaders across Canada. However, due to provincial/territorial responsibility for education in Canada, teacher induction efforts to keep novice teachers in the profession depend on school system structures and policies specific to given jurisdictions. This article describes an in-depth policy analysis of the development and implementation of Ontario's New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). Using a policy document analysis methodology, the review of the induction policy mandates, program evaluations, and empirical studies highlights the NTIP's organization and scope, the stakeholders' roles, duties, and responsibilities, the programmatic impacts, and the challenges associated with its implementation. The article concludes with implications for policy development and implementation as well as for the practice of supporting ECTs.

Background: Youth mental health rates of depression and anxiety continue to climb. Schools have a role to play to support youth mental health but often struggle to navigate community expectations. Methods: Focus groups (n = 17) were conducted with over 100 participants to understand community perceptions on the role of schools. Results: Three themes emerged around what schools should be doing--(1) provide accurate education about mental health, (2) create mental health promoting environments that positively supports young people, and (3) act as a common space to bring community members and organizations together for their young people. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: School professionals and systems should be equipped to adequately address youth mental health. The current US institutional response to this crisis is underdeveloped and exacerbates equity issues and health outcome disparities. Schools need institutional support for addressing mental health in ways that incorporate building a shared understanding with families and providing efforts to prevent and detect rather than just treat mental health. Conclusions: Schools should work with their communities to promote shared understanding and accountability for all to engage in building rich protective environments that promote mental well-being for kids in their care.

With the increasing prevalence of mental health issues among children, there is a growing need to implement school-based preventive programs for emotional well-being in Malaysia. Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic preventive program designed based on the cognitive-behavioral therapy concept to address emotional problems among children. This study examined the effectiveness of the M-SSL program in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as other psychological issues such as social competency, worries, cognitive and emotional regulation in a sample of Malaysian children between the ages of 10 and 12. A quasi-experimental preintervention and postintervention research design was conducted. A total of 165 primary school children (M = 10.9, SD = 0.72) were recruited with 88 of them randomly assigned to the intervention group. All of them were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of demographic data, the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised, Spencer Children's Anxiety Scale, Strength and Difficulties Questionnaires, Social Skills Questionnaires and Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaires. Children in the M-SSL group significantly reported lower levels of depressive scores during follow-up assessment compared to the children in the control group. They also showed significant improvement in their depressive subscale scores, social worries scores, and the way they perceived an event as compared to the control group. These findings provide initial support for the effects of M-SSL, suggesting that it is a valuable resource for the prevention of depressive symptoms and for improving social worries among children.

Youth violence is a national public health concern in USA, especially in resource-constrained urban communities. Between 2018 and 2021, the Healthy Communities for Youth (HCFY) program addressed youth violence prevention in select economically marginalized urban communities, with the HCFY program reducing the likelihood of youth-involved violent crime. Leveraging costs from program expense reports, this study analyzes the costs of the HCFY program in order to inform policymaking and the program's future ongoing implementation. Total HCFY program costs were $821,000 ($290,100 annually including program start-up costs) over the 34-month project period. Operationalization costs contributed the largest share (64.8%), with 45% attributable to intervention coordinators. In the intervention community, the program costs $100 per capita, $1100 per youth-involved crime case, and $8100 per youth-involved violent crime case. Findings were sensitive to the number of youth-involved crime or violent crime cases and costs of high-level program leadership and self-evaluation analysts, with the per youth-involved violent crime case cost ranging between $700 and $1600 over the program period. Analysis of HCFY program costs is an important step in determining the affordability of a community-level program to prevent youth violence in resource-limited urban communities.

Families are key in the healthy development of Latinx sexual minority youth (Latinx SMY), a group that experiences behavioral, mental, and sexual health disparities. Despite this, there are no family-based interventions for Latinx SMY and their families to prevent drug use, sexual risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the preliminary impact (i.e., estimated effect sizes) of "Familias con Orgullo" (FcO) and examine its feasibility and acceptability among 30 Latinx SMY and their parents. Parents and adolescents were randomized to FcO or a control condition and assessed pre/post-intervention. Feasibility was measured based on session completion and effect sizes. Focus groups were conducted to evaluate intervention acceptability. Findings showed promising effects favoring FcO on parent-adolescent communication (d = 0.46) and parental involvement (d = 0.34). There were also promising effects favoring FcO on suicidal thoughts (OR = 0.75) and depression symptoms (OR = 0.69). Finally, 100% of the adolescents in FcO either continued to remain drug-free or transitioned from current use to no use (from baseline to post-intervention) compared to 74% in the control. Effect sizes for condomless sex, parental monitoring, and positive parenting were small. Session completion (above 80%) and focus group findings indicated strong feasibility and acceptability. FcO holds promise for reducing drug use and depressive symptoms and improving family functioning among Latinx SMY.

Postpartum depression is a significant public health issue that occurs within the first 12 weeks after childbirth. It is more prevalent among teenage mothers compared to adults. However, the findings of the existing interventional studies cannot be readily applied to teenage mothers due to their unique psychosocial concerns. Furthermore, these findings have shown inconsistencies regarding the benefit of psychological and psychosocial interventions in reducing the incidence of postpartum depression. The current review is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in preventing postpartum depression, specifically among teenage mothers. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis manuals were utilized to identify and select relevant articles for this review. The articles were retrieved using population, intervention, control, and outcome models. The quality of each article was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA version 17. The effect size of the intervention was estimated using the standard mean difference in depression scores between the intervention and control groups. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed using the I[superscript 2] statistic and Q statistic, while publication bias was evaluated through funnel plot asymmetry and Egger's test. A total of nine eligible articles were included. While psychosocial interventions have been demonstrated to decrease the incidence of postpartum depression compared to usual maternal health care, it is worth noting that the mean difference in depression scores was significant in only three of the included studies. The meta-analysis revealed that psychosocial interventions were effective at preventing postpartum depression, with a pooled effect size of -0.5 (95% CI: -0.95, -0.06) during the final postpartum depression assessment. The heterogeneity was substantial, with an I[superscript 2] value of 82.3%. Although publication bias was not observed, small studies had a significant effect on the pooled effect size. The findings of this review suggest that psychosocial interventions can effectively prevent PPD, particularly within the first 3 months of the postpartum period. This review highlights the scarcity of interventional studies in low-income countries, indicating the need for further research in diverse communities.

This paper examines how Extending Reality (XR) technologies, such as Virtual and Augmented Reality, can provide innovative solutions for preventing and addressing bullying. A search for relevant articles was conducted in five electronic databases (ACM, Emerald, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science), resulting in the identification of 867 articles published between 2010-2023, from which 20 were selected for analysis. The selected articles provide insights into the potential applications of XR in addressing bullying, including immersive empathy training and virtual simulations of bullying scenarios. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential of XR technologies and providing recommendations for bullying recognition, prevention, and reduction to create safer communities in schools. The study results have implications for future research in designing and implementing XR technology in this field.

Dropout refers to the phenomenon of students leaving school before completing their degree or program of study. Dropout is a major concern for educational institutions, as it affects not only the students themselves but also the institutions' reputation and funding. Dropout can occur for a variety of reasons, including academic, financial, personal, and social factors. Therefore, understanding the factors that contribute to dropout and developing effective strategies to prevent it is a critical challenge for educational institutions. In this study, we propose a hybrid deep learning model based on Long Short-Term Memory and Deep Neural Network algorithms for school dropout prediction. The proposed model was compared with previous works and several other machine learning algorithms, including Deep Neural Network (DNN), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naive Bayes (NB), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Decision Trees (DT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Random Forest (RF). The results showed that the proposed DNN-LSTM model outperforms the other models in terms of accuracy and efficiency.

The Journey of Hope (JoH) is an evidence-based behavioral health prevention intervention model designed for disaster-affected children and youth. While the in-person JoH model has been extensively delivered and studied, the virtual implementation of this intervention, specifically tailored for the unique needs of children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not been previously explored. In this context, authors of this article adapted the JoH to a virtual delivery model, aiming to provide access to behavioral health preventive services for children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person services were not feasible. This adaptation, utilizing the dynamic adaptation process (DAP) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles, was carefully designed to meet pandemic-related challenges while maintaining the core components of the original intervention. The primary objectives of this article are twofold: (1) to provide an overview of the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the JoH-C19, including the framework that guided the adaptation, and (2) to describe the virtually adapted curriculum and initial pilot of the JoH-C19. This adaptation represents a crucial step in ensuring the accessibility of virtual behavioral health interventions for young populations facing various collective traumas and challenges in a rapidly evolving world.

Research represents an essential component of the response to infectious disease outbreaks and to other public health emergencies, whether they are localised, of international concern, or global. Research conducted in such contexts also comes with particular ethics challenges, the awareness of which has significantly grown following the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Zika outbreak in Latin America and the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges include the need for implementing meaningful community engagement with the researched communities, not just to build unidirectional trust towards the research team, but to achieve a genuine and mutually respectful partnership before, during and after the research. Here, we describe the real-life experience of 10 well-established research clinics in Nairobi, where a successful experience of community engagement linking prevention and care to research was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We contrast this experience with the concept and processes of community engagement as described in selected scientific manuscripts and guidelines, to formulate some conclusions and recommendations. We contend that more action is needed, from research ethics committees and other key-research stakeholders, to align policies and practices with ethics guidance and with evidence-based recommendations from the academic literature, to achieve meaningful community engagement during emergency research, irrespective of the scale and location of an outbreak or public health crisis. Failure to do so, will aggravate the (postcolonial) asymmetries of power in global health and local systems.

Embedding musicians' occupational health training in music education curricula is widely recommended due to the well-documented high prevalence of performance-related health problems (PRHPs) among musicians across their lifespan. A scoping review was conducted to examine the range of evidence from implementations of musicians' health education programs, regarding the maintenance of hearing, musculoskeletal, psychological, and vocal health, as well as injury prevention strategies to minimize the risk of PRHP. Eligible sources of evidence included published and unpublished studies reporting occupational health education programs (which may have incorporated information on physical or psychological health, exercise, or somatic movement training) implemented with pre-tertiary and tertiary music students and teachers. Studies reporting stand-alone psychological health education were excluded. Key characteristics from included studies were extracted and charted. Data charts outline commonalities across the reported results, including physical, psychological, educational, and behavioral change outcome measures. Out of 46 records included for data extraction, 35 reported programs with tertiary-aged music students, seven reported programs with pre-tertiary-aged music students, two reported programs with music teachers, and two reported systematic reviews. Reported benefits from this research with both pre-tertiary and tertiary music students suggest that musicians' health education and injury prevention strategies reduce self-reported playing-related pain and music performance anxiety. However, future implementation studies need to address identified challenges such as effective behavior change and the enablers and barriers to the long-term adoption of strategies for optimal music performance and health outcomes. This review highlights the need for further research into designing and embedding musicians' health education into all music training settings, including more implementations with pre-tertiary music students, as well as training to support the professional development needs of instrumental and vocal teachers.

Objectives: More than 2.5 million middle and high school students in the United States reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2022. With continued curiosity and initiation of e-cigarette use among youth, it is critical to explore new and innovative ways to communicate about the dangers of e-cigarettes. The purpose of this study was to determine youth never-user and ever-user interpretations of a novel, educational comic book, 'The Villainous Vape'. Method: A 43-question survey was distributed to a convenience sample of middle and high school students across Kentucky. Results: Of the 76 respondents, 85.5% (n = 65) reported having never using e-cigarettes and 14.5% (n = 11) reported having tried e-cigarettes at least once in their lifetime. Never-users were more likely to say that the comic book would be an effective method of e-cigarette education for their peers, compared with ever-users. In addition, never-users were more likely to report that the comic book deterred them from using e-cigarettes. Conclusion: Further research is needed to determine how perceptions of story-based education through novel comics affect young people's health decisions regarding e-cigarette use.

Objective: Psychoactive substance use is prevalent among young people in Nigeria. However, the dearth of accessible and good-quality treatment for substance use disorders in Nigeria creates a treatment gap. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a substance use prevention education programme (SUPEP) for young people in Nigeria. Design: A quasi-experimental study using a pre- post-test was conducted. The experimental group (n = 100) and comparison group (n = 100) comprised students in four senior secondary schools. Data were collected using a validated self-report questionnaire and the WHO Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) version 3.0. Paired sample t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and generalised and linear mixed models (GLMM) were used for data analysis. Setting: Two hundred young people aged 14-20 years prone to substance use participated in SUPEP in four secondary schools in Enugu State, Southeast, Nigeria. Results: Students' psychoactive substance knowledge and substance use attitudes in the experimental group (p < 0.001) improved significantly post-intervention. ANCOVA results showed that the mean psychoactive substance knowledge score increased significantly between the time points, F(1, 123) = 8.89, p = 0.003. In contrast, mean psychoactive substance use attitudes reduced significantly between the same time points, F(1, 123) = 12.390, p = 0.001. However, no significant difference between the groups was observed in the mean psychoactive substance use behaviour post-intervention. Conclusion: The school-based SUPEP increases psychoactive substance knowledge and improves attitudes. However, the intervention did not reduce substance use among adolescents.

Unproctored and teacher-proctored exams have been widely used to prevent cheating at many universities worldwide. However, no empirical studies have directly compared their effectiveness in promoting academic integrity in actual exams. To address this significant gap, in four preregistered field studies, we examined the effectiveness of unproctored and teacher-proctored exam formats in deterring cheating behavior among university students and the role of academic integrity reminders. All four studies used a double-blind, randomized, controlled design. Before taking an exam, students were randomly assigned to take either an unproctored condition or a teacher-proctored exam, with or without receiving an academic integrity reminder. We found that the unproctored exam format is significantly more effective in reducing cheating than the teacher-proctored exam format and adding academic integrity reminders before the exams significantly reduces cheating. These findings demonstrate that incorporating unproctored exams and pre-exam academic integrity reminders into a university's assessment practices may be a useful strategy for reducing academic dishonesty and upholding assessment validity.

A single-case multiple baseline design across three families was used to evaluate the impact of a manualized Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Families (PTR-F) process for addressing challenging behavior (CB) when delivered in a remote format (PTR-F: R). Results across three U.S. families showed that (a) a functional relation existed between parent implementation of the strategies and reductions in child's CB, (b) families achieved high levels of implementation fidelity for behavior intervention plans developed using the PTR-F: R process, and (c) families rated the PTR-F: R process and the intervention plans positively. The results replicated findings from previous research on the general efficacy of the PTR process while adapting the method for use in a remote format. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Background: Religious institutions play a crucial role in health promotion and hold significant influence in the public health field. Aim: The aim of this review is to examine outcomes of health-promoting interventions involving the use of mosques as the intervention venue, its role in promoting health behavior change, and the role of theory in each intervention. Methods: A scoping review was conducted across 17 databases for relevant publications published up to and including August 2023 that involved the use of mosques as the intervention venue. Fourteen articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Results: The studies featured a wide range of interventions. However, only eight of these studies integrated theoretical frameworks into their approaches, indicating a need for more structured guidance in this field. These theoretical frameworks included Participatory Action Research (PAR), the theory of planned behavior, behavior-change constructs, the patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) framework, and prolonged exposure techniques within Islamic principles. The review identified three main health-focused intervention categories: mental health, prevention, and communication, each providing valuable insights into initiatives within Muslim communities. Conclusions: This review underscores the significance of inclusive and culturally sensitive health interventions, emphasizing the effectiveness of faith-based approaches in improving health outcomes, promoting positive health behaviors, and addressing communication and cultural barriers. The reviews findings stress the need for further research that incorporates theoretical frameworks and tailored interventions to meet the specific cultural needs of these communities, ultimately contributing to enhanced well-being within them.

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between foreign higher education and corruption in 14 home countries in the MENA region and 13 host countries from 2007 to 2021. Panel-estimated generalized least squares, robust least squares MM estimation, dynamic panel data estimation, and one-step difference generalized method of moments was used to overcome heterogeneity and endogeneity issues and increase robustness. The study adopted the positive grease-the-wheels theory of corruption and the greed or need (GONE) theory in which the need for corruption develops into greed for corruption, revealing a significant positive relationship between foreign higher education and corruption in the MENA countries. Meanwhile, the sand-in-the-wheel theory of corruption and anti-corruption mechanisms that encourage less greed per the GONE theory revealed a significant negative relationship between foreign higher education and corruption in origin countries after students returned to their home countries. The study findings support the idea that foreign knowledge is a blessing for MENA countries. Furthermore, there was a significant positive relationship between foreign higher education and corruption in the host countries because students adapted to the host country's environment. The main conclusion was that governments should encourage students to study abroad in countries with less corruption, supporting the main hypothesis, which posited that ethics and values are adopted abroad and transferred to home countries. Furthermore, constitutional reform and economic development should be adopted to implement the anti-corruption system and control public spending on education.

Although scholars have discussed in depth about the evaluation content and the construction of evaluation index system of emergency management and crisis management, a unified and standardized interpretation of system construction concepts and empirical research on the performance evaluation of urban emergency management is still lacking. In view of this, this paper is based on the theory of the crisis life cycle, with the four phases of urban emergency management and the content of the task as a clue, constructed a performance evaluation index system containing 12 primary indicators and 44 secondary indicators, and centered on the emergency management work situation of S city. The study reveals that emergency management underperforms in S city, with a score of 5.948, qualifying as the "defined level". The "prevention and preparedness stage" receives poor evaluation, indicating a significant bias for crisis response instead of prevention. The report suggests the improvement of emergency material stockpile planning, the formation of grassroots emergency response teams, the emergency management publicity, and special emergency drill plans, etc., with a view to providing reference for city managers to comprehensively review and evaluate the emergency management system, and to promote the construction of a more systematic, complete and scientific urban emergency management system.

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can prevent 90% of cancers caused by HPV. Health care provider recommendations affect vaccine uptake, yet there are a lack of studies examining the impact of the school nurse (SN) in vaccine recommendations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of adding a SN HPV recommendation to the standard vaccination letter sent to parents/guardians. The rate of vaccination between the intervention and control schools was not statistically significant (Estimate (Std. Error) = -0.3066 (0.2151), p = 0.154). After controlling for age, sex, race, insurance type, and medical practice type, there was no significant difference in the likelihood to receive the HPV vaccine (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 0.563-4.19 in 2018; OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.124-14.54 in 2019. Further work is needed to clarify how school nurses can better promote HPV vaccine, and which adolescent demographic groups (e.g., race, insurance type, provider type) face barriers to HPV vaccine uptake.

Hazing is a growing concern in US middle schools, high schools, and colleges. As more is understood about the complex phenomenon, so are strategies to prevent its occurrence and the cultures supporting it. This article reviews and critiques prevention strategies in four case studies set in high school, college, and student organization settings. A multi-layered and multifaceted approach offers the most significant opportunity for impact when approaching hazing prevention.

While often positioned as a higher education challenge, hazing is prevalent in the secondary environment and is often linked to college hazing victimization and perpetration. This article reviews foundational studies of secondary education hazing, peer violence, and bullying, as these related activities are frequently linked in secondary education research. The article closes with recommendations for research and hazing prevention at the secondary school level.

Hazing prevention and education efforts continue to evolve in response to changing student behavior. The organic and anomic nature of hazing is deeply embedded in higher education, permeating across campus reinforced by cultural norms and institutional practices. While numerous approaches attempt to disrupt hazing, public health approaches, particularly those that involve and engage students, offer new promise in facilitating sustained culture change against hazing.

The effectiveness and program mechanisms of a whole-school anti-bullying program that builds on the socio-ecological framework were investigated by applying person-oriented methods of data analyses. A longitudinal cluster randomized control study was utilized comprising 1377 adolescents (48.5% girls, M[subscript age] = 11.7) who participated in a 1-year whole school anti-bullying program that was implemented in 13 schools and 665 adolescents (45.2% girls, M[subscript age] = 11.6) who attended 5 control schools. Student reports were collected at pre- and post-test within a 1-year interval. Applying latent profile analyses (LPA), students who were actively involved in bullying as perpetrators (e.g., bullies), who were the target of bullying (e.g., victims), who were both (e.g., bully-victims), and who were not involved either as perpetrators or victims (e.g., uninvolved) were identified. Latent transition analyses (LTA) investigated transition patterns between bully, victim, bully-victim, and uninvolved subgroups in the control and intervention group before and after the 1-year program implementation. Program effectiveness (e.g., a higher transition probability in the intervention compared to the control group) were found for victims and bully-victims. It was explored whether changes in program mechanisms were differently related to changes in these sub-group memberships in the intervention group. Victims transiting to the uninvolved sub-group increased in help-seeking and anti-bullying norms, while bully-victims transiting to the uninvolved sub-group increased help-seeking, perceived teacher intervention, and anti-bullying norms. It can be concluded that this program works differently for different sub-groups of students and that different mechanisms of change drive changes in different sub-groups of students.

Several meta-analyses have demonstrated that bullying prevention programs are successful in reducing bullying. However, scant research addresses if and how such anti-bullying efforts affect long-term internalizing health problems and even less on later use of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. This study explores how the school-based Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) affects the likelihood of being prescribed antidepressant drugs, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and sedatives, using a difference-in-difference design with population-wide Norwegian register data, including the Norwegian Prescription Database. Generally, we find that student cohorts from schools with a higher proportion of victimized students have more prescribed drugs at ages 17-22. Although OBPP substantially reduces victimization, and, hence, assumedly internalizing problems, our results indicate that the OBPP increased the likelihood of being prescribed drugs for internalizing problems between ages 17 and 19. Our interpretation of these findings is that the OBPP had increased awareness of bullying in school and its damaging consequences, and thereby reduced the mental and attitudinal barriers that often prevent students from seeking help for internalizing problems. It should be noted, however, that the victimization data in our study were linked to schools only and not to register data for individual students. Accordingly, we were restricted to studying average program effects at the school level. The power to detect long-term effects would have been better with student-linked data for both the victimization and register variables.

Youth with disabilities experience bullying at rates much higher than those who do not identify as having a disability; however, they are often underrepresented in national measures of bullying due to a lack of accessibility. This study was set to evaluate (1) how individuals with disabilities define "bullying," (2) the prevalence of bullying among youth with disabilities in comparison to national bullying rates previously reported in the literature, and (3) their knowledge of the resources available to prevent bullying. Surveys were developed and administered to participants from two populations in California: (1) youth with disabilities, (2) parents of youth with disabilities. Results of the study showed that the definition of bullying is subjective and the prevalence of bullying experienced among individuals with disabilities was 90%. Over half of the youth with disabilities and their parents were unaware of how to file an anti-bullying complaint and 29% were unsure if their school had an anti-bullying policy. This study revealed that it is imperative for the public to better understand the concept of bullying, especially among the population of individuals with disabilities, to ensure the development and enforcement of robust policies. It also highlighted the lack of knowledge among individuals with disabilities regarding current policies put in place to mitigate bullying in the schools. Results of this study emphasized the need for including adolescents with disabilities in conversations about bullying and for the development of more inclusive preventive measures.

This article presents an analysis of qualitative data collected from general and special education teachers (n = 36) participating in a four-module professional development training focused on preventing bullying among students with disabilities. Analysis was driven by Braun and Clarke (Qualitative Research in Psychology 3:77-101, 2006) six step process for thematic analysis. We report on four major themes: (1) the effect of teachers' identities, including race, gender, age, and cultural and social backgrounds; (2) teacher perspectives of the role of parents in bullying prevention; (3) teacher views concerning bullying between students and best practices for responding to reports of bullying in schools; (4) the influence of sociocultural factors on bullying in classrooms. Taken together, these themes suggest that teachers reflect on their role as the "kind of teacher" that prevents bullying, which has implications for the students within their classroom. Results inform best practices for the design and delivery of instructional programs and workshops that consider teacher identity and create environments that better support teachers in preventing and responding to bullying in their classrooms.

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) experience increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies suggest that a vaccine against AD may be forthcoming. Parental buy-in is critical to the success of any intervention in this population, as adults with DS often rely on familial support. This study aims to characterize parents' perceptions of a hypothetical vaccine to prevent AD in individuals with DS. A mixed-methods, anonymous survey was distributed via social media. Participants were asked about their experiences with DS and reactions to proposed interventions. Open-ended responses were thematically analyzed using NVivo 12. Of 1,093 surveys initiated, 532 were completed. Of the parents sampled (N = 532), a small majority (54.3%), supported the proposed AD vaccine. All expressed the need for extensive pre-enrollment education and minimal risk. For many, limited research and long-term sequelae were concerns.

Epidemiological research over the past two decades has highlighted substance use disparities that affect Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth, and the lack of effective approaches to address such disparities (Okamoto et al. in Asian American Journal of Psychology 10(3):239-248, 2019). The Ho'ouna Pono curriculum is a culturally grounded, teacher-implemented, video-enhanced substance use prevention program that has demonstrated efficacy in rural Hawai?i in a large-scale trial (Okamoto in Asian American Journal of Psychology 10(3):239-248, 2019). Despite its potential to ameliorate health disparities and address youth substance use, prevention programs such as Ho'ouna Pono have been poorly disseminated and implemented across Hawai?i, raising the question: "Why are effective prevention programs not used in communities that most need them?" The present study used concept mapping to understand previously identified implementation barriers and develop implementation strategies for Ho'ouna Pono. Seven Hawai?i Department of Education (HIDOE) educational leaders and administrators sorted Ho'ouna Pono implementation barriers (e.g., "There is a lack of HIDOE funding to support prevention curricula"), named concepts, and rated barriers' perceived impact and difficulty. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis yielded a five-cluster solution: (1) Kumu (Hawaiian word for teacher) Controlled, (2) School Level Buy-in, (3) Curriculum, (4) Student Attitudes + Mindsets (Family + Community), and (5) Policy. Participant ratings identified eight high-impact and low-difficulty barriers. Discussion revealed important intersections among barriers indicating the need for coordinated and cross-level implementation strategies to support Ho'ouna Pono sustainment. Brainstormed implementation strategies using participants' own language highlighted a need for participatory methods in school settings to bidirectionally share ways to best sustain substance use prevention programs.

Background: Educators in rural schools are uniquely situated to address youth mental health disparities, yet often face challenges in delivering mental health supports. This paper describes the process of adapting the evidence-based Coping Power program, a small group prevention program for youth with aggressive behavior problems, to be a two-tiered (Tier 1 and Tier 2), transdiagnostic intervention to improve fit and feasibility for rural upper elementary and middle schools. Method: Identified challenges with the Coping Power program for rural areas included program length, substantial staffing and resource requirements, lack of universal programming, low caregiver engagement, and co-occurring problems. Initial adaptations included a classroom and small group format implemented by school staff, teacher consultations integrated into coaching and co-facilitation, and a technology-supported caregiver component. Implementer feedback forms, coaching notes, and individual interviews informed the iterative development and feasibility testing process. Results: Between 2019 and 2023, thirteen schools across six rural districts implemented the program. Student curriculum revisions included order and relative emphasis of content, classroom and small group overlap, necessary simplification of concepts, improved contextualization to the rural setting, and the addition of student workbooks. Supports for implementers included fully developed lesson plans and slides, a comprehensive implementation manual, video lesson overviews, action-focused training, and a 3-session coaching model to support implementer preparation and sustain motivation. Teacher and caregiver infographic text "nudges" were improved to promote generalization of concepts across settings. Discussion: By partnering with school-based implementers, the adapted program holds promise to be more feasible and appealing for rural schools than the original model. This fully developed program is now ready for larger-scale testing in rural schools.

Although vaccination requirements have been a mainstay of university admissions, the recent shift in vaccination and other preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been met with resistance. Reviewing the vaccination literature, there has been an apparent shift in support for university vaccinations, which is largely a result of the politicized climate surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed-methods analysis, this study examines how type of institution and location variables affect public and private universities implementation of vaccination mandates and other preventative measures. Data indicate that, similar to other studies, politics matter and higher institutions are finding themselves at odds with state governments in which campus and community safety is not the primary concern.

The incidence and nature of sexual violence at UK universities has been aligned with a 'rape culture', where sexual violence is taken-for-granted. Calls to change such a culture permeate literature from government, charities, regulatory bodies, and academia. This paper pulls out of the literature the strategies called to change rape culture. Focusing on three overarching strategies: "naming" sexual violence, "reporting" sexual violence, and "preventing" sexual violence. We carried out a website analysis of all UK universities that focused on gathering data along these three themes to ascertain the extent to which their websites supported changing the culture of sexual violence at their university. Many universities' websites had an online reporting tool and defined sexual violence, but many universities' websites did not have information about bystander initiatives (the prevention strategy we focused on). The research raises implications for universities to enhance their website pages for in-person bystander initiatives and to standardise definitions of sexual violence used in online reporting tools. Consequently, more research is needed into what definitions of sexual violence are used, the type of language used and the efficacy of online reporting tools.

Background: Building 'key skills' may help prevent the development of challenging behaviour in children with an intellectual disability. The aim of this paper was to extend the current limited evidence in this area. Method: We undertook two studies with children with an intellectual disability in school settings: (1) a cross-sectional replication study exploring the relationship between 'key skills' and challenging behaviour. (2) a longitudinal study follow-up exploring change in 'key skill' levels and challenging behaviour. Results: The replication study recruited 74 participants, those scoring lowest in 'key skill' had a 94% chance of having challenging behaviour; those with the highest scores had a 6% chance. The follow-up study recruited 39 participants, we found a significant increase in children's 'key skill' level (p < 0.001) and a decrease in their challenging behaviour (p = 0.046). Conclusion: Building 'key skills' in children with an intellectual disability may help reduce or prevent challenging behaviour.

Background: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children and adolescents in the United States. Traditional injury education interventions for children often are inaccessible due to cost and logistics in underserved communities, exacerbating injury disparities. A new approach is needed to close this gap for families with preschool children. Contributions to Theory: Collaborating with Head Start preschools optimizes engagement and accessibility to families in underserved communities. Involving caregivers and community organizations addresses the limitations of conventional interventions and community-specific injury prevention concerns. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Pop-up Safety Town offers a more affordable model for injury prevention education, particularly in underserved regions. The model's approach, using adaptable education, mobile and reusable materials, and volunteer staffing, offers greater potential for achieving sustainable impact in these underserved communities. Conclusions: Pop-up Safety Town presents a novel upstream solution to address disparities in injury prevention education in underserved communities.

The current study aimed to explore effective strategies for preventing cheating in online examinations by surveying students to determine their cheating strategies. A total of 406 Iranian students at BA, MA, and PhD levels in four programs, including English language teaching, English literature, Linguistics, and English language translation, participated in this study using a convenient sampling technique. The sample was drawn from 83 universities across all 31 provinces of Iran. The researchers developed a 30-item questionnaire and a 4-item interview to collect data. The results revealed that searching in PDFs and using social media groups were the most commonly used cheating strategies. To prevent this form of academic dishonesty, teachers used various strategies, the most effective being the use of conceptual questions and one-by-one oral exams with turned-on webcams. The main reason for students to cheat was their desire to perform better. The implications of this study are relevant for educational stakeholders, particularly teachers, and students, in promoting academic integrity.

Background: Despite emerging evidence for the effectiveness of school-based suicide prevention programmes worldwide, there are few being implemented in the United Kingdom, and their social validity (i.e., the feasibility, acceptability, and utility) is not yet known. Aims: We aimed to conduct a scoping study to determine: (1) the social validity and potential benefits of school-based suicide prevention interventions, (2) the perceived need for such interventions, and (3) barriers and facilitators to implementation. Sample and Methods: A total of 46 participants took part. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health professionals (N = 8), school staff (N = 8), and parents whose children had experienced suicidal ideation/behaviours (N = 3) in England. Focus groups were also completed with children and young people (N = 27) aged 15-18 across three state secondary schools. Data were analysed using thematic framework analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) the need for and importance of suicide prevention in children and young people, (2) schools as a setting for delivery, and (3) key components of suicide prevention programmes. Conclusions: Participants overwhelmingly agreed that there is a need for a greater and more consistent emphasis on school-based suicide prevention. School appears to be an acceptable location for suicide prevention, and participants felt discussions about suicide should begin at the start of secondary school. However, there are potential barriers that need to be considered, including tailoring for neurodiversity, challenging cultural/family beliefs and stigma, managing personal experiences of suicidal thoughts or previous bereavement from suicide, and a lack of existing training for school staff.

Sex trafficking of minors is a significant problem across North America, with sizeable numbers of youth being directly or indirectly manipulated into being exploited or trafficked. Identification of these youth remains difficult, in part because of a lack of knowledge about common characteristics and in part because of victims' reluctance engaging with and trusting law enforcement enough to disclose their experiences. Given that many youth are trafficked during school-aged years, school settings may represent an ideal location to target prevention and identification efforts, especially by health-related school professionals, whose training, professional duties, and often positive relationships with youth may make the professionals trustworthy disclosure recipients. Whether such professionals are effective, though, depends on their knowledge of who is at risk for trafficking, characteristics that distinguish trafficking from other forms of harm, and effective questioning approaches to elicit disclosures from victimized youth. To document whether this knowledge exists, we surveyed 361 school-based professionals concerning their ability to identify trafficking and knowledge of trafficking, adolescent development, and interviewing youth. Although nearly all (97%) school professionals recognized general student risk in the vignettes, only 18% identified that risk as trafficking. Professionals who had prior experience with trafficked youth were more likely to recognize trafficking than those without such experience. Finally, professionals evidenced some general knowledge about the existence of trafficking, adolescent development, and interviewing, but demonstrated more limited knowledge in the most common characteristics of trafficked minors and nuanced aspects of best-practice questioning approaches. Results highlight important directions for training of school-based professionals to improve prevention and identification of a highly vulnerable and often overlooked population of victims, namely trafficked minors.

Poor mental health in childhood and adolescence has a significant impact on both physical and mental health throughout life. However, growing evidence suggests that current levels of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) care are insufficient to meet the needs of many children and adolescents in the United States as evidenced by increasing rates of mental health problems, inequities in diagnosis, and inaccessibility of services. This article provides a discussion of current problems in CAMH and school mental health services and emphasizes a developmental perspective of CAMH, including the co-occurrence of school difficulties and mental health concerns. A universal design for learning framework for school-wide mental health programs is suggested as a means of addressing barriers to care and promoting prevention and early intervention in CAMH.

This study analyzed the mediating role that implicit theories of intelligence and academic self-efficacy may play in the relationship between psychopathology and mathematical performance. The sample consisted of 838 students from first and second year of high school. A numerical calculation test was applied, followed by psychopathology self-report scales, implicit theories of intelligence, and academic self-efficacy. Serial multiple mediation models were tested. The results showed a complete mediation of the effect of psychopathology on mathematical performance through implicit theories of intelligence and academic self-efficacy. The effect of entity theories of intelligence on mathematical performance was both direct and through academic self-efficacy, whereas the effect of incremental theories of intelligence was only through academic self-efficacy. Identifying the variables that mediate the relationship in question is crucial to develop targeted interventions to prevent the development of a vicious circle between psychopathology and poor school performance.

Despite calls for injury prevention exercise programmes (IPEPs) to move to school settings for the general adolescent population, current research has had mixed outcomes regarding their efficacy in schools as many of the traditional barriers to IPEP implementation still exist, for example, lack of engagement with the programme. A games-based approach may negate some of these barriers as it has been shown to increase participation and adherence to activity. The aim of this study was to achieve consensus on the fundamental framework for the development of a games-based IPEP for physical education (PE) class. Nineteen academic and practitioner experts in the areas of PE, injury prevention and adolescent coaching took part in a four-round Delphi poll, consisting of an opening exploration round followed by three subsequent rounds of questions. Agreement of at least 67% was required for consensus to be deemed achieved on outcomes. Agreement was reached on the key components of an IPEP and potential layouts of the programme. Requirements for an activity/exercise to be deemed games-based and key outcome measures for a games-based IPEP for PE class were established. Finally, PE teacher supports and resources required for implementing a games-based IPEP in PE class were determined, including supports for PE teachers and IPEP location within the class. The recommendations of this study provide a fundamental framework for the development of future games-based IPEPs that could be applied internationally as it provides the flexibility to be adapted to suit various constraints of PE classes across the globe.