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The purpose of this paper is to share our pedagogical evolution as graduate faculty in relationship with increasingly diverse cohort communities of early childhood professionals learning across the landscape of leadership roles engaged with young children, families, and other adults. The early childhood leadership program described in this paper offers a graduate certificate where annually, a cohort of 18-22 early childhood professionals from across Colorado in the United States learn together for 13 months. As faculty, we share a strong commitment to both learning about our teaching and to inviting student voices, the early childhood professionals, through dialogic processes in participatory study as we co-learn and grow our practices of learning and teaching. This paper introduces and explores four leadership learning design principles: (1) identity and agency, (2) socially constructed pedagogy, (3) contextually relevant learning experience, and (4) appreciative stance. As we go, the story will unfold around how we engaged cohort members of the 2019-2020 program year through initial survey reflections and then deepening our shared understanding of these leadership learning design principles through iterations of dialogue after the program was concluded. We end the paper with reflections on how this process of study has ultimately brought us to an awareness and eagerness to engage in relational forms of inquiry, placing student voices at the center with even more intention and depth.

Quality preparation of school leaders is important for school success and improved student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of principal alumni and superintendents about the quality of a university's principal preparation program in relation to the NELP Standards. Utilizing survey methodology, anonymous responses were collected from 74 practicing principals who are graduates of the program asking how well prepared they were for their school leadership roles. Survey responses were also collected from 38 superintendents across our state regarding their perceptions about the university's preparation of principals based on their experiences working with principal graduates hired within the last three years. Both principal and superintendent respondents agreed that program graduates were overall well-prepared per the NELP Standards, with 100% of principal alumni reporting they would recommend the program to others. Respondents also provided narrative suggestions and several areas were noted for further review and to inform program improvement. These results are useful in the pursuit of continued advancement of the field of leadership education by providing information beneficial in assessing and further developing university preparation programs for school leaders.

Summary: Background: Reducing cigarette addictiveness has the potential to avert millions of yearly tobacco-related deaths worldwide. Substantially reducing nicotine in cigarettes decreases cigarette consumption, but no large clinical trial has determined the effects of reduced-nicotine cigarettes when other nicotine-containing products are available. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of reduced-nicotine cigarettes in the context of the availability of alternative nicotine delivery systems. Methods: In a U.S. six-site, open-label, parallel-arm study, smokers were randomized for twelve weeks to an experimental marketplace containing cigarettes with either 0.4 mg or 15.8 mg nicotine per gram of tobacco; all had access to non-combusted alternative nicotine delivery systems (e.g., e-cigarettes; medicinal nicotine). Group differences in the primary outcomes (cigarettes per day, number of smoke-free days) were examined using linear and negative binomial regression, respectively (Trial Registration: NCT03272685). Findings: Among 438 randomized participants (mean [standard deviation (SD), range] age, 44.5 [11.9, 20–73] years, 225 [51.4%] women, 282 [64.4%] White and 339 [77.4%] trial completers), those in the 0.4 mg vs. 15.8 mg nicotine cigarette condition experienced significantly lower cigarettes per day at the end of intervention (mean [SD], 7.05 [7.88] vs. 12.95 [9.07], adjusted mean difference, −6.21 [95% CI, −7.66 to −4.75], P

To meet the challenges of promoting equitable educational opportunities and improved academic achievement for all P-12 students, principals and school counselors must join forces in substantive ways. However, higher education preparation programs for principals and school counselors have not typically collaborated in efforts to prepare candidates to work together through curricula employing national standards from both fields. The purpose of this project was to align standards and competencies from National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) to develop units of study for preparation programs that foster effective partnerships between administrators and school counselors. Guided by Social Capital Theory, this paper outlines standards-aligned curricular units for principal preparation, developed in partnership with school counseling faculty, that are currently being implemented at one Midwestern university with the goal of promoting collaboration toward P-12 student success.

The current P-12 educational landscape is riddled with inequities, especially for historically underserved students. As such, greater efforts are needed from educational stakeholders (i.e. counselors and principals) who center social justice and advocacy practices that eliminate systemic barriers to rigorous educational experiences for all students. This paper proposes an alignment of advocacy and social justice professional standards and competencies for school counselors and principals. This alignment, which consists of three contextual dimensions including social justice identity, human resources, and advocacy actions, serves as the foundational framework for principal-counselor collaboration around social justice advocacy. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to examine funding losses experienced by preschool to grade 12 (P-12) public school districts in Indiana, U.S., from an equity standpoint after the implementation of statewide property tax caps. All Indiana public school districts (N = 292) rely on property taxes as a major source of revenue, but districts experienced widely varying losses after the tax reform. Analyses across an array of district characteristics revealed significant relationships between differential funding losses and demographic indicators, including total student enrollment and the percentages of certain minoritized students. Implications for policy and practice include the integration of findings with essential research on funding equity in public education and attention on leadership toward reducing funding disparities.

Introduction: Brain health is neglected in public health, receiving attention after something goes wrong. Neuroplasticity research illustrates that preventive steps strengthen the brain's component systems; however, this information is not widely known. Actionable steps are needed to scale proven population-level interventions. Objectives: This pilot tested two main objectives: (1) the feasibility/ease of use of an online platform to measure brain health, deliver training, and offer virtual coaching to healthy adults and (2) to develop a data driven index of brain health. Methods: 180 participants, ages 18-87, enrolled in this 12-week pilot. Participants took a BrainHealth Index™ (BHI), a composite of assessments encompassing cognition, well-being, daily-life and social, pre-post training. Participants engaged in online training with three coaching sessions. We assessed changes in BHI, effects of training utilization and demographics, contributions of sub-domain measures to the BHI and development of a factor analytic structure of latent BrainHealth constructs. Results: The results indicated that 75% of participants showed at least a 5-point gain on their BHI which did not depend on age, education, or gender. The contribution to these gains were from all sub-domains, including stress, anxiety and resilience, even though training focused largely on cognition. Some individuals improved due to increased resilience and decreased anxiety, whereas others improved due to increased innovation and social engagement. Larger gains depended on module utilization, especially strategy training. An exploratory factor analytic solution to the correlation matrix of online assessments identified three latent constructs. Discussion/Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated the efficacy of an online platform to assess changes on a composite BrainHealth Index and efficacy in delivering training modules and coaching. We found that adults, college age to late life, were motivated to learn about their brain and engage in virtual-training with coaching to improve their brain health. This effort intends to scale up to thousands, thus the pilot data, tested by an impending imaging pilot, will be utilized in ongoing machine learning (ML) algorithms to develop a precision brain health model. This pilot is a first step in scaling evidence-based brain health protocols to reach individuals and positively affect public health globally.

This paper presents a practical training framework for collaboration for pre-service and in-service school counselors and principal training programs, which can serve as a model for other programs to best meet the social, emotional, academic, and career and college readiness needs of P-12 students. The framework includes six elements: 1) effective pre-service preparation; 2) sustainable partnerships; 3) stakeholder collaboration; 4) current practitioner support; 5) model site development; and, 6) ongoing research and professional learning. Each element of the framework is presented with examples of collaboration among principal and school counselor preparation programs. While principals and school counselors have unique and diverse roles in schools, their collaboration supports the holistic (e.g. academic, social, and emotional) development of P-12 students. Similarly, collaboration between pre-service training programs, community partners, and practitioners can be beneficial for both students and educators. Little information is known about how these collaborative skillsets are developed in pre-service and in-service training programs, however. This framework provides faculty in higher education and pre- and in-service practitioners insights to foster school counselor and principal collaboration and positive relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to share our pedagogical evolution as graduate faculty in relationship with increasingly diverse cohort communities of early childhood professionals learning across the landscape of leadership roles engaged with young children, families, and other adults. The early childhood leadership program described in this paper offers a graduate certificate where annually, a cohort of 18-22 early childhood professionals from across Colorado in the United States learn together for 13 months. As faculty, we share a strong commitment to both learning about our teaching and to inviting student voices, the early childhood professionals, through dialogic processes in participatory study as we co-learn and grow our practices of learning and teaching. This paper introduces and explores four leadership learning design principles: (1) identity and agency, (2) socially constructed pedagogy, (3) contextually relevant learning experience, and (4) appreciative stance. As we go, the story will unfold around how we engaged cohort members of the 2019-2020 program year through initial survey reflections and then deepening our shared understanding of these leadership learning design principles through iterations of dialogue after the program was concluded. We end the paper with reflections on how this process of study has ultimately brought us to an awareness and eagerness to engage in relational forms of inquiry, placing student voices at the center with even more intention and depth.

Hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1) is an inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency in fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH). Here, the authors show in an animal model that HT1 can be treated via in vivo portal vein administration of a lentiviral vector carrying the human FAH transgene.

This study examines administrators' perspectives of a state-developed principal evaluation model adopted by a majority of Indiana school districts after legislation mandated policy reform in educator evaluation. Feedback was gathered from public school superintendents (the evaluators) and principals (those being evaluated), with 364 participants. Mixed-methods analyses revealed areas of model utility, implementation challenges, and statistically significant differences between principals' and superintendents' perceptions of model efficacy. Both superintendents and principals agreed the new model was an improvement over traditional, locally developed models; however, superintendents rated the model higher in efficacy and implementation fidelity. Principal participants did not perceive the new model to be effective for principal evaluation and would not recommend the model to colleagues. Implications for future policy development in educator evaluation include the integration of findings from essential evaluative research. Recommendations for practice include suggestions for facilitating field-based support when developing and implementing evaluative models.

Death Cafés are informal events that bring people together for conversations about death and related issues. These events connect strangers from across a range of backgrounds, including healthcare workers, hospice volunteers, and funeral directors, among others. Based on an analysis of focus groups and interviews with Death Café attendees, this paper explores how participants construct and express conceptions of the process of dying and what happens after we die. Ideas about the afterlife have historically been shaped by a religious outlooks and identities. However, nonreligious lifestances have shifted how people understand death and dying. We suggest that notions of continuity of life are not the purview of religious people. Rather, participants in Death Cafés draw simultaneously on many ideas, and reveal ways of conceptualizing life after death—in various forms—without the guidance of religion. Based on conversations with attendees about their outlooks on death (and what may happen after death), our data reveals four main typologies of afterlife imaginaries, which we label cessation, unknown, energy, and transition. Among the diverse perspectives shared, we argue for the emergence of an immanent afterlife outlook.

Identification of language disorders in children younger than 3 years remains challenging despite agreement that early intervention improves outcomes. This study of twin language and gesture development substantiated the twinning effect, an unexplained lag in expressive and receptive language seen in twins, for a group of 88, 16- to 18-month-old twins who did not present with extreme perinatal risk. A valid, parent-report measure revealed word production of 10th percentile and less for 15 twins. Pregnancy complications, but not a positive family history of speech, language, or learning disorders or other case history factors, significantly increased the odds of this early expressive delay. The twinning effect was more pronounced for gesture than for spoken vocabulary: 29 twins fell below gesture norms. This was unexpected. Because gesture signals early communicative intentionality, twins with early expressive delay who present with limited gestures, with or without additional risk factors, warrant priority consideration for early intervention.

This article introduces an innovative model of social work course development, teaching, and implementation. Using the principles of antioppressive education and community-engaged learning, the authors (a former student and faculty member) codeveloped and subsequently taught a course that explored writing, voice, social justice, and the intersecting issues contributing to mass incarceration in the United States. Research has demonstrated that community engagement increases student learning. This course was designed to provide social work students with the opportunity to learn from and interact with individuals who were incarcerated. University students first explored multiple intersecting systemic oppressions as they related to incarceration. They then explored trauma-informed practice, writing pedagogy, and power dynamics in group facilitation. The authors cotaught the course, using tools from popular education, modeling collaborative and transparent facilitation that is responsive to participant feedback. This article includes an overview of the process of creating and teaching the course, feedback from social work students and incarcerated participants, and a reflection on lessons learned. We conclude with a call for social work faculty to contribute to the development of similar course designs that engage community members and that model antioppressive education in course development and pedagogy.

This study examined Indiana public middle school principals' perceptions of school conditions and stakeholders' attitudes regarding middle-grade lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students. Principals' responses revealed that inclusive school environments and caring faculty members were prominent factors in successfully providing support to middle-grade LGBTQ students, while the negative attitudes of some parents, community members, and school staff members were barriers to supporting LGBTQ youth. Principals' self-reported attitudes toward LGBTQ students were favorable and were found to be statistically significant in predicting their reports of school stakeholders' attitudes, especially teachers. Implications for principal preparation programs and recommendations for school leadership practice are discussed.

ImportanceThe optimal temporal approach for reducing nicotine to minimally or nonaddictive levels in all cigarettes sold in the United States has not been determined.ObjectivesTo determine the effects of immediate vs gradual reduction in nicotine content to very low levels and as compared with usual nicotine level cigarettes on biomarkers of toxicant exposure.Design, setting, and participantsA double-blind, randomized, parallel-design study with 2 weeks of baseline smoking and 20 weeks of intervention was conducted at 10 US sites. A volunteer sample of daily smokers with no intention to quit within 30 days was recruited between July 2014 and September 2016, with the last follow-up completed in March 2017.Interventions(1) Immediate reduction to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes; (2) gradual reduction from 15.5 mg to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes with 5 monthly dose changes; or (3) maintenance on 15.5 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes.Main outcomes and measuresBetween-group differences in 3 co-primary biomarkers of smoke toxicant exposure: breath carbon monoxide (CO), urine 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid (3-HPMA, metabolite of acrolein), and urine phenanthrene tetraol (PheT, indicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) calculated as area under the concentration-time curve over the 20 weeks of intervention.ResultsAmong 1250 randomized participants (mean age, 45 years; 549 women [44%]; 958 [77%] completed the trial), significantly lower levels of exposure were observed in the immediate vs gradual reduction group for CO (mean difference, -4.06 parts per million [ppm] [95% CI, -4.89 to -3.23]; P

Abstract Background The cognitive training Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART) has been shown to improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress when completed using in‐person delivery, but mental health outcomes have not yet been studied for online delivery of SMART. Methods Data was analyzed from 145 generally healthy adults participating in the BrainHealth Project pilot study who had access to 12 weeks of online self‐paced SMART and self‐reported mental health symptoms on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS‐21) pre‐ and post‐training. We utilized linear models to examine the change in self‐reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress following the 12‐week training period and to explore the influence of age, gender, and education on changes in symptomatology. Data from 44 participants who completed a follow‐up DASS‐21 6 months after completing SMART was used to explore the lasting impact of the training. Results Improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were observed following online SMART, evidenced by a significant decrease in self‐reported symptoms on the DASS‐21. Improvement in self‐reported mental health symptomatology was maintained or continued to improve 6‐month post‐training. No significant effect of gender was observed, but findings motivate additional exploration of the effects of education and age. Conclusion Online SMART should be considered a low‐cost, high‐impact approach for supporting public mental health for generally healthy adults.

This study investigates the frequency of research-based leadership strategies utilized by newly hired school principals in the workplace. Public school superintendents in Indiana were asked to respond to two open-ended research questions. Through the use of content analysis, their comments were coded for the occurrence of effective leadership practices. The Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards were used as classification categories. The findings revealed that collaboration and skills in instruction, curriculum, and evaluation were the most frequently observed leadership skills. Management skills were identified as the area in greatest need of improvement, especially a noted lack of budgetary skills. The content analysis identified categories of responses in addition to the ELCC standards. Superintendents repeatedly commented on new principals' strong interpersonal skills and suggested that additional years of experience would enhance the principals' development of the most influential leadership skills.

This article explores how sociologists of religion can respond to 'the animal turn' in studies of lived religion and nonreligion. We begin by considering how sociology has neglected the place of non-human animals and the 'more than human' in social life. We then turn to the sociology of religion, where animals have often been devalued or ignored as irrelevant to understanding religion in society. We argue that it is necessary to consider the ways in which human activities are shaped by non-human animals. This does not mean that animals should be thought of as nonreligious or religious. We contend that the failure to incorporate non-human animals in sociological considerations of religion and nonreligion replicates a hierarchical model, which sees human life as above or higher than non-human life and calls our attention to the place of sociological research amid the climate crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I focus on designations of 'our culture and heritage' that defend practices and symbols of religious majorities. I consider the entanglement of nationalist narratives, secularity and the 'us' in the claims of social actors and public discussions about culture and heritage. What is understood as being religious and what is culture/heritage is dependent on the social actors involved, their position in society and the interpretive frameworks available to them. I consider the following questions: How are culture and heritage used in legal and public discourse to justify the continued presence of such symbols and practices in Christian majority countries in the West? What are the religious histories implicated in this process? Who is imagined to be included when crosses and prayers are staked out as 'our culture and heritage'? What is the relationship between culture and heritage and national imaginaries? Ultimately, as religious majorities see their numbers dwindle and power relations shift, the attempt to imbricate religious practices and beliefs in public spaces and rituals is quite possibly a translation of the religious to the secular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined several popular integrated skills textbooks used in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and English as a second language (ESL) programs for pragmatics and oral fluency activities. Although many instructors use other resources to supplement classroom instruction, the textbook is still the backbone of many language courses. We wanted to know to what extent textbooks focus on pragmatics and oral fluency, as well as the range of activities featured in each. In light of the recent federal evaluation of LINC programs in Canada, which indicated extremely limited improvement in speaking and listening skills as a result of language instruction, it is important to know which textbooks offer the best opportunities for pragmatics and fluency development. We determined that very few textbook series are consistent in their inclusion of pragmatic content in terms of scope, quality, and quantity. As might be expected, oral fluency is not a major focus in integrated skills texts; however, those activities that are intended to enhance fluency development could easily be improved by an instructor.

Many instructors are reluctant to teach pronunciation in adult ESL classrooms, often because of lack of formal training. However, significant numbers of ESL students want pronunciation instruction. Although stand-alone pronunciation courses for second-language (L2) learners exist, many students cannot gain access to them. One approach to meeting the needs of both instructors and students is for general-skills L2 textbooks to include pronunciation activities. We examined 12 ESL general-skills textbook series (48 texts in total) and six accompanying teachers' manuals to determine to what extent these popular books include pronunciation activities and how consistent the texts are across individual series. We also recorded which aspects of L2 pronunciation are the focus of the lessons. Task types were examined in a subset of five series. We found striking variability in the concentration of pronunciation activities both across and within series. Similarly, whereas some textbooks used several task types, others relied heavily on a limited range. Furthermore, some texts offered little in terms of explicit explanations. In some instances teachers' manuals provided instructors with guidance; others included little more than repeated admonitions to remind the students to monitor their L2 pronunciation. The implications for teachers of general ESL courses are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare disease caused by uncontrolled complement activation; effective and approved treatments include terminal complement inhibition. This study assessed whether combination cemdisiran (an investigational N-acetylgalactosamine-conjugated RNAi therapeutic that suppresses liver production of complement component C5) and pozelimab (an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody against C5) results in more effective and durable complement activity inhibition than the individual agents alone in non-human primates. Cynomolgus monkeys received a single subcutaneous injection of cemdisiran (5 or 25 mg/kg), pozelimab (5 or 10 mg/kg), or combination cemdisiran and pozelimab (5+5 mg/kg, 5+10 mg/kg, or 25+10 mg/kg, respectively). When given in combination, pozelimab was administered 2 weeks after cemdisiran dosing. Pharmacokinetics and ex vivo pharmacodynamic properties were assessed. The half-life of pozelimab alone was 12.9–13.3 days; this increased to 19.6–21.1 days for pozelimab administered in combination with cemdisiran. In ex vivo classical pathway hemolysis assays (CH50), pozelimab + cemdisiran combinations achieved durable and more complete suppression of complement activity (8–13 weeks) vs monotherapy of either agent. Cemdisiran monotherapy demonstrated dose-dependent suppression of total C5 concentrations, with the higher dose (25 mg/kg) achieving >90% maximum suppression. Total C5 concentrations after administration of pozelimab + cemdisiran combinations were similar compared with administration of cemdisiran alone. The combination of pozelimab + cemdisiran mediates complement activity inhibition more efficiently than either pozelimab or cemdisiran administered alone. The pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of combination pozelimab + cemdisiran in non-human primates appears suitable for further clinical investigation as a potential long-acting treatment for PNH and other complement-mediated diseases.

This study investigated teacher evaluation practices used in Indiana as the state was implementing a mandated teacher evaluation system (Public Law 90) and early reporting of subsequent teacher effectiveness results by the Indiana Department of Education. The study surveyed public school administrators: (a) superintendents, (b) special education directors, and (c) K-12 building principals via e-mail using Qualtrics. A total of 2,444 administrators were invited to participate with a 28% return rate. Summative and formative teacher evaluation methods were used, but emergent methods (as mandated in PL 90) were not widely used. Recommendations for a more unified approach to teacher evaluation are emphasized.

Principals should lead for social justice, particularly in support of marginalized and vulnerable students like lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents. This quantitative survey-based study collected data from 116 middle grade principals in Indiana to examine the implementation of antibullying policies and best practices supporting LGBTQ students. Findings suggest that utilization of research-based policies and practices may provide protection and support to LGBTQ students from bullying and discrimination at school. Implications for practice include integration of findings with essential research on bullying and LGBTQ youth.