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A positive school climate is strongly associated with enhanced student outcomes. With the disengagement of Black and Latinx youth living in poverty being at an all-time high, participation in sport-based youth development (SBYD) programs may enhance school climate, while capitalizing on existing interests. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a SBYD intervention on male students of color and school climate. Method: Using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, 32 male students of color (11 Black, 13 Latinx, 8 two or more races) participated in an SBYD intervention, twice a week for a total of 20 weeks (Ages 10-14, M = 11.46). School climate data were gathered at the beginning and the end of the school year. Student, teacher, and administrator focus groups and interviews were also conducted at the end of the year. Results: A statistically significant interaction was found between students who participated in the intervention and those who did not participate in the intervention, on school climate measures F(1,74) = 15.00, p < 0.01, partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.17. Overall school climate scores were statistically significantly greater in the intervention group (F(1,74) = 19.22, p < 0.01, partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.20) at the end of the year. Focus group data also revealed themes of improved school connectedness, peer support, the acquisition of social/civic skills, and school engagement. Conclusions: A SBYD intervention may be a viable strategy to engage disconnected students and increase school climate perceptions, particularly among male students of color living in poverty. [This study was presented at the 2017 American Educational Research Association conference in San Antonio, Texas.]

Campus-community partnerships utilizing sport and focused on youth participants are increasingly prevalent and have demonstrated effectiveness in promoting healthy behaviors. However, the majority of research has not analyzed the nature of collaboration, and the inherent benefits and challenges, utilizing theory and focused on management implications. The two-part study examined the development of sport-based authentic adolescent leadership program utilizing the Campus Community Partnerships for Health (CCPH) authentic partnership model in a school engaged in a turnaround process. Data included field notes from a four-month period during which participant observations of school leadership meetings, school governance council meetings, parent teacher organization (PTO) meetings, individual teacher interactions, and university program meetings occurred. Study 1 called for the researchers to ask how community partners (school) examine programming and identify gaps. Results included two themes: the need to develop positive relationships between students and school staff and the need for consistency. Study 2 results focused on the development and implementation of a program intended to address the gaps identified in Study 1. Results included the following themes: the priority of clear and open communication, being relationship focused, building upon strengths and assets, and identifying meaningful outcomes and transformative experiences. Findings from the two studies can inform other campus-community partnerships about strategies to successfully develop and implement new programs in the midst of a demanding situation like a school turnaround. By adhering to the principles of an authentic partnership (CCPH, 2013), the school and university partners were able to identify, develop and implement a program that met the needs of both partners.

Principals are critical to the effectiveness of schools, especially those serving children with the fewest advantages in life. So how can it be ensured that principals have the skills to carry out this challenging and evolving job? Enter the powerful combination of university principal preparation programs and the school districts their graduates feed into. Since 2016, the University of Connecticut has been part of an effort, supported by The Wallace Foundation, that seeks to improve principal preservice training. A centerpiece of that work is the development and operation of university-district partnerships, from start to finish. Alongside the Connecticut Department of Education, the University has worked in partnership with Meriden Public Schools, Hartford Public Schools, and New Haven Public Schools. The latter two are the second- and third-largest districts in the state, respectively, but all three are urban districts serving a high number of students from low-income families. In this article, the authors share how their experience in the University Principal Preparation Initiative shifted their mindset about the work they do with school districts from a transactional to a transformational partnership. Herein, they describe some important lessons in their collaborative journey to enhance principal preparation in Connecticut.

In this article, we examine the process of conducting anti-racist research in Sport for Development, specifically Sport-Based Youth Development programs in the United States. We acknowledge that participatory methods have been both identified and problematized as approaches to challenge the racialized experiences of youth. We share examples of attempts at Youth Participatory Action Research utilized across six previously unpublished projects. Through sharing our efforts to co-create environments with youth to produce changes impacting their development, we provide insight on our experiences and shortcomings. Finally, we conclude with implications for the field of Sport for Development, and youth-focused scholars, on deconstructing contexts that preserve and privilege whiteness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a substantial surge has occurred in the number of initiatives, events and organizations focused on using sport as a tool for development, peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts. This has created a growing need for educated leaders in the sport-based youth development field as the job market in this field continues to expand. The purpose of this article is to describe three academic programs currently preparing undergraduate and graduate students to succeed in leadership positions within sport-based youth development organizations. It explores how these academic programs are responding to the emerging job market and describes the courses and field-based experiences that provide students with the knowledge, skills and experiences to lead this growing field. The conclusion explores the strengths of these academic programs and the challenges they have faced, with a particular focus on information that may be beneficial to administrators, educators and practitioners.

NCAA Division I athletic departments have pervasive issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A possible remedy is the adoption of Athletic Diversity and Inclusion Officers (ADIO). Diversity leaders are espoused to challenge and address inequitable organizational contexts. The current study examined if Black women ADIOs have the agentic abilities to lead and enact divergent DEI practices in their Division I athletic departments. Drawing upon institutional entrepreneurship, we demonstrate the complexities of leading divergent change related to DEI in Division I NCAA collegiate athletic departments, the difficulties of ADIOs achieving legitimacy, and highlight how dominant organizational actors serve as barriers to ADIO's introduction of divergent DEI practices. Lastly, the race-gendered identity of ADIOs in this study hindered their ability to achieve a successful subject position. These findings demonstrate that a ADIO's desire for divergent change, does not guarantee it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine if physical activity is related to greater executive functions among youth in poverty. Executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and physical activity were measured in participants (N = 149) in the fifth to eighth grade from three schools located in high-poverty districts. Pearson correlations revealed a statistically significant correlation between physical activity and cognitive flexibility (r = .18, p < .05). Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that physical activity significantly improved prediction for cognitive flexibility, R2 = .09, F(6, 142) = 2.26, p = .041, adjusted R2 = .05, above sex, maturity, and school district. A two-way multivariate analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant differences in working memory in more active youth compared with less active but no statistically significant differences in cognitive flexibility or inhibition (p < .05). Greater physical activity is associated with greater working memory among youth in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her 2019 Earle F. Zeigler address, Jennifer McGarry drew on the 2017 Academy of Management Report "Measuring and Achieving Scholarly Impact" to examine how the field of sport management and the North American Society for Sport Management operationalize impact. She pointed to a broader, more inclusive, and critical examination of impact. McGarry highlighted impact on practice and impact through being explicit, particularly about the ways gender and race affect what we deem to have impact. Finally, she spoke to impact through individual and collective action, such as educating students, scholarship, and policy and advocacy. She provided examples of where we could disrupt the structures that work to maintain the status quo in terms of impact—the in-groups and the out-groups, the metrics and evaluations. She also gave examples of impact that have happened, that are happening, and that can happen even more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A positive school climate is strongly associated with enhanced student outcomes. With the disengagement of Black and Latinx youth living in poverty being at an all-time high, participation in sport-based youth development (SBYD) programs may enhance school climate, while capitalizing on existing interests. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a SBYD intervention on male students of color and school climate. Method: Using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, 32 male students of color (11 Black, 13 Latinx, 8 two or more races) participated in an SBYD intervention, twice a week for a total of 20 weeks (Ages 10–14, M = 11.46). School climate data were gathered at the beginning and the end of the school year. Student, teacher, and administrator focus groups and interviews were also conducted at the end of the year. Results: A statistically significant interaction was found between students who participated in the intervention and those who did not participate in the intervention, on school climate measures F(1,74) = 15.00, p <.01, partial η2 =.17. Overall school climate scores were statistically significantly greater in the intervention group (F(1,74) = 19.22, p <.01, partial η2 =.20) at the end of the year. Focus group data also revealed themes of improved school connectedness, peer support, the acquisition of social/civic skills, and school engagement. Conclusions: A SBYD intervention may be a viable strategy to engage disconnected students and increase school climate perceptions, particularly among male students of color living in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to examine the nature and quality of Black female athletes' college experiences across race, sport, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) divisional classifications. Female athletes constitute nearly half of all NCAA participants and yet their experiences are often only highlighted in comparison to male peers (NCAA, 2018) and more specifically the racialized experiences of female athletes are conspicuously under researched. Given that female athletes graduate at higher rates than their male counterparts, make decisions about their academic pursuits differently, and are generally more engaged in university life (Kulics, Kornspan, & Kretovics, 2015), it is critical for leaders to better understand how they experience college. In this study, we analyzed data from an NCAA Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Learning of Students (GOALS) survey to explore the college experiences of Black female athletes compared to their female athlete counterparts. Comeaux and Harrison's (2011) conceptual model for student-athlete academic success was incorporated to explore the relationships between Black female athletes' interactions with institutional systems, levels of integration (academic and social), and educational outcomes. Key findings provided insight into the unique experiences of Black female athletes as a result of their race, gender, sport, and divisional classification. Implications from this study highlight the need to engage culturally responsive strategies for academic and social integration of Black female athletes across all divisional classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments have shown that hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) is thermodynamically poised to catalyze reduction of N[O.sub.2.sup.-] to N[H.sub.4.sup.-]. HAO has not catalyzed the disproportionation of N[H.sub.2]OH, despite the thermodynamically favorability of such a process, and the opportunity presented by the HAO structure.

A re-investigation of the interaction with NO of the small tetraheme protein cytochrome c554 (C554) from Nitrosomonas europaea has shown that the 5-coordinate heme II of the two- or four-electron-reduced protein will nitrosylate reversibly. The process is first order in C554, first order in NO, and second-order overall. The rate constant for NO binding to the heme is 3000 ± 140 M−1s−1, while that for dissociation is 0.034 ± 0.009 s−1; the degree of protein reduction does not appear to significantly influence the nitrosylation rate. In contrast to a previous report (Upadhyay AK, et al. J Am Chem Soc 128:4330, 2006), this study found no evidence of C554-catalyzed NO reduction, either with C5542- or with C5544-. Some sub-stoichiometric oxidation of the lowest potential heme IV was detected when C5544- was exposed to an excess of NO, but this is believed to arise from partial intramolecular electron transfer that generates {Fe(NO)}8 at heme II. The vacant heme II coordination site of C554 is crowded by three non-bonding hydrophobic amino acids. After replacing one of these (Phe156) with the smaller alanine, the nitrosylation rate for F156A2− and F156A4− was about 400× faster than for the wild type, though the rate of the reverse denitrosylation process was almost unchanged. Unlike in the wild-type C554, the 6-coordinate low-spin hemes of F156A4− oxidized over the course of several minutes after exposure to NO. Concomitant formation of N2O could explain this heme oxidation, though alternative explanations are equally plausible given the available data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carmen Jackson directs West Jefferson’s Harris Center. Dissatisfied with the efforts of previous partners at the Center, she is looking to form connections with partners with whom she could work alongside to address the interests and needs of West Jefferson’s youth. Specifically, Ms. Jackson is concerned about the lack of structured programming and the low participation rates among girls. Dr. Snow, from nearby Paul Warner College (PWC), was referred to Ms. Jackson as a possible new partner. Dr. Snow saw the potential for college students in her Non-Profit and Community Sport course to engage in projects with the Harris Center. Summer conversations led to plans to begin partnering in the fall. The new school year has arrived. As Ms. Jackson posts flyers about the new partnership per a request from PWC’s media campaign, she is waiting to meet Dr. Snow’s students. Utilizing Parent and Harvey’s model for community-based sport initiatives, the emerging partnership between the Harris Center and PWC has established a mutually beneficial purpose. However, additional antecedents necessary for a successful project could be lacking (i.e., collaborative planning, understanding of the environments, and nature of partners), and not everyone realizes the issues with how the partnership is beginning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]