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Despite the presence of a historically male-dominated culture in leadership, gender-mediated obstacles and challenges, black women in South Africa have the passion to develop professionally and move to higher levels as educational leaders. The current study assessed female students' perceptions regarding a joint pilot doctoral programme between the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and California State University, Fullerton's (CSUF) Higher Education programme, and their experiences while in the programme. Five participants described programme expectations, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and programme completion. Moreover, the research focused on the participants' future hopes, aspirations and their observations regarding any changes in their professional and academic growth. Students expressed that coming to CSUF after their experiences at UWC enabled them to learn from faculty members with expertise in student affairs, which has further developed their knowledge concerning student development strategies, philosophy and history. Recommendations for the programme centred on increased cohort meetings, expanded programme resources such as research, student support outside the classroom settings, and the improvement of programme funding in order to provide more financial support to students. The importance of professional development and formalised training programmes, expanding research dynamics, and teaching components with international collaborations are promising practices to address the challenges and obstacles that black women face in preparing to become leaders in South African higher education.

Recent trends in higher education financing have increased students' need to borrow to afford college. This brief examines how federal student loan borrowing has changed from 2000 to 2016 by student race/ethnicity using logistic regression analysis and data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). We find that the odds of borrowing have diverged over time across racial and ethnic subgroups even after controlling for institutional sector and students' financial circumstances. This divergence in student loan borrowing has important implications for policymakers and researchers interested in closing racial gaps in college access and success.

Autistic children and young people (CYP) experience mental health difficulties but face many barriers to accessing and benefiting from mental health care. There is a need to explore strategies in mental health care for autistic CYP to guide clinical practice and future research and support their mental health needs. Our aim was to identify strategies used to improve mental health care for autistic CYP and examine evidence on their acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness. A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out. All study designs reporting acceptability/feasibility outcomes and empirical quantitative studies reporting effectiveness outcomes for strategies tested within mental health care were eligible. We conducted a narrative synthesis and separate meta-analyses by informant (self, parent, and clinician). Fifty-seven papers were included, with most investigating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based interventions for anxiety and several exploring service-level strategies, such as autism screening tools, clinician training, and adaptations regarding organization of services. Most papers described caregiver involvement in therapy and reported adaptations to communication and intervention content; a few reported environmental adjustments. In the meta-analyses, parent- and clinician-reported outcomes, but not self-reported outcomes, showed with moderate certainty that CBT for anxiety was an effective treatment compared to any comparison condition in reducing anxiety symptoms in autistic individuals. The certainty of evidence for effectiveness, synthesized narratively, ranged from low to moderate. Evidence for feasibility and acceptability tended to be positive. Many identified strategies are simple, reasonable adjustments that can be implemented in services to enhance mental health care for autistic individuals. Notable research gaps persist, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the case of a patient with pure seminoma in the orchiectomy specimen with retroperitoneal mass and a minimally elevated alpha fetoprotein (AFP). The patient received chemotherapy with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging demonstrating minimal fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake consistent with no viable tumour. Subsequent imaging revealed slow growth in the residual mass with a mildly elevated fluctuating AFP. A robotic-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed revealing metastatic teratoma. This case illustrates the potential for a missed or 'burned out' occult NSGCT in a patient with pure seminoma and the importance of post-treatment surveillance. In advanced seminoma, PET may be used to distinguish viable tumour from necrosis in post-chemotherapy residual masses. However, it is unable to distinguish between teratoma and necrosis in non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT). Minimally elevated AFP could be a normal variant or signify a component of NSGCT in such cases. Level of evidence: 4 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary trauma arises through indirect exposure to trauma through engaging with first-hand accounts and narratives of traumatic events. While a significant amount of research has explored secondary trauma experienced by professionals who work with survivors of trauma, such as clinicians and front-line service providers, there is little research exploring the experiences of secondary trauma among violence researchers who routinely engage with traumatic first-hand accounts through their work. This study qualitatively explored violence researcher's professional experiences of secondary trauma and their perceptions of what enables and constrains their own coping and resilience. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with seven female violence researchers from the United Kingdom. Questions explored participant's experiences of secondary trauma symptoms related to their research, perceptions of their own coping and resilience, and experiences of organizational support that have enabled or constrained their resilience. Data were analyzed thematically using a coding framework applied reflexively across interview transcripts. All participants reported experiencing symptoms of secondary trauma from their work including cognitive disturbances; altered beliefs of themselves, others or the world; and challenges connecting with others. Participants' assessment of their own expertise in violence research did not generally impact their perception of their own resilience. Organizational support for violence researchers was rarely provided and participants felt generally unsupported—left to manage any resultant distress alone. Research organizations and universities should implement trauma-informed policies which positively transform workplace culture, provide peer support spaces, and conduct effective training in order to mitigate psychological harm and promote resilience among violence researchers. Support should be tailored to the requirements of violence researchers, and institutions should develop policies that are specifically attentive to the needs of researchers who also have lived experience of violence and abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latino students are significantly underrepresented in higher education. As the largest and fastest growing racial/ethnic population in the US, this is cause for national concern. Additionally, this rapid population growth is a call for community and school leaders from underserved communities to assess their service areas and focus on interventions to increase the college-going rates of youth. Maywood is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles. Like many other urban areas, Maywood's largely Latino population is underrepresented in higher education. This research focused on interviewing Maywood's community and school leaders (n = 24) to gain insight into their perceptions of their role and responsibility to address issues surrounding their community's low levels of educational attainment. A key theme emerged revealing that leaders understand their community's educational issues but do not see their role as leaders to directly address this issue to build a college-going culture. Implications for practice in strengthening community partnerships and developing a college-going culture are provided and a series of recommendations for the creation of a college-going culture are discussed.