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In 2016, Absher and Cardenas-Dow wrote that for people of color, collaboration is often 'a complex social and cultural negotiation' that acts as 'a coping mechanism, a way to meet every day needs, the way we succeed and thrive in an environment that is not always accepting of our viewpoints.' (1) Approaching collaboration as library faculty members with an understanding of its complex nature, the authors were delighted when the opportunity to collaborate arose. All women of color, the ease at which we were able to share, create, and flow together naturally offered us all the coping that Absher and Cardenas-Dow mentioned. The impression of our newfound safety net by our white library colleagues was one of less than productive value, resulting in the labeling of us as a 'clique.' Almost picking up where Absher and Cardenas-Dow left off, we hope to examine the acts of misunderstanding and offer recommendations on how academic libraries--and many white people who work in them--can reflect on their language, intentions, and approaches to culturally exclusive collaboration. This report will touch on aspects of collaboration across departments, shifting toxic legacy practices, countering weaponized traditions of collaboration, and implementing change as new librarians. Keywords: collaboration, cultural collaboration, minority women librarians, library cooperation, Introduction Imagine going to eat with a group of friends at a restaurant you have never been to before. You are all expecting to sit around a table together, touching [...]

Lauren A. Turner and A. J. Angulo explore how institutional theory can be applied to explain variance in higher education organizational strategies. Given strong regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive pressures to conform, they ask, why do some colleges engage in high-risk decision making? To answer this, they bring together classic and contemporary approaches to institutional theory and propose an integrated model for understanding outlier higher education strategies. The integrated model offers a heuristic for analyzing external and internal pressures that motivate colleges to implement nontraditional strategies. Through an analysis of recent trends among outlier colleges and their approaches to the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Turner and Angulo contextualize the model and consider its potential for understanding why higher education organizations adopt characteristics that differentiate them from their peers.

This paper explores the narrativization of sports icons within the context of nationalist discourse. The authors explore New Zealand media coverage surrounding the death of Colin Meads in August 2017. Meads, a former all Black rugby captain, coach and administrator, media pundit, and corporate spokesman, was a high-profile public icon. His death was met with saturation national media coverage. The authors' cultural studies informed analysis of Meads' narrativization is twofold. First, the authors contextualize the cultural scripts surrounding him prior to his death. Second, they critically read media narrativization following his death within the context of narratives of nation. They explore this mediation in the context of intersecting themes of rurality, Whiteness, masculinity, and rugby. Print media coverage widely articulated Meads to the nation as the archetypical "kiwi," liturgized his contribution to rugby during and after his playing career, and his "no-nonsense" character. In doing so, it reinforced a selective national narrative, premised on a combination of both remembering and forgetting. This narrative reaffirms White-settler, male heroism, and rugby as central to New Zealand nationhood and assuages contemporary national anxieties and the cultural hierarchies they entangle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Characterization of longitudinal SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses in children following infection and vaccination is needed to inform SARS-CoV-2 vaccine policy decisions for children, which may differ from adults. Methods We enrolled individuals at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination for longitudinal serological testing and compared SARS-CoV-2-spike-specific IgG and neutralization activity in children and adults stratified by infection and vaccination status using enzyme-linked immunosorbent and virus neutralization assays. Results Between June 2020 and December 2022, we collected sera from 669 participants aged 40 days to 55 years, including 330 unvaccinated individuals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, 180 vaccinated SARS-CoV-2-naïve individuals, and 159 vaccinated previously infected individuals. Half (n = 330, 49.3%) were children. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and neutralization activity in children < 12 years old in response to infection persisted at higher levels than those of adults through at least 6 months (spike-specific IgG levels, 2.05 [95% CI: 1.4-3.1] times higher than adults; neutralizing activity, median 88.8 vs 75.2%, respectively, p  = .04). In addition, all pediatric participants had significantly higher IgG levels compared with adults at 6 months following infection or vaccination, regardless of prior infection status. Vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG responses in previously infected individuals persisted at higher levels than those from infection alone at 6 months (median AUC, children 5-11 years old, 9115 vs 368; adolescents 3613 vs 475; adults 1956 vs 263, all p  < .001). Conclusions These data demonstrate the robust and persistent immunologic response of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in children and emphasize the benefit of vaccination after SARS-CoV-2 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have examined the variability in outcomes of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 2. Research is needed to understand the children whose symptoms--or diagnoses--change over time. The objectives of this study were to examine the behavioral and diagnostic outcomes of a carefully defined sample of 2-year-old children with ASD, and to identify child and environmental factors that contribute to variability in outcomes at age 4. Methods: Forty-eight children diagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) at age 2 were followed to age 4. Diagnostic measures included the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G) and clinical diagnosis at ages 2 and 4, and the ADI-R at age 4. Results: Diagnostic stability for an ASD diagnosis (autism or PDDNOS) was 63%, and for an autism diagnosis was 68%. Children who failed to meet diagnostic criteria for ASD at follow-up were more likely to: 1) be 30 months or younger at initial evaluation; 2) have milder symptoms of autism, particularly in the social domain; and 3) have higher cognitive scores at age 2. No differences between children with stable and unstable diagnoses were found for amount of intervention services received. Among the children with unstable diagnoses, all but one continued to have developmental disorders, most commonly in the area of language. Conclusions: The stability of ASD was lower in the present study than has been reported previously, a finding largely attributable to children who were diagnosed at 30 months or younger. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

This study used a concurrent correlational design to examine associations between three types of motor imitation with objects and three proposed correlates in 32 two- and three-year-old children diagnosed with ASD. Attention-following and fine motor ability were significant, unique correlates of imitation in an observational learning context. Attention-following was a significant correlate of imitation in a direct elicitation context. Social reciprocity was a significant correlate of imitation in an interactive play context. These associations were observed after controlling for general developmental level. Results support previous findings that motor imitation may not reflect a unitary construct for children with ASD and that different skills may underlie the performance of different types of motor imitation. Implications for interventions targeting motor imitation are discussed.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the developmental outcomes of children 7 years after their initial diagnosis. Children diagnosed with autism or PDD-NOS at age 2 received follow-up evaluations at age 9. Diagnostic stability was high, with 88 percent of the sample obtaining autism spectrum diagnoses at age 9. Cognitive scores improved considerably for a large segment of the sample, with over 50 percent obtaining scores in the average range at follow-up. Language outcomes were also positive at follow-up; 88 percent of the sample demonstrated at least some functional language, and 32 percent were able to engage in conversational exchanges. Early characteristics that predicted outcome status were: age of diagnosis, age 2 cognitive and language scores, and total hours of speech-language therapy between ages 2 and 3.These findings highlight the potential long-term benefits of both early identification and early intervention, and provide additional evidence for the importance of promoting public awareness of the early signs of autism. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

The STAT is an interactive screening measure for autism that assesses behaviors in the areas of play, communication, and imitation skills. In Study 1, signal detection procedures were employed to identify a cutoff score for the STAT using developmentally matched groups of 2-year-old children with autism and with nonspectrum disorders. The resulting cutoff yielded high sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for the development sample as well as for an independent validation sample. Study 2 examined psychometric properties of the STAT and revealed acceptable levels of interrater agreement, test-retest reliability, and agreement between STAT risk category and ADOS-G classification. The STAT demonstrates strong psychometric properties and shows promising utility as a Level 2 screening measure for autism.

It is imperative to support the next generation of nurses and nurse leaders facing the challenges of our complex health systems. A formal mentoring program provides a structure that allows nurses to have a relationship that promotes ongoing counsel, career development, and a myriad of other benefits with another nurse or other healthcare professionals. The 2023 Magnet® Application Manual requires organizations to implement and use mentoring and succession planning programs under the transformational leadership standard. Adopting and sustaining effective and meaningful mentoring and succession planning activities and programs promote an environment of inclusion and professional development. In addition to formal mentoring programs, the importance of informal mentoring relationships can have a lasting impact on nurses along their nursing journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]