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Electronic Nicotine Product (ENP) Graphic Warnings: Association between Exposure and Changes in Perceived Susceptibility and Severity of Explosion and Lung Injuries
Get PDFElectronic nicotine products (ENPs) are the most prevalent form of tobacco use among U.S. young adults. Research is needed to investigate how to communicate new risks from ENPs to the public. In this study, we tested the comparative persuasiveness of ENP explosion and lung injury graphic warnings. We recruited a sample of 343 young adults (18 to 28 years; 146 male, 197 female), including both ENP users and nonusers, via Amazon Mechanical Turk in October 2020. We randomly assigned participants to one of six exposure conditions: two images of lung injuries with prevalence statistics, two images of battery explosion injuries with prevalence statistics, and two images of ENPs with messages about chemicals or nicotine/addiction. We measured perceptions and intention to use ENPs before and after exposure. Linear regression models examined whether exposure conditions were associated with post-exposure perceived susceptibility and severity of ENP lung injuries and explosion injuries, perceived intensity, fear, and intention to use, adjusting for baseline values and potential confounders. Compared to the chemicals/nicotine messages, explosion and lung injury stimuli were perceived to be more intense (p \u3c .001) and evoked greater fear (p \u3c .001). Both explosion injury images were associated with increased perceived susceptibility (p \u3c .01) and severity (p \u3c .001). One lung injury image was associated with increased perceived susceptibility (p \u3c .01) and reduced intention to use ENPs (p \u3c .05). Our results show that ENP graphic warnings can increase threat perceptions about ENP lung and explosion injuries among young adults. Similar graphic warnings may be effective for other harms associated with ENPs
Post-Weaning Feed Intake and Performance of Bulls Developed in an Automated Feed Intake Management System
Get PDFObjective:Our objectives were to compare expected and observed dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) using modeled nutrient requirement equations, and to evaluate change in DMI over time of beef bull calves fed in an automated feed intake system.
Study Description:Feed intake and performance data from purebred Angus, Hereford, and Simmental bull calves across two calf crops [birth years 2021 (n = 40) and 2022 (n = 37)] were utilized for this analysis. Projected DMI and ADG were calculated for each group of bulls by year on an individual basis using the Growing Bull module of the Excel-based Beef Ration and Nutrition Decision Software (BRANDS) formulation program (Iowa State University, Ames, IA). These predicted figures were compared to the Insentec intake data and analyzed via SAS.
Results:In 2021–2022, a strong positive correlation (r= 0.78,P\u3c0.01) was observed between actual and predicted DMI. There was a highly correlated (r= 0.84,P\u3c0.01) relationship for the observed and predicted DMI for 2022–2023 as well. Actual ADG for both years was markedly higher than predicted. This result supports that BRANDS more accurately predicts DMI compared to ADG, and that substantial individual intake variation exists.
The Bottom Line:DMI increases over time as days of test period increase for growing bulls in an individually fed intake system, and though significant day-to-day variation exists, the BRANDS program appears to more accurately predict DMI than ADG
Effect of Corn Type and Form of Supplement on Grazing Steers – Year 3
Get PDFEighty stocker steers were grazed on bromegrass from the middle of May to the beginning of November and were provided five different feeds while on grass during the summer. Treatments evaluated included (1) mineral only; (2) free-choice supplementation in the form of liquid feed (MIX30), or (3) block format (Mintrate 40 Red); and hand-fed supplements of 60% corn:40% dried distillers grains at 0.5% of body weight on a dry matter basis offered daily where the corn was either an (4) isoline corn (ISO; parent genetic line) or (5) Enogen feed corn (ENO; includes the alpha-amylase gene). Steers were weighed every 28 days while on grass and were measured for carcass quality by ultrasound prior to being placed in feedlot. Hand-fed steers had greater gain than self-fed supplemented steers and these hand-fed steers tended to have more muscle depth coming off grass than other supplemented steers. There was no difference in backfat nor marbling scores off grass for any treatments evaluated. Loin muscle depth was greater for supplemented steers as compared to non-supplemented. Overall, if a steer was supplementally fed, it had 64 pounds more weight than if fed a mineral only, and this advantage was driven primarily by hand-fed supplements. However, each operation needs to calculate cost of production and ease of feeding daily over the convenience of self-fed supplements
Using College Students as Peer Leaders in a Tobacco Prevention Program and the Effect on Student Participant Smoking Beliefs and Social Influence Leadership
Get PDFThis study evaluates the effectiveness of using college students as peer leaders in an after-school tobacco prevention program for upper elementary students. Thirty-three students and three counselors participated in a six-week intervention, focusing on social influence and active-learning strategies. The program aimed to improve students\u27 smoking outcome expectancies and their ability to influence peers against tobacco use. Despite following best practices, the study found no significant changes in students\u27 smoking beliefs or observed leadership abilities. These results suggest that while initial anti-tobacco beliefs remained strong, the short duration and structured setting may have limited opportunities for significant behavioral changes. This study highlights the importance of exploring diverse and non-traditional settings for tobacco prevention education and suggests further research with larger samples and varied contexts to better understand the potential impact of peer-led interventions
Am I Entitled to Help? Building Confidence Through Financial Inclusion
Get PDFFinancial inclusion has focused primarily on the accessibility of financial social services. However, it is important to note that individual financial practices not only require the opportunity to access financial structures, but also confidence in their accessibility to engage in and utilize such services. Individuals facing difficult life situations often encounter challenges in financial activities due to limited resources and a need for more skills. Consequently, their financial capability is often restricted, and they more frequently experience financial exclusion. Despite this problem, the literature on financial inclusion needs to give more attention to subjective financial inclusion. To understand the process of financially including vulnerable consumers, this study examines how experienced financial inclusion was a crucial element of financial capability in study participants’ daily financial activities. The study collected qualitative data from patients at Addiction Hospital in Järvenpää, Finland. The findings indicate that, before their experienced financial inclusion, the participants felt confident in being entitled to the available financial social services and their achievability. We suggest that supportive financial coaching should not only empower personal abilities and enable external opportunities but also build confidence in a sense of entitlement to fully utilize available financial social services
Editorial Introduction: Fostering Holistic Learning Environments
Get PDFThe collection of articles for this issue explores holistic education practices, focusing on trauma-informed teaching, mindfulness, and community building to support students\u27 emotional, social, and academic needs. Emphasizing teacher resilience and inclusive strategies, the articles highlight how fostering well-being in classrooms enhances student engagement, behavior, and overall academic success
Social Work Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned for Programming and Practice
Get PDFBackground: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning was rapidly implemented across schools of social work. This study examines the student perspective of online learning during the pandemic including the challenges faced from the unanticipated switch to remote learning and any benefits gleaned from remote learning.
Method: We conducted an online survey of social work students using Qualtrics. Surveys were delivered electronically to schools of social work in Turkey using convenience sampling. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis and quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS.
Results: The majority of the participants in our study (76.5 %) ranked their online education experience as fair (3 out of 5), reporting the most benefits of remote learning related to the academic domain and the greatest challenges related to the domain. Bi-variate analyses showed those over age 22 reported more experience of stress and anxiety (p=0.20), and those younger than 22 years have greater difficulty with staying on a screen for extended periods (p=0.40). A lack of digital learning materials (p=0.28) and stable internet connection ( p=0.49), were also noted as key challenges.
Conclusion: The need for flexibility in teaching practices and course requirements and increased attention to mental health are important for ensuring an effective online learning experience. Future contingency plans should account for the need for interactive technology in online social work classrooms that facilitate the relationships, engagement and sense of belonging that are such a critical component of social education
Social Media Use Reveals Public Perceptions of Prescribed Burning
Get PDFPublic acceptance and support of prescribed burning is critical for its continued use as an essential and effective land management tool in the southeastern U.S. For this practice to continue and expand, land management agencies and private landowners must have public acceptance and support for prescribed fire policy. Without it, they could face increased burn restrictions, as seen in parts of the western U.S., which might lead to decreased acres burned in the Southeast. Most research on public perceptions of prescribed burning has occurred in the West, but that level of research has been lacking in the Southeast. Our research seeks to fill a knowledge gap in a region where prescribed fires are more frequent than wildfires. To determine the current public perceptions of prescribed fire in the Southeast, we examined social media responses following two prescribed burns that resulted in smoke impacts to two major metropolitan areas in Florida. Data were collected and analyzed from social media platforms for the agencies conducting the burns, emergency response and law enforcement agencies, and traditional media. Our research found that Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) were the primary platforms used by the various agencies with Facebook having the higher number of public engagements. This study culminated in recommendations for improving fire science communication to the public to increase acceptance of prescribed fires on public and private lands and improve fire science policy. We recommend further research due to the rapidly changing environment of science communicators’ use of social media to disseminate information
Framing Agricultural Labor Issues: An Analysis of News Coverage of the H-2A Program
Get PDFThe H-2A program is a temporary agricultural worker program created by the Immigration Control and Reform Act in 1987 that allows agricultural employers in the United States to hire nonimmigrant foreign workers when a shortage of domestic workers exists. The H-2A program reduces labor shortages and helps to offset the incline in undocumented immigrants in the U.S., but the program is complex and continues to evolve as labor needs in agriculture continue to increase. Issues in agriculture, like the H-2A program, can be difficult to understand and often require specialized communication efforts. Researchers have found the news media help to shape public perceptions of complex issues, and news framing is often used by journalists to simplify details and make sense of unfolding information. This study analyzed the frequency of media coverage, frames, and sources used to communicate information about the H-2A program in newspapers located in the four states with the most certified H-2A workers – Florida, California, Georgia, and Washington. Newspaper articles pertaining to the H-2A program communicated information largely through a “policy/government” frame. The most frequently referenced sources throughout these articles were nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or NGO representatives, followed closely by elected officials. Recommendations for future studies involving media framing and the H-2A program are discussed
Effects of Increasing Dietary Zinc in Low ABC-4 Diets on Nursery Performance, Fecal Dry Matter, Serum Zinc, and Zinc Excretion
Get PDFWith the potential negative impact of pharmacological levels of zinc (typically from zinc oxide; ZnO) on the environment and public health, it’s necessary to validate the doses commonly used in commercial swine production and evaluate new nutritional strategies to replace the use of pharmacological levels of Zn. A total of 360 pigs (initially 13.2 ± 1.63 lb) were used to evaluate the effects of increasing dietary Zn and the acid-binding capacity (ABC-4) of the diet on nursery pig performance, fecal dry matter, serum Zn, and Zn excretion. At weaning, pigs were randomly assigned within two body-weight blocks to one of the six dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. There were five pigs per pen and 12 pens per treatment. Experimental diets were fed for the first 24 d (phases 1 and 2), and then all pigs were fed a common phase 3 diet for 22 d. All diets contained 110 ppm of Zn from ZnSO4 from the trace mineral premix. The control treatment consisted of a low ABC-4 diet (200 and 250 meq/kg from d 0 to 10 and d 10 to 24, respectively). The next four treatments were the control diet with increasing Zn at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 ppm in phase 1, and 333, 666, 1,332, and 2,000 ppm in phase 2 using ZnO. The sixth treatment was a high-ABC-4 diet (493 and 470 meq/kg from d 0 to 10 and d 10 to 24, respectively) with 3,000 and 2,000 ppm of added Zn in phases 1 and 2, respectively from ZnO. In all periods, no differences (P \u3e 0.10) were observed between the low- and high-ABC-4 diets when 3,000 and 2,000 ppm of Zn were added in phases 1 and 2, respectively. For the experimental period (d 0 to 24), ADG and ADFI increased (linear, P \u3c 0.05) as dietary Zn increased, with no difference in F/G. For the overall period, no response (P \u3e 0.10) to dietary Zn was observed for any of the performance criteria. For fecal dry matter, no significant effect of dietary Zn was observed at d 10 or 24 (P \u3e 0.10). However, at d 10, low-ABC-4 diets had a higher (P = 0.002) fecal dry matter than the high-ABC-4 diets at the same dietary level of Zn. Zinc intake, fecal Zn excretion, and Zn absorption increased (quadratic, P \u3c 0.001) as dietary Zn concentration increased. A trend was observed (linear, P = 0.074) as the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of Zn was increased as dietary Zn concentration increased. Low-ABC-4 diets had higher (P \u3c 0.05) Zn intake, absorption, and ATTD of Zn than the high-ABC-4 diet at the same dietary Zn concentration. No difference (P = 0.921) was observed for fecal Zn excretion between ABC-4 formulation strategies. Day 24 serum-Zn concentration increased (quadratic, P \u3c 0.001) as dietary Zn increased and a marginal increase (P = 0.095) in favor of the low-ABC-4 diets was observed between the formulation strategies. In conclusion, lowering the dietary ABC-4 capacity of diets containing pharmacological levels of ZnO increased d 10 fecal dry matter, Zn absorption, and the ATTD of Zn. Increasing ZnO in low-ABC-4 diets improved ADG and ADFI during the experimental period. However, this did not translate into overall performance differences