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Preparing a Globally Competent Workforce: A Mixed Methods Study of an Innovative Co-Curricular University Program
No full textProblem: Human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners have long sought ways to develop employees to meet the needs of globalized workplaces. However, given that many employers expect employees to possess global skills before they begin working, it is incumbent upon HRD educators in higher education contexts to develop and implement innovative programs to enrich global competence, which includes the knowledge, skills, experience, and mindset required for global work. Solution: This mixed methods study describes and explores the efficacy of an innovative co-curricular program, the Global Competence Enrichment Program, designed to enhance the global competence of American and international graduate students enrolled at a higher education institution in the United States through a mutual intercultural learning process. Stakeholders: Stakeholders include HRD scholars and practitioners as well as organizational leaders interested in designing and implementing HRD programs around global competence enrichment
Constellations of Depressive Symptoms, Substance Use, and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Higher Education Students: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of Mask-Wearing Practice During COVID-19
No full textMental health and substance use emerged as critical factors associated with health risk behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its importance has only grown in the post-pandemic period, particularly among priority groups like higher education students. To enhance our understanding of how mental health and substance use factors interact with preventive measures like mask-wearing to affect risky sexual behaviors (RSBs), our study examined the associations between depressive symptoms, substance use, and RSBs among college and university students in the United States. We specifically aimed to assess the impact of mask-wearing on the association between depressive symptoms, binge drinking and marijuana use, and RSBs during the pandemic. Data were collected through nonprobability sampling from 835 students at five universities via an online survey conducted between July and August 2020. Using the PROCESS macro, we analyzed the mediating effects of binge drinking and marijuana use on the association between depressive symptoms and RSBs (Model 4), as well as the moderating effect of mask-wearing on the association between depressive symptoms, binge drinking and marijuana use, and RSBs. Our findings revealed that mask-wearing significantly moderated the combined association between depressive symptoms, marijuana use, binge drinking, and RSBs. As we navigate the post-pandemic period, it is crucial for existing programs addressing health risk behaviors to consider the direct and indirect associations between mental health and substance use. Understanding these protective and health risk behaviors is essential for informing targeted prevention and intervention efforts in the post-pandemic landscape
Perceptions of Inclusion Among Underrepresented Minority Students in Allied Health Sciences Through the Lens of Photovoice
No full textThis study examines perceptions of inclusion among underrepresented minority (URM) students in allied health sciences programs at a large, Midwestern, predominantly White institution. Photovoice methodology is used to better understand barriers to inclusion as perceived by 18 undergraduate and graduate URM students. This study differs from others in the research literature, as it employs photovoice methodology to elucidate the experiences of URM students enrolled in allied health education programs. The results yielded five overarching themes that URM students identified as barriers to inclusion within their academic programs: (a) lack of representation, (b) value gap, (c) lack of cultural acceptance, (d) attitudes/culture of the program, and (e) lack of support
‘I Can Kind of Flow How I Want to Flow’: Motivations and Perceived Contrasts of Providing Care in Home-Based Settings
Full text linkThe number of family child care (FCC) providers in the United States, or providers who are licensed, certified, or registered to provide care in their home, fell by nearly half between 2005 and 2017 (NCEQA, 2020a). This has implications for families who prefer FCC settings. Understanding providers’ motivations for starting their program may provide policymakers with information on how to better support providers drawn to this setting. Through interviews with 30 Black/bi-racial FCC providers, we found providers started their programs to support family/neighbors, to provide an alternative perceived to be safer than center-based programs, and to be in charge. In terms of differences, providers felt they had more control and that they could provide more individualized attention in home-based settings as compared to center-based settings. This research advances the study of why providers work in home-based programs, and how they perceive this work as different from center-based care, with implications for supporting the FCC workforce
Relationship between suicide ideation and attempts, bully victimization, dating violence, and depressive symptoms among Black and Hispanic youth
No full textBackground: Suicide rates among Black and Hispanic youth have been increasing over the past decade in the United States. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for suicide ideation and attempt among Black and Hispanic youth in the United States using intersectionality theory and minority stress theory as a framework. Methods: Data from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS; 2015–2019) were analyzed and delimited to include only Black and Hispanic youth. Results: About 37% of the subsample identified as Black and 63% of the subsample identified as Hispanic; mean age was 16 years (SE = 0.02). Weighted multivariate logistic regressions were used to explore associations between suicide ideation and attempt, depressive symptoms, bullying, dating violence, and being threatened with a weapon. Black and Hispanic youth who had depressive symptoms, experienced bullying, dating violence, or threatened with a weapon all had increased odds of having suicide ideation and suicide attempt. Hispanic youth had the higher odds of suicide ideation and attempt than Black youth. Girls in the study also had elevated odds of suicide ideation. Conclusion: This study adds to the literature on risk factors of suicide in Black and Hispanic youth and bringing to awareness the gender disparities in suicide ideation and attempt among youth
Negotiating Home in the Long Poem: Amatoritsero Ede’s Transpatiality
Full text linkIn this paper, I argue that Amatoritsero Ede uses the long poem to negotiate the idea of home in an African diasporic context. As a form that carries the implications of length, time, and space, the long poem has been used by poets to interrogate the way we structure the world and to deconstruct grand narratives. The figure of the Black immigrant is one that destabilizes grand narratives of nationalism. This makes the form important in its capacity to ask important questions about nation and tradition even as it transgresses them. As a writer from the Niger Delta, a marginal location in Nigeria, and one who has travelled widely and called many places home, Ede writes poetry that speaks to his inhabitation of multiple spaces and produces a sort of ‘transpatiality’. This paper argues that in Ede’s Globetrotter & Hitler’s Children (2009) and Teardrops on the Weser (2021), the long poem form and its ability to negotiate belonging, home, identity, and the complex edge habitats that some diasporic subjects inhabit allows us to better understand and conceptualize Ede’s ‘transpatial poetics’ and the way diasporic writers make and negotiate home. I begin by exploring critical responses to Ede’s poetry to foreground the importance of form and then proceed to unpack the concept of home in the context of the new African diaspora and Afropolitanism. Ultimately, I read Ede’s long poems formally and thematically in terms of the way they represent and meditate on the complex concept of home
Examining the Dynamics, Perceptions, and Determinants of Food and Physical Activity Policies in Louisiana Through an Implementation Science Lens
No full textPolicy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) changes related to food and physical activity offer promising strategies for improving population-level health behaviors. Federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) support these efforts through the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in Louisiana, complementing traditional nutrition education. However, the adoption and implementation of PSE strategies remain understudied.
This dissertation examines factors influencing PSE approaches through the perspectives of Louisiana State University AgCenter (LSU AgCenter) Nutrition and Community Health (NCH) practitioners. It integrates three complementary studies— a systematic review, a cross-sectional survey, and qualitative interviews—guided by the EPIS (Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment) implementation science framework.
The systematic review analyzed 25 studies published since 2000 on food and physical activity PSE changes in U.S. community settings, using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework. Key factors influencing adoption and implementation include funding, partner engagement, and accountability.
A quantitative survey using the Policy Indicator Checklist (PIC) assessed food and physical activity policies among NCH practitioners in Louisiana. Community recreation policies scored highest (M = 1.50, SD = 1.57), followed by farmers\u27 market promotions (M = 0.95, SD = 1.75) and efforts to promote nutrition assistance programs in food retail settings (M = 0.56, SD = 1.03), while policies addressing public service venues and transportation were minimal. These findings establish a baseline understanding of Louisiana’s food and physical activity policy landscape.
The final qualitative study, also guided by the EPIS framework, explored determinants in implementing policy-level changes. Socio-political barriers and limited community leadership emerged as major challenges, whereas support from local intermediaries, such as police juries and community advocates, facilitated progress. Together, these studies highlight the complexities of implementing food and physical activity PSE strategies within CES. Findings offer critical insights and recommendations to enhance adoption, implementation, and long-term sustainability of PSE initiatives in future Cooperative Extension programming
Blueprint for a Youth Violence Intervention Program in East Baton Rouge Parish: Adapting Hospital-Based Strategies
Full text linkYouth violence in East Baton Rouge Parish remains a persistent public safety and public health challenge. This report proposes an adapted, evidence-informed model for East Baton Rouge Parish that retains the core components of traditional HVIPs while leveraging existing legal, hospital, and social service resources. The model is grounded in a public health framework and emphasizes trauma-informed, bedside intervention at the “teachable moment” when youth are most receptive to change, and long-term wraparound case management. The report concludes with recommendations for implementing this adapted approach, including identifying a health system champion, building referral protocols, embedding training, and developing a long-term sustainability plan. While hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) in other cities have shown promising results in reducing retaliatory violence and re-injury, the infrastructure and resources needed for a full-scale HVIP are not currently in place in the Parish. With strong leadership and cross-sector collaboration, East Baton Rouge Parish can implement a practical, impactful intervention to reduce youth violence and improve community safety
Soil contamination by environmentally persistent free radicals and dioxins following train derailment in East Palestine, OH
Full text linkThe Norfolk Southern train derailment on February 3, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio, prompted concerns about the health impacts from the chemical spills and open-air combustion. We hypothesize that the combustion of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, in the presence of transition-metal oxides from the train, tracks, and soil minerals were conducive to the formation of hazardous byproducts including environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), dioxins, and furans. We also hypothesize that these harmful byproducts of combustion have a shared origin and thus will have elevated concentrations in soil samples collected close to the derailment site when compared to concentrations in background soils. This study examined the co-occurrence of these soil contaminants from samples collected August 14-17, 2023, within a two-mile radius of the incident site to assess the concentration of EPFRs, dioxins, and furans. We measured elevated levels of EPFRs (average: 3.00 × 1017 spins per g) and dioxin/furan toxic equivalence (TEQ) (average: 32.8 pg g−1) near the derailment area compared to background levels (EPFRs: 1.33 × 1017 spins per g; TEQ: 10.7 pg g−1). Significant positive correlations (p \u3c 0.002) between EPFRs and specific dioxin/furan congener concentrations (0.63-0.74) indicated robust associations between EPFRs and dioxin/furan congeners, the first such observations in field-collected soil samples. These results highlight the environmental health impact of the derailment and associated combustion, underscoring the need for comprehensive longitudinal monitoring and remediation efforts in the affected area and similar industrial accident sites. This study also offers insights into the formation mechanisms and persistence of EPFRs, dioxins, and furans
Astaxanthin protects against environmentally persistent free radical-induced oxidative stress in well-differentiated respiratory epithelium
Full text linkEnvironmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are combustion products present in substantial numbers on atmospheric particulate matter with half-lives of days to years. The mechanisms linking EPFR exposure and respiratory diseases are unclear, but likely involve oxidative stress. We investigated the mechanisms by which EPFR exposure impact on well-differentiated primary human nasal epithelial cells from subjects sensitive or resistant to oxidant stressors, cultured at an air-liquid interface. We found that EPFR exposure induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) production; increased mitochondrial DNA copy number; down-regulated mucus production gene, Mucin-5AC (MUC5AC); up-regulated detoxifying gene, cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2)-regulated antioxidant pathways including Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-Forkhead box O3 (FOXO3), mitophagy, PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), apoptosis, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (p21), and inflammation, C–C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5). These results indicate that the well-differentiated respiratory epithelium can respond and activate redox reactions when exposed to sublethal concentrations of EPFRs. Increased susceptibility to EPFR exposure is conferred by failure to upregulate the mucin gene, MUC5AC, expression. Pre-treatment with astaxanthin prevented most of the negative impacts caused by EPFRs. Our results demonstrate that EPFRs can induce oxidative stress and cause damage to respiratory epithelium. A dietary antioxidant, astaxanthin, protected cells from EPFR-induced oxidant stress