Moving Jewish Educators to the Next Stage in Their Career: An Evaluation of New York University's Dual Master's and Doctoral Programs in Education and Jewish Studies

This study used a qualitative inquiry methodology to explore the experiences of students, which is a common methodological approach in research on higher education when a study's sample size is small and individuals' narratives are diverse (Anderson & Anderson, 2012; Golde & Dore, 2001; Maki & Borkowski, 2006). The evaluation team conducted initial and follow-up phone interviews with the 24 recipients of the Jim Joseph Foundation fellowships under this grant. The interviews inquired about professional experience and academic background, career goals, academic courses and other professional development, professional networking, current employment, and leadership experiences. In addition, the evaluation team conducted interviews with academic advisors and reviewed program materials. To validate the formation of a framework and quality indicators for the review of the programs, the team conducted comprehensive literature review and interviews with employers of the fellows. The evaluation team synthesized the data collected to determine the level of programs' capacity to prepare students for leadership roles in Jewish education and the impact of the programs on students to date

Introduction to Local Food Systems

The local production and marketing of food has reached a critical mass in the past few years. Increasingly, people are searching out food that not only is flavorful, healthy and safe but that also supports their local community. Farmers are working hard to meet that demand and are taking advantage of the economic opportunities community-based, or local, food systems provide. Many farmers, particularly mid-sized (often called ?farmers of the middle?) and small-scale producers, find that producing for and selling into a community-based food system is one of the only options left for them, as they lack the scale or financial resources to compete in a larger market. In recognition of the importance of local food systems, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative aimed at strengthening the relationships between farmers and consumers throughout the United States. This guide explores the concept of local food systems and provides resources to help farmers, consumers and communities develop food systems that provide for profitable, thriving farms and businesses; steward our natural resources; and strengthen community relationships in rural and urban Missouri.New 4/15/Web.Includes bibliographical reference

A Look at Public Health

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The relationship between hand osteoarthritis and serum leptin concentration in participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Introduction: Leptin has been suspected to contribute to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). However, this hypothesis has not been tested in large-scale hand OA cohorts. Our study aimed to determine whether there is a cross-sectional relationship between serum leptin levels and hand OA in a population-based sample of US adults. Method: We used the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), a national cross-sectional population-based survey, to study the relationship between hand OA and serum leptin concentration. We applied previously established classification criteria for hand OA. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were excluded. Potential confounders included sex, body mass index, the presence of polyarticular OA, diabetes, and total cholesterol. We estimated unadjusted mean leptin concentration by hand OA status and by all confounders. We further developed a linear regression model to assess mean leptin levels, adjusted for appropriate confounders. Results: Of 2,477 subjects in the NHANES III sample that had a hand examination and did not have rheumatoid arthritis, 1,056 (42.6%) had a leptin measurement and were included in the analysis. Subjects with and without leptin measurement had similar demographic characteristics. We did not find any significant differences in mean serum leptin levels in subjects with symptomatic hand OA (7.38 ng/ml in males (95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.31, 9.46) and 21.55 ng/ml in females (95% CI = 17.08, 26.02)), asymptomatic hand OA (6.69 ng/ml in males (95% CI = 5.19, 8.18) and 17.09 ng/ml in females (95% CI = 15.00, 19.18)), and no hand OA (8.22 ng/ml in males (95% CI = 7.47, 8.97) and 20.77 ng/ml in females (95% CI = 18.01, 23.53)) in the unadjusted analysis. In a multivariable linear regression model that included variables of hand OA status, age, race/ethnicity, and obesity status, we found no statistically significant association between serum leptin and hand OA status. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study of a large representative US cohort, we did not find any evidence to support the hypothesis that serum leptin is associated with hand OA

Adipokine Hormones and Hand Osteoarthritis: Radiographic Severity and Pain

Introduction: Obesity's association with hand osteoarthritis cannot be fully explained by mechanical loading. We examined the relationship between adipokines and radiographic hand osteoarthritis severity and pain. Methods: In a pilot study of 44 hand osteoarthritis patients (39 women and 5 men), serum adipokine concentrations and hand x-ray Kallman-scores were analyzed using linear regression models. Secondary analyses examined correlates of hand pain. Results: The cohort had a mean age of 63.5 years for women and 72.6 for men; mean (standard deviation) Kallman-scores were 43.3(17.4) for women and 46.2(10.8) for men. Mean body-mass-index was 30 kg/m2 for women and men. Mean leptin concentration was 32.2 ng/ml (women) and 18.5 ng/ml (men); mean adiponectin-total was 7.9 ng/ml (women) and 5.3 ng/ml (men); mean resistin was 7.3 ng/ml (women) and 9.4 ng/ml (men). No association was found between Kallman-scores and adipokine concentrations (R2 = 0.00–0.04 unadjusted analysis, all p-values>0.22). Secondary analyses showed mean visual-analog-scale pain of 4.8(2.4) for women and 6.6(0.9) for men. Leptin, BMI, and history of coronary artery disease were found to be associated with visual-analog-scale scores for chronic hand pain (R2 = 0.36 unadjusted analysis, p-values≤0.04). Conclusion: In this pilot study, we found that adipokine serum concentrations were not associated with hand osteoarthritis radiographic severity; the most important correlates of joint damage were age and disease duration. Leptin serum concentration, BMI, and coronary artery disease were associated with the intensity of chronic hand OA pain

A Phenomenological Study of Elementary General Education Teachers\u27 Experiences Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of elementary general education teachers instructing students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a suburban North Georgia inclusion setting. The four research questions that guided this study included (a) How do elementary general education teachers describe their experiences teaching students with ASD in their classrooms? (b) In what ways do teachers describe how the presence of students with ASD influence their beliefs regarding inclusion? (c) How do teachers describe the challenges they faced with students with ASD in the inclusion setting? and (d) How do teachers describe the benefits they faced with students with ASD in the inclusion setting. The theories guiding the study were Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) social ecological systems theory and Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory as each of these theories adopt the perspective that individuals are products of their environments, which affect the students with ASD and teachers in the inclusive setting. Data collection included 10 elementary general education teacher participants’ interviews and journals, my researcher journal, and an online focus group. I provided rich, descriptive characterizations of the phenomenon as I conducted the data analysis using coding, peer review, enriched description, and triangulation. Conclusively, the results of this study provided a voice for elementary general education teachers who instructed students with ASD I identified four themes from this study: (a) beliefs, (b) relationships, (c) challenges, and (d) benefits. Recommendations for future research include using diverse schools, increasing the number of participants, and researching the collaboration between general and special education teachers in the inclusion setting

The Role of Nursing Practice in Promoting Sleep During Brain Injury Rehabilitation

During hospitalization, sleep can be interrupted or even elusive. It has been established that quality sleep is essential in neural repair. Previous research has indicated that many nurses are unaware of the impact of sleep disturbance on brain injury recovery and do not understand how to promote sleep in the neurorehabilitation setting. The purpose of this project was to determine whether educational intervention would influence nurses\u27 knowledge and attitudes toward sleep. Benner\u27s (2001) novice to expert theory provided a framework for the project. With the collaboration of a neuropsychologist, this study produced a sleep knowledge and attitudes instrument. Pulmonary sleep specialists, rehabilitation physicians, and neuropsychologists who were experts in the treatment of sleep disorders and brain injury validated the instrument. Following instrument validation, 19 rehabilitation nurses completed the instrument prior to receiving sleep hygiene education. Immediately after education, a posttest was administered. Pretest and posttest data were compared via Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results indicated a statistically significant increase nurses\u27 knowledge (p = .015) and attitudes (p = .028) toward sleep. These findings support the use of didactic methods of sleep hygiene education for nurses. Providing nurses with sleep knowledge and improving their attitudes toward sleep may shift nursing focus to sleep as an activity rather than inactivity, and it has the potential to improve quality of patient care by empowering nurses to implement good sleep hygiene practices on inpatient units. Additional research is indicated to determine whether the increase in knowledge and improvement in attitudes will be sustained and ultimately affect patient sleep outcomes

The Transfer Culture In College Basketball

In 2017, 18.5% of female women’s basketball players transferred. That ranked the highest it has ever been, second on the list for women’s sports and higher than any male sport (NCAA.org, 2018). The decision to transfer is a multifaceted issue that involves many reasons from generational differences, social media, technology, among other factors and has been rapidly increasing. For the lack of empirical studies, the foundation of this research was built on studies that focused on student retention because the same reasons a student may be retained could be the very reason a student decides to transfer depending on the individual. Therefore, by observing the current generation of student-athletes that have transferred we can better understand the environmental factors, behaviors and motivations that lead to a life-changing decision. The research used observation and semi-structured interviews from six student-athletes and two coaches to create an understanding of the transfer epidemic. Due to a lack of literature on the student-athlete population, Tinto’s 1993 study on student retention and Psychological contract served as the theoretical framework used to create a deeper understanding of why student-athletes transfer. Consistent with past literature, student-athletes left their original institute because of relationships, coaching change/coaching style, lack of playing time, not the right fit, homesickness. This study is a single case with multiple units and the findings limit the ability to generalize results. It can be concluded that female student-athletes who struggle with relationships between coaches and teammates, environmental uncertainty and dissatisfaction with the sport they love to play are more inclined to transfer

A Randomized Control Trial Adapting a Self-Forgiveness Intervention for Perfectionists

Self-forgiveness is a relatively new construct in the positive psychology literature. Many researchers posit that self-forgiveness promotes well-being, psychologically and relationally, but others worry it might serve as a moral disengagement strategy that can harm individuals and relationships. In the present chapter, I conducted a qualitative review of 65 published empirical studies exploring associations of self-forgiveness with mental health and relational well-being. In order to address discrepancies in the literature, the review highlights more sophisticated studies and explores the differences that emerge when the construct of self-forgiveness is assessed as a state as opposed to a trait. In particular, measurement concerns are identified, specifically noting the lack of studies in the field that assess well-being while considering the two-part definition of self-forgiveness. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. The present study examined the effect of an adapted self-forgiveness intervention. Drawing on clinical considerations, I posit that existing interventions may be a poor fit for individuals, such as maladaptive perfectionists, who are prone to difficulties with self-evaluation and self- condemnation. I incorporated techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy to facilitate more realistic self-appraisal and tested the revised intervention. Utilizing an RCT framework, participants who completed the intervention showed significantly higher levels in a variety of self-forgiveness outcomes. Additionally, individuals high in maladaptive perfectionism showed worse baseline levels but a greater response to the intervention. Implications for future research and practice are discussed

Formation and Development of the Center for Grassland Studies at the University of Nebraska

The Center for Grassland Studies was formed at the University of Nebraska in 1994 to implement focused interdisciplinary research, educational, and service programs and activities that emphasize the role of grasslands as a natural resource and conservation measure and that enhance the efficiency, profitability, sustainability, and aesthetic value of grasslands, wetlands, and turf. Although the Center is still in a developmental stage, it appears to be accomplishing those objectives