Alternative Digital Credentials in Higher Education

Alternative digital credentials (ADCs), also known as digital badges, demonstrate great promise as a strategy for closing the skills gap and supporting the alignment of industry skills with traditional and nontraditional higher education programs. The authors seek to highlight advances in ADC development in a public university setting, demonstrating how higher education institutions can weave ADCs into both traditional classrooms and larger community initiatives such as workforce development and non-credit offerings. The chapter details the institution's ADC pathway from conception to a workforce development project awarded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic including key project objectives, strategies, and best practices. The authors also discuss the use of existing learning resources and tools such as EMSI, Jove, and augmented reality technology, including learner reviews from current program participants. Finally, institutional strategies for prior learning assessment and integration of digital badges into undergraduate degree programs are discussed.

The Role of Financing Higher Education in Nigerian Universities in Achieving Sustainable Development

The current study aims to identify the role of financing higher education in Nigerian universities in the state of Kano and its impact on sustainable development. The study problem lies in the low funding of higher education in Nigerian universities, which will negatively affect the sustainability of higher education and sustainable development. The importance of the study is highlighted by highlighting the importance of financing higher education in Nigerian universities and the sources of obtaining this funding as one of the most important factors through which students can complete their studies. The study followed the qualitative approach with the aim of obtaining more accurate information about traditional higher education financing sources and its impact on the sustainability of education and achieving sustainable development. The study population reached the number of three Nigerian universities, which are a governmental, federal and private university, to learn about the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities on sustainable development. The sample of the study was about three out of five of those responsible for financing higher education in Nigerian universities. Also, the study followed unstructured or open interviews in order to obtain more information about financing higher education and whether or not it is suitable for the idea of a monetary endowment. The results of the study showed that the sources of financing for higher education in traditional Nigerian universities are varied, including what can be obtained through the endowment and donations fund that can be made through community initiatives, and the results of the study also indicated that the idea of a monetary endowment faces great challenges in its application, so the idea is subject to acceptance and rejection. According to the nature of the university and the nature of the subjects taught. The study recommended the necessity of expanding the study of the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities by expanding the scope of study to include all Nigerian states.

A Pilot Assessment of a ‘Plastic Free Community’ Initiative, Respective Community Actions and Residents’ Behavior

The problems of plastic pollution are increasing and have been linked to sustainability efforts. Some communities have tried to tackle this issue by implementing ‘plastic free’ initiatives, such as the ‘Plastic Free Community’. Community initiatives foster change and encourage improved environmental outcomes; however, it is unclear if ‘plastic free’ initiatives have the capacity to ‘snowball’ into further sustainable behaviors or if they are a ‘distraction’ from more pressing environmental issues. This study presents the behavioral changes, snowball and distraction effects from the first Scottish mainland ‘plastic free community’ initiative. The pilot study of ‘Plastic Free Anstruther’ (Scotland) identifies self-transcending values and locus of control as important drivers for change, but adoption of single-use plastic alternatives and a ‘single use’ mindset resulted in a limited ‘snowball’ effect. Future ‘Plastic Free Community’ initiatives should focus on encouraging more circular approaches and individual behavior change to reduce waste and improve environmental outcomes. While the initiative resulted in greater awareness of wider environmental issues, additional incentives for individual and business pro-environmental behavior could further improve economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Community Initiatives to Promote Basic Life Support Implementation—A Scoping Review

Introduction: Early intervention of bystanders (the first links of the chain of survival) have been shown to improve survival and good neurological outcomes of patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Many initiatives have been implemented to increase the engagement of communities in early basic life support (BLS) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), especially of lay people with no duty to respond. A better knowledge of the most effective initiatives might help improve survival and health system organization. Aim of the scoping review: To assess the impact of specific interventions involving lay communities on bystander BLS rates and other consistent clinical outcomes, and to identify relevant knowledge gaps. Methods: This scoping review was part of the continuous evidence evaluation process of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), and was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. We performed a literature search using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases until 1 February 2021. The screening process was conducted based on predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria, and for each included study, we performed data extraction focusing on the type of intervention implemented, and the impact of these interventions on the specific OHCAs outcomes. Results: Our search strategy identified 19 eligible studies, originating mainly from the USA (47.4%) and Denmark (21%). The type of intervention included in 57.9% of cases was a community CPR training program, in 36.8% bundled interventions, and in 5.3% mass-media campaigns. The most commonly reported outcome for OHCAs was bystander CPR rate (94.7%), followed by survival to hospital discharge (36.8%), proportion of people trained (31.6%), survival to hospital discharge with good neurological outcome (21%), and Return of Spontaneous Circulation (10.5%). Community training programs and bundled interventions improved bystander CPR in most of the included studies. Conclusion: Based on the results of our scoping review, we identified the potential benefit of community initiatives, such as community training in BLS, even as part of bundled intervention, in order to improve bystander CPR rates and patient outcomes.

Peer Mentoring to Foster Resilient Age-Friendly Rural Communities in Maine

Maine has a growing number of age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs); 116 communities are actively working to adapt the social, service, and built environments for aging and 71 have formally joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. During COVID, rural municipalities were faced with dynamic changes that limited older resident’s access to services and social engagement. To overcome these limitations, it is critical for emergent AFCIs to have tools and strategies to maintain and further enhance healthy environments and resilient communities. This study uses group interviews with 6 leaders of established AFCIs and 6 leaders of emergent AFCIs to explore how the Lifelong Fellows Program, a peer mentoring model that matches experienced leaders with newly formed initiatives, was able to spur development of new strategies to build community resilience. Prominent themes were (1) engaging new local and regional partners; (2) intergenerational volunteerism; (3) fun and flexibility; and (4) relationship-building.

Food solidarity economy: evaluating transition community initiatives in Friuli Venezia Giulia region

Climate change, ecological challenges, and economic and social crises imply paradigmatic and structural innovations. In the effort to drive transition toward sustainability, local communities often take the lead, mobilize support, and organize initiatives based on the principles of solidarity economy. Our study presents a qualitative evaluation and comparison of three local bottom-up initiatives from Friuli Venezia Giulia, a Northern Italian region, each following alternative and unique models of production and consumption of wheat and flour. The reconstruction of the transition paths of the experiences, together with documental analysis and interviews, allowed us to deduce the influence of alternative approaches and subsequent degree of effectiveness in building a community and driving it toward sustainability.

Age-Friendly Community Practice: Understanding the Role of Community Events

To advance an emerging empirical knowledge base for age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs), we conducted a qualitative descriptive study to explore one manifestation of age-friendly practice: community events (CEs). We aimed to illuminate how AFCI core teams describe CEs as part of their practice and how they perceive the value of CEs for age-friendly progress. Using inductive coding, we analyzed data from semi-structured interviews (n=24) with eight core teams across three time points spanning the early to mid-implementation phases of the AFCIs. Two predominant themes emerged. First, CEs were described as important for working toward age-friendly goals concerning older residents’ social participation and inclusion. Second, core teams described the longer-term strategic value of CEs, such as building interorganizational partnerships; providing deeper insight on aging in community; and fostering older adults’ leadership as part of the initiative. We discuss implications for advancing transdisciplinary program theory to guide more sustainable and effective AFCIs.

A Model to Transform Communities Toward Becoming Dementia Inclusive

As the US population ages, the prevalence of people living with dementia will also increase. It is estimated that by 2050, 13.8 million American’s 65 and older will be diagnosed with dementia, and currently only 40% of those living with dementia receive an official diagnosis. 70% of people living with dementia live in the community. In order to optimize quality of life and extend each person’s ability to remain living in their homes for as long as possible, it is important for communities to educate consumers and providers alike about Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, focusing on behaviors and interventions. This education must cross multiple sectors to effectively increase awareness, decrease stigma, and enable participation in community living for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Dementia Friends USA offers a framework for implementation of dementia friendly inclusive community initiatives that spans professions and incorporates patient and caregiver perspectives. The four symposia will 1) lead us through the evidence that supports the Dementia Friends USA approach, 2) demonstrate how this approach can be operationalized in a truly integrated fashion at the community level using HRSA’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), 3) provide step-by-step instructions for implementing Dementia Friends Community sessions, focusing on one sector at a time (in this case the Developmental Disability population), and 4) discuss the individual and community level outcomes of Dementia Friends implementation.