Sector Distinctiveness v. Cross-Sector Commonalities: Are There Qualitative Differences in Graduate Nonprofit Management Education Offered Through Public Service and Business Programs in the United Kingdom?

Previous research on nonprofit management education (NME) in the United Kingdom (UK) has raised the question of whether NME provided through public service departments will focus more on third sector distinctiveness, while NME provided through business schools will concentrate more on general, cross-sector management skills. We collect data on courses offered within UK graduate degree programs with an NME concentration and compare them using Mirabella’s (2007) taxonomy and find that there is more commonality than differences between graduate NME offered in both business and public service programs in the UK. However, statistically significant differences in the provision of courses as a proportion of total curriculum do exist for courses related to “advocacy, public policy, and community organizing,” “financial management,” and “social enterprise.”

Play & Grow: prospective observational cohort of toddlers to inform obesity prevention, Columbus, Ohio, USA

PurposeObesity prevention is increasingly focused on early childhood, but toddlers have not been well-studied, and children born preterm are frequently excluded. The Play & Grow Cohort was established to investigate child growth in relation to parent-child interactions in mealtime and non-mealtime settings.ParticipantsBetween December 2017 and May 2019, 300 toddlers and primary caregivers were recruited from records of a large paediatric care provider in Columbus, Ohio, USA. This report describes recruitment of the cohort and outlines the data collection protocols for two toddler and two preschool-age visits. The first study visit coincided with enrolment and occurred when children (57% boys) were a mean (SD) calendar age of 18.2 (0.7) months.Findings to dateChildren in the cohort are diverse relative to gestational age at birth (16%, 28–31 completed weeks’ gestation; 21%, 32–36 weeks’ gestation; 63%, ≥37 weeks’ gestation) and race/ethnicity (8%, Hispanic; 35%, non-Hispanic black; 46%, non-Hispanic white). Caregivers enrolled in the cohort are primarily the child’s biological mother (93%) and are diverse in age (range 18–54 years), education (23%, high school or less; 20% graduate degree) and annual household income (27%, <US$20 000 24%, ≥US$90 000). Parent-child interactions were video-recorded during play in the laboratory at 18 months (n=299) and during play, reading and mealtime in the home (n=284) at 24 months. The preschool phase of the study was impacted by COVID-19. Parent-child interactions were video-recorded during play and mealtime at home at 36 months (n=141) and during a standardised buffet meal in the laboratory at 42 months (n=50). Caregivers unable to participate in face-to-face visits due to COVID-19 completed questionnaires.Future plansAssessment during middle childhood is being planned. Future visits will include anthropometric measurements and parent-child interactions at mealtime. School-based outcomes are additionally being considered.

Who Leads Turnaround Schools? Characteristics of Principals in Tennessee's Achievement School District and Innovation Zones

Purpose: While previous research has examined the impact of school turnaround models, less is known about the principals who lead these turnaround schools. This study examines the personal demographics, experience, educational background, prior school performance, salaries, and turnover of principals who led two turnaround models in Tennessee's lowest performing schools: a state-run Achievement School District (ASD) that has not yielded positive nor negative effects and local Innovation Zones (iZones) that averaged positive effects on student achievement over six years. Methods: We analyze longitudinal, administrative data from the Tennessee Department of Education from 2006–2007 to 2017–2018 to compare pre- and post-reform means and trends in principal characteristics between ASD, iZone, and similarly low-performing comparison schools. Results: ASD schools had higher principal turnover rates and lost principals whose schools performed higher while iZone schools retained more principals and lost principals whose schools performed lower. Moreover, iZone schools employed more experienced principals, more Black principals, and principals with higher graduate degree attainment and paid their principals more than ASD schools. Salary differences between ASD and iZone schools were not explained by principals’ characteristics, such as years of experience. Implications: Our findings reveal differences in leadership characteristics between iZone and ASD schools that were consistent with differences in the effectiveness of the two turnaround approaches.

Acquisition of Knowledge and Skills in an Online Graduate Degree in Youth Development Leadership

As the youth development field has grown, there has been an increased focus on building academic preparation programs in youth development that prepare leaders and staff in youth-serving organizations. Very few degree programs exist in preparing youth leaders. Even fewer, if any, evaluations have been conducted on the potential outcomes and benefits of graduate degree programs on alumni who serve in leadership positions in youth organizations. This study presents findings from a survey of graduates of a master’s level youth development leadership (YDL) degree program. The findings focus on graduates’ perceptions of the outcomes linked to attaining a degree from such a program and associated competencies and opportunities in the field of youth development. Questionnaires were distributed to YDL alumni (2007-2018) requesting their perspectives on professional benefits and opportunities associated with degree completion. Respondents reported a statistically significant increase (reaching medium to large effect sizes) in relevant competencies targeted in each course. Additionally, respondents noted opportunities in salary increases, promotions, and more challenging responsibilities because of completion of the YDL program; rated their level of application of learning to new professional skills applied to their professional positions highly; and identified products created in their professional positions directly related to their academic preparation. A discussion of the value of youth development degree programs is provided.

Exploring Online Pedagogical Practices for Enhancing Transfer of Learning in Higher Education

Institutions of higher education play a critical role in bridging academia and workforce, yet college students find it challenging to transfer their learning across and beyond instructional formats, including online, hybrid, and face-to-face. The goals of this exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study were to (1) explore graduate students’ conceptualizations of transfer, and (2) examine online pedagogical practices for enhancing transfer. Participants included students enrolled in a full-time online graduate degree program in education at a private university in the Mid-Atlantic USA. Findings from the qualitative phase with seven semi-structured interviews were used to design a survey study with 68 graduate students to explore their perceptions of effective online pedagogical practices for enhancing transfer. This study is significant since its findings revealed a number of online practices that instructional designers and faculty can use to optimize learning and transfer in higher education.

Investigating the Influence of Mentor–Mentee Race and Gender Pairs on Public Health Persistence

Background. Mentoring and immersive experiences through internships are important means of increasing underrepresented (UR) students’ persistence in public health. However, while the positive effects of mentoring are well established, studies on the effect of race/ethnicity and gender mentor matching on persistence have produced mixed results. Aims. This article investigates the impact of homogeneous and heterogeneous mentor–mentee pairs on UR intern persistence for Project Imhotep, a summer internship program at Morehouse College. Method. The authors employ multivariable logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between mentor and mentee race/ethnicity and gender characteristics on undergraduate intern academic persistence and career attainment. Results. Mentor demographics and institution type are predictors associated with intern academic and career persistence; however, the predictive importance of model attributes varied by outcome. Mentees paired with UR mentors (female or male) were more likely to attend graduate school, and mentees mentored by female mentors (UR female or White female) were more likely to pursue a graduate degree in public health. Finally, mentees mentored by UR females had the highest likelihood of either pursuing a graduate degree in public health or a public health career. Discussion. This article advances our understanding of how mentor–mentee race/ethnicity and gender affects the recruitment and retention of undergraduate students from racially and ethnically UR populations into public health. Conclusions. The findings suggest that the degree of shared racial/ethnic and/or gender identity between a public health intern and mentor influenced the likelihood of the intern pursuing further education or a public health career.

Awareness of the risk factors of stroke among non-teaching staff of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria

Background The prevalence of stroke is increasing in Nigeria due to a lack of awareness of their predisposing factors. There is therefore a need for good knowledge and awareness of stroke risk factors in the general populations. Thus, this study assessed the level of awareness of stroke risk factors among non-teaching staff in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Nigeria. Results Most of the participants were female, 89 (69%), and had a post-graduate degree, 84 (65.1%). A total of 129 participants participated in this survey, and 91 (70.5%) were familiar with the term “stroke.” The commonest risk factors were high blood pressure (86%), stress (74.4%), and lack of exercise (63.6%). The study showed that the awareness of stroke risk factors among the participants was poor (40.3%). Conclusion Stroke awareness was poor among the participants with the highest risk of stroke despite their high literacy level. Female participants, with a postgraduate level qualification and working as senior non-teaching staff, had a better awareness of stroke risk factors than their male colleagues. This shows a need to increase stroke awareness campaigns in the community.

A Descriptive Analysis of Chairs of Academic Neurology Departments in the United States

There remains a limited understanding of the characteristics of academic leaders within neurology departments, despite similar research in other fields. This investigation characterized the demographics, academic background, and scholarly productivity of United States (U.S.) neurology department chairs. Here, 131 chairs at Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-certified neurology programs were identified. Publicly accessible demographic and academic data available online were collected in March 2021. Among the 131 neurology chairs analyzed, 84.7% were male. On average, these faculty were 60.5 years old and were appointed at a mean age of 52.0 years. 74.8% of chairs graduated from an American medical school, although a notable proportion of department heads received medical training internationally. A substantial cohort also acquired an additional graduate degree, of which Doctor of Philosophy (PhD; 22.1%) and master's degree (21.4%) were most common. 82.4% completed a post-residency fellowship, which were most frequently in vascular neurology (24.1%) and clinical neurophysiology (17.6%). The mean h-index, m-quotient, and lifetime NIH grant funding received were 39.2 ± 29.4, 1.2 ± 0.8, and $20,021,594 ± $31,861,816, respectively. No between-gender differences were observed. Overall, neurology chairs are predominantly male, most often completing fellowships in vascular neurology or clinical neurophysiology. Research productivity is a notable component of these chairs' careers, although certain programs place less emphasis on these metrics. Finally, substantial effort remains to address disparities in female representation at this leadership position. These findings serve as a benchmark to evaluate demographic trends among neurology department chairs.

A Māori Model of Leadership Practice

He Waka Hiringa (HWH) is a Masters of Applied Indigenous Knowledge offered as a programme of two years’ study by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. The main pre-requisite for enrolment in to this graduate degree is for the student to be a master of their own practice, whatever that practice may be. In other words, they are already leaders in their own field of practice. My task is to help them clarify how they indigenise their practice; introduce them to academic processes to achieve the rangahau (research) around this and encourage them to create their own Models of Practice (MsOP) to guide them as they work with students or clients. In six years three cohorts of students have succesfully graduated through my encouragement in the development and approval of about 100 different new MsOP, each unique in its own way. These add to the use by graduates of HWH to models such as Whare Tapatoru ( Wi Te Tau Huata Snr. 1967, personal communication), Whare Tapawhā (Durie, M. 1984), Te Wheke (Pere, R. 1997) and Poutama Pōwhiri (Huata, P. 2011) to name a few well known MsOP. In terms of a Leadership MOP I have not seen a better model than that created by Te Wairere Te Pūāwaitanga o te Whakaaro Ngaia (my youngest child and daughter) to fulfil the requirements of her Masters in Management Communications and Te Reo Māori (Māori Language) graduate degree at The University of Waikato. I am going to use her MOP for leadership in competitive Kapa Haka[1] (Māori performing arts) as my model in this delivery with her permission. The title comes from a waiata-ā-ringa (action song) composed by one of her tuākana (older sisters), Te Ingo Karangaroa Ngaia, entitled ‘He Rākau Taumatua!’[2], for their whānau (family) kapa haka, Te Haona Kaha. [1] I use capital letters when talking about the art form and small letters when talking about a group that does the art form. [2] “He rākau taumatua” was first performed as a whakawātea by Te Haona Kaha kapa haka at the Tainui Waka Cultural Trust Regional Kapa Haka competitions in 2016.

Psychological Distress of Testing Positive for Human Papillomavirus at Routine Prenatal Visits: A Prospective Observational Study among Chinese Pregnant Women with Normal Cytology

Background To explore the psychological impact of the positive HPV result on pregnant women with normal cytology. Methods The psychological distress level of HPV-positive women was compared with those of HPV-negative women before the results were notified. After the notification, the distress level of women in the HPV-positive group was assessed for the 2nd time and 3rd time before colposcopy and 2 weeks post-colposcopy. The lifestyle characteristics, knowledge of cervical cancer and screening behavior were compared between groups. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between socio-demographic, lifestyle, knowledge and risk of elevated distress level. Results No statistical difference of the distress level (as measured by PHQ-9 and GAD-7) was found between HPV-positive and -negative women. Within HPV-positive group, low distress level remained through all three time-points, regardless of HPV subtypes or colposcopy diagnoses. Half of the participants were suboptimally screened before this study conducted; 7.6% were aware of the causal relationship between HPV and cervical cancer. Post-graduate degree was associated with elevated PHQ-9 score. Conclusions HPV screening was unlikely to cause additional psychological distress among pregnant population in China.