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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an effective method of engaging large numbers of students in authentic research but are associated with barriers to adoption. Short CURE modules may serve as a low-barrier entryway, but their effectiveness in promoting expansion has not been studied. The Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) project is a modular CURE designed to be a low-barrier gateway into CURE use. In a series of interviews, we track and characterize use of PARE in 19 PARE-interested instructors throughout the Innovation-Decision Process described by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory. The majority (16/19) implement PARE at least once, and a majority of these implementers (11/16) expanded use by the final interview. Three of four cases of discontinuance were due to a disruption such as moving institutions or a change in course assignment and occurred for community college faculty. Expanders expressed fewer personal challenges than nonexpanders. Overall analysis shows that perception of barriers is nuanced and impacted by the innovation itself, the institutional context, and one's own experiences. These results suggest that a short duration, low barrier CURE can serve as a catalyst for implementation of a longer duration CURE.

Communication campaigns are expected to contribute to increase the efficacy of nutritional warnings. In this context, the aims of the present work were (a) to evaluate how citizens perceive different types of messages for a communication campaign and (b) to determine if personal characteristics such as gender, age, and educational level, as well socioeconomic and nutritional status, moderate how citizens perceive such campaign messages. A series of graphic pieces were designed for each of the following three types of messages: promotion of informed food choices; raising awareness of the negative health consequences of excessive consumption of sugar, fat, and sodium; and promotion of healthy food choices. An online study was conducted with 774 participants, who were randomly assigned to one of the three types of messages. The participants' self-reported perception of the graphic pieces was evaluated using 7-point Likert-type scales. After completing the evaluation task, the participants proceeded to a series of choices. This was implemented to evaluate whether exposure to different types of messages affected hypothetical food choices. Results revealed that messages related to the promotion of healthy eating were perceived as the most adequate as part of a communication campaign and had the potential to encourage more healthful hypothetical choices in the experimental task. However, gender, age, and nutritional status moderated the influence of the type of message on the participants' perception, meaning that different groups perceived different types of messages as the most adequate. The results from the present work stress the need to include different types of messages in a communication campaign to target individuals with different motivations and characteristics.

The article presents preliminary findings from a family survey about children's experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown, which was administered through the pediatric network SICuPP (Italian Society of Primary Care Pediatricians -- Lombardy) in Northern Italy. The study involved 3443 parents with children aged from 1 to 5 years and from 6 to 10 years living in Lombardy region, the earliest and most severely affected by the COVID-19 emergency. All participants completed an online questionnaire and provided informed consent. Respondents generally displayed confidence and a sense of self-efficacy in relation to how they had coped with the COVID-19 emergency, despite the many difficulties encountered during the lockdown. They reported having observed some unexpected improvements and resources (e.g. parent/child and sibling relationships, adaptiveness and autonomy on the part of children). Parent-to-parent solidarity was commonly reported, although a small percentage of parents had experienced a greater sense of isolation and anxiety. Finally, the study indicated 'key areas of vulnerability' (concerning, for example, eating, rules, sleeping, use of technological devices, fears …) that should be monitored in future by strengthening the territorial network linking families, educational services, and health services.

Nutritional warnings are intended to enable citizens to make informed choice by clearly identifying food products with excessive content of nutrients associated with noncommunicable diseases. The efficacy of this public policy is expected to improve if accompanied by communication campaigns that raise awareness of the existence of nutritional warnings, as well as encourage citizens to take them into account in decision making. Because ordinary citizens have been shown to generate significantly more creative and valuable ideas than advanced users and professional developers, the aim of the present work was to obtain qualitative, citizen co-created insights for the design of a communication campaign. An online study was conducted with 518 Uruguayan citizens, recruited using a Facebook advertisement. Participants were asked to answer a series of open-ended questions about how they would encourage other people to use the warnings for making their food choices, as well as the key contents of a communication campaign. Responses were analyzed using content analysis. Results showed that, according to the participants' accounts, an effective public awareness campaign aimed at promoting the use of nutritional warnings in decision making should include three main concepts: (a) position warnings as a cue to action for improving eating habits by enabling informed choices; (b) emphasize the benefits of using the warnings for avoiding consumption of unhealthy food and, consequently, achieving a healthier diet and an improvement in health status and quality of life; and (c) increase the perceived susceptibility and severity of the negative consequences of consumption of foods with excessive content of sugar, fat, and sodium. A communication campaign based on these key concepts could contribute to increasing the efficacy of nutritional warnings.

An in-depth understanding of the citizen's perception and behavior is needed for the development of targeted public policies and interventions that can successfully encourage people to shift their dietary patterns and contribute to the prevention of non-communicable diseases. The present work aimed to identify barriers and facilitators for the adoption of the new Uruguayan dietary guidelines from a citizen perspective. Twelve semistructured focus groups were conducted with a total of 91 people (81% female, age 18-64 years) from 3 Uruguayan cities. Findings identified several multifaceted barriers, including lack of value given to food, meals and cooking, taste preferences for unhealthy foods, the unsupportive social context in terms of household preferences, customs and social norms, and lack of control of the situation through insufficient food capabilities, time scarcity, and an adverse food market environment. The potential facilitators discussed in the focus groups were mainly related to policies and regulations to discourage consumption of unhealthful products and the provision of more education and information. In addition, respondents acknowledged the need for own actions in terms of seeking greater cooking skills and enjoyment, incorporating changes in their daily routines and promoting a more supportive social environment. Results suggest that supportive actions are needed to support citizen's adoption of the new Uruguayan dietary guidelines.

This article offers insights into what characterises innovative continuous professional development (CPD) in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) by analysing similarities and differences from case studies of exemplary approaches to innovative CPD in Denmark, Italy and Poland. The comparative analysis focuses on four features that are particularly relevant for innovation in CPD in the field of ECEC: the social dimension of innovation as a strengthening component; the benefit of dynamic learning processes aimed at integrating theory and practice; the role of key figures in the quality of CPD; and measurements of CPD impact, outcomes and sustainability. This analysis sheds light on the effects of dynamic factors (e.g., regular team-based reflection sessions based on documentation and observation), the importance of work conditions (e.g., contractual obligations to provide time for reflection), the critical role of pedagogical leaders (coordinators, principals and head teachers, supervisors), the importance of inter-organisational networking at a local level and the facilitating role of collaboration with research institutes.

We examine how teacher leaders (TLs), working in a low-income urban elementary school, supported their colleagues to learn how to collect quality formative data and to discuss it in collaborative conversations in order to make their students' learning visible. The TLs faced challenges reflecting consequences resulting from the district's high stakes accountability policies restricting teachers' agency with instructional decision-making and limiting their definitions of data as summative test scores. We document how the TLs worked to reframe teachers' understanding of data to include evidence of student thinking and supported their colleagues to reclaim teaching as professional versus technical work.

Faculty willingness to adopt new technologies varies depending on the perceived usefulness and ease the technology offers, as well as how the process change is managed (Buchanan, Sainter, & Saunders, 2013). Lewin's Change Management Model was applied to a Learning Management System (LMS) change at a higher education institution to influence the technology change among stakeholders. Data was analyzed to determine the acceptance of the LMS along with change management strategies such as support and communication. At the start of the change, faculty completed a survey describing their comfort with the current LMS. Faculty with a lower comfort level also found the LMS less easy to use (Bove & Conklin, 2019). Another survey was sent to faculty after they transitioned to the new LMS, which focused on comparing comfort level with the type of training the faculty attended. While the new LMS was rated easier to use, there was no significance between faculty comfort with the technology and training attended (Bove & Conklin, 2020). The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between change management models and faculty technology acceptance when converting to a new LMS.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide a variety of tools and functions to support teaching and learning that include, but are not limited, to group chats, threaded discussions, document sharing, assignments, quizzes, grading and course evaluations. Migrating to a new LMS can be a challenge for faculty, in fact, changes in technology have been noted as one of the top ten challenges in academia. Training is an integral aspect for faculty acceptance of new technologies, particularly a new LMS. This study compared faculty reported comfort, ease of use and usability with the old (pre-test) and the new LMS (post-test) and the type and amount of training attended. In the pre-test, only the relationship between training and comfort level showed a positive correlation (t = 2.017, ?=0.046). In the post-test results, there was no correlation between training and comfort level, ease of use or usability scores. In addition, no significance was found when controlling for years teaching or faculty rank. When comparing ease of use pre- and post-test, overall, faculty rated the new LMS more useful to their work (mean pre mean = 2.25, post mean = 2.45), and easier to use (pre mean = 182 and post mean = 2.97). While there was limited significance in this study, it is imperative to offer a variety of support methods such as 24/7 access, one-on-one support in person, and quick reference guides.

When faculty need to use technology that is not familiar to them, it may take more time to integrate into to their teaching. The purpose of this study was to gather data on the ease of use and usefulness of the Blackboard LMS in anticipation of transitioning to a new LMS. A survey with the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) usability and perceived ease of use questions was sent to faculty in the Fall semester prior to the beginning of training for the transition to a new learning management system. Participation was voluntary and no questions were required. Most participants completed the full usefulness and ease of use Likert-style questions, but many declined to fill out other questions about years teaching, title, age, or type of employment and comfort level. We obtained a 29 % response rate. Of those who received the survey, 48.5 % were Professors (full, assistant and associate) and 51.5 % were lecturers. Faculty averaged 13 years teaching with an average of 10 years at UNCW and most were between the ages of 44 and 65. There was no significant association ([alpha] > 98%) between years teaching, title, age, or type of employment and usefulness or ease of use. Comfort level, however, demonstrated a negative association with both usefulness and ease of use. Faculty who identified themselves with lower comfort levels also reported that Blackboard was less useful and less easy to use. Based on the information gleaned in this survey, a full implementation plan including communication, opportunities for faculty buy-in for the plan, published timelines, and multiple options for training will be used to implement the new system.

The transition to a new architecture and design for an academic library Web site does not always proceed smoothly. In this case study, a library at a large research university hired an outside Web development contractor to create a new architecture and design for the university's Web site using dotCMS, an open-source content management system. The library participated in the design and development process along with other campus units. Because the university-wide process focused on marketing the university to prospective students, parents, and donors, the contractor's fact-finding process focused on how the library's site design could incorporate Web 2.0 technologies. The resulting library Web site showcased Web 2.0 technology more than it provided users with access to library resources. The library's users quickly communicated their dissatisfaction and confusion, which led to some immediate changes and a commitment to redesign the site based on expressed and demonstrated user needs. The library then hired another contractor to conduct iterative usability testing on both the new site and prototypes for a redesigned version. The testing showed that Web 2.0 technology that does not meet existing user needs creates obstacles for both novice and experienced users. In collaboration with the university's information technology unit, the library developed and launched a revised Web site, which helped users connect to the resources they needed. In the upgrade, Google Search Appliance replaced the native dotCMS search functionality. The authors of this case study demonstrate that libraries may need to advocate for different Web design priorities than those used at the university-wide level and that working with outside contractors presents different challenges and opportunities depending on the contractor's hiring unit. These experiences also demonstrate that libraries can do a better job learning about their users when they lead the fact-finding process. Following these experiences, the library committed to conducting iterative usability testing on a regular basis.

This study applies a multidimensional scaling (MSD) technique to investigate the structural validity of the Work Values Inventory for Adolescents with a sample of Italian students. The MSD results indicated the presence of two underlying orthogonal dimensions: individuality versus sociality and conservation versus exploration. Implications for future research are also discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

This case study outlines the use of client-sponsored research projects in a quantitative postgraduate marketing research subject conducted in a 12-week semester in a research-intensive Australian university. The case study attempts to address the dearth of recent literature on client-sponsored research projects in the discipline of marketing. Evaluation results provided from students in a 3-year period indicate support for the use of client-sponsored projects because they provide a number of benefits. In particular, students feel that such projects give invaluable opportunities to develop consulting and research skills that are highly sought after by industry. However, despite the advantages of the client-sponsored research projects, the quantitative nature of the marketing research subject is still an impediment to attaining high student quality teaching scores. Furthermore, there can be problems if students lack basic statistical knowledge, do not practice SPSS outside of class, and segment project tasks within the team. Finally, although client-sponsored marketing research projects can improve the profile of marketing research courses, they demand high levels of energy by the lecturer, a small class size (up to 35 students), and are dependent on a strong degree of client commitment. (Contains 1 table.)

The present study examined the developmental course of perceived efficacy for self-regulated learning and its contribution to academic achievement and likelihood of remaining in school in a sample of 412 Italian students (48% males and 52% females ranging in age from 12 to 22 years). Latent growth curve analysis revealed a progressive decline in self-regulatory efficacy from junior to senior high school, with males experiencing the greater reduction. The lower the decline in self-regulatory efficacy, the higher the high school grades and the greater the likelihood of remaining in high school controlling for socioeconomic status. Reciprocal cross-lagged models revealed that high perceived efficacy for self-regulated learning in junior high school contributed to junior high school grades and self-regulatory efficacy in high school, which partially mediated the relation of junior high grades on high school grades and the likelihood of remaining in school. Socioeconomic status contributed to high school grades only mediationally through junior high grades and to school drop out both directly and mediationally through junior high grades. (Contains 5 tables, 3 figures and 1 footnote.)

Purpose: We estimate the independent contribution of crime victimization to nursing home placement in a cohort of older adults who were community dwelling at baseline. Design and Methods: The data come from an observational cohort study of 2,321 community-residing older adults who were members of the New Haven Established Populations for Epidemiological Studies in the Elderly cohort in 1985. Participants had annual evaluations using standardized instruments. We defined the major outcome, custodial nursing home placement, as a stay of at least 30 days; mean length of nursing home stay was 413 days. We determined crime victimization by matching police records in the same catchment area as the cohort for the period 1985-1995. We determined nursing home placement through linkage to the Connecticut Long Term Care Registry. We used growth curve modeling to estimate the risk of placement in victimized and nonvictimized participants, and we used multivariable models to adjust for other factors known to predict nursing home placement. Results: There were 482 members of the cohort (21%) who experienced victimization over the 10-year follow-up; 747 (32%) experienced nursing home placement. Most victimization episodes were nonviolent and noninjurious. However, violent victimization conferred an independent increased risk of nursing home placement (odds ratio = 2.1; 95% confidence interval = 1.0-4.6) that exceeded the increased risk associated with other variables traditionally thought to be predictive of placement (such as functional and cognitive impairment, and social network size). Implications: Violent crime victimization increases the risk of nursing home placement. Future research should be directed at determining the mechanism of this increased risk and developing interventions directed at victimized older adults that might avert nursing home placement in this uniquely vulnerable population.

Objective: In the DSM-IV-TR, firesetting is included as a criterion for the diagnoses of conduct disorder and pyromania. The link between firesetting and antisocial behavior is well established in the empirical literature. Although theoretical models of firesetting often include fire interest as a putative risk factor, there is little research on the role of fire interest in firesetting or on the construct of pyromania. Method: The present study evaluated a sample of children and adolescents referred to an outpatient specialty program for juvenile firesetters with firesetting as the primary presenting problem. By assessing fire interest and antisocial behavior concurrently, the contribution of fire interest to firesetting after controlling for the role of conduct problems was evaluated. Results: Results revealed that fire interest and antisocial behavior were significantly and positively correlated. Moreover, variations in fire interest added to the prediction of firesetting severity at assessment and firesetting recidivism at 18-month follow-up above and beyond what was predicted by antisociality alone. Conclusions: These findings have implications for an empirically derived taxonomy of pathological firesetting. (Contains 6 tables.)

This study examined victim and assault characteristics and the nature and extent of coercion, violence, and physical injuries among adult male victims of sexual assaults. Client records of three groups presenting to a sexual assault care center were included: males assaulted by a stranger (n = 64), males assaulted by an acquaintance (n = 81), and females assaulted by an acquaintance (n = 106). Study results revealed that male victims of sexual assault tended to be young, single men who reported high rates of vulnerabilities such as homelessness and physical, psychiatric, and cognitive disabilities. Male stranger assailant victims were more likely to experience assaults involving weapons and physical violence. Injuries sustained by victims and services delivered at the sexual assault care center were similar for both male and female clients. The results of this study reveal new information about violence in male sexual assaults and the vulnerability of the male victims.

This article examines the interpersonal relationships, community participation, and employment of 5 individuals with severe handicaps (ages 23 to 27) based on observations and interviews with key informants. Results indicated that subjects' lives were over simplified by rigidly controlled routines and schedules that fostered passivity and dependency. (Author/DB)

Describes various approaches taken by Italian child-care programs to facilitate the young child's transition into a child care setting. Discusses the role of teachers as researchers, the role of parents as partners, and the benefits to young children. (KB)

Trainers interested in enhancing computer-assisted instruction with graphics should ask (1) What are the training objectives? (2) What technologies serve these purposes? and (3) What is the most cost-effective alternative? (SK)

When a child is born with a feeding and/or swallowing problem, it affects the entire family. Parents, mothers specifically, internalize the problem and come to believe it is due to something they've done. Families are put on an emotional rollercoaster with the ups and downs being dependant on how much the child has eaten that day. In this article, the authors present two stories that exemplify how difficult it is for the family of a child with a feeding and swallowing issue.

Four directors of corporate training answer the question "Should human resource development directors have a training background?" and then each presents a list of recommendations for trainers, involving such areas as internal consulting skills, business experience, sense of timing, the difference between training and teaching, and taking a holistic approach to human resource development. (CT)

Discusses the videodisc market, its popularity in health care training, internally generated videodisc software, interactive computer-based training, interrupted video, advantages of interactive video, do-it-yourself video training, individualized interaction, video's impact on traditional education, and video's future. (CT)

Examines new developments in the automobile industry (specifically, recent union contracts) and how they may change the way we look at the labor/management equation. (CT)

Due to demographic changes, businesses will become increasingly reliant on the skills and capabilities of older workers. Companies can no longer afford to use economic arguments against employing older workers. (SK)