“Así No Iré a la Cárcel”: Segundo Año del Programa Adaptado de PROMUNDO para Erradicar la Violencia Sexista

This paper presents evaluation results of a PROMUNDO-adapted program enacted to reduce gender-based violence among preadolescent boys.  Outcomes that are examined include promoting critical thinking regarding masculinity, aggression, and violence; fostering skills necessary for effective communication, prosocial emotional expression, and non-violent conflict resolution.  While quantitative findings in this small sample do not indicate statistically significant results, qualitative analyses indicate that participants were better equipped to express their emotions, particularly anger, and to resolve conflict in non-violent ways that may slow the school-to-prison pipeline.Este artículo presenta los resultados de evaluación de un programa adaptado de PROMUNDO, promovido para reducir la violencia sexista entre chicos preadolescentes. Es la continuación de un estudio piloto anterior del currículum del programa. Los resultados examinados incluyen fomentar el pensamiento crítico respecto a la masculinidad, la agresión y la violencia; fomentando las habilidades necesarias para la comunicación efectiva, la expresión de emociones prosocial y la resolución de conflictos de forma no violenta. Pese a que los resultados cuantitativos en esta muestra tan pequeña no indican resultados significativos estadísticamente, los análisis cualitativos indican que los participantes estaban mejor preparados para expresar sus emociones, especialmente la ira, y para resolver sus problemas de formas no violentas que podrían reducir el camino de la escuela a la cárcel — a la cual los chicos participantes estaban en riesgo de entrar

Is implementation research out of step with implementation practice? Pathways to effective implementation support over the last decade

Background: There is growing interest in the lived experience of professionals who provide implementation support (i.e., implementation support practitioners). However, there remains limited knowledge about their experiences and how those experiences can contribute to the knowledge base on what constitutes successful and sustainable implementation support models. This study aimed to examine pathways of implementation support practice, as described by experienced professionals actively supporting systems’ uptake and sustainment of evidence to benefit children and families. Methods: Seventeen individuals with extensive experience providing implementation support in various settings participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and episode profile analysis approaches. Iterative diagramming was used to visualize the various pathways of implementation support practitioners’ role reflection and transformation evidenced by the interview data. Results: Findings highlighted rich pathways of implementation support practitioners’ role reflection and transformation. Participants described their roots in providing implementation support as it relates to implementing and expanding the use of evidence-based programs and practices in child and family services. Almost all participants reflected on the early stages of their careers providing implementation support and described a trajectory starting with the use of “push models,” which evolved into “pull models” and eventually “co-creation or exchange models” of implementation support involving both technical and relational skills. Conclusions: Developing an implementation support workforce will require a deeper understanding of this lived experience to prevent repeated use of strategies observed to be unsuccessful by those most proximal to the work. The pathways for implementation practice in this study highlight impressive leaps forward in the field of implementation over the last 15 years and speaks to the importance of the professionals leading change efforts in this growth. Plain Language Summary Over the past few years, professionals in the field of implementation science have identified a growing gap between implementation research and implementation practice. While this issue has been highlighted informally, the field is lacking a shared understanding and clear way forward to reconcile this gap. In this paper, the authors describe how professionals providing implementation support have shifted their implementation practice over time through systematic observations of what works (and what does not work) for supporting and sustaining evidence use in service systems to improve population outcomes. The authors share the impressive leaps forward made in the field of implementation practice – from didactic training to responsive and tailored implementation strategies to co-created and relationship-based implementation solutions. The paper concludes with a call to action to the field for the creation of a virtuous learning cycle between professionals conducting implementation research and professionals providing implementation support to change practice as a way to produce a more robust and relevant science of implementation

One-step volumetric additive manufacturing of complex polymer structures.

Two limitations of additive manufacturing methods that arise from layer-based fabrication are slow speed and geometric constraints (which include poor surface quality). Both limitations are overcome in the work reported here, introducing a new volumetric additive fabrication paradigm that produces photopolymer structures with complex nonperiodic three-dimensional geometries on a time scale of seconds. We implement this approach using holographic patterning of light fields, demonstrate the fabrication of a variety of structures, and study the properties of the light patterns and photosensitive resins required for this fabrication approach. The results indicate that low-absorbing resins containing ~0.1% photoinitiator, illuminated at modest powers (~10 to 100 mW), may be successfully used to build full structures in ~1 to 10 s

Developing a practice-driven research agenda in implementation science: Perspectives from experienced implementation support practitioners

Background Attention is being placed on the “ironic gap” or “secondary” research-to-practice gap in the field of implementation science. Among several challenges posited to exacerbate this research-to-practice gap, we call attention to one challenge in particular—the relative dearth of implementation research that is tethered intimately to the lived experiences of implementation support practitioners (ISPs). The purpose of this study is to feature a qualitative approach to engaging with highly experienced ISPs to inform the development of a practice-driven research agenda in implementation science. In general, we aim to encourage ongoing empirical inquiry that foregrounds practice-driven implementation research questions. Method Our analytic sample was comprised of 17 professionals in different child and family service systems, each with long-term experience using implementation science frameworks to support change efforts. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Our analysis followed a qualitative content analysis approach. Our focal conceptual category centered on the desired areas of future research highlighted by respondents, with subcategories reflecting subsets of related research question ideas. Results Interviews yielded varying responses that could help shape a practice-driven research agenda for the field of implementation science. The following subcategories regarding desired areas for future research were identified in respondents’ answers: (a) stakeholder engagement and developing trusting relationships, (b) evidence use, (c) workforce development, and (d) cost-effective implementation. Conclusions There is significant promise in bringing implementation research and implementation practice together more closely and building a practice-informed research agenda to shape implementation science. Our findings point not only to valuable practice-informed gaps in the literature that could be filled by implementation researchers, but also topics for which dissemination and translation efforts may not have yielded optimal reach. We also highlight the value in ISPs bolstering their own capacity for engaging with the implementation science literature to the fullest extent possible.Plain Language Summary In the field of implementation science, increasing attention is being placed on the “ironic gap” or “secondary” research-to-practice gap. This gap reflects a general lag or disconnect between implementation research and implementation practice, often stemming from knowledge generated by implementation research not being accessible to or applied by professionals who support implementation efforts in various service-delivery systems. Several explanations for the research-to-practice gap in implementation science have been offered in recent years; the authors highlight one notable challenge that may be exacerbating the research-to-practice gap in this field, namely that implementation research often remains disconnected from the lived experiences of implementation support practitioners. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the promise of developing a practice-drive research agenda in implementation science, with specific research question ideas offered by highly experienced implementation support practitioners. The paper concludes by expressing enthusiasm for future efforts to bring implementation research and implementation practice together more closely, empirically foreground practice-driven implementation research questions, translate and disseminate existing implementation research findings more widely, and build the capacity of implementation support practitioners to fully engage with the implementation science literature

Agile Course Design: Modeling Flexibility, Empowering Engagement, and Prioritizing Community

The Agile Course Design Institute, created for faculty at a regional public university, utilized an agile thinking lens to model flexible, interactive learning. The Institute framework consisted of three core factors: sense of belonging, students’ bandwidth, and interaction and engagement. Faculty participated in online synchronous and asynchronous settings to develop agile courses. In doing so, they gained insights into the experiences their students might have in remote learning. Examples from the Institute and participant work are explored through a “Why” (purpose/outcome), “What” (connections to the ACDI framework), and “How” (tools and strategies) structure

Randomized intervention trial to decrease Bisphenol A urine concentrations in women: Pilot study

In today\u27s uncertain market and continuously evolving technology, managing manufacturing systems are more complex than ever. This paper studies the dynamics of managing variety and volume to enhance value creation in manufacturers implementing system level advanced and automated manufacturing technology (AAM1). The demand is composed of heterogeneous customers who make purchasing decisions depending on the variety levels and lead times of the firm\u27s product offerings. The cost structure adopted calculates profit as the difference between customer value creation rate (VCR) and costs associated with the process of creating this value. Reported results contribute to the variety and volume management literature by offering analytical clarity of factors affecting product platforms and capacity scalability man agement for systems with AAMT. In addition, insightful answers to the trade offs between profit maximising market coverage and investments, smoothing demand policies and system stability for this type of environment are presented. Furthermore, the value of market information in deciding the industrial technology investment and also the impact of product life cycle on the same investment is captured

Regional Estimation of Soil Carbon and Other Environmental Indicators Using EPIC and i_EPIC

Computer models are important tools for assessing regional carbon sequestration and other environmental impacts of agricultural management practices. The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model is a very flexible model that has been used to make a wide range of field- and regional-scale environmental assessments. Large regional-scale applications of EPIC and similar models can require thousands of runs, resulting in a huge data management task. To address this problem, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) has developed an interactive EPIC (i_EPIC) software package that provides an automated approach to executing large sets of EPIC simulations. Overviews of both the latest EPIC version and the i_EPIC software package are presented. We also present examples of regional applications using both EPIC and i_EPIC conducted by the Resource and Environmental Policy Division of CARD, by the Joint Global Change Research Institute of the University of Maryland and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and by the Resource Assessment Division of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Involucrar a los Chicos en la Erradicación de la Violencia de Género: Un Estudio Piloto del Programa Promundo

The Brazil-based Promundo organization originated in 1997 and developed Program H to engage young men in the fight for gender equality. Research on Promundo and similar gender-transformative programs demonstrate that this type of intervention can significantly increase beliefs in gender equality and improve sexual health outcomes—pregnancy, safe sex practices, sexual and intimate partner violence, and STI and HIV transmission. Because Promundo has yet to be implemented in the United States, the authors worked alongside a victim service agency in the southeast United States--who has ties to Promundo--to adapt Program H for implementation with fourth grade boys. The program was piloted with a group of ten boys who attend a predominantly low-income and African-American public school. These boys were also a part of a statewide program to assist children at risk of academic failure due to poor test scores. This paper presents results of a pilot study which utilized a pre-posttest design. Assessment measures were adapted from program evaluations of Men Can Stop Rape’s Men of Strength (MOST) Clubs and include self-reported attitudes and beliefs about gender and masculinity, emotional expression and violence. Additionally, researchers conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with program instructors. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of implementing such a program with this particular population and explains changes to the program that will take effect during the second program implementation in Spring of 2015.La organización Promundo con sede en Brasil se creó en 1997 y desarrolló el Programa H para involucrar a los hombres jóvenes en la lucha por la igualdad de género. La investigación sobre Promundo y otros programas similares de transformación de género demuestran que este tipo de intervención puede aumentar significativamente las creencias en la igualdad de género y mejorar los hábitos de salud sexual (embarazo, lsexo seguro, violencia sexual y de pareja, y la tranmisión del ITS y el VIH. Como el programa Promundo aún no se ha implementado en los Estados Unidos, se trabajó junto a una agencia de servicios para víctimas en el sudeste de los Estados Unidos - que tiene lazos con Promundo - con el objetivo de adaptar el Programa H con los chicos de de cuarto grado. El programa se puso a prueba con un grupo de diez niños con bajos ingresos predominantemente que asisten que acuden a una escuela pública con población afroamericana. Estos chicos también fueron parte de un programa estatal dirigido a chicos en riesgo de fracaso escolar debido con resultados negativos en las pruebas de competencias. El presente trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio piloto que utilizó un diseño pre-post-test. Para ello se han tomado medidas de evaluación que han sido adaptadas de los formatos de Men Can Stop Rape’s Men of Strength (MOST) e incluyen actitudes y creencias sobre el género y la masculinidad, las emociones y la violencia. Además, los investigadores llevaron a cabo entrevistas cualitativas semiestructuradas con los educadores. El artículo concluye con la discusión sobre las implicaciones de la implementación de un programa de este tipo con esta población en particular y explica los cambios en el programa que se llevarán a cabo durante la segunda aplicación del programa en la primavera de 2015

More Comprehensive and Inclusive Approaches to Demographic Data Collection

In this evidence-based practice paper, we discuss ways for researchers and educators to more sensitively, accurately, and effectively collect demographic information on surveys. Identifying variables that capture diversity more broadly is vital in understanding the variety of ways in which students participate in and experiencing engineering education. We frame this discussion through publically available statistics that suggest the potential error in common approaches employed for demographic collection. While basic questions about participants’ sex and ethnicity are standard items in assessment and data collection, these questions only develop a limited representation and potentially present an inaccurate accounting of students’ social identities and honest self-expression. Classic demographic measurement approaches classify students on broad, general, and historically driven elements of diversity typically defined by others rather than individual students. Unfortunately, simply asking a participant to self-identify their gender dichotomously or select from a pre-defined set of ethnicity options has the potential to record information that does not completely or accurately represent a student’s self-identified characteristics or a researchers latent purpose. Alternatively, asking questions via simple open-ended queries both maintains any problem represented in the phrasing of the question as well as presents a major loss in efficiency by requiring a post-collection coding step. In this paper we discuss three major topics through reviews of literature, emergent cultural norms, and suggestions for better practices. First, we will cover the framing of demographic questions to gather the intended information (i.e., differentiating how the student experiences the world and how the world experiences the student). Second, we address ordering of demographic questions and the extended capability provided by modern online collection tools. Finally, using the lessons of parts one and two we offer some examples of improved ways of collecting a variety of demographic information such as gender identity, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, disability status, and socioeconomic status. The examples will show how researchers can be more sensitive to issues of diversity while at the same time improving research quality