Making Implementation Last: Understanding the Sustainability of an Evidence-based Treatment

Although advances have been made in facilitating the implementation of evidence-based treatments, little is known about the most effective way to sustain their use over long periods of time. Prior systematic reviews and research have suggested that organizational characteristics and training methods may be strategies that support sustainability, yet this has remained relatively unstudied in the field of behavioral health. The current study examined the sustainability of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy following a statewide implementation trial testing three training methods. Participants included 100 clinicians and 50 administrators from 50 organizations across Pennsylvania. Multi-level path analysis was utilized to examine the role of organizational barriers and training on sustainability. Clinicians and administrators reported high levels of sustainability at 24-months (12-months post-training) in the current study. Several organizational variables, including training exposure and utilization and resources at baseline and following training were associated with greater sustainability. The cascading model training condition was also related to being more likely to sustain the use of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Possible mechanism of change, through increased organizational resources, were also identified. Implications for training and the broader field of implementation science are discussed

Ecological Units and Spatial Pattern in River Ecosystems.

Rivers are advective, largely unidirectional ecological networks whose spatial patterning reflects both catchment and network structural characteristics. I used a headwaters-to-mouth, longitudinal, high-frequency-spatial sampling design to facilitate analyses of the extent and variability of spatial patterning in Midwestern river systems and to test alternate hypotheses about the underlying causes of biological spatial autocorrelation. These analyses establish the conceptual validity of channel segment based classifications used in management settings, and provide guidance for appropriate survey sampling design and statistical analyses in river systems. In the first study I tested the theoretical assumptions underlying the mapping and practical application of riverine ecological units (EUs) within a river mainstem. EUs require concordance between fish and invertebrate assemblage composition and between biological assemblages and environmental variables. Along the Lower Muskegon River mainstem, fish/invertebrate concordances and many environment/biology concordances were strong, resulting in distinct, homogeneous biological assemblages that persisted through time. In the second study I tested the same theoretical assumptions of EUs in a variety of disjunct river tributary systems in Michigan and Ohio. Although fish/invertebrate and environment/biology concordances were very strong in all of the tributaries, downstream tributary channels with substantial stream flow were the only contiguous stream segments with similar environmental and biological character. This suggests a better understanding of spatial pattern and processes in headwater streams is needed to guide effective EU delineation in tributaries. In the third study I explored a common feature of spatial patterning, positive spatial autocorrelation (SAC). SAC was common in both environmental variables and fish assemblage composition, although the magnitude of SAC varied by measure and spatial extent. Strong environment/biology associations accounted for most or all of the SAC in biological assemblages, offering strong support for niche processes as the origin of biotic SAC in these river systems. Likewise, proximity effects on biological assemblages were largely mediated through similarity in the environment. My work here suggests that EUs do provide realistic units to map, inventory, and classify river segments for practical management, and provide a way to abstract and communicate the complex ecological processes and patterns that are characteristic of river ecosystems.PHDNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111519/1/sparksb_1.pd

Engaging with the Dory Fleet: A Panel Discussion on a Collaborative College and Community Oral History Project

This peer-reviewed program was presented at the annual Northwest Communication Association Conference in Coeur d’Alene Idaho on April 15, 2016. The presentation features an overview of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project and includes detailed notes from each speaker. Special thanks go to Mary Beth Jones and Brenda DeVore Marshall, who served as transcriber and editor for the detailed speaker notes

The Miseducation of Black Youth: Black youth spittin’ lyrical lessons of Black joy, laughter, and affirmation in the rural south

This counter-storytelling performance highlights the educational experiences of Black youth living in the Rural Black South. In the shadows of critical race theory and critical teaching pedagogy, the researchers draw from BlackMothering scholarship as a theoretical framework to illuminate insights into how Black faculty create critical pedagogy to help make students more critical consumers of their educational experiences and provide them with skills to produce counternarratives. The researchers created a critical teaching project that allowed Black youth participants space to critically reflect, interrogate, and dialogue about their educational experiences and in doing so the youth created verses to song telling their stories. This project highlights three significant findings when teachers use an arts-based approach as a critical teaching practice: Black youth agency to resist, Academic mobility, and Black youth intellectualism and identity

Brand Extension Evaluation in Esports: A Case Study of the NBA and NBA2K League

Professional sport leagues have created esport leagues and teams, which serve as brand extensions (e.g., NBA and NBA 2K League). These brand extensions can benefit the professional sports team brand by reaching various audiences in a different product category. The purpose of this study was to examine a traditional sport entity’s (NBA franchise) esport brand extension (NBA 2K League team). In partnership with an NBA team and the affiliated NBA 2K esports team, a survey of 195 individuals assessed the brand extension on several variables, including extension awareness, perceived quality, image fit, categorical fit, innovativeness, and authenticity of the extension. Further, a cluster analysis revealed four distinct groups, (1) Gamers, (2) Traditional NBA Team Fans, (3) Crossover Fans, and (4) Low-Consumers. Discussion of the groups’ brand extension perceptions and behavior are highlighted. Targeted marketing for these clusters may improve efficiency of sports marketing messaging, as well as provide an understanding of the extension’s effect on the parent brand

The Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Rainbow Trout Embryos

There currently exists a need to develop new approaches to control aquatic invasive and nuisance species. The effects of light radiation such as ultra-violet wavelengths of light have shown negative effects, such as increased embryo mortality in early embryonic salmonid larvae. This study explores the use of light radiation for eradication of invasive fish. Experiments were conducted to evaluate dose and critical period of sensitivity for mortality of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) embryos after exposure to visual and ultra-violet light radiation. Endpoints recorded include exposure intensity, effective distance from source, duration of exposure, malformations and mortality. Introduced light may be an effective and feasible eradication technique of early life history stages of fish and invertebrate invasive species in situ, as light can be implemented and removed with minimal environmental impact

Opening Session

Chancellor Motley Jessica Cicchino – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, National crash trends Jeanne Hathaway – MA DPH Injury Prevention Epidemiologist, MA context Beth Dugan – UMass Boston, Fatal Accidents in MA involving drivers age 65+; Summit aim

Effects of Electricity and Altered Conductivity on Rainbow Trout Embryos: A Study to Determine Efficacy of Electricity for Eradication of Invasive Salmonids

Electricity has been an applied means of facilitating capture and removal of invasive fishes for many years. Current methods involve use of electrodes to establish a current through which passing fish will be susceptible to a brief shock to stun. This method, however, only affects free swimming individuals and is not inclusive of early life history stages such as embryos within spawning substrate. This study evaluates the susceptibility of embryonic and larval stage rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to direct DC current between 2-20v/cm in varying conductive waters to determine lethality for invasive salmonid eradication efforts. Rainbow trout embryos (n = 10 embryos/exposure) were initially exposed to homogeneous electric fields for 5 sec with a water conductivity of 220uS/cm from 1 day post fertilization (DPF)/ 27 temperature units (TU) to 15 DPF/405TU. Mortality was assessed 24 hours post exposure and the LV50 (lethal voltage) at 220uS/cm was determined for each TU. Embryos from six periods of development were then exposed to their respective LV50 voltages in varying conductive waters (20-600uS/cm). Susceptibility to direct DC voltages increased with voltage but overall susceptibility decreased with development. Susceptibility to a constant voltage increased with increasing conductivity and was consistent throughout early development (81TU-292TU), but the effects of increased conductivity were not enhanced in eyed embryos after 364TU. Results indicate that direct DC current applied prior to eyed embryonic stages, the period of greatest trout embryo susceptibility, is an effective means of eradicating invasive and nuisance salmonids