The Substance Abuse Treatment Workforce of South Africa

The purpose of this paper is to describe characteristics of substance abuse treatment counselors in the Republic of South Africa, including demographics, education, training, and job duties. Counselors recruited from 24 treatment centers completed a survey after signing informed consent. Counselors were primarily female (75%), racially diverse (36.4% White, 30.8% Black, 18.9% Coloured, 12.6% Indian or Asian, and 1.4% Cape Malay), and were 38 years old on average. The majority (62.3%) held at least an equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, and just under half (49%) were registered social workers. Counselors had a mean of 5.3 years’ experience in substance abuse treatment. The substance abuse treatment workforce of South Africa appears to be young and educated, yet only one third of the counselors had any formal training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. South African counselors could benefit from more training in evidence-based techniques

Children's and adolescents’ evaluations of wealth‐related STEM inequality

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are rife with inequalities and under-representation that have their roots in childhood. While researchers have focused on gender and race/ethnicity as two key dimensions of inequality, less attention has been paid to wealth. To this end, and drawing from the Social Reasoning Development approach, we examined children's and adolescents’ perceptions of STEM ability and access to opportunities as a function of wealth, as well as their desire to rectify such inequalities. Participants (n = 234: early childhood, n = 70, mean age = 6.33, SD =.79; middle childhood, n = 92, mean age = 8.90, SD =.83 and early adolescence, n = 62, mean age = 12.00; SD = 1.16) in the U.K. (64% White British) and U.S. (40% White/European American) read about two characters, one high-wealth and one low-wealth. In early childhood, participants reported that the high-wealth character would have greater STEM ability and were just as likely to invite either character to take part in a STEM opportunity. By middle childhood, participants were more likely to report equal STEM abilities for both characters and to seek to rectify inequalities by inviting the low-wealth character to take part in a STEM opportunity. However, older participants reported that peers would still prefer to invite the high-wealth character. These findings also varied by ethnic group status, with minority status participants rectifying inequalities at a younger age than majority status participants. Together these findings document that children are aware of STEM inequalities based on wealth and, with age, will increasingly seek to rectify these inequalities.National Science Foundation (NSF)Wellcome TrustEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Promoting Diverse Youth's Career Development through Informal Science Learning: The Role of Inclusivity and Belonging

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordLittle research has examined the associations between perceived inclusivity within informal science learning sites, youth program belonging and perceptions of program career preparation. This study explored relations between these factors at three timepoints (T1 = start of program, T2 = 3 months and T3 = 12 months after start). Participants were a diverse sample of 209 adolescents participating in STEM youth programs within informal science learning sites situated in the United States and United Kingdom (70% females: M age = 15.27, SD age = 1.60), with 53.1% British and 64.1% non-White. Path analysis revealed that only perceptions of inclusivity for own social identity group (i.e., gender, ethnicity) at T1 were associated with T2 STEM youth program belonging. There was a significant indirect effect of T1 perceptions of inclusivity for one's own social identity groups on T3 perceptions of program career preparation via T2 program belonging. This study highlights that, over time, perceptions of inclusivity around youth's own social identity groups (i.e., gender and ethnicity/culture) are related to a sense of youth program belonging, which in turn is later associated with perceptions of program career preparation.National Science Foundation (NSF)Wellcome TrustEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Reciprocal Associations Between Science Efficacy, STEM Identity and Scientist Career Interest Among Adolescent Girls within the Context of Informal Science Learning

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordLimited research has explored the longitudinal pathway to youth career interests via identity and efficacy together. This study examined the longitudinal associations between science efficacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) identity, and scientist career interest among girls who are historically considered as an underrepresented group among scientists. The sample included 308 girls (M age = 15.22, SD age = 1.66; 42.8% White) from six STEM youth programs, each at a different informal science learning site within the U.K. and the U.S. Longitudinal structural equation modelling demonstrated that science efficacy consistently predicted STEM identity and scientist career interest, and similarly, STEM identity consistently predicted science efficacy over a two-year period. Scientist career interest at 12 months predicted science efficacy at 24 months. The coefficients of efficacy predicting STEM identity and scientist career interest were significantly larger compared to STEM identity and scientist career interest in predicting science efficacy from 12 months to 24 months. Further mediation analysis supported a significant pathway from STEM identity at 3 months to scientist career interest at 24 months via 12-month science efficacy. The findings highlight that science efficacy and STEM identity for girls relate to their scientist career interest and these longitudinal associations are reciprocal. This study suggests that science efficacy and STEM identity mutually influence each other, and enhancing science efficacy and STEM identity is key to promoting adolescents' interest in being a scientist.Wellcome TrustNational Science Foundation (NSF)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Advances in heterometallic ring-opening (co)polymerisation catalysis

Truly sustainable plastics require renewable feedstocks coupled with efficient production and end-of-life degradation/recycling processes. Some of the most useful degradable materials are aliphatic polyesters, polycarbonates and polyamides, which are often prepared via ring-opening (co)polymerisation (RO(CO)P) using an organometallic catalyst. While there has been extensive research into ligand development, heterometallic cooperativity offers an equally promising yet underexplored strategy to improve catalyst performance, as heterometallic catalysts often exhibit significant activity and selectivity enhancements compared to their homometallic counterparts. This review describes advances in heterometallic RO(CO)P catalyst design, highlighting the overarching structure-activity trends and reactivity patterns to inform future catalyst design

Gestational Diabetes Is Characterized by Reduced Mitochondrial Protein Expression and Altered Calcium Signaling Proteins in Skeletal Muscle

The rising prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects up to 18% of pregnant women with immediate and long-term metabolic consequences for both mother and infant. Abnormal glucose uptake and lipid oxidation are hallmark features of GDM prompting us to use an exploratory proteomics approach to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying differences in skeletal muscle metabolism between obese pregnant women with GDM (OGDM) and obese pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (ONGT). Functional validation was performed in a second cohort of obese OGDM and ONGT pregnant women. Quantitative proteomic analysis in rectus abdominus skeletal muscle tissue collected at delivery revealed reduced protein content of mitochondrial complex I (C-I) subunits (NDUFS3, NDUFV2) and altered content of proteins involved in calcium homeostasis/signaling (calcineurin A, α1-syntrophin, annexin A4) in OGDM (n = 6) vs. ONGT (n = 6). Follow-up analyses showed reduced enzymatic activity of mitochondrial complexes C-I, C-III, and C-IV (−60–75%) in the OGDM (n = 8) compared with ONGT (n = 10) subjects, though no differences were observed for mitochondrial complex protein content. Upstream regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation were not different between groups. However, AMPK phosphorylation was dramatically reduced by 75% in the OGDM women. These data suggest that GDM is associated with reduced skeletal muscle oxidative phosphorylation and disordered calcium homeostasis. These relationships deserve further attention as they may represent novel risk factors for development of GDM and may have implications on the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on both treatment strategies for GDM and for prevention of type 2 diabetes postpartum

Peer Toy Play as a Gateway to Children’s Gender Flexibility: The Effect of (Counter)Stereotypic Portrayals of Peers in Children’s Magazines

Extensive evidence has documented the gender stereotypic content of children’s media, and media is recognized as an important socializing agent for young children. Yet, the precise impact of children’s media on the endorsement of gender-typed attitudes and behaviors has received less scholarly attention. We investigated the impact of stereotypic and counter-stereotypic peers pictured in children’s magazines on children’s gender flexibility around toy play and preferences, playmate choice, and social exclusion behavior (n = 82, age 4–7 years-old). British children were randomly assigned to view a picture of a peer-age boy and girl in a magazine playing with either a gender stereotypic or counter-stereotypic toy. In the stereotypic condition, the pictured girl was shown with a toy pony and the pictured boy was shown with a toy car; these toys were reversed in the counter-stereotypic condition. Results revealed significantly greater gender flexibility around toy play and playmate choices among children in the counterstereotypic condition compared to the stereotypic condition, and boys in the stereotypic condition were more accepting of gender-based exclusion than were girls. However, there was no difference in children’s own toy preferences between the stereotypic and counter-stereotypic condition, with children preferring more gender-typed toys overall. Implications of the findings for media, education, and parenting practices are discussed, and the potential for counterstereotypic media portrayals of toy play to shape the gender socialization of young children is explored

Impact of Youth and Adult Informal Science Educators on Youth Learning at Exhibits

The impact of educators in informal science learning sites (ISLS) remains understudied from the perspective of youth visitors. Less is known about whether engagement with educators differs based on the age and gender of both visitor and educator. Here, visitors (5–17 years old) to six ISLS in the United States and United Kingdom (n = 488, female n = 244) were surveyed following an interaction with either a youth (14–18 -years old) or adult educator (19+ years old). For participants who reported lower interest in the exhibit, more educator engagement was related to greater self-reported learning. Younger children and adolescents reported more engagement with an adult educator, whereas engagement in middle childhood did not differ based on educator age. Participants in middle childhood showed a trend toward answering more conceptual knowledge questions correctly following an interaction with a youth educator. Together, these findings emphasize the promise of tailoring educator experiences to visitor demographics